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Resolvin (Rv) and lipoxin (Lx) play important regulative roles in the development of several inflammation-related diseases. The dysregulation of their metabolic network is believed to be closely related to the occurrence and development of asthma. The Hyssopus Cuspidatus Boriss extract (SXCF) has long been used as a treatment for asthma, while the mechanism of anti-inflammatory and anti-asthma action targeting Rv and Lx has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of SXCF on Rv, Lx in ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized asthmatic mice. The changes of Rv, Lx before and after drug administration were analyzed based on high sensitivity chromatography-multiple response monitoring (UHPLC-MRM) analysis and multivariate statistics. The pathology exploration included behavioral changes of mice, IgE in serum, cytokines in BALF, and lung tissue sections stained with H&E. It was found that SXCF significantly modulated the metabolic disturbance of Rv, Lx due to asthma. Its modulation effect was significantly better than that of dexamethasone and rosmarinic acid which is the first-line clinical medicine and the main component of Hyssopus Cuspidatus Boriss, respectively. SXCF is demonstrated to be a potential anti-asthmatic drug with significant disease-modifying effects on OVA-induced asthma. The modulation of Rv and Lx is a possible underlying mechanism of the SXCF effects. • Introducing resolvins and lipoxins into Chinese medicine pharmacology research. • Resolvins and lipoxins quantitative analysis was realized by using UHPLC-MRM. • SXCF intervention reversed resolvins and lipoxins dysregulation in asthmatic mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A comprehensive isomerization network of C 8 aromatics including disproportionation and deethylation reactions is proposed. • A set of reaction rates for the above network are established to suit pure o-xylene, pure m-xylene and industrial feeds. • An appropriate operating condition is determined to heighten the productivity of p-xylene. Isomerization of C 8 aromatics is an indispensable process for industrial production of p-xylene, but there is still a lack of rigorous kinetics of this reacting system. In this paper, the experiments for isomerization of C 8 aromatics over Pt/HZSM-5 have been carried out in an isothermal fixed bed reactor under a wide range of operating conditions to obtain the rate laws for isomerization, disproportionation and deethylation reactions. A detailed kinetic model is developed from experimental data to accurately describe the reacting system of C 8 aromatics, and the apparent kinetic parameters are estimated by genetic algorithm and least square method. The kinetic model verified by fitting experimental data can well predict the reaction trends of o-xylene, m-xylene and industrial feeds to exhibit good feed adaptability. Therefore, this model will support reactor design and operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and infrared spectroscopy were used to analyze the pyrolysis characteristics of printed circuit board scraps (PCBs), coal powder and their mixtures under nitrogen atmosphere. The experimental results show that there is a large difference between waste PCBs and coal powder in pyrolysis processing. The pyrolysis properties of the mixing samples are the result of interaction of the PCBs and coal powder, which is influenced by the content of mixture. The degree of pyrolysis and pyrolysis properties of the mixture are much better than that of the single component. The TG and the differential thermogravimetric (DTG) curves of the PCBs mixed with coal powder move towards the high-temperature zone with increasing amount of coal powder and subsequently the DTG peak also becomes wider. The Coats–Redfern integral method was used to determine the kinetic parameters of pyrolysis reaction mechanism with the different proportion of mixture. The gas of pyrolysis mainly composes of CO 2 , CO, H 2 O and some hydrocarbon. The bromide characteristic absorption peak has been detected obviously in the pyrolysis gas of PCBs. On the contrary, the absorption peak of the bromide is not obvious in pyrolysis gas of the PCBs samples adding 40% coal powder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hepcidin, a cysteine-rich cationic antibacterial peptide, plays an important role in human defense against pathogen infection. However, its role in reptile immune response and whether it is involved in antibacterial immune have not yet been proven. In order to study the antibacterial activity of Crocodylus siamensis hepcidin (Cshepc), a common reptile which lives