“手”望相助，志虑忠“醇”

Through three stories about alcohol antiseptics, "hand" messengers, characters of the article find the best choice of alcohol, and method of application. This article introduces proper ways to use alcohol antiseptics in daily life from the following three aspects. The ethanol and propanol can be used, the best concentration for daily use is 70%, and the optimal use of alcohols is considered under different circumstances.     

Diphenylamino end-capped oligofluorenes with enhanced functional properties for blue light emission: synthesis and structure-property relationships

A novel series of monodisperse asymmetrically and symmetrically substituted diphenylamino end-capped oligofluorenes, OF(2)-NPhR, R = H or An (An = 9-anthryl) and OF(n)-NPh, n = 2-4, has been synthesized by a convergent approach using palladium-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling. End-capping of oligofluorenes with diphenylamino group(s) has been shown to offer advantages in terms of lowering their first ionization potentials, enhancing thermal stability, and inducing good amorphous morphological stability. By tuning the number of diphenylamino end-caps and the chain length, the optimal conjugated length for optical and luminescence properties has been determined. Of all the hitherto reported oligofluorenes capable of serving as non-doped blue emitters, OF(3)-NPh, with an optimal conjugated length, exhibits some of the best hole-transport and blue-emitting properties. A maximum luminance of 7500 cd m(-2) and a luminance efficiency up to 1.8 cd A(-1) have been achieved.     

Synthesis of (Alkynyl)phenyl Porphyrins by Palladium Catalysed Cross Coupling Reactions

meso-para and meso-meta-(phenyltriflate)tritolyl porphyrins and the zinc complexes are coupled with alkynyl stannanes or terminal alkynes with palladium catalyst to give the meso-para and meta(m-alkynylphenyl)tritolylylkphenyl porphyrins as well as the zinc complex in good yields.     

Deformation mechanisms of nanoclay‐reinforced maleic anhydride‐modified polypropylene

Fracture properties and deformation mechanisms of nanoclay‐reinforced maleic anhydride‐modified polypropylene (MAPP) were investigated. Elastic–plastic fracture mechanics was employed to characterize the toughness in light of substantial postyield deformation for the reinforced MAPP. Upon introduction of 2.5 wt % clay loading in maleated MAPP, it was observed that tensile strength, modulus, and fracture initiation toughness concomitantly increased substantially. Continued increase in clay loading thereafter only led to stiffening and strengthening effects to the detriment of fracture toughness. A plot of the J‐integral initiation fracture toughness versus the plastic zone size demonstrated that toughening arose from plastic deformation in the reinforced matrix. Careful examination of deformed tensile specimens using small angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) showed 2.5 wt % clay gave rise to the highest equatorial scattering, which indicates the presence of microvoids in the matrix. The SAXS results were consistent with that shown in subcritically loaded crack‐tip deformation zone using transmission electron microscopy. Thus, both macroscale three‐point bend fracture data and SAXS results led us to consistent findings and conclusions. Further increase in clay loading above 2.5 wt % reduced the scattering the matrix plasticity and thus the fracture toughness. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2759–2768, 2004     

Synthesis of novel carboxamide- and carbohydrazide-benzimidazoles as selective butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors

Molecular Diversity - Selectively inhibiting butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is hypothesized to help in the management of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Several studies have determined a correlation...     

Heterogeneous surface properties on wallstents

Wallstent has been successfully used to open up clogged peripheral arteries. Co? Cr alloy is the preferred metal for the construction of wallstent. Unfortunately, major complications such as in‐stent intimal hyperplasia,stent obstruction, and stent stricture are often reported, and these complications could be related to the metallic properties of the wallstent. In this study, the electrochemical properties of Co? Cr wires from wallstent were investigated using cyclic polarization, open‐circuit potential, potentiostatic condition, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray mapping were also employed to investigate the surface morphology and elemental distribution after electrochemical measurement. Results of this study showed the heterogeneous electrochemical properties of Co? Cr alloy wires that could result in severe galvanic corrosion of wallstent after implantation. Severe corrosion process could cause fracture of wallstent, resulting in localized inflammation, allergy, and thicker neointima. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aggregation of Beta‐Amyloid Peptides Proximal to Zwitterionic Lipid Bilayers

