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Abstract Nickel-containing wastewater is a serious hazard to water environment, so that it is a burning issue to find an efficient and environment-friendly adsorbent. The conventional biochar could not effectively adsorb nickel (Ni(II)), so our study focuses on exploring the adsorption of chemically modified biochar to Ni(II). In this study, the biochar derived from waste peanut shell was modified by KMnO 4 and KOH (MBC). And a series of experiment were carried out to evaluate the sorption ability and explore adsorption mechanism of modified biochar to Ni(II). The results showed the adsorption ability of MBC to Ni(II) reached 87.15 mg g−1. And the reaction process was spontaneous and endothermic chemisorption. Meanwhile, the analysis of FTIR and XPS visually revealed that the amine groups in the modified biochar could form NH 2 Ni with Ni(II) by complexation, while the hydroxyl could form nickel hydroxide and complexed nickel oxide by co-precipitation and complexation. This research showed this novel MBC is a promising adsorbent and has a fantastic prospect in the application of nickel-containing wastewater. Highlights • Strong adsorption of KMnO 4 and KOH-modified biochar to Ni(II). • The pore structure of modified biochar offered more adsorption sites of Ni(II). • Amine groups and removed Ni(II) by the formation of NH 2 Ni. • Hydroxyl removed Ni(II) by the formation of Ni(OH) 2 and nickel complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the wave energy conversion efficiency of backward bent duct buoy (BBDB), a pentagonal BBDB model was designed and fabricated for experiments in a wave flume (2D) as well as in a wave basin (3D). Incident wave height, wave period, water elevation in the air chamber and pressure difference between indoor and outdoor of the air chamber were measured. The test results show that the maximum value of capture width ratio (CWR) of the model in the wave flume is about 119.1%, which is much better than the highest value 79.1% obtained under the same experimental conditions in historical documents. Under regular wave, the maximum value of CWR tested in the wave basin is about 146.8%, which is equivalent to the highest value in historical documents and has relatively wide bandwidth. Under irregular waves, the maximum average value of CWR tested in the wave basin is about 87.2%, which is superior to the highest value 52% in historical documents. The combination of experimental results of the model and the latest research achievements of air turbine can help to break the thoughts that wave energy utilization technology can't balance low cost and high efficient conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the relation between bifurcation theory and singular value decomposition in numerical analysis. Given a nonlinear equation, we give a local analysis in a neighborhood of a solution via the Liapunov-Schmidt method and the singular value decomposition. The theorem is applicable to regular, turning, or bifurcation points. A numerical method for global bifurcation problems based on the above analysis is presented. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Background: Currently, the cornerstone of asthma management is the achievement and maintenance of optimal asthma control, but the diagnostic performances of the Asthma Control Test (ACT) and Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) have not been evaluated systematically. Objective: We explored the diagnostic performances of and statistically compared the ACT and ACQ. Methods: Studies that examined the accuracy of the ACT, ACQ, or both in the assessment of asthma control were found by searching PubMed, CENTRAL, Web of Science, Ovid, and Embase. Summary estimates of sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratios for the different levels of asthma control were determined by using bivariate random-effects models and hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic models. Results: Twenty-one studies with 11,141 subjects assessed with the ACT and 12,483 assessed with the ACQ were identified. The ACT had good diagnostic accuracy for assessment of controlled and not well-controlled asthma, and the ACQ (ACQ-7 and ACQ-6) had good diagnostic accuracy for assessment of not well-controlled asthma at prespecified cutoff points. The ACT and ACQ had significant differences in the assessment of controlled and not well-controlled asthma after adjusting for potential factors (P = .001 and P = .015). For assessment of uncontrolled asthma, the ACT had poor accuracy, with a hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic area under the curve of 0.69, and the cutoff point for the ACQ has not been established. Conclusion: The ACT is preferable to the ACQ in clinical practice, and the ACQ requires further cross-validation. Moreover, neither the ACT nor the ACQ is useful for the assessment of uncontrolled asthma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Previous studies have suggested that changes in hip geometry increase the risk of hip fracture. The aim of this study was to identify whether body composition were associated with hip geometry or bone mineral density (BMD) in a large sample of Chinese people. A total of 2072 