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The new compound [Mn(dach)3]2 [In18Te30(dach)6] ·2Hdach·H2O (I) (dach: 1,2-diaminocyclohexane) is solvothermally synthesized from a mixture of InCl3, Mn, and Te in a 7:3 mixture of dach and H2O (pyrex tube, 140 °C, 4 d, 40% yield).

In the present paper, a simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method was investigated for simultaneous determination of 11 components in Wu-Ji-San (WJS). The 11 identified components were ephedrine hydrochloride, paeoniflorin, liquiritin, ferulic acid, naringin, hesperidin, cinnamaldehyde, imperatorin, glycyrrhizic acid, honokiol and magnolol. The method was established using an Inertsil ODS-2 (250 mm × 4.6 mm i.d. with 5.0 μm particle size, GL Sciences) column. The 11 components were separated in less than 75 min with gradient elution using acetonitrile and 0.35% phosphoric acid in water at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. All calibration curves showed good linear regression (r2 > 0.9993) within the test ranges. The method was validated for specificity, accuracy, precision, and limits of detection. The proposed method not only enables in a single run the simultaneous identification and determination of the 11 multi-structural components from WJS which form the basis of its therapeutic effect for quality control, but can also be used as a reference for the other prescription. Key words: Wu-Ji-San, traditional Chinese medicinal prescription, reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection (RP-HPLC-DAD), chemical constituents.

The operation safety problems in process industry are becoming more and more important. Based on Mixed Logical Dynamical (MLD) model, operation safety problems are converted into hybrid formal verification problems in this paper. The hybrid formal verification algorithm is applied to a CSTR process with serious nonlinearity. By defining safety states as reach set, the CSTR process is modeled in the MLD form. Then operation safety problems of CSTR can be transformed into hybrid formal verification problems. The safety reach sets are computed by MPT software. Simulation results show that CSTR process can be driven to safety reach sets with proper control action calculated using hybrid formal verification algorithm. This paper illustrates the effectiveness of this hybrid formal verification method and provides a novel approach to handle operation safety problems in process industry.

Tn clusters are usually connected into frameworks by sulfur bridges. A new type of T4 compounds in which the clusters are linked by both sulfur bridges and transition metal complexes are described.

The steady advance and healthful development of new countryside construction must depend on the scientific planning. The planning must be based on the correct, complete and good-currency status maps. Aiming to the urgent needs in practice, four approaches to producing status base maps, including integrated approach, generalized approach, updated approach and real-surveyed approach, are comparatively analyzed. These studies are helpful to soundly grasp the basic contents of new countryside construction planning, the basic issues in the producing of base maps and the corresponding solutions, and provide the theoretical foundations for efficiently surveying and producing the high-quality base maps.

Model predictive controllers have been widely applied in refinery and chemical plant. The process model plays an important role in the performance assessment of model predictive control. In this work, a methodology is adopted for the diagnosis of model-plant mismatch (MPM) based on closed-loop operating data in the DMC system. The problem of MPM is transformed into the effectiveness of the model. Also apply statistic inference to detect the occurrence of the mismatch. This measure is successfully illustrated through the implementation in the Wood-Berry tower process with three cases of mismatch and show the feasibility and effectiveness of the method.

To investigate the risk factors and the pathogens of nosocomial infection in preterm infants.The medical data of 197 preterm infants with nosocomial infection were retrospectively studied.The incidence of nosocomial infection was 22.2% (197/887). Small gestational age (OR=4.125, p0.05), low birth weight (OR=5.450, p0.05), mechanical ventilation therapy (OR=4.435, p0.05) and delayed enteral feedings (OR=3.765, p0.05) were found to be important risk factors for nosocomial infection. Klebsiella was the main pathogen (22.3%), followed by Staphylococcus (18.4%).Hygienic handwashing, decreasing invassive procedures and an early start of enteral feeding are crucial for preventing nosocomal infection in preterm infants. Klebsiella is the main pathogen of nosocomal infections.

