Epicardial development in the rat: a new perspective.

Development of the epicardium is critical to proper heart formation. It provides all of the precursor cells that form the coronary system and supplies signals that stimulate cardiac myocyte proliferation. The epicardium forms from mesothelial cells associated with the septum transversum and is referred to as the proepicardium (PE). Two different methods by which these PE cells colonize the developing heart have been described. In avians, PE cells form a bridge to the heart over which PE cells migrate onto the heart. In fish and mammals, PE cells form vesicles of cells that detach from the mesothelium, float through the pericardial cavity, and attach to the heart. A previous study of rat PE development investigated this process at the histological level. Protein markers have been developed since this study. Thus, we investigated this important developmental process coupled with these new markers using other visualization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal microscopy. Finally, a novel, three-dimensional (3-D) culture system was used to confirm the identity of the PE cells. In this study, we found convincing evidence that the rat PE cells directly attach to the heart in a manner similar to that observed in avians.     

Comparison of whole blood, plasma and nails as monitors for the dietary intake of selenium

Haem peroxidases are globular proteins with an iron-porphyrin complex as prosthetic group. They catalyze the oxidation of substrate by peroxides, frequently via free-radical intermediates. The catalytic cycle involves changes in the redox states of the prosthetic group, that can be monitored by changes in the intense absorption spectra. During the past decades, considerable scientific effort has been put into the elucidation of the mechanisms of reactions catalyzed by these enzymes. Radiation-chemical techniques have made an important contribution by providing information on the redox states of the enzymes and their interconversions, as well as on the properties of the free-radical intermediates involved.     

Trends in metal-biradical exchange interaction for first-row M(II)(nitronyl nitroxide-semiquinone) complexes

We report molecular structures and temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility data for several new metal complexes of heterospin triplet ground-state biradical ligands. The ligands are comprised of both nitronyl-nitroxide (NN) and semiquinone (SQ) spin carriers. Five compounds are five-coordinate M(II) complexes (M = Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn), and one is a six-coordinate Ni(II) complex. Five compounds were structurally characterized. During copper complex formation a reaction with methanol occurs to form a unique methoxy-substituted SQ ring. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility studies are consistent with strong intraligand (NN-SQ and NN-PhSQ) ferromagnetic exchange coupling. For the five-coordinate Mn, Co, and Ni complexes, the S = 1 ligand is antiferromagnetically coupled to the metal. For both the five-coordinate Cu complex and the six-coordinate Ni complex, the ligand is ferromagnetically coupled to the metal spins in accordance with orbital symmetry arguments. Despite the low molecular symmetries, the predicted trend in metal-ligand exchange interactions is supported by spin dimer analysis based on extended Hückel calculations. For (NN-SQ)NiTp(Cum,Me)() (Tp(Cum,Me)() = hydro-tris(3-cumenyl-5-methylpyrazolyl)borate), an antisymmetric exchange term was required for the best fit of the magnetic susceptibility data. Antisymmetric exchange was less important for the other complexes due to inherently smaller Deltag. Finally, it is shown that intraligand exchange coupling is of paramount importance in stabilizing high-spin states of mixed metal-biradical complexes.     

Intermolecular interactions in pi-stacked conjugated molecules. Synthesis,structure, and spectral characterization of alkyl bithiazole oligomers

Syntheses are reported of new 4,4'-dialkyl-2,2'-bithiazole oligomers that have alkenoxy side chains that are capable of easy conversion to oligomers with functionalized side chains, e.g., terminally substituted hydroxy chains. The crystal structures of two representative oligomers (4,4',4' ',4' "-tetra-(2-propenoxymethyl)-2,2',5',5' ',2' ',2' "-quaterthiazole (3P2) and 4,4',4' ',4' "-tetra-(3-hydroxypropyloxymethyl)-2,2',5',5' ',2' ',2' "-quaterthiazole (3H2)) were determined; 3P2 crystallizes in a pi-stacked motif with two molecules per unit cell, whereas 3H2 forms pi-stacks that are linked with hydrogen bonds to form infinite two-dimensional sheets with one molecule per unit cell. A comparison of the UV-vis spectra of the compounds in solution and in the solid state provides unequivocal evidence for the presence of a Davydov splitting, W(D) approximately 0.2 eV, in solid 3P2. The spectra are interpreted in the framework of molecular exciton theory to extract a value of the intermolecular transfer integral, J approximately 0.2 eV, for a total exciton bandwidth of ca. 0.8 eV. Monte Carlo calculations were used to determine the density of states of the exciton band and the absorption and emission line shapes of the 0 <-- 0 transition. It is suggested that the "three-humped" absorption profile typical of partially crystalline, regioregular polymers is the "optical signature" of pi-stacking.     

Moisture induced solid phase degradation of l-ascorbic acid Part 1: a kinetic study using tristimulus colorimetry and a quantitative HPLC assay

l-Ascorbic acid was found to degrade in the solid phase with discoloration under the influence of moisture in proportion to the moisture content. This degradation pattern was different to that in solution and followed zero order kinetics. The exclusion of air reduced the rate of reaction suggesting the degradation may proceed via an oxidative route but no evidence was found for the presence of dehydroascorbic acid. A method was developed for the determination of dehydroascorbic acid using an automated precolumn reduction reaction with dl-dithiothreitol. The degradation was found to be zero order and activation energy was been measured at 37.57 kJ mol(-1) by high performance liquid chromotography (HPLC) assay and 33.30 kJ mol(-1) by tristimulus colorimetry, resulting in a 12.8% difference between the two methods. Tristimulus colorimetry was more sensitive to the onset of degradation than HPLC assay, but it is non-specific. The purpose of this study was to obtain kinetic data on the rate of degradation of l-ascorbic acid alone under the influence of moisture and air and to identify whether tristimulus colorimetry could be used as a rapid and non-destructive means of monitoring for the degradation of l-ascorbic acid in the solid phase. Further studies to determine the degradation pathway and to identify the degradation products are to be reported in subsequent papers.     

A cationic 24-MC-8 manganese cluster with ring metals possessing three oxidation states [Mn(II)4Mn(III)6Mn(IV)2(mu4-O)2(mu3-O)4(mu3-OH)4(mu3-OCH3)2(pko)12](OH)(ClO4)3

Reaction of Mn(ClO4)2 with di-pyridyl ketone oxime, (2-py)2C=NOH, gives the novel cluster [Mn(II)4Mn(III)6Mn(IV)2(mu4-O)2(mu3-O)4(mu3-OH)4(mu3-OCH3)2(pko)12](OH)(ClO4)3 1. It is the only example of a 24-MC-8, and the first metallacrown with ring metal ions in three different oxidation states. Magnetic measurements show antiferromagnetic behavior.     

Synthesis of a digermane-containing tricylic nonadecadienedione incorporating an equivalent of ring-opened THF

The combination of 2 equiv of bis[bis(trimethylsilyl)amide]germylene (5) with 2 equiv of 4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (PTAD) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) results in the ring-opening of 1 equiv of THF to form 2,2,8,8-tetrakis(1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyl-disilazan-2-yl)-5,16-diphenyl-7,9,14-trioxa-1,3,5,16,18,19-hexaaza-2,8-digerma-tricyclo[13.2.1.13,6]nonadeca-6(19),15(18)-diene-4,17-dione (6). This fast and nearly quantitative reaction builds a 15-membered ring from five different molecules. The new ring, structurally assigned by X-ray crystallography, contains a flexible methylene chain that moves rapidly on the NMR time scale.     

Ab initio study of (13)C(alpha) chemical shift anisotropy tensors in peptides

This study reports magnitudes and the orientation of the (13)C(alpha) chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensors of peptides obtained using quantum chemical calculations. The dependency of the CSA tensor parameters on the energy optimization of hydrogen atom positions and hydrogen bonding effects and the use of zwitterionic peptides in the calculations are examined. Our results indicate that the energy optimization of the hydrogen atom positions in crystal structures is necessary to obtain accurate CSA tensors. The inclusion of intermolecular effects such as hydrogen bonding in the calculations provided better agreement between the calculated and experimental values; however, the use of zwitterionic peptides in calculations, with or without the inclusion of hydrogen bonding, did not improve the results. In addition, our calculated values are in good agreement with tensor values obtained from solid-state NMR experiments on glycine-containing tripeptides. In the case of peptides containing an aromatic residue, calculations on an isolated peptide yielded more accurate isotropic shift values than the calculations on extended structures of the peptide. The calculations also suggested that the presence of an aromatic ring in the extended crystal peptide structure influences the magnitude of the delta(22) which the present level of ab initio calculations are unable to reproduce.