Fluorescent sensors for the enantioselective recognition of mandelic acid: signal amplification by dendritic branching

Novel chiral bisbinaphthyl compounds have been synthesized for the enantioselective fluorescent recognition of mandelic acid. By introducing dendritic branches to the chiral receptor unit, the fluorescence signals of the receptors are significantly amplified because of the light-harvesting effect of the dendritic structure. This has greatly increased the sensitivity of the sensors in the fluorescent recognition. Study of the three generation sensors demonstrates that the generation zero sensor is the best choice for the recognition of mandelic acid because of its greatly increased fluorescence signal over the core and its high enantioselectivity. This sensor is potentially useful for the high throughput screening of chiral catalysts for the asymmetric synthesis of alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids.     

Ultrafast collective dynamics in the charge-density-wave conductor K(0.3)MoO(3)

Low-energy coherent charge-density wave excitations are investigated in blue bronze (K(0.3)MoO(3)) and red bronze (K(0.33)MoO(3)) by femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. A linear gapless, acousticlike dispersion relation is observed for the transverse phasons with a pronounced anisotropy in K(0.33)MoO(3). The amplitude mode exhibits a weak (opticlike) dispersion relation with a frequency of 1.67 THz at 30 K. Our results show for the first time that the time-resolved optical technique provides momentum resolution of collective excitations in strongly correlated electron systems.     

Concise synthesis of acyl migration-blocked 1,1-difluorinated analogues of lysophosphatidic acid

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA, 1- or 2-acyl-sn-glycerol 3-phosphate) is an important phospholipid mediator produced by activated platelets and by ovarian cancer cells. Efforts to understand LPA signaling through G-protein-coupled receptors are hampered by the facile acyl migration that results in equilibration to a mixture of the 1- or 2-acyl species under physiological conditions. We describe a new and efficient route to enantiomerically homogeneous lysophospholipid analogues from D-mannitol 1,2:5,6-bis-acetonide to give two 1,1-difluorodeoxy analogues of (2R)-acyl-sn-glycerol 3-phosphate. These compounds are migration-blocked analogues of the labile sn-2 LPA species. The (19)F NMR of diastereotopic fluorines of the difluoromethyl group shows an unexpected solvent dependence.     

胆汁酸盐对胆红素钙沉淀过程的影响

研究了六种人胆汁主要胆汁酸盐对胆红素钙沉淀形成过程的影响。用曲线拟合法处理数据取得热力学及动力学参数。结果表明,六种胆汁酸盐都表现动力学和热力学抑制,而且抑制作用有浓度依赖关系。在一定条件下出现诱导期。虽然不同胆汁酸盐的作用结果相似,但在相同条件下,二羟基胆汁酸和三羟基胆汁酸影响程度不同。     

Predictions of moiré excitons in twisted two-dimensional organic–inorganic halide perovskites

Recent breakthrough in synthesizing arbitrary vertical heterostructures of Ruddlesden–Popper (RP) perovskites opens doors to myriad quantum optoelectronic applications. However, it is not clear whether moiré excitons and flat bands can be formed in such heterostructures. Here, we predict from first principles that twisted homobilayers of RP perovskite, MA₂PbI₄, can host moiré excitons and yield flat energy bands. The moiré excitons exhibit unique and hybridized characteristics with electrons confined in a single layer of a striped distribution while holes localized in both layers. Nearly flat valence bands can be formed in the bilayers with relatively large twist angles, thanks to the presence of hydrogen bonds that strengthen the interlayer coupling. External pressures can further increase the interlayer coupling, yielding more localized moiré excitons and flatter valence bands. Finally, electrostatic gating is predicted to tune the degree of hybridization, energy, position and localization of moiré excitons in twisted MA₂PbI₄ bilayers.

Excitonic states in twisted MA₂PbI₄ bilayers were calculated by first-principles calculations.     

Structure,trend and prospect of operational research: a scientific analysis for publications from 1952 to 2020 included in Web of Science database

As an important research direction, operational research (OR) has always attracted scholars worldwide. We study the structure, trend and prospect in the OR field by conducting a bibliometric analysis of publications in the period of 1952–2020, which are included in the Web of Science (WoS) database. Using three effective bibliometric tools, namely, VOS viewer, CiteSpace, and Bibliometrix, a total of 5,353 publications were retrieved to show clear visual results using a series of scientific analyses. First, a performance analysis revealed the basic characteristics of publications considering the type distribution, annual trend, quantity and quality. Then, a cooperation analysis presented the influential countries/regions and showed the relationships among countries/regions, institutions and authors during different periods based on bibliometric indicators and co-authorship networks. Moreover, a keyword analysis was conducted to investigate the hot topics and development of the OR field, using co-occurrence analysis, timeline view analysis and evolution analysis. Finally, we discussed the implications and limitations, and summarized the main findings. This study hopes to provide important and valuable references for future research on the OR field.

     

Systematic studies of fission fragment kinetic energy distributions by Langevin simulations

Fission fluctuation-dissipation dynamics of heavy nuclei has been studied using Langevin Monte Carlo simulations. The covariant form of the fission transport equation and the coefficients related to it are investigated. To learn about the influence of the dynamics from the ground state to the saddle point on the kinetic energy distributions we have studied various systems and compared the calculations both starting from the ground state and from the saddle point. Both the mean total kinetic energy of the fission fragments and its variances can fit with the experimental values in terms of a finite neck radius as scission condition.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

The effects of media properties on the horseradish peroxidase-catalyzed fluorogenic reaction

The effects of media properties including buffers, acidity, solvents and surfactant on horseradish peroxidase-catalyzed fluorogenic reaction were investigated. The results showed that the so-called non-fluorescent hydrogen donors were in fact fluorescent. There existed an acid—base equilibrium in the fluorescent dimer product. For p -hydroxyphenylpropionic acid, a pK_a value of 8.0 for the product was obtained from its titration curve. The product fluorescence increased with higher pH, however, a longer time was needed to reach the reaction equilibrium due to the pH mismatch problem. Cationic micelles cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride could reduce the pH mismatch and offered a way to further increase the determination sensitivity. Finally, a micelle-enhanced flow-injection analysis of horseradish peroxidase is suggested.