To disclose the potential roles of humoral immune response in the EIAV vaccine-induced protective immunity. In this study, major parameters of humoral immunity be compared between horses inoculated with the EIAV vaccine strain and the pathogenic virulent strain.Experimental horses were randomly assigned into the group inoculated with the vaccine strain EIAV(DLV); (the vaccinated group) and the group inoculated with sub-morbigenous dose of virulent strain EIAV(Liao); (the inapparent infection group). Humoral immunity parameters, including binding endpoint titer and avidity index of antibodies to the envelop protein (Env) and the capsid protein (P26), and the conformation-dependent index of the Env antibody, were assayed and compared between these two groups by using ELISA. Neutralizing antibodies to the EIAV vaccine strain and a pathogenic strain were simultaneously detected by using plaque forming unite assay (PFU) and reverse transcriptase activity assay, respectively.In general, all humoral parameters increased with a time-dependent manner in both the vaccinated and the inapparent infection group. However, significantly higher antibody activities for P26 binding endpoint titer and Env avidity index were detected in the vaccinated group within 2 months post infection (P0.05). Furthermore, the conformation-dependent index of the Env antibody in the vaccinated group was significantly higher than that in the inapparent infection group throughout the entire observation period (P0.05). The most dramatic difference between these experimental groups was in the raise of the neutralizing antibody. The antibody neutralizing both the vaccine strain EIAV(DLV); and a virulent strain EIAV(DLV34); was detected significantly earlier and in higher titers in vaccinated horses than in virulent strain-infected horses (P0.01 for EIAV(FDDV); and P0.05 for EIAV(DLV34);).Statistically significant differences in EIAV-specific binding antibodies and the neutralizing antibody are detected between animals induced with the EIAV vaccine strain and the virulent strain. Importantly, the significantly early and strong responses in the neutralizing antibody and the conformation-dependent Env antibody induced by the vaccine implicate special roles these antibodies playing in EIAV vaccine-induced immune protection.

Effective link-layer trigger mechanism can significantly influence the handover performance and determine whether the handover completes successfully. The predictive handover framework that employs the required handover time and predicted signal power level to generate link trigger was proposed. Because this scheme doesn't consider the moving condition of the mobile terminal (MT), it would increase unnecessary handover times when MT moves in low speed or changes moving direction. In this paper we propose an improved Link_Going_Down (LGD) trigger scheme-timetable mapping link trigger (TMLT) scheme. It constructs two timetables according to the required handover time and MT's moving condition. By comparing and mapping the two different timetables, the LGD trigger time can be dynamically determined to minimize the link trigger costs, including the unnecessary handover probability and resource consumption.

Aiming to the limitations of the existing GIS software, such as the lack of the corresponding function modules, no supports of the bulk processing, the requirements of many man-machine interactions, the inability to automatically and efficiently implement the updates propagation, a special tool for updates propagation is designed and realized based the component technology of ArcEngine. This tool can enhance the efficiency of updates propagation and overcome the limitations of the existing software, since the operations needed for updates propagation, such as schema matching, change extraction, updates integration, can be performed in the automated bulk mode.

Simply speaking, updates propagation is to use updates from one newly-updated database (called Master Database, MDB) to revise, improve and correct the content of the other database (Called Client Database, CDB) for ensuring that CDB also has a current representation of the terrain. Currently, updates propagation between spatial databases is usually a complex and time-taking process because of the multi-level potential heterogeneities between them and the special requirement of keeping the updated CDB autonomous, complete, correct, and consistent as much as before. To simplify and improve the propagation of updates, a detailed classification of the possible heterogeneities between MDB and CDB is introduced and their influences on updates propagation are also analyzed. Based on these analyses, an appraoch based on schema matching is proposed to effectively implement updates propagation. The automated solutions to operations involved in this approach are discussed in detail, such as schema matching, entity identification, updates extraction, and updates integration.

Purpose To describe the clinical features and the surgical management of primary iris stromal cyst with rapid growth. Methods A 14-year-old Chinese-Mongolian girl was referred to us with a 1-month history of obstructed vision and photophobia. On an examination, a semitransparent cyst with a densely pigmented posterior wall was revealed in the anterior chamber of the left eye. The information regarding the location and extent of the cyst was further analyzed by anterior segment optical coherence tomography and ultrasound biomicroscopy. It arose within the iris stroma, measuring 7.52 x 3.60 mm. Blood vessels on the surface of the lesion were revealed by iris angiography. There was no history of amniocentesis, birth trauma, antecedent ocular injury, or maternal illness during gestation. The diagnosis of primary iris stromal cyst was made. A combination of needle aspiration, piecemeal resection of cyst wall, cryotherapy, and argon laser photocoagulation with overlapped spots was used. Results Histopathology of the cyst wall revealed nonkeratinized, multilayered, stratified squamous epithelium with clusters of goblet cells. Complete resolution of the cyst was successfully achieved. The visual acuity improved to 20/25 from counting fingers. At 6 months of follow-up, there was no recurrence. Conclusions Complete eradication and devitalization of any remaining epithelial cells are the key factors for preventing recurrence and diffuse epithelialization of the anterior chamber.

