A convection/reaction/switching system

We consider a spatially distributed hybrid system consisting of a convection/reaction system in which the reaction switches discontinuously in time between modes, independently at each spatial point on reaching “switching thresholds”. The model involves a novel formulation for evolution of the free boundary between the modal regions.     

New stereoselective synthesis of the peptidic aminopeptidase inhibitors bestatin, phebestin and probestin

Peptidic aminopeptidase inhibitors, bestatin, phebestin and probestin have been prepared by stereo- and regiocontrolled reactions from a common α,β-epoxy ester precursor.     

A computational study into the reactivity of epichlorohydrin and epibromohydrin under basic conditions in the gas phase and solution

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations were carried out on epibromohydrin (EBH) and epichlorohydrin (ECH) in an attempt to elucidate their reactivity with respect to a hard nucleophile, hydroxide. These systems were modeled in both the gas phase and a polar solvent under basic conditions. In the gas phase, it was determined that a direct displacement mechanism (nucleophilic attack at the C1 position) was operative for EBH, while an indirect pathway (nucleophilic attack at the C3 position and subsequent intramolecular displacement) was followed for ECH. In an acetone solution, only the indirect displacement mechanism was found to occur. An electrostatic argument is advanced to account for this behavior in polar solution. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The silicon effect on the regioselectivity of the Tsuji-Trost reaction. Experimental and theoretical approaches

Regioselectivity of the Tsuji-Trost reaction on allyl acetates and carbonates substituted with silyl groups at the olefinic moiety has been analyzed. Silicon atom in the central carbon atom increases the stability of the intermediate π-allylpalladium cation with respect to the isomeric π-allylpalladium cation featuring the silicon in a terminal carbon atom.     

Constructing Space for Science at the Royal Institution of Great Britain

Those who have worked in the Royal Institution of Great Britain have, since its foundation in 1799, made significant contributions to scientific knowledge, to its practical application, and to its communication to a wide variety of audiences. Such work cannot be carried out in an architectural vacuum, and in this paper we examine how the buildings of the Royal Institution, 20 and 21 Albemarle Street in central London, have shaped the work undertaken within its walls and how, on a number of occasions, the buildings have been reconfigured to take account of the evolving needs of scientific research and communication. This paper is based on the Conservation Plan of the Royal Institution that we wrote during 2003. The Conservation Plan did not examine the land owned by the Royal Institution to the north (i.e., 22 and 23 Albemarle Street; for this area see Richard Garnier, “Grafton Street, Mayfair,” Georgian Group Journal 13 (2003), 210–272), but it did discuss 18 and 19 Albemarle Street. In this paper we concentrate on the core Royal Institution buildings at 20 and 21 Albemarle Street. Other studies of the relationship of architecture,space, and science include Crosbie Smith and Jon Agar, ed., Making Space for Science: Territorial Themes in the Shaping of Knowledge (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997); Peter Galison and Emily Thompson, ed., The Architecture of Science (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1999); and Sophie Forgan,“The architecture of science and the idea of a university,” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 20 (1989), 405–434. Frank A.J.L. James is Professor of the History of Science at the Royal Institution; he has written widely on the history of nineteenth-century science in its social and cultural contexts and is editor of the Correspondence of Michael Faraday. He is President of the British Society for the History of Science. Anthony Peers is an Associate of Rodney Melville and Partners where he works in the field of building conservation as an architectural historian. He is a Council member of the Ancient Monument Society.     

Asymmetric synthesis of abietane diterpenoids via B-alkyl Suzuki-Miyaura coupling. Formal total asymmetric synthesis of 12-deoxyroyleanone and cryptoquinone

A convergent synthetic strategy for abietane diterpenoids via B-alkyl Suzuki-Miyaura coupling and Lewis acid-mediated cyclization reactions is established. Asymmetric total synthesis of 12-deoxyroyleanone, an antileishmanial diterpene, is described.     

Expedient synthesis of villosin and its isomer (E)-labda-8(17),12,14-trien-15(16)-olide

The synthesis of the title compounds has been achieved in concise, highly regiocontrolled fashion from commercially available (+)-sclareolide. In addition, we offer evidence that the structure of a newly reported natural product from Zingiber ottensii is incorrect.     

Direct synthesis of Cbz-protected β-amino ketones by iodine-catalyzed three-component condensation of aldehydes, ketones and benzyl carbamate

Iodine has been found to be very effective catalyst for a Mannich reaction between an aryl aldehyde, an aryl ketone and benzyl carbamate, even though this is a less reactive amine, to produce Cbz-protected β-aryl β-amino carbonyl compounds in high yields.