Studies of the Electronic Effects of Zinc Cluster Catalysts and Their Application to the Transesterification of ß-Keto Esters.

The electronic effects of tetranuclear zinc cluster catalysts on transesterification were investigated by changing the carboxylate ligands in the clusters. High catalyst activity crucially depended on the balance between Lewis acidity and Brønsted basicity of the catalyst; this was consistent with the dual activation of both the electrophile and nucleophile by the cooperative zinc centers. In addition, tetranuclear zinc cluster catalysts achieved the transesterification of ß-keto esters with unprecedented levels of broad substrate generality, in which a newly developed pentafluoropropionate-bridged zinc cluster and 4-dimethylaminopyridine additive greatly improved the reactivity of sterically congested α- and α,α-disubstituted ß-keto esters.

A single nucleotide polymorphism of the neuropeptide B/W receptor-1 gene influences the evaluation of facial expressions.

Neuropeptide B/W receptor-1 (NPBWR1) is expressed in discrete brain regions in rodents and humans, with particularly strong expression in the limbic system, including the central nucleus of the amygdala. Recently, Nagata-Kuroiwa et al. reported that Npbwr1(-/-) mice showed changes in social behavior, suggesting that NPBWR1 plays important roles in the emotional responses of social interactions.The human NPBWR1 gene has a single nucleotide polymorphism at nucleotide 404 (404A>T; SNP rs33977775). This polymorphism results in an amino acid change, Y135F. The results of an in vitro experiment demonstrated that this change alters receptor function. We investigated the effect of this variation on emotional responses to stimuli of showing human faces with four categories of emotional expressions (anger, fear, happiness, and neutral). Subjects' emotional levels on seeing these faces were rated on scales of hedonic valence, emotional arousal, and dominance (V-A-D). A significant genotype difference was observed in valence evaluation; the 404AT group perceived facial expressions more pleasantly than did the 404AA group, regardless of the category of facial expression. Statistical analysis of each combination of [V-A-D and facial expression] also showed that the 404AT group tended to feel less submissive to an angry face than did the 404AA group. Thus, a single nucleotide polymorphism of NPBWR1 seems to affect human behavior in a social context.