State-to-state reaction dynamics of CH3I photodissociation at 304 nm

The detailed reaction dynamics of CH(3)I photodissociation at 304 nm were studied by using high-resolution long time-delayed core-sampling photofragment translation spectroscopy. The vibrational state distributions of the photofragment, i.e., CH(3), are directly resolved due to the high kinetic resolution of this experiment for the first time. CH(3) radicals produced from I((3)Q(0+)), I((1)Q(1) <--( 3)Q(0+)), and I((3)Q(1)) channels are populated in different vibrational state distributions. The I((3)Q(0+)) and I((3)Q(1)) channels show only progressions in the nu2'(a2") umbrella bending mode, and the I((1)Q(1) <-- (3)Q(0+)) channel shows both progression in the nu2' umbrella bending mode and a small amount of excitation in the nu1'(a1') C-H stretching mode. The photodissociation processes from the vibrational hot band of CH(3)I (upsilon3 = 1, upsilon3 = 2) were also detected, primarily because of the absorption probability from the vibrational excited states, i.e., hot bands are relatively enhanced. Photofragments from the hot bands of CH(3)I show a cold vibrational distribution compared to that from the vibrational ground state of CH(3)I. The I* quantum yield and the curve crossing possibility were also studied for the ground vibrational state of CH(3)I. The potential energy at the curve crossing point was calculated to be 32 790 cm(-1) by using the one-dimensional Landau-Zener model.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed reductive cyclization of nitroarenes with trialkylamines leading to quinolines

Nitroarenes react with trialkylamines in the presence of a catalytic amount of a ruthenium catalyst together with tin(II) chloride dihydrate at 180 °C in an aqueous medium (toluene–H₂O) to afford the corresponding quinolines in moderate to good yields. The catalytic pathway seems to be proceeded via a sequence involving initial reduction of nitroarenes to anilines, alkyl group transfer from alkylamines to anilines to form an imine, dimerization of imine, and heterocyclization.     

Molecular characteristics of the inhibition of human neutrophil elastase by nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) are known as clinically effective agents for treatment of inflammatory diseases. Inhibition of cyclooxygenase has been thought to be a major facet of the pharmacological mechanism of NSAIDs. However, it is difficult to ascribe the antiinflammatory effects of NSAIDs solely to the inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis. Human neutrophil elastase (HNElastase; HNE, EC 3.4.21.37) has been known as a causative factor in inflammatory diseases. To investigate the specific relationship between HNElastase inhibition and specificity of molecular structure of several NSAIDs, HNElastase was purified by Ultrogel AcA54 gel filtration, CM-Sephadex ion exchange, and HPLC (with TSK 250 column) chromatography. HNElastase was inhibited by aspirin and salicylate in a competitive manner and by naproxen, ketoprofen, phenylbutazone, and oxyphenbutazone in a partial competative manner, but not by ibuprofen and tolmetin. HNElastase-phenylbutazone-complex showed strong Raman shifts at 200, 440, 1124, 1194, 1384, 1506, and 1768 cm(-1). The Raman bands 1194, 1384, and 1768 cm(-1) may represent evidences of the conformational change at -N=N-phi radical, pyrazol ring, and -C=O radical of the elastase-drug complex, respectively. Phenylbutazone might be bound to HNElastase by ionic and hydrophobic interaction, and masked the active site. Inhibition of HNElastase could be another mechanism of action of NSAIDs besides cyclooxygenase inhibition in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Different inhibition characteristics of HNE-lastase by NSAIDs such as aspirin, phenylbutazone-like drugs and ineffective drugs could be important points for drawing the criteria for appropriate drugs in clinical application.     

The Chow rings for 3-dimensional toric varieties with one bad isolated singularity

The properties of a toric variety have strong connection with the combinatorial structure of the corresponding fan and the relations among the generators. Using this fact, we have described explicitly the Chow ring for aQ-factorial toric variety as the Stanley-Reisner ring for the corresponding fan modulo the linear equivalence relation. In this paper, we calculate the Chow ring for 3-dimensionalQ-factorial toric varieties having one bad isolated singularity.     

Corn silk induces nitric oxide synthase in murine macrophages

Corn silk has been purified as an anticoagulant previously and the active component is a polysaccharide with a molecular mass of 135 kDa. It activates murine macrophages to induce nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and generate substantial amounts of NO in time and dose-dependent manners. It was detectable first at 15 h after stimulation by corn silk, peaked at 24 h, and undetectable by 48 h. Induction of NOS is inhibited by pyrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) and genistein, an inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) and tyrosine kinase, respectively, indicating that iNOS stimulated by corn silk is associated with tyrosine kinase and NF-kappaB signaling pathways. IkappaB-alpha degradation was detectible at 10 min, and the level was restored at 120 min after treatment of corn silk. Corn silk induced nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB by phosphorylation and degradation of IkappaB-alpha.     

Mononuclear nonheme ferric-peroxo complex in aldehyde deformylation

A mononuclear nonheme ferric-peroxo complex bearing a macrocyclic tetradentate N4 ligand, [(TMC)Fe(III)-O2]+, was prepared and used in mechanistic studies of aldehyde deformylation; a catalytic aldehyde deformylation by a nonheme iron(II) complex, [Fe(II)(TMC)]2+, and molecular oxygen is reported as well.     

Phytochemicals from Echinacea and Hypericum: A Direct Synthesis of Isoligularone

Reaction of trienes with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes produces bicyclic products via a tandem Diels-Alder/ene reaction. The adduct from tiglic aldehyde was converted into isoligularone by conversion to a furan followed by benzylic oxidation.     

Phosphorylation of phospholipase D1 and the modulation of its interaction with RhoA by cAMP-dependent protein kinase

Agents that elevate cellular cAMP are known to inhibit the activation of phospholipase D (PLD). We investigated whether PLD can be phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and PKA-mediated phosphorylation affects the interaction between PLD and RhoA, a membrane regulator of PLD. PLD1, but not PLD2 was found to be phosphorylated in vivo by the treatment of dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP) and in vitro by PKA. PKA inhibitor (KT5720) abolished the dbcAMP-induced phosphorylation of PLD1, but dibutyryl cGMP (dbcGMP) failed to phosphorylate PLD1. The association between PLD1 and Val14RhoA in an immunoprecipitation assay was abolished by both dbcAMP and dbcGMP. Moreover, RhoA but not PLD1 was dissociated from the membrane to the cytosolic fraction in dbcAMP-treated cells. These results suggest that both PLD1 and RhoA are phosphorylated by PKA and the interaction between PLD1 and RhoA is inhibited by the phosphorylation of RhoA rather than by the phosphorylation of PLD1.