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This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of type I interferon (IFN) in aggravating sepsis in bacterial infection, focusing on the roles of Caspase-11 (Casp11) and Gasdermin D (Gsdmd) in this process. Type I interferons, including IFNα and IFNβ, were used to treat peritoneal macrophage harvested from wild-type or IFNα/βR1 knockout (KO) mice, of which the levels of Casp11 and Gsdmd were monitored using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot, the exposure to phosphatidylserine was monitored by flow cytometry, and tissue factor (TF) activation was assessed by RT-PCR and TF chromogenic assay. Endotoxemia in wild-type mice led to upregulation of Casp11 and Gsdmd in myeloid cells, which in contrast was attenuated in IFNα/βR1 KO mice. IFNα or IFNβ treatment led to dose-dependent upregulation of Casp11 and Gsdmd in peritoneal macrophages harvested from wild-type mice, but induced negligible changes in IFNα/βR1 KO mice. Type I IFN promoted phosphatidylserine exposure in peritoneal macrophage from wild-type mice but not IFNα/βR1 KO mice. Type I IFN induced insignificant changes of TF expression levels in both wild-type mice and IFNα/βR1 KO mice, but the TF activity was markedly increased in wild-type mice after type I IFN treatment. Our data suggested that the upregulation of Casp11 and Gsdmd in myeloid cells and macrophages induced by endotoxemia was reliant on the expression of IFNα/βR1. IFNα or IFNβ treatment efficiently upregulated Casp11 and Gsdmd, phosphatidylserine exposure, and TF activity of macrophages. Therefore, type I IFN could aggravate sepsis through upregulating Casp11 and Gsdmd.

In the past decade, natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) as green and sustainable extraction solvents with great potential for the efficient extraction of bioactive compounds from the plants are emerging. In this study, a microwave-assisted technology is used to prepare natural deep eutectic solvents. And natural deep eutectic solvents as pretreatment solvents coupled with microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) for isolating essential oil (EO) derived from turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is investigated. To improve the essential oil yield of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) as a target, various factors affecting extraction efficiency including the type and amount of natural deep eutectic solvents, pretreatment time, pretreatment temperature and hydrodistillation (HD) time are discussed and optimized through central composite design (CCD) of the response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal conditions are as follows: natural deep eutectic solvent composed of choline chloride and oxalic acid (molar ratio with 1:1) as a pretreatment solvent, an amount of 60 g, a pretreatment time of 5 min, a pretreatment temperature of 84 oC, a hydrodistillation time of 76 min. Under the optimum conditions, the highest essential oil yield of 0.85% is achieved. Additionally, the essential oil is analyzed by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), with a total of 49 compounds being identified. Through combining natural deep eutectic solvents with a microwave-assisted hydrodistillation technique, this work provides an eco-friendly extraction way of isolating essential oil, which boosts development in the monitoring other spice quality field.

The insect chitinase OfChtI from the agricultural pest Ostrinia furnacalis (Asian corn borer) is a promising target for green insecticide design. OfChtI is a critical chitinolytic enzyme for the cuticular chitin degradation at the stage of molting. In this study, piperine, a natural amide compound isolated from black pepper, Piper nigrum L., was discovered for the first time to have inhibitory activity toward OfChtI. The compound-enzyme interaction was presumed to take place between the piperine benzo[d][1,3] dioxole skeleton and subsite -1 of the substrate-binding pocket of OfChtI. Hence, on the basis of the deduced inhibitory mechanism and crystal structure of the substrate-binding cavity of OfChtI, compounds 5a-f were designed and synthesized by introducing a butenolide scaffold into the lead compound piperine. The enzymatic activity assay indicated that compounds 5a-f (Ki = 1.03-2.04 μM) exhibited approximately 40-80-fold higher inhibitory activity than the lead compound piperine (I) (Ki = 81.45 μM) toward OfChtI. The inhibitory mechanism of the piperonyl butenolide compounds was elucidated by molecular dynamics, which demonstrated that the introduced butenolide skeleton improved the binding affinity to OfChtI. Moreover, the in vivo activity assay indicated that these compounds also displayed moderate insecticidal activity toward O. furnacalis. This work introduces the natural product piperine as a starting point for the development of novel insecticides targeting OfChtI.

