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Very Low-Pressure Plasma Spraying (VLPPS) is an emerging process allowing the manufacturing of metallic or ceramic coatings under reduced pressure conditions (i.e., in the 150 Pa range). It aims at vaporizing primary feedstock precursors in the warm core of the plasma flow and at carrying them, through the expanded plasma column, towards the surface to be coated, where they condense to form a deposit. This process also can be operated in a reactive mode. In such a case, a secondary reactive gaseous precursor is injected in the plasma flow where it can react with the primary vaporized precursors. In this work, nitrogen is considered as the secondary gaseous precursor. Thereby, nitriding reactions occur between this secondary precursor and the primary one, titanium in the considered case. Optical emission spectroscopy is implemented to identify the reactive nitrogen species in an Ar-H2-N2 plasma gas ternary mixture together with the reaction mechanisms giving rise to the nitriding processes. Two mechanisms have been identified. At first, a gas-gas reactions occur between titanium vapors and N2, N2+ and N species leading to the formation of TiN nitrides; At second, a solid-gas reactions occur between flattened titanium lamellae and N2 species, leading to the formation of Ti2N nitrides, which as evidenced by XRD analyses. Nevertheless, the number of nitrides is rather low, very likely due to the limited fraction of titanium vapors in the system: this is a consequence of a rather limited plasma energy (i.e., net power of about 26 kW, corresponding to an average plasma mass enthalpy of 15.21 kJ kg−1).

Two isostructural tetranuclear lanthanide clusters named [Ln4(L)4(CH3O)4]·CH3OH (Ln = Gd(III) for 1, Dy(III) for 2, H2L = N′-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)-6-(hydroxymethyl) picolinohydrazide) were successfully isolated by using a polydentate Schiff based ligand and Ln(III) nitrate salts. The structures of 1 and 2 were characterized by X-ray structural analyses, they are held by four double deprotonated ligands L2−. In them all the lanthanide ions are eight-coordinated and distributed over four vertices of a parallelogram, presenting a Ln4 cluster with a strict [2 × 2] square grid pattern. The details of magnetic analysis show that 1 displays weak anti-ferromagnetic exchange between neighboring Gd(III) ions through carboxylate oxygen and methanol oxygen ligand atoms. Furthermore, 1 exhibits significant magnetocaloric effect with the maximum entropy change –ΔSm value of 28.5 J/(kg·K) for ΔH = 7.0 T at 2.0 K. For compound 2, remarkable slow magnetic relaxation behaviors are observed in the presence of zero magnetic field with τ0 = 1.02 × 10−6 s and energy barrier ΔE/kB = 43.24 K.

Objectives Beginning in June 2017, numerous dengue virus (DENV) infections occurred in the Jining City of Shandong Province, formerly a dengue-free region in East China. We sought to describe the clinical and epidemiological features of this outbreak. Methods We reviewed the clinical records and epidemiological data regarding a case series of patients diagnosed with DENV in Jining City, from June 30 to September 14, 2017. Diagnosis was confirmed by molecular method, culture, or rapid diagnostic tests. Sequencing of the DENV envelope gene or the whole viral genome was performed for 11 patients. Additionally, neutralizing antibodies against DENV was measured among patients and residents from their same villages. Results Data from 150 patients were evaluated in this outbreak. None were diagnosed with dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome. The patients’ ages ranged between 2–88 years (median 51 years, [IQR=37.5–64.3]), and 100 (66.7%) were female. Epidemiological analyses implicated a man who had visited Saudi Arabia as the likely source of the outbreak. Phylogenetic studies identified DENV serotype 1. Most of the patients demonstrated increases of neutralizing antibody titers one year after infection compared with titers three months after infection. The residents living in dengue-affected villages had a significant higher seroprevalence of 21.2% (95%CI 16.9-25.5) than residents (3.2%, 95%CI-0.36-6.7) living in a non-dengue-affected village. Conclusions This report documents the first dengue outbreak in Shandong Province, China, in more than 60 years. It underscores the need for medical providers to record patients’ travel histories and to consider dengue in their differential diagnoses.

Very low-pressure plasma spray is a promising technique for preparing dense metal/ceramic coatings due to the high-speed plasma jet. However, at the same time, the low-pressure environment weakens the ability of the plasma jet to heat sprayed materials. In order to improve this shortcoming, a novel bi-cathode plasma torch was firstly designed in this study, which could enhance the plasma power from 40 kW to 81 kW and realize the axial powder feeding. By using this torch under 6 mbar, a dense and uniform yttria-stabilized zirconia coating with a porosity of 2.7% was fabricated, which had a hybrid microstructure that deposited with the form of unmelted particles, melted droplets, and vapor clusters. Meanwhile, 40% of the zirconia phase changed from the monoclinic type to the tetragonal type, indicating that the yttria-stabilized zirconia powder was melted well. The microhardness and elastic modulus of the coating was high compared with those prepared with other plasma spraying processes, which was 11.7 ± 0.6 GPa and 167.8 ± 4 GPa, respectively. The high density and mechanical property of the YSZ coating demonstrated that using the bi-cathode plasma torch at low pressure has the potential for the preparation of SOFC electrolytes.

