Finite difference simulation of nonlinear waves generated by ships of arbitrary three-dimensional configuration

A modified marker-and-cell method is developed in order to simulate nonlinear wave making in the near-field of ships of arbitrary three-dimensional (3D) configuration advancing steadily in deep water. The 3D Navier-Stokes equations are solved by a finite difference scheme under proper boundary conditions. Efforts are particularly focused on the treatment of the boundary conditions on the body surface and free surface which have complicated 3D configurations. An orthogonal cell system with more than 70,000 cells is used for the computation of the waves and flow field of ships. The agreement of computational results with experiment is good, and it promises effectiveness for engineering purposes.     

Layer-by-layer electrodeposition of copper in the presence of o-phenanthroline, caused by a new type of hidden NDR oscillation with the effective electrode surface area as the key variable

Electrochemical deposition of copper (Cu) from aqueous acidic Cu2+ solutions with o-phenanthroline (o-phen) shows both potential and current oscillations, together with a (partially hidden) N-shaped negative differential resistance (N-NDR), indicating that the oscillations are classified into hidden N-NDR (or HN-NDR) oscillations. The color and the surface morphology of Cu deposits oscillate in synchronization with the potential and current oscillations. Microscopic inspection has shown that dense round Cu leaflets, which look gray, grow in the positive side of the potential oscillation or in the high-current state of the current oscillation, whereas thin Cu leaflets, which look black, grow in the opposite-side stages of the potential and current oscillations, thus finally resulting in a layered Cu deposit with the layer thickness of about 5 microm. The appearance of the NDR is explained to be due to adsorption of the reduced form of a [Cu(II)(o-phen)2]2+ complex, which suppresses the Cu electrodeposition. The increase in the effective electrode surface area by growth of thin Cu leaflets, on the other hand, causes a current increase that can hide the NDR. This NDR-hiding mechanism is of a new type and the present oscillation is regarded as a new-type of HN-NDR oscillator.     

Asymmetric hydrogenation of N-sulfonylated-alpha-dehydroamino acids: toward the synthesis of an anthrax lethal factor inhibitor

A novel and highly enantioselective Ru-catalyzed hydrogenation of N-sulfonylated-alpha-dehydroamino acids has been discovered and demonstrated in the synthesis of an anthrax lethal factor inhibitor (LFI). Herein, this methodology is used to prepare N-sulfonylated amino acids in up to 98% ee. This unprecedented hydrogenation uses a chiral Ru catalyst rather than Rh as typical for acylated dehydroamino acids and esters, and this work reports the first asymmetric hydrogenation of a tetrasubstituted dehydroamino acid derivative using a Ru catalyst. [reaction: see text]     

Synthesis and fluorescence spectra of oxa[3.n]phenanthrenophanes

[reaction: see text]. Novel photostable oxa[3.n](3,9)- and [3.3](3,10)phenanthrenophanes (n = 3, 4) bearing trimethylene-type linkage(s) were successfully synthesized by the intramolecular acid-catalyzed etherification of the corresponding precursor diols. syn-Oxa[3.3](3,10)phenanthrenophane afforded the most red-shifted excimer fluorescence (lambda(max) = 432 nm) among the phenanthrenophanes so far prepared.     

Control of bacteria adhesion by cell-wall engineering

UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide derivative bacterial cell-wall precursors were synthesized as effective tools for surface display on living bacteria. Lactobacilli were incubated in the ketone-modified precursor-containing medium, and the ketone moiety was displayed on the bacterial surface through cell-wall biosynthesis. Oligomannose was coupled with the ketone moiety on the bacterial surface via a aminooxyl linker, thereby displaying this oligosaccharide on the surface of the bacteria. The increase in the adhesion of the sugar-displaying bacteria onto a concanavalin A-attached film compared to that of native bacteria was confirmed by microscopic observation and surface plasmon resonance measurement. The incorporation of the artificial cell-wall precursors was enhanced when incubated with fosfomycin, an inhibitor of cell-wall precursor biosynthesis.     

Age-dependent plasticity in the superior temporal sulcus in deaf humans: a functional MRI study

Background  

Sign-language comprehension activates the auditory cortex in deaf subjects. It is not known whether this functional plasticity in the temporal cortex is age dependent. We conducted functional magnetic-resonance imaging in six deaf signers who lost their hearing before the age of 2 years, five deaf signers who were >5 years of age at the time of hearing loss and six signers with normal hearing. The task was sentence comprehension in Japanese sign language.     

Efficient synthesis of (±)-γ-lycorane employing stereoselective conjugate addition to nitroolefin

(±)-γ-Lycorane 3 was synthesized in 52% overall yield via seven steps from 5 by employing the highly stereoselective nitro-Michael cyclization of 5 to 9 and diastereoselective conjugate addition of aryllithium to a nitroolefin 10 as two key steps.     

Quasi-stadium laser diodes with an unstable resonator condition

We have observed lasing in a complicated eigenmode of a quasi-stadium laser diode with an unstable resonator consisting of two curved end mirrors obeying an unstable resonator condition and two straight sidewall mirrors. The laser was fabricated by application of a reactive-ion-etching technique to a molecular beam epitaxy-grown graded-index separate-confinement heterostructure single-quantum-well GaAs/AlGaAs structure. The far-field pattern shows that the lasing mode corresponds to the complicated lowest-loss mode obtained numerically by an extended Fox-Li method.     

Massadine,a novel geranylgeranyltransferase type I inhibitor from the marine sponge Stylissa aff. massa

Massadine, a highly oxygenated alkaloid, was isolated from the marine sponge Stylissa aff. massa as an inhibitor of geranylgeranyltransferase type I (GGTase I). The structure of massadine has been deduced from spectral data. Massidine inhibited GGTase I from Candida albicans with an IC(50) value of 3.9 microM. [structure: see text]     

Total synthesis of (+/-)-alpha- and beta-lycoranes by sequential chemoselective conjugate addition-stereoselective nitro-Michael cyclization of an omega-nitro-alpha,beta,psi,omega-unsaturated ester

[reaction: see text] An omega-nitro-alpha,beta,psi,omega-unsaturated ester underwent a chemoselective conjugate addition of a nitroolefin moiety with aryllithium to produce a psi-aryl-omega-nitro-alpha,beta-unsaturated ester, which was then stereoselectively cyclized by intramolecular nitro-Michael reaction giving a functionalized cyclohexane applicable to the total synthesis of (+/-)-alpha- and beta-lycoranes.