Geochemical record of U and Th isotopes in bottom sediments of Lake Kawaguchi at the foot of Mt. Fuji, Central Japan

Sediment cores from Lake Kawaguchi at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Japan were analyzed for U and Th isotopes (²³⁸U, ²³⁴U, ²³²Th, ²³⁰Th and ²²⁸Th) in the light of the linkage to paleoenvironmental changes. These isotopic concentrations and their ratios varied widely with depth of sediment core. A marked disequilibrium (1.1–1.5) higher than the value of 1.0 was observed for ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratios, indicating that U from lake water with high ²³⁴U/²³⁸U ratio (ca. 1.6) was transferred to the bottom sediment by adsorption and/or adhesion onto the settling particles. By using model equations, the U found in the sediment core was separated into lithogenous and autogenous U fractions. These depth profiles were compared with parameters such as organic matter and biogenic-SiO₂ contents and amount of rainfall. Some variations of selected parameters with depth coincided with those of lithogenous or autogenous U. The results obtained suggest that variation in the lithogenous and/or autogenous U in the sediment with depth might be helpful in tracing the geochemical behavior of U and the past environmental changes in the area surrounding Lake Kawaguchi.The authors would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Y. Ohtsuka of Department of Radioecology, Institute for Environmental Sciences and Dr. K. Sasaki of Department of Cultural Properties and Heritage, Kanazawa Gakuin University for sampling of water and rock samples at Lake Kawaguchi.     

Novel syntheses of enantiopure hexahydroimidazo[1,5-b]isoquinolines and tetrahydroimidazo[1,5-b]isoquinolin-1(5H)-ones via iminium cation cyclizations

Condensations of chiral diamines 11a-c with benzotriazole and formaldehyde gave benzotriazolyl intermediates 12a-c; similar condensations of alpha-amino-amides 10a-c with benzotriazole and paraformaldehyde gave 14a-c. Subsequent treatment of 12a-c and 14a-c with AlCl(3) led to enantiopure tricyclic 1,2,3,5,10,10a-hexahydroimidazo[1,5-b]isoquinolines 1a-c and 2,3,10,10a-tetrahydroimidazo[1,5-b]isoquinolin-1(5H)-ones 15a-c, respectively, via Lewis acid promoted iminium cation cyclizations.     

Molecular structure of glucopyranosylamide lipid and nanotube morphology

A series of glucopyranosylamide lipids, N-(X-octadecenoyl)-beta-D-glucopyranosylamine [X = 13-cis (1), 11-cis (2), 9-cis (3), 6-cis (4), and 9-cis,12-cis (5)] and their saturated homologue N-octadecanoyl-beta-d-glucopyranosylamine (6), which differ in the position of a cis double bond in the C18 hydrocarbon chains, have been synthesized. The effect of the cis double bond position on the chiral self-assembly of each glycolipid has been examined by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV, and circular dichroism (CD). The 11-cis derivative 2 was observed to self-assemble in water to form a uniform hollow cylinder structure with about 200-nm outer diameters in >98% yields. The obtained nanotubes from 2 showed the narrowest distribution of outer diameters and also gave a negative CD band around 234-236 nm, showing the largest CD intensity among the glycolipids investigated. Thus, we found that the position of a cis double bond significantly influences the homogeneity of the outer diameters as well as growth behavior of the self-assembled nanotube structures. Chiral molecular packing driven by a possible bending structure of the unsaturated glycolipids is playing a critical role in determining tubular morphology through molecular self-assembly.     

Synthesis of 2-, 4- and 5-(2-alkylcarbamoyl-1-methylvinyl)-7-alkyloxybenzo[b]furans and their leukotriene B4 receptor antagonistic activity

Variable benzo[b]furan derivatives having (E)- and (Z)-2-alkylcarbamoyl-1-methylvinyl groups at the 2-, 4- and 5-positions and a carboxylpropoxy or (1-phenyl)ethoxy group at the 7-position were prepared to find novel and selective leukotriene B4(LTB4) receptor antagonists. (E)-2-(2-diethylcarbamoyl-1-methylvinyl)-7-(1-phenylethoxy)benzo[b]furan (4v) showed selective inhibition to the human BLT2 receptor (hBLT2). On the other hand, (E)-2-acetyl-4-(2-diethylcarbamoyl-1-methylvinyl)-7-(1-phenylethoxy)benzo[b]furan (7v) inhibited both human BLT(1) receptor (hBLT1) and hBLT2. The (E)-2-(2-diethylcarbamoyl-1-methylvinyl) group lay on approximately the same plane as the benzo[b]furan ring, whereas the (E)-4-(2-diethylcarbamoyl-1-methylvinyl) group had the torsion angle (45.7 degree) from the benzo[b]furan ring plane. However, the (Z)-(2-alkylcarbamoyl-1-methylvinyl)benzo[b]furans were inactive. The inhibitory activity depended on the conformation of the 2-diethylcarbamoyl-1-methylvinyl group.     

Preparation and Reactivity of 1,3-Bis(alkylthio)allenes and Tetrathiacyclic Bisallenes

Reactions of Ph(2)C(3) dianion, prepared from 1,3-diphenylpropyne and n-butyllithium, with alkyl thiocyanates or alkane dithiocyanates gave 1,3-bis(alkylthio)allenes 1 or tetrathiacyclic bisallenes 2, respectively. Thermal reactions of 1 gave thiophenes 4 and 7, benzothiepin 5, 1,2-bis(benzylidene)cyclobutane 6, thiete 8, and alpha,beta-unsaturated ketone 9, and the reactions of tetrathiacyclic bisallenes 2a gave a cyclic dimer, 1,2-bis(benzylidene)cyclobutane derivative 10, quantitatively. Irradiation of 1,3-bis(alkylthio)allenes 1 and tetrathiacyclic bisallenes 2a caused rearrangement to give alkynes 18, 20, and 21. In the irradiation of the cyclic bisallenes 2a, isomerizations from dl to meso and meso to dl isomers were also found. In the reactions of allenes 1 and cyclic bisallenes 2a with diphenyl diazomethane, the diazomethane reacted selectively with the double bond rather than with the sulfur atom.     

