Gas chromatographic determination of lower fatty acids in gaseous samples via conventional in situ derivatization of the strontium salts catalysed by poly(crow ether)

Poly(crown ether)-catalysed derivatization of lower fatty acids with p-bromophenacyl bromide or pentafluorobenzyl bromide has been used for their determination in gaseous samples by gas chromatography (employing either flame-ionization or electron-capture detection). Stontium hydroxide was employed as a base for the derivatization, taking advantage of the fact that a column packed with strontium hydroxide-coated glass beads is very suitable for preconcentration of the fatty acids from ambient air. In situ derivatization of lower fatty acids, preconcentrated on the glass beads as their strontium salts, proceeded nearly quantitatively in acetonitrile. Traces of lower fatty acids in artificial sample gases could be determined successfully using this conventional derivatization followd by direct injection of the reaction mixture into a gas chromatograph.     

Self‐organized colloidal crystals for photonics and laser applications

We present an overview of recent developments in the fabrication and uses of colloidal crystals (CCs) for photonics and laser applications. Microparticles with a diameter in the range from 10 nm to 10 μm often have an intrinsic capability to spontaneously organize themselves from a colloidal suspension into 3D lattice structures. Such highly ordered 3D architectures of microparticles are called colloidal crystals (CCs). The CC structures have received tremendous attention as one of the facile and high‐throughput fabrication techniques of photonic crystals (PCs). We introduce here interesting precedents not only of diverse techniques of high‐quality CC structures, but also of their versatile applications in optical sensors responding to various external stimuli. This review also highlights a new potential use of the CCs as low‐threshold laser devices. We believe that a wide variety of CC architectures will play leading roles in the next generation of optoelectronic devices.     

A framework for constructing de Bruijn sequences via simple successor rules

We present a simple framework for constructing de Bruijn sequences, and more generally, universal cycles, via successor rules. The framework is based on the often used method of joining disjoint cycles. It generalizes four previously known de Bruijn sequence constructions and is applied to derive three new and simple de Bruijn sequence constructions. Four of the constructions apply the pure cycling register and three apply the complemented cycling register. The correctness of each new construction is easily proved using the new framework. Each of the three new de Bruijn sequence constructions can be generated in $O\left(n\right)$-time per bit using $O\left(n\right)$-space.     

Effects of Nematic Compounds with High Clearing Points on the Multiplexing Performance of Twisted Nematic Displays

The addition of nematic compounds with high clearing points (N_h) to multiplexable nematic liquid crystals decreases the temperature dependence of the threshold voltage of twisted nematic displays. This effect depends on the dielectric anisotropy of the nematic liquid crystals containing N_h, as well as on the increase in T _c. In the case of 4-n-butylphenyl 4'-(4”-butyibenzoyloxy) benzoate, the low threshold voltage was exceptionally compatible with a small temperature dependence of threshold voltage, and this result was attributed to the large temperature dependence of the dielectric anisotropy in comparison with that of nematic liquid crystals containing other N_h's.     

A Sufficient Condition for Splitting of Arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay Bundles on General Hypersurfaces

A vector bundle on a hypersurface is arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay if its intermediate cohomologies vanish. On projective spaces, such bundles coincide with those which split into a direct sum of line bundles, but this fails on hypersurfaces of higher degree in general. In this article, we give an inequality which gives a sufficient condition for splitting of arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay bundles on general hypersurfaces.     

X-ray Crystallographic Observation of Chiral Transformations within a Metal–Peptide Pore

Porous metal complexes enable single-crystal X-ray crystallographic observation of included guests or reaction intermediates through simple soaking with the guests/substrates. Previous studies on this technique have often encountered difficulties in the observation of chiral structures because the host frameworks had no chirality. We synthesized a new metal–peptide porous complex through a folding-and-assembly strategy and utilized the chiral pore for trapping chiral guests. Chiral alcohols and ketones were successfully included within the pore. Crystallographic analyses clearly revealed not only their chemical structures but also chiral transformation events within the pore such as fixed conformations or an unstable hemiacetal formation.     

One-pot synthesis of 3-fluoro-4-(trifluoromethyl)quinolines from pentafluoropropen-2-ol and their molecular modification

Pentafluoropropen-2-ol (PFP) was prepared by the reaction of hexafluoroacetone (HFA) with Mg/TMSCl. The one-pot tandem sequential reactions of PFP via Mannich addition with aldimines followed by Friedel-Crafts cyclization and aromatization afforded the title quinolines. A variety of corresponding 3-substituted quinolines were derived from the title quinoline by nucleophilic substitution of 3-fluorine with nucleophiles. A defluorinative transformation of the 4-trifluoromethyl group of the title quinoline with hydrazine afforded pyrazoloquinoline.     

Crystal structure of a ten-amino acid protein

What is the smallest protein? This is actually not such a simple question to answer, because there is no established consensus among scientists as to the definition of a protein. We describe here a designed molecule consisting of only 10 amino acids. Despite its small size, its essential characteristics, revealed by its crystal structure, solution structure, thermal stability, free energy surface, and folding pathway network, are consistent with the properties of natural proteins. The existence of this kind of molecule deepens our understanding of proteins and impels us to define an "ideal protein" without inquiring whether the molecule actually occurs in nature.