subjects aged 20–79yr (including 700 males and 1372 females) were selected. The following measurements were taken: lumbar spine (L1–4); proximal femur BMD; lean mass (LM); fat mass (FM); and hip geometric parameters, including hip axis length (HAL), cross-sectional moment of inertia (CSMI), cross-sectional area (CSA), neck-shaft angle, and femur strength index (SI) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. FM and LM were positively correlated with HAL, CSMI, and CSA, and negatively correlated with SI in both men and women. Multiple regression analysis showed that leg LM contributions to HAL, CSMI, and CSA variance were 12.6–37.6%. Compared with FM, LM was generally more strongly related to hip geometry and BMD in young and old men and women. Body composition was a good predictor for hip geometry parameter variation and BMD variation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Through the meticulous analysis, the paper finds that: the interest comparison reason, participation method restriction, shortage of the community belonging sense, imperfect mechanism of the interest expression and mal-development of the resident''s social organization are the principle bottleneck of the participation of the community residents. For those reasons, the paper proposes the countermeasures including to strengthen the communization of the resident''s interest, enhance the initiative of the resident''s participation, improve the participation ability of the residents in the community; cultivate the community belonging sense of the residents, perfect the social organization of the residents in the whole community, make smooth for the interest expression channel; enhance the response degree of the community participation and improve the institutional participation sense, etc. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To compare the feasibility of real-time myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) in rats with infusion and bolus administration of a second-generation ultrasound contrast agent BR1. B-mode real-time MCE was performed in 12 Sprague Dawley rats following the BR1 infusion or bolus injection. The myocardium signal intensity (SI) was plotted against time and was fitted to exponential functions. The plateau SI (A) and rate of SI increase (β) for the infusion study and peak signal intensity (PSI) for the bolus study were obtained. 99mTc-Sestamibi and Evans blue were used to assess myocardial blood perfusion and to calculate the myocardium perfusion defect area ex vivo. High-quality real-time MCE images were successfully obtained using each method. At baseline, all LV segments showed even contrast distribution. Following left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) ligation, significant perfusion defect was observed in LAD beds with a significantly decreased A* β and PSI values compared with LCx beds (Infusion: A*β LAD: 5.42 ± 1.57dB, A*β LCx: 46.52 ± 5.32dB, p < 0.05; Bolus: PSI LAD: 2.11 ± 0.67dB, PSI LCx: 20.68 ± 0.72 dB, p < 0.05), which was consistent with 99mTc-Sestamibi distribution findings. Myocardial perfusion defect areas, assessed by both methods, showed no differences and showed good correlation with Evans blue staining. ED frames were more favorable for imaging analysis. Both infusion and bolus administration of the contrast agent combined with real-time MCE technique can provide a reliable and noninvasive approach for myocardial perfusion assessment in rats and the infusion method was more suitable for quantitative analysis of myocardial blood flow. (E-mail: suhaili@fmmu.edu.cn) [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hip axis length (HAL) has been proposed as an independent predictor of hip fracture risk in Caucasian females. There are, however, few data concerning its predictive risk in Chinese. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of HAL in healthy Chinese population and the relationship between HAL and femoral neck fracture. The study population included 10,554 healthy Chinese people (8665 females, 1889 males) aged 20–97 yrs living in Shanghai. Cases were 106 patients (82 females, 24 males) aged 52 yrs old and over with femoral neck fracture. Controls were 106 age-matched healthy persons. All subjects were measured bone mineral density (BMD) at any site of proximal femur and HAL using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. HAL had significantly positive correlations with height and weight. After the adjustment of height and weight, HAL increased with age at 50 yrs of age and over in females, and no difference was found among the age groups in males. Males had longer HAL than females in all age groups. The peak BMD appeared in 30–44 yrs for females and 20–24 yrs for males and decreased thereafter, especially for females at 50 yrs old and over. HAL was similar in both fracture and control groups, whereas the BMD values at proximal femur were significantly lower in fracture group than in controls. There was no evidence that subjects with femoral neck fracture had longer HAL. Because of the limitations of retrospective study and relatively small fracture sample, prospective studies are required to determine the conclusions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Separable nonlinear equations have the form where the matrix and the vector are continuously differentiable functions of . Such equations can be reduced to solving a smaller system of nonlinear equations in y alone. We develop a bordering and reduction technique that extends previous work in this area to the case where is (potentially highly) rank deficient at the solution . Newton''s method applied to solve the resulting system for y is quadratically convergent and requires only one LU factorization per iteration. Implementation details and numerical examples are provided. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Porous TiO2 thin film of photocatalyst was synthesized by charged microemulsion templating. In the process, cationic polystytrene microemulsion (PSTM) was successfully added into the precursor solution of TiO2 (Ti-sol). The factors, such as the charged surfactant species, the amount of PSTM and pH of the solution mixture strongly affect the stability of the solution mixture. TiO2 film containing larger pores in diameter of 20–100nm was obtained after heat treatment and analyzed by BET and BJH. The addition of PSTM effectively influences crystal structure, specific surface area and morphology of thin films. The crystal particle growth of anatase phase is restrained by PSTM addition, and the addition of PSTM promotes the crystal phase transformation from anatase to rutile phase, as was testified by XRD, AFM and FT-IR. The photocatalytic degradation suggests that the optimal addition of PSTM (the volume ratio of PSTM and Ti-sol being 0.3) can reach a remarkable enhancement of photocatalytic activity of TiO2 films, shown by an increase of almost 66% of the apparent rate constant of degradation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The convergence of Newton''s method to a solution of may be unsatisfactory if the Jacobian matrix is singular. When the rank deficiency is one, and a simple regularity condition is satisfied at , it is possible to define a bordered system for which Newton''s method converges quadratically [Griewank, SIAM Rev. 27 (1985) 537]. In this paper we extend this technique to the case of higher rank deficiencies. We show that if a generalized regular singularity condition is satisfied then one singular value decomposition of for some point near can be used to form a bordered system for which Newton''s method converges quadratically. The theory and method are illustrated by several examples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Shows that a conserved SH3-domain binding motif (PXXP), located in the C-terminal regulatory region of Akt, is involved in the interaction between Akt and its upstream tyrosine kinase Src and is essential for ACt activation in response to growth factors. Impact of the mutation in Akt on its interaction with Src; Importance of the C-terminal regulatory domain.

A transparent nano-composite TiO2–PI was prepared by properly controlling the sol–gel reaction, imidization and polymerization process. The paper summarized the factors that may influence the TiO2–PI nano-composite morphology. The microstructure of the nano-composite depends strongly on the composition and synthesizing route, FT-IR, DSC, XRD and UV–Vis analysis were carried out to observe the specific thermal, optical properties and the microstructure. The relationship between them was also suggested. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Linear transmission rate and Kerr nonlinear coefficient can be enhanced greatly in such a PT-like-symmetric system. • System cannot have a pure real eigenvalue spectrum even in the unbroken PT-like-symmetric phase. • Output characteristics of the system are useful for dispersion compensation. • Near the phase transition point, the nonlinear response of the system can be enhanced more sharply than the linear one. We propose a non-Hermitian optical model to explore the linear and nonlinear output characteristics involving the parity-time (PT)-like symmetry. It is found that the tunable linear transmission rate and Kerr nonlinear coefficient can be enhanced greatly in such a PT -like-symmetric system, especially at the phase transition (exceptional) point. Based on that, by the proper choice of system parameters, the output spectrum can realize, simultaneously, the high linear transmission rate and the giant Kerr nonlinear coefficient with diminutive nonlinear absorption, and such an output characteristic is useful for dispersion compensation in the optical communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the increasing application of mid-rise modular box buildings, theoretical and numerical research of multi-story modular box buildings are necessary. The research presented in this article investigated the seismic behavior of the multi-story modular box buildings using numerical simulation. Modal analysis and analysis of buildings under frequent and rare earthquakes were conducted. To fulfill the building model, a simplified model of single container was established using the equivalent spring model and shear behavior of a single container was studied. In addition, the stiffness and capacity of four kinds of joints using in the building were calculated. The results show that the multi-story modular box buildings with the current