Reductive Strategies Research Articles

Gibbs Free Energy of Formation of Chlordecone and Potential Degradation Products: Implications for Remediation Strategies and Environmental Fate

Chlordecone (C(10)Cl(10)O; CAS number 143-50-0) has been used extensively as an organochlorine insecticide but is nowadays banned under The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). A search for chlordecone-respiring organisms and choosing between reductive versus oxidative remediation tools and strategies to clean up chlordecone-polluted environments would benefit from the availability of Gibbs free energy data of chlordecone and its potential dechlorination products. Presently such data are not available. Polycyclic "cage" molecules of which chlordecone is an example contain considerable strain energy. It is not a priori clear how this affects the thermodynamic properties of the chlorinated members of this unique class of compounds and to what extent redox potentials for the halogenated congeners are different from those of other aliphatic and aromatic organohalogens. We performed ab initio quantum chemical calculations to estimate Δ(f)H(m)° and Δ(f)G(m)° values of chlordecone and selected dechlorination products and used these data to calculate their Gibbs free energy and redox potential. With redox potentials in the range of 336-413 mV chlordecone has an E(o)' value similar to that of other organochlorines. The results indicate that there are no thermodynamic reasons why chlordecone-respiring or -fermenting organisms should not exist.

Teacher Perceptions and Behavioral Strategies for Students With Emotional Disturbance Across Educational Environments

The present study examined problem characteristics of students with emotional disturbance in 3 educational environments, the behavior management and intervention strategies their teachers used, and what relation exists between problem characteristics and intervention strategies. Teachers completed a behavior problems rating scale and they indicated how frequently they used 15 strategies to address academic, externalizing, and internalizing problems. There were significant differences across environments for only 1 characteristic of emotional disturbance, physical symptoms or fears. Teachers in general education settings mainly addressed academic problems; resource/separate classroom educators used instructional, positive, and reductive strategies for academic and externalizing problems and verbal reinforcement for internalizing problems. Separate school educators used a variety of strategies consistently for all 3 problems. Implications for supporting students with emotional disturbance across educational environments are discussed.

Microwave-Assisted Organic Reduction Reactions

The present review covers the topic of microwave-assisted reduction of organic compounds including catalytic (metalcatalyzed hydrogenation, catalytic transfer hydrogenation) and stochiometric reactions (ionic and transfer hydrogenation). The article is subcategorized with respect to the different functionalities which so far have been subjected to reduction: C-C multiple bonds, carbonyls, N-containing functional groups, aromatics and heteroaromatics, reductive deprotection strategies, and miscellaneous reactions like dehalogenation or hydrogen-deuterium exchange.

Consciousness

Reductive strategies are especially ill suited to the nature and study of consciousness. The major result of conventional modes of inquiry is the enlargement of the list of correlates, none of which alone or in combination recovers the phenomenon itself.

Regioselective Nickel‐Catalyzed Reductive Couplings of Enones and Allenes

Catalytic reductive coupling processes have been developed in numerous contexts as a strategy for the regioand stereoselective installation of alkenes. The direct coupling of a polar p system with a relatively nonpolar p system is often a successful strategy for selectively accomplishing synthetically desirable heterocouplings while avoiding undesired homocoupling of either reagent. For example, reductive couplings of aldehydes, enones, enals, or imines paired with alkynes, alkenes, or allenes have been extensively developed in recent years. Processes of this type are often highly effective in controlling both the position and stereochemistry of di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted alkenes within polyfunctional molecules. Among these methods, the preparation of g,dunsaturated carbonyl groups by nickeland cobalt-catalyzed processes has been the subject of considerable study. The catalytic strategies developed for synthesis of g,d-unsaturated carbonyl groups by the coupling of two p-containing components include enone–alkyne additions in work reported by our group and by Cheng and co-workers, and enone–alkene additions in work reported by Jamison and co-workers, and Ogoshi et al. (Scheme 1). Processes of this type provide an important counterpart to organocuprate technology and hydrometallative processes, while having the advantage of not requiring the stoichiometric preparation of an alkenyl metal species. Stereodefined trisubstituted alkenes 1, trans-disubstituted alkenes 2, and monosubstituted alkenes 3 may be readily prepared by the above-mentioned enone–alkyne and enone– alkene coupling processes. However, a general strategy for the preparation of 1,1-disubstituted alkenes 4 by these methods has not been developed. Since terminal alkyne reductive coupling strategies and hydrometallative processes typically favor formation of the conjugate addition product 2 with a 1,2-disubstituted alkene, the 1,1-disubstituted alkene 4 is considerably more difficult to prepare. As depicted below (Scheme 2), regiocontrolled reductive coupling of an

Personhood: What's in a name?

