Synthesis of tetrasubstituted alkenes via metathesis

Fully substituted olefin generation via metathesis is presented. Catalyst development, optimization of reaction conditions and substrate screening are included. In addition, asymmetric alkene metathesis, the cross metathesis reaction for this transformation and its application in natural products will be discussed.     

New challenges in the 2011 revised middle school curriculum of South Korea: mathematical process and mathematical attitude

The ‘future-oriented middle school mathematics curriculum focused on creativity and personality’ was revised in August of 2011 with the aim of nurturing students’ mathematical creativity and sound personalities. The curriculum emphasizes: contextual learning from which students can grasp mathematical concepts and make connections with their everyday lives; manipulation activities through which students may attain an intuitive idea of what they are learning and enhance their creativity; and reasoning to justify mathematical results based on their knowledge and experience. Since students will not be able to engage in the intended mathematical process with the study-load imposed by the current curriculum, the newly revised curriculum modifies or deletes some parts of the contents that have been traditionally taught mechanically. This paper provides a detailed overview of the main points of the revised curriculum.     

Coordination polyhedron and chemical vapor deposition of Cu(hfacac)2(t-BuNH2)

A new pentacoordinate Cu(II) complex, Cu(hfacac)(2)(t-BuNH(2)) [hfacac = CF(3)C(O)CHC(O)CF(3)(-), t-BuNH(2) = tert-butylamine], has been synthesized and structurally characterized. Interestingly, the structure of a single crystal occurred as square pyramidal with one O atom at the apical position and one N and three O atoms at the basal positions, showing a serious degree of distortion. This contrasts with the square-pyramidal structure of Cu(hfacac)(2)L (L = H(2)O and pyrazine), which has the L ligand at the axial position. In the Cu(hfacac)(2)(t-BuNH(2)) complex, the t-BuNH(2) ligand is placed at an equatorial position with a lowered angle by 19.9(2) degrees from the basal plane. This distortion seems to reduce sigma influence and steric hindrance and so stabilizes the square-pyramidal geometry. This precursor has a lower melting point and superior stability to air, moisture, and heat than the Cu(hfacac)(2)(xH(2)O) precursor. The deposition rate of copper oxide film on a Pt layer above 450 degrees C was nearly constant with increasing temperature, indicating a mass transport limited reaction. Therefore it would be a useful metal organic chemical vapor deposition precursor for the fabrication of copper oxide film or superconducting materials. Crystal data for Cu(hfacac)(2)(t-BuNH(2)): 293(2) K, a = 9.6699(4) A, b = 18.0831(10) A, c = 12.8864(11) A, beta = 111.839(5) degrees, monoclinic, space group P2(1)/c, Z = 4.     

Metabolism of a novel antiangiogenic agent KR-31831 in rats using liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry

KR-31831 ((2S,3R,4S)-4-(((1H-imidazol-2-yl)methyl)(4-chlorophenyl)amino)-6-amino-2-(dimethoxymethyl)-2-methyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-3-ol) is a novel antiangiogenic agent. In vitro and in vivo metabolism of KR-31831 in rats has been investigated using LC-MS and LC-MS/MS analysis. Incubation of rat liver microsomes and hepatocytes with KR-31831 produced three metabolites (M1-M3). M1, M2, and M3 were identified as N-((1H-imidazol-2-yl)methyl)-4-chlorobenzenamine, (2R,3R,4S)-4-(((1H-imidazol-2-yl)methyl)(4-chlorophenyl) amino)-6-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-3-ol, and N-((2S,3R,4S)-4- (((1H-imidazol-2-yl)methyl)(4-chlorophenyl)amino)-2-(dimethoxymethyl)-3-hydroxy-2-methyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-6yl)acetamide, respectively, by co-chromatography with the authentic standards and by comparison with product ion spectra of the authentic standards. Those in vitro metabolites were also detected in bile, plasma, or urine samples after an intravenous administration of KR-31831 to rats. The metabolic routes for KR-31381 included the metabolism of acetal group to hydroxymethyl group (M2), N-dealkylation to M1, and N-acetylation at the 6-amino group (M3).     

Forskolin promotes astroglial differentiation of human central neurocytoma cells

Human central neurocytoma is a kind of the brain tumors that are usually found in anterior part of the lateral ventricles. In this study, we established conditions that allowed proliferation of neurocytoma cells culture and analyzed characteristics of neurocytoma cells in vitro. For in vitro, a condition that used for culturing neural stem cells and contained basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) provided high proliferation. RT-PCR analaysis showed that nestin was found in neurocytoma cells, indicating that the neurocytomas possess neural stem cell properties. Interestingly, treatment of neurocytoma cells with forskolin increased expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein with a concomitant decrease in the nestin expression. Forskolin also induced morphological changes of neurocytoma cells to adopt an astrocyte-like phenotype. The results suggest that neurocyotma cells may have properties of multipotent neural stem cells.     

An olefin disconnection strategy for the practical synthesis of (+)-brefeldin A: olefin cross metathesis and intramolecular Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination

The practical and convergent total synthesis of (+)-brefeldin A has been achieved by an olefin disconnection strategy. Key features of the total synthesis include the efficient formation of C2 and C10 olefins, employing an olefin cross metathesis (CM) reaction and an intramolecular HWE olefination, respectively.     

Hydrazide as a new hydrogen-bonding motif for resorcin[4]arene-based molecular capsules

The resorcin[4]arene-based benzoylhydrazide cavitands formed stable molecular capsules in nonpolar solvents by the eight intermolecular N-H...O=C hydrogen bondings, two from each four paired hydrazides, and the four intramolecular O-H2C-O...H-N hydrogen bondings on each cavitand. The stability of these molecular capsules depends on the encapsulated guest in the following order: CH3SO3(-) > CH3CO2(-) > CH3CH2NH2 x HCl approximately = CH3NH2 x HCl > (CH3)4N(+) > toluene > C2D2Cl4.     

High-speed temporal characterization and visualization of spatial light modulators and flat-panel displays

An apparatus that can characterize and visualize temporal dynamics of spatial light modulators (SLM's) and flat-panel displays is constructed and evaluated by use of a commercially available SLM. The apparatus is based on the stroboscopic video sampling method and has a temporal resolution of the order of microseconds, permitting measurement of a long event (>100ms) with a high signal-to-noise ratio. Experimental results demonstrate the visualization of the temporal image sequencing and addressing in an SLM.     

Fiber Modal Index Measurements Based on Fiber Gratings

A novel method based on fiber gratings for measuring the effective indices of fiber modes is proposed. The effective index difference between the core mode and a cladding mode was obtained by analyzing the interference fringe of a pair of cascaded long-period fiber gratings. In order to extract the core mode index from the measured index difference, an index matching oil immersion method is proposed. By analyzing the interaction between the cladding mode and the oil applied on the cladding surface, the mode order and the effective index of the involved cladding mode might be calculated. Experimental results about the interference fringe shifts induced by the oil index and the oil-applied length are also presented.