Multiple magnetic resonance studies of some para-substituted derivatives of triphenyl phosphine

¹⁹F and ³¹P decoupling experiments are used to simplify the proton spectra of para-substituted derivatives of triphenyl phosphine, prior to ¹H-{¹H} tickling experiments. ³J(³¹P…?H) and ⁴J(³¹P…?H) are positive, and ⁵J(³¹P…?¹⁹F) is negative in the trivalent phosphorus derivatives, and all become more positive as the valency of the phosphorus atom is increased. A triple resonance experiment is used to show that ⁷J(³¹P…?H) in [p-CH₃C₆H₄CH₂P^⊕(C₆H₅)₃] is negative. The double resonance technique is used to relate the ³¹P chemical shifts to the tetramethylsilane resonant frequency.     

Isocein-a new fluorescent reagent for calcium

A metallofluorescent indicator, isocein, has-been synthesized from 7-hydroxy-2-methylisoflavone, iminodiacetic acid and formaldehyde. It is readily obtained in pure form and in alkaline solutions is excited by light of 339 nm. It is recommended for use as a spectrofluorimetric reagent for calcium.     

Counting the number of disulfides and thiol groups in proteins and a novel approach for determining the local pKa for cysteine groups in proteins in vivo

X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) is a powerful tool to investigate sulfur in biological molecules. The spectral features are sensitive to the local electronic and geometric environment of the atom; thus, they constitute a fingerprint of the different chemical forms in which the sulfur is present. This allows straightforward detection of the ratio between free thiols and disulfides. Intra- or inter-molecular disulfide bond formation between residues plays an important role in structural and conformational changes in proteins, and such changes can be investigated using sulfur XAS. Also, a thiolate-disulfide equilibrium is involved in the regulation of the redox potential in the cells by means of modulating the concentrations of the reduced (thiolate) and oxidized (disulfide) form of the tripeptide glutathione. Thus, we can monitor the redox state of a cell by means of sulfur XAS. Thiols also exhibit an acid-base equilibrium, and sulfur XAS can be used to determine the local pKa of the -SH group. Here we report examples of how sulfur XAS has been used for these applications.     

Mid-infrared second-order susceptibility of alpha-quartz and its application to visible-infrared surface sum-frequency spectroscopy

We provide the first account of the second-order susceptibility of quartz down to 10 mum (1000 cm(-1)) and show how this data may be used along with the sum-frequency response of an amorphous gold surface to elucidate the nonlinear susceptibility of any material in the mid-infrared region. Crystalline quartz is an established material for use in second-harmonic and sum-frequency generation studies of new systems, on account of its well-characterized linear and nonlinear optical properties. Previous knowledge of its nonlinear susceptibility has been limited to its transparent region, wavelengths shorter than about 3 mum. Longer wavelength chi((2)) values for quartz are particularly important for techniques such as vibrational sum-frequency spectroscopy which are expanding into the mid-IR with the increasing availability of widely tunable infrared laser sources.     

用三维立体摄影测量技术测活猪后腿肉的体积

研发了一高分辨率三维立体摄影测量系统，并成功地应用于扑捉活猪的三雏形状以用于饲养猪的研究。为调查饲料和猪生长的关系，将32头猪分成高Lysine和低Lysine两饲料组观察。连续14周，每周用该系统拍摄猪的图像一次。该系统有三个立体摄影头，分别拍摄猪的侧面、背面和后腿面的立体图像。为重建猪的三维形状用以科学分析，我们研发了图像处理软件，包括相机标定、立体图像匹配和三维形状合成，并提出一种从每周测得的形状中提取每只猪每周后腿肉的体积的算法。实验证明该系统是精确和可靠的。     

Deposition of Hybrid Photocatalytic Layers for Air Purification Using Commercial TiO2 Powders

Photocatalytic nanomaterials, using only light as the source of excitation, have been developed for the breakdown of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air for a long time. It is a tough challenge to immobilize these powder photocatalysts and prevent their entrainment with the gas stream. Conventional methods for making stable films typically require expensive deposition equipment and only allow the deposition of very thin layers with limited photocatalytic performance. The present work presents an alternative approach, using the combination of commercially available photocatalytic nanopowders and a polymer or inorganic sol–gel-based matrix. Analysis of the photocatalytic degradation of ethanol was studied for these layers on metallic substrates, proving a difference in photocatalytic activity for different types of stable layers. The sol–gel-based TiO2 layers showed an improved photocatalytic activity of the nanomaterials compared with the polymer TiO2 layers. In addition, the used preparation methods require only a limited amount of photocatalyst, little equipment, and allow easy upscaling.     

Effective simulation of flexible lateral boundaries in two- and three-dimensional DEM simulations

Discrete element method （DEM） models to simulate laboratory element tests play an important role in advancing our understanding of the mechanics of granular material response, including bonded or cemented, particulate materials. Comparisons of the macro-scale response observed in a real physical test and a ＂virtual＂ DEM-simulated test can calibrate or validate DEM models. The detailed, particle scale information provided in the DEM simulation can then be used to develop our understanding of the material behaviour. It is important to accurately model the physical test boundary conditions in these DEM simulations. This paper specifically considers triaxial tests as these tests are commonly used in soil mechanics. In a triaxial test, the test specimen of granular material is enclosed within a flexible latex membrane that allows the material to deform freely during testing, while maintaining a specified stress condition. Triaxial tests can only be realistically simulated in 3D DEM codes, however analogue, 2D, biaxial DEM simulations are also often considered as it is easier to visualize particle interactions in two dimensions. This paper describes algorithms to simulate the lateral boundary conditions imposed by the latex membrane used in physical triaxial tests in both 2D and 3D DEM simulations. The importance of carefully considering the lateral boundary conditions in DEM simulations is illustrated by considering a 2D biaxial test on a specimen of frictional unbonded disks and a 3D triaxial test on a bonded （cemented） specimen of spheres. The comparisons indicate that the lateral boundary conditions have a more significant influence on the local, particle-scale response in comparison with the overall macro-scale observations.     

Synthesis of n‐alkyl methacrylate polymers with pendant carbazole moieties and their derivatives

New methacrylate monomers with carbazole moieties as pendant groups were synthesized by multistep syntheses starting from carbazoles with biphenyl substituents in the aromatic ring. The corresponding polymers were prepared using a free‐radical polymerization. The novel polymers contain N‐alkylated carbazoles mono‐ or bi‐substituted with biphenyl groups in the aromatic ring. N‐alkyl chains in polymers vary by length and structure. All new polymers were synthesized to evaluate the structural changes in terms of their effect on the energy profile, thermal, dielectric, and photophysical properties when compared to the parent polymer poly(2‐(9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl)ethyl methacrylate). According to the obtained results, these compounds may be well suited for memory resistor devices. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 70–76