A practical multi-step synthesis of ethyl N-functionalized $$\varvec{\upbeta }$$-amino benzimidazole acrylate derivatives as promising cytotoxic agents

A series of 16 new ethyl \(\upbeta \)-amino benzimidazole acrylate derivatives 12(a–p) with a (2E)-s-cis/trans conformation and bearing two points of diversity was designed and synthesized by using a multi-step strategy (reductive amination, deprotection in acidic media and transamination) in moderate to good yields from ethyl 3-dimethylamino-2-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)acrylate (5) and monosubstituted N-Boc diamines (7a,7b) as starting building blocks. Products 12 were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxic potential against six selected human cell lines (Huh7-D12, Caco2, MDA-MB231, HCT116, PC3 and NCI-H727). Compounds 12a, 12e and 12l exhibited selective and micromolar antitumor activities against Huh7-D12 and Caco2 cell lines.     

High-Q microfluidic cavities in silicon-based two-dimensional photonic crystal structures

We demonstrate postprocessed microfluidic double-heterostructure cavities in silicon-based photonic crystal slab waveguides. The cavity structure is realized by selective fluid infiltration of air holes using a glass microtip, resulting in a local change of the average refractive index of the photonic crystal. The microcavities are probed by evanescent coupling from a silica nanowire. An intrinsic quality factor of 57,000 has been derived from our measurements, representing what we believe to be the largest value observed in microfluidic photonic crystal cavities to date.     

Bent structure and dynamic stereochemistry of chiral acridinium cations

Chiral acridinium cations, easily prepared by reaction of enantiopure primary amines and tris(2,6-dimethoxy)trityl cation, display restricted rotations around the C(sp(3))-N(sp(2)) bond. A bending of the aromatic backbone and "out-of-plane" displacements of C(9) and N(10) atoms are enforced if bulky amines are introduced.     

A role of melanin-concentrating hormone producing neurons in the central regulation of paradoxical sleep

Background

Peptidergic neurons containing the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and the hypocretins (or orexins) are intermingled in the zona incerta, perifornical nucleus and lateral hypothalamic area. Both types of neurons have been implicated in the integrated regulation of energy homeostasis and body weight. Hypocretin neurons have also been involved in sleep-wake regulation and narcolepsy. We therefore sought to determine whether hypocretin and MCH neurons express Fos in association with enhanced paradoxical sleep (PS or REM sleep) during the rebound following PS deprivation. Next, we compared the effect of MCH and NaCl intracerebroventricular (ICV) administrations on sleep stage quantities to further determine whether MCH neurons play an active role in PS regulation.

Results

Here we show that the MCH but not the hypocretin neurons are strongly active during PS, evidenced through combined hypocretin, MCH, and Fos immunostainings in three groups of rats (PS Control, PS Deprived and PS Recovery rats). Further, we show that ICV administration of MCH induces a dose-dependant increase in PS (up to 200%) and slow wave sleep (up to 70%) quantities.

Conclusion

These results indicate that MCH is a powerful hypnogenic factor. MCH neurons might play a key role in the state of PS via their widespread projections in the central nervous system.

     

A queueing theoretic methodology for the analysis of separable conflict resolution algorithms with variable length elementary events

We describe a queueing theoretic approach to the delay analysis for the class of synchronous random-access protocols consisting of a Capetanakis-type Tree Algorithm for conflict resolution and a window algorithm for channel access. Our method features a stochastic decomposition, in which a major component of the delay is viewed as a discrete time queueing problem, where each window (selected by the channel access algorithm) becomes a customer requiring service in the form of conflict resolution. This technique is sufficiently powerful to give us the distribution of the packet delay in steady state. In this paper, we extend our method to allow the durations of elementary algorithmic steps to take on a general distribution (rather than being constants), which allows us to provide a unified treatment of channels with shared errors, some types of explicit reservation systems, and Local Area Networks with carrier sensing and/or collision detection, possibly in combination with variable size packets.     

VOCs Are Relevant Biomarkers of Elicitor-Induced Defences in Grapevine

Grapevine is susceptible to fungal diseases generally controlled by numerous chemical fungicides. Elicitors of plant defence are a way of reducing the use of these chemicals, but still provide inconsistent efficiency. Easy-to-analyse markers of grapevine responses to elicitors are needed to determine the best conditions for their efficiency and position them in protection strategies. We previously reported that the elicitor sulphated laminarin induced the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by grapevine leaves. The present study was conducted to characterise and compare VOC emissions in response to other elicitors. Bastid^® was first used to test the conditions of VOC collection and analysis. Using SBSE-GC-MS, we detected several VOCs, including the sesquiterpene α-farnesene, in a time-dependent manner. This was correlated with the induction of farnesene synthase gene expression, in parallel with stilbene synthesis (another defence response), and associated to resistance against downy mildew. The other elicitors (Redeli^®, Romeo^®, Bion^®, chitosan, and an oligogalacturonide) induced VOC emission, but with qualitative and quantitative differences. VOC emission thus constitutes a response of grapevine to elicitors of various chemical structures. Therefore, VOC analysis is relevant for studying the impact of environmental factors on grapevine defence responses and optimising the performance of elicitors in vineyards.     

Synthesis of N-benzylated indole-, indazole- and benzotriazole-4,7-diones

The benzylation of 4,7-dimethoxy-1H-indole (5) followed by an oxidative demethylation led to 1-benzyl-1H-indole-4,7-dione (2) with a 73% overall yield. From the commercially available 7-nitro-1H-indazole (7), a three-step pathway was developed to access 1-benzyl-1H-indazole-4,7-dione (3). Two of these steps were investigated in order to improve the process. The direct synthesis of 1-benzyl-1H-benzotriazole-4,7-dione (4), through a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between benzyl azide and para-benzoquinone (13), was also studied. The simplicity of the methodologies described offers wide perspectives in obtaining 1-alkylated indole-, indazole- and benzotriazole-4,7-diones.