IntroductionAs a neuroprotective medication, butylphthalide (NBP) may help protect against cerebral ischaemic injury. However, evidence on whether NBP influences the outcomes of patients who had acute ischaemic stroke who are receiving revascularisation treatment is limited. This study aims to evaluate whether additional NBP therapy can improve the functional outcome of patients who receive intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator and/or endovascular treatment (EVT).Methods and analysisThe study will be a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-centre, parallel group trial. The sample size is estimated at 1200 patients. Eligible patients will be randomised at a 1:1 ratio to receive either NBP or placebo daily for 90 days, which will include 14 days of injections and 76 days of capsules. The first use of NBP/placebo will be started within 6 hours of onset of ischaemic stroke. The primary outcome is the functional outcome as assessed by the 90-day modified Rankin Scale, adjusted for baseline scores on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. The primary safety outcome is the percentage of serious adverse events during the 90 days of treatment. This trial will determine whether NBP medication benefits patients who had acute ischaemic stroke who receive intravenous thrombolysis or EVT.Ethics and disseminationThe protocol was written according to the general ethical guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board/Ethics Committee of Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University with approval number KY 2018-003-02. Ethics committees of all participating sites have approved the study . Results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and shared in scientific presentations.Trial registration numberNCT03539445.

OBJECTIVE To clarify the morphological, biochemical, and biomechanical effects of peracetic acid-ethanol sterilization processing to human hamstring tendon allografts for different time periods. METHODS Thirty-two fresh-frozen human hamstring tendon allografts obtained from an allograft supplier were prepared and incubated in peracetic acid-ethanol solution (PES) containing 1% v/v peracetic acid and 24% v/v ethanol. Specimens were randomly classified into four groups according to the PES processing time (untreated as the control group, 30 min as the PES30 group, 120 min as the PES120 group, and 240 min as the PES240group). Light microscopy with hematoxylin-eosin and toluidine blue were performed, along with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to measure the collagen fibril diameters and their distributions, from which the collagen fibril index (CFI) and mass average diameter (MAD) were calculated. The thermal stability and collagen denaturation were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and collagen denaturation test by α-chymotrypsin. Cyclic loading and failure testing were applied on five tendons from each group, from which the cyclic creep strain, elastic modulus, maximum stress, maximum strain, and strain energy density were calculated. RESULTS Tendons in the control, PES30, PES120 groups showed similar regularly aligned collagen fibers in light microscopy images, while the images from the PES240 group revealed relatively disordered and heterogeneous collagen bundles with larger interfiber spaces. TEM analysis showed that the mean diameter (F = 3.09, P = 0.04) was lower in the PES120 group (87.15 ± 4.76 nm) than it was in the control group (99.39 ± 9.19 nm) but not statistically (P = 0.05). Moreover, the CFI value in the PES30 group (65.37 ± 4.14%) was the lowest among groups (all P ≤ 0.01), while no variance existed in density and MAD among groups (F = 2.09, P = 0.13, and F = 0.27, P = 0.85, respectively). The onset temperature (H = 8.74, P = 0.03) and peak temperature (H = 9.97, P = 0.02) were decreased in the PES30 group compared to the control group (P = 0.02 and P = 0.01, respectively), but there were no differences in enthalpy of denaturation among groups (F = 2.20, P = 0.17). The collagen denaturation test revealed lower hydroxyproline concentrations in PES-treated specimens with no statistical differences among groups (H = 8.86, P = 0.07). The maximum stress showed variance (F = 10.52, P

Herein, a C atom-doped ZnO solid solution (C-ZnO SS) nanocatalyst with excellent photocatalytic activity was successfully synthesized by a one-step combustion method. The deposition of C dots on the surface and the doping of C atom into the ZnO crystal were realized simultaneously. The sucker effect between C dots and C-ZnO SS in the nanocatalyst was found. A large surface area, increased crystal defect, and enhanced separation of photo-generated carriers brought about a high degradation rate for naphthalene and anthracene. The complete degradation time of unmanageable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was only several hours when C-ZnO SS was used as a nanocatalyst. In addition, a positively correlated conclusion about the degradation rate and the electron density of benzene rings was proposed. This research provides a new nanocatalyst for the degradation of unmanageable pollutants in the environment.

