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A dual-channel “on–off–on” fluorescent carbon dot was developed for specific detection of Fe3+ and Hg2+, which can be distinguished by F− and Al3+. The probe was practically applied in quantification of Fe3+ and Hg2+ in livestock feed and wastewater.

The posterior cingulate cortex (mainly area 23) in human and non-human primates is a critical component of the default mode network and is involved in many neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, autism, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia. However, cingulate area 23 has not yet identified in rodents and other lower mammals and this makes modeling related circuits and diseases in rodents very difficult. Using a comparative approach and unique connectional patterns the present study has uncovered the location and extent of rodent equivalent of the primate cingulate area 23. Like in monkeys, area 23 but not adjoining retrosplenial and visual areas in the rats and mice displays strong reciprocal connections with the anteromedial thalamic nucleus. Rodent area 23 also reciprocally connects with the medial pulvinar and claustrum as well as with the anterior cingulate, granular retrosplenial, medial orbitofrontal, postrhinal, and visual and auditory association cortices. The rodent A23 also projects to the subcortical effectors such as the dorsal striatum, ventral lateral geniculate nucleus, zona incerta, pretectal nucleus, superior colliculus, periaqueductal gray, and brainstem reticular formation. All these connectional findings support the versatility of area 23 in the integration and modulation of multimodal information underlying spatial processing, episodic memory, self-reflection, attention, value assessment and many adaptive behaviors. Additionally, this study also suggests that the rodents can be used to model primate and human area 23 in future structural, functional, pathological and neuromodulation studies.

Area prostriata is the primary limbic structure for rapid response to the visual stimuli in the far peripheral visual field. Recent studies have revealed that the prostriata receives inputs not only from the visual and auditory cortices but also from many structures critical for spatial processing and navigation. To gain insight into the functions of the prostriata in spatial learning and memory the present study examines the effects of bilateral lesions of the prostriata on motor ability, exploratory interest and spatial learning and memory using the open field, elevated plus-maze and Morris water maze tests. Our results show that the spatial learning and memory abilities of the rats with bilateral prostriata lesions are significantly reduced compared to the control and sham groups. In addition, the lesion rats are found to be less interested in space exploration and more anxious while the exercise capacity of the rats is not affected based on the first two behavioral tests. These findings suggest that the prostriata plays important roles in spatial learning and memory and may be involved in anxiety as well.

Under the current decentralization system in China, individual characteristics of the local political elites and collective characteristics of the standing committees of the local party have an impact on local education fiscal policy. Yet published research on the similarities and differences between the collective influence of the Standing committee and the individual influence of the political elite are lacking. To address this gap in the literature, our study discussed the impact of local political elites represented by the mayor and the secretary and the collective of standing committees of the local party on education fiscal expenditure. We construct multiple regression models and analyze the R2 Change of variables is based on the cross-sectional data from 2015 of 283 prefecture-level administrative units in China. We find that both political elites and the standing committees have significant impacts on fiscal expenditure in education, and that the influence of the latter is greater than that of the former. The effect of individual characteristics and collective characteristics on education fiscal expenditure is not completely consistent across prefectures. China's prefectural governments implement China's unique principle of democratic centralism when they make decisions on local spending for education and the collective decision-making under the leadership of the committee plays an important role in education fiscal expenditure. Based on this, we put forward policy suggestions to further develop the principle of democratic centralism and to optimize optimizing the local government education supply and evaluation mechanism.

Echovirus 6 (E6) is associated with various clinical diseases and is frequently detected in environmental sewage. Despite its high prevalence in humans and the environment, little is known about its molecular phylogeography in mainland China. In this study, 114 of 21,539 (0.53%) clinical specimens from hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases collected between 2007 and 2018 were positive for E6. The complete VP1 sequences of 87 representative E6 strains, including 24 strains from this study, were used to investigate the evolutionary genetic characteristics and geographical spread of E6 strains. Phylogenetic analysis based on VP1 nucleotide sequence divergence showed that, globally, E6 strains can be grouped into six genotypes, designated A to F. Chinese E6 strains collected between 1988 and 2018 were found to belong to genotypes C, E, and F, with genotype F being predominant from 2007 to 2018. There was no significant difference in the geographical distribution of each genotype. The evolutionary rate of E6 was estimated to be 3.631 × 10-3 substitutions site-1 year-1 (95% highest posterior density [HPD]: 3.2406 × 10-3-4.031 × 10-3 substitutions site-1 year-1) by Bayesian MCMC analysis. The most recent common ancestor of the E6 genotypes was traced back to 1863, whereas their common ancestor in China was traced back to around 1962. A small genetic shift was detected in the Chinese E6 population size in 2009 according to Bayesian skyline analysis, which indicated that there might have been an epidemic around that year.

