Die Zusammensetzung der Neutrallipide aus normalen Hirnen alter Menschen

The chemical composition of lipids from six human brains (60–73 years) is reported. The total lipids out of cortex, white matter, diencephalon and cerebellum, pons, and medulla oblongata have been isolated and the neutral lipids have been separated in cerebrosides, sphingomyelines, and lecithins. The highest amount of pure lipids is found in the white matter, the lowest in the cortex. The relation of neutral lipids to acid lipids as well as the amount of cholesterol are about equal for all regions. The white matter shows more cerebrosides and sphingomyelines than the cortex, the opposite being the case for lecithins. The differences are strongly significant. The fatty acids out of the different pure lipid fractions have been analysed as esters by gas chromatography. Stearic and lignoceric acid, and cerebronic and hydroxy nervonic acid respectively are main components of cerebrosides, with only little differences for the different brain regions. The fatty acids of sphingomyelines consist mainly of stearic and nervonic acid; in the white matter these two acids are present about in the same quantity, whereas stearic acid dominates in the cortex and the other sections. Lecithins contain above all palmitic and oleic acid. The amount of the latter in the white matter is higher than that of palmitic acid.     

Combining fixed- and moving-grid methods to study direct dissociation processes involving nonadiabatic transitions

We present a novel quantum-dynamics approach suitable for computing direct dissociation processes, including electronic transitions. This approach combines quantum trajectories in the Lagrangian reference frame with standard fixed-grid wave packets in order to overcome the limitations and difficulties of both techniques. As a model application, we consider the ultrafast photodissociation of H2 excited by a femtosecond extreme UV laser pulse.     

Comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography for the characterization of functional acrylate polymers

Comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography-size-exclusion chromatography (LC x SEC) was investigated as a tool for the characterization of functional poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymers. Ultraviolet-absorbance and evaporative light-scattering detection (ELSD) were used. A simple method to quantify ELSD data is presented. Each data point from the ELSD chromatogram can be converted into a mass concentration using experimental calibration curves. The qualitative and quantitative information obtained on two representative samples is used to demonstrate the applicability of LC x SEC for determining the mutually dependent molar-mass distributions (MMD) and functionality-type distributions (FTD) of functional polymers. The influence of the molar mass on the retention behavior in LC was investigated using LC x SEC for hydroxyl-functional PMMA polymers. The critical conditions, at which retention is--by definition--independent of molar mass, were not exactly the same for PMMA series with different end-groups. Our observations are in close agreement with theoretical curves reported in the literature. However, for practical applications of LC x SEC it is not strictly necessary to work at the exact critical solvent composition. Near-critical conditions are often sufficient to determine the mutually dependent distributions (MMD and FTD) of functional polymers.     

The Isocyanide–Cyanide Rearrangement; Mechanism and Preparative Applications

Until recently the isocyanide–cyanide rearrangement was of interest almost solely as an example of a unimolecular gas-phase reaction, and kinetic studies had been carried out in only a few simple cases. Kinetic measurements in solution were made possible only by the discovery and suppression of a parallel free-radical chain process which leads to the same products. The rate of the isomerization is almost independent of the structure of the starting material and of the substituents present. An exception is provided by extreme steric hindrance in three dimensions which, as in tris-α-substituted triptycyl isocyanides, leads to a considerable increase in the activation energy. The results can be interpreted in terms of a purely sigmatropic mechanism, as predicted by ab initio calculations. The preparative application of this rearrangement reaction requires the suppression of side reactions and can best be carried out by flash pyrolysis; yields are then almost quantitative. Allyl isocyanides react without allyl isomerization, optically active isocyanides with complete retention of configuration. New, economically interesting syntheses for the known nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ibuprofen and (S)-naproxene are described. The application of the useful synthetic building blocks, the optically active β-acyloxy cyanides, which are formed from optically active α-amino acids, will be demonstrated.     

Duplex Stabilization of DNA: Oligonucleotides containing 7-substituted 7-deazaadenines

The oligonucleotide building blocks 4b–d derived from 7-bromo-, 7-chloro-, and 7-methyl-substituted 7-deaza-2′-deoxyadenosines 3b–d were prepared. They were employed in the solid-phase synthesis of the oligonucleotides 7–25 . The dA residues of the homomer d(A₁₂), the alternating d[(A-T)₆], and the palindromic d(G-T-A-G-A-A-T-T-C-T-A-C) were replaced by 3b–d as well as by the parent 7-deaza-2′-deoxyadenosine ( 3a ). The melting profiles and CD spectra of oligonucleotide duplexes, showing this major groove modification, were measured, and the T_m values as well as the thermodynamic data were determined. It was found that small substituents such as Br, Cl, or Me introduced in the 7-position of a 7-deazaadenine residue increase the duplex stability compared to oligonucleotides containing adenine.     

The Wittig Reaction in Industrial Practice

The effects of a scientific discovery on industrial practice are illustrated with reference to the Wittig reaction. The aim of utilizing the Wittig reaction of linking terpenoid building blocks to give vitamin A and carotenoids on an industrial scale prompted extensive research and development work of a synthetic and chemical engineering nature. The importance of the Wittig reaction and its variants in the synthesis of active compounds and fine chemicals in industrial research is demonstrated in the present article.     

Specific labeling of cell surface proteins with chemically diverse compounds

The specific and covalent labeling of fusion proteins with synthetic molecules opens up new ways to study protein function in the living cell. Here we present a novel method that allows for the specific and exclusive extracellular labeling of proteins on the surfaces of live cells with a large variety of synthetic molecules including fluorophores, protein ligands, or quantum dots. The approach is based on the specific labeling of fusion proteins of acyl carrier protein with synthetic molecules through post-translational modification catalyzed by phosphopantetheine transferase. The specificity and versatility of the labeling should allow it to become an important tool for studying and manipulating cell surface proteins and for complementing existing approaches in cell surface engineering.     

On solving a D.C. programming problem by a sequence of linear programs

We are dealing with a numerical method for solving the problem of minimizing a difference of two convex functions (a d.c. function) over a closed convex set in ⁿ . This algorithm combines a new prismatic branch and bound technique with polyhedral outer approximation in such a way that only linear programming problems have to be solved.Parts of this research were accomplished while the third author was visiting the University of Trier, Germany, as a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation.