Synthesis of all of the four possible stereoisomers of pestalotin,a gibberellin synergist isolated from pestalotia cryptomeriaecola sawada

(-)-Pestalotin [(6S, l'S)-6-(1'-hydroxypentyl)-4-methoxy-5,6-d dihydro-2-pyrone 1a]and its three other stereoisomers were synthesized either by utilizing the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation as the keystep or by derivation from D-(+)-glyceraldehyde acetonide.     

Measurement of regional cerebral blood flow by 133Xe inhalation method in patients with ruptured aneurysm

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in 20 patients with ruptured aneurysm. rCBF images are obtained by 133Xe inhalation method using a ring type gamma camera (SET-020, Shimazu Co.) with high sensitivity collimator. Examinations are performed at acute stage (1-7 days after onset) and at subacute stage (8-14 days after onset). In acute stage, rCBF in the affected cerebral hemisphere has tendency to be low in 12 patients with angiospasm after the aneurysmal rupture comparing to those in patients without angiospasm. Low rCBF areas in cerebral hemisphere at acute stage were apt to become normal in subacute stage. rCBF measurement by 133Xe inhalation method seemed to be an useful method to evaluate rCBF in patients with ruptured aneurysm.     

Recent progress of high-power negative ion beam development for fusion plasma heating

A negative-ion-based neutral beam injector (N-NBI) has been constructed for JT-60U. The N-NBI is designed to inject 500 keV, 10 MW neutral beams using two ion sources, each producing a 500 keV, 22 A D⁻ ion beam. In the preliminary experiment using one ion source, a D⁻ ion beam of 13.5 A has been successfully accelerated with an energy of 400 keV (5.4 MW) for 0.12 s at an operating pressure of 0.22 Pa. This is the highest D⁻ beam current and power in the world. Co-extracted electron current was effectively suppressed to the ratio of Ie/I_D⁻ < 1. The highest energy beam of 460 keV, 2.4 A, 0.44 s has also been obtained. To realize 1 MeV class NBI system for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), demonstration of ampere class negative ion beam acceleration up to 1 MeV is an important mile stone. To achieve the mile stone, a prototype accelerator and a 1 MV, 1 A test facility called MeV Test Facility (MTF) were constructed. Up to now, an H⁻ ion beam was accelerated up to the energy of 805 keV with an acceleration drain current of 150 mA for 1 s in a five stage electrostatic multi-aperture accelerator.     

High pressure FTIR study of intramolecular hydrogen bonding and conformation of a small peptide in solution

Effect of pressure on conformational equilibria of a small peptide N-acetyl-l-Pro-l-Leu-Gly-NH₂ in a chloroform solution has been studied by FTIR spectroscopy. Absorption in the NH stretching region was measured at pressures in the 1–1080 bar range and at 296 K, and decomposed into component bands by least-squares fitting. Intensity ratios of bands which were assigned to a hydrogen-bond-free conformer and intramolecularly hydrogen-bonded conformers with 10- and 13-membered hydrogen bonded rings, respectively, were examined as a function of pressure. It was found that the conformer with the 13-membered ring has definitely smaller partial molar volume than the other two conformers which have nearly the same volume with each other. On the basis of a simple dielectric model, we have shown that the conformer with the 13-membered hydrogen-bonded ring has a considerably large dipole moment which is consistent with the α-helical structure suggested by the previous variable-temperature FTIR study.     

A New Approach to the Construction of BEDT-TTF Derivatives Condensed with Heterocycles via BF3-promoted Reactions of Organotin Thiolates

The synthesis of BEDT-TTF derivatives fused with heterocycles (3–7) has been accomplished via the BF₃-promoted reaction of organotin thiolates (8 and 9) with electrophiles (10 and 11). Electrical conductivities of radical cation salts derived from some of them were also investigated.     

