Preparation of poly(?-caprolactone)-based polyurethane nanofibers containing silver nanoparticles

In this study, poly(?-caprolactone)-based polyurethane (PCL-PU) nanofibers containing Ag nanoparticles for use in antimicrobial nanofilter applications were prepared by electrospinning 8 wt% PCL-PU solutions containing different amounts of AgNO₃ in a mixed solvent consisting of DMF/THF (7/3 w/w). The average diameter of the pure PCL-PU nanofibers was 560 nm and decreased with increasing concentration of AgNO₃. The PCL-PU nanofiber mats electrospun with AgNO₃ exhibited higher tensile strength, tensile modulus, and lower elongation than the pure PCL-PU nanofiber mats. Small Ag nanoparticles were produced by the reduction of Ag⁺ ions in the PCL-PU solutions. The average size and number of the Ag nanoparticles in the PCL-PU nanofibers were considerably increased after being annealed at 100 °C for 24 h. They were all sphere-shaped and evenly distributed in the PCL-PU nanofibers, indicating that the PCL-PU chains stabilized the Ag nanoparticles well.     

The effect of visual and auditory cues on seat preference in an opera theater

Opera performance conveys both visual and auditory information to an audience, and so opera theaters should be evaluated in both domains. This study investigates the effect of static visual and auditory cues on seat preference in an opera theater. Acoustical parameters were measured and visibility was analyzed for nine seats. Subjective assessments for visual-only, auditory-only, and auditory-visual preferences for these seat positions were made through paired-comparison tests. In the cases of visual-only and auditory-only subjective evaluations, preference judgment tests on a rating scale were also employed. Visual stimuli were based on still photographs, and auditory stimuli were based on binaural impulse responses convolved with a solo tenor recording. For the visual-only experiment, preference is predicted well by measurements taken related to the angle of seats from the theater midline at the center of the stage, the size of the photographed stage view, the visual obstruction, and the distance from the stage. Sound pressure level was the dominant predictor of auditory preference in the auditory-only experiment. In the cross-modal experiments, both auditory and visual preferences were shown to contribute to overall impression, but auditory cues were more influential than the static visual cues. The results show that both a positive visual-only or a positive auditory-only evaluations positively contribute to the assessments of seat quality.     

Three-dimensional PIV measurement of flow around an arbitrarily moving body

A three-dimensional (3D) particle image velocimetry measurement technique capable of simultaneously monitoring 3D fluid flows and the structure of an arbitrarily moving surface embedded in the flow was proposed with a heavy emphasis on image processing methods. The costs associated with the experimental apparatus were reduced by recording the surface and the trace particles at one image plane without the use of additional cameras or illumination devices. An optimal exposure time for surface and particle imaging was identified using red fluorescent tracer particles in conjunction with a long-pass glass filter. The particle image and surface image were then separated using an image separation process that relied on the feature scaling differences between the particles and the surface texture. A feature detection process and a matching process facilitated estimation of the 3D surface points, and the 3D surface structure was modeled by Delaunay triangulation. The particle volume reconstruction algorithm constrained the voxels inside the surface structure to zero values to minimize ghost particle generation. Volume self-calibration was employed to improve the reconstruction quality and the triangulation accuracy. To conserve computing resources in the presence of numerous zero voxels, the MLOS-SMART reconstruction and the direct non-zero voxel cross-correlation method were applied. Three-dimensional experiments that modeled the flows around an eccentric rotating cylinder and a flapping flag were conducted to validate the present technique.     

Chemodosimetric Hg2+-selective signaling by mercuration of dichlorofluorescein derivatives

The chemodosimetric behavior of dichlorofluorescein derivatives toward Hg(2+) ions was investigated. Simple chemodosimetric systems showed selective and efficient signaling behaviors toward micromolar concentrations of Hg(2+) ions over other common interfering metal ions in an aqueous environment. The signaling mechanism is selective mercuration of the 4',5'-position of the xanthene moiety, which results in efficient chromogenic and fluorogenic signaling of Hg(2+) ions in aqueous environment.     

