Structure and electrical properties of Pb(Zr<Subscript>0.25</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>0.75</Subscript>)O<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films on LaNiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>—Coated thermally oxidized Si substrates

Pb(Zr_0.25Ti_0.75)O₃ (PZT25) thin films were prepared on LaNiO₃-coated thermally oxidized silicon substrates by chemical solution deposition method, where LaNiO₃ electrodes were also prepared by a chemical solution deposition technique. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the PZT25 thin films were 570 and 0.057, respectively. The remanent polarization and coercive field were 20.11 μC/cm² and 60.7 kV/cm, respectively. The PZT25 thin films on LaNiO₃-coated thermally oxidized silicon substrates showed improved fatigue characteristics compared with their counterparts on plantium-coated silicon substrates.     

Determination of protein by its enhancement effect on the Rayleigh light scattering of carboxyarsenazo

This is the first report on the determination of proteins based on the interaction with carboxyarsenazo (CAA) by Rayleigh light scattering (RLS). At pH 4, the weak RLS of CAA can be enhanced greatly by the addition of proteins, resulting in three characteristic peaks. Based on this, the interactions of CAA with nine kinds of proteins were studied and a new quantitative determination method for proteins has been developed. This method is very sensitive (0.10-15.3 mug ml(-1) for bovine serum albumin (BSA)), rapid (<2 min), simple (one step), tolerant of most interfering substances, and gives a close value to that of the Coomassie brilliant blue (CBB) method in the determination of proteins in human serum. Thus, the CAA assay can be useful for routine analytical purposes and may overcome some of the limitations of other currently employed methods. Mechanism studies show that the three RLS peaks correspond to the absorption valleys of the CAA-protein complex.     

Structure and Thermal Stability of a Novel 2‐D Layered Copper(II) Coordination Polymer with the Bidentate Ligand 1, 2, 4‐Triazol‐5‐one

Single crystals of {[Cu(TO)₂(H₂O)₂](NO₃)₂}_n (TO: 1, 2, 4‐triazol‐5‐one) were grown by slow evaporation from aqueous solution. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbca, with a = 7.082(1), b = 10.285(1), c = 17.911(3)Å, V = 1304.6(3)ų, Z = 4. The Cu^II distorted octahedra are bridged by bidentate TO ligands into infinite 2‐D interlaced rhombic grid‐like network planes, {[Cu(TO)₂(H₂O)₂]²⁺}_n. Hydrogen bonds, electrostatic interactions, and weak van der Waals' forces assemble these planes and the NO₃^— anions to a layered structure. The title compound decomposes at 153.4 °C to the final products, Cu(CN)₂ and CuO.     

Synthesis of New Spiropyrans With a Polyaromatic or Heteroaromatic Pendant and Their Photochromic Bedhaviors

A series of spiropyrans with a polyaromatic or heteroaromatic pendant was synthesized conveniently.Their photochromic behaviors were investigated with the aid of absorption spectral measurements.The results indicated that the compounds with the same parent spiropyran but different aromatic pendant show significantly different photochromic properties.This may be due to the π-π orbital interaction between the polyaromatic pendant and the open photomerocyanine form of spiropyran.The results obtained are very useful in the molecule design area.     

Nd-Fe-B alloy-densified agarose gel for expanded bed adsorption of proteins

Novel dense composite adsorbents for expanded bed adsorption of protein have been fabricated by coating 4% agarose gel onto Nd-Fe-B alloy powder by a water-in-oil emulsification method. Two composite matrices, namely Nd-Fe-B alloy-densified agarose (NFBA) gels with different size distributions and densities, NFBA-S (50-165 microm, 1.88 g/ml) and NFBA-L (140-300 microm, 2.04 g/ml), were produced. Lysozyme was used as a model protein to test the adsorption capacity and kinetics for the NFBA gels modified by Cibacron blue 3GA (CB-NFBA gels). Liquid-phase dispersion behavior in the expanded beds was examined by measurements of residence time distributions, and compared with that of Streamline SP (Amersham-Pharmacia Biotech, Sweden). The dependence of axial mixing in the expanded beds on flow velocity, bed expansion degree. settled bed height, and viscosity of liquid phase was investigated. Breakthrough curves of lysozyme in the expanded beds of the CB-NFBA gels were also examined. The dynamic binding capacity at 5% breakthrough was 23.3 mg/ml matrix for the CB-NFBA-S gels, and 16.7 mg/ml matrix for the CB-NFBA-L, at a flow velocity of 220 cm/h. The results indicate that the NFBA gels are promising for expanded bed adsorption of proteins.     

