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Transition metal-catalyzed hydroalkenylation is widely applied in organic synthesis to construct carbon–carbon bonds and synthesize substituted alkenes. In this work, the mechanism and regioselectivities of [(NHC)NiH]+-catalyzed intramolecular cycloisomerization of dienes are studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Through an initial hydride insertion, [(NHC)NiH]+ reacts with the diene substrate to generate the alkyl nickel species. This alkyl nickel species is the resting state of the catalytic cycle, and the hydroalkenylation reaction involves sequential olefin insertion and β-hydride transfer. The selectivity between the possible cycloisomerization products is determined by both the olefin insertion and β-hydride transfer steps. The olefin insertion favors the exo-cyclization due to the high ring strain of the insertion transition states for the endo-cyclization. In the β-hydride transfer step, the hydride transfers to the internal olefin position selectively to avoid the steric repulsions between the bulky NHC ligand and the alkyl substituent of the olefin substrate. This selectivity of β-hydride transfer leads to the n-exo cyclization instead of the (n − 1)-exo cyclization. These mechanistic insights will shed light on the future development of transition metal-catalyzed hydroalkenylation reactions.

The effect of periodic temperature oscillations has been studied for the hydrogenation of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol over a Pd-based catalyst in a micro-trickle bed reactor. This hydrogenation was investigated using a radiofrequency heated reactor under transient conditions using temperature cycling. The dynamic operation using this configuration was found to increase both conversion and selectivity towards 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol compared to the steady-state operation with an improvement of up to 24% for the selectivity being observed. The developments made here also result in a lower activation energy in comparison to previous data, providing a starting point for radiofrequency heating to enhance reaction rate through the exploitation of thermal cycling at production scale.

A cross-hydroalkenylation/rearrangement cascade (HARC), using a cyclopropene and alkyne as substrate pairs, was achieved for the first time by using new [(NHC)Ni(allyl)]BAr

This paper examines the motives and effects behind the horizontal merger between China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines in 2009. We develop testable hypotheses, incorporating into a unified framework the two merging airlines, their domestic and international competitors, and relevant airports along the supply chain. We employ an event study methodology and show that domestic competitors gain whereas international competitors lose. Our results suggest that the sources of gain for the merging firms are market power in domestic markets and efficiency improvement in international markets. Further, as a hub for the merged airline, Shanghai Airport experienced positive abnormal returns. Our results do not support the hypothesis that the merged airline gains countervailing power towards airports. Our event study findings are robust to alternative estimation periods and samples, and are consistent with analyst forecasts and long-run operating performances.

This paper proposes a decomposition of sources of gain of airline mergers. Economic analysis of horizontal mergers often attributes the gains of the merger to market power and productive efficiency effects. We adopt a Williamson framework to propose a decomposition analysis quantifying the relative importance of these two effects for airline mergers. First, we use an event study to compute the market power and productive efficiency wealth effects in airline mergers. Second, we use the airline's operating statistics to compute the proportion of profit gain due to market power and productive efficiency. We then apply those proportions to decompose the sources of wealth effects from the event study. In a case study, we apply this methodology to analyze the horizontal merger between China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines in 2009. Our results find that improved productive efficiency contributed about four-fifths to the merged airline's increased wealth, while increased market power contributed about one-fifth.

Online banking has become an important distribution channel for commercial banks. We construct a bank-specific indicator of online channel adoption to study the risk and return of online channel based on a sample of 118 Chinese banks over the period of 2002–2016. Our empirical results find that online channel improves profit efficiency (i.e. a positive return) of the adopting banks. Even though cost efficiency deteriorates, such improvement attributes to the rise in non-interest income efficiency. In reference to risk management, online channel weakens loan quality of the adopting banks, which also raises their solvency risk accordingly. Overall, our results suggest that online channel increases the return of adoption banks albeit at a higher risk. Such risk-return effects are heterogeneous depending on the management skill, labor intensity and size of adopting banks. However, there is no significant return relates to the costly content enrichment of online channel. Finally, our results are robust to alternative specifications, alternative measures of bank efficiency and risk, alternative sample selection and estimation methods, and omitted variable biases.

