A dual-electrode approach for highly selective detection of glucose based on diffusion layer theory: experiments and simulation

A dual-electrode configuration for the highly selective detection of glucose in the diffusion layer of the substrate electrode is presented. In this approach, a glassy carbon electrode (GCE, substrate) modified with a conductive layer of glucose oxidase/Nafion/graphite (GNG) was used to create an interference-free region in its diffusion layer by electrochemical depletion of interfering electroactive species. A Pt microelectrode (tip, 5 microm in radius) was located in the diffusion layer of the GNG-modified GCE (GNG-G) with the help of scanning electrochemical microscopy. Consequently, the tip of the electrode could sense glucose selectively by detecting the amount of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) formed from the oxidization of glucose on the glucose oxidase layer. The influences of parameters, including tip-substrate distance, substrate potential, and electrolyzing time, on the interference-removing efficiency of this dual-electrode approach have been investigated systematically. When the electrolyzing time was 30 s, the tip-substrate distance was 1.8 a (9.0 microm) (where a is the radius of the tip electrode), the potentials of the tip and substrate electrodes were 0.7 V and 0.4 V, respectively, and a mixture of ascorbic acid (0.3 mM), uric acid (0.3 mM), and 4-acetaminophen (0.3 mM) had no influence on the glucose detection. In addition, the current-time responses of the tip electrode at different tip-substrate distances in a solution containing interfering species were numerically simulated. The results from the simulation are in good agreement with the experimental data. This research provides a concept of detection in the diffusion layer of a substrate electrode, as an interference-free region, for developing novel microelectrochemical devices.     

Oxidation resistant germanium nanowires: bulk synthesis, long chain alkanethiol functionalization, and Langmuir-Blodgett assembly

A simple method is developed to synthesize gram quantities of uniform Ge nanowires (GeNWs) by chemical vapor deposition on preformed, monodispersed seed particles loaded onto a high surface area silica support. Various chemical functionalization schemes are investigated to passivate the GeNW surfaces using alkanethiols and alkyl Grignard reactions. The stability of functionalization against oxidation of germanium for various alkyl chain lengths is elucidated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Among all schemes tested, long chain alkanethiols (> or = C12) are found to impart the most stable GeNW passivation against oxidation upon extended exposure to ambient air. Further, the chemically functionalized oxidation-resistant nanowires are soluble in organic solvents and can be readily assembled into close-packed Langmuir-Blodgett films potentially useful for future high performance electronic devices.     

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.     

A Novel Gelatin-Based Sustained-Release Molluscicide for Control of the Invasive Agricultural Pest and Disease Vector Pomacea canaliculata

Pomacea canaliculata, one of the 100 most destructive invasive species in the world, and it is an important intermediate host of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The molluscicides in current use are an effective method for controlling snails. However, most molluscicides have no slow-release effect and are toxic to nontarget organisms. Thus, these molluscicides cannot be used on a large scale to effectively act on snails. In this study, gelatin, a safe and nontoxic substance, was combined with sustained-release molluscicide and was found to reduce the toxicity of niclosamide to nontarget organisms. We assessed the effects of gelatin and molluscicide in controlling P. canaliculata snails and eggs. The results demonstrated that the niclosamide retention time with 1.0% and 1.5% gelatin sustained-release agents reached 20 days. Additionally, the mortality rate of P. canaliculata and their eggs increased as the concentration of the niclosamide sustained-release agents increased. The adult mortality rate of P. canaliculata reached 50% after the snails were exposed to gelatin with 0.1 mg/L niclosamide for 48 h. The hatching rate of P. canaliculata was only 28.5% of the normal group after the treatment was applied. The sustained-release molluscicide at this concentration was less toxic to zebrafish, which means that this molluscicide can increase the safety of niclosamide to control P. canaliculata in aquatic environments. In this study, we explored the safety of using niclosamide sustained-release agents with gelatin against P. canaliculata. The results suggest that gelatin is an ideal sustained-release agent that can provide a foundation for subsequent improvements in control of P. canaliculata.     

