'Completely surprised to see him do a character like that so beautiful...

Nagaland tests more suspected samples

When writing CSS for markup with weird class or id attribute values, you need to consider some rules. For example, you can’t just use ## { color: #f00; } to target the element with id="#". Instead, you’ll have to escape the weird characters (in this case, the second #). Doing so will cancel the meaning of special CSS characters and allows you to refer to characters you cannot easily type out, like crazy Unicode symbols.

Having recently written about character references in HTML, I figured it would be interesting to look into JavaScript character escapes as well.

Does JavaScript use UCS-2 or UTF-16 encoding? Since I couldn’t find a definitive answer to this question anywhere, I decided to look into it. The answer depends on what you’re referring to: the JavaScript engine, or JavaScript at the language level.

As many as 15 fresh positive COVID-19 cases were detected in the city which has turned into one of the hotspots. On Saturday, Krishna district reporte

Cyanobacteria survive in one of the harshest environments on Earth by mining water from the rocks they live on

Corporation used lockdown period to clear accumulated garbage in various places

Visakhapatnam gas leak: LG Polymers apologises, offers ‘every support’ to affected

Should a 1979 law on migrant workers be retained or must it be subsumed under a proposed labour code?

Petrol sales were down 60.43 per cent to 9,73,000 tonnes in April

Porous, high-surface-area electrode architectures are described that allow structural characterization of interfacial amorphous thin films with high spatial resolution under device-relevant functional electrochemical conditions using high-energy X-ray (>50 keV) scattering and pair distribution function (PDF) analysis. Porous electrodes were fabricated from glass-capillary array membranes coated with conformal transparent conductive oxide layers, consisting of either a 40 nm–50 nm crystalline indium tin oxide or a 100 nm–150 nm-thick amorphous indium zinc oxide deposited by atomic layer deposition. These porous electrodes solve the problem of insufficient interaction volumes for catalyst thin films in two-dimensional working electrode designs and provide sufficiently low scattering backgrounds to enable high-resolution signal collection from interfacial thin-film catalysts. For example, PDF measurements were readily obtained with 0.2 Å spatial resolution for amorphous cobalt oxide films with thicknesses down to 60 nm when deposited on a porous electrode with 40 µm-diameter pores. This level of resolution resolves the cobaltate domain size and structure, the presence of defect sites assigned to the domain edges, and the changes in fine structure upon redox state change that are relevant to quantitative structure–function modeling. The results suggest the opportunity to leverage the porous, electrode architectures for PDF analysis of nanometre-scale surface-supported molecular catalysts. In addition, a compact 3D-printed electrochemical cell in a three-electrode configuration is described which is designed to allow for simultaneous X-ray transmission and electrolyte flow through the porous working electrode.

The performance of the recently commissioned spectrometer PEAXIS for resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering (RIXS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and its hosting beamline U41-PEAXIS at the BESSY II synchrotron are characterized. The beamline provides linearly polarized light from 180 eV to 1600 eV allowing for RIXS measurements in the range 200–1200 eV. The monochromator optics can be operated in different configurations to provide either high flux with up to 1012 photons s−1 within the focal spot at the sample or high energy resolution with a full width at half maximum of <40 meV at an incident photon energy of ∼400 eV. The measured total energy resolution of the RIXS spectrometer is in very good agreement with theoretically predicted values obtained by ray-tracing simulations. PEAXIS features a 5 m-long RIXS spectrometer arm that can be continuously rotated about the sample position by 106° within the horizontal photon scattering plane, thus enabling the study of momentum-transfer-dependent excitations. Selected scientific examples are presented to demonstrate the instrument capabilities, including measurements of excitations in single-crystalline NiO and in liquid acetone employing a fluid cell sample manipulator. Planned upgrades of the beamline and the RIXS spectrometer to further increase the energy resolution to ∼100 meV at 1000 eV incident photon energy are discussed.

Following the recent demonstration of grazing-incidence X-ray fluorescence (GIXRF)-based characterization of the 3D atomic distribution of different elements and dimensional parameters of periodic nanoscale structures, this work presents a new computational scheme for the simulation of the angular-dependent fluorescence intensities from such periodic 2D and 3D nanoscale structures. The computational scheme is based on the dynamical diffraction theory in many-beam approximation, which allows a semi-analytical solution to the Sherman equation to be derived in a linear-algebraic form. The computational scheme has been used to analyze recently published GIXRF data measured on 2D Si3N4 lamellar gratings, as well as on periodically structured 3D Cr nanopillars. Both the dimensional and structural parameters of these nanostructures have been reconstructed by fitting numerical simulations to the experimental GIXRF data. Obtained results show good agreement with nominal parameters used in the manufacturing of the structures, as well as with reconstructed parameters based on the previously published finite-element-method simulations, in the case of the Si3N4 grating.

This feature article reviews the control and understanding of nanoparticle shape from their crystallography and growth. Particular emphasis is placed on systems relevant for plasmonics and catalysis.

Largest tremor yet detected at Lancashire fracking site  ITV News

Gluconate 5-dehydrogenase (Ga5DH; EC 1.1.1.69) from Lentibacter algarum (LaGa5DH) was recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. The protein was crystallized and the crystal structure was solved at 2.1 Å resolution. The crystal belonged to the monoclinic system, with space group P1 and unit-cell parameters a = 55.42, b = 55.48, c = 79.16 Å, α = 100.51, β = 105.66, γ = 97.99°. The structure revealed LaGaDH to be a tetramer, with each subunit consisting of six α-helices and three antiparallel β-hairpins. LaGa5DH has high structural similarity to other Ga5DH proteins, demonstrating that this enzyme is highly conserved.

The bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS) secretes many toxic effectors to gain advantage in interbacterial competition and for eukaryotic host infection. The cognate immunity proteins of these effectors protect bacteria from their own effectors. PldB is a T6SS trans-kingdom effector in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that can infect both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Three proteins, PA5086, PA5087 and PA5088, are employed to suppress the toxicity of PldB-family proteins. The structures of PA5087 and PA5088 have previously been reported, but the identification of further distinctions between these immunity proteins is needed. Here, the crystal structure of PA5086 is reported at 1.90 Å resolution. A structural comparison of the three PldB immunity proteins showed vast divergences in their electrostatic potential surfaces. This interesting phenomenon provides an explanation of the stockpiling mechanism of T6SS immunity proteins.

Typical electroless copper baths (ECBs), which are used to chemically deposit copper on printed circuit boards, consist of an aqueous alkali hydroxide solution, a copper(II) salt, formaldehyde as reducing agent, an l-(+)-tartrate as complexing agent, and a 2,2'-bi­pyridine derivative as stabilizer. Actual speciation and reactivity are, however, largely unknown. Herein, we report on the synthesis and crystal structure of aqua-1κO-bis­(4,4'-dimeth­oxy-2,2'-bi­pyri­dine)-1κ2N,N';2κ2N,N'-[μ-(2R,3R)-2,3-dioxidosuccinato-1κ2O1,O2:2κ2O3,O4]dicopper(II) octa­hydrate, [Cu2(C12H12N2O2)2(C4H2O6)(H2O)]·8H2O, from an ECB mock-up. The title compound crystallizes in the Sohncke group P21 with one chiral dinuclear complex and eight mol­ecules of hydrate water in the asymmetric unit. The expected retention of the tartrato ligand's absolute configuration was confirmed via determination of the absolute structure. The complex mol­ecules exhibit an ansa-like structure with two planar, nearly parallel bi­pyridine ligands, each bound to a copper atom that is connected to the other by a bridging tartrato `handle'. The complex and water mol­ecules give rise to a layered supra­molecular structure dominated by alternating π stacks and hydrogen bonds. The understanding of structures ex situ is a first step on the way to prolonged stability and improved coating behavior of ECBs.

The reaction of 2,5-bis­(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxa­diazole (4-pox) and thio­cyanate ions, used as co-ligand with nickel salt NiCl2·6H2O, produced the title complex, [Ni(NCS)2(C12H8N4O)2(H2O)2]. The NiII atom is located on an inversion centre and is octa­hedrally coordinated by four N atoms from two ligands and two pseudohalide ions, forming the equatorial plane. The axial positions are occupied by two O atoms of coordinated water mol­ecules. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked into a three-dimensional network through strong O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds. Hirshfeld surface analysis was used to investigate the inter­molecular inter­actions in the crystal packing.