Aim The present study aims to investigate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of HLS-3, a tacrine dimer with high anti-acetylcholinesterase activity for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Main methods In vitro Calu-3 and Caco-2 cell monolayer transport and liver microsomal incubation studies of HLS-3 were carried out to evaluate its nasal epithelium and intestinal membrane permeability, transporters involved in absorption and hepatic metabolism. In vivo pharmacokinetics of HLS-3 followed by central and peripheral cholinergic mediated responses and ex vivo AChE activities in rats via oral and intranasal administrations were further investigated and compared. Key findings Our in vitro studies suggested that HLS-3 is the substrate of both P-gp and MRPs with no significant hepatic oxidation and glucuronidation metabolism. Oral administration only delivered trace amount of HLS-3 in systemic circulation with a high faecal recovery of 70.7%, whereas intranasal administration demonstrated an absolute bioavailability of 28.9% with urinary and faecal recoveries of 1.5% and 34.0%, respectively. In comparison to oral administration of HLS-3, intranasally delivered HLS-3 exhibited significant higher central cholinergic mediated responses without obvious peripheral side effect. Significance Intranasal delivery of HLS-3 with better pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics performances provides a promising approach for treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

The [LNiH]+-catalyzed hydroalkenylation between styrene and α-olefins gives distinctive chemo- and regioselectivities with N-heterocyclic carbene (L = NHC) ligands: (a) the reaction with NHC ligands produces the branched tail-to-tail products, whereas the reaction with phosphine ligands (L = PR3) favors the tail-to-head regio-isomers; (b) the reaction stops at heterodimerization with no further oligomerization even with excess α-olefin substrates; (c) typical side reactions with α-olefins, such as isomerization to internal olefins or polymerization, are either significantly diminished or eliminated. To understand the operating mechanism and origins of selectivities, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed, and several additional experiments were conducted. The olefin insertion step is found to determine both the regioselectivity and chemoselectivity, leading to the tail-to-tail heterohydroalkenylation product. With a small NHC ligand (1,3-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene), the intrinsic elec...

This article develops and estimates a dynamic model of consumer demand for deposits in which banks provide differentiated products and product characteristics that evolve over time. The switching cost is 0.8% of the deposit's value, which leads the static model to bias the demand estimates. The dynamic model shows that the price elasticity over a long time horizon is larger than the same elasticity over a short time horizon. Counterfactual experiments with a dynamic monopoly show that reducing the switching cost has a comparable competitive effect on bank pricing as a result of reducing the dominant position of the monopoly

This paper describes a catalytic and selective synthesis of substituted 1,3-cyclohexadiene fused with xH-pyran and furan. By using terminal enynes as substrates, NHC–Ni(0) as catalyst, and an ether as spacer between the two unsaturated hydrocarbon termini, the system competed with the terminal alkyne cyclotrimerization and yielded the desired [2+2+2] cycloaddition.

This paper employs the real option approach (ROA) to study the investment decision of a management accounting innovation—the case of activity-based costing (ABC)—adoption or discontinuation under uncertainty. We argue that investing in ABC is analogous to having the option rights in a financial (American) call option. We propose a model taking the firm’s total annual production as primary decision variable and using the added annual net profits after establishing ABC to identify the optimal threshold for adoption or discontinuation. We find that the optimal adoption (resp., discontinuation) threshold is higher (resp., lower) when obtained by the ROA than by the net present value (NPV) method; thus, the ROA is more conservative than the NPV approach. Their difference stems mainly from the ROA’s option value of delay before implementing the adoption/discontinuation decision. Further, recent empirical researches based on survey found inconclusive results about the adoption of ABC. For instance, there are studies found that manufacturing sector having a higher adoption rate of ABC than non-manufacturing sector, but the other studies find the opposite. Our theoretical model explains the inconclusive results from the empirical researches can be driven by the variations in mean and volatility of sectoral output growth, which are omitted in those studies.

In this study, an ion-irradiated single crystal 3C-SiC under fluences of up to 20 dpa at 400–1350 °C was examined using synchrotron based X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Interstitial clusters, dislocation loops, Frank loops, stacking fault loops, and voids in 3C-SiC were investigated. The high resolution TEM results show that clusters collapsed to {1 1 1} small loops when their size reached few nm with increasing temperature, and gradually develop into Frank loops with an added atomic layer along {1 1 1} at 1000 °C. Interplanar spacing information of single crystal SiC was obtained from synchrotron XRD radial scan measurements. Irradiation-induced volume swelling at 400–1350 °C was measured, and the anisotropic (a = b

This study extends the empirical model of incomplete risk sharing developed by Crucini (1999) by allowing unequal income pooling and explores the implications of using an alternative measure for aggregate risk. Based on samples from Canadian provinces, G-7, and OECD countries spanning the years 1961–2008, we show that the empirical procedure used by Crucini tends to overstate the average degree of risk sharing and understate the dispersion of risk sharing, when compared to our unequal income pooling model. The empirical results from our unequal pooling model show that (i) the degree and dispersion of risk sharing across Canadian provinces, G-7 countries, and OECD countries remain stable over time; (ii) the degree of risk sharing across Canadian provinces is higher than that across the G-7 and OECD countries; and (iii) the degree of risk sharing seems positively related to equity and trade diversification.