Although there are persistent metaphysical challenges to the notion of “natural kinds” of entities that are what they are essentially, all developed and useful taxonomies are based on just such notions. “Persons,” if they are to be distinguished from other kinds of things, must possess unique properties or the potential for acquiring such properties. Reductive strategies, far from locating these properties, ignore them and thus render the concept of “person” either ambiguous or unintelligible. The properties that count, it is argued here, are those associated with moral and civic forms of life.

Turkish Special Education Teachers’ Reported Use of Positive and Reductive Interventions for Problem Behaviors: An Examination of the Variables Associated With Use

The purpose of this survey study was to determine the following: (a) What strategies do Turkish special education teachers use to address problem behaviors in their classroom? (b) What are teachers’ views with regard to the effectiveness and acceptability of these strategies? (c) Is there a relationship between the use of strategies and teachers’ perceived effectiveness and acceptability? and (d) Are differences among teacher ratings of strategy use, effectiveness, and acceptability associated with teacher characteristics (e.g., area of specialization, years of experience)? Results revealed that Turkish teachers’ views of acceptability and effectiveness of strategies varied; however, in general, their ratings of positive strategies were higher than their ratings of reductive strategies. Results are discussed in the context of current literature, and directions for further research are suggested.

Reading the Geneva Bible: Notes Toward An English Revolution?

Since its first publication in 1560, the Geneva Bible has been considered by many as a revolutionary or seditious text, especially because of the numerous explanatory notes that the translators added in the margins of the text. Focusing on the 1560 Old Testament, this article takes a fresh look at the text, marginal notes and editorial apparatus of the Geneva Bible in order to ask whether they can be read as recommending English readers to overthrow Mary Tudor as an idolatrous tyrant and whether they could be read as giving support to the revolution against Charles I almost a century later. A close reading of the Geneva Old Testament leads to the conclusion that its politics are undecidable because the notes and prefaces faithfully reflect the internal political undecidability of the Bible itself. While some of the Geneva notes and prefaces encourage a revolutionary response to tyrants, there are many others that recommend obedience or passive resistance. As a consequence, the Geneva Bible's marginal notes could only be used to legitimize revolution through radically reductive reading strategies.

Remembering and re-membering: Sondheim, the waltz, and A Little Night Music

In its early years, the waltz scandalized people because of the intimacy required to execute the dance. This, in turn, has given the waltz its stance among dances as the emblem of togetherness, romance, longing and nostalgia. Sondheim upsets this middle-European view of the waltz, first, by relying mostly on French variants of the dance, and second, by using the waltz as a sign of decoupling and separation. Nowhere is this clearer than in his 1973 musical A Little Night Music. Sondheim's reinterpretation of the waltz is obscured when commentators equate the dance with its metrical components, and Sondheim spoke against such reductive strategies. This article similarly argues for an abandonment of the term waltz musical not only in recognition of the presence of other dance topoi skilfully deployed by Sondheim but also in appreciation for how the waltz itself has been re-scandalized in Sondheim's works.

Stereoselective Synthesis of a MCHr1 Antagonist

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is implicated in the feeding behavior in mammals affording a potential target to control overeating in people. Compound 1 (AMG 076) has been identified as a potent MCHr1 antagonist for the treatment of obesity. A synthesis suitable for the large-scale preparation of this lead candidate was developed to support preclinical studies. A Robinson annulation of benzylpiperidone and resolution of the desired enone from a mixture of the diastereomers afforded key intermediate 6 after a stereoselective hydrogenation. Subsequent Fischer indole synthesis with hydrazine 5 then provided the advanced intermediate, indole 2. Two complementary reductive amination strategies employing either aldehyde 3 or lactol 4 led to the synthesis of title compound 1.

Is the Object Concept Formal?

This review article explores several senses in which it can be held that the (actual, psychological) concept of an object is a formal concept, as opposed, here, to being a sortal concept. Some recent positions both from the philosophical and the psychological literature are analyzed: Object-sortalism (Xu), quasi-sortalist reductive strategies (Bloom), qualified sortalism (Wiggins), demonstrative theories (Fodor), and anti-sortalism (Ayers).

Intertheory Relations in Cognitive Science: Privileged Levels and Reductive Strategies

Research in cognitive science has often assumed the existence of a privileged level that unifies theoretical explanations arising from different disciplines. Philosophical accounts differ about the locus of those intertheory relations. In this paper, four different views are analyzed: classical, connectionist, pragmatist, and reductionist, as exemplified in the works of von Eckardt, Horgan and Tienson, Hardcastle, and Bickle, respectively. Their divergences are characterized in terms of the possibility of such a privileged level. The classical view favors a privileged computational level. The connectionist revision tries to draw biological intuitions into computational models to provide a link between neuronsand computations. The pragmatist approach rejects the idea of a privileged level and offers a more eclectic view of cognitive theory building. The reductionist account pursues theoretical unification by means of the reduction of higher level theories to basic level (biological) ones.

