Stereocontrolled synthesis of trisubstituted cyclopropanes: expedient, atom-economical, asymmetric syntheses of (+)-Bicifadine and DOV21947

[reaction: see text] An expedient, atom-economical, asymmetric synthesis of 1-aryl-3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes, including (+)-Bicifadine and DOV21947, in a single-stage through process without isolation of any intermediates has been developed. The key of this synthesis is the in-depth mechanistic understanding of the complicated epoxy nitrile coupling at each reaction stage. Therefore, the desired trisubstituted cyclopropane can be prepared in high ee and yield by controlling the reaction pathway through manipulating the nitrile anion aggregation state.     

DIBAL-mediated reductive transformation of trans-dimethyl tartrate acetonide into ε-hydroxy α,β-unsaturated ester and its derivatives

Stepwise, selective DIBAL reduction of the acetonide diester derived from tartaric acid followed by the Horner-Emmons reaction effectively provided desymmetrized hydroxy mono-olefination products in a one-pot operation.     

The acoustic basis for target discrimination by FM echolocating bats

Past experiments show that echolocating bats of the species Myotis lucifugus and Eptesicus fuscus can discriminate among airborne sonar targets presented in the context of pursuit maneuvers for the interception of prey. These bats distinguish between edible mealworms and inedible spheres of various sizes. Myotis can distinguish between disks and mealworms similar enough in size that the bat's performance requires the ability to perceive the acoustic equivalent of target shape. Previously observed small differences in the spectrum of echoes from mealworms and disks appear insufficient to distinguish these targets at the performance levels achieved by bats. We measured the acoustic properties of the targets by broadcasting ultrasonic impulses at mealworms, spheres, and disks and recording their echoes, displaying the results in terms of impulse echo waveforms and the frequency response of targets derived from the target transfer function. The echoes from disks and mealworms at various orientations convey the range-axis profile of the target (number and spacing of reflecting points or glints distributed at different ranges) in terms of the impulse structure of their waveforms and in terms of the locations and spacing of notches or nulls in their spectra. For targets that bats can discriminate and that reflect echoes which do not clearly differ in overall amplitude, the targets appear distinguishable from the acoustic representation of their range profile, which is a feature of targets that bats can perceive with great acuity.     

Visual spatial memory is enhanced in female rats (but inhibited in males) by dietary soy phytoestrogens

Background  

In learning and memory tasks, requiring visual spatial memory (VSM), males exhibit superior performance to females (a difference attributed to the hormonal influence of estrogen). This study examined the influence of phytoestrogens (estrogen-like plant compounds) on VSM, utilizing radial arm-maze methods to examine varying aspects of memory. Additionally, brain phytoestrogen, calbindin (CALB), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) levels were determined.     

Rayleigh wave study of surface diffusion and stress relaxation in glass

Surface wave propagation on ion-exchanged glass surfaces has been systematically studied. The glass system was an alkali-alumino silicate glass, and the ion-exchange involved the replacement of lithium ions by sodium ions. Accurate velocity measurements were carried out on systems ion-exchanged for various times and at various temperatures. The effects of density and modulus changes on the velocity have been separated. Stress build-up and relaxation have been observed which correlate well with shear viscosity measurements. In addition, the diffusion coefficient for the Na⁺ ? Li⁺ exchange has been determined at a variety of temperatures.     

A new representation for the dynamic green's tensor of an elastic half-space or layered medium

A method for inverting the transforms of the terms in generalized ray series representations for disturbances in layered media is presented. It differs from the Cagniard reduction in that the solution of algebraic equations depending upon position x and time t is not required. This step is, in effect, replaced by contour integration of relatively simple functions. The method is applicable to anisotropic layers but it simplifies when applied to isotropic layers, for which any term in the ray series is represented as a single contour integral, around a fixed contour, of the product of a function that embodies material properties and a simple explicit function of x and t. The ‘material function’ can be tabulated and used repeatedly when the integral is evaluated for a range of values of x and t, so that the procedure is computationally quite efficient. It is illustrated by a computation of Green's function for an isotropic half-space, either free or overlaid by a fluid. Wave-front singularities are obtained explicitly from the representation and are given in an appendix.