Computational gibberellin‐binding channel discovery unraveling the unexpected perception mechanism of hormone signal by gibberellin receptor

Gibberellins (GAs) are phytohormones essential for many developmental processes in plants. In this work, fundamental mechanism of hormone perception by receptor GID1 has been studied by performing computational simulations, revealing a new GA‐binding channel of GID1 and a novel hormone perception mechanism involving only one conformational state of GID1. The novel hormone perception mechanism demonstrated here is remarkably different from the previously proposed/speculated mechanism [Murase et al., Nature 2008 , 456, 459] involving two conformational states (“OPEN” and “CLOSED”) of GID1. According to the new perception mechanism, GA acts as a “conformational stabilizer,” rather than the previously speculated “allosteric inducer,” to induce the recognition of protein DELLA by GID1. The novel mechanistic insights obtained in this study provide a new starting point for further studies on the detailed molecular mechanisms of GID1 interacting with DELLA and various hormones and for mechanism‐based rational design of novel, potent growth regulators that target crops and ornamental plants. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Regioselective Nitration of Phenols by NaNO3 in Microemulsion

Highly regiospecific mononitration of phenols and substituted phenols was carried out in TX100-based microemulsion. The use of inexpensive and relatively nontoxic acidic reagent is an advantage of this method. The effect of various parameters such as concentration of NaNO₃, temperature, and agitation speed on reaction system have been investigated. Exclusive ortho-selectivity was observed for all the phenols subjected to this protocol.     

The State of NaOH in NaOH/Poly(Sodium Acrylate) Composite

NaOH/poly(sodium acrylate) composites were prepared by in situ polymerization of acrylic acid with an overneutralization level by adding excess NaOH. The composites were studied by XRD, IR and ²³Na MAS NMR spectroscopy. The results showed that the high neutralization degree (>100%) may lead to a complete polymerization. Both XRD and ²³Na MAS NMR spectra did not show any peaks of phase-separated NaOH or Na₂CO₃ until the neutralization degree was up to 217.5%. It can be presumed that the aggregates of Na⁺ ions can contain approximately two Na⁺ units for every carboxyl group before the phase separation.     

An Approximate Expression for the Degree of Counterion Binding of Dressed Micelles

A simple formula for calculating the degree of counterion binding of dressed micelles is presented. This approximate expression for the spherical micelle is derived from the extending Langmuir's method in the case of high surface potentials. It works quite well for the estimation of the degree of counterion binding of micelles. The simple form is very convenient for practical use.     

Electrical Property of Tin Oxide Doped with Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Tin oxide doped with multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) was prepared via a wet‐chemical process and characterized with x‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Meanwhile, the conductivity of composites obtained was measured using Source Meter. The results show that carbon nanotubes have great effect on the electrical property of SnO₂ nanoparticles. Compared with undoped SnO₂ nanoparticles, the resistivity of SnO₂ nanoparticles doped with 0.3‰ wt MWNTs decreased by a factor of 37. This may be ascribed to the presence of π energy levers of MWNTs and their high aspect ratio. Moreover, the effect of annealing temperature on the electrical property of SnO₂ nanoparticles doped with MWNTs also was discussed.     

液相色谱-串联质谱法快速同时测定婴幼儿配方乳粉中氯霉素、三聚氰胺、甲硝唑和洛硝达唑

建立了婴幼儿配方乳粉中三聚氰胺、氯霉素、甲硝唑和洛硝达唑残留的高效液相色谱-串联四极杆质谱联用测定方法.样品经碱性乙腈提取,以MGⅢ-C18色谱柱(150 mm× 2.1 mm,5 μm)分离,流动相为60 mmol/L乙酸铵溶液(含0.4‰甲酸)和甲醇,梯度洗脱,流速为0.25 mL/min.采用多反应监测正离子或负离子模式,可以同时对婴幼儿配方乳粉中的三聚氰胺、氯霉素、甲硝唑和洛硝达唑进行快速定性和定量测定.在优化条件下,4种化合物检出限为0.3 ～ 50.0μg/kg,方法回收率为61.4％ ～ 96.2％,相对标准偏差(RSD)为1.8％ ～9.8％.采用本方法测定了多种市售婴幼儿配方奶粉.本方法操作简单、测定结果准确,可用于婴幼儿配方奶粉中三聚氰胺、氯霉素、甲硝唑和洛硝达唑残留的同时快速测定.     

单壁碳纳米管对C-C键水解酶BphD的固定化性能

采用修饰与未修饰单壁碳纳米管固定C-C键水解酶BphD,并对固定化酶的相对活性、稳定性、重复使用性进行了考察.结果表明,未修饰单壁碳纳米管固定的BphD相对活性为游离态的52.5%,其热稳定性和在变性剂中的稳定性均有所提高,且重复使用10次仍可保持初始活力的90%.修饰单壁碳纳米管固定的BphD相对活性可达99.7%,但其稳定性没有明显提高.同源模建及分子对接分析结果显示,未修饰的单壁碳纳米管对BphD亚基之间的联系可能存在干扰作用,从而对其活性产生影响.     

Improving the properties of HDPE based separators for lithium ion batteries by blending block with copolymer PE-b-PEG

To improve the performances of HDPE-based separators, polyether chains were incorporated into HDPE membranes by blending with poly(ethylene-block-ethylene glycol) (PE-b-PEG) via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) process. By measuring the composition, morphology, crystallinity, ion conductivity, etc, the influence of PE-b-PEG on structures and properties of the blend separator were investigated. It was found that the incorporated PEG chains yielded higher surface energy for HDPE separator and improved affinity to liquid electrolyte. Thus, the stability of liquid electrolyte trapped in separator was increased while the interfacial resistance between separator and electrode was reduced effectively. The ionic conductivity of liquid electrolyte soaked separator could reach 1.28 × 10-3 S.cm-1 at 25℃, and the electrochemical stability window was up to 4.5 V (versus Li + /Li). These results revealed that blending PE-b-PEG into porous HDPE membranes could efficiently improve the performances of PE separators for lithium batteries.     

Halonickel 2,4-di-t-butyl-6-(quinolin-8-yliminomethyl)phenolates: Synthesis, characterization and ethylene reactivity

A series of nickel halides bearing 2,4-di-t-butyl-6-(quinolin-8-yliminomethyl) phenolate ligands was synthesized and characterized by IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis.Molecular structures of C1(R = H,X = Br) and C2(R = H,X = Cl) were further confirmed by single-crystal X-ray crystallographic studies,and revealed a distorted square planar geometry at nickel.Upon activation with diethylaluminum chloride(Et 2 AlCl),all nickel pre-catalysts displayed good catalytic activity [up to 9.3 × 10 5 g mol 1(Ni) h 1 ] for ethylene oligomerization with major dimerization.In the presence of methylaluminoxane(MAO),the nickel complex C1 was capable of ethylene polymerization under 3 MPa,and produced polyethylene products with narrow polydispersity(1.16 1.73) and molecular weights in the range of 2.6 4.95 kg/mol.