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Summary Transcription factors (TFs) are critical regulation elements and its dysregulation can lead to a variety of cancers. However, currently, there are no such online resources for large-scale collection, storage and analysis of TF-cancer associations in those cancers. To fill this gap, we present a database called TFcancer (http://lcbb.swjtu.edu.cn/tfcancer/), which contains 3136 experimentally supported associations between 364 TFs and 33 TCGA cancers by manually curating more than 1800 literature. TFcancer mainly concentrates on four aspects: TF expression, molecular alteration, regulatory relationships between TFs and target genes, and biological processes and signaling pathways of TFs in cancers. TFcancer not only provides a user-friendly interface for browsing and searching but also allows flexible data downloading and user data submitting. It is believed that TFcancer is a helpful and valuable resource for researchers who seek to understand the functions and molecular mechanisms of TFs involved in human cancers. Availability and implementation The TFcancer are freely available at http://lcbb.swjtu.edu.cn/tfcancer/. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

The condensable particle matter (CPM) from coal-fired power plants has attracted significant attention for its potential influence on air quality. The knowledge of CPM emissions from coal-fired power plants is limited. In this study, CPM was collected at the inlet and outlet of wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) and the outlet of wet electrostatic precipitator (WESP) using in-direct dilution method. Both mass concentration and water-soluble ions of CPM were analyzed after sampling. The gas precursors were measured at the same time. We showed that gas precursors such as HCl, HNO

Enhancers are cis-regulatory DNA elements that positively regulate the transcription of target genes in a tissue-specific manner, and dysregulation of target genes could lead to various diseases, such as cancer. Recent studies have shown that enhancers can regulate microRNAs (miRNAs) and participate in their biological synthesis. However, the network of enhancer-regulated miRNAs across multiple cancers is still unclear. Here, a total of 2,418 proximal enhancer–miRNA interactions and 1,280 distal enhancer–miRNA interactions were identified through the integration of genomic distance, co-expression, and 3D genome data in 31 cancers. The results showed that both proximal and distal interactions exhibited a significant cancer type-specific feature trend at the tissue level rather than at the single-cell level, and there was a noteworthy positive correlation between the expression of the miRNA and the number of enhancers regulating the same miRNA in most cancers. Furthermore, we found that there was a high correlation between the formation of enhancer–miRNA pairs and the expression of enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) whether in distal or proximal regulation. The characteristics analysis showed that miRes (enhancers that regulated miRNAs) and non-miRes presented significant differences in sequence conservation, guanine–cytosine (GC) content, and histone modification signatures. Notably, GC content, H3K4me1, and H3K36me3 were present differently between distal and proximal regulation, suggesting that they might participate in chromosome looping of enhancer–miRNA interactions. Finally, we introduced a case study, enhancer: chr1:1186391–1186507 ∼ miR-200a was highly relevant to the survival of thyroid cancer patients and a cis-eQTL SNP on the enhancer affected the expression of the TNFRSF18 gene as a tumor suppressor.

The dry impinger method, the indirect dilution method, and the direct dilution method can be used to measure the condensable particulate matter (CPM) emissions. We tested these methods in determining the CPM emissions from typical stationary sources in China and found that the CPM concentrations measured by the dry impinger method are much higher than those measured by the two dilution methods regardless of the type of stationary source. The soluble gases (e.g., SO

Based on the semiconductor transport theory, a computational model for the axial conductivity of one-dimensional nanowires is established. Utilizing the band structure data from the first principles, the conductivity, carrier concentration and mobility of phosphorus doped SiCNWs (P-SiCNWs) before and after passivation were numerically simulated. The results show that hydrogen passivation can greatly improve the conductivity of P-SiCNWs, above room temperature, the conductivity is improved nearly two orders of magnitude, and enhance the thermal stability. The reason is that hydrogen passivation saturates the surface dangling bonds, leading to the disappearance of discrete impurity band of P-SiCNWs. In addition, the surface dangling bonds lead to greater thermal instability of conductivity under room temperature, but this thermal instability decrease rapidly with the increase of temperature. The study will help us to understand the transport properties of low dimensional semiconductors, and provide theoretical support for the research of nano electronic and optoelectronic devices.

An edge-cut $F$ of a connected graph $G$ is called a‎ ‎restricted edge-cut if $G-F$ contains no isolated vertices‎. ‎The minimum cardinality of all restricted edge-cuts‎ ‎is called the restricted edge-connectivity $λ'(G)$ of $G$‎. ‎A graph $G$ is said to be $λ'$-optimal if $λ'(G)=xi(G)$‎, ‎where‎ ‎$xi(G)$ is the minimum edge-degree of $G$‎. ‎A graph is said to‎ ‎be super-$λ'$ if every minimum restricted edge-cut isolates‎ ‎an edge‎. ‎In this paper‎, ‎first‎, ‎we provide a short proof of a previous theorem about‎ ‎the sufficient‎ ‎condition for $λ'$-optimality in triangle-free graphs‎, ‎which was given in‎ ‎[J‎. ‎Yuan ‎and‎ ‎A‎. ‎Liu‎, ‎Sufficient conditions for $λ_k$-optimality in triangle-free‎ ‎graphs‎, ‎Discrete Math‎., ‎310 (2010) 981--987]‎. ‎Second‎, ‎we generalize a known‎ ‎result about the sufficient‎ ‎condition for triangle-free graphs being super-$λ'$ which was given by‎ ‎Shang et al‎. ‎in [L‎. ‎Shang ‎and‎ ‎H. P‎. ‎Zhang‎, ‎Sufficient conditions for graphs to be $λ'$-optimal and super-$λ'$‎, Network}, 309 (2009) 3336--3345]‎.

