A convenient laboratory method for preparingtrans,trans-9, 11-octadecadienoic acid

A convenient laboratory method to preparetrans,trans- 9,11-octadecadienoic acid (TTA) via a polyester intermediate is described. Ricinelaidic acid was heated at 235C under vacuum for 3-4 hr to form a polyester having a mol wt of 1,500-1,600. Pyrolysis of this polyester and simultane-ous distillation of the products gave crude dehy-drated acids. TTA was crystallized from a 95% ethanol solution of these acids, in a yield of 35%. Of the variables affecting pyrolysis, the mol wt of polyester had the greatest effect on yield of TTA. Paper II in the series on “Reactions of Conjugated Fatty Acids,” presented at AOCS meeting in Atlanta, 1963. A laboratory of the No. Utiliz. Res. & Dev. Div., ARS, USDA.     

2‐Carbaborane‐3‐phenyl‐1H‐indoles—Synthesis via McMurry Reaction and Cyclooxygenase (COX) Inhibition Activity

Cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) inhibitors have been the focus of medicinal chemistry efforts for years, and many compounds that exhibit high selectivity and affinity have been developed. As carbaboranes represent interesting pharmacophores as phenyl mimetics in drug development, this paper presents the synthesis of carbaboranyl derivatives of COX‐2‐selective 2,3‐disubstituted indoles. Despite the lability of carbaboranes under reducing conditions, 2‐carbaborane‐3‐phenyl‐1H‐indoles could be synthesized by McMurry cyclization of the corresponding amides. Whereas the meta‐carbaboranyl‐substituted derivatives lacked COX inhibitory activity, an ortho‐carbaboranyl analogue was active, but showed a selectivity shift toward COX‐1.     

The Versatile 2‐Substituted Imidazoline Nucleus as a Structural Motif of Ligands Directed to the Serotonin 5‐HT1A Receptor

The involvement of the serotonin 5‐HT_1A receptor (5‐HT_1A‐R) in the antidepressant effect of allyphenyline and its analogues indicates that ligands bearing the 2‐substituted imidazoline nucleus as a structural motif interact with 5‐HT_1A‐R. Therefore, we examined the 5‐HT_1A‐R profile of several imidazoline molecules endowed with a common scaffold consisting of an aromatic moiety linked to the 2‐position of an imidazoline nucleus by a biatomic bridge. Our aim was to discover other ligands targeting 5‐HT_1A‐R and to identify the structural features favoring 5‐HT_1A‐R interaction. Structure–activity relationships, supported by modeling studies, suggested that some structural cliché such as a polar function and a methyl group in the bridge, as well as proper steric hindrance in the aromatic area of the above scaffold, favored 5‐HT_1A‐R recognition and activation. We also highlighted the potent antidepressant‐like effect (mouse forced swimming test) of (S)‐(+)‐ 19 [(S)‐(+)‐naphtyline] at very low dose (0.01 mg kg^?1). This effect was clearly mediated by 5‐HT_1A, as it was significantly reduced by pretreatment with the 5‐HT_1A antagonist WAY100635.     

Aging and flexible remembering: Contributions of conceptual span, fluid intelligence, and frontal functioning.

Aging attenuates the capacity to adaptively and flexibly use episodic memory at different levels of specificity. Older and younger adults were tested on a picture recognition task that required them to make episodic memory decisions at an item-specific (verbatim) versus category-based (gist-based) level on randomly intermixed trials. Specificity modulation was assessed using a measure of the likelihood that participants retrieved verbatim information in order to reject test items that were categorically related to studied items under item-specific recognition instructions (recollection rejection). We found that this measure positively correlated with conceptual span (an index of short-term semantic memory) and with level of fluid intelligence in older and younger adults. However, when we simultaneously considered each of four possible contributors (age, conceptual span, fluid intelligence, and frontal function), the only significant predictor of recollection rejection was the composite fluid intelligence measure (assessed by the Culture Fair Intelligence Test [Cattell & Cattell, 1960] and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised Block Design subtest [Wechsler, 1981]). These findings suggest that interventions that facilitate adaptive specificity modulation in episodic memory may enhance the flexibility of thinking, and vice versa, in both older and younger adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Revealing determinant factors for early breast cancer recurrence by decision tree

Early breast cancer recurrence is indicative of poor response to adjuvant therapy and poses threats to patients’ lives. Most existing prediction models for breast cancer recurrence are regression-based models and difficult to interpret. We apply a Decision Tree algorithm to the clinical information of a cohort of non-metastatic invasive breast cancer patients, to establish a classifier that categorizes patients based on whether they develop early recurrence and on similarities of their clinical and pathological diagnoses. The classifier predicts for whether a patient developed early disease recurrence; and is estimated to be about 70% accurate. For an independent validation cohort of 65 patients, the classifier predicts correctly for 55 patients. The classifier also groups patients based on intrinsic properties of their diseases; and for each subgroup lists the disease characteristics in a hierarchal order, according to their relevance to early relapse. Overall, it identifies pathological nodal stage, percentage of intra-tumor stroma and components of TGFβ-Smad signaling pathway as highly relevant factors for early breast cancer recurrence. Since most of the disease characteristics used by this classifier are results of standardized tests, routinely collected during breast cancer diagnosis, the classifier can easily be adopted in various research and clinical settings.     