New bimetallic complexes of late transition metals involving pyrazole-bridged bis N-heterocyclic carbene ligands

Bimetallic Ni, Rh, and Ir complexes of pyrazolate biscarbene containing bulky substituents have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography; the Ni complex dimerizes to a highly congested L(2)Ni(2) structure, whereas the corresponding Rh and Ir complexes form bimetallic LM(2) structures.     

Nonlinear optical transmission properties of C60 dyads consisting of a light-harvesting diphenylaminofluorene antenna

Highly enhanced nonlinear absorption cross section values of C60(>DPAF-C2M), C60(>DPAF-C9), and C60(>DPAF-C10) dyads were detected up to 5400, 9700, and 14000 GM, respectively, in the 2.0 ps region in toluene at the concentration of 1.5 x 10(-3) M. They were correlated to a trend showing higher efficiency in light transmittance attenuation down to 39-46% for the dyads C60(>DPAF-C10) and C60(>DPAF-C9) with the increase of irradiance intensity up only to 140 GW/cm(2). The phenomena were attributed to additional enhancement on the excited-state absorption of (1)C60*(>DPAF-Cn ) in the subpicosecond to picosecond region over the two-photon absorption of C60(>DPAF-Cn ) in the femtosecond region. Its accumulative 2.0 ps absorption cross sections were estimated to be 8900 GM for (1)C60*(>DPAF-C9), roughly one order of magnitude higher than its intrinsic femtosecond 2PA cross sections.     

Synthesis of isotactic star-shaped poly(vinyl alcohol)

Isotactic 6-armed star-shaped poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with a narrow molecular weight distribution was successfully prepared by the living cationic polymerization of 6-armed star-shaped poly(tert-butyl vinyl ether) (PTBVE) and subsequent acidic ether cleavage. The PTBVE was synthesized using hexa(chloromethyl) melamine (HCMM) as a hexafunctional initiator and ZnI₂ or ZnCl₂ as an activator in toluene/MC (1/1 v/v) at −70 °C. A better living stability of PTBVE was obtained in the ZnCl₂ activator system. The number average molecular weight and the polydispersity index of the 6-armed star-shaped PTBVE polymerized with ZnCl₂ at −70 °C for 24 h were 156,000 g/mol and 1.47, respectively. The fraction of the mm sequence of the resulting PVA was 52%.     

Change in the interfacial reaction of Hf-silicate film as a function of thickness and stoichiometry

Medium energy ion scattering and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy are used to investigate the depth of the interfacial reaction of Hf-silicate film. The interfacial reaction is critically affected by the film thickness and the mole fraction of HfO(2) in silicate film. The interfacial compressive strain generated at the surface of the Si substrate is dependent on the film thickness during the postannealing process in film with a thickness of approximately 4 nm. Finally, the phase separation phenomenon demonstrates critically different behaviors at different film thicknesses and stoichiometries because the diffusion of Si from interface to surface is dependent on these factors. Moreover, the oxidation by oxygen impurity in the inert ambient causes SiO(2) top formation.     

Catalytic asymmetric generation of (Z)-disubstituted allylic alcohols

A one-pot method for the direct preparation of enantioenriched (Z)-disubstituted allylic alcohols is introduced. Hydroboration of 1-halo-1-alkynes with dicyclohexylborane, reaction with t-BuLi, and transmetalation with dialkylzinc reagents generate (Z)-disubstituted vinylzinc intermediates. In situ reaction of these reagents with aldehydes in the presence of a catalyst derived from (-)-MIB generates (Z)-disubstituted allylic alcohols. It was found that the resulting allylic alcohols were racemic, most likely due to a rapid addition reaction promoted by LiX (X = Br and Cl). To suppress the LiX-promoted reaction, a series of inhibitors were screened. It was found that 20-30 mol % tetraethylethylenediamine inhibited LiCl without inhibiting the chiral zinc-based Lewis acid. In this fashion, (Z)-disubstituted allylic alcohols were obtained with up to 98% ee. The asymmetric (Z)-vinylation could be coupled with tandem diastereoselective epoxidation reactions to provide epoxy alcohols and allylic epoxy alcohols with up to three contiguous stereogenic centers, enabling the rapid construction of complex building blocks with high levels of enantio- and diastereoselectivity.