Tacrine (THA), as the first approved acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), has been extensively investigated in last seven decades. After dimerization of THA via a 7-carbon alkyl spacer, bis(7)-tacrine (B7T) showed much potent anti-AChE activity than THA. We here report synthesis, biological evaluation and biopharmaceutical characterization of six THA dimers referable to B7T. According to IC50 values, the in vitro anti-AChE activities of THA dimers were up to 300-fold more potent and 200-fold more selective than that of THA. In addition, the anti-AChE activities of THA dimers were found to be associated with the type and length of the linkage. All studied THA dimers showed much lower cytotoxicity than B7T, but like B7T, they demonstrated much lower absorptive permeabilities than that of THA on Caco-2 monolayer model. In addition, all THA dimers demonstrated significant efflux transport (efflux ratio >4), indicating that the limited permeability could be associated with the efflux transport during absorption process. Moreover, the dimer with higher Log P value was accompanied with higher permeability but lower aqueous solubility. A balanced consideration of activity, solubility, cytotoxicity and permeability should be conducted in selection of the potential candidates for further in vivo investigation.

An experimental technique was established to characterize irradiation-induced volume swelling through a combined utilization of synchrotron radiation-based X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). 3C–SiC specimens were irradiated by Si2+ ions (5 MeV) with fluences up to 5 × 1017 ion/cm2 at 1000 °C. In order to avoid the accumulation of implanted Si ions in the SiC layer, specific thicknesses of the epitaxy layer and implanted ion energy were chosen. Unresolvable black spot defects were studied by TEM, and the average size and density were calculated. XRD radial scan results of surface (0 0 2), (1 1 1), (0 2 2), (1 1 3), and (2 0 0) including peak shift and asymmetry peak broadening were observed. Different interplanar spacing information of single crystal SiC can be obtained from this XRD measurement method, making it possible to investigate the lattice expansion and volume swelling more precisely. While TEM provided a direct visualization of the microstructures and the interplanar spacing was measured from HRTEM images. It is suggested that irradiation induced point defects and compressive stress from the Si substrate were the cause of anisotropic (a = b

The first tail-to-tail vinyl ether dimerization has been developed by using a newly identified synergistic effect between the NHC-NiH catalyst and organonitrate additive (PhNO 2 or t -BuNO 2 ). The additive enhanced the desired C–C bond-forming reactivity by a proposed competitive coordination with the alkoxyl group of the hydrometallated vinyl ether species to the Ni center. This combination addressed complications related to β-alkoxy (β-OR) elimination and polymerization, and gave unexpected dimerization regioselectivity.

This paper describes a new approach in transition-metal-catalyzed unsymmetric cycloisomerization for medium-sized heterocycles. The steric and electronic effects of an NHC-NiH catalyst and γ-heteroatom chelation were used together as a basis for 1,n-diene termini differentiation and for n(γ)-exo-trig (head-to-tail) product selectivity. Heterocycles bearing an exocyclic methylene such as oxepines, thiepines, siloxepines, and oxocanes were synthesized from the corresponding 1,n-dienes by a fine-tuning of the NHC properties. The implication of the underlying hypothesis was further demonstrated in a competition experiment in which strained oxepines were formed preferentially over other competing oxa-/carbocycles. Under more forcing physical conditions and the use of a suitable NHC ligand, the exocyclic methylene products were isomerized further into endocyclic olefin products regioselectively in one pot.

