Peripheral Templation‐Modulated Interconversion between an A4L6 Tetrahedral Anion Cage and A2L3 Triple Helicate with Guest Capture/Release

An anion‐coordination‐based A₄L₆ (“A” denotes anion and “L” is ligand) tetrahedral cage was constructed by a C₂‐symmetric bis‐bis(urea) ligand and phosphate anion, which showed reversible interconversion with the A₂L₃ triple helicate as a response to the template, concentration, or solvent. Notably, an unusual “peripheral” templation was found to be critical to stabilize the tetrahedral structure. This peripheral effect was utilized to assemble an “empty” A₄L₆ cage that allows the multi‐stimuli‐controlled capture/release of biologically important species such as choline and acetylcholine.     

High-efficiency nonvolatile holographic storage with two-step recording in praseodymium-doped lithium niobate by use of continuous-wave lasers

We have observed efficient two-photon, two-step recording in a praseodymium-doped lithium niobate crystal by use of cw lasers. Single-photon erasure during the readout at near-infrared wavelengths was found to be negligible. Nonvolatile holographic image storage was demonstrated. This progress is an important step in the realization of an economically feasible nonvolatile read-write holographic recording system based on low-cost semiconductor diode lasers.     

Site-specific binding of chelerythrine and sanguinarine to single pyrimidine bulges in hairpin DNA

Spectrofluorometric titration, electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometric and UV melting methods were employed to study the binding of chelerythrine and sanguinarine to bulged DNA. The results showed that both alkaloids bind specifically to single pyrimidine (C, T) bulge sites. The ability of sanguinarine to bind to both regular and bulged hairpins was found to be stronger than that of chelerythrine, but the binding selectivity of chelerythrine toward single-base bulges was much larger than that of sanguinarine. Figure Association constants for chelerythrine and sanguinarine toward regular and single-base bulged hairpins obtained from fluorometric analysis     

Removable edges in a 5-connected graph and a construction method of 5-connected graphs

An edge e of a k-connected graph G is said to be a removable edge if G?e is still k-connected. A k-connected graph G is said to be a quasi (k+1)-connected if G has no nontrivial k-separator. The existence of removable edges of 3-connected and 4-connected graphs and some properties of quasi k-connected graphs have been investigated [D.A. Holton, B. Jackson, A. Saito, N.C. Wormale, Removable edges in 3-connected graphs, J. Graph Theory 14(4) (1990) 465-473; H. Jiang, J. Su, Minimum degree of minimally quasi (k+1)-connected graphs, J. Math. Study 35 (2002) 187-193; T. Politof, A. Satyanarayana, Minors of quasi 4-connected graphs, Discrete Math. 126 (1994) 245-256; T. Politof, A. Satyanarayana, The structure of quasi 4-connected graphs, Discrete Math. 161 (1996) 217-228; J. Su, The number of removable edges in 3-connected graphs, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 75(1) (1999) 74-87; J. Yin, Removable edges and constructions of 4-connected graphs, J. Systems Sci. Math. Sci. 19(4) (1999) 434-438]. In this paper, we first investigate the relation between quasi connectivity and removable edges. Based on the relation, the existence of removable edges in k-connected graphs (k?5) is investigated. It is proved that a 5-connected graph has no removable edge if and only if it is isomorphic to K₆. For a k-connected graph G such that end vertices of any edge of G have at most k-3 common adjacent vertices, it is also proved that G has a removable edge. Consequently, a recursive construction method of 5-connected graphs is established, that is, any 5-connected graph can be obtained from K₆ by a number of θ⁺-operations. We conjecture that, if k is even, a k-connected graph G without removable edge is isomorphic to either K_k+1 or the graph H_k/2+1 obtained from K_k+2 by removing k/2+1 disjoint edges, and, if k is odd, G is isomorphic to K_k+1.     

Isolation of an [SNS]Pd(II) pincer with a water ladder and its Suzuki coupling activity in water

A water-compatible Pd(ii) pincer with a hybrid [SNS]-donor set, [L(1)PdCl]Cl.2H(2)O [L(1) = bis-(2-(i-butylsulfanyl)-ethyl)-amine] has been isolated and crystallographically characterized; its solid lattice at 223 K contains a ladder-like water polymer of tetramers and extensive H-bonding exists among the cation, anion and water cluster, and this water-soluble complex is active in Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of phenylboronic acid and selected aryl bromides in water at 75 degrees C.     

