Minimax regret spanning arborescences under uncertain costs

The paper considers a classical optimization problem on a network whose arc costs are partially known. It is assumed that an interval estimate is given for each arc cost and no further information about the statistical distribution of the truth value of the arc cost is known. In this context, given a spanning arborescence in the network, its cost can take on different values according to the choice of each individual arc cost, that is, according to the different cost scenarios.     

Mössbauer study of the nanocrystallization of the amorphous system Fe73.5Si13.5B9Cu1Nb1X2 with X=Nb, Mo, V and Zr

Amorphous to crystalline transformation after isochronal annealing of as-quenched ribbons with the composition Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₁Si_13.5B₉X₂ (X = Zr, Nb, Mo, V) was investigated by the combined use of differential scanning calorimetry and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Alloying raises the thermal stability in the order V < Mo < Nb < Zr. The fraction of the Mössbauer subspectra corresponding to the nanophase for the same annealing conditions decreases in the order V > Mo > Nb > Zr.     

Contribution to the study of the reduction of ferric salts with sulphurous acid

A study of the quantitative reduction of ferric salts by sulphurous acid was carried out. Experiments were made to determine the optimum conditions of temperature, concentration, and acidity; working in a neutral medium with the lowest possible iron concentration is recommended, saturation being effected at room temperature and the heating with sulphur dioxide taking place immediately afterwards.It was found that thiocyanate ions strongly catalyse the reaction; the conditions for the analytical utilization of this catalysis were studied.     

Influence of the solvent on the spreading of poly[(D,L-lactic acid)-co-(glycolic acid)] monolayers

 The properties of mono layers of poly[(D,L-lactic acid)-co-(glycolic acid)] (PLA/GA) are strongly conditioned by the nature of the solvent from which they are spread. In this work, we studied the properties of PLA/GA films deposited on water from acetonitrile (a poor spreading solvent) and chloroform (a good one), observing marked differences with regard to the influence of the pH, temperature and ionic strength of the subphase. These differences were attributed to the structure of PLA/GA at the air/water interface, being pre-determined by its structure in the bulk spreading solvent (closely coiled in acetonitrile, unfolded in chloroform). Viscosity measurements on acetonitrile and chloroform solutions of PLA/GA, and the calculation of the corresponding intermolecular expansion factor, α, confirmed that PLA/GA was better solvated by chloroform than by acetonitrile, in which intramolecular interactions between polymer segments, and thus coiling, will therefore have predominated over polymer–solvent interactions. Received: 14 October 1996 Accepted: 7 January 1997     

Experimental measurement of the mobilities of atomic and dimer Ar, Kr, and Xe ions in their parent gases

A new experimental technique for measuring the mobilities of positive ions in their parent gases is presented. The technique was applied to the rare gases, Ar, Kr, and Xe, and, for pressures typically below 10 Torr, two different types of positive ions were observed. The reduced mobilities of these ions in their parent gases were measured as a function of E/N, the ratio of the electric field strength to the gas number density, at a temperature of 300±1 K. The results were compared with others available in the literature and the two ions were identified as being the atomic and the dimer rare gas ions. The results are in good agreement with those from other authors. Space charge and impurities effects are discussed.     

Thermolysis of titanocene methyl compounds bearing t-butyl- and benzyltetramethylcyclopentadienyl ligands