The third group of elements is the acceptor of P-type silicon carbide (SiC). Therefore, studying the transport properties of group III doped SiC nanotube (SiCNTs) and revealing the carrier scattering mechanism have important scientific significance for improving the photoelectric properties and promoting the development of SiC nano-devices. In this article, the lattice structure and transport properties of IIIA-doped SiCNTs are investigated systematically using density functional theory. According to the first principle data, we calculate the temperature characteristics of the conductivity, carrier concentration, and mobility, then, analyze the contributions of optical phonon, ionized impurity, neutral impurity and inter-carrier scattering to the mobility. The calculation results show that the conductivity of IIIA-doped SiCNTs decreased with increasing temperature in the temperature range below 200 K, above 200 K, the conductivity increases with increasing temperature. The main scattering mechanisms are optical phonon scattering and neutral impurity scattering. In application, this results will help the selection of SiCNTs acceptor.

With the retrofitting of coal-fired power plants and steel plants for ultra-low-emission control, the concentration of filterable particles (FPM) from these sources is decreasing gradually. The condensable particle matter (CPM) draws more attention. The understanding of CPM emission concentration and chemical characteristics is still limited. There has been no standard determination method of CPM in China until now. In this study, three methods, including the dry impinger method (US EPA method 202), indirect dilution method, and direct dilution method, are discussed and compared in measuring CPM emissions from coal-fired power plants, coke-making plants and sintering plants. The results show that method 202 overestimates the emissions of CPM, due to the fact that the gaseous HCl or SO

In recent years, we investigated the structure and photoelectric properties of Silicon carbide nanowires (SiCNWs) with different morphologies and sizes by using the first-principle in density functional theory, and found a phenomenon that is opposite to quantum size effect, namely, the band gap of nanowires increases with the increase of the diameter. To reveal the nature of this phenomenon, we further carry out the passivation of SiCNWs. The results show that the hydrogenated SiCNWs are direct band gap semiconductors, and the band gap decreases with the diameter increasing, which indicates the dangling bonds of the SiCNWs suppress its quantum size effect. The optical properties of SiCNWs with different diameters before and after hydrogenated are compared, we found that these surface dangling bonds lead to spectral shift which is different with quantum size effect of SiCNWs. These results have potential scientific value to deepen the understanding of the photoelectric properties of SiCNWs and to promote the development of optoelectronic devices.

The electronic structure and optical properties of the nitrogen and phosphorus doped silicon carbide nanowires (SiCNWs) are investigated using first-principle calculations based on density functional theory . The results show doping can change the type of the band gap and improve the conductivity . However, the doped SiCNWs form a discrete impurity levels at the Fermi energy, and the dispersion degree decreases with the diameter increasing. In order to reveal the root of this phenomenon, we hydrogenated the doped SiCNWs, found that the surface dangling bonds were saturated, and the discrete impurity levels are degeneracy, which indicates that the discrete impurity band of the doped SiCNWs is derived from the dangling bonds. The surface passivation can degenerate the impurity levels. Therefore, both doping and surface passivation can better improve the photoelectric properties of the SiCNWs. The result can provide additional candidates in producing nano-optoelectronic devices.

Ginkgo diterpene lactones meglumine injection (GDLI) is a commercially available product used for neuroprotection. However, the pharmacokinetic properties of the prototypes and hydrolyzed carboxylic forms of the primary components in GDLI, i.e., ginkgolide A (GA), ginkgolide B (GB), and ginkgolide K (GK), have never been fully evaluated in beagle dogs. In this work, a simple, sensitive, and reliable method based on ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) was developed, and the prototypes and total amounts of GA, GB, and GK were determined in beagle dog plasma. The plasma concentrations of the hydrolyzed carboxylic forms were calculated by subtracting the prototype concentrations from the total lactone concentrations. For the first time, the pharmacokinetics of GA, GB, and GK were fully assessed in three forms, i.e., the prototypes, the hydrolyzed carboxylic forms, and the total amounts, after intravenous administration of GDLI in beagle dogs. It was shown that ginkgolides primarily existed in the hydrolyzed form in plasma, and the ratio of hydrolysates to prototype forms of GA and GB decreased gradually to a homeostatic ratio. All of the three forms of the three ginkgolides showed linear exposure of AUC to the dosages. GA, GB, and GK showed a constant half-life approximately 2.7, 3.4, and 1.2 h, respectively, which were consistent for the forms at three dose levels (0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 mg·kg-1) and after a consecutive injection of GDLI for 7 days (1.0 mg·kg-1).

