536 research outputs found
Domino Rh-catalyzed hydroformylation–doublecyclization of o-amino cinnamyl derivatives:applications to the formal total syntheses ofphysostigmine and physovenine
A parallel, versatile and efficient route to synthesis of pyrrolidinoindoline and tetrahydrofuranoindoline alkaloids from cinnamyl derivatives has been developed, featuring a domino Rh-catalyzed hydroformylation–double cyclization sequence. This method can be applied to the syntheses of anti-Alzheimer drugs such as physostigmine and physovenine
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α-Lactosylceramide Protects Against iNKT-Mediated Murine Airway Hyperreactivity and Liver Injury Through Competitive Inhibition of Cd1d Binding.
Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, which are activated by T cell receptor (TCR)-dependent recognition of lipid-based antigens presented by the CD1d molecule, have been shown to participate in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including asthma and liver injury. Previous studies have shown the inhibition of iNKT cell activation using lipid antagonists can attenuate iNKT cell-induced disease pathogenesis. Hence, the development of iNKT cell-targeted glycolipids can facilitate the discovery of new therapeutics. In this study, we synthesized and evaluated α-lactosylceramide (α-LacCer), an α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) analog with lactose substitution for the galactose head and a shortened acyl chain in the ceramide tail, toward iNKT cell activation. We demonstrated that α-LacCer was a weak inducer for both mouse and human iNKT cell activation and cytokine production, and the iNKT induction by α-LacCer was CD1d-dependent. However, when co-administered with α-GalCer, α-LacCer inhibited α-GalCer-induced IL-4 and IFN-γ production from iNKT cells. Consequently, α-LacCer also ameliorated both α-GalCer and GSL-1-induced airway hyperreactivity and α-GalCer-induced neutrophilia when co-administered in vivo. Furthermore, we were able to inhibit the increases of ConA-induced AST, ALT and IFN-γ serum levels through α-LacCer pre-treatment, suggesting α-LacCer could protect against ConA-induced liver injury. Mechanistically, we discerned that α-LacCer suppressed α-GalCer-stimulated cytokine production through competing for CD1d binding. Since iNKT cells play a critical role in the development of AHR and liver injury, the inhibition of iNKT cell activation by α-LacCer present a possible new approach in treating iNKT cell-mediated diseases
Asteroid Spin-Rate Study using the Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory
Two dedicated asteroid rotation-period surveys have been carried out using
data taken on January 6-9 and February 20-23 of 2014 by the Intermediate
Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) in the ~band with -min cadence.
The total survey area covered 174~deg in the ecliptic plane. Reliable
rotation periods for 1,438 asteroids are obtained from a larger data set of
6,551 mostly main-belt asteroids, each with ~detections. Analysis of
1751, PTF based, reliable rotation periods clearly shows the "spin barrier" at
~hours for "rubble-pile" asteroids. We also found a new large-sized
super-fast rotator, 2005 UW163 (Chang et al., 2014), and other five candidates
as well. Our spin-rate distributions of asteroids with ~km shows
number decrease when frequency greater than 5 rev/day, which is consistent to
that of the Asteroid Light Curve Database (LCDB, Warner et al., 2009) and the
result of (Masiero et al., 2009). We found the discrepancy in the spin-rate
distribution between our result and (Pravec et al., 2008, update 2014-04-20) is
mainly from asteroids with mag that might be primarily due to
different survey strategies. For asteroids with ~km, we found a
significant number drop at rev/day. The YORP effect timescale for
small-sized asteroid is shorter that makes more elongate objets spun up to
reach their spin-rate limit and results in break-up. The K-S test suggests a
possible difference in the spin-rate distributions of C- and S-type asteroids.
We also find that C-type asteroids have a smaller spin-rate limit than the
S-type, which agrees with the general sense that the C-type has lower bulk
density than the S-type.Comment: Submitted to ApJ (Jan, 2015). Accepted by ApJ (June, 2015). The whole
set of the folded lightcurves will be available on the published articl
Pair-density wave signature observed by x-ray scattering in La-based high- cuprates
Suggestive, but indirect evidence of the existence of pair-density wave (PDW)
order in several high- cuprates has been reported. As this
constitutes a new quantum phase of matter, it is important to {\it establish}
its existence at least somewhere in the phase diagram. However, a direct
correspondence between experiment and theory has remained elusive. Here, we
report the observation of a theoretically predicted PDW {\it bulk} signature in
two La-based cuprates, Sr-doped LaBaCuO and Fe-doped
LaSrCuO, through a comprehensive study that incorporates
zero-magnetic field x-ray scattering, neutron scattering, and transport
measurements. Specifically, we observe the emergence of so-called "1Q" order,
which is to say subharmonic order associated with the charge-density wave (CDW)
stripes, in a range of temperatures in which independent evidence suggests the
co-existence of PDW long-range order and fluctuating uniform superconducting
order. The subharmonic order is most pronounced around a half-integer
-vector, where the CDW diffraction peak is also strongest. This is
consistent with the theoretical proposal that the cancellation of the Josephson
coupling ("layer-decoupling"), is a signature of PDW order and that it is
commensurately locked to the density wave stripes that are known to alternate
orientation between adjacent layers. Even if the PDW is not the "mother of all
state", it is at least a close relative -- possibly a second cousin
313 new asteroid rotation periods from Palomar Transient Factory observations
A new asteroid rotation period survey have been carried out by using the
Palomar Transient Factory (PTF). Twelve consecutive PTF fields, which covered
an area of 87 deg in the ecliptic plane, were observed in band with a
cadence of 20 min during February 15--18, 2013. We detected 2500 known
asteroids with a diameter range of 0.5 km 200 km. Of these, 313
objects had highly reliable rotation periods and exhibited the "spin barrier"
at hours. In contrast to the flat spin rate distribution of the
asteroids with 3 km 15 km shown by Pravec et al. (2008), our
results deviated somewhat from a Maxwellian distribution and showed a decrease
at the spin rate greater than 5 rev/day. One super-fast-rotator candidate and
two possible binary asteroids were also found in this work.Comment: 18 pages, 20 figures and 2 very long table
High pressure evolution of FeO electronic structure revealed by X-ray absorption
We report the first high pressure measurement of the Fe K-edge in hematite
(FeO) by X-ray absorption spectroscopy in partial fluorescence yield
geometry. The pressure-induced evolution of the electronic structure as
FeO transforms from a high-spin insulator to a low-spin metal is
reflected in the x-ray absorption pre-edge. The crystal field splitting energy
was found to increase monotonically with pressure up to 48 GPa, above which a
series of phase transitions occur. Atomic multiplet, cluster diagonalization,
and density-functional calculations were performed to simulate the pre-edge
absorption spectra, showing good qualitative agreement with the measurements.
The mechanism for the pressure-induced phase transitions of FeO is
discussed and it is shown that ligand hybridization significantly reduces the
critical high-spin/low-spin pressure.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures and 1 tabl
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