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A novel deep eutectic solvent-magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (DES-MMIP) for the specific removal of oxalic acid (OA) was prepared by an environmentally friendly deep eutectic solvent, consisting of betaine, citric acid, and glycerol, which acted as the functional monomer for polymerization. The structure and morphology of DES-MMIPs were studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer. DES-MMIPs had a core-shell structure, with magnetic iron oxide as the core, and showed good thermal stability and high adsorption capacity (18.73 mg/g) for OA. The adsorption process of OA by DES-MMIPs followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. DES-MMIPs had significant selectivity for OA and their imprinting factor was 3.26. When applied to real samples, high performance liquid chromatography analysis showed that DES-MMIPs could remove OA from both spinach and blood serum. These findings provide potential methods for removal of OA from vegetables and for specific removal of OA in renal dialysis.

The development of effective drug-loaded dressings has been considered a hot research topic for biomedical therapeutics, including the use of botanical compounds. For wound healing, adequate dressings can provide a good microenvironment for drug release, such as lidocaine. Biological macromolecular materials such as alginate show excellent properties in wound management. This study involves the preparation and evaluation of biocompatible multilayered-structure microspheres composed of chitosan, porous gelatin, and calcium alginate microspheres. The multilayered structure microspheres were named chitosan@ porous gelatin@ calcium alginate microspheres (CPAMs) and the drugs were rapidly released by the volume expansion of the calcium alginate microspheres. The in vitro release curve revealed that the peak release of lidocaine from CPAMs was reached within 18[Formula: see text]min. After 21[Formula: see text]min, the remaining lidocaine was then slowly released, and the active drug release was converted to a passive drug release phase. The initial release effect of lidocaine was much better than that reported in the published studies. Additionally, blood coagulation experiments showed that CPAMs coagulated blood in 60[Formula: see text]s, and the blood liquidity of the CPAMs group was worse than that of the woundplast group. Therefore, the coagulation characteristics of CPAMs were superior to the commonly used woundplast containing lidocaine healing gel. These study outcomes indicated that the CPAMs acted as fast-release dressings for faster pain control and better coagulation properties.

In this work, an efficient and sensitive magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer with zein and deep eutectic solvents (ZDM-MIPs) was designed and synthesized to exclusively adsorb and detect aspartame (ASP). We used zein, together with deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and Fe3O4 as the cross-linker, functional monomer and support material, respectively. A magnetic glassy carbon electrode (MGCE) modified with ZDM-MIPs was used for selective recognition of ASP. The electrochemical response of the ZDM-MIPs-MGCE for quantification of ASP was evaluated with a portable electrochemical detection station with differential pulse voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry. The responses of ZDM-MIPs-MGCE signified a good linear relationship with ASP concentrations in the range of 0.1–50 μg mL−1. The sensor systems showed good accuracy and precision, with recovery percentages between 84% and 107%. These results suggested that the obtained ZDM-MIPs exhibited good adsorption performance for ASP in soft drinks, and this method could be used to determine ASP content in actual food samples.

In this work, the magnetic and transport properties of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (LCMO) films are compared with films capped with Fe3O4. The capping layers for films with the thicknesses of 50 nm and 100 nm broadened the metal–insulator transition, though they produced rather few changes to other properties. The results were dramatically different for a 20-nm-thick LCMO layer compared to other thicker films. The metal–insulator transition temperature increased from 160 to 200 K for capped LCMO film despite the fact that the capping layer reduced the magnitude of magnetization. The temperature of maximum magnetoresistance (MR) shifted from 115 to 185 K. However, its magnitude, 1500% at 5 T, remained unchanged due to capping. This behavior was attributed to atomic inter-diffusion at the LCMO/Fe3O4 interface which resulted in the generation of Mn2+ ions. These results are of great significance and suggest a promising future for both the fundamental research and device applications involving thin films of LCMO.

