RA‐dimer B,a New Dimeric RA‐series Cyclopeptide Incorporating Two Different Types of Cycloisodityrosine Units,from Rubia cordifolia L.

RA‐dimer B, a new cytotoxic RA‐series peptide, was isolated from the roots of Rubia cordifolia L. Its structure was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis to be a dimeric cyclopeptide composed of deoxybouvardin and allo‐RA‐V. Those two cyclopeptide units are connected by an ether linkage between the phenolic oxygen atom of deoxybouvardin and the ?a carbon atom of Tyr‐6 of allo‐RA‐V. RA‐dimer B was synthesized by the coupling reaction of deoxybouvardin with the boronic acid derivative of allo‐RA‐V, and subsequent deprotection, confirming the relative stereochemistry and establishing the absolute configuration of this peptide. RA‐dimer B showed cytotoxic activity against human promyelocytic leukaemia HL‐60, human colonic carcinoma HCT‐116, and human renal cell carcinoma ACHN cells with IC₅₀ values of 0.59, 0.54, and 0.74 μm , respectively.     

TG-MS analysis of the thermal decomposition of pig bone for forensic applications

In order to investigate the potential of thermal analysis for the determination of post-mortem age, rib bone specimens were collected from the remains of a number of slaughtered pigs that were allowed to decompose in the Australian bush in a controlled site under a range of conditions for time periods ranging from 1 to 5 years. The bone specimens were cut in cross-section with the compact bone collected for analysis. TG-MS curves were collected by heating bone samples to 1100°C in an argon atmosphere. The TG-MS data showed significant differences for the pig bone specimens derived from the different environments and showed trends in peak size correlating with age. The reported data suggest that TG-MS has significant potential for the identification of origin as well as the ageing of skeletal remains in a forensic context.     

Binary additive effect of benzoic acid in ipso-Friedel-Crafts-type dearomatization of phenols using a chiral silver phosphate

We previously developed a chemoselective asymmetric phenol dearomatization using a silver catalyst and benzoic acid as an additive to enhance the reaction efficiency. The mechanistic role of the additive, however, remained unclear. Herein we describe detailed studies to elucidate the additive effect, which revealed that benzoic acid plays two supporting roles in the silver-catalyzed reaction. First, it promotes protonation of a silver enolate intermediate to improve the chemical yield of a spirolactam. Second, it dissociates a homochiral dimer of silver phosphate to generate a monomeric species.     

Photochemical reaction of trimethyl acetate on Pt/TiO2(110)

Nanometer-sized Pt particles were prepared on an atomically flat surface of rutile TiO(2). Trimethyl acetate (TMA) adsorbed on the Pt-modified surface was photochemically decomposed under ultraviolet light irradiation in a vacuum. Residing TMA anions were imaged by a scanning tunneling microscope to deduce the local rate of decomposition. Increasing the number density of Pt particles led to an enhancement of the initial reaction rate. The degree of this enhancement did not depend on the distance from the Pt particles.     

Second-order terms for the variances and covariances of the number of prime factors—Including the square free case

We obtain second-order terms for the variance and covariance of $\text{Ω(n)}$ and ω(n), the number of prime divisors counted with and without multiplicity, and connect these results to a formula of Renyi. We discuss the heuristic connection with the Landau-Sathe extension of the prime number theorem and develop new expansions for the mean and variance of ω(n) in the square free case.     

TG-MS characterisation of pig bone in an inert atmosphere

A challenge for forensic examiners is the ageing and characterisation of bone fragments or decomposed skeletal remains. Due to the sensitivity of thermal methods to morphological states, thermal analysis has been selected as a technique which could overcome the difficulties. In this preliminary study, TG-MS was applied to the characterisation of bone fragments derived from the compact bone of pig rib specimens. TG-MS curves were collected by heating bone samples to 1000°C in an argon atmosphere. Under these conditions, both the organic and inorganic phases decomposed, producing a variety of organic fragments and carbon dioxide. Pyrolysis of the organic phase, which is composed predominantly of collagen, occurred resulting in the observation of ion fragments up to 110 amu. Selected fragments were monitored and their observation is discussed in terms of the decomposition of both the collagen phase and the inorganic carbonated hydroxyapatite phase.     