Introduction: To assess changes of choroidal thickness (ChT) after administration of 1% atropine for 1 week in myopia, emmetropia, and hyperopia children. Methods: A total of 235 children aged 4–8 years, which included 46 myopia, 34 emmetropia, and 155 hyperopia patients were recruited and divided into three groups according to the spherical equivalent with the use of 1% atropine twice a day for 1 week. The ChT was measured at baseline and 1 week. Results: In the myopia and emmetropia groups, following administration of 1% atropine gel, the ChT thickened significantly under the fovea (i.e., from 278.29 ± 53.01 μm to 308.24 ± 57.3 μm, P < 0.05; from 336.10 ± 78.60 μm to 353.46 ± 70.22 μm, P < 0.05, respectively) and at all intervals from the fovea, while in the hyperopia group, there was no significant difference in the ChT except the nasal side (P < 0.05) . Conclusion: Topical administration of 1% atropine gel for 1 week significantly increased the subfoveal and parafoveal ChT in children with myopia and emmetropia. Atropine did not increase the ChT in hyperopia children, except at the nasal side.

A new lanthanide metal-organic framework (MOF), {[Eu2(BPS)3(H2O)4]·18(H2O)}n (1) with a wavy infinite chain secondary unit, has been prepared via utilizing 4,4′-bibenzoic acid-2,2′-sulfone (H2BPS) as the ligand under solvothermal conditions and characterized via single crystal X-ray diffraction, element analysis, TGA and PXRD. Due to its good water stability and strong emission under UV irradiation at room temperature, 1 could be used as a luminescent probe for acetone molecules. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of 1 against bacteria was explored. The inhibitory effects of 1 on gram positive and negative bacteria cells were detected by RT-PCR. ELISA was performed to evaluate the IL-1β and TNF-α in the plasma.

To improve children’s academic achievements, parents often try to provide them with adequate nutrition or/and send them to attend extracurricular tutoring classes. The effect of extracurricular tutoring on students’ performance has been well explored, whereas no rigorous empirical study was conducted to observe the relationship between breakfast and students’ academic performance. Besides, little empirical evidence has been presented to compare the effect of breakfast and that of extracurricular tutoring on students’ academic achievements. This study fills this gap by adopting the multiple linear regression model and Shapley Value Decomposition to analyze the academic quality monitoring data of 50,516 Year-3 students and 83,505 Year-8 students in Jiangsu, China. The results showed that both breakfast and extracurricular tutoring can improve students’ grades, and breakfast was superior to the tutoring in efficacy. This conclusion is of great significance for planning family education strategies scientifically and improving family education efficiently. It is necessarily convincible for parents and educators to rationally understand the role of extracurricular tutoring and pay enough attention to breakfast in improving students’ performance.

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Tangshen formula (TSF) is a traditional Chinese medicine composed of seven medicinal herbs including Astragalus membranaceus, Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch, Citrus aurantium L., etc. which is used to treat diabetic nephropathy III, IV qi and yin deficiency and stasis syndrome. Most of the studies on TSF are pharmacological and pharmacodynamic experiments. There are few basic studies on its chemical substances, and the effective constituents are not clear.To analyse the main chemical components of TSF and the absorbed components in rat plasma following oral administration based on liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Moreover, providing a rapid and valid analytical strategy for simultaneous determination of six components in rat plasma and use it in pharmacokinetic studies.A total of 132 components were identified in TSF, and 44 components were identified in rat plasma after oral TSF, 35 of which were prototype components and nine were metabolic components. A sensitive and reliable LC-MS/MS method was developed for simultaneous determination of six components in rat plasma. The intra-day and inter-day precision relative standard deviation (RSD) was lower than 15%; the accuracy of low, medium and high concentrations ranged from 80% to 120%. The recovery met the requirements and the RSD of the recoveries was less than 15%.A total of 132 components were identified in TSF. The LC-MS/MS quantitative method for the simultaneous determination of morroniside, loganin, notoginsenoside R

Photothermal therapy is a very promising treatment method in the field of cancer therapy. The photothermal nanomaterials in near-infrared region (NIR-I, 750-900 nm) attracts extensive attention in recent years because of the good biological penetration of NIR light. However, the penetration depth is still not enough for solid tumors due to high tissue scattering. The light in the second near-infrared region (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) allows deeper tissue penetration, higher upper limit of radiation and greater tissue tolerance than that in the NIR-I, and it shows greater application potential in photothermal conversion. This review summarizes the photothermal properties of Au nanomaterials, two-dimensional materials, metal oxide sulfides and polymers in the NIR-II and their application prospects in photothermal therapy. It will arouse the interest of scientists in the field of cancer treatment as well as nanomedicine.

