Discrimination and ultrasensitive detection of β 2-agonists using copper nanoclusters as a fluorescent probe

Microchimica Acta - The authors describe a rapid method for the determination of 11 β 2-agonists by exploiting the color changes and fluorescence intensity changes of copper nanoclusters...     

The Laplacian spectral radius of trees and maximum vertex degree

Let $\Delta \left(T\right)$ and $\mu \left(T\right)$ denote the maximum degree and the Laplacian spectral radius of a tree $T$, respectively. In this paper we prove that for two trees $T_1$ and $T_2$ on $n(n\ge 21)$ vertices, if $\Delta \left(T_1\right)>\Delta \left(T_2\right)$ and $\Delta \left(T_1\right)\ge ?\frac{11n}{30}?+1$, then $\mu \left(T_1\right)>\mu \left(T_2\right)$, and the bound “$\Delta \left(T_1\right)\ge ?\frac{11n}{30}?+1$” is the best possible. We also prove that for two trees $T_1$ and $T_2$ on $2k(k\ge 4)$ vertices with perfect matchings, if $\Delta \left(T_1\right)>\Delta \left(T_2\right)$ and $\Delta \left(T_1\right)\ge ?\frac{k}{2}?+2$, then $\mu \left(T_1\right)>\mu \left(T_2\right)$.     

磁场对碳纸上磁电沉积的AuPt颗粒性能的影响

AuPt纳米颗粒是一种催化锂空气电池空气电极上氧气还原反应和氧气析出反应的双功能催化剂．在电沉积制备AuPt颗粒的过程中施加了磁场,恒电流沉积条件下,随着磁场强度的增加,AuPt催化剂颗粒的粒径从1 μm减小到200 nm,同时催化活性增大．垂直于电场方向的磁场有助于提高AuPt/C空气电极的催化能力．使用脉冲电沉积,结晶粒径可减小至约100 nm．通过调节电场和磁场参数,可原位制备具有不同形貌、不同组成和催化性能的AuPt催化剂．     

A phase-type geometric process repair model with spare device procurement and repairman’s multiple vacations

This paper analyzes a phase-type geometric process repair model with spare device procurement lead time and repairman’s multiple vacations. The repairman may mean here the human beings who are used to repair the failed device. When the device functions smoothly, the repairman leaves the system for a vacation, the duration of which is an exponentially distributed random variable. In vacation period, the repairman can perform other secondary jobs to make some extra profits for the system. The lifetimes and the repair times of the device are governed by phase-type distributions (PH distributions), and the condition of device following repair is not “as good as new”. After a prefixed number of repairs, the device is replaced by a new and identical one. The spare device for replacement is available only by an order and the procurement lead time for delivering the spare device also follows a PH distribution. Under these assumptions, the vector-valued Markov process governing the system is constructed, and several important performance measures are studied in transient and stationary regimes. Furthermore, employing the standard results in renewal reward process, the explicit expression of the long-run average profit rate for the system is derived. Meanwhile, the optimal maintenance policy is also numerically determined.     

Lipidomic Profiling of Ipsilateral Brain and Plasma after Celastrol Post-Treatment in Transient Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion Mice Model

Celastrol, a pentacyclic triterpene isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F., exhibits effectiveness in protection against multiple central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as cerebral ischemia, but its influence on lipidomics still remains unclear. Therefore, in the present study, the efficacy and potential mechanism of celastrol against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury were investigated based on lipidomics. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by reperfusion was operated in mice to set up a cerebral I/R model. TTC staining and TUNEL staining were used to evaluate the therapeutic effect of celastrol. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS) was employed for lipidomics analysis in ipsilateral hemisphere and plasma. Celastrol remarkably reduced cerebral infarct volume and apoptosis positive cells in tMCAO mice. Furthermore, lipidomics analysis showed that 14 common differentially expressed lipids (DELs) were identified in brain and five common DELs were identified in plasma between the Sham, tMCAO and Celastrol-treated tMCAO groups. Through enrichment analysis, sphingolipid metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism were demonstrated to be significantly enriched in all the comparison groups. Among the DELs, celastrol could reverse cerebral I/R injury-induced alteration of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and sulfatide, which may be responsible for the neuroprotective effect of celastrol. Our findings suggested the neuroprotection of celastrol on cerebral I/R injury may be partially associated with its regulation of lipid metabolism.     