Objective Re Du Ning Injection (RDN), a Chinese materia medica injection, is made from the extracts of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, Gardeniae Fructus, and Artemisiae Annuae Herba. Since last decade, RDN has been widely used in China for the treatment of viral infection, fever, and inflammation. To assess the potential interacting of RDN with co-administered drugs, the inhibitory effects of RDN on the enzyme activities (CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP2C11, CYP2D1, and CYP3A1/2) of rat liver microsomes were investigated by a cocktail method. Methods A sensitive and specific LC-MS method capable of simultaneous quantification of five metabolites in rat liver microsomes was developed and validated. Then RDN (0.625%–1.0%) was incubated with rat liver microsomes and specific substrates. The enzyme activities were expressed as the formation rate of the specific metabolites of the substrates (pmol · mg · protein −1 · min −1 ). Results RDN competitively inhibited the activities of CYP1A2 and CYP2C11, with inhibition constant ( K i ) values determined to be 0.18% and 0.63%, respectively. RDN exhibited the mixed inhibition on the activity of CYP2D1, with a K i value of 0.15%. The activities of CYP1A1 and CYP3A1/2 were not markedly inhibited even by 1.0% RDN. Conclusion RDN could inhibit the rat enzyme activities of CYP1A2, 2C11, and 2D1 in vitro with different inhibition modes, which is worthy of promoting safety and efficacy of RDN.

This paper studied the high temperature creep properties of high-alumina bauxite (the mass fraction of Al2O3 in the new ore is about 78, the following abbreviations for Al2O3~78). The results indicated that the Al2O3~78 high-alumina bauxite mainly are corundum phase after high temperature sintered.When the temperature is 1100°C, corundum exists as crystal phase and the connections between grains are directly. The creep resistance of samples is very good at this temperature and the creep rate of 50 hours heat preservation is-0.266%. When the temperature is 1200°C, liquid phase starts to produce in a large number and the creep rate in 50 hours heat preservation is-1.589%. When the temperature is 1300°C, because of the further increase on the amount of liquid phase and wetting coated corundum particle, the direct connections between corundum particles are broken and the creep resistance is greatly reduced, the creep rate in 50 hours heat preservation is-4.088%. The creep curve fitting after 25 hours indicated that the creep property shows linear relations in three different temperatures after 25 hours. When the temperature is 1200°C and 1300°C, the creep variables arise rapidly in linear which declare the creep resistance of corundum is poor and increasing with temperature go up, more corundum phase is covered by glass phase and the creep resistance reduces dramatically.

Specimens were prepared by using iron-rich magnesia and high-pure magnesia as the main starting materials, and introducing fused corundum of 3%(in mass), 6%, 9%, 12%, 15% respectively and sintered at 1420°C.The samples were characterized by XRD and SEM. The results show that in-situ synthesized composite spinel solid solution were formed in the reaction between iron-rich magnesia and fused corundum. Iron oxides play a key role on the formation of spinel solid solution. When fused corundum was added in a certain particle size, the material showed core-shell structure. Outer layer of core-shell structure were spinel solid solution and the inside were corundum. These core-shell structure make the synthesis of spinel solid solution bonded periclase material at low temperature happen.

We developed and validated a rapid, selective and sensitive ultra-performance liquid-chromatography mass-spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for quantifying ginkgolide A, ginkgolide B and ginkgolide K as hydrolyzed forms in Ginkgo Diterpene Lactone Meglumine Injection (manufactured by Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China) for pharmacokinetic studies. Three ginkgolide compounds and internal-standard (IS), bilobalide, were extracted from human plasma by liquid–liquid extraction using ethyl acetate after acidification, and were separated on an Ace C18-AR column (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 3 μm) using a mobile phase of water containing 20 mM ammonium formate (adjusting pH to 5.4 using formic acid) and acetonitrile by gradient elution. Quantification was performed using negative-ion electrospray-ionization (ESI), and the content of ginkgolides was determined using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) modes. Pharmacokinetics was assessed after intravenous infusion administration of Ginkgo Diterpene Lactone Meglumine Injection (containing 25 mg ginkgolides) to 3 healthy male Chinese volunteers. Analysis of the standard curves by linear regression revealed a high linearity over a 100-fold dynamic range for the three ginkgolides (the lower limit of quantitation values were 0.189–0.200 ng mL−1). The relative standard deviations of intra- and inter-day measurements were less than 10.7%, and accuracies were between −4.6% and 12.3% in terms of relative error; the extraction recoveries from human plasma were 89.4–91.9%, 81.0–85.0% and 78.5–82.5% for ginkgolide A, ginkgolide B and ginkgolide K, respectively. In conclusion, UPLC-MS/MS is rapid and sensitive for simultaneous quantification of multiple ginkgolides from Ginkgo Diterpene Lactone Meglumine Injection in human plasma and is suitable for pharmacokinetic studies.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Re Du Ning Injection (RDN), a traditional Chinese medicine injection, is made from the extracts of Lonicerae japonicae flos (LJF), Artemisiae annuae herba (AAH) and Gardeniae fructus (GF). Since last decade, RDN has been widely used in China for the treatment of fever, inflammation, allergy and viral infection. Aim of the study To elucidate the potential influences of RDN on the activities of four cytochrome P450 (CYP) isozymes in rats (CYP1A2, CYP2C11, CYP2D1 and CYP3A1/2) by “cocktail method”. Materials and methods A sensitive and specific LC–MS method capable of simultaneous quantification of four substrates and their metabolites in rat plasma was developed and validated. Relative activity estimation of four isozymes was carried out by comparing plasma pharmacokinetics of substrates and their metabolites (phenacetin/ paracetamol for CYP1A2, tolbutamide/4-hydroxytolbutamide for CYP2C11, dextromethorphan/ dextrorphan for CYP2D1 and dapsone/N-acetyl dapsone for CYP3A1/2) between control and RDN treatment groups. Results Compared with control group, RDN at different levels could increase the total amount of tolbutamide, dextromethorphan and dapsone absorbed into blood, while decrease the total amount of phenacetin absorbed into blood at low and medium dosage and increase it at high dosage. Conclusions RDN could inhibit the activities of CYP2C11, CYP2D1 and CYP3A1/2, induce the activity of CYP1A2 at low and medium dosage but inhibit it at high dosage. The results indicated that drug co-administrated with RDN may need dose adjustment.