In order to explore the effectiveness of the 5Why-based nursing intervention method in blood purification nursing, this paper takes 108 patients from Changzhou Second Hospital in the past three years as an example for experimental analysis. Moreover, this paper uses mathematical statistics to group patients into groups, and the two groups of patients are comparable. After grouping, this paper conducts preexperiment processing and then conducts patient grooming through various basic tasks so that the test results have a certain degree of reliability. On this basis, this paper verifies the nursing intervention methods through controlled trials. Among them, the control group is treated with the hospital’s conventional nursing methods and allowed patients to master self-nursing methods, while the test group is treated with 5Why-based nursing intervention on the basis of traditional nursing methods. Finally, this paper combines mathematical statistics to evaluate the effect of blood purification nursing. From the research results, it can be known that the 5Why-based nursing intervention method has certain effectiveness in blood purification nursing.

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury is the main cause of increased mortality and disability in cardiovascular diseases. The injury involves many pathological processes, such as oxidative stress, calcium homeostasis imbalance, inflammation, and energy metabolism disorders, and these pathological stimuli can activate endoplasmic reticulum stress. In the early stage of ischemia, endoplasmic reticulum stress alleviates the injury as an adaptive survival response, but the long-term stress on endoplasmic reticulum amplifies oxidative stress, inflammation, and calcium overload to accelerate cell damage and apoptosis. Therefore, regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress may be a mechanism to improve ischemia/reperfusion injury. Chinese herbal medicine has a long history of clinical application and unique advantages in the treatment of ischemic heart diseases. This review focuses on the effect of Chinese herbal medicine on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury from the perspective of regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Potential energy curves of the X1Σ+ and A1Π states of the AlF molecule are studied through the combination of the multi-reference configuration interaction (MRCI) approach and Davidson corrections (MRCI+Q). The AWCV5Z basis set is employed in the calculations. The transition dipole moments (TDMs) of the A1Π ↔ X1Σ+ transition are explored based on the AWCV5Z basis set and (4, 2, 2, 0) active space. The Schrödinger equation is solved via the LEVEL 8.2 program, and the vibrational levels and rotational constants of the X1Σ+ and A1Π states are calculated. It is shown that the AlF molecule has high diagonal Franck–Condon factors (f 00 = 0.9949 and f 11 = 0.9854) and large Einstein coefficients for the transition of A1Π (ν′ = 0) ↔ X1Σ+ (ν″ = 0). In addition, the radiative lifetimes of the vibrational levels are close to 10−9 s for the A1Π state. The line intensities of the A1Σ (ν′ = 4 – 15) ↔ X1Σ+ (ν″ = 0) transitions are also calculated. The calculated TDMs and transition probabilities in this work are credible and provide some guidance for the study of similar transitions, particularly for exploring interstellar space.

Background: Marine debris is an environmental pollution problem affecting the oceans worldwide. Recent studies reveal that marine debris ingestion by sea turtles is rising. Sea turtles brought in for rehabilitation allows an opportunity to provide insights into the possible effects of anthropogenic debris on animal’s survivorship during rehabilitation. Methods: A green turtle (Chelonia mydas) was bycaught in fishing gear in south-western Taiwan in 2016. Debris were collected in the holding tank during rehabilitation. After a 3-month rehabilitation, the turtle was fit for release. Prior to the release, the turtle was tagged with a satellite transmitter. Result: Marine debris were found in turtle feces or floating on the surface of basins during rehabilitation. The debris were dominated by fishing line, hard plastic, soft plastic, rope, wood and styrofoam. The turtle survived and was successfully released back into the wild attached with a satellite transmitter. The turtle remained residing in waters of southern Taiwan, possibly its foraging ground, for almost two months. This study presents an apparent successful rehabilitation of an endangered green sea turtle, that hopefully helps further enhance environmental education and public awareness, as well as concerted actions against marine pollution in general and anthropogenic debris related problems in particular.

