Concise synthesis of dl-febrifugine

Racemic compound (1) of the antimalarial agents febrifugine (d-1) was synthesized using an stereoselective Michael reaction of an omega-amidoenone (5) which was prepared by the Wittig reaction of piperidinediol (7).     

Atomic XAFS as a tool to probe the electronic properties of supported noble metal nanoclusters

Atomic XAFS is a very attractive technique for probing electronic properties of supported metal nanoclusters. For platinum nanoparticles on different supports, the technique is found to be in good agreement with infrared CO adsorption measurements. The advantages of AXAFS, however, are that no probe molecule is required and that real-time measurements under reaction conditions are possible.     

Observation of surface composition of copper-nickel alloy by auger spectra in the lower energy region (at around 100 eV)

The interaction of oxygen with a clean (110) molybdenum surface has been studied by LEED and RHEED. At room temperature two simple chemisorbed structures are found, at higher exposures a multiple order pattern is seen. At temperatures above 750 K a complex LEED pattern is observed. Initially a corresponding RHEED pattern is seen which has a different structure. Epitaxial oxide nucleation may be followed by RHEED but the initial process is not seen by LEED. More extensive epitaxial films are needed before oxide reflexions appear in the LEED pattern. The formation of an epitaxial oxide film is accompanied by the growth of {100} molybdenum facets. These may be seen after the film has been carefully evaporated away. The nuclei of oxide which form are shown by both RHEED and transmission microscopy of replicas to be characteristically shaped.     

Molecular and functional diversity of vascular endothelial growth factors

Summary Members of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family are crucial regulators of neovascularization and are classified as cystine knot growth factors that specifically bind cellular receptor tyrosine kinases VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, and VEGFR-3 with high but variable affinity and selectivity. The VEGF family has recently been expanded and currently comprises seven members: VEGF-A, VEGF-B, placenta growth factor (PlGF), VEGF-C, VEGF-D, viral VEGF (also known as VEGF-E), and snake venom VEGF (also known as VEGF-F). Although all members are structurally homologous, there is molecular diversity among the subtypes, and several isoforms, such as VEGF-A, VEGF-B, and PlGF, are generated by alternative exon splicing. These splicing isoforms exhibit differing properties, particularly in binding to co-receptor neuropilins and heparin. VEGF family proteins play multiple physiological roles, such as angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, while exogenous members (viral and snake venom VEGFs) display activities that are unique in physiology and function. This review will highlight the molecular and functional diversity of VEGF family proteins.     

Isometries of some F-algebras of holomorphic functions on the upper half plane

Linear isometries of N ^p (D) onto N ^p (D) are described, where N ^p (D), p > 1, is the set of all holomorphic functions f on the upper half plane D = {z ∈ ?: Im z > 0} such that sup _y >0 ∫_? ln ^p (1 + |(x + iy)|) dx < +∞. Our result is an improvement of the results by D.A. Efimov.     

Main eigenvalues and automorphisms of a graph

We study some aspects of the relationship between algebras associated with graphs and automorphism groups. We study an algebra generated by the adjacent matrix of a graph and the all ones matrix, and derive a lower bound for the rank of the automorphism group of a graph. If a graph attains the equality in the above bound, it is calledextremal. We also describe some properties and examples of extremal graphs.     

Chemical Bonding in Polarised Push–Pull Ethylenes

1,1‐Diamino‐2,2‐bis(triflyl)ethylenes with both twisted and planar structures around the partial “C=C” bond were synthesised. Bonding properties in these compounds were analysed by an experimental approach using high‐resolution X‐ray diffraction data treated with X‐ray wavefunction refinement (XWR). In the twisted compound, a dominant contribution of the charge‐separated resonance structure was revealed. On the contrary, the nearly planar compound still showed π‐bonding character, however, with a considerable contribution of the charge‐separated resonance structure.