Magnetic resonance findings in sarcoidosis of the thorax.

Fifteen patients with sarcoidosis underwent thoracic MRI examinations. The T2 signal intensity of lymphadenopathy varied, with no characteristic pattern noted. Three of four patients with bright lymph nodes on T2 images had stage I sarcoidosis, but low intensity nodes were also seen in stage I patients. Coronal images were complementary to axial images and better depicted subcarinal adenopathy. MRI does not distinguish the lymphadenopathy of sarcoidosis from other entities, but is useful for defining the anatomic extent of disease and differentiating pulmonary artery enlargement from adenopathy.     

Monte Carlo study of the pair correlation function for a liquid with non-central forces

The pair correlation function g(R), giving the probability that the centers of two nonspherical molecules are a distance R apart irrespective of their orientations, has been studied by the Monte Carlo method. The pair potential model studied is of the type u_o + u_a, where u_o is the isotropic Lennard-Jones (12,6) potential and u_a is either a dipole-dipole, quadrupole-quadrupole, or anisotropic overlap interaction. Dipolar and quadrupolar forces are found to have a small effect on g(R), whereas anisotropic overlap forces have a large effect.     

The Crystal structure of 2-Diisopropylamino-3,7-dehydrotropone

Die erste Röntgenstrukturanalyse eines 3,7-Dehydrotropon ( 1 )-Derivates, nämlich von 2-Diisopropylammo-3,7-dehydrotropon ( 4 ) zeigt das Ringsystem in 4 als planaren Bicyclus mit nahezu C_2V-Symmetrie. Dementsprechend enthalten Dehydrotropone formell zwei trans-konfigurierte Doppelbindungen in einem 7-gliedrigen Ring; auch das O-Atom und das N-Atom mit seinen Ligandatomen liegen in derselben Ebene wie die Ringatome. Die Bindung zwischen den beiden C-Atomen, welche die Heteroatome tragen, (C(1) and C(2)), ist wesentlich langer (1,56 Å) als die anderen Bindungen im Ringsystem (1,37-1,46 Å). Dies impliziert eine ‘push-pull’-π-Elektronen-Delokalisierung, in der auch das O-und das N-Atom involviert sind, und macht eine ‘aromatische’ Ring-Delokalisierung weniger wahr-scheinlich. Im Gegensatz zu 2-(t-Butyl)-3,7-dehydrotropon ( 3 ) existiert das 2-Diiso-propylamino-3,7-dehydrotropon ( 4 ) im Kristall als Monomeres, was dem stabili-sierenden Einfluss der ‘push-pull’-Delokausierung zugeschrieben werden kann.     

A small molecule with osteogenesis-inducing activity in multipotent mesenchymal progenitor cells

Purmorphamine, which is a 2,6,9-trisubstituted purine compound, was discovered through cell-based high-throughput screening from a heterocycle combinatorial library. It differentiates multipotent mesenchymal progenitor cells into an osteoblast lineage. It will serve as a unique chemical tool to study the molecular mechanisms of osteogenesis of stem cells and bone development.     

Highly selective entry to the azadirachtin skeleton via a Claisen rearrangement/radical cyclization sequence

[formula: see text] A highly diastereoselective, microwave-induced Claisen rearrangement of an appropriately substituted propargylic enol ether allows the formation of the sterically congested C8-C14 bond of azadirachtin. When combined with a radical-mediated cyclization of the corresponding allene, this sequence offers rapid entry to the framework of azadirachtin.     

Orientation order and dynamics of CDCl3 in ethylcellulose/chloroform liquid crystal phases

Abstract

Deuterium quadrupole echo spectroscopy has been used to probe the orientational behaviour and dynamics of CDCl₃ molecules in ethylcellulose/chloroform chiral nematic phases. The ²H spectra of both left-handed and right-handed mesophases, formed by ethylcellulose with degrees of substitution of 2·3 and 3·0 respectively, were examined as functions of temperature and concentration. The observed quadrupolar splittings are relatively large and the magnitudes of the order parameters of the solvent molecules show little correlation with the handedness of the chiral phases. However, the ²H line shapes of these two types of chiral phase exhibit rather different temperature dependences. Spectral simulations show that the observed line shapes and their temperature variations are mainly determined by diffusion of CDCl₃ molecules along the pitch axis. The effects of centrifugation on the ²H spectra are also described.     

Professor Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar,FRS

Abstract

Optical microscopy in mixtures of di-octylazoxybenzene (8AB) and di-nonylazoxybenzene (9AB) reveals that a smectic A-nematic-isotropic triple point occurs at 71·5±0·5°C and 38±2wt% 8AB. Although this concentration induced triple point is different from the pressure induced triple point known to exist in pure 9AB at elevated pressure, analysis of the data from both the mixing and pressure experiments reveals that the phase transition surfaces in temperature-pressure-concentration space for this system are nearly planar.