Human adenovirus (HAdV-7) is a highly contagious pathogen that causes severe respiratory illnesses. However, the epidemic patterns and genetic variability of HAdV-7 circulating in mainland China have not been well elucidated. In this study, we used Chinese HAdV sentinel surveillance data obtained from 2012-2015 to investigate the clinical features of 122 HAdV-7-positive cases and performed amplification and sequence determination of three capsid genes (penton base, hexon, and fiber) from 69 isolated viruses covering from seven provinces of China. Additionally, we compared with data from representative sequences of 21 strains covering seven more provinces in China and 32 international HAdV-7 strains obtained from GenBank database to determine the phylogenetic, sequence variations, and molecular evolution of HAdV-7. The results indicated that HAdV-7 infection occurred throughout the year, and a high proportion of severe cases (27 cases, 22.1%) exhibited infantile pneumonia. Moreover, phylogenetic analysis showed that all HAdV-7 strains could be divided into two major evolutionary branches, including subtype 1 and subtype 2, and subtype 3 was also formed according to analysis of the penton base gene. Subtypes 1 and 2 co-circulated in China before 2008, and HAdV-7 strains currently circulating in China belonged to subtype 2, which was also the predominant strain circulating worldwide in recent years. Further sequence variation analysis indicated that three genes of HAdV-7 were relatively stable across time and geographic space, particularly for viruses within subtypes, which shared almost the same variation sites. Owing to continuous outbreaks caused by HAdV-7, resulting in increased illness severity and fatality rates in China, the establishment of a national HAdV surveillance system is urgently needed for the development of effective preventive and infection-control interventions for adenovirus respiratory infections in China.

Objective: Our aim was to investigate the effect of emodin on intestinal and lung injury induced by acute intestinal injury in rats and explore potential molecular mechanisms. Methods: Healthy male Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=10, each group): normal group; saline group; acute intestinal injury model group; model + emodin group; model+NF-κB inhibitor pynolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) group. Histopathological changes in intestine/lung tissues were observed by Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining. Serum IKBα, p-IKBα, surfactant protein-A (SP-A) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) levels were examined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RT-qPCR was performed to detect the mRNA expression levels of IKBα, SP-A and TLR4 in intestine/lung tissues. Furthermore, the protein expression levels of IKBα, p-IKBα, SP-A and TLR4 were detected by Western blot. Results: The pathological injury of intestinal/lung tissues was remarkedly ameliorated in models treated with emodin and PDTC. Furthermore, the intestinal/lung injury scores were significantly decreased after emodin or PDTC treatment. TUNEL results showed that both emodin and PDTC treatment distinctly attenuated the apoptosis of intestine/lung tissues induced by acute intestinal injury. At the mRNA level, emodin significantly increased the expression levels of SP-A and decreased the expression levels of IKBα and TLR4 in intestine/lung tissues. According to ELISA and Western blot, emodin remarkedly inhibited the expression of p-IKBα protein and elevated the expression of SP-A and TLR4 in serum and intestine/lung tissues induced by acute intestinal injury. Conclusion: Our findings suggested that emodin could protect against intestinal and lung injury induced by acute intestinal injury by modulating SP-A and TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Background The reduction of the delaying effect in the respiratory motion compensation system (RMCS) is still impossible to completely correct the respiratory waveform of the human body due to each patient has a unique respiratory rate. In order to further improve the effectiveness of radiation therapy, this study evaluates our previously developed RMCS and uses the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm combined with the phase lead compensator (PLC) to further improve the compensation rate (CR) of different respiratory frequencies and patterns of patients. Methods In this study, an algorithm of FFT automatic frequency detection was developed by using LabVIEW software, uisng FFT combined with PLC and RMCS to compensate the system delay time. Respiratory motion compensation experiments were performed using pre-recorded respiratory signals of 25 patients. During the experiment, the respiratory motion simulation system (RMSS) was placed on the RMCS, and the pre-recorded patient breathing signals were sent to the RMCS by using our previously developed ultrasound image tracking algorithm (UITA). The tracking error of the RMCS is obtained by comparing the encoder signals of the RMSS and RMCS. The compensation effect is verified by root mean squared error (RMSE) and system CR. Results The experimental results show that the patient's respiratory patterns compensated by the RMCS after using the proposed FFT combined with PLC control method, the RMSE is between 1.50-5.71 and 3.15-8.31 mm in the right-left (RL) and superior-inferior (SI) directions, respectively. CR is between 72.86-93.25% and 62.3-83.81% in RL and SI, respectively. Conclusions This study used FFT combined with PLC control method to apply to RMCS, and used UITA for respiratory motion compensation. Under the automatic frequency detection, the best dominant frequency of the human respiratory waveform can be determinated. In radiotherapy, it can be used to compensate the tumor movement caused by respiratory motion and reduce the radiation damage and side effects of normal tissues nearby the tumor.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232092.].

