How to measure long-range proton-carbon coupling constants from 1H-selective HSQMBC experiments

Heteronuclear long-range scalar coupling constants (ⁿJ_CH) are a valuable tool for solving problems in organic chemistry and are especially suited for stereochemical and configurational analyses of small molecules and natural products. This tutorial will focus on the step-by-step implementation of several 2D ¹H frequency selective HSQMBC experiments for the easy and accurate measurement of either the magnitude or both the magnitude and the sign of long-range ⁿJ_CH couplings. The performance of these experiments will be showcased with several scenarios in a range of different experimental conditions.     

What is the form of muscimol from fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria) in water? An insight from NMR experiment supported by molecular modeling

The biologically active alkaloid muscimol is present in fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria), and its structure and action is related to human neurotransmitter _γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The current study reports on determination of muscimol form present in water solution using multinuclear ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments supported by density functional theory molecular modeling. The structures of three forms of free muscimol molecule both in the gas phase and in the presence of water solvent, modeled by polarized continuous model, and nuclear magnetic isotropic shieldings, the corresponding chemical shifts, and indirect spin–spin coupling constants were calculated. Several J-couplings observed in proton and carbon NMR spectra, not available before, are reported. The obtained experimental spectra, supported by theoretical calculations, favor the zwitterion form of muscimol in water. This structure differs from NH isomer, previously determined in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution. In addition, positions of signals C3 and C5 are reversed in both solvents.     

Gold-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions: An Overview of Design Strategies,Mechanistic Studies,and Applications

Transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are central to many organic synthesis methodologies. Traditionally, Pd, Ni, Cu, and Fe catalysts are used to promote these reactions. Recently, many studies have showed that both homogeneous and heterogeneous Au catalysts can be used for activating selective cross-coupling reactions. Here, an overview of the past studies, current trends, and future directions in the field of gold-catalyzed coupling reactions is presented. Design strategies to accomplish selective homocoupling and cross-coupling reactions under both homogeneous and heterogeneous conditions, computational and experimental mechanistic studies, and their applications in diverse fields are critically reviewed. Specific topics covered are: oxidant-assisted and oxidant-free reactions; strain-assisted reactions; dual Au and photoredox catalysis; bimetallic synergistic reactions; mechanisms of reductive elimination processes; enzyme-mimicking Au chemistry; cluster and surface reactions; and plasmonic catalysis. In the relevant sections, theoretical and computational studies of Au^I/Au^III chemistry are discussed and the predictions from the calculations are compared with the experimental observations to derive useful design strategies.     

Computational Study on the Charge Transport and Optical Spectra of Anthracene Derivatives in Aggregates

A recent experiment [Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017 , 56, 722–727] found that a (1 : 9) blend film of two anthracene derivatives, 2-fluorenyl-2-anthracene ( FlAnt ) and 2-anthryl-2-anthracence ( 2 A ), exhibit both efficient white light emission and high hole mobility, thus promising for organic light-emitting transistors (OLETs). Employing quantum chemistry at the polarizable continuum model (PCM) and the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) levels, we investigated the excited-state structures, optical spectra, band structure and the carrier mobility for FlAnt and 2 A from solution to aggregate phases. We suggest using the ratio of intermolecular excitonic coupling J and intramolecular excited state relaxation energy E to judge the bathochromic shift in optical emission in aggregates. For FlAnt , ρ=J/E is calculated to be less than 0.17, a critical value we identified earlier, and the spectra in solution and aggregate phases present quite similar features (blue emission). However, ρ is ∼0.5 for 2 A systems, and the calculated emission in the aggregate phase exhibits a remarkable bathochromic shift. In addition, the 0–0 emission is strongly suppressed in the herringbone stacking. These observations justify the experimental findings that (i) 2 A is blue emissive in solution but yellow-green in the aggregate phase, whereas FlAnt is always blue, and (ii) the blend of them show white emission. By using the “quantum nuclear tunneling” model we proposed earlier, we found the hole mobility for FlAnt and 2 A are 0.5 and 4.2 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively, indicating both are good hole transport materials.     