Ab initio MO Calculations of benzene + TCNE and naphthalene + TCNE complexes with STO-3G π-split basis set

Ab initio SCF MO calculations have been carried out on benzene + TCNE (tetracyanoethylene) and naphthalene + TCNE complexes with the STO -3G, STO -3G π-split (STO -3G for π orbitals and a split basis for π orbitals), and 4–31G basis sets. The interaction energy, gross charges, dipole moment, and the electron density in the middle plane of the complexes have also been evaluated. The STO -3G π-split basis set is appropriate for the calculation of large π–π stacking complexes from two points of view, production of reliable results and ease of computations. The approximation scheme based on the semiorthogonalized orgitals is revealed to be very efficient to save CPU time and storage in such calculations. The stable conformation and the charge-transfer interaction of the two complexes are discussed on the basis of the calculated quantities.     

Synthetic alpha-mannosyl ceramide as a potent stimulant for an NKT cell repertoire bearing the invariant Valpha19-Jalpha26 TCR alpha chain

A NKT cell repertoire is characterized by the expression of the Valpha19-Jalpha26 invariant TCR alpha chain (Valpha19 NKT cell). This repertoire, as well as a well-established Valpha14-Jalpha281 invariant TCR alpha(+) NKT cell subset (Valpha14 NKT cell), has been suggested to have important roles in the regulation of the immune system and, thus, is a major therapeutic target. Here, we attempted to find specific antigens for Valpha19 NKT cells. Valpha19 as well as Valpha14 NKT cells exhibited reactivity to alpha-galactosyl ceramide (alpha-GalCer). Thus, a series of monoglycosyl ceramides with an axially oriented glycosidic linkage between the sugar and ceramide moiety were synthesized and their antigenicity to Valpha19 NKT cells was determined by measuring their immune responses in culture with glycolipids. Comprehensive examinations revealed substantial antigenic activity for Valpha19 NKT cells by alpha-mannosyl ceramide.     

GENERATION AND PARTICIPATION OF O-2 IN 2-NITROPROPANE DIOXYGENASE REACTION

Abstract— 2-Nitropropane dioxygenase (EC 1. 13. 11) of the yeast Hansenula mrakii catalyzes the oxygenative denitrification of 2-nitropropane as follows:

The enzyme is significantly inhibited by superoxide dismutase and various scavengers for superoxide such as cytochrome c , epinephrine, thiols and polyhydric phenols. The scavengers added to the reaction mixture were oxidized or reduced. The addition of superoxide dismutase and the omission of 2-nitropropane or oxygen prevented the oxidation and the reduction of the scavengers. The enzyme catalyzes the formation of nitrite from 2-nitropropane by KO₂ added anaerobically.
One mole of NADH is bound per mole of the enzyme and predominantly the pro-R hydrogen of bound NADH is transferred to superoxide formed enzymatically or provided externally. The enzyme shows incomplete stereospecificity for hydrogen transfer from NADH.     

Carrier generation process on photoconductive polymer films as studied by magnetic field effects on the charge-transfer fluorescence and photocurrent

We have studied the magnetic field effects (MFEs) on the charge-transfer fluorescence and transient photocurrent of a 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene-doped poly(N-vinylcarbazole) film, which reflect the recombination and escape yields of the carriers, respectively. The recombination yield dependence of the external magnetic field (B) clearly shows two types of the MFEs, growth with increasing B due to the hyperfine mechanism (HFM) and a negative dip due to the level-crossing mechanism (LCM). On the other hand, the escape yield indicates complementary MFEs with a sharp decrease in yield with increasing B and then a positive dip. Simultaneous observation of the HFM- and LCM-MFEs proves the stepwise hole-hopping mechanism rather the long-range hole-jumping one. The quantitative analysis of the recombination and escape MFEs is performed using the stochastic Liouville equations (SLE) for a one-dimensional lattice model in which the stepwise hole hops take place between the nearest neighbor carbazole units with spin conservation. The SLE analysis provides the recombination and hole transfer rate constants of 7.0 x 10(7) and 4.5 x 10(8) s(-1), respectively. The boundary site number for the ion pairs in the one-dimensional model is estimated by the best fit to the experimental results. The interionic distance of the boundary ion pair in the one-dimensional model including eight sites agrees with the thermalization distance in the Onsager model. Hence, it is concluded that the elementary processes in the Onsager model applied to molecular amorphous solids are the stepwise hole hops rather than a long-range hole jump.