Global dynamics of a flexible asymmetrical rotor

Nonlinear Dynamics - Global dynamics of a flexible asymmetrical rotor resting on vibrating supports is investigated. Hamilton’s principle is used to derive the partial differential governing...     

Crystal phase control in two-dimensional materials

It is the nature of crystals to exist in different polymorphs. The recent emergence of two-dimensional (2D) materials has evoked the discovery of a number of new crystal phases that are different from their bulk structures at ambient conditions, and revealed novel structure-dependent properties, which deserve in-depth understanding and further exploration. In this contribution, we review the recent development of crystal phase control in 2D materials, including group V and VI. transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), group IVA metal chalcogenides and noble metals. For each group of materials, we begin with introducing the various existing crystal phases and their structure-related properties, followed by a detailed discussion on factors that influence these crystal structures and thus the possible strategies for phase control. Finally, after summarizing the whole paper, we present the challenges and opportunities in this research direction.     

Topological multiplicity of the maximum eigenvalue of graph 1-Laplacian

In this paper, we reveal the connection between the independent number of a graph and the topological multiplicity of the maximal eigenvalue of the corresponding graph 1-Laplacian. The pseudo independent number of a graph is introduced, which provides a better lower estimate of the topological multiplicity of the maximum eigenvalue. The technique of our proof is based on the localization property of the eigenvector for graph 1-Laplacian, the Krasnoselski genus, and its relation to the topological join.     

Piezoelectric Actuator Placement Optimization and Active Vibration Control of a Membrane Structure

The placement optimization of piezoelectric actuators and active vibration control of a membrane structure are studied in this paper. The classical linear quadratic regulator controllers are designed to suppress the unwanted vibration. Simulation results indicate that the optimal locations of piezoelectric actuators are affected deeply by the additional mass and stiffness of actuators, the computational efficiency of particle swarm optimizer is higher than that of genetic algorithm for this particular problem, and the control performance of optimally placed actuators is better than that of non-optimally placed actuators.     

Simultaneous quantification of five biogenic amines based on LC–MS/MS and its application in honeybee venom from different subspecies

The use of honeybee venom in traditional medicine is increasing due to its unexpected beneficial effects in the treatment of diseases. In this study, a simple and environmentally friendly sample preparation procedure was developed to quantify five biogenic amines—histamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline—in honeybee venom using high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The instrument and sample preparation method were optimized to achieve stable, sensitive, and accurate quantification of the five biogenic amines. The peak purities of five biogenic amines in bee venom were examined using a diode array detector to ensure that endogenous impurities will not interfere with biogenic amines during the chromatographic separation procedure. The correlation coefficient of each compound was higher than 0.998 in the range of 0.5–1000 ng/mL. The limits of detection and quantification of the developed method ranged between 0.09 and 0.17, and 0.3 and 0.59 μg/g, respectively. The average recoveries of spiked biogenic amines with different concentrations were higher than 70.95%, and the intra- and intermediate-day precisions were lower than 7.51% and 10.17%, respectively. The carry-over between each injection and the stability of the target analytes were also evaluated to ensure the effectiveness of this method. The data obtained are presented in various formats, including boxplot, heat map, and principal component analysis diagram, to visualize the differences in the biogenic amine contents of the honeybee venoms from different subspecies. This method hopes to provide the opportunity to distinguish the bee venom produced by different subspecies.     

UPLC–ESI–Q-TOF–MS/MS analysis of anticancer fractions from Ophiocordyceps xuefengensis and Ophiocordyceps sinensis

