Preparation of poly(propylene carbonate)/organo-vermiculite nanocomposites via direct melt intercalation

Intercalated nanocomposites comprised of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) and organo-vermiculite (OVMT) was first prepared via direct melt compounding of the alkali-vermiculite intercalated host with PPC in a twin rotary mixer. The dispersion and morphologies of OVMT within PPC were investigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopic techniques. The results revealed the formation of intercalated-exfoliated vermiculite sheets in the PPC matrix. Because of the thermally sensitive nature of PPC, thermal degradation occurred during the melt compounding. The degradation led to a deterioration of the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. Tensile test showed that the yield strength and modulus of the nanocomposites decrease with increasing vermiculite content. The degradation mechanism was discussed according to the results of GPC and TGA measurements.     

Titania membrane preparation with chemical stability for very hash environments applications

The high-quality tubular titania MF membranes are successfully prepared by dip-coating techniques and systematically investigated with regard to their corrosive resistances. The experiments show that dispersants PAA and anatase powder were preferably employed to prepare desired suspensions with solid loading 10–15 wt.% and that suspensions properties significantly affect the final membranes quality. The titania MF membranes with pure water permeability 742.42 l m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹ and 0.1 μm pore diameter have been obtained using the prepared suspensions. The corrosion resistance of titania membranes exhibits that the anatase layers are more stable than the alumina supports in boiling corrosive medium and that the poor quality titania MF membranes become more deteriorated due to its top layer pore blockages and fouling layer formation, which provides a wide range of practical application fields in very hash environments with reliable data supports.     

Understanding effect of wall structure on the hydrothermal stability of mesostructured silica SBA-15

Mesostructured silica SBA-15 materials with different structural parameters, such as pore size, pore volume, and wall thickness, etc., were prepared by varying the postsynthesis hydrothermal treatment temperature and adding inorganic salts. The hydrothermal stabilities of these materials in steam (100% water vapor) were systematically investigated using a variety of techniques including powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen sorption, and (29)Si solid-state NMR. The effect of the pore size, microporosity or mesoporosity, and wall thickness on the stability was discussed. The results show that all of the SBA-15 materials have a good hydrothermal stability under steam of 600 degrees C for at least 24 h. N(2) sorption measurements show that the Brumauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of SBA-15 materials is decreased by about 62% after treatment under steam at 600 degrees C for 24 h. The materials with thicker walls and more micropores show relatively better hydrothermal stability in steam of 600 degrees C. Interestingly, we found that the microporosity of the mesostructured silica SBA-15 is a very important factor for the hydrothermal stability. To the materials with more micropores, the recombination of Si-O-Si bonds during the high-temperature steam treatment may not cause direct destruction to the wall structure. As a result, SBA-15 materials with more micropores show better stability in pure steam of 600 degrees C. Nevertheless, these materials are easily destroyed in steam of 800 degrees C for 6 h. Two methods to effectively improve the hydrothermal stability are introduced here: one is a high-temperature treatment, and another is a carbon-propping thermal treatment. Thermal treatment at 900 degrees C can enhance the polymerization degree of Si-O-Si bonds and effectively improve the hydrothermal stability of these SBA-15 materials in 800 degrees C steam for 12 h. But, this approach will cause very serious shrinkage of the mesopores, resulting in smaller pore diameter and low surface area. A carbon-propping thermal treating method was employed to enhance the polymerization of Si-O-Si bonds and minimize the serious shrinkage of mesopores at the same time. It was demonstrated to be an effective method that can greatly improve the hydrothermal stability of SBA-15 materials in 800 degrees C steam for 12 h. Furthermore, the SBA-15 materials obtained by using the carbon-propping method possess larger pores and higher surface area after the steam treatment at 800 degrees C compared to the materials from the direct thermal treatment method after the steam treatment.     

Chemical Reactions and Kinetics of the Carbon Monoxide Coupling in the Presence of

The chemical reactions and kinetics of the catalytic coupling reaction of carbon monoxide to diethyl oxalate were studied in the presence of hydrogen over a supported palladium catalyst in the gaseous phase at the typical coupling reaction conditions. The experiments were performed in a continuous flow fixed-bed reactor. The results indicated that hydrogen only reacts with ethyl nitrite to form ethanol, and kinetic studies revealed that the rate-determining step is the surface reaction of adsorbed hydrogen and the ethoxy radical (EtO-). A kinetic model is proposed and a comparison of the observed and calculated conversions showed that the rate expressions are of rather high confidence.     

戊烯自由基阳离子的密度泛函理论研究

使用密度泛函理论B3LYP方法和6-31G(d,p)、6-31＋G(d,p)、6-311G(d,p)及6-311＋G(d,p)基组，分别对2-C5H10＋和1-C5H10＋的各种构象进行了几何构型优化，并用B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)进行了频率分析计算.计算预言1-C5H10＋具有非平面构型，与以往报导的从头算计算结论相反.在两个自由基阳离子的各种构象的B3LYP几何构型上，进行了B3LYP和UMP2(full)方法的超精细偶合常数计算，得到了比以往更好的结果.     