Assembled α-synuclein in nerve cells and glial cells is the defining pathological feature of neurodegenerative diseases called synucleinopathies. Seeds of α-synuclein can induce the assembly of monomeric protein. Here, we used sucrose gradient centrifugation and transiently transfected HEK 293T cells to identify the species of α-synuclein from the brains of homozygous, symptomatic mice transgenic for human mutant A53T α-synuclein (line M83) that seed aggregation. The most potent fractions contained Sarkosyl-insoluble assemblies enriched in filaments. We also analyzed six cases of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), one case of familial PD, and six cases of multiple system atrophy (MSA) for their ability to induce α-synuclein aggregation. The MSA samples were more potent than those of idiopathic PD in seeding aggregation. We found that following sucrose gradient centrifugation, the most seed-competent fractions from PD and MSA brains are those that contain Sarkosyl-insoluble α-synuclein. The fractions differed between PD and MSA, consistent with the presence of distinct conformers of assembled α-synuclein in these different samples. We conclude that α-synuclein filaments are the main driving force for amplification and propagation of pathology in synucleinopathies.

This study was aimed at understanding why dietary polyphenols with a catechol skeleton tend to exhibit cancer chemopreventive activity by using a catechol-type stilbene (3,4-DHS) as a model molecule. Only a short-term cooperation of 3,4-DHS and exogenous Cu(II) exhibited a strong preferential ability to kill HepG2 cells over normal L02 cells. Mechanism studies reveal that this 3,4-DHS/Cu(II) system could produce extracellularly reactive oxygen species (ROS) and o-quinone through two sequential proton loss electron transfer followed by diffusion of ROS into cells, leading to higher intracellular accumulation of ROS, preferential disruption of redox homeostasis and more effective mitochondria-dependent apoptosis as well as necrosis of HepG2 cells than L-02 cells. This work provides further evidence that dietary catechol-type molecules show chemopreventive activity by virtue of their copper-dependent prooxidant action.

The traditional curing method of concrete members in China is through manual water curing based on the experience of engineers and at an arbitrary time. This method, however, may induce early-age cracks and reduce durability of materials. In this paper, an automated curing system is proposed, which can decrease and even eliminate the early-age cracks by controlling the relative humidity and temperature of the concrete. More specifically, (1) the interval time of curing spray, calculated based on the cement hydration and real-time monitored data, is automatically identified by a programmable logic controller; and (2) the fog spray curing is operated under a constant water pressure by a variable frequency technology. A field test was conducted on 20 box-section beams to evaluate the performance of the proposed system based on the temperature evolution, humidity variation, and compressive strength of the concrete. Compared with the traditional manual water curing, the concrete beams cured by the automated system show higher early-age compressive strength, better appearance without water stains, and no early-age cracks.

Untargeted metabolic profiling analysis is employed to screen metabolites for specific purposes, such as geographical origin discrimination. However, the data analysis remains a challenging task. In this work, a new automatic untargeted metabolic profiling analysis coupled with a chemometric strategy was developed to improve the metabolite identification results and to enhance the geographical origin discrimination capability. Automatic untargeted metabolic profiling analysis with chemometrics (AuMPAC) was used to screen the total ion chromatographic (TIC) peaks that showed significant differences among the various geographical regions. Then, a chemometric peak resolution strategy is employed for the screened TIC peaks. The retrieved components were further analyzed using ANOVA, and those that showed significant differences were used to build a geographical origin discrimination model by using two-way encoding partial least squares. To demonstrate its performance, a geographical origin discrimination of flaxseed samples from six geographical regions in China was conducted, and 18 TIC peaks were screened. A total of 19 significant different metabolites were obtained after the peak resolution. The accuracy of the geographical origin discrimination was up to 98%. A comparison of the AuMPAC, AMDIS, and XCMS indicated that AuMPACobtained the best geographical origin discrimination results. In conclusion, AuMPAC provided another method for data analysis.

The mouth-feel or oral perception of a food may vary in different oral surfaces or tongue-palate environment depending on the physical characteristics of human tongue. Tribological measurements emulating the characteristics of tongue-palate environment will assist in the evaluation of oral perception of food materials. This study reports a 3D printing assisted approach for rapid fabrication of the soft elastomer substrates with different surface (roughness) and bulk characteristics (elastic modulus and thickness) for tribological measurements. The influence of substrates with various regularly patterned surfaces, elastic modulus, and thickness on the lubrication properties of four food emulsions (full-fat and skim milk, high-fat and low-fat yoghurt) has been investigated. It is observed that friction coefficient of food emulsions increases with a decrease in height or an increase in density of rectangular micro-scale pillars representing papillae on the surface of soft substrate. Interestingly, a decrease in the elastic modulus of the substrates causes an increase in the friction coefficient for the milk samples, whereas for yoghurt samples it causes a decrease. The variations in the thickness of the substrates have little effect on the friction coefficients of the food emulsions.

A series of 4'-acylamino modified Δ1,4-pregnadien-21E-benzylidene-3,20-dione derivatives (6a-v) was synthesized from the commercially available progesterone (1). These title compounds were evaluated for their toxicity against brine shrimp (Artemia salina) and cytotoxic activities against two human cancer cell lines (HeLa and MCF-7). The results revealed that compound 6f exhibited promising in vitro cytotoxic activity to the two cancer cell lines and the nature of acylamino functional group in the benzylidene moiety had a significant influence on cytotoxicity.

