Investigation on the chemistry of berbans—VII: Synthesis of 10,11-dimethoxy(depyrrolo)raunescine stereoisomers

Acyloxy-ketone rearrangement, proceeding by the action of base, has been observed in the case of ketone 2. By the reduction of ketones 2 and 3 with sodium boron hydride, new 10, 11-dimethoxy(depyrrolo)raunescine stereoisomers (5a–7a) have been prepared. Previously known alcohols with alloberban skeleton (12,13) have been similarly converted into tetracyclic raunescine stereoisomers (8a,9) by the oxido-reductive method. The stereochemistry of these compounds has been investigated by physical (¹H NMR, IR) and by chemical methods.     

Assignment of Saharan dust sources to episodes in Hungarian atmosphere by PIXE and TOMS observations

Summary Thirty-seven episodes of dust intrusion were observed between February 12, 1991 and August 31, 2000 in the Hungarian atmosphere and found to be of Saharan origin. They have been assigned to typical source areas in Northern Africa selected by systematic investigations related to the Mediterranean Basin. Elemental concentrations and regional signatures deduced from PIXE analysis, total suspended particle mass, and black carbon mass have been measured on dust samples collected in Debrecen, Hungary. These data combined with Aerosol Index data, and dust plume axes obtained from TOMS data from NASA satellites were used for assigning the most probable source areas of the dust transported to the sampling site. Our data and conclusions are in accordance with other published investigations on the predominant role of Saharan dust emission in building up the aerosol load of the global atmosphere.     

Experimental and quantum chemical studies of structure and reaction mechanisms of dioxouranium(VI) complexes in solution

This perspective article describes the combination of experimental data and quantum chemical methods for the determination of structure and reaction mechanisms of uranyl(vi) complexes in aqueous solution. The first part assesses the accuracy of the chemical and thermodynamic properties of solvated uranyl(vi) complexes as obtained by various quantum chemical methods. The second part discusses structure determination, mechanisms for ligand exchange and the lability of coordinated water molecules for various uranyl(vi) complexes using a combination of NMR and quantum chemical data.     

Colorimetric determination of the fluoride ion based on interference with extractability

Summary The sensitivity of colorimetric determinations based on reduction of extinction by complex-forming anions can be increased by measuring the change of absorbancy in the organic phase after shaking with a suitable solvent, i. e. by determining the interference of the anion with extractability. This principle has been applied to the determination of the fluoride ion.

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Zusammenfassung Die Empfindlichkeit kolorimetrischer Bestimmungen, die auf Herabsetzung der Extinktion durch komplexbildende Anionen beruhen, kann durch Messung der Absorptionsänderung in der organischen Phase nach Schütteln mit einem geeigneten Lösungsmittel, das heißt durch Bestimmung der durch das Anion verminderten Extrahierbarkeit, erhöht werden. Dieses Prinzip wurde auf die Bestimmung von Fluoridion angewendet.

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Résumé La sensibilité des déterminations colorimétriques basée sur l'effet de diminution d'extinction dû à des anions donnant lieu à la formation de complexes peut être accrue par la variation de l'absorption dans la phase organique après agitation avec un solvant approprié, ce qui revient à déterminer l'effet d'empêchement d'extraction dû à l'anion. Ce principe a été appliqué au dosage de l'ion fluorure.

     

Application of complex reaction kinetic models in thermal analysis

The complexity of the phenomena which arise during the heating of the various substances seldom can be described by a single reaction kinetic equation. As a consequence, sophisticated models with several unknown parameters have to be developed. The determination of the unknown parameters and the validation of the models requires the simultaneous evaluation of whole series of experiments. We can accept a model and its parameters if, and only if we get a reasonable fit to several experiments carried out at different experimental conditions. In the field of the thermal analysis the method of least squares alone seldom can select abest model or abest set of parameter values. Nevertheless, the careful evaluation of the experiments may help in the discerning between various chemical or physical assumptions by the quality of the corresponding fit between the experimental and the simulated date. The problem is illustrated by the thermal de-composition of cellulose under various experimental conditions.This research program was funded by the National Science Foundation (grant INT 8914934), the US Hungarian Science and Technology Joint Fund (grants 90b-22 and 93b-375), the Hungarian National Research Fund (OTKA, grant 3077/91) and the Coral Industries Endowment.     

