Acid catalyzed ring contractions in endo-2,8-trimethylene-cis-bicyclo[3.3.0]octyl cations to methylperhydrotriquinacenes. One of the methyl ext

Sulfuric acid catalyzed ring contractions with extrusion of a methyl group were examined for alcohol and olefin derivatives (28–31) of endo-2,8-trimethylene-cis-bicyclo[3.3.0]octane (11), which was one of the two possible progenitors, among altogether 69 isomers, for methylperhydrotriquinacenes (6, 7 and 12), the only methyltricyclodecane intermediates found so far, in the tricycloundecane rearrangement. Only minor amounts (1.6–2.0%) of methylperhydrotriquinacenes were formed from these reactants 28–31, and the results support the earlier theoretical conclusion that the methyl extrusions were in general energetically quite unfavorable processes owing to the formation of primary carbinyl cations at the expense of more stable secondary bridge or tertiary bridgehead ones. Reaction pathways for these precursors 28–31 were discussed with reference to those of perhydrotriquinacene 2-carbinyl cations (33a's), which corresponded to some of the ring contraction product cations from 28–31.     

Redox-switching of intramolecular magnetic interaction through π-conjugation mode change of 1,2-bis(4-dianisylamino)-1,2-bis(3-N-oxylamino)-substituted tetraarylethylene

To develop the redox-switching system of intramolecular magnetic interaction, 1,2-bis[3-(N-tert-butyl-N-oxylamino)phenyl]-1,2-bis[4-{N,N-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)amino}phenyl]ethylene, tetraarylethylene with two nitroxide radical groups at the meta-position, was synthesized, and characterized by the electrochemical method and ESR spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry showed the tetraarylethylene core has the lower oxidation potential than the substituted nitroxide radical moiety. ESR spectroscopy in frozen solution revealed that the neutral form shows the fine-structured spectrum characteristic of the spin triplet species, while the dicationic form shows the anisotropic hyperfine-structured spectrum characteristic of the randomly-oriented nitroxide radical, indicating the drastic change of intramolecular magnetic interaction.     

Vinyl Polymerization by Metal Complexes. VII

Abstract

The photopolymerization of vinyl monomers by metal salt-saccharide system was investigated in various solvents. The rate of polymerization in the presence of a iron(III) salt in aqueous media was remarkably accelerated by the addition of saccharides. The acceleration caused by a series of saccharides was found to be in the following order: glucose > fructose > lactose maltose. α-Methyl-d-glucoside and sucrose exhibited very little effect. The overall activation energy for the photopolymerization of acrylonitrile in the presence of glucose was found to be 2.7 kcal/mole, about half of the value obtained in the absence of glucose.     

Dependence of the optimum parameters of femtosecond laser annealing of lead zirconate titanate films on their thickness

The optimum parameters of laser annealing (crystallization) induced by repetitive pulses with a pulse duration of 100 fs and a wavelength of 800 nm, which falls in the transparency region of the film and, simultaneously, in the absorption region of the substrate, have been investigated experimentally as a function of the thickness of the ferroelectric film. It has been shown that, with an increase in the thickness of the ferroelectric film by 100 nm (in the range from 300 to 600 nm), the required power density of the laser beam increases, on the average, by 0.1 MW/cm². The optimum exposure time of the laser beam with the desired power increases nonlinearly with an increase in the thickness of the film.     

Corrigendum to “Constraints on operator ordering from third quantization” [Ann. Phys. 365 (2016) 54–65]

In our previous paper Ohkuwa et al. (2016) corrigendum was found in Eqs. (3.4) and (3.6). However, conclusions of our previous paper are not changed.     

