Near-infrared spectroscopy of autunites

NIR spectroscopy has been applied to the study water in the interlayer of the autunite minerals. The spectra of autunites and metaautunites in the first HOH fundamental overtone are different and the spectra of autunites of different origins in the 6000-7500 cm(-1) region are considerably different. A number of conclusions are made based upon the NIR spectra: (a) The spectra of different autunites are different in the NIR spectral region; (b) the spectra of metaautunites show similarity; (c) the spectra of metaautunites are different from that of autunites. NIR spectroscopy provides a method of determination of the structure of water in the interlayer of natural autunites. The implication from the variation in the NIR spectra is that the structural arrangement of water for different autunites is different and is sample dependent. NIR spectroscopy has a wide potential for the study of the autunite minerals.     

傅里叶变换红外光谱和核磁共振法对土壤中腐殖酸的表征

采用氢氧化钠碱提法提取和纯化了我国４种典型土壤中腐殖酸,分别用元素分析、傅里叶变换红外光谱（ＦＴＩＲ）、固仿核磁共振（ＮＭＲ）等方法对提取腐殖酸进行了表征。结果表明,４种土壤中腐殖酸原ＦＴＩＲ图谱相似,含有相同类型的官能团。对ＮＭＲ不同化学位移域的谱峰积分获得４种土壤腐殖酸的各组成比例,组成中以烷氧基Ｃ的含量最高,脂类Ｃ略高于芳香Ｃ含量。     

灰树花β-葡聚糖的高效凝胶渗透色谱行为

以4种不同蛋白质含量的灰树花β-1,3/1,6-葡聚糖 (GF1,GF2,GF3,GF4) 和1种α-1,4/1,6-葡聚糖 (P100)为研究对象,探讨了它们在不同盐浓度和不同pH下的高效凝胶渗透色谱(HPGPC)行为。结果表明：灰树花β-葡聚糖相对分子质量在低于0.025 mol/L的氯化钠溶液中急剧降低,在0.1~0.2 mol/L的氯化钠溶液中趋于平稳。在pH 3~6时,其相对分子质量随pH增加而急剧增加;在pH 6~9范围内变化较小;pH高于9后又稍微增加。在相同条件下,α-1,4/1,6-葡聚糖的相对分子质量不受盐浓度和pH值变化的影响。灰树花β-葡聚糖在水溶液中可形成超螺旋结构,该结构受溶液盐浓度和pH值变化的影响,导致分子聚集状态不同,从而呈现不同的凝胶渗透色谱行为,表现为相对分子质量升高或降低。     

Using a fully recyclable dicarboxylic acid for producing dispersible and thermally stable cellulose nanomaterials from different cellulosic sources

We fabricated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) from different cellulose materials (bleached eucalyptus pulp (BEP), spruce dissolving pulp (SDP) and cotton based qualitative filter paper (QFP) using concentrated oxalic acid hydrolysis and subsequent mechanical fibrillation (for CNFs). The process was green as acid can be easily recovered, and the prepared cellulose nanomaterials were carboxylated and thermally stable. In detail, the CNC yield from the different materials was similar. After hydrolysis, the DP of the cellulose materials decreased substantially, whereas the mechanical fibrillation of the cellulosic solid residues (CSRs) did not dramatically reduce the DP of cellulose. CNCs with different aspect ratios were produced from different starting materials by oxalic acid hydrolysis. The CNCs and CNFs obtained from BEP and QFP possessed more uniform dimensions than those from SDP. On the other hand, CNFs derived from SDP presented the best suspension stability. FTIR analyses verified esterification of cellulose by oxalic acid hydrolysis. The results from both XRD and Raman spectroscopy indicated that whereas XRD crystallinity of CNCs from BEP and QFP did not change significantly, there was some change in Raman crystallinity of these samples. Raman spectra of SDP CNCs indicated that the acid hydrolysis preferably removed cellulose I portion of the samples and therefore the CNCs became cellulose II enriched. TGA revealed that the CNCs obtained from QFP exhibited higher thermal stability compared to those from BEP and SDP, and all the CNCs possessed better thermal stability than that of CNCs from sulfuric acid hydrolysis. The excellent properties of prepared cellulose nanomaterials will be conducive to their application in different fields.     

