Exploring high pressure structural transformations,electronic properties and superconducting properties of MH2 (M = Nb,Ta)

The high-pressure structures and properties of MH₂ (M = Nb, Ta) are explored through an ab initio evolutionary algorithm for crystal structure prediction and first-principles calculations. It is found that NbH₂ undergoes a phase transition from a cubic Fm$\overline{3}$m structure with regular NbH₈ cubes to an orthorhombic Pnma structure with fascinating distorted NbH₉ tetrakaidecahedrons at 48.8 GPa, while the phase transition pressure of TaH₂ from a hexagonal P6₃mc phase with slightly distorted TaH₇ decahedron to an orthorhombic Pnma phase with attractive distorted TaH₉ tetrakaidecahedrons is about 90.0 GPa. Besides, the calculated electronic band structure and density of states demonstrate that all of these structures are metallic. The Poisson’s ratio, electron localization function, and Bader charge analysis suggest that these phases possess dominant ionic bonding character with the effective charges transferring from the metal atom to H. From our electron–phonon calculations, the calculated superconducting critical temperature T_c of the Pnma-NbH₂ is 6.903 K at 50 GPa. Finally, via the quasi-harmonic approximation method, the phase diagrams at pressure up to 300 GPa and temperature up to 1000 K of MH₂ (M = Nb, Ta) are established, where the transition pressure of Fm$\overline{3}$m-NbH₂ → Pnma-NbH₂ and P6₃mc-TaH₂ → Pnma-TaH₂ were found to decrease with increasing temperature.     

Bacterial response to eukaryotic cells. Analysis of differentially expressed proteins using nano liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Host-bacteria interactions have mostly been investigated with regard to the host response or to activities of pathogenic bacteria. In contrast, we aim to identify reactions of non-pathogenic bacteria that result from their contact with host cells of the gastrointestinal tract. In a proteomic approach, the response of non-pathogenic human Escherichia coli bacteria on gut epithelial cells (rat IEC-6) was investigated in an in vitro co-culture model. For this purpose, a sensitive analytical procedure was developed based on the identification of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis separated proteins by online nanoLC-electrospray ionization MS/MS using a quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometer for accurate mass determination. We demonstrate here the efficiency of this technique by the identification of a total of 43 differentially expressed proteins, out of which 25 were up-regulated and 18 were down-regulated. They represent a wide range of molecular weight and different metabolic and physiological functions.     

Preparation of a sulfonated fused-silica capillary and its application in capillary electrophoresis and electrochromatography

In the present paper, two new methods, sol-gel and chemical bonding methods, were proposed for preparation of sulfonated fused-silica capillaries. In the sol-gel method, a fused-silica capillary was coated with the sol solution obtained by hydrolysis of 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTS) and tetramethoxysilane, and followed by age; while in the chemical bonding method, a capillary was chemically bonded directly with MPTS. Then, both the resulting capillaries were oxidized with an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide solution (H2O2) (30%, m/m) to obtain the sulfonated capillaries. The electroosmotic flow (EOF) for the sulfonated capillaries was found to remain almost constant within the studied pH range, and greater than that of the uncoated capillary. However, the coating efficiency of the capillary prepared by chemical bonding method was higher than that by sol-gel method, by comparing their magnitude of the EOF, the degree of disguise of the silanol and reproducibility of preparation procedure. The effects of the electrolyte's concentration and the content of methanol (MeOH) on the EOF were also studied. Especially, the study of the apparent pH (pH*) on the EOF in a water-MeOH system was reported. Finally, capillary electrophoretic separation of seven organic acids was achieved within 6.5 min under optimal condition using the chemically bonded sulfonated capillary. Moreover, separation of four alkaloids on the sulfonated capillary was compared with that on uncoated capillary in different conditions. Ion-exchange mechanism was found to play a key role for separation of these four basic analytes on the sulfonated capillary.     

Astragalus membranaceus ultrafine powder alleviates hyperuricemia by regulating the gut microbiome and reversing bile acid and adrenal hormone biosynthesis dysregulation

