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The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the microstructure, high-temperature oxidation behaviour, and hardness of a seal coating under controlled exposures at 750 °C with different exposure times. The results reveal that the main phases in the coating are Ni, FeNi3, and hexagonal BN, with α-Al2O3 peaks appearing after 2-h oxidation. As the exposure time increases, the diffraction peak intensity of α-Al2O3 begins to decrease and Cr2O3 peaks appear after 200 h. After 1000 h, Cr2O3 becomes dominant with only small amounts of α-Al2O3 remaining. The high-temperature oxidation process of the coating includes three stages: the fast stage, transition stage, and slow stage. The oxidation rate is constant in each stage, and in the fast stage and slow stages with values of 7.59 × 10−4 and 8.37 × 10−5 mg2·cm−4·s−1, respectively. Initially, α-Al2O3 forms near the pores in the coating, followed by the formation of Cr2O3. As the exposure time increases, oxidation penetrates into the interior of the coating along phase boundaries to form island-shaped inner oxide layers with high concentrations of Cr, Ni, and Fe. Additionally, hardness increases with increasing oxide percentage.

A palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of unactivated alkylzinc reagents with 2-bromo-3,3,3-trifluoropropene (BTP) has been developed, which was used as a key step to prepare a series of trifluoromethylated and difluoromethylated amino acids that are of great interest in peptide/protein based chemical biology. The advantages of the synthesis of these fluorinated amino acids are synthetic simplicity and diversity from a simple and readily available key intermediate α-trifluoromethylalkene-containing amino acid, providing a facile route for applications in medicinal chemistry and life science.

Sonic-spray ionization (SSI) is a previously developed soft ionization technique which does not need auxiliary methods such as voltage, heating, laser, or corona discharge. Spray ionization can be achieved under normal temperature and atmospheric pressure by inputting high-speed gas coaxial within the capillary. As an atmospheric pressure ion source, this technique was widely used as the interface of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry at the beginning of its development. Based on the principles of sonic-spray ionization, a variety of easy ambient sonic-spray ionization derived techniques have been developed, which can be used for the in-situ, rapid and real-time analysis of samples with little or without any sample pretreatment. In this paper, the principless and characteristics of sonic-spray ionization were elaborated, and the progress of its application in life sciences, food safety, forensic chemistry, reaction monitoring, and other related fields were summarized.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to investigate the biochemical and functional properties of a rat acellular pancreatic bioscaffolds (APBs). METHODS Fresh pancreata from 10 rats were soaked and perfused through portal veins using Easy-Load Digital Drive peristaltic pumps. The histological structure, extracellular matrix composition, and the DNA content of the APBs were evaluated. Biocompatibility studies had also been performed. The proliferation and differentiation of AR42J pancreatic acinar cells were assessed. RESULTS The pancreatic tissue became translucent after decellularization. There were no visible vascular endothelial cells, cellular components, or cracked cellular debris. The extracellular matrix components were not decreased after decellularization (P > 0.05); however, the DNA content was decreased significantly (P < 0.05). The subcutaneous implantation sites showed low immunological response and low cytotoxicity around the APB. The proliferation rate was higher and the apoptosis rate was lower when AR42J cells were cultured on APB (P < 0.05). The gene expression and the protein expression were higher for the APB group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Our findings support the biological utility of whole pancreas APBs as biomaterial scaffolds, which provides an improved approach for regenerative medicine.

A convenient method for the preparation of 2-bromo-1, 1, 2, 2-tetrafluoroethyl arenes, using commercially available anilines and BrCF2CF2Br as starting materials is developed. The reaction processes in high efficiency under the irradiation of blue LED, enables installation of amino and fluoroalkyl moieties. Moreover, the product can easily transformed to many other 1, 1, 2, 2-tetrafluoroethylated reagents, thus demonstrates its high potential use for further modifications in the synthesis of functional molecules.

In this work, an efficient and facile method for the preparation of 5-perfluoroalkylation uracils and uracil nucleosides through visible-light-mediated reaction has been developed. The reaction processes in high efficiency under mild reaction conditions and show broad substrate scope by employing commercial available perfluoroalkyl sources, thus demonstrates high potent application in life and medicinal science.

A simple and efficient protocol for the direct N-difluoromethylation of imidazoles and pyrazoles has been developed. The reaction makes use of commercially available, non-ozone-depleting and easy handling BrCF2PO(OEt)2 as difluorocarbene precursor, and provides a cost-efficient and environmentally benign access to some difluoromethylated biologically relevant molecules.

α-Trifluoromethyl alkenes can be used as peptide isosteres, moreover, the pre-installed vinyl group make it possible that transformation to diverse fluorine-containing unities. However, the cross-coupling of benzyl group with α-trifluoromethyl alkenes has yet to be developed. In this report, we describe a general method for the cross-coupling of benzylzinc reagents with 2-bromo-3,3,3-trifluoropropene (BTP) to afford diverse α-trifluoromethylalkene derivatives by using Pd(TFA)2 as catalyst. This method takes advantage of cheap industrial available fluorine building blocks and easily prepared benzylzinc reagents to generate α-trifluoromethylalkene derivatives, which features with mild reaction conditions, wide substrate scope and feasibility of product transformations.

