A Ni-catalyzed reductive approach to the cross-coupling of two unactivated alkyl halides has been successfully developed. The reaction works efficiently for primary and secondary halides, with at least one being bromide. The mild reaction conditions allow for excellent functional group tolerance and provide the C(sp(3))-C(sp(3)) coupling products in moderate to excellent yields.

Cobaltacycle synthesis via C-H activation has been achieved for the first time, providing key mechanistic insight into cobalt catalytic chemistry. N-Chloroamides are used as a directing synthon for cobalt-catalyzed room-temperature C-H activation and construction of heterocycles. Alkynes as coupling partners allow convenient access to isoquinolones, a class of synthetically and pharmaceutically important compounds. The broad substrate scope enables a diverse range of substitution patterns to be incorporated into the heterocyclic scaffold.

We present seismic and auditory frequency tuning curves of individual bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, saccular and amphibian papilla axons that responded to both seismic and auditory stimuli. In this study we found: 1) most saccular axons respond well to auditory stimuli with moderate signal strength (50-70 dB SPL) as well as to seismic stimuli; 2) most amphibian papilla axons respond well to seismic stimuli as well as to auditory stimuli, and their seismic sensitivities are comparable to those of saccular axons (responding to sinusoidal stimuli with peak accelerations in the range 0.001 to 0.1 cm/S2); 3) the responses to both seismic and auditory stimuli from both saccule and amphibian papilla are tuned, i.e. the strength of the response varies with the frequency of the stimulus; and this tuning is clearly not the result of second order resonance; 4) in individual axons the tuning properties for seismic stimuli often are not the same as those for auditory stimuli, a fact that may provide clues about how the stimulus signal energy is transferred to the hair cells in each case.

The catalytic isomerization of C−C double bonds is an indispensable chemical transformation used to deliver higher-value analogues and has important utility in the chemical industry. Notwithstanding the advances reported in this field, there is compelling demand for a general catalytic solution that enables precise control of the CC bond migration position, in both cyclic and acyclic systems, to furnish disubstituted and trisubstituted alkenes. Here, we show that catalytic amounts of an appropriate earthabundant iron-based complex, a base and a boryl compound, promote efficient and controllable alkene transposition. Mechanistic investigations reveal that these processes likely involve in situ formation of an iron-hydride species which promotes olefin isomerization through sequential olefin insertion/β-hydride elimination. Through this strategy, regiodivergent access to different products from one substrate can be facilitated, isomeric olefin mixtures commonly found in petroleum-derived feedstock can be transformed to a single alkene product, and unsaturated moieties embedded within linear and heterocyclic biologically active entities can be obtained.