A molecular mechanics approach for analyzing tensile nonlinear deformation behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes

In this paper, by capturing the atomic information and reflecting the behaviour governed by the nonlinear potential function, an analytical molecular mechanics approach is proposed. A constitutive relation for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT’s) is established to describe the nonlinear stress-strain curve of SWCNT’s and to predict both the elastic properties and breaking strain of SWCNT’s during tensile deformation. An analysis based on the virtual internal bond (VIB) model proposed by P. Zhang et al. is also presented for comparison. The results indicate that the proposed molecular mechanics approach is indeed an acceptable analytical method for analyzing the mechanical behavior of SWCNT’s. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10121202, 90305015 and 10328203), the Key Grant Project of Chinese Ministry of Education (0306) and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (HKU 7195/04E).     

Hepatoprotective Effects of Ixeris chinensis on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Induced by High-Fat Diet in Mice: An Integrated Gut Microbiota and Metabolomic Analysis

Ixeris chinensis (Thunb.) Nakai (IC) is a folk medicinal herb used in Mongolian medical clinics for the treatment of hepatitis and fatty liver diseases even though its pharmacological mechanism has not been well characterized. This study investigated the hepatoprotective mechanism of IC on mice with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by integrating gut microbiota and metabolomic analysis. A high-fat diet (HFD) was used to develop nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, after which the mice were treated with oral IC (0.5, 1.5 and 3.0 g/kg) for 10 weeks. HFD induced NAFLD and the therapeutic effects were characterized by pathological and histological evaluations, and the serum indicators were analyzed by ELISA. The gut microbial and metabolite profiles were studied by 16S rRNA sequencing and untargeted metabolomic analysis, respectively. The results showed that the administration of IC resulted in significant decreases in body weight; liver index; serum biomarkers such as ALT, TG, and LDL-C; and the liver inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. The 16S rRNA sequencing results showed that administration of IC extract altered both the composition and abundance of the gut microbiota. Untargeted metabolomic analysis of liver samples detected a total of 212 metabolites, of which 128 were differentially expressed between the HFD and IC group. IC was found to significantly alter the levels of metabolites such as L-glutamic acid, pyridoxal, ornithine, L-aspartic acid, D-proline, and N4-acetylaminobutanal, which are involved in the regulation of glutamine and glutamate, Vitamin B6 metabolism, and arginine and proline metabolic pathways. Correlation analysis indicated that the effects of the IC extract on metabolites were associated with alterations in the abundance of Akkermansiaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Muribaculaceae. Our study revealed that IC has a potential hepatoprotective effect in NAFLD and that its function might be linked to improvements in the composition of gut microbiota and their metabolites.     

Carbene-catalyzed activation of cyclopropylcarbaldehydes for mannich reaction and δ-lactam formation: remote enantioselecitvity control and dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation

An N-heterocyclic carbene(NHC)-catalyzed enantioselective Mannich reaction of the remote γ-carbon of cyclopropylcarbaldehydes is disclosed for the first time. Diastereo-and enantiomerically enriched multicyclic δ-lactam compound is afforded as the main product from 8 possible stereo-specific isomers through dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation(DYKAT) processes. Multiple chiral functional molecules can be afforded from the lactam products through simple protocols with retentions of the optical purities.     

Characterization of Roasting Time on Sensory Quality,Color, Taste,and Nonvolatile Compounds of Yuan An Yellow Tea

Roasting is crucial for producing Yuan An yellow tea (YAYT) as it substantially affects sensory quality. However, the effect of roasting time on YAYT flavor quality is not clear. To investigate the effect of roasting time on the sensory qualities, chemical components, odor profiles, and metabolic profile of YAYTs produced with 13 min roasting, 16 min roasting, 19 min roasting, 22 min roasting, and 25 min roasting were determined. The YAYTs roasted for 22 min got higher sensory scores and better chemical qualities, such as the content of gallocatechin (GC), gallocatechin gallate (GCG), free amino acids, solutable sugar, meanwhile the lightness decreased, the hue of tea brew color (b) increased, which meant the tea brew got darker and yellower. YAYTs roasted for 22 min also increased the contents of key odorants, such as benzaldehyde, nonanal, β-cyclocitral, linalool, nerol, α-cedrol, β-ionone, limonene, 2-methylfuran, indole, and longiborneol. Moreover, non-targeted metabolomics identified up to 14 differentially expressed metabolites through pair-wise comparisons, such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, sucrose, and critical metabolites, which were the main components corresponding to YAYT roasted for 22 min. In summary, the current results provide scientific guidance for the production of high quality YAYT.     

