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Inorg Chem 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Department of Emerging Materials Science, DGIST, Daegu 42988, Korea.

The importance of redox-inactive metal ions in modulating the reactivity of redox-active biological systems is a subject of great current interest. In this work, the effect of redox-inactive metal ions (M = Sc, Y, Yb, La) on the nucleophilic reactivity of a mononuclear ligand-based alkylperoxocopper(II) complex, [Cu(Pr-tren-C(CH)O)] (), was examined. was prepared by the addition of hydrogen peroxide and triethylamine to the solution of [Cu(Pr-tren)(CHCN)] (Pr-tren = tris[2-(isopropylamino)ethyl]amine) via the formation of [Cu(Pr-tren)(OH)] () in methanol (CHOH) at 30 °C. Read More

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Carboxyl-functionalized molybdenum disulfide (COOH-MoS2) nanosheets were prepared through a facile low-temperature hydrothermal method. The phase transformation of metallic-1T to 2H-semiconductor COOH-MoS2 nanosheets was conducted through introducing Au thin film on the unclad optical fiber as a sensing layer in a low temperature. The developed structure successfully refined the loss of the semiconducting properties and poor adhesion of COOH-MoS2 on the unclad polymer optical fiber which were providing limited semiconductor potential as the sensing layers on the optical fiber surfaces. Read More

Nanoscale 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China. and Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, