The role of copper(II) and zinc(II) in the degradation of human and murine IAPP by insulin‐degrading enzyme

Amylin or islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) is a 37‐residue peptide hormone secreted from the pancreatic islets into the blood circulation and is cleared by peptidases in the kidney. IAPP aggregates are strongly associated with β‐cell degeneration in type 2 diabetes, as demonstrated by the fact that more than 95% of patients exhibit IAPP amyloid upon autopsy. Recently, it has been reported that metal ions such as copper(II) and zinc(II) are implicated in the aggregation of IAPP as well as able to modulate the proteolytic activity of IAPP degrading enzymes. For this reason, in this work, the role of the latter metal ions in the degradation of IAPP by insulin‐degrading enzyme (IDE) has been investigated by a chromatographic and mass spectrometric combined method. The latter experimental approach allowed not only to assess the overall metal ion inhibition of the human and murine IAPP degradation by IDE but also to have information on copper‐ and zinc‐induced changes in IAPP aggregation. In addition, IDE cleavage site preferences in the presence of metal ions are rationalized as metal ion‐induced changes in substrate accessibility. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measurement of Flexo-coefficients for Nematic LCs without the Influence of the Impurity Ions by Using the Chromatographic Isolation Method

The sum of the flexo-coefficients (e₁₁+e₃₃) was measured by the capacitance characteristic depending on the applied dc voltage in the HAN cell. The voltage for the minimum value of the capacitance was shifted by the influence of flexoelectric effect. One of the important problems for the evaluation for the flexo effect was the influence of impurity ions. Then, the chromatographic isolation phenomenon was used to separate impurity ions when the LC material was injected into the empty cell by the capillary action. The coefficient (e₁₁+e₃₃) of ZLI-4792 was measured, and a value of 26.0 pC/m was obtained.     

Improved simultaneous adsorption of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) of organic modified metakaolin-based geopolymer

In this paper, a metakaolin-based mesoporous geopolymer (GP-CTAB) was used as adsorbent for Cu(II) and Cr(VI) through a novel and simple synthetic route using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as an organic modifier. The application of GP-CTAB for the simultaneous removal of metal anions and cations in aqueous solution was studied for the first time. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET), and Barrett, Joyner, and Halenda (BJH) methods indicate that GP-CTAB is still geopolymer even in the presence of quaternary ammonium salt cations. The material was tested to simultaneously adsorb Cu(II) and Cr(VI) from an aqueous solution. The results show that GP-CTAB can adsorb anions simultaneously without sacrificing the adsorption properties of heavy metal cations, which is superior to conventional geopolymers. The maximum theoretical adsorption capacity of GP-CTAB for Cu(II) and Cr(VI) was 108.2 mg/g and 95.3 mg/g in the binary system, respectively. It was also found that the presence of Cu(II) in the solution promoted the adsorption of Cr(VI). Given this characteristic of GP-CTAB, it has shown great application prospects in the prevention and control of heavy metal pollution.     

Sm3+掺杂稀土硼酸盐玻璃的光谱参数计算和荧光光谱分析

制备了具有高效可见荧光发射的Sm3 掺杂稀土硼酸盐(LBLB)玻璃,对玻璃的吸收和荧光光谱展开了测试与分析.根据Judd-Ofelt理论对吸收光谱进行了拟合,求得Sm3 离子的晶场调节参数Ωt=(2,4,6)分别为6.81×10-20,4.43×10-20和2.58×10-20 cm2,并进一步计算出各能级跃迁的谱线强度、自发辐射跃迁概率、辐射寿命和荧光分支比等光谱参数.紫外光激发下,Sm3 掺杂LBLB玻璃发出明亮的橙红色光.激发光谱表明,氩离子激光器是Sm3 掺杂LBLB玻璃有效的激发光源.     

吸光度比值-导数光谱法同时测定铜(Ⅱ)和铬(Ⅲ)的研究

提出了运用吸光度比值-导数光谱法同时测定Cr(Ⅲ)与Cu(Ⅱ)含量的新方法。在pH 5.7的HAc-NaAc的缓冲溶液中,Cr3+,Cu2+与铬天青S(CAS)和溴化十六烷基三甲胺(CTMAB)可分别形成蓝色三元络合物。其摩尔吸光系数分别为2.52×105 L·mol-1·cm-1和1.01×105 L·mol-1·cm-1。Cu2+和Cr3+的浓度分别在0.08～1.2 μg·mL-1和0.05～0.52 μg·mL-1范围内符合比尔定律,其检测限分别为0.014和0.013 μg·mL-1。此方法应用于环境水中Cr(Ⅲ),Cu(Ⅱ)的同时测定,取得了满意的结果。     

可溶性离子对煅烧烟气脱硫石膏水化的影响

本文主要研究了不同水溶性离子对煅烧烟气脱硫石膏水化过程,也就是对大块煅烧石膏向石膏转化的相变过程的影响. 研究表明,在煅烧石膏向石膏转化的相变过程中,所有的阳离子都能加速煅烧石膏的水化作用,其中Ca²⁺的加速效应最弱. 对于最终沉淀得到的晶体,除了钠离子外,晶体尺寸不受不同种类盐的影响. 而在钠离子中,可以观察到长度大于130 μm的巨型结晶. 本研究阐明了不同离子对煅烧石膏水化的影响,为原始的烟气脱硫石膏在实际应用前的预处理提供了充分的指导.     