Anisotropic Superconducting Properties of Kagome Metal CsV_3Sb_5

We systematically measure the superconducting(SC) and mixed state properties of high-quality CsV_3 Sb_5 single crystals with T_c～3.5 K.We find that the upper critical field H_(c2)(T) exhibits a large anisotropic ratio of H_(c2)~(ab)/H_(c2)~c～9 at zero temperature and fitting its temperature dependence requires a minimum two-band effective model.Moreover,the ratio of the lower critical field,H_(c1)~(ab)/H_(c1)~c,is also found to be larger than 1,which indicates that the in-plane energy dispersion is strongly renormalized near Fermi energy.Both H_(c1)(T) and SC diamagnetic signal are found to change little initially below T_c～3.5 K and then to increase abruptly upon cooling to a characteristic temperature of ～2.8 K.Furthermore,we identify a two-fold anisotropy of in-plane angular-dependent magnetoresistance in the mixed state.Interestingly,we find that,below the same characteristic T～2.8 K,the orientation of this two-fold anisotropy displays a peculiar twist by an angle of 60° characteristic of the Kagome geometry.Our results suggest an intriguing superconducting state emerging in the complex environment of Kagome lattice,which,at least,is partially driven by electron-electron correlation.     

SiO2包覆铕(Ⅲ)配合物的荧光纳米粒子合成与性质

以前驱物pAB-DTPAA-APTEOS、正硅酸乙酯(TEOS)和三氯化铕(EuCl3)等为原料,采用油包水(W/O)的反相微乳液法,在正硅酸乙酯(TEOS)和3-氨丙基三乙氧基硅烷(APTEOS)的共同水解下,制备出新型的SiO2包覆铕配合物荧光纳米粒子Eu-pAB-DTPAA-AP-SiO2。运用TEM、IR、UV-Vis、荧光光谱等技术对荧光纳米粒子进行了表征。TEM结果表明:包覆体呈球形,分散均匀,平均粒径为40nm。纳米粒子与配体、前驱物的紫外吸收谱相比较,峰位发生了一定的红移,表明通过反相微乳液法得到的固体粉末与EuCl3反应后,已经生成配合物Eu-pAB-DTPAA-AP-SiO2。红外光谱研究表明,在801cm-1出现νSi—C的伸缩振动峰,471cm-1处出现νEu—O的伸缩振动峰。由此证实Eu-pAB-DTPAA-AP-SiO2配合物的存在。荧光光谱分析表明,纳米粒子Eu-pAB-DTPAA-AP-SiO2表现出较好的荧光性能,位于592,615,689nm的发射峰分别归属于Eu3 离子的5D0→7F1、5D0→7F2和5D0→7F4跃迁,其中最强峰615nm属于Eu3 的特征跃迁发射。作为一种新型的荧光试剂,该纳米粒子具有粒径小,亲水性强,荧光强度大,且表面的氨基能方便地与生物分子偶联,故可作为优良的时间分辨荧光标记物用于各种高灵敏生物检测技术中。     

高效液相色谱法测定精对苯二甲酸中主要有机杂质

本文建立了期货交割精对苯二甲酸(PTA)样品中主要杂质的快速测定方法,该法对羧基苯甲醛(4-CBA)和对甲基苯甲酸(p-TOL)在0～50.0 mg/kg和0～300.0mg/kg范围内有较好的线性关系,相关系数R=0.9990,平均回收率在89.30%～104.28%,该方法为期货交割PTA样品品质提供了良好的技术支持.     