用Reichardt''''s Dye研究碳酸酯溶剂极性的经验参数ET(30)

使用2,6-二苯基-4-(2,4,6-三苯基-1-吡啶鎓)苯氧内盐染料(Reichardt's Dye)研究锂离子电池中非水电解质溶剂碳酸酯的极性,并测量极性经验参数ET(30)碳酸乙烯酯为48.6,碳酸丙烯酯为46.1,2,3-碳酸丁烯酯为45.7,碳酸二甲酯为39.0,碳酸甲乙酯为37.3,碳酸二乙酯为37.0.LiClO4加入到碳酸酯溶剂中,显色剂受到离子的盐效应影响,表现为溶液体系的ET(30)值增加,极性增大.由于溶液中粒子间的相互作用不同,环碳酸酯与链状碳酸酯极性变化趋势不同.极性大的溶剂易形成Ar-O-…solvent…Li+结构,起到缓冲作用,抑制了显色剂的酚氧基与Li+直接作用.     

Development of a tandem protein trans-splicing system based on native and engineered split inteins

Protein trans-splicing involving naturally or artificially split inteins results in two polypeptides being linked together by a peptide bond. While this phenomenon has found a variety of applications in chemical biology and biotechnology, precious little is known about the molecular recognition events governing the initial fragment association step. In this study, fluorescence approaches have been used to measure the dissociation constant for the Ssp DnaE split intein interaction and to determine the on and off rates of fragment association. The DnaE fragments bind with low nanomolar affinity, and our data suggest that electrostatics make an important contribution to the very rapid association of the fragments at physiological pH. This information was used to develop a tandem trans-splicing system based on native and engineered split inteins. This novel system allows the one-pot assembly of three polypeptides under native conditions and can be performed in crude cell lysates. The technology should provide a convenient approach to the segmental isotopic or fluorogenic labeling of specific domains within the context of large multidomain proteins.     

Characterization of chromate conversion coating on AA7075‐T6 aluminum alloy

Chromate conversion coatings (CCCs) on AA7075‐T6 were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, focused ion beam sectioning and scanning transmission electron microscopy with nano‐electron dispersive spectroscopy line profiling. The thickness and composition of the CCC was different at different locations on the heterogeneous microstructure of AA7075‐T6. The coating formed on the matrix phase was much thicker than that formed on the coarse Al–Cu–Mg, Al–Fe–Cu and Mg–Si intermetallic particles. Nano‐electron dispersive spectroscopy line profiling indicated that the coating on the Al–Fe–Cu particles was similar to the CCC formed on the phase matrix, primarily a chromium oxide. However, the coatings on the Al–Cu–Mg and Mg–Si particles were mixed Al/Mg/Cr oxide and Mg oxide, respectively. The growth of CCC followed a linear‐logarithmic kinetic rate law. The observations of this study support the sol‐gel model of CCC formation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ln(Ln=Y/Gd)VO4:Er3+/Nd3+的制备及发光性能

采用高温固相法制备了Ln（Ln=Y／Gd）VO4掺Er^3＋或Nd^3＋的近红外发光材料。通过X射线粉末衍射（XRD）和光致发光（PL）对样品进行了表征。结果表明：所得产品结晶良好，属于四方晶系，锆石结构。研究了Er^3＋，Nd^3＋的含量、煅烧时间、煅烧温度等对材料近红外发光性质的影响。在Ln（Ln=Y／Gd）VO4：Er^3＋／Nd^3＋中，存在明显的从VO4^3-向Er^3＋／Nd^3＋的能量传递。两种不同的LnVO4（Ln=Y／Gd）基质对发光性质也有一定的影响。小浓度Bi^3＋的掺人可以明显提高YVO4：Er^3＋／Nd^3＋的近红外发光强度。     

SET8 suppression mediates high glucose-induced vascular endothelial inflammation via the upregulation of PTEN

Hyperglycemia-mediated endothelial inflammation participates in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular complications in subjects with diabetes. Previous studies reported that phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) and SET8 participate in high glucose-mediated endothelial inflammation. In this study, we hypothesize that SET8 regulates PTEN expression, thus contributing to high glucose-mediated vascular endothelial inflammation. Our data indicated that plasma soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and endothelial selectin (e-selectin) were increased in patients with diabetes and diabetic rats. PTEN expression was augmented in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with diabetes and in the aortic tissues of diabetic rats. Our in vitro study indicated that high glucose increased monocyte/endothelial adhesion, endothelial adhesion molecule expression and p65 phosphorylation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Moreover, high glucose led to endothelial inflammation via upregulation of PTEN. Furthermore, high glucose inhibited SET8 expression and histone H4 lysine 20 methylation (H4K20me1), a downstream target of SET8. SET8 overexpression reversed the effects of high-glucose treatment. shSET8-mediated endothelial inflammation was counteracted by siPTEN. Furthermore, SET8 was found to interact with FOXO1. siFOXO1 attenuated high glucose-mediated endothelial inflammation. FOXO1 overexpression-mediated endothelial inflammation was counteracted by siPTEN. H4K20me1 and FOXO1 were enriched in the PTEN promoter region. shSET8 increased PTEN promoter activity and augmented the positive effect of FOXO1 overexpression on PTEN promoter activity. Our in vivo study indicated that SET8 was downregulated and FOXO1 was upregulated in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with diabetes and the aortic tissues of diabetic rats. In conclusion, SET8 interacted with FOXO1 to modulate PTEN expression in vascular endothelial cells, thus contributing to hyperglycemia-mediated endothelial inflammation.Subject terms: Diabetes complications, Vascular diseases