A high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC/Q-TOF MS) was developed for the analysis of chemical composition change in the production process of Re Du Ning injection, a Chinese medicine preparation with a combination of Lonicera japonica Thunb., Gardenia jasminoides Ellis and Artemisia annua L. A total of 90 compounds from raw materials-intermediates-Re Du Ning injection were detected; among them, 55 compounds were identified or tentatively characterized, and the characteristic ions of different types of compounds were described. Based on these studies, the different types of compounds in the various process routes were analyzed. A total of 28 compounds, including seven iridoid glycosides and six monoterpenes from G. jasminoides Ellis, five iridoid glycosides, nine phenolic acids and one unknown compound from L. japonica Thunb., were transferred to Re Du Ning injection, and two unknown compounds were generated in the production process of Re Du Ning injection. The results indicated that the Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical process control is very important. This method could provide some reference for other Chinese medicine preparations.

Ginkgo terpene lactone raw material (GTL) is extracted and purified from the dry leaves of Ginkgo biloba L., and it is the raw material in ginkgo diterpene lactone meglumine injections for treating patients suffering from mild to moderate cerebral infarction (manufactured by Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China). In the present study, an efficient strategy was developed for the characterization and identification of chemical components in GTL using high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/Q-TOF MS/MS) combined with online valve switching. The structures of compounds were elucidated based on the accurate mass measurements, the fragmentation patterns of standards and the fragment ion at m/z 57.0700 of the tert-butyl group. As a result, 12 ginkgo terpene lactones were screened and identified from GTL, including ginkgolide A, B, C, J, M, K, L, Q, and P as well as bilobalide, one isomer of ginkgolide C and one isomer of ginkgolide A. Furthermore, four main ginkgolides (ginkgolide A, B, C and K) were simultaneously determined using a high performance liquid chromatograph coupled with a diode-array detector and an evaporative light scattering detector method (HPLC-DAD-ELSD) for the first time. The quantitative analytical method was fully validated with respect to linearity (r2 > 0.998), sensitivity, precision, accuracy (the recovery was between 99.7% and 100.4%), and robustness. Ten batches of samples were detected by HPLC-DAD-ELSD, indicating that the proposed approach was applicable for the evaluation of GTL quality.

Lipase from Candida rugosa (CRL) was chemically and physically immobilized onto four types of rod-shaped mesoporous silica (RSMS). RSMS prepared using surfactant P123 and poly(ethylene glycol) as co-templates was functionalized with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) to obtain P-RSMS by post-synthesis grafting. Tetraethoxysilane was hydrothermally co-condensed with APTES to obtain C-RSMS. A two-step process using APTES and glutaraldehyde was also performed to obtain G-RSMS. The effects of modification methods (including post-synthesis grafting and co-condensation) and glutaraldehyde on the mesoscopic order, interplanar spacing d100, cell parameter a0, mesoporous structure, and wall thickness of RSMS were studied in detail. Results showed that all samples were mesoporous materials with 2D mesostructures (p6mm). Pore size and d100 decreased, whereas the wall thickness increased after different modifications. CRL was used as a model enzyme to determine the effect of physical and chemical adsorption on loading amount and enzymatic activity. The possible mechanism of CRL immobilization on G-RSMS by chemical adsorption was systematically investigated. The chemical immobilization of CRL on G-RSMS increased the loading amount, hydrolytic activity, thermal stability, and reusability. Moreover, immobilized CRL was employed to catalyze the resolution of 2-octanol by esterification with caprylic acid. The enantiomeric excess of 2-octanol was 45.8% when the reaction was catalyzed by G-RSMS-CRL and decreased to about 38%-39% using the physically immobilized CRL, after 48 h of reaction in hexane.

