Determination of Manganese (II) in Foodstuffs by β-Cyclodextrin Polymer Phase Spectrophotometry with 1-(2-Pyridylazo)-2-naphthol

The chromogenic agent, 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) was included in g -Cyclodextrin polymer ( g -CDP) and the modified polymer of inclusion of PAN ( g -CDP-PAN) was obtained. Based on the fact that g -CDP-PAN can adsorb Mn (II) in solution to form Mn (II)-PAN complex, a sensitive and selective solid phase spectrophotometric method for the determination of trace amounts of Mn (II) has been developed. The maximum absorbance of Mn (II)-PAN complex in g -CDP was at 514 nm. The working range of the calibration graph was 2-12 w g of Mn (II). The interference of molybdenum, lead, cobalt, chromium, iron, nickel, zinc, tin, cadmium, and copper that form colored species with PAN in the polymer phase was investigated. The method was applied to the determination of Mn (II) in black rice and tea samples. A new method for the determination of trace amounts of manganese by polymer phase spectrophotometry is described. Manganese reacted with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) that was included in a g -cyclodextrin polymer. The absorbance of the colored polymer, packed into a 5 mm quartz cell, was determined directly at 514 nm. The proposed method was applied to the determination of manganese in black rice and tea samples.     

Dissociation and degradation of thiol-modified DNA on gold nanoparticles in aqueous and organic solvents

Gold nanoparticles functionalized with thiol-modified DNA have been widely used in making various nanostructures, colorimetric biosensors, and drug delivery vehicles. Over the past 15 years, significant progress has been made to improve the stability of such functionalized nanoparticles. The stability of the gold-thiol bond in this system, however, has not been studied in a systematic manner. Most information on the gold-thiol bond was obtained from the study of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). In this study, we employed two fluorophore-labeled and thiol-modified DNAs. The long-term stability of the thiol-gold bond as a function of time, salt, temperature, pH, and organic solvent has been studied. We found that the bond spontaneously dissociated under all tested conditions. The dissociation was favored at high salt, high pH, and high temperature, and little DNA degradation was observed in our system. Most organic solvents showed a moderate protection effect on the gold-thiol bond. The stability of the gold-thiol bond in the DNA system was also compared with that in SAMs. While there are many similarities, we also observed opposite trends for the salt and ethanol effect. This study suggests that the purified DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles should be freshly prepared and used in a day or two. Long-term storage should be carried out at relatively low temperature in low salt and slightly acidic buffers.     

超声波辐射快速合成高光催化性能的BiOCl(Br)纳米片

在室温条件下,利用超声波辐射方法快速合成了四方状BiOCl(BiOBr)纳米片光催化剂。应用N2-物理吸附、X射线粉末衍射、扫描电镜、透射电镜、紫外可见光谱等手段对催化剂进行了表征,并以波长为λ=365 nm的紫外光和420 nm<λ<660 nm的可见光为光源,评价了该催化剂光催化降解酸性橙Ⅱ的活性。表征结果表明,超声波辐射可加速BiOCl和BiOBr晶化过程,显著提高BiOCl和BiOBr的结晶度,并使其晶粒发生细化,提高催化剂的比表面积。活性测试表明,声化学合成样品的光催化活性优于普通搅拌制备的样品。其中BiOCl的紫外光催化活性高于商业TiO2(P25)光催化剂。     

Topological Strings and (Almost) Modular Forms

The B-model topological string theory on a Calabi-Yau threefold X has a symmetry group Γ, generated by monodromies of the periods of X. This acts on the topological string wave function in a natural way, governed by the quantum mechanics of the phase space H ³(X). We show that, depending on the choice of polarization, the genus g topological string amplitude is either a holomorphic quasi-modular form or an almost holomorphic modular form of weight 0 under Γ. Moreover, at each genus, certain combinations of genus g amplitudes are both modular and holomorphic. We illustrate this for the local Calabi-Yau manifolds giving rise to Seiberg-Witten gauge theories in four dimensions and local IP ₂ and IP ₁ × IP ₁. As a byproduct, we also obtain a simple way of relating the topological string amplitudes near different points in the moduli space, which we use to give predictions for Gromov-Witten invariants of the orbifold .     

