Molecular conformation of the racemic indan derivative (+/-)-1-trans-3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-1-carboxamide

This paper presents the structural characterization of the indan derivative (+/-)-1-trans-3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-1-carboxamide, which was unambiguously determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) to be a racemate (R/S: 50/50) crystallizing in an achiral crystal structure (P2(1)/c, a = 9.3180(1) , b = 7.9070(2) , c = 19.7550(4) , beta = 103.250(1)A degrees, V = 1416.75(5) (3) and Z = 4). The diastereomers are related by the inversion symmetry and linked by H bond forming a dimer. The crystal packing is stabilized by hydrogen bonds, including the classical one responsible for the formation of centrosymmetric dimers, and non-classical ones involving C-H center dot center dot center dot O and C-H center dot center dot center dot pi-aryl interactions. The intra and intermolecular geometry of the title compound is compared to the (+/-)-1-trans-3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-1-carboxylic acid one, which also present an achiral crystal structure from racemates (R/S: 50/50). The two indan derivatives crystallize in a very similar unit cell.

De-aggregation of polyfluorene derivative by blending with a series of poly(alkyl methacrylate)s with varying sidegroup sizes

A polyfluorene derivative of the PPV, poly(9,9`-n-dihexyl-2,7-fluorenedilvinylene-alt-1,4-phenylenevinylene), with a strong tendency to aggregation was blended with several members of a series composed by poly(alkyl methacrylate)s with the following substituents in the ester position: methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, isobutyl, n-butyl, and cyclohexyl. The de-aggregation effect in blends was studied by steady-state photoluminescence spectroscopy using several blend compositions. The efficiency of each dispersing phase was discussed in terms of the polymer miscibility, controlled by interaction parameters between the polyfluorene and every poly(alkyl methacrylate)s, here described using Hilde-brand solubility parameters. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Low cost selective sensor for carbonyl compounds in air based on a novel conductive poly(p-xylylene) derivative

A novel poly(p-xylylene), PPX, derivative bearing phenyl side groups was electrochemically synthesized in 85% yield. The polymer, poly(2-phenyl-p-xylylene) (PPPX), presented a major fraction (88%) soluble in common organic solvents. It showed to be thermally resistant up to 140 degrees C. UV-VIS analysis revealed an Egap of similar to 3.0 eV. Gas sensors made from thin films of CSA doped PPPX deposited on interdigitated electrodes exhibited significant changes in electrical conductance upon exposure to five carbonyl compounds: acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde. benzaldehyde, acetone and butanone. Three-dimensional plots of relative response vs. time of half-response vs. time of half-recovery showed good discrimination between the five carbonyl Compounds tested. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Intrachain Energy Migration to Weak Charge-Transfer State in Polyfluorene End-Capped with Naphthalimide Derivative

Polyfluorene end-capped with N-(2-benzothiazole)-1 8-naphthalimide (PF-BNI) is a highly fluorescent material with fluorescence emission modulated by solvent polarity Its low energy excited state is assigned as a mixed configuration state between the singlet S(1) of the fluorene backbone (F) with the charge transfer (CI) of the end group BNI The triexponential fluorescence decays of PF-BNI were associated with fast energy migration to form an intrachain charge-transfer (ICCT) state polyfluorene backbone decay and ICCT deactivation Time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy exhibited biexponential relaxation with a fast component of 12-16 ps in addition to a slow one in the range 0 8-1 4 ns depending on the solvent showing that depolarization occurs from two different processes energy migration to form the ICCT state and slow rotational diffusion motion of end segments at a longer time Results from femtosecond transient absorption measurements agreed with anisotropy decay and showed a decay component of about 16 ps at 605 nm in PF BNI ascribed to the conversion of S(1) to the ICCT excited state From the ratio of asymptotic and initial amplitudes of the transient absorption measurement the efficiency of intrachain ICCT formation is estimated in 0 5 which means that on average, half of the excited state formed in a BNI-(F)(n)-BNI chain with n = 32 is converted to its low energy intrachain charge-transfer (ICCT) state

Characterising derivative-based loan arrangements

The income tax and GST laws contain an array of rules that apply to debt and gains in the nature of interest. The definitions of 'debt' or 'loan' and amounts in the nature of 'interest' vary across the provisions and tax officials, taxpayers and courts must decide whether the terms should be read as applying to debt, loans or interest in a narrow legal sense or should be read more broadly to catch multi-element arrangements that give effect to a debt or loan relationship in an economic or commercial sense but not in conventional single document form. This article reviews the UK, US and Australian approaches to interpreting multi-element transactions and considers whether four tax provisions dealing with debt should be interpreted to apply to multi-element, derivative-based loan arrangements.