Previously published equations to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) have limited accuracy in Asian populations. We aimed to develop and validate a more accurate equation for estimated GFR (eGFR) in the Chinese population, using data from 8571 adults who were referred for direct measurement of GFR by renal dynamic imaging (mGFR) at 3 representative hospitals in China. Patients from the Third Xiangya Hospital were included in our development (n=1730) and internal validation sets (n=1042) and patients from the other hospitals comprised the external validation set (n=5799). We excluded patients who were prescribed medications known to influence the tubular secretion of creatinine, patients on dialysis, kidney transplant recipients, and patients with missing creatinine values or with creatinine >700 μmol/l. We derived a novel eGFR equation by linear regression analysis and compared the performance to 12 creatinine-based eGFR equations, including previously published equations for use in Chinese or Asian populations. In the development and internal validation sets, the novel Xiangya equation had high accuracy (accuracy within 30% [P30], 79.21% and 84.33%, respectively), low bias (mean difference between mGFR and eGFR, -1.97 and -1.85 ml/min per 1.73 m2, respectively), and high precision (interquartile range of the differences, 21.13 and 18.88 ml/min per 1.73 m2, respectively). In external validation, the Xiangya equation had the highest P30 among all eGFR equations, with P30 ≤ 75% for the other 12 equations. This novel equation provides more accurate GFR estimates in Chinese adults and could replace existing eGFR equations for use in the Chinese population.

Transferrin (Trf) is a new type of active drug targeting carrier and disease biomarker that regulates the balance of iron ions in human body. The recognition and isolation of Trf is of great significance for disease diagnosis and treatment. Thus, a new type of magnetic dual affinity epitope molecularly imprinted polymer coated on Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4@DEMIP) was successfully prepared for specific recognition of Trf. C-terminal nonapeptide and Trf glycan were selected as bi-epitope templates for metal chelation and boron affinity immobilization, respectively. 4-vinylphenylboric acid (4-VP), N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) and zinc acrylic were used as functional monomers. Results showed that Fe3O4@DEMIP exhibited excellent specific recognition ability adsorption capacity toward Trf, with an adsorption of 43.96 mg g−1 (RSD = 3.28%) and a more satisfactory imprinting factor (about 6.60) than that of other reported imprinting methods. In addition, Fe3O4@DEMIP displayed pH, temperature and magnetic sensitivity properties to realize temperature and pH-controlled recognition and release of target proteins and magnetic rapid separation. Furthermore, the Fe3O4@DEMIP coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was successfully used for specific recognition of Trf in biosamples. This study provides a reliable protocol for preparing metal chelation and boron affinity dual affinity bi-epitope molecularly imprinted polymers for synergistic and efficient recognition of biomacromolecules in the complex biological systems.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a powerful anticancer natural product, with its separation and purification having been widely studied. In this work, new molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) using deep eutectic solvents (DESs) with different molar ratios were prepared as functional monomers. These were then used as adsorbents in solid phase extraction (SPE) for the separation of PTX from its structural analogs. The polymers were characterized by energy disperive X-rays (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results suggested that the formative regular DES-MIPs had an even pore-size distribution and a large specific surface area. The dynamic adsorption and static adsorption showed that the DES-MIPs had excellent adsorption performance, with a maximum adsorption capacity and optimum adsorption time of 87.08 mg/g and 180 min, respectively. The selective adsorption experiments showed that the material had outstanding selectivity, and the maximum selectivity factor was 6.20. For stability, after six consecutive adsorption and desorption cycles, the DES-MIPs maintained the perfect stability and reusability. Furthermore, the fabricated SPE column was successfully utilized for extracting and eluting PTX. This study provides a reliable protocol for the separation and purification PTX from its structural analogs and the DES-MIPs materials have excellent potential application value in pharmaceutical industry.