This work experimentally investigates the optical feedback sensitivity of InAs/GaAs quantum dot (Qdot) lasers epitaxially grown on Ge substrate. In comparison with a Qdot laser on GaAs substrate with identical epilayer and cavity structures, the Ge-based laser is found to exhibit lower sensitivity to the optical feedback, although it has a higher epitaxial defect density. Theoretical analysis proves that the high defect density strongly increases the damping factor while slightly reduces the linewidth broadening factor, which lead to high tolerance to the optical feedback. This work suggests the high potential of Qdot lasers on Ge for isolator-free operation in photonic integrated circuits.

Barium ferrite micro/nanofibers were successfully prepared via the electrospinning by using dimethyl formamide (DMF) as the solvent, poly vinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as the spinning auxiliaries and iron nitrate and barium nitrate as raw materials. The effect of poly vinyl pyrrolidone on the structure, morphology, magnetic and microwave absorbing properties were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), vibration sample magnetometer (VSM) and vector network analyzer (VNA). XRD patterns of the samples confirmed that when the additive content of PVP was up to 10%, (wt%) pure barium ferrite fibers formed under the condition of the same heat treatment. Also, the FE-SEM images showed that the morphology of the fibers improved with the increase of PVP content. Moreover, the VSM results demonstrated that the saturation magnetization can reach 54.7 emu/g when the PVP dosage is 14% (wt%) in the precursor solution.

The present study investigated the mechanism underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of Tangshen formula (TS) in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats with diabetic nephropathy (DN). A rat model of DN was established by intraperitoneal injection of 1% (40 mg/kg) streptozotocin and administration of a high fat and glucose diet. Subsequently, SD rats were randomly divided into six groups (n=8): A DN group, a valsartan group, a high-dose TS group, a middle-dose TS group, a low-dose TS group and a control group with normal SD rats. Once rats received their allocated treatment for 12 weeks, body weight and kidney weight were recorded, and fasting blood glucose, ratio of urinary protein, β2-MG and creatinine clearance rate were determined. Furthermore, hemodynamic indices, including plasma viscosity and whole blood reduction viscosity were detected. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the infiltration of macrophages in the kidneys of rats. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting were performed to investigate the activation; mRNA and protein expression levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) in each group. In comparison with the DN group, each biochemical indicator of rats in the high-dose TS group was significantly decreased (P

A simple and efficient protocol for difluoromethylation of isoflavones, flavonoids, and coumarins has been developed. The protocol uses readily available, non-ozone-depleting and easy handling BrCF2PO(OEt)2 as difluorocarbene precursor. The reaction underwent the formation of difluorocarbene under mild reaction conditions with relatively weak base therefore demonstrates high selectivity. Application of the reaction led to difluoromethylated biologically relevant molecules.

Homologs of vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR) exist widely in plants. However, only VKOR of Arabidopsis thaliana has been the subject of many studies to date. In the present study, the coding region of a VKOR from Solanum lyco-persicum (JF951971 in GenBank) was cloned; it contained a membrane domain (VKOR domain) and an additional soluble thioredoxin-like (Trx-like) domain. Bioinformatic analysis showed that the first 47 amino acids in the N-terminus should act as a transit peptide targeting the protein to the chloroplast. Western blot demonstrated that the protein is localized in thylakoid membrane with the Trx-like domain facing the lumen. Modeling of three-dimensional structure showed that SlVKOR has a similar conformation with Arabidopsis and cyanobacterial VKORs, with five transmembrane segments in the VKOR domain and a typical Trx-like domain in the lumen. Functional assay showed that the full-length of SlVKOR with Trx-like domain without the transit peptide could catalyze the formation of disulfide bonds. Similar transit peptides at the N-terminus commonly exist in plant VKORs, most of them targeting to chloroplast according to prediction. Comparison of sequences and structures from different plants indicated that all plant VKORs possess two domains, a transmembrane VKOR domain and a soluble Trx-like domain, each having four conservative cysteines. The cysteines were predicted to be related to the function of catalyzing the formation of disulfide bonds.

The role of LTO1/ At VKOR-DsbA in ROS homeostasis and in redox regulation of cysteine-containing proteins in chloroplast was studied in lto1 - 2 mutant, and a potential target of LTO1 was captured. A chloroplast membrane protein LTO1/AtVKOR-DsbA encoded by the gene At4g35760 was recently found to be an oxidoreductase and involved in assembly of PSII. Here, the growth of a mutant lto1-2 line of Arabidopsis was found to be severely stunted and transgenic complementation ultimately demonstrated the phenotype changes were due to this gene. A proteomic experiment identified 23 proteins presenting a differential abundance in lto1-2 compared with wild-type plants, including components in PSII and proteins scavenging active oxygen. Three scavengers of active oxygen, l-ascorbate peroxidase 1, peroxisomal catalase 2, dehydroascorbate reductase 1, are reduced in lto1-2 plants, corresponding to high levels of accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The photosynthetic activities of PSII and the quantity of core protein D1 decreased significantly in lto1-2. Further investigation showed the synthesis of D1 was not affected in mutants both at transcription and translation levels. The soluble DsbA-like domain of LTO1 was found to have reduction, oxidation and isomerization activities, and could promote the formation of disulfide bonds in a lumenal protein, FKBP13. A potential target of LTO1 was captured which was involving in chlorophyll degradation and photooxidative stress response. Experimental results imply that LTO1 plays important roles in redox regulation, ROS homeostasis and maintenance of PSII.

