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• Increased serum anti-M2-muscarinic receptor (anti-M2-R) in peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) patients. • Being positive for anti-M2-R is an independent risk factor for the onset of PPCM. • PPCM patients have better prognosis especially in anti-M2-R (−) patients. Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is characterized by heart failure. Our previous study found that autoantibodies against the M2-muscarinic receptor (anti-M2-R) are increased in PPCM patients. We aimed to evaluate the association of anti-M2-R on prognosis of PPCM patients with standard treatment. Synthetic peptides corresponding to the M2 receptor served as the target antigens in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay experiment. They were used to screen the sera of 80 PPCM patients, who were separated into anti-M2-R-negative and positive groups according to their anti-M2-R reactivity. Clinical assessment and echocardiography examination were performed at baseline and after 5 years with a standard treatment regimen. The endpoint events were compared after 5 years of follow-up. There were 76 PPCM patients who completed the final data analysis, including 36 in the anti-M2-R (+) group and 40 in the anti-M2-R (−) group. Both groups showed improvement in the left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic dimensions and the ejection fraction with standard treatment regimens for 5 years (all p < 0.001). Patients in the anti-M2-R (−) group had greater tolerance and were more rapidly titrated to metoprolol, and they had better improvement in cardiac function than patients in the anti-M2-R (+) group (p < 0.05). Patients in the anti-M2-R (−) group had a marked decrease in re-hospitalization (p < 0.05), but not in all-cause mortality or cardiovascular mortality. Being positive for anti-M2-R increased the risk of PPCM (OR = 4.7, 95% CI 1.8–12.2, p = 0.002). PPCM patients, especially anti-M2-R (−) patients, have a relatively better prognosis than other patients. We posit that the presence of anti-M2-R may be involved in the pathogenesis of PPCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Based on the recently isolated and characterized of the nanotube-like D5h C90 fullerene, a theoretical study of the interaction between oxygen atom and C90 (D5h ) has been performed using density functional theory (DFT-B3LYP) in combination with the 6-31G∗ and 6-31+G∗ basis sets. The geometrical structures and electronic properties as well as thermal stabilities of the systems considered have been investigated. The results show that the e,e–C90O isomer with annulene-like structure is the most stable one, where the oxygen atom is added to the [6,6] bond near the equatorial region of C90. Concerning the six isomers of C90O2 considered, it is found that the e,e,e,e–C90O2 (I) isomer with the two annulene-like structures is the most stable one, where two oxygen atoms are all added to the e-e bonds on the same six-membered ring near the equatorial belt of C90. The calculated reaction energy per oxygen indicates that the double-adsorption product is more energetically favorable than the monoadsorption one. Further, we consider the structures of the chemisorption of more oxygen atoms and show the high stability of C90O45 which has larger HOMO–LUMO gap, higher adiabatic ionization potential (AIP), and lower adiabatic electron affinity (AEA) than both C90O and C90O2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Preparation of porous cement-based materials via freeze casting is a process with great potential. However, freeze-drying and steam curing complicate the preparation process and increase the preparation period. To simplify the process, heat-dry curing was used for replacing freeze-drying and steam curing during operation. The new preparation method combined freeze casting and heat-dry curing possesses characteristics of low-energy, simplicity, and time-saving. Compared with the traditional preparation method of porous cement-based materials, the novel preparation process can shorten preparation time by at least 16 % and retrench energy consumption by at least 18 %. As the improvement condition, temperature of heat-drying curing has great influence on the structure and performance of the samples. Therefore, it is of great significance to discuss the relationship between heat-dry temperatures and structural parameters by SEM, N 2 -adsorption/desorption, TG, and ATR-FTIR. Lamellar pores of membranes can be easier observed at low temperatures than that at 100 °C. The separation performance of oil-water is generally improved with the increase of temperature. Meanwhile, the molecular dynamics simulation was operated to illustrate the reaction mechanism of hydration