Two novel long-chain alkanoic acid esters of lupeol from alecrim-propolis

Two new long-chain alkanoic acid esters of lupeol were isolated together with known triterpenoids, alpha-amyrin, beta-amyrin, cycloartenol, lanosta-7,24-diene-3beta-ol and lupeol from Alecrim-propolis collected in Brazil. The structures were characterized by spectroscopic means.     

Studies on bubble dynamics

In order to clarify the behavior of bubbles which is closely related to cavitation phenomena, the research of the dynamics of bubbles has been intensively conducted and established the research field of bubble dynamics. In this review paper it is intended to describe briefly studies on bubble dynamics including the history in conjunction with the shock wave dynamics. Received 17 June 1996 / Accepted 15 August 1996     

New prenylated C₆-C₃ compounds from the twigs of Illicium anisatum

Two new prenylated C?-C? compounds, cycloillicinone (1) and 4-allyl-2-methoxy-6-(2-methylbut-3-en-2-yl)phenol (2), were isolated from the twigs of Illicium anisatum, and their structures were determined by 2D-NMR methods. Cycloillicinone (1) is a unique prenylated C?-C? that is appended with an additional geranyl unit. Compound 2 was found to show moderate neurite-outgrowth promoting activity in primary cultured rat cortical neurons at a concentration of 10 μM.     

BINOL Aza Macrocycle Derivatives: Synthesis of Dinaphthosulfone Aza Macrocycles Using p-Toluenesulfonic Acid (p-TsOH) in Methanol as an Efficient Route and Evaluation of Their 1H NMR Spectra

Dinaphthosulfone aza macrocycles were synthesized from the reaction of diamines and dinaphthosulfone diester (1,1′-sulfoxobis-(2-naphthoxy(2-methyl acetate))) in methanol in the presence of catalytic amounts of para toluenesulfonic acid (p-TsOH). Dinaphthosulfone diester (1,1′-sulfoxobis-(2-naphthoxy(2-methyl acetate))) was synthesized from the corresponding dinaphthosulfide diester and hydrogen peroxide in formic acid at room temperature. Dinaphthosulfide diester was prepared from initial dinaphtholsulfide diol (1,1′-thio bis(2-hydroxy naphthalene)) and methylchloroacetate. ¹H NMR spectroscopy showed the unusual splittings for these dinaphthosulfone aza macrocycles, and this finding could be proposed as the role of tetrahedral structure of sulfone functional group, hydrogen bonding in the cavity and size of macrocycle.     

Synthesis and preparation of nanoparticles composed of amphiphilic poly(γ-glutamic acid) with different hydrophobic side chains and their potential of membrane disruptive activity

In the development of nanoparticle-based vaccine adjuvants, the interaction between nanoparticles (NPs) and the cells is a key factor. To control them, we focused on the relationship between the hydrophobicity of the side chains and the cell membrane. In this study, amphiphilic poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA), using various types of hydrophobic side chains, was synthesized and used to prepare NPs for evaluating the membrane disruptive activity. When leucine ethyl ester (Leu), methionine ethyl ester (Met), or tryptophan ethyl ester (Trp) was grafted, each polymer formed monodispersed NPs at physiological conditions. Significantly, NPs composed of Leu and Trp showed a membrane disruptive activity at the endosomal environment (pH 5–6.5), while NPs composed of Met did not show. This might be due to the weak hydrophobicity of Met compared to that of Leu and Trp, which demonstrated that the interaction between NPs and cells could be controlled by designing the polymer compositions.     

A third type of hydrogenase catalyzing H2 activation

The activation of molecular hydrogen is of interest both from a chemical and biological viewpoint. The covalent bond of H(2) is strong (436 kJ mol(-1)). Its cleavage is catalyzed by metals or metal complexes in chemical hydrogenation reactions and by metalloenzymes named hydrogenases in microorganisms. Until recently only two types of hydrogenases are known, the [FeFe[-hydrogenases and [NiFe[-hydrogenases. Both types, which are phylogenetically unrelated, harbor in their active site a dinuclear metal center with intrinsic CO and cyanide ligands and contain iron-sulfur clusters for electron transport as revealed by their crystal structures. Fifteen years ago a third type of phylogenetically unrelated hydrogenase was discovered, which has a mononuclear iron active site and is devoid of iron-sulfur clusters. It was initially referred to as "metal free" hydrogenase, but was later renamed iron-sulfur cluster-free hydrogenase or [Fe[-hydrogenase. In this review, we introduce first the [FeFe[-hydrogenases and [NiFe[-hydrogenases, and then focus on the structure and function of the iron-sulfur cluster-free hydrogenase (Hmd) and show that this enzyme contains an iron-containing cofactor. The low-spin iron is complexed by two intrinsic CO-, one sulfur- and one or two N/O ligands and has one open coordination site, which is proposed to be the location of H(2) binding.     

Rotopulsators of the curved N-body problem

We consider the N-body problem in spaces of constant curvature and study its rotopulsators, i.e. solutions for which the configuration of the bodies rotates and changes size during the motion. Rotopulsators fall naturally into five groups: positive elliptic, positive elliptic–elliptic, negative elliptic, negative hyperbolic, and negative elliptic–hyperbolic, depending on the nature and number of their rotations and on whether they occur in spaces of positive or negative curvature. After obtaining existence criteria for each type of rotopulsator, we derive their conservation laws. We further deal with the existence and uniqueness of some classes of rotopulsators in the 2- and 3-body case and prove two general results about the qualitative behaviour of rotopulsators. More precisely, for positive curvature we show that there is no foliation of the 3-sphere with Clifford tori such that the motion of each body is confined to some Clifford torus. For negative curvature, a similar result is proved relative to foliations of the hyperbolic 3-sphere with hyperbolic cylinders.     

Growth and magnetic behavior of bismuth substituted yttrium iron garnet nanoparticles

Crystal growth and the magnetic properties of bismuth substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi-YIG) nanoparticles were studied with particular focus on the bismuth composition dependence of the magnetic properties of the particles and the effects of annealing on the garnet phase formation. The Bi-YIG nanoparticles of 47–67 nm in size can be chemically synthesized when they are annealed at 650–850 °C. Both the lattice constant and the magnetization of the garnet nanoparticles linearly increase when the bismuth composition in the Bi-YIG particles increases. We have found that chemically synthesized nanoparticles transform from the amorphous to the garnet phase when annealed at temperatures below 650 °C, while the onset of magnetic moment of iron in the garnet nanoparticles is observed slightly above 650 °C. According to Mössbauer effect measurements, the hyperfine fields of ⁵⁷Fe at the tetrahedral and octahedral sites in the garnet are 39 and 48 T, respectively.