Mesoscopic Modeling of Capillarity-Induced Two-Phase Transport in a Microfluidic Porous Structure

Mesoscopic modeling at the pore scale offers great promise in exploring the underlying structure transport performance of flow through porous media. The present work studies the fluid flow subjected to capillarity-induced resonance in porous media characterized by different porous structure and wettability. The effects of porosity and wettability on the displacement behavior of the fluid flow through porous media are discussed. The results are presented in the form of temporal evolution of percentage saturation and displacement of the fluid front through porous media. The present study reveals that the vibration in the form of acoustic excitation could be significant in the mobilization of fluid through the porous media. The dependence of displacement of the fluid on physicochemical parameters like wettability of the surface, frequency along with the porosity is analyzed. It was observed that the mean displacement of the fluid is more in the case of invading fluid with wetting phase where the driving force strength is not so dominant.     

Pharmacokinetics of monoester‐diterpenoid alkaloids in myocardial infarction and normal rats after oral administration of Sini decoction by microdialysis combined with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Monoester‐diterpenoid alkaloids are the main bioactive components of Sini decoction, which is a well‐known traditional Chinese medicine formula for the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) and heart failure in China. In this work, an ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry combined with microdialysis method was successfully established and applied for investigating for the first time comparative plasma pharmacokinetics of three monoester‐diterpenoid alkaloids (benzoylmesaconitine, benzoylaconitine and benzoylhypacoitine) in normal and MI rats after oral administration of Sini decoction. The statistical results of pharmacokinetic parameters demonstrated that benzoylmesaconitine, benzoylaconitine and benzoylhypacoitine showed lower peak concentration, longer half‐life, smaller area under the concentration–time curve, slower clearance, time to peak concentration and mean residence time in MI rats than in normal rats (p < 0.05), which indicated that monoester‐diterpenoid alkaloids exhibited lower systemic exposure and slower elimination in the MI rats. The results provided the experimental basis for understanding the metabolic fate and therapeutic effects of Sini decoction.     

A Potential Alternative to Polystyrene: Ring-opening Terpolymerization of Different Epoxides with Phthalic Anhydride Using Metal-free Dual Catalysts

A series of semi-aromatic polyesters named as Poly(PO-CHO-PA) were facilely synthesized via ring-opening terpolymerization of biobased cyclohexane oxide(CHO)/propylene oxide(PO)/phthalic anhydride(PA) using economical U1/PPNCl as dual catalyst. The proportion of CHO-PA and PO-PA segments in polymer can be readily altered by changing the feed ratio of CHO/PO because the reactivity ratios of CHO and PO with PA calculated by Fineman-Ross method are comparable. All synthesized amorphous polyesters with various compositions show one Tg ranging from 62 ℃ to 133 ℃. Significantly, the mechanical, thermal and barrier properties of these amorphous semi-aromatic polyesters are also adjustable and investigated for the first time. The results indicate the semi-polyesters exhibit superior thermostability(T5% ranging from 306 ℃ to323 ℃) and high tensile strength(40.21-55.7 MPa) that is comparable with polystyrene(PS). Furthermore, Poly(PO-CHO-PA) films possess a promising prospect as packaging materials because of its colorless and highly transparent nature, along with low oxygen and water vapor transmission rate. All above performances may guarantee its potential alternative to commercial PS.     

砂土串囊式充气锚杆承载力的研究

在砂土地层中,串囊式充气锚杆的研究还比较少,其承载特性及受力机理尚不明确。本文基于莫尔-库仑模型和Vesic圆孔扩张理论法,分别对圆柱体、球体、组合体、椭球体假设下的串囊式充气锚杆的扩大段进行计算分析。并将计算结果与试验得到的实测值进行对比。结果表明:四种形状假设中椭球体的形状假设理论值与实测值的误差最小,仅为8.35%。通过拟合试验数据,并引入与端阻力和侧摩阻力有关的两个系数对承载力公式进行修正,得到了抗拔承载力的经验公式。     

Effective suppression of beta oscillation in Parkinsonian state via a noisy direct delayed feedback control scheme

