Gd complexes of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid conjugates of low-molecular-weight chitosan oligosaccharide as a new liver-specific MRI contrast agent

This study was to describe the synthesis of complexes of gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid conjugates of low-molecular-weight chitosan oligosaccharide Gd-DTPA-CSn (n = 6, 8, 11) as a new class of contrast agent as well as its magnetic property in a pilot magnetic resonance imaging. The efficacy of the contrast agent was assessed by measuring the longitudinal relaxivity (r₁), FLASH imaging in phantoms in vitro and signal intensity in vivo of the rat abdominal axial imaging. The r₁ of Gd-DTPA-CS₁₁ was up to 11.65 mM^− 1·s^− 1, which was 3 times higher than that of the analogous MRI contrast agent Gd-DTPA in commercial use. In vivo MR images of rat obtained with Gd-DTPA-CS₁₁ showed strong signal enhancement in liver and the vessels of the liver parenchyma during the extended period of time. The present study suggests that the new synthesized gadolinium complexes can be used as a new class of practical liver-specific MRI contrast agent because of its superior performance compared with Gd-DTPA.     

不同尺寸的NdFeB稀土永磁体热退磁行为研究

针对不同类型及不同尺寸的两类NdFeB永磁体分别研究了它们随温度变化的热退磁行为。采用样品的整体剩余磁通来表征热退磁过程中磁体性能的变化。结果表明,Pc较小的永磁体温度稳定性较差,随温度的升高,样品的剩余磁通迅速衰减;Pc<<0.1的普通型永磁体,温度为100℃时样品的剩余磁通损失超过60%。高矫顽力型永磁体比普通型磁体具有更优越的温度稳定性和高温性能。温度升高主要导致磁体矫顽力降低,140℃时普通型磁体的矫顽力降低约80%,而高矫顽力型磁体的矫顽力只降低了约20%。     

Cu-catalyzed direct C–H amination of 2-alkylazaarenes with azodicarboxylates via nucleophilic addition

An efficient Cu-catalyzed C–H amination of 2-alkylazaarenes with azodicarboxylates has been developed through nucleophilic addition of sp³C–H bond to unsaturated nitrogen–nitrogen double bond. It provides an easy access to azaarene-containing hydrazines from simple and easily available starting materials.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel elastomeric poly(D,L-lactide urethane) maleate composites for bone tissue engineering

Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of a novel 4-arm poly(lactic acid urethane)-maleate (4PLAUMA) elastomer and its composites with nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) as potential weight-bearing composite. The 4PLAUMA/nHA ratios of the composites were 1:3, 2:5, 1:2 and 1:1. FTIR and NMR characterization showed urethane and maleate units integrated into the PLA matrix. Energy dispersion and Auger electron spectroscopy confirmed homogeneous distribution of nHA in the polymer matrix. Maximum moduli and strength of the composites of 4PLAUMA/nHA, respectively, are 1973.31 ± 298.53 MPa and 78.10 ± 3.82 MPa for compression, 3630.46 ± 528.32 MPa and 6.23 ± 1.44 MPa for tension, 1810.42 ± 86.10 MPa and 13.00 ± 0.72 for bending, and 282.46 ± 24.91 MPa and 5.20 ± 0.85 MPa for torsion. The maximum tensile strains of the polymer and composites are in the range of 5–93%, and their maximum torsional strains vary from 0.26 to 0.90. The composites exhibited very slow degradation rates in aqueous solution, from approximately 50% mass remaining for the pure polymer to 75% mass remaining for composites with high nHA contents, after a period of 8 weeks. Increase in ceramic content increased mechanical properties, but decreased maximum strain, degradation rate, and swelling of the composites. Human bone marrow stem cells and human endothelial cells adhered and proliferated on 4PLAUMA films and degradation products of the composites showed little-to-no toxicity. These results demonstrate that novel 4-arm poly(lactic acid urethane)-maleate (4PLAUMA) elastomer and its nHA composites may have potential applications in regenerative medicine.     

层叠Blumlein线多开关导通时间分散性

高介电常数陶瓷储能脉冲形成线需要用到多开关触发的层叠Blumlein线结构。从形成线波过程理论出发，分析了多开关导通时间分散性对层叠Blumlein线及其输出波形的影响。主要包括两方面影响:其一是造成输出方波脉冲的前沿和后沿均出现阶梯形畸变；其二是使得各延迟导通的平行平板Blumlein线承受过电压，容易引起陶瓷储能介质的电击穿。在不单独考虑开关电感的理想情况下，利用PSpice电路程序模拟了开关导通时间分散性对四级层叠Blumlein线的影响，模拟结果与波过程理论分析一致。为减弱这些影响，提出了可行的解决方案。     

Amine Salt–Catalyzed Synthesis of 5-Substituted 1H-Tetrazoles from Nitriles

The [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between sodium azide and various organic nitriles proceeds smoothly in the presence of amine salts as catalyst in dimethylformamide. The corresponding 5-substituted 1-H tetrazoles were obtained under mild condition in good to excellent yields. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications® to view the free supplemental file.     

A cation trap for anodic stripping voltammetry: NH3–plasma treated carbon nanotubes for adsorption and detection of metal ions

NH₃–plasma treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (pn-MWCNTs) with cation traps for the detection of ultratrace quantities of Zn(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), and Hg(II) using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) is described. The pn-MWCNTs use their adsorption performance to enhance the sensitivity. It is found that under optimized conditions Zn(II), Cd(II), Cu(II) and Hg(II) were individually detected at potentials of −1.16, −0.78, −0.268 and 0.108 V, respectively. The detection limit (3σ method) of 0.314, 0.0272, 0.2263, and 0.1439 nM toward Zn(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), and Hg(II) is achievable, respectively. No interference could be seen during the simultaneous detection of Zn(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), and Hg(II). The pn-MWCNTs exhibit excellent selectivity owing to the different ability of adsorption. A study of the ability of pn-MWCNTs in practical application is carried out using a sample of water collected from Dongpu Reservoir in Hefei City, Anhui, China. It is found that the results were favorable when compared against inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) analysis.     

Diode pumped active-mirror Yb:YAG ceramic lasers

Lasers from Yb:YAG ceramic at different temperature were reported in this paper. The Yb:YAG ceramic laser with active-mirror structure was end-pumped by a laser diode whose central wavelength was 940 nm. At 80 K, with doping concentration of 5 at % Yb:YAG ceramic slab, output energy of 0.68 J at 10 Hz repetition rate was obtained under the pump energy of 2.49 J, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 40% and a conversion efficiency of 27.3%, respectively.     

An arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian model for studying the influences of corrosion product deposition on bimetallic corrosion

In this paper, a model is established to simulate the time-dependent deposition of corrosion product on the metal surface by considering mass transfer, electrochemical reactions and precipitation reaction. The model is also capable of tacking the movement of metal corrosion interface and the growing interface of the corrosion product deposits via arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian finite element method. The current model not only can be used to predict the time-dependent metal corrosion but also for investigating the influences of the deposits’ nature on metal corrosion. The numerical results of current density and corrosion rate are in good agreement with experiments. The presented model predicts that an exponential relationship exists between the maximum corrosion depth and the porosity of corrosion product deposits, and it is also predicted that the growth of the corrosion product layer is linear relative with the root of time, which is consistent with the existing theories.