This paper investigates the computation complexity and long resolving time problems that exist in the optimal control algorithm based on MLD (Mixed Logical Dynamical) model. Basing on polynomial matrix, an improved algorithm is presented to reduce the dimension of the inequality constraints in MLD model. The computation complexity in the optimal algorithm has been reduced greatly. The resolving time has been also reduced. Thus computation efficiency is achieved. A piecewise linear switching system is used demonstrate proposed algorithm. Simulation results show the promising performance of the improved algorithm.

We examined the effects of bilateral electric lesion of the habenula (Hb) on the acquisition and maintenance of heroin self-administration. The rats were trained to self-administer heroin (0.05 mg/kg/infusion) under FR1 schedule in daily 4h sessions. A progressive ratio schedule (PR3-4) was used to evaluate the relative motivational value of heroin reinforcement. Compared with the controls, neither pre-training nor post-training of Hb lesions had any effects on the total amount of infusions and motivational value of heroin reward. However, pre-training Hb lesion caused transient active and inactive nose-poke responding in the early phase of training, suggesting increased locomotor exploration. The results suggest that Hb might not play an important role in mediating the acute reinforcing effect of heroin.

In order to fully utilize the existing geospatial data resource, reduce the building costs and complexities of GIS project, two kinds of spatial data materialized and virtual integration approaches are contrastively analyzed. The conflicts between spatial databases and the corresponding harmonizing technologies are discussed and explained. As viewed from the current application and research status, the data warehouse approach is feasible and widely used, and the approach based on Mediator/Wrapper is the research hotspot. Comparatively speaking, the automated detection and harmonization of semantic conflicts is the more difficult problem during spatial data integration and still needs the further research and survey.

To investigate the effect of connective tissue growth factor's antisense oligonucleotides (ASODN) on the growth of human tenon' s capsule fibroblasts (HTF) induced by transforming growth factor beta2 (TGF-beta2) in vitro.It was a experimental study. HTF was collected from glaucoma patients and cultured. The 5-6 passage was used for experiments. The HTF induced by TGF-beta2 was divided into the following groups: N group: normal HTF; T group: HTF induced by TGF-beta2; A group: CTGF ASODN antisense:5'-TACTGGCGGCGGTCAT-3' encapsulated with liposome; S group: sense 5'-ATGACCGCCGCCAGTA-3' encapsulated with liposome; D group: HTF encapsulated with liposome only. The activity of HTF treated by different concentrations of liposome was detected using methylthianolyldiphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MT) colorimetry. The expression of CTGF was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunocytochemistry assays. The expression of fibronectin (Fn) was examined by Western blot and immunocytochemistry assays.Liposome-ASODN (A group) significantly (F=15.25, 204.88, 19.73, 90.00; P0.05) inhibit the expression of CTGF and Fn in HTF induced by TGF-beta2 compared with S and D group. However, Liposome alone (T group) has no significant impact in HTF growth compared with T group (t = 0.90, 2.32, 0.75, 2.11; P0.05).CTGF-ASODN inhibits the CTGF and Fn expression of HTF induced by TGF-beta2, which may delay the formation of scar in glaucoma filtering surgery.

We report a case of vitiligo with localized repigmentation induced by imatinib mesylate. An elderly Chinese man has been characterized with recurrent gastrointestinal stromal tumors originated from interstitial cells of Cajal with gain-of-function c-kit mutation. His recurrent tumors have responded to imatinib mesylate therapy. To our surprise, his decade-long vitiligo was dramatically ameliorated by localized repigmentation, which is considered to be the side effect of imatinib mesylate. Hypopigmentation induced by imatinib mesylate with possible molecular blockage to a melanin-dependent KIT signal has been well documented; however, our case with repigmentation suggested that KIT signal of melanin formation would be much more sophisticated than we have believed.

