Palladium-Catalyzed Hydroxylation of Aryl and Heteroaryl Halides Enabled by the Use of a Palladacycle Precatalyst

A method for the hydroxylation of aryl and heteroaryl halides, promoted by a catalyst based on a biarylphosphine ligand tBuBrettPhos (L5) and its corresponding palladium precatalyst (1), is described. The reactions allow the cross-coupling of both potassium and cesium hydroxides with (hetero)aryl halides to afford a variety of phenols and hydroxylated heteroarenes in high to excellent yield.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (GM58160)Croucher Foundation (Postdoctoral Fellowship

馮小青本事戲曲改編 : 以《春波影》、《風流院》及《療妬羮》為例

馮小青為明代才女，其流傳的詩文有十多首。十八而亡，早夭的小青為明清文人同情，在明清時期引起一股小青熱潮，多齣以小青為藍本的戲曲作品誕生，而《紅樓夢》的林黛玉一角，亦是受小青影響而成。 本文因而選取其中三齣最具代表性的戲曲作品——《春波影》、《風流院》及《療妬羹》，討論它們與小青本事的關係。從而分析戲曲史上小青故事及形象的流變。 本文主要分析《小青傳》和三種戲曲作品在情節安排以及人物形象塑造的差異。第一章為全文諸論。第二章分析《小青傳》中重要情節及人物形象。第三章依照第二章的分析，與三劇比較對照，分別出傳記與劇本在情節及人物上的差異。最後，本文比較三劇，分析三劇在改編上的共性以及差異。第四章分析三劇與《牡丹亭》重合之處。第五章為小青在劇中的形象分析。第六章為總結

Intergeneration perception toward happiness in elderly life

According to the latest statistics released by the Census and Statistics Department, the Hong Kong population aged 65 and over was 829,300 at the end of 2004. The number of persons aged 65 or older is projected to increase by 17.9% to 978,000, representing 13.2% of population in 2013. This increase in the number and proportion of elderly will intensify the challenges of ageing, which will put further pressure on the government and the society at large. In response to Hong Kong\u27s rapid aging population and in line with the concept of active and successful ageing, the question of how to assist the elderly to achieve a happy elder life has become a very important issue. According to World Health Organization (WHO), healthy” is defined as having good physical, psychological, and social status. Therefore, having a happy elder life means not only having good physical health, but also good psychological state and social status. In the past, studies on understanding the happiness of the elderly were scarce in Hong Kong. The survey on “How to lead a Happy Elder Life” conducted by Hong Kong Christian Service and Elderly Council (2001) was one of the first local study on elderly’s perception about happiness. Similar to other studies overseas (Kehn 1995; Ikels 1994), it was found that “good health status”, “good social relationship”, “stable financial situation”, and “good living arrangement” were the key factors affecting the well-being of the elderly. In addition, some scholars found that the involvement and participation across the generations is also an important element that determines well-being and happiness among the elderly (Hareven 1996). According to Sellars (1998), the collaboration between teenagers and elderly in daily life or school life would not only improve the relationship and understanding among two generations, but would also improve the self-worth of the elderly giving rise to a more fulfilling elder life. In addition, it was found that the quality of care provided by mid-aged adults (such as care givers for the elderly) was another factor affecting the life satisfaction level of the elderly (Hareven and Adams 1996; Hogan, Eggebeen and Snaith 1996). Based on the findings of these studies, it is believed that having a happy elder life requires the mutual effort of and contribution from different generations. In order to assist the elderly people to lead a happy elder life, the Elderly Commission has been promoting the concept of “Healthy Ageing” in Hong Kong since 2001. The aim of the campaign of Healthy Aging was to create a sustained healthy living environment and to allow the citizens to enjoy their elder life autonomously (Department of Health and Elderly Commission 2001). In response to this campaign, Hong Kong Christian Service combine the concepts of “Healthy Aging” and “Happy Elder Life” 3 to conduct an elderly survey on “how to lead a happy elder life” in 2001 (Hong Kong Christian Service 2001). A second study was conducted four years later. The main objectives of this survey remain the same, they are to find out the happiness index in 2005 compared with the 2001 survey and to understand how people of different age groups perceive the question of “How to lead a Happy Elder Life”. The findings of the study serve as useful inputs for promoting mutual understanding, care, and love among the different generations in Hong Kong

Stereoselective Synthesis of Trisubstituted Alkenes through Sequential Iron-Catalyzed Reductive anti-Carbozincation of Terminal Alkynes and Base-Metal-Catalyzed Negishi CrossCoupling

