Synthesis of 5-p-hydroxybenzyl-5,6-dihydro-2-naphthol, (+/-)-sequirin-d

A high-yield six-step synthesis of sequirin D (1a), a naturally occurring norlignan, is described. Michael addition of deoxyanisoin (2) to acrylonitrile gives a ketonitrile (3), which on Wolff–Kishner reduction is reduced and hyrolysed in situ to 4,5-bis-p-methoxyphenylpentanoic acid (4). Cyclodehydration of (4) with polyphosphoric acid, followed by borohydride reduction and dehydration furnishes di-O-methylsequirin D (1b) which affords on demethylation sequirin D (1a) in an overall yield from (2) of 60%. The key synthon (4) has also been prepared by three other routes.

Repulsive fermions in optical lattices: Phase separation versus coexistence of antiferromagnetism and d-wave superfluidity

We investigate a system of fermions on a two-dimensional optical square lattice in the strongly repulsive coupling regime. In this case, the interactions can be controlled by laser intensity as well as by Feshbach resonance. We compare the energetics of states with resonating valence bond d-wave superfluidity, antiferromagnetic long-range order, and a homogeneous state with coexistence of superfluidity and antiferromagnetism. Using a variational formalism, we show that the energy density of a hole e(hole)(x) has a minimum at doping x = x(c) that signals phase separation between the antiferromagnetic and d-wave paired superfluid phases. The energy of the phase-separated ground state is, however, found to be very close to that of a homogeneous state with coexisting antiferromagnetic and superfluid orders. We explore the dependence of the energy on the interaction strength and on the three-site hopping terms and compare with the nearest-neighbor hopping t-J model.

An extension of Mangler transformation to a 3-D problem

Considering the linearized boundary layer equations for three-dimensional disturbances, a Mangler type transformation is used to reduce this case to an equivalent two-dimensional one.

Wavelet transform analysis of truncated fringe patterns in 3-D surface profilometry

Wavelet transform analysis of projected fringe pattern for phase recovery in 3-D shape measurement of objects is investigated. The present communication specifically outlines and evaluates the errors that creep in to the reconstructed profiles when fringe images do not satisfy periodicity. Three specific cases that give raise to non-periodicity of fringe image are simulated and leakage effects caused by each one of them are analyzed with continuous complex Morlet wavelet transform. Same images are analyzed with FFT method to make a comparison of the reconstructed profiles with both methods. Simulation results revealed a significant advantage of wavelet transform profilometry (WTP), that the distortions that arise due to leakage are confined to the locations of discontinuity and do not spread out over the entire projection as in the case of Fourier transform profilometry (FTP).

Deviation from 3-D Ising critical behaviour in aqueous electrolyte solutions

The near-critical behaviour in complex fluids, comprising electrolyte solutions, polymer solutions and amphiphilic systems, reveals a marked departure from the 3-D Ising behaviour. This departure manifests itself either in terms of a crossover from Ising to mean-field (or classical) critical behaviour, when moving away from a given critical point (Tc), or by the persistence of only mean-field region in the surprisingly close vicinity of Tc. The ilo,non-Ising features of the osmotic compressibility (chi(T,p)) in solutions of electrolytes, that exhibit orle or many liquid-liquid transitions, will be presented. The underlying cause of the breakdown of the anticipated 3-D Ising behaviour in aqueous electrolyte solutions is traced to the structuring induced by the electrolytes. New evidence constituting, measurements of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and the excess molar volume, is advanced to support the thesis of the close relationship, between the structuring and the deviation from the 3-D Ising critical behaviour in aqueous electrolyte solutions.

Features of a unique intronless cluster of class I small heat shock protein genes in tandem with box C/D snoRNA genes on chromosome 6 in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Physical clustering of genes has been shown in plants; however, little is known about gene clusters that have different functions, particularly those expressed in the tomato fruit. A class I 17.6 small heat shock protein (Sl17.6 shsp) gene was cloned and used as a probe to screen a tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) genomic library. An 8.3-kb genomic fragment was isolated and its DNA sequence determined. Analysis of the genomic fragment identified intronless open reading frames of three class I shsp genes (Sl17.6, Sl20.0, and Sl20.1), the Sl17.6 gene flanked by Sl20.1 and Sl20.0, with complete 5' and 3' UTRs. Upstream of the Sl20.0 shsp, and within the shsp gene cluster, resides a box C/D snoRNA cluster made of SlsnoR12.1 and SlU24a. Characteristic C and D, and C' and D', boxes are conserved in SlsnoR12.1 and SlU24a while the upstream flanking region of SlsnoR12.1 carries TATA box 1, homol-E and homol-D box-like cis sequences, TM6 promoter, and an uncharacterized tomato EST. Molecular phylogenetic analysis revealed that this particular arrangement of shsps is conserved in tomato genome but is distinct from other species. The intronless genomic sequence is decorated with cis elements previously shown to be responsive to cues from plant hormones, dehydration, cold, heat, and MYC/MYB and WRKY71 transcription factors. Chromosomal mapping localized the tomato genomic sequence on the short arm of chromosome 6 in the introgression line (IL) 6-3. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis of gene cluster members revealed differential expression during ripening of tomato fruit, and relatively different abundances in other plant parts.

