A general and efficient method for the synthesis of bulky and structurally diverse P-stereogenic chiral secondary phosphine oxides (SPOs) by using readily available chiral amino alcohol templates is described. These chiral SPOs could be used as chiral building blocks for the synthesis of difficult-to-access bulky P-stereogenic phosphine compounds or ligands for organic catalysis.

Education is an essential component of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through a questionnaire survey among students from a Chinese senior high school, this study measured the self-reported knowledge, sources of information, learning situations, priorities, the impact of personal life and career planning with respect to the SDGs to understand their cognition, learning motivation and social readiness. The results show that students’ knowledge and information sources in relation to the SDGs are limited, and there is no significant difference between boys and girls in relation to their knowledge of the SDGs, the source of information, the learning level of the SDGs, impact of personal life on the SDGs and career planning related to the SDGs. It is also shown that students have a better understanding of the number of the SDGs and the countries to which the SDGs are addressed and students receive information about the SDGs via formal education and traditional media. Regarding the penetration of the SDGs in course subjects, Chinese and native culture, foreign language, biology and geography have included all the SDGs. Through an analysis of responses and popularity rates, gender equality, quality education, reduced inequalities, no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being are shown to be the students’ priorities with higher attention rates. Gender equality, quality education, clean water and sanitation are the top three goals in relation to which students consider that their personal life can have a greater impact. Students prefer to adopt the SDGs (decent work and economic growth, quality education, industry, innovation and infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities) as their personal career choice in the future. Suggestions for improving the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) include comprehensive formal and non-formal education, publicity and curriculum integration to promote learning about the SDGs. A model of ESD in the school surveyed is presented for practical application. Based on this research, guidance and suggestions are provided to enhance students’ awareness, knowledge and competencies in relation to sustainability and to encourage student engagement in global sustainable development.

A new strategy for the efficient synthesis of thieno[3,2-b]benzofuran derivatives (15 examples) was achieved on the basis of successive regioselective intermolecular Suzuki and newly developed intramolecular Ullmann C-O reactions in up to a 70% overall yield. The fast intramolecular C-O reaction can be realized by an efficient catalytic combination of CuI/1,10-phenanthroline in up to a 97% yield. This method is suitable for the construction of highly fused thieno[3,2-b]furan-containing heterocycles including DTBDF and TTDBF. The π-π and hydrogen-bonding interactions observed for the C-DTBDF single crystal suggest its great potential for OFET applications in the near future.

The relationship between the cell wall ultrastructure of waterlogged wooden archeological artifacts and the state of water bound to cell walls and free in voids is fundamental to develop consolidating and drying technologies. Herein, a lacquer-wooden ware and a boat-coffin dating 4th century BC were selected as representative artifacts to study. Wood anatomy results indicated that they belonged to Idesia sp. and Machilus sp., respectively. They exhibited a typical spongy texture, as revealed by SEM observations, and their water contents had increased significantly. Solid state NMR, Py-GC/MS, imaging FTIR microscopy and 2D-XRD results demonstrated that the deterioration resulted from the partial cleavages of both polysaccharide backbones and cellulose hydrogen-bonding networks, almost complete elimination of acetyl side chains of hemicellulose, the partial depletion of β-O-4 interlinks, as well as oxidation and demethylation/demethoxylation of lignin. These further caused the disoriented arrangement of crystalline cellulose, and the decrease in cellulose crystallite dimensions and crystallinity. In consequence, mesopores and macropores formed, and the number of moisture-adsorbed sites and their accessibility increased. Moreover, results on free water deduced by the changes of pore structure and the maximum monolayer water capacity achieved by the GAB model indicated that water in waterlogged archeological wooden artifacts was mainly free water in mesopores.

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This review summarizes recent developments and synthetic applications of nonprecious metal catalysis (NPMC) published between July and October 2020. It is the next installment of the review series on this topic briefing recent advancements in the synthetic utility of Ni, Cu, and Fe catalysis. The continued increase in the number of publications in this area attests to the wide interest among academic and industrial research laboratories in advancing the catalytic applications of these earth-abundant metals.

A small thrombus within the filter can be safely removed without additional management. CDT for reduction of the clot burden in filters was effective and safe. Filter retrieval with manual negative pressure aspiration thrombectomy seemed reasonable and valuable for management of massive thrombus within filters in some patients. Full assessment of the value and safety of this technique requires additional studies.

Sterically hindered chiral ketones are useful intermediates in the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Here, we report a scalable and highly enantioselective synthesis through a kinetic resolution process promoted by a wild-type ketoreductase (KRED) enzyme. The process was investigated thoroughly, including DoE optimizations and a kinetic study. Scale-up demonstrations on up to 0.8 kg revealed an enzyme aggregation/deactivation challenge, and solutions were provided to obtain the desired enantiomer in high yields and enantiomeric excesses with relatively low enzyme loadings (2−4 wt %).