To investigate whether the 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor (5-HT2A) gene T102C polymorphism is associated with the severity symptoms and negative symptoms in the first episode Chinese Han nationality patients with schizophrenia.Altogether 201 first episode Chinese Han nationality patients with schizophrenia were enrolled in this study. Genotyping of 5-HT2A gene T102C polymorphism was performed by PCR-RFLP technique. The positive and negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) was used for the evaluation of the severity of psychotic symptoms before any drug treatment.5-HT2A receptor 102-T/T genotype was significantly associated with both the PANSS total and negative symptom subscale baseline scores before the treatment, but not with the positive and general psychopathology subscales.5-HT2A T102C functional polymorphism may play a role in negative symptoms and prognosis of Chinese Han nationality people with schizophrenia.

To explore the effect of electroacupuncture on heroin seeking behavior and FosB expression in relevant brain regions.Rat model of heroin relapse behaviors was developed with progressive fixed ratio program,and model rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: a restraint group, a needle retention group, and a electroacupuncture group. The heroin seeking behavior was elicited by a small dose of heroin. FosB expression in relevnt brain region was assessed with immunohistochemical technique.Tests on reinstatement of drug seeking behavior induced by heroin priming showed that compared with the restraint group, active pokes in the electroacupuncture group decreased significantly(P0.05). Compared with the restraint group, the expression of FosB positive nuclei in Acd, Pcg and CeA of rats brain both in the electroacupuncture group and the needle retention group (P0.05) decreased significantly. In LC, the expression of FosB positive nuclei in the needle retention group decreased significantly compared with the restraint group (P0.05).Continuous acupuncture and needle retention attentuate the reinstatement of heroin-seeking behaviors induced by heroin priming, and the inhibitory effect may be mediated partially by the expression of FosB in relevant regions which are involved in the process of heroin addiction.

To evaluate the clinical value of color Doppler in monitoring graft flow in patients who underwent simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation.Totally 18 patients received color Doppler ultrasonography on day 1, 3, and 7 after SPK. Volumes and arteriovenous velocities of the kidney and pancreas grafts were recorded, and resistance index (RI) was calculated.Color Doppler ultrasound clearly displayed the modality, size, and flow of the kidney and pancreas grafts. Compared with the single kidney grafts, the modality, volume, and arteriovenous velocity of kidney grafts in SPK was not significantly different. Although the volume of pancreas graft was remarkably larger than the normal control pancreas early after transplantation, no difference in artery velocity was found between pancreas graft and normal pancreas. The spectrum of the portal vein in pancreas grafts showed the typical spectrum of iliac veins.Color Doppler ultrasound is sensitive in monitoring the graft flow of SPK recipients and can be used to identify postoperative vascular complications and evaluate tissue perfusion.

The nano-zinc sulfide was prepared in RPBR (rotating packed bed reactor) using zinc nitrate and hydrogen sulfide as the raw materials. The size and morphology, crystal structure, composition and optical properties of the nano-zinc sulfide were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), UV-visible spectrophotometer and energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDX). The results show that the nano-zinc sulfide particles are spherical and their average size is about 42 nm. The XRD pattern shows that the nano-zinc sulfide is in a good sphalerite crystal phase. The XPS spectra show that the binding energy of the S (2p) is 162.6 eV, while those of the Zn 2p3/2 and 2p1/2 are 1021.4 and 1044.6 eV respectively. The IR spectrum shows that the nano-zinc sulfide has good transmittance within the wavelength number range from 400 to 4000 cm(-1). The UV-Vis spectrum shows that the nano-zinc sulfide has strong absorption within the wavelength range from 200 to 340 nm. The optical gap of the nano-zinc sulfide is 3.57 eV by calculation. The EDX spectrum shows that the nano-zinc sulfide has high purity.

To investigate the relationship between monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene polymorphisms and schizophrenia in a Chinese Han population.Two hundred and twelve schizophrenic patients and 168 healthy controls were recruited according to CCMD-3. The polymorphisms of MAOA gene were determined with the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. The case-control association analysis was adopted to analyze the frequencies of genotype and allele in schizophrenic patients and controls.(1) The genotypes of MAOA gene were consistent with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in patient group and control group (chi2 = 0.618, df= 2, P0.05; chi2 = 3.173, df= 2, P0.05). (2) The distributions of genotypes or alleles of MAOA genes had no significant difference between patient group and control group (P0.05). (3)Divided by sex, the frequency of CT genotype in male patients was higher than that in male controls (chi2 = 7.654, P= 0.022). (4) There were no significant differences of genotypic and allelic distribution in MAOA genes between schizophrenic patients with positive family history and schizophrenic patients with negative family history and among different clinical subtypes in schizophrenic patients (P0.05).No association between MAOA gene and schizophrenia is found in Chinese Han population, but CT genotype is likely to be a susceptible factor of male schizophrenia.

