Synthesis of Structurally Complex Silicon Frameworks through the First Sila-Aldol Reaction

Herein, we report on the first sila-aldol reaction, which emphasizes the tight connection between silicon and carbon chemistry. This novel synthetic method provides straightforward access to 2-oxahexasilabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-ide, a structurally complex silicon framework, in quantitative yield. Its structure was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, and it displays a distinctive charge-transfer transition. The complete mechanism of this highly selective rearrangement cascade is outlined and supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, which highlight the thermodynamic driving force and the low activation barriers of this powerful silicon–carbon bond-forming strategy.     

Preparation and structural characterisation of methoxybis(trimethylsilyl)silyl potassium and its condensation product

Depending on the conditions the reaction of tris(trimethylsilyl)methoxysilane (1) with potassium tert-butoxide either in benzene and in the presence of 18-crown-6 or in THF gives either the crown ether adduct of potassium-methoxybis(trimethylsilyl)silane (2), or 2-methoxytetrakis(trimethylsilyl)disilanyl potassium (3).     

Elliptic Equations with Degenerate Coercivity： Gradient Regularity

In this paper, we prove higher integrability results for the gradient of the solutions of some elliptic equations with degenerate coercivity whose prototype is where for example, a(x,u)=(1+|u|)^−θ with θ ∈ (0,1). We study the same problem for minima of functionals closely related to the previous equation.     

CO2 laser microfabrication of an integrated polymer microfluidic manifold for the determination of phosphorus

A simple colorimetric technique is implemented in a polymer microfluidic manifold. The simple chemistry aids an uncomplicated microchannel design, which is fabricated by CO(2) laser ablation. Issues such as bonding of multiple layers, alignment of micro-fabricated structures and integration of optical components are addressed. A demonstration of a stopped flow regime in the microfluidic manifold is also presented.     

Tl-based superconducting films prepared by aerosol spray deposition and thallinated in an open system

Superconducting Tl-based films were prepared on a LaAlO₃ single crystal substrate. Spray pyrolysis of Ba, Ca and Cu nitrate solutions was used for deposition of the precursor films. They were subsequently ex-situ thallinated in flowing oxygen (open system). While the superconducting Tl-2212 phase formed at an annealing temperature of 880°C, thallination at 900°C led to the formation of a Tl-2223 /Tl-2212 mixture. The amount of Tl-2223 increased with prolonged thallination, whereas the Tl-2212 phase progressively disappeared. Films prepared in such a manner were c-oriented and contained only low amounts of non-superconducting impurities. The resulting samples were characterized by XRD and SEM and their T _C values were determined by resistive four-point measurements. They showed critical temperatures in the range of T _ON = 125–135 K, T _C0 = 91–93 K. Differences between the composition and properties of the obtained films and those thallinated in closed systems under 50 kPa of oxygen are discussed in this paper. Results show that the Tl-2212 → Tl-2223 transformation proceeds at a slower rate under flowing oxygen than in a closed system. Presented at 5-th International Conference Solid State Surfaces and Interfaces, November 19–24, 2006, Smolenice Castle, Slovakia.     

Competence-driven project portfolio selection,scheduling and staff assignment

This paper presents a new model for project portfolio selection, paying specific attention to competence development. The model seeks to maximize a weighted average of economic gains from projects and strategic gains from the increment of desirable competencies. As a sub-problem, scheduling and staff assignment for a candidate set of selected projects must also be optimized. We provide a nonlinear mixed-integer program formulation for the overall problem, and then propose heuristic solution techniques composed of (1) a greedy heuristic for the scheduling and staff assignment part, and (2) two (alternative) metaheuristics for the project selection part. The paper outlines experimental results on a real-world application provided by the E-Commerce Competence Center Austria and, for a slightly simplified instance, presents comparisons with the exact solution computed by CPLEX.     

Coordination Chemistry of Lipoic Acid and Related Compounds V [1]. New Heteroditopic Ligands Derived from Monoazacrown Ethers and Lipoic Acid

Summary.  Lipoyl imidazolide reacts with aza-15-crown-5 (1,4,7,10-tetraoxa-13-azacyclopentadecane) or aza-18-crown-6 (1,4,7,10,13-pentaoxa-16-azacyclooctadecane) to afford new N-lipoylated azacrown compounds in good yields. These compounds can be transformed into 1,3-dithiols and amines by reduction with complex hydrides of the disulfide and/or amide group of the lipoyl chain. The new pendant-arm macrocycles react as heteroditopic ligands by forming dithiolate and disulfide complexes with the ‘soft’ metal ions Ni²⁺ and Pd²⁺, respectively, and an amine complex with the ‘hard’ Li⁺ ion. Semiempirical and DFT calculations on the complexation of a lithium ion give a most favourable structure in which the azacrown and two solvent molecules are in contact with the metal but not the pendant arm. Received January 29, 2002; accepted (revised) March 25, 2002     

Multi-objective decision analysis for competence-oriented project portfolio selection

This paper develops a multi-objective optimization model for project portfolio selection taking employee competencies and their evolution into account. The objectives can include economic gains as well as gains expressed in terms of aggregated competence increments according to pre-defined profiles. In order to determine Pareto-optimal solutions, the overall problem is decomposed into a master problem addressing the portfolio selection itself, and a slave problem dealing with a suitable assignment of personnel to the work packages of the selected projects over time. We provide an asymptotic approximation of the problem by a linearized formulation, which allows an efficient and exact solution of the slave problem. For the solution of the master problem, we compare the multi-objective metaheuristics NSGA-II and P-ACO. Experimental results both for synthetically generated test instances and for real-world test instances, based on an application case from the E-Commerce Competence Center Austria, are presented.