A series of ruthenium-cymene derivatives subjecting [Ru(η6-cymene)Cl2]2 and substituted bidentate N,O donor precursors have been synthesized and characterized. Reacting [Ru(η6-cymene)Cl2]2 with two equivalents the lithium salt of phenyl keto-amine ligands LiL1∼LiL3 resulted in the formation of [Ru(η6-cymene)(L)Cl] (1–3). Similarly, the reaction between [Ru(η6-cymene)Cl2]2 and two equivalents of LiL4 or NaL5 afforded compounds {Ru(η6-cymene)[L4)]Cl} (4) and [Ru(η6-cymene)(L5)Cl] (5). The 1H NMR chemical shifts of aromatic protons of the cymene fragment for compounds 1–5 fell in the range δ 5.54–3.58, showing chemical shifts farther upfield than the corresponding protons of [Ru(η6-cymene)Cl2]2 due to the intramolecular ring current effect. The 2,6-diisopropylphenyl substituted pheny lketo-amine ligand of compound 3 shows a slow C-N bond rotation with the rotation rate constant at ca. 4.62 s−1. The catalytic aminations of benzyl alcohol with benzylamine using compounds 1–3 as catalysts resulted in higher conversion than using compounds 4 and 5. Two products, PhCH = NCH2Ph and HN(CH2Ph)2 were detected, with PhCH = NCH2Ph being the major product. When benzyl alcohol was reacted with phenylamine in the presence of compounds 1–5, the conversions are all greater than 60% and PhCH = NPh was the major product. While sterically hindered 2,6-diisopropylaniline appeared in alcohol amination reactions in the presence of catalysts, no imine or amine products were detected.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a critical illness with no current effective treatment. Caveolin-1 indirectly activates inflammation-associated signaling pathways by inhibiting endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). This induces an imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels, which are involved in the pathogenesis of ALI. The compound Chinese prescription Qi-Dong-Huo-Xue-Yin (QDHXY) is efficacious for ALI treatment via an anti-inflammatory effect; however, the exact underlying mechanism is unknown. Therefore, we explored the protective effect of QDHXY against lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced ALI in mice. Histopathological changes in mouse lung tissues were studied. Furthermore, alterations in the serum levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were investigated. The levels of tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-)α, interleukin- (IL-) 6, IL-1β, and interferon-γ-induced protein 10 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were measured. Additionally, the expression levels of myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), caveolin-1, and eNOS were assessed. QDHXY significantly reduced lung infiltration with inflammatory cells and the production of serum pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and inhibited the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, caveolin-1, and MyD88 but not eNOS. These indicate that QDHXY significantly improved the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels, possibly by inhibiting the caveolin-1 signaling pathway. Therefore, QDHXY may be a potential treatment for ALI.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gasotransmitter molecule recognized for its role in cell signaling. Garlic-derived polysulfides including diallyl disulfide (DADS) and diallyl trisulfide (DATS) have been shown to release H2S. We investigated the mechanism of the reaction of DADS and DATS with biological thiols, including cysteine (Cys) and glutathione (GSH), using density functional theory. We propose that Cys and GSH react with DADS and DATS in their anionic forms. Thiol anions are much more likely to attack the sulfur atoms of DADS and DATS than the α-carbon of allyl groups. We found that nucleophilic attack of thiol anions on the peripheral sulfur of DATS is kinetically and thermodynamically more favorable than that on the central sulfur atom, resulting in the formation of allyl perthiol anion (ASS–). In the presence of Cys or GSH, H2S is released by proton-shuffle from the thiol to ASS–, followed by another nucleophilic attack by thiol anion on ASSH. Our computed potential energy surfaces revealed that GSH...

