Water‐Mediated Synthesis of a Superionic Halide Solid Electrolyte

To promote the development of solid‐state batteries, polymer‐, oxide‐, and sulfide‐based solid‐state electrolytes (SSEs) have been extensively investigated. However, the disadvantages of these SSEs, such as high‐temperature sintering of oxides, air instability of sulfides, and narrow electrochemical windows of polymers electrolytes, significantly hinder their practical application. Therefore, developing SSEs that have a high ionic conductivity (>10^?3 S cm^?1), good air stability, wide electrochemical window, excellent electrode interface stability, low‐cost mass production is required. Herein we report a halide Li⁺ superionic conductor, Li₃InCl₆, that can be synthesized in water. Most importantly, the as‐synthesized Li₃InCl₆ shows a high ionic conductivity of 2.04×10^?3 S cm^?1 at 25 °C. Furthermore, the ionic conductivity can be recovered after dissolution in water. Combined with a LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ cathode, the solid‐state Li battery shows good cycling stability.     

Heat capacity and the magnetocaloric effect in Pr0.6Sr0.4Mn1–x Fe x O3 manganite

The heat capacity and the magnetocaloric effect of Pr_0.6Sr_0.4Mn_1–xFe_xO₃(x = 0 and 0.1) manganite have been studied in the temperature range 80–350 K and magnetic fields to 18 kOe. The magnetocaloric effect is estimated using two independent methods: the method of magnetic field modulation (direct method) and from the data on the heat capacity in magnetic field and without magnetic field (indirect method). The substitution of Fe atoms for Mn atoms (x = 0.1) shifts T _C by 167 K to lower temperatures; in this case, the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is changed insignificantly in magnetic field 18 kOe with ΔS _M = 2.05 and 2.31 J/kg K for x = 0 and 0.10, respectively.

     

Discovery of a Chiral DNA-Targeted Platinum–Acridine Agent with Potent Enantioselective Anticancer Activity

A structure–activity relationship study was performed for a set of rigidified platinum–acridine anticancer agents containing linkers derived from chiral pyrrolidine and piperidine scaffolds. Screening a library of microscale reactions and selected resynthesized compounds in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells showed that cytotoxicities varied by more than three orders of magnitude. A potent hit compound was discovered containing a (R)-N-(piperidin-3-yl) linker ( P2-6R ), which killed NCI-H460 and A549 lung cancer cells 100 times more effectively than the S enantiomer ( P2-6S ). P2-6R accumulated in A549 cells significantly faster and produced 50-fold higher DNA adduct levels than P2-6S . Ligand similarity analysis suggests that only module 6R may be compatible with strainless monofunctional intercalative binding. NCI-60 screening and COMPARE analysis highlights the spectrum of activity and potential utility of P2-6R for treating NSCLC and other solid tumors.     

Mass anomalous dimension in SU(2) with six fundamental fermions

We simulate SU(2) gauge theory with six massless fundamental Dirac fermions. We measure the running of the coupling and the mass in the Schrödinger Functional scheme. We observe very slow running of the coupling constant. We measure the mass anomalous dimension γ, and find it is between 0.135 and 1.03 in the range of couplings consistent with the existence of an IR fixed point.     

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy discriminates a spectral signature of endometriosis independent of inter-individual variation

Endometriosis is the growth of endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity. Its aetiology remains obscure, and it is difficult to diagnose ranging from asymptomatic to debilitating disease. Mid-infrared (IR) spectroscopy has become recognised as a potential clinical diagnostic tool. Biomolecules absorb mid-IR (4000 cm(-1) to 400 cm(-1)) and from this, a biochemical-cell fingerprint in the form of an absorbance spectrum can be derived. We set out to determine if IR spectroscopy could be used to identify underlying biochemical differences between endometrial tissues growing outside of the uterus (ectopic) from endometrial tissue of the uterus (eutopic). For comparative purposes, endometrial tissues from endometriosis-free women were also obtained (benign eutopic). Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform IR (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy or transmission FTIR microspectroscopy was employed for spectral acquisition. Principal component analysis (PCA)-linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used for chemometric analysis. A clear segregation was exhibited between the three categories independent of inter-individual confounding differences. Importantly, there was a marked difference between eutopic endometrial tissue from patients with or without endometriosis. This indicates that IR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis (e.g., PCA-LDA) may provide a non-invasive diagnostic tool for endometriosis. By analysing the underlying biochemistry of these endometrial tissues, this approach may facilitate a better understanding of this pathology.     

Detection of benzimidazole carbamates and amino metabolites in liver by surface plasmon resonance-biosensor

Two surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor screening assays were developed and validated to detect 11 benzimidazole carbamate (BZT) and four amino-benzimidazole veterinary drug residues in liver tissue. The assays used polyclonal antibodies, raised in sheep, to detect BZTs and amino-benzimidazoles. A modified Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) extraction method was developed to isolate benzimidazole carbamate residues. Liver samples were extracted using an acetonitrile extraction method. BZTs were purified by dispersive solid phase extraction (d-SPE) using C(18) sorbent. Residues of amino-benzimidazoles were effectively cleaned-up using a simple cyclohexane defatting step. The assays were validated in accordance with the performance criteria described in 2002/657/EC. The BZT assay limit of detection was calculated to be 32 μg kg(-1), the detection capability (CCβ) was determined to be 50 μg kg(-1) and the mean recovery of analytes was in the range 77-132%. The amino-benzimidazole assay limit of detection was determined to be 41 μg kg(-1), the CCβ was determined to be 75 μg kg(-1) and analyte recovery was in the range 103-116%. Biosensor assay performance was tested by analysing liver tissue from animals treated with benzimidazole drugs and comparing the results with an ultra high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) confirmatory method. All non-compliant samples were identified using the biosensor assays.