Ophiocordyceps xuefengensis (O. xuefengensis), a new species of caterpillar fungus, has been identified as the sister taxon of Ophiocordyceps sinensis (O. sinensis). The aims of the present study are to evaluate the anticancer activity and to qualitatively analyze the potential bioactive chemical constituents of O. xuefengensis and O. sinensis, comparatively. An MTT assay was used to evaluate the in vitro anticancer activities of different fractions from O. xuefengensis and O. sinensis. The results show that ethyl acetate fractions of O. xuefengensis and O. sinensis have significant in vitro anticancer activity. These two bioactive fractions were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization with quadrupole–time of flight tandem mass spectrometry technology. A total of 82 compounds and 101 compounds were identified or tentatively characterized in the bioactive fractions of O. xuefengensis and O. sinensis, respectively. Among these compounds, 68 existed in both O. xuefengensis and O. sinensis. A total of 67 compounds were reported in O. xuefengensis and 8 compounds were reported in caterpillar fungus for the first time. This is the first detailed comparative analysis of the in vitro anticancer activity and chemical ingredients between O. xuefengensis and O. sinensis. The application of this work will provide reliable fundamental pharmacological substances for the use of O. xuefengensis by Yao people.     

Characterization of the chemical constituents in Hongjingtian injection by liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Hongjingtian injection is made from Rhodiola wallichiana and used in the treatment of stable angina pectoris associated with coronary heart disease. In this study, the chemical constituents in Hongjingtian injection were comprehensively studied using liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. A total of 49 compounds were identified or assumed, including 10 organic acids, nine phenylethanoids, 10 phenylpropanoids, two flavonoid glycosides, seven monoterpene glycosides, seven octylglycosides and four other types of compounds. The structures of seven compounds were confirmed by comparing their retention times, MS and UV spectra with the corresponding authentic standards. Amongst the 49 compounds, 35 were firstly found in R. wallichiana, while they have been reported in other species of the genus Rhodiola, including Rhodiola crenulata, Rhodiola sacra, Rhodiola rosea and Rhodiola kirilowii. The possible fragmentation pathways in the mass spectrometry of the major types of compounds are proposed and summarized. Our study demonstrates a rapid method for characterizing the chemical constituents present in the Hongjingtian injection, which could also be applied to the identification of chemical constituents in other TCM formulae containing R. wallichiana.     

Development of Lysosome-Targeted Fluorescent Probes for Cys by Regulating the Boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) Molecular Structure

Our previous discovery suggested that substituents on the 1,7 positions delicately modulate the sensing ability of the meso-arylmercapto boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) to biothiols. In this work, the impact of delicate modulations on the sensing ability is investigated. Therefore, 1,7-dimethyl, 3,5-diaryl substituted BODIPY is designed and developed and its conformationally restricted species with a meso-arylmercapto moiety ( DM-BDP-SAr and DM-BDP-R-SAr ) as selective fluorescent probes for Cys. Moreover, the lysosome-target probes ( Lyso-S and Lyso-D ) based on DM-BDP-SAr carrying one or two morpholinoethoxy moieties were developed. They were able to detect Cys selectively in vitro with low detection limits. Both Lyso-S and Lyso-D localized nicely in lysosomes in living HeLa cells and exhibited red fluorescence for Cys. Moreover, a novel fluorescence quenching mechanism was proposed from the calculations by density functional theory (DFT). The probes may go through intersystem crossing (from singlet excited state to triplet excited state) to result in fluorescence quenching.     

Cryptanalysis and Improvement of Ye et al’s Quantum Private Comparison Protocol

Recently, Ye et al. (Int. J. Theor. Phys. 56, 1517–1529, 2017) proposed a quantum private comparison (QPC) protocol based on five-qubit entanglement state. Two parties can verify that their secret information is equal or not with the help of the semi-honest third party (TP). However, in this paper we will point out the Ye et al.’s initial protocol is not safe under a special participant attack. That is a malicious participant can get the other party’s secret input information illegally under the forgery attack. Furthermore, we give two possible improvement protocols, which can perform this protocol secure against this kind of attack.

     

Two new aromadendrane sesquiterpenes from Verticillium psalliotae

The chemical constituents of the fungus Verticillium psalliotae were studied. Two new aromadendrane sesquiterpenes inonotin M (1) and inonotin N (2) were isolated from the EtOAc extract of the fungal culture broth. The structures of compounds were elucidated mainly by HRESIMS experiments, and 1D, 2D-NMR spectroscopy analysis.