In this work, we reported a stable isotope labelling-flow injection analysis-mass spectrometry (SIL-FIA-MS) method for high throughput analysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content in drinks. 3-Nitrophenylhydrazine (3-NPH) and 13C6-3-Nitrophenylhydrazine hydrochloride (13C6-3-NPH) were used as pared labelling reagents to selectively label HMF. With a simple centrifugal operation, a certain volume of sample was directly mixed with 3-NPH solution. After adding a small amount of 13C6-3-NPH labelled HMF as internal standard, the sample can be directly transferred for the subsequent MS analysis owing to the contamination-free feature of excess 3-NPH. By using a multi-well thermostatic oscillator to carry out bath derivatization, the average time cost for each sample pretreatment was less than 1 min. Coupled with a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer, FIA-MS with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) was used for the rapid and high throughput detection of the labelled HMF in negative ion mode. The time cost for MS detection including injection process for each sample was about 1.5 min. Namely, the whole procedure including sample pretreatment and MS detection can be completed within 3 min per sample, which was very suitable for routine analysis for its high throughput and simplification. By labelling HMF with 3-NPH, the characteristic fragment ion after labelling and detection in interference-lesser negative ion mode enabled high detection specificity even without chromatographic separation. By using 13C6-3-NPH labelled HMF as internal standard to counteract the matrix effect during MS analysis, the detection accuracy and precision were guaranteed. In order to achieve the best conditions for the derivatization of HMF, several derivatization conditions including the acid concentration, the proportion of acetonitrile (ACN), the derivatization reagent concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time were investigated in detail. Under the optimized derivatization, quantitative analysis method was validated in ranges of 0.050–5.0 μg/mL. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of inter-day and intra-day precision were less than 5.42% and 4.89%, respectively, showing satisfied reproducibility. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of HMF in sugar-sweetened drinks for feasibility verification in real samples.

Effects of different process steps on volatiles and aroma compounds of “Jiaozi” steamed breads (JSBs) fermented by Jiaozi starter were investigated for finding the key process steps related to aroma formation. Thirty aroma-active compounds were identified using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and GC-olfactometry, which provided green, fatty, mushroom, mossy, fruity, sweaty, floral odors to JSBs. GC-MS analysis showed that the concentration of volatiles in JSB dough increased gradually during first-mixing and primary fermentation; decreased after second-mixing, kneading, molding and secondary fermentation; and increased greatly after steaming. Cluster analysis indicated that the aroma profile of fresh cooked JSBs was different from that of JSB dough. Fermentation is an important stage of aroma formation of JSBs. Furthermore, steaming is also a key process step in the formation of JSBs aroma, which endows JSBs unique aroma characteristic that is different from those produced by fermentation.

Nonmetal (C, N, P) doped zinc oxide solid solutions (ZnO SSs) prepared through one-step calcination method exhibited novel anticorrosion capability. The anticorrosion property was identified by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization curve technique. The maximal impedance belonged to C-ZnO SS, which was 12 times higher than pure ZnO materials. Then, a synergistic anticorrosion mechanism was proposed: the photoelectron flow suppression effect and the self-cohering process formed by doping. The tiny particle size as well as the minor zeta-potential of X-ZnO SSs eminently promoted the intermolecular cohesion and the formation of the compact surface automatically. Moreover, the photocatalytic experiments successfully verified the product and the corrosion inhibition effectiveness of the photoelectrons. Additionally, a positive correlation conclusion between the anticorrosion performance and the photocatalytic performance of the X-ZnO SSs was obtained. Consequently, developing the self-cohering anticorrosion materials is of crucial industrial application prospect and value.

The allergenicity of large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) proteins has been widely reported to cause many serious food safety problems. In this study, the protein sample extracted from Larimichthys crocea was digested and analyzed by reversed phase liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (RPLC-MS/MS) for globally proteomic analysis, and the Larimichthys crocea proteins were digested with simulated gastric fluid (SGF) at different time intervals and separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The digestion-resistant proteins were further done with in-gel digestion and analyzed by RPLC-MS/MS. Then, sequence homology analysis between identified proteins and known allergens was performed. Results showed that 33 kinds of distinct proteins were feasibly identified from Larimichthys crocea by RPLC-MS/MS and the protein band (approximately 44.0 kDa) presented in SDS-PAGE was considered as protein-resistant to SGF digestion. Two potential allergens, β-enolase and tropomyosin α−1 chain, were found from proteins resistant to SGF digestion by sequence homology analysis. It was observed that most of these SGF digestion-resistant proteins were potential allergens with high sequences similarity to the known protein allergens from other species. Therefore, this strategy provides an efficient alternative for potential allergens screening with high-throughput, which exhibits great potential application in fish protein allergens related food safety control.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to further clarify the role and underlying mechanism of miR-324-5p in gastric cancer. Methods The expressions of miR-324-5p and TSPAN8 as determined by qRT-PCR or Western blot were compared between the gastric cancer tissues and normal tissues. Human gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901 was cultured and transfected with miR-324-5p mimic/inhibitor or pcDNA-TSPAN8. The cell survival was assessed by the cell viability and apoptosis. Luciferase reporter gene assays were performed to explore the interaction between miR-324-5p and TSPAN8 in SGC-7901 cells. Key findings MiR-324-5p was decreased in human gastric carcinoma tissues (n = 33), but TSPAN8 protein expression was increased in the gastric carcinoma tissues (n = 33). Moreover, miR-324-5p inhibited the viability and induced the apoptosis of gastric cancer cells in vitro. TSPAN8 is a functional target of miR-324-5p in gastric cancer. MiR-324-5p was further confirmed to reduce gastric cancer cell viability and induce apoptosis via downregulating TSPAN8 in SGC-7901 cells in vitro. Additionally, miR-324-5p overexpression markedly inhibited the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer cells in vivo, as shown by the smaller tumour volume compared with the control. Conclusions This study suggested a novel, probable mechanism of miR-324-5p in gastric cancer context and revealed that miR-324-5p inhibited gastric cancer cell survival by targeting TSPAN8.