This work explores the function of the noisy direct delayed feedback(NDDF)control strategy in suppressing the pathological oscillations in the basal ganglia(BG)with Parkinson’s disease(PD).Deep brain stimulation(DBS)alleviates the PD state fantastically.However,due to its unclear mechanism and open-loop characteristic,it is challenging to further improve its effects with lower energy expenditure.The noise stimulus performs competitively in alleviating the PD state theoretically,but it cannot adapt to the neural condition timely and automatically due to its open-loop control scheme.The direct delayed feedback(DDF)control strategy is able to disturb excessive synchronous effectively.Therefore,the NDDF control strategy is proposed and researched based on a BG computational model,which can reflect the intrinsic properties of the BG neurons and their connections with thalamic neurons.Simulation results show that the NDDF control strategy with optimal parameters is effective in removing the pathological beta oscillations.By comparison,we find the NDDF control strategy performs more excellent than DDF in alleviating PD state.Additionally,we define the multiple-NDDF control strategy and find that the multiple-NDDF with appropriate parameters performs better than NDDF.The obtained results contribute to the cure for PD symptoms by optimizing the noise-induced improvement of the BG dysfunction.     

Synthesis and Structural Characterization of a Di-nuclear Uranyl Complex with Quinoline-6-carboxylate

Crystallography Reports - A di-nuclear uranyl complex with the formula of [(UO2)2(L)4(H2O)2]?4H2O (1) (HL = quinoline-6-carboxylic acid) was synthesized hydrothermally and characterized by...     

One-step method for synthesis of bio-based semi-aromatic high-temperature polyamide PA5T/56 and its non-isothermal crystallization kinetics

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The bio-based semi-aromatic high-temperature polyamide PA5T/56 was successfully synthesized by one-step method, which shortened the reaction time...     

Lysosome‐targeted potent half‐sandwich iridium(III) α‐diimine antitumor complexes

Fifteen organometallic Ir(III) half‐sandwich complexes ( 1A – 5C ) having the general formula [(η⁵‐Cp^x)Ir(N^N)Cl]PF₆ (Cp^x = Cp*, tetramethyl(phenyl)cyclopentadienyl (Cp^xph) or tetramethyl(biphenyl)cyclopentadienyl (Cp^xbiph); N^N = diamine) have been synthesized and characterized. The molecular structure of 1A was determined using single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. The hydrolysis of 1A – 5C was monitored using UV–visible spectra. Complexes 3A – 3C showed catalytic activity for the oxidation of NADH to NAD⁺, where 3C showed the highest turnover number of 29.9 within 450 min. Cytotoxicity examination by MTT assay was carried out against two human cancer cell lines (HeLa and A549) after 24 or 48 h drug treatment. The complexes showed high potency, where the most potent complex ( 3C ; IC₅₀ = 3.4 μM) was six times more active than cisplatin against A549 cells after 24 h drug exposure. Cytotoxic potency towards A549 cells increased with phenyl substitution on Cp ring: Cp^xbiph > Cp^xph > Cp*. In addition, the biological studies showed that 3C caused cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G₁ phase in A549 cancer cells. Moreover, 3C increased the level of reactive oxygen species markedly after 24 h, which may provide an important basis for killing cancer cells. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to track 3C in A549 cells. The cellular localization experiment showed that 3C targeted lysosomes and caused lysosomal damage.     

Vertically Grown Few-Layer MoS2 Nanosheets on Hierarchical Carbon Nanocages for Pseudocapacitive Lithium Storage with Ultrahigh-Rate Capability and Long-Term Recyclability

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is an intensively studied anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its high theoretical capacity, but it is still confronted by severe challenges of unsatisfactory rate capability and cycle life. Herein, few-layer MoS₂ nanosheets, vertically grown on hierarchical carbon nanocages (hCNC) by a facile hydrothermal method, introduce pseudocapacitive lithium storage owing to the highly exposed MoS₂ basal planes, enhanced conductivity, and facilitated electrolyte access arising from good hybridization with hCNC. Thus, the optimized MoS₂/hCNC exhibits reversible capacities of 1670 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ after 50 cycles, 621 mAh g⁻¹ at 5.0 A g⁻¹ after 500 cycles, and 196 mAh g⁻¹ at 50 A g⁻¹ after 2500 cycles, which are among the best for MoS₂-based anode materials. The specific power and specific energy, which can reach 16.1 kW and 252.8 Wh after 3000 cycles, respectively, indicate great potential in high-power and long-life LIBs. These findings suggest a promising strategy for exploring advanced anode materials with high reversible capacity, high-rate capability, and long-term recyclability.