Time-resolved chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization studies of structure and reactivity of methionine radical cations in aqueous solution as a function of pH

Using time-resolved chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (CIDNP) techniques, we have studied the mechanism of the photoreactions of triplet excited 4-carboxybenzophenone (CBP) with l-methionine (Met) and 3-(methylthio)propylamine (MTPA) in aqueous solution and the details of the formation of CIDNP at pH from 6.7 to 13.6. At a pH below the pKa of the nitrogen atom of Met, the CIDNP is strongly affected by degenerate electron exchange between the S-S cationic radical dimer and the zwitterionic form of Met with the rate constant kex = 3.4 x 10(8) s(-1) providing an exhaustive explanation of the pH dependence of steady-state CIDNP that was previously interpreted as a manifestation of fast interconversion among three different methionine radical species (Goez, M.; Rozwadowski, J. J. Phys. Chem. A 1998, 102, 7945-7953). By analyzing the polarization of different protons formed in geminate recombination as a function of the pH, we obtained the branching ratio between two reaction pathways for oxidative quenching of (T)CBP via electron transfer from the sulfur and nitrogen atoms of Met and MTPA. Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation times were determined in the dimeric cation radical of Met (T1,S = 8.5 micros). In the cyclic radical cation of MTPA with a three-electron two-center S-N bond, the estimated paramagnetic relaxation is comparatively slow for all protons. Fast deprotonation of the primary aminium radical cation of MTPA and Met in strongly basic solution takes place on the submicrosecond time scale leading to efficient formation of CIDNP in the neutral aminyl radical.     

Local completeness I

An infinite algebra is locally complete if its local closure is the set of all finitary operations. We give a local completeness criterion in terms of a system R of finitary relations on A such that the polymorph Pol of each R is locally incomplete and for every locally incomplete algebra A; F we have F Pol for some R. This system consists of (i) certain natural relations whose polymorphs are best possible in the sense that they are co-atoms in the lattice of locally closed incomplete algebras, (ii) five types of binary relations, (iii) one type of ternary relations and (iv) at least ternary totally reflexive and symmetric relations that are not locally central.Presented by K. A. Baker.     

Synthetic studies related to diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) pigments. Part 2: The use of esters in place of nitriles in standard DPP syntheses: Claisen-type acylations and furopyrrole intermediates

Ethyl 2-aryl-4,5-dihydro-5-oxopyrrole-3-carboxylates react with esters or acyl halides in the presence of a strong base to give 4-acyl derivatives, which exist predominantly as either E- or Z-enols. These are cyclised, either in solution at temperatures >200 °C or by microwave irradiation, to 3,6-disubstituted 1H-furo[3,4-c]pyrrolediones which, after N-protection, are convertible by reaction with primary amines into novel N,N′-disubstituted DPP derivatives.     

Virus Particles Monitored by Fluorescence Spectroscopy: A Potential Detection Assay for Macromolecular Assembly¶

Native fluorescence spectroscopy was used for in situ investigations of two lipid‐containing bacteriophages from the cystovirus family as well as their Pseudomonad host cells. Both the viruses φ6 and φ12 and their bacterial host proteins contain the amino acid tryptophan (trp), which is the predominant fluorophore in UV. Within proteins, trp's structural environment differs, and the differences are reflected in their spectroscopic signatures. It was observed that the peak of the trp emission from both viruses was at 330 nm, a significantly shorter wavelength than trp in either the Pseudomonad host cells or the amino acid's chemical form. This allowed us to monitor the viral attachment process and subsequent lytic release of progeny virus particles by measurement of the trp emission spectra during the infection process. This work demonstrates that fluorescence may offer a novel tool to detect viruses and monitor viral infection of cells and may be part of a biodefense application.