Ethnopharmacological relevanceMetabolic syndrome is closely related to the intestinal microbiota and disturbances in the host metabolome. Hyperuricemia (HUA), a manifestation of metabolic syndrome, can induce various cardiovascular diseases and gout, seriously affecting a patient’s quality of life. Astragalus membranaceus has a long history as a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine to treat kidney disease in China and East Asia.Materials and methodsWe compared the therapeutic effect of benzbromarone and two different doses Astragalus membranaceus ultrafine powder (AMUP) in rats with HUA. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer was used to analyze the AMUP metabolism in the plasma, urine, and feces. Further, 16S ribosome RNA sequencing and feces metabolomic were performed to capture the variation of the gut microbiota and metabolites changes before and after drug administration.ResultsAMUP had a notable impact on reducing blood uric acid levels while protecting the liver and kidney. Drug metabolism analysis demonstrated that effective constituent flavonoids are distributed in the blood, whereas saponins remain in the intestine. Gut microbiota analysis showed that low-dose AMUP ameliorated HUA-induced gut dysbiosis by reducing the abundance of harmful bacteria and increasing that of some beneficial bacteria with anti-inflammatory properties, such as Clostridia, Lachnospiraceae, and Muribaculaceae. In addition, HUA-induced changes in metabolite contents in bile acid and adrenal hormone biosynthesis pathways were restored after treatment with AMUP.ConclusionLow-dose AMUP exerts remarkable therapeutic effects on HUA by regulating the gut microbiome and mediating gut metabolism pathways associated with uric acid excretion.     

Detection of proline,arginine, and lysine using iodine‐azide reaction in TLC and HPTLC

The application of a modified iodine‐azide procedure for the detection of proline, arginine, and lysine is described. Phenyl isothiocyanate was used to transform amino acids into phenyl thiocarbamyl derivatives (derivatization in situ). The developed plates were sprayed with a mixture of sodium azide and starch solution, adjusted to pH 5.5, and exposed to iodine vapour. Due to the catalytic effect of the C? S bond, the spots appeared white on a violet‐grey background and were stable for 20 minutes. The detection limits were found to lie in the pmole range. The iodine‐azide test is compared with other procedures (iodine, UV, ninhydrin).     

眼镜蛇蛇油中甘油三酸酯的成分研究

用ＡｇＮＯ３－硅胶薄层板，氯仿＋丙酮（２０＋１）为展开剂，将蛇油中甘油三酸酯分离为５个组分，并用同样的色谱固定相和石油醚－氯仿－丙酮溶剂系统进行制备性分离。用质谱法对甘油三酸酯进行分子一级水平的化学研究，确定了眼镜蛇蛇油中５个主要的甘油三酸酯成分的结构形式为：１６∶０－１８∶０－１８∶０，１６∶０－１８∶０－１８∶１，１６∶０－１８∶２－１８∶１，１８∶２－１８∶２－１８∶０，１８∶２－１８∶２－１８∶１。     

Lipophilicity determination of some photosynthetic pigments by reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography. The effect of support and the organic phase in the eluent

Summary The lipophilicity of some photosynthetic pigments was determined by reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography using silica, alumina, cellulose, polyamid and diatomaceous earth as supports and acetone and ethanol as organic mobile phase. The R_M value of each compound linearly decreased with increasing concentration of the organic modifier. The supports exerted high impact on the separation: no acceptable separation was achieved on cellulose, polyamid, alumina and diatomaceous earth supports while silica supports produced the best separation. The retention of photosynthetic pigments depended on the origin of silica and on the type of organic mobile phase.     

Dimethyl carbonate as a novel methylating reagent for fatty acids in analytical pyrolysis

Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) was investigated as a mild, harmless and odorless reagent for pyrolytic methylation of fatty acids. Soybean oil was selected as test material for its high content of (poly)unsaturated fatty acids. Pyrolyses were performed at 500, 700 and 900 degrees C by means of a heated platinum filament pyrolyser on-line and off-line to the GC-MS apparatus. Methyl esters of palmitic, linoleic, oleic and stearic acid were formed as prominent products from off-line pyrolysis of soybean oil in the presence of DMC and zeolite 13X. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were not observed at important levels in the absence of zeolite, while on-line Py-GC-MS experiments resulted principally in the formation of free fatty acids and hydrocarbons. The FAME profiles obtained from the DMC/zeolite off-line pyrolysis were compared to those resulting from tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) thermochemolysis and BF3-methanol procedure. The observed differences between pyrolysis and methanolysis methods were principally attributed to the thermal degradation of unsaturated fatty acids. The effectiveness of the DMC/zeolite pyrolytic methylation was further demonstrated by the analysis of tripalmitine and soybean seeds.     

Resolution of (+/-)-ibuprofen using (-)-brucine as a chiral selector by thin layer chromatography

The enantiomeric resolution of (+/-)-ibuprofen into its enantiomers was achieved by TLC on silica gel plate using optically pure (-)-brucine as a chiral selector and acetonitrile-methanol (5:1, v/v) as the solvent system. Spots were located in an iodine chamber. The detection limit was 4.9 microg. The effect of concentration of the chiral selector, temperature and pH on resolution has been studied.