A new lignan glycoside from the leaves of Sambucus sieboldiana (Miq.) Blume ex. Graebn

A new lignan glycoside, (-)-massoniresinol 4'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4), was isolated, together with six known ones (1-3, 5-7), from the leaves of Sambucus sieboldiana. Their structures were established on the basis of chemical and spectral data.     

Dielectric relaxations and electrical conductivities of poly(alkyl methacrylates) under high pressure

Dielectric properties of four methacrylate polymers (methyl, ethyl, n-butyl and n-octyl) were studied in the frequency range 0.0001 cps–300 kcps at temperatures above and below the glass transition temperature and at various pressures up to 2500 atm. At temperatures well above T_g a single relaxation peak (α′ peak) was observed in the case of the higher n-alkyl methacrylates. However, this peak was split into two peaks, α and β, with decrease in temperature or increase in pressure. The molecular motions corresponding to the α and the β relaxation processes are the micro-Brownian motions of amorphous main chains and of flexible side chains, respectively. From the temperature and the pressure dependence of the average dielectric relaxation time of these polymers the single relaxation process (the α′ process) was attributed to the micro-Brownian motion of the main chain coupled with that of the side chain. The effects of temperature and pressure on the d.c. conductivity of these polymers were also studied.     

Field survey of Glycyrrhiza plants in central Asia (2). Characterization of phenolics and their variation in the leaves of Glycyrrhiza plants collected in Kazakhstan

A new prenylated flavanone, licoleafol, and a new prenylated dihydrostilbene, uralstilbene, together with four known compounds, 8-dimethylallyleriodictyol, sophoraflavanone B, gancaonin R, and 6-dimethylallyleriodictyol, were isolated from the leaves of Glycyrrhiza uralensis collected in Kazakhstan. HPLC analysis of the leaves of Glycyrrhiza plants collected in Kazakhstan showed that both G. uralensis-specific and Glycyrrhiza glabra-specific compounds were detected in the leaves of the morphologically intermediate-type plants, suggesting that the intermediate-type plant is a hybrid of G. glabra and G. uralensis. In addition, HPLC profiles of leaf extracts from offspring of intermediate-type plants were divided into the three types: the G. uralensis type, G. glabra type, and the intermediate type. From these results, it appears likely that the intermediate-type plant back-crosses with G. glabra and G. uralensis to generate a G. glabra-type plant and a G. uralensis-type plant, respectively.     

Structure and hypochromism of (6,9) (9′,6′) purinophanes

The structure of the title compound 1a was determined to be a cross-stacking form with an interplanar distance of ca. 3.3 Å by X-ray analysis. On the basis of this structure, the hypochromicity of 1a was calculated by the ASMO SCF CI method.     

Fabrication of a side-polished fiber polarizer with a biref ringent polymer overlay

The fabrication of an in-line fiber polarizer consisting of a side-polished fiber (SPF) with a birefringent polymer thin-film overlay, polyvinyl carbazole, is described. Typical devices had <0.5 -dB insertion loss and extinction ratios of ~36 dB. A weakly coupled waveguide model that accurately describes these SPF-thin-film overlay devices and guides in their fabrication is also presented.     

Synthesis, structure, and cooperative proton-electron transfer reaction of Bis(5,6-diethylpyrazinedithiolato)metal complexes (M = Ni, Pd, Pt)

New proton and electron donors, M(II)(HL)(2) (M = Ni, Pd, Pt; L = 5,6-diethylpyradzinedithiolate), as well as a proton and electron acceptor, Pt(IV)(L)(2), were prepared and characterized. The pH-dependent cyclic voltammetry of the M(II)(HL)(2) complexes revealed a favorable Gibbs free energy (K(com) > 1) for the proton and electron transfer reactions from M(II)(HL)(2) to M(IV)(L)(2); i.e., the equilibrium for the following reaction lies to the right: M(II)(HL)(2) + M(IV)(L)(2) <==>2M(III)(HL)(L).     

Protective effects of an antioxidant derived from serine and vitamin B6 on skin photoaging in hairless mice

The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by ultraviolet radiation (UVR) accelerates skin aging, which is known as photoaging. Because cutaneous iron catalyzes ROS generation, sequestering iron by chelating agents is thought to be an effective approach toward preventing photoaging. Previously, N-(4-pyridoxylmethylene)-l-serine (PYSer) was designed as an antioxidant to suppress iron-catalyzed ROS generation by its iron-sequestering activity. In this study, PYSer showed protective effects against skin damage in hairless mice irradiated with ultraviolet B (UV-B). Topical application of PYSer to the skin significantly delayed and/or decreased the visible wrinkle formation induced by chronic UV-B irradiation. A histological study indicated that UV-B-induced epidermal hypertrophy and lymphocytic infiltration were suppressed by PYSer. Moreover, PYSer showed suppressive activity against the UV-B-induced increase in glycosaminoglycans (GAG). These results indicate that PYSer is a promising antioxidant for the prevention of chronic skin photoaging by its iron-sequestering activity.     

Four Dibenzofuran-Terminated High-Triplet-Energy Hole Transporters for High-Efficiency and Long-Life Organic Light-Emitting Devices

The weak stability of a hole-transporter upon approaching the anion state is one of the major bottlenecks for developing long-life organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Therefore, in this study, we developed a series of thermally and electrically stable hole-transporters that are end-capped with four dibenzofuran units. These materials exhibit i) high bond dissociation energy (BDE) toward the anion state, ii) a high glass transition temperature (T_g>130 °C), and iii) high triplet energy (E_T>2.7 eV), thereby enabling approximately 20 % high external quantum efficiency (EQE) and significantly prolonging the stability of both thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) and phosphorescent OLEDs with an operation lifetime at 50 % (LT₅₀) of 20 000–30 000 h at 1000 cd m⁻². In addition, investigating their structure-property relationship revealed that ionization potential (I_P), BDE, and T_g are critical prerequisites for the hole-transporter to prolong lifetime in OLEDs.     

Relations between allometric scalings and fluctuations in complex systems: The case of Japanese firms

To elucidate allometric scaling in complex systems, we investigated the underlying scaling relationships between typical three-scale indicators for approximately 500,000$500\text{,}000$ Japanese firms; namely, annual sales, number of employees, and number of business partners. First, new scaling relations including the distributions of fluctuations were discovered by systematically analyzing conditional statistics. Second, we introduced simple probabilistic models that reproduce all these scaling relations, and we derived relations between scaling exponents and the magnitude of fluctuations.