in topic region of Southeast Asia, a cDNA sequence of Cshepc was cloned, which included an open reading frame (ORF) of 300bp encoding a 99 amino acid preprohepcidin. Cshepc has eight cysteines formed four conserved disulfide bridges, similarly to that of human''s. Sequence analysis showed that Cshepc mature peptide was more conserved than that of preprohepcidin. Tissue expression analysis indicated that Cshepc transcripts were highly expressed in the liver, muscle and heart of C. siamensis. Recombinant expressed hepcidin could significantly inhibit the growth of the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Aeromonas sobria as well as the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis in vitro, suggesting that Cshepc, like human hepcidin could play a role in the antibacterial function in hosts innate immune response. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To explore clinicopathological characteristics, diagnosis, differential diagnoses, treatment, and prognoses of placental chorioangioma (PCA). Placenta of 77 cases of PCA firmly diagnosed by pathology from 2009 through 2019 were collected, and clinicopathological characteristics of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. Seventy-seven patients were 20–41 (mean age, 28.8) years old at onset. Thirty patients showed pregnancy comorbidity. In one patient with the largest tumor (diameter, 16 cm), intrauterine fetal demise occurred at 33 weeks of gestation. Tumors were macroscopically manifested. The placental fetal surface showed a raised dark red to a pale pink nodule, quasi-round, with a maximum diameter of 0.2–16 cm. Microscopically, the tumors had a lot of capillaries and some interstitial loose connective tissue. One case was of atypical cellular chorioangioma. Immunophenotypically, CD34 (+) and Ki-67 proliferation indexes were less than 10%. Large PCA often accompanies pregnancy comorbidity. Atypical cellular chorangioma is rare and may be misdiagnosed as a malignant tumor. Therefore, improvement of understanding of such tumors can provide a basis for clinical diagnosis and intervention. [Display omitted] • A tumor that originates in a placenta is rare. • In this paper, clinicopathological characteristics, diagnosis, differential diagnosis and prognosis of 77 cases of placental chorioangioma (PCA) is retrospectively analyzed, so as to improve understanding of PCA pathology and explore its impact on the outcome of perinatal infants to provide support for clinical diagnosis and intervention. • For individuals with large PCA, close attention should be paid to tumors with abundant blood vessels to strengthen maternal and fetal monitoring, and if required, appropriate treatment measures must be taken in order to reduce complications and fetal mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient liberation is a key to the recycling of the electrode materials in spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). To improve the liberation of the electrode materials, a novel cryogenic grinding method of high selectivity was proposed. The low temperature characteristics of the traditional binder material PVDF and the current collector materials were tested. The results show that the glassy transition temperature of the binder PVDF is about 235 K. The binder would change from a high elastic state to a brittle state thus is easy to be crushed at a lower temperature. On the contrary, the impact strength of the current collector materials increases with the decrease of the temperature. Therefore, the grinding of electrode plates at low temperatures would be more selective grinding. The cryogenic grinding tests results show that, compared with that of room temperature, the content of the nickel-cobalt-manganese-lithium in the −0.15 mm particle size was increased from about 16–84%, the graphite content from 31.55% to 90.58%, and the content of aluminum and copper in the +1 mm grain size increased from 79.32% and 74.62–95.42% and 97.75%，respectively. This research may provide a new method to the recycling of spent LIBs. [Display omitted] ● Low temperature embrittlement of PVDF is conducive to the dissociation of electrode materials ● The opposite low-temperature mechanical properties of the steel shell and the current collector material. ● Low temperature grinding is more environmentally friendly and efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Particle-resolved CFD is employed on C 8 isomerization in randomly filled fixed beds. • Heterogeneous model is established for spheres, cylinders, trilobes and quadrilobes. • The outlet distribution trend shows good agreement with experimental data. • The shape effects on pressure