Triassic strata in the South Central Graben of the North Sea have yielded moderate to good recoveries of palynofloral assemblages and have sufficiently distinct petrophysical responses to enable the subdivision of the succession into between seven and eleven units. The Triassic succession of the Amoco well, 30/12b-3, is proposed as the type section for the Skagerrak Formation of the area. Despite lacking good biostratigraphic control, typical log character for the sequences is well displayed. The mainly Scythian (early Triassic) red mudstones of the Smith Bank Formation can locally be divided into three units, but generally only one is recognized. A new lithostratigraphic nomenclature for the middle to late Triassic Skagerrak Formation is proposed. Six members, with eight units, are recognized over UK Quadrants 29 and 30, and may possibly continue into the southern part of Quadrant 22 and into Norway Quadrant 7. The member names are partly derived from the Phillips fields in which they were first recognized. The basal Judy Sandstone Member is named after the Judy Field discovery well 30/7a-4A, and is overlain by the petrophysically distinct Julius Mudstone Member. The Joanne Sandstone Member is named after the Joanne Field well 30/7a-3, and is overlain by the Jonathan Mudstone Member, which can be further subdivided into upper, middle and lower units on log character. The uppermost members are the Josephine Sandstone Member, from the type well on the Josephine structure, 30/13-1 (Deegan & Scull 1977), which is overlain by the Joshua Mudstone Member. The upper members are rarely preserved, due to extensive early to middle Jurassic uplift and erosion.

As part of our ongoing research to identify novel agents acting at metabotropic glutamate 2 (mGlu2) and 3 (mGlu3) receptors, we have previously reported the identification of the C4α-methyl analog of mGlu2/3 receptor agonist 1 (LY354740). This molecule, 1S,2S,4R,5R,6S-2-amino-4-methylbicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-2,6-dicarboxylate 2 (LY541850), exhibited an unexpected mGlu2 agonist/mGlu3 antagonist pharmacological profile, whereas the C4β-methyl diastereomer (3) possessed dual mGlu2/3 receptor agonist activity. We have now further explored this structure-activity relationship through the preparation of cyclic and acyclic C4-disubstituted analogs of 1, leading to the identification of C4-spirocyclopropane 5 (LY2934747), a novel, potent, and systemically bioavailable mGlu2/3 receptor agonist which exhibits both antipsychotic and analgesic properties in vivo. In addition, through the combined use of protein-ligand X-ray crystallography employing recombinant human mGlu2/3 receptor amino terminal domains, molecular modeling, and site-directed mutagenesis, a molecular basis for the observed pharmacological profile of compound 2 is proposed.

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Weigh it out in air! The DABAL reagent (Me3Al)2⋅(DABCO) (DABCO=1,4‐diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane) can be easily handled under normal laboratory conditions. Furthermore, chiral secondary alcohols can be efficiently prepared from prochiral aldehydes (see scheme; TOF=turnover frequency) by using either DABAL or AlR3 reagents (R=Me, Et). Thus, DABAL can be used as an efficient, convenient alternative to the Schumann–Blum reagent.