Pheromone synthesis. Part 243: Synthesis and biological evaluation of (3R,13R,1′S)-1′-ethyl-2′-methylpropyl 3,13-dimethylpentadecanoate, the major component of the sex pheromone of Paulownia bagworm, Clania variegata, and its stereoisomers

All of the four stereoisomers of (1′S)-1′-ethyl-2′-methylpropyl 3,13-dimethylpentadecanoate, the major component of the female sex pheromone of Clania variegata, were synthesized by employing olefin cross metathesis as the key reaction and starting from (R)- or (S)-2-methyl-1-butanol, (R)- or (S)-citronellal, and (S)-2-methyl-3-pentanol. Their bioassay revealed the (3R,13R,1′S)-isomer as the bioactive one, whose more efficient synthesis was achieved in two different ways by employing Wittig reaction as the key step.     

Determination of the absolute configuration of the male aggregation pheromone, 2-methyl-6-(4′-methylenebicyclo[3.1.0]hexyl)hept-2-en-1-ol, of the stink bug Erysarcoris lewisi (Distant) as 2Z,6R,1′S,5′S by its synthesis

Lipase-catalyzed asymmetric acetylation of a mixture of (6R,1′S,4′S,5′R)- and (6R,1′R,4′R,5′S)-7′-norsesquisabinen-4′-ol (3) afforded a separable mixture of the recovered former and the acetate of the latter. The recovered alcohol was oxidized to (6R,1′S,5′R)-sesquisabina ketone (2), whose absolute configuration could be assigned by its CD comparison with (1R,5S)-sabina ketone (4). Conversion of (6R,1′S,5′R)-sesquisabina ketone (2) to the bioactive pheromone revealed the stereostructure of the male aggregation pheromone of the stink bug Erysarcoris lewisi (Distant) to be (2Z,6R,1′S,5′S)-2-methyl-6-(4′-methylenebicyclo[3.1.0]hexyl)hept-2-en-1-ol (sesquisabinen-1-ol, 1).     

Pheromone Model Selection in Ant Colony Optimization for the Travelling Salesman Problem

As a meta-heuristic approach, Ant colony optimization (ACO) has many applications. In the algo-rithm selection of pheromone models is the top priority. Selecting pheromone models that don't suffer negative bi-ases is a natural choice. Specifically for the travelling sales-man problem, the first order pheromone is widely recog-nized.When come across travelling salesman problem, we study the reasons for the success of ant colony optimization from the perspective of pheromone models,and unify differ-ent order pheromone models. In tests, we have introduced the concept of sample locations and the similarity coef-ficient to pheromone models. The first order pheromone model and the second order pheromone model are com-pared and are further analysed. We illustrate that the second order pheromone model has better global search ability and diversity of population than the former. With appropriate-scale travelling salesman problems, the sec-ond order model performs better than the first order pheromone model.     

(9Z)-9,13-Tetradecadien-11-ynal, the sex pheromone of the avocado seed moth, Stenoma catenifer

The highly unsaturated aldehyde (9Z)-9,13-tetradecadien-11-ynal and the corresponding alcohol were identified as possible sex pheromone components of the avocado seed moth, Stenoma catenifer. The aldehyde as a single component attracted more male moths than caged virgin female moths, and addition of the analogous alcohol and/or acetate decreased attraction. A stereospecific synthesis of the pheromone is described.     

Enantiospecific synthesis of sex pheromone of the obscure mealybug from pantolactone via tandem conjugate addition/cyclization

An efficient synthesis of an enantiomer of insect’s natural pheromone is reported starting from chiral pool d-(−)-pantolactone. Highly stereoselective tandem conjugate addition/cyclization sequence and hydrogenation of exocyclic double bond are the key steps in the present synthesis.     

Pheromone synthesis. Part 263: Synthesis of the racemate and the enantiomers of (E)-cis-6,7-epoxy-2-nonenal,the male-produced pheromone of the red-necked longhorn beetle,Aromia bungii

The racemate and the enantiomers of (E)-cis-6,7-epoxy-2-nonenal, the male pheromone of Aromia bungii, were synthesized by olefin cross metathesis between crotonaldehyde and (±)-, (+)- and (?)-cis-3,4-epoxy-7-octene. The epoxide was prepared by the Grignard coupling between allylmagnesium bromide and (±)-, (+)- and (?)-cis-2,3-epoxypentyl triflate. (±)-cis-2,3-Epoxy-1-pentanol was prepared by MCPBA epoxidation of (Z)-2-penten-1-ol, while its enantiomers were synthesized by the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation of the allylic alcohol.     

Simultaneous sampling and analysis of indoor air infested with Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) by solid phase microextraction,thin film microextraction and needle trap device

Air in a room infested by Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) was sampled simultaneously by three different sampling devices including solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coatings, thin film microextraction (TFME) devices, and needle trap devices (NTDs) and then analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The main focus of this study was to fully characterize indoor air by identifying compounds extracted by three different microextraction formats and, therefore, perform both the device comparison and more complete characterization of C. lectularius pheromone. The NTD technique was capable of extracting both (E)-2-hexenal and (E)-2-octenal, which were previously identified as alarm pheromones of bedbugs, and superior NTD recoveries for these two components allowed reliable identification based on mass spectral library searching and linear temperature programmed retention index (LTPRI) technique. While the use of DVB/CAR/PDMS SPME fiber coatings provided complementary sample fingerprinting and profiling results, TFME sampling devices provided discriminative extraction coverage toward highly volatile analytes. In addition to two alarm pheromones, relative abundances of all other analytes were recorded for all three devices and aligned across all examined samples, namely, highly infested area, less infested area, and control samples which were characterized by different bedbug populations. The results presented in the current study illustrate comprehensive characterization of infested indoor air samples through the use of three different non-invasive SPME formats and identification of novel components comprising C. lectularius pheromone, therefore, promising future alternatives for use of potential synthetic pheromones for detection of infestations.     

Biosynthesis of Modular Ascarosides in C. elegans

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans uses simple building blocks from primary metabolism and a strategy of modular assembly to build a great diversity of signaling molecules, the ascarosides, which function as a chemical language in this model organism. In the ascarosides, the dideoxysugar ascarylose serves as a scaffold to which diverse moieties from lipid, amino acid, neurotransmitter, and nucleoside metabolism are attached. However, the mechanisms that underlie the highly specific assembly of ascarosides are not understood. We show that the acyl‐CoA synthetase ACS‐7, which localizes to lysosome‐related organelles, is specifically required for the attachment of different building blocks to the 4′‐position of ascr#9. We further show that mutants lacking lysosome‐related organelles are defective in the production of all 4′‐modified ascarosides, thus identifying the waste disposal system of the cell as a hotspot for ascaroside biosynthesis.     

认知无线网络中一种基于蚁群优化的频谱分配算法

针对认知无线电中的频谱分配问题,该文提出一种基于蚁群优化的频谱分配方法。该方法在授权用户和认知用户共存的认知网络模型中,通过蚁群访问各个认知节点,并释放信息素,从而实现概率型的全局搜索的并行频谱分配算法。与传统的频谱分配方式比较,该算法能够进行增强型学习积累,快速收敛到最优路径,从而获得了最优的平均信道效益。文中对该算法进行了分析和说明,并通过仿真证明了算法的有效性和稳定性。