Effects of pH of fermentation medium on biosynthesis of poly[(3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-(3-mercaptopropionate)] by Wautersia eutropha

A series of P(3HB-co-3MP)s with different 3MP unit content was biosynthesized by the fermentation of W. eutropha in a medium containing sodium gluconate and DTDP as carbon sources at different pH conditions ranging from pH 6.0 to 8.0. The P(3HB-co-3MP) samples were fractioned using the solvent/nonsolvent mixed solvent chloroform/heptane and the comonomer unit composition was investigated. It was found that W. eutropha produces P(3HB-co-3MP)s with extremely different 3MP unit content ranging from 3.6 to 70.0 mol-%, depending on the pH value of the fermentation medium. The copolyester samples produced in mild basic medium have a considerably narrower compositional distribution than the samples from acidic medium. The highest polymer yield was obtained at pH 8.0.DSC diagram for P(3HB-co-3MP)s biosynthesized in different pH medium. [graph: see text] DSC diagram for P(3HB-co-3MP)s biosynthesized in different pH medium.     

Sorption of Water-Soluble Copper(II) Compounds on Clinoptilolite

Copper(II) sorption on clinoptilolite from aqueous solutions with different pH was studied. The results were analyzed using the calculated distribution of water-soluble copper(II) species at different pH. The best conditions of copper(II) sorption on clinoptilolite from aqueous solutions were determined.     

Experimental study on polarized surface enhanced resonance Raman scattering of rhodamine 6G adsorbed on porous Al2O3 substrates

The polarization properties of surface enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SE(R)RS) of rhodamine 6G molecules, adsorbed to a hexagonally ordered gold nanostructure, are studied with the purpose to discriminate between adsorption sites with different plasmonic properties. The nanostructure is based on a self-organizing hexagonally ordered porous Al(2)O(3) substrate sputter-coated with gold. Each hexagonal subunit has D(6h) symmetry, where the symmetry center may act as an isotropic site, whereas the six narrow gaps between the individual Au hemispheres may act as hot-spots. The variation of the depolarization ratio (DPR), measured in resonance for the eight most prominent vibrational modes of the xanthene moiety, is analyzed by rotating the sample. According to theory, the DPR of the SE(R)RS signal obtained from molecules physisorbed in the isotropic sites deviates from the DPR originating from molecules physisorbed in the hot-spots in two ways: 1. The DPR associated with the isotropic sites depends differently on the rotation angle than the DPR associated with the hot-spots. 2. The DPR of the SE(R)RS signal obtained from molecules physisorbed in the isotropic sites depends on the nature of the Raman modes, whereas it for molecules physisorbed in the hot-spots is independent of the nature of the Raman modes. By applying the latter in the analysis of the polarized SE(R)RS data, we conclude that the dominating SE(R)RS signal comes from molecules adsorbed in the hot-spots. However, since the DPR's obtained for Raman modes of different symmetry are slightly different, the SE(R)RS signal must contain an additional contribution. Our analysis shows that the small mode-dependent SE(R)RS signal most likely comes from molecules adsorbed in the isotropic sites. The general result that can be derived from the present study is that by measuring the polarization properties in SE(R)RS and SERS it is possible to discriminate between adsorption sites with different plasmonic properties present in a highly symmetric nanostructure, even when the magnitude of the different contributions are highly different. The consequence of the insufficient spatial resolution with respect to a detailed mapping of the substrate often encountered in unpolarized SE(R)RS and in two-photon luminescence microscopy may thereby be circumvented.     

Comparison of extraction methods for the recovery, amplification and species-specific analysis of DNA from bone and bone meals

We report the effect of several parameters on the efficiency of recovery of DNA from animal bones. The effects of preheating the samples (at either 60 degrees C or 100 degrees C) at different intervals (from 1 h to overnight) in different media (water, 0.5 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), or 0.5 M EDTA + 0.05% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were investigated. The effect of slight (5 min) or intense (30 min) pretreatments with ultrasound was also evaluated. Several different treatments with proteinase K (ranging from 200 to 800 microg, and lasting from 1 to 3 h) at 65 degrees C were also considered. Additionally, two different DNA extraction methods (based on silica resins and purification columns, respectively) were evaluated. The recovery of DNA from the samples was 40% higher when the bones were preheated in 0.5 M EDTA at 60 degrees C for 1 h, this being followed by treatment with 800 microg of proteinase K for 3 h. The DNA thus obtained was successfully amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a set of primers specific to a 359 bp region of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, and the species of origin were identified by visualizing the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) with the endonucleases PalI and MboI.     

