Two new tetranor-cycloartane glycosides from cimicifuga rhizome

Two new tetranor-cycloartane glycosides (1, 2) were isolated from Cimicifuga Rhizome. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis. These compounds suggested the existence of a biogenetic pathway into C-23 lactone-type cycloartane glycosides.     

Synthesis, properties and molecular structure of a novel dicyanoheptafulvene derivative, 4′-dicyanomethylidenedispiro[cyclohexane-1, 1′-(1′,4′,7′-trihydrocyclopenta[f]azulene)-7′,1″-cyclohexane]

A novel dicyanoheptafulvene 9 annulated by two spiro[4,5]deca-1,3-dienes was synthesized by the reaction of dispirocyclopentaazulenium cation 8 with bromomalononitrile. Although 9 was found to have a nonplanar heptafulvene structure by its X-ray crystallographic analysis, it is still capable of π-conjugation and thus shows appreciable contribution of the dipolar resonance form 9B based on its spectroscopic data. The degree of the contribution was further evaluated for various dicyanoheptafulvenes in terms of the partial sum of atomic charges of the dicyanomethylene group in the calculated structures besides the interplanar angles of the heptafulvene part and the length of the exocyclic double bond in the crystal structures.     

Synthesis and properties of novel crown ether-annelated 4′,5′-diaza-9′-(1,3-dithiole-2-ylidene)-fluorenes and their ruthenium(II) complexes

Two novel redox-active 1,3-dithiole (DT) ring-fused 4,5-diazafluorene ligands with crown ether moieties (L1 and L2) were synthesized and characterized. The crystal structure of L1 was studied. The electrochemical and spectroscopic properties of these new ligands, as well as the corresponding bis(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) complexes [4: Ru L1(bpy)₂ and 5: Ru L2(bpy)₂], were also been investigated.     

Effect of visual target blurring on accommodation under distance viewing

Purpose

To examine the effect of visual target blurring on accommodation.

Methods

We evaluated the objective refraction values when the visual target (asterisk; 8°) was changed from the state without Gaussian blur (15 s) to the state with Gaussian blur adapted [0(without blur)?→?10, 0?→?50, 0?→?100: 15 s each].

Results

In Gaussian blur 10, when blurring of the target occurred, refraction value did not change significantly. In Gaussian blur 50 and 100, when blurring of the target occurred, the refraction value became significantly myopic.

Conclusion

Blurring of the distant visual target results in intervention of accommodation.

     

Semaphorins and their receptors: Novel features of neural guidance molecules

Semaphorins were originally identified as axon guidance cues involved in the development of the nervous system. In recent years, it is emerging that they also participate in various biological systems, including physiological and pathological processes. In this review, we primarily focus on our cumulative findings for the role of semaphorins and their receptors in the regulation of the immune system, while also summarizing recent progress in the context of cardiovascular system.     

Lattice dynamics of calcium oxide

The effect of the electronic extension on the electrostatic potential was first taken into account functionally by Birman. We have applied his model to the lattice dynamics of CaO, where the degree of the electronic extension w was defined and determined with the use of the electronic charge density distribution obtained from analysis of X-ray data. Our treatment shown here not only gives a physically meaningful model including the feature of the electronic extension, but also involves essentially the same very simple process as the conventional point-charge model but with fewer adjustable parameters. Good reproduction of calculated phonon dispersion curves was obtained by taking into account the electronic extension, although the degree of the electronic extension, w, used to fit the curve was a little larger than that derived from the observed data owing to the first rough approximation for the potential energy arising from the electronic extension.     

Photodegradation behavior of tert-butyl vinyl ketone polymers and copolymers with styrene and α-methylstyrene

Photodegradation behavior of atactic and isotactic polymers of tert-butyl vinyl ketone (t-BVK) and its copolymers with styrene and α-methylstyrene was studied in dioxane as a solvent at room temperature. The quantum yield of main-chain scission of atactic poly(t-BVK) was found to be larger than that of isotactic poly(t-BVK) and atactic poly(methyl vinyl ketone). From the Stern-Volmer plots on the quenching study of atactic poly(t-BVK) with naphthalene and 2,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexadiene, it was found that 60–70% of its photochemical reaction underwent main-chain scission from the triplet state. It was also found that the increase in t-BVK contents of both copolymers accelerated the photodegradation, and the copolymer with styrene was more photodegradable than that with α-methylstyrene. These results seemed to suggest that the main-chain scission of these vinyl ketone polymers and copolymers proceeded through a Norrish type II photoelimination mechanism.     

Determining spin through quantum azimuthal-angle correlations

Determining the spin of new particles is critical in identifying the true theory among various extensions of the Standard Model at the next generation of colliders. Quantum interference between different helicity amplitudes was shown to be effective when the final state is fully reconstructible. However, many interesting new physics processes allow only for partial reconstruction. In this Letter, we show how the interference effect can be unambiguously extracted even in processes that have two-fold ambiguity, by considering the correlation between two decay planes in e⁺e⁻$e^{+}{e}^{-}$ collisions.     

Free Field Construction for the ABF Models in Regime II

The Wakimoto construction for the quantum affine algebra U $_q$ ( $(\widehat{\mathfrak{s}\mathfrak{l}_2 })$ ) admits a reduction to the q-deformed parafermion algebras. We interpret the latter theory as a free field realization of the Andrews–Baxter–Forrester models in regime II. We give multi-particle form factors of some local operators on the lattice and compute their scaling limit, where the models are described by a massive field theory with $\mathbb{Z}$ $_k$ symmetric minimal scattering matrices.     

Monitoring the brain metabolites of children with acute encephalopathy caused by the H1N1 virus responsible for the 2009 influenza pandemic: a quantitative in vivo H MR spectroscopy study

Background and Purpose

Influenza viral infection, which results in central nervous system dysfunction, is a major cause of acute encephalopathy (AE). The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in the concentrations of brain metabolites in children with AE using single-voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and to provide diagnostic information about the relationship between the symptoms of AE and metabolite concentrations.

Materials and Methods

The subjects were 10 children (mean age: 6.2 years; range: 1–13) with AE caused by the novel influenza A virus responsible for the 2009 influenza pandemic. The serial MRS data (TE/TR=30/5000 ms, 3 T) acquired from the basal ganglia (BG) and centrum semiovale (CS) of each patient were categorized into three periods: (1) initial neurological symptom presentation and the start of treatment (n= 10), (2) short-term follow-up (n= 9) and (3) long-term follow-up (n= 3). As controls, the magnetic resonance (MR) spectra of eight age-matched children were also investigated.

Results

In both regions, the concentrations of the major metabolites (N-acetylaspartate, creatine, choline, myo-inositol, glutamate/glutamine complex and glutamate) only showed minor fluctuations between the three periods. On the other hand, higher levels of taurine (Tau) were observed in the BG during the second period (P=.005), and increased levels of glucose were observed in the CS during the first (P=.005) and second (P=.036) periods.

Conclusions

Serial monitoring of brain metabolite changes was carried out with a clinical MR system. The concentrations of major metabolites only displayed very minor fluctuations in response to mild H1N1-related AE. However, a higher Tau concentration was found to be associated with neurological symptoms. Further studies are required to improve our understanding of the detailed activity of Tau in AE.