Determination of benomyl residues in shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) by liquid chromatography with UV detection

A method is optimized to determine benomyl (as carbendazim derivative) in shiitake mushrooms. It is based on the extraction of the fungicide with an ethyl acetate-hexane mixture and a further analysis of the extract by high-performance liquid chromatography-UV. Mean recoveries are evaluated and range from 76% to 86% with relative standard deviation between 1.1% and 5.8%. The limit of quantitation (0.5 mg/Kg) is lower than the maximum residue level established by European legislation. The method is successfully applied to the analysis of shiitake mushrooms cultivated on eucalyptus logs treated with Benlate 500 (benomyl as active ingredient) under natural environmental conditions.     

gem-Dichlorocyclopropanation of Dicarbonyl Derivatives

A novel methodology for the 1,1-dichlorocyclopropanation of dicarbonyl conjugated olefins was described. The developed protocol is simple and uses readily accessible starting materials, allowing the isolation of the desired adducts in moderate to excellent yields (up to 99 %). Furthermore, the reaction tolerated scale up to the gram scale; thus highlighting the synthetic potential of this transformation. Control experiments and DFT studies revealed that the reaction proceeded through a Michael-initiated ring-closure process, in which reaction temperature played a crucial role. Finally, these gem-dichlorocyclopropanes were also employed in the preparation of a trisubstituted naphthyl derivative and a diastereoselective reduction was also demonstrated.     

The microwave heating of two-dimensional slabs with small Arrhenius absorptivity

The microwave heating of two-dimensional slabs in a long rectangularwaveguide propagating the TE₁₀ mode is examined. The temperaturedependency of the electrical conductivity and the thermal absorptivityis assumed to be governed by the Arrhenius law, while both theelectrical permittivity and the magnetic permeability are assumedconstant. The governing equations are the forced heat equationand the steady-state version of Maxwell's equation while theboundary conditions take into account both convective and radiativeheat loss. Approximate analytical solutions, valid for smallthermal absorptivity, are found for the temperature and theelectric-field amplitude using the Galerkin method. As the Arrheniuslaw is not amenable analytically, it is approximated by a rational-cubicfunction. At the steady state the temperature versus power relationshipis found to be multivalued; at the critical power level thermalrunaway occurs when the temperature jumps from the lower (cool)temperature branch to the upper (hot) temperature branch ofthe solution. In the steady-state limit the approximate analyticalsolutions are compared with the numerical solutions of the governingequations for various special cases. These are the limits ofsmall and large heat loss and an intermediate case involvingradiative heat loss. Results are also presented for a case wheredifferential cooling occurs on the different sides on the slab.An alternative heating scenario, where one end of the waveguideis blocked by a short, is also considered. The approximate solutionsare found for this geometry and compared in the small Biot-numberlimit to Kriegsmann (1997). Also, a control process is presented,which allows thermal runaway to be avoided and the desired finalsteady state to be reached. Various special cases of the feedbackparameters associated with the control process are examined.     

Bi-directional modulation of AMPA receptor unitary conductance by synaptic activity

Background  

Knowledge of how synapses alter their efficiency of communication is central to the understanding of learning and memory. The most extensively studied forms of synaptic plasticity are long-term potentiation (LTP) and its counterpart long-term depression (LTD) of AMPA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission. In the CA1 region of the hippocampus, it has been shown that LTP often involves a rapid increase in the unitary conductance of AMPA receptor channels. However, LTP can also occur in the absence of any alteration in AMPA receptor unitary conductance. In the present study we have used whole-cell dendritic recording, failures analysis and non-stationary fluctuation analysis to investigate the mechanism of depotentiation of LTP.     