In this study, the efficiency and mechanism of aqueous phosphate removal by magnetic biochar derived from water hyacinth (MW) were investigated. The MW pyrolyzed at 450 °C (MW450) exhibited the most prominent phosphate sorption capacity, which was estimated to be 5.07 mg g −1 based on Langmuir−Freundlich model. At an initial phosphorus (P) concentration of 1 mg l −1 , >90% P removal was achieved over pH 3–9, but the efficiency decreased sharply at pH > 10. The presence of arsenate and carbonate could remarkably decrease P sorption, while the inhibition effects of antimonate, nitrate and sulfate were less significant. In further application of MW450 to reclaim P from eutrophic lake waters (0.71–0.94 mg l −1 total P), ∼96% P removals were attained in the batch studies and the effluent P concentrations in the column tests were reduced to −1 within 509–1019 empty bed volumes. As indicated by XRD, MW450 surface was dominated by Fe 3 O 4 and Fe 2 O 3 , resulting in a good ferromagnetic property of this composite (saturation magnetization 45.8 emu g −1 ). Based on XPS, P sorption onto MW450 occurred mainly by surface complexation with the hydroxyl via ligand exchange. These results highlighted that MW derived from highly damaging water hyacinth could provide a promising alternative for P removal from most eutrophic waters.

Pyrrole and keto-amine based morpholine ligands are conveniently synthesized and their corresponding Al-compounds are afforded accordingly. The combination of 1, {C4H3NH-2-[CH NCH2CH2N(CH2CH2)2O]} and two equivalents of PhNCO generates compound 3, {C4H3N(CONPh)CH N(CONPh)(CH2)2NC4H4O} in relatively high yield. In addition, reacting 1 with one and two equivalents of AlMe3 in toluene render mono- and di-aluminum compounds, AlMe2{C4H3N[2-CH NCH2CH2N(CH2CH2)2O]} (4) and AlMe2{C4H3N[2-CH NCH2CH2N(CH2CH2)2O]AlMe3} (5), respectively. Similarly, reactions of morpholine bounded keto-amine ligands OCMeCHCMeNHCH2CH2N(CH2CH2)2O (2a) and OCPhCHCMeNHCH2CH2N(CH2CH2)2O (2b) with one and two equivalents of AlMe3 result the formation of mono- and di-aluminum compounds, AlMe2{OCRCHCMeN[CH2CH2N(CH2CH2)2O] (6a, R = Me; 6b, R = Ph) and AlMe2{OCRCHCMeN[CH2CH2N(CH2CH2)2O]·AlMe3 (7a, R = Me; 7b, R = Ph), respectively in moderate yield. Compounds 1, 3, 4 and 6b are subjected to X-ray diffraction analysis to ensure the geometry around Al atom. All the aluminum compounds could effectively commence the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of e-caprolactone in a well-controlled manner with molecular weight distributions (PDI = 1.08–1.37).

We wished to study the dynamic change in variation of rubella viruses circulating during 1999-2015 in mainland China at the molecular level. Molecular evolution of Chinese rubella viruses collected during 1999 ~ 2015 was analyzed according to a surveillance database of measles/rubella laboratory networks in China. A total of 1737 rubella viruses were obtained from 20 of 31 provinces (except Xinjiang and Tibet) during 1999 ~ 2015. Four genotypes (1E, IF, 2A, 2B) were detected. The genotype-1E rubella virus was detected first in 2001. Subsequently, genotype 1E became the predominant genotype circulating during 2001~2013, and could be divided into two closely related clusters (A (2004-2015) and B (2001-2009)). However, the detection rate of the genotype-1E rubella virus decreased year-by-year from 2011, and reached the lowest level (1. 3%) in 2015. The genotype-1F rubella virus was restricted geographically to China, and no longer found after 2002; presumably its circulation in China was interrupted. All genotype-2A rubella viruses were derived from vaccine-related cases. At least four genotypes of 2B rubella viruses (lineage 1 ~ 4) circulated in mainland China during 2000 ~ 2015. The genotype-2B rubella virus was detected sporadically and was in a weak position until 2010. However, the detection rate of imported genotype-2B rubella viruses (lineage 3) was increased and became the predominant genotype during 2014~2015. Through the study of 16 consecutive years in mainland China, the evolution and epidemic situation of the rubella virus was obtained to aid virology surveillance for rubella control in China.

The structure and transport properties of xKF–yNaF–zAlF3 molten salt are studied by molecular dynamics simulation, from which a deep understanding of the subjects and their interactions are gained at the level of molecular. The calculated results show that the local ions in the xKF–yNaF–zAlF3 molten salt system still maintain the short-range and ordering structure of five-coordinated [AlF5]2− and six-coordinated [AlF6]3− with [AlF5]2− aluminum fluoride complex ion being the main form of aluminum ion in molten salt. With the concentration of KF increasing in the molten salt, the diffusion capacity of Na+ and F− ions have been improved, and the degree of polymerization of the system has been effectively reduced, which indicates that K+ can promote the movement of Na+ and F− in the molten.