High-performance liquid chromatography of biogenic amines in the corpus cardiacum of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana

The simultaneous determination of biogenic amines in the corpus cardiacum of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, was carried out using high-performance liquid chromatography with a Neurochem neurochemical analyser. Vanillic acid, dopamine, octopamine and tyramine were detected. Tyrosine and tryptophan were also detected at high levels. Octopamine levels in the corpus cardiacum were increased on injection of an acetone solution. The biological function of the biogenic amines detected is discussed.     

Immobilization of yeast and the function of immobilized yeast.

Hansenula anomala, which catalyzes an asymmetric reduction, was immobilized in bulk or spherical crosslinked polymers. The catalytic activity of the yeast for enantio-selective reduction of 3,8-dioxo-4-methoxycarbonyl-9-methyl-delta 4(10)-octalin (lab) was severely affected by the immobilization conditions, such as the crosslink density, and by hydrophobicity of polymers and other components used for immobilization, oxygen concentration in the medium, etc. In some immobilized systems, the ratio of resulting enantiomers was inverted from that in a free yeast system.     

Study of radiation-induced polymerization of vinyl monomers adsorbed on inorganic substances. VIII. Polymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate adsorbed on aerosil

Aerosil is silica having a purity which is very high compared with that of silica gel and having, unlike silica gel, no micropores. To investigate the effects of impurities and micropores on the radiation-induced polymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate adsorbed on silica gel, the radiation-induced polymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate adsorbed on Aerosil was carried out. The results of both the styrene–Aerosil 300 system and the methyl methacrylate–Aerosil 300 system were similar to those of the styrene–silica gel and methyl methacrylate–silica gel systems, respectively. This suggests that in the radiation-induced polymerization of both styrene–silica gel and methyl methacrylate–silica gel systems the impurity and the presence of micropores have almost no effects on the reaction mechanism. The effect of aluminum as an impurity was investigated on the styrene–Aerosil MOX 170 system. It was found that aluminum accelerated the cationic polymerization.     

Electronic structures of zinc and palladium tetraazaporphyrin derivatives controlled by fused benzo rings

Zinc and palladium tetracyclic aromatic complexes lying structurally between tetraazaporphyrin (TAP) and phthalocyanine (Pc), that is, monobenzo-, adjacently dibenzo-, oppositely dibenzo-, and tribenzo-fused TAPs, have been prepared, and their electronic structures investigated by electronic absorption, magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), fluorescence, phosphorescence, and time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy, as well as cyclic voltammetry. The last-named indicated that the first oxidation potentials shift to more negative values with increasing number of the fused benzo rings, but also suggested that the first reduction potential apparently has no correlation with the size and symmetry of the pi-conjugated systems. However, this latter behavior is reasonably interpreted by the finding that the effect of the fused benzo rings on destabilization of the LUMO depends on the orbital to which they are fused (i.e., whether it is an egx or egy orbital), since the LUMOs of TAP complexes are degenerate with D4h symmetry. The energy splitting of the LUMOs, that is, DeltaLUMO, was evaluated experimentally for the first time by analyzing the relationship between the first reduction potential and the size and shape of the pi-conjugated system. Electronic absorption and MCD measurements indicate that the lowest excited singlet states are split in the case of the low-symmetry TAP derivatives, although these excited states are degenerate for Pc and TAP with D4h symmetry. These energy splittings DeltaE(SS) correlate well with the DeltaLUMO values. To investigate the electronic structures in the lowest excited triplet state, zero-field splitting (zfs) was analyzed by time-resolved EPR (TREPR) spectroscopy. The energy splitting in the lowest excited triplet state, DeltaE(TT) was quantitatively evaluated from the temperature dependence of the zfs or spin-orbit coupling of the Pd complexes. Consequently, it is demonstrated that DeltaLUMO, DeltaE(SS), and DeltaE(TT) values exhibiting a mutually good relationship can be determined experimentally.     

General analysis of the measurements of the lateral crystal lattice moduli of semicrystalline polymers by x-ray diffraction and the application to nylon 6

A mathematical representation based on a linear elastic theory is proposed by which one may investigate the dependences of molecular orientation and crystallinity on the crystal lattice moduli and linear thermal expansion coefficients in the direction perpendicular to the chain axis as commonly measured by x-ray diffraction. In the theoretical calculation, a previously introduced model was employed in which oriented crystalline phase is surrounded by oriented amorphous phase and the strains of the two phases at the boundary are identical. The mathematical analysis indicated that the lateral crystal lattice moduli and linear thermal coefficients as measured by x-ray diffraction may be different from the intrinsic crystal moduli and linear thermal coefficients of a crystal unit cell, depending on the structure of the polymer solid. The numerical calculation was applied to nylon 6. As a result, it may be confirmed that the lateral crystal lattice moduli measured by x-ray diffraction are sensitive to the morphology of the bulk speciments and close to the intrinsic crystal moduli if the morphology of the test specimen can be represented by a parallel model with respect to the original stretching longitudinal direction.