Synthesis of 1-O-R-5-deoxy-β-D-ribofuranosides with (CH3)2As and (CH3)2AsO as substituents at the 5-position and a methyl or 2′,3′-dihydroxypropyl group as the aglycone in the 1-position

Six arsenic-containing β-D -ribofuranosides, including the naturally occurring (2′R)-dimethyl[1-O-(2′,3′-dihydroxypropyl)-5-deoxy-β-D -ribofuranos-5-yl]arsine oxide, were prepared in multi-step reactions from D -ribose and tetramethyldiarsine. The synthetic procedure uses the early substitution of the hydroxy group with bromine at C5, subsequent attachment of a chiral three-carbon aglycone at C1, and final delivery of arsenic at C5. The synthesis provides a viable route for the preparation of multigram quantities of the natural product.     

Studies on pyrrolidones. Reactivity of β-enaminoesters derived from pyroglutamic acid. Synthesis of methyl cyano[l-methyl-5-(5-methyl[1,3,4]oxadiazol-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-ylidene]acetate

The 5-methoxycarbonyl group of β-enaminoesters derived from methyl pyroglutamate was transformed into acids, amides and 1,3,4-oxadiazole.     

Enantioselective crossed intramolecular [2+2] photocycloaddition reactions mediated by a chiral chelating Lewis acid

In intramolecular [2+2] photocycloaddition reactions, the two tethered olefins can approach each other in a straight or in a crossed fashion. Despite the fact that the latter reaction mode leads to intriguing, otherwise inaccessible bridged skeletons, there has so far not been any enantioselective variants thereof. This study concerned the crossed [2+2]-photocycloaddition of 2-(alkenyloxy)cyclohex-2-enones to bridged cyclobutanes. It was found that the reaction could be performed with high enantioselectivity (80–94% ee) under visible light conditions when employing a chiral rhodium Lewis acid as a catalyst (2 mol%).

An enantioselective crossed [2+2] photocycloaddition is presented which proceeds under visible light irradiation in the presence of a chiral Lewis acidic metal complex. Chelation of two oxygen atoms to the metal centre accounts for the observed enantioface differentiation.     

Interface Shape Studies for Fluoride- and Silicon Rods Grown by the E.F.G. Method

The influence of the die geometry and of the thermal conductivity of materials on the solid-liquid interface shape in Edge-defined Film-fed Growth has been studied.     

Optimization of the Physical,Optical and Mechanical Properties of Composite Edible Films of Gelatin,Whey Protein and Chitosan

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the concentration of gelatin (G) (3–6 g), whey protein (W) (2.5–7.5 g) and chitosan (C) (0.5–2.5 g) on the physical, optical and mechanical properties of composite edible films (CEFs) using the response surface methodology (RSM), as well as optimizing the formulation for the packaging of foods. The results of the study were evaluated via first- and second-order multiple regression analysis to obtain the determination coefficient values with a good fit (R ˃ 0.90) for each of the response variables, except for the values of solubility and b*. The individual linear effect of the independent variables (the concentrations of gelatin, whey protein and chitosan) significantly affected (p ≤ 0.05) the water vapor permeability (WVP), strength and solubility of the edible films. The WVP of the edible films varied from 0.90 to 1.62 × 10⁻¹¹ g.m/Pa.s.m², the resistance to traction varied from 0.47 MPa to 3.03 MPa and the solubility varied from 51.06% to 87%. The optimized values indicated that the CEF prepared with a quantity of 4 g, 5 g and 3 g of gelatin, whey protein and chitosan, respectively, provided the CEF with a smooth, continuous and transparent surface, with L values that resulted in a light-yellow hue, a lower WVP, a maximum strength (resistance to traction) and a lower solubility. The results revealed that the optimized formulation of the CEF of G–W–C allowed a good validation of the prediction model and could be applied, in an effective manner, to the food packaging industry, which could help in mitigating the environmental issues associated with synthetic packaging materials.     

Auger electron emission in proton-induced interactions in living matter: A TILDA-V Monte Carlo tracking

The present work focuses on studying the contribution of the Auger electron emission in proton-induced interactions in biological matter. The Monte Carlo track-structure code, TILDA-V, was then used for modeling the protons beams of 10 keV to 100 MeV in biological matter, namely, water vapor and hydrated DNA. The main ionizing processes are described by means of an extensive set of ab initio differential and total cross sections computed within a quantum-mechanical CDW-EIS approximation.     

The Roper resonance in a finite volume

We calculate the energy levels corresponding to the Roper resonance based on a two-flavor chiral effective Lagrangian for pions, nucleons, deltas, and the Roper resonance at the leading one-loop order. We show that the Roper mass can be extracted from these levels for lattice volumes of moderate size.     

Spin Dynamics and Dirac Nodes in a Kagome Lattice

Herein, the spin dynamics for various magnetic configurations arranged on a Kagome lattice is investigated. Using a Holstein–Primakoff expansion of the isotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian with multiple exchange parameters, the development and evolution of magnetic Dirac nodes with both anisotropy and magnetic field are examined. From the classical energies, the phase diagrams for the ferromagnetic (FM), antiferrimagnetic (AfM), and the 120°  phases are shown as functions of J₁, J₂, J₃, and anisotropy. Furthermore, the production of bosonic Dirac and Weyl nodes in the spin-wave spectra is shown. Through frustration of the magnetic geometry, a connection to the asymmetric properties of the Kagome lattice and the various antiferromagnetic configurations is discerned. Most interesting is the 120°  phase, which does not have Dirac nodes when considering only J₁ due to the formation of an analogous antiferromagnetic honeycomb lattice, but gains Dirac symmetry with next-nearest neighbor interactions. Additionally, the presence of flat modes that are characteristic of cluster excitations is shown. Further study of external frustrations from a magnetic field and anisotropy reveals a tunability of the exchange interactions and nodal points.