The title hydrated salt, tris­[hexa­amminecobalt(III)] tetraoxidorhenate(VII) tetra­kis­[hexa­fluorido­rhenate(IV)] hexa­hydrate, arose unexpectedly due to possible contamination of the K2ReF6 starting material with KReO4. It consists of octa­hedral [Co(NH3)6]3+ cation (Co1 site symmetry 1), tetra­hedral [ReVIIO4]− anions (Re site symmetry 1) and octa­hedral [ReIVF6]2− anions (Re site symmetries 1and overline{3}). The [ReF6]2− octa­hedral anions (mean Re—F = 1.834 Å), [Co(NH3)6]3+ octa­hedral cations (mean Co—N = 1.962 Å), and the [ReO4]− tetra­hedral anion (mean Re—O = 1.719 Å) are slightly distorted. A network of N—H⋯F hydrogen bonds consolidates the structure. The crystal studied was refined as a two-component twin.

The synthesis, crystal structure and structural motif of two thio­phene-based cyano­acrylate derivatives, namely, ethyl (E)-2-cyano-3-(3-methyl­thio­phen-2-yl)acrylate (1), C11H11NO2S, and ethyl (E)-2-cyano-3-(thio­phen-2-yl)acrylate (2), C10H9NO2S, are reported. Derivative 1 crystallized with two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit, and derivative 2 represents a new monoclinic (C2/m) polymorph. The mol­ecular conformations of 1 and the two polymorphs of 2 are very similar, as all non-H atoms are planar except for the methyl of the ethyl groups. The inter­molecular inter­actions and crystal packing of 1 and 2 are described and compared with that of the reported monoclinic (C2/m) polymorph of derivative 2 [Castro Agudelo et al. (2017). Acta Cryst. E73, 1287–1289].

The title mol­ecular salt, (C7H11N2)2[Hg2Cl6], crystallizes with two 4-(di­methyl­amino)­pyridinium cations (A and B) and two half hexa­chlorido­dimercurate(II) anions in the asymmetric unit. The organic cations exhibit essentially the same features with an almost planar pyridyl ring (r.m.s. deviations of 0.0028 and 0.0109 Å), which forms an inclined dihedral angle with the dimethyamino group [3.06 (1) and 1.61 (1)°, respectively]. The di­methyl­amino groups in the two cations are planar, and the C—N bond lengths are shorter than that in 4-(di­methyl­amino)­pyridine. In the crystal, mixed cation–anion layers lying parallel to the (010) plane are formed through N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds and adjacent layers are linked by C—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional network. The analyses of the calculated Hirshfeld surfaces confirm the relevance of the above inter­molecular inter­actions, but also serve to further differentiate the weaker inter­molecular inter­actions formed by the organic cations and inorganic anions, such as π–π and Cl⋯Cl inter­actions. The powder XRD data confirms the phase purity of the crystalline sample. Furthermore, the vibrational absorption bands were identified by IR spectroscopy and the optical properties were studied by using optical UV–visible absorption spectroscopy.

The reactions of N-heterocyclic carbene CuI and AgI halides with potassium thio- or seleno­cyanate gave unexpected products. The attempted substitution reaction of bromido­(1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-di­phenyl­imidazol-2-yl­idene)silver (NHC*—Ag—Br) with KSCN yielded bis­[bis­(1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-di­phenyl­imidazol-2-yl­idene)silver(I)] tris­(thio­cyanato)­argentate(I) diethyl ether disolvate, [Ag(C29H24N2)2][Ag(NCS)3]·2C4H10O or [NHC*2Ag]2[Ag(SCN)3]·2Et2O, (1), while reaction with KSeCN led to bis­(μ-1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-diphenyl-2-seleno­imidazole-κ2Se:Se)bis­[bromido­(1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-diphenyl-2-seleno­imid­azole-κSe)silver(I)] di­chloro­methane hexa­solvate, [Ag2Br2(C29H24N2Se)4]·6CH2Cl2 or (NHC*Se)4Ag2Br2·6CH2Cl2, (2), via oxidation of the NHC* fragment to 2-seleno­imidazole. This oxidation was observed again in the reaction of NHC*—Cu—Br with KSeCN, yielding catena-poly[[[(1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-diphenyl-2-seleno­imidazole-κSe)copper(I)]-μ-cyanido-κ2C:N] aceto­nitrile monosolvate], {[Cu(CN)(C29H24N2Se)]·C2H3N}n or NHC*Se—CuCN·CH3CN, (3). Compound (1) represents an organic/inorganic salt with AgI in a linear coordination in each of the two cations and in a trigonal coordination in the anion, accompanied by diethyl ether solvent mol­ecules. The tri-blade boomerang-shaped complex anion [Ag(SCN)3]2− present in (1) is characterized by X-ray diffraction for the first time. Compound (2) comprises an isolated centrosymmetric mol­ecule with AgI in a distorted tetra­hedral BrSe3 coordination, together with di­chloro­methane solvent mol­ecules. Compound (3) exhibits a linear polymeric 1∞[Cu—C≡N—Cu—] chain structure with a seleno­imidazole moiety additionally coordinating to each CuI atom, and completed by aceto­nitrile solvent mol­ecules. Electron densities associated with an additional ether solvent mol­ecule in (1) and two additional di­chloro­methane solvent mol­ecules in (2) were removed with the SQUEEZE procedure [Spek (2015). Acta Cryst. C71, 9–18] in PLATON.

