Unveiling the relevance of the redox character of nitroaromatic and nitroheteroaromatic compounds as potential medicines

This review discusses the state of the art, challenges, and perspectives in recent applications of nitroaromatics and nitroheteroaromatics, which are redox-bio-activated drugs or leads, in Medicinal Chemistry. It deals mainly with the electrochemical approach toward the electron transfer-based molecular mechanisms of drug action, drug design, estimation and measurement of redox potentials, correlation of physicochemical and pharmacological data, and electrochemical studies of the main representatives of nitro-containing prodrugs, along with approaches to combat their toxicity issues, aiming at a better therapeutic profile. Electrochemical investigation plays essential roles, being strategic in the design and discovery of potential medicines.     

融合图卷积神经网络和注意力机制的PM2.5小时浓度多步预测

PM_2.5小时浓度多为单步预测。为实现PM_2.5小时浓度的多步预测，基于“编码器-解码器”的序列-序列预测（Seq2Seq）模型，集合图卷积神经网络提取非欧式空间数据特征的能力以及注意力机制自适应关注特征的能力，提出了融合图卷积神经网络和注意力机制的PM_2.5小时浓度多步预测（GCN_Attention_Seq2Seq）模型。并与Seq2Seq模型和使用了图卷积神经网络、未使用注意力机制的GCN_Seq2Seq模型进行了对照，以2015—2016年北京市22个空气质量监测站点的空气质量数据为样本进行实例验证，结果表明，Seq2Seq模型和图卷积神经网络（GCN）可对PM_2.5小时浓度数据的时空依赖进行有效建模，注意力机制有助于减缓多步预测中的预测精度衰减，提升PM_2.5小时浓度多步预测的精度。GCN_Attention_Seq2Seq模型可有效应用于多种长度的PM_2.5浓度预测窗口。     

埋藏哈密翼龙化石的雅丹风化的光谱分析——以大海道2号水源地雅丹为例

新疆哈密地区翼龙化石具有极高的科学研究价值。哈密翼龙动物群主要埋藏在早白垩世湖相地层形成的雅丹中，富集在风暴沉积层。化石一旦暴露地表，就会发生不同程度的自然风化破碎，尤其是见水或受潮后风化更为严重。哈密大海道2号水源地附近的雅丹底部由于地下水和间歇性地表水的作用，发生了严重的盐碱析出导致的强烈风化现象，造成雅丹下部剥落侵蚀和上层雅丹重力坍塌，从下到上不同地层的风化程度差异较大，底部地层的风化最为剧烈。对大海道雅丹地层剖面取样，利用多种分析方法确定每一层的岩性和可溶盐种类，从微观上揭示雅丹风化的机理。偏光显微观察和X射线衍射（XRD）结果显示每一层都含有石英、长石、方解石和粘土矿物，矿物组成无较大差异，但粘土含量差别较大。精确的可溶盐种类鉴别方法，包括离子色谱（IC）确定出样品中可溶盐离子含量及种类，拉曼光谱（Raman）和傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）鉴别出样品中的硝酸盐和硫酸盐，扫描电子显微镜能谱仪（SEM-EDS）鉴别出氯盐、硝酸盐和硫酸盐。结果显示雅丹各风化层中最底层可溶盐主要是NaCl和Na₂SO₄，第二层是NaCl和CaCl₂，第三层是NaCl，盐种类/含量的差别是此处雅丹从下到上发生不同风化现象的重要原因。结合大海道雅丹所处的气候地理环境（极干旱高盐碱地区、水源地附近），探讨水盐活动规律并关联风化表现，分析该处雅丹风化原因，内因是每层沉积岩的岩性不同，外因是水和盐（NaCl，Na₂SO₄，CaCl₂）的共同作用下，强烈的水盐活动造成了埋藏有哈密翼龙化石的雅丹严重化学风化。这一风化机理也可很好地解释哈密翼龙化石及其围岩层受潮后的强烈风化破碎现象。     