Transmural electrical heterogeneity plays an important role in the normal dispersion of repolarizaion and propagation of excitation in the heart. The amplification of transmural electrical heterogeneity contributes to the genesis of arrhythmias in cardiac hypertrophy and failure. We established a mouse model with cardiac failure by aortic banding and investigated the possible contribution of L-type calcium current (I(Ca-L)) to transmural electrical heterogeneity in both normal and failing hearts. Single myocytes were enzymatically isolated from subendocardial and subepicardial myocardium of the free left ventricle wall. The recordings of action potential and I(Ca-L) were performed using the conventional whole-cell patch-clamp technique. The results showed that: (1) The action potential duration at 90% repolarization (APD(90)) of the subendocardial myocytes in normal control mice was (38.2 +/- 6.44) ms, which was significantly longer than that of the subepicardial myocytes [(15.672 +/- 5.31) ms]. The ratio of APD(90) for subendocardial/subepicardial myocytes was about 2.5:1. The peak I(Ca-L) density in subendocardial myocytes was (-2.7 +/- 0.49) pA/pF, which was not different from that in subepicardial myocytes [(-2.54 +/- 0.53) pA/pF]. (2) In failing hearts, both action potential duration at 50% repolarization (APD(50)) and APD(90) were remarkably prolonged either in subendocardial or subepicardial myocytes compared to that in sham hearts. The subendocardial myocytes had much longer APD. The ratio of APD(90) for subendocardial/subepicardial myocytes changed to about 4.2:1. (3) I(Ca-L) density in subendocardial myocytes was significantly decreased in failing hearts compared with that in sham hearts. At four test potentials from +10 mV to +40 mV, the density of I(Ca-L) from subendocardial myocytes in failing hearts was decreased by 20.2%, 21.4%, 21.6% and 25.7%, respectively (P0.01). However, no significant difference was observed in I(Ca-L) density from subepicardial myocytes in failing hearts. There was no significant difference in the kinetic properties of I(Ca-L) in subendocardial and subepicardial myocytes between the band and sham groups. We conclude that I(Ca-L) may not contribute to the physiological transmural electrical heterogeneity in mouse hearts. The electrical heterogeneity is exaggerated and the density of I(Ca-L) is decreased in the subendocardial myocytes, but not in the subepicardial myocytes in failing hearts. The results obtained suggest that the decreased density of I(Ca-L) in subendocardial myocytes is possibly an adaptive response to the prolongation of action potential due to delayed depolarization and may reduce the transmural dispersion of repolarization in heart failure.

Since the ban on the use of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) such as dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and hexachlorocyclohexane(HCH) in agriculture, their levels have generally dropped. In a number of cases, however, the levels of these OCPs were found to be unchanging or even increasing after the ban. With the aim to unveil the possible causes of these exceptions, we collected two lake cores from King George Island, West Antarctica, and determined their accumulation flux profiles and temporal trends of these OCPs. In the lake core sediments with glacier meltwater input, the accumulation flux of DDT shows an abnormal peak around 1980s in addition to the expected one in 1960s. In the lake core sediments without glacier meltwater input, the accumulation flux of DDT shows a gradual decline trend after the peak in 1960s. This striking difference in the DDT flux profiles between the two lake cores is most likely caused by the regional climate warming and the resulted discharge of the DDT stored in the Antarctic ice cap into the lakes in the Antarctic glacier frontier. Furthermore, to investigate the change of OCPs loadings in the Antarctic coastal ecosystem, we reconstructed the HCH and DDT concentration profiles in penguin droppings and observed a gradual increase for the former and a continuous decrease for the latter during the past 50 years. The increase of HCH seems to be due to the regional warming from the early 1970s and the resulted HCH discharge to the coastal ecosystem by glaciers' meltwater and the illegal use of HCH in the Southern Hemisphere in the recent decade. Thedifferent temporal trends of HCH and DDT accumulation rate in the lake core with glacier meltwater input and the aged penguin droppings can be explained by their different water-soluble property.