Numerous studies have been conducted on the population pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus in adult renal transplant recipients. It has been reported that the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A5 genotype is an important cause of variability in tacrolimus pharmacokinetics. However, the predictive performance of population pharmacokinetic (PK) models of tacrolimus should be evaluated prior to their implementation in clinical practice. The aim of the study reported here was to test the predictive performance of these published PK models of tacrolimus. A literature search of the PubMed and Web of Science databases ultimately led to the inclusion of eight one-compartment models in our analysis. We collected a total of 1715 trough concentrations from 174 patients. Predictive performance was assessed based on visual and numerical comparison bias and imprecision and by the use of simulation-based diagnostics and Bayesian forecasting. Of the eight one-compartment models assessed, seven showed better predictive performance in CYP3A5 extensive metabolizers in terms of bias and imprecision. Results of the simulation-based diagnostics also supported the findings. The model based on a Chinese population in 2013 (model 3) showed the best and most stable predictive performance in all the tests and was more informative in CYP3A5 extensive metabolizers. As expected, Bayesian forecasting improved model predictability. Diversity among models and between different CYP3A5 genotypes of the same model was also narrowed by Bayesian forecasting. Based on our results, we recommend using model 3 in CYP3A5 extensive metabolizers in clinical practice. All models had a poor predictive performance in CYP3A5 poor metabolizers, and they should be used with caution in this patient population. However, Bayesian forecasting improved the predictability and reduced differences, and thus the models could be applied in this latter patient population for the design of maintenance dose.

Diltiazem is a benzothiazepine calcium blocker and widely used in renal transplant patients since it improves the level of tacrolimus or cyclosporine A concentration. Several population pharmacokinetic (PopPK) models had been established for cyclosporine A and tacrolimus but no specific PopPK model was established for diltiazem. The aim of the study is to develop a PopPK model for diltiazem in renal transplant recipients and provide relevant pharmacokinetic parameters of diltiazem for further pharmacokinetic interaction study. Patients received tacrolimus as primary immunosuppressant agent after renal transplant and started administration of diltiazem 90 mg twice daily on 5th day. The concentration of diltiazem at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 8, and 12 h was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS). Genotyping for CYP3A4*1G, CYP3A5*3, and MDR1 3435 was conducted by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP). 25 covariates were considered in the stepwise covariate model (SCM) building procedure. One-compartment structural pharmacokinetic model with first-order absorption and elimination was used to describe the pharmacokinetic characteristics of diltiazem. Total bilirubin (TBIL) influenced apparent volume of distribution (V/F) of diltiazem in the forward selection. The absorption rate constant (K a), V/F, and apparent oral clearance (CL/F) of the final population pharmacokinetic (PopPK) model of diltiazem were 1.96/h, 3550 L, and 92.4 L/h, respectively. A PopPK model of diltiazem is established in Chinese renal transplant recipients and it will provide relevant pharmacokinetic parameters of diltiazem for further pharmacokinetic interaction study.

Two distinct new dummy-template molecularly imprinted polymers (D-MIPs) for selective extraction of paclitaxel (PTX) were prepared by the bulk polymerization approach using 10-deacetylbaccatin III (10-DAB) and the side chain (SC) of PTX as the template molecules individually. The obtained D-MIPs exhibited high adsorption capacity and high selectivity: 10-DAB-MIPs for PTX 15.48 mg/g and SC-MIPs for PTX 19.23 mg/g. Under the optimum experimental conditions, both 10-DAB-MIPs and SC-MIPs could be successfully applied to enrich PTX from its structural analogs and acted as a drug vehicle for delivering therapy. For example, 10-DAB-MIPs and SC-MIPs were used as PTX carriers, and the carriers were incubated with artificial gastric juice, artificial intestinal fluid, and patient fecal samples. PTX was detected in samples with an elution rate of about 45%, indicating that the two D-MIPs were good vehicles for delivering PTX in the intestine. The results showed that these D-MIPs had great potential to be used as adsorbing materials for PTX and for drug delivery systems in complex biological systems.

Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) have received enormous attention since it displays uniquely optical and electronic properties. In this work, we study localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) at different thicknesses and substrate temperatures of Ag NPs films grown by Laser Molecule Beam Epitaxy (LMBE). The LSPR wavelength can be largely tuned in the visible light range of 470 nm to 770 nm. The surface morphology is characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The average size of Ag NPs increased with the thickness increased which leading to the LSPR band broaden and wavelength red-shift. As the substrate temperature is increased from RT to 200 °C, the Ag NPs size distribution becomes homogeneous and particle shape changes from oblate spheroid to sphere, the LSPR band displays sharp, blue-shift and significantly symmetric. Obviously, the morphology of Ag NPs films is important for tuning absorption position. We obtain the cubic crystal structure of Ag NPs with a (1 1 1) main diffraction peak from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra. The high resolution TEM (HR-TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) prove that Ag NPs is polycrystal structure. The Ag NPs films with large range absorption in visible light region can composite with semiconductor to apply in various optical or photoelectric devices.

