Quantum chemical studies on electrophilic addition

The geometries of the 2-chloroethyl and ethylenechloronium cations, two possible intermediates in the electrophilic addition of chlorine to ethylene, have been fully optimized using ab initio molecular orbital calculations employing the split valence shell 4-31G basis set.These geometries were then used to compute more accurate wave functions using Dunning's double-zeta basis set. The bridged chloronium ion was found to be more stable by 9.35 kcal/mole, the opposite order of stability from the C₂H₄F⁺ ions. Interconversion of the two C₂H₄Cl⁺ cations was computed to have a barrier of 6.25 kcal/mole.The activation energy for this chlorination reaction, using the ethylenechloronium cation and a chlorine anion at infinite separation as the model for the activated complex, was computed to be 128.7 kcal/mole, showing that this is not a feasible gas phase reaction.     

Direct titrations of antibiotics with iodate solutions: Part 2. Some selected cephalosporins

A previous method for the determination of penicillins by direct titration with potassium iodate under strongly acidic conditions has been extended to the assay of some selected cephalosporins. Results are presented, including error and precision analyses, for the determination of cephaloridine, cephalothin and cephalexin. The appropriate stoichiometries are 1 mol cephalosporin to 3 mol iodate for cephalothin and cephaloridine; 1 mol to 2 mol iodate for cephalexin. An irreversible aqueous end-point technique has been compared with the chloroform layer method; the latter gives more precise results for the determination of cephaloridine and cephalothin (0.8% and 1.3% r.s.d. respectively). Comparable precision was obtained by either technique for the determination of cephalexin (1.39% r.s.d.).     

Determination by X-ray absorption spectroscopy of the Fe-Fe separation in the oxidized form of the hydroxylase of methane monooxygenase alone and in the presence of MMOD

The diiron active site in the hydroxylase of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) methane monooxygenase (MMOH) has been studied in the oxidized form by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Previous investigations by XAS and X-ray crystallography have identified two different distances (3.0 and 3.4 angstroms) between the two Fe atoms in the dinuclear site. The present study has employed a systematic extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) fitting methodology, utilizing known and simulated active site and relevant model structures, to determine unambiguously the Fe-Fe separation in the oxidized form of MMOH. Consistent and unique fits were only possible for an Fe-Fe distance of 3.0 angstroms. This methodology was then applied to study potential changes in the active site local structure in the presence of MMOD, a protein of unknown function in multicomponent MMO. Fe K-edge and EXAFS analyses revealed negligible changes in the diiron site electronic and geometric structure upon addition of MMOD to oxidized MMOH.     

Donor-stabilized cations and imine transfer from N-silylphosphoranimines

A series of donor-stabilized N-silylphosphoranimine salts [DMAP.PCl2=NSiMe3]+X- (DMAP = 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine) were prepared by the reaction of Cl3P=NSiMe3 with DMAP in the presence of silver salts AgX (X = OSO2CF3, BF4, and SbF6). Repeating the reaction in the absence of AgX gave the chloride salt [DMAP.PCl2=NSiMe3]Cl which has been shown to be in equilibrium with free DMAP and Cl3P=NSiMe3. Attempts to stabilize a N-silylphosphoranimine cation with phosphine donors led to unexpected imine transfer chemistry. For example, Cl3P=NSiMe3 reacts with phosphines, R3P (R = nBu and Ph), to produce the metathesis products PCl3 and R3P=NSiMe3 which subsequently react together to afford the N-phosphinophosphoranimines R3P=N-PCl2 and ClSiMe3 as a byproduct.     

Allocolchicinoid synthesis via direct arylation

[reaction: see text] A formal enantioselective synthesis of allocolchicine and a synthesis of a C-ring analogue have been achieved by employing an intramolecular direct arylation of an aryl chloride to form the biaryl carbon-carbon bond and the seven-membered ring.     

Synthesis and reduction of some 1H-2,1,3-benzothiadiazin-4(3H) one 2,2-dioxides

Several 2,1,3-benzothiadiazin-4(3H) one 2,2-dioxides were synthesized as possible sweetening agents by reacting sulfamoyl chloride with various anthranilic acid derivatives. The isolation of 1-methyl-4-methoxy-2,1,3-benzothiadiazine 2,2-dioxide and preparation of 3,4-dihydro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazine 2,2-dioxide is also reported.     

Incoherent inelastic neutron scattering studies of potassium bicarbonate and caesium hydrogen dinitrate

Inelastic neutron scattering spectra of KHCO₃ and CsH(NO₃)₂ have been obtained in the region 400 → 2400 and 400 → 2800 cm^?1 respectively. The in- and out-of-phase bending vibrations of the hydrogen bonds have been observed and assigned. For CsH(NO₃)₂ the two bending modes are closer in frequency than in KHCO₃ and they are not resolved from the antisymmetric stretch.     

A new synthesis of platinum—carbon bonds

Syntheses of cis-[PtCl(CH₂COCH₃)(PEt₃)₂], cis-[PtCl(CH₂NO₂) (PEt₃)₂], and trans-[Pt(CCPh)₂ (PEt₃)₂] are described. The procedure involves reaction of cis-[PtCl₂(PEt₃)₂] with Ag₂O and acidic CH bonds to precipitate AgC1 and generate a PtC bond. The method may represent a new general route to platinum—carbon bonds.     

Role of the gut–brain axis in energy and glucose metabolism

The gastrointestinal tract plays a role in the development and treatment of metabolic diseases. During a meal, the gut provides crucial information to the brain regarding incoming nutrients to allow proper maintenance of energy and glucose homeostasis. This gut–brain communication is regulated by various peptides or hormones that are secreted from the gut in response to nutrients; these signaling molecules can enter the circulation and act directly on the brain, or they can act indirectly via paracrine action on local vagal and spinal afferent neurons that innervate the gut. In addition, the enteric nervous system can act as a relay from the gut to the brain. The current review will outline the different gut–brain signaling mechanisms that contribute to metabolic homeostasis, highlighting the recent advances in understanding these complex hormonal and neural pathways. Furthermore, the impact of the gut microbiota on various components of the gut–brain axis that regulates energy and glucose homeostasis will be discussed. A better understanding of the gut–brain axis and its complex relationship with the gut microbiome is crucial for the development of successful pharmacological therapies to combat obesity and diabetes.Subject terms: Obesity, Type 2 diabetes, Obesity