Pyrazolato-bridged polynuclear palladium and platinum complexes. Synthesis,structure, and reactivity

Cyclic trinuclear complexes [Pd(3)(mu-pz)(6)] (1) and [Pd(3)(mu-4-Mepz)(6)] (2) and dinuclear complex [Pd(2)(mu-3-t-Bupz)(2)(3-t-Bupz)(2)(3-t-BupzH)(2)] (3) have been prepared by the reactions of [PdCl(2)(CH(3)CN)(2)] with pyrazole (pzH), 4-methylpyrazole (4-MepzH), and 3-tert-butylpyrazole (3-t-BupzH), respectively, in CH(3)CN in the presence of Et(3)N. In the absence of the base, treatment of [PdCl(2)(CH(3)CN)(2)] with pzH gave the mononuclear complex, [Pd(pzH)(4)]Cl(2) (6). The reaction of [PtCl(2)(C(2)H(5)CN)(2)] with pzH in the presence of Et(3)N under refluxing in C(2)H(5)CN afforded the known dimeric Pt(II) complex, [Pt(pz)(2)(pzH)(2)](2) (7). The protons participating in the hydrogen bonding in 3 and 7 are easily replaced by silver ions to give the heterotetranuclear complex [Pd(2)Ag(2)(mu-3-t-Bupz)(6)] (4) and the heterohexanuclear complex [Pt(2)Ag(4)(mu-pz)(8)] (5). The complexes 1-6 are structurally characterized.     

Synthesis and properties of bisdehydro[4n+2]annulenediones

Bisdehydro[14]- and [18]annulenediones have been synthesized by cyclic dimerization of corresponding -ethynyl acid chlorides in the presence of palladium-copper catalyst in triethylamine-benzene and fully characterized by analyses and their ¹H-NMR, mass, electronic and IR spectroscopic evidences.     

Electrochemical Elucidation of the Facilitated Ion Transport Across a Bilayer Lipid Membrane in the Presence of Neutral Carrier Compounds

The ion transport facilitated by neutral carrier compounds (valinomycin, nonactin) has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry in the several electrolyte solutions (KF, KCl, KBr, KNO₃, KSCN, KClO₄), and we demonstrated the effect of the counter anions on the facilitated transport of K⁺ from the viewpoint of electroneutrality. Voltammograms for the ion transport were generated at steady state and the current density between W1 and W2, j_W1–W2, increased with the absolute value of the applied membrane potential, E_W1–W2. Then, the magnitude of j_W1–W2 at a certain E_W1–W2 increased with the hydrophobicity of the counter anion. It was proved that the logarithm of |j_W1–W2|at a certain E_W1–W2 is almost proportional to the hydration energy of the counter anion. This indicates that not only K⁺ but also the counter anion distributes into the BLM. Therefore, the magnitude of j_W1–W2 at a certain E_W1–W2 increased with an increase of pH, because the hydroxide ion was served as a counter anion. Based on the variation of the zero‐current potential in case of various asymmetrical ionic compositions, it is found that the amount of cation transport is much larger than that of anion transport.     

Fourth-order Raman spectroscopy of wide-band gap materials

Low-frequency surface vibrations were observed on a rutile TiO(2)(110) surface covered with trimethyl acetate (TMA) by using fourth-order Raman spectroscopy. The TMA-covered surface interfaced to air was irradiated with 18-fs light at a wavelength of 630 nm. A pump pulse excited vibrational coherence of Raman-active modes and a probe pulse interacts with the coherently excited surface to generate second harmonic light (315 nm), the intensity of which oscillated as a function of the pump-probe delay. Four bands were recognized at 180, 357, 444, and 826 cm(-1) in the Fourier transformation spectrum of the oscillation and assigned to bulk phonons modified by the presence of the surface boundary condition. The Raman transition for the pump was nonresonant to the band gap excitation of TiO(2), as evidenced by the oscillation phase relative to the pump irradiation and by the oscillation amplitude as a function of the pump power. The observable range of this surface-selective spectroscopy is extended to wide-band gap materials on which one-photon resonance enhancement of the Raman-pump efficiency cannot be expected.