A highly active multi‐usable palladium pyridylfluorene film‐based catalyst for C–C cross‐coupling reactions

The two terminal pyridyl nitrogen atoms of 2,7‐bis(4‐pyridyl)fluorene ( 1 ) were coordinated to Pd(II) ions to give self‐assembled, multilayer films using the layer‐by‐layer (LbL) method. The films were prepared by alternately dipping the substrate, pre‐coated with a polyethyleneimine layer, in aqueous solutions of PdCl₂ and ethanol solutions of 1 . The resulting films were characterized using UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP‐AES). UV–visible spectra and SEM images show almost uniform growth of the film in a near ideal LbL manner. AFM images show that nanostructured aggregates of Pd(II) complexes form on the surface. With an increase in the number of Pd(II)/ 1 bilayers, more particulate aggregates are distributed on the surface. When released from the substrate, the Pd(II) complex nanostructure shows high catalytic activity for Suzuki–Miyaura and Mizoroki–Heck cross‐coupling reactions. The catalyst loading is as low as 9.1 × 10^?3 mol% Pd, as measured using ICP‐AES, and high turnover numbers of up to 1.08 × 10⁴ are obtained. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Point‐to‐Plane Nonhomogeneous Electric‐Field‐Induced Simultaneous Formation of Giant Unilamellar Vesicles (GUVs) and Lipid Tubes

It is well‐known that homogeneous electric fields can be used to generate giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). Herein we report an interesting phenomenon of formation of GUVs and lipid tubes simultaneously using a nonhomogeneous electric field generated by point‐to‐plane electrodes. The underlying mechanism was analyzed using finite element analysis. The two forces play main roles, that is, the pulling force (F) to drag GUVs into lipid tubes induced by fluid flow, and the critical force (Fc) to prevent GUVs from deforming into lipid tubes induced by electric fields. In the center area underneath the needle electrode, the GUVs were found because F is less than Fc in that region, whereas in the edge area the lipid tubes were obtained because F is larger than Fc. The diffusion coefficient of lipid in the tubes was found to be 4.45 μm² s^?1 using a fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) technique. The method demonstrated here is superior to conventional GUV or lipid tube fabrication methods, and has great potential in cell mimic or hollow material fabrication using GUVs and tubes as templates.     

Analytic hierarchy process for multi-sensor data fusion based on belief function theory

Multi-sensor data fusion is an evolving technology whereby data from multiple sensor inputs are processed and combined. The data derived from multiple sensors can, however, be uncertain, imperfect, and conflicting. The present study is undertaken to help contribute to the continuous search for viable approaches to overcome the problems associated with data conflict and imperfection. Sensor readings, represented by belief functions, have to be fused according to their corresponding weights. Previous studies have often estimated the weights of sensor readings based on a single criterion. Mono-criteria approaches for the assessment of sensor reading weights are, however, often unreliable and inadequate for the reflection of reality. Accordingly, this work opts for the use of a multi-criteria decision aid. A modified Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) that incorporates several criteria is proposed to determine the weights of a sensor reading set. The approach relies on the automation of pairwise comparisons to eliminate subjectivity and reduce inconsistency. It assesses the weight of each sensor reading, and fuses the weighed readings obtained using a modified average combination rule. The efficiency of this approach is evaluated in a target recognition context. Several tests, sensitivity analysis, and comparisons with other approaches available in the literature are described.     

Synthesis,Characterisation and Crystal Structures of Two Bi‐oxadiazole Derivatives Featuring the Trifluoromethyl Group

The synthesis, characterisation, and crystal structure determination of the closely related compounds 3,3′‐bi‐(5‐trifluoromethyl‐1,2,4‐oxadiazole) and 5,5′‐bi‐(2‐ trifluoromethyl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole) are reported. These two compounds are known for their bioactivity; however, in this study they serve as model compounds to evaluate the suitability of the heterocyclic oxadiazole ring system for energetic materials when the fluorine atoms in the exocyclic CF₃ groups are substituted successively by nitro groups. Quantum chemical calculations for the bi‐1,3,4‐ oxadiazole derivatives with difluoronitromethyl, fluorodinitromethyl, and trinitromethyl groups have been carried out and predict promising energetic performances for both explosive and propulsive applications.     

Metal Oxide Assisted Preparation of Core–Shell Beads with Dense Metal–Organic Framework Coatings for the Enhanced Extraction of Organic Pollutants