The title compound, catena-poly[[bromocopper(II)]-mu-(quinolin-8-yloxy)acetato-kappa(4)N,O,O':O''], [CuBr(C(11)H(8)NO(3))](n), is a novel carboxylate-bridged one-dimensional helical copper(II) polymer. The metal ion exhibits an approximately square-pyramidal CuBrNO(3) coordination environment, with the three donor atoms of the ligand and the bromide ion occupying the basal positions, and an O atom belonging to the carboxylate group of an adjacent molecule in the apical site. Carboxylate groups are mutually cis oriented, and each anti-anti carboxylate group bridges two copper(II) ions via one apical and one basal position [Cu...Cu = 5.677 (1) A], resulting in the formation of a helical chain along the crystallographic b axis.

Objective To survey the characteristics and distribution of military training-related injuries in tank crew of the armored forces.Methods With cluster sampling method,self-designed questionnaire was used in an on-scene investigation among 1028 soldiers of the armored forces.All data were statistically classified according to the diagnostic standard of Chinese PLA for analysis.The ratio in different categories of the injuries was calculated.Results The total incidence of military training-related injuries was 40.2%.The rate of injuries was highest in spring(18.8%),followed by that in winter,and lowest in summer and autumn.Injuries occurred more frequently in lower limbs,waist and buttocks(53.3%),and injuries in shoulder,upper limbs and back accounted for 36.3%,that in head accounted for 3.6%,and the total incidence of injuries occurring in neck,chest and abdomen accounted for 6.8%.Bruise was the main kind of injury,and and it often happened during firing of gun and backfill training.Conclusions The incidence of military training-related injuries in tank crew is high.Appropriate precautions should be taken based on the survey results to decrease the incidence of training injury.

Background Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) are a group of rare tumors. Chromogranin A (CgA) was considered as the most practical and useful serum tumor marker in PNET patients. But peripheral blood levels of CgA are not routinely tested in Chinese patients with PNETs. This study was to assess the diagnostic value of CgA in Chinese patients with PNETs especially in patients with insulinomas. Methods Eighty-nine patients with PNETs including 57 insulinomas and 32 non-insulinoma PNETs as well as 86 healthy participants were enrolled in this study between September 2003 and June 2013. Serum levels of CgA were measured by ELISA method. Expression of CgA protein was detected in 26 PNET tissues including 14 insulinomas by immunohistochemical staining. Results Serum levels of CgA in 89 PNET patients were significantly higher than that in healthy controls (P = 7.2 × 10−9). Serum levels of CgA in 57 patients with insulinomas (median 64.8 ng/ml, range 25–164) were slightly higher than the levels in healthy controls (median 53.4 ng/ml, range 39–94) but much lower than the levels in 32 patients with non-insulinoma PNETs (median 193 ng/ml, range 27–9021), P = 0.001. The serum CgA levels were reduced in 16 of 17 patients with insulinomas after tumor resection. ROC curve showed that CgA values at 60 ng/ml distinguished patients with insulinomas from healthy controls but its sensitivity and specificity were 66.7% and 73.3%, respectively. In contrast, CgA values at 74 ng/ml distinguished patients with non-insulinoma PNETs from healthy controls, and the sensitivity and specificity were 65.6% and 91.9%, respectively. Except for two insulinomas with negative staining of CgA, 12 insulinoma tissues showed positive staining of CgA. Conclusion CgA is a reliable serum diagnostic biomarker for PNETs but not for insulinomas.

The title mononuclear complex, [Ag(C15H12N2S)2]CF3SO3, reveals the mol­ecular symmetry C2 with the Ag atom located on a crystallographic twofold axis. The AgI centre is coordinated by two pyridine N-donors of two 8-(4-pyridylsulfanylmeth­yl)quinoline ligands in an almost linear geometry. The N—Ag—N angle is 173.06 (18)° and the Ag—N distance is 2.129 (3) A.

In the twofold-symmetric dinuclear title compound, [Ag2(C14H11N3S)2(CH3CN)2](CF3SO3)2, each AgI atom is coordinated by one N atom and one S atom from one 8-(pyrimidin-2-ylsulfanylmeth­yl)quinoline ligand, one N atom from a second 8-(pyrimidin-2-ylsulfanylmeth­yl)quinoline ligand, and one N atom of CH3CN, in a distorted trigonal pyramidal geometry. The cis bond angles around the AgI atom range from 90.8 (2) to 143.48 (11)°.

