Rapid qualitative profiling and quantitative analysis of Juglandis Mandshuricae Cortex and seven flavonoids by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole/orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry

Juglandis Mandshuricae Cortex is the bark of Juglans mandshurica Maxim., which has been used as a folk medicine plant in China and India. In this study, an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole/orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry method was developed to clarify and quantify the chemical profiling of Juglandis Mandshuricae Cortex rapidly. A total of 113 compounds were characterized. Among them, seven flavonoids were simultaneously quantified in 15 min, including myricetin, myricetrin, taxifolin, kaempferol, quercetin, quercitrin, and naringenin. The method was validated for accuracy, precision, and the limits of detection and quantification. All calibration curves showed a good linear relationship (r > 0.9990) within test ranges. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations were less than 2.16%. Accuracy validation showed that the recovery was between 95.6 and 101.3% with relative standard deviation values below 2.85%. The validated method was successfully applied to determine the contents of seven flavones in Juglandis Mandshuricae Cortex from seven sources and the contents of these places were calculated respectively. This method provides a theoretical basis for further developing the medicinal value of Juglandis Mandshuricae Cortex.     

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。     

Enhanced thermoelectric performance of PEDOT:PSS films via ionic liquid post-treatment

Thermoelectric(TE)energy harvesting can effectively convert waste heat into electricity,which is a crucial technology to solve energy concerns.As a promising candidate for energy conversion,poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS)has gained significant attention owing to its easy doping,high transparency,and solution processability.However,the TE performance of PEDOT:PSS still needs to be further enhanced.Herein,different approaches have been applied for tuning the TE properties:(i)direct dipping PEDOT:PSS thin films in ionic liquid;(ii)post-treatment of the films with concentrated sulfuric acid(H₂SO₄),and then dipping in ionic liquid.Besides,the same bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide(TFSI)anion and different cation salts,including 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium(EMIM+)and lithium(Li+),are selected to study the influence of varying cation types on the TE properties of PEDOT:PSS.The Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS film treated with H2SO4EMIM:TFSI increase simultaneously,and the resulting maximum power factor is 46.7μW·m^-1·K^-2,which may be attributed to the ionic liquid facilitating the rearrangement of the molecular chain of PEDOT.The work provides a reference for the development of organic films with high TE properties.     

First-principles study of the co-effect of carbon doping and oxygen vacancies in ZnO photocatalyst

Although tuning band structure of optoelectronic semiconductor-based materials by means of doping single defect is an important approach for potential photocatalysis application,C-doping or oxygen vacancy(Vo)as a single defect in ZnO still has limitations for photocatalytic activity.Meanwhile,the influence of co-existence of various defects in ZnO still lacks sufficient studies.Therefore,we investigate the photocatalytic properties of ZnOx C0.0625(x=0.9375,0.875,0.8125),confirming that the co-effect of various defects has a greater enhancement for photocatalytic activity driven by visible-light than the single defect in ZnO.To clarify the underlying mechanism of co-existence of various defects in ZnO,we perform systematically the electronic properties calculations using density functional theory.It is found that the coeffect of C-doping and Vo in ZnO can achieve a more controllable band gap than doping solely in ZnO.Moreover,the impact of the effective masses of ZnO_xC_0.0625(x=0.9375,0.875,0.8125)is also taken into account.In comparison with heavy Vo concentrations,the light Vo concentration(x=0.875)as the optimal component together with C-doping in ZnO,can significantly improve the visible-light absorption and benefit photocatalytic activity.     

阳离子交换皂石黏土在基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱分析中的应用

将一种人工合成的无机聚合物——蒙脱石皂石黏土（smectite，Sm）应用于基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱分析（matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry, MALDI-TOF-MS），以检测糖类化合物。 将传统的有机基质2，4，6-三羟基苯乙酮（trihydroxyacetophenone, THAP）与阳离子交换后的皂石黏土混合制备成新型复合基质，应用于糖类化合物的检测。通过比较不同的制样方法，测定不同分子直径的糖类化合物，发现由于受复合基质晶面间距的限制，只有小分子糖类化合物能进入晶面间隙充分接触有机基质并被离子化，从而实现对小分子糖类化合物的选择性检测。     

On the $$\bar\partial$$ -problem and dressing method for the complex vector modified KdV equation

Theoretical and Mathematical Physics - Starting from a $$5\times 5$$ local matrix $$\bar\partial$$ -problem, we successfully use the $$\bar\partial$$ -dressing method to derive a hierarchy of...     