Mechanism Study on Nanoparticle Negative Surface Charge Modification by Ascorbyl Palmitate and Its Improvement of Tumor Targeting Ability

Surface charge polarity and density influence the immune clearance and cellular uptake of intravenously administered lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), thus determining the efficiency of their delivery to the target. Here, we modified the surface charge with ascorbyl palmitate (AsP) used as a negatively charged lipid. AsP-PC-LNPs were prepared by dispersion and ultrasonication of AsP and phosphatidylcholine (PC) composite films at various ratios. AsP inserted into the PC film with its polar head outward. The pK_a for AsP was 4.34, and its ion form conferred the LNPs with negative surface charge. Zeta potentials were correlated with the amount and distribution of AsP on the LNPs surface. DSC, Raman and FTIR spectra, and molecular dynamics simulations disclosed that AsP distributed homogeneously in PC at 1–8% (w/w), and there were strong hydrogen bonds between the polar heads of AsP and PC (PO²⁻), which favored LNPs’ stability. But at AsP:PC > 8% (w/w), the excessive AsP changed the interaction modes between AsP and PC. The AsP–PC composite films became inhomogeneous, and their phase transition behaviors and Raman and FTIR spectra were altered. Our results clarified the mechanism of surface charge modification by AsP and provided a rational use of AsP as a charged lipid to modify LNP surface properties in targeted drug delivery systems. Furthermore, AsP–PC composites were used as phospholipid-based biological membranes to prepare paclitaxel-loaded LNPs, which had stable surface negative charge, better tumor targeting and tumor inhibitory effects.     

In Vitro and In Vivo Antibacterial Activity,Toxicity and Resistance Analysis of Pleuromutilin Derivative Z33 against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

The novel pleuromutilin derivative, which showed excellent in vitro antibacterial activity against MRSA, 22-(2-(2-(4-((4-(4-nitrophenyl)piperazin-1-yl)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)acetamido)phenyl)thioacety-l-yl-22-deoxypleuromutilin (Z33), was synthesized and characterized in our previous work. In this study, the preliminary pharmacodynamics and safety of Z33 were further evaluated. In in vitro antibacterial activity assays, Z33 was found to be a potent bactericidal antibiotic against MRSA that induced dose-dependent growth inhibition and long-term post-antibiotic effect (PAE). The drug-resistance test demonstrated that Z33 possessed a narrow mutant selection window and lower propensities to select resistance than that of tiamulin. Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) inhibition assay determined that the inhibitory effect of Z33 was similar to that of tiamulin against the activity of CYP3A4, and was lower than that of tiamulin on the activity of CYP2E1. Toxicity determination showed that both Z33 and tiamulin displayed low cytotoxicity of RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, Z33 was found to be a high-security compound with a 50% lethal dose (LD₅₀) above 5000 mg/kg in the acute oral toxicity test in mice. In an in vivo antibacterial activity test, Z33 displayed better therapeutic effectiveness than tiamulin in the neutropenic mouse thigh infection model. In summary, Z33 was worthy of further development as a highly effective and safe antibiotic agent against MRSA infection.     

离焦激光直写的线宽稳定方法

为了提高激光直写加工衍射光学元件时的线条质量,提出一种离焦激光直写的线宽稳定方法.该方法通过同时调节激光功率和离焦量,使光刻胶的曝光阈值处于线宽对曝光量的变化率较小位置,从而可以弱化线宽对实际曝光量或光刻胶阈值等变化的敏感度,提高利用离焦方法进行衍射光学元件制作时的线宽稳定性.推导了稳定线宽后的光功率控制模型和线宽模型,模型中的变量仅为离焦量,降低了光功率控制的复杂性.利用632.8 nm的He-Ne激光和NA-0.1的物镜在CCD上对采用该方法后的离焦线宽模型进行验证,实验结果与理论模型吻合较好.该方法对于线宽稳定度较高的衍射光学元件制作具有重要价值.