Z‐bpy,a New C2‐Symmetric Bipyridine Ligand and Its Application in Enantioselective Copper(I)‐Catalyzed Cyclopropanation of Olefins

A rigid C₂‐symmetric chiral bipyridine ligand Z‐bpy with a triptycene‐like backbone was designed and synthesized from simple chemicals in a scalable route. Using this new ligand, copper(I) catalyzed cyclopropanation of styrenes with commercial ethyl diazoacetate produced various corresponding cyclopropanes in high yields, diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity up to 97% ee.     

Temperature effects for isothermal polymer crystallization kinetics

We adopt the cluster size distribution model to investigate the effect of temperature on homogeneous nucleation and crystal growth for isothermal polymer crystallization. The model includes the temperature effects of interfacial energy, nucleation rate, growth and dissociation rate coefficients, and equilibrium solubility. The time dependencies of polymer concentration, number and size of crystals, and crystallinity (in Avrami plots) are presented for different temperatures. The denucleation (Ostwald ripening effect) is also investigated by comparing moment and numerical solutions of the population balance equations. Agreement between the model results and temperature-sensitive experimental measurements for different polymer systems required strong temperature dependence for the crystal-melt interfacial energy.     

Mesoporous sodium four-coordinate aluminosilicate nanoparticles modulate dendritic cell pyroptosis and activate innate and adaptive immunity

Pyroptosis is a programmed cell death widely studied in cancer cells for tumour inhibition, but rarely in dendritic cell (DC) activation for vaccine development. Here, we report the synthesis of sodium stabilized mesoporous aluminosilicate nanoparticles as DC pyroptosis modulators and antigen carriers. By surface modification of sodium-stabilized four-coordinate aluminium species on dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles, the resultant Na-^IVAl-DMSN significantly activated DC through caspase-1 dependent pyroptosis via pH responsive intracellular ion exchange. The released proinflammatory cellular contents further mediated DC hyperactivation with prolonged cytokine release. In vivo studies showed that Na-^IVAl-DMSN induced enhanced cellular immunity mediated by natural killer (NK) cells, cytotoxic T cells, and memory T cells as well as humoral immune response. Our results provide a new principle for the design of next-generation nanoadjuvants for vaccine applications.

Na-^IVAl-DMSN acts as both antigen carriers and modulators to “hyperactivate” dendritic cells (DCs) via potassium (K⁺) efflux dependent pyroptosis, eventually leading to enhanced adaptive and innate immunity.     

Genetically engineered materials: Proteins and beyond

Information-rich molecules provide opportunities for evolution. Genetically engineered materials are superior in that their properties are coded within genetic sequences and could be fine-tuned. In this review, we elaborate the concept of genetically engineered materials(GEMs) using examples ranging from engineered protein materials to engineered living materials. Proteinbased materials are the materials of choice by nature. Recent progress in protein engineering has led to opportunities to tune...     

Preparation of Silica Aerogel/Resin Composites and Their Application in Dental Restorative Materials

As the most advanced aerogel material, silica aerogel has had transformative industrial impacts. However, the use of silica aerogel is currently limited to the field of thermal insulation materials, so it is urgent to expand its application into other fields. In this work, silica aerogel/resin composites were successfully prepared by combining silica aerogel with a resin matrix for dental restoration. The applications of this material in the field of dental restoration, as well as its performance, are discussed in depth. It was demonstrated that, when the ratio of the resin matrix Bis-GMA to TEGDMA was 1:1, and the content of silica aerogel with 50 μm particle size was 12.5%, the composite achieved excellent mechanical properties. The flexural strength of the silica aerogel/resin composite reached 62.9546 MPa, which was more than five times that of the pure resin. Due to the presence of the silica aerogel, the composite also demonstrated outstanding antibacterial capabilities, meeting the demand for antimicrobial properties in dental materials. This work successfully investigated the prospect of using commercially available silica aerogels in dental restorative materials; we provide an easy method for using silica aerogels as dental restorative materials, as well as a reference for their application in the field of biomedical materials.     

Machine learning-based direct solver for one-to-many problems on temporal shaping of relativistic electron beams

To control the temporal profile of a relativistic electron beam to meet requirements of various advanced scientific applications like free-electron-laser and plasma wakefield acceleration, a widely-used technique is to manipulate the dispersion terms which turns out to be one-to-many problems. Due to their intrinsic one-to-many property, current popular stochastic optimization approaches on temporal shaping may face the problems of long computing time or sometimes suggesting only one solution. Here we propose a real-time solver for one-to-many problems of temporal shaping, with the aid of a semi-supervised machine learning method, the conditional generative adversarial network (CGAN). We demonstrate that the CGAN solver can learn the one-to-many dynamics and is able to accurately and quickly predict the required dispersion terms for different custom temporal profiles. This machine learning-based solver is expected to have the potential for wide applications to one-to-many problems in other scientific fields.     

Cluster synchronization in a network of non-identical dynamic systems

Cluster synchronization in a network of non-identical dynamic systems is studied in this paper, using two-cluster synchronization for detailed analysis and discussion. The results show that the common intercluster coupling condition is not always needed for the diffusively coupled network. Several sufficient conditions are obtained by using the Schur unitary triangularization theorem, which extends previous results. Some numerical examples are presented for illustration.     

The sloshing of stratified liquid in a two-dimensional rectangular tank

The sloshing of inviscid liquid of stratified density in a rectangular tank is analyzed.As the flow is no longer irrotional,the governing equation is found to be quite different from the Laplace equation used for the liquid of constant density.In particular it contains terms of mixed temporal and spatial derivatives.The problem is solved based on the variable separation method and Laplace transform for the constant Vaisala-Brunt frequency.It is found that the stratification of density may have small effects...     

Interaction between β‐Cyclodextrin and Mixed Cationic‐Anionic Surfactants (2): Aggregation Behavior

The interactions between β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) and the mixtures of cationic‐anionic surfactants in the aqueous solution were investigated by surface tension, rheology, and dynamic light scattering measurements. It was shown that the key‐lock interactions between β‐CD and mixed cationic‐anionic surfactants were stronger than the electrostatic/hydrophobic interactions between cationic and anionic surfactants. The inclusion of β‐CD to surfactants could destroy the ion‐pair and aggregates of cationic‐anionic surfactants, and even inhibited the precipitation of the mixed cationic‐anionic surfactants. Furthermore, the inclusion of β‐CD to surfactants could also destroy the hydrogen bond between β‐CD molecules, inducing the disassociation of the aggregation formed by β‐CD themselves.