Hyperterpenoids A and B: Two pairs of unprecedented 6/6/4/6/6 polycyclic cyclobutane meroterpenoids with potent neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory activities from Hypericum beanii

Hyperterpenoid A (1) and B (2), two pairs of enantiomers, with an unprecedented 6/6/4/6/6 polycyclic skeleton, along with one known compoud hypermonone A (3) were isolated from Hypericum beanii. The racemate (±)-1 and (±)-2 were successfully separated into the two optically pure enantiomers (ee ≥ 99%) using a preparative HPLC system. Their absolute configurations were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses and single-crystal X-ray diffraction method. The related plausible biogenetic pathways were presented. Compound 1-3 showed significant neuroprotective activity and potential anti-inflammatory activity. The result that (+)-2 and (-)-2 presented different anti-inflammatory properties, may lead us to new discovery of structure activity relationship between racemates, enantiomers, and diastereomers, as well as further research regarding the binding of drugs to target proteins.     

常见鼠药中毒及检测技术研究进展

鼠药是控制有害啮齿类动物最经济有效的方式,而大多数鼠药对人畜均具有较强的毒性。鼠药的不合理使用严重威胁人类和其他非靶标动物的生命安全。由误食、二次中毒、自杀及恶意投毒等原因导致的中毒事件时有发生。发展快速准确的鼠药中毒检测技术对于及时确定中毒靶标从而进行有效干预、对症治疗是降低鼠药危害的重要手段。常规的鼠药检测大多基于液相色谱-串联质谱等仪器分析方法。近年来,免疫分析技术由于具有操作简单、快速的优点,开始用于鼠药的快速检测。该文重点针对典型的氟乙酰胺、毒鼠强和抗凝血类鼠药的中毒概况和检测技术进行了总结,以期为相关领域研究人员提供技术指导。     

Conformational flexibility of xanthene‐based covalently linked dimers

The conformational flexibility of three covalently linked dimers consisting of two xanthene‐based moieties connected by a diphenyl ether linker was studied using NMR spectroscopy, X‐ray crystallography, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The three dimers interconvert as a function of pH: the doubly cationic dimer (Xan⁺)₂ exists in acidic solutions (pH < 0.5), the mono‐alcohol monocation Xan⁺–Xan‐OH at intermediate pH values (pH = 1–3), and the neutral diol at the highest pH‐values (pH > 3). Each dimer exhibits conformational degrees of freedom associated with rotations of either the xanthene moiety or of the diphenyl ether (DPE) linker. The barriers for rotation of the xanthylium moiety were evaluated using DFT calculations, yielding values of 23 kcal/mol for (Xan⁺)₂ and 11 kcal/mol for (Xan‐OH)₂, respectively. The rotational barrier for the diphenyl ether linker in Xan⁺–Xan‐OH (15 kcal/mol) was experimentally determined using variable temperature NMR measurements. The relative orientation of the two –OH groups in (Xan‐OH)₂ diol was investigated in solution and the solid state using NMR spectroscopy and X‐ray crystallography. The conformer observed in the solid state was found to be the In–Out conformer, while free rotation of the xanthenol units is thought to occur on the NMR timescale at room temperature. These studies are relevant for the design of linkers for efficient water oxidation catalysts. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pourbaix diagrams in weakly coupled systems: a case study involving acridinol and phenanthridinol pseudobases

The thermodynamics of proton‐coupled electron transfer (PCET) in weakly coupled organic pseudobases was investigated using 2,7‐dimethyl‐9‐hydroxy‐9‐phenyl‐10‐tolyl‐9,10‐dihydroacridine (AcrOH) and 6‐phenylphenanthridinol (PheOH) as model compounds. Pourbaix diagrams for two model compounds were constructed using the oxidation potentials and the pK_a values obtained, respectively, from cyclic voltammetry and photometric titrations. Our comparative study reveals the importance of having the redox active –N center closer to –OH functionality on the thermodynamics of PCET process: PheOH exhibits a wider range of pH values (pH = 2.8 to 13.3) in which both the alcohol and the corresponding alkoxy radical are expected to coexist in solution. This result indicates that a concerted mechanism is more likely to be discovered in pseudobases analogous to PheOH. The thermochemical data also indicate that the concerted PCET mechanism cannot be achieved if water is used as the proton acceptor: assuming the pK_a of hydronium ions as ?1.7, the PCET involving PheOH or AcrOH as proton/electron donors and water as the proton acceptor is expected to follow the stepwise ET/PT mechanism. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