Rapamycin, also known as sirolimus, is an antifungal agent and immunosuppressant drug used to prevent organ rejection in transplantation. However, little is known about the role of rapamycin in cardiac hypertrophy and the signaling pathways involved. Here, the effect of rapamycin was examined using phenylephrine (PE) induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in vitro and in a rat model of aortic banding (AB) - induced hypertrophy in vivo. Inhibition of MEK/ERK signaling reversed the effect of rapamycin on the up-regulation of LC3-II, Beclin-1 and Noxa, and the down-regulation of Mcl-1 and p62. Silencing of Noxa or Beclin-1 suppressed rapamycin-induced autophagy, and co-immunoprecipitation experiments showed that Noxa abolishes the inhibitory effect of Mcl-1 on Beclin-1, promoting autophagy. In vivo experiments showed that rapamycin decreased AB-induced cardiac hypertrophy in a MEK/ERK dependent manner. Taken together, our results indicate that rapamycin attenuates cardiac hypertrophy by promoting autophagy through a mechanism involving the modulation of Noxa and Beclin-1 expression by the MEK/ERK signaling pathway.

Inheritance of grape berry volatile compounds was studied in the half-sib populations of ‘Jingxiu’ × ‘Muscat of Alexandria’ and ‘Jingxiu’ × ‘Xiangfei’ during two successive years. Twenty-two volatile compounds were identified via GC–MS. Monoterpenes were detected in the paternal parents ‘Muscat of Alexandria’ and ‘Xiangfei’, which were Muscat grapes, but not in the non-Muscat maternal parent ‘Jingxiu’. Four C6 compounds, five carbonyls and one ester (ethyl acetate) were found in all the parents, 2-ethylhexanol (alcohol) in ‘Jingxiu’ and ‘Muscat of Alexandria’, and hexyl acetate (ester) in ‘Jingxiu’. The paternal effect varied with year, while the inheritance patterns of volatile compounds, except for (Z)-linalool oxide, were stable between years and between populations. Four C6 compounds, five carbonyls, two esters and one alcohol were typical quantitative traits in both half-sib populations in 2 years. Most monoterpenes, including geraniol, α-terpineol and linalool, exhibited continuous variation in the half-sib progenies, but some other monoterpenes, such as (Z)-rose oxide, nerol oxide, nerol, neral, geranial and geranic acid, appeared to segregate into presence or absence in the progenies (1:1). However, (Z)-linalool oxide, behaved as a quantitative trait in the ‘Jingxiu’ × ‘Muscat of Alexandria’ population, but segregated into presence or absence (1:1) in the ‘Jingxiu’ × ‘Xiangfei’ population for both years.

Ion's behavior plays an important role in plasma etching processes and is determined by the local electric potential in the etched trenches. In this study, with the trench powered by a radio frequency (rf) source, the Laplace equation is solved to obtain the electric potential. The ion trajectories and the ion energy distribution (IED) at the bottom of the trench are obtained self-consistently by tracking the ions in the trench. The results show that the aspect ratio of depth- to-width of the photoresist trench and the voltage amplitude of the rf source applied to the electrode are important parameters. The larger the aspect ratio and the smaller the amplitude are, the more ions hit the sidewalls, which results in a notching phenomenon. Meanwhile, there are a higher high-energy peak and a lower low-energy peak in the IED with the increase in aspect ratio.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 play important roles in tumor angiogenesis, development, and progression. This study investigates the expression of VEGF combined with MMP-9, their correlation with clinical characteristics, and their effect on the prognosis for patients with pN0 gastric cancer after curative surgery.A total of 55 patients were enrolled in the study. They were analyzed by immunohistochemistry, and their correlation with clinical characteristics was then investigated. Their relations and the survival time of patients were retrospectively analyzed.VEGF and MMP-9 were positively expressed in 24 (43.6%) and 16 (29.1%) patients, respectively, and had a positive correlation (r = 0.324, p = 0.016) in the Spearman rank correlation analysis. Univariate analysis showed that VEGF, MMP-9 expression, vascular invasion, T stage, and tumor size were associated with tumor recurrence as well as the disease-specific (DSS) and overall (OS) survival rates. Patients with positive VEGF expression showed significantly higher recurrence and poorer DSS and OS rates compared with those with negative VEGF expression. Multivariate analysis showed that VEGF expression, vascular invasion, T stage (serosal invasion), and tumor size were significant independent prognostic factors for tumor recurrence, DSS, and OS in patients with pN0 gastric cancer with the exception that T stage was not for DSS.VEGF expression, vascular invasion, T stage (serosal invasion), and tumor size can be used as valuable prognosticators in predicting tumor recurrence and prognosis for patients with pN0 gastric cancer after curative surgery. VEGF may have a synergistic effect with MMP-9 during tumor angiogenesis, development, and progression.

