One‐Dimensional Channels Encapsulated in Supramolecular Networks Constructed of Zinc(II), Manganese(II), or ­Nickel(II) Atoms with 3‐(Carboxymethyl)‐2, 7‐dimethyl‐3H‐benzo[d]imidazole‐5‐carboxylic Acid

Four complexes with supramolecular architectures, namely, MZCA · 3H₂O ( 1 ), [Zn(H₂O)₆]²⁺ · [MZCA]₂ · [H₂O]₆ ( 2 ), [Mn(MZCA)₂(H₂O)₄] · 2H₂O ( 3 ), and [Ni(MZCA)₂(H₂O)₄] · 2H₂O ( 4 ) [MZCA = 3‐(carboxymethyl)‐2, 7‐dimethyl‐3H‐benzo[d]imidazole‐5‐carboxylic acid], were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. Complexes 1 and 2 display a remarkable 3D network with 1D hydrophilic channels. Complexes 3 and 4 are isostructural and exhibit a 3D structure encapsulating 1D 24‐membered ring microporous channels. The UV/Vis and fluorescent spectra were measured to characterize complexes 1 – 4 . The thermal stability of complexes 2 – 4 were also examined.     

A 3D Porous Metal Organic Framework Based on Infinite 1D Nickel(II) Chains with Rutile Topology Displaying Open Metal Sites

The reaction of Ni^II with a tetra‐benzoate pyrene ligand produces a 3D porous framework based on infinite 1D Ni^II chains. The Ni^II–O connectivity and the formation of a hydroxo‐bridge (μ₃‐OH) responsible for the connection of the central Ni^II atoms within the 1D Ni^II–(μ₃‐OH)₂–Ni^II chains can be straightforwardly compared with the Ti^IV–O–Ti^IV connectivity seen in TiO₂. The arrangement of the TBAPy ligand around the 1D rutile‐based chains leads in the generation of a porous framework with two distinct types of pores; based on the chemistries of these two types of pores, one can be labelled as hydrophobic and the other as hydrophilic. The use of different activation methods results in the generation of either a porous framework free of guest molecules or a completely solvent‐free material, in which the terminal H₂O molecules bound to Ni^II were removed, leading thus to a framework with open Ni^II sites. CO₂ isotherms collected on both frameworks at 195 K and one barshowed type I isotherms characteristic of microporous materials (BET surface areas for: guest‐free framework: 257(3) m² · g^–1; solvent‐free framework: 362(2) m² · g^–1). The affinity of both networks at zero coverage for both CO₂ and CH₄ was found to be greater when the unsaturated Ni^II sites are available within the void space.     

Nondestructive damage assessment in fiber reinforced composites with the pulsed ultrasonic polar scan

This study investigates the use of both amplitude and time-of-flight based pulsed ultrasonic polar scan (P-UPS) as a sophisticated non-destructive damage sensor for fiber reinforced composites. Focus is put on stiffness related damage phenomena, which are in general difficult to monitor nondestructively, and their associated signature in the P-UPS image. Various composite samples, with different damage states, have been inspected at multiple material spots with the P-UPS technique. The results demonstrate the capability of the P-UPS method to obtain a unique signature of the local material damage characteristics. Several indicators in the acquired P-UPS images have been identified from which the type and level of material degradation can be obtained. The P-UPS extracted characteristics are fully supported by simulations, conventional tests as well as visual inspection.     

A channel reservation and preemption model using overlapping regions in sector‐based cellular networks

This paper presents a channel reservation and preemption (CRP) model using overlapping regions in a cellular network with multiple sectors. To fully exploit and reuse the frequencies, directional antennas are installed on base stations (BSs) to divide the coverage into a number of equal‐sized sectors. When traffic is unevenly distributed across the sectors in a BS, channel utilization in every sector may become very different; low‐traffic sectors may be underutilized while high‐traffic sectors may be overutilized. A CRP scheme is thus proposed to more efficiently utilize free channels among sectors. CRP aims at reducing the dropping probabilities of handoff calls. Specifically, when free channels in a sector are not available, a handoff call, instead of being dropped, is allowed to preempt an ongoing call residing in the overlapping region of two adjacent sectors or two neighbor cells. Under CRP, the preempted ongoing call will not be disconnected, because it can switch over its service to the BS of a neighbor cell or to another directional antenna of an adjacent sector. For the purpose of evaluation, we build an analytical model for the proposed CRP using six‐tuple Markov chains. Analytical results show that the proposed CRP can significantly reduce the dropping probabilities of inter‐sector handoff calls, particularly when traffic between two sectors is not evenly distributed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crystal growth,spectral characterization and structural studies of a luminescent coordination polymer of calcium(II) complex of benzilic acid

Single crystals of a new calcium(II) complex of benzilic acid, [Ca(C₁₄H₁₁O₃)₂(C₁₄H₁₂O₃)₂] have been successfully grown by gel diffusion technique at room temperature. Single crystal X-ray diffraction study reveals that the compound belongs to orthorhombic system with space group Fddd. The adjacent CaO₈ units are linked via O–H–O interaction to form one dimensional polymeric chains. The extensive hydrogen bonding interactions lead to a supramolecular structure. The grown crystals were further characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV–Visible, thermogravimetric, powder X-ray diffraction and solid state photoluminescence studies.     