Dense and homogeneous metal–organic framework (MOF) coatings on functional bead surfaces are easily prepared by using intermediate sacrificial metal oxide coatings containing the metal precursor of the MOF. Polystyrene (PS) beads are coated with a ZnO layer to give ZnO@PS core–shell beads. The ZnO@PS beads are reactive in the presence of 2‐methylimidazole to transform part of the ZnO coating into a porous zeolitic imidazolate framework‐8 (ZIF‐8) external shell positioned above the internal ZnO precursor shell. The obtained ZIF‐8@ZnO@PS beads can be easily packed in column format for flow‐through applications, such as the solid‐phase extraction of trace priority‐listed environmental pollutants. The prepared material shows an excellent permeance to flow when packed as a column to give high enrichment factors, facile regeneration, and excellent reusability for the extraction of the pollutant bisphenol A. It also shows an outstanding performance for the simultaneous enrichment of mixtures of endocrine disrupting chemicals (bisphenol A, 4‐tert‐octylphenol and 4‐n‐nonylphenol), facilitating their analysis when present at very low levels (<1 μg L^?1) in drinking waters. For the extraction of the pollutant bisphenol A, the prepared ZIF‐8@ZnO@PS beads also show a superior extraction and preconcentration capacity to that of the PS beads used as precursors and the composite materials obtained by the direct growth of ZIF‐8 on the surface of the PS beads in the absence of metal oxide intermediate coatings.     

MOEPGA: A novel method to detect protein complexes in yeast protein–protein interaction networks based on MultiObjective Evolutionary Programming Genetic Algorithm

The identification of protein complexes in protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks has greatly advanced our understanding of biological organisms. Existing computational methods to detect protein complexes are usually based on specific network topological properties of PPI networks. However, due to the inherent complexity of the network structures, the identification of protein complexes may not be fully addressed by using single network topological property. In this study, we propose a novel MultiObjective Evolutionary Programming Genetic Algorithm (MOEPGA) which integrates multiple network topological features to detect biologically meaningful protein complexes. Our approach first systematically analyzes the multiobjective problem in terms of identifying protein complexes from PPI networks, and then constructs the objective function of the iterative algorithm based on three common topological properties of protein complexes from the benchmark dataset, finally we describe our algorithm, which mainly consists of three steps, population initialization, subgraph mutation and subgraph selection operation. To show the utility of our method, we compared MOEPGA with several state-of-the-art algorithms on two yeast PPI datasets. The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed method can not only find more protein complexes but also achieve higher accuracy in terms of fscore. Moreover, our approach can cover a certain number of proteins in the input PPI network in terms of the normalized clustering score. Taken together, our method can serve as a powerful framework to detect protein complexes in yeast PPI networks, thereby facilitating the identification of the underlying biological functions.     

New soft porous frameworks based on lambda-zirconium phosphate and aliphatic dicarboxylates: Synthesis and structural characterization

New dicarboxylate-functionalized pillared materials with a general formula of λ-ZrPO₄(OH)_1-x(OOC(CH₂)_nCOO)_x/2(dmso) (n=6, 8 and 10) have been prepared by post-synthesis modification of the inorganic layers of λ-zirconium phosphate (λ-ZrP), where the superficial Chloride monovalent anionic ligands of λ-layer are partially exchanged with the divalent anionic ligands of a series of long-chain aliphatic dicarboxylic acids, namely octanedioic acid, decanedioic acid and dodecanedioic acid. The synthesized materials are characterized by X-ray diffractometry, FT-IR spectrophotometry, elemental and thermogravimetric analyses. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that the obtained solid phases are pure. Furthermore, the interlayer distance of λ-ZrP systematically increases from 1.02 to 1.59 nm as a result of the incorporation of the mentioned acids inside the interlayer gallery.     

Fluorescence properties of riboflavin-functionalized mesoporous silica SBA-15 and riboflavin solutions in presence of different metal and organic cations

Riboflavin was covalently linked to mesoporous SBA-15 silica surface via grafting technique. Then fluorescence properties of the system obtained were analyzed in the presence of several metal and organic cations. Both quenching and strengthening of fluorescence as well as significant changes in the maximum fluorescence wavelength were observed. The results were compared with absorption and fluorescence data obtained for riboflavin water solutions.     

Importance of the Correlation between Width and Length in the Shape Analysis of Nanorods: Use of a 2D Size Plot To Probe Such a Correlation

Analysis of nanoparticle size through a simple 2D plot is proposed in order to extract the correlation between length and width in a collection or a mixture of anisotropic particles. Compared to the usual statistics on the length associated with a second and independent statistical analysis of the width, this simple plot easily points out the various types of nanoparticles and their (an)isotropy. For each class of nano‐objects, the relationship between width and length (i.e., the strong or weak correlations between these two parameters) may suggest information concerning the nucleation/growth processes. It allows one to follow the effect on the shape and size distribution of physical or chemical processes such as simple ripening. Various electron microscopy pictures from the literature or from the authors′ own syntheses are used as examples to demonstrate the efficiency and simplicity of the proposed 2D plot combined with a multivariate analysis.     

Chemical characterisation of bioactive compounds in Medicago sativa growing in the desert of Oman

Medicago sativa Linn growing in Omani desert were chemically characterised using flame photometry, inductively coupled plasma, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis. HPLC analyses were performed to determine the phenolics and flavonoids present in M. sativa. The major compounds detected in M. sativa leaves were protchaechenic acid (3.22%), hydroxyl benzoic acid (1.05%), β-Phenyl caffate (0.97%) and kaempherol (0.89%). Pterostilbene, a cholesterol-lowering compound, was detected in M. sativa.