Formation of Supramolecular Nanostructures through in Situ Self-Assembly and Post-Assembly Modification of a Biocatalytically Constructed Dipeptide Hydrazide**

Aqueous self-assembly of short peptides has attracted growing attention for the construction of supramolecular materials for various bioapplications. Herein, we describe how the thermolysin-assisted biocatalytic construction of a dipeptide hydrazide from an N-protected amino acid and an amino acid hydrazide leads to the formation of thermally stable supramolecular hydrogels. In addition, we demonstrate the post-assembly modification of the supramolecular architectures constructed in situ tethering hydrazide groups as a chemical handle by means of fluorescence imaging.     

Computer-Aided Detection of Quantitative Signatures for Breast Fibroepithelial Tumors Using Label-Free Multi-Photon Imaging

Fibroadenomas (FAs) and phyllodes tumors (PTs) are major benign breast tumors, pathologically classified as fibroepithelial tumors. Although the clinical management of PTs differs from FAs, distinction by core needle biopsy diagnoses is still challenging. Here, a combined technique of label-free imaging with multi-photon microscopy and artificial intelligence was applied to detect quantitative signatures that differentiate fibroepithelial lesions. Multi-photon excited autofluorescence and second harmonic generation (SHG) signals were detected in tissue sections. A pixel-wise semantic segmentation method using a deep learning framework was used to separate epithelial and stromal regions automatically. The epithelial to stromal area ratio and the collagen SHG signal strength were investigated for their ability to distinguish fibroepithelial lesions. An image segmentation analysis with a pixel-wise semantic segmentation framework using a deep convolutional neural network showed the accurate separation of epithelial and stromal regions. A further investigation, to determine if scoring the epithelial to stromal area ratio and the SHG signal strength within the stromal area could be a marker for differentiating fibroepithelial tumors, showed accurate classification. Therefore, molecular and morphological changes, detected through the assistance of computational and label-free multi-photon imaging techniques, enable us to propose quantitative signatures for epithelial and stromal alterations in breast tissues.     

Structure of cypridina biluciferyl,a dimer of cypridina luciferyl radical having bioluminescent activity

Structure of $\text{Cypridina}$ biluciferyl (luciferyl radical dimer), which is produced by chemical oxidation of $\text{C}$. luciferin with such as ferricyanide, was determined to be the symmetric 5,5′-dimer of $\text{C}$. luciferin. It gives light in the presence of $\text{C}$. luciferase, although the bioluminescent rate is very low. We suggest that the biluciferyl is an intermediate in the oxidation of the luciferin to $\text{C}$. luciferinol.     

Donor–acceptor–acceptor-type near-infrared fluorophores that contain dithienophosphole oxide and boryl groups: effect of the boryl group on the nonradiative decay

The use of donor–π–acceptor (D–π–A) skeletons is an effective strategy for the design of fluorophores with red-shifted emission. In particular, the use of amino and boryl moieties as the electron-donating and -accepting groups, respectively, can produce dyes that exhibit high fluorescence and solvatochromism. Herein, we introduce a dithienophosphole P-oxide scaffold as an acceptor–spacer to produce a boryl- and amino-substituted donor–acceptor–acceptor (D–A–A) π-system. The thus obtained fluorophores exhibit emission in the near-infrared (NIR) region, while maintaining high fluorescence quantum yields even in polar solvents (e.g. λ_em = 704 nm and Φ_F = 0.69 in CH₃CN). A comparison of these compounds with their formyl- or cyano-substituted counterparts demonstrated the importance of the boryl group for generating intense emission. The differences among these electron-accepting substituents were examined in detail using theoretical calculations, which revealed the crucial role of the boryl group in lowering the nonradiative decay rate constant by decreasing the non-adiabatic coupling in the internal conversion process. The D–A–A framework was further fine-tuned to improve the photostability. One of these D–A–A dyes was successfully used in bioimaging to visualize the blood vessels of Japanese medaka larvae and mouse brain.

Combination of electron-accepting diarylboryl terminal groups and dithienophosphole oxide spacers with electron-donating triarylamine moieties produces donor–acceptor–acceptor type π-systems, which exhibit emissions in the near-infrared region.