Synthesis and Biochemical Evaluation of Warhead-Decorated Psoralens as (Immuno)Proteasome Inhibitors

The immunoproteasome is a multicatalytic protease that is predominantly expressed in cells of hematopoietic origin. Its elevated expression has been associated with autoimmune diseases, various types of cancer, and inflammatory diseases. Selective inhibition of its catalytic activities is therefore a viable approach for the treatment of these diseases. However, the development of immunoproteasome-selective inhibitors with non-peptidic scaffolds remains a challenging task. We previously reported 7H-furo[3,2-g]chromen-7-one (psoralen)-based compounds with an oxathiazolone warhead as selective inhibitors of the chymotrypsin-like (β5i) subunit of immunoproteasome. Here, we describe the influence of the electrophilic warhead variations at position 3 of the psoralen core on the inhibitory potencies. Despite mapping the chemical space with different warheads, all compounds showed decreased inhibition of the β5i subunit of immunoproteasome in comparison to the parent oxathiazolone-based compound. Although suboptimal, these results provide crucial information about structure–activity relationships that will serve as guidance for the further design of (immuno)proteasome inhibitors.     

Cooperative spectrum sharing MIMO systems with successive decoding

A spectrum sharing system with primary and secondary nodes, each equipped with an arbitrary number of antennas, is investigated. Particularly, the outage performance of an underlay cognitive system is analytically studied, in the case when the end-to-end ($e2e$) communication is established via an intermediate relay node. To better enhance the $e2e$ communication, successive interference cancellation (SIC) is adopted, which compensates for both the transmission power constraint and the presence of interference from primary nodes. Both the relay and secondary receiver perform unordered SIC to successively decode the multiple streams, whereas the decode-and-forward relaying protocol is used for the $e2e$ communication. New closed-form expressions for the $e2e$ outage performance of each transmitted stream are derived in terms of finite sum series of the Tricomi confluent hypergeometric function. In addition, simplified yet tight approximations for the asymptotic outage performance are obtained. Useful engineering insights are manifested, such as the diversity order of the considered system and the impact of interference from the primary nodes in conjunction with the constrained transmission power of the secondary nodes.     

MR diffusion - "diffraction" phenomenon in multi-pulse-field-gradient experiments

Using pulsed-field-gradient (PFG) experiments, the sizes of the pores in ordered porous media can be estimated from the "diffraction" pattern that the signal attenuation curves exhibit. A different diffraction pattern is observed when the experiment is extended to a larger number (N) of diffusion gradient pulse pairs. Simulations to calculate signal values from arbitrary gradient waveforms are performed for diffusion in restricted geometries using a matrix operator formalism. The simulations suggest that the differences in the characteristics of the attenuation curves are expected to make it possible to measure smaller pore sizes, to improve the accuracy of pore size measurements and potentially to distinguish different pore shapes using the N-PFG technique. Moreover, when an even number of PFG pairs is used, it is possible to observe the diffraction pattern at shorter diffusion times and measure an approximation to the average pore size even when the sample contains pores with a broad distribution of sizes.     

酰胺连接的共价有机骨架的制备及其在水中高效光催化性能

光催化是将太阳能转换为化学能的绿色可持续发展途径,有望解决日益严重的能源危机和环境污染问题.在光催化过程中,半导体材料作为光催化剂,负责可见光的捕获、光生载流子的生成和传输以及氧化还原反应,在整个光催化系统中起着决定性的作用.共价有机骨架材料(COFs)是一类新兴的半导体光催化剂,已被证明在可见光诱导的水分解、二氧化碳还原、有机转化反应和水中污染物降解方面具有应用前景.然而,大部分COFs是通过可逆反应构筑的,在水中及苛刻条件下的稳定性差.因此,提升基于COFs的光催化剂在水相中的光催化活性和循环稳定性仍然面临巨大挑战.本文提出了一种新策略,即通过实现多重协同效应,设计和开发2D-COFs作为在水中的高效非均相光催化剂.通过后合成策略将亚胺键连接的2D-COFs氧化,制备了两种具有丰富三嗪结构单元的以酰胺键连接的2D-COFs(命名为COF-JLU18和COF-JLU19).结果表明,COF-JLU18和COF-JLU19具有高比表面积和孔体积,其比表面积分别为1156和541 m2/g;COF-JLU19具有比相似拓扑结构的亚胺COF-JLU17更好的水蒸气吸附性能.此外,COF-JLU19表现出了极高的化学稳定性,在水中、盐酸和氢氧化钠溶液中浸泡两天,其结构和结晶性均没有发生明显变化.由此可见,酰胺键不仅可以增加材料骨架的亲水性,还能够提高COFs对水的稳定性.本文制备的酰胺键连接的COF-JLU19材料,在光降解罗丹明B水溶液(RhB)反应中可以获得高达0.69 min?1的光降解速率常数,活性明显优于其他光催化剂,如C3N4等.COF-JLU19具有较好的催化活性主要归因于以下两方面:一方面,良好的亲水性和固有孔隙率之间的协同效应可以增强COFs在水中对染料的吸附能力,使其光催化活性得到有效提升;另一方面,高的结晶度和优秀的稳定性使酰胺键连接的COFs在多相光催化中实现稳定循环利用.为了扩展COFs的应用前景,本文还制备了一种基于酰胺键连接COFs的静电纺丝膜,在以太阳光为光源的光降解罗丹明B水溶液实验中表现出较高的光催化活性和重复使用性.综上,本文提出的多重协同效应为基于COFs的高效光催化剂的设计提供了一种有效策略.