Silicon carbides (SiCs) are considered as one of the promising candidates for structural and core materials used in fusion reactor and high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) due to its high thermal stability, and good resistance to irradiation and chemical attack. Single crystal 3C-SiC with less intrinsic defects was used to precisely characterize the radiation-induced defects in 3C-SiC. In addition, there are limited discussions related to radiation effect of SA-Tyrannohex fiber-bonded composite at high temperatures. Therefore, in this study, single crystal 3C-SiC thin film and SA-Tyrannohex SiC fiber-bonded composite were irradiated at 1000–1350 °C with 7 MeV Si3+ ion to simulate the neutron irradiation in reactors. The microstructure of the irradiated SiC was examined by using high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). In irradiated single crystal 3C-SiC, high resolution images showed that the planar defects were extrinsic stacking faulted loop with changing atomic sequences and intrinsic stacking faulted loop, i.e. vacancy loop. In addition, dislocation loops, voids, and edge dislocations in SA-Tyrannohex SiC fiber-bonded composite after irradiation were investigated. Besides, larger voids (with diameter 10–40 nm) formed in alumina with preferred orientation after irradiation perhaps resulting in degradation of strength of the SA-Tyrannohex SiC fiber-bonded composite.

This article provides a quantitative assessment of contemporary beliefs about historical events by econometrically identifying �break points� in China's domestic bond market from 1921 to 1942. We find that these �break points� usually coincided with the events highlighted by the Shanghai Newspaper�an influential daily newspaper produced during the time of the Republic of China. These events are also generally considered to be crucial by historians�for example, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. However, some events to which historians attach great importance, such as the conflicts between Nationalists and Communists in the 1930s, were not reflected in the bond market and did not attract much media attention. Some events, such as the Sino-Japanese ceasefire in Tanggu in 1933, were thought to be crucial by contemporaries, but have been downplayed by later observers.

This paper empirically examines the international spillover of economic growth through bilateral trade. We extend the Solow growth model with a spatial autoregressive term and a spatial time lag term, and estimate such a model with a sample of 26 OECD countries over the period 1971–2005. We find that there is a positive spillover effect of growth from one country to its trade partners. The implied rate of convergence is higher after including the spatial terms.

This paper examines North American pulp and paper company bankruptcies that occurred between 1990 and 2009. We demonstrate that shareholders suffer substantial losses (37 %) during the month a bankruptcy occurs. Encouragingly, we show that financial ratios are useful in predicting firm failure and that failed firms are less profitable, more liquidity constrained and higher in debt leverage. Using a binary logit model in the spirit of Ohlson (J Acc Res, 19, 109–131, 1980), we predict financial distress for pulp and paper firms 1 to 2 years ahead of the bankruptcy. We also adapt and re-estimate the empirical model on a sample of pulp and paper firms and perform in-sample and out-of-sample forecasts. For the out-of-sample analysis, our re-estimated Ohlson models correctly predict 93 % of bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to develop a principal component analysis-based adaptive minimum Euclidean distances (PAMED) approach to establish an optimal object reference frame for symmetrical alignment of the dental arch during computer-aided surgical simulation (CASS). It was compared with our triangular methods and the standard principal component analysis (PCA) method. Thirty sets of maxillary digital models were used. Midsagittal and occlusal planes were ranked by three experienced evaluators based on their clinical judgment. The results showed that for the midsagittal plane, all three evaluators ranked “ideal” for all 30 models with the PAMED method, 28 with the triangular method, and at least 11 with the PCA method. For the occlusal plane, one evaluator ranked all 30 models “ideal” with both the PAMED and the PCA methods while the other two evaluators ranked all 30 models “ideal” with the triangular method. However, the differences among the three methods were minimal. In conclusion, our PAMED method is the most reliable and consistent approach for establishing the object reference frame for the dental arch in orthognathic surgical planning. The triangular method should be used with caution because it can be affected by dental arch asymmetry. The standard PCA method is not recommended.

It is clinically important to accurately predict facial soft tissue changes following bone movements in orthognathic surgical planning. However, the current simulation methods are still problematic, especially in clinically critical regions, e.g., the nose, lips and chin. In this study, finite element method (FEM) simulation model with realistic tissue sliding effects was developed to increase the prediction accuracy in critical regions. First, the facial soft-tissue-change following bone movements was simulated using FEM with sliding effect with nodal force constraint. Subsequently, sliding effect with a nodal displacement constraint was implemented by reassigning the bone-soft tissue mapping and boundary condition for realistic sliding movement simulation. Our method has been quantitatively evaluated using 30 patient datasets. The FEM simulation method with the realistic sliding effects showed significant accuracy improvement in the whole face and the critical areas (i.e., lips, nose and chin) in comparison with the traditional FEM method.

