Chiral salen-metal derivatives of polyoxometalates with asymmetric catalytic and photocatalytic activities

Immobilization of the chiral salen-metal complex [Mn(III)(salen)(H(2)O)(2)ClO(4)] on the Keggin-type polyoxometalate (POM) skeletons leads to the isolation of POM derivatives functionalized with chiral salen-metal complexes, which represent the first examples of introducing chiral salen-metal complexes into the POM systems.     

Hydrothermal synthesis, structures, and luminescent properties of zinc(II) and cadmium(II) phosphonates with a 3D framework structure using terephthalate as second linkers

By introduction of 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid as a second organic ligand, two new divalent metal(II) phosphonates with a 3D framework structure, namely, [Zn(HL1)(bdc)(0.5)] (1) and [Cd(1.5)(HL2)(bdc)(0.5)] (2) (H(2)L1 = H(2)O(3)PCH(NH(2))C(6)H(5), H(3)L2 = H(2)O(3)PCH(2)-NC(5)H(9)-COOH, H(2)bdc = HOOCC(6)H(4)COOH), have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. The two compounds show three-dimensional (3D) framework structure with infinite two-dimensional (2D) networks pillared by H(2)bdc. For compound 1, the {ZnO(4)} polyhedra are interconnected by phosphonate groups into a 2D layer, and the adjacent layers are further cross-linked via the bdc(2-) anions to generate a three-dimensional framework structure with two types of channel system along the c-axis. A notable feature of compound 1 is the presence of alternate left- and right-handed helical chains in the structure. In compound 2, the inorganic chains, composed of {Cd(1)O(7)}, {Cd(2)O(4)} and {CPO(3)} polyhedra, are linked by HL2(2-) ligands to form a double layer structure in the ab plane, and the adjacent layers are further linked by the bdc(2-) anions to form a 3D framework structure with one-dimensional channel systems along the a-axis. Luminescence properties of compounds 1 and 2 have also been studied.     

New photocatalyst BiOCl/BiOI composites with highly enhanced visible light photocatalytic performances

BiOCl/BiOI composites with a visible light response were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. Even though both single BiOCl and BiOI show low photocatalytic activity, BiOCl/BiOI composites provide enhanced efficiency in decomposing organic compounds including Methyl Orange (MO) and Rhodamine B (RhB). Furthermore, the 20%BiOCl/BiOI composite shows the highest efficiency for decomposing MO, while the highest performance is observed for the degradation of RhB over 70%BiOCl/BiOI composite. A possible photocatalytic mechanism has been proposed based on the relative experiments and the band positions of BiOCl and BiOI.     

1,1-carboboration of 1-alkynes: a conceptual alternative to the hydroboration reaction

Strongly electrophilic boranes R-B(C(6)F(5))(2) react readily with a variety of 1-alkynes by means of a 1,1-carboboration reaction to yield alkenylborane products, which can subsequently be used as reagents in metal catalyzed cross-coupling reactions.     

Qualitative and quantitative analyses of Epimedium wushanense by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A new HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS(n) method was developed for rapid separation, characterization and quantitation of flavonoids in Epimedium wushanense, a popular Chinese herbal medicine. For qualitative identification, a total of 37 compounds were characterized from the underground and aerial parts of E. wushanense. Among them, 28 compounds were prenylated flavonoids, and 23 were confirmed by comparing with reference standards. For quantitative analysis, 12 major flavonoids including kaempferol glycosides, desmethylicaritin glycosides, and icaritin glycosides were simultaneously determined by HPLC/UV. Samples were separated on a Waters Symmetry C(18) column at 35 °C eluted with a gradient three-component mobile phase of acetonitrile, methanol, and water containing 0.03% v/v formic acid. All the flavonoids showed good linearity (r(2) ≥0.9997). The recoveries varied from 92.6 to 106.1% at three concentration levels. This method was applied to the determination of 20 samples of different geographical sources, harvesting time, and plant parts. Contents of the predominant flavonoid, epimedin C, ranged from 1.4 to 5.1% in aerial parts and 1.0 to 2.8% in underground parts. The methods established in this paper were simple and reliable and could be used for the quality control of E. wushanense.     

Multiple solutions for the laminar flow in a porous pipe with suction at slowly expanding or contracting wall

In this paper, the asymptotic solution for the similarity equation of the laminar flow in a porous pipe with suction at expanding and contracting wall has been obtained using the singular perturbation method. However, this solution neglects exponentially small terms in the matching process. To take into account these exponentially small terms, a method involving the inclusion of exponentially small terms in a perturbation series was used to find the two solutions analytically. The series involving the exponentially small terms and expansion ratio predicts dual solutions. Furthermore, the result indicates that the expansion ratio has much important influence on the solutions. When the expansion ratio is zero, it is a special case that Terrill has discussed.     

