Iodine transfer copolymerization of vinylidene fluoride and α‐trifluoromethacrylic acid in emulsion process without any surfactants

The synthesis of poly(VDF‐co‐TFMA) copolymers (where VDF and TFMA stand for vinylidene fluoride and α‐trifluoromethacrylic acid, respectively) by iodine transfer polymerization without any surfactant is presented. First, the synthesis and the control of the copolymerization of VDF and TFMA were investigated in the presence of two chain transfer agents, 1‐perfluorohexyl iodide (C₆F₁₃I) and 1,4‐diodoperfluorobutane (IC₄F₈I). TFMA monomer was incorporated in the copolymer in good yields. Moreover, the molecular weights of the resulting poly(VDF‐co‐TFMA) copolymers were in good agreement with the theoretical values for feed of TFMA/VDF ratios that ranged from 50/50 to 0/100 mol %, showing that TFMA does not disturb the controlled radical polymerization of VDF. The microstructures of the produced copolymers were characterized by ¹H and ¹⁹F NMR to assess the amount of each comonomer, and the molecular weights and the end‐groups of the copolymers. The results on the control of the copolymerization were compared to those obtained with and without the presences of TFMA and surfactant. The addition of a low amount of TFMA improved the control of the polymerization of VDF without using any surfactant. Also, the size of particles, assessed by light scattering, was smaller than 200 nm. The addition of TFMA in low proportions, that is, 5 to 10 mol %, enabled us to stabilize the particle size and to decrease the size by one order of magnitude. The emulsifying behavior of TFMA (in low amount in the copolymer, that is, <10 mol %) was similar to those achieved when a surfactant was added. Indeed, neither sedimentation nor destabilization was observed after several days. The reactivity ratios for r_TFMA and r_VDF were 0 and 1.6 at 80 °C, respectively. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4710–4722, 2009     

Synthesis of dendritic carbohydrate end‐functional polymers via RAFT: Versatile multi‐functional precursors for bioconjugations

Well‐defined pyridyl disulfide (PDS) end‐functionalized polymer‐dendritic carbohydrate scaffolds are reported as novel precursors for the attachment of biomolecules. This synthetic approach combines reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and “click” reactions. Poly(N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide) (PHPMA) with 2‐mercaptothiozalidine end‐groups was prepared by RAFT polymerization yielding molecular weights of M_n = 4300 and 9900, both with a polydispersity of less than 1.2. These polymers were then attached to dendritic mannose scaffolds preconstructed via consecutive “click” reactions. Finally, the ω‐dithiobenzoate RAFT end‐group of PHPMA was modified to yield PDS functionality, by aminolysis in the presence of 2,2′‐dithiodipyridine. This PDS end‐functionalized PHPMA‐dendritic carbohydrate scaffold is a versatile precursor for bioconjugations, as the synthetic procedure can easily accommodate a range of sugar functionalities. In addition, the PDS groups can be used to react with any thiol present in a biomolecule (e.g., cysteine residue in proteins, or ? SH terminal nucleotides). To demonstrate the utility of these scaffolds we describe their bioconjugation to short interfering RNA. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4302–4313, 2009     

Functional, star polymeric molecular carriers, built from biodegradable microgel/nanogel cores

Acid and disulfide biodegradable cross-linkers have been employed to generate microgel star polymers, using RAFT-polymer arms. RAFT end-groups were then exploited to attach functional compounds via both thiol-ene and thiol-pyridyl disulfide exchange reactions.     

High-order multiblock copolymers via iterative Cu(0)-mediated radical polymerizations (SET-LRP): toward biological precision

We report a new approach for the facile synthesis of high-order multiblock copolymers comprising very short blocks. The approach entails sequential addition of different monomers via an iterative single electron transfer-living radical polymerization technique, allowing nearly perfect control of the copolymer microstructure. It is possible to synthesize high-order multiblock copolymers with unprecedented control, i.e., A-B-C-D-E-etc., without any need for purification between iterative 24 h block formation steps. To illustrate this concept, we report the synthesis of model P(MA-b-MA...) homopolymer and P(MA-b-nBuA-b-EA-b-2EHA-b-EA-b-nBuA) copolymer in extremely high yield. Finally, the halide end-group can be modified via "click chemistry", including thiol-bromide click chemistry, sodium methanethiosulfonate nucleophilic substitution, and atom transfer radical nitroxide coupling reaction, to yield functional, structurally complex macromolecules.     

Azimuthal angle and rapidity dependence of di-hadron correlations in QCD

I discuss novel QCD phenomena recently observed in p+p, p+A and A+A collisions, that result from the non-linear dynamics of small-x gluons. I focus on di-hadron correlation measurements, as opposed to single-hadron observables often too inclusive to distinguish possible new effects from established mechanisms. Specifically, I discuss angular correlations of forward di-hadrons in d+Au collisions and long-range rapidity correlations in high-multiplicity p+p and Au+Au collisions.     

