Size-dependent rate acceleration in the silylation of secondary alcohols: the bigger the faster

Relative rates for the reaction of secondary alcohols carrying large aromatic moieties with silyl chlorides carrying equally large substituents have been determined in organic solvents. Introducing thoroughly matching pairs of big dispersion energy donor (DED) groups enhanced rate constants up to four times, notably depending on the hydrogen bond donor ability of the solvent. A linear correlation between computed dispersion energy contributions to the stability of the silyl ether products and experimental relative rate constants was found. These results indicate a cooperation between solvophobic effects and DED-groups in the kinetic control of silylation reactions

Ring-to-Thread Chirality Transfer in [2]Rotaxanes for the Synthesis of Enantioenriched Lactams

© 2022 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This document is the Published Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202209904The synthesis of chiral mechanically interlocked molecules has attracted a lot of attention in the last few years, with applications in different fields, such as asymmetric catalysis or sensing. Herein we describe the synthesis of orientational mechanostereoisomers, which include a benzylic amide macrocycle with a stereogenic center, and nonsymmetric N-(arylmethyl)fumaramides as the axis. The base-promoted cyclization of the initial fumaramide thread allows enantioenriched value-added compounds, such as lactams of different ring sizes and amino acids, to be obtained. The chiral information is effectively transmitted across the mechanical bond from the encircling ring to the interlocked lactam. High levels of enantioselectivity and full control of the regioselectivity of the final cyclic compounds are attained

A many-analysts approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N=10,535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β=0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β=0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates

A Many-analysts Approach to the Relation Between Religiosity and Well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N = 10, 535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β = 0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β = 0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

The Elusive 1,4-Diazabutatrienes: Lurking in the Shadows

Isocyanides are isomers of cyanides in which its terminal carbon atom can exist in a divalent state. Their ambivalent electronic nature as nucleophile or electrophile and wide reactivity turn the isocyanide scaffold in a valuable synthon for the synthesis of structurally complex molecules, in particular azacycles. Although they are known to polymerize easily, the dimerization of isocyanides affording head-to-head dimers, namely 1,4-diazabutatrienes R1-N=C=C=N-R1, has been scarcely explored. Nowadays the experimental isolation of this kind of heterocumulenes is still a challenge. In this minireview, covering a period of sixty years, we highlight the role of 1,4-diazabutatienes as putative reaction intermediates in the homo- and heterodimerization of different types of isocyanides. Added to this, we revise a set of reported reactions in which the formation of a transient 1,4-diazabutatriene intermediate has not been proposed but could be considered as a plausible alternative

Violations to the Principle of Least Motion: the Shortest Path is not Always the Fastest

©2022. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This document is the Accepted, version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in [Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics]. To access the final edited and published work see[https://doi.org/10.1039/D2CP00700B]The reaction between two molecules is usually envisioned as following a least-motion path with both molecules travelling minimum distances to meet each other. However, the reaction path of lowest activation energy is not only determined by practicality but mainly by the orbital symmetry of the involved reactants and the efficiency of their mutual interaction. The term non-least-motion was born naturally to design those reactions in which reactants follow, in their route to products, pathways longer than those intuitively expected. In this review we summarize the theoretical and experimental studies that describe and rationalize reactions following non-least-motion paths, starting with the dimerizations of carbenes and followed by additional processes of these and other reactive species (silylenes, carbynes) such as insertions into single bonds and additions to -bonds. Other examples involving less reactive partners are also included

Chemodivergent Conversion of Ketenimines Bearing Cyclic Dithioacetalic Units into Isoquinoline-1-thiones or Quinolin-4-ones as a Function of the Acetalic Ring Size

C-Alkoxycarbonyl-C-phenyl-N-aryl ketenimines bearing 1,3-dithiolan-2-yl or 1,3-dithian-2-yl substituents at ortho position of the C-phenyl ring, respectively, transform into isoquino-line-1-thiones and quinolin-4-ones under thermal treatment in toluene solution. The formation of isoquinolinethiones involves a rare degradation of the 1,3-dithiolane ring, whereas, in contrast, the 1,3-dithiane ring remains intact during the reaction course leading to quinolin-4-ones. Computational density functional theory results support that the kinetically favorable mechanism for the formation of isoquinoline-l-thiones proceeds through a [1,5]-hydride shift/6 pi-electrocyclization cascade, followed by a thiirane extrusion process. Alternative mechanistic paths showing interesting electronic reorganization processes have been also scrutinized but resulted not competitive on energetic grounds

Tandem processes promoted by a hydrogen shift in 6-arylfulvenes bearing acetalic units at ortho position: a combined experimental and computational study

6-Phenylfulvenes bearing (1,3-dioxolan or dioxan)-2-yl substituents at ortho position convert into mixtures of 4- and 9-(hydroxy)alkoxy-substituted benz[f]indenes as result of cascade processes initiated by a thermally activated hydrogen shift. Structurally related fulvenes with non-cyclic acetalic units afforded mixtures of 4- and 9-alkoxybenz[f]indenes under similar thermal conditions. Mechanistic paths promoted by an initial [1,4]-, [1,5]-, [1,7]- or [1,9]-H shift are conceivable for explaining these conversions. Deuterium labelling experiments exclude the [1,4]-hydride shift as the first step. A computational study scrutinized the reaction channels of these tandem conversions starting by [1,5]-, [1,7]- and [1,9]-H shifts, revealing that this first step is the rate-determining one and that the [1,9]-H shift is the one with the lowest energy barrier

Accessing polysubstituted oxazolidines, pyrrolidines and imidazolidines by regioselective [3+2] annulations of ketenimines with donor-acceptor oxiranes and aziridines

Efficient [3 + 2] annulations of N-aryl-C,C-diphenyl ketenimines with metallo-carbonyl and metallo-azomethine ylides, generated via the respective Yb(OTf)3 and Y(OTf)3 promoted carbon–carbon bond heterolysis of donor–acceptor oxiranes and aziridines, have been accomplished. These reactions proceeded under mild conditions and supplied a general methodology for the regioselective construction of structurally complex oxazolidines and pyrrolidines. Moreover, heating neat mixtures of N-aryl-C,C-diphenyl ketenimines and diethyl aziridine-2,3-dicarboxylates led to imidazolidine derivatives. A computational study concluded in stepwise mechanisms for these [3 + 2] annulations, also shedding light on their regioselectivity, concerning which of the two cumulated double bonds of the ketenimine becomes involved in the reaction with the ylide