A low-cost biofuel cell with pH-dependent power output based on porous carbon as matrix

A glucose/O2 biofuel cell (BFC) possessing a pH-dependent power output was fabricated by taking porous carbon (PC) as the matrix to load glucose oxidase or fungi laccase as the catalysts. The electrolytes in the anode and cathode compartments contain ferrocene monocarboxylic acid and 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt as the mediators, respectively. The power of the BFC was enhanced significantly by using PC as the matrix, rather than glassy carbon electrode. Additionally, the power output of the BFC decreases as the pH of the solution increases from 4.0 to 7.0, which provides a simple and efficient method to achieve the required power output. More importantly, the BFC can operate at pH 6.0, and even at pH 7.0, which overcomes the requirement for cathode solutions of pH<5.0 when using fungi laccase as a catalyst. Operation of the BFC at neutral pH may provide a means to power medical devices implanted in physiological systems. The facile and low-cost fabrication of this BFC may enable its development for other applications.     

Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in human blood plasma by on-line and off-line liquid chromatography–gas chromatography

A method for the determination of non-, mono- and di-ortho substituted polychlorinated biphenyls in human blood plasma is presented. The non-ortho CBs are isolated from the bulk of PCBs by HPLC on a dinitroanilino-propyl silica column and collected as a heart-cut fraction that is transferred on-line to GC-MS utilizing concurrent solvent evaporation technique. The on-line coupling serves to lower the limit of determination and to partly automate the sample clean-up. The di- and mono-ortho CBs are analyzed by off-line GC-ECD using two different columns. Sample pre-treatment is performed by extraction with organic solvents and fractionation on silica gel. A high reproducibility and an absolute over-all recovery of approximately 70 % is demonstrated. The method is applied to samples of blood from 5 individuals. All the samples demonstrated a similar relative concentration profile. It was also shown that three CB congeners (CB 126, CB 156 and CB 170) contributed to the major part of the toxic equivalent quantity of the PCB content in the blood.     

深圳市龙岗区儿童头发和全血中锌、铅含量的测定和比较分析

用电感耦合高频等离子体发射光谱仪测定了龙岗区布吉镇223例3～4岁健康儿童全血和头发的锌、铅含量，给出了各元素在全血和头发中的平均含量值和变动范围。结果表明，头发中的微量元素含量一般较全血中为高，且变动较小。对儿童全血微量元素含量随年龄、体重、性别变化及全血和头发中锌、铅含量的相关关系进行了统计学检验。通过对测定值的比较分析，认为无论是头发或是全血，男性或女性，铅和锌均呈负相关，且大多有显著性；男性和女性的发铅和血铅均呈显著正相关，而女性发锌与血锌也呈显著正相关。     

Automated solid-phase extraction for determination of amodiaquine, chloroquine and metabolites in capillary blood on sampling paper by liquid chromatography

Summary A bioanalytical method using solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography (LC) has been developed and validated for the determination of amodiaquine, chloroquine and their metabolites in 100 μL blood applied to sampling paper. The intra-assay precision for all analytes was <5% at 2000 nM, <7% at 750 nM and <10% at 100 nM. The interassay precision for all analytes was <4% at 2000 nM, <7% at 750 nM and <12% at 100 nM. The lower limit of quantitation was 100 nM for all analytes. The limit of detection was 30 nM in 100 μL venous blood applied to sampling paper.     

Direct Electron Transfer between Glucose Oxidase and Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes

The direct dedrochemical behavior between the glucose oxfdase ( GOD ) and the multi-wailed carbon nauotubes (MWNTs) has been studied. Two pairs of cyclic voltammetric peaks corresponding to the two different processes, i. e. mass-transportand surface reaction of GOD are observed on this MWNTs. The formal potentials with E^o‘=-0.45Vand E^o‘=-0.55V were obtained respectively.The GOD film was observed on the carbon nanotube by the TEM.     

青少年高血压与头发中微量元素关系的分析

为研究青少年高血压与头发微量元素的关系，对50例血压偏高及50例血压正常的青少年头发进行了5种元素的测定。结果表明，高血压组的青少年Zn和Ca含量高于正常组，Fe和Cu则低于正常组，而Mg则无显著差异。     

Substrate selectivity of Gluconobacter oxydans for production of 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid and synthesis of 2-keto-L-gulonic acid in a multienzyme system

