Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease: From Central Nervous System to Periphery?

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most frequent form of dementia and represents one of the main causes of disability among older subjects. Up to now, the diagnosis of AD has been made according to clinical criteria. However, the use of such criteria does not allow an early diagnosis, as pathological alterations may be apparent many years before the clear-cut clinical picture. An early diagnosis is even more valuable to develop new treatments, potentially interfering with the pathogenetic process. During the last decade, several neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters have been introduced to allow an early and accurate detection of AD patients, and, recently, they have been included among research criteria for AD diagnosis. However, their use in clinical practice suffers from limitations both in accuracy and availability. The increasing amount of knowledge about peripheral biomarkers will possibly allow the future identification of reliable and easily available diagnostic tests

A New Valuable Synthesis of Polyfunctionalized Furans Starting from β-Nitroenones and Active Methylene Compounds

Highly functionalized furans are the key scaffolds of many pharmaceuticals and bioactive natural products. Herein, we disclose a new fruitful synthesis of polyfunctionalized furans starting from beta-nitroenones and alpha-functionalized ketones. The protocol involves two steps promoted by solid supported species, and it provides the title targets from satisfactory to very good overall yields and in an excellent diastereomeric ratios

Production and Diversity of Volatile Terpenes from Plants on Calcareous and Siliceous Soils: Effect of Soil Nutrients

International audienceFertilizer effects on terpene production have beennoted in numerous reports. In contrast, only a few studies havestudied the response of leaf terpene content to naturallydifferent soil fertility levels. Terpene content, as determinedby gas chromatography/mass spectrometry/flame ionizationdetector, and growth of Pinus halepensis, Rosmarinusofficinalis, and Cistus albidus were studied on calcareousand siliceous soils under field conditions. The effect ofnitrogen (N) and extractable phosphorus (PE) from thesesoils on terpenes was also investigated since calcareous soilsmainly differ from siliceous soils in their higher nutrientloadings. Rich terpene mixtures were detected. Twenty-oneterpenes appeared in leaf extracts of R. officinalis and C.albidus and 20 in P. halepensis. Growth of all species wasenhanced on calcareous soils, while terpene content showeda species-specific response to soil type. The total monoterpenecontent of P. halepensis and that of some major compounds(e.g., δ-terpinene) were higher on calcareous than onsiliceous soils. A significant and positive relationship wasfound between concentration of N and PE and leaf terpenecontent of this species. These findings suggest that P.halepensis may respond to an environment characterized byincreasing soil deposition, by allocating carbon resources tothe synthesis of terpene defense metabolites without growthreduction. Results obtained for R. officinalis showed highconcentrations of numerous major monoterpenes (e.g., myrcene,camphor) in plants growing on calcareous soils, whileα-pinene, β-caryophyllene, and the total sesquiterpene contentwere higher on siliceous soils. Finally, only alloaromadendreneand δ-cadinene of C. albidus showed higher concentrationson siliceous soils. Unlike P. halepensis, soil nutrientswere not involved in terpene variation in calcareous andsiliceous soils of these two shrub species. Possible ecologicalexplanations on the effect of soil type for these latter twospecies as well as the ecological explanation of rich terpenemixtures are discussed

β‐Nitroacrylates as Starting Materials of Thiophene‐2‐Carboxylates Under Continuous Flow Conditions

We report herein a general and efficient continuous flow‐based protocol for synthesizing thiophene‐2‐carboxylates starting from ketal‐functionalized β‐nitroacrylates. The protocol involves (i) a promoter‐free conjugate addition of thioacetic acid to β‐nitroacrylates, (ii) a base‐induced elimination of nitrous acid, and (iii) a final acid‐promoted domino cyclization‐aromatization process to afford the title targets. Thanks to the means of the flow chemistry and the use of solid supported systems, the three steps were combined in a whole flow chemical process, by which the products were isolated in good to excellent overall yields (38–88%)

Restoration of a Mediterranean Postfire Shrubland: Plant Functional Responses to Organic Soil Amendment

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