Copper-catalyzed coupling of 1,1-dibromo-1-alkenes with phenols: a general, modular, and efficient synthesis of ynol ethers, bromo enol ethers, and ketene acetals

An efficient and general copper-catalyzed method is reported for the synthesis of phenol-derived 1-bromoenol ethers, ynol ethers, and ketene acetals by chemodivergent copper-catalyzed cross-coupling between readily available 1,1-dibromo-1-alkenes and phenols.     

Discovering the Active Sites for C3 Separation in MIL-100(Fe) by Using Operando IR Spectroscopy

A reducible MIL-100(Fe) metal-organic framework (MOF) was investigated for the separation of a propane/propene mixture. An operando methodology was applied (for the first time in the case of a MOF) in order to shed light on the separation mechanism. Breakthrough curves were obtained as in traditional separation column experiments, but monitoring the material surface online, thus providing evidences on the adsorption sites. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of Fe(II) and, to some extent, Fe(III) sites were possible, upon different activation protocols. Moreover, it was possible to identify the nature and the role of the active sites in the separation process by selective poisoning of one family of sites: it was clearly evidenced that the unsaturated Fe(II) sites are mainly responsible for the separation effect of the propane/propene mixture, thanks to their affinity for the unsaturated bonds, such as the C?C entities in propene. The activity of the highly concentrated Fe(III) sites was also highlighted.     

VUV synchrotron radiation: a new activation technique for tandem mass spectrometry

A novel experimental technique for tandem mass spectrometry and ion spectroscopy of electrosprayed ions using vacuum‐ultraviolet (VUV) synchrotron radiation is presented. Photon activation of trapped precursor ions has been performed by coupling a commercial linear quadrupole ion trap (Thermo scientific LTQ XL), equipped with the electrosprayed ions source, to the DESIRS beamline at the SOLEIL synchrotron radiation facility. The obtained results include, for the first time on biopolymers, photodetachment spectroscopy using monochromated synchrotron radiation of multi‐charged anions and the single photon ionization of large charge‐selected polycations. The high efficiency and signal‐to‐noise ratio achieved by the present set‐up open up possibilities of using synchrotron light as a new controllable activation method in tandem mass spectrometry of biopolymers and VUV‐photon spectroscopy of large biological ions.     

Polarization dependent chemistry of ferroelectric BaTiO3(001) domains

Recent works suggest that the surface chemistry, in particular the presence of oxygen vacancies, can affect the polarization in a ferroelectric material. This should, in turn, influence the domain ordering driven by the need to screen the depolarizing field. Here we show using density-functional theory that the presence of oxygen vacancies at the surface of BaTiO(3)(001) preferentially stabilizes an inward pointing, P-, polarization. Mirror electron microscopy measurements of the domain ordering confirm the theoretical results.     

On estimating distribution functions using Bernstein polynomials

It is a known fact that some estimators of smooth distribution functions can outperform the empirical distribution function in terms of asymptotic (integrated) mean-squared error. In this paper, we show that this is also true of Bernstein polynomial estimators of distribution functions associated with densities that are supported on a closed interval. Specifically, we introduce a higher order expansion for the asymptotic (integrated) mean-squared error of Bernstein estimators of distribution functions and examine the relative deficiency of the empirical distribution function with respect to these estimators. Finally, we also establish the (pointwise) asymptotic normality of these estimators and show that they have highly advantageous boundary properties, including the absence of boundary bias.     

Hierarchical modeling of piezoelectric plates

We use variational techniques to derive a class of two-dimensional models for three-dimensional linearly elastic piezoelectric plates. The models result from a mixed formulation for the original problem within spaces of functions with polynomial dependence in the transverse direction. We show that the resulting system of equations is well-posed, and then discuss the asymptotic consistency of the simplest of such models.     

Triangle Contact Representations and Duality

A?contact representation by triangles of a graph is a set of triangles in the plane such that two triangles intersect on at most one point, each triangle represents a vertex of the graph and two triangles intersects if and only if their corresponding vertices are adjacent. De Fraysseix, Ossona de Mendez and Rosenstiehl proved that every planar graph admits a contact representation by triangles. We strengthen this in terms of a simultaneous contact representation by triangles of a planar map and of its dual. A?primal?Cdual contact representation by triangles of a planar map is a contact representation by triangles of the primal and a contact representation by triangles of the dual such that for every edge uv, bordering faces f and g, the intersection between the triangles corresponding to u and v is the same point as the intersection between the triangles corresponding to f and g. We prove that every 3-connected planar map admits a primal?Cdual contact representation by triangles. Moreover, the interiors of the triangles form a tiling of the triangle corresponding to the outer face and each contact point is a corner of exactly three triangles. Then we show that these representations are in one-to-one correspondence with generalized Schnyder woods defined by Felsner for 3-connected planar maps.     

The Boltzmann equation without angular cutoff in the whole space: I,Global existence for soft potential

It is known that the singularity in the non-cutoff cross-section of the Boltzmann equation leads to the gain of regularity and a possible gain of weight in the velocity variable. By defining and analyzing a non-isotropic norm which precisely captures the dissipation in the linearized collision operator, we first give a new and precise coercivity estimate for the non-cutoff Boltzmann equation for general physical cross-sections. Then the Cauchy problem for the Boltzmann equation is considered in the framework of small perturbation of an equilibrium state. In this part, for the soft potential case in the sense that there is no positive power gain of weight in the coercivity estimate on the linearized operator, we derive some new functional estimates on the nonlinear collision operator. Together with the coercivity estimates, we prove the global existence of classical solutions for the Boltzmann equation in weighted Sobolev spaces.     

Adjustable EDFA gain equalization filter for DWDM channels based on a single LPG excited by flexural acoustic waves

A fast adjustable gain equalization filter for dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) system is reported. The method is based on a single long period fiber grating (LPG) which is excited by means of flexural acoustic waves. The equalization of a typical erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) gain spectrum with a gain flatness of <0.3 dB over a 32 nm bandwidth is demonstrated. The filter adjustment is obtained by choosing different acoustic loads applied to the acousto-optic modulator, which presents a switching time of ～17 μs. A maximum power penalty of 0.84 dB, relatively to the back-to-back signal, was achieved.     

Search for new phenomena in tt events with large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for new phenomena in tt events with large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The measurement is based on 1.04 fb(-1) of data collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Contributions to this final state may arise from a number of standard model extensions. The results are interpreted in terms of a model where new top-quark partners are pair produced and each decay to an on-shell top (or antitop) quark and a long-lived undetected neutral particle. The data are found to be consistent with standard model expectations. A limit at 95% confidence level is set excluding a cross section times branching ratio of 1.1 pb for a top-partner mass of 420 GeV and a neutral particle mass less than 10 GeV. In a model of exotic fourth generation quarks, top-partner masses are excluded up to 420 GeV and neutral particle masses up to 140 GeV.