Silver-mediated radical aryltrifluoromethylthiolation of activated alkenes by S-trifluoromethyl 4-methylbenzenesulfonothioate

Herein, we describe the preparation of trifluoromethylthiol-substituted oxindoles by silver-mediated aryltrifluoromethylthiolation of activated alkenes, using S-trifluoromethyl 4-methylbenzenesulfonothioate as a F₃CS radical source and showing that the reagent availability, mild conditions, and broad functional group compatibility of this transformation make it a viable alternative strategy of constructing C_sp3SCF₃ bonds.     

Synthesis,Micellar and Surface Properties of Cationic Trisiloxane Surfactants with Different Siloxane Hydrophobic Groups

Three cationic trisiloxane surfactants, 1-methyl-1-[bis(trimethylsiloxy)methyl]silyl-propylpyrrolidinium chloride (Si₃pyCl), 1-methyl-1-[bis(triethylsiloxy)methyl]silyl-propylpyrrolidinium chloride (Et-Si₃pyCl), and 1-methyl-1-[bis(vinyldimethylsiloxy)methyl]silylpropylpyrrolidinium chloride (Vi-Si₃pyCl) were synthesized. The aggregation behavior of the trisiloxane surfactants with different siloxane hydrophobic groups in aqueous solution was investigated by surface tension and electrical conductivity measurements. The structures of hydrophobic groups of the trisiloxane surfactants can obviously influence their surface activities and thermodynamics. All the three cationic trisiloxane surfactants have excellent surface activity. Owing to the steric hindrance of hydrophobic groups, the CMC values increase following the order Et-Si₃PyCl?<?Vi-Si₃PyCl?<?Si₃PyCl. The \(\Delta G_{\text{m}}^{\text{o}}\) values increase in the order Et-Si₃PyCl?>?Vi-Si₃PyCl?>?Si₃PyCl, attributed to the decrease in the hydrophobic effect. The micellization processes of these surfactants are entropy-driven.     

Comparative Study of Volatile Compounds and Expression of Related Genes in Fruit from Two Apple Cultivars during Different Developmental Stages

Aromatic volatile compounds are important contributors to fruit quality that vary among different cultivars. Herein, headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to determine changes in volatile compounds and related gene expression patterns in “Ruixue” and “Fuji” apples (Malus domestica Borkh.) during fruit development and maturation. Volatile compounds detected in the fruit of both cultivars exhibited similar trends across different developmental stages. In the early stages of “Ruixue” fruit development (60 days after full bloom), there were fewer volatile compounds, mainly aldehydes (87.0%). During fruit maturation (180 days after full bloom), the types and amounts of volatile compounds increased, mainly including esters (37.6%), and alkenes (23.2%). The total volatile concentration, the types of major volatile compounds, and their relative content in both cultivars varied across different stages. Gene expression analysis indicated that the upregulation of MdLOX, MdAAT2, and MdADH3 was associated with increased aroma compound content, especially esters, during fruit development in both cultivars. Changes in the expression of MdArAT, MdACPD, MdADH3, MdAAT2, and MdLOX may lead to differences in volatile compounds between apple cultivars.     

Surface Modification of Rice Husk Ash by Ethanol-assisted Milling to Reinforce the Properties of Natural Rubber/Butadiene Rubber Composites

Rice husk ash(RHA), obtained by pyrolysis of rice husks, can be used as a potential reinforcing filler for rubber composites. In this work, ball milling in ethanol(ethanol-assisted milling) was used to hydroxylate the surface of RHA, promoting the graft modification of bis-(γ-triethoxysilylpropyl)-tetrasulfide(Si69). The obtained modified RHA(RHA-EM-Si69) was filled into the natural rubber/butadiene rubber(NR/BR) composites, and the filler-rubber interactions were enhanced. In consequence, RHA-EM-Si69 filled NR/BR composites showed overall improvement in the mechanical properties compared with RHA filled NR/BR composites. The tear strength increased from 13.37 kN/m to 34.71 kN/m, and the tensile strength increased from 1.84 MPa to 7.75 MPa. Carbon black(N774) was also used for comparison under the same conditions. This method provides a potential for promoting the value of RHA in rubber industry.     

Oxygen and sulfur-based pure n-electron dendrimeric systems: generation-dependent clusteroluminescence towards multicolor cell imaging and molecular ruler

Science China Chemistry - Dendrimers, as the latest generation of artificial macromolecules, have aroused great attention in the field of clusteroluminescence owing to their unique structural and...