Specimens were prepared using iron-rich magnesia (3~1 mm、≤1 mm) and high purity magnesia (≤0.088 mm) as the main starting materials, adding tabular alumina at different size (3~2、2~1、≤1 mm) and content:3%、6%、9%、12%、15% to discover the influence of tabular alumina on sample performance. Phase composition and microstructure were also analyzed. The results show that specimen with content of 6% of corundum possessed the best comprehensive performance:apparent porosity 17%, bulk density 2.95 g·cm-3, cold crushing strength 74 MPa, refractoriness under load 1700 °C, heat shock resistance of up to 18 times. The formations of magnesium aluminate spinel and hercynite solid solution were enhanced by Fe ion at high temperatures in the iron-rich magnesia-corundum system at the presence of iron oxides, which are able to largely dissolved in periclase.

Objective To analyse the quantification of protopine from Corydalis Decumbentis Rhizoma (CDR) extract in brain tissues of rats. Methods A rapid, sensitive, and accurate analytical method based on rapid resolution liquid chromatography (RRLC) coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (Q-TOF-MS) was developed for the quantification of protopine in brain of rats. A simple liquid-liquid extraction process was employed for the sample preparation. Chromatographic separation was achieved using 1.8 μm porous particle columns. Results The calibration curve of protopine was linear in the range of 12-897 ng/mL. The relative standard deviations of intra- and inter-day precision values were less than 10%. The extraction recoveries were 96.4%, 99.6%, and 98.5%, for protopine at the concentration of 598.0, 119.6, and 12.0 ng/mL, respectively, and internal standard (1.27 μg/mL) was (98.60 ± 0.02)%. Conclusion The validated method is successfully applied for the determination of protopine in brain tissue of rats after ig administration of CDR extract.

Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new treatment for esophageal cancer which has been shown to be effective in the elimination of tumor. However, PDT could induce the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in many photosensitizers based PDT, which plays a negative role in PDT. In addition, our previous results have shown that dihydroartemisinin (DHA), which was the most potent one of artemisinin derivatives, has anticancer activity in esophageal cancer cells. Methods: Cell viability was determined by MTT analysis, and apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry. Nuclear extract was obtained for determining NF-κB DNA-binding activity, while total protein extract obtained for downstream gene expression by western blot. Results: We demonstrated DHA enhanced PDT-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in both human esophageal cancer cell lines Eca109 and Ec9706 in vitro. The mechanism was at least partially due to DHA deactivated PDT-induced NF-κB activation, so as to decrease tremendously the expression of its target gene Bcl-2. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that DHA augments PDT-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in esophageal cancer cells, and that inactivation of NF-κB activity is a potential mechanism by which DHA sensitizes esophageal cancer cells to PDT-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis.

Rod-like SBA-15 mesoporous materials were synthesized and modified using two-step process through aminopropyl and glutaraldehyde. Aminopropyl was first covalently bonded to silanol groups present on the surface of mesoporous silica. Successively, the reaction of aldehyde with aminopropyl was followed. Immobilizations of Porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) onto functionalized SBA-15 (NH2-SBA-15-PPL and G-SBA-15-PPL) have been achieved. Relative activities and reusability of NH2-SBA-15-PPL and G-SBA-15-PPL for triacetin hydrolysis have been studied.

With the aid of our recent experiment, the fragmentation of 56 Fe at 471 A MeV interacting with C and Al targets has been systematically studied by the improved quantum molecular dynamics model together with the statistical GEMINI model. The fragment distributions in heavy-ion collisions at intermediate energies can be well reproduced by using this combination of the two models. It is found that the odd–even effect of the partial cross sections observed in experiments appears in the de-excitation process of the excited primary fragments as a result of pairing effect and is mainly formed in the grazing collisions. The peaked angular distributions of primary ions and their fragments are dominantly due to the heavier fragments produced in the grazing collisions and reveal the nonequilibrium property of collisions and the memory effects of outgoing fragments on the entrance channel.

The emission angle and the transverse momentum distributions of projectile fragments (PFs) produced in fragmentation of 56 Fe on CH 2 , C, and Al targets at 471 A MeV are measured. It is found that the angular and transverse momentum distribution of all PFs do not evidently depend on the mass of target nucleus, the average value and width of angular distribution decrease with increase of the charge of PF for the same target, and no obvious dependence of angular distribution on the mass of target nucleus is found for the same PF. The transverse momentum distribution of PF can be explained by a single Gaussian distribution and the averaged transverse momentum decreases with the increase of the charge of PF. The cumulated squared transverse momentum distribution of PF can be well explained by a single Rayleigh distribution. The temperature parameter of PF emission source decreases with the increase of the size of PF.

A layer of uniform and stable coating with a suitable thickness is needed for the hot side of refractories used in the burning zones of cement rotary kilns. The coating can protect the refractories and prolong its service life. Therefore, it is essential for the refractories used in the burning zone to form coating. In this paper, the mechanism of coating behaviour was analyzed, and the simulation of coating formation was implemented in laboratory as well, the related parameters are determined. Based on the determination of the bonding strength between the coating and the refractories, a test method of measuring coating behaviour is achieved finally.

