A Chiral Thioxanthone as an Organocatalyst for Enantioselective [2+2] Photocycloaddition Reactions Induced by Visible Light

Thioxanthone 1 , which was synthesized in a concise fashion from methyl thiosalicylate, exhibits a significant absorption in the visible light region. It allows for an efficient enantioselective catalysis of intramolecular [2+2] photocycloaddition reactions presumably by triplet energy transfer.     

Synthesis of pentabromopseudilin and other arylpyrrole derivatives via Heck arylations

Pentrabromopseudilin and other 2 and 3-arylpyrrole derivatives were synthesized through the Heck–Matsuda reaction involving endocyclic enecarbamates and N-protected 3-pyrrolines, respectively. The overall processes permitted an easy and efficient access to these structural motifs present in several bioactive compounds. Attempts to synthesize the compound isopentabromopseudilin led to a tribromo aryl maleimide. We hypothesize that this latter compound is the putative product arising from the unusual thermal instability of isopentabromopseudilin.     

Cytotoxic and NF-κB inhibitory sesquiterpene lactones from Piptocoma rufescens

Six new (1-6) and eight known germacranolide-type sesquiterpene lactones, along with several known phenylpropanol coumarates and methylated flavonoids, were isolated from the leaves of Piptocoma rufescens, collected in the Dominican Republic. The new compounds were identified by analysis of their spectroscopic data, with the molecular structure of 3 being established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The absolute configurations of the sesquiterpene lactones isolated were determined from their CD and NOESY NMR spectra, together with the analysis of Mosher ester reactions. Bioassay screening results showed the majority of the sesquiterpene lactones isolated (1-13) to be highly cytotoxic toward the HT-29 human colon cancer cell line, with the most potent compound being 15-deoxygoyazensolide (10, IC(50), 0.26 μM). In addition, several of the sesquiterpene lactones exhibited NF-κB (p65) inhibitory activity.     

Definable nilpotent and soluble envelopes in groups without the independence property

We prove that in a group without the independence property a nilpotent subgroup is always contained in a definable nilpotent subgroup of the same nilpotency class. The analogue for the soluble case is also shown when the subgroup is normal in the ambient group.     

Hlder Norm Estimate for a Hilbert Transform in Hermitean Clifford Analysis

A Hilbert transform for Hlder continuous circulant (2 × 2) matrix functions, on the d-summable (or fractal) boundary Γ of a Jordan domain Ω in R2n , has recently been introduced within the framework of Hermitean Clifford analysis. The main goal of the present paper is to estimate the Hlder norm of this Hermitean Hilbert transform. The expression for the upper bound of this norm is given in terms of the Hlder exponents, the diameter of Γ and a specific d-sum (d d) of the Whitney decomposition of Ω. The result is shown to include the case of a more standard Hilbert transform for domains with left Ahlfors-David regular boundary.     

The Coordination Behaviour of the Peroxodisulfate Anion with Group XII Metal Ions: [Zn(H2O)(C12H8N2)2(S2O8)]·H2O and Related Compounds

Abstract  

The title compound is monomeric with a Zn(II) hexacoordinated center. The coordination sphere is formed by four nitrogens from two phenanthroline molecules, one oxygen from a monodentate peroxodisulfate ion, and one oxygen from a water molecule. A non-coordinated water molecule completes the formula with an important role in the stabilization of the structure through the formation of two O_HW–H···O_pds bridges (acting as a donor) and one O_CW–H···O_HW bridge where it is an acceptor group (HW: hydration water; pds: peroxodisulfato; CW: coordinated water). The compound is triclinic, space group P-1 with a = 8.763 (3) ?, b = 9.068 (3) ?, c = 17.531 (6) ?, α = 96.48 (2)°, β = 103.94 (3)°, γ = 104.57 (3)°, V = 1286.0 (7) ?³ and Z = 2. The structure was solved by direct methods with a conventional R (on F) = 0.050 for 4534 reflections with Fo > 4σ(Fo). The compound is isomorphous with the Cd analogue (in Harvey et al. Aust J Chem 54:307, 2001). An eventual dependence of conformation and coordination mode of the peroxodisulfate anion on the ancillary organic ligand taking part in the coordination compounds analyzed is discussed.     

Influence of the automotive Start/Stop system on noise emission: Experimental study

One of the most common environmental impacts of road transportation is the traffic noise. Linked to this, Start/Stop is a technology which has demonstrated to save fuel by powering off the engine when the vehicle is stopped, such as in front of a traffic light, and restarting the engine instantly when the driver pushes back the pedal brake to proceed. The technology helps also to reduce the CO₂ emission, playing a key role in a way to accomplish stringent emission norms for vehicle manufacturer. However, we are not sure whether it reduces the noise emission and how much? Thus, the main aim of this work is to assess the engine noise emissions of a vehicle incorporating a Start/Stop system in urban traffic, and compare it with those radiated by the mean traffic stream. Experimental results demonstrate that there are no contributions of the Start/Stop system to reduce meaningfully the engine noise in urban traffic.