By means of finite element method which is based on the conventional theory of mechanism-based strain gradient plasticity, cohesive interface model is used to study the intergranular fracture in polycrystalline metals with nanoscale and ultra-fine grains. A systematical study on the overall strength and ductility of polycrystalline aggregates which depend on both grain interiors and grain boundaries for different grain sizes is performed. The results show that the overall strength and ductility of polycrystalline aggregates with nanoscale and ultra-fine grains are strongly related to the competition of grain boundaries deformation with that in grain interiors. Finally, the deformation and failure behavior of nanocrystalline nickel are described by using the computational model.

Neuroprotective effects of parthenocissin A (PA), a novel antioxidant and free radical scavenger, were studied in a transient middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion model in rats for the first time. The animals were treated intraperitoneally with PA at 2.5, 5 or 10 mg/kg, for both 30 min before MCA occlusion and 6 h after reperfusion. The MCA was occluded for 1 h in anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. Compared with vehicle-treated controls, MCA occluded animals treated with PA showed dose-dependent reductions in brain infarction size with improved neurological and motor outcome. Biomedical assay showed that the PA treatment suppressed lipid peroxidation and restored superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in brain tissue. In addition, the ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) induced elevation of nitric oxide (NO) production and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity in brain tissue was also inhibited. Thus, PA demonstrated a neuroprotective effect in the I/R model and the beneficial effects of the compound may result from the reduction of oxidative stress and the inhibition of NO production induced by I/R. The neuroprotective effects of PA have highlighted the potential use of stilbene oligomers in stroke therapy. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The limitation of the currently available thermal management method has put an ever serious challenge for computer chip designers. A liquid metal with low melting point around room temperature was recently identified as a powerful coolant of driving heat away because of its superior thermo-physical properties and the unique ability to be driven efficiently by a completely silent electromagnetic pump. However, the adoption of gallium, one of the best candidates as metal coolant so far, may cause serious corrosion to the structure materials and subsequently affect the performance or even dangerous running of the cooling system. To address this emerging critical issue, here the compatibility of gallium with four typical metal substrates (6063 Aluminum-Alloy, T2 Copper-Alloy, Anodic Coloring 6063 Aluminum-Alloy and 1Cr18Ni9 Stainless Steel) was comprehensively investigated in order to better understand the corrosion mechanisms and help find out the most suitable structure material for making a liquid metal cooling device. To grasp in detail the dynamic corrosion behavior, an image acquisition and contrasting method was developed. Moreover, corrosion morphology analyses were performed by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM). The chemical compositions of the corroded layers were evaluated using energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). According to the experiments, it was found that, the corrosion of the 6063 Aluminum-Alloy was rather evident and serious under the temperature range for chip cooling. The loose corrosion product will not only have no protection for the inner substrate, but also accelerate the corrosion process. Compared to the 6063 Aluminum-Alloy, T2 Copper-Alloy showed a slow and general corrosion, but part of the corrosion product can shed from the substrate, which will accelerate corrosion action and may block the flowing channel. Anodic Coloring 6063 Aluminum-Alloy and 1Cr18Ni9 Stainless Steel were found to have excellent corrosion resistance among these four specimens. No evident corrosion phenomena were found under the examination of SEM and EDS when exposed for 30 days at the temperature of 60°C, which suggests their suitability as structure materials for the flow of liquid metal. However, as for the Anodic Coloring 6063 Aluminum-Alloy, surface treatment and protection are of vital importance. The present study is of significance for making a liquid metal chip cooling device which can actually be used in the future computer industry.

The catalytic decomposition of N2O over the circulating ashes from coal-fired circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers was investigated with a fixed bed reactor. The associated kinetics was mimicked by four surrogate metal oxides of SiO2, Al2O3, CaO and Fe3O4, which were found as the main components of the circulating ashes. The activation energies and collision coefficients for N2O thermal decomposition over the circulating ashes and surrogates were individually measured. Experimental results showed that different metal oxides play different roles in the catalytic decomposition of N2O. Among the components, CaO and Fe3O4 are very active, while Al2O3 and SiO2 contribute much less to N2O destruction. A model based on the specific surface-area-weighted kinetic data of individual surrogates was developed to predict the catalytic decomposition of N2O over circulating ashes. The predictions agreed with the experimental data with a minor discrepancy acceptable in an engineering view. Some discussions on the discrepancy were given. The O2 effect on the N2O decomposition over the circulating ashes was experimentally assessed. It was found that the presence of O2, even with a small amount, would deteriorate the catalytic decomposition of N2O.

New biferrocenylpropane derivatives FcC(CH3)2Fc′-C≡C–R [Fc = C5H5FeC5H4; Fc′ = C5H5FeC5H3, R = C6H5 (L 1 ), Fc (L 2 )] and their complexes [FcC(CH3)2Fc′-C≡C–R][Co2(CO)6] [R = C6H5 (1); R = Fc (2)] have been synthesized by the Castro-Stephens coupling reaction and the reactions of ligands L 1 , L 2 with Co2(CO)8. Compounds L 1 , L 2 , 1 and 2 were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, 1H (13C) NMR and MS, and the molecular structures of ligands L 1 , L 2 were determined by X-ray single crystal analysis. The electrochemical properties of L 1 , L 2 , 1 and 2 demonstrate two or three resolved one-electron redox processes.