Lewis base, N -methylmorpholine (NMM) accelerated Pd-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling of steric hindered super active esters, 1a–1e, and terminal alkynes. This approach provided an efficient synthetic protocol for a broad array of acylated o -alkynoylphenols compounds, 3a–3e, under moderate conditions. The mechanistic study clearly demonstrated that NNM stabilized the catalytic palladium species, and accelerated the leaving of triazine moiety during the catalytic cycle of the cross-coupling reactions. In addition, piperazine was found to efficiently catalyze the 6-endo cyclization of acylated o -alkynoylphenols, which achieved the diversity oriented synthesis of γ -benzopyranones, 4aa–4eg, with 93–99% yields.

Fluorescence-encoded microspheres are largely demanded in high-throughput assays. A strategy for preparing encoded microspheres based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) was advanced. Two fluorophores, poly(phenylenevinylene) nanoparticles (PPV NPs) as the donor and rhodamine 6G (R6G) as the acceptor were employed to construct the energy-transfer pair, and introduced onto the substrate polymeric microspheres. The fluorescence intensity ratio between PPV NPs and R6G molecules were tuned based on energy transfer mechanism. Nine codes (wavelength-intensity combinations) were obtained at the same excitation by keeping the concentration of PPV NPs constant and varying the concentration of R6G in the dipping solutions. Then, a melamine–formaldehyde (MF) resin layer was coated onto the encoded spheres to prevent the leakage of fluorophores. The encoded spheres were found to have good fluorescence stability against various solvents and even “dissociation agent“, and no significant variation of the codes were observed. Further modification of this MF layer with silanization reaction provided the amino reactive sites. In all, this study provides a general strategy for the preparation of fluorescence encoded microspheres based on energy transfer as well as a stable protective layer with reactive sites.

In this work, a series of dinuclear Ln(III)-based compounds with the molecular form [Ln2(L)2(dbm)2(H2O)2]·nCH3OH (Ln(III) = Eu (1), Gd (2), Tb (3), Dy (4) and Ho (5), Hdbm = 1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propanedione and H2L = 2-[(1E)-{[(pyridin-2-yl)formamido]imino}methyl]benzoic acid) have been successfully synthesized using a polydentate Schiff base ligand (H2L) and reacting it with the β-diketone salts Ln(dbm)3·2H2O. The crystal structures and magnetic properties of the five Ln2 compounds have been completely studied. The crystal structure studies reveal that compounds 1–5 are isostructural and show a dinuclear structure with a parallelogram Ln2O2 core. The magnetic research suggests that the Gd2 compound shows a cryogenic magnetic refrigeration property with magnetic entropy (−ΔSm) = 23.2 J K−1 kg−1 (T = 2.0 K and ΔH = 7.0 T), while the Dy2 compound exhibits slow magnetic relaxation behavior.

The liquid-liquid equilibria data for the (diisopropyl ether + isopropyl alcohol + ethylene glycol or 1,3-propanediol ternary) system were measured at 303.2 K and 323.2 K under 101.3 kPa. The tie-line data for both systems are displayed in the phase diagram with typical type-I behaviour. The distribution coefficient and separation factor were calculated according to the measured tie-line data. The calculated results suggest that both the two solvents can separate the diisopropyl ether and isopropyl alcohol mixture. Ethylene glycol possesses much better separation efficiency for low concentration extraction. The non-random two liquids (NRTL) and universal quasi-chemical (UNIQUAC) models were applied to obtain the binary interaction parameters of pure components with all the root-mean-square deviation values less than 1.0%, indicating the deviation of regression process can be acceptable. Based on Gibbs stability criteria, the topological analysis with a graphical user interface confirmed the binary interaction parameters from data regression were well consistent with the experimental tie-line data.

Cytosolic nucleotide oligomerisation domain (NOD)-like receptors play an important role in host defence against infection. Reduced NOD1 expression has been observed in dysfunctional neutrophils derived from periparturient cattle known to be most susceptible to coliform mastitis. However, whether impairment of NOD1 suppresses the immune responses of bovine neutrophils during bacterial infections remains unknown. Crude (phenol extracted) lipopolysaccharide (cLPS), which often contains other immunostimulatory molecules, including NOD1 agonist, is known to induce almost the whole bacterial response. This study was conducted to explore the role of NOD1/nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway in the cytokine and functional responses of bovine neutrophils challenged with Escherichia coli-derived cLPS. Freshly isolated blood neutrophils from healthy heifers were pre-incubated for 2 h with ML130, a selective inhibitor of NOD1/NF-κB pathway. Cells were then exposed to cLPS for additional 4 h. Inhibition of the NOD1/NF-κB pathway resulted in a decrease in cLPS-induced phosphorylation of the inhibitor of NF-κBα (IκBα) in neutrophils. Impairment of the NOD1/NF-κB pathway tended to down-regulate mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, chemokines IL-8 and C-X-C motif ligand 2 (CXCL2), and adhesion molecules CD11b and CD62L, in cLPS-challenged cells. Functional analyses showed that blocking the NOD1/NF-κB pathway inhibited neutrophil migration and phagocytic killing capacity, and promoted neutrophil death upon cLPS stimulation. The data presented here demonstrate that activation of NOD1/NF-κB pathway contributes to the functional responses of neutrophils to cLPS.

Using progesterone as the starting material, we synthesized a series of steroidal derivatives possessing a D-ring substituted benzamidothiazole. All of the final structures were reported and identified by NMR and HRMS spectrometry for the first time. The antiproliferative activity of the synthesized compounds against PC-3 (human prostate cancer cell line) and SKOV-3 (ovarian cancer cells) were investigated. The preliminary results showed that compounds 8b, 8d and 8g possessed moderate antiproliferative activities.

Neutrophils use a broad array of pattern recognition receptors to sense and respond to invading pathogens and are important in the early control of acute bacterial infections. Nucleotide-binding oligomerizing domain-1 (NOD1) is a cytoplasmic receptor involved in recognizing bacterial peptidoglycan. Reduced neutrophil NOD1 expression has been reported in periparturient dairy cows. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of NOD1 signalling in the early responses of bovine neutrophils to bacterial infections. Blood neutrophils from healthy heifers were preincubated for 2h with ML130, a selective inhibitor of NOD1-dependent nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation. Thereafter, cells were cultured with live Escherichia coli for additional 30 min or subjected to Boyden chamber cell migration assay with E. coli in the lower chamber. Results showed that ML130 inhibited E. coli-induced NF-κB nuclear translocation. There was an indication, although not significant, that ML130 down-regulated gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, chemokines IL-8 and C-X-C motif ligand 2 (CXCL2), and adhesion molecule CD62L, in E. coli-challenged neutrophils. Flow cytometry-based Annexin V staining revealed a considerable increase in neutrophil survival upon E. coli infection, an effect that was attenuated in the presence of ML130. Additionally, inhibition of NOD1/NF-κB signalling resulted in reduced migration of neutrophils to E. coli, and impaired phagocytosis, intracellular bacterial killing and reactive oxygen species production by neutrophils. These results indicate that NOD1/NF-κB pathway plays a crucial role in modulating neutrophil responses that are important for early control of infections. Approaches aiming at restoring neutrophil NOD1 function could be beneficial for prevention or treatment of coliform mastitis.

Two new Dy2 compounds, [Dy(TTA)2L]2 (1) and [Dy(dbm)2L]2 (2) (TTA = 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone, and HL = 2-[(4-chlorophenyl)imino]methyl]-8-hydroxyquinoline and dbm = dibenzoylmethane), were synthesized via solvent evaporation method, and the structures and magnetic properties of them have been characterized. The X-ray structural analysis show that both 1 and 2 are binuclear dysprosium complexes with similar structure, and the two central Dy atoms are bridged by two phenoxo-O atoms of two 8-hydroxyquinoline Schiff base ligands. The only difference is the coordinate β-diketonate. Magnetic measurements indicated that the two Dy2 compounds display different single-molecular magnets (SMMs) behaviors with Ueff /kB = 29.4 K for 1 and Ueff /kB = 43.5 K for 2.

Joining p- and n-type thermoelectric materials with electrodes is the key technique to fabricate a thermoelectric device. Due to its large oxidation resistance and good weld adaptability, Ni is a good electrode material in practical applications. However, the diffusion between Ni and skutterudite thermoelectric materials limits its application in fabricating a skutterudite-based device. In this study, Mo–Cu and Mo–Ti alloys were designed as the buffer and barrier layers respectively to join Ni electrodes with Yb 0.3 Co 4 Sb 12 by a one-step spark plasma sintering process. A thermal shock test between 25 °C and 550 °C allowed us to conclude that Mo 55 Cu 45 alloy is the most suitable buffer layer, which can greatly reduce thermal residual stress. The influence of Mo content on the evolution of the Mo–Ti/Yb 0.3 Co 4 Sb 12 interfacial microstructure and electrical contact resistance during the accelerated aging at 550 °C was studied. After adding a small amount of Mo to Ti, the growth rate of the diffusion layer between Ti and Yb 0.3 Co 4 Sb 12 decreased. The contact resistivity remained below 9 μΩ cm 2 after 12 days of aging at 550 °C, indicating that the joints had high thermal duration stability. However, excess Mo will lead to a CTE mismatch between Mo–Ti and Yb 0.3 Co 4 Sb 12 . Thus, it has been concluded that 5 at% of Mo is the optimum composition.

Ruthenium-catalyzed intermolecular [3 + 2] annulation pathway for aromatic acids with isocyanates to afford N-substituted phthalimide in one step is demonstrated, which provides an efficient process to direct preparation of phthalimide from commercially available starting materials and environmentally benign catalysts. This cascade cyclization involves the direct functionalization of an ortho C–H bond and the subsequent intramolecular nucleophilic substitution. There is no theoretical waste except for water generated in the reaction.

Photo-degradation is one of the most challenging problems to limit the re-usability of fluorescent film sensors, and thereby, it is a necessity to evaluate the photochemical stability of a fluorescent film before it is put into practical uses. Accordingly, the photochemical stability of some widely used pyrene and its derivatives-based fluorescent films were studied under mild conditions (i.e., in air and at room temperature) with ultraviolet (UV) or visible light as the light source. It was found that the fluorophores based films fabricated in physical ways are all un-stable to the irritation of light, in particular when UV is employed as a light source. 1H NMR, FTIR and high-resolution MS studies revealed that ring-opening and oxidation of the saturated carbon next to pyrenyl structure are two of the important results of the photochemical degradation of the fluorophores tested. But it is to be noted that photo-chemically pyrene is much more stable than its derivatives no matter what kind of substituent is introduced. Furthermore, the films are only sensitive to the illumination of UV light rather than visible light. Mechanism studies revealed that the pyrene and pyrene derivatives-based films decomposed via two channels under light irritation. One is the photo-decomposition without the participation of other chemicals, and the other is photo-degradation via reaction with the chemicals. Kinetic study demonstrated that the films lost their fluorescence mainly via the second channel. It is believed that this finding is of interest to the development of novel pyrenyl derivatives-based fluorescent film sensors.

