1,3-substituted imidazolidine-2,4,5-triones: synthesis and inhibition of cholinergic enzymes

A series of novel and highly active acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors derived from substituted benzothiazoles containing an imidazolidine-2,4,5-trione moiety were synthesized and characterized. The molecular structure of 1-(2,6-diisopropyl-phenyl)-3-[(1R)-1-(6-fluoro-1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl)ethyl]-imidazolidine-2,4,5-trione (3g) was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Both optical isomers are present as two independent molecules in the triclinic crystal system. The lipophilicity of the compounds was determined as the partition coefficient log K(ow) using the traditional shake-flask method. The in vitro inhibitory activity on acetylcholinesterase from electric eel and butyrylcholinesterase isolated from equine serum was determined. The inhibitory activity on acetylcholinesterase was significantly higher than that of the standard drug rivastigmine. The discussed compounds are also promising inhibitors of butyrylcholinesterase, as some of the prepared compounds inhibit butyrylcholinesterase better than the internal standards rivastigmine and galanthamine. The highest inhibitory activity (IC?? = 1.66 μmol/L) corresponds to the compound 1-(4-isopropylphenyl)-3-[(R)-1-(6-fluorobenzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)ethyl]imidazolidine-2,4,5-trione (3d). For all the studied compounds, the relationships between the lipophilicity and the chemical structure as well as their structure-activity relationships are discussed.     

Gas phase rate coefficients and activation energies for the reaction of butanal and 2‐methyl‐propanal with nitrate radicals

Rate coefficients have been determined for the reaction of butanal and 2‐methyl‐propanal with NO₃ using relative and absolute methods. The relative measurements were accomplished by using a static reactor with long‐path FTIR spectroscopy as the analytical tool. The absolute measurements were made using fast‐flow–discharge technique with detection of NO₃ by optical absorption. The resulting average coefficients from the relative rate experiments were k = (1.0 ± 0.1) × 10⁻¹⁴ and k = (1.2 ± 0.2) × 10⁻¹⁴ (cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹) for butanal and 2‐methyl‐propanal, respectively. The results from the absolute measurements indicated secondary reactions involving NO₃ radicals and the primary formed acyl radicals. The prospect of secondary reactions was investigated by means of mathematical modeling. Calculations indicated that the unwanted NO₃ radical reactions could be suppressed by introducing molecular oxygen into the flow tube. The rate coefficients from the absolute rate experiments with oxygen added were and k = (1.2 ± 0.1) × 10⁻¹⁴ and = (0.9 ± 0.1) × 10⁻¹⁴ (cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹) for butanal and 2‐methyl‐propanal. The temperature dependence of the reactions was studied in the range between 263 and 364 K. Activation energies for the reactions were determined to 12 ± 2 kJ mole⁻¹ and 14 ± 1 kJ mole⁻¹ for butanal and 2‐methyl‐propanal, respectively. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 32: 294–303, 2000     

Health Effects of Grape Seed and Skin Extracts and Their Influence on Biochemical Markers

This review is focused on the study of the effects of grape seed and skin extract (GSSE) on human health. GSSE contains high concentrations of important polyphenolic substances with high biological activity. This review is a summary of studies that investigate the effects of GSSE on diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and cancer, its neuroprotective effect, and its effects on the gastrointestinal tract and other health complications related to these diseases. The results of the studies confirm that the anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and pro-proliferative effects of “Vitis vinifera L.” seed extract reduce the level of oxidative stress and improve the overall lipid metabolism.     

Pulse radiolysis study of reactions of alkyl and alkylperoxy radicals originating from methyl tert-butyl ether in the gas phase

UV spectra and kinetics for the reactions of alkyl and alkylperoxy radicals from methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) were studied in 1 atm of SF₆ by the pulse radiolysis-UV absorption technique. UV spectra for the radical mixtures were quantified from 215 to 340 nm. At 240 nm. σ_R = (2.6 ± 0.4) × 10⁻¹⁸ cm² molecule⁻¹ and σ_RO2 = (4.1 ± 0.6) × 10⁻¹⁸ cm² molecule⁻¹ (base e). The rate constant for the self-reaction of the alkyl radicals is (2.5 ± 1.1) × 10⁻¹¹ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹. The rate constants for reaction of the alkyl radicals with molecular oxygen and the alkylperoxy radicals with NO and NO₂ are (9.1 ± 1.5) × 10⁻¹³, (4.3 ± 1.6) × 10⁻¹² and (1.2 ± 0.3) × 10⁻¹¹ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively. The rate constants given above refer to reaction at the tert-butyl side of the molecule.     

