A novel synthesis of 2'-hydroxy-1',3'-xylyl crown ethers

Six novel 2' - hydroxy - 1',3' - xylyl crown ethers (8a–e and 13)1 have been synthesized utilizing the allyl group to protect the OH function during the cyclization reaction. The macrocycles 6a-e were formed in yields of 26 to 52%, by intermolecular reaction of 4 - chloro - 2,6 - bis(bromomethyl) - 1 - (2 - propenyloxy)benzene (5) with polyethylene glycols; 6a was also obtained by an intramolecular cyclization reaction of monotosylate 14.\ud A 30-membered ring with a 2' - hydroxy - 1',3' - xylyl sub-unit was obtained in 87% yield by reaction of ditosylate 9 with bis [2 - (o - hydroxyphenoxy)ethyl]ether (11) in the presence of cesium fluoride. The synthesis of crown ethers with a 2' - hydroxy - 1',3' - xylyl sub-unit (1c–e, H for CH3) by demethylation of the corresponding 2'-methoxy crown ethers 1c–e with lithium iodide were unsuccessful; it would appear that the demethylation reaction is restricted to 15- and 18-membered rings. One of the 2' - hydroxy - 1',3' - xylyl crown ethers 8d forms a crystalline 1:1-complex with water

Social networks and research output

We study how knowledge about the social network of an individual researcher - as embodied in his coauthor relations - helps us in developing a more accurate prediction of his future productivity. We find that incorporating information about coauthor networks leads to a modest improvement in the accuracy of forecasts on individual output, over and above what we can predict based on the knowledge of past individual output. Second, we find that the informativeness of networks dissipates over the lifetime of a researcher's career. This suggests that the signalling content of the network is quantitatively more important than the flow of ideas

A Social Network Analysis of Occupational Segregation

We develop a network model of occupational segregation between social groups divided along gender or racial dimensions, generated by the existence of positive assortative matching among individuals from the same group. If referrals are important for job search, then expected homophily in the structure of job contact networks induces different career choices for individuals from different social groups. This further translates into stable occupational segregation equilibria in the labor market. We derive conditions for wage and unemployment inequality in the segregation equilibria and characterize both the first and the second best social welfare optima. We find that utilitarian socially optimal policies always involve segregation, but that integration policies are justifiable by additional distributional concerns. Our analysis suggests that social interaction through homophilous job referral networks is an important channel for the propagation and persistence of gender and racial inequalities in the labour market, complementary to classical theories such as taste or statistical discrimination

On the Influence of Top Journals

We study the evolution of the influence of journals over the period 1970-2017. In the early 1970's, a number of journals had similar influence, but by 1995, the `Top 5' journals ?? QJE, AER, RES, Econometrica, and JPE ?? had acquired a major lead. This dominance has remained more or less unchanged since 1995. To place these developments in a broader context, we also study trends in sociology. The trends there have gone the other way ?? the field journals rose in influence, relative to the Top General journals. A model of journals as platforms is developed to understand these trends across time and across disciplines

Functions of granulocytes after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation

Contains fulltext : 4329.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Individual human serum differs in the amount of antibodies with affinity for pig fetal ventral mesencephalic cells and the ability to lyse these cells by complement activation

Xenografting pig fetal ventral mesencephalic (pfVM) cells to repair the dopamine deficit in patients with Parkinson's disease is the focus of both experimental and clinical investigations. Although there have been marked advances in the experimental and even clinical application of these xenogeneic transplantations, questions regarding the host's xenospecific immune response remain unanswered. It has been shown that human serum is able to lyse pfVM tissue by both anti-gal-gal and non-anti-gal-gal antibodies by complement activation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether interindividual differences exist in the levels of pfVM cell-specific IgM and IgG subclass antibodies, their ability to lyse pfVM cells in vitro and the relationship between both. Pig fetal VM cells were incubated with heat-inactivated serum from 10 different individuals and binding of IgM antibodies and IgG subclass antibodies to pfVM cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. The ability to lyse pfVM cells was analyzed exposing Cr-51-labeled pfVM cells to fresh serum or isolated IgM and IgG from the same individuals and subsequent determination of released Cr-51 from lysed cells. Strong differences were found between individuals in the levels of pfVM cell-specific IgM antibodies: antibody levels differed up to 40-fold. pfVM-specific IgG1 and IgG2 levels were only detectable in a few individuals. The ability to lyse pfVM cells ranged from negligible lysis up to 66.5% specific lysis. There was a strong correlation between the levels of individual pfVM-specific IgM antibodies and the ability to lyse pfVM cells in vitro. Isolated IgM, but not IgG, was able to lyse pfVM cells in the presence of complement. In conclusion, the interindividual differences in the levels of IgM with affinity for pfVM cells and their ability to lyse pfVM cells in vitro are considerable. Only few individuals possessed IgG1 and IgG2 subclass antibodies with affinity for pfVM. These findings may influence patient selection for porcine transplants and chances of graft survival in individual patients

Isolation of peroxisome assembly mutants from Saccharomyces cerevisiae with different morphologies using a novel positive selection procedure.

We have developed a positive selection system for the isolation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants with disturbed peroxisomal functions. The selection is based on the lethality of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) that is produced in wild type cells during the peroxisomal beta-oxidation of fatty acids. In total, 17 mutants having a general impairment of peroxisome biogenesis were isolated, as revealed by their inability to grow on oleic acid as the sole carbon source and their aberrant cell fractionation pattern of peroxisomal enzymes. The mutants were shown to have monogenetic defects and to fall into 12 complementation groups. Representative members of each complementation group were morphologically examined by immunocytochemistry using EM. In one mutant the induction and morphology of peroxisomes is normal but import of thiolase is abrogated, while in another the morphology differs from the wild type: stacked peroxisomal membranes are present that are able to import thiolase but not catalase. These mutants suggest the existence of multiple components involved in peroxisomal protein import. Some mutants show the phenotype characteristic of glucose-repressed cells, an indication for the interruption of a signal transduction pathway resulting in organelle proliferation. In the remaining mutants morphologically detectable peroxisomes are absent: this phenotype is also known from fibroblasts of patients suffering from Zellweger syndrome, a disorder resulting from impairment of peroxisome