Licorice, the roots and rhizomes of several Glycyrrhiza species (Leguminosae), is an important natural sweetening agent and a widely used herbal medicine. In this work, six flavonoids, 5-(1,1-dimethylallyl)-3,4,4'-trihydroxy-2-methoxychalcone (1), licochalcone B (2), licochalcone A (3), echinatin (4), glycycoumarin (5) and glyurallin B (6), were isolated from the extracts of licorice (Glycyrrhiza inflata and Glycyrrhiza uralensis). Their structures were elucidated using various spectroscopic methods. To our knowledge, compound 1 was isolated from natural plants for the first time. All the isolates were tested by antioxidant and anti-inflammatory assays. Compounds 2, 4 and 5 showed strong scavenging activity toward the ABTS(+) radical, and compounds 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 exhibited potent inhibition of lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes compared with the reference controls. Compounds 1-4 dose-dependently inhibited LPS induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, compounds 1-5 were demonstrated to inhibit the production of nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in LPS-induced macrophage cells. Moreover, the contents of the six compounds, in different Glycyrrhiza species, were quantified by HPLC-MS.

Estrogen-related genes and the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene play a critical role in estrogen metabolism, and those polymorphisms are associated with a poor prognosis in breast cancer. However, little is known about the association between these polymorphisms and the efficacy of anastrozole. The aim was to investigate the impact of the genetic polymorphisms, CYP19A1, 17-β-HSD-1 and FTO, on the response to anastrozole in metastatic breast carcinoma (MBC) and to evaluate the impact of those polymorphisms on various clinicopathologic features. Two-hundred seventy-two women with hormone receptor-positive MBC treated with anastrozole were identified retrospectively. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and genotyped for five variants in three candidate genes. Time to progression was improved in patients carrying the variant alleles of rs4646 when compared to patients with the wild-type allele (16.40 months versus 13.52 months; p = 0.049). The rs4646 variant alleles were significantly associated with longer overall survival (37.3 months versus 31.6 months; p = 0.007). This relationship was not observed with the rs10046, rs2830, rs9926298 and rs9939609 polymorphisms. The findings of this study indicate that rs4646 polymorphism in the CYP19A1 gene may serve as a prognostic maker of the response to anastrozole in patients with MBC who are treated with anastrozole.

Estrogen-related genes and the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene play a critical role in estrogen metabolism, and those polymorphisms are associated with a poor prognosis in breast cancer. However, little is known about the association between these polymorphisms and the efficacy of anastrozole. The aim was to investigate the impact of the genetic polymorphisms, CYP19A1, 17-β-HSD-1 and FTO, on the response to anastrozole in metastatic breast carcinoma (MBC) and to evaluate the impact of those polymorphisms on various clinicopathologic features. Two-hundred seventy-two women with hormone receptor-positive MBC treated with anastrozole were identified retrospectively. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and genotyped for five variants in three candidate genes. Time to progression was improved in patients carrying the variant alleles of rs4646 when compared to patients with the wild-type allele (16.40 months versus 13.52 months; p = 0.049). The rs4646 variant alleles were significantly associated with longer overall survival (37.3 months versus 31.6 months; p = 0.007). This relationship was not observed with the rs10046, rs2830, rs9926298 and rs9939609 polymorphisms. The findings of this study indicate that rs4646 polymorphism in the CYP19A1 gene may serve as a prognostic maker of the response to anastrozole in patients with MBC who are treated with anastrozole.

A new class of well-defined NHC–Pd complexes incorporating a pyridine-2-carboxylate or pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate ligand has been synthesized. These novel complexes exhibited prominent catalytic activity in the sterically hindered C–N coupling reactions at elevated temperature, but relatively inferior reactivity at low temperature. The distinctly different reactivity of these NHC–Pd complexes was presumed to be associated with their unique structures of ancillary ligands.

In order to improve the processing properties of corn ear and the utilization of drying equipment, and reduce energy waste, a set of multi-purpose drying systems which using the piecewise drying process was designed. It was divided into dry storage and wet storage according to the different moisture content of corn seed .The wet storage worked with minor-cycles drying, and the dry warehouse worked with a large circular drying. The corn ear was unloaded and delivered to threshing area for threshing operations when its moisture content reached 18%, then dried to safe storage moisture. Experiments show that the system could dry maize ear in short time, the piecewise drying process can reduce energy consumption and production costs 20% to 30%, and improve the average precipitation rates 4.2% compares with the traditional drying process. Meanwhile, the rate of seed crushing is decreased 1% to 1.5%.

The total charge changing and partial projectile fragment production cross sections of 471 A MeV 56 Fe on C, Al and CH 2 targets are investigated using CR-39 plastic nuclear track detector. It is found that the total charge changing cross sections are consistent with the prediction from Bradt–Peters semi-empirical formula. The partial cross sections for projectile fragment production agree with the results from other experiments and show a significant enhancement for the fragments with even-Z. Finally, the partial cross sections of fragments with charge 5 ≤ Z ≤ 9 are firstly investigated in present paper.

By using the improved quantum molecular dynamics model, the mechanism of ternary breakup reactions is systematically studied with several symmetrical colliding systems. The result shows that the nearly symmetrical ternary breakup occurs in central and semiperipheral reactions and experiences an extremely and sufficiently inelastic collision with the intense nucleon exchanges. The dynamical effects and nucleon–nucleon correlations play very important roles for determining the outcome of the reactions.