Centrifugal Distortion Analysis of a Near-Spherical Top, SO(2)F(2): The First Determination of All Six Quartic Centrifugal Distortion Constants for an Asymmetric Top

The rotational spectrum of the near-spherical top molecule SO(2)F(2) (sulfuryl fluoride) has been investigated by microwave Fourier transform spectroscopy and by millimeter-wave spectroscopy. The ground state spectrum has been measured from 10 to 472 GHz. One of the reasons for studying this molecule is that it is a nearly spherical top and we wanted to verify our theoretical prediction that for such a molecule all six quartic centrifugal distortion constants (and nine sextic distortion constants) should be determinable, while for a standard asymmetric rotor, Watson has shown that only five quartic and seven sextic distortion constants are determinable. The analysis of the spectra confirmed our predictions, because all six quartic constants were well determinable. The results have been confirmed independently by ab initio calculations of the force field and quartic distortion constants. Because the molecule is relatively heavy, contributions of some sextic constants are too small and we have not been able to determine all nine sextic constants predicted by theory. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Atmospheric chemistry of di-tert-butyl ether: Rates and products of the reactions with chlorine atoms,hydroxyl radicals,and nitrate radicals

The rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of di-tert-butyl ether (DTBE) with chlorine atoms, hydroxyl radicals, and nitrate radicals have been determined in relative rate experiments using FTIR spectroscopy. Values of k_(DTBE+CI) = (1.4 ± 0.2) × 10⁻¹⁰,k_(DTBE+OH) = (3.7 ± 0.7) × 10⁻¹², and k_(DTBE+N03) = (2.8 ± 0.9) × 10⁻¹⁶ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ were obtained. Tert-butyl acetate was identified as the major product of both Cl atom and OH radical initiated oxidation of DTBE in air in the presence of NO_x. The molar tert-butyl acetate yield was 0.85 ± 0.11 in the Cl atom experiments and 0.84 ± 0.11 in OH radical experiments. As part of this work the rate constant for reaction of Cl atoms with tert-butyl acetate at 295 K was determined to be (1.6 ± 0.3) × 10⁻¹¹ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹. The stated errors are two standard deviations (2σ). © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Cheese whey tangential filtration using tubular mineral membranes

Membrane separation techniques are extensively used in dairy industry both for milk and cheese whey processing. However, cheese whey might still be considered as a problematic waste despite its high content of many valuable substances, such as proteins, lactose or minerals, which can be further used, e.g. in human nutrition, pharmacy or biotechnologies. Another problem, which food technologists have to face, is variable quality, composition and properties of food materials bringing high demands on manufacturing industry. In this paper, filtration kinetics and separation efficiency during purification and fractionation of cheese whey (sweet and salty) from Czech dairies by pilot-plant filtration (Bollene, France) was studied using tubular membranes (Membralox, USA). Various mineral membranes’ cut-offs were tested and all experiments ran in the retentate recycling mode. The obtained mass concentration factors were between 1.9 and 16.5. Steady state fluxes were calculated from the experimental data using a mathematical model. Fine ultrafiltration on a 5 kDa membrane gave steady state fluxes of 14–19 L m^?2 h^?1. The coarse pre-filtration on 100 nm, 200 nm or 500 nm membranes showed various permeate fluxes between 22 L m^?2 h^?1 and 153 L m^?2 h^?1. Despite the high pore sizes of the used membranes, lactose was partially rejected by all membranes tested.     

Guided Projections for Analyzing the Structure of High-Dimensional Data

A powerful data transformation method named guided projections is proposed creating new possibilities to reveal the group structure of high-dimensional data in the presence of noise variables. Using projections onto a space spanned by a selection of a small number of observations allows measuring the similarity of other observations to the selection based on orthogonal and score distances. Observations are iteratively exchanged from the selection creating a nonrandom sequence of projections, which we call guided projections. In contrast to conventional projection pursuit methods, which typically identify a low-dimensional projection revealing some interesting features contained in the data, guided projections generate a series of projections that serve as a basis not just for diagnostic plots but to directly investigate the group structure in data. Based on simulated data, we identify the strengths and limitations of guided projections in comparison to commonly employed data transformation methods. We further show the relevance of the transformation by applying it to real-world datasets.     

Rates of reaction between the nitrate radical and some aliphatic ethers

Rate coefficients for the reaction of NO₃ with dimethyl ether, diethyl ether, di-n-propyl ether, and methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE) have been determined. Absolute rates were measured at temperatures between 258 and 373 K using the fast flow-discharge technique. Relative rate experiments were also made at 295 K in a reactor equipped with White optics and using FTIR spectroscopy to follow the reactions. The measured rate coefficients (in units of 10^?15 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1) at 295 K are: 0.26 ± 0.11, 2.80 ± 0.23, 6.49 ± 0.65, and 0.64 ± 0.06 for dimethyl ether, diethyl ether, di-n-propyl ether, and methyl t-butyl ether, respectively. The corresponding activation energies are 21.0 ± 5.0, 17.2 ± 4.0, 15.5 ± 2.1, and 20.1 ± 1.7 kJ mole^?1. The error limits correspond to the 95%-confidence interval. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.