Chain Length Effects on Helix-Hairpin Distribution in Short Peptides with Aib-(D)Ala and Aib-Aib Segments

The Aib-(D)Ala dipeptide segment has a tendency to form both type-I'/III' and type-I/III beta-turns. The occurrence of prime turns facilitates the formation of beta-hairpin conformations, while type-I/III turns can nucleate helix formation. The octapeptide Boc-Leu-Phe-Val-Aib-(D)Ala-Leu-Phe-Val-OMe (1) has been previously shown to form a beta-hairpin in the crystalline state and in solution. The effects of sequence truncation have been examined using the model peptides Boc-Phe-Val-Aib-Xxx-Leu-Phe-NHMe (2, 6), Boc-Val-Aib-Xxx-Leu-NHMe (3, 7), and Boc-Aib-Xxx-NHMe (4, 8), where Xxx = (D)Ala, Aib. For peptides with central Aib-Aib segments, Boc-Phe-Val-Aib-Aib-Leu-Phe-NHMe (6), Boc-Val-Aib-Aib-Leu-NHMe (7), and Boc-Aib-Aib-NHMe (8) helical conformations have been established by NMR studies in both hydrogen bonding (CD(3)OH) and non-hydrogen bonding (CDCl(3)) solvents. In contrast, the corresponding hexapeptide Boc-Phe-Val-Aib-(D)Ala-Leu-Phe-Val-NHMe (2) favors helical conformations in CDCl(3) and beta-hairpin conformations in CD(3)OH. The beta-turn conformations (type-I'/III) stabilized by intramolecular 4 -> 1 hydrogen bonds are observed for the peptide Boc-Aib-(D)Ala-NHMe (4) and Boc-Aib-Aib-NIiMe (8) in crystals. The tetrapeptide Boc-Val-Aib-Aib-Leu-NHMe (7) adopts an incipient 3(10)-helical conformation stabilized by three 4 -> 1 hydrogen bonds. The peptide Boc-Val-Aib-(D)Ala-Leu-NHMe (3) adopts a novel et-turn conformation, stabilized by three intramolecular hydrogen bonds (two 4 -> 1 and one 5 -> 1). The Aib-L(D)Ala segment adopts a type-I' beta-turn conformation. The observation of an NOE between Val (1) NH <-> HNCH(3) (5) in CD(3)OH suggests, that the solid state conformation is maintained in methanol solutions. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 96: 744-756, 2011.

Cation-templated 2-D Mn(II)-oxalate framework with an acyclic tetrameric water cluster

The single-crystal X-ray structure of a cation-templated manganese-oxalate coordination polymer [NH(C2H5)(3)][Mn-2(ox)(3)]center dot(5H(2)O)] (1) is reported. In 1, triethylammonium cation is entrapped between the cavities of 2-D honeycomb layers constructed by oxalate and water. The acyclic tetrameric water clusters and discrete water assemble the parallel 2-D honeycomb oxalate layers via an intricate array of hydrogen bonds into an overall 3-D network. The magnetic susceptibility, with and without the water cluster, are reported with infrared and EPR studies.

3-D acoustic analysis of elliptical chamber mufflers having an end-inlet and a side-outlet: An impedance matrix approach

The acoustical behavior of an elliptical chamber muffler having an end-inlet and side-outlet port is analyzed semi-analytically. A uniform piston source is assumed to model the 3-D acoustic field in the elliptical chamber cavity. Towards this end, we consider the modal expansion of acoustic pressure field in the elliptical cavity in terms of angular and radial Mathieu functions, subjected to rigid wall condition, whereupon under the assumption of a point source, Green's function is obtained. On integrating this function over piston area of the side or end port and dividing it by piston area, one obtains the acoustic field, whence one can find the impedance matrix parameters characterizing the 2-port system. The acoustic performance of these configurations is evaluated in terms of transmission loss (TL). The analytical results thus obtained are compared with 3-D HA carried on a commercial software for certain muffler configurations. These show excellent agreement, thereby validating the 3-D semi-analytical piston driven model. The influence of the chamber length as well as the angular and axial location of the end and side ports on TL performance is also discussed, thus providing useful guidelines to the muffler designer. (c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Generalization of the collision cone approach for motion safety in 3-D environments

Avoidance of collision between moving objects in a 3-D environment is fundamental to the problem of planning safe trajectories in dynamic environments. This problem appears in several diverse fields including robotics, air vehicles, underwater vehicles and computer animation. Most of the existing literature on collision prediction assumes objects to be modelled as spheres. While the conservative spherical bounding box is valid in many cases, in many other cases, where objects operate in close proximity, a less conservative approach, that allows objects to be modelled using analytic surfaces that closely mimic the shape of the object, is more desirable. In this paper, a collision cone approach (previously developed only for objects moving on a plane) is used to determine collision between objects, moving in 3-D space, whose shapes can be modelled by general quadric surfaces. Exact collision conditions for such quadric surfaces are obtained and used to derive dynamic inversion based avoidance strategies.

