Optical characteristics of semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors investigated by the reflection Z-scan technique

Recently, the semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) has become a key component of passive mode-locked solid-state lasers. Here we present a simple method based on the reflection Z-scan technique to measure the key optical parameters of SESAM such as saturation fluence and modulation depth. The experimental results demonstrate that our method is able to perform with a high accuracy of 10⁻⁴ and a dynamic range of over four orders of magnitude.     

中国西南武陵山区跳蛛新种记述（蜘蛛目：跳蛛科）

本文记述跳蛛科13个新种,采自西南武陵山地区。暗跳蛛Asemonea、列锡蛛Lycidas和法老蛛Pharacocerus 3属为我国新记录属。     

Identification of peroxyacetic acid uroporphyrin I in the urine of patients with congenital erythropoietic porphyria by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry

A new porphyrin, peroxyacetic acid uroporphyrin I, has been isolated from the urine of patients with congenital erythropoietic porphyria by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. The porphyrin was characterized by high resolution mass spectrometry and by typical chemical reactions of a peroxyacid.     

Synthesis, Characterization and Thermal Decomposition Mechanism of Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Tetrathiotungstate

The synthesis, characterization and thermal decomposition mechanism of cetyltrimethyl ammonium tetrathiotungstate （CTriMATT） were studied herein. The as-synthesized CTriMATT was characterized by Elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Fourier transform infrared （FT-IR）, Ultraviolet visible （UV-Vis） spectra. The results showed that the as-synthesized CTriMATT had high purity and good crystallinity. The introduction of alkyl groups induced a shift of the stretching vibration band of W-S bond to lower wavenumber, while it had no influence on the position of WS4^2-. Thermogravimetric analysis （TG）, differential thermal analysis （DTA） and in situ XRD characterizations revealed that CTriMATT began to decompose at 423 K in nitrogen and was converted to WS2 eventually. In addition, the decomposition product of CTriMATT at 673 K in nitrogen was characterized by N2 adsorption （BET） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The results demonstrated that WS2 with higher specific surface area, and pore volume could be obtained from the thermal decomposition of CTriMATT in nitrogen.     

Thermionic emission from giant fullerenes

The kinetics of cluster formation in supersonic jets is examined by numerical integration of the master equation system. Some general characteristics of cluster kinetics could be formulated. Excellent agreement between experimental curves of p-cresol (H₂O)_{0, 1, 2, 3} formation as function of H₂O pressure and the corresponding calculated curves were obtained assuming successive cluster formation. From the kinetic curves, an unambiguous assignment of cluster size was possible which agreed with mass-resolved REMPI measurements. The fit of the rate coefficients shows the formation of p-cresol (H₂O)₁ to be faster than p-cresol (H₂O)₂ and p-cresol (H₂O)₃.     

Quality evaluation of Flos lonicerae through a simultaneous determination of seven saponins by HPLC with ELSD

A new HPLC coupled with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) method has been developed for the simultaneous quantitative determination of seven major saponins, namely macranthoidin B (1), macranthoidin A (2), dipsacoside B (3), hederagenin-28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl(6-->1)-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (4), macranthoside B (5), macranthoside A (6), and hederagenin-3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl(2-->1)-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (7) in Flos Lonicerae, a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herb. Simultaneous separation of these seven saponins was achieved on a C18 analytical column. The mobile phase consisted of (A) acetonitrile-acetic acid (95:0.5) and (B) 0.5% aqueous acetic acid using a gradient elution of 29%A at 0-10 min, 29-46%A at 10-25 min and 46%A at 25-30 min. The drift tube temperature of ELSD was set at 106 degrees C, and with the nitrogen flow-rate of 2.6 l/min. All calibration curves showed good linear regression (r2>0.9922) within test ranges. This method showed good reproducibility for the quantification of these seven saponins in Flos Lonicerae with intra- and inter-day variations of less than 3.0% and 6.0%, respectively. The validated method was successfully applied to quantify seven saponins in five sources of Flos Lonicerae, which provides a new basis of overall assessment on quality of Flos Lonicerae.     