New multiferrocenyl diyne ligands FcC(CH3)2Fc′–C≡C–C≡C–Fc [L 1 ; Fc = C5H5FeC5H4; Fc′ = C5H5Fe(1,3-disubstituted)C5H3], FcC(CH3)2Fc′–C≡C–C≡C–Fc′C(CH3)2Fc (L 2 ) and their complexes [FcC(CH3)2Fc′–C≡C–C≡C–Fc][Co2(CO)6] n [n = 1, (1); n = 2, (2)], [FcC(CH3)2Fc′–C≡C–C≡C–Fc′C(CH3)2Fc][Co2(CO)6] n [n = 1, (3); n = 2, (4)] have been synthesized by the coupling reaction of terminal ferrocenylacetylene and the reaction of ligands L1 and L2 with Co2(CO)8. The composition and molecular structure of the ligands L1 , L2 and their cobalt complexes were characterized by element analysis, IR, 1H(13C)NMR and MS. The electrochemical properties of compounds L1 , L2 , 1, 2, 3, 4 were studied by cyclic voltammetry(CV). The results of the electrochemical research reveal that all three ferrocenyl groups in L1 become redox active centers, but there are only two (not four) ferrocenyl redox active centers in L2 .

TiN coating was deposited on TC11 titanium alloy by arc ion plating technique and reactive direct current (D.C.) magnetron sputtering technique. The phases of TiN coating were determined by XRD technique. The surface morphology and hardness of TC11 alloy and TiN coating were analyzed by SEM and Micro-hardness Detector measurements, respectively. The tribological behaviors of reciprocating sliding for two TiN coatings which prepared by different PVD technologies (magnetron sputtering and ion plating) were studied on UMT wear tester. The results showed that wear properties of TC11 alloy were considerably improved by two TiN coatings.

A series of ferrocenylacetylenylbiphenyl derivatives Fc-C C R [R = C6H4 C6H5 (1), C6H4 C6H4 I (2), C6H4 C6H4 NO2 (3), C6H3(NO2) C6H4I (4)] and Fc-C C R′ C C R″ [R″ = Fc, R′ = C6H4 C6H4 (5), C6H3(NO2) C6H4 (6); R″ = C6H5, R′ = C6H4 C6H4 (7)] were synthesized from FcC CH and biphenyl iodides by the Castro–Stephens and Sonogashira coupling reactions, in which compounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 are new. Seven new complexes [Fc-C C R][Co2(CO)6] [R = C6H4 C6H5 (8), C6H4 C6H4 I (9), C6H4 C6H4 NO2 (10), C6H3(NO2) C6H4I (11)] and [Fc-C C R′ C C R″] [Co2(CO)6]2 [R″ = Fc, R′ = C6H4 C6H4 (12), C6H3(NO2) C6H4 (13); R″ = C6H5, R′ = C6H4 C6H4 (14)] were obtained by the reaction of the ligands Fc-C C R and Fc-C C R′ C C R″ with Co2(CO)8, respectively. Compounds 1–7 and their complexes 8–14 have been characterized by element analysis and spectroscopy, as well as by X-ray diffraction for 1, 4, 8, 9 and 11. The electrochemical data of compounds 1–12 have been obtained by cyclic voltammetry.

New π-conjugated butadiynyl ligand FcC(CH3)2Fc′–C C–C C–Ph (L1) has been synthesized and its reaction with Co2(CO)8 has been studied. New clusters [FcC(CH3)2Fc′–C C–C C–Ph][Co2(CO)6]n [(1): n = 1; (2): n = 2] and [Fc–C C–C C–Ph][Co2(CO)6]n [(3): n = 1; (4): n = 2] were obtained by the reaction of ligands FcC(CH3)2Fc′–C C–C C–Ph (L1) and Fc–C C–C C–Ph (L2) with Co2(CO)8 respectively and the composition and structure of the clusters and ligands have been characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, 1H and 13C NMR and MS. The crystal structures of compounds L1, L2, 2 and 4 have been determined by X-ray single crystal analysis.

Resveratrol (RSV) has many biological effects, including antitumor and antiviral activities, and vascular protection. Recent studies have suggested that RSV exerts its antitumor effects through induction of autophagy by an unknown mechanism. Doxorubicin (DOX) is a wide spectrum antitumor drug, but its clinical application is limited by its cardiotoxicity. This study evaluated whether the manipulation of autophagy could attenuate the cardiotoxic effects of DOX in vitro as well as in a rat model of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. We found that DOX induced H9C2 cell apoptosis by inhibiting AMPK activation and promoting pro-apoptotic protein expression through p38MAPK/p53 signaling. RSV-treated H9C2 cells showed increased autophagy through the AMPK/mTOR/Ulk1 pathway. When DOX and RSV were combined, apoptosis was decreased, despite a slight increase in the autophagy ratio. The same result was observed in the rat model of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Injection with DOX or RSV alone, or in combination, for a week, resulted in a reduced apoptotic ratio in the combination group compared with the DOX alone group. Our results strongly indicate that this co-treatment strategy with RSV can attenuate the cardiotoxic effects of DOX. Our findings may have important clinical implications.

Vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR) exists widely in the chloroplasts of higher plants and plays important roles in redox regulation. However, investigations of plant VKOR function have primarily focused on VKOR from Arabidopsis, and knowledge concerning this function is therefore quite limited. In this study, Solanum lycopersicum was used to study the function of VKOR. Transcription level analysis revealed that SlVKOR (S. lycopersicum VKOR) expression was upregulated by salt or drought stress. To further investigate the function of SlVKOR in plants, we generated sense and antisense transgenic S. lycopersicum homozygotes at T2 generation plants. Compared with wild-type (WT) plants, the leaf disks of the SlVKOR overexpression plants retained a much higher percentage of chlorophyll after salt or drought treatment, whereas the antisense transgenic plants displayed an opposite response. The overexpressed plants displayed lower levels of H2O2 and superoxide anion radical (O2(·-)) than WT plants, whereas antisense plants accumulated considerably more H2O2 and O2(·-). The activities of reactive oxygen scavenger enzymes, including superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase and catalase, were consistent with the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Based on these results, we suggest that SlVKOR is involved in resistance to salt or drought stress.

To explore the mechanism of the protective effects of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) on kidney in diabetic rats. Diabetic rat model was obtained by intravenous injection of alloxan, and the rats were divided into model, PNS-100 mg/(kg day) and PNS-200 mg/(kg day) groups, 10 each. Another 10 rats injected with saline were served as control. Periodic acid-Schiff staining and immunological histological chemistry were used to observe histomorphology and tissue expression of bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7). Silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) was silenced in rat mesangial cells by RNA interference. The mRNA expressions of SIRT-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were analyzed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The protein expressions of SIRT1 and the acetylation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) P65 were determined by western blotting. The concentration of MCP-1, TGF-β1 and malondialdehyde (MDA) in culture supernatant were detected by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was detected by the classical method of nitrogen and blue four. In diabetic model rats, PNS could not only reduce blood glucose and lipid (P

The reaction of new ferrocenylacetylene HC C(C 5 H 5 FeC 5 H 3 )C(CH 3 ) 2 Fc′C CH ( 1 ; Fc′ = C 5 H 4 FeC 5 H 4 ) with Co 2 (CO) 8 has been studied and the spectra and molecular structure of complexes [HC C(C 5 H 5 FeC 5 H 3 )C(CH 3 ) 2 Fc′C CH][Co 2 (CO) 6 ] n [ n = 1, ( 4 ); n = 2, ( 5 )] have been determined. Novel complex [FcC(CH 3 ) 2 Fc′CH C]FeCo 2 (CO) 9 ( 6 ; Fc = C 5 H 5 FeC 5 H 4 ) has been synthesized by using a nuclear expanding reaction of complex [FcC(CH 3 ) 2 Fc′C CH]Co 2 (CO) 6 ( 3 ) with Fe 2 (CO) 9 and the structural characterization of complex 6 was accomplished by elemental analysis, IR, 1 H, 13 C NMR and MS. The electrochemical properties of the compounds with ferrocenylacetylene reveal that there is significant electronic communication between the ferrocenyl groups.

Since coal ash is a large portion of the bed inventory in a coal-fired circulating fluid bed (CFB) boiler furnace, the ash formation data for the feeding coal, i.e., the initial ash size distribution and the fragment and attrition rates, are of significance for predicting the material balance in CFB boiler furnace. A laboratory test procedure for determining the coal characteristics was developed early with ash size distribution data published for six kinds of coal. An analysis of this ash size distribution data showed that the ash particle size distribution from narrow size cut samples of coal has a bimodal nature, with a fine soft component and a coarse hard component both following the Rosin–Rammler (R–R) distribution. This work presents a six-parameter model to simulate the ash size distributions. The cumulative size distribution of ash from coal samples with wide size cuts was well predicted by the model. The cumulative size distribution of the soft ash closely followed the R–R distribution, while the hard ash size distribution resembled the coal samples size distribution with both distributions being similar to a R–R distribution. A semi-empirical technique combined with theoretical analysis was developed to predict the ash size distribution.

Oryza rufipogon (IRGC105491) is a wild relative of cultivated rice, it contains two favorable yield-enhancing genes (yld1.1 and yld2.1) on chromosomes 1 and 2, respectively, which are capable of improving the yield of hybrid rice by 18 and 17%, respectively. SSR markers RM9, RM24, RM5 and RM306 are flanking yld1.1, while RM166 and RM208 are mapped in the close region to yld2.1. These molecular markers tightly linked to the two yield-enhancing genes were used to screen the plants of backcross population between ‘9311’ (one of the top-performing parental lines in super hybrid rice seed production in China) and O. rufipogon. The results were as follows: (1) in BC2F1 population, the percentage of the individuals which contain both of the O. rufipogon alleles at marker loci RM166 and RM9 was 16.8%; (2) 1.5% individuals of total BC3F1 population have all the six linked markers (RM166, RM9, RM5, RM208, RM24, RM306); (3) in BC4F1 population, the percentage of the individuals which contain both of the two O. rufipogon alleles at marker loci RM166 and RM9 was 18.0%. Based on marker genotypes, the individuals, that contain multiple O. rufipogon markers, were selected and used for further backcross and self cross. Many ‘9311’-type lines with yield-enhancing genes and high yield potential were obtained. After three times self-crossing a stable improved ‘9311’ line was obtained. The results indicated that these molecular markers are feasible for marker-assisted selection (MAS) to screen rice individuals with high yield potential.