with three temperatures. This study probably provides more theoretical basis for expanding the application of porous silicate cement membranes. [Display omitted] • Novel coupled method simplifies the fabricating process complexity of cement-based samples. • Influences of heat-dry curing temperatures on porous silicate cement membranes are discussed. • Silicate cement membranes own excellent permeation, oil-water separation and mechanical strengths. • Influences of heat-dry curing temperatures are illustrated by using molecular dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Two rhodamine-based NO probes were designed and synthesized. Both RB-TP and RB-Py can detect NO by spectroscopic and ‘naked-eye’ methods in HEPES buffer assisted by Cu2+. The detection limits for NO were 5 nM and 20 nM, respectively. Other biologically relevant reactive species, such as , H2O2, 1O2, and ClO− did not give any obvious interferences. RB-TP and RB-Py have been also applied to detect the intracellular NO by fluorescence imaging method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One-stage degradation process was observed for a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) sample. The fractional conversion αmax at the maximum reaction rate is thus applied to determine reaction order of the thermal degradation. It is found that the PMMA degraded in the first order kinetics with weight loss. This is consistent with the fact that PMMA thermally degrades into its monomer. Activation energy was calculated. Compensation effect of the Arrhenius parameters is also found. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The geometrical structures and electronic properties of six fullerene isomers of C100 were studied at the HF/6-31G⁎ and B3LYP/6-31G⁎ levels, respectively. The results of the fully optimized calculations show that three C100 isomers 449:D2, 425:C1 and 442:C2 are near isoenergetic isomers. The energies and properties of C100 hexaanions were calculated. The C100 6− (450:D5) isomer is predicted to be the most stable isomer at the B3LYP/6-31G⁎ level, and the C100 6− (449:D2) isomer is 44.1kcal/mol higher in energy. The heterofullerenes C96X4 (X=N, P, B, Si) formed from the initial C100 (449:D2) have also been investigated at the B3LYP/6-31G⁎ level. The HOMO–LUMO gaps and aromaticities show that the replacement of fullerene carbon atoms with four heteroatoms can enhance the electronic stabilization of C100 (449:D2). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Based on the recently isolated and characterized nanotube-like D 5 h C90 fullerene, the nonclassical hept-C100 fullerene created by inserting symmetrically five C2 around the circumference of D 5 h C90 and its derivatives C100 X 10 (X =H, F, Cl, and Br) have been reported here. The geometrical structures and electronic properties of them are studied using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G∗ level of theory. The reaction energies, HOMO–LUMO gaps, and aromaticities all show that the nonclassical fullerene derivatives C100H10, C100F10, C100Cl10, and C100Br10 are molecules with high stability; the stable behavior resembles the well-known C50 X 10 (X =H, F, Cl, and Br). It is quite possible that they can be synthesized experimentally. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) methods at the HF/6-31G*, B3LYP/6-31G*, MP2/6-31G*, and MP2/TZVP levels of theory were applied to the investigation of the relative stability of six fullerene isomers of C32. Full geometry optimization of the systems was carried out and electrostatic potential distributions were calculated. The effect of electron correlation on the electrostatic potential distribution of C32 isomers was analyzed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this article, a novel fluorescent probe (NRBE) for detecting H 2 O 2 was developed using benzyl boronic ester as the H 2 O 2 -recognized group and Nile red as the matrix. The probe has several advantages, such as good selectivity, high sensitivity (LOD = 75 nM), good water solubility and emission in the near-infrared region (ex/em:585/670 nm). With the NRBE probe, the endogenous H 2 O 2 in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells BEL-7402, was detected, and the H 2 O 2 generated during the ischemia-reperfusion of the cells was imaged. These results show that NRBE can be applied for real-time detection of H 2 O 2 in biological systems. Unlabelled Image • A novel Nile red-based fluorescent probe NRBE was designed and synthesized for H 2 O 2 detection. • The probe has good selectivity, high sensitivity, good water solubility and emission in the near-infrared region. • The probe can be applied for real-time detection of H 2 O 2 in biological systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]