In this work, a novel fluorescent sensing strategy was developed for the detection of Hg2+ with excellent sensitivity and selectivity using a metal-induced disaggregation of aggregated squaraine molecules with the help of ethylenediaminetetreaacetic acid (EDTA). This EDTA promoted probe exhibited a specific “turn on” fluorescent response to Hg2+ with a detection limit of 7.6 × 10−9 M (3σ/k). Owning to the high coordinating ability of EDTA and dithiocarbamate tethered squaraine dye toward Hg2+, the disaggregation process could be improved by EDTA via the formation of squaraine-Hg2+-EDTA trinary complex, resulting in a greater fluorescent release, and this novel phenomenon has been confirmed by light scattering experiments, 1H NMR, IR and MS.

Because mercury and ethylenediaminetetreaacetic acid (EDTA) are widely used materials and are commonly found together in the environment due to anthropogenic and industrial releases, there is a great need to develop a bifunctional sensor for both mercury and EDTA. A fluorescent sensor SQ-1 based on a squaraine chromophore with dithiocarbamate (DTC) side arms has been prepared, and its aggregation behavior in aqueous solution has also been investigated. The results show that increasing water concentration in the solution causes dramatic H-aggregation of the symmetric SQ-1 and consequently provides a mercury probe with a visual color change and “turn on” fluorescence via cation induced deaggregation. EDTA, a strong chelator to mercury, accelerates the deaggregation process and enhances the fluorescent emission, which not only improves the sensitivity of SQ-1 to mercury by 10-fold, with a detection limit improvement from 1.1 × 10−7 M to 1.3 × 10−8 M, but also provides a way for trace level detection of EDTA, with the detection limit of 8.7 × 10−8 M. The potential application of this technique for Hg2+ and EDTA determination of river water samples is revealed by proof-of-concept experiments.

In this study, an in situ gel-based dual drug delivery system (PEG-PCL-PEG/DDP+MPEG-PCL/PTX, abbreviated as PDMP) was prepared through the combination of a cisplatin (DDP)-containing thermosensitive hydrogel (PEG-PCL-PEG/DDP, PECE/DDP) and paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded polymeric micelles (average diameter of 20.1nm). PDMP is a free-flowing solution at room temperature and forms a stationary gel at body temperature, allowing it to serve as a drug depot for the in situ treatment of lung cancer. For in vivo experiments, the xenografted lung cancer model was used to evaluate the anti-tumor efficacy of the PDMP. The results suggested that PDMP is effective at inhibiting tumor growth and prolonging the survival time of tumor-bearing BALB/c nude mice. The survival time of the PDMP-treated group (53 days) is significantly higher than that of other groups (40 days from the free DDP+PTX group, 26 days from the blank PECE group, 25 days from the normal saline group, p

The introduction of reactive groups on the surface of monodispersed highly crosslinked poly(styrene–divinylbenzene) (PSDVB) microspheres was accomplished in two steps. The first step requires immobilizing the initiating groups by a Friedel–Craft acylation between 2-chloropropionyl chlorides and the phenyl groups on the spheres. The second step requires the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) to obtain spheres (PSDVB-g-PGMA) with epoxy groups on the surface. To demonstrate the feasibility of introducing functionality, the epoxy groups were ring-opened by ethylenediamines, resulting in spheres with amino functionality (PSDVB-g-PGMAEDA). The final spheres were found to have an adsorption capacity of 0.66 mmol/g in the Cu2+ adsorption experiments, as a preliminary application study.

Aims We studied the effect of thalidomide on NFκB-induced TNF-α in acute pancreatitis-associated lung injury in the rat. Methods Rats were intragastrically administered thalidomide (100 mg/kg) daily for 8 days and then acute pancreatitis was induced by retrograde infusion of 5% sodium taurocholate into the rat biliopancreatic duct. Serum amylase (AMY), blood oxygen partial pressure (PaO 2 ), ratios of lung wet/dry weight, and cytoplasmic IκBα and TNF-α protein and nuclear NFκBp65 protein were measured. Also, lung NFκBp65 and TNF-α mRNA were measured. Results Compared with the model group, the pathological score of the pancreas and lung, serum AMY, ratios of lung wet/dry weight, and lung NFκBp65 and TNF-α mRNA and protein of rats given thalidomide were decreased significantly ( P 2 and IκBα protein was elevated significantly ( P Conclusion Thalidomide may inhibit TNF-α expression via down-regulation of the NFκB signaling pathway to alleviate acute pancreatitis-associated lung injury in rats.

