Neosidomycin,a new antibiotic of Streptomyces

A new indole-N-glycoside, neosidomycin (I), is produced by a strain belonging to Streptomyces hygroscopicus. The structure of I has been deduced from physico-chemical data obtained using the natural compound, its derivatives and products of degradation reactions.     

Radiation-induced polymerization at high dose rate. VI. Butadiene in n-hexane solution

Polymerization of butadiene by electron-beam irradiation was studied in n-hexane solution. Kinetic features of the polymerization and microstructure of the product were similar to those in bulk polymerization, which indicated a cationic mechanism. Both the rate of polymerization and average molecular weight of the product decreased by about 20% in the solution system. Soluble polymer was obtained up to ca. 40% conversion at the monomer concentration of 50 mol%, whereas in the bulk system the gel formed in polymer conversion exceeded 10%. A kinetic equation was proposed to explain the change in rate of polymerization with the monomer concentration.     

Adsorption and aggregation properties of heterogemini surfactants containing a quaternary ammonium salt and a sugar moiety

A novel heterogemini surfactant comprising two hydrocarbon chains and two different hydrophilic groups such as a quaternary ammonium cation and gluconamide nonion N,N-dimethyl-N-[2-(N'-alkyl-N'-gluconamide)ethyl]-1-alkylammonium bromides (2CnAmGlu, where n represents hydrocarbon chain lengths of 8, 10, 12, and 14) was synthesized by reacting N,N-dimethylethylenediamine with alkyl bromide, followed by a reaction with 1,5-D(+)-gluconolactone. The adsorption properties of 2CnAmGlu were characterized by surface tension measurements made using the Wilhelmy plate method, and their aggregation properties were investigated by dynamic light scattering and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy techniques. The relationship between the hydrocarbon chain length and the logarithm of the critical micelle concentration (cmc) for 2CnAmGlu exhibited a linear decrease when the chain length was increased up to 12 and then a departure from linearity at n=14. The surface tension reached 24-26 mN m-1 at each cmc, indicating high efficiency in lowering the surface tension of water. Furthermore, it was found that the structure of the aggregate formed for 2CnAmGlu in solution was influenced by the hydrocarbon chain length; that is, for n=10 and 12, micelles with a hydrodynamic radius of 2-5 nm were formed, whereas vesicles were also observed for n=14.     

Zwitterionic heterogemini surfactants containing ammonium and carboxylate headgroups. 1. Adsorption and micellization

Zwitterionic heterogemini surfactants with two hydrocarbon chains and two different hydrophilic groups, N,N-dimethyl-N-[2-(N'-alkyl-N'-beta-carboxypropanoylamino)ethyl]-1-alkylammonium bromides (2C(n)AmCa, where n represents the hydrocarbon chain lengths of 8, 10, 12, and 14), were synthesized by N,N-dimethylethylenediamine with alkyl bromide, followed by reaction with succinic anhydride. One of the hydrophilic groups is a carboxylate anion, and the other is an ammonium cation. Their physicochemical properties were characterized by measuring equilibrium and dynamic surface tension, fluorescence intensity of pyrene, and light-scattering intensity. A relationship between a logarithm of critical micelle concentration (cmc) and hydrocarbon chain length showed a linear decrease upon increasing chain length and then a departure from linearity at n = 14. This is due to the existence of premicellar aggregations at concentrations below the cmc for n = 14. The surface tension of 2C(n)AmCa reached 27-30 mN m(-1) at each cmc, indicating efficiencies typical of hydrocarbon chain surfactants. The adsorbing rate at the air/water interface became slow with an increase of the chain length. From the fluorescence intensity ratios of 373 and 384 nm using pyrene as a probe, for n = 8, 10, and 14, the pyrene was solubilized in surfactant micelles at around the cmc, whereas for n = 12 the pyrene was solubilized from a concentration of 10-fold the cmc. The scattering intensities by dynamic light scattering also increased from around these concentrations for each chain length, showing the formation of aggregates in solution.     