纳米TiO2膜用于光催化氧化测定化学需氧量的研究

A photocatalytic oxidation method for determination of chemical oxygen demand （COD） using nano-TiO2 film, based on the use of a nano-TiO2-Ce（SO4）2 system and electrochemical detection, was proposed. The technique was originated from the direct determination of the Ce（Ⅲ） concentration change resulting from photocatalytic oxidation of organic compounds. Ce（Ⅲ）, which was produced by photocatalytic reduction of Ce（SO4）2, could be measured at a multi-walled carbon nanotubes （MWNT） chemically modified electrode （CME）. The COD values by this method were calculated from the differential pulse voltammetry （DPV） current of Ce（Ⅲ） at the CME. Under the optimal operation conditions, the detection limit of 0.5 mg·L^-1 COD with the linear range of 1-600 mg·L^-1 was achieved. This method was also applied to determination of various COD of ground water and wastewater samples. The resuits were in good agreement with those from the conventional COD methods, i.e., permanganate and dichromate ones.     

Potentiometric immunosensor based on antiserum of Japanese B encephalitis immobilized in nano-Au/polymerized o-phenylenediamine film

A novel potentiometric immunosensor for detection of Japanese B encephalitis vaccine was developed by immobilizing antiserum of Japanese B encephalitis on nano-Au/polymerized o-phenylenediamine (o-PDA) film on the platinum (Pt) electrode. The performance and factors influencing the performance of the resulting immunosensor were studied. The immunosensor showed a specific response to Japanese B encephalitis vaccine in the range 1.1 × 10⁻⁸ to 2.0 × 10⁻⁶ lgpfu/ml (plaque forming unit) with a detection limit of 6 × 10⁻⁹ lgpfu/ml. The correlation coefficient is 0.9986. The incubation time, incubation temperature, pH, reproducibility and stability of the immunosensor were also studied. The present work supplied a promising test method for biological products.     

Two types of intramolecular addition of an Al-N multiple-bonded monomer LAlNAr' arising from the reaction of LAl with N3Ar' (L = HC[(CMe)(NAr)]2, Ar' = 2,6-Ar2C6H3, Ar = 2,6-iPr2C6H3)

The reaction of beta-diketiminated aluminum(I) monomer LAl with a large bulky azide N3Ar' (L = HC(CMeNAr)2, Ar' = 2,6-Ar2C6H3, Ar = 2,6-iPr2C6H3) in the temperature range from -78 degrees C to room temperature affords two different isomers 2 and 3, which have been characterized by spectroscopic and X-ray structural analyses, as well as elemental analysis. The variable-temperature 1H NMR kinetic studies of this reaction indicate the existence of the monomer LAlNAr' (1) at low temperature and the thermal stability of the compounds increases in the order of 1 < 2 < 3.     

A fluorescent molecular imaging probe with selectivity for soluble tau aggregated protein

Soluble forms of aggregated tau misfolded protein, generally termed oligomers, are considered to be the most toxic species of the different assembly states that are the pathological components of neurodegenerative disorders. Therefore, a critical biomedical need exists for imaging probes that can identify and quantify them. We have designed and synthesized a novel fluorescent probe, pTP-TFE for which binding and selectivity profiles towards aggregated tau and Aβ proteins were assessed. Our results have shown pTP-TFE to be selective for early forms of soluble tau aggregates, with high affinity of dissociation constants (K_d) = 66 nM, and tenfold selectivity over mature tau fibrils. Furthermore, we found that pTP-TFE is selective for tau over Aβ aggregates and had good cell permeability. This selectivity of pTP-TFE towards early forms of aggregated tau protein ex vivo was also supported with studies on human brain tissue containing tau and Aβ pathology. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first fluorescent molecule to be reported to have this form of selectivity profile, which suggests that pTP-TFE is a unique probe candidate for imaging-based detection of early stages of Alzheimer''s disease and other tauopathies.

pTP-TFE imaging probe can distinguish soluble tau aggregated proteins from other aggregated proteins enabling earlier detection of neurodegenerative diseases.