Elimination of methane during thermolysis of title compounds results in the formation of σ-Ti-C bond to t-butyl or benzyl group. The t-butyl-containing titanocene methyl compound [Ti(III)Me(η⁵-C₅Me₄t-Bu)₂] (5) eliminates methane at 110 °C to give cleanly [Ti(III)(η⁵:η¹-C₅Me₄CMe₂CH₂)(η⁵-C₅Me₄t-Bu)] (6). The methyl derivative of analogous benzyl-containing titanocene [Ti(III)Me(η⁵-C₅Me₄CH₂Ph)₂] was not isolated because it eliminated methane at ambient temperature to give [Ti(III)(η⁵:η¹-C₅Me₄CH₂-o-C₆H₄)(η⁵-C₅Me₄CH₂Ph)] (7) with one phenyl ring linked to titanium atom in ortho-position. The corresponding titanocene dimethyl compound [TiMe₂{η⁵-C₅Me₄t-Bu)}₂] (9) eliminates two methane molecules at 110 °C to give the singly tucked-in 1,1-dimethylethane-1,2-diyl-tethered titanocene [Ti{η⁵:η¹:η¹-C₅Me₃(CH₂)(CMe₂CH₂)}(η⁵-C₅Me₄t-Bu)] (11). In distinction, the analogous benzyl derivative [TiMe₂(η⁵-C₅Me₄CH₂Ph)₂] (10) eliminates at 110 °C only one methane molecule to afford [TiMe(η⁵:η¹-C₅Me₄CH₂-o-C₆H₄)(η⁵-C₅Me₄CH₂Ph)] (12) containing one phenyl group attached to titanium in o-position and one methyl group persisting on the titanium atom. This compound is stable at 150 °C for at least 3 h. The crystal structures of 5, 6, 7, and 10 were determined.     

Tetrazine Carbon Nanotubes for Pretargeted In Vivo “Click‐to‐Release” Bioorthogonal Tumour Imaging

The bioorthogonal inverse‐electron‐demand Diels–Alder (IEDDA) cleavage reaction between tetrazine and trans‐cyclooctene (TCO) is a powerful way to control the release of bioactive agents and imaging probes. In this study, a pretargeted activation strategy using single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) that bear tetrazines (TZ@SWCNTs) and a TCO‐caged molecule was used to deliver active effector molecules. To optimize a turn‐on signal by using in vivo fluorescence imaging, we developed a new fluorogenic near‐infrared probe that can be activated by bioorthogonal chemistry and image tumours in mice by caging hemicyanine with TCO (tHCA). With our pretargeting strategy, we have shown selective doxorubicin prodrug activation and instantaneous fluorescence imaging in living cells. By combining a tHCA probe and a pretargeted bioorthogonal approach, real‐time, non‐invasive tumour visualization with a high target‐to‐background ratio was achieved in a xenograft mice tumour model. The combined advantages of enhanced stability, kinetics and biocompatibility, and the superior pharmacokinetics of tetrazine‐functionalised SWCNTs could allow application of targeted bioorthogonal decaging approaches with minimal off‐site activation of fluorophore/drug.     

Late-Stage Photocatalytic Fluoroalkylation of Aromatic Crown Ethers in Aqueous Media

Modified crown ethers are fundamental building blocks in supramolecular chemistry, with applications in phase transfer catalysis, metal extraction, smart materials, and molecular machines. Here we report on a one-pot highly chemo- and regioselective photocatalytic fluoroalkylation protocol for the mono-functionalization of benzo substituted crown ethers. For this important class of macrocycles, the method described here represents one of the few late-stage functionalization procedures that is both high yielding and scalable. Because of its breadth of scope and substrate tolerance, the devised approach can be applied to a wide range of aromatic crown ethers (18 examples, up to 99 % yield), including those engaged in mechanically interlocked molecules.     

N‐Benzyl‐2,5‐bis(2‐thienyl)­pyrrole

The solid‐state structure of the title compound, C₁₉H₁₅NS₂, is unusual among substituted thiophene/pyrrole derivatives in that the molecular packing is dominated by π–π interactions between the benzyl substituents. This may be due to the large torsion angles observed between adjacent heterocycles. Torsion angles between adjacent rings in poly­pyrrole and poly­thio­phene conducting polymers are related to conjugation length and the conductivity properties of the polymer materials. The title compound crystallizes in space group P2₁/c with two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit, both of which exhibit disorder in one of their thio­phene rings.