Based on the safety and durability in the complex environment, the experiments on unconfined compression strength about the cemented soil after eroding in sodium sulfate solution have been carried out and the influential laws of different concentration of sodium sulfate solution and eroding time on the cemented soil unconfined compression strength have been obtained. The test results show that the different concentration of sodium sulfate solution and eroding time may have influences on erosion effect of unconfined compression strength of cemented soil at different levels. If the ionic concentration of sodium sulfate solution is small, the solution has little erosion effect on the unconfined compression strength of cemented soil. But the unconfined compression strength will decrease with the increase of eroding time, and the erosion effect of unconfined compression strength will increase with the increase of eroding time. The study result is significant and valuable to the safety and the durability of cemented soil engineering.

AIM To compare the capacity of newly developed epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted immune magnetic liposomes (EILs) vs epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) immunomagnetic beads to capture colorectal circulating tumor cells (CTCs). METHODS EILs were prepared using a two-step method, and the magnetic and surface characteristics were confirmed. The efficiency of capturing colorectal CTCs as well as the specificity were compared between EILs and EpCAM magnetic beads. RESULTS The obtained EILs had a lipid nanoparticle structure similar to cell membrane. Improved binding with cancer cells was seen in EILs compared with the method of coupling nano/microspheres with antibody. The binding increased as the contact time extended. Compared with EpCAM immunomagnetic beads, EILs captured more CTCs in peripheral blood from colorectal cancer patients. The captured cells showed consistency with clinical diagnosis and pathology. Mutation analysis showed same results between captured CTCs and cancer tissues. CONCLUSION EGFR antibody-coated magnetic liposomes show high efficiency and specificity in capturing colorectal CTCs.

Four novel terminal modified antisense oligonucleotides (ODNs) were designed, synthesized and tested for their anti-influenza virus activity. Initial biological studies indicated that lipophilic and rimantadin emodificated Flutide exhibited more potent anti-H1N1 activity than Flutide. Among them, lipophilic modificated ODN (Flutide- I ) showed the most antiviral activity. The EC 50 value of Flutide- I for inhibiting H1N1 induced cytopathic effect (CPE) and H1N1 RNA were respectively (0.26 ± 0.16) μM and (0.11 ± 0.03) μM. The cytotoxicity of these compounds has also been assessed. No significant cytotoxicities were found for any of these compounds with the concentrations up to 20 μM.

Objective To assess the effects of Helicobacter pylori treatment, vitamin supplementation, and garlic supplementation in the prevention of gastric cancer. Design Blinded randomized placebo controlled trial. Setting Linqu County, Shandong province, China. Participants 3365 residents of a high risk region for gastric cancer. 2258 participants seropositive for antibodies to H pylori were randomly assigned to H pylori treatment, vitamin supplementation, garlic supplementation, or their placebos in a 2×2×2 factorial design, and 1107 H pylori seronegative participants were randomly assigned to vitamin supplementation, garlic supplementation, or their placebos in a 2×2 factorial design. Interventions H pylori treatment with amoxicillin and omeprazole for two weeks; vitamin (C, E, and selenium) and garlic (extract and oil) supplementation for 7.3 years (1995-2003). Main outcome measures Primary outcomes were cumulative incidence of gastric cancer identified through scheduled gastroscopies and active clinical follow-up through 2017, and deaths due to gastric cancer ascertained from death certificates and hospital records. Secondary outcomes were associations with other cause specific deaths, including cancers or cardiovascular disease. Results 151 incident cases of gastric cancer and 94 deaths from gastric cancer were identified during 1995-2017. A protective effect of H pylori treatment on gastric cancer incidence persisted 22 years post-intervention (odds ratio 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.32 to 0.71). Incidence decreased significantly with vitamin supplementation but not with garlic supplementation (0.64, 0.46 to 0.91 and 0.81, 0.57 to 1.13, respectively). All three interventions showed significant reductions in gastric cancer mortality: fully adjusted hazard ratio for H pylori treatment was 0.62 (95% confidence interval 0.39 to 0.99), for vitamin supplementation was 0.48 (0.31 to 0.75), and for garlic supplementation was 0.66 (0.43 to 1.00). Effects of H pylori treatment on both gastric cancer incidence and mortality and of vitamin supplementation on gastric cancer mortality appeared early, but the effects of vitamin supplementation on gastric cancer incidence and of garlic supplementation only appeared later. No statistically significant associations were found between interventions and other cancers or cardiovascular disease. Conclusions H pylori treatment for two weeks and vitamin or garlic supplementation for seven years were associated with a statistically significant reduced risk of death due to gastric cancer for more than 22 years. H pylori treatment and vitamin supplementation were also associated with a statistically significantly reduced incidence of gastric cancer. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00339768 .