The asymmetric unit of the title com­pound, catena-poly[[[(perchlorato-κO)copper(II)]-μ-3-(3-carb­oxy­prop­yl)-1,5,8,12-tetra­aza-3-azonia­cyclo­tetra­decane-κ4N1,N5,N8,N12] bis­(per­chlorate)], {[Cu(C13H30N5O2)(ClO4)](ClO4)2}n, (I), consists of a macrocyclic cation, one coordinated per­chlorate anion and two per­chlorate ions as counter-anions. The metal ion is coordinated in a tetra­gonally distorted octa­hedral geometry by the four secondary N atoms of the macrocyclic ligand, the mutually trans O atoms of the per­chlorate anion and the carbonyl O atom of the protonated carb­oxy­lic acid group of a neighbouring cation. The average equatorial Cu—N bond lengths [2.01 (6) Å] are significantly shorter than the axial Cu—O bond lengths [2.379 (8) Å for carboxyl­ate and average 2.62 (7) Å for disordered per­chlorate]. The coordinated macrocyclic ligand in (I) adopts the most energetically favourable trans-III conformation with an equatorial orientation of the substituent at the protonated distal 3-position N atom in a six-membered chelate ring. The coordination of the carb­oxy­lic acid group of the cation to a neighbouring com­plex unit results in the formation of infinite chains running along the b-axis direction, which are cross­linked by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the secondary amine groups of the macrocycle and O atoms of the per­chlorate counter-anions to form sheets lying parallel to the (001) plane. Additionally, the extended structure of (I) is consolidated by numerous intra- and interchain C—H⋯O contacts.

The title compound, [Fe(C44H24N8Cl4)(CN)2][K2(C18H36N2O6)2]·2C4H8O was synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction as well as FTIR and UV–vis spectroscopy. The central FeII ion is coordinated by four pyrrole N atoms of the porphyrin core and two C atoms of the cyano groups in a slightly distorted octa­hedral coordination environment. The complex mol­ecule crystallizes with two tetra­hydro­furan solvent mol­ecules, one of which was refined as disordered over two sets of sites with refined occupancies of 0.619 (5) and 0.381 (5). It has a distorted porphyrin core with mean absolute core-atom displacements Ca, Cb, Cm and Cav of 0.32 (3), 0.22 (3), 0.56 (2) and 0.37 (14) Å, respectively. The axial Fe—Ccyano bond lengths are 1.991 (2) and 1.988 (2) Å. The average Fe—Np (Np is a porphyrin N atom) bond length is 1.964 (10) Å. One of the O atoms and several C atoms of the 222 moiety [222 = 4,7,13,16,21,24-hexa­oxa-1,10-di­aza­bicyclo­[8.8.8]hexa­cosa­ne] were refined as disordered over two sets of sites with occupancy ratios of 0.739 (6):0.261 (6) and 0.832 (4):0.168 (4). Additional solvent mol­ecules were found to be highly disordered and their contribution to the scattering was removed using the SQUEEZE procedure in PLATON [Spek (2015). Acta Cryst. C71, 9–18], which indicated a solvent cavity of volume 372 Å3 containing approximately 83 electrons. These solvent mol­ecules are not considered in the given chemical formula and other crystal data.