Much attention has been paid to titanium oxo clusters (TOCs) because of their use as model compounds of bulk nanoscale titanium oxides. On the other hand, doping of TiO2 with some metal complexes of 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) or bipyridine (bpy) results in low band-gap materials with high photovoltaic conversion efficiency. In this work, two metal–phenanthroline substituted titanium-oxo-clusters, [Ti17O28(OiPr)16(CoIIphen)2] (C1) and [Ti17O28(OiPr)18(CdIIphen)2] (C2), were successfully prepared by one-step in situ solvothermal synthesis. The structures of the compounds are best described as an oxo-isopropanoxo Ti17 parent fused with two M–phen moieties. They are the first examples of M–phen modified oxo-alkoxy titanium clusters. The band structure of the cluster is modified by the coordination of the metal complex and the absorption of the material is improved. The cluster can not only be used as a model for theoretical study, but can also be used as a precursor to prepare sensitized TiO films. Films (F1) with unique microstructures of hollow spheres, bowls, and doughnuts were obtained by a simple non-template coating method from the solution of Co–phen–TiO cluster C1. The size of the spheres is about 1–2 μm and the thickness of the shell is about 50 nm. Upon repetitive irradiation of the F1 film on the ITO electrode in a three electrode system, a clear photocurrent response was observed. The Co–phen moiety plays an important role in electron transition.

Four new indium chalcogenide compounds 1–4 were prepared by a similar solvothermal synthetic method in 1,2-diaminocyclohexane (dach) medium with or without the auxiliaries of germanium oxide or ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium bromide. Among them, two unusual polymeric structures assembled by Tn clusters were found. The anion of {H2dach·[Ni(dach)3]·[In12S20(dach)2]·3H2O}n (1) is a three-dimensional framework assembled by T3 clusters, in which the linkage is a unique In4(dach)4S6 cluster. The anion of {(Hdach)2·[Co(dach)3]4·[In16Co4S37]·dach·5H2O}n (3) is an unusual two-dimensional framework assembled by T4 clusters, in which the T4 clusters are linked by (S3)2− polysulfide ion. The structures of the other two new compounds are known, and they are {[Ni(dach)3]·[In2S4]·3H2O}n (2) and{(Hdach)4·[Co(dach)3]6·{[In16Co4S34]2[Co(dach)2]3}·6H2O}n (4). The auxiliaries play an important role in the structural assembly of the Tn clusters, mainly due to their effects on acidity of the reaction system and solubility of the reactants or products.

In the title mononuclear complex, [Cu(NSC)2(C13H11NO3)2], the iso­thio­cyanate ions and 8-(methoxy­carbonyl­methoxy)­quinoline mol­ecules act as monodentate ligands. The ligand geometry about the Cu centre, which lies on a twofold rotation axis, can be described as square-planar or grossly distorted octahedral, formed by two N atoms of the iso­thio­cyanate ions, two quinoline N atoms and two methoxy O atoms of the 8-(methoxy­carbonyl­methoxy)­quinoline ligands. The N—Cu—N cis angles around the Cu atom vary from 88.38 (12) to 94.27 (15)° and the Cu—N bond distances are 1.950 (2) and 2.024 (2) A.

In the title mononuclear complex, [HgI2(C12H11NO3)], the HgIIion has a distorted trigonal–planar coordination sphere defined by two I−anions and the N atom of a methyl 2-(quinolin-8-yloxy)acetate ligand. In the crystal, face-to-face π–π stacking interactions, with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.563 (9) Å, are observed.

In the centrosymmetric tetra-nuclear title compound, [Cu(4)I(4)(C(10)H(8)N(2)S(2))(2)], there are two different Cu(I) atoms with tetra-hedral coordination geometries. One is chelated by a pyridine N atom and an S-donor from one di-2-pyridyl disulfide ligand and coordinated by two I atoms, while the second Cu(I) atom is coordinated by a pyridine-N and three I atoms. Iodine bridges between the Cu(I) atoms form a tetra-nuclear structure.

In the title compound, [Cu(C(4)H(5)O(4))(H(2)O)](n), the imino-diacetate (ida) ligands link the Cu(II) atoms into polymeric zigzag chains running along [010]. Each Cu(II) ion is five-coordinated in a distorted square-pyramidal geometry by one N and two O atoms from an ida ligand, one O atom from the neighbouring ida ligand and one water O atom. In the crystal, the polymeric chains are held together via inter-molecular O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

In the neutral title complex, [Ni(NCS)(2)(C(14)H(18)N(2)O(2))]·H(2)O, the Ni(II) ion has a distorted octa-hedral geometry with cis-isothio-cyanate ligands.