Biocompatible magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (BMMIPs) were prepared with Zein for the first time, and were used to enrich tetracycline compounds selectively. Innovative combination of BMMIPs and electrochemistry to obtain lower detection line to satisfy industrial detection demands. Using Zein as the crosslinking agent, the polymers were synthesized on the surface of Fe3O4 particles. The scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffraction technologies were used to characterize BMMIPs. Through optimization, BMMIPs attained large adsorption capacity (236.40 mg/g) with fast kinetics (40 min) and followed the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. BMMIPs had good recognition ability, the selective factors of oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, doxycycline were 4.78, 4.23, and 3.39, respectively. Excellent linearity was attained in the range of 0.025–500 μg/mL, with low detection limits and low quantitation limits of 0.025 and 0.083 μg/mL. According to our exploring, BMMIPs was ideal materials for enrichment of tetracycline in complex biological samples.

Serum cystatin C (CysC) measurement is regarded as a simple and practical alternative to measure residual renal function for dialysis patients. Recent studies have shown that CysC has better diagnostic accuracy or at least equivalence to creatinine in predicting the early stages of renal damage, and is closely related to clinical outcomes of dialysis patients. Thus, the applicability of CysC-derived equations in patients undergoing dialysis should be paid attention. Here, we review the role of CysC in diagnosis, renal function evaluation, and prognosis outcomes for dialysis patients, so as to provide them with useful suggestions on evaluating renal function and predicting adverse outcomes in clinical practice.

To examine the relationship of morphological characters of sagittal otolith and the age of Liza haematocheila in the Yangtze Estuary, we analyzed the morphological parameters of 324 pairs of otoliths extracted from 358 L. haematocheila specimens from the Yangtze Estuary in February to June of 2017. The results showed that sagittal otolith had rostrum, antirostrum and obvious central notch. The size and shape of sagittal otolith significantly changed with their growth, from regular melon seeds shape outline to long narrow leaf shape and increasing irregular wavy outline. The average density of sagittal otolith was 1.52 mg·mm为研究长江口鮻矢耳石形态特征及其质量与年龄的关系,2017年2—6月从长江口水域采集鮻358 尾,解剖并提取耳石324对,并对其形态学参数进行测量分析.结果表明: 鮻矢耳石具有基叶和翼叶,中央听沟明显,矢耳石的大小和形状随个体生长变化明显,矢耳石由边缘规则的圆润瓜子状渐变为褊窄的叶片状,边缘波浪状突起逐渐变多.矢耳石平均密度为1.52 mg·mm

The γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA

The plasmons in graphene have the superior properties to metal surface plasmons, such as high field confinement, low Ohmic loss and long wave propagation, highly tunable via electrostatic. More importantly, the frequency of plasmons ranges from terahertz to infrared which indicates that graphene is an ideal candidate for terahertz plamsonics. On the other hand, the strong coupling between incident photons and plasmons in graphene can lead the optical absorption to be enhanced. However, it is difficult for light to couple directly with plasmons in graphene, for the momentum of incident photons cannot match the plasmons in graphene. A metal grating can be used to compensate for the momentum of photons so that it can match that of plasmons in graphene. In this work, we theoretically investigate the effect of plasmons on the terahertz optical absorption of graphene with grating based on finite difference time domain. A great enhancement of electric field component of light field can be obtained near the gold grating strip in the sheet of graphene. Thus, the photons, of which the momentum is compensated for by the grating, can strongly couple with plasmons in graphene. An obviously decrease of the transmission of the graphene structure can be seen at the resonant frequency. The transmission peak corresponds to the resonant frequency spliting into two peaks due to the fact that two plasmon polariton modes are formed by the coupling of photons and palsmons. So we also study the plasmon polariton modes made by coupling photon with palsmon based on the many-body self-consistent method. Two plasmon polariton modes are obtained and an obviously splitting at the resonant frequency can be seen due to the coupling between photons and plasmons. The work conduces to deepening the understanding of the photoelectric properties of graphene and the terahertz plasmonics based on graphene.

