Analysis of fatty acids in sputum from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry preceded by solid-phase microextraction and post-derivatization on the fiber

A method based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and post-derivatization on the fiber coupled to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was developed for the analysis of fatty acids in sputum from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. The sputum specimens were digested, hydrolyzed, extracted, derivertized, injected and analyzed without cultivation or isolation of the microorganism. Under optimized conditions, the relative standard deviations (RSD, n = 5) for all analytes were below 17% and the limits of detection varied from 1.68 (C_24:0) to 150.4 μg L⁻¹ (C_12:0). Good linearity was observed for all the fatty acids studied except for C_12:0 within a wide concentration range of three orders of magnitudes with the correlation coefficients ranging from 0.91 (C_24:0) to 0.99 (C_14:0). Fatty acids in sputum specimens from 21 persons were directly analyzed using the proposed method. The results show that in all the sputum specimens from patients, who were clinically diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), tuberculosis stearic acid (TBSA) was detected, while in all the sputum samples from persons without TB, TBSA was not found. The possibility of using the proposed method to detect mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) via the identification of TBSA in sputum was discussed. The comparison with other methods including sputum culture and microscopy of direct smears indicated that the proposed method is fast and sensitive for the analysis of fatty acids in sputum and offers an alternative for the detection of MTB in sputum.     

循环冲击载荷作用下页岩动力学响应及能量耗散特征

采用$varnothing $50 mm分离式霍普金森杆(split Hopkinson pressure bar,SHPB)实验系统开展页岩循环冲击实验,研究不同循环冲击载荷作用下页岩动力学响应及损伤演化特征,同时揭示了控制入射总能量不变条件下,不同气压梯度循环冲击页岩能量演化规律。随着冲击气压升高,试样破裂所需的冲击次数呈线性减少,峰值应力随循环冲击次数的增加先升高后降低,极限应变先减小后增大,试样在循环冲击下表现出先压密后损伤的力学机制。基于Weibull分布的统计损伤模型表明,升高循环冲击气压,试样损伤破坏形式由缓慢劣化逐渐转变为骤然破坏。入射总能量恒定的情况下,通过控制循环入射能量梯度能够产生不同的损伤效果,降压冲击和升压冲击下的能量吸收比均大于恒压冲击下的,且气压梯度的绝对值与能量吸收比呈现正相关性。

     

Analysis of food for toxic elements

The levels of the toxic elements Al, As, Cd, Hg, Pb and Sn are routinely monitored in food to protect the consumer. Increasingly, the chemical forms of As and Hg are also monitored. Analyses are performed to enforce regulatory standards and to accumulate background levels for assessing long-term exposure. The analytical procedures used for these activities evolve as requirements to determine lower levels arise and as both the types and sheer number of different foods that need to be analyzed increase. This review highlights recent work addressing improvements in the analysis of toxic elements in food. The topics covered include contamination control, analytical sample treatment and the common analytical techniques used for food analysis.     

Microheterogeneous structure of 1-octanol in neat and water-saturated state

The conformational and dynamic properties of 1-octanol in neat and in water-saturated states have been investigated by 1H NMR. It has been proved that neat 1-octanol is microheterogeneous in nature comprising regions enriched in either hydrocarbons or hydroxyl groups. A reversed micelle-like cluster model was proposed, where the octanol cluster has an inner polar core of hydrogen-bonded octanol hydroxyls and an outer shell of nonpolar alkyl chains radiating outside. It was also observed that the cluster structure of octanol experiences minor changes with the presence of water. In water-saturated octanol, water molecules associate via hydrogen bonding and reside in the innermost center of the polar region with restricted motion, whereas the octanol cluster structure is modified by loosening the compact structure. Moreover, the preferential solvations of both systems were tested and compared. It not only gives some clues about the microheterogeneity of the alcohol system and the structure of the cluster but also helps in advancing our understanding on the behavior and properties of the amphiphilic molecules system such as phospholipids.     

