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Biomedical subjects

W Gunther

Publications and source records attributed to W Gunther.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Energy spectra of HZE-particles inside the International Space Station.

To measure the energy spectra of low energy ions inside the International Space Station (ISS) we will expose three stacks of CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors aligned to the three coordinate axes of the space station. The energies of cosmic ray nuclei at the stack surfaces can be determined by reconstructing the trajectories of ions stopping inside the detector material and by measuring their ranges. To measure only HZE (high charge Z and energy E) ions with charges of Z6 stopping in our experiment a special batch of CR-39 detectors with low sensitivity will be used. This detector material has been already tested by an exposure to carbon ions at the GSI accelerator in Darmstadt, Germany.

Carbon↗
PubMed2000

On the structure of sulfur-stabilized allyllithium compounds in solution

A combination of density functional calculations (B3LYP/6-31+G(d) level of theory) and experimental investigations (NMR and cryoscopic measurements) lead to structural assignments in solution for a series of three sulfur stabilized allyllithium compounds 1-3. All three lithium species are monomers in THF under the experimental conditions studied here and exist exclusively in an endo conformation. Increasing the oxidation state of sulfur (thiol --> sulfoxide --> sulfone) causes a change in the solution state structure of the allyllithium compounds. In the case of 1-thiophenylallyllithium 1, a fast equilibrium between two eta(1)-species is present with the equilibrium favoring the eta(1) C(alpha)-Li contact ion pair. The preference for this conformation can be attributed to the charge stabilizing properties of the sulfur substituent. For the lithiated sulfoxide 2, this equilibrium is frozen on the NMR time scale and two different lithium species (a eta(1) C(alpha)-Li and a eta(1) C(gamma)-Li contact ion pair), each possessing an intramolecular Li-O contact, coexist in d(8)-THF. In the case of the lithiated sulfone 3, several solvated conformations are in rapid equilibrium with each other on the NMR time scale in solution. The presence of two chelating oxygen atoms allows the lithium to form a OLiO scissor-like contact ion pair that competes with the eta(1) C(alpha)-Li and the eta(1) C(gamma)-Li contact ion pairs also calculated for compound 3.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Conformational design for 13alpha-steroids

The diastereomeric 16-bromo- and 16-azido-17-alcohols 5-8, 11, 12, 16, and 17 and 17-ketones 3, 4, 9, and 10 of the 13alpha-estra-1,3, 5(10)-triene series were synthesized as precursors for biologically active compounds and chiral ligands for metal complexation. Conformational investigations of these and some other compounds via X-ray analysis and (1)H NMR spectroscopy show the existence of compounds with the classical steroid conformation (ring C chair, restricted conformation of ring D) and such with an atypical ring C twist-boat and a flexible ring D conformation. It could be shown that 17beta-substituents or flattening of the D-ring are responsible for the twist-boat conformation, whereas compounds containing a 17alpha-substituent or 17-keto group possess the classical conformation. By varying the substituents, compounds with either of these conformations can be intentionally synthesized. MO calculations confirmed the relative stability of the twist-boat conformation.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Energy spectrum of iron nuclei measured inside the MIR space craft using CR-39 track detectors.

We have exposed stacks of CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors inside the MIR space craft during the EUROMIR95 space mission for almost 6 months. Over this long period a large number of tracks of high LET events was accumulated in the detector foils. The etching and measuring conditions for this experiment were optimized to detect tracks of stopping iron nuclei. We found 185 stopping iron nuclei inside the stack and identified their trajectories through the material of the experiment. Based on the energy-range relation the energy at the surface of the stack was determined. These particles allow the determination of the low energy part of the spectrum of iron nuclei behind shielding material inside the MIR station.

Cosmic Radiation↗
PubMed1997

Characterisation of renal chloride channel, CLCN5, mutations in hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis (kidney stones) disorders.

Mutations of the renal-specific chloride channel (CLCN5) gene, which is located on chromosome Xp11.22, are associated with hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis (kidney stones) in the Northern European and Japanese populations. CLCN5 encodes a 746 amino acid channel (CLC-5) that has approximately 12 transmembrane domains, and heterologous expression of wild-type CLC-5 in Xenopus oocytes has yielded outwardly rectifying chloride currents that were markedly reduced or abolished by these mutations. In order to assess further the structural and functional relationships of this recently cloned chloride channel, additional CLCN5 mutations have been identified in five unrelated families with this disorder. Three of these mutations were missense (G57V, G512R and E527D), one was a nonsense (R648Stop) and one was an insertion (30:H insertion). In addition, two of the mutations (30:H insertion and E527D) were demonstrated to be de novo, and the G57V and E527D mutations were identified in families of Afro-American and Indian origin, respectively. The G57V and 30:H insertion mutations represent the first CLCN5 mutations to be identified in the N-terminus region, and the R648Stop mutation, which has been observed previously in an unrelated family, suggests that this codon may be particularly prone to mutations. Heterologous expression of the mutations resulted in a marked reduction or abolition of the chloride currents, thereby establishing their functional importance. These results help to elucidate further the structure-function relationships of this renal chloride channel.

Adult↗