Correlative sparsity structures and semidefinite relaxations for concave cost transportation problems with change of variables

We present a hierarchy of semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxations for solving the concave cost transportation problem (CCTP), which is known to be NP-hard, with p suppliers and q demanders. In particular, we study cases in which the cost function is quadratic or square-root concave. The key idea of our relaxation methods is in the change of variables to CCTPs, and due to this, we can construct SDP relaxations whose matrix variables are of size O((min {p, q}) ^ω ) in the relaxation order ω. The sequence of optimal values of SDP relaxations converges to the global minimum of the CCTP as the relaxation order ω goes to infinity. Furthermore, the size of the matrix variables can be reduced to O((min {p, q}) ^ω-1 ), ω ≥  2 by using Reznick’s theorem. Numerical experiments were conducted to assess the performance of the relaxation methods.     

Efficient photocleavage of DNA utilising water-soluble lipid membrane-incorporated [60]fullerenes prepared using a [60]fullerene exchange method

Various types of lipid membrane-incorporated C60 with high C60 concentrations can be prepared easily in several hours using the C60 exchange method and the photocleaving activity of cationic lipid membrane-incorporated C60 was appreciably higher than that of the C60.gamma-CDx complex.     

Titania supported copper catalysts for methanol synthesis from carbon dioxide

The effect of co-catalyst (ZnO or ZrO₂) has been tested for hydrogenation of CO₂ on CuO/TiO₂ and CuO/Al₂O₃. CuO−ZnO/TiO₂ catalyst showed the highest activity for methanol synthesis. Kinetic parameters were also determined.     

Room-temperature polycondensation of β-amino acid derivatives,I. Polyamide from amino alcohols and acrylates

Acrylates, such as ethyl acrylate, add with amino alcohol to form N-(hydroxyalkyl) β-alanine ester and room-temperature polycondensation follows, forming polyamide in the presence of a basic catalysts, such as alkali metal alkoxide. The reaction medium has an influence on the course of the polycondensation; that is, N-(hydroxyalkyl) polyamide is formed in methanol solution and polyamide ether in other solvents, such as tetrahydrofuran. These two courses of the room-temperature polycondensation have been studied, and the reaction mechanism is discussed in this paper.     

Copper-catalyzed allylations of zirconocene intermediates generated from o-alkenyl or o-alkynylbenzyl ether derivatives and zirconocene-butene complex

o-Alkenyl or alkynyl benzylzirconocene intermediate, which was readily generated by the reaction of 2-alkoxymethylstyrene or 2-alkoxymethyl-1-(trimethylsilylethynyl)-benzene derivative with zirconocene-butene complex (Negishi reagent, "Cp2Zr"), reacted with allyl or propargyl halides in the presence of a catalytic amount of CuCl to give allylation or allenylation products. Conversion to Dane's diene, which is a key intermediate for estrone synthesis, was efficiently carried out by enyne olefin metathesis of the allylation products.     

Role of stress in the self-limiting oxidation of copper nanoparticles

The oxidation process of Cu nanoparticles has been investigated by means of an in-situ X-ray diffraction method. A self-limiting oxidation process involving an unusually drastic decrease (about 4 orders in magnitude) in the oxidation rate was observed at 298 K, whereas a non-self-limiting oxidation emerged at 323 K with a rate of at least 4 orders in magnitude faster than 298 K. The drastic slowing at 298 K and the big differences between the two close temperatures in the oxidation kinetics were found to be directly correlated to whether the compressive stress in the Cu(2)O(111) layers that commensurately formed on the Cu(111) surface is relaxed or not.     

Gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric determination of benzene and its alkyl derivatives in indoor and outdoor air in Fuji, Japan

An analytical method was established for the determination of benzene and 13 of its alkyl derivatives. The method was applied to a survey of indoor pollution that investigated the usefulness of the method, concentration levels, seasonal variations, profiles, correlations between compounds, and factors that affected indoor pollution by these compounds. The survey was performed in 21 houses in the summer of 1999 and 20 houses in the winter of 1999-2000 in Fuji, Japan. All the target compounds were detected in the indoor and outdoor air of all houses. Outdoor concentrations of benzene ranged from 0.779 to 3.17 microg/m3 in summer and from 1.35 to 6.04 microg/m3 in winter, whereas indoor concentrations of benzene ranged from 0.694 to 3.11 microg/m3 in summer and from 1.65 to 6.89 microg/m3 in winter. Indoor concentrations of the target compounds, except for benzene, were elevated, compared with outdoor concentrations. Because indoor and outdoor concentrations of benzene and its derivatives in summer were lower than in winter, the emission of these compounds may be increased by use of a heater and other variables present in winter. Profiles of the compounds, correlations between the compounds, and factors that affected indoor pollution (determined by multiple regression analysis) were investigated. These results suggested that indoor benzene predominantly penetrated from outdoors and that other benzene derivatives were emitted from indoor sources, such as paint solvents and kerosene heaters.     

Orbital Unsymmetrization Affects Facial Selectivities of Diels-Alder Dienophiles

We investigated the Diels-Alder reactions of maleic anhydrides embedded in a dibenzobicyclo[2.2.2]octatriene motif as a nonsterically biased dienophile. Substituents on a benzene ring in these dienophiles are far from the reaction center, providing a sterically equivalent pi-face. Instead substituents can unsymmetrize the dienophilic pi face through pi (anhydride)-pi (aromatic) orbital interactions. Electron-withdrawing substituents affect the facial bias and relative rates of these cycloadditions. The preference of the cycloadditions is opposite in direction to those observed in nucleophilic additions of 2-substituted-9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracen-11-ones (dibenzobicyclo[2.2.2]octadienones) and in electrophilic additions of 2-substituted 9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethenoanthracenes (dibenzobicyclo[2.2.2]octatrienes), though all of them have related dibenzobicyclic systems.