Taiwanese Gifted Students' Views of Nature of Science

This study examined the conceptions of nature of science (NOS) possessed by a group of gifted seventh‐grade students from Taiwan. The students were engaged in a 1‐week science camp with emphasis on scientific inquiry and NOS. A Chinese version of a NOS questionnaire was developed, specifically addressing the context of Chinese culture, to assess students' views on the development of scientific knowledge. Pretest results indicated that the majority of participants had a basic understanding of the tentative, subjective, empirical, and socially and culturally embedded aspects of NOS. Some conflicting views and misconceptions held by the participants are discussed. There were no significant changes in students' views of NOS after instruction, possibly due to time limitations and a ceiling effect. The relationship between students' cultural values and development of NOS conceptions and the impact of NOS knowledge on students' science learning are worth further investigation.     

Internal coordinate density of state from molecular dynamics simulation

The vibrational density of states (DoS), calculated from the Fourier transform of the velocity autocorrelation function, provides profound information regarding the structure and dynamic behavior of a system. However, it is often difficult to identify the exact vibrational mode associated with a specific frequency if the DoS is determined based on velocities in Cartesian coordinates. Here, the DoS is determined based on velocities in internal coordinates, calculated from Cartesian atomic velocities using a generalized Wilson's B ‐matrix. The DoS in internal coordinates allows for the correct detection of free dihedral rotations that may be mistaken as hindered rotation in Cartesian DoS. Furthermore, the pronounced enhancement of low frequency modes in Cartesian DoS for macromolecules should be attributed to the coupling of dihedral and angle motions. The internal DoS, thus deconvolutes the internal motions and provides fruitful insights to the dynamic behaviors of a system. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A Ruthenium‐Based Biomimetic Hydrogen Cluster for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation from Formic Acid

A ruthenium‐based biomimetic hydrogen cluster, [Ru₂(CO)₆(μ‐SCH₂CH₂CH₂S)] ( 1 ), has been synthesized and, in the presence of the P ligand tri(o‐tolyl)phosphine, demonstrated efficient photocatalytic hydrogen generation from formic acid decomposition. Turnover frequencies (TOFs) of 5500 h^?1 and turnover numbers (TONs) over 24 700 were obtained with less than 50 ppm of the catalyst, thus representing the highest TOFs for ruthenium complexes as well as the best efficiency for photocatalytic hydrogen production from formic acid. Moreover, 1 showed high stability with no significant degradation of the photocatalyst observed after prolonged photoirradiation at 90 °C.     

Purification of γ-Benzyl and γ-Methyl L-Glutamate N-Carboxyanhydrides by Rephosgenation

Rephosgenation of N-carboxyanhydrides of γ-benzyl and y-methyl L-glutamates, vs multiple recrystallizations, is a very efficient method for obtaining highly purified N-carboxyanhydrides, from which very high MW (0.98-1.5 × 10⁶ Daltons) polymers can be derived.     

Synthesis,characterization, and properties of monodispersed magnetite coated multi‐walled carbon nanotube/polypyrrole nanocomposites synthesized by in‐situ chemical oxidative polymerization

This study describes the preparation of a nanocomposites fabricated from monodispersed 4‐nm iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) coated on the surface of carboxylic acid containing multi‐walled carbon nanotube (c‐MWCNT) and polypyrrole (PPy) by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization. High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy images and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) data indicate that the resulting Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles synthesized using the thermal decomposition are close to spherical dots with a particle size about 4 ± 0.2 nm. The resulting nanoparticles were further mixed with c‐MWCNT in an aqueous solution containing with anionic surfactant sodium bis(2‐ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate to form one‐dimensional Fe₃O₄ coated c‐MWCNT template for further preparation of nanocomposite. Structural and morphological analysis using field‐emission scanning electron microscopy, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, and XRD showed that the fabricated Fe₃O₄ coated c‐MWCNT/PPy nanocomposites are one‐dimensional core (Fe₃O₄ coated c‐MWCNT)‐shell (PPy) structures. The conductivities of these Fe₃O₄ coated c‐MWCNT/PPy nanocomposites are about four times higher than those of pure PPy matrix. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 727–733, 2008     

Synthesis and characterization of 1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐triazolopyridinone hybrid derivatives as new blue‐greenish photoluminescent materials

Recently, New functionalized oxadiazole‐triazolopyridinone hybrid compounds were investigated as photoluminescent materials. In this work, we introduce triazolopyridinone to synthesize a series of oxadiazole‐triazolopyridinone hybrid derivatives as potential photoluminescent materials and explore the effect of modification of the triazolopyridinone moiety. The λ_max values of the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of 1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐triazolopyridinone hybrids are promoted to longer wavelengths (470‐486 nm) than the traditional 1,2,3‐triazole derivatives (410‐425 nm) in solutions. PL spectra 5a, 5d , and 5g of the vacuum evaporated films on quartz substrates, with a maximum at 487 nm, shows a red‐shift (～15‐20 nm), with respect to the solution spectrum. The solution fluorescence quantum yields (Φ_f) were measured, all of which fell into the range 0.65‐0.76, and were determined relative to that of 2‐phenyl‐5‐(4‐biphenyl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole in benzene (Φ_f = 0.80). 1,3,4‐Oxadiazole‐triazolopyridinone hybrid derivatives show clearly non‐reversible reduction processes in cyclic voltammogram measurements. Following spectroscopic studies and observation of the electrochemical behaviors, 1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐triazolopyridinone derivatives were determined to be potential efficient bluegreenish photoluminescent materials.     

Core‐shell structure microcapsules with dual pH‐responsive drug release function

We report dual pH‐responsive microcapsules manufactured by combining electrostatic droplets (ESD) and microfluidic droplets (MFD) techniques to produce monodisperse core (alginate)‐shell (chitosan) structure with dual pH‐responsive drug release function. The fabricated core‐shell microcapsules were size controllable by tuning the synthesis parameters of the ESD and MFD systems, and were responsive in both acidic and alkaline environment, We used two model drugs (ampicillin loaded in the chitosan shell and diclofenac loaded in the alginate core) for drug delivery study. The results show that core‐shell structure microcapsules have better drug release efficiency than respective core or shell particles. A biocompatibility test showed that the core‐shell structure microcapsules presented positive cell viability (above 80%) when evaluated by the 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results indicate that the synthesized core‐shell microcapsules were a potential candidate of dual‐drug carriers.     

Cellulase production byAcidothermus cellulolyticus

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - Acidothermus cellulolyticus, an isolate from hot springs at Yellowstone National Park, produced cellulase enzyme when grown in cellobiose-containing medium....