Atherosclerotic cerebral infarction (ACI) is characterized by extremely high fatality and disability rate. Recent studies indicate that co-stimulatory signal of tumor necrosis factor superfamily OX40/OX40L contributes to the atherosclerosis effect in ACI patients. However, it remains unclear the mechanism underlying the anti-atherosclerosis process. So this study aims to investigate the effects of rosuvastatin on the expression of OX40L, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors gamma (PPAR-γ) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), and human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Different concentration of rosuvastatin and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OX-LDL) co-intervene HUVEC to observe the expression of OX40L and PPAR-γ using real-time quantitative RT-PCR (Q-RTPCR) and Western-blot. Furthermore, we examined the level changes of plasmic sOX40L and hs-CRP in acute atherosclerotic cerebral infarction patients. The results demonstrated that concentration-dependent and time-dependent OX-LDL remarkably stimulate the expression of OX40L and inhibit the expression of PPAR-γ in vitro. But concentration-dependent rosuvastatin can reverse the impact of OX-LDL, suggesting that rosuvastatin can prevent the expression of OX40L, and the process may be associated with mevalonate pathway. In vivo, acute atherosclerotic cerebral infarction patients taking 20 mg rosuvastatin exhibited significantly reduced expression of OX40L in peripheral blood lymphocyte, sOX40L in blood plasma, and hs-CRP compared with before treatment. Our studies identified rosuvastatin as an effective medicine in controlling atherosclerosis process in ACI by inhibiting OX40L and stimulating PPAR-γ expression.

A novel synthesis of Mg–Al–CO 3 layered double hydroxide (LDH) through chemical precipitation and hydrothermal methods has been investigated in this paper. The advantages of this method are using magnesite as magnesium source and no CO 2 released in the process of preparation. Mg–Al–CO 3 LDH (ZY) prepared under the optimized condition (the molar ratio of magnesite and Al(NO 3 ) 3 ·9H 2 O was 2.5:1; the aging time and temperature were 16 h and 100 °C, respectively) was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermo-gravimetric and differential thermal analyser (TG–DTA) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The crystal morphology of the prepared LDH displays platelet-like structure with a hexagonal shape, which is agreed with the LDH produced by industrial chemicals. Through elemental analysis and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), the chemical formula of ZY is determined as Mg 0.70 Al 0.30 (OH) 2 (CO 3 ) 0.15 ·0.6H 2 O.

CS-ACAP drug-loading microsperes are prepared with using CS and ACAP as the main raw materials by emulsification-crosslinking method. Orthogonal experiment was designed to optimize the preparation process of the CS-ACAP drug-loading microspheres. FT-IR and SEM were applied to characterize the structure and morphology of microspheres. The sustained release effect of CS-ACAP microsphere was measured by sustained release measurement. The results showed that the CS-ACAP drug-loading micropheres were successfully prepared by emulsification-crosslinking method. Obtained microspheres as a perforated sphere, the average particle size of the microspheres was 30μm and the microspheres had a uniformly particle size distribution; the drug-loaded microspheres had good sustained release effect.

Combination of vinyl carbazole and thiophene groups’ excellent thermal properties and optical properties, a novel polymer named poly(2,7-bi-2-thienyl-9-vinyl-9-H-carbazole) was synthesized via radical polymerization and Suzuki reaction. The polymer was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectrometer(FT-IR), gel permeation chromatography(GPC), differential scanning calorimetry(DSC), and X-Ray fluorescence spectrometer(XRF). It was found that this π-conjugated polymer containing vinyl carbazole and thiophene groups gave a high glass transition temperature (Tg=251°C). This feature made poly(2,7-bi-2-thienyl-9-vinyl-9-H-carbazole) possessing an excellent thermal performance.