drop, p-xylene yield and temperature are screened. • Quadrilobes have the best performance considering both flow and reaction. Paraxylene (PX) is essential for producing polyethylene terephthalate fibers. We conduct particle-resolved CFD simulations, coupled with our reaction kinetics, on a fixed bed reactor randomly filled with catalyst shapes including sphere, cylinder, trilobe and quadrilobe to enlarge PX productivity in the catalytic isomerization of C 8 aromatics. Our findings reveal the effects of catalyst shapes on velocity, concentration, temperature fields, and pressure drop. Although all catalyst shapes present particle utilization above 70 %, trilobes and quadrilobes show superior PX yield and ethylbenzene conversion due to their larger surface area and reduced mass transfer distance. Yet, among these catalysts, trilobes have twice the pressure drop of the others for complex geometric surface. Therefore, quadrilobes are more practical as their higher bed voidage, smaller pressure drop, better reactivity for desired reactions, and lower adiabatic temperature rise. This work provides guidance for catalyst design and process optimization to enhance PX productivity in aromatic isomerization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a magnetic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) based hybrid substrate was designed and fabricated for SERS detection of enrofloxacin (ENR) in milk. The magnetic MOF (Fe 3 O 4 @UiO-66-NH 2) was synthesized by a facile microwave-assisted method, then loaded with popcorn-like Au nanoparticles (NPs) through electrostatic interaction. The as-prepared SERS substrate (Fe 3 O 4 @UiO-66-NH 2 /Au NPs) integrated the abundant hot spots of popcorn-like Au NPs with porous Fe 3 O 4 @UiO-66-NH 2 , which greatly improved its SERS activity and stability. More importantly, benefiting from the fingerprint characteristics of SERS and adsorption performance of Fe 3 O 4 @UiO-66-NH 2 , the SERS substrate exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity in detecting ENR. Under the optimal detection condition, a good linearity (R2 = 0.996) was obtained with ENR concentration of 1.0 × 10−9–1.0 × 10−6 M in spiked milk, the LOD was as low as 5.26 × 10−10 M, and the recoveries were in the range of 76.1–86.1 % at three different spiking levels. The whole detection process including sample pretreatment took about 50 min, which indicating that the prepared substrate has great potential in sensitive and real-time detection of ENR in milk. • Fe 3 O 4 @UiO-66-NH 2 was successfully synthesized by a facile microwave-assisted method. • The SERS performance of popcorn-like Au NPs was optimized by easily adjusting experimental conditions. • The Fe 3 O 4 @UiO-66-NH 2 /Au NPs based hybrid SERS substrate was fabricated by electrostatic interaction. • The magnetic MOFs based SERS substrate could selective enrichment and sensitive detection of enrofloxacin in milk. • The SERS substrate showed good stability and acceptable reproducibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a kind of multifunctional magnetic plasmonic photocatalyst was prepared by a green and efficient process. Magnetic mesoporous anatase titanium dioxide (Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2) was synthesized by microwave-assisted hydrothermal, and Ag NPs were simultaneously in-situ grown on Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 (Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 @Ag), graphene oxide (GO) was then wrapped on Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 @Ag (Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 @Ag@GO) to increase its adsorption capacity for fluoroquinolone antibiotics (FQs). Owing to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of Ag, as well as the photocatalytic capacity of TiO 2 , a multifunctional platform based on Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 @Ag@GO was constructed for adsorption, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) monitoring and photodegradation of FQs in water. The quantitative SERS detection of norfloxacin (NOR), ciprofloxacin (CIP), and enrofloxacin (ENR) was demonstrated with LOD of 0.1 μg mL−1, and the qualitative analysis was confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The photocatalytic degradation rate of NOR over Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 @Ag@GO was about 4.6 and 1.4 times faster than that of Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 and Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 @Ag, indicating the synergetic effects of Ag NPs and GO, the used Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 @Ag@GO can be easily