Dimeric Manganese-Catalyzed Hydroarylation and Hydroalkenylation of Unsaturated Amides

An unprecedented Mn(I)-catalyzed selective hydroarylation and hydroalkenylation of unsaturated amides with commercially available organic boronic acids is reported. Alkenyl boronic acids have been successfully employed for the first time in Mn(I)-catalyzed carbon–carbon bond formation. A wide array of β-alkenylated amide products can be obtained in moderate to good yields, which offers practical access to five- and six-membered lactams. This protocol has predictable regio- and chemoselectivity, excellent functional group compatibility and ease of operation in air, representing a significant step-forward towards manganese-catalyzed C−C coupling.     

Surface of room temperature ionic liquid [bmim][PF6] studied by polarization- and experimental configuration-dependent sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy

Understanding and control of the surface properties such as molecular orientations are of great importance in numerous applications of ionic liquids. However, there remain discrepancies among the previous experimental and theoretical studies on the surface orientation and structures of room temperature ionic liquids(RTIL) systems. In this article, the orientation of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium([bmin]) cation at the air/liquid interface of a characteristic RTIL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate([bmim][PF6]), was investigated by the sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy(SFG-VS). Detailed polarization and experimental configuration analyses of the SFG-VS spectra showed the possibility of a small spectral splitting in the CH3 symmetric stretching region, which can be further attributed to the probable existence of multiple orientations for the interfacial [bmim] cations. In addition, the(N)–CH3 vibrations were absent, ruling out the prediction by several recent molecular dynamics simulations which state that portions of the [bmim] cations orient with a standing-up(N)–CH3 group at the ionic liquid surface. Hence, new realistic theoretical models have to be developed to reflect the complex nature of the ionic liquid surface.     

Amphiphilic block copolymer self‐assemblies of poly(NVP)‐b‐poly(MDO‐co‐vinyl esters): Tunable dimensions and functionalities

Functional, degradable polymers were synthesized via the copolymerization of vinyl acetate (VAc) and 2‐methylene‐1,3‐dioxepane (MDO) using a macro‐xanthate CTA, poly(N‐vinylpyrrolidone), resulting in the formation of amphiphilic block copolymers of poly(NVP)‐b‐poly(MDO‐co‐VAc). The behavior of the block copolymers in water was investigated and resulted in the formation of self‐assembled nanoparticles containing a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic corona. The size of the resultant nanoparticles was able to be tuned with variation of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments of the core and corona by changing the incorporation of the macro‐CTA as well as the monomer composition in the copolymers, as observed by Dynamic Light Scattering, Static Light Scattering, and Transmission Electron Microscopy analyses. The concept was further applied to a VAc derivative monomer, vinyl bromobutanoate, to incorporate further functionalities such as fluorescent dithiomaleimide groups throughout the polymer backbone using azidation and “click” chemistry as postpolymerization tools to create fluorescently labeled nanoparticles. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2699–2710     

Two homosecoiridoids from the fl ower buds of Lonicera japonica

Two new homosecoiridoids, named loniaceticiridoside (1) and lonimalondialiridoside (2), were isolated from an aqueous extract of the flower buds of Lonicera japonica. Their structures including the absolute configuration were determined by extensive spectroscopic studies, especially by 2D NMR and CD data analysis. A proposed biosynthetic pathway and preliminary investigations of the biological activity of compounds 1 and 2 are also discussed.     

Characterization of new Pt(IV)–thiazole complexes: Analytical,spectral, molecular modeling and molecular docking studies and applications in two opposing pathways

New thiazole derivatives were synthesized and fully characterized, then coordinated with PtCl₄ salt. Also, the newly synthesized Pt(IV) complexes were investigated analytically (elemental and thermogravimetric analyses), spectrally (infrared, UV–visible, mass, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, X‐ray diffraction) as well as theoretically (kinetics, modeling and docking). The data extracted led to the establishment of the best chemical and structural forms. Octahedral geometry was the only formula proposed for all complexes, which is favorable for d⁶ systems. The molecular ion peaks from mass spectral analysis coincide with all analytical data, confirming the molecular formula proposed. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) allowed discrimination of features between crystalline particles and other amorphous morphology. By applying Gaussian09 as well as HyperChem 8.2 programs, the best structural forms were obtained, as well as computed significant parameters. Computed parameters such as softness, hardness, surface area and reactivity led us towards application in two opposing pathways: tumor inhibition and oxidation activation. The catalytic oxidation for CO was conducted over PtO₂, which was yielded from calcination of the most reactive complex. The success of catalytic role for synthesized PtO₂ was due to its particulate size and surface morphology, which were estimated from XRD patterns and SEM images, respectively. The antitumor activity was tested versus HCT‐116 and HepG‐2 cell lines. Mild toxicity was recorded for two of the derivatives and their corresponding complexes. This degree of toxicity is more favorable in most cases, due to exclusion of serious side effects, which is coherently attached with known antitumor drugs.     

QEPAS系统中石英音叉模态仿真计算与研究

对石英音叉增强型光声光谱(QEPAS)系统中常用的石英音叉进行了有限元模态计算，获得石英音叉前6阶振型与模态频率，认知了第4阶对称摆动振型为有效振动，利用单因素法分析了石英音叉的音臂长度l₁、音臂宽度w₁、音臂厚度t、音臂切角θ、音臂圆孔直径d及音臂圆孔高度h对低阶有效共振频率(Fre)的影响，敏感度依次为： l₁> w₁>d>θ>t>h，考虑实际设计情形，筛选出了l₁，w₁，d与h四个石英音叉设计变量，采用Box-Behnken实验设计方案与RSM(response surface methodology)方法，以Fre为函数目标，建立l₁，w₁，d与h的二次回归响应面模型，得到了参数之间的交互作用，利用Design-Expert软件对响应面模型进行设计参数反求，结果表明，在15 000 Hz≤Fre≤25 000 Hz计算区域内误差较小，基本满足QEPAS系统的计算需求，所提出的研究与设计方法具有一定通用性，可为QEPAS系统中石英音叉结构参数设计提供参考。     

The Landscape of the Spiked Tensor Model

We consider the problem of estimating a large rank-one tensor u ^⊗k ∈ (ℝⁿ)^⊗k , k ≥ 3 , in Gaussian noise. Earlier work characterized a critical signal-to-noise ratio λ  _Bayes = O(1) above which an ideal estimator achieves strictly positive correlation with the unknown vector of interest. Remarkably, no polynomial-time algorithm is known that achieved this goal unless λ ≥ Cn^{(k − 2)/4} , and even powerful semidefinite programming relaxations appear to fail for 1 ≪ λ ≪ n^{(k − 2)/4} . In order to elucidate this behavior, we consider the maximum likelihood estimator, which requires maximizing a degree-k homogeneous polynomial over the unit sphere in n dimensions. We compute the expected number of critical points and local maxima of this objective function and show that it is exponential in the dimensions n , and give exact formulas for the exponential growth rate. We show that (for λ larger than a constant) critical points are either very close to the unknown vector u or are confined in a band of width Θ(λ^{−1/(k − 1)}) around the maximum circle that is orthogonal to u . For local maxima, this band shrinks to be of size Θ(λ^{−1/(k − 2)}) . These “uninformative” local maxima are likely to cause the failure of optimization algorithms. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.