Identification of Zonal Flows and Their Spatial Distribution in the TJ-II Stellarator Plasmas

JETP Letters - The magnetic and electronic properties of quasi-one-dimensional iron chalcogenide compound KFeS2 have been calculated within two DFT + U approaches based on the simplified LSDA + U...     

Surface of room temperature ionic liquid [bmim][PF6] studied by polarization- and experimental configuration-dependent sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy

Understanding and control of the surface properties such as molecular orientations are of great importance in numerous applications of ionic liquids. However, there remain discrepancies among the previous experimental and theoretical studies on the surface orientation and structures of room temperature ionic liquids(RTIL) systems. In this article, the orientation of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium([bmin]) cation at the air/liquid interface of a characteristic RTIL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate([bmim][PF6]), was investigated by the sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy(SFG-VS). Detailed polarization and experimental configuration analyses of the SFG-VS spectra showed the possibility of a small spectral splitting in the CH3 symmetric stretching region, which can be further attributed to the probable existence of multiple orientations for the interfacial [bmim] cations. In addition, the(N)–CH3 vibrations were absent, ruling out the prediction by several recent molecular dynamics simulations which state that portions of the [bmim] cations orient with a standing-up(N)–CH3 group at the ionic liquid surface. Hence, new realistic theoretical models have to be developed to reflect the complex nature of the ionic liquid surface.     

Observation and analysis of near-surface atmospheric aerosol optical properties in urban Beijing

Year-round measurements of the mass concentration and optical properties of fine aerosols(PM_2.5) from June 2009 to May 2010 at an urban site in Beijing were analyzed.The annual mean values of the PM_2.5 mass concentration,absorption coefficient（Ab）,scattering coefficient（Sc） and single scattering albedo（SSA）at 525 nm were 67±66μg/m³,64 ±62 Mm^-1,360 ±405 Mm^-1 and 0.82 ±0.09,respectively.The bulk mass absorption efficiency and scattering efficiency of the PM_2.5 at 525 nm were 0.78 m²/g and 5.55 m²/g,respectively.The Ab and Sc showed a similar diurnal variation with a maximum at night and a minimum in the afternoon,whereas SSA displayed an opposite diurnal pattern.Significant increases in the Ab and Sc were observed in pollution episodes caused by the accumulation of pollutants from both local and regional sources under unfavorable weather conditions.Aerosol loadings in dust events increased by several times in the spring,which had limited effects on the Ab and Sc due to the low absorption and scattering efficiency of dust particles.The frequency of haze days was the highest in autumn because of the high aerosol absorption and scattering under unfavorable weather conditions.The daily PM_2.5concentration should be controlled to a level lower than 64 μg/m³ to prevent the occurrence of haze days according to its exponentially decreased relationship with visibility.     

Characteristics of black carbon aerosol in Jiaxing,China during autumn 2013

We conducted measurements of black carbon（BC） aerosol in Jiaxing,China during autumn from September 26 to November 30,2013.We investigated temporal and diurnal variations of BC,and its correlations with meteorological parameters and other major pollutants.Results showed that hourly mass concentrations of BC ranged from 0.2 to 22.0 μg/m³,with an average of 5.1 μg/m³.The diurnai variation of BC exhibited a bimodal distribution,with peaks at 07:00 and 18:00.The morning peak was larger than the evening peak.The mass percentages of BC in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were 7.1%and 4.8%,respectively.The absorption coefficient of BC was calculated to be 44.4 Mm^-1,which accounted for 11.1%of the total aerosol extinction.BC was mainly emitted from local sources in southwestern Jiaxing where BC concentrations were generally greater than 11 μg/m³ during the measurement period.Correlation analysis indicated that the main sources of BC were motor vehicle exhaust,and domestic and industrial combustion.     

Ratiometric mode with dyads: a breakthrough in dynamic trapping and quantification for redox regulation in living cells

Redox-based post-translational modification of protein thiols has become an attractive strategy in cellular homeostasis and cell signaling.Due to the reductive end of the redox buffer network,the vicinal dithiol-containing proteins(VDPs)maintains an appropriate oxidation-reduction state of proteins through the reversible transformation from vicinal dithiols to disulfide,which is responsible for a variety of     

New progress in active immunotherapy targeting to amyloid beta

Alzheimer's disease(AD) is one of the most common types of dementia whose hallmarks include neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. The latter are mainly composed of amyloid-β proteins(Aβ), and it's suggested that Aβ may be the causative factor in AD pathogenesis. Immunotherapy targeting Aβ for preventing aggregation of Aβ and mildly clearing amyloid plaques has been a hot topic since 1999. Although the first clinical trial of Aβ vaccine, AN-1792, failed in phase II, its results suggested some key points in the design of Aβ vaccines. Avoiding the possible toxic Aβ specific T cell response and inducing a Th2 type cellular immune response may be beneficial for Aβ immunotherapy. Many associations and research groups are working on Aβ vaccine and some progress has been made in recent years. In this review, we have provided a detailed summary of past Aβ vaccines, which have been sorted by the immunogen, and we also discuss some recent progress and future perspectives.     

Biopolymer-Polysiloxane Double Network Aerogels

A new series of transparent aerogels of biopolymer-polysiloxane double networks is reported. Biopolymer aerogels have attracted much attention from green and sustainable aspects but suffered from strong hydrophilicity and difficulty to make homogeneous structures in nanoscale; these drawbacks are overcome by compositing with a polysiloxane network. Alginate-polymethylsilsesquioxane aerogel has high optical transparency, water repellency, comparable superinsulation property and improved bending flexibility compared to pure polymethylsilsesquioxane aerogel. The nanoscale homogeneity is realized by separating the crosslinking steps for two networks in a sequential protocol: condensation of siloxane bonds and metal-crosslinking of biopolymer. The crosslinking order, biopolymer-first or siloxane-first, and universality/limitation of biopolymer-crosslinker pairs are discussed to construct fundamental chemistry of double network systems for their further application potentials.     

Direct synthesis of propylene carbonate from propylene and carbon dioxide catalyzed by quaternary ammonium heteropolyphosphatotungstate–TBAB system

In this paper,we have developed a highly efficient method for the direct preparation of propylene carbonate from propylene and carbon dioxide(CO2) using quaternary ammonium heteropolyphosphatotungstate–quaternary ammonium halide catalytic system with anhydrous hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant through one-pot two-step process.The effects of the amount of tetrabutylammonium bromide(TBAB),the concentration of hydrogen peroxide and other reaction conditions were investigated.The catalyst system gave an optimum propylene oxide yield(91%) at75°C in oxidation step and the highest propylene carbonate yield(99%) at 140°C and 3.0 MPa in cycloaddition step.Based on the results,a reaction mechanism has been proposed.