Synthesis and Structure of N-Ethoxycarbonyl-N′-O-Methoxyphenylthiourea

N-ethoxycarbonyl-N′-o-methoxyphenylthiourea was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, TG-DTA analysis, IR, and ¹H NMR spectrum, and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The compound crystallizes as a planar molecule in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c, with a = 9.690(2)Å, b = 8.595(2)Å, c = 15.944(4)Å, α = 90°, β = 106.467(4)°, γ = 90°, and D_calc = 1.326 g/cm³ for Z = 4. Intramolecular H-bonds promote the stability of the title compound and change the coordination ability of the thiourea ligand. Intermolecular N─H…S H-bonds link pairs of two molecules.     

One-Dimensional Particle Processes with Acceleration/Braking Asymmetry

The slow-to-start mechanism is known to play an important role in the particular shape of the Fundamental Diagram of traffic and to be associated to hysteresis effects of traffic flow. We study this question in the context of exclusion and queueing processes, by including an asymmetry between deceleration and acceleration in the formulation of these processes. For exclusions processes, this corresponds to a multi-class process with transition asymmetry between different speed levels, while for queueing processes we consider non-reversible stochastic dependency of the service rate w.r.t. the number of clients. The relationship between these 2 families of models is analyzed on the ring geometry, along with their steady state properties. Spatial condensation phenomena and metastability are observed, depending on the level of the aforementioned asymmetry. In addition, we provide a large deviation formulation of the fundamental diagram which includes the level of fluctuations, in the canonical ensemble when the stationary state is expressed as a product form of such generalized queues.     

The Analyticity Breakdown for Frenkel-Kontorova Models in Quasi-periodic Media: Numerical Explorations

We study numerically the “analyticity breakdown” transition in 1-dimensional quasi-periodic media. This transition corresponds physically to the transition between pinned down and sliding ground states. Mathematically, it corresponds to the solutions of a functional equation losing their analyticity properties. We implemented some recent numerical algorithms that are efficient and backed up by rigorous results so that we can compute with confidence even close to the breakdown. We have uncovered several phenomena that we believe deserve a theoretical explanation: (A) The transition happens in a smooth surface. (B) There are scaling relations near breakdown. (C) The scaling near breakdown is very anisotropic. Derivatives in different directions blow up at different rates. Similar phenomena seem to happen in other KAM problems.     

Catalyst-controlled diastereoselective ring-opening formal [3+2]-cycloadditions of arylvinyl oxirane 2,2-diesters with cyclic N-sulfonyl imines

A diastereoselectivity-controllable formal [3+2]-cycloaddition of arylvinyl oxirane 2,2-diesters with cyclic N-sulfonyl imines is developed, affording the corresponding tricyclic oxazolidine derivatives in moderate to excellent yields with excellent diastereoselectivities in the presence of palladium(0) or scandium(III) triflate. This protocol allows selective synthesis of diastereomers of tricyclic oxazolidine derivatives under switchable and mild conditions. Further transformations of the obtained products were conducted by removing ester groups and arylvinyl moieties.     

带阀点效应水火联合调度问题的一种半定凸松弛求解法

水火联合调度问题是电力系统中一类复杂的优化问题。合理安排调度周期内的水火电出力,确定一个最优发电计划,可以带来巨大的经济效益。在实际系统中,汽轮机调汽阀开启时出现的拔丝现象会使机组耗量特性产生阀点效应。忽略阀点效应,在一定程度上降低求解的精度。本文考虑带阀点效应的水火联合调度问题。该问题非凸非光滑,且带有非线性约束,直接使用确定性全局优化方法求解是相当困难的。本文使用高效的半定规划求解此问题。首先用耗量特性函数的初始周期代替其余有限的周期,并对其进行二次拉格朗日插值拟合。再通过引进0-1变量,得到整个耗量特性函数的近似,进而把问题松弛为半定规划模型。最后,采用凸规划应用软件包CVX求解一个仿真算例,得到一个近似全局最优解。     

Synthesis of substituted γ-lactam via Pd(0)-catalyzed cyclization of alkene-tethered carbamoyl chloride

Pd(0)-catalyzed carboiodonation of but-3-enylcarbamic chloride has been developed with NaI as additive, which provides a ready access to substituted γ-lactam bearing an alkyl iodide group. This reaction features alkyl iodide reductive elimination as a key step in catalytic cycle, indicating the crucial role of additive NaI.     

“Self-repairing” nanoshell for cell protection

Self-repair is nature''s way of protecting living organisms. However, most single cells are inherently less capable of self-repairing, which greatly limits their wide applications. Here, we present a self-assembly approach to create a nanoshell around the cell surface using nanoporous biohybrid aggregates. The biohybrid shells present self-repairing behaviour, resulting in high activity and extended viability of the encapsulated cells (eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells) in harsh micro-environments, such as under UV radiation, natural toxin invasion, high-light radiation and abrupt pH-value changes. Furthermore, an interaction mechanism is proposed and studied, which is successful to guide design and synthesis of self-repairing biohybrid shells using different bioactive molecules.     

Analysis of the human breast milk microbiome and bacterial extracellular vesicles in healthy mothers

The microbiota of human breast milk (HBM) contribute to infant gut colonization; however, whether bacterial extracellular vesicles (EVs) are present in HBM or might contribute to this process remains unknown. In this study, we characterized the HBM microbiota of healthy Korean mothers and measured the key bacteria likely affecting infant gut colonization by analyzing both the microbiota and bacterial EVs. A total of 22 HBM samples were collected from lactating mothers. The DNA of bacteria and bacteria-derived EVs was extracted from each sample. In alpha-diversity analyses, bacterial samples showed higher richness and evenness than bacterial EV samples, and beta-diversity analyses showed significant differences between bacteria and bacterial EVs within identical individual samples. Firmicutes accounted for the largest proportion among the phyla, followed by Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, in both bacteria and bacterial EV samples. At the genus level, Streptococcus (25.1%) and Staphylococcus (10.7%) were predominant in bacterial samples, whereas Bacteroides (9.1%), Acinetobacter (6.9%), and Lactobacillaceae(f) (5.5%) were prevalent in bacterial EV samples. Several genera, including Bifidobacterium, were significantly positively correlated between the two samples. This study revealed the diverse bacterial communities in the HBM of healthy lactating mothers, and found that gut-associated genera accounted for a high proportion in bacterial EV samples. Our findings suggest the existence of key bacteria with metabolic activity that are independent of the major bacterial populations that inhabit HBM, and the possibility that EVs derived from these bacteria are involved in the vertical transfer of gut microbiota.Subject terms: Immunogenetics, Immunization