Ardisimamillosides G and H,two new triterpenoid saponins from Ardisia mamillata

Two new triterpenoid saponins, ardisimamilloside G (1), 3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->4)-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)]-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl]-13beta,28-epoxy-16-oxo-oleanan-3beta,30-diol and ardisimamilloside H (2), 3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->4)-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl]-3beta-hydroxy-13beta,28-epoxy-16-oxo-oleanan-30-al, were isolated from the roots of Ardisia mamillata HANCE. Structure assignments were established on the basis of spectral data and chemical evidence.     

Preparation of 9-hydroxy grayanotoxin derivatives and their acute toxicity in mice

Novel 9alpha and 9beta-hydroxy grayanotoxin II derivatives were prepared by photo-sensitized oxygenation of iso-grayanotoxin II and oxidation of grayanotoxin II tetraacetate with selenium dioxide respectively. The lethal dosage of 9alpha and 9beta-hydroxy grayanotoxin II were lower than that of grayanotoxin II. In addition, the lethal dosage of 9beta-hydroxy-dihydro grayanotoxin II was higher than that of dihydro grayanotoxin II.     

Image enhancement with lightness correction and image sharpening based on characteristics of vision for elderly persons

Optical Review - In general, as people age the functions of their sensory organs deteriorate. For example, in the eye of an elderly person, the visual field becomes dark owing to a decrease in the...     

Double-decker phthalocyanine complex: Scanning tunneling microscopy study of film formation and spin properties

We review recent studies of double-decker and triple-decker phthalocyanine (Pc) molecules adsorbed on surfaces in terms of the bonding configuration, electronic structure and spin state.     

Crystal and molecular structure of a new diterpenyl glycoside from Pteris cretica L.

The crystal and molecular structure of a new diterpenyl glycoside, Ptr-1, is presented. The crystal is triclinic, space group P1, with a = 8.2414(8) Å, b = 13.0826(9) Å, c = 6.1427(8) Å, = 95.345(9)°, = 111.589(8)°, = 96.726(7)°, V = 604.9(1) ų, Z = 1. The structure was solved by direct methods and refined by full-matrix least-squares methods to a final R = 0.049 (Rw = 0.099) for 1872 independent reflections. The molecular structure is based on a glycopyranosyl group and a tetracyclic group. The glycopyranosyl group is -D-allopyranosyl group. The tetracyclic group consists of 1 five-membered and 3 six-membered rings.     

Rheological Properties of Silica Suspensions in Aqueous Solutions of Block Copolymers and Their Water-Soluble Components

Dynamic moduli of fumed silica suspensions in aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) block copolymers and PEO homopolymers were measured as a function of surface coverage. Since the block copolymers and PEO are adsorbed on the silica surface through hydrogen bonding between the ether oxygen and the silanol group on the silica surface, the interaction between the silanol groups, which is dominant for the aggregation of silica particles, should be prohibited. Dynamic moduli in the silica suspensions were strongly related to the stability of the silica suspensions and the block copolymer, and the longest PEO portion was useful for stabilizing the silica particles. However, the PEO homopolymer did not support stability of the silica particles, suggesting that chain conformation of the PEO portion in the block copolymer is different from that for the PEO homopolymer. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

A density functional study of NO adsorption and decomposition on Ni(211) and Pd(211) surfaces

The adsorption and decomposition of NO have been investigated by using density functional theory method at the generalized gradient approximation level. We have performed calculations on adsorption energies and structures of NO on Ni(211) and Pd(211) surfaces with full-geometry optimization and compared them with the experimental data. The most favorite adsorption on both surfaces occurs at the bridge site parallel to step edge (sb), while the energy difference from the second favorite site of a threefold hollow site near step edge is less than 0.1 eV. Decomposition pathways have been investigated with transition state search. The decomposition pathway, where NO leans toward the step, is most probable for both surfaces. The overall activation energy for decomposition is 0.39 and 1.26 eV for Ni(211) and Pd(211), respectively. The present results clearly show that the NO molecules on Pd(211) are less activated than those on Ni(211). We have studied also reorganization of NO on Pd(211) at higher coverages up to 1/3 ML (monolayer) [three NO molecules in a (3 x 1) unit cell]. The site occupation is not in a sequential manner as the NO coverage is increased, and a reorganization of NO adsorbates occurs (the NO molecule at sb becomes tilting up at higher coverage), which can interpret the experimental data of Yates and co-workers very well.     

A Fast Encoding Method for Vector Quantization Using Modified Memory-Efficient Sum Pyramid

Based on the concept of multi-resolutions, full search (FS) equivalent fast search methods for vector quantization (VQ) using mean-type pyramid have been developed in previous work.^1–4) In this paper, a modified memory-efficient sum pyramid is proposed, which is exact for computing the difference in integer form and features one more new resolution L₀₁ in-between the top 2 levels L₀ and L₁ of a conventional pyramid. Benefiting from a recursive difference computation at the top 3 levels, the proposed method can reduce the total computational cost obviously. Furthermore, a memory-efficient way of storage for the top 3 levels is integrated to reduce extra memory requirement.