Morphology of core-shell latex particles

The progressive dissolution of carboxylated latex particles with increasing pH was utilized to investigate the internal structure of core-shell latex particles, in comparison with that of copolymeric latex particles formed from the same monomers. The results indicated that in those latex particles which are formed when ethyl acrylate (EA) -methacrylic acid (MAA) or methyl acrylate (MA) -MAA mixture is polymerized in the presence of poly(MA-MAA) or poly(EA-MAA) seeds the shell is composed of the more hydrophilic poly(MA-MAA) molecules relatively high in MAA content and the core is composed of both poly(MA-MAA) and poly(EA-MAA) molecules, regardless of the order of the stage feed, while the copolymeric latex particles are relatively uniform from surface to center in distribution of all components except MAA. Examination of the distribution of the carboxylic groups in all of the latex particles showed their concentration to be highest at the surface and to decrease with proximity to the center in accordance with other findings reported in the literature.     

Stereoselective formal synthesis of (+)-allokainic acid via thiol-mediated acyl radical cyclization

Stereoselective formal synthesis of (+)-allokainic acid was accomplished starting from L-glutamate by using a thiol-mediated acyl radical cyclization as a key step. The cyclization of a formylalkenoate proceeded in a highly diastereoselective manner to give trans-4,5-disubstituted pyrrolidin-3-one without the production of the cis-isomer. The pyrrolidinone was then converted into the established synthetic intermediate of (+)-allokainic acid via the iron-catalyzed coupling reaction with an isopropenyl Grignard reagent.     

Vibration spectroscopic study of the interaction of tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3) with potassium

The interaction between Alq₃ and potassium was studied by using Raman and infrared spectroscopies. Infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) spectra of Alq₃ films show significant changes after potassium deposition, such as the appearance of new bands and changes in relative intensity. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra obtained using the 413.1 nm line of a Kr⁺ laser reveal similar changes. Changes are even more obvious when the 530.9 nm line was used for excitation. Changes in the SERS for excitation with the 413.1 nm line are less obvious due to a strong photoluminescence. The vibrational pattern of potassium-doped Alq₃ cannot be explained by the formation of radical anion by simple charge transfer, indicating the excess electron is not delocalized over the molecule. The observed spectral change suggests that the potassium atom interacts with both nitrogen and oxygen atoms of Alq₃ molecule.     

Determination of the absolute structure of (+)-akaterpin

We describe the total synthesis and structural determination of (+)-akaterpin (1), an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC). The key features of the synthetic strategy include the resolution of β,γ-unsaturated ketone (±)-2a with chiral sulfoximine 6. The absolute stereochemistry was determined by comparison of the specific optical rotation data of (+)-1 and (-)-1 with that of natural akaterpin.     

ESR study on intramolecular electron transfer rate of 1,3-dinitrobenzene radical anion in solution

The intramolecular electron transfer (ET) rates of the 1,3-dinitrobenzene radical anion in aprotic solvents were determined at various temperatures by means of ESR line-broadening method. The rates with negligible ion-ion interaction were determined in acetonitrile and N,N-dimethylformamide by addition of a cryptand. The obtained rates were 10 times or more compared with those in the presence of 0.1 mol dm⁻³ supporting electrolyte. Simple adiabatic ET model was used for the examination of solvent dependence of the ET rates.     

Crystal structure of dissymmetrically trihydrated N,N',N'-tribenzoylmelamine (TBM).

In the crystal structure of TBM-trihydrate three waters of crystallization were found to locate dissymmetrically. Thus, one of them forms a chelated ring with the neighboring C=O and N-H of TBM. Two other ones bind each other through hydrogen bonding and two sets of which form a cyclic dimer by hydrogen bonding (namely, water-tetramer). A C=O group binds by hydrogen bonding to each of the tetrameric water. The spatial volume occupied by water-tetramer appears to be sufficient for complexation with organic molecules.     

A topological index for the totalπ-electron energy

A modified topological index \(\tilde Z_G \) is proposed to be defined as $$\tilde Z_G = \sum\limits_{k = 0}^{[N/2]} {( - 1)^k } a_{2k} $$ for characterising theπ-electronic system of a conjugated hydrocarbonG withN carbon atoms, wherea _2k is the coefficient of the characteristic polynomial ofG defined as $$P_G (X) = ( - 1)^N \det |A - XE| = \sum\limits_{k = 0}^N { a_k X^{N - k} } $$ with an adjacency matrixA and the unit matrixE. \(\tilde Z_G \) is identical toZ _G for a tree graph, or a chain hydrocarbon.Z _G increases with a (4n+2)-membered ring formation and decreases with a 4n-membered ring formation. The totalπ-electron energyE _π of the Hückel molecular orbital is shown to be related with \(\tilde Z_G \) asE _π =Cln \(\tilde Z_G \) . With this relation generalised and extended Hückel rules for predicting the stability of an arbitrary network are proved.     

Interaction of recombinant human interferon-gamma with liposomes

The interaction of recombinant human interferon-gamma (IFN) with egg phosphatidylcholine liposomes was studied. IFN which binds to liposomes was dependent on the liposomal charge and pH, and a preferential binding was observed in negatively charged liposomes at pH 7.4-10. Electron-microscopic observation showed that the increased liposomal turbidity induced by IFN was due to liposomal aggregation, and the increased turbidity could be decreased by the addition of NaCl. Thus, ionic binding may participate in this interaction. But, when the incubation time was longer, the liposomal aggregation was not decreased by the addition of NaCl, and the leakage of the entrapped marker, calcein, was observed. Electron-microscopic analysis showed that this leakage resulted from the morphological change of liposomes. From these findings, ionic binding may participate in the interaction between IFN and liposomes and then develop a morphological change in negatively charged liposomes under the neutral pH condition.     

Development of adaptive phonetic gestures in children: evidence from vowel devoicing in two different dialects of Japanese.

High vowels between voiceless consonants are often devoiced in many languages, as well as in many dialects of Japanese. This phenomenon can be hypothesized to be a consequence of the adaptive organization of the laryngeal gestures to various conditions, including dialectal requirements. If this theory is correct, it may be possible to predict developmental changes in vowel devoicing based on the developmental improvement in the dialect-specific organization of the laryngeal gestures. To test this expectation, the developmental properties of vowel devoicing were investigated for 72 children of 4 and 5 years of age, and 37 adults in two dialects of Japanese. One was the Osaka dialect, with a low devoicing rate, and the other the Tokyo dialect, with a high devoicing rate. In the Tokyo dialect, the devoicing rate of children significantly increased and reached an adultlike level by the age of 5 years, whereas it remained low irrespective of age in Osaka. The vowel devoicing of 5-year-old children exhibited the same characteristics as that of the adults of their respective dialect. These results suggest that children growing up with the Tokyo dialect acquire the articulatory gestures which do not inhibit vowel devoicing by the age of 5 years, whereas children growing up with the Osaka dialect acquire those which inhibit the devoicing of vowels by the same age. The results fit in well with the predictions of the gestural account of vowel devoicing. It is also suggested that learning dialect-specific adaptive strategies to coordinate voicing and devoicing gestures as required to attain an adultlike vowel devoicing pattern is a long process: By the age of 5 years children have completed enough of this process to become members of their dialectal community.