Study on propagation efficiency and fidelity of subthreshold signal in feed-forward hybrid neural network under electromagnetic radiation

Nonlinear Dynamics - The hybrid neural model provides a computationally effective and biophysics-based neuron behavior model, which maintains its simplicity by incorporating the dynamics...     

Ultrahigh Loading Copper Single Atom Catalyst for Palladium-free Wacker Oxidation

Wacker oxidation is an industry-adopted process to transform olefins into value-added epoxides and carbonyls. However, traditional Wacker oxidation involves the use of homogeneous palladium and copper catalysts for the olefin addition and reductive elimination. Here, we demonstrated an ultrahigh loading Cu single atom catalyst(14% Cu, mass fraction) for the palladium-free Wacker oxidation of 4-vinylanisole into the corresponding ketone with N-methylhydroxylamine hydrochloride as an additive under mild conditions. Mechanistic studies by ¹⁸O and deuterium isotope labelling revealed a hydrogen shift mechanism in this palladium-free process using N-methylhydroxylamine hydrochloride as the oxygen source. The reaction scope can be further extended to Kucherov oxidation. Our study paves the way to replace noble metal catalysts in the traditional homogeneous processes with single atom catalysts.     

Adaptive controller design for a switched model of air-breathing hypersonic vehicles

Since most of the control strategies for air-breathing hypersonic vehicles (AHVs) concentrate on the control-oriented models built at/around a specific working point, it is somewhat hard to extend them to the broader flight envelop. Aiming at the above deficiency, this paper formulates the dynamics of AHVs as several sub-models, which switch to each other in accordance with the flight condition and make up of the control-oriented switched model (COSM). With the aid of the COSM, two adaptive tracking controllers are proposed for the purposes of velocity tracking and altitude tracking, sequentially. By utilizing neural networks and designing robust control laws, the possible changes on the force and moment coefficients in the COSM are successfully handled. The time-varying inertia parameters of AHVs are also considered at design level. It is worth emphasizing that while this strategy is developed based on a switched model, the resulting control algorithm is continuous with no connection to the switching signal. Analysis indicates that both velocity and altitude tracking errors remain small within the whole flight envelop, which is further confirmed by a simulation study.     

The metabolites and biotransformation pathways in vivo after oral administration of ocotillol,RT5, and PF11

Ocotillol, pseudo-ginsenoside RT5 (RT₅), and pseudo-ginsenoside F₁₁ (PF₁₁) are ocotillol-type saponins that have the same aglycone structure but with different numbers of glucose at the C-6 position. In this study, the metabolites of ocotillol, RT₅, and PF₁₁ in rat plasma, stomach, intestine, urine, and feces after oral administration were investigated by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The results showed that RT₅ was easily biotransformed into metabolites in vivo, whereas PF₁₁ and RT₅ were difficult to be biotransformed. Hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, dehydration, deglycosylation, deoxygenation, hydration, phosphorylation, deoxidation, glucuronidation, and reactions combining amino acid were speculated to be involved in the biotransformation of ocotillol, RT₅, and PF₁₁. Based on the structural analysis of metabolites, it was deduced that hydrogenation, dehydration, deoxidation, and reactions combining amino acid occurred on the aglycone structure, whereas deglycosylation, hydration, and phosphorylation occurred on the glycosyl chain. Further, metabolites in plasma, urine, feces, and tissues were different: First, glucuronidation products were found in urine, stomach, intestine, and feces, but not in plasma. Second, the ocotillol prototype was not identified in urine samples. Third, the RT₅ prototype was found in stomach, intestine, feces, and urine, but not in plasma.