New oleanan-type triterpene and cincholic acid glycosides from Peruvian "Uña de Gato" (Uncaria tomentosa)

A new oleanan-type triterpene and three new cincholic acid glycosides were isolated from Peruvian "Una de Gato" (Cat's claw, plant of origin: Uncaria tomentosa), a traditional herbal medicine in Peru. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis.     

A new 9-methoxyyohimbine-type indole alkaloid from Mitragyna africanus

A new yohimbine-type indole alkaloid (1). was isolated from the stem bark of Mitragyna africanus (WILLD.) collected in Nigeria, along with known seven Corynanthe-type oxindole alkaloids, two secoiridoids, three lignans, and a quinovic acid derivative. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses.     

Sonochemically enhanced adsorption and degradation of methyl orange with activated aluminas

Removal of Methyl orange (MO), as a model contaminants, in aqueous solution by the simultaneous application of ultrasound with the addition of porous adsorbent powders is reported. Activated alumina powders in acidic form were used as an adsorbent. Results showed that MO could be degraded by ultrasonic irradiation at 130 kHz with the first order rate constant of 8x10(-4) and 5x10(-4) sec(-1), in acidic and basic conditions, respectively, without adsorbents. Adsorption rates of MO by activated alumina mainly depended on the acidity of alumina, the pH of solution and the stirring speed. At pH=4.2 with mechanical stirring without ultrasonic radiation, acidic activated alumina (0.1 g/100 ml) removed MO at about two times more rapidly than ultrasonic irradiation. In the case of simultaneous application of ultrasound irradiation and activated alumina, MO was almost removed from the solution within 10 min, which corresponded to as a rate constant of 5x10(-3) sec(-1). This kind of synergistic enhancement of removal rate with ultrasound and adsorbents should be practically useful for the elimination of contaminants in the water treatment processes. In addition, the effects of pH and coexisting chemicals in the solution were examined for the processes. Although the adsorption process was effective in some selected conditions, ultrasonic degradation was more robust in wider range of pH and coexisting chemicals. Simultaneous application of the two processes can perform complementary.     

Ten new Lycopodium alkaloids having the lycopodane skeleton isolated from Lycopodium serratum Thunb

Ten new alkaloids, lycoposerramines-F (1), -G (2), -H (3), -I (4), -J (5), -K (6), -L (7), -M (8), -N (9), and -O (10), having lycopodine-related structures, were isolated from the club moss Lycopodium serratum THUNB. and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and/or chemical transformation.     

Acyclic oligopyrroles as building blocks of supramolecular assemblies

The supramolecular chemistry of acyclic oligopyrrole derivatives mainly reported by the author’s group in the last four years has been summarized in this review. The author has demonstrated the “first step” to construct the new materials and concepts based on the new molecular systems consisting of pyrrole rings, which form the complexes, assemblies, and organized structures, by using noncovalent interactions such as metal coordination, hydrogen bonding, and π–π interaction. Acyclic π-conjugated oligopyrroles have exhibited not only host–guest binding behaviors in solutions but also the formation of, for example, (i) metal coordination polymers to give emissive colloidal spheres, (ii) solid-state assemblies of acyclic π-conjugated anion receptors and their anion complexes, (iii) anion-responsive supramolecular gels from the receptors with aliphatic chains, and (iv) solvent-assisted organized structures like vesicles derived from amphiphilic anion receptors.     

Synthetic study of biphenylquinolizidine alkaloids I. Asymmetric total synthesis of lasubine I featuring organocatalyzed asymmetric intramolecular aza-Michael addition

A new procedure for the asymmetric total synthesis of lythraceous alkaloids with a 4-arylquinolizidine skeleton was developed, which involved an organocatalyzed asymmetric intramolecular aza-Michael addition.     

Formation of Metal‐Assisted Stable Double Helices in Dimers of Cyclic Bis‐Tetrapyrroles that Exhibit Spring‐Like Motion

Bidipyrrin‐bridged macrocycles, prepared from Ni^II‐bridged dipyrrin‐based nanorings by intramolecular oxidative biaryl coupling reactions, yielded [2+4]‐type Zn^II‐assisted stable twisted‐ring dimers comprising two double helices. These [2+4]‐type metal complexes can be optically resolved by chiral HPLC and exhibit tunable electronic and optical properties as a result of spring‐like motions. The double helices behave as glue to connect two macrocycles and as the screws of hinges to form thermally responsive synchronized spring systems.     

Comparison of reactivity on step and terrace sites of Pd (3 3 2) surface for the dissociative adsorption of hydrogen: A quantum chemical molecular dynamics study

The notion of “active sites” is fundamental to heterogeneous catalysis. However, the exact nature of the active sites, and hence the mechanism by which they act, are still largely a matter of speculation. In this study, we have presented a systematic quantum chemical molecular dynamics (QCMD) calculations for the interaction of hydrogen on different step and terrace sites of the Pd (3 3 2) surface. Finally the dissociative adsorption of hydrogen on step and terrace as well as the influence of surface hydrogen vacancy for the dissociative adsorption of hydrogen has been investigated through QCMD. This is a state-of-the-art method for calculating the interaction of atoms and molecules with metal surfaces. It is found that fully hydrogen covered (saturated) step sites can dissociate hydrogen moderately and that a monovacancy surface is suitable for significant dissociative adsorption of hydrogen. However in terrace site of the surface we have found that dissociation of hydrogen takes place only on Pd sites where the metal atom is not bound to any pre-adsorbed hydrogen atoms. Furthermore, from the molecular dynamics and electronic structure calculations, we identify a number of consequences for the interpretation and modeling of diffusion experiments demonstrating the coverage and directional dependence of atomic hydrogen diffusion on stepped palladium surface.     

Interaction and arrangement of nitrogen and carbon atoms in fcc γ-iron

A Mössbauer effect measurement has been done for Fe?N, Fe?Al?C and Fe?Ni?C austenite in order to study the interaction between the interstitial atoms and their distribution among the octahedral sites of the fcc lattice, together with the influence of Al and Ni atoms. The spectra for Fe?N and Fe?Al?C austenite are decomposed into three components; one singlet γ₀, and two sets of doublet γ₁ and γ₂, with different quadrupole splittings, while no γ₂ component is found in the spectrum for Fe?Ni?C. By analyzing the component ratio in each spectrum, it is concluded that, in Fe?N and Fe?Al?C, the interaction between 2nd nearest neighboring nitrogen or carbon atoms is attractive, and is repulsive between 1st nearest for Fe?N, and that the interaction between 2nd nearest atoms is repulsive for Fe?Ni?C. By measuring the spectra of Fe?Ni?C in magnetic field, the sign of EFG for most of the γ₁ component is determined to be negative.     

Atmospheric pressure waves in the field of volcanology

Atmospheric pressure waves are a notable phenomenon associated with explosive volcanic eruptions. They can provide us with information about eruption processes that are useful both scientifically and practically. In this paper, we give a brief review of studies that have been carried out on this phenomenon in the field of volcanology. Then, we introduce a prototype tool called ‘MOVE’ (Mobile Observatory for Volcanic Explosions). It is a remote-controlled vehicle carrying various instruments to observe pressure waves and the eruption processes. PACS 91.40.Dr · 91.40.Ft · 93.65.+e · 93.85.+qThis paper was based on work presented at the 2nd International Symposium on Interdisciplinary Shock Wave Research, Sendai, Japan on March 1–3, 2005.