Ethanol-induced effects on sting extension response and punishment learning in the western honey bee (Apis mellifera).

Acute ethanol administration is associated with sedation and analgesia as well as behavioral disinhibition and memory loss but the mechanisms underlying these effects remain to be elucidated. During the past decade, insects have emerged as important model systems to understand the neural and genetic bases of alcohol effects. However, novel assays to assess ethanol's effects on complex behaviors in social or isolated contexts are necessary.

Utilization of the Phenylthio Substituent as a Multipurpose Synthetic Tool. Direct Application to the Enantioselective Construction of (-)-Salsolene Oxide.

The architecturally unprecedented sesquiterpene (-)-salsolene oxide (1) has been synthesized in enantioselective fashion from (R)-(-)-carvone. Generation of the phenylthio-substituted vinyl ketene 4 is followed by intramolecular cyclization to the functionalized cyclobutanone 9. Vinyllithium addition to this intermediate proceeds in that stereocontrolled fashion which enables oxy-Cope rearrangement to operate readily under conditions of kinetic control.