Saving the Self? Classical Hindu Theories of Consciousness and Contemporary Physicalism

Saving the Self?Classical Hindu Theories of Consciousness and Contemporary Physicalism C. Ram-Prasad This is a highly programmatic essay. It aims to provide some suggestions on how classical Indian philosophical material may contribute to current discussions in consciousness studies, but does not attempt to provide either a textual exploration of that material or a detailed taxonomy of issues in consciousness studies. It is premised on the claim that, at this early stage of such work, merely suggesting systematically as to where the Indian material provides scope for contribution is itself a worthwhile task. The situation is this: classical Indian theories of consciousness generally evolved within a soteriological context in which the ultimate goal was some transcendental spiritual state. Contemporary consciousness studies, apart from where it is approached from the specifically religious concerns of Christianity (and, increasingly, Buddhism), is generally oriented to scientific goals that allow no place for transcendental concerns. Of course, it is time that the religious dimensions of consciousness be approached from Hindu perspectives as well, to join those of other traditions. But this essay is concerned with the interpretative possibilities of Hindu-derived systems within the nonreligious, physicalist paradigm of consciousness studies. A note on a terminological inexactitude: I have stayed with the conventional but misleading term "Hindu" when initially describing the systems or schools. I take it for granted that the reader will keep in mind the problems associated with this word and the difficulty of reading it back into the history of Indian philosophy. It would be more accurate to call these systems "brahmanical," to distinguish them from Buddhist and Jaina systems, since socioreligious circumstances stopped all but brahmin men from having access to the intellectual culture of the philosophical tradition. (It is no accident that Indian Mahāyāna schools, deeply engaged as they were in debates with the brahmanical systems, tended to be represented by brahmin converts.) "Hindu" looks to be a simpler and more readable term for those not primarily concerned with the facts of Indian religio-philosophical history, while "brahmanical" is more accurate. I will use both. Physicalism and Classical Indian Material: A Challenge I will take physicalism in the ontological sense, as the thesis that all occurrences and entities are constituted by the (literal, i.e., inorganic) material of physics. It can be added that the majority of physicalists also hold the epistemological thesis that all occurrences and entities are constituted by the logical material of physics, that is, that they can be described and explained by physics. However, some ontological [End Page 378] physicalists or materialists reject such reductive (or even eliminative) strategies, and so I shall not take this second conception as part of the basic framework within which I assume the Indian material should work. Now, as ontological physicalism is generally accepted as true in (nonreligious) consciousness studies, it is assumed that whatever consciousness is, it is made up of physical elements and their interactions. (This assumption is common even to many of those who hold that some features of consciousness cannot be [re-]described in the terminology of physics.) It would seem prima facie that this leaves no space for classical Hindu concerns about consciousness, in terms of its logico-metaphysical relationship with the self (ātman), which is the focus of soteriological endeavor. The goal of the classical philosophy is the attainment of liberation for that self from the flawed conditions of a material existence. The focus of that philosophy is, in other words, something that precisely is not a physical entity, that precisely seeks liberation from the physical (howsoever subtle and sophisticated the accounts of such liberation). Classical Indian philosophy, then (and that includes the Buddhist systems that, even though they deny a metaphysical self, nonetheless have the soteriological goal of liberation), has concerns that are simply incompatible with the framework of physicalist consciousness studies. On the other hand, it is undeniable, for those who know anything about the classical Indian texts, that there is much in these texts on issues of selfhood, consciousness, self-consciousness, mind, mental activity, and so forth that appear germane to contemporary concerns. What sorts of responses may be given to this situation? Three Responses 1. The robust dismissal...

Allylated monosaccharides as precursors in triple reductive amination strategies: synthesis of castanospermine and swainsonine.

The feasibility of the triple-reductive amination reaction for the synthesis of complex indolizidine frameworks is illustrated by application to the potent glycosidase inhibitors castanospermine and swainsonine. The target compounds were obtained from known carbohydrate precursors in yields of 23 and 14%, over nine and 13 steps, respectively. The iodoetherification reaction of allylated monosaccharides was shown to be a practical reaction for the synthesis of the tricarbonyl precursors for the key triple reductive amination reactions.

Non-basic time and reductive strategies: Leibniz's theory of time

Non-basic time and reductive strategies: Leibniz's theory of time

The logic of reductionistic models

Allegedly reductionistic strategies in psychology rarely converge on matters of ontological consequence and thus rarely hold out promise of a genuinely reductionistic program of theory and explanation. This is all to the good for psychology for, were it otherwise, the discipline itself would be the first casualty. Of the humbler reductive strategies, it is the nomological that continues to earn scientific status for psychology, but this is a strategy that actually requires most of the psychological entities that reductionists typically seek to eliminate.

Species-specific properties and more narrow reductive strategies

Dans le contexte des variations et permutations de la theorie de type-identite, l'A. examine les problemes poses par la strategie restreinte de reduction actuelle, problemes qui, dans une large mesure, ont ete peu ou quasiment pas percus