基于Rietveld精修方法解析Bi2O3的原子热振动

三氧化二铋(Bi₂O₃)是氧离子导电体,为了获得它的原子热振动各向同性温度因子,对该粉末晶体进行X射线衍射实验,建立了晶体结构模型,利用Rietveld 精修方法的RIETAN-2000 程序对所得实验结果进行了晶体结构精修,通过最大熵方法(MEM)解析得到了粉末晶体的等高电子密度分布三维(3D) 和二维(2D)可视化图谱。结果表明,各原子Bi₍₁₎、Bi₍₂₎、O₍₁₎、O₍₂₎和O₍₃₎的原子热振动各向同性温度因子分别为0.004 938 nm²、0.004 174 nm²、0.007 344 nm²、0.007 462 nm²、和0.007 857 nm²,等高电子密度分布的可视化,进一步验证了晶体结构模型和原子位置的准确性,这些参数对研究晶体材料的热性质具有一定参考意义。     

Sc、Ce掺杂CrSi2的电子结构与光学性质的第一性原理

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理赝势平面波方法对Sc、Ce单掺和共掺后CrSi₂的几何结构、电子结构、复介电函数、吸收系数和光电导率进行了计算。结果表明:Sc、Ce掺杂CrSi₂的晶格常数增大,带隙变小。本征CrSi₂的带隙为0.386 eV,Sc、Ce单掺及共掺CrSi₂的禁带宽度分别减小至0.245 eV、0.232 eV、0.198 eV,费米能级均向低能区移动进入价带。由于Sc的3d态电子和Ce的4f态电子的影响,Sc、Ce掺杂的CrSi₂在导带下方出现了杂质能级。掺杂后的CrSi₂介电函数虚部第一介电峰峰值增加且向低能方向移动,说明Sc、Ce掺杂使得CrSi₂在低能区的光跃迁强度增强,Sc-Ce共掺时更明显。Sc、Ce掺杂的CrSi₂吸收边在低能方向发生红移,在能量大于21.6 eV特别是在位于31.3 eV的较高能量附近,本征CrSi₂几乎不吸收光子,Sc单掺和Sc-Ce共掺CrSi₂吸收光子的能力有所增强,并在E=31.3 eV附近形成了第二吸收峰。说明掺杂Sc、Ce改善了CrSi₂对红外和较高能区光子的吸收。在小于3.91 eV的低能区掺杂后的CrSi₂光电导率增加。在20.01 eV<E<34.21 eV时,本征CrSi₂光电导率为零,但Sc、Ce掺杂后的体系不为零,掺杂拓宽了CrSi₂的光响应范围。研究结果为CrSi₂基光电器件的应用与设计提供了理论依据。     

Analysis of a new multispecies tumor growth model coupling 3D phase-fields with a 1D vascular network

In this work, we present and analyze a mathematical model for tumor growth incorporating ECM erosion, interstitial flow, and the effect of vascular flow and nutrient transport. The model is of phase-field or diffused-interface type in which multiple phases of cell species and other constituents are separated by smooth evolving interfaces. The model involves a mesoscale version of Darcy’s law to capture the flow mechanism in the tissue matrix. Modeling flow and transport processes in the vasculature supplying the healthy and cancerous tissue, one-dimensional (1D) equations are considered. Since the models governing the transport and flow processes are defined together with cell species models on a three-dimensional (3D) domain, we obtain a 3D–1D coupled model.     

Synthesis of trialkyl semithioglycolurils from alkylthiourea-glyoxal cyclic adducts and dialkylureas

Condensation of 1-alkyl-4,5-dihydroxyimidazolidine-2-thiones (monoalkylthiourea-glyoxal cyclic adducts) with 1,3-dialkylureas affords novel 1,4,6-trialkylsemithio- glycolurils having non-substituted NH group linked to C=S function. Such compounds can be accessed in two-stage one-pot reaction sequence from alkylthioureas and glyoxal followed by treatment of the resulting adduct with 1,3-dialkylureas     

Synthesis and crystal structures of novel glycoluril carboxylic acids conglomerates

The two novel conglomerates were obtained by crystallization of racemic (2'S,3aS,6aR)/(2'R,3aR,6aS) (glycoluril-1-yl)-3-methylbutanoic acid and (2'R,3aR,6aR)/(2'S,3aS,6aS) (4,6-dimethylglycoluril-1-yl)pentanoic acid synthesized by highly diastereoselective condensation of 4,5-dihydroxy- imidazolidin-2-ones with racemic ureido acids. The differences in the molecular geometry of synthesized racemates were studied by X-ray diffraction that showed them to crystallize as conglomerates in non-centrosymmetric space groups Pna2₁ and P2₁2₁2₁, respectively     

Pattern transition and regulation in a subthalamopallidal network under electromagnetic effect

