Furostanol saponins with inhibitory action against COX-2 production from Tupistra chinensis rhizomes

Two furostanol saponins were obtained from the n-butanol fraction of methanol extract from Tupistra chinensis rhizomes,a folk medicine of Shennongjia Forest District of Hubei Province.Their structures were determined as (25S)-26-O-(β-D-glucopyranosyl)- furost-1β,3β,22α,26-tetrol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) and (25R)- 26-O-(β-D-glucopyranosyl)-furost-1β,3β22α,26-tetrol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glu- copyranoside (2),on basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidences.1 and 2 displayed marked inhibitory action towards COX-2 production in macrophages of the rat abdomen induced by LPS at 20μg/mL.     

Influence of drying procedure on the mesoporosity and surface fractal dimensions of silica xerogels prepared with different agitation methods

Silica xerogels were prepared by thermal drying wet gels in an electric oven (70 degrees C) after certain duration of ambient drying, and the relevant effect is investigated on the mesopore structures and surface fractal dimensions of the resultant xerogels. The silica gels were derived from a hydrochloric acid-catalyzed TEOS (tetraethylorthaosilicate) system, and both magnetic stirring and ultrasonic vibration were adopted during sol preparation. The percentage mesoporosity and surface fractal dimensions are evaluated using image analysis methods, based on FE-SEM (field emission gun-scanning electron microscopy) images. The results show that the mesoporosity of the resultant xerogels decreases with the duration of ambient drying for samples prepared using magnetic stirring and low-intensity ultrasonic vibration, while samples subjected to high-intensity ultrasound show a somewhat reverse trend. Samples prepared with magnetic stirring have almost constant surface fractal dimensions (nearly 3), irrespective of the ambient drying before thermal drying. The surface fractal dimensions of samples prepared using ultrasound increase with the duration of ambient drying.     

In situ Raman studies on lithiated single-wall carbon nanotubes in liquid ammonia

The charge transfer induced lithiation of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) was investigated by in situ monitoring by Raman spectroscopy as lithium was added incrementally to a dispersion of SWNTs in liquid ammonia. Charge transfer from liquid ammonia solvated lithium to the SWNTs led to intercalation of lithium into the SWNT ropes, as well as to the semi-covalent lithiation of the SWNTs. Raman spectra of the SWNTs recorded as lithium was added showed a 30 wavenumber downshift of the G band (1594 cm⁻¹) with the concomitant appearance of a new peak at 1350 cm⁻¹ that was assigned as the signature of the lithiated SWNTs. Addition of 1-iodododecane to the lithiated SWNTs resulted in the covalent attachment of dodecyl groups. The intercalation of lithium throughout the SWNT ropes led to complete dodecylation of all individual SWNTs.     

焦磷酸盐溶液中铜电沉积过程 Ⅱ. 用旋转电极的研究

焦磷酸铜络合物还原过程中要经过一价铜这个中间产物在一些文献中都假设过。这个问题不仅是有兴趣的理论问题,而且也很有实际价值。因为在工业电镀中经常出现的所谓“铜粉”,常常影响镀层的质量。简单的Cu~(2+)离子在氧化物溶液中进行阴极还原时,曾经用旋转圆环-圆盘电极(RRDE)的方法实验证实了一价铜中间产物的存在。但是在铜以络离子存在时,尤其是在过剩的焦磷酸离子存在下,使得还原在较负的电位下进行。这时是否有一价铜中间产物,尚未见到RRDE的研究。用RRDE研究络离子还原的工作还很少。可是这一有力方法的应用将会揭示许多一般方     

配合物的生成热与配体的质子化热之间的直线焓关系——Ⅶ. 镍(Ⅱ)-2,2′联吡啶-N,N′-双(对位取代苯基)乙二胺的二元及三元体系

使用MS 80型Calvet微量热计, 在25 ℃, 0.1mol·dm~(-3)(NaClO_4)的50%(V/V)二氧六环溶液中, 测定了镍(Ⅱ)-N,N′-双(对位取代苯基)乙二胺二元及镍(Ⅱ)-2,2′-联吡啶-N,N′-双(对位取代苯基)乙二胺三元体系的生成热和N,N′-双(对位取代苯基)乙二胺的质子化热, 发现在二元和三元配合物的生成热、生成熵与配体的质子化热及质子化熵之间存在较好的线性关系。     

A Calculation Method of Passenger Flow Distribution in Large-Scale Subway Network Based on Passenger–Train Matching Probability

The ever-increasing travel demand has brought great challenges to the organization, operation, and management of the subway system. An accurate estimation of passenger flow distribution can help subway operators design corresponding operation plans and strategies scientifically. Although some literature has studied the problem of passenger flow distribution by analyzing the passengers’ path choice behaviors based on AFC (automated fare collection) data, few studies focus on the passenger flow distribution while considering the passenger–train matching probability, which is the key problem of passenger flow distribution. Specifically, the existing methods have not been applied to practical large-scale subway networks due to the computational complexity. To fill this research gap, this paper analyzes the relationship between passenger travel behavior and train operation in the space and time dimension and formulates the passenger–train matching probability by using multi-source data including AFC, train timetables, and network topology. Then, a reverse derivation method, which can reduce the scale of possible train combinations for passengers, is proposed to improve the computational efficiency. Simultaneously, an estimation method of passenger flow distribution is presented based on the passenger–train matching probability. Finally, two sets of experiments, including an accuracy verification experiment based on synthetic data and a comparison experiment based on real data from the Beijing subway, are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The calculation results show that the proposed method has a good accuracy and computational efficiency for a large-scale subway network.     