Apoptotic and Cell Cycle Effects of Triterpenes Isolated from Phoradendron wattii on Leukemia Cell Lines

Current antineoplastic agents present multiple disadvantages, driving an ongoing search for new and better compounds. Four lupane-type triterpenes, 3α,24-dihydroxylup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (1), 3α,23-dihydroxy-30-oxo-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (2), 3α,23-O-isopropylidenyl-3α,23-dihydroxylup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (3), and 3α,23-dihydroxylup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (4), previously isolated from Phoradendron wattii, were evaluated on two cell lines of chronic (K562) and acute (HL60) myeloid leukemia. Compounds 1, 2, and 4 decreased cell viability and inhibit proliferation, mainly in K562, and exhibited an apoptotic effect from 24 h of treatment. Of particular interest is compound 2, which caused arrest in active phases (G2/M) of the cell cycle, as shown by in silico study of the CDK1/Cyclin B/Csk2 complex by molecular docking. This compound [3α,23-dihydroxy-30-oxo-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid] s a promising candidate for incorporation into cancer treatments and deserves further study.     

Lupane Triterpene Derivatives Improve Antiproliferative Effect on Leukemia Cells through Apoptosis Induction

Leukemia is one of the most frequent types of cancer. No effective treatment currently exists, driving a search for new compounds. Simple structural modifications were made to novel triterpenes isolated from Phoradendron wattii. Of the three resulting derivatives, 3α-methoxy-24-hydroxylup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (T1m) caused a decrease in the median inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) on the K562 cell line. Its mode of action was apparently apoptosis, ROS generation, and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Molecular docking analysis showed T1m to produce lower binding energies than its precursor for the Bcl-2 and EGFR proteins. Small, simple, and viable modifications to triterpenes can improve their activity against leukemia cell lines. T1m is a potentially promising element for future research. Clarifying the targets in its mode of action will improve its applicability.     

Therapeutic Potential of Select Dietary Compounds in the Management of Hypertension and its Cardiovascular Complications

Hypertension is a common risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality worldwide. Proper nutrition and diet are known to play an indispensable role in the treatment and management of hypertension. Bioactive compounds that occur in small quantities in foods such as onions, fish and red wine are being intensively studied to uncover their vasoprotective, antioxidant, anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory effects which are beneficial to attenuate chronic disease and protect human health. In this article, the anti-hypertensive, and cardio-protective effects of five food-derived bioactive compounds: resveratrol, quercetin, coenzyme Q10, DHA and EPA and their proposed mechanisms of action are reviewed in detail.     

Synthesis and Structure – Property Relationships for Regular Multigraft Copolymers

Multigraft copolymers with polyisoprene backbones and polystyrene branches, having multiple regularly spaced branch points, were synthesized by anionic polymerization high vacuum techniques and controlled chlorosilane linking chemistry. The functionality of the branch points (1, 2 and 4) can be controlled, through the choice of chlorosilane linking agent. The morphologies of the various graft copolymers were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray scattering. It was concluded that the morphology of these complex architectures is governed by the behavior of the corresponding miktoarm star copolymer associated with each branch point (constituting block copolymer), which follows Milner's theoretical treatment for miktoarm stars. By comparing samples having the same molecular weight backbone and branches but different number of branches it was found that the extent of long range order decreases with increasing number of branch points. The stress-strain properties in tension were investigated for some of these multigraft copolymers. For certain compositions thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) behavior was observed, and in many instances the elongation at break was much higher (2-3X) than that of conventional triblock TPEs.     

Plasma-Enhanced Chemical-Vapor-Deposition Synthesis of Photoredox-Active Nitrogen-Doped Carbon from NH3 and CH4 Gases

Earth's primordial atmosphere was rich in ammonia and methane. To understand the evolution of the atmosphere, these two gases were used to make photoredox-active nitrogen-doped carbon (NDC). Photocatalysts such as NDC might play an important role in the development of geological and atmospheric chemistry during the Archean era. This study describes the synthesis of NDC directly from NH₃ and CH₄ gases. The photocatalyst product can be used to selectively synthesize imines by photo-oxidization of amines, producing H₂O₂ simultaneously in the photoreduction reaction. Our findings shed light on the chemical evolution of the Earth.