We find that from 1995 to 2002 in China, the dispersion of wealth decreased, the moneywealth ratio increased for all wealth levels and the aggregate money-output ratio increased. We develop a two-asset dynamic general equilibrium model in which households face a portfolio adjustment cost and a borrowing constraint. We find that financial development lowers the dispersion of wealth by reducing the precautionary motive of households. In addition, tight monetary policies increase the value of money and thus increase the moneywealth ratio for all wealth levels and the aggregate money-output ratio.

Orthognathic surgery is a surgical procedure to correct jaw deformities. It requires extensive presurgical planning. We developed a novel computer-aided surgical simulation (CASS) system, the AnatomicAligner, for doctors planning the entire orthognathic surgical procedure in computer following our streamlined clinical protocol. The computerized plan can be transferred to the patient at the time of surgery using digitally designed surgical splints. The system includes six modules: image segmentation and three-dimensional (3D) model reconstruction; registration and reorientation of the models to neutral head posture (NHP) space, 3D cephalometric analysis, virtual osteotomy, surgical simulation, and surgical splint designing. The system has been validated using the 5 sets of patient’s datasets. The AnatomicAligner system will be soon available freely to the broader clinical and research communities.

This note examines the role of risk aversion in computing the welfare cost of consumption fluctuations under different utility and consumption process specifications. We find that the welfare cost of consumption fluctuations under a Constant-Relative-Risk-Aversion (CRRA) utility specification does not necessarily increase with the degree of relative risk aversion unless it fulfils certain conditions. The case of China is used as an illustration.

This paper examines the effects of market reform on consumers and state commercial banks in China, a large developing country. I jointly estimate a system of differentiated product demand and pricing equations under alternative market structures. Overall, China’s banking reforms have achieved mixed results. Although there is a welfare gain from more consumers participating in the deposit market, the existing consumers suffer welfare losses because of declined service quality. The welfare effects are unevenly distributed, with losses skewed toward inland provinces and certain consumer groups. There is no clear evidence that the pricing of banking services has become more competitive after the reform, and such pricing remains subject to government intervention. Encouragingly, the price-cost margins of some state commercial banks have fallen over time.

Various NHC―NiH species have been developed as hydroalkenylation and polymerization catalysts and for ionic-liquid synthesis. This article outlines their key features and connections and highlights the opportunities for using NHC―NiH species in the selective preparation of new geminal disubstituted olefins and how they complement traditional P―NiH technology.

Summary This paper examines inter-provincial consumption risk sharing and intertemporal consumption smoothing across Chinese provinces before and after the 1979 economic reform. Our results indicate that the degree of consumption risk sharing among Chinese provinces is lower than that within the United States and across the national boundaries of OECD countries. On the other hand, the level of consumption smoothing among Chinese provinces is higher than that across OECD or European Union countries, but lower than that in the United States. Moreover, our results show that consumption risk sharing and smoothing in China have deteriorated since the 1979 economic reform. Finally, we show that eliminating consumption fluctuations yields substantial welfare gains, which suggests that stabilization policies are desirable for China.

article In a hub-and-spoke network, the profit function of an airline is supermodular with respect to the airline's own entry decisions for different city-pairs. This source of complementarity implies that a hub-and-spoke network can be an effective strategy for deterring the entry of competitors. This paper presents an empirical dynamic game of airline network competition that incorporates this entry deterrence motive for using hub-and-spoke networks. We summarize the results of the estimation of the model, with special attention to empirical evidence regarding the entry deterrence motive.

This paper analyzes the evolution of urban output per capita across Chinese cities in post-reform era. Our results suggest no evidence of output convergence across cities from 1984 to 2003. We find that cities with comparable output per capita are likely to be located in the same region; furthermore, cities tend to mirror the mobility of their counterparts located in the same province, but not the same region. The divergence in urban output per capita across the nation will continue if the current economic growth pattern persists in the future.

We estimate the distribution dynamics of city income and size in China during 1984–2003 using stochastic kernel. Our results show that intra-distribution mobility are significant in both income and size and provide evidences on China experienced internal brain drain.

This paper examines competition among commercial banks following deregulation in a small open economy. I jointly estimate a system of differentiated product demand and pricing equations, and use conduct parameters to identify market structure. Overall, I find positive outcomes for the banking deregulation, which suggest that the benefits of deregulation understood in large industrialized economies indeed apply to a small open economy. Encouragingly, the industry becomes more competitive and the consumers are better-off after the deregulation. Empirical results also indicate that the banking sector is characterized by non-cooperative competitive behavior. Bank size is an important determinant of consumer’s bank choice.