Protein extraction for proteome analysis from cacao leaves and meristems, organs infected by Moniliophthora perniciosa, the causal agent of the witches' broom disease

Preparation of high-quality proteins from cacao vegetative organs is difficult due to very high endogenous levels of polysaccharides and polyphenols. In order to establish a routine procedure for the application of proteomic and biochemical analysis to cacao tissues, three new protocols were developed; one for apoplastic washing fluid (AWF) extraction, and two for protein extraction--under denaturing and nondenaturing conditions. The first described method allows a quick and easy collection of AWF--using infiltration-centrifugation procedure--that is representative of its composition in intact leaves according to the smaller symplastic contamination detected by the use of the hexose phosphate isomerase marker. Protein extraction under denaturing conditions for 2-DE was remarkably improved by the combination of chemically and physically modified processes including phenol, SDS dense buffer and sonication steps. With this protocol, high-quality proteins from cacao leaves and meristems were isolated, and for the first time well-resolved 1-DE and 2-DE protein patterns of cacao vegetative organs are shown. It also appears that sonication associated with polysaccharide precipitation using tert-butanol was a crucial step for the nondenaturing protein extraction and subsequent enzymatic activity detection. It is expected that the protocols described here could help to develop high-level proteomic and biochemical studies in cacao also being applicable to other recalcitrant plant tissues.     

Mechanism and synthesis of pharmacologically active quinolones from Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts

The synthesis of quinolones from Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) adducts is reported. The quinolone skeleton is formed via a TFA-mediated cyclization of the MBH adduct, and a mechanism study using ESI(+)-MS(/MS) has indicated the role played by TFA in this key reaction step. The total syntheses of Norfloxacin and a benzyl quinolone carboxylic acid (BQCA) derivative are described. Norfloxacin is a fluoroquinolonic antibacterial drug whereas BQCA is M₁ receptor positive allosteric modulator and seem to provide access to new potential drugs for Alzheimer disease, pain, and sleep disorders. The syntheses of these two important quinolones exemplify the versatility and potentiality of the approach.     

Azlactone Reaction Developments

Azlactones (also known as oxazolones) are heterocycles usually employed in the stereoselective synthesis of α,α‐amino acids, heterocycles and natural products. The versatility of the azlactone scaffold arises from the numerous reactive sites, allowing its application in a diversity of transformations. This review aims to cover classical and recent applications of oxazolones, especially those involving stereoselective processes. After a short introduction on their structures and intrinsic reactivities, dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) processes as well as reactions involving stereoselective formation of a new σ C?C bond, such as alkylation/allylation/arylation, aldol, ene, Michael and Mannich reactions will be exposed. Additionally, cycloadditions, Steglich rearrangement and sulfenylation reactions will also be discussed. Recent developments of the well‐known Erlenmeyer azlactones will be described. For the most examples, the proposed mechanism, activation modes and/or key reaction intermediates will be exposed to rationalize both the final product and the observed stereochemistry. Finally, this review gives an overview of the synthetic utility of oxazolones.     

Extremely low temperature behaviour of the thermodynamic properties of gaseous UF6 under an exact quantum approach

The thermodynamic functions of molecules of type XF₆ are calculated under an exact quantummechanical approach, which also yields general expressions valid for other types of molecules. The formalism is used to analyze the behaviour of gaseous UF₆ at very low temperatures (around and below 1°K), where symmetry effects caused by the Pauli principle lead to results which are very markedly different from those obtained from a semi-classical approximation. It is shown that this approximation becomes sufficiently accurate only for temperatures about ten times the rotational temperature.     

Production of an antiproliferative furanoheliangolide by Lychnophora ericoides cell culture

This work reports for the first time the production a furanoheliangolide (goyazensolide) by plant cell culture. Monitoring of the goyazensolide metabolism revealed that the maximum production occurred during the lag phase of the Lychnophora ericoides callus culture. The antiproliferative activity of obtained goyazensolide was evaluated against seven cancer cell lines using MTT assay. The results revealed a potent cytotoxic activity for the furaheliangolide with IC50 values in the range of 0.06 microg/ml for CEM leukemia cells to 0.75 microg/ml for B16 melanome cells.     

Acyloins from Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts: an alternative approach to the racemic total synthesis of bupropion

In this Letter, we describe an easy and straightforward strategy for the preparation of acyloins (α-hydroxyketones) from Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts, based on a Curtius rearrangement. Different acyloins were obtained with good overall yield (>40% for three steps). To exemplify the synthetic usefulness of this strategy, total synthesis of (±)-bupropion, a dopamine, and nor-epinefrine reuptake inhibitor has been accomplished in eight steps with an overall yield of 25%.