Distinguishing and quantification of the human visual pathways using high-spatial-resolution diffusion tensor tractography

Quantification of the living human visual system using MRI methods has been challenging, but several applications demand a reliable and time-efficient data acquisition protocol. In this study, we demonstrate the utility of high-spatial-resolution diffusion tensor fiber tractography (DTT) in reconstructing and quantifying the human visual pathways. Five healthy males, age range 24–37 years, were studied after approval of the institutional review board (IRB) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. We acquired diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data with 1-mm slice thickness on a 3.0-Tesla clinical MRI scanner and analyzed the data using DTT with the fiber assignment by continuous tractography (FACT) algorithm. By utilizing the high-spatial-resolution DTI protocol with FACT algorithm, we were able to reconstruct and quantify bilateral optic pathways including the optic chiasm, optic tract, optic radiations free of contamination from neighboring white matter tracts.     

State transitions and the continuum limit for a 2D interacting, self-propelled particle system

We study a class of swarming problems wherein particles evolve dynamically via pairwise interaction potentials and a velocity selection mechanism. We find that the swarming system undergoes various changes of state as a function of the self-propulsion and interaction potential parameters. In this paper, we utilize a procedure which connects a class of individual-based models to their continuum formulations and determine criteria for the validity of the latter. H-stability of the interaction potential plays a fundamental role in determining both the validity of the continuum approximation and the nature of the aggregation state transitions. We perform a linear stability analysis of the continuum model and compare the results to the simulations of the individual-based one.     

A Cyclodextrin Molecular Reactor for the Regioselective Synthesis of 1,5-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles

6^A-Deoxy-6^A-propynamido-β-cyclodextrin reacts with 4-tert-butylphenyl azide in aqueous solution, to form the 5-(aminocarbonyl)-substituted triazole in preference to the 4-(aminocarbonyl)-substituted analogue, in a ratio of 25:1. The cyclodextrin moiety templates the reaction through the formation of a host-guest complex of the dipole with the dipolarophile, controlling the regioselectivity of cycloaddition. In a control reaction under similar conditions, with propiolamide instead of the cyclodextrin derivative, 5- and 4-(aminocarbonyl)-1-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,2,3-triazole were formed in a ratio of 1:4. As well as reversing the regioselectivity, the cyclodextrin substituent increases the rate of cycloaddition, by at least two orders of magnitude for the reaction to give the 5-substituted cycloadduct. Even the rate of formation of the 4-substituted cycloadduct is increased by a factor of two. Less marked effects are observed with phenyl azide and 4-tert-butylbenzyl azide as dipoles.     

Direct determination of glyphosate using hydrophilic interaction chromatography with coulometric detection at copper microelectrode

A simple, rapid, and low-cost coulometric method for direct detection of glyphosate using hydrophilic interaction chromatography is presented. The principle of detection is based on the enhancement of the anodic current of copper microelectrode in the presence of complexing agents, such as glyphosate, with the formation of a soluble Cu(II) complex. Under optimized conditions, the limit of detection (S/R = 3) for glyphosate was 0.1 mg L⁻¹ (0.59 μM) without any preconcentration method. The calibration curve has been found linear in all concentration range tested (from limit of detection to 34 mg L⁻¹) with an excellent correlation coefficient (0.9999). The present method was successfully applied for the determination of glyphosate in fruit juices without any kind of extraction, clean-up, or preconcentration step, with recoveries of 92 and 90% for apple and grape juice, respectively.     

Synthesis and Antibacterial Evaluation of Benzofuran Based Di-1,2,3-triazoles

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - A series of novel benzofuran-1,2,3-triazole hybrid molecules are synthesized using the click chemistry approach. Structures of the synthesized compounds were...     

Stereochemistry of contiguous cyclopropane formation from cascade cyclization of a skipped dienyl homoallyl triflate

Solvolysis of asymmetric homoallylic triflates bearing a terminal stannyl substituent gives disubstituted cyclopropanes and bicyclopropanes bearing differentiated termini in high enantiopurity.     

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of 3-(Arylsulfanyl)-4-hydroxy-2<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>-chromen-2-ones

An efficient microwave-assisted synthesis of 3-(arylsulfanyl)-4-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2-ones by condensation of arenesulfonohydrazides with 4-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2-one in the presence of iodine is described. The synthesized compounds were characterized by spectral data (IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, and mass spectra and elemental analyses) and were tested for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against bacterial and fungal organisms.