The antidepressant effect of 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 2-naphthoate through monoaminergic,GABAergic system and BDNF signaling pathway

Abstract

Gastrodigenin, also known as 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol (HBA), is one of the main components of Gastrodia elata, which is a perfect lead compound of natural products. In order to get new active compounds, we modified the structure of HBA through esterification with carboxylic acid, and got a series of derivatives in which 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 2-naphthoate (NHBA) showed stronger antidepressant activity than HBA. In this paper, we firstly evaluated the antidepressant activity of NHBA by tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST). Then, we carried out the biochemical assay and western blot to determine its mechanism. The results displayed that NHBA could increase the content of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, γ-aminobutyric acid, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) in mice brain. It suggested that NHBA exhibited an antidepressant-like effect through monoaminergic system, GABAergic system and BDNF/TrkB signaling pathways.     

Extended Dirac oscillator in (2 + 1)-dimensional space-time

We consider a soluble covariant extension of the two-dimensional Dirac oscillator (2D DO), which breaks the infinite degeneracy of the energy spectrum. The energy eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenstates of the system are obtained algebraically using chiral creation and annihilation operators. The effect of the coupling to an external constant transverse magnetic field is investigated. The connection with Jaynes-Cummings (JC) and Anti-Jaynes-Cummings (AJC) models of quantum optics, and other features of the system are also discussed.     

超空泡射弹水下侵彻靶板三相耦合数值模拟

超空泡射弹侵彻问题的实质是特殊水下结构受到高速冲击载荷作用下的动态响应。对12.7 mm口径超空泡射弹侵彻典型水下目标壳体的毁伤效果开展研究,基于LS-DYNA有限元分析软件建立水环境中超空泡射弹垂直侵彻曲面靶板的等效模型,探讨射弹侵彻过程中动能侵彻和气泡溃灭对靶板联合毁伤效果,获得了靶板在各阶段的应力变化和结构变形规律。结果表明:侵彻靶板前,射弹着靶速度为200 m/s时的头部表面水介质压力峰值达768 N,靶板表面有明显下凹变形;侵彻靶板时,伴随着射弹动能侵彻和气泡溃灭冲击,水介质造成的影响不足动能侵彻的2%;侵彻靶板后,在靶板正面形成峰值速度为42 m/s的水射流进一步作用于破口;靶板整体弯曲变形,在200~300 m/s范围内,随着射弹着靶速度的增加,靶板弯曲形变量减小;靶板局部发生延性穿孔,射弹在水环境中具有更好的破口效果,射弹速度变化对破口尺寸影响不大。     

传输线方程的高精度龙格−库塔数值求解方法

提出了一种求解传输线方程的高精度龙格-库塔(RK)方法。此方法在空间上采取高阶泰勒展开,提高了对空间微分的近似精度,减少了数值色散所带来的误差。与传统的时域有限差分法(FDTD)方法相比,在每波长采样数相同时,RK方法的计算精度更高。同时,根据Taylor模型,对外界平面波激励源进行离散,成功利用RK方法对外部场激励传输线进行求解,扩大了龙格-库塔方法在求解传输线方程时的应用范围。通过编程对平面波辐照下无限大地平面上的单导体与双导体的算例分别应用FDTD方法与RK方法进行了计算,验证了RK方法的正确性。结果表明同等计算条件下RK方法的计算精度更高。     

考虑制动力影响的大型客车舒适性分析

利用有限元法和动力平衡原理,建立了具有层间接触的沥青路面和13个自由度的大型客车人体三维模型。以不平顺作为激励,随机模拟车流分布,在不同制动情况下,从时域和频域两方面分析人-车-路耦合振动下车辆和人体的动力响应。时域分析采用客观评价标准和主观烦恼率相结合的方法,频域分析考虑人体共振、人的心理和生理因素。结果表明:随着制动力增大,人体的竖向加速度幅值不变,俯仰、侧倾加速度幅值都增大,但是俯仰加速度增幅远大于侧倾加速度的情况,人的舒适性变差,烦恼率增高;在紧急制动时,主频段对人体共振、心理和生理产生的影响很小,但是次主频段与人体某些器官固有频段重合,对人体共振、心理和生理产生的影响是不容忽视的。