Dispiro-1,2,4-trioxane analogues of a prototype dispiro-1,2,4-trioxolane: mechanistic comparators for artemisinin in the context of reaction pathways with iron(II)

Single electron reduction of the 1,2,4-trioxane heterocycle of artemisinin (1) forms primary and secondary carbon-centered radicals. The complex structure of 1 does not lend itself to a satisfactory dissection of the electronic and steric effects that influence the formation and subsequent reaction of these carbon-centered free radicals. To help demarcate these effects, we characterized the reactions of achiral dispiro-1,2,4-trioxolane 4 and dispiro-1,2,4-trioxanes 5-7 with ferrous bromide and 4-oxo-TEMPO. Our results suggest a small preference for attack of Fe(II) on the nonketal peroxide oxygen atom of 1. For 4, but not for 5 and 6, there was a strong preference for attack of Fe(II) on the less hindered peroxide bond oxygen atom. The steric hindrance afforded by a spiroadamantane in a five-membered trioxolane is evidently much greater than that for a corresponding six-membered trioxane. Unlike 1, 5-7 fragment by entropically favored beta-scission pathways forming relatively stable alpha-oxa carbon-centered radicals. These data suggest that formation of either primary or secondary carbon-centered radicals is a necessary but insufficient criterion for antimalarial activity of 1 and synthetic peroxides.     

Differentiation between 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes and 1,2,4,5,7,8‐hexaoxonanes using 1H and 13C NMR analyses

The proton and carbon resonance spectra of ten pairs of 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes and 1,2,4,5,7,8‐hexa‐oxonanes derived from acyclic and cyclic ketones have been recorded. A reliable method for distinguishing between 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes and 1,2,4,5,7,8‐hexaoxonanes by inspection of their chemical shifts, signal number, signal shape, and dynamic features has been developed. This method provides a rapid structural assignment of 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes and 1,2,4,5,7,8‐hexaoxonanes without using vapor pressure osmometry, isotope labeling or low temperature NMR techniques.     

A mathematical model of aging-related and cortisol induced hippocampal dysfunction

Background  

The hippocampus is essential for declarative memory synthesis and is a core pathological substrate for Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common aging-related dementing disease. Acute increases in plasma cortisol are associated with transient hippocampal inhibition and retrograde amnesia, while chronic cortisol elevation is associated with hippocampal atrophy. Thus, cortisol levels could be monitored and managed in older people, to decrease their risk of AD type hippocampal dysfunction. We generated an in silicomodel of the chronic effects of elevated plasma cortisol on hippocampal activity and atrophy, using the systems biology mark-up language (SBML). We further challenged the model with biologically based interventions to ascertain if cortisol associated hippocampal dysfunction could be abrogated.     

Definition and measurement of the normalized electrical impedance of lossy piezoelectric resonators for ultrasonic transducers

Relevant equivalent circuit parameters and values of material constants of a piezoelectric resonator can be determined from measurements of its electrical input impedance as a function of frequency. The complex electrical impedance curves and the associated critical frequencies are the basis of this characterization by the piezoelectric resonance method. In this paper, the previously introduced concept of normalized electrical impedance of the lossy resonator, extended to include piezoelectric losses, is applied to the analysis of the effects of different types of intrinsic losses on peak values, bandwidths and characteristic frequencies. The resulting impedance patterns depend solely on the electromechanical coupling coefficient and the loss tangents, providing a useful tool for the analysis of low-Q resonators. The normalized impedance is experimentally evaluated from the basic data provided by an HP 4194A impedance analyser by means of specifically developed ASP programs.     

Semipinacol and protoadamantane-adamantane rearrangements of 5,6-dibromoadamantan-2-one and -2-ol

A number of new polybrominated adamantanes were formed by rearrangements and bromination of 2,2,6,6-tetrabromoadamantane under Friedel-Crafts conditions. Protoadamantane-4,10-dione, 10-acetoxyprotoadamantan-4-one, 1,2,6-triacetoxyadamantane and 5,6-diacetoxyadamantan-2-one were formed by successive semipinacol and protoadamantane-adamantane rearrangements of 5,6-dibromoadamantan-2-one and 5,6-dibromoadamantan-2-ol. This work may open up new pathways for the synthesis of 1,2,6-trisubstituted adamantanes.