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Seven synthetic analogues of the PXR (pregnane-X-receptor) potent natural agonist solomonsterol A were prepared by total synthesis. Their activity toward PXR was assessed by transactivation and RT-PCR assays. The study discloses cholestan disulfate (8) as a new, simplified agonist of PXR. By in vitro studies on hepatic cells we have demonstrated that this compound is a potent PXR agonist and functional characterization in human macrophages and hepatic stellate cells provided evidence that cholestan disulfate (8) has the ability to modulate the immune response triggered by bacterial endotoxin as well as to counter-activate hepatic stellate cell activation induced by thrombin. Because inhibition of immune-driven circuits might have relevance in the treatment of inflammation and liver fibrosis, the present data support the development of cholestan disulfate (8) in preclinical models of inflammatory diseases.

A novel lumazine peptide, penilumamide (1), was isolated from the fermentation broth of a marine-derived fungal strain, identified as Penicillium sp. (strain CNL-338) and the structure of the new metabolite was determined by analysis of ESI-TOF MS data combined with 1D and 2D NMR experiments.

Nineteen aromatic nitro compounds were isolated from the culture broth of an Arctic sea ice bacterium. Four of these compounds are new and six compounds are reported from a natural source for the first time. The new natural products showed weak antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. 2-nitro-4-(2'-nitroethenyl)-phenol was the most potent antimicrobial and cytotoxic substance. Some of the compounds exhibit plant growth modulating activities. Based on its biochemical properties and the 16S rRNA gene sequence, the producing strain can be described as a distinct species within the genus Salegentibacter.

The energies and thermodynamic parameters of the elementary reactions involved in the gas-phase hydrolysis of silicon tetrachloride were studied using ab initio quantum chemical methods (up to MP4//MP2/6-311G(2d,2p)), density functional (B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,2p)), and G2(MP2) theories. The proposed mechanism of hydrolysis consists of the formation of SiCl 4-x(OH)x (x ) 1-4), disiloxanes Cl4-x(OH)x-1Si-O-SiCl4-x(OH)x-1, chainlike and cyclic siloxane polymers [-SiCl2sO-]n, dichlorosilanone Cl2SidO, and silicic acid (HO)2SidO. Thermodynamic parameters were estimated, and the transition states were located for all of the elementary reactions. It was demonstrated that the experimentally observed kinetic features for the hightemperature hydrolysis are well described by a regular bimolecular reaction occurring through a four-membered cyclic transition state. In contrast, the low-temperature hydrolysis reaction cannot be described by the traditionally accepted bimolecular pathway for SisCl bond hydrolysis because of high activation barrier (Ea ) 107.0 kJ/mol, ¢G q ) 142.5 kJ/mol) nor by reactions occurring through three- or four-molecular transition states proposed earlier for reactions occurring in aqueous solution. The transition states of SiCl 4 with oneand two-coordinated water molecules were located; these significantly decrease the free energy of activation ¢G q (to 121.3 and 111.5 kJ/mol, correspondingly). However, this decrease in ¢G q is not sufficient to account for the high value of the hydrolysis rate observed experimentally under low-temperature conditions.

Chemical and isotopic records obtained from polar ice cores have provided some of the most iconic datasets in Earth system science. Here, I discuss how the different records are formed in the ice sheets, emphasising in particular the contrast between chemistry held in the snow/ice phase, and that which is trapped in air bubbles. Air diffusing slowly through the upper firn layers of the ice sheet can also be sampled in large volumes to give more recent historical information on atmospheric composition. The chemical and geophysical issues that have to be solved to interpret ice core data in terms of atmospheric composition and emission changes are also highlighted. Ice cores and firn air have provided particularly strong evidence about recent changes (last few decades to centuries), including otherwise inaccessible data on increases in compounds that are active as greenhouse gases or as agents of stratospheric depletion. On longer timescales (up to 800 000 years in Antarctica), ice cores reveal major changes in biogeochemical cycling, which acted as feedbacks on the very major changes in climate between glacial and interglacial periods.

3-Alkylpyridine alkaloids are very common secondary metabolites from marine sponges of the order Haplosclerida. Here, we report on the identification and synthesis of the first cyclic monomeric 3-alkylpyridinium alkaloid from natural sources. Due to the lack of a pure sample of the new compound, structure elucidation had to rely on HPLC and MS(n).

The ‘perfect storm’ of increasing bacterial antibiotic resistance and a decline in the discovery of new antibiotics, has made it necessary to search for new and innovative strategies to treat bacterial infections. Interruption of bacterial cell-to-cell communication signalling (Quorum Sensing), thus neutralizing virulence in pathogenic bacteria, is a growing area. 2-Alkyl-4-quinolones, HHQ and PQS, play a key role in the quorum sensing circuitry of P. aeruginosa. We report a new set of isosteres of 2-heptyl-6-nitroquinolin-4-one, with alterations at C-3, and evaluate the key structural requirements for agonistic and antagonistic activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The native floridoside [2′- O-(α- D-galactopyranosyl)-glycerol], isolated from the red marine alga RHODYMENIA PALMATA, has demonstrated a potent immunostimulating activity. In order to carry out further biological investigations, the synthesis of this compound appeared necessary and is reported here, for the first time.