Representing a Functional Curve by Curves with Fewer Peaks

In this paper, we study the problems of (approximately) representing a functional curve in 2-D by a set of curves with fewer peaks. Representing a function (or its curve) by certain classes of structurally simpler functions (or their curves) is a basic mathematical problem. Problems of this kind also find applications in applied areas such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Let f\bf f be an input piecewise linear functional curve of size n. We consider several variations of the problems. (1) Uphill–downhill pair representation (UDPR): Find two nonnegative piecewise linear curves, one nondecreasing (uphill) and one nonincreasing (downhill), such that their sum exactly or approximately represents f\bf f. (2) Unimodal representation (UR): Find a set of unimodal (single-peak) curves such that their sum exactly or approximately represents f\bf f. (3) Fewer-peak representation (FPR): Find a piecewise linear curve with at most k peaks that exactly or approximately represents f\bf f. Furthermore, for each problem, we consider two versions. For the UDPR problem, we study its feasibility version: Given ε>0, determine whether there is a feasible UDPR solution for f\bf f with an approximation error ε; its min-ε version: Compute the minimum approximation error ε ^∗ such that there is a feasible UDPR solution for f\bf f with error ε ^∗. For the UR problem, we study its min-k version: Given ε>0, find a feasible solution with the minimum number k ^∗ of unimodal curves for f\bf f with an error ε; its min-ε version: given k>0, compute the minimum error ε ^∗ such that there is a feasible solution with at most k unimodal curves for f\bf f with error ε ^∗. For the FPR problem, we study its min-k version: Given ε>0, find one feasible curve with the minimum number k ^∗ of peaks for f\bf f with an error ε; its min-ε version: given k≥0, compute the minimum error ε ^∗ such that there is a feasible curve with at most k peaks for f\bf f with error ε ^∗. Little work has been done previously on solving these functional curve representation problems. We solve all the problems (except the UR min-ε version) in optimal O(n) time, and the UR min-ε version in O(n+mlog m) time, where m<n is the number of peaks of f\bf f. Our algorithms are based on new geometric observations and interesting techniques.     

An attribute weight based feedback model for multiple attributive group decision analysis problems with group consensus requirements in evidential reasoning context

In an evidential reasoning context, a group consensus (GC) based approach can model multiple attributive group decision analysis problems with GC requirements. The predefined GC is reached through several rounds of group analysis and discussion (GAD) in the approach. However, the GAD with no guidance may not be the most appropriate way to reach the predefined GC because several rounds of GAD will spend a lot of time of all experts and yet cannot help them to effectively emphasize on the assessments which primarily damage the GC. In this paper, an attribute weight based feedback model is constructed to effectively identify the assessments primarily damaging the GC and accelerate the GC convergence. Considering important attributes with the weights more than or at least equal to the mean of the weights of all attributes, the feedback model constructs identification rules to identify the assessments damaging the GC for the experts to renew. In addition, a suggestion rule is introduced to generate appropriate recommendations for the experts to renew their identified assessments. The identification rules are constructed at three levels including the attribute, alternative and global levels. The feedback model is used to solve an engineering project management software selection problem to demonstrate its detailed implementation process, its validity and applicability, and its advantages compared with the GC based approach.     

Comments on “Competitive analysis of a better on-line algorithm to minimize total completion time on a single-machine”

For the single machine scheduling problem of minimizing the total completion time, Montoya Torres (J Glob Opt 27:97–103, 2003) presented a semi-online algorithm under the assumption that release dates are known in advance, and showed that it was \({\sqrt{3}}\)-competitive. However, there are flaws in the proof, and the conclusion about the competitive ratio is not correct. In this note, we show that the semi-online algorithm cannot perform better than the best non-clairvoyant online algorithm with a competitive ratio of 2.     

Determination of nitrite in tap waters based on fluorosurfactant-capped gold nanoparticles-enhanced chemiluminescence from carbonate and peroxynitrous acid

Fluorosurfactant (FSN)-capped gold nanoparticles (GNPs), which exhibit higher stability at a wider pH range and high ionic strength, were utilized for investigating the chemiluminescence (CL) effect on the reaction between high concentration carbonate (~0.3 M) and peroxynitrous acid. When the pH of the colloidal solution was 10.2 by dropwise addition of 0.05 M NaOH, FSN-capped GNPs offer an enhanced CL intensity. Based on the CL spectra, XPS spectra and the quenching effect of reactive oxygen species, a possible CL mechanism is proposed. The tolerance of FSN-capped GNPs towards salt concentrations (salt proofing effect) within a large pH range is an interesting feature, compared to the other previously reported work on nanoparticles CL systems. The CL intensity is proportional to the concentration of nitrite in the range from 0.1 to 100 μM. The detection limit (S/N = 3) is 0.036 μM and the relative standard deviation (RSD) for seven repeated measurements of 0.5 μM nitrite was 2.4%. This method has been successfully applied to determine nitrite in tap waters with recoveries of 97-106%.