Vertex‐disjoint cycles containing specified vertices in a bipartite graph

A minimum degree condition is given for a bipartite graph to contain a 2‐factor each component of which contains a previously specified vertex. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 46: 145–166, 2004     

Preparation of CeO2-ZrO2 Mixed Oxide Powders by the Coprecipitation Method for the Purification Catalysts of Automotive Emission

Influence of CeO₂ content on the specific surface area (SA), oxygen storage capacity (OSC) and crystalline structure of the powders in the CeO₂-ZrO₂ system were investigated. The change of SA value by heat-treatment is almost proportional to that of OSC. The lattice parameters of the powders had a linear relationship with the OSC value. In the CeO₂-ZrO₂ system, powders with 20 mol% CeO₂ was found to show the highest OSC value and the highest durability of SA value after calcined at high temperatures.     

Statistical macrodynamics of large dynamical systems. Case of a phase transition in oscillator communities

A model dynamical system with a great many degrees of freedom is proposed for which the critical condition for the onset of collective oscillations, the evolution of a suitably defined order parameter, and its fluctuations around steady states can be studied analytically. This is a rotator model appropriate for a large population of limit cycle oscillators. It is assumed that the natural frequencies of the oscillators are distributed and that each oscillator interacts with all the others uniformly. An exact self-consistent equation for the stationary amplitude of the collective oscillation is derived and is extended to a dynamical form. This dynamical extension is carried out near the transition point where the characteristic time scales of the order parameter and of the individual oscillators become well separated from each other. The macroscopic evolution equation thus obtained generally involves a fluctuating term whose irregular temporal variation comes from a deterministic torus motion of a subpopulation. The analysis of this equation reveals order parameter behavior qualitatively different from that in thermodynamic phase transitions, especially in that the critical fluctuations in the present system are extremely small.Dedicated to Ilya Prigogine on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

Triterpene glycosides from the roots of Codonopsis lanceolata

In the course of the development of new designer foods using the roots of Codonopsis lanceolata, we found that hot-water extracts of C. lanceolata recovered decreased testosterone levels in the blood and accelerated the restoration of reproductive dysfunction induced by hyperthermic treatment in male mice. Thus we studied the constituents of the polar fraction of the roots of C. lanceolata and identified six new triterpene saponins, lancemasides B (2), C (3), D (4), E (5), F (6), and G (7), along with the known saponin lancemasaide A (1) and phenylpropanoid glycosides 8-10. The structures of the new compounds 2-7 were determined by means of spectral data including 2D-NMR studies and chemical reactions to be oleanan-type bisdesmoside with sugars at C-3 and C-28. Compounds 2-6 have echinocystic acid as an aglycone, and compound 7 has asterogenic acid as an aglycone. Identification of the sugars and determination of their D,L-chiralities were carried out by application of the exciton chirality method to the per-O-p-bromobenzoylmethyl sugar derived from saponins.     

N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed nucleophilic aroylation of fluorobenzenes

In N-heterocyclic carbene (NHCs) catalyzed nucleophilic substitution of fluorobenzenes, fluoro groups are replaced by aroyl groups, which are derived from aromatic aldehydes. 1,3,4,5-Tetramethylimidazol-2-ylidene is found to be an efficient catalyst. The catalyst loading can be reduced to 1 mol % without a significant decrease in the product yields. Polysubstituted benzophenones are synthesized from fluorobenzenes and benzaldehydes by the NHC-catalyzed aroylation.     

Crystalline Isotactic Polar Polypropylene from the Palladium‐Catalyzed Copolymerization of Propylene and Polar Monomers

Moderately isospecific homopolymerization of propylene and the copolymerization of propylene and polar monomers have been achieved with palladium complexes bearing a phosphine‐sulfonate ligand. Optimization of substituents on the phosphorus atom of the ligand revealed that the presence of bulky alkyl groups (e.g. menthyl) is crucial for the generation of high‐molecular‐weight polypropylenes (M_w≈10⁴), and the substituent at the ortho‐position relative to the sulfonate group influences the molecular weight and isotactic regularity of the obtained polypropylenes. Statistical analysis suggested that the introduction of substituents at the ortho‐position relative to the sulfonate group favors enantiomorphic site control over chain end control in the chain propagation step. The triad isotacticity could be increased to mm=0.55–0.59, with formation of crystalline polar polypropylenes, as supported by the presence of melting points and sharp peaks in the corresponding X‐ray diffraction patterns.     

Distinct responses of chloroplasts to blue and green laser microbeam irradiations in the centric diatom Pleurosira laevis

The centric diatom Pleurosira laevis is a large unicellular alga, in which ca 200 chloroplasts migrate toward the nuclear cytoplasm through the transvacuolar cytoplasmic strands in response to blue-light irradiation and, on the contrary, toward the cortical cytoplasm in response to green-light irradiation. We analyzed these light-induced chloroplast migrations using a scanning laser microbeam provided by a confocal microscope for intracellular irradiation. Spot irradiation of a blue laser microbeam induced rapid assemblage of chroloplasts into the nuclear cytoplasm regardless of the spot position and spot number. On the other hand, one or two spots of green laser microbeam induced chloroplast accumulation at the spots, although increasing spot numbers suppressed chloroplast accumulation at each spot. In our experimental condition, ca 1 min of blue-light irradiation was sufficient to stimulate movement, whereas green-light irradiation required uninterrupted and longer irradiation time (ca 15 min). Chloroplast assemblage induced by blue-light required extracellular Ca2+, and was inhibited by Ca2+ channel antagonists. Furthermore, higher efficiencies of chloroplast migration were obtained when a single beam spot was fragmented and scattered over wider area of plasma membrane. These observations suggested that blue-light induced a response at the plasma membrane, which subsequently activated Ca2+ permeable channels. This sequence of physiological events is identical to what was previously observed with chloroplast movement in response to mechanical stimulation. Furthermore, experiments with the cytoskeleton-disrupting agents, colchicine and cytochalasin D, indicated that blue-light-induced chloroplast movement required microtubules whereas the green-light-induced response to beam spot required actin filaments.     

Asymmetric total synthesis of (-)-Linderol A

The first asymmetric total synthesis of (-)-Linderol A, a potent inhibitor of melanin biosynthesis of cultured B-16 melanoma cells, has been achieved via two key reactions: a diastereoselective [2+2] photocycloaddition of a coumarin-3-carboxylate bearing a chiral auxiliary with 3-methyl-1-butene and a subsequent stereoconvergent transformation of the photoadducts with use of dimethylsulfoxonium methylide to afford a tetrahydrodibenzofuran derivative.     

Catalytic <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-Alkylation of Amines with Primary Alcohols over Halide Clusters

Piperidine was reacted with methanol under a hydrogen stream in the presence of (H₃O)₂[(W₆Cl₈)Cl₆]·6H₂O supported on silica gel. When the temperature was raised above 200 °C, the catalytic activity of the cluster appeared. Piperidine N-methylation proceeded yielding N-methylpiperidine in 95% selectivity at 350 °C. The corresponding halide clusters of niobium, molybdenum, and tantalum supported on silica gel also catalyzed the reaction. Primary alcohols such as ethanol and 1-propanol produced the corresponding N-alkyl products of piperidine; however, secondary and tertiary alcohols did not. Selective N-methylation of pyrrolidine, hexamethyleneimine, butylamine, and aniline also proceeded. Thus, the clusters catalyzed alkylation of aliphatic, alicyclic, and aromatic amines with primary alcohols. A Brønsted acid site attributable to a hydroxo ligand, which is formed on the cluster complex by thermal activation, is proposed as the active site of the catalyst.