Protic Anions [H(B12X12)]− (X=F,Cl, Br,I) That Act as Brønsted Acids in the Gas Phase

The acidity of protic cations and neutral molecules has been studied extensively in the gas phase, and the gas‐phase acidity has been established previously as a very useful measure of the intrinsic acidity of neutral and cationic compounds. However, no data for any anionic acids were available prior to this study. The protic anions [H(B₁₂X₁₂)]^? (X=F, Cl, Br, I) are expected to be the most acidic anions known to date. Therefore, they were investigated in this study with respect to their ability to protonate neutral molecules in the gas phase by using a combination of mass spectrometry and quantum‐chemical calculations. For the first time it was shown that in the gas phase protic anions are also able to protonate neutral molecules and thus act as Brønsted acids. According to theoretical calculations, [H(B₁₂I₁₂)]^? is the most acidic gas‐phase anion, whereas in actual protonation experiments [H(B₁₂Cl₁₂)]^? is the most potent gas‐phase acidic anion for the protonation of neutral molecules. This discrepancy is explained by ion pairing and kinetic effects.     

Self-Assembly Behavior and Application of Terphenyl-Cored Trimaltosides for Membrane-Protein Studies: Impact of Detergent Hydrophobic Group Geometry on Protein Stability

Amphipathic agents are widely used in various fields including biomedical sciences. Micelle-forming detergents are particularly useful for in vitro membrane-protein characterization. As many conventional detergents are limited in their ability to stabilize membrane proteins, it is necessary to develop novel detergents to facilitate membrane-protein research. In the current study, we developed novel trimaltoside detergents with an alkyl pendant-bearing terphenyl unit as a hydrophobic group, designated terphenyl-cored maltosides (TPMs). We found that the geometry of the detergent hydrophobic group substantially impacts detergent self-assembly behavior, as well as detergent efficacy for membrane-protein stabilization. TPM-Vs, with a bent terphenyl group, were superior to the linear counterparts (TPM-Ls) at stabilizing multiple membrane proteins. The favorable protein stabilization efficacy of these bent TPMs is likely associated with a binding mode with membrane proteins distinct from conventional detergents and facial amphiphiles. When compared to n-dodecyl-β-d -maltoside (DDM), most TPMs were superior or comparable to this gold standard detergent at stabilizing membrane proteins. Notably, TPM-L3 was particularly effective at stabilizing the human β₂ adrenergic receptor (β₂AR), a G-protein coupled receptor, and its complex with G_s protein. Thus, the current study not only provides novel detergent tools that are useful for membrane-protein study, but also suggests a critical role for detergent hydrophobic group geometry in governing detergent efficacy.     

Modular Synthetic Approach to Carboranyl‒Biomolecules Conjugates

The development of novel, tumor-selective and boron-rich compounds as potential agents for use in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) represents a very important field in cancer treatment by radiation therapy. Here, we report the design and synthesis of two promising compounds that combine meta-carborane, a water-soluble monosaccharide and a linking unit, namely glycine or ethylenediamine, for facile coupling with various tumor-selective biomolecules bearing a free amino or carboxylic acid group. In this work, coupling experiments with two selected biomolecules, a coumarin derivative and folic acid, were included. The task of every component in this approach was carefully chosen: the carborane moiety supplies ten boron atoms, which is a tenfold increase in boron content compared to the l-boronophenylalanine (l-BPA) presently used in BNCT; the sugar moiety compensates for the hydrophobic character of the carborane; the linking unit, depending on the chosen biomolecule, acts as the connection between the tumor-selective component and the boron-rich moiety; and the respective tumor-selective biomolecule provides the necessary selectivity. This approach makes it possible to develop a modular and feasible strategy for the synthesis of readily obtainable boron-rich agents with optimized properties for potential applications in BNCT.     

Inner mantles and iterated HOD

We present a class forcing notion $\mathbb{M}(\eta )$, uniformly definable for ordinals η, which forces the ground model to be the ηth inner mantle of the extension, in which the sequence of inner mantles has length at least η. This answers a conjecture of Fuchs, Hamkins, and Reitz [1] in the positive. We also show that $\mathbb{M}(\eta )$ forces the ground model to be the ηth iterated $\mathbf{HOD}$ of the extension, where the sequence of iterated $\mathbf{HOD}$s has length at least η. We conclude by showing that the lengths of the sequences of inner mantles and of iterated $\mathbf{HOD}$s can be separated to be any two ordinals you please.     

On the rate of convergence in the global central limit theorem for random sums of uniformly strong mixing random variables

Lithuanian Mathematical Journal - We present upper bounds of the integral $$ {\int}_{-\infty}^{\infty }{\left|x\right|}^l\left|\mathrm{P}\left\{{Z}_N0\left({S}_N{X}_1+\dots +{X}_N\right) $$ of...     

A Non-normal-mode Marginal State of Convection in a Porous Box with Insulating End-Walls

Transport in Porous Media - The 4th order Darcy–Bénard eigenvalue problem for the onset of thermal convection in a 3D rectangular porous box is investigated. We start from a recent 2D...