The fruitful introduction of chirality and control of absolute configurations in molecular magnets

In this critical review, it is shown how the introduction of chirality and the control of the absolute configurations of chiral elements in molecular magnets allow obtaining enantiopure chiral magnets (ECM), an archetype of multifunctional materials. This task has been recognised as a major challenge for both chemists and physicists of molecular magnetism. To reach this goal, the former have combined the rational approaches towards molecular-based magnets and of enantiopure metal-organic frameworks. They have used enantiopure stable radicals, ligands from the chiral pool, enantiopure coligands associated with achiral connectors or enantioselective self-assembly to successfully reach their synthetic targets. They were motivated by the will to obtain suitable systems for the experimental demonstration of the influence of enantiomeric purity on the physico-chemical properties. This influence can be found in the magnetic properties themselves but, most interestingly, in the coexistence and interaction between the properties arising from controlled non-centrosymmetry. Thus the combination of natural circular dichroism, second harmonic generation or ferroelectricity with long-range magnetic ordering can give birth to new properties like magneto-chiral dichroism, magnetisation induced second harmonic generation or multiferroicity. The two former synergetic effects have already been demonstrated in enantiopure chiral magnets. The third one remains a challenging target that can be reached by adapting strategies developed towards enantiopure molecular ferroelectrics (119 references).     

Ring-rearrangement metathesis of nitroso Diels-Alder cycloadducts

Strained nitroso Diels–Alder bicyclo[2.2.1] or [2.2.2] adducts functionalized with alkene side chains of diverse length undergo a ring‐rearrangement metathesis process with external alkenes and Grubbs II or Hoveyda–Grubbs II ruthenium catalysts, under microwave irradiation or classical heating, to deliver cis‐fused bicycles of various ring sizes, which contain a N? O bond. These scaffolds are of synthetic relevance for the generation of molecular diversity and to the total synthesis of alkaloids. The observation of unexpected reactions, such as epimerization or one‐carbon homologation of the alkene side chain, is also reported.     

机体表面湍流边界层噪声特性及预测方法研究

湍流边界层噪声是飞机巡航过程中的主要外部噪声源,对舱内噪声水平的影响尤为重要。因此,对飞机机体表面湍流边界层噪声的研究具有重要意义。本文通过试验获得了某型民机巡航过程中的湍流边界层噪声,试飞工况为3500ft/0.78、3500ft/0.7、2500ft/0.67、1500ft/0.66。对实测数据进行分析,发现湍流边界层噪声与动压、边界层厚度等参数有关。同时,利用计算流体力学的方法得到了飞机机体表面的压力分布,并分析了压力梯度对湍流边界层噪声的影响。最后,基于工程预测方法对湍流边界层噪声进行了预测,对于不存在逆压梯度的区域,预测结果与试验结果吻合较好,仅部分频段存在一定偏差。通过对模型的参数进行优化,改善了预测结果。     

Strong large deviations for arbitrary sequences of random variables

We establish strong large deviation results for an arbitrary sequence of random variables under some assumptions on the normalized cumulant generating function. In other words, we give asymptotic expansions for the tail probabilities of the same kind as those obtained by Bahadur and Rao (Ann. Math. Stat. 31:1015–1027, 1960) for the sample mean. We consider both the case where the random variables are absolutely continuous and the case where they are lattice-valued. Our proofs make use of arguments of Chaganty and Sethuraman (Ann. Probab. 21:1671–1690, 1993) who also obtained strong large deviation results and local limit theorems. We illustrate our results with the kernel density estimator, the sample variance, the Wilcoxon signed-rank statistic and the Kendall tau statistic.     

A “Multi-Heavy-Atom” Approach toward Biphotonic Photosensitizers with Improved Singlet-Oxygen Generation Properties

Two trispicolinate 1,4,7-triazacyclonane (TACN)-based ligands bearing three picolinate biphotonic antennae were synthetized and their Yb³⁺ and Gd³⁺ complexes isolated. One series differs from the other by the absence ( L¹ )/presence ( L² ) of bromine atoms on the antenna backbone, offering respectively improved optical and singlet-oxygen generation properties. Photophysical properties of the ligands, complexes and micellar Pluronic suspensions were investigated. Complexes exhibit high two-photon absorption cross-section combined either with NIR emission (Yb) or excellent ¹O₂ generation (Gd). The very large intersystem crossing efficiency induced by the combination of bromine atom and heavy rare-earth element was corroborated with theoretical calculations. The ¹O₂ generation properties of L² Gd micellar suspension under two-photon activation leads to tumour cell death, suggesting the potential of such structures for theranostic applications.