Radiation-induced polymerization at high dose rate. III. Isoprene in bulk

Radiation-induced polymerization of isoprene in bulk state was studied at 25°C in a wide dose rate range. Variations of the rate of polymerization and molecular weight of the products were essentially the same as those observed in the monomers which were capable of both radical and cationic polymerizations. At low dose rate, 7.0-230 rad/sec, radical polymerization took place. At high dose rate, 8.8 × 10³-2.2 × 10⁵ rad/sec, radical and cationic polymerizations took place concurrently. The average molecular weight of the high-dose-rate product was about 850, independent of dose rate. The microstructure of the products at high dose rate consisted mainly of trans- 1,4 units with only about 7% of cis- 1,4 and 10% of 3,4-vinyl units. The residual unsaturation in the high-dose-rate products was 90%. Decreases in cis units and residual unsaturation at high dose rate were accounted for by the change in predominant mechanism of polymerization with dose rate.     

Acoustic and perceptual similarity of North German and American English vowels

Current theories of cross-language speech perception claim that patterns of perceptual assimilation of non-native segments to native categories predict relative difficulties in learning to perceive (and produce) non-native phones. Cross-language spectral similarity of North German (NG) and American English (AE) vowels produced in isolated hVC(a) (di)syllables (study 1) and in hVC syllables embedded in a short sentence (study 2) was determined by discriminant analyses, to examine the extent to which acoustic similarity was predictive of perceptual similarity patterns. The perceptual assimilation of NG vowels to native AE vowel categories by AE listeners with no German language experience was then assessed directly. Both studies showed that acoustic similarity of AE and NG vowels did not always predict perceptual similarity, especially for "new" NG front rounded vowels and for "similar" NG front and back mid and mid-low vowels. Both acoustic and perceptual similarity of NG and AE vowels varied as a function of the prosodic context, although vowel duration differences did not affect perceptual assimilation patterns. When duration and spectral similarity were in conflict, AE listeners assimilated vowels on the basis of spectral similarity in both prosodic contexts.     

Rewritable Broad-Band Color Filters for Spectral Image Analysis

We propose an optical system to implement rewritable transparent broad-band color filters. The filter consists of a linear variable filter and a liquid crystal spatial light modulator in which an expected filter function is written. A time-integrated intensity image was taken while the filter was passing the lens aperture of a CCD camera. The averaged norm error between the implemented and the expected filter functions was about 5.4#x0025;. The system was applied to spectral estimation in a two-dimensional color image.     

Anti-Obesity Natural Products Tested in Juvenile Zebrafish Obesogenic Tests and Mouse 3T3-L1 Adipogenesis Assays

(1) Background: The obesity epidemic has been drastically progressing in both children and adults worldwide. Pharmacotherapy is considered necessary for its treatment. However, many anti-obesity drugs have been withdrawn from the market due to their adverse effects. Instead, natural products (NPs) have been studied as a source for drug discovery for obesity, with the goal of limiting the adverse effects. Zebrafish are ideal model animals for in vivo testing of anti-obesity NPs, and disease models of several types of obesity have been developed. However, the evidence for zebrafish as an anti-obesity drug screening model are still limited. (2) Methods: We performed anti-adipogenic testing using the juvenile zebrafish obesogenic test (ZOT) and mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes using the focused NP library containing 38 NPs and compared their results. (3) Results: Seven and eleven NPs reduced lipid accumulation in zebrafish visceral fat tissues and mouse adipocytes, respectively. Of these, five NPs suppressed lipid accumulation in both zebrafish and 3T3-L1 adipocytes. We confirmed that these five NPs (globin-digested peptides, green tea extract, red pepper extract, nobiletin, and Moringa leaf powder) exerted anti-obesity effects in diet-induced obese adult zebrafish. (4) Conclusions: ZOT using juvenile fish can be a high-throughput alternative to ZOT using adult zebrafish and can be applied for in vivo screening to discover novel therapeutics for visceral obesity and potentially also other disorders.