Two kinds of triazine herbicides (cyanazine and atrazine) in cucumber were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography method coupled with pseudo imprinted solid-phase extraction (PISPE) as the clean-up arrays. The sorbent of PMISPE was synthesized by bulk polymerization using cyromazine as pseudo template and it could selectivly recognized cyanazine and atrazine from cucumber matrix. The mobile phase for separation and quantity analysis of cyanazine and atrazine was methanol-(0.8% acetic acid-water) (55:45, v/v) with a UV detector being set at 224 nm. The result showed that good linearity of the two trazine herbicides was obtained in a range of 0.004 µg/g ~ 0.400 µg/g with r2≥0.9996 and the recoveries at three spiked levels were ranged from 93.8% to 108.5% with RSD less than 3.4% (n=3).

Coral-like α-Fe2O3nanostructures modified by surfactant CTAB have been successfully obtained via a solvothermal process by using FeCl36H2O and oxalic acid as the starting materials. The coral-like α-Fe2O3nanostructures with good-crystalline consist of well-aligned α-Fe2O3nanoflakes with an average thickness of about 40 nm growing radially from the center of the nanostructures. The obtained products are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer (SQUID). Magnetic hysteresis measurements indicate that coral-like α-Fe2O3superstructures show a normal ferromagnetic behavior with the remanence and coercivity of 0.2346emu/g and 1862Oe at room temperature. CTAB, the reaction temperature and solvent played an important role in controlling the final morphology of the products.

A novel thiolane polymer, poly[1,2,4,5-tetrakis(propylthio)benzene] (PTPB), was synthesized by facile oxidative-coupling polymerization, characterized by FT-IR, XPS, XRD, TGA and EA, and tested as cathode active material in rechargeable lithium batteries. The FT-IR, XPS and elemental analysis confirm the occurrence of polymerization and show the existence of C–S–C bonds. The results show that the thiolane polymer has electrochemical activity as cathode material in lithium batteries and thioether bonds may be the centers of the electrode reaction. A maximum specific capacity of 200 mAh g−1 was obtained and this agrees roughly with the theoretical prediction. In addition, high voltage efficiency was obtained first time from sulfide polymer.

An efficient non-enzymatic kinetic resolution strategy capable of accessing optically active β-adrenergic antagonists intermediates is reported. The C-12 higher carbon sugar derived from naturally occurring sucrose was employed to probe the kinetic resolution. Excellent enantiomeric excesses (ee >99%) and high yields were obtained under very mild conditions. The chiral auxiliary could be recovered in a high reclaimed ratio (>95%) and reusable form without any decrease of the resolving ability.

Two novel sulfide polymers, poly(2-phenyl-1,3-dithiolane) and poly[1,4-di(1,3-dithiolan-2-yl)benzene], were prepared via facile oxidative-coupling polymerization under ambient conditions, characterized by FT-IR, XRD, TGA and elemental analysis, and were tested as cathode materials in rechargeable lithium battery. The charge–discharge tests showed that the specific capacity of poly[1,4-di(1,3-dithiolan-2-yl)benzene)] was 378 mAh g−1 at the third cycle, and retained at 300 mAh g−1 after 20 cycles. The specific capacity of poly(2-phenyl-1,3-dithiolane) was 117 mAh g−1 at the second cycle, and retained at 100 mAh g−1 after 20 cycles. The results indicated that thiolane group could be used as cathode active function group for lithium secondary batteries and the novel electrode reaction is proposed tentatively.

A novel C-12 higher carbon sugar, (1 R )-(1,4:3,6-dianhydro- d -mannitol-2-yl)-1,4:3,6-dianhydro- d -fructose, was firstly synthesized via a convenient aldol reaction of 1,4:3,6-dianhydro- d -fructose without any protection and activation of functional groups. The reactivity of the novel higher sugar with nucleophiles was also studied, through which a series of oxazolidines and other derivatives of the higher sugar were available. The study showed that the higher sugar possesses a highly reactive carbonyl group and a good stereo controlling ability in the reaction.

A novel indolomonoterpenic alkaloid, 4-hydroxy-19-methyl-16,19-seco-12,24-seco-strychnidine-10,16-dione (1), together with three known compounds 2–4 (vomicine, strychnine, and brucine), have been isolated from processed Strychnos nux-vomica. Its structure was determined by detailed spectral analysis (1H NMR,13C NMR, 1H–1H COSY, HMBC, and HR-ESI-MS).

A novel diarylheptanoid bearing flavonol moiety, named officinin A ( 1 ), along with two known compounds galangin and kaempferide were isolated from the rhizomes of Alpina officinarum Hance. The structure elucidation was accomplished by HR-ESI–MS, 1D and 2D NMR methods.

