Conversion issues between microwave radiance and brightness temperature

Microwave radiances are usually converted into brightness temperatures for data assimilation and retrievals. The Rayleigh-Jeans approximation has been believed to be a good approximation for the conversion at low frequencies, but inaccurate at high frequencies. However, the simplified radiative transfer models under the Rayleigh-Jeans approximation (hereafter referred as BT-RTE) have been successfully applied in radiance simulations for frequencies below 183 GHz, which has somewhat puzzled the radiative transfer community. This paper clarifies the confusion. In addition, the conversion formula for the third and the fourth Stokes components are derived.Simulations for a polarized sensor, the Special Sensor Microwave Imager and Sounder, show that the BT-RTE is generally accurate. Results for a polarimetric sensor, WINDSAT, show that the third and the fourth Stokes radiances should be converted using the exact conversion formula given in this study rather than using a direct Planck function conversion.     

Ultrastretchable and conductive core/sheath hydrogel fibers with multifunctionality

Conductive hydrogels with ionic compounds possess great potential for the development of soft smart devices. A dielectric scarfskin is typically required for these devices to prevent short circuiting, leading to devices with lower stretchability than the hydrogel. Henceforth, commonly used dielectric materials, such as PDMS and Ecoflex, cannot be largely stretched. Hydrogel devices with ultrastretchability are required to accommodate hostile application environments. Herein, we propose a hydrogel fiber coated with a dielectric layer that can be stretched to over 2000% of its initial length. The fiber remains conductive when stretched to ~1300%. In addition, the core/sheath hydrogel fiber can be endowed with a variety of functional properties, such as electroluminescence (EL), photoluminescence (PL), and magnetic‐responsiveness, demonstrating scalability of the resultant fiber. The present work can pave the way for numerous next‐generation soft devices, such as smart textiles and wearable electronics. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 272–280     

Mono‐ and Dinuclear Phosphorescent Rhenium(I) Complexes: Impact of Subcellular Localization on Anticancer Mechanisms

Elucidation of relationship among chemical structure, cellular uptake, localization, and biological activity of anticancer metal complexes is important for the understanding of their mechanisms of action. Organometallic rhenium(I) tricarbonyl compounds have emerged as potential multifunctional anticancer drug candidates that can integrate therapeutic and imaging capabilities in a single molecule. Herein, two mononuclear phosphorescent rhenium(I) complexes ( Re1 and Re2 ), along with their corresponding dinuclear complexes ( Re3 and Re4 ), were designed and synthesized as potent anticancer agents. The subcellular accumulation of Re1–Re4 was conveniently analyzed by confocal microscopy in situ in live cells by utilizing their intrinsic phosphorescence. We found that increased lipophilicity of the bidentate ligands could enhance their cellular uptake, leading to improved anticancer efficacy. The dinuclear complexes were more potent than the mononuclear counterparts. The molecular anticancer mechanisms of action evoked by Re3 and Re4 were explored in detail. Re3 with a lower lipophilicity localizes to lysosomes and induces caspase‐independent apoptosis, whereas Re4 with higher lipophilicity specially accumulates in mitochondria and induces caspase‐independent paraptosis in cancer cells. Our study demonstrates that subcellular localization is crucial for the anticancer mechanisms of these phosphorescent rhenium(I) complexes.     

Quantitative 31P‐NMR spectroscopy for the determination of fosfomycin and impurity A in pharmaceutical products of fosfomycin sodium or calcium

A quantitative ³¹P‐NMR method for the determination of fosfomycin and impurity A in pharmaceutical products of fosfomycin sodium or calcium has been developed. In this method, coaxial inserts containing trimethyl phosphate are used as external standard. The method is convenient and robust, and gives both high accuracy and precision. It is shown that an accurate determination is possible using different probes and coaxial inserts. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Autonomous conveyer gel driven by frontal polymerization

Autonomous mechanical mass transportation for cargos on the microscale with no need of continuous external powering is of great scientific and technological interest due to their extensive applications. However, it is still challenging to create a self‐driven system applicable to diverse micromaterial transportation demands. In this work, we developed a novel autonomous conveyer gel driven by frontal polymerization (FP). The chemical wave produced in FP was stable, and self‐propagating with a constant velocity, which can be easily monitored by thermal imaging or fluorescence labeling. We investigated the influence of the initiation temperature, swelling ratio of the gel substrate, and the size of the cargos on the motion of driven behavior. Results showed that the driving velocity can be well controlled by altering the initiation temperatures of FP. The swelling ratio and the size of the cargos had a key impact on the feasibility of self‐driven behavior. In addition, powerful driven capability by FP was demonstrated by successfully transporting cargos in series, and further applied for targeted synthesis of CdS nanocrystals. The methodology developed here provides an effective way to convert chemical energy to mechanical work, and may be useful in energy conversion and utilization, mass transportation and other applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1323‐1331     

Au促进Pt/WO3催化甘油氢解制1,3-丙二醇

近年来, 以生物质为基础的生物柴油得到了迅速发展, 导致了粗甘油过剩. 通过甘油选择性氢解制1,3-丙二醇, 进而被用于合成高价值的聚对苯二甲酸丙二醇酯被认为是最具工业应用潜力的反应之一, 对于提高生物柴油的利用效率有着极其重要的意义. 但由于反应空间位阻和热力学上的限制给甘油氢解制1,3-丙二醇带来了很大的挑战, 因此需要设计高活性的金属-酸双功能催化剂以降低甘油第二个C-O键断裂的活化能和减少其他副反应的发生. 目前Pt-W和Ir-Re双功能催化剂可高选择性制得1,3-丙二醇, 但仍需较严苛的反应条件实现对氢气的活化和解离. 本课题组曾将准单原子/单原子Pt高度分散于具有大量氧空位和酸位点的WOx载体上, 十分有利于甘油选择性氢解制1,3-丙二醇反应; 在Au-Pt/WOx催化剂中添加Au可促进B酸产生, 进而提高了甘油转化率和1,3-丙二醇的选择性.为了进一步研究Au对Pt/WOx催化剂结构和催化性能的影响, 本文利用CTAB辅助吸附法制备了Au/WO3, 再浸渍Pt制得Pt/Au/WO3双金属催化剂. 在甘油选择性氢解制1,3-丙二醇反应中, 所制催化剂表现出比Au-Pt/WOx更好的催化活性, 1,3-丙二醇时空收率为0.078 g1,3-PDO/(gcat·h), 是后者的1.95倍. 值得一提的是, Au-Pt/WOx催化剂在低压时活性较高, 而Pt/Au/WO3催化剂活性则在压力的升高而提高; 另外反应温度的升高导致副产物正丙醇的选择性上升, 1,3-丙二醇的选择性降低. 因此, 适宜的反应条件为155℃和5 MPa. 与Pt/WO3和Pt/WOx相比, Pt/Au/WO3表现出了更优异的催化性能, 其1,3-丙二醇的时空收率是Pt/WO3的2.36倍和Pt/WOx的4倍.为了探究Au的掺入对Pt/WOx催化剂性能的影响, 通过XRD, TEM, H2-TPR和XPS等技术对催化剂进行了深入表征. 结果表明, 与Pt/WO3相比, Pt/Au/WO3-600催化剂的XRD衍射峰向小角度偏移, 其原因是Au3+离子半径(0.85 ?)比W6+的(0.60 ?)大, Au3+以取代晶格W6+形式进入WO3晶格中; 对H2-TPR前300 ℃耗氢量的计算可知:Pt/WO3可被还原至Pt/WO2.96, 而Pt/Au/WO3可被还原至Pt/Au/WO2.91. 因此与Pt/WO3相比, Pt/Au/WO3表面氧空位更加丰富. TEM和XPS表征可知, 添加0.1 wt%Au后, 促进了更低价态的Pt均匀分散在WO3载体上, 其平均粒径为2.36 nm.综上所述, Au的掺杂改变了Pt/Au/WO3双金属催化剂的结构, 不仅降低了Pt和W的还原温度, 削弱了Pt和W之间的相互作用, 也促进了更低价态的Pt均匀分散于WO3载体上, 使得Pt/Au/WO3双金属催化剂在甘油氢解制1,3-丙二醇反应中具有更为优异的活性和产物选择性. 该催化剂有望被广泛运用于其他生物质平台化合物加氢脱氧的反应中.     

N-bromosuccinimide mediated decarboxylative sulfonylation of β-keto acids with sodium sulfinates toward β-keto sulfones: Evaluation of human carboxylesterase 1 activity

A N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) mediated decarboxylative sulfonylation of β-keto acids with sodium sulfinates is developed. The transformation exhibits a broad substrate scope and good functional group tolerance. Preliminary mechanistic studies showed that this reaction is likely to proceed through a nucleophilic substitution of β-keto acid with sulfonyl bromide pathway. All synthesized β-keto sulfones were evaluated the inhibitory effect against human carboxylesterase 1 (CES1). This investigation offers an expedient strategy for efficient synthesis of β-keto sulfones that are widely present in biologically active natural products and pharmaceutical agents.