Economic and epidemiological impact of different intervention strategies for clinical contagious mastitis

The overall aim of this study was to compare different intervention strategies for clinical intramammary infections (IMI). We conducted a simulation study to represent a Danish dairy cattle herd with IMI caused mostly by Staphylococcus aureus and 9 different intervention strategies for clinical IMI. A standard intervention of 3 d of treatment consisting of intramammary injections for all clinical cases was used. Two of the strategies reflected the use of more antibiotics and 6 strategies reflected cow-specific treatment or culling decisions. For these strategies, we assessed the cost and effectiveness of culling as an IMI intervention. Our results showed that nearly all strategies could reduce the number of IMI cases [e.g., a median of 37 clinical cases with the extended intramammary treatment over 5 d strategy (Basic5) and 30 clinical cases with the cow culled with recovery probability below 50% (Before50)] compared with the standard intervention (median of 42 clinical cases). This happened alongside either increased antibiotic usage (e.g., from a median of 123 treatment days up to 179 treatment days with strategy Basic5) or an increased number of cows culled in relation to IMI (e.g., from a median of 16 up to 24 cows with strategy Before50). Strategies with more antibiotics or reactive culling had a slightly higher net income (e.g., €190,014 median net income with strategy Basic5 or €196,995 with strategy Before50 compared with €187,666 with the standard strategy). This shows that a cow-specific clinical intervention approach can be cost-effective in reducing IMI incidence.     

The role of syllables in the perception of spoken Dutch.

Three experiments are reported concerning the role of the syllable in the perception of spoken Dutch. Ss monitored spoken words for the presence of target strings that did or did not correspond to the words' 1st syllable. Effects of syllabic match were obtained for spoken words with unambiguous syllabic structure, as well as for words containing ambisyllabic consonants, which are shared by 2 syllables. For both types of words, monitoring latencies were shorter if the target matched the 1st syllable of the spoken word. Syllable effects were independent of the relation between targets and stem morphemes of the spoken words. Commonalities and differences between these results and those obtained in other languages such as English and French are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Polyesteramides from linseed and soybean oils for protective coatings: Diisocyanate-modified polymers

New polymeric coating materials have been prepared by a triethylenediamine-catalyzed reaction of hydroxyl-terminated polyesteramides (HTPA) from soybean or linseed oils with diisocyanates. Eight dibasic acids or anhydrides were reacted with excess N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) fatty amide to yield HTPA; those containing 10 mole per cent excess gave isocyanate-modified polymers with best overall film properties. Reactivity of four diisocyanates with a linseed-HTPA was measured by disappearance of the isocyanate band in the infrared. Depending on chemical composition, structure and curing conditions, films prepared from these polymers have a wide range of drying characteristics, hardness and chemical resistance. Drying times of linseed HTPA-urethane polymer films varied from 0.3 to 48 hr, hardness values (Sward) were from 4 to 70, alkali resistance ranged from 2 to 126 min and the hydrochloric acid and xylene resistances were good to excellent. Impact resistance exceeded 160 in.-lb for all films except two. The soybean-derived polymer films likewise exhibited a wide range of properties; they chiefly differed from linseed-derived films in having greater flexibility and improved alkali resistance. Presented at American Chemical Society meeting, Chicago, September, 1967.     

Implications of the dependence of the elastic properties of DNA on nucleotide sequence

Recent advances in structural biochemistry have provided evidence that not only the geometric properties but also the elastic moduli of duplex DNA are strongly dependent on nucleotide sequence in a way that is not accounted for by classical rod models of the Kirchhoff type. A theory of sequence-dependent DNA elasticity is employed here to calculate the dependence of the equilibrium configurations of circular DNA on the binding of ligands that can induce changes in intrinsic twist at a single base-pair step. Calculations are presented of the influence on configurations of the assumed values and distribution along the DNA of intrinsic roll and twist and a modulus coupling roll to twist. Among the results obtained are the following. For minicircles formed from intrinsically straight DNA, the distribution of roll-twist coupling strongly affects the dependence of the total elastic energy Psi on the amount alpha of imposed untwisting, and that dependence can be far from quadratic. (In fact, for a periodic distribution of roll-twist coupling with a period equal to the intrinsic helical repeat length, Psi can be essentially independent of alpha for -90 degrees < alpha <90 degrees.) When the minicircle is homogeneous and without roll-twist coupling, but with uniform positive intrinsic roll, the point at which Psi attains its minimum value shifts towards negative values of alpha. It is remarked that there are cases in which one can relate graphs of Psi versus alpha to the 'effective values' of bending and twisting moduli and helical repeat length obtained from measurements of equilibrium distributions of topoisomers and probabilities of ring closure. For a minicircle formed from DNA that has an 'S' shape when stress-free, the graphs of Psi versus alpha have maxima at alpha = 0. As the binding of a twisting agent to such a minicircle results in a net decrease in Psi, the affinity of the twisting agent for binding to the minicircle is greater than its affinity for binding to unconstrained DNA with the same sequence.     

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes by pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel extract in meat paté at different temperatures

Natural antimicrobials are being more and more considered as alternative approach for controlling growth of microorganisms in food. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pomegranate extract’s (PE) potential to be used as a natural preservative in ready to eat meats. Listeria monocytogenes was the main target. In a preliminary assessment with the disk diffusion method PE showed inhibitory effect against all five tested species, in the following order of increasing sensitivity: L. monocytogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.No viable cells of L. monocytogenes were detected after incubation in BHI broth in presence of 7.5% v/v of the liquid PE (or 24.7 mg dry PE/ml). This concentration was considered as the Minimal Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the tested PE. Two pure components commonly found in PE, namely gallic and ellagic acids were also tested in BHI broth, however they did not show considerable inhibition of L. monocytogenes. PE in a concentration equal to the measured MBC was tested against L. monocytogenes in meat paté at different temperatures. At 4 °C during 46 days the extract inhibited the growth in meat paté by 4.1 log CFU/g compared to the control, which had reached log 9.2 CFU/g already on the 18th day. Inhibition was less pronounced at higher temperatures. The results indicate that the PE has a potential to be used as a natural preservative in meat products.