Low-molecular weight protein profiling of genetically modified maize using fast liquid chromatography electrospray ionization and time-of-flight mass spectrometry

In this work, the use of liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOFMS) has been evaluated for the profiling of relatively low-molecular weight protein species in both genetically modified (GM) and non-GM maize. The proposed approach consisted of a straightforward sample fractionation with different water and ethanol-based buffer solutions followed by separation and detection of the protein species using liquid chromatography with a small particle size (1.8 μm) C(18) column and electrospray-time-of-flight mass spectrometry detection in the positive ionization mode. The fractionation of maize reference material containing different content of transgenic material (from 0 to 5% GM) led to five different fractions (albumins, globulins, zeins, zein-like glutelins, and glutelins), all of them containing different protein species (from 2 to 52 different species in each fraction). Some relevant differences in the quantity and types of protein species were observed in the different fractions of the reference material (with different GM contents) tested, thus revealing the potential use of the proposed approach for fast protein profiling and to detect tentative GMO markers in maize.     

钠盐对聚丙二醇与β-环糊精超分子聚集体的组成、结构和降解的影响

本文报道了一系列钠盐在调控聚1,2-丙二醇(PPG)与β-环糊精(β-CD)超分子组装过程中的重要作用。首先,几个从钠盐溶液中沉淀出来的组装体在PPG与β-CD的化学计量比上存在着差异,对于NaCl和Na2CO3得到的是PPG-(β-CD)7,对于NaAsO2得到的是PPG-(β-CD)8,此结果与从水中得到的产物PPG-(β-CD)5以及从锂盐溶液得到的产物PPG-(β-CD)6完全不同;其次,基于3个独立的实验(包括黏度、表面张力、摩尔电导率)所得结果的比较可以部分地解释产物组成上的差别;最后,场发射扫描电子显微镜、热重分析表征结果表明:产物即使具有相同的组成,它们的表面结构和物理性质也相当不同,这说明了盐效应在设计、构建超分子聚集体中的重要性和复杂性。     

Thermodynamics of Stability Constant of Binary Complex of Nicotinamide with Mn^＋＋

The stability constants of the binary complexes of Mn^2 with nicotinamide (NA) were determined from potentiometric pH titrations data at 15.0,25.0 and 35.0℃ and I = 0.1,0.2,0.4 molL^-1 (NaClO4). The formation of binary 1:1 , 1:2 NA-Mn complexes at three different temperatures and the influence of three different ionic strength on their stability were reported. The thermodynamic parameters (△f^0,△Sf^0,△Hf^0) for the complex formation reaction were estimated from stability constant at different temperatures.     

Validation of green‐solvent extraction combined with chromatographic chemical fingerprint to evaluate quality of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni

An approach that combined green‐solvent methods of extraction with chromatographic chemical fingerprint and pattern recognition tools such as principal component analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the quality of medicinal plants. Pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) and microwave‐assisted extraction (MAE) were used and their extraction efficiencies to extract two bioactive compounds, namely stevioside (SV) and rebaudioside A (RA), from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (SB) under different cultivation conditions were compared. The proposed methods showed that SV and RA could be extracted from SB using pure water under optimized conditions. The extraction efficiency of the methods was observed to be higher or comparable to heating under reflux with water. The method precision (RSD, n = 6) was found to vary from 1.91 to 2.86% for the two different methods on different days. Compared to PHWE, MAE has higher extraction efficiency with shorter extraction time. MAE was also found to extract more chemical constituents and provide distinctive chemical fingerprints for quality control purposes. Thus, a combination of MAE with chromatographic chemical fingerprints and PCA provided a simple and rapid approach for the comparison and classification of medicinal plants from different growth conditions. Hence, the current work highlighted the importance of extraction method in chemical fingerprinting for the classification of medicinal plants from different cultivation conditions with the aid of pattern recognition tools used.     

Thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and drift spectroscopy applied to investigate the evolution of humic acids in forest soil at different vegetation stages

Humic acids (HAs) extracted from soils developed under two Norwegian spruce (Picea abies, (L.) Karst) subalpine forests of northern Italy were characterized using chemical, thermal (TG-DTA) and spectroscopic (DRIFT) analyses. The samples were taken from five sites which differed in orientation (northern and southern exposure) and vegetal cover at different old age: grassland, regeneration, immature and mature stands. In general, the thermal patterns of HAs were similar (three exothermic reactions appeared around at 300, 400 and 500°C) in both sites in grasslands and regeneration while a considerable modification appeared in HA from stands of different age at northern and southern exposure site. DRIFT spectroscopy confirmed the differences observed through TG-DTA analysis. In particular the main structural changes were ascribed to modification of carbonyl group and of CH stretching in aliphatic components in each HAs from different sites.     

电泳和质谱技术研究4种胰脏铁蛋白的亚基类型和等电点特性

采用电泳和质谱技术对所制备的鸡、鸭、牛和猪胰脏铁蛋白的亚基类型和等电点特性进行了研究。采用天然聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(PAGE)技术研究的结果表明,上述4种铁蛋白呈现不同的迁移率,据此可知鸡胰铁蛋白的相对分子质量(Mr)>鸭胰铁蛋白的Mr>黄牛胰铁蛋白的Mr>猪胰铁蛋白的Mr,而且均大于马脾铁蛋白(HSF)的Mr。采用十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)-PAGE技术研究的结果表明,上述4种铁蛋白均由H(heavy chain)和L(light chain)类型的亚基组成,但H和L亚基的相对数量（即H/L亚基数量的比值）有差别。采用肽指纹图谱技术分别鉴定各铁蛋白的H和L亚基。选用变性等电聚焦方法研究发现,上述4种铁蛋白分别由3～6种不同等电点的亚基聚合体组成,说明铁蛋白的H和L亚基之间呈现复杂的相互作用和不同的聚合体。不同陆生动物胰脏铁蛋白亚基之间相互作用的强度和聚合态存在着差异,这一差异特性可能与调控铁蛋白释放铁的速率有关,也与动物对铁的需求和铁解毒速率有关。     

Stable carbon isotope analysis of different tissues of beef animals in relation to their diet

As part of a larger experiment, 31 young bulls, divided into three groups, were given different diets containing either C(3) plants or a combination of C(3) and C(4) plant-based feeds in three feeding periods before slaughter. Variation in the proportion of C(4) plant material in the diets was made by including or not maize or maize-derived ingredients, whereas the other dietary constituents were from C(3) plants. Analysis of stable carbon isotope ratios (delta(13)C value) was performed on different tissues taken at slaughter: blood, plasma, liver, kidney fat, hair, muscle and ruminal contents. Blood and plasma samples were also taken at the beginning of each period. A highly significant difference was found in the delta(13)C values of blood and plasma samples taken from animals that had received a diet of only C(3) plants or with 59% C(4) material for 70 days. The delta(13)C values of all different samples taken at slaughter were highly significantly different between the three feeding groups that had received diets with 0, 13.5 or 35% C(4) material for on average 137, 139 and 83 days, respectively. For the three groups, samples of hair, muscle, plasma, whole blood and liver were significantly enriched in (13)C compared with the diet (except for liver in one group), whereas kidney fat was significantly depleted. The proportion of C(4) plant material could be accurately estimated from the delta(13)C values of different tissue samples. Stable carbon analysis of different tissues from beef animals can be used to trace back diets containing variable proportions of C(3) and C(4) plant material.     

Extraction and isolation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates and their intermediate metabolites from various marine organisms

A method has been developed for the determination of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates and its degradation intermediates (sulfophenylcarboxylic acids) from different marine organisms, which includes the stages of extraction and analysis by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The extraction stage (Soxhlet and solid-phase extractions) was optimised by the selection of the appropriate solvent, minicolumns and different clean-up stages. Recoveries varied in the range from 80 to 104%, with a standard deviation between 1 and 9%. Detection limits were 15 ng g(-1) wet mass for undecylbezene sulfonate and 30 ng g(-1) wet mass for sulfophenylundecanoic acid using HPLC-fluorescence detection. The complete analytical method was successfully applied to different marine organisms from the Bay of Cadiz (SW Spain).     