recovered and recycled for at least 5 times. Thus, the eco-friendly magnetic plasmonic photocatalyst provided a potential solution for the removal and monitoring of residual FQs in environmental water. [Display omitted] • An eco-friendly method was developed for the fabrication of Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 @Ag@GO. • Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 @Ag@GO exhibited excellent SERS and photocatalytic activities. • A multifunctional platform was constructed for the removal and monitoring of FQs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recovery of resources from waste printed circuit boards is of growing importance in parallel with the rapid increase of waste printed circuit boards as a result of the shorter product life cycles and upgrade of electronic equipment. As a byproduct of the recycling process of waste printed circuit boards, the nonmetallic fractions have an urgent requirement for recycling from the perspective of environment protection and resource recovery. In this paper, morphology, mineralogy and separation characteristics of nonmetallic fractions collected from the recycling line of waste printed circuit boards were analyzed by application of multi-analytical techniques, which lay the foundation for the recycling of nonmetallic fractions. Analysis results demonstrate that organic materials account for 60.03 wt% in raw nonmetallic fractions while the concentration of residual metals is up to 16.68 wt%. The concentration of magnetic production is 5.92 wt% in raw nonmetallic fractions and presents increasing trend with the size decreasing. The metal components in nonmagnetic part are mainly in single substance forms, while compound forms are presented in magnetic parts. Scanning electron microscope images demonstrate that there is an adequate liberation between metals and nonmetals, but glass fibers did not liberate from epoxy resin in +0.125 mm size fraction. There is an obvious difference in the components of different size fraction; and the metals were mainly concentrated in fine size fraction. Based on the mineralogical characteristics of each size fraction of nonmetallic fractions, the optimal recycling process of nonmetallic fractions including several processing operations is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work focused on removed mode of titanium target material and deposition process of the TiN film in a novel dual pulse power magnetron sputtering (DPPMS), which could improve deposition rate and properties of the TiN film. The study was carried out using DPPMS with different target power ratios between the first and the second ionized periods (P w /P s). It was found that when P w /P s was changed from 0.9/1.6 to 0.3/2.2, the removed mode of target material changed from sputtering to sputtering and evaporation, and the deposition rate of TiN films increased from 26 to 61 nm/min. All TiN films showed face center cubic (fcc) crystal structure and typical columnar microstructure. The compactness and size of columnar structure were improved with P w /P s changed from 0.9/1.6 to 0.3/2.2. Additionally, the hardness of TiN film deposited at P w /P s of 0.3/2.2 reached up to 25.4 GPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Triboelectric separation is an efficient, eco-friendly dry sorting method. • Triboelectric mechanism involves electron, ion, and material transfer. • Triboelectric separation is used in mineral processing and resource recovery. • Triboelectric separator have shown good results in industrial production. Triboelectricity is a common phenomenon in daily life, and its application in the industrial field is becoming increasingly widespread. As a dry material separation technology under no-water conditions, triboelectric separation technology has the characteristics of low cost, environmental friendliness, and especially significant advantages in water-scarce regions. With the continuous growth in global mineral resource demand, the mining industry, as the foundation industry of the national economy, has an increasingly urgent need for green and low-cost mining technologies. Triboelectric separation technology has achieved good results in mineral purification and resource recycling, attracting wide attention from researchers both domestically and internationally. This article provides a systematic review of triboelectric separation technology from the perspectives of mechanism exploration, application areas, and equipment development, offering references for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new class of eutectics high-entropy oxide ceramics (HEOCs) composed of a low-entropy phase and a high-entropy