joints do not satisfy the Chinese code, and new connections and structural systems are required for further application. • The shear bearing capacity and stiffness of the cross-shaped clamping joint are capable in multi-story modular box buildings. • The accuracy of the simplified model using equivalent spring model is acceptable. • It is difficult for multi-story modular box buildings using the existing assembly joints to meet the requirements of the specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the influence of the load circuit on the system efficiency and power oscillation of the oscillating water column device, a unified modeling model of the oscillating water column device is built for simulation. According to the coupling relationship in various fields of the oscillating water column device, the differential equation of motion of the turbine generator set is established. The power plant components and systems are modeled by Modelica language. Based on this system, the system-level simulation is carried out and the load circuit is optimized. In addition, experimental tests of the traditional load circuit and the modified load circuit are carried out. Results indicate that the modified load circuit can increase the speed of the turbine to better follow the airflow and balance the system damping, thereby improving the system efficiency. Increasing resistance can reduce the fluctuation of output electric power. Different battery, resistance and generator parameters can cause differences in system efficiency. The research results provide a reference to improve the performance of oscillating water column device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Oscillating Water Column (OWC) device can output energy through reciprocating or unidirectional airflow. The unidirectional airflow is helpful to utilize a simple and high-efficiency unidirectional air turbine. The pentagonal BBDB proposed by us based on OWC principle can be regarded as a floating Oscillating Body and its Power Take-Off (PTO) consists of a chamber, a water column, a turbine and a generator. The Capture Width Ratio (CWR) of the pentagonal BBDB model with the reciprocating and unidirectional airflow was studied in this paper. The wave flume test results indicate the mean CWR of the pentagonal BBDB model with reciprocating airflow can reach up to 121.91% and the mean CWR of the model with unidirectional airflow could reach 100.94% during the whole wave cycle in regular waves. For irregular waves, the mean CWR of the model with the unidirectional airflow is as high as 62.83% during the whole wave cycle. Hopefully, the combination of the pentagonal BBDB with the check valve to output power during the air exhalation and conventional high-efficiency unidirectional turbine will improve the total efficiency of the BBDB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deregulation of androgen receptor (AR) splice variants has been implicated to play a role in prostate cancer development and progression. To understand their functions in prostate, we established a transgenic mouse model (AR3Tg) with targeted expression of the constitutively active and androgen-independent AR splice variant AR3 (a.k.a. AR-V7) in prostate epithelium. We found that overexpression of AR3 modulates expression of a number of tumor-promoting autocrine/paracrine growth factors (including Tgfβ2 and Igf 1) and expands prostatic progenitor cell population, leading to development of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia. In addition, we showed that some epithelial-mesenchymal transition-associated genes are up-regulated in AR3Tg prostates, suggesting that AR3 may antagonize AR activity and halt the differentiation process driven by AR and androgen. This notion is supported by our observations that the number of Ck5+/Ck8+ intermediate cells is increased in AR3Tg prostates after castration, and expression of AR3 transgene in these intermediate cells compromises prostate epithelium regeneration upon androgen replacement. Our results demonstrate that AR3 is a driver of prostate cancer, at least in part, through modulating multiple tumor-promoting autocrine/paracrine factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Inclusion-body myopathy (IBM) with Paget''s disease of bone (PDB) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), designated as IBMPFD, is a rare, autosomal dominant disorder (MIM 605382). IBMPFD is caused by mutations in the gene that encode valosin-containing protein (VCP). We investigated a Chinese family in which multiple members were diagnosed with PDB and suffered from weakness of the limbs. However, no members of this family were diagnosed with FTD. We made a preliminary diagnosis of PDB, but failed to identify an SQSTM1 mutation in any of the patients. We used whole-exome sequencing to identify the pathogenic gene mutation affecting the Chinese male proband. Materials and methods: Altogether, 254 subjects, including one 56-year-old male proband, four affected, related individuals and additional nine family members from a non-consanguineous Chinese family, and 240 healthy donors were recruited and genomic DNA was extracted. All eight exons and the exon–intron boundaries of the SQSTM1 gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and directly sequenced in five patients (II13, II4, II5, II8, II9). Using whole-exome sequencing, we identified a novel mutation in VCP as the disease-causing mutation. We confirmed the result by sequencing a 500-bp region of the promoter and the coding region of VCP in all 254 of the participants using Sanger sequencing. Results: No mutation in the SQSTM1 gene was identified in the five patients examined using direct Sanger sequencing. However, through whole-exome sequencing we were able to identify a novel missense mutation in exon 3 of the VCP gene (p.Gly97Glu) in the Chinese male proband. This mutation was confirmed using Sanger sequencing. The proband, four affected individuals and three unaffected individuals carried this mutation. We were able to correctly diagnose the patients with atypical IBMPFD. Structural analysis of the p.Gly97Glu mutation in the VCP protein showed that the affected amino‐acid is located in the interface of the protein. This abnormality may therefore interfere with protein function. Conclusions: This is the first report of a family from China with IBMPFD. A novel VCP mutation was found as the cause of atypical IBMPFD in a Chinese family. Our findings confirm that VCP gene mutations can be a pathogenic cause of IBMPFD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Androgen receptor (AR) plays a pivotal role in prostate cancer. Regulation of AR transcriptional activity by post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation by multiple kinases, is well documented. Here, we report that two PIM-1 kinase isoforms which are up-regulated during prostate cancer progression, namely PIM-1S and PIM-1L, modulateARstability and transcriptional activity through differentially phosphorylating AR at serine 213 (Ser-213) and threonine 850 (Thr-850). Although both kinases are capable of interacting with and phosphorylating AR at Ser-213, only PIM-1L could phosphorylate Thr-850. We also showed that PIM-1S induced Ser-213 phosphorylation destabilizesARby recruiting the ubiquitin E3 ligase Mdm2 and promotes AR degradation in a cell cycle-dependent manner, while PIM-1L-induced Thr-850 phosphorylation stabilizes AR by recruiting the ubiquitin E3 ligase RNF6 and promotes AR-mediated transcription under low-androgen conditions. Furthermore, both PIM-1 isoforms could promote prostate cancer cell growth under low-androgen conditions. Our data suggest that these kinases regulate AR stability and transcriptional activity through recruitment of different functional partners in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. As AR turnover has been previously shown to be critical for cell cycle progression in prostate cancer cells, PIM-1 kinase isoforms may promote prostate cancer cell growth, at least in part, through modulating AR activity via distinct mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progression from the androgen-sensitive to androgen-insensitive (or castration-resistant) stage is the major obstacle for sustained effectiveness of hormonal therapy for prostate cancer. The androgen receptor (AR) and its splice variants play important roles in regulating the transcription program essential for castration resistance. Here, we report the identification of a novel AR splice variant, designated as AR8, which is up-regulated in castration-resistant prostate cancer cells. AR8 is structurally different from other known AR splice variants because it lacks a DNA binding domain and therefore, unlikely functions as a transcription factor on its own. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that AR8 was primarily localized on the plasma membrane, possibly through palmitoylation of two cysteine residues within its unique C-terminal sequence. Mutation of these putative palmitoylation sites in AR8 led to loss of its plasma membrane localization. In addition, we demonstrated that overexpression of AR8 in prostate cancer cells promoted association of Src and AR with the EGF receptor in response to EGF treatment and enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation of AR. Conversely, specific knockdown of AR8 expression in prostate cancer cells compromised EGF-induced Src activation and AR phosphorylation. This effect was accompanied with attenuation of proliferation and increased apoptosis in prostate cancer cells cultured in androgen-depleted medium. We also showed that AR8 was required for optimal transcriptional activity of AR in response to treatment of both androgen and EGF. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the membrane-associated AR8 isoform may contribute to castration resistance by potentiating AR-mediated proliferative and survival responses to hormones and growth factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: From the commercially available starfish Archaster typicus, five new (1–5) and 14 known (6–19) metabolites were isolated and identified. Detailed 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data, including 1H, 13C, DEPT, HSQC, HMBC, and NOESY, established the structures of the new metabolites as sodium 5α-cholesta-9(11),24-dien-3β,6α,20β-triol-23-one 3-sulphate (1), sodium 5α-cholesta-9(11)-en-3β,6α,20β-triol-23-one 3-sulphate (2), sodium (25R)-5α-cholestane-3β,4β,6α,8,14α,15β,26-heptaol-15-sulphate (3), sodium (25R)-5α-cholestane-3β,6α,8,14α,15β,26-hexaol 15-sulphate (4), and sodium cholest-25(27)-ene-3β,4β,5α,6α,7β,8β,14α,15α,24,26-decanol 6-sulphate (5). Other spectroscopic techniques, including IR, ESI–MS, and HR-ESI–MS, were also adopted to further confirm the structures of the metabolites. These five steroids (1–5) are reported in nature for the first time. All of the steroids found in A. typicus (1–12) were tested for anticancer activities against MDA-MB-435 and Colo205 tumour cells. However, only sodium 5α-cholesta-9(11)-en-3β,6α,20β-triol-23-one 3-sulphate (2) and 27-nor-5α-cholestane-3β,4β,5,6α,7β,8,14,15α,24α-nonaol (6) exhibited weak activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Etk/Bmx, a member of the Tec family of nonreceptor tyrosine kinases, has been implicated in the regulation of various cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation, motility, and apoptosis. Here, we report the identification of Tec family kinases as the potential interacting proteins of the tumor suppressor p53 by an Src homology 3 domain array screening. Etk is physically associated with p53 through its Src homology 3 domain and the proline-rich domain of p53. Induction of p53 expression by DNA damage inhibits Etk activity in several cell types. Down-regulation of Etk expression by a specific small interfering RNA sensitizes prostate cancer cells to doxorubicin-induced apoptosis, suggesting that inhibition of Etk activity is required for apoptosis in response to DNA damage. We also show that Etk primarily interacts with p53 in the cytoplasm and that such interaction leads to bidirectional inhibition of the activities of both proteins. Overexpression of Etk in prostate cancer cells results in inhibition of p53 transcriptional activity and its interaction with the mitochondrial protein BAK and confers the resistance to doxorubicin. Therefore, we propose that the stoichiometry between p53 and the Tec family kinases in a given cell type may determine its sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytochemical investigation of the stems and leaves of Lonicera hypoglauca Miq. led to the isolation of one novel methoxylated flavone, acunminatin (7,2′,4′-trihydroxyl-5,5′- methoxyflavone) (1), and fourteen known compounds (2 – 15), including six flavonoids (mearnsetin 2 , kaempferol 3 , acacetin 4 , 5,7,3′,4′-tetramethoxyflavone 5 , tricin 6 , and 5,7,3′,4′,5′-pentamethoxyflavone 7), two coumarins (umbelliferone 8 and scopoletin 9), two phenylpropanoids (trans-ferulic acid 10 and chlorogenic acid 11), two iridoid glycosides (loganin 12 and sweroside 13), and two triterpenoids (uvaol 14 and ursolic acid 15). The structures of the compounds were identified by spectroscopic analysis and by comparing their spectral data with those reported in the literature. Five of these compounds (1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , and 7) were isolated from the L. genus for the first time, and compounds 6 – 8 and 14 – 15 were isolated for the first time from L. hypoglauca. The chemotaxonomic significance of the isolated compounds in the L. genus and the Caprifoliaceae family are discussed herein. [Display omitted] • One new methoxylated flavone named as acunminatin (1) and fourteen known compounds were obtained from Lonicera hypoglauca. • Nine compounds (1 - 2 , 4 - 8 , and 14 - 15) were isolated from the species for the first time. • Five compounds (1 - 2 , 4 - 5 , and 7) were firstly isolated from the genus Lonicera. • Three compounds (1 , 2 and 5) were first time reported from family Caprifoliaceae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuning active configurations of different nitrogen (N) species and elucidating their influence on the catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is important to develop N-doped carbon (N/C) as efficient metal-free catalysts. The challenge is to selectively control the active N sites of N/C. Herein, we approach this challenge by modulating N active species in graphene structured N/C with specific precursors via a one-step pyrolysis process. In this method, 5-aminouracil is selected as the N-containing precursor platform to modulate the pyridinic N (N P), while 2,6-diaminopyridine and 1,3-diaminobenzene are used to modulate graphitic N (N G) and pyrrolic N (N PY), respectively. N/C materials with specific different N configurations such as N/C N P +N G , N/C N P +N P and N/C N P +N PY are successfully synthesized and identified by microstructure and phase characterization. Electrochemical results demonstrate that N/C N P +N G exhibits the best ORR performance, achieving an onset potential (E onset) of 0.98 V and half-wave potential (E 1/2) of 0.86 V vs. RHE, respectively, which is comparable to that obtained on conventional Pt/C. By contrast, N/C N P +N PY exhibits the lowest activity for ORR. Density functional theory (DFT) simulation further validates that the N P +N G configuration produces strong electronic distribution on carbon matrix that leads to high charge and high spin density on surrounding carbon atoms. This work provides a facile approach to design N doped graphene structured carbon materials with active N configurations for ORR. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]