The stereoselective synthesis of trisubstituted alkenes is challenging. Here, we show that an iron-catalyzed anti-selective carbozincation of terminal alkynes can be combined with a base-metal-catalyzed cross coupling to prepare trisubstituted alkenes in a one-pot reaction and with high regio- and stereocontrol. Cu-, Ni-, and Co-based catalytic systems are developed for the coupling of sp(-), sp(2)-, and sp(-) hybridized carbon electrophiles, respectively. The method encompasses a large substrate scope, as various alkynyl, aryl, alkenyl, acyl, and alkyl halides are suitable coupling partners. Compared with conventional carbometalation reactions of alkynes, the current method avoids pre-made organometallic reagents and has a distinct stereoselectivity

Amine synthesis via iron-catalysed reductive coupling of nitroarenes with alkyl halides

(Hetero)Aryl amines, an important class of organic molecules in medicinal chemistry, are most commonly synthesized from anilines, which are in turn synthesized by hydrogenation of nitroarenes. Amine synthesis directly from nitroarenes is attractive due to improved step economy and functional group compatibility. Despite these potential advantages, there is yet no general method for the synthesis of (hetero)aryl amines by carbon-nitrogen cross-coupling of nitroarenes. Here we report the reductive coupling of nitroarenes with alkyl halides to yield (hetero)aryl amines. A simple iron catalyst enables the coupling with numerous primary, secondary and tertiary alkyl halides. Broad scope and high functional group tolerance are demonstrated. Mechanistic study suggests that nitrosoarenes and alkyl radicals are involved as intermediates. This new C-N coupling method provides general and step-economical access to aryl amines

An Architectural Framework of a Decision Support Platform for e-Business

The rapid development of e-Business urges the need for online integrative partnership and collaborative business process management. These trends call for a new dimension of decision support: online multiplicitive decision interoperability. We define it as a decision support platform for e-Business, which facilitates inter-organizational decision making process allowing dynamic partnership. As it is not the common decision support system we familiar with, we propose a new architectural framework of this decision support platform. This framework carries a set of unique characteristics that should be incorporated in the design and development of such platform

Mild and Phosphine-Free Iron-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Nonactivated Secondary Alkyl Halides with Alkynyl Grignard Reagents

A simple protocol for iron-catalyzed cross-coupling of nonactivated secondary alkyl bromides and iodides with alkynyl Grignard reagents at room temperature has been developed. A wide range of secondary alkyl halides and terminal alkynes are tolerated to afford the substituted alkynes in good yields. A slight modification of the reaction protocol also allows for cross-coupling with a variety of primary alkyl halides

Iron- Catalyzed 1,2-Addition of Perfluoroalkyl Iodides to Alkynes and Alkenes

Iron catalysis has been developed for the intermolecular 1,2-addition of perfluoroalkyl iodides to alkynes and alkenes. The catalysis has a wide substrate scope and high functional-group tolerance. A variety of perfluoroalkyl iodides including CF3I can be employed. The resulting perfluoroalkylated alkyl and alkenyl iodides can be further functionalized by cross-coupling reactions. This methodology provides a straightforward and streamlined access to perfluoroalkylated organic molecules

Colour Reflectance Investigation of Decolourized Sulfur Dyed Cotton Knitted Fabric via Ozone Plasma Treatment

Ozone plasma treatment is accessible to be applied on shading adjustment and colour fading because of the capacity of ozone production. It is a green process that treats dyed cotton fabric under dry condition so as to avoid chemical pollutants. This study means to explore colour reflectance of decolourized sulfur dyed cotton texture using ozone plasma treatment. Sulfur dyed cotton textures with various colour depths (0.5%, 1.5%, 2.5%) were set up to be treated different plasma parameters, including ozone air concentrations (10%, 30%, 50%, 70%), water contents in terms of weight percentage (35%, 45%) of fabric and ozone air plasma treatment periods (10 mins, 20 mins, 30 mins). The colour fading result is assessed by the colour reflectance in percentage (R%) utilizing spectrophotometer under CIE standard illuminant D65. The valid colour fading based on high percentage of reflectance was demonstrated from plasma treatment under higher ozone air concentration (50% and 70% ozone in air) and longer time length of plasma treatment (20 mins and 30 mins). The level of water content contained in the cotton fabrics is appeared to have noteworthy relationship with the degree of decolourization

Z-Selective Olefin Synthesis via Iron-Catalyzed Reductive Coupling of Alkyl Halides with Terminal Arylalkynes

Selective catalytic synthesis of Z-olefins has been challenging. Here we describe a method to produce 1,2-disubstituted olefins in high Z selectivity via reductive cross-coupling of alkyl halides with terminal arylalkynes. The method employs inexpensive and nontoxic catalyst (iron(II) bromide) and reductant (zinc). The substrate scope encompasses primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl halides, and the reaction tolerates a large number of functional groups. The utility of the method is demonstrated in the synthesis of several pharmaceutically relevant molecules. Mechanistic study suggests that the reaction proceeds through an iron-catalyzed anti-selective carbozincation pathway