The entropies of renewal systems

Renewal systems are symbolic dynamical systems originally introduced by Adler. IfW is a finite set of words over a finite alphabetA, then the renewal system generated byW is the subshiftX _W ⊂A ^Z formed by bi-infinite concatenations of words fromW. Motivated by Adler’s question of whether every irreducible shift of finite type is conjugate to a renewal system, we prove that for every shift of finite type there is a renewal system having the same entropy. We also show that every shift of finite type can be approximated from above by renewal systems, and that by placing finite-type constraints on possible concatenations, we obtain all sofic systems. The authors were supported in part by NFS grants DMS-8706284, DMS-8814159 and DMS-8820716.     

Atomic layer deposition in nanometer-level replication of cellulosic substances and preparation of photocatalytic TiO2/cellulose composites

TiO2 replicas of filter paper with nanometer-level accuracy were prepared by atomic layer deposition of thin conformal TiO2 coating, followed by a removal of the paper by air-anneal at 450 degrees C. Photocatalytic anatase TiO2/cellulose composites were also made by leaving the paper intact. The TiO2 films were deposited from Ti(OMe)4 and H2O at 150-250 degrees C. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2/cellulose composite was verified by photocatalytic reduction of Ag(I) from an aqueous solution to Ag nanoparticles on the TiO2 surface. The TiO2/cellulose composites are mechanically more stable than the free-standing TiO2 replicas and are therefore potentially suitable as lightweight, high surface area photocatalysts.     

Anion-assisted trans-cis isomerization of palladium(II) phosphine complexes containing acetanilide functionalities through hydrogen bonding interactions

The anion-assisted shift of trans-cis isomerization equilibrium of a palladium(II) complex containing acetanilide functionalities brought about by allosteric hydrogen bonding interactions has been established by UV/Vis, 1H NMR, 31P NMR and ESI-MS studies.     

Total Synthesis of Cyclothialidine

A total synthesis of cyclothialidine ( 1 ), a new DNA gyrase inhibitor isolated from Streptomyces filipinensis, is described. The synthetic concept was tested by preparing the lactone 13 (Scheme 2) which contains the characteristic bicyclic core entity of 1 . Key features of the synthesis of 1 are: preparation of 3,5-dihydroxy-2,6-dimethylbenzoic acid ( 23 ) from 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid ( 19 ) by two consecutive Mannich aminomethylation/hydrogenation sequences; benzylic N-bromosuccinimide bromination of an ester derivative 25 thereof and its subsequent coupling with Boc-Ser-Cys-OMe ( 11 ); cyclization of the ω-hydroxy acid 29 29 to the 12-membered lactone 30 using preferably Mitsunobu conditions; completion of the peptidic side chains of 1 using Boc strategy (Scheme 4). Optically pure cis-N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-3-hydroxy-L -proline ((–)- 14 ) was obtained by resolution of the racemate via an efficient reaction sequence containing a lipase-catalyzed enantiospecific acetate hydrolysis (Scheme 3). The structure of natural 1 was confirmed by comparison with the synthetic material. The synthetic route described provides also easy access to analogues of 1 , e.g., via the intermediate 30 .     

1,6-dithia-spiro[4.4]nonadiene aus 2-thiazolin-5-thionen

4,4-Dimethyl-2-phenyl-2-thiazolin-5-thione ($\text{4}$) reacts with 2,3-diphenylcyclopropenone ($\text{2a}$) at 145°C and with benzonitrilio-2-propanide ($\text{6}$) at room temperature to yield the 1,6-dithia-spiro[4.4]nonadienes $\text{5}$ and $\text{7}$, respectively.     

Carbocyclic analogs of nucleosides. Part 2.. Synthesis of 2′,3′-dideoxy-5′-homonucleoside analogs

A set of derivatives of cyclopentaneacetic acid cis-substituted at position 3 by nucleoside bases (both purines and pyrimidines) were prepared and characterized (see 11, 14 , and 23a, b; Schemes 2–4). These molecules are carbocyclic analogs of 2′,3′-dideoxy-5′-homonucleosides. In this synthesis, the skeleton was constructed from norbornanone and a novel method based on Mitsunobu chemistry used for the introduction of nucleoside-base substituents. The scope of this method was further explored via the preparation of a cyclobutyl analog of dideoxyguanosine (see 17 , Scheme 3).     

Synthesis and Spectroscopic Characterization of N2-(N-Acetyl-6-O-stearoyl-α-D-muramoyl)-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine

Title compound 1 was synthesized by a published route which had to be modified (seven steps from readily obtainable starting materials). Characterization of 1 was achieved by spectroscopic means (FAB-MS, ¹H-NMR, including 2D-COSY). Furthermore, commercially available reference material purchased for comparison, was unequivocally established to be 10 , i.e. incompletely deprotected 1 .     

Seeding and the Non-Hydrolytic Sol-Gel Synthesis of ZrW2O8 and ZrMo2O8

The unseeded non-hydrolytic sol-gel synthesis of ZrW₂O₈ and ZrMo₂O₈ produces trigonal ZrM₂O₈ (M = W, Mo) at 740 and 300–400°C, respectively. Cubic ZrW₂O₈ can be prepared using non-hydrolytic sol-gel methods by seeding with small amounts of preprepared cubic material, and the formation of the trigonal polymorph can be suppressed completely. Seeds with a small particle size are necessary for the preparation of cubic ZrW₂O₈. In contrast, seeding of ZrMo₂O₈ gels with either cubic ZrMo₂O₈ or cubic ZrW₂O₈ only lowers the temperature at which the trigonal phase crystallizes.     

The rate of homolysis of adducts of peroxynitrite to the C=O double bond.

Nucleophilic addition of the peroxynitrite anion, ONOO(-), to the two prototypical carbonyl compounds, acetaldehyde and acetone, was investigated in the pH interval 7.4-14. The process is initiated by fast equilibration between the reactants and the corresponding tetrahedral adduct anion, the equilibrium being strongly shifted to the reactant side. The adduct anion also undergoes fast protonation by water and added buffers. Consequently, the rate of the bimolecular reaction between ONOO(-) and the carbonyl is strongly dependent on the pH and on the concentration of the buffer. The pK(a) of the carbonyl-ONOO adduct was estimated to be approximately 11.8 and approximately 12.3 for acetone and acetaldehyde, respectively. It is shown that both the anionic and the neutral adducts suffer fast homolysis along the weak O-O bond to yield free alkoxyl and nitrogen dioxide radicals. The yield of free radicals was determined to be about 15% with both carbonyl compounds at low and high pH, while the remainder collapses to molecular products in the solvent cage. The rate constants for the homolysis of the adducts vary from ca. 3 x 10(5) to ca. 5 x 10(6) s(-1), suggesting that they cannot act as oxidants in biological systems. This small variation around a mean value of about 10(6) s(-1) suggests that the O-O bond in the adduct is rather insensitive to its protonation state and to the nature of its carbonyl precursor. An overall reaction scheme was proposed, and all the corresponding rate constants were evaluated. Finally, thermokinetic considerations were employed to argue that the formation of dioxirane as an intermediate in the reaction of ONOO(-) with acetone is an unlikely process.