Although the significant roles of magnetic induction and electromagnetic radiation in the neural system have been widely studied, their influence on Parkinson's disease (PD) has yet to be well explored. By virtue of the magnetic flux variable, this paper studies the transition of firing patterns induced by magnetic induction and the regulation effect of external magnetic radiation on the firing activities of the subthalamopallidal network in basal ganglia. We find: (i) The network reproduces five typical waveforms corresponding to the severity of symptoms: weak cluster, episodic, continuous cluster, episodic, and continuous wave. (ii) Magnetic induction is a double-edged sword for the treatment of PD. Although the increase of magnetic coefficient may lead the physiological firing activity to transfer to pathological firing activity, it also can regulate the pathological intensity firing activity with excessive β-band power transferring to the physiological firing pattern with weak β-band power. (iii) External magnetic radiation could inhibit continuous tremulous firing and β-band power of subthalamic nucleus (STN), which means the severity of symptoms weakened. Especially, the bi-parameter plane of the regulation region shows that a short pulse period of magnetic radiation and a medium level of pulse percentage can well regulate pathological oscillation. This work helps to understand the firing activity of the subthalamopallidal network under electromagnetic effect. It may also provide insights into the mechanisms behind the electromagnetic therapy of PD-related firing activity.     

A branch-and-bound method for the minimum k−enclosing ball problem

The minimum k-enclosing ball problem seeks the ball with smallest radius that contains at least k of m given points. This problem is NP-hard. We present a branch-and-bound algorithm on the tree of the subsets of k points to solve this problem. Our method is able to solve the problem exactly in a short amount of time for small and medium sized datasets.     

A novel UPLC–MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of trigonelline, 4-hydroxyisoleucine,and diosgenin from Trigonella foenum-graecum extract: Application to pharmacokinetic study in healthy and type 2 diabetic rats

Trigonelline (TR), 4-hydroxyisoleucine (4-HI), and diosgenin (DG) are the main bioactives of the purified standardized extract of the popular plant Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (TFG), and it has been proven effective for the treatment of various diseases. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has investigated the pharmacokinetic parameters of purified standardized T. foenum-graecum extract in normal and diabetic Wistar rats. The present study has developed and validated a rapid, reliable, and sensitive simultaneous ultra-performance liquid chromatography MS method to estimate these bioactives. The chromatographic separation was achieved using methanol, acetonitrile, and 0.1% formic acid with the ideal gradient flow system on a BEH Shield RP 18 column. A positive electrospray ionization mode was selected to estimate m/z values of TR (138.14 > 94.63), 4-HI (148.19 > 74.08), and DG (415.54 > 271.33). The method was robust and reproducible over the linearity range of 60–5000, 6–5000, and 15–5000 ng/mL for TR, 4-HI, and DG, respectively. Using this novel validated method, we investigated the pharmacokinetic parameters of bioactives using Phoenix WinNonlin version 8.0 (Certera) in normal and diabetic rats. The assay was successfully applied for the estimation of pharmacokinetic parameters using noncompartmental analysis. This investigation shows that the absorption rate increased, whereas distribution and elimination processes slowed down in diabetic rats compared with normal rats.     

Highly Stable Univalent Copper of a Cu@Al/SBA-15 Nanocomposite Catalyzes the Synthesis of Fluorescent Aminobenzotriazoles Derivatives

With the development of green chemistry, it is still a challenge to maintain the unstable valence state of the metal in heterogeneous catalysts and realize new catalytic synthesis methods. In this paper, it is reported that an univalent copper nanocomposite (Cu@Al/SBA-15) can efficiently catalyze the formation of novel amino-containing benzotriazoles with great fluorescence properties in a new synthetic strategy. Subsequently, its application is further verified by an acylation reaction to produce a series of novel benzotriazoles derivatives with high yield. It is worth noting that the Cu@Al/SBA-15 nanocomposites not only enable the reaction completed with high yield in a short time, but can also be recycled many times without a significant reduction in activity, and the leaching of copper and aluminum species in reaction system is negligible. Finally, the detailed and feasible reaction mechanism is also provided.     

Portable single-sided NMR measurements at variable temperatures: Implementation of a thermo-controlled device and application to the heating of bread dough

A temperature control unit was implemented to vary the temperature of samples studied on a commercial Mobile Universal Surface Explorer nuclear magnetic resonance (MOUSE-NMR) apparatus. The device was miniaturized to fit the maximum MOUSE sampling depth (25 mm). It was constituted by a sample holder sandwiched between two heat exchangers placed below and above the sample. Air was chosen as the fluid to control the temperature at the bottom of the sample, at the interface between the NMR probe and the sample holder, in order to gain space. The upper surface of the sample was regulated by the circulation of water inside a second heat exchanger placed above the sample holder. The feasibility of using such a device was demonstrated first on pure water and then on several samples of bread dough with different water contents. For this, T1 relaxation times were measured at various temperatures and depths and were then compared with those acquired with a conventional compact closed-magnet spectrometer. Discussion of results was based on biochemical transformations in bread dough (starch gelatinization and gluten heat denaturation). It was demonstrated that, within a certain water level range, and because of the low magnetic field strength of the MOUSE, a linear relationship could be established between T1 relaxation times and the local temperature in the dough sample.