The authors wish to correct the funding projects number of "Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province" in the Acknowledgments section of this paper [1]: The correct funding projects number should be "No. BK20130403", not "No. BK2013403".[...].

In this work, a sensitive and efficient method was established and validated for qualitative and quantitative analysis of major bioactive constituents in Dazhu Hongjingtian capsule by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. A total of 32 compounds were tentatively identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Furthermore, 12 constituents, namely gallic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, salidroside, p-coumaric acid-4-O-β-d-glucopyranoside, bergeninum, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, syringate, 6''-O-galloylsalidroside, rhodiosin, rhodionin and kaempferol-7-O-α-l-rhamnoside, were simultaneously quantified by the developed ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometry method in 9 min. All of them were analyzed on an Agilent ZorBax SB-C

The aim of this study was to investigate the direct inhibitory effects of Re Du Ning Injection (RDN) and its active compounds on the major CYP isoforms (CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4) of human liver microsomes by “a cocktail method”. The activity of each CYP isform was represented as the formation rate of the specific metabolite from relevant substrate. Then a sensitive and specific ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated to simultaneously analyze the seven metabolites. RDN(0.035 ~ 2.26 mg · mL-1) showed a strong inhibitiory on CYP2C8, followed by CYP2C9, CYP2B6, CYP2C19, CYP1A2 and CYP3A4. The IC50 value for each enzyme was 0.19, 0.66, 0.72, 1.27, 1.66 and 2.13 mg · mL-1, respectively. RDN competitively inhibited the activities of CYP1A2 (Ki = 1.22 mg · mL-1), CYP2B6 (Ki = 0.65 mg · mL-1) and CYP3A4 (Ki = 0.88 mg · mL-1), it also exhibited mixed inhibition of CYP2C8, CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 with a Ki value of 0.26, 0.64 and 0.82 mg · mL-1, respectively. However, the activity of CYP2D6 was not significantly inhibited even by 2.26 mg · mL-1 RDN. Moreover, the data of nine active compounds on the CYPs shown that cryptochlorogenin acid, sochlorogenic acid B and sochlorogenic acid C were the major contributors to the inhibitory effect of RDN on CYP2C8. While inhibitory effect of RDN on CYP2C9 might caused by sochlorogenic acid A and sochlorogenic acid C. Moreover, neochlorogenic acid might be the major contributor to the inhibitory effect on CYP2B6. All the findings suggested that the drug-drug interactions (DDIs) may occur and great cautions should be taken when RDN combined with drugs metabolized by these CYPs.

The study is to develop a method to determine 3 batches leaves of Nauclea officinalis and stems of N. officinalis by HPLC. The differences between strictosamide contents and fingerprints was compared, then chromatographic peak of fingerprints was validated with the assistance of LC-MS. The strictosamide contents in stems of N. officinalis were higher than leaves of N. officinalis. The main chemical composition in leaves of N. officinalis and stems of N. officinalis were alkaloid which revealed by LC-MS. There are 7 chemical compositions were same between them, but the chemical composition in leaves of N. officinalis is more than stems of N. officinalis. This provides a scientific basis for the development of the potential medicinal value of leaves of N. officinalis and the sustainable utilization of N. officinalis.

To investigate the metabolism of six saponins by rat intestinal bacteria in vitro.Six saponins, including notoginsenoside R₁, ginsenoside Rg₁, ginsenoside Rg₂, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rd and ginsenoside Rb₁, were incubated for 8 and 24 h with rat intestinal bacteria under anaerobic environment, respectively. After the samples were precipitated by acetonitrile and extracted with ethyl acetate, LC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was applied for the qualitative analysis of the metabolites. The potential metabolites in rat feces were analyzed by comparing the total ion current of the test samples and blank samples and analyzing the quasi-molecular ion and fragment ion of all chromatograms. The results showed that six saponins could be easily metabolized by rat intestinal bacteria. Notoginsenoside R₁ was mainly metabolized into five metabolites, and it's metabolic pathway was notoginsenoside R₁→ginsenoside Rg₁→ginsenoside Rh₁ and ginsenoside F₁→protopanaxatriol→dehydrogenated protopanaxatriol. Ginsenoside Rg₁ was mainly metabolized into four metabolites, and it's metabolic pathway was ginsenoside Rg₁→ginsenoside Rh₁ and ginsenoside F₁→protopanaxatriol→dehydrogenated protopanaxatriol. Ginsenoside Rg₂ was mainly metabolized into two metabolites, and it's metabolic pathway was ginsenoside Rg₂→ protopanaxatriol→dehydrogenated protopanaxatriol. Ginsenoside Re was mainly metabolized into four metabolites, and it's metabolic pathway was ginsenoside Re→ginsenoside Rg₂→ginsenoside F₁→protopanaxatriol→dehydrogenated protopanaxatriol. Ginsenoside Rd was mainly metabolized into four metabolites, and it's metabolic pathway was ginsenoside Rd→ginsenoside Rg₃ and ginsenoside F₂→ginsenoside Rh₂→protopanaxadiol. Ginsenoside Rb1 was mainly metabolized into five metabolites, and it's metabolic pathway was ginsenoside Rb₁→ginsenoside Rd→ginsenoside Rg₃ and ginsenoside F₂→ginsenoside Rh₂→protopanaxadiol. In summary, six saponins could be quickly metabolized by rat intestinal bacteria in vitro. Their major metabolic pathways were deglycosylation and dehydrogenation.

