A double-walled triangular metal-organic macrocycle based on a [Cu-2(COO)(4)] square paddle-wheel secondary building unit

A metal-organic macrocycle (MOM), [(Cu-2)(3)L-6(DMF)(2)(H2O)(4)], was prepared using a long and "pseudo-rigid" dicarboxylic acid, 1,4-bis(3-carboxylphenylethynyl) benzene (H2L), with some rotational flexibility, where the MOM has a double-walled triangular geometry with three Cu paddle-wheel secondary building units (SBUs) doubly connected by the ligands in a cis-conformation.close8

A two-fold interpenetrated (3,6)-connected metal-organic framework with rutile topology showing a large solvent cavity

A two-fold interpenetrated metal-organic framework (MOF), [(Zn(4)O)(2)L(4)(DMF)(2)(H(2)O)(3)], was prepared using the tritopic ligand 4,4',4 ''-[1,3,5-benzenetriyltris(carbonylimino)]trisbenzoic acid (H(3)L) and zinc nitrate. The MOF, based on the hexatopic tetranuclear Zn(4)O(COO)(6) secondary building unit, has a (3,6)-connected network with an rtl topology and a large solvent cavity.close302

Preparation of Edible Corn Starch Phosphate with Highly Reactive Sodium Tripolyphosphate in the Absence of Catalyst

Purpose: To prepare edible corn starch phosphate under optimized experimental conditions.Methods: Edible corn starch phosphate was prepared via the reaction of starch with active sodium tripolyphosphate. Reaction efficiency and viscosity were used as indices to optimize experimental conditions. Freeze-thaw stability and transparency of starch phosphate and native starch were comparatively studied.Results: Starch phosphate with optimal combined phosphate content (0.39 %) was obtained under optimized conditions: reaction duration, 90 min; temperature, 160 oC; pH, 5.0; and phosphate, 1.5 g. Starch phosphate with optimal viscosity (230 cp) was obtained under different conditions: reaction duration, 120 min; temperature, 140 oC; pH, 6.0; and phosphate, 1.5 g. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in syneresis and paste transparency of starch phosphate and native starch.Conclusion: Edible corn starch phosphate has been successfully prepared under optimized experimental conditions whose freeze-thaw stability and paste transparency has obvious improvement compared with native starch.Keywords: Starch phosphate, Combined phosphate, Sodium tripolyphosphate, Syneresis, Paste efficienc

Entropically driven self-assembly of a strained hexanuclear indium metal-organic macrocycle and its behavior in solution

The self-assembly of a polyprotic pentadentate ligand, N-cyclopentanoylaminobenzoylhydrazide (H4L4), and an In(III) nitrate hydrate in methanol led to a strained hexanuclear indium metal-organic macrocycle (In-MOM), [In(III)(6)(H2L4)(6)(NO3)(x)(solvent)(6-x)](NO3)(6-x) (where, the solvent is either methanol or a water molecule and x is the number of the nitrate anions ligated). The ligand in the doubly deprotonated state serves as an unsymmetric linear ditopic donor and the alternating indium ions in two different chelation modes serve as two different bent ditopic metal acceptors, which led to a D-3-symmetric hexanuclear In-MOM. Although the hexanuclear In-MOM is enthalpically unfavorable because of the ring strain, the combination of the soft coordination characteristic of the indium ion and the slight ligand deformation from the conjugated planar conformation allows the formation of the entropically favored hexanuclear In-MOM rather than the enthalpically favored octanuclear In-MOM. While the hexanuclear In-MOM is stable in acetonitrile, it partially dissociates into its components in dimethylsulfoxide, and then slowly reaches a new equilibrium state with several different indium species yet to be identified in addition to the free ligand.close4

Practical Quantum Simulation of Non-Hermitian Dynamics

Non-Hermitian quantum systems have recently attracted considerable attentions due to their exotic properties. Though many experimental realizations of non-Hermitian systems have been reported, the non-Hermiticity usually resorts to the hard-to-control environments. An alternative approach is to use quantum simulation with the closed system, whereas how to simulate general non-Hermitian Hamiltonian dynamics remains a great challenge. To tackle this problem, we propose a protocol by combining a dilation method with the variational quantum algorithm. The dilation method is used to transform a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian into a Hermitian one through an exquisite quantum circuit, while the variational quantum algorithm is for efficiently approximating the complex entangled gates in this circuit. As a demonstration, we apply our protocol to simulate the dynamics of an Ising chain with nonlocal non-Hermitian perturbations, which is an important model to study quantum phase transition at nonzero temperatures. The numerical simulation results are highly consistent with the theoretical predictions, revealing the effectiveness of our protocol. The presented protocol paves the way for practically simulating general non-Hermitian dynamics in the multi-qubit case.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

An unprecedented twofold interpenetrated layered metal-organic framework with a MoS2-H topology

An unprecedented twofold interpenetrated layered metal-organic framework with a two-dimensional 3,6-connected net topology has been prepared using a tricarboxylic acid as a 3-connected node and a Zn4O(COO)(6) cluster as a 6-connected node, where the ligand flexibility and the combination of pi-pi stacking and hydrogen bonding interactions render the 6-connected node into a topological trigonal prismatic node.close10

A clinical Pseudomonas juntendi strain with blaIMP−1 carried by an integrative and conjugative element in China

ObjectiveTo precisely determine the species of a carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas strain 1809276 isolated from the urine of a Chinese patient and analyze its integrative and conjugative element (ICE) 1276 formation mechanism.MethodsSingle-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing was carried out on strain 18091276 to obtain the complete chromosome and plasmid (pCN1276) sequences, and average nucleotide identity (ANI) was used for precise species identification. The ICEs in GenBank with the same integrase structure as ICE 1276 were aligned. At the same time, the transfer ability of blaIMP−1 and the antibiotic sensitivity of Pseudomonas juntendi 18091276 were tested.ResultsThis bacterium was P. juntendi, and its drug resistance mechanism is the capture of the accA4' gene cassette by the Tn402-like type 1 integron (IntI1-blaIMP−1) to form In1886 before its capture by the ΔTn4662a-carrying ICE 1276. The acquisition of blaIMP−1 confers carbapenem resistance to P. juntendi 18091276.ConclusionThe formation of blaIMP−1-carrying ICE 1276, its further integration into the chromosomes, and transposition and recombination of other elements promote bacterial gene accumulation and transmission