One of the hallmarks of Alzheimers disease is the deposition of amyloid plaques, which consist of β‐amyloid (Aβ) peptides in fibrillar states. Nonfibrillar Aβ aggregates have been considered as an important intermediate in the pathway of fibrillization, but little is known about the formation mechanism. The on‐pathway β‐sheet intermediates of Aβ₄₀ peptides can be trapped by incubating the peptides in liposomes formed by zwitterionic lipids. The aggregates of Aβ₄₀ peptides have been prepared at a peptide concentration of less than 10 μm . Solid‐state NMR spectroscopy data show that the backbone conformation of the aggregates is almost identical to that of the fibrils formed in free solution. In contrast to anionic lipids, zwitterionic lipids, which are typical of neuronal soma, did not induce any significant conformational difference in Aβ₄₀ fibrils. This liposome–Aβ system may serve as a useful model to study the fibril formation mechanism.     

Micro‐Raman spectroscopy identification of urinary stone composition from ureteroscopic lithotripsy urine powder

Urolithiasis is a prevalent, disturbing, and highly recurrent disease. Knowing the composition of a urinary stone is important for prevention purposes. Traditional urinary stone analysis methods need large stone fragments for analysis. However, the advancement of ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URSL) has resulted in micro‐stone fragments and unapparently expelled urinary stone powder. In this study, we developed a micro‐Raman spectroscopy (MRS) based diagnosis method for detecting micro‐stones or stone powders in urine after URSL. In our experiment, urine samples of 10 ml each were collected from 12 patients over the fragmented stone site in the ureter after the URSL procedure. The post‐URSL urine sediments extracted from urine were analyzed by MRS. The small urinary stones caught by grasping forceps were analyzed by both MRS and Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. We have identified common urinary stone compositions: calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM), calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD), dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD), calcium phosphate hydroxide (hydroxyl apatite or HAP), and uric acid, by using a 632.8 nm He‐Ne laser for excitation, a 100× microscope objective lens for irradiation and collection, and a short photobleaching time for fluorescent background reduction. Thus, we developed an MRS‐based method for analyzing the composition of urinary stone powders directly from the urine samples after the URSL procedure. This approach provides a quick and convenient method for urinary stone analysis. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Clouding and phase behavior of nonionic surfactants in hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl cellulose solutions

Clouding phenomena and phase behaviors of two nonionic surfactants, Triton X-114 and Triton X-100, in the presence of either hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) or its hydrophobically modified counterpart (HMHEC) were experimentally studied. Compared with HEC, HMHEC was found to have a stronger effect on lowering the cloud point temperature of a nonionic surfactant at low concentrations. The difference in clouding behavior can be attributed to different kinds of molecular interactions. Depletion flocculation is the underlying mechanism in the case of HEC, while the chain-bridging effect is responsible for the large decrease of cloud point for HMHEC. Composition analyses for the formed macroscopic phases were carried out to provide support for associative phase separation for the case of HMHEC, in contrast to segregative phase separation for HEC. An interesting three-phase-separation phenomenon was reported in some HMHEC/Triton X-100 mixtures at high surfactant concentrations.     

High-throughput determination of seven trace elements in food samples by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

A method was developed for high-throughput determinations of 7 elements in food samples, namely antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and tin (Sn). The samples were digested by closed-vessel microwave-assisted digestion using concentrated nitric acid (HNO3) as the medium, followed by microwave- assisted evaporation to concentrate the sample solutions before dilution to the desired volume. The microwave-assisted evaporation procedure effectively reduced the final acid concentration to around 8% before analysis by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This reduction allows determination by ICP-MS to proceed without further sample dilution, which would affect the detection limit. The method was validated, and method recoveries for As, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Hg were within the certified ranges of the chosen certified reference materials. Recoveries of the 7 elements from spiked samples ranged from 93.1 to 103.6%. The standard uncertainties of precision for the 7 elements were between 3.1 and 4.3%. Interlaboratory comparison studies for As, Cd, and Pb gave z-scores ranging from -0.2 to 0.3.