Joining Hydroxyazobenzene and Mannose under Mitsunobu Conditions

The Mitsunobu reaction has been revisited to join hydroxyazobenzene and mannose derivatives to supply photoswitchable glycoconjugates. These are suited to modulating and controlling carbohydrate-lectin interactions, as well as to switching bacterial adhesion to surfaces. Employing hydroxyazobenzene in a Mitsunobu protocol, free mannose led to a mixture of azobenzene pyranosides and furanosides. Protected reducing mannose derivatives can give good yields of azobenzene β-D -mannopyranoside, and unprotected alkyl α-D -mannosides can be converted to 6-O-azobenzene-modified glycosides in a single step. Thus, valuable “sweet switches” can be obtained under Mitsunobu conditions, requiring a minimum (or no) protecting group chemistry.     

Investigation of Partial Discharge and Fracture Strength in Piezoelectric Ceramics

Although piezoelectric ceramics are widely used, the structural reliability of these materials in long‐term service is still a concern. In this study, a nondestructive method for assessing material strength reliability using partial discharge (PD) tests is proposed. The PD inception electric field and the flexure strength are both controlled by the defects in the ceramics which suggests that the PD test can be an alternative nondestructive method for evaluating the structural reliability of piezoelectric ceramics. PD and four‐point flexure tests were carried out on piezoelectric ceramics. The influence of the PD test on samples was investigated by comparing the microstructure and electrical properties before and after the PD test. Samples which were not PD tested were also fractured and compared. It was found that no strength degradation was caused by the PD test. Weibull analysis revealed a correlation between the distribution in values for PD inception electric field and flexure strength.     

Conjugated Linoleic Acid Isomers, t10c12 and c9t11, are Differentially Incorporated into Adipose Tissue and Skeletal Muscle in Humans

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a popular supplement believed to enhance immune function, body composition and insulin sensitivity, but results of scientific studies investigating its effects are conflicting. The isomer- and tissue-specific effects of CLA may explain these conflicting results. Therefore, this study quantified the incorporation of the c9t11 and t10c12 CLA isomers into adipose tissue and skeletal muscle in response to supplementation in healthy, regularly-exercising, non-obese persons. The CLA group (n = 14) ingested 3.9 g per day CLA (50:50 t9c11:c10t12) and the placebo group (n = 11) 3.9 g per day high-oleic-acid sunflower oil for 12 weeks. Following supplementation, the t10c12 isomer was incorporated into adipose tissue triacylglycerol (P < 0.001), and the c9t11 isomer tended to increase in skeletal muscle phospholipids (P = 0.056). Therefore, human adipose tissue and skeletal muscle are enriched with CLA in an isomer-specific manner.     

Effects of pairwise,donor–acceptor functional groups on polymer solubility,solution viscosity and mist control

Homologous series of functionalized polymers were used to compare the solution properties of donor–acceptor (DA) interpolymer mixtures with those of self-associating and non-associating polymer analogues. Polymer analogous synthesis was used to produce a series of polymers from a specific, anionically-polymerized prepolymer (1250 kg/mol polybutadiene), using thiol-ene coupling to incorporate systematically-varied contents of side groups: either tertiary amines (as proton acceptors) or carboxylic acids (both as proton donors in donor–acceptor mixtures, or as self-associating moieties in single-polymer solutions). Comparison with controls reveals that, relative to the effects of self-associations, DA interpolymer interactions more strongly affect solution properties such as phase behavior, interpolymer aggregation, shear viscosity, and elastic response in extensional flow. Specifically, DA associations lead to (i) greater reductions in polymer solubility in hydrocarbon solvents, (ii) interpolymer aggregation into larger clusters, and (iii) greater shear viscosity in solution. Nevertheless, DA associations reduced solution elasticity and mist suppression—a highly unanticipated result in light of the prior literature.     

The undisordered personality: Normative assumptions underlying personality disorder diagnoses.

Clinical diagnoses are impossible without referring to normative assumptions about what is desirable functioning. In this paper, the authors explicate the implicit normative assumptions that seem to have guided the formulation of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–IV) personality disorder (PD) criteria. Then the authors discuss various conceptual reference frames in which such assumptions may be grounded: (1) a given diagnostician’s personal value system, (2) the expectations of the culture in which a person currently lives, (3) the expectations of the culture in which a person was raised, (4) models of “natural” personality functioning that are rooted in evolution theory, and (5) the presence of distress and/or impairment. In accordance with Wakefield (1992a, 2006), the authors argue that PD diagnoses necessarily involve both an evolutionary and a cultural component. If PDs were defined completely in cultural terms, investigating their biological underpinnings would be nonsensical. In addition, the values of any specific culture should not be given too much weight, because cultural expectations may themselves be harmful. Future editions of DSM should define personality pathology in less culture-relative terms, and address the inevitable issue of values more explicitly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Considering "self-ful" desire.

Excessive anxiety about being selfish can, paradoxically, lead to an unconsciously motivated lack of concern about the impact of one’s desires on others. That which is repudiated by the patient as "not me" may become enacted between the patient and analyst, and then become subject to formulation and exploration. Two cases are presented in which excessive worry over selfishness creates unconsciously motivated self-centered behavior, and resulting relationship difficulties and transference-countertransference enactments. The author suggests that extreme anxiety over selfishness may be partially engendered by a lack of intersubjective recognition of desires in early life. The notable lack of language in English that embraces the positive aspects of self-interest is also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Virtualisierung der Kommunikation – Der Beitrag von Informationsreichhaltigkeit für Kooperation

Virtualization of communication by means of information and communication technology supports companies in globally distributed value creation. Cooperation among employees in order to gain economies of scope is of special economical importance. Computer mediated communication like video conferencing and teleconferencing is more and more accompanied by technical information richness. However, in many cases such technologies do not perform as expected, so that the investment does not generate the expected added value. Newer information richness theories claim that this is caused by insufficient user experience with the technologies. The paper reviews the current state of research regarding the impact of computer mediated communication as well as of information richness (objective and subjective) on cooperation. Thus it shows how virtualization of communication can support companies in better exploiting their economical potential.     

Fueling Open‐Source Drug Discovery: 177 Small‐Molecule Leads against Tuberculosis

With the aim of fuelling open‐source, translational, early‐stage drug discovery activities, the results of the recently completed antimycobacterial phenotypic screening campaign against Mycobacterium bovis BCG with hit confirmation in M. tuberculosis H37Rv were made publicly accessible. A set of 177 potent non‐cytotoxic H37Rv hits was identified and will be made available to maximize the potential impact of the compounds toward a chemical genetics/proteomics exercise, while at the same time providing a plethora of potential starting points for new synthetic lead‐generation activities. Two additional drug‐discovery‐relevant datasets are included: a) a drug‐like property analysis reflecting the latest lead‐like guidelines and b) an early lead‐generation package of the most promising hits within the clusters identified.