phase were successfully prepared. • The thermal conductivity of directionally solidified Al 2 O 3 /(Y 0.2 Er 0.2 Yb 0.2 Ho 0.2 Lu 0.2) 3 Al 5 O 12 eutectic HEOCs decreased to 4.9 Wm−1K−1. • Directionally solidified Al 2 O 3 /(Y 0.2 Er 0.2 Yb 0.2 Ho 0.2 Lu 0.2) 3 Al 5 O 12 eutectic HEOCs showed improved fracture toughness and hardness. Directionally solidified Al 2 O 3 /(Y 0.2 Er 0.2 Yb 0.2 Ho 0.2 Lu 0.2) 3 Al 5 O 12 eutectic high-entropy oxide ceramics (HEOCs) were successfully prepared with an optical floating zone furnace. The Al 2 O 3 /(Y 0.2 Er 0.2 Yb 0.2 Ho 0.2 Lu 0.2) 3 Al 5 O 12 eutectic HEOCs were pure phases with uniform distribution of rare-earth elements. The preferred growth orientation relationships were <10−10 > {0001}Al 2 O 3 // <110 > {211}(Y 0.2 Er 0.2 Yb 0.2 Ho 0.2 Lu 0.2) 3 Al 5 O 12. The indentation fracture toughness and Vickers hardness were 6.8 ± 0.9 MPa·m1/2 and 16.1 ± 0.3 GPa, which were higher than that of Al 2 O 3 /Y 3 Al 5 O 12 eutectic ceramics. The room temperature bending strength was 333 ± 42 MPa. Crack bridging, deflection and bifurcation were the main toughening mechanism. Hardness and reduced modulus mapping results illustrated that the hardness of (Y 0.2 Er 0.2 Yb 0.2 Ho 0.2 Lu 0.2) 3 Al 5 O 12 was close to that of Al 2 O 3. Thermal expansion coefficient of Al 2 O 3 /(Y 0.2 Er 0.2 Yb 0.2 Ho 0.2 Lu 0.2) 3 Al 5 O 12 eutectic HEOCs was very similar to that of Al 2 O 3 /Y 3 Al 5 O 12 but thermal conductivity was as low as 4.9 Wm−1 K−1 due to strong lattice distortion. These results suggest that high-entropy Al 2 O 3 /(Y 0.2 Er 0.2 Yb 0.2 Ho 0.2 Lu 0.2) 3 Al 5 O 12 eutectic ceramics are promising candidates for structural components application in gas turbine engines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium nitride (TiN) is widely used in electrode materials in fast charging/discharging supercapacitors (SCs) due to its outstanding conductivity. However, the low capacitance of the TiN electrode limits its further application in the SCs. Therefore, the reasonable design of the TiN electrode with high electrochemical and mechanical properties is still a challenge. In this paper, the silicon nanowires/titanium nitride electrode (Si NWs/TiN) is prepared by depositing TiN onto the etched Si nanowires by direct current magnetron sputtering. The Si NWs are prepared by etching silicon in 4.8 M HF/0.02 M AgNO 3 aqueous solution for different times (5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 60 min). The mechanism of the effect of etched silicon substrate morphology on the electrochemical performance of Si NWs/TiN electrode was studied. As the etching time increases, the differences of the TiN surface structure, lattice defects and surface chemical composition will change the capacitance performance and charge storage mechanism of the Si NWs/TiN electrode. The prepared Si 30 NWs/TiN electrode exhibits an outstanding specific capacitance as high as 113.55 F g−1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s−1 with 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 solution as electrolyte. The specific capacitance of the Si 30 NWs/TiN electrode is as high as 7.5 times that of the electrode without etching at 100 mV s−1. The Si 30 NWs/TiN electrode has an excellent cyclic stability performance, which the electrode has a decay rate of 12.4% after 2000 cycles. This indicates that the electrode has reliable stability. The electrode of the supercapacitor prepared by this method can open up a new way to expand the specific surface area of other transition metal nitride. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A 3D model is built to study radial reactor for the isomerization of C 8 aromatics. • Local profiles of concentration, temperature, pressure, and velocity are anticipated. • Fluid distribution characteristics and reactions in the radial reactor are analyzed. • The effectiveness factors can bridge kinetic models of powder and pellet catalysts. • Causes and locations of nonuniform flow and negative effects are revealed. Numerical simulations of C 8 aromatics isomerization in radial reactors are important for understanding fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, complex reactions, and operational optimization. To investigate these aspects, we develop a three-dimensional porous media model integrated with modified reaction kinetics. This model accurately accounts for the actual reactor structure while parametrizing Ergun's equation to describe the pressure drop of the fluid passing through the scallop and center pipe. The catalyst seal exhibited an inverted U-shaped velocity distribution, resulting in a dead zone in the upper-right corner and an