The reaction of N-phenyl-1-(pyridin-2-yl)methanimine with copper chloride dihydrate produced the title neutral complex, [CuCl2(C12H10N2)(H2O)]·H2O. The CuII ion is five-coordinated in a distorted square-pyramidal geometry, in which the two N atoms of the bidentate Schiff base, as well as one chloro and a water mol­ecule, form the irregular base of the pyramidal structure. Meanwhile, the apical chloride ligand inter­acts through a strong hydrogen bond with a water mol­ecule of crystallization. In the crystal, mol­ecules are arranged in pairs, forming a stacking of symmetrical cyclic dimers that inter­act in turn through strong hydrogen bonds between the chloride ligands and both the coordinated and the crystallization water mol­ecules. The mol­ecular and electronic structures of the complex were also studied in detail using EPR (continuous and pulsed), FT–IR and Raman spectroscopy, as well as magnetization measurements. Likewise, Hirshfeld surface analysis was used to investigate the inter­molecular inter­actions in the crystal packing.

The title compound, C7H3F5INS, a penta­fluoro­sulfanyl (SF5) containing arene, was synthesized from 4-(penta­fluoro­sulfan­yl)benzo­nitrile and lithium tetra­methyl­piperidide following a variation to the standard approach, which features simple and mild conditions that allow direct access to tri-substituted SF5 inter­mediates that have not been demonstrated using previous methods. The mol­ecule displays a planar geometry with the benzene ring in the same plane as its three substituents. It lies on a mirror plane perpendicular to [010] with the iodo, cyano, and the sulfur and axial fluorine atoms of the penta­fluoro­sulfanyl substituent in the plane of the mol­ecule. The equatorial F atoms have symmetry-related counterparts generated by the mirror plane. The penta­fluoro­sulfanyl group exhibits a staggered fashion relative to the ring and the two hydrogen atoms ortho to the substituent. S—F bond lengths of the penta­fluoro­sulfanyl group are unequal: the equatorial bond facing the iodo moiety has a longer distance [1.572 (3) Å] and wider angle compared to that facing the side of the mol­ecules with two hydrogen atoms [1.561 (4) Å]. As expected, the axial S—F bond is the longest [1.582 (5) Å]. In the crystal, in-plane C—H⋯F and N⋯I inter­actions as well as out-of-plane F⋯C inter­actions are observed. According to the Hirshfeld analysis, the principal inter­molecular contacts for the title compound are F⋯H (29.4%), F⋯I (15.8%), F⋯N (11.4%), F⋯F (6.0%), N⋯I (5.6%) and F⋯C (4.5%).

In the title compound, [Cu(C16H8Br3N2O)2]·C2H6OS, the CuII atom is tetra­coordinated in a square-planar coordination, being surrounded by two N atoms and two O atoms from two N,O-bidentate (E)-1-[(2,4,6-tri­bromo­phen­yl)diazen­yl]naphthalen-2-olate ligands. The two N atoms and two O atoms around the metal center are trans to each other, with an O—Cu—O bond angle of 177.90 (16)° and a N—Cu—N bond angle of 177.8 (2)°. The average distances between the CuII atom and the coordinated O and N atoms are 1.892 (4) and 1.976 (4) Å, respectively. In the crystal, complexes are linked by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and by π–π inter­actions involving adjacent naphthalene ring systems [centroid–centroid distance = 3.679 (4) Å]. The disordered DMSO mol­ecules inter­act weakly with the complex mol­ecules, being positioned in the voids left by the packing arrangement of the square-planar complexes. The DMSO solvent mol­ecule is disordered over two positions with occupancies of 0.70 and 0.30.

The title crystal structure is assembled from the superposition of two mol­ecular structures, (E)-1-(5-chloro­thio­phen-2-yl)-3-(3-methyl­thio­phen-2-yl)prop-2-en-1-one, C12H9ClOS2 (93%), and (Z)-1-(5-chloro­thio­phen-2-yl)-3-(3-methyl­thio­phen-2-yl)prop-1-en-1-ol, C12H11ClOS2 (7%), 0.93C12H9ClOS2·0.07C12H11ClOS2. Both were obtained from the reaction of 3-methyl­thio­phene-2-carbaldehyde and 1-(5-chloro­thio­phen-2-yl)ethanone. In the extended structure of the major chalcone component, mol­ecules are linked by a combination of C—H⋯O/S, Cl⋯Cl, Cl⋯π and π–π inter­actions, leading to a compact three-dimensional supra­molecular assembly.