Comprehensive Profiling by Non-targeted Stable Isotope Tracing Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry: A New Tool Complementing Metabolomic Analyses of Polar Metabolites

Mass spectrometry (MS) driven metabolomics is a frequently used tool in various areas of life sciences; however, the analysis of polar metabolites is less commonly included. In general, metabolomic analyses lead to the detection of the total amount of all covered metabolites. This is currently a major limitation with respect to metabolites showing high turnover rates, but no changes in their concentration. Such metabolites and pathways could be crucial metabolic nodes (e.g., potential drug targets in cancer metabolism). A stable-isotope tracing capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry (CE-MS) metabolomic approach was developed to cover both polar metabolites and isotopologues in a non-targeted way. An in-house developed software enables high throughput processing of complex multidimensional data. The practicability is demonstrated analyzing [U-¹³C]-glucose exposed prostate cancer and non-cancer cells. This CE-MS-driven analytical strategy complements polar metabolite profiles through isotopologue labeling patterns, thereby improving not only the metabolomic coverage, but also the understanding of metabolism.     

TBOR-shaped electro-optic modulator with dual output based on double-layer graphene

We proposed an electro-optic modulator with two-bus one-ring (TBOR) structure to improve the extinction ratio and reduce insert loss. It has a dual output compared with one-bus one-ring structure. In addition, double-layer graphene makes it possible for the modulation in the visible to mid-infrared wavelength range. It shows that this new electro-optic modulator can present two switching states well with low insertion loss, high absorption and high extinction ratio. At $\lambda =1550\text{ nm}$, when the switching states are based on the chemical potential, ${\mu }_{\mathrm{c}}=0.38\text{ eV}$ and ${\mu }_{\mathrm{c}}=0.4\text{ eV}$, the insertion losses of both output ports are less than 2 dB, the absorption of the output port coupled via a micro-ring reaches 45 dB and the extinction ratio reaches 14 dB. When the refractive index of the dielectric material is 4.2, the applied voltage will be less than 1.2 V, thus can be used in low-voltage CMOS technology.     

Evaluation of Charged Defect Energy in Two-Dimensional Semiconductors for Nanoelectronics: The WLZ Extrapolation Method

Defects play a central role in controlling the electronic properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials and realizing the industrialization of 2D electronics. However, the evaluation of charged defects in 2D materials within first-principles calculation is very challenging and has triggered a recent development of the WLZ (Wang, Li, Zhang) extrapolation method. This method lays the foundation of the theoretical evaluation of energies of charged defects in 2D materials within the first-principles framework. Herein, the vital role of defects for advancing 2D electronics is discussed, followed by an introduction of the fundamentals of the WLZ extrapolation method. The ionization energies (IEs) obtained by this method for defects in various 2D semiconductors are then reviewed and summarized. Finally, the unique defect physics in 2D dimensions including the dielectric environment effects, defect ionization process, and carrier transport mechanism captured with the WLZ extrapolation method are presented. As an efficient and reasonable evaluation of charged defects in 2D materials for nanoelectronics and other emerging applications, this work can be of benefit to the community.     

Identity-Based Quantum Designated Verifier Signature

International Journal of Theoretical Physics - Designated verifier signatures are very useful in the applications such as e-voting and auction. In this paper, an identity-based quantum designated...     

On Fermat Diophantine functional equations,little Picard theorem and beyond

Aequationes mathematicae - We discuss equivalence conditions for the non-existence of non-trivial meromorphic solutions to the Fermat Diophantine equation $$f^m(z)+g^n(z)=1$$ with integers $$m,n\ge...     

Salting‐out‐assisted liquid–liquid extraction with acetonitrile for the determination of trimetazidine in rat plasma using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

A high‐throughout bioanalytical method based on salting‐out‐assisted liquid/liquid extraction (SALLE) method with acetonitrile and mass spectrometry‐compatible salts followed by LC‐MS/MS analysis of trimetazidine in rat plasma is presented. It required only 50 μL of plasma and allows the use of minimal volumes of organic solvents. The seamless interface of SALLE and LC‐MS eliminated the drying‐down step and the extract was diluted and injected into an LC‐MS/MS system with a cycle time of 2.5 min/sample. The retention times of trimetazidine and IS were approximately 1.1 and 1.7 min, respectively. Calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 0.1–100 ng/mL, which can be extended to 500 ng/mL by dilution. The intra‐ and inter‐batch precision, accuracy and the relative standard deviation were all <15%. This method was successfully applied to determine trimetazidine concentrations in rat plasma. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Metabolic profiles of dioscin in rats revealed by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Dioscin (DIS), one of the most abundant bioactive steroidal saponins in Dioscorea sp., is used as a complementary medicine to treat coronary disease and angina pectoris in China. Although the pharmacological activities and pharmacokinetics of DIS have been well demonstrated, information regarding the final metabolic fates is very limited. This study investigated the in vivo metabolic profiles of DIS after oral administration by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry method. The structures of the metabolites were identified and tentatively characterized by means of comparing the molecular mass, retention time and fragmentation pattern of the analytes with those of the parent compound. A total of eight metabolites, including seven phase I and one phase II metabolites, were detected and tentatively identified for the first time. Oxidation, deglycosylation and glucuronidation were found to be the major metabolic processes of the compound in rats. In addition, a possible metabolic pathway on the biotransformation of DIS in vivo was proposed. This study provides valuable and new information on the metabolism of DIS, which will be helpful for further understanding its mechanism of action. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

双稳态结构中的1/2次谐波共振及其对隔振特性的影响

以典型的双稳态系统——屈曲梁结构为例,基于等效模型,结合解析、数值和实验手段,研究了双稳态结构中的1/2次谐波共振特性、演化过程、参数调节规律及其对隔振特性的影响.研究发现,当非线性刚度系数或激励幅值增加到一定程度时,系统会在一定带宽下产生显著的1/2次谐波共振;随着激励幅值增加,阻尼系统的1/2次谐波遵循“产生-增强-衰退-消失”的过程,该过程对峰值频率和峰值传递率有重要影响;适当提高非线性强度能有效改善双稳态结构隔振特性.针对双稳态屈曲梁结构开展的实验验证了1/2次谐波特性和隔振特性变化规律.