Correct weight? analysing Australian football through a derivative global or cultural cringe model

The application of a 'global' model, in practice usually British or American, and generalised sociological concepts to a particular sport and its social and cultural context is not always appropriate. In Australian academia, the custom is particularly appealing, due to the Australian colonial 'cultural cringe', the pattern of automatic deference to overseas (termed 'international') knowledge. This article argues that 'Fresh Prince of Coloma! Dome: Indigenous Logic in the AFL' (Football Studies, 8(1), 2005) inappropriately applies American sociological, and American football, logic to the indigenous Australian game Australian football, which differs in character both as a game and in its social, cultural and political context. The three researchers do not take account of the factors of height and weight in Australian football, and the average size of Aboriginal players, and of the relationship between speed and strength in the game as strategies and tactics change. Both omissions constitute fundamental flaws. American football and sports sociology's ideas of 'central position theory', with a suggestion of underlying racism, is of limited relevance to Australian football. It is also possible that the American sitcom, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, was neither a helpful muse nor a suitable metaphor for research into this subj ect. In Australian football, a game in which few 'central positions' are crucial and in which 'leadership positions' can be found in many parts of the ground, including the half-back flank and the wing, neither size nor position are the only major determinants of significance in the team.

On the determinants of derivative usage by Australian companies

This paper provides an examination of the determinants of derivative use by Australian corporations. We analysed the characteristics of a sample of 469 firm/year observations drawn from the largest Australian publicly listed companies in 1999 and 2000 to address two issues: the decision to use financial derivatives and the extent to which they are used. Logit analysis suggests that a firm's leverage (distress proxy), size (financial distress and setup costs) and liquidity (financial constraints proxy) are important factors associated with the decision to use derivatives. These findings support the financial distress hypothesis while the evidence on the underinvestment hypothesis is mixed. Additionally, setup costs appear to be important, as larger firms are more likely to use derivatives. Tobit results, on the other hand, show that once the decision to use derivatives has been made, a firm uses more derivatives as its leverage increases and as it pays out more dividends (hedging substitute proxy). The overall results indicate that Australian companies use derivatives with a view to enhancing the firms' value rather than to maximizing managerial wealth. In particular, corporations' derivative policies are mostly concerned with reducing the expected cost of financial distress and managing cash flows. Our inability to identify managerial influences behind the derivative decision suggests a competitive Australian managerial labor market.

Derivative actions as a mechanism for the protection of minority shareholders in China: a result of convergence or divergence

The protection of minority shareholders has become one of the key features of company law reform in many countries in recent years. Various mechanisms have been created to achieve this objective. Australia has introduced the statutory derivative action procedure mainly based on models drawn from Canada and New Zealand; this provision was inserted into the Corporations Act in March 2000. China has also adopted a similar mechanism – known as the shareholder representative action; this scheme was based upon China’s understanding of statutory derivative actions in Western countries. China’s derivative action mechanism is reflected in amendments to the 2005 PRC Company Law and 2005 Securities Law that both were passed on 27 October 2005 and came into effective on 1 January 2006. The development of statutory derivative actions in different countries demonstrates the interaction between forces of convergence and divergence in company law reforms. This article reviews different mechanisms adopted in the Chinese law for the protection of minority shareholders. It especially focuses on an analysis of the nature of the shareholder representative action and the procedures for its utilisation in China – the equivalent to Western countries’ derivative actions. In comparison with statutory derivative actions in Australia, this article argues that the concept of the shareholder representative action in China rests upon a misunderstanding of Western derivative actions; this has involved a compromise between the dire need to protect shareholders and the ambiguities of a weak court system. As a consequence, China’s reforms in this area are largely a tentative gesture and are therefore unlikely to be very effective.

Does the type of derivative instrument used by companies impact firm value?

We explore the relationship between the type of derivative instrument used and firm value, in a sample of Australian firms. Specifically, we examine the impact of the corporate use of swaps, futures, forwards and options, and the extent of such usage, on firm value. Our findings suggest that a 'discount' is most severely imposed on users of swaps.

Aspergillus species, cyclic dimeric dipeptide derivative substance P antagonist biosynthetic products thereof, and process for preparation thereof

A novel Aspergillus species, cyclic dimeric dipeptide derivatives which are biosynthetic products thereof and are useful as Substance P antagonists and therefore as analgesic and/or antiinflammatory agents, and a process for preparation of the biosynthetic products are disclosed.

Derivative-free optimization and neural networks for robust regression

Large outliers break down linear and nonlinear regression models. Robust regression methods allow one to filter out the outliers when building a model. By replacing the traditional least squares criterion with the least trimmed squares (LTS) criterion, in which half of data is treated as potential outliers, one can fit accurate regression models to strongly contaminated data. High-breakdown methods have become very well established in linear regression, but have started being applied for non-linear regression only recently. In this work, we examine the problem of fitting artificial neural networks (ANNs) to contaminated data using LTS criterion. We introduce a penalized LTS criterion which prevents unnecessary removal of valid data. Training of ANNs leads to a challenging non-smooth global optimization problem. We compare the efficiency of several derivative-free optimization methods in solving it, and show that our approach identifies the outliers correctly when ANNs are used for nonlinear regression.

The sampling and remix dilemma: what is the role of moral rights in the encouragement and regulation of derivative creativity

The borrowing and rearrangement of musical content, especially in the digital context, raises difficult questions for copyright law. There is significant community support for a loosening of the restrictions on the derivative (and particularly creative) use of copyright material. Law reform is called for. This paper discusses the possible introduction of a new exception to copyright infringement but notes that in the drafting of any such exception not only the economic rights but also the moral rights of the originating author need to be taken into account.