芳香叔胺引发丙烯腈光聚合的引发机理

芳香叔胺引发丙烯腈(AN)光聚合是通过形成激基复合物(exciPlex)进行的。紫外光谱和荧光光谱表明,芳香叔胺在基态可以和AN形成电荷转移复合物(CTC),而在激发态可和AN形成exciplc(称定域激发)。CTC经光照亦可激发(称CTC激发)。 定域激发引起光聚合速率为CH_3C_6H_4N(CH_3)_2>C_6H_5N(CH_3)_2>HOCH_2·C_6H_4N(CH_3)_2>CH_3C_6H_4N(CH_2CH_2OH)_2,与芳胺荧光被AN淬灭的Stern-Vo-lmer常数顺序一致。CTC激发引起的光聚合顺序为:CH_3C_6H_4N(CH_3)_2>CH_3C_6H_4N(CH_2CH_2OH)_2>HOCH_2C_6H_4N(CH_3)_2>C_6H_5N(CH_3)_2,与芳胺上取代基推电子能力一致。端基分析表明聚合物有芳胺端基。     

Dysfunction of Shh signaling activates autophagy to inhibit trophoblast motility in recurrent miscarriage

In early pregnancy, the placenta anchors the conceptus and supports embryonic development and survival. This study aimed to investigate the underlying functions of Shh signaling in recurrent miscarriage (RM), a serious disorder of pregnancy. In the present study, Shh and Gli2 were mainly observed in cytotrophoblasts (CTBs), Ptch was mainly observed in syncytiotrophoblasts (STBs), and Smo and Gli3 were expressed in both CTBs and STBs. Shh signaling was significantly impaired in human placenta tissue from recurrent miscarriage patients compared to that of gestational age-matched normal controls. VEGF-A and CD31 protein levels were also significantly decreased in recurrent miscarriage patients. Furthermore, inhibition of Shh signaling impaired the motility of JAR cells by regulating the expression of Gli2 and Gli3. Intriguingly, inhibition of Shh signaling also triggered autophagy and autolysosome accumulation. Additionally, knockdown of BECN1 reversed Gant61-induced motility inhibition. In conclusion, our results showed that dysfunction of Shh signaling activated autophagy to inhibit trophoblast motility, which suggests the Shh pathway and autophagy as potential targets for RM therapy.Subject terms: Embryology, Endocrine reproductive disorders, Autophagosomes     

Specific and random fragmentations in the mass spectra of some neopentyl compounds

The mass spectra of neopentyl alcohol, bromide and chloride and some ¹³C and ²H labelled analogues have been studied. Most fragmentations of the molecular ions of these compounds occur by simple bond cleavages and do not involve rearrangement before fragmentation. We propose that in the [M ? CH₃]⁺ fragment ions, seven of the eight hydrogen atoms and all four carbon atoms are involved in randomisation when an ethylene molecule is ejected. The eighth hydrogen atom (which comes from a methyl group) is probably associated with the heteroatom. The neopentylcation, observed only in the mass spectrum of the bromide, fragments mainly by loss of an ethylene molecule, also containing randomly selected hydrogen and carbon atoms. The [C₄H₇]⁺ ion also was observed to undergo complete atom scrambling.     

Activity difference between alpha-COOH and beta-COOH in N-phosphorylaspartic acids

N-phosphorylamino acids are chemically active species that have many biomimic activities. alpha-COOH in amino acids and peptides behaviors rather differently than beta-COOH in many biochemical processes and takes a more important role in the origin of life. Activity differences between alpha-COOH and beta-COOH in the peptide formation of phosphoryl amino acids are studied by 1D, 2D NMR techniques and by ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) calculations in this paper. Phosphoryl dipeptide is formed directly from phosphoryl aspartic acids without any coupling reagents. Only the alpha-dipeptide ester is observed by 1D (1)H, (13)C, and (31)P NMR and 2D NMR. In the ab initio and DFT calculations, the pentacoordinate phosphorane intermediates containing five-membered rings are predicted to be more favored than those with six-membered rings. Both the experimental results and the theoretical calculations suggest that only the alpha-COOH group is activated by N-phosphorylation in N-phosphorylaspartic acid under mild conditions.     

Laser flash photolysis of fullerols of C60 and of C70 in aqueous solutions

Fullerols of C₆₀ and of C₇₀ [C₆₀(OH)_n, C₇₀(OH)_m], water-soluble fullerene derivatives, unlike some other fullerene derivatives (such as C₆₀ (C₄H₆O), C₆₀ (C₃H₇N) and C₆₀ [C(COOEt)₂]_x), do not result in excited triplet state but in ionization via monophotonic process in aqueous solutions with 248 nm laser. The quantum yields of formation of hydrated electron (Φ_e ⁻) are determined to be 0.08 and 0.11 for fullerols of C₆₀ and of C₇₀ respectively at room temperature (ca. 15°C) with KI solution used as reference. By laser flash photolysis and oxidation of sulfate radical anion SO₄ ⁻, the fullerol radical cation or neutral radical of C₆₀ is confirmed to be existent and the transient absorption spectra of fullerol radical cation of C₇₀ are observed for the first time. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China