Identification of a dehydrodimer of avenanthramide phytoalexin in oats

A new compound (1) was found to accumulate when oat leaves were treated with elicitors. A reaction with peroxidase and avenanthramide B, an oat phytoalexin, in the presence of hydrogen peroxide resulted in the formation of 1. The chemical structure of 1 was determined to be a cyclic dehydrodimer of avenanthramide B based on spectroscopic analyses and chemical derivatization, and 1 was named bisavenanthramide B.     

Ammonia synthesis by means of plasma over MgO catalyst

Ammonia synthesis from H₂-N₂ mixed gas was studied at room temperature in a glow-discharge plasma in the presence of metals or metal oxides. Magnesia (MgO) and calcia (CaO), which are oxides with solid basicity, revealed catalytic activity in the plasma synthesis of ammonia, although they are catalytically inactive in industrial ammonia synthesis. The acidic oxides (Al₂O₃, WO₃, and SiO₂-Al₂O₃) lead to the consumption of the reactant, i.e., the H₂-N₂ mixed gas. No ammonia was isolated. Metal catalysts showed higher activity than the above basic oxides. They have, however, different activities. The reaction was faster over the active materials than over sodium chloride (NaCl) or glass wool or in a blank reactor without any catalyst.     

Synthesis and Properties of an Overcrowded Silabenzene Stable at Ambient Temperature

Solid-state, room-temperature stability for silabenzene 1 is granted by the bulky silane rendering kinetic inertness. Silabenzene 1 is synthesized in good yield from the crowded chlorosilane 2 with tert-butyllithium. The delocalized, aromatic nature of 1 was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy and the (1)J(Si-C) value, as well as calculations on an analogous silabenzene.     

Toric Rings Arising from Cyclic Polytopes

Let d and n be positive integers with n ≥ d + 1 and 𝒫 ? ? ^d an integral cyclic polytope of dimension d with n vertices, and let K[𝒫] = K[?_≥0𝒜_𝒫] denote its associated semigroup K-algebra, where 𝒜_𝒫 = {(1, α) ∈ ? ^d+1: α ∈ 𝒫} ∩ ? ^d+1 and K is a field. In the present paper, we consider the problem when K[𝒫] is Cohen–Macaulay by discussing Serre's condition (R ₁), and we give a complete characterization when K[𝒫] is Gorenstein. Moreover, we study the normality of the other semigroup K-algebra K[Q] arising from an integral cyclic polytope, where Q is a semigroup generated by its vertices only.