GINZBURG-LANDAU LIKE THEORY OF HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTIVITY IN THE CUPRATES: EMERGENT d-WAVE ORDER

High temperature superconductivity in the cuprates remains one of the most widely investigated, constantly surprising and poorly understood phenomena in physics. Here, we describe briefly a new phenomenological theory inspired by the celebrated description of superconductivity due to Ginzburg and Landau and believed to describe its essence. This posits a free energy functional for the superconductor in terms of a complex order parameter characterizing it. We propose that there is, for superconducting cuprates, a similar functional of the complex, in plane, nearest neighbor spin singlet bond (or Cooper) pair amplitude psi(ij). Further, we suggest that a crucial part of it is a (short range) positive interaction between nearest neighbor bond pairs, of strength J'. Such an interaction leads to nonzero long wavelength phase stiffness or superconductive long range order, with the observed d-wave symmetry, below a temperature T-c similar to zJ' where z is the number of nearest neighbors; d-wave superconductivity is thus an emergent, collective consequence. Using the functional, we calculate a large range of properties, e. g., the pseudogap transition temperature T* as a function of hole doping x, the transition curve T-c(x), the superfluid stiffness rho(s)(x, T), the specific heat (without and with a magnetic field) due to the fluctuating pair degrees of freedom and the zero temperature vortex structure. We find remarkable agreement with experiment. We also calculate the self-energy of electrons hopping on the square cuprate lattice and coupled to electrons of nearly opposite momenta via inevitable long wavelength Cooper pair fluctuations formed of these electrons. The ensuing results for electron spectral density are successfully compared with recent experimental results for angle resolved photo emission spectroscopy (ARPES), and comprehensively explain strange features such as temperature dependent Fermi arcs above T-c and the ``bending'' of the superconducting gap below T-c.

Cyclopentac]thiophene oligomers based solution processable D-A copolymers and their application as FET materials

Two new solution processable, low band gap donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymers (P1 and P2) comprising a cyclopentac] thiophene (CPT) based oligomers as donors and benzoc]1,2,5] selenadiazole (BDS) and 2-dodecyl1,2,3]-benzotriazole (BTAz) as acceptors were synthesized and characterized and their field effect transistor properties were studied. The internal charge transfer interaction between the electron-donating CPT based oligothiophene and the electron-accepting BDS or BTAz unit effectively reduces the band gap in polymers to 1.3 and 1.66 eV with low lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO). The absorption spectrum of P1 was found to be more red shifted than that of P2 because of incorporation of the more electron-withdrawing BDS unit. The color of neutral P1 was found to be green in both solution and film states with two major bands in the absorption spectra; however, neutral P2 revealed one dominant absorption exhibiting red color in both solution and film state which could be attributed to the less electron-withdrawing effect of the BTAz unit. The polymers were further characterized by GPC, TGA, DSC and cyclic voltammetry. P1 and P2 exhibited charge carrier mobilities as high as 9 x 10(-3) cm(2) V-1 s(-1) and 2.56 x 10(-3) cm 2 V-1 s(-1), respectively with the current on/off ratio (I-on/I-off) in the order of 10(2).

Structural and Mutational Studies on Substrate Specificity and Catalysis of Salmonella typhimurium D-Cysteine Desulfhydrase

Salmonella typhimurium DCyD (StDCyD) is a fold type II pyridoxal 5' phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the degradation of D-Cys to H2S and pyruvate. It also efficiently degrades beta-chloro-D-alanine (beta CDA). D-Ser is a poor substrate while the enzyme is inactive with respect to L-Ser and 1-amino-1-carboxy cyclopropane (ACC). Here, we report the X-ray crystal structures of StDCyD and of crystals obtained in the presence of D-Cys, beta CDA, ACC, D-Ser, L-Ser, D-cycloserine (DCS) and L-cycloserine (LCS) at resolutions ranging from 1.7 to 2.6 angstrom. The polypeptide fold of StDCyD consisting of a small domain (residues 48-161) and a large domain (residues 1-47 and 162-328) resembles other fold type II PLP dependent enzymes. The structures obtained in the presence of D-Cys and beta CDA show the product, pyruvate, bound at a site 4.0-6.0 angstrom away from the active site. ACC forms an external aldimine complex while D- and L-Ser bind non-covalently suggesting that the reaction with these ligands is arrested at C alpha proton abstraction and transimination steps, respectively. In the active site of StDCyD cocrystallized with DCS or LCS, electron density for a pyridoxamine phosphate (PMP) was observed. Crystals soaked in cocktail containing these ligands show density for PLP-cycloserine. Spectroscopic observations also suggest formation of PMP by the hydrolysis of cycloserines. Mutational studies suggest that Ser78 and Gln77 are key determinants of enzyme specificity and the phenolate of Tyr287 is responsible for C alpha proton abstraction from D-Cys. Based on these studies, a probable mechanism for the degradation of D-Cys by StDCyD is proposed.