Improved sectioning in a slit scanning confocal microscope

We describe a simple implementation of a slit scanning confocal microscope to obtain an axial resolution better than that of a point-scanning confocal microscope. Under slit illumination, images of a fluorescent object are captured using an array detector instead of a line detector so that out-of-focus light is recorded and then subtracted from the adjacent images. Axial resolution after background subtraction is 2.2 times better than the slit confocal resolution, and out-of-focus image suppression is calculated to attenuate with defocus faster by 1 order of magnitude than in the point confocal case.     

Regiochemical control in the diels-alder reactions of substituted naphthoquinones: orientation in the synthesis of benz[a]anthraquinones

The regioselectivity in the Diels-Alder reactions of styrene with certain substituted 1,4-naphthoquinones was explored. The results were consistent with predictions based upon analysis of dione polarization.     

Synthesis of tetrahydropyridazino[1,2-a][1,2,4] benzotriazin-6-one derivatives. A novel heterocyclic system

Synthesis of pyridazino[1,2-a][1,2,4]benzotriazin-6-one derivatives involving reaction of either 1,2,3,6-tetra-hydropyridazine ( 9 ) or hexahydropyridazine 14 with 2-fluoro-5-nitrophenylisocyanate ( 5 ) to give, via intramolecular cyclization, 3a and 16 respectively is described. Compound 3a was converted to 18 via methylation and hydroxylation to give 20 followed by conversion to the acetonide derivative 18 . Both 16 and 18 were reduced to the amino derivatives 17 and 19 respectively.     

Magnetic resonance in the era of molecular imaging of cancer

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has played an important role in the diagnosis and management of cancer since it was first developed, but other modalities also continue to advance and provide complementary information on the status of tumors. In the future, there will be a major continuing role for noninvasive imaging in order to obtain information on the location and extent of cancer, as well as assessments of tissue characteristics that can monitor and predict treatment response and guide patient management. Developments are currently being undertaken that aim to provide improved imaging methods for the detection and evaluation of tumors, for identifying important characteristics of tumors such as the expression levels of cell surface receptors that may dictate what types of therapy will be effective and for evaluating their response to treatments. Molecular imaging techniques based mainly on radionuclide imaging can depict numerous, specific, cellular and molecular markers of disease and have unique potential to address important clinical and research challenges. In this review, we consider what continuing and evolving roles will be played by MRI in this era of molecular imaging. We discuss some of the challenges for MRI of detecting imaging agents that report on molecular events, but highlight also the ability of MRI to assess other features such as cell density, blood flow and metabolism which are not specific hallmarks of cancer but which reflect molecular changes. We discuss the future role of MRI in cancer and describe the use of selected quantitative imaging techniques for characterizing tumors that can be translated to clinical applications, particularly in the context of evaluating novel treatments.     

Theory of projected probabilities on non-orthogonal states: Application to electronic populations in molecules

Often it is important to consider the expansion of a quantum state ) in terms of physically meaningful basis states. For example, molecular orbitals can be expressed as linear combinations of atomic orbitals, or vibrational states can be expressed as super positions of local or normal mode eigenstates. In such expansions, it then becomes desirable to determine how much character a quantum state has in one of these basis states. One way of accimplishing this task is to calculate the projected probability of |) on basis state |j). In this paper, we consider this general quantum mechanical problem. If the basis states are orthonormal, then the projected probability of|) on |j) is of course |<|j>|². However, if the basis states are not orthogonal, then this result is no longer valid and one must develop a more general theory to calculate these projected probabilities. An earlier paper used one-dimensional projection operators to initiate this theory and gave closed form results for the case of two non-orthogonal basis states [1]. One- and many-dimensional projection operators, together with linear algebraic techniques, are used to extend this theory to the n non-orthogonal basis state case. Explicit closed form results are given for the two- and three-state cases, and a general algorithm is developed for the case of four or more basis states. Application of the theory is made to atomic populations in three- to six-atom molecules, and comparisons are made to the related work of Mulliken.     

Ugi products containing boronate esters

The Ugi reaction with formylphenylboronic acid derivatives as the carbonyl component proceeds to give the corresponding boron-containing dipeptide derivatives (Ugi products) in good yields.