Deposition of osmium and ruthenium thin films from organometallic cluster precursors

Single‐source organometallic precursors based on a number of homometallic clusters as well as heterometallic cluster RuOs₃(CO)₁₃(µ‐H)₂ have been used for the chemical vapor deposition of osmium films and osmium–ruthenium alloy films, respectively. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

'Living' controlled in situ gelling systems: thiol-disulfide exchange method toward tailor-made biodegradable hydrogels

A 'living' controlled hydrogel formation method was first reported to create loose and compact in situ biodegradable hydrogels. The method executed under mild reaction conditions can conveniently tailor the hydrogel properties, and it has the potential to develop into a powerful tool for the design, synthesis, and self-assembly of novel tailor-made biomaterials and drug delivery systems.     

Synthesis of water-tolerant indium homoenolate in aqueous media and its application in the synthesis of 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds via palladium-catalyzed coupling with acid chloride

The first water-tolerant, ketone-type indium homoenolate was synthesized via the oxidative addition of In/InCl(3) to enones. The reaction proceeds exclusively in aqueous media. Both indium and indium(III) chloride are necessary for the smooth conversion of the reaction. Similar results were obtained when InCl or InCl(2) was used in place of In/InCl(3). The synthetic utility of the indium homoenolate was demonstrated through the synthesis of 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds via palladium-catalyzed coupling of indium homoenolate with acid chloride.     

Origin of excess low-energy states in a disordered superconductor in a Zeeman field

Tunneling density of states measurements of disordered superconducting Al films in high Zeeman fields reveal a significant population of subgap states which cannot be explained by standard BCS theory. We provide a natural explanation of these excess states in terms of a novel disordered Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase that occurs near the spin-paramagnetic transition at the Chandrasekhar-Clogston critical field. The disordered Larkin-Ovchinnikov superconductor is characterized by a pairing amplitude that changes sign at domain walls. These domain walls carry magnetization and support Andreev bound states that lead to distinct spectral signatures at low energy.     

Rainbow hamilton cycles in random graphs

One of the most famous results in the theory of random graphs establishes that the threshold for Hamiltonicity in the Erd?s‐Rényi random graph G_n,p is around . Much research has been done to extend this to increasingly challenging random structures. In particular, a recent result by Frieze determined the asymptotic threshold for a loose Hamilton cycle in the random 3‐uniform hypergraph by connecting 3‐uniform hypergraphs to edge‐colored graphs. In this work, we consider that setting of edge‐colored graphs, and prove a result which achieves the best possible first order constant. Specifically, when the edges of G_n,p are randomly colored from a set of (1 + o(1))n colors, with , we show that one can almost always find a Hamilton cycle which has the additional property that all edges are distinctly colored (rainbow).Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 44, 328‐354, 2014     

Crosslinked integrally skinned asymmetric polyaniline membranes for use in organic solvents

Solvent stable integrally skinned asymmetric nanofiltration membranes were prepared from polyaniline. These membranes were made by phase inversion and then crosslinked using two different chemical crosslinkers, α,α′-dichloro-p-xylene and glutaraldehyde. The resultant membranes were found to be stable in various organic solvents including acetone, methanol, ethyl acetate, tetrahydrofuran and N,N-dimethyl formamide. Nanofiltration experiments carried out in acetone and dimethyl formamide showed that the membranes gave stable permeate fluxes and good separation performances in the nanofiltration range. Molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of the membranes was found to be between 150 and 250 g mol⁻¹. These membranes were also found to be stable for operations at elevated temperatures up to 70 °C and possibly higher. Furthermore, no fillers or preservative agents are required to maintain the membranes in a dry state thereby increasing the ease of handling.     

Onm-dependence and Edgeworth expansions

This paper contains two results. The first establishes, under mild assumptions, the validity of an Edgeworth expansion with remaindero(N ^–1/2) for aU-statistic with a kernel of degree two using observations from anm-dependent shift. The second result gives a necessary and sufficient condition for the distribution of a sum ofm-dependent random variables to possess an Edgeworth expansion. This generalizes a result of Bickel and Robinson from the i.i.d. case to them-dependent case.This research was supported in part by National Science Foundation, Grant DMS 89-23071.     

Proteome profile of salt gland‐rich epidermis extracted from a salt‐tolerant tree species

Preparation of proteins from salt‐gland‐rich tissues of mangrove plant is necessary for a systematic study of proteins involved in the plant's unique desalination mechanism. Extraction of high‐quality proteins from the leaves of mangrove tree species, however, is difficult due to the presence of high levels of endogenous phenolic compounds. In our study, preparation of proteins from only a part of the leaf tissues (i.e. salt gland‐rich epidermal layers) was required, rendering extraction even more challenging. By comparing several extraction methods, we developed a reliable procedure for obtaining proteins from salt gland‐rich tissues of the mangrove species Avicennia officinalis. Protein extraction was markedly improved using a phenol‐based extraction method. Greater resolution 1D protein gel profiles could be obtained. More promising proteome profiles could be obtained through 1D‐LC‐MS/MS. The number of proteins detected was twice as much as compared to TUTS extraction method. Focusing on proteins that were solely present in each extraction method, phenol‐based extracts contained nearly ten times more proteins than those in the extracts without using phenol. The approach could thus be applied for downstream high‐throughput proteomic analyses involving LC‐MS/MS or equivalent. The proteomics data presented herein are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001691.