Limit test of flavones in diterpene ginkgolides meglumine injection materials by UV-Vis and HPLC-DAD method was studied in this essay. The HPLC-DAD method has lower LOD (about 1% of the UV-Vis), that is, the sensitivity is higher than UV-Vis method. Through the analysis of the kinds of flavonoids ingredients in the samples by LC-MS, the three compounds with highest contents are kaempferol, quercetin and isorhamnetin. Kaempferol, quercetin and isorhamnetin were chosen as reference compounds for HPLC analysis, and the HPLC separation analysis was carried on an Agilent Eclipse plus C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 μm) with methanol and water containing 0.4% phosphoric acid (50: 50) as mobile phase, and the flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1). The detection wavelength was set at 360 nm. This method has good specificity, precision and reproducibility. The LODs of quercetin, kaempferide and isorhamnetin were 27.6, 22.3, 29.5 μg x L(-1). The average recovery was 87.9% (RSD 3.3%), 91.7% (RSD 3.1%), 88.3 (RSD 1.3%) for quercetin, kaempferide and isorhamnetin, respectively. Based on the 10 batches of sample results and sensitivity of different HPLC, the content of total flavonoids ingredients of diterpene ginkgolides meglumine injection materials was limited no more than 2 x 10(-5). This method is simple, quick and has good maneuverability, and could be used to the limit test of flavonoids in the diterpene ginkgolides meglumine injection materials.

Aim To study the constituents in the roots of Achyranthese bidentata Bl. Methods D-101 porous polymer resin column, normal-phase silica gel column chromatography, revised-phase medium pressure column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 and prep-HPLC were used for the separation, and spectroscopic techniques were employed for the identification of the isolated compounds. Results Five saponins were isolated and elucidated as achyranthoside C ( 1 ), achyranthoside D ( 2 ), chikusetsusaponin IV ( 3 ), ginsenoside Ro ( 4 ) and zingibroside R 1 ( 5 ). Conclusion Compound 1 was obtained from natural source for the first time, and compound 3 was reported from the family of Amaranthaceae for the first time.

Ordered mesoporous silica (MS) materials were prepared using Pluronic P123 (triblock copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)–block–poly(propylene glycol)–block–poly(ethylene glycol)) and poly(ethylene glycol) as dual templates, and functionalized with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane using the postsynthesis-grafting method. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, 29Si and 13C cross-polarization and magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance, elemental analysis, small-angle X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and N2 adsorption–desorption were used to monitor the effect of surface functionalization on the structural and textural features of MS. MS was found to possess a short rod-shaped macrostructure and a two-dimensional hexagonal P6mm mesoscopic structure. After functionalization, the mesoscopic structure was retained and the interplanar spacing d (1 0 0) increased, whereas the pore diameters, pore volumes, and surface areas decreased. MS and functionalized MS were used as carriers to immobilize porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL). The immobilized PPL on both kinds of carriers were then employed to catalyze the hydrolysis of triacetin and esterification of caprylic acid with caprylic alcohol. All observed biocatalytic characteristics of PPL immobilized on functionalized MS were compared with those of PPL immobilized on MS. The hydrolysis activity of lipase immobilized on functionalized MS was almost twice that on MS. Functionalized MS immobilized PPL showed greater reusability, and its hydrolysis conversion was still retained at 24%, which was 15% higher than that of lipase immobilized on MS after the fifth reuse. The synthetic activity and effect of several parameters on caprylic caprylate production for immobilized PPL were investigated. Immobilized PPL exhibited significantly higher activity, with a caprylic acid conversion ratio of 67.47% when the reaction was catalyzed by PPL immobilized on functionalized MS. The corresponding value was 58.75% using PPL immobilized on MS at 50 °C.

RATIONALE The Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) ionization source coupled with a quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (Q-TOF MS/MS) system has the capability to desorb analytes directly from samples from complex Chinese herbal preparations without sample cleanup or chromatographic separation. METHODS In this work, a method based on DART/Q-TOF MS/MS has been developed for rapid determination of geniposide present in 'Re Du Ning Injections', a Chinese herbal preparation. The method has been evaluated for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of geniposide in Re Du Ning Injections. RESULTS Variables including polarity for ion detection, DART gas heater temperature, matrix effect and sample presentation speed were investigated. The quantitative method was validated with respect to linearity, sensitivity, repeatability, precision and accuracy by using both internal and external standards. A comparison of the results obtained using the DART-based method was made with those obtained using a conventional High-Performance Liquid Chromatography/Diode-Array Detector (HPLC/DAD) by analyzing geniposide in four batches of Re Du Ning Injections. CONCLUSIONS The DART/Q-TOF MS/MS-based method provides a rapid, efficient and powerful method to analyze compounds from complex Traditional Chinese Medicines with limited sample preparation thus reducing time and complexity of quality control for those materials. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.