Effects of carbon contents on morphology and electrical properties of Li2MnSiO4/C prepared by a vacuum solid-state method

To improve the electrochemical performance of Li₂MnSiO₄ with low electric conductivity, the Li₂MnSiO₄/C composite are synthesized by a vacuum solid-state reaction of a mixture of SiO₂, LiCH₃COO, Mn(CH₃COO)₂ and designed mass of C₆H₁₂O₆ · H₂O as carbon sources. The crystalline structure and morphology of products are analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and laser scattering technology (LS) respectively. The tested results show that carbon doping decrease the crystallite sizes of products, but keep the aggregation of the particles and made the impurity increased instead. The results of constant current charge-discharge prove that the mixed carbon improve Li⁺ transmission performance and decrease inner polatization resistance of Li₂MnSiO₄ materials, but can not prevent the collapse of Li₂MnSiO₄ crystal structure. While the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) results demonstrate that the primary reason for the improved electrochemical performance can be attributed to increased Li-ion diffusion coefficient $(D_{Li^ + } )$ as a result from carbon doping.     

Performance enhancement of multicrystalline silicon solar cells and modules using double‐layered SiNx:H antireflection coatings

Silicon nitride coating deposited by the plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition method is the most widely used antireflection coating for crystalline silicon solar cells. In this work, we employed double‐layered silicon nitride coating consisting of a top layer with a lower refractive index and a bottom layer (contacting the silicon wafer) with a higher refractive index for multicrystalline silicon solar cells. An optimization procedure was presented for maximizing the photovoltaic performance of the encapsulated solar cells or modules. The dependence of their photovoltaic properties on the thickness of silicon nitride coatings was carefully analyzed. Desirable thicknesses of the individual silicon nitride layers for the double‐layered coatings were calculated. In order to get statistical conclusions, we fabricated a large number of multicrystalline silicon solar cells using the standard production line for both the double‐layered and single‐layered antireflection coating types. On the cell level, the double‐layered silicon nitride antireflection coating resulted in an increase of 0.21%, absolute for the average conversion efficiency, and 1.8 mV and 0.11 mA/cm² for the average open‐circuit voltage and short‐circuit current density, respectively. On the module level, the cell to module power transfer factor was analyzed, and it was demonstrated that the double‐layered silicon nitride antireflection coating provided a consistent enhancement in the photovoltaic performance for multicrystalline silicon solar cell modules than the single‐layered silicon nitride coating. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chemical Proteomic Profiling of Protein 4′-Phosphopantetheinylation in Mammalian Cells

Protein 4′-phosphopantetheinylation is an essential post-translational modification (PTM) in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. So far, only five protein substrates of this specific PTM have been discovered in mammalian cells. These proteins are known to perform important functions, including fatty acid biosynthesis and folate metabolism, as well as β-alanine activation. To explore existing and new substrates of 4′-phosphopantetheinylation in mammalian proteomes, we designed and synthesized a series of new pantetheine analogue probes, enabling effective metabolic labelling of 4′-phosphopantetheinylated proteins in HepG2 cells. In combination with a quantitative chemical proteomic platform, we enriched and identified all the currently known 4′-phosphopantetheinylated proteins with high confidence, and unambiguously determined their exact sites of modification. More encouragingly, we discovered, using targeted chemical proteomics, a potential 4′-phosphopantetheinylation site in the protein of mitochondrial dehydrogenase/reductase SDR family member 2 (DHRS2).     

Determination of carbapenems in water samples by UHPLC–MS/MS

A rapid and reliable method for the detection of five carbapenems (biapenem, imipenem, doripenem, meropenem, and faropenem) in water was developed and validated. After acidification of water samples with acetic acid, carbapenems were isolated using a Bond Elut PPL cartridge. The target compounds were separated using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with a chromatographic run time of 5 min and detected on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operated in positive electrospray ionization and multiple reaction monitoring mode. Mean recoveries were in the range of 76.6–106.5%, with satisfactory intraday and interday relative standard deviations lower than 10.0 and 10.8%, respectively. The limits of detection and quantification were in the ranges of 0.05–0.2 µg/L and 0.1–0.5 µg/L, respectively, depending on the analyte. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of river samples and wastewater samples from swine farms, and no carbapenems were detected in the collected samples.     

The Exponential Law Between Dwell Time and the Strength of PBX Substitute Material

Polymer-bonded sugars (PBSs) can be used as a substitute material for polymerbonded explosives (PBXs) due to their ability to simulate the mechanical properties...     

Experimental study on the two-phase flow pattern and transformation characteristics of a flow mixing nozzle under a moderate flow rate

Meccanica - A flow mixing nozzle can produce satisfactory atomization for heavy oil. However, the study of the internal flow pattern of this nozzle, along with the spray morphology and its...     

Synergistic Effect of Lithocholic Acid with Gentamicin against Gram-Positive Bacteria but Not against Gram-Negative Bacteria

Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is an important Gram-positive food-borne pathogen that severely threatens public health. A checkerboard microdilution method was performed to evaluate the synergistic effect of lithocholic acid (LCA) with Gentamicin (Genta) against L. monocytogenes. BacLight LIVE/DEAD staining, scanning electron microscopy and biofilm inhibition assays were further used to explore the bactericidal effect and antibiofilm effect of this combination on L. monocytogenes. Additionally, the synergistic effects of LCA derivatives with Genta were also evaluated against L. monocytogenes, S. aureus and S. suis. The results indicated that a synergistic bactericidal effect was observed for the combined therapy of LCA at the concentration without affecting bacteria viability, with Genta. Additionally, LCA in combination with Genta had a synergistic effect against Gram-positive bacteria (L. monocytogenes, S. aureus and S. suis) but not against Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli, A. baumannii and Salmonella). BacLight LIVE/DEAD staining and scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that the combination of LCA with Genta caused L. monocytogenes membrane injury, leading to bacteria death. We found that 8 μg/mL LCA treatment effectively improved the ability of Genta to eradicate L. monocytogenes biofilms. In addition, we found that chenodeoxycholic acid, as a cholic acid derivative, also improved the bactericidal effect of Genta against Gram-positive bacteria. Our results indicate that LCA represents a broad-spectrum adjuvant with Genta for infection caused by L. monocytogenes and other Gram-positive pathogens.     

Interaction of cellulase with sodium dodecyl sulfate at critical micelle concentration level

The interactions between Trichoderma reesei cellulase and an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), at critical micelle concentration level have been investigated using isothermal titration calorimetry, fluorescence spectroscopy, and circular dichroism. SDS micelles have dual interactions with cellulase: electrostatic at first and then hydrophobic interactions. When the concentration of SDS is smaller than 45.0 mM, SDS micelles cause a partial loss in the hydrolytic activity together with a steep decrease in the -helical content of cellulase. With further increasing the concentration of SDS, however, a re-formation of the -helical structure and a partial recovery of the hydrolytic activity of cellulase induced by SDS micelles are observed. Taken together, these results indicate that SDS micelles exert dual effects on cellulase through binding as both a denaturant and a recovery reagent.     

砷、锑、铋类药物的应用历史和现状

近年来,由于对主族元素砷、锑、铋的生物功能研究的不断深入,人们已经从仅仅关注它们对人体的生物毒性到开始研究它们在化学药物领域的应用和潜力。本文简要的介绍了砷、锑、铋作为药物应用的历史,综述了近年来砷、锑、铋的化合物在抗癌、治疗白血病、抗寄生虫病和抗菌方面的一些应用,以及用于发现这些药物的靶分子和结合蛋白的现代生物技术。