Exploration of the nature of active Ti species in metallic Ti-doped NaAlH4

Clarification of the nature of active Ti species has been a key challenge in developing Ti-doped NaAlH(4) as a potential hydrogen storage medium. Previously, it has been greatly hindered by the invisibility of Ti-containing species in conventional analysis techniques. In the present study, for the first time, the catalytically active Ti-containing species have been definitely identified by X-ray diffraction in the hydrides doped with metallic Ti. It was found that mechanical milling of a NaH/Al mixture or NaAlH(4) with metallic Ti powder resulted in the formation of nanocrystalline Ti hydrides. The variation of the preparation conditions during the doping process leads to a slight composition variation of the Ti hydrides. The catalytic enhancement arising upon doping the hydride with commercial TiH(2) was quite similar to that achieved in the hydrides doped with metallic Ti. Moreover, the cycling stability that was previously established in metallic Ti-doped hydrides was also observed in the hydrides doped with TiH(2). These results clearly demonstrate that the in situ formed Ti hydrides act as active species to catalyze the reversible dehydrogenation of NaAlH(4). The mechanism by which Ti hydrides catalyze the reversible de-/hydrogenation reactions of NaAlH(4) was discussed.     

Propane fuel cells using phosphoric-acid-doped polybenzimidazole membranes

Propane fuel cells using H(3)PO(4)-doped polybenzimidazole polymer membranes produce low and unsustainable current densities at temperatures up to 250 degrees C under anhydrous conditions. Stable intermediate species blocked the surface of noble metal anode catalysts, and the intermediate species could not react further into desorbable final products. In contrast, when water was introduced by light humidification (S(r) 0.08%) of the propane stream, sustainable and higher current densities were achieved. Water participated in the reaction sequence to form surface-bound hydrocarbon and then oxygen-containing intermediates and thereby generated CO and CO(2) as the only carbon-containing products.     

Capillary and microelectrophoretic separations of ligase detection reaction products produced from low-abundant point mutations in genomic DNA

Capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) and polymer-based microelectrophoretic platforms were investigated to analyze low-abundant point mutations in certain gene fragments with high diagnostic value for colorectal cancers. The electrophoretic separations were carried out on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) products generated from an allele-specific ligation assay (ligase detection reaction, LDR), which was used to screen for a single base mutation at codon 12 in the K-ras oncogene. The presence of the mutation generated a ssDNA fragment that was >40 base pairs (bp) in length, while the primers used for the ligation assay were <30 bp in length. Various separation matrices were investigated, with the success of the matrix assessed by its ability to resolve the ligation product from the large molar excess of unligated primers when the mutant allele was lower in copy number compared to the wild-type allele. Using CGE, LDR product models (44 and 51 bp) could be analyzed in a cross-linked polyacrylamide gel with a 1000-fold molar excess of LDR primers (25 bp) in approximately 45 min. However, when using linear polyacrylamide gels, these same fragments could not be detected due to significant electrokinetic biasing during injection. A poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) microchip of 3.5 cm effective column length was used with a 4% linear polyacrylamide gel to analyze the products generated from an LDR. When the reaction contained a 100-fold molar excess of wild-type DNA compared to a G12.2D mutant allele, the 44 bp ligation product could be effectively resolved from unligated primers in under 120 s, nearly 17 times faster than the CGE format. In addition, sample cleanup was simplified using the microchip format by not requiring desalting of the LDR prior to loading.     

Subergane‐Type Sesquiterpenes from Gorgonian Coral Subergorgia suberosa with Antibacterial Activities

A new subergane‐type sesquiterpene, named epoxysubergorgic acid ( 1 ), along with seven known sesquiterpenes, were isolated from the gorgonian coral Subergorgia suberosa. The structure of the new compound was determined by extensive spectroscopic analyses. The previously uncertain absolute configuration of the known analogues 2 – 6 was determined on the basis of CD, Mosher's method, and through chemical conversions. All compounds were evaluated for antibacterial activities.     

Physisorption and Chemisorption on Silver Clusters

Adsorption and coadsorption studies on free silver clusters show that nitrogen physisorbs like rare gases, whereas oxygen chemisorbs with similarities and differences to bulk silver surfaces. Silver nanoparticles activate, or even dissociate adsorbed oxygen molecules. The global electron configurations of the adsorbent and adsorbate dominate the stability at small clusters. This is more important than geometry and site effects. Due to electronic shell effects and electron pairing, the activation of oxygen strongly varies with size. At more than 40 free electrons in the complex, such quantum effects start to blur. The size dependence becomes smoother and general trends govern the reactivity, which is driven by the interaction between the charge state of the nanoparticle and the charge transfer of the reaction.