20GHz注入锁模光纤激光器实验

稳定、波长可调谐的窄脉冲光源是未来光时分复用/波分复用光纤通信系统的重要组成部分。报道了一个20GHz的注入锁模光纤激光器的实验。利用一个10GHz的导体体激光器作为光源，最终得到了波长可调谐的重复频率为20GHz、脉冲宽度为12.4ps的光脉冲，波长的调谐范围为16nm。     

Oscillation of coercivity between positive and negative in MnxGe1-x：H ferromagnetic semiconductor films

Amorphous MnxGe1-x :H ferromagnetic semiconductor films prepared in mixed Ar with 20% H2 by magnetron cosputtering show global ferromagnetism with positive coercivity at low temperatures. With increasing temperature, the coercivity of MnxGe1-x :H films first changes from positive to negative, and then back to positive again, which was not found in the corresponding MnxGe1-x and other ferromagnetic semiconductors before. For Mn0.4Ge0.6 :H film, the inverted Hall loop is also observed at 30 K, which is consistent with the negative coercivity. The negative coercivity is explained by the antiferromagnetic exchange coupling between the H-rich ferromagnetic regions separated by the H-poor non-ferromagnetic spacers. Hydrogenation is a useful method to tune the magnetic properties of MnxGe1-x films for the application in spintronics.     

Impact of the Acetaldehyde-Mediated Condensation on the Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Vitis vinifera L. Cv. Merlot Wine

Acetaldehyde is a critical reactant on modifying the phenolic profile during red wine aging, suggesting that the acetaldehyde-mediated condensation can be responsible for the variation of antioxidant activity during the aging of this beverage. The present study employs exogenous acetaldehyde at six levels of treatment (7.86 ± 0.10–259.02 ± 4.95 mg/L) before the bottle aging of Merlot wines to encourage phenolic modification. Acetaldehyde and antioxidant activity of wine were evaluated at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 days of storage, while monomeric and polymeric phenolics were analyzed at 0, 30 and 75 days of storage. The loss of acetaldehyde was fitted to a first-order reaction model, the rate constant (k) demonstrated that different chemical reaction happened in wines containing a different initial acetaldehyde. The disappearance of monomeric phenolics and the formation of polymeric phenolics induced by acetaldehyde could be divided into two phases, the antioxidant activity of wine did not alter significantly in the first phase, although most monomeric phenolics vanished, but the second phase would dramatically reduce the antioxidant activity of wine. Furthermore, a higher level of acetaldehyde could shorten the reaction time of the first phase. These results indicate that careful vinification handling aiming at controlling the acetaldehyde allows one to maintain prolonged biological activity during wine aging.     

基于遗传算法的多车体机器人路径规划方法

带拖车的移动机器人系统是一种复杂的多车体系统,在不同的转弯角度下所需的路径宽度也不同,其路径规划是个难题;在给出带拖车轮式移动机器人稳态和暂态过程运动学方程的基础上,推导得出了多车体移动机器人在最大转弯情况下所需的最大路径宽度,并将之定义为等效尺寸;应用遗传算法,提出了基于等效尺寸的多车体移动机器人的路径规划方法;首先通过等效尺寸的多步障碍扩张,对障碍物的临近区域和狭窄通道进行可行性约束的分析;然后应用遗传算法进行全局的路径规划,将路径的长度和宽度综合在适应度函数之中;在一定程度上,多车体移动机器人的路径规划问题得到解决;文章通过建立三维网格化地图,对障碍物的临近区域和狭窄的瓶颈通道区域进行了可行性约束的描述,遗传算法在较复杂的环境中实现了良好的避障,并得到了相对较短的有效路径。     

弯曲波导之间的耦合分析

采用极坐标下的光束传播法分析了两条平行变曲波导的中心间距、曲率半径等因素对模式耦合的影响,得到了耦合长度、耦合强度随中心间距、曲率半径的变化规律,并将直波导作为变曲波导的一种特殊情况进行了分析.