Compartmentalization of Chemically Separated Components into Droplets

Not merely a drop in the ocean : The integration of capillary electrophoresis (CE) with droplet generation driven by electroosmotic flow enabled the compartimentalization of molecular components separated by CE in a series of droplets (see picture; the green bars represent the separated analytes). The droplet‐confined bands can be docked and studied on a chip.

     

One-pot preparation of three-component oil-in-water high internal phase emulsions stabilized by palm-based laureth surfactants and their moisturizing properties

In the present study, olive and olein oils had been used for the preparation of three-component high internal phase emulsions with oil volume fraction of more than 0.77 stabilized by palm-based laureth surfactants for the first time, respectively. These emulsions were easily prepared by one-pot homogenization. The critical micelle concentration and Gibbs energy of the as-synthesized surfactants were determined and discussed. Likewise, the morphology, structural properties, stability and hydration efficacy of the as-prepared emulsions were investigated. Droplet size distribution observed from the optical micrographs was in agreement with the light scattering results which suggested that droplet size increased with increasing ethylene oxide chain length. The rheological measurements of the emulsions at room (25°C) and elevated (40°C) temperatures were interpreted to give clear and direct explanation on the structure and stability of the emulsions. The hydration efficacy of the emulsions was examined in vivo using a corneometer. Both the emulsions containing olive and olein oils, respectively exhibited high stability as indicated by the rheological measurements and the structural properties did not differ from one another. However, olein oil’s hydration efficacy was higher than olive oil’s, suggesting that olein oil could well be a potential moisturizing lipid which might interest the dermatologists.     

Preparation and characterization of brushite crystals using high internal phase emulsion

Various morphologies of brushite crystals were successfully synthesized using oil-in-water high internal phase emulsion stabilized by surfactants with various polyoxyethylene chain lengths for the first time. Rheological measurements had proven that such emulsion was a highly stable reaction media for the synthesis of particulate and porous brushite crystals. Rheological properties of the emulsion with and without the presence of crystal growth were compared and discussed. Morphologies of brushite crystals comprised of leafletlike particles to continuous dendritic network structure which gave rise to porosity in submicron size with increasing polyoxyethylene chain length. The mechanism leading to the various types of morphologies produced is discussed schematically based on small angle X-ray scattering results.     

Mean–variance asset–liability management: Cointegrated assets and insurance liability

The cointegration of major financial markets around the globe is well evidenced with strong empirical support. This paper considers the continuous-time mean–variance (MV) asset–liability management (ALM) problem for an insurer investing in an incomplete financial market with cointegrated assets. The number of trading assets is allowed to be less than the number of Brownian motions spanning the market. The insurer also faces the risk of paying uncertain insurance claims during the investment period. We assume that the cointegration market follows the diffusion limit of the error-correction model for cointegrated time series. Using the Markowitz (1952) MV portfolio criterion, we consider the insurer’s problem of minimizing variance in the terminal wealth, given an expected terminal wealth subject to interim random liability payments following a compound Poisson process. We generalize the technique developed by Lim (2005) to tackle this problem. The particular structure of cointegration enables us to solve the ALM problem completely in the sense that the solutions of the continuous-time portfolio policy and efficient frontier are obtained as explicit and closed-form formulas.     

A non-radial measure of different systems for Taiwanese tourist hotels’ efficiency assessment

The literature assumes that Taiwan’s international tourist hotels have identical frontier technology to evaluate non-radial efficiencies, even if they characterize different operating types. This study develops a non-radial systems model, for which the different operating types are evaluated based on different frontier technologies in order to calculate efficiencies. Compared to the radial systems model, the new model is able to practice two verifications. First, efficient units can be separated into strong and weak efficient sets. The second finds the benchmark among the different types for each input and output. The empirical results show that most efficient units reflect strong efficiency while only one hotel reflects weak efficiency. Inefficient hotels should refer to the chain type in order to improve excess utilizations in employees, rooms, catering space, and revenue deficits. For improving excess operating expenses and occupancy rate deficits, inefficient hotels should refer to the independent type.     

Metal-organic frameworks for the storage and delivery of biologically active hydrogen sulfide

Hydrogen sulfide is an extremely toxic gas that is also of great interest for biological applications when delivered in the correct amount and at the desired rate. Here we show that the highly porous metal-organic frameworks with the CPO-27 structure can bind the hydrogen sulfide relatively strongly, allowing the storage of the gas for at least several months. Delivered gas is biologically active in preliminary vasodilation studies of porcine arteries, and the structure of the hydrogen sulfide molecules inside the framework has been elucidated using a combination of powder X-ray diffraction and pair distribution function analysis.     

Using oppositely charged ions to operate a three-station [2]rotaxane in two different switching modes

A [2]rotaxane undergoes switching of its bis-p-xylyl-[26]crown-6 (BPX26C6) component away from its guanidinium station toward its 2,2'-bipyridyl and carbamate stations upon the addition and removal of Zn(2+) and PO(4)(3-) ions, respectively.     

Dithienocyclopentathieno[3,2‐b]thiophene Hexacyclic Arene for Solution‐Processed Organic Field‐Effect Transistors and Photovoltaic Applications

We have developed a ladder‐type dithienocyclopentathieno[3,2‐b]thiophene ( DTCTT ) hexacyclic unit in which the central thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene ring was covalently fastened to two adjacent thiophene rings through carbon bridges, thereby forming two connected cyclopentadithiophene ( CPDT ) units in a hexacyclic coplanar structure. This stannylated Sn‐DTCTT building block was copolymerized with three electron‐deficient acceptors, dibromo‐thieno[3,4‐c]pyrrole‐4,6‐dione ( TPD ), dibromo‐benzothiadiazole ( BT ), and dibromo‐phenanthrenequinoxaline ( PQX ), by Stille polymerization, thereby furnishing a new class of alternating donor–acceptor copolymers: PDTCTTTPD , PDTCTTBT , and PDTCTTPQX , respectively. Field‐effect transistors based on PDTCTTPQX and PDTCTTBT yielded high hole mobilities of 0.017 and 0.053 cm² V^?1 s^?1, respectively, which are among the highest performances among amorphous donor–acceptor copolymers. A bulk heterojunction solar cell that incorporated PDTCTTTPD with the lower‐lying HOMO energy level delivered a higher V_oc value of 0.72 V and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) value of 2.59 %.     

A donor-acceptor-acceptor molecule for vacuum-processed organic solar cells with a power conversion efficiency of 6.4%

A D-A-A-type molecular donor (DTDCTP) featuring electron-accepting pyrimidine and dicyanovinylene blocks has been synthesized for vacuum-deposited planar-mixed heterojunction solar cells with C(70) as the acceptor, giving a power conversion efficiency as high as 6.4%.     

Immobilization of engineered arginase on gold-carbon nanotubes

It is demonstrated that engineered arginase with a single protruded site of cysteine deliberately placed away from its active centre by site-directed mutagenesis can facilitate its attachment on a gold-nanoparticle surface with atomic precision, resulting in no apparent loss in enzymatic activity.