纳米材料用于放疗防护的研究进展

放射治疗是利用高能射线抑制癌细胞增殖的治疗方法,已广泛用于恶性肿瘤的治疗.但是,高能射线不可避免地会对机体的正常组织造成损害,产生放疗相关副作用.尽管目前有一些小分子放疗防护药物已应用于临床或处于临床前研究,但其较短的血液循环时间和较快的新陈代谢速度极大地削弱了其防护效果.近20年来,随着纳米技术在生物医学领域的飞速发展,纳米放疗防护剂的出现为提高防护效果提供了新的选择.通过合理地设计和开发纳米放疗防护剂,有望解决现有小分子放疗防护药物的缺陷.鉴于纳米放疗防护剂具有诸多优势,本综述概述了纳米放疗防护材料的常见设计策略,同时分析了放射诱导的常见疾病的致病机制和纳米放疗防护材料防治各种放射诱导疾病的研究现状.最后,还讨论了纳米材料用于放疗防护所面临的挑战和未来前景.     

“拟双子”阴离子表面活性剂在癸烷/水界面的分子动力学模拟

采用全原子分子动力学模拟方法研究了壬基酚取代的系列烷基磺酸盐表面活性剂在癸烷/水界面的微观聚集行为,通过分析界面厚度、界面生成能和界面张力以及表面活性剂分子与水分子之间的径向分布函数和配位数,讨论了不同磺烷基链长度对壬基酚基取代烷基磺酸盐表面活性剂界面性质的影响.结果表明,磺烷基链长为12时,表面活性剂的界面张力最低,界面厚度和界面生成能最大.     

Unveiling Latent Structure of Venture Capital Syndication Networks

Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by VC institutions to startups with high growth potential due to innovative technology or novel business models but also high risks. To against uncertainties and benefit from mutual complementarity and sharing resources and information, making joint-investments with other VC institutions on the same startup are pervasive, which forms an ever-growing complex syndication network. Attaining objective classifications of VC institutions and revealing the latent structure of joint-investment behaviors between them can deepen our understanding of the VC industry and boost the healthy development of the market and economy. In this work, we devise an iterative Loubar method based on the Lorenz curve to make objective classification of VC institutions automatically, which does not require setting arbitrary thresholds and the number of categories. We further reveal distinct investment behaviors across categories, where the top-ranked group enters more industries and investment stages with a better performance. Through network embedding of joint investment relations, we unveil the existence of possible territories of top-ranked VC institutions, and the hidden structure of relations between VC institutions.     

A Combined Experimental and Computational Study on the Adsorption Sites of Zinc-Based MOFs for Efficient Ammonia Capture

Ammonia (NH₃) is a common pollutant mostly derived from pig manure composting under humid conditions, and it is absolutely necessary to develop materials for ammonia removal with high stability and efficiency. To this end, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have received special attention because of their high selectivity of harmful gases in the air, resulting from their large surface area and high density of active sites, which can be tailored by appropriate modifications. Herein, two synthetic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), 2-methylimidazole zinc salt (ZIF-8) and zinc-trimesic acid (ZnBTC), were selected for ammonia removal under humid conditions during composting. The two MOFs, with different organic linkers, exhibit fairly distinctive ammonia absorption behaviors under the same conditions. For the ZnBTC framework, the ammonia intake is 11.37 mmol/g at 298 K, nine times higher than that of the ZIF-8 framework (1.26 mmol/g). In combination with theoretical calculations, powder XRD patterns, FTIR, and BET surface area tests were conducted to reveal the absorption mechanisms of ammonia for the two materials. The adsorption of ammonia on the ZnBTC framework can be attributed to both physical and chemical adsorption. A strong coordination interaction exists between the nitrogen atom from the ammonia molecule and the zinc atom in the ZnBTC framework. In contrast, the absorption of ammonia in the ZIF-8 framework is mainly physical. The weak interaction between the ammonia molecule and the ZIF-8 framework mainly results from the inherent severely steric hindrance, which is related to the coordination mode of the imidazole ligands and the zinc atom of this framework. Therefore, this study provides a method for designing promising MOFs with appropriate organic linkers for the selective capture of ammonia during manure composting.