The catalytic oxidation of coal-derived pyrite (CDP) into SO 4 2− and Fe 3+ and kinetics of oxidation of coal-derived pyrite by electrolysis were studied in a batch reactor. In this paper, the influence of electrolysis conditions on the pyrite conversion rate, such as particle size, electrolysis potential, reaction time, etc. was reported. It is obvious that the rate of conversion of pyrite ( C r ) increases with the increase of the electrolysis potential, reaction time, temperature, acidity and the concentration of catalyst (MnSO 4 ), but decreases with the increase of concentration of pyrite. The experimental data show that the reaction is marching with shrinking core model. The reaction-controlling step was found to be the reaction between Mn 3+ and pyrite. The active energy for oxidation of CDP into SO 4 2− and Fe 3+ by electrolysis is 29.6 kJ/mol.

Plants have developed a variety of adaptive mechanisms to cope with stresses. A novel salt-induced gene was isolated during the screening of a NaCl-induced cDNA library of cotton seedlings. The gene was registered as accession number AY972810 in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the protein encoded by the gene belongs to the parvulin family of peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerases (PPIases, EC 5.2.1.8). Northern blot analysis indicated that the mRNA accumulation of GhPPI was induced by salt stress. Subcellular localization revealed that GhPPI (Gossypium hirsutum peptidyl-prolyl isomerase) was localized in the nucleus. The purified recombinant GhPPI could accelerate the initial velocity of the cis-trans conversion of peptidyl-prolyl bonds of a tetrapeptide in a GhPPI concentration-dependent manner. Recombinant GhPPI also suppressed protein aggregation under denaturing conditions using Gdn-HCl (guanidine hydrochloride), suggesting an additional chaperone activity. Several amino acid residues in GhPPI were speculated to be involved in substrate binding or catalysis based on molecular modeling and docking results. The activity of the peptidyl-prolyl isomerase was affected when the relevant amino acids were mutated. Among the 11 mutants, five amino acids mutations led to the enzyme activities decreased to 30% as that of wild type, and two reduced to approximately 60%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a plant parvulin PPIase involved in the salt stress response.

In a staged entrained flow coal-slurry gasifier, the secondary oxygen was injected into the gasifier in order to protect the refractory in the dome region, to improve the mixing process as well as gasification performance. Based on a proposed 3-D numerical model, simulations were conducted for the staged gasifier at different mass flow rates of the secondary oxidizer. The characteristics of the gasification flames were analyzed as well as the influence of the secondary flow on the flow field of the staged gasifier. As the mass flow rate of the secondary oxidizer decreases, the secondary gasification flame curves up according to the backflow region and wall temperature increases. When the mass flow rate of the secondary oxidizer is less than 10% of the total oxidizer mass flow rate, there is an obvious change of the turbulent mixing in the staged gasifier.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Danhong injection (DH), a Chinese medical product, is used extensively for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases such as acutely cerebral infarction in clinic. Aim of the study To explore the protective effect and the relevant mechanisms of DH on cerebral ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury. Materials and methods Cerebral I/R injury was induced through four-vessel occlusion (4-VO) or middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Adult male SD rats were randomly divided into six kinds of groups: normal control group, sham-operated group, I/R injury group, DH-treated groups at doses of 0.5 ml/kg, 1.0 ml/kg and 2.0 ml/kg. The effects of DH on murine neurological deficits and cerebral infarct volume, 6-keto-prostagladin F1α (6-keto-PGF1α) level, malondialdehyde (MDA) level and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in brain tissue, as well as the activities of plasma tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) after I/R were evaluated. Moreover, the expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax protein were detected by immunohistochemistry. Results There was no significant difference between the control group and the sham-operated group based on the measurement indicators. Compared with the vehicle-treated group, rats treated with DH showed dose dependent reductions in brain infarction size, and improvement of neurological outcome. The level of 6-keto-PGF1α and the activities of SOD and plasma t-PA were enhanced significantly, whereas the level of MDA and the activity of plasma PAI were declined significantly. The immunohistochemical staining results also revealed that the expression of Bcl-2 protein was up-regulated and that of Bax protein was down-regulated when exposed to DH. Conclusion DH demonstrates a strong ameliorative effect on cerebral I/R damage in rats by its anticoagulant, antithrombotic, antifibrinolytic and antioxidant activities. Furthermore, suppressing apoptosis through regulating Bcl-2 and Bax protein expressions should be another potential mechanism by which DH exerts its neuroprotective function.

The hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of the n-butanol extract of Rubus parvifolius L. (RPL), a widely used medicinal plant, were evaluated. Results demonstrated that RPL extract possessed pronounced hepatoprotective effects against carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced hepatic injury in mice, which was at least partially attributed to its strong antioxidant capacity. Treatment with RPL extract markedly attenuated the increases in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels caused by CCl(4) intoxication. It also significantly prevented the decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and the increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) content of liver tissue. Meanwhile, histopathological changes of hepatic damage were also remarkably ameliorated. Phytochemical analysis based on high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) revealed the presence of various phenolic compounds, including caffeic acid conjugates, ellagic acid glycosides, and flavonol glycosides, which might be responsible for the hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of RPL.