approximately 50 % reduction in catalyst utilization rate. Under 381 ℃ and 0.71 MPa conditions, the reactor exhibited an axial distribution uniformity value of 0.183, a pressure drop of 18.61 kPa, and an isomerization activity of 23.83 %. The calculated product profiles closely match the actual production data. Our validated and credible model provides valuable guidance for industrial radial reactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) is regulated during the innate immune response. However, its translational regulation under innate immune suppression remains largely unexplored. Microplitis bicoloratus bracovirus (MbBV), a symbiotic virus harbored by the parasitoid wasp, Microplitis bicoloratus , suppresses innate immunity in parasitized Spodoptera litura. Here, we generated eIF4E dsRNA and used it to silence the eIF4E gene of S. litura , resulting in a hallmark immunosuppressive phenotype characterized by increased apoptosis of hemocytes and retardation of head capsule width development. In response to natural parasitism, loss of eIF4E function was associated with similar immunosuppression, and we detected no significant differences between the response to parasitism and treatment with eIF4E RNAi. Under MbBV infection, eIF4E overexpression significantly suppressed MbBV-induced increase in apoptosis and suppressed apoptosis to the same extent as co-expression of both eIF4E and eIF4A. There were no significant differences between MbBV-infected and uninfected larvae in which eIF4E was overexpressed. More importantly, in the eIF4E RNAi strain, eIF4A RNAi did not increase apoptosis. Collectively, our results indicate that eIF4E plays a nodal role in the MbBV-suppressed innate immune response via the eIF4E–eIF4A axis. Highlights • Inhibition of eIF4E in host parasitism by Microplitis bicoloratus. • Loss of eIF4E function was associated with immunosuppression. • eIF4E overexpression suppressed MbBV-induced increase in apoptosis. • eIF4E RNAi mediated apoptosis independent of eIF4A RNAi. • Microplitis bicoloratus bracovirus modulates the eIF4E–eIF4A axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In the parasitoid/polydnavirus/host system, polydnaviruses protect larva development in the host hemocoel by suppressing the host immune response. However, the negative effects on the parasitoid and the strategy of the parasitoid to deal with this disadvantage are still unknown. Microplitis bicoloratus bracovirus induces granulocyte apoptosis to suppress immune responses, resulting in an apoptotic haemolymph environment in which immature M. bicoloratus larva develop. Here, we determined the transcriptional profiles of immature M. bicoloratus across five time-points throughout the immature developmental process from egg to third instar. Dynamic gene expression pattern analysis revealed clear rapid changes in gene expression characteristic of each developmental stage, indicating faster sequential unambiguous functional division during development. Combined with the proteome of the host haemolymph, immature parasitoids likely secreted a Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase to reduce reactive oxygen species generation by symbiotic bracovirus. These data established a basis for further studies of parasitoid/host interactions and identified a novel positive self-protection mechanism for the parasitoid. Highlights • Immature parasitoids secreted a Cu/ZnSOD. • Cu/ZnSOD reduces ROS triggered by bracovirus. • A positive self-protection mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. and processed radix Aconiti kusnezoffii are the main components in many Chinese traditional patent medicines with the ratio of 1:1, which are used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, heart failure and so on. Glycyrrhizic acid, glycyrrhetic acid, liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin are the essential bioactive triterpenes and flavones in the extract of G. uralensis , which were analysis by a simple but accurate method. Materials and methods In the present study, a specific HPLC method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of pharmacokinetic parameters of glycyrrhizic acid, glycyrrhetic acid, liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin in G. uralensis after oral administration of single herb extract and a combination of two herbs extracts respectively. Results The calibration curves of the four components had good linearity higher than 0.9991 in the measured range. The intra-day and inter-day precisions (RSD) at different levels were both within 9.73%, and the accuracies (RE) were in the range of −7.9–8.0%. Compared with pharmacokinetic parameters of G. uralensis administered orally, values of AUC and C max of liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin decreased significantly ( p <0.05), plasma concentrations of glycyrrhizic acid rose slightly and bimodal phenomenon of concentration–time of isoliquiritigenin and glycyrrhetinic acid disappeared after combined administration. Discussion and conclusions Some components in the extract of processed radix A. kusnezoffii showed different effects on the pharmacokinetics of the four ingredients in G. uralensis . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We present a method for dynamically and quantitatively investigating the unstable reaction–diffusion process by using digital holographic interferometry. Taking substitution reaction with flat aluminum in copper sulfate solution as a sample, the reaction rate and concentration variation are quantitatively measured by numerically reconstructing a series of phase change maps reflecting the refractive index distribution and variation trend of the solution during the reaction–diffusion process. In addition, the measurement accuracy of concentration and the size resolution are analyzed. The experiment results certify the feasibility and validity of the presented method in the full-field, dynamical and quantitative measurement of unstable reaction–diffusion processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Titanium nitride doped with carbon film (TiN/C) is designed as the electrode for supercapacitor since the titanium nitride has the pseudocapacitive nature. In this paper, the TiN/C films without any binder are prepared by using magnetron co-sputtering method. The surface of C doped TiN film changes into pyramid shape, which increases the porosity and surface roughness of the film, and enhances the formation of surface pseudocapacitive material TiO x N y , which promotes the super capacitive properties of TiN/C electrode. The TiN film electrode with ∼5.33 at.% doped C displays an outstanding capacitance performance with the maximum areal capacitance of 45.81 mF cm−2. It is 3 times that of the un-doped TiN (16.25 mF cm−2) at a scan rate of 10 mV s−1 in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 solution. It exhibits excellent electrochemical cycling stability and excellent reversibility with a decay rate of 3.72% after 5000 cycles. In addition, the TiN/C-2 electrode has the great capacitance performance and the large capacitance contribution with the value of 85%. The incorporation of C element to the transition metal nitride could be a feasible method to improve the capacitance performance of transition metal nitride electrode. • Titanium nitride doped with carbon film electrode (TiN/C) is prepared by DC magnetron co-sputtering. • The areal capacitance of the TiN/C-2 electrode is as high as 3 times that of the pure TiN electrode at 100 mV s-1. • The electrode has an excellent cycling stability: the TiN/C-2 electrode has a decay rate of 3.72% after 5000 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Binder wrapped on electrode particles weakens their surface properties. • Cryogenic grinding can remove the organic binder efficiently. • Removing organic binder can expose new surface of electrode particles. • Removing organic binder can eliminate agglomeration of electrode particles. • Electrode materials before and after cryogenic grinding are fully investigated. A novel method of cryogenic grinding and froth flotation is proposed to recover LiCoO 2 and graphite from spent lithium-ion batteries. After 9 min of cryogenic grinding, the grade of LiCoO 2 concentrate was up to 91.75%, with a recovery rate of 89.83% after flotation, but the materials that have not been cryogenic grinding, the grade and recovery rate of LiCoO2 after flotation only 55.36% and 72.8%, respectively. Analysis of the surface properties and morphology of electrode particles was performed using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and field emission-electron probe micro-analysis. Results indicate that the organic binder on the surface of the raw materials resulted in a poor recovery rate and grade of the flotation concentrate. Cryogenic grinding, on the other hand, caused the organic binder on the surface of electrode materials to peel off, with spherical graphite changing into a scaly layer structure that revealed a new surface. The hydrophilicity of LiCoO 2 and hydrophobicity of graphite were obviously improved by cryogenic grinding, and in turn contributed to an excellent flotation separation. This work provides an efficient and environmentally-friendly process for recovering LiCoO 2 and graphite from spent lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]