Synthesis and Structure of Novel 1-Aryl-4,4,4-trichloro-1,3-butanediones

Novel 1-aryl-4,4,4-trichloro-1,3-butanediones in good yields (80–97%) were synthesized in one pot through acetal acylation with trichloroacetyl chloride followed by acid hydrolysis. Structures of all compounds were elucidated by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, and ¹H/¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. The ¹H/¹³C NMR data showed that trichloromethyl-β-diketones 2a–k in solution are predominantly ketoenol. However, the spectroscopic data from 4,4,4-trichloro-2-methyl-1-phenyl-1,3-butabedione (2l) with methyl substituent between carbonyls showed a bias toward the diketo form in solution. X-ray diffraction of monocrystals from 2g and 2i showed that these compounds are cis-ketoenol tautomers.

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communcations® to view the free supplemental file.     

Low‐Level Laser Therapy and Sodium Diclofenac in Acute Inflammatory Response Induced by Skeletal Muscle Trauma: Effects in Muscle Morphology and mRNA Gene Expression of Inflammatory Markers

Pharmacological therapy is widely used in the treatment of muscle injuries. On the other hand, low‐level laser therapy (LLLT) arises as a promising nonpharmacological treatment. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of sodium diclofenac (topical application) and LLLT on morphological aspects and gene expression of biochemical inflammatory markers. We performed a single trauma in tibialis anterior muscle of rats. After 1 h, animals were treated with sodium diclofenac (11.6 mg g^‐1 of solution) or LLLT (810 nm; continuous mode; 100 mW; 3.57 W cm^?2; 1, 3 or 9 J; 10, 30 or 90 s). Histological analysis and quantification of gene expression (real‐time polymerase chain reaction—RT‐PCR) of cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 (COX‐1 and COX‐2) and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) were performed at 6, 12 and 24 h after trauma. LLLT with all doses improved morphological aspects of muscle tissue, showing better results than injury and diclofenac groups. All LLLT doses also decreased (P < 0.05) COX‐2 compared to injury group at all time points, and to diclofenac group at 24 h after trauma. In addition, LLLT decreased (P < 0.05) TNF‐α compared both to injury and diclofenac groups at all time points. LLLT mainly with dose of 9 J is better than topical application of diclofenac in acute inflammation after muscle trauma.     

Area-selective signal parameter estimation for two-dimensional MR spectroscopy data

We consider the problem of parametric spectral analysis of two-dimensional (2D) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) data. Estimating the signal components from 2D MRS data is becoming common practice in many clinical MR applications. The most frequently used signal processing tool for this estimation problem is the non-parametric 2D-FFT. There are several alternative parametric methods available to perform this analysis, yet their computational complexity is generally rather high and it becomes prohibitive when the number of points in the measured data matrix is large. In this paper, we propose a novel signal parameter estimation technique which operates on a pre-specified sub-area of the 2D spectrum. This area-selective approach can be used either to estimate only the signal components of main interest in the data, or to compute signal parameter estimates of all present signal components as the computational burden for each sub-area is low. In the numerical example section we consider both simulated data and in vitro 1H data acquired from a 1.5 T MR scanner.     

High-resolution dose profile studies based on MR imaging with polymer BANG(TM) gels in stereotactic radiation techniques

High-resolution dose profiles produced by the Leksell Gamma Knife were obtained in BANG(TM) polymer gel, using a 3 T whole-body scanner upgraded by a magnetic resonance microscopy unit. The gel was contained in 22.3 mm diameter flasks that were inserted into a solid, tissue-equivalent head phantom irradiated by fields of by 8 and 14 mm collimators. Dose profiles were obtained from a linear dose-response curve (R(2) vs. Dose). Excellent agreement was obtained when the gel data were compared to film dosimetry and calculated data.