热处理对钙钛矿锰氧化物La_(0.95)Sr_(0.05)MnO_3离子价态和磁结构的影响

对于磁性氧化物的磁有序,传统的观点用超交换相互作用(SE)和双交换相互作用(DE)模型进行解释,其出发点都建立在全部氧离子是-2价的基础上.例如,对于LaMnO_3,认为其中的La和Mn都处于+3价,用SE模型解释相邻Mn~(3+)离子间的反铁磁序;当以二价的Sr离子替代一部分La离子后,认为等量的Mn~(3+)离子变为Mn~(4+)离子,用DE模型解释相邻Mn~(3+)和Mn~(4+)离子间的铁磁序.然而,事实上在氧化物中存在一部分负一价氧离子.Cohen[Nature 358 136]利用密度泛函理论计算了BaTiO_3的价电子态密度,结果得到只有Ba离子的化合价与传统观点相同,为+2价;而Ti和0分别为+2.89价和-1.63价,不是传统观点的+4价和-2价,但是与多年来关于氧化物电离度的研究[Rev.Mod.Phys.42 317]和X射线光电子谱(XPS)的研究结果相符合.本文经过不同热处理条件制备了名义成分为La_(0.95)Sr_(0.05)MnO_3的三个样品,通过对样品的XPS分析,发现样品中不存在Mn~(4+)离子,只存在Mn2+和Mn~(3+)离子,平均价态随热处理程序的增加而升高.尽管三个样品有相同的晶体结构,但磁矩明显不同.对于这样的性能,不能用SE和DE模型解释其磁结构.利用本课题组最近在研究尖晶石结构铁氧体磁有序过程中提出的O 2p巡游电子模型解释了这种现象,利用样品在10 K的磁矩估算出的Mn离子平均价态变化趋势与XPS分析结果一致.O 2p巡游电子模型的出发点建立在氧化物中存在一部分负一价氧离子的基础上,这是其与SE和DE模型的根本区别.     

Experimental simulation of the Unruh effect on an NMR quantum simulator

A triad mode resonance, or three-wave resonance, is typical of dynamical systems with quadratic nonlinearities. Suspended cables are found to be rich in triad mode resonant dynamics. In this paper, modulation equations for cable’s triad resonance are formulated by the multiple scale method. Dynamic conservative quantities, i.e., mode energy and Manley-Rowe relations, are then constructed. Equilibrium/dynamic solutions of the modulation equations are obtained, and full investigations into their stability and bifurcation characteristics are presented. Various bifurcation behaviors are detected in cable’s triad resonant responses, such as saddle-node, Hopf, pitchfork and period-doubling bifurcations. Nonlinear behaviors, like jump and saturation phenomena, are also found in cable’s responses. Based upon the bifurcation analysis, two interesting properties associated with activation of cable’s triad resonance are also proposed, i.e., energy barrier and directional dependence. The first gives the critical amplitude of high-frequency mode to activate cable’s triad resonance, and the second characterizes the degree of difficulty for activating cable’s triad resonance in two opposite directions, i.e., with positive or negative internal detuning parameter.     

Progress of Jinping Underground laboratory for Nuclear Astrophysics (JUNA)

Jinping Underground laboratory for Nuclear Astrophysics(JUNA) will take the advantage of the ultra-low background of CJPL lab and high current accelerator based on an ECR source and a highly sensitive detector to directly study for the first time a number of crucial reactions occurring at their relevant stellar energies during the evolution of hydrostatic stars. In its first phase, JUNA aims at the direct measurements of~(25)Mg(p,γ)~(26)Al,~(19)F(p,α)~(16)O,~(13)C(α,n)~(16)O and ~(12)C(α,γ)~(16)O reactions. The experimental setup,which includes an accelerator system with high stability and high intensity, a detector system, and a shielding material with low background, will be established during the above research. The current progress of JUNA will be given.     

A hybrid particle-continuum resolution method and its application to a homopolymer solution

We discuss in detail a recently proposed hybrid particle-continuum scheme for complex fluids and evaluate it at the example of a confined homopolymer solution in slit geometry. The hybrid scheme treats polymer chains near the impenetrable walls as particles keeping the configuration details, and chains in the bulk region as continuous density fields. Polymers can switch resolutions on the fly, controlled by an inhomogeneous tuning function. By properly choosing the tuning function, the representation of the system can be adjusted to reach an optimal balance between physical accuracy and computational efficiency. The hybrid simulation reproduces the results of a reference particle simulation and is significantly faster (about a factor of 3.5 in our application example).     

Preliminary investigation into feasibility of dissolved methane measurement using cavity ringdown spectroscopy technique

For the exploration of gas hydrate resources by measuring the dissolved methane concentration in seawater, a continuous-wave cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CW-CRDS) experimental setup was constructed for trace methane detection. A current-modulation method, rather than a cavity-modulation method using an optical switch and a piezoelectric transducer, was employed to realize the cavity excitation and shutoff. Such a current-modulation method enabled the improvement of the experimental setup construction and stability, and the system size and stability are critical for a sensor to be deployed underwater. Ringdown data acquisition and processing were performed, followed by an evaluation of the experimental setup stability and sensitivity. The obtained results demonstrate that great errors are introduced when a large fitting window is selected if the analog-to-digital converter has an insufficient resolution. The ringdown spectrum of methane corresponding to the 2v ₃ band R(4) branch was captured, and the methane concentration in lab air was determined to be 2.06 ppm. Further experiments for evaluating the quantitative ability of this CW-CRDS experimental setup are underway from which a high-sensitivity methane sensor that can be combined with a degassing system is expected.