Overexpressions of hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) play important roles in the development and progression of cancers. This study investigates the expression of HDGF combined with VEGF, their correlation with clinicopathologic features, and their prognosis in human hilar cholangiocarcinoma. The expressions of HDGF and VEGF were analyzed by immunohistochemistry using the streptavidin peroxidase complex method for 58 patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma receiving surgery. Their correlation with clinicopathologic features was then investigated. The relationships between them and the survival time of patients were retrospectively analyzed. HDGF and VEGF were positively expressed in 27 (46.6%) and 42 (72.4%) patients, respectively. HDGF and VEGF had a positive correlation (r = 0.370, P = 0.004) in the Spearman rank correlation analysis. HDGF expression was associated with gender and histological type. Patients with positive HDGF expression had a significantly poorer overall survival rate than those with negative HDGF expression (35.7 vs. 73.3%, P = 0.003). Multivariate analysis showed that HDGF expression is an independent prognostic factor. HDGF expression significantly correlates with VEGF expression and is a valuable prognostic factor for human hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Introduction: Liposomes, a number of designs have been applied to confer them specific affinity to tumor sites, are considered as appropriate carriers to delivery anti-cancer agents to tumor sites so as to reduce side effects. Breast cancer is one of disease with large numbers of patient all over the world. HER2/neu overexpressed breast cancer is malignant and poor prognostic. Targeting therapy of HER2 is required to overcome such a critical cancer. Herceptin (Trastuzumab) is antibody drug for HER2 overexpressed cancer. We exploited Herceptin to enhance targeting ability of liposome and anti-cancer activity by using cis-diamminedichloro-platinum (II) (CDDP) encapsulating liposome. We have previously developed efficient procedure of encapsulation of CDDP. Although it has long been a substantial problem to prepare liposomes loading high quantity of CDDP due to its insolubility in aqueous phase, our procedure enabled the loading efficiency hundreds more than those reported previously. In this study, these techniques were combined together to prepare liposomes conjugated with Herceptin loading CDDP to target breast cancer in vivo without unwanted side effects due to the toxicity of CDDP. Methods: Liposomes were prepared by improved cholate dialysis method. The lipids mixed in methanol/chloroform solvent were evaporated, followed by dissolved in solution of cis-diamminedinitratoplatinum (II) (CDDP3), one of the various CDDP derivatives with of high water solubility and is readily converted into CDDP in the presence of chloride ions, and then dialyzed against sodium chloride. Herceptin was conjugated with CDDP pre-loaded liposomes by cross-link agent DTSSP.CDDP encapsulated liposome and Herceptin conjugated immunoliposome were evaluated for anti-cancer activity in vitro by MTT assay. Targeting ability of immunoliposome was confirmed by confocal laser scanning and by in vivo imaging of BT474 xenografted model to confirm whether liposomes may accumulate at the tumor region. BT474 human ductal carcinoma was xenografted to estradiol capsule pre-implanted Balb/c (nu/nu) female mice. Drugs were administered to mice at dose of 20 mg/kg of mice body weight. The tumor sizes were monitored and survival rate of drug administered mice are calculated to evaluate whether drug administration contributed to prolong life of mice. Results: The peak sizes of liposomes were approximately 200 nm, whose sizes are suitable to accumulate in the tumor region via enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect. Though CDDP sensitivity of BT474 was less than other cell lines such as SKBr3, SKOv3 and MDA-MB-231, encapsulation of CDDP into liposome enhanced anti-cancer activity for BT474. Though fluorescence from liposomes encapsulated with Cy5.5 was detected from tumor of mice administered both normal liposome and Herceptin-liposome, mean tumor volume of the mice treated with Her-CDDP-Lip got smaller than that of the mice treated with CDDP-Lip. All mice treated with CDDP alone died within 4 days, while fifty percent of mice treated with Her-CDDP-Lip and CDDP-Lip survived up to the end of experiment. Conclusions: The Herceptin liposome was with strong anti-cancer activity both in vitro and in vivo when compared to usage of CDDP alone. We developed new combination therapy of Herceptin with CDDP, not common for treatment of breast cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2011 Nov 12-16; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2011;10(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A118.

It is a radical but pressing problem to measure the group refractive index of dispersive material both accurately and rapidly in optical engineering field. In this paper, a white-light spectral interferometric system employing a fiber-optic spectrometer is developed for solving this problem. The system takes advantage of the characteristic of fiber-optic spectrometer which can get all the interferometric information by a single shot image without any mechanical scanning. Compared with the traditional windowed Fourier transform, a wavelet transform algorithm is used to directly extract the group delay rather than the phase from the interferogram. Therefore, the new method can provide a simple and fast solution, while still maintaining high accuracy. Based on this white-light Michelson interferometric system, fused silica and BK7 glass samples are measured respectively and the results agree well with the theoretical values over a broad spectral range. At the end of this paper, different mirror positions are used to verify the repeatability of our method.

The chiral title compound, C4H10NO+·C4H5O6−·H2O, is a hydrated molecular salt in which the tartaric acid has transferred one proton to the (S)-2-aminopropan-1-ol molecule. The crystal structure is stabilized by a three-dimensional network of N—H...O and O—H...O hydrogen bonds. The absolute configuration was assigned on the basis of the starting materials.

In the title compound, C16H28ClN5, the piperidine ring has a classical chair conformation. In the crystal structure, weak inter­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link two mol­ecules, related by a twofold axis of symmetry, into dimers.