We study household choices on the housing type and travel mode in Boston in the year 1991. We first develop a theoretical model for an integrated analysis of housing and travel mode choices, which implies that people with higher income level tend to live farther away from the Central Business District, enjoy more spacious housing and travel with a speedier mode. Logit estimation methods are employed to analyze the 1991 Boston Household Survey data. Our empirical results provide indirect confirmation of the theoretical model. “The outcome of the city will depend on the race between the automobile and the elevator, and anyone who bets on the elevator is crazy.” Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect.

This paper examines the impact of investment-specific technological change on labor composition in U.S. manufacturing industries from 1974 to 1994. I show that investment-specific technological change increases the relative demand of non-production workers to production workers, while TFP growth does not change labor composition. Moreover, I find that the demand of skilled labor is stronger in the durable goods sector whereas the deskilling effect is stronger in the non-durable goods sector.

Regional inequality is severe in China since regional development is uneven due to various initial conditions and government policies. We employ unit root tests allowing for structural breaks to alternative inequality measures from 1952 to 2000. Empirical results indicate that (1) the regional inequality is trend stationary with structural breaks rather than following a random walk. Thus, ignoring structural changes might leads to incorrect inference and misleading policy implications; (2) the break points are associated with episodic events in Chinese economic history such as the Cultural Revolution and market reforms. This implies that the policies had a long-lasting and fundamental effect on the inequality. Resumen. La desigualdad regional en China es pronunciada debido a un desarrollo regional dispar causado por un numero de condiciones iniciales y politicas gubernamentales. Empleamos pruebas de raiz unitaria que permiten rupturas estructurales (structural breaks) en medidas de desigualdad alternativas desde 1952 al 2000. Los resultados empiricos indican que (1) la desigualdad regional es de tendencia estacionaria con rupturas estructurales en lugar de seguir un paseo aleatorio (random walk). Por tanto, el ignorar cambios estructurales podria llevar a una inferencia incorrecta e implicaciones politicas enganosas; (2) los puntos de ruptura estan asociados con acontecimientos episodicos de la historia economica china como la Revolucion cultural y las reformas del mercado. Esto implica que las politicas tuvieron un efecto duradero y fundamental en la desigualdad.

Several reactions of simple, unactivated alkenes with electrophiles under Ni(0) catalysis are discussed. The coupling of olefins with aldehydes and silyl triflates provides allylic or homoallylic alcohol derivatives, depending on the supporting ligands and, to a lesser extent, the substrates employed. Reaction of alkenes with isocyanates yields N-alkyl acrylamides. In these methods, alkenes act as the functional equivalents of alkenyl- and allylmetal reagents.

Public debates on electricity policy in Hong Kong focus on the regulation regime but seldom discuss the macroeconomic impact. In this paper, we use the novel dataset on electricity consumption and report the following findings: (1) there is a long run equilibrium relationship between real GDP and electricity consumption; (2) a one-way causal effect exists from electricity consumption to real GDP; (3) a significant adjustment process occurs when equilibrium is interrupted; (4) there exists possible structural change in the relationship between electricity consumption and economic activities in 1990s.

Both a strong electron donor (IPr) and a strong electron acceptor (P(OPh)3) are necessary for a highly selective, nickel-catalyzed coupling reaction between alkenes, aldehydes, and silyltriflates. Without the phosphite, catalysis is not observed and several side reactions are observed. The phosphite appears to suppress the formation of these byproducts and rescue the catalytic cycle by accelerating reductive elimination from an (IPr–Ni–H)(OTf) complex.

The asymmetric cross-hydroalkenylation of vinylarenes with terminal olefins in the presence of NiH complexes bearing various chiral N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) is studied.

This paper describes a new approach in transition-metal-catalyzed unsymmetric cycloisomerization for medium-sized heterocycles. The steric and electronic effects of an NHC-NiH catalyst and γ-heteroatom chelation were used together as a basis for 1,n-diene termini differentiation and for n(γ)-exo-trig (head-to-tail) product selectivity. Heterocycles bearing an exocyclic methylene such as oxepines, thiepines, siloxepines, and oxocanes were synthesized from the corresponding 1,n-dienes by a fine-tuning of the NHC properties. The implication of the underlying hypothesis was further demonstrated in a competition experiment in which strained oxepines were formed preferentially over other competing oxa-/carbocycles. Under more forcing physical conditions and the use of a suitable NHC ligand, the exocyclic methylene products were isomerized further into endocyclic olefin products regioselectively in one pot.