Synthesis and characterization of copper ink and direct printing of copper patterns by inkjet printing for electronic devices

Among the conventional metallic inks used in the printing process, silver exhibits high conductivity and thermal stability. Nevertheless, due to the high cost of silver, it cannot be extensively used for the fabrication of inks. As a competitive alternative, copper can be considered as a substitute for silver; however, copper ink oxidizes under certain atmospheric conditions. To meet these shortcomings, a cost effective, highly conductive, and oxidation-free copper-based ink has been synthesized in this study, wherein, oxidation of the copper particles in the copper-based ink was prevented by using copper complexes. The copper ink thus fabricated was printed on chemically treated Si/SiO₂ substrates followed by the characterization of the printed copper films. The results of this study confirmed that the synthesized copper ink exhibited properties suitable for its use in the inkjet printing process for fabrication of various electronic devices.     

A novel scheme to acquire enhanced up-conversion emissions of Ho3+ and Yb3+ co-doped Sc2O3

A detailed investigation about the effect of Sc₂O₃: 1 mol%Ho³⁺/5 mol%Yb³⁺ co-doped with Ce⁴⁺ ions prepared by sol-gel methods was performed systematically. Under the excitation of 980 nm laser diode, both green emission (553 nm, ⁵F₄/⁵S₂→⁵I₈) and red emission (672 nm, ⁵F₅→⁵I₈) were both observed in the emission spectra of the samples, which were found to be two-photon process and sensitized by Yb³⁺ ions. With the increasing of Ce⁴⁺ ions, the up-conversion green emission intensity are increased by 6.52, 8.69, 10.85, 13.92 and 16.66 fold, corresponding to the Ce⁴⁺ ions concentrations from 5 mol% to 13 mol%, respectively. The number of photons are necessary to populate the upper emitting state decreases to 2 and the infrared absorption coefficient is reduced, when the Ce⁴⁺ ions concentration increase to 13 mol%. Ce⁴⁺ ions play an important role in tailoring the local crystal field around Ho³⁺ ions, lowering the highest phonon cut-off energy of matrix and reducing the infrared absorption coefficient, thus hindering the non-radiative processes, which contribute to the increased emission intensity. The excellent enhancement makes it a promising multifunctional optical luminescence material.     

激光烧蚀铜产生原子和离子光谱线的研究

通过测定Nd∶YAG脉冲激光烧蚀金属Cu诱导产生光谱线及其强度随时间与空间的分布,结果表明等离子体辐射光谱线由原子光谱线、离子光谱线及连续辐射背景光组成,Cu原子光谱线的数目不仅比离子光谱线多,而且辐射强度比离子光谱线的大,以连续辐射背景光的辐射强度为最弱;原子光谱线的发光范围最大,持续时间最长;离子光谱线发光范围中等,持续时间中长;连续辐射背景光的发光范围最小,持续时间最短.讨论了激光诱导发光的机理,认为等离子体羽中连续辐射背景光主要来自近靶处高能电子的韧致辐射和电子与离子的复合激发,原子和离子光谱线主要由等离子体中高能电子的碰撞传能激发所引起,并用之较好地解释了所观察的实验现象.     

Direct determination of glyphosate using hydrophilic interaction chromatography with coulometric detection at copper microelectrode

A simple, rapid, and low-cost coulometric method for direct detection of glyphosate using hydrophilic interaction chromatography is presented. The principle of detection is based on the enhancement of the anodic current of copper microelectrode in the presence of complexing agents, such as glyphosate, with the formation of a soluble Cu(II) complex. Under optimized conditions, the limit of detection (S/R = 3) for glyphosate was 0.1 mg L⁻¹ (0.59 μM) without any preconcentration method. The calibration curve has been found linear in all concentration range tested (from limit of detection to 34 mg L⁻¹) with an excellent correlation coefficient (0.9999). The present method was successfully applied for the determination of glyphosate in fruit juices without any kind of extraction, clean-up, or preconcentration step, with recoveries of 92 and 90% for apple and grape juice, respectively.