Composition and genetic variability of proteins from nuclear fractions of mouse (DBA/2J and C57BL/6J) liver and brain

Proteins from nuclear plasma of mouse liver and brain and from the nuclear membranes of mouse liver were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. For the purpose of comparison, liver cytosol proteins were also investigated. The protein samples were prepared from two inbred strains of the mouse (DBA/2J, C57BL/6J) and their hybrids. The patterns obtained were compared with regard to the composition and genetic variability (qualitative and quantitative variants) of proteins from different nuclear fractions and organs. The percentage (greater than 30%) of spots common to different organs (liver, brain), but from the same nuclear fraction (plasma) was greater than the percentage (less than 20%) of spots common to different cell and nuclear fractions (cytosol, nuclear plasma and nuclear membranes) of the same organ (liver). Quantitative genetic variants occurred much more frequently than qualitative genetic variants (5.1% vs. 0.2%; liver nuclear plasma). The incidence of genetic variants was much higher in liver (5.3%) than in brains (0.0%), and higher in solubilized nuclear proteins (5.3%) than in structure-bound nuclear proteins (2.1%).     

Dangling bond-induced graphitization process on the (111) surface of diamond nanoparticles

The intrinsic mechanism of graphitization occurring on the (111) surface of nanodiamonds (NDs) during the transformation from NDs into bucky diamonds are explored using density functional theory (DFT) computations in conjunction with density functional based tight-binding simulations. The DFT results indicate that dangling bonds (DBs) on the ND surfaces play an important role in the graphitization process, and the orientation of the DBs on different ND surfaces determines whether there will be a graphitization process or not. Moreover, a criterion is proposed to estimate rupturing of the C-C bonds between different layers on the [111] direction in the NDs and is verified to be applicable to illustrate the phase transformation from sp(3) into sp(2) bonding structures. The energy contributions of the four-coordinated carbon atoms located at different positions on the (111) surface are exhibited for the first time and discussed in detail to gain a clear picture for the transition from NDs into bucky diamonds. The outcome may provide a deeper understanding on the influence of DBs upon the transformation from sp(3) into sp(2) bonding structures.     

不同垃圾焚烧炉排放的PM10 中多环芳烃的研究

对大气可吸入颗粒物采样器进行改装，建立了垃圾焚烧炉烟气中PM10采样系统，并采集了三家垃圾发电厂焚烧炉排放烟气中的可吸入颗粒物。利用GC-MS对可吸入颗粒物中的16种多环芳烃进行定量研究，获得了多环芳烃的质量分数和浓度，并对不同环数的芳烃进行了比较，分析了不同样品中的多环芳烃的毒性参数。结果表明，颗粒物中的多环芳烃主要集中在4环、5环和6环，3环和2环所占比例较少；与燃煤电厂相比，垃圾焚烧发电厂排放的烟气中多环芳烃的浓度和毒性参数更高。     

Age-dependent acoustic and microelastic properties of red blood cells determined by vector contrast acoustic microscopy

Variations of the mechanical properties of red blood cells that occur during their life span have long been an intriguing task for investigations. The research presented is based on noninvasive monitoring of red blood cells of different ages performed by scanning acoustic microscopy with magnitude and phase contrast. The characteristic signature of fixed cells from groups of three different ages fractionated according to mass density is obtained from the acoustic microscope images, with the data represented in polar graphs. The analysis of these data enables the determination of averaged values for the velocities of ultrasound propagating in the cells from the different groups ranging from (1,681 ± 16) m s(-1) in the youngest to (1,986 ± 20) m s(-1) in the oldest group. The determined bulk modulus varies with age from (3.04 ± 0.05) GPa to (4.34 ± 0.08) GPa. An approach to determine for an age-mixed population of red blood cells, collected from a healthy person, the age of the individual cells and the age dependence of the cell parameters including density, velocity, and attenuation of longitudinal polarized ultrasonic waves traveling in the cells is demonstrated.