Cyclobutenes by Platinum-Catalyzed Cycloisomerization Reactions of Enynes

1,6-Enynes bearing (electron-rich) aryl substituents on their alkyne moiety rearrange to cyclobutene derivatives in the presence of catalytic amounts of PtCl2 in toluene. The reaction is significantly accelerated when performed under an atmosphere of CO (1 atm), most likely by increasing the electrophilicity of the metal template by temporary coordination to this π-acidic ligand. This transformation allows the build up of considerable strain in the products as witnessed by the productive formation of tricyclic skeletons, such as 7 or 9. Moreover, these products provide evidence for the mechanistic scenario of platinum-catalyzed cycloisomerization reactions previously proposed, which are thought to proceed via organo−platinum species that mimic the reactivity of metal-complexed “nonclassical” carbocations

Archaean and Proterozoic diamond growth from contrasting styles of large-scale magmatism

Precise dating of diamond growth is required to understand the interior workings of the early Earth and the deep carbon cycle. Here we report Sm-Nd isotope data from 26 individual garnet inclusions from 26 harzburgitic diamonds from Venetia, South Africa. Garnet inclusions and host diamonds comprise two compositional suites formed under markedly different conditions and define two isochrons, one Archaean (2.95 Ga) and one Proterozoic (1.15 Ga). The Archaean diamond suite formed from relatively cool fluid-dominated metasomatism during rifting of the southern shelf of the Zimbabwe Craton. The 1.8 billion years younger Proterozoic diamond suite formed by melt-dominated metasomatism related to the 1.1 Ga Umkondo Large Igneous Province. The results demonstrate that resolving the time of diamond growth events requires dating of individual inclusions, and that there was a major change in the magmatic processes responsible for harzburgitic diamond formation beneath Venetia from the Archaean to the Proterozoic

The Tunka Experiment: Towards a 1-km^2 Cherenkov EAS Array in the Tunka Valley

The project of an EAS Cherenkov array in the Tunka valley/Siberia with an area of about 1 km^2 is presented. The new array will have a ten times bigger area than the existing Tunka-25 array and will permit a detailed study of the cosmic ray energy spectrum and the mass composition in the energy range from 10^15 to 10^18 eV.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, to be published in IJMP

Emerging concepts in pancreatic cancer medicine: targeting the tumor stroma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a stroma-rich and highly challenging cancer to treat. Over recent years, it has become increasingly evident that the complex network of soluble cytokines, growth factors, proteases, and components of the extracellular matrix collaboratively interact within the tumor microenvironment, sustaining and driving cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and early metastasis. More recently, the tumor microenvironment has also been appreciated to mediate therapeutic resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, thus opening numerous avenues for novel therapeutic explorations. Inert and soluble components of the tumor stroma have been targeted in order to break down the extracellular matrix scaffold, relieve vessel compression, and increase drug delivery to hypovascular tumors. Moreover, targeting of antiapoptotic, immunosuppressive, and pro-proliferative effects of the tumor stroma provides novel vantage points of attack. This review focuses on current and future developments in pancreatic cancer medicine, with a particular emphasis on biophysical and biochemical approaches that target the tumor microenvironment

Discovery of an unusual bright eclipsing binary with the longest known period: TYC 2505-672-1 / MASTER OT J095310.04+335352.8

We report on the MASTER Global Robotic Net discovery of an eclipsing binary, MASTER OT J095310.04+335352.8, previously known as unremarkable star TYC 2505-672-1, which displays extreme orbital parameters. The orbital period P=69.1 yr is more than 2.5 times longer than that of epsilon-Aurigae, which is the previous record holder. The light curve is characterized by an extremely deep total eclipse with a depth of more than 4.5 mag, which is symmetrically shaped and has a total duration of 3.5 yrs. The eclipse is essentially gray. The spectra acquired with the Russian 6 m BTA telescope both at minimum and maximum light mainly correspond to an M0-1III--type red giant, but the spectra taken at the bottom of eclipse show small traces of a sufficiently hot source. The observed properties of this system can be better explained as the red giant eclipsed by a large cloud (the disk) of small particles surrounding the invisible secondary companion.Comment: 8 figures, 9 pages, Astronomy and astrophysics in prin