Studies on the Structure and Properties of Cordierite Synthesized by Talc-Magnesite

Homogeneous cordierite has been synthesized at low cost by talc-magnesite and coal gangue as the main raw materials. The mechanism of synthesizing cordierite under such a com- posing system of raw materials, and the effect of temperature on the crystal cell parameters and microstructure and thermal expansion coefficient of cordierite crystal have been studied via testing methods of XRD, SEM, etc. The result shows that the homogeneous cordierite can be synthesized by the systematic composing materials of “talc-magnesite—coal gangue—talc” with heat pre- servation at 1350 ℃ for 1 h; as the keeping time is prolonged, Al3+ and Mg2+ in cordierite crystal are replaced by a few impurity ions such as Fe3+, Fe2+, etc., and the crystal cell parameters of cordierite present an increase trend; as the high-temperature heat preservation is prolonged, the content of glassy phase in the sample is increased, its density is improved, and its thermal expansion coeffi- cient presents an increase trend.     

Urinary exposure marker discovery for toxicants using ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry and three untargeted metabolomics approaches

Human biomonitoring is the assessment of actual internal contamination of chemicals by measuring exposure markers, chemicals or their metabolites, in human urine, blood, serum, and other body fluids. However, the metabolism of chemicals within an organism is extremely complex. Therefore, the identification of metabolites is often difficult and laborious. Several untargeted metabolomics methods have been developed to perform objective searching/filtering of accurate-mass-based LC-MS data to facilitate metabolite identification. In this study, three metabolomics data processing approaches were used for chemical exposure marker discovery in urine with an LTQ-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) dataset; di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) was used as an example. The data processing techniques included the SMAIT, mass defect filtering (MDF), and XCMS Online. Sixteen, 83, and 139 probable DINP metabolite signals were obtained using the SMAIT, MDF, and XCMS procedures, respectively. Fourteen probable metabolite signals mined simultaneously by the three metabolomics approaches were confirmed as DINP metabolites by structural information provided by LC-MS/MS. Among them, 13 probable metabolite signals were validated as exposure-related markers in a rat model. Six (m/z 319.155, 361.127, 373.126, 389.157, 437.112 and 443.130) of the 13 exposure-related DINP metabolite signals have not previously been reported in the literature. Our data indicate that SMAIT provided an efficient method to discover effectively and systematically urinary exposure markers of toxicant. The DINP metabolism information can provide valuable information for further investigations of DINP toxicity, toxicokinetics, exposure assessment, and human health effects.     

A method for calibration and validation subset partitioning

This paper proposes a new method to divide a pool of samples into calibration and validation subsets for multivariate modelling. The proposed method is of value for analytical applications involving complex matrices, in which the composition variability of real samples cannot be easily reproduced by optimized experimental designs. A stepwise procedure is employed to select samples according to their differences in both x (instrumental responses) and y (predicted parameter) spaces. The proposed technique is illustrated in a case study involving the prediction of three quality parameters (specific mass and distillation temperatures at which 10 and 90% of the sample has evaporated) of diesel by NIR spectrometry and PLS modelling. For comparison, PLS models are also constructed by full cross-validation, as well as by using the Kennard-Stone and random sampling methods for calibration and validation subset partitioning. The obtained models are compared in terms of prediction performance by employing an independent set of samples not used for calibration or validation. The results of F-tests at 95% confidence level reveal that the proposed technique may be an advantageous alternative to the other three strategies.     

A NOVEL ZWITTERIONIC SILANE COUPLING AGENT FOR NONTHROMBOGENIC BIOMATERIALS

A novel silane coupling agent bearing sulfobetaine group, N,N-diethyl-N-（3-sulfopropyl）-aminopropyl- trimethoxysilane （DESATS）, was first designed, synthesized and characterized. Its solution property was studied by means of dynamic light scattering. DESATS was successfully bonded onto the surface of the glass and proved by ESCA. Platelet adhesion assay in vitro indicated that the nonthrombogenicity of glass slide modified with DESATS is greatly improved.     

Stability of Conjugated Carbon Nanocones

We use interlacing techniques to prove that carbon nanocones who have a Fries Kekulé structure have closed Hückel shells, and that this result can be extended to all conjugated cones where each edge belongs to a hexagonal face and the configuration of the non-hexagonal faces are consistent with a Fries Kekulé structure. Cones with Fries Kekulé structure or substructure are topical—not only from a valence bond theoretical point of view—since a previous ab initioanalysis favored cones where the pentagons at the tip are configured as in a Fries Kekulé structure. The question of interdependence will therefore be addressed.     

主成分-BP算法在近红外光谱法纸浆卡伯值测量中的应用研究

提出采用主成分-BP算法建立纸浆卡伯值近红外光谱法在线测量模型。结果表明,这种算法由于既考虑到了近红外光谱响应的非线性因素,又可防止BP算法在建模时出现“过拟合”的现象,利用该算法建立的纸浆卡伯值测量模型与一元回归,多元回归和主成分回归等线性方法相比,具有更高的预测精度。     

SPE – Microwave‐assisted extraction coupled system for the extraction of pesticides from water samples

SPE is a commonly applied technique for preconcentration of pesticides from water samples. Microwave‐assisted extraction (MAE) technique is the extraction applied for preconcentration of different compounds from solid samples. SPE coupled with MAE is capable of preconcentrating these compounds from water samples too. This investigation was aimed at improving the efficiency of atrazine, alachlor, and α‐cypermethrin pesticide extraction from the spiked water samples applying SPE followed by MAE. In this way, MAE served for elution of pesticides from C₁₈‐extraction disks with solvent heated by microwave energy. Various elution conditions were tested for their effects on the extraction efficiency of the SPE–MAE combined technique. Several parameters, such as elution solvent volume (mL), elution temperature (°C), and duration of elution (min), affect the extraction efficiency of the SPE–MAE coupled system and need to be optimized for the selected pesticides. In order to develop a mathematical model, 15 experiments were performed in the central composite design. The equation was then used to predict recoveries of the pesticides under specific experimental conditions. Optimization of microwave extraction was accomplished using the genetic algorithm approach. Best results were achieved using 20 mL of ethanol at 60°C. Optimal hold time was 5 min and 24 s. The SPE–MAE combination was also compared with the conventional SPE extraction technique with elution of a nonpolar or a moderately polar compound with nonpolar solvents.     

A Comparison of Three Heuristic Algorithms for Molecular Docking

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