A carbon-based sulfonated catalyst was prepared by direct sulfonation and carbonization (in moderate conditions: 200 °C, 12 h) of red liquor solids, a by-product of paper-making process. The prepared sulfonated catalyst (SC) had aromatic structure, composed of carbon enriched inner core, and oxygen-containing (SO3H, COOH, OH) groups enriched surface. The SO3H, COOH, OH groups amounted to 0.74 mmol·g−1, 0.78 mmol·g−1, 2.18 mmol·g−1, respectively. The fresh SC showed much higher catalytic activity than that of the traditional solid acid catalysts (strong-acid 732 cation exchange resin, hydrogen type zeolite socony mobile-five (HZSM-5), sulfated zirconia) in esterification of oleic acid. SC was deactivated during the reactions, through the mechanisms of leaching of sulfonated species and formation of sulfonate esters. Two regeneration methods were developed, and the catalytic activity can be mostly regenerated by regeneration Method 1 and be fully regenerated by regeneration Method 2, respectively.

Background Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease of which the clinical progression and factors related to death are still unclear. Objective To identify the clinical progression of SFTS and explore predictors of fatal outcome throughout the disease progress. Study design A prospective study was performed in a general hospital located in Xinyang city during 2011–2013. Confirmed SFTS patients were recruited and laboratory parameters that were commonly evaluated in clinical practice were collected. The clinical progression was determined based on analysis of dynamic profiles and Friedman's test. At each clinical stage, the laboratory features that could be used to predict fatal outcome of SFTS patients were identified by stepwise discriminant analysis. Results Totally 257 survivors and 54 deceased SFTS patients were recruited and the data of 11 clinical and laboratory parameters along their entire disease course were consecutively collected. Three clinical stages (day 1–5 post onset, day 6–11 post onset and day 12 to hospital discharge) were determined based on distinct clinical parameters evaluations. Multivariate discriminant analysis at each clinical stage disclosed the indicators of the fatal outcome as decreased platelet counts at early stage, older age and increased AST level at middle stage, and decreased lymphocyte percentage and increased LDH level at late stage. Conclusions The significant indicators at three clinical stages could be used to assist identifying the patients with high risk of death. This knowledge might help to perform supportive treatment and avoid fatality.

Crop lodging (stem and root lodging) is one of the main constraints limiting grain yield and quality in spring wheat production, especially under high–yielding conditions. Few studies have been conducted to clarify the trade–off between grain yield and lodging resistance, and assess whether it is possible to manage lodging risk without a yield reduction penalty. Developing appropriate nitrogen (N) fertilizer management strategies for driving grain yield/quality while reducing (or at least not increasing) the risk of lodging is needed to achieve this. The risks of stem and root lodging were quantified by “safety factor” (SF) indicator, which represents the number of times a support organ can bear the self–weight moment of the organ that it is supporting. Two varieties with contrasting stature (tall vs. semi–dwarf), were tested under different timing and rates of N application strategies. The advantage of split–N (preplant plus top–dress application at the jointing stage) over equivalent preplant–only N application was not evidenced on yield, but grain protein (%) was improved by up to 7.5% without a yield penalty. The risk of lodging was increased with increasing N rates from zero to the highest N treatment, as indicated by decreasing stem safety factor SFs (–23.7%) and root safety factor SFr (–32.2%) across both years, and increasing visual lodging score (by 7–fold) in 2017. The split–N treatment N50 + 50 (50 kg N ha–1 at preplant plus 50 kg N ha–1 at jointing stage) showed a promising lodging resistance with SFs, SFr and visual lodging scores similar to the zero N treatment. Taken together, the moderate split–N application (N50 + 50) is recommended due to the relative high grain protein (%) and strong lodging resistance while sustaining a promising yield. Spring wheat was more susceptible to root lodging than to stem lodging in the specific conditions of these experiments. Additionally, breeding for and cultivation with cultivars with improved stem strength is likely to be required to counter the escalating lodging risk arising from continued yield increases.

Summary TCRs recognize cognate pMHCs to initiate T cell signaling and adaptive immunity. Mechanical force strengthens TCR-pMHC interactions to elicit agonist-specific catch bonds to trigger TCR signaling, but the underlying dynamic structural mechanism is unclear. We combined steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulation, single-molecule biophysical approaches, and functional assays to collectively demonstrate that mechanical force induces conformational changes in pMHCs to enhance pre-existing contacts and activates new interactions at the TCR-pMHC binding interface to resist bond dissociation under force, resulting in TCR-pMHC catch bonds and T cell activation. Intriguingly, cancer-associated somatic mutations in HLA-A2 that may restrict these conformational changes suppressed TCR-pMHC catch bonds. Structural analysis also indicated that HLA polymorphism might alter the equilibrium of these conformational changes. Our findings not only reveal critical roles of force-induced conformational changes in pMHCs for activating TCR-pMHC catch bonds but also have implications for T cell-based immunotherapy.

Lignin is a carbon-rich renewable source owning aromatic structure units, which is an important constituent in biomass. Hydrothermal conversion of lignin is widely studied as a promising method to produce not only bioenergy but also value-added useful chemicals. Fuel gas, aromatic aldehydes and phenolic products can be obtained from lignin hydrothermal gasification, wet oxidation and hydrothermal liquefaction, respectively. This article discusses and compares the three methods of lignin hydrothermal conversion, including their process parameters, possible conversion routes, catalysts, application of products. Effects of hot-compressed organic solvent–water mixture solution on conversion of lignin and effects of lignin in biomass hydrothermal conversion are commented. Wet oxidation of lignin is an efficient mean of recovering value-added aromatic aldehydes, especially vanillin. Hydrothermal liquefaction of lignin is a promising way of recovering phenolics-rich bio-oils. Both aromatic aldehyde and phenolic compound are important chemical intermediates. There are strict requirements of process conditions and relative high costs to get fuel gas from direct hydrothermal gasification of lignin. However, further studies on improving gasification of lignin seem necessary in order to get fuel gas from hydrothermal gasification of the whole biomass.

A squaraine-based compound (USQ-1) was designed and synthesized as a new colorimetric probe for thiols, with a sensing mechanism based on the nucleophilic attack of a thiol at the electron-deficient central squaraine ring of USQ-1 in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The interaction between surfactants and USQ-1 have been investigated, and the influence of type and amount of surfactants were also examined. Notably, USQ-1 exhibited a rapid response to thiols without the interference from other amino acids and bioanalytes in physiological conditions, and the linear range of the method was 0.15–8.5 μM with a detection limit of 1.0 × 10−8 M for glutathione. The whole recognition process was accompanied by a visual color change from green to yellow which allowed a naked-eye observation. More interestingly, through time controlled experiments, the sensing system may be used to discriminate cysteine from glutathione and homocysteine.

Snail and Twist, transcriptional repressors of E-cadherin as well as inducers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, play pivotal roles in tumor invasion and metastasis. We investigated the expression of Snail, Twist, and E-cadherin by immunohistochemistry in 193 colorectal cancers, including 79 with positive lymph nodes, 36 with tumor deposits, 39 with both, and 39 with no metastases. Snail was expressed to a greater extent in the group with positive lymph nodes (68.4%), whereas Twist was overexpressed in patients with other metastases (75.0%). Ectopic expression of Snail and Twist correlated with reduced membranous expression of E-cadherin. Importantly, Snail overexpression correlated significantly with lymph node metastasis (P < .0001), whereas Twist up-regulation correlated strongly with other metastases (P < .0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that Snail was an independent predictor of lymph node metastasis (odds ratio, 4.445; 95% confidence interval, 2.250-8.781; P < .0001), whereas Twist displayed predictive value for metastasis formation (odds ratio, 5.606; 95% confidence interval, 2.829-11.111; P < .0001), suggesting that lymph node and other metastases may follow different signaling pathways. In conclusion, ectopic expression of Snail and Twist contributed to lymph node and disseminated metastasis, respectively, by reducing E-cadherin expression, providing a novel role for Snail and Twist in the progression of colorectal cancer.

A novel squaraine dye ( SQ-1 ) was developed and its chemosensor behavior toward various metal ions was explored. SQ-1 exhibited selectivity and sensitivity to Hg 2+ and Ag + compared to other metal ions, and it can detect Hg 2+ and Ag + by use of an EDTA reversible experiment. More importantly, the SQ-1 -Hg 2+ complex can also serve as a colorimetric and fluorescent turn-on sensor for thiol-containing biomolecules, and a dynamic measuring range could be obtained by adjusting the concentration of Hg 2+ .

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active substrates of polyvinyl alcohol/gold–silver (PVA/Au–Ag) nanofibers were prepared using a simple approach involving electrospinning. The tunable surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of gold–silver alloy (Au–Ag alloy) nanoparticles (NPs) was achieved by controlling the feed ratio between gold and silver precursors. A higher concentration of Au–Ag alloy NPs could be obtained than the conventional methods, using 1 wt% of PVA as the stabilizer. The Au–Ag alloy structure was demonstrated by HRTEM and STEM-EDX. After the electrospinning, the Au–Ag alloy NPs were successfully embedded in PVA nanofibers, as shown in the SEM and TEM images. Raman spectra displayed an apparent enhancement in the signal of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA), pyridine, and thiophenol molecules pre-absorbed from their ethanol solution onto the PVA/Au–Ag nanofibers. Different SERS effects were achieved by varying the Au content or excitation wavelength.

Selective production of 4-ethylphenolics from lignin via mild hydrogenolysis was reported in this short communication. The hydrogenolysis of lignin was carried out in an autoclave with 65 vol.% ethanol/water as solvent, with 5% Ru/C, Pd/C and Pt/C as catalysts. The influences of catalysts, lignin species, and reaction conditions including reaction temperature, reaction time, and initial H(2) pressure on yield of target compounds were investigated. 3.1% 4-Ethylphenol and 1.3% 4-ethylguaiacol based on lignin could be obtained simultaneously from hydrogenolysis of corn stalk lignin, which is approximate to the yield obtained from petrochemical route. The results of this work showed that this novel method is a quite promising technique for the substitution of petrochemical route.

Iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles with average sizes of 6 and 10 nm were synthesized by a chemical co-precipitation method from mixtures of FeCl2·4H2O and FeCl3·6H2O. They were ultrasonicated with HNO3-oxidized MWCNTs in a solution (water/ethanol=1:1v/v) to carry out the decoration. The structure and properties of as-obtained Fe3O4/MWCNT composites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, X-ray diffraction and thermal gravimetry. Results showed that the Fe3O4 contents in the composites were 26.6 and 29.3% for particle sizes of 6 and 10 nm, and their saturation magnetizations were 16.5 and 7.5 emu·g−1 respectively.

Formaldehyde was used as a polymerization agent to perform hydrothermal carbonization of black liquor for solid fuel production from 220 to 285 °C. Compared to hydrochar prepared without formaldehyde, hydrochar produced in the presence of a 2.8 wt.% formaldehyde solution (hydrochar-F) had 1.27–2.13 times higher yield, 1.02–1.36 times higher heating value (HHV), 1.20–2.31 times higher C recovery efficiency, 1.20–2.44 times higher total energy recovery efficiency, 0.51–0.64 times lower sulfur content, and 0.48–0.89 times lower ash content. The HHV of hydrochar-Fs ranged from 2.2 × 104 to 3.0 × 104 kJ/kg, while the HHV of hydrochar-F produced at 285 °C was 1.90 times greater than that of the raw material (black liquor solid). These considerable improvements indicated that formaldehyde was an effective additive in hydrothermal carbonization of black liquor.

Cornstalk lignin was hydrothermally depolymerized at mild conditions in ethanol–water for producing value-added phenolics. The effects of residence time (from 30 min to 180 min), reaction temperature (from 498 K to 573 K) and concentration of ethanol (from 0% to 95% vol.) on yields of liquid products and phenolic compounds were studied in detail. The optimal conditions of 523 K, 90 min and 65% vol. ethanol–water resulted in the highest yield of liquid products (∼70 wt.%). The liquid products were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to confirm the presence of primarily heterocycle (2,3-dihydrobenzofuran) and phenolics (such as ethylphenol, guaiacol, ethylguaiacol and syringol). Reaction conditions had significant effects on yield and composition of liquid products.

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a member of the Entero-virus genus of the Picornaviridae family and is the major cause of Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in children. Different strains from Gansu were cloned and the P1 protein was sequenced and analysed. Results indicate that there are three kinds of EV71 infections prevalent in Gansu. The VP1 protein from one of these strains, 55F, was expressed. The recombinant protein was expressed with high level and reacted specifically with the EV71 patient antibody, the recombinant protein was also applied to raise antiserum in rabbits and after the fourth injection a high titer of antiserum was detected by ELISA assay. These data are useful for further clarification of prevalent EV71 strains in the north of China at the molecular level and provide a basis for EV71 diagnosis.

A newly carbon-doped Lithium titanate (Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /C) spinel-type composite material was routinely prepared by a simple solid-state reaction method using carbonization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as carbon source in an inert atmosphere. Impedance measurement shows that the resistance of the composite electrode is substantially lower than that of the pure one. Electrochemical performances of the prepared materials were investigated. Results indicate that the composite materials obtained with 10 wt.% PAN shows relatively higher specific capacity, better cycling and higher rate performance. The first discharge specific capacity of 158 mAh g −1 , 138 mAh g −1 , and 121 mAh g −1 were obtained at 0.2 C rate, 1/3 C rate, and 3 C rate at room temperature, respectively. And it was also found that tap density of the Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /C composite reaches 1.51 g cm −3 , which is higher than that of the pure one (1.13 g cm −3 ).

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with a subset of gastric carcinoma which was defined as EBV-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC). The proportion of EBVaGC in gastric remnant carcinoma (GRC) was apparently higher than that in conventional gastric carcinoma (CGC) which occurs in the intact stomach. To clarify the possible mechanisms, 26 GRC cases from Guangzhou were investigated for the presence of EBV, and the EBV genome polymorphisms of EBVaGC in GRC were analyzed. Besides, the clinicopathologic characteristics, EBV latency pattern of EBVaGC in GRC were also investigated. Eight (30.8%) out of 26 cases were identified as EBVaGCs. Type A strain, prototype F, type I, mut-W1/I1, XhoI- and del-LMP1 variants were predominant among EBVaGC patients, accounting for 7 (87.5%), 7 (87.5%), 8 (100%), 6 (75%), 5 (62.5%) and 8 (100%) cases, respectively. All EBVaGC cases were male and with the histology of diffuse-type carcinoma. The tumor cells expressed EBNA1 (87.5%) and LMP2A (62.5%) but not LMP1, EBNA2 and ZEBRA. Thus, the EBV latency pattern was latency I. These were similar to those in CGC, except for the significantly higher proportion of EBVaGC in GRC than in CGC, suggesting that there is no more aggressive EBV variant in EBVaGC in GRC, and the injuries of gastric mucosa and/or changes of the microenvironment within the remnant stomach may be involved in the development of EBVaGC in GRC. This, to our knowledge, is the first study concerning about the EBV genome polymorphisms of EBVaGC in GRC in the world.

Hydroxychalcones ( 1 – 6 ) with different numbers and positions of hydroxyl groups on the two aromatic rings were synthesised, and their antioxidant activities against the stable galvinoxyl (GO ) radical in ethanol and ethyl acetate, and free radical-mediated lipid peroxidation of human red blood cells and DNA strand breakage were systematically examined. Kinetic analysis of the GO -scavenging reaction and the quantum chemical calculations of O–H bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE) demonstrate that the molecular structure and the reaction medium are two important factors affecting the antioxidant mechanism and activity. In ethanol, that supports ionisation, the antioxidant reaction of the compounds ( 1 , 2 and 3 ), bearing o -dihydroxyl groups, occurs primarily by sequential proton loss electron transfer (SPLET mechanism) while, in ethyl acetate, the reaction mechanism is predominantly direct hydrogen atom transfer (HAT mechanism). For the other compounds ( 4 , 5 and 6 ), in both ethyl acetate and ethanol, the reaction mechanism is only HAT.