黄绿色葡萄石的矿物学特征及谱学研究

葡萄石可以以板状、片状、葡萄状、肾状、放射状或块状集合体的形式产出,因其美丽的外观和特殊的晶体结构,近年来受到了学者的广泛关注。本文通过电子探针、粉晶X射线衍射仪、傅里叶变换红外光谱仪、显微拉曼光谱仪、紫外可见分光光度计等仪器对黄绿色葡萄石的成分、结构及谱学特征进行了分析与探讨。葡萄石的主要致色元素为Fe,且Fe³⁺经常取代Al³⁺占据八面体配位,Fe²⁺经常取代Ca²⁺存在于空隙中。电子探针数据表明:Fe与Al的含量变化整体呈现负相关关系,Fe与Ca的含量变化也整体呈现负相关关系,Fe含量相对较高的样品其黄绿色调加深。XRD图谱和拉曼光谱的结果表明:在葡萄石中绿帘石以包裹体的形式存在。红外光谱和拉曼光谱表明葡萄石中存在硅氧四面体和铝氧八面体两种架构,紫外可见吸收光谱揭示了葡萄石的致色机理。本文对葡萄石的矿物学特征及谱学特征进行系统分析,为后续葡萄石的进一步研究提供思路与实验数据。     

Hydrogen Spillover Enhanced Hydroxyl Formation and Catalytic Activity Toward CO Oxidation at the Metal/Oxide Interface

H₂‐promoted catalytic activity of oxide‐supported metal catalysts in low‐temperature CO oxidation is of great interest but its origin remains unknown. Employing an FeO(111)/Pt(111) inverse model catalyst, we herewith report direct experimental evidence for the spillover of H(a) adatoms on the Pt surface formed by H₂ dissociation to the Pt?FeO interface to form hydroxyl groups that facilely oxidize CO(a) on the neighboring Pt surface to produce CO₂. Hydroxyl groups and coadsorbed water play a crucial role in the occurrence of hydrogen spillover. These results unambiguously identify the occurrence of hydrogen spillover from the metal surface to the noble metal/metal oxide interface and the resultant enhanced catalytic activity of the metal/oxide interface in low‐temperature CO oxidation, which provides a molecular‐level understanding of both H₂‐promoted catalytic activity of metal/oxide ensembles in low‐temperature CO oxidation and hydrogen spillover.     

Silver‐Assisted Chemical Etching on Silicon with Polyvinylpyrrolidone‐Mediated Formation of Silver Dendrites

Metal‐assisted chemical etching (MaCE) on silicon (Si)—mediated by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)—is systematically investigated herein. It is found that the morphologies and crystallographic natures of the grown silver (Ag) dendrites can be significantly modulated, with the presence of PVP in the MaCE process leading to the formation of faceted Ag dendrites preferentially along the (111) crystallographic phase, rather than along the (200) phase. Further explorations of the PVP‐mediated effect on Si etching are also revealed. In contrast to the aligned Si nanowires formed by MaCE without PVP addition, only distributed nanopores with sizes of 200 to 400 nm appear on the Si surfaces in the presence of PVP. The origin of surface polishing on Si in the PVP‐mediated MaCE process can be attributed to the distinct transport pathway of holes supplied by the Ag⁺ ions, where the holes are injected directly into the primary Ag seeds, rather than through Ag dendrites, thus leading to the isotropic etching of the Si surface.     

Antioxidant activity and mechanism of the abietane-type diterpene ferruginol

The antioxidant activity of the abietane-type diterpene ferruginol was evaluated by comparison with that of carnosic acid, ( ± )-α-tocopherol and dibutylhydroxytoluene using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, β-carotene bleaching and linoleic acid assays. Ferruginol had the lowest antioxidant activity of this group using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and β-carotene methods in polar solvent buffer. However, ferruginol exhibited stronger activity than carnosic acid and α-tocopherol for linoleic acid oxidation under non-solvent conditions. Five peaks corresponding to ferruginol derivatives were detected through GC-MS analysis of the reaction between ferruginol and methyl linoleate. The three reaction products were identified as dehydroferruginol, 7β-hydroxyferruginol and sugiol, and the other two peaks were assumed to be 7α-hydroxyferruginol and the quinone methide derivative of ferruginol. The time course of the reaction suggests that the quinone methide was produced early in the reaction and reacted further to produce dehydroferruginol, 7-hydroxyferruginol and sugiol. Thus, we inferred that quinone methide formation was a key step in the antioxidant reaction of ferruginol.