Theoretical studies on the electronic structures and spectroscopic properties for a series of Osmium(II)-2,2′,6′,2′′-terpyridine complexes

A series of Osmium(II) complexes [Os (trpy-R)₂]²⁺(trpy=2,2′,6′,2′′-terpyridine and R=H (1), OH (2), and C₆H₅(3)) have been investigated by the density functional (DF) and ab initio calculations. The structures of 1–3 in the ground and excited states were fully optimized at the B3LYP and CIS level, respectively, and their absorption and emission spectra in the acetonitrile solution were obtained using the TD-DFT (B3LYP) method associated with the PCM model. The calculations indicated that, for 1–3, the variation of the substituents on the terpyridine ligand only slightly changes their geometrical structures in the ground and excited states but leads to a sizable difference in the electronic structures. The results show that the low-lying MLCT/ILCT transitions (at 446 (1), 465 (2), and 499 nm (3)) are red-shifted according to the electron-donating ability of substituents on the terpyridine ligand, but blue-shift trend of the high-lying ILCT transitions (at 301 (1), 297 (2), and 272 nm (3)). It also reveals that the lowest energy emissions of 1–3 at 649 nm, 656 nm, and 676 nm have the character of mixing ³[π*(trpy) → d(Os)] and ³ ππ* (³MLCT/³ILCT) transitions localized on the terpyridine ligand, which are identical to the transition properties of the lowest-energy absorptions.     

Antiacetylcholinesterase and antioxidant ent-Kaurene diterpenoid, melissoidesin from Isodon wightii (Bentham) H. Hara

The ent kaurene diterpenoid, melissoidesin was isolated from the acetone extract of the leaves of Isodon wightii and the structure was designated as 3beta, 11beta, 15beta-trihydroxy-6alpha-acetoxy-ent-kaur-16-ene based on spectral data and previous reports. Melissoidesin isolated from the acetone extract of leaves showed potent antiacetylcholinesterase activity and the IC(50) value was observed as 215 microg mL(-1). DPPH (1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging activity of melissoidesin was significant and the IC(50) value was 138 microg mL(-1). The significant reducing property of the melissoidesin was stronger in high concentration. IC(50) value of melissoidesin on hydroxyl radicals and metal chelation was observed as 99 and 143 microg mL(-1), respectively. The 50% inhibitory concentration of melissoidesin on lipid peroxidation was calculated as 133 microg mL(-1). These findings indicate that ent kaurene diterpenoid, melissoidesin was promising antiacetylcholinesterase and antioxidant which can be used as food and drug preparations.     

Schoepfin A, B, C: three new chalcone C-glycosides from Schoepfia chinensis

Three new chalcone C-glycosides named schoepfin A, B, C (1-3), together with three known compounds 4,2',4'-trihydroxy-3'-C-beta-D-glucosylchalcone (4), nothofagin (5) and hemiphloin (6) were isolated from ethanolic extract of the bark of Schoepfia chinensis Gardn. et Champ (Olacaceae). Their structures were determined mainly by spectroscopic techniques including 2D-NMR (HMBC, HMQC) and MS experiments.     

Synthesis, characterization and computational study of nitrogen-doped CeO2 nanoparticles with visible-light activity

Nitrogen-doped CeO2 nanoparticles were synthesized through a wet-chemical route. Nitrogen has been successfully incorporated into CeO2 nanoparticles and the nitrogen-doping level was also successfully controlled. The optical properties due to the different N-doping levels in CeO2 nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), which showed a visible-light absorbance shift. The resulting nanoparticles show enhanced visible-light sensitivity and photocatalytic activity compared to undoped CeO2 nanoparticles. DFT calculations were performed to explore the effect of nitrogen doping versus oxygen vacancies. The calculations show that the change of the electronic structure upon N-doping CeO2 is quite different from that of N-doped TiO2, which has been studied extensively.     

Effect of carriers and additives on the activity and stability of copper-based catalysts for the dehydrogenation of cyclohexanol

A continuous process for the dehydrogenation of cyclohexanol to cyclohexanone on copper-based catalysts was described. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, XPS and TPR, and Cu⁰ was found to be the active site for the copper-based catalysts studied. The two carrier catalysts were proved to be more active than the single carrier ones, and the Cr additive, which mainly existed as the CuCr₂O₄ phase on the catalyst’s surface, was found to have a significant effect on the activity and stability of the Cu-Cr-Mg-Al catalyst.