Simple alkenes as substitutes for organometallic reagents: nickel-catalyzed, intermolecular coupling of aldehydes, silyl triflates, and alpha olefins

A nickel-catalyzed method for the three-component coupling of alkenes (ethylene and alpha olefins), aldehydes, and silyl triflates is described, and this process represents the first catalytic method for coupling aldehydes and alkenes to give allylic alcohol derivatives. Conceptually, the alkene functions as a replacement for an alkenylmetal reagent.     

Convergence of weighted sums of independent random variables

Let {X_k} be a sequence of i.i.d. random variables with d.f. F(x). In the first part of the paper the weak convergence of the d.f.'s F_n(x) of sums is studied, where 0<α≤2, a_nk>0, 1≤k≤m_n, and, as n→∞, bothmax _1≤k≤mn_{a nk}→0 and . It is shown that such convergence, with suitably chosen A_n's and necessarily stable limit laws, holds for all such arrays {α_nk} provided it holds for the special case α_nk=1/n, 1≤k≤n. Necessary and sufficient conditions for such convergence are classical. Conditions are given for the convergence of the moments of the sequence {F_n(x)}, as well as for its convergence in mean. The second part of the paper deals with the almost sure convergence of sums , where a_n≠0, b_n>0, andmax _1≤k≤n a_k/b_n→0. The strong law is said to hold if there are constants A_n for which S_n→0 almost surely. Let N(0)=0 and N(x) equal the number of n≥1 for which b_n/|a_n|<x if x>0. The main result is as follows. If the strong law holds,EN (|X₁|)<∞. If for some 0<p≤2, then the strong law holds with if 1≤p≤2 and A_n=0 if 0<p<1. This extends the results of Heyde and of Jamison, Orey, and Pruitt. The strong law is shown to hold under various conditions imposed on F(x), the coefficients a_n and b_n, and the function N(x). Proceedings of the Seminar on Stability Problems for Stochastic Models, Moscow, 1993.