The inhibitory effect of bis[2-[(E)-2-octenoylamino]ethyl] disulfide on the cyclooxygenase pathway

Bis[2-[(E)-2-octenoylamino]ethyl] disulfide (compd. I-3) inhibited collagen- and arachidonic acid-induced rat platelet aggregation, although not adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP)-induced rat platelet aggregation. Based on these results, we then investigated the inhibitory effect of compd. I-3 on thromboxane B2 formation from arachidonic acid in rat platelets, and prostaglandin I2 formation in rat aortae. Compound I-3 inhibited both thromboxane B2 and prostaglandin I2 formation, suggesting that it has an inhibitory effect on cyclooxygenase. The inhibitory effect of compd. I-3 was confirmed in experiments using a crude preparation of sheep seminal vesicle microsomal prostaglandin synthetase. These findings suggested that compd. I-3 has an inhibitory effect on cyclooxygenase activity, like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.     

Simultaneous electrodeposition of actinides

A new system for simultaneous electrodeposition of U, Np, Pu, Am and Cm has been developed. The system consists of (NH₄)₂C₂O₄–H₂SO₄–HCl. The effects on recovery of pH, current density, interfering ions and the amount of added HCl have been studied. The optimum condition for simultaneous electrodeposition of actinides has been recommended. Under the recommended condition recoveries of U, Np, Pu, Am and Cm have been obtained by using²³²U,²³⁷Np,²⁴¹Am,²⁴²Pu and²⁴⁴Cm. The counting sources prepared are uniform, adherent and suitable for -spectrometry.     

Simultaneous micro-determination of nicotinamide and its major metabolites, N1-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide and N1-methyl-4-pyridone-3-carboxamide, by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simultaneous micro-determination of nicotinamide and its major metabolites, N1-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide (2-py) and N1-methyl-4-pyridone-3-carboxamide (4-py) by high-performance liquid chromatography is described. The method employs a 7-ODS-L (250 mm X 4.6 mm I.D., particle size 7 microns) column eluted with 10 mM potassium dihydrogenphosphate-acetonitrile (96:4, v/v; pH adjusted to 3.0 by the addition of concentrated phosphoric acid) at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min. The UV detector was set at 260 nm. The detection limits for nicotinamide, 2-py and 4-py were 10 pmol (1.22 ng), 2 pmol (304 pg) and 2 pmol (304 pg), respectively, at a signal-to-noise ratio 5:1. Isonicotinamide was used as an internal standard. The technique was applied to the analysis of rat and human urines. The total analysis time was ca. 15 min.     

Solvent-assisted thiocarboxylation of amines and alcohols with carbon monoxide and sulfur under mild conditions

DMSO or DMF as a solvent strongly accelerated the thiocarboxylation of amines and alcohols with carbon monoxide and sulfur. Under mild conditions (1 atm, 20 °C), this thiocarboxylation of amines assisted by DMSO with carbon monoxide and sulfur has been developed into a practical and convenient synthetic method for S-alkyl thiocarbamates in good to excellent yields, including EPTC, thiobencarb, orbencarb, and molinate (herbicides). DMF also showed the similar solvent effect. NMP slightly decreased the effect for the thiocarboxylation of amines, and the yield of S-alkyl thiocarbamate was lowered in DMAc. Surprisingly, no formation of S-alkyl thiocarbamate was observed at the use of the other solvents, such as THF, hexane, toluene, AcOEt, MeCN, MeOH, and H₂O. The present solvent-assisted thiocarboxylation with carbon monoxide and sulfur could be also applied to a new synthesis of S-alkyl O-alkyl carbonothioates from alcohols under mild conditions (1 atm, 20 °C) in DMF using DBU (1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene).     

Effects of molybdenum substitution on the photocatalytic behavior of BiVO4

Transition metal doping has always suffered from the disadvantage of reduction of photocatalytic activity because the dopant ions can form a discrete level in the forbidden band of the photocatalyst resulting in low mobility of electrons and holes in the dopant level and thus lowered activity. However, in this study the photocatalytic activity of an efficient visible-light sensitive photocatalyst, BiVO4, for water oxidation or organic compound degradation was found to be remarkably enhanced by molybdenum doping. The role of molybdenum doping in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of BiVO4 was investigated and discussed based on the changes of the surface acidity of the photocatalyst.     

Observation on burst phenomena in erbium nitrate crystals

Non-periodic instabilities (bursts) were observed in time series data of ac conductivities at 2 kHz along three crystalline directions of erbium nitrate crystals. The manifestation of the bursts was dependent on the direction of the crystals. The power spectra for the time series data having the bursts showed a broad peak. The limit cycles were found in the return map constructed from the time series data.     

The 2D Kramers–Dirac oscillator

The Dirac oscillator was initially introduced as a Dirac operator which is linear in momentum and coordinate variables. In contrast to the usual 2D Dirac oscillator, the 2D Kramers–Dirac oscillator admits the time-reversal symmetry, which is a reason for the present nomenclature. It is shown that there exists a family of eigenstates associated with an eigenvalue linear in the control parameter, and the eigenvalue in question goes down from positive values to negative values as the parameter varies in the positive direction. The other eigenvalues are broken up into two bands, positive and negative. The 2D Dirac and the 2D Kramers–Dirac oscillators are compared in their physical grounds and in their spectral structure from the viewpoint of the time-reversal symmetry.