Substrate selectivity of Gluconobacter oxydans (ATCC 9937) for 2,5-diketo-d-gluconic acid (2,5-DKG) production was investigated with glucose, gluconic acid, and gluconolactone in different concentrations using a resting-cell system. The results show that gluconic acid was utilized favorably by G. oxydans as substrate to produce 2,5-DKG. The strain was coupled with glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) and 2,5-DKG reductase for synthesis of 2-keto-l-gulonic acid (2-KLG), a direct precursor of l-ascorbic acid, from glucose. NADP and NADPH were regenerated between GDH and 2,5-DKG reductase. The mole yield of 2-KLG of this multienzyme system was 16.8%. There are three advantages for using the resting cells of G. oxydans to connect GDH with 2,5-DKG reductase for production of 2-KLG: gluconate produced by GDH may immediately be transformed into 2,5-DKG so that a series of problems generally caused by the accumulation of gluconate would be avoided; 2,5-DKG is supplied directly and continuously for 2,5-DKG reductase, so it is unnecessary to take special measures to deal with this unstable substrate as it was in Sonoyama’s tandem fermentation process; and NADP(H) was regenerated within the system without any other components or systems.     

An Investigation into Outer‐Surface Biofouling and Electrode Passivation Effects on Gold Electrodes Modified with Calix[4]resorcinarenetetrathiol and a PEG Derivative on Exposure to Whole Human Blood

An investigation into the hemo‐biocompatibility of calix[4]resorcinarenetetrathiol and calix‐PEG derivative coatings on gold electrodes is reported, with respect to the detection of the ascorbate ion in aqueous solution. The electrochemical behavior of the ascorbate ion at calix‐modified electrodes is also discussed. Findings show that a facilitated adsorption of ascorbate from solution is seen at calix‐modified gold electrodes. Following exposure to whole human blood, calix‐PEG derivative coatings were seen to offer some protection against both outer‐surface biofouling and electrode passivation effects in comparison to calix[4]resorcinarenetetrathiol counterparts. The individual effects of outer surface biofouling and electrode passivation on exposure to whole blood have been investigated. Our findings suggest that PEG moieties help prevent sorption of the biofouling film, thus possibly minimizing the release of a number of low molecular weight solutes which are thought to be involved with the passivation of electrode responses within clinical bio‐ and chemical sensors.     

三维经阴道超声对宫腔粘连患者宫腔容积及血流变化的评估

为了观察宫腔粘连患者行三维经阴道超声(3D-TVS)检查时宫腔容积及血流的变化,本文纳入2016年11月~2018年11月于我院收治的68例宫腔粘连患者为观察组,另选取同期来我院体检的健康女性68例为对照组,均于月经周期中晚期行3D-TVS检查,并以病理诊断结果为金标准,观察了3D-TVS诊断宫腔粘连的灵敏度及特异度。同时,对比了两组患者3D-TVS参数如子宫内膜容积(EV)、血流指数(FI)、血管血流指数(VFI)及内膜区血管指数(VI)的变化,并分析了宫腔粘连不同分级患者上述3D-TVS参数的变化情况。经病理确诊的68例患者中,3D-TVS诊断为宫腔粘连64例,其中Ⅰ型21例,Ⅱ型31例,Ⅲ型9例,Ⅳ型3例。3D-TVS诊断宫腔粘连的灵敏度为92.65%,特异度为98.53%,准确率为95.59%,阳性预测值为98.44%,阴性预测值为93.06%,Kappa值为0.91。观察组EV、FI、VFI、VI均显著低于对照组。Ⅰ型宫腔粘连者EV显著大于Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ型者,Ⅱ型宫腔粘连者EV显著大于Ⅲ、Ⅳ型者,Ⅲ型宫腔粘连者EV显著大于Ⅳ型者;Ⅰ型宫腔粘连者的VFI、VI显著大于Ⅲ、Ⅳ型者。上述结果证实3D-TVS对宫腔粘连患者宫腔容积及血流变化具有重要的评估价值。     

Enhanced cofermentation of glucose and xylose by recombinantSaccharomyces yeast strains in batch and continuous operating modes

Agricultural residues, such as grain by-products, are rich in the hydrolyzable carbohydrate polymers hemicellulose and cellulose; hence, they represent a readily available source of the fermentable sugars xylose and glucose. The biomass-to-ethanol technology is now a step closer to commercialization because a stable recombinant yeast strain has been developed that can efficiently ferment glucose and xylose simultaneously (coferment) to ethanol. This strain, LNH-ST, is a derivative ofSaccharomyces yeast strain 1400 that carries the xylose-catabolism encoding genes ofPichia stipitis in its chromosome. Continuous pure sugar cofermentation studies with this organism resulted in promising steady-state ethanol yields (70.4% of theoretical based on available sugars) at a residence time of 48 h. Further studies with corn biomass pretreated at the pilot scale confirmed the performance characteristics of the organism in a simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation (SSCF) process: LNH-ST converted 78.4% of the available glucose and 56.1% of the available xylose within 4 d, despite the presence of high levels of metabolic inhibitors. These SSCF data were reproducible at the bench scale and verified in a 9000-L pilot scale bioreactor.