The geometric and electronic structures of oxocarbons. An ab initio molecular orbital study

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations with the STO-3G and 4-31G basis sets have been carried out for the neutral oxocarbons C_nO_n (n = 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7), the dianions C_nO_n^2- (n = 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7), the monoanions C_nO_nH^? (n = 3 and 4) and the related acids C_nO_nH₂ (n = 3 and 4). Fully optimised geometries have been obtained for all species. The geometries, stabilities and acidities are discussed.     

The bimolecular hydrogen-deuterium exchange behavior of protonated alkyl dipeptides in the gas phase

As part of an ongoing characterization of the intrinsic chemical properties of peptides, thermal hydrogen-deuterium exchange has been studied for a series of fast-atom-bombardment-generated protonated alkyldipeptides and related model compounds in the reaction with D₂O, CH₃OD, and ND₃ in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. Despite the very large basicity difference between the dipeptides and the D₂O and CH₃OD exchange reagents, efficient exchange of all active hydrogen atoms occurs. From the kinetic data it appears that exchange of the amino, amide, and hydroxyl hydrogens proceeds with different efficiencies, which implies that the proton in thermal protonated dipeptides is immobile. The selectivity of the exchange at the different basic sites is governed by the nature of both the dipeptide and the exchange reagent. The results indicate that reversible proton transfer in the reaction complexes, which effectuates the deuterium incorporation, is assisted by formation of multiple hydrogen bonds between the reagents. Exchange is considered to proceed via the intermediacy of different competing intermediate complexes, each of which specifically leads to deuterium incorporation at different basic sites. The relative stabilization of the competing intermediate complexes can be related to the relative efficiencies of deuterium incorporation at different basic sites in the dipeptide. For all protonated dipeptides studied, the exchange in the reaction with ND₃ proceeds with unit efficiency, whereas all active hydrogen atoms are exchanged equally efficiently. Evidently specific multiple hydrogen bond formations are far less important in the reversible proton transfers with the relatively basic ammonia, which allows effective randomization of all active hydrogen atoms in the reaction complexes.     

The use of comet assay data with a simple reaction mechanism to evaluate the relative effectiveness of free radical scavenging by quercetin, epigallocatechin gallate and N-acetylcysteine in UV-irradiated MRC5 lung fibroblasts

Comet assay data (tail DNA %) have been gathered for the concentration dependent role of three antioxidants (AOs); quercetin (Q), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in reducing UV-induced damage to DNA in normal fetal lung fibroblasts (MRC5). All three compounds demonstrate a concentration dependent reduction maximum with a pro-oxidant effect at higher (though not cytotoxic) concentrations. Manipulation of a simple 4-step reaction mechanism for free radical (FR) scavenging by AOs produced rate constant ratios which allowed the relative effectiveness (Q > EGCG > NAC) of the AOs to be evaluated.     

Interpretation of CALUX results in view of the EU maximal TEQ level in milk

Analyses of dioxins in food have become increasingly important since the European Commission has enforced maximal toxic equivalent concentration (TEQ) levels in various food and feed products. Screening methodologies are usually used to exempt those samples that are below the maximum permitted limit and that can, therefore, be released to the market. In addition, one needs to select those samples that require confirmation of their dioxin TEQ level. When bioassays are used as screening tools, the interpretation of the obtained results should consider the higher variability and uncertainty associated with them. This paper explores the use of CALUX data as quantitative screening results. The validation of the method for the polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD)/F TEQ determination in milk samples is described with emphasis on the decision limit (CC) and the precision of the method. The decision limit amounts to 4.53 pg TEQ/g fat. Repeatability and within-lab reproducibility coefficients of variation are below 30%. The newly introduced parameter CC^* of 1.47 pg TEQ/g fat delimits with CC a range of suspicious results. These data are not significantly different from the maximum limit of 3 pg TEQ/g fat and should be confirmed by a confirmatory analytical method such as HRGC–HRMS.     

Rhodium(I) catalysis of cycloprop[a]acenaphthylene isomerizations

Cycloprop [a] acenaphthylene was found to rearrange to phenalene in the presence of rhodium dicarbonyl chloride dimer. Deuterium labeling of this molecule at C(7) (both exo and endo), at C(8), at C(7) (exo) and C(8) and at C(7) (exo), C(8), and C(8') indicated that the C(7) (exo) deuterium was migrating stereospecifically. Furthermore, all of the isotopic label present in the cycloprop[a]acenaphthylene was found statistically distributed over positions 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9 of the phenalene product. Control experiments established the need of the catalyst, the inability to achieve rearrangement of the exo-7-methyl derivative, and the susceptibility of a monodeuterated phenalene for extensive isotopic scrambling in its own right when exposed to rhodium(I). These results have been interpreted on the basis of oxidative addition by rhodium(I) into the central bond of cycloprop[a]acenaphthylene from above the “flap”, followed by shifting of the C(7) (exo) hydrogen (or deuterium) to give a η³-allylrhodim-(III) complex. The experimental data further support a mechanism involving subsequent rearrangement of this intermediate around the periphery of the phenalene ring. This process which is otherwise degenerate is thought to be facilitated by the special electronic features of the phenalenyl system.     

Matter and light wave interferometry in gravitational fields

We consider the problem of finding the quantum mechanical phase associated with the propagation of a particle in a given external gravitational field, and conclude that it ism ds. In weak fieldsh this allows us to calculate the gravitationally induced phase on a freely traveling particle as 1/2 h P dx whereP is the ordinary momentum. This formula has the expected Newtonian limit and is then used to calculate effects in matter wave interferometry such as those due to gravity waves and the dragging of the ether frame by rotating bodies. Light wave interferometry is then considered and is shown to be also described by 1/2 h K dx , whereK is the wave vector of the light, and the integral is along the path of the ray. Matter and light wave interferometry are compared in various cases.A preliminary version of this work was presented at the Grenoble Workshop on Neutron Interferometry, June 1978.     

Variational approximations for renormalization group transformations

Approximate recursion relations which give upper and lower bounds on the free energy are described. Optimal calculations of the free energy can then be obtained by treating parameters within the renormalization equations variationally. As an example, a particularly simple lower bound approximation which preserves the symmetry of the Hamiltonian (the one-hypercube approximation) is described. The approximation is applied to both the Ising model and the Wilson-Fisher model. At the fixed point a parameter is set variationally and critical indices are calculated. For the Ising model the agreement with the exact results atd = 2 is surprisingly good, 0.1%, and is good atd=3 and evend=4. For the Wilson-Fisher model the recursion relation is reduced to a one-dimensional integral equation which can be solved numerically givingv=0.652 atd=3, or by expansion in agreement with the results of Wilson and Fisher to leading order in . The method is also used to calculate thermodynamic functions for thed = 2 Ising model; excellent agreement with the Onsager solution is found.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grants Nos. MPS73-04886A01 and GH-41512 and by the Brown University Materials Research Laboratory supported by the National Science Foundation. M.C.Y. was supported by a grant from the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey.     

Double Diastereoselection Operative During π-Facially Selective Addition of Chiral 1-Cyclopentenyllithium Reagents to (7R)-7-Methyl-7-Vinylbicyclo[3.2.0]Hept-2-En-6-One

Reaction of the title cyclobutanone with chiral cyclopentenyllithium reagents occurs exclusively from the convex face with low diastereoselectivity. Nonetheless, polycyclic networks with as many as nine stereogenic centers can be elaborated in very few steps.