We have grown room temperature ferromagnetic Fe, and Fe,Cu-codoped In 2 O 3 films on sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The magnetization of the Fe-doped In 2 O 3 films was independent of the thickness and the observed ferromagnetism was almost homogeneous. The addition of Cu caused the films to exhibit obvious thickness dependent magnetization and the ferromagnetism became inhomogeneous. The temperature dependence of the magnetization, X-ray absorption fine structure and magnetic circular dichroism data, clearly established the presence of Fe metal clusters in Fe,Cu-codoped In 2 O 3 films, which contribute to the inhomogeneous ferromagnetism.

(In1−xNix)2O3 (x = 0.03 and 0.06) powders were prepared by a solid-state reaction and a vacuum annealing process. The air-sintered samples initially showed paramagnetism, and then exhibited obvious room temperature ferromagnetism after vacuum annealing. The ferromagnetic signal almost disappeared after air annealing and reappeared after vacuum annealing. Hence, the ferromagnetism can be switched “on” and “off” by alternate air and vacuum annealing. X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and field-cooled/zero-field-cooled measurements were performed. These analyses confirmed that there was no detectable trace of Ni or Ni oxide secondary phase in vacuum-annealed (In1−xNix)2O3 samples, and that the Ni ions were incorporated into the indium oxide lattice (substituting the In3+ ions). No ferromagnetic signal emerged from pure In2O3 powders regardless of undergoing vacuum or air annealing. These results revealed that oxygen vacancy and local spin are two factors that indispensably affect the ferromagnetic properties of the Ni-doped In2O3 system.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay for calycosin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside in rat plasma and urine with solid-phase extraction (SPE) was developed. Rutin was employed as an internal standard. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-water (16:84, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Detection was set at 280 nm. The limit of quantitation of calycosin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside was 0.2 microg/mL in both plasma and urine. The standard curve was linear from 0.2 to 10.0 microg/mL in plasma, and 0.2 to 5.0 microg/mL in urine. Both intra- and inter-day precision of the calycosin-7-O-beta-d-glucopyranoside were determined and their RSD did not exceed 10%. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of samples obtained from a basic pharmacokinetic study, in which calycosin-7-O-beta-d-glucopyranoside was administered orally to rats.

In order to investigate proper potassium application rate and its effects on growth and grain yield for Yongyou japonica/indica hybrids series, a field experiment was conducted using Yongyou 12 and Yongyou 538 with five treatments of 0, 75, 150, 225, and 300 kg ha potassium application. Results indicated that compared with check treatment (0 kg ha), potassium

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography assay for mangiferin in rat plasma and urine was developed. Rutin was employed as an internal standard. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile–water (16:84, v/v) containing 3% acetic acid at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Detection was at 257 and 365 nm for mangiferin in plasma and urine, respectively. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) of mangiferin was 0.6 mg/mL in plasma, and 0.48 mg/mL in urine. The standard curve was linear from 0.6 to 24 mg/mL in plasma, and 0.48 to 24 mg/mL in urine, both intra- and inter-day precision of the mangiferin were determined and their RSD did not exceed 10%. The method provides a technique for rapid analysis of mangiferin in rat plasma and urine, which can be used in pharmacokinetic studies. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fe/Sn-codoped In2O3 powders and films are prepared by a vacuum annealing process and a pulsed laser deposition technique, respectively. The structural and magnetic properties of the samples are investigated. The obvious room-temperature ferromagnetism is observed in both (In0.92Fe0.05Sn0.03)(2)O-3 powders and films, but their magnetic behaviors are very different. The ferromagnetism of the vacuum-annealed powders is partially due to precipitated Fe3O4 impurity. By contrast, the ferromagnetism of the films is intrinsic and does not originate from any magnetic impurity, as confirmed by the extensive x-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetization studies.

The magnetic and transport properties of a single layer of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 are compared with one topped with magnetic nanodots formed from oxides of iron. Remarkably enhanced magnetization and metal-insulator transition temperature were observed for the decorated film capped with In2O3. The saturation magnetization increased by ∼35%, and the metal-insulator transition temperature increased from 75 K to 145 K at zero field. However, no enhancement was observed for either the La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 film with uncapped magnetic dots or the bilayer formed from La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 and In2O3.