Optically pure (S)-betaxolol and (S)-metoprolol were prepared with an extremely facile and practical method using kinetic resolution of β-amino alcohols employing HCS as chiral auxiliary. High enantiomeric purity (ee > 99%) was achieved and the synthetic strategy is amenable to industrial scale-up. Chirality, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

2-C-Nitroalkyl-1,4:3,6-dianhydromannitols were synthesized via a Henry reaction of nitroalkyls with 1,4:3,6-dianhydrofructose. Catalytic hydrogenation then afforded the corresponding vicinal amino alcohols. Oximation of 1,4:3,6-dianhydrofructose with hydroxylamine, followed by hydrogenation, gave 2-amino-1,4:3,6-dianhydro-2-deoxymannitol. All compounds were elucidated by their HRMS, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and IR spectra. The absolute configurations of the amino sugar derivatives were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis or NOESY spectral studies. The possible mechanism for hydrogenation of the nitro 2-C-nitroalkyl sugar is proposed. The conformations of the fused furan rings of nitro and amino sugar derivatives are presented.

Treatment of 3β-hydroxyl-5-Δ steroids with anhydrous FeCl 3 in CH 2 Cl 2 afforded reasonable yields of the corresponding alkyl chlorides with a retention of configurations. The structures of the chlorine-exchanging products were determined by NMR and HRMS spectra. The absolute configurations were confirmed by X-ray crystal analysis of 3β-chloro-androst-5-en-17-one. The generality and scope of the reaction were also investigated.

Alkylated chitosans (ACSs) were prepared by modifying chitosan (CS) with alkyl bromide. The self-aggregation of ACSs in acetic acid solution was characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering method. The results indicate that introducing alkyl side chains leads to the self-aggregation of ACSs, and CS with a 99% deacetylation degree shows no aggregation due to the electrostatic repulsion. The electrophoresis experiment demonstrates that the complex between CS and DNA was formed at a charge ratio (+/-) of 1/1; ACS/DNA complexes were formed at a lower charge ratio (+/-) of 1/4. A small amount of alkylated chitosans play the same shielding role as chitosan in protecting DNA from DNase hydrolysis. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were employed separately to investigate the thermodynamic behavior of dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC)/CS and DPPC/ACS mixtures and the variation in topological structure of DPPC membrane induced by CS and ACS. It is shown that CS and ACS can cause the fusion of DPPC multilamellar vesicles as well as membrane destabilization. In contrast, the perturbation effect induced by ACS is more evident due to the hydrophobic interaction. CS and ACS were used to transfer plasmid-encoding CAT into C(2)C(12) cell lines. Upon elongating the alkyl side chain, the transfection efficiency is increased and levels off after the number of carbons in the side chain exceeds 8. It is proposed that the higher transfection efficiency of ACS is attributed to the increasing entry into cells facilitated by hydrophobic interactions and easier unpacking of DNA from ACS carriers due to the weakening of electrostatic attractions between DNA and ACS.

Spatial profile of the charge storage in the pentacene-based field-effect transistor nonvolatile memories using poly(2-vinyl naphthalene) electret is probed. The electron trapping into the electret after programming can be space dependent with more electron storage in the region closer to the contacts, and reducing the channel length is an effective approach to improve the memory performance. The deficient electron supply in pentacene is proposed to be responsible for the inhomogeneous electron storage in the electret. The hole trapping into the electret after erasing is spatially homogeneous, arising from the sufficient hole accumulation in the pentacene channel.

Bilayer polymer dielectrics consisting of hydrophobic thin layers on high-k polyvinylalcohol (PVA) are utilized to realize p-type and n-type low-voltage organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), which show superior mobility and operational stability compared with the devices with PVA single-layer dielectric. The OFETs with top layers containing discrete π-groups, such as polystyrene (PS) and poly(2-vinyl naphthalene) (PVN), show stronger bias stress instability than those with π-group free polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and it is ascribed to slow charge trapping into the π-groups under bias stress. By integrating p-type and n-type low-voltage OFETs based on PMMA/PVA bilayer dielectric, a low-power high-stability complementary inverter is achieved.

Pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor nonvolatile memories employing nano-floating-gate show high performance in vacuum, typically with field-effect mobility of 0.6 cm2/Vs, memory window of 45 V, reading ON/OFF ratio over 106, and excellent retention ability and programming/erasing endurance. The memory performance is unstable in air, which is demonstrated to result mainly from the device operation instability in O2. The O2-induced acceptor-like trap states reduce the electron supply in pentacene during programming, limiting the electron trapping into the nano-floating-gate and thus suppressing the positive threshold voltage shift. The corresponding hole trapping during erasing is not effectively influenced by the ambient gas effects.

Abstract 1108 Introduction: Von Willebrand Factor (VWF) is one kind of vital proteins involved in thrombosis, which exists in the form of multimeric glycoprotein in plasma of human. The size of VWF multimer is down regulated by metalloproteinase ADAMTS13. This physiological process is modulated by multiple factors. It was reported that the binding of platelets or GPIbα recombinant fragment to VWF domain A1 may increase the cleavage by ADAMTS13 to recombinant A1A2A3 segment in the condition of static state. Due to the mutations, VWF synthesized by patients of von Willebrand disease (VWD) type 2B and type 2M may enhance and decrease the binding of platelet membrane glycoprotein Ib (GPIb), respectively. This study aims to observe the influence of 2B/2M VWD mutations and recombinant GPIbα active fragment on the susceptibility of VWF to ADAMTS13, in the condition of high shear stress. Materials and Methods: We constructed and expressed different forms of recombinant full-length human VWF (rhVWF) including three type 2B mutations (P1337L, H1268D, R1308C), three type 2M mutations (M740I, R1205H, D1302G) and wide-type (WT) in Hela cells. Recombinant human ADAMTS13 (rhADAMTS13) and GPIbα (H1-V289) were both from our own lab. The different types of rhVWF were characterized by multimeric analysis and ristocetin-induced platelet aggregation (RIPA). We use rhADAMTS13 to digest seven full-length rhVWF in the reaction Buffer (20 mM Tris-HCl, 150mM NaCl, pH7.4, 1% bovine serum albumin) in the absence and presence of GPIbα (H1-V289). To develop a more physiological assay under fluid shear stress, we assessed the proteolytic cleavage of rhVWF by rhADAMTS13 under constant vortexing (2,500 rpm) in a PCR tube mini-mixer that mimics arterial fluid shear stress (30 dynes/cm2). The 176kDa fragment resulting from the cleavage of rhVWF at the Y1605-M1606 bond by rhADAMTS13 was visualized by 5% SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions and Western blot analysis. Results: SDS-agarose gel electrophoresis showed that all rhVWF mutants were in the similar multimeric distribution to the rhVWF-WT. In the RIPA assay, type 2B rhVWF exhibited clearly enhanced RIPA responsiveness with ristocetin at 0.5 mg/ml (R1308C > P1337L > H1268D > WT), while type2M rhVWF showed decreased RIPA responsiveness with ristocetin at 1.0 mg/ml (WT > M740I > R1205H > D1302G). At physiological salt concentration (150nM NaCl), type 2B mutants exhibited more susceptibility to rhADAMTS13 than WT and type 2M mutants in the absence of GPIbα (H1-V289). In the presence of GPIbα (H1-V289), the higher susceptibility of mutants to rhADAMTS13 was detected, which decreased in the following order: type 2B > WT > type 2M, whereas no obvious enhancement happened to the two type 2M mutants (R1205H and D1302G). Conclusions: Our study further confirmed that platelet GPIbα binding to VWF A1 domain could increase the susceptibility to ADAMTS13 at physiological conditions under high stress. The three type 2B mutations are all localized in the A1 domain and these mutations alone may also increase the susceptibility to ADAMTS13. While type 2M mutations M740I, R1205H and D1302G are localized in the D2, D3 and A1 domain, respectively. It is concluded that type 2M mutations localized close to or in the A1 domain may exhibit significantly lower susceptibility to ADAMTS13 in the presence of GPIbα (H1-V289). It may partially give the explanation that some VWD type 2M may display larger than normal VWF multimers in plasma. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

The title compound, C(7)H(13)NO(5), was prepared by the condensation of O-(carb-oxy-meth-yl)hydroxyl-amine and (Boc)(2)O (Boc = but-oxy-carbon-yl).In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by weak inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

In the title compound, C24H34O3S, the dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 84.62 (8)°. In the crystal, intermolecular C—H...O hydrogen bonds link molecules into zigzag chains running parallel to the c axis. The C atoms of two isopropyl groups are disordered over two sets of sites with occupancy ratios of 0.858 (9):0.142 (9) and 0.61 (5):0.39 (5).

The molecule of the title compound, C8H13NO6, a sucrose derivative, consists of two fused tetrahydrofuran rings having the cis arrangement at the ring junctions, giving a V-shaped molecule. An intramolecular O—H...O interaction occurs. Intermolecular O—H...O hydrogen bonds help to stabilize the crystal structure.

The title compound, C14H21Cl3O9·2H2O, is a disaccharide constructed from a galactose and a fructose. In the molecular structure, the tetrahydrofuran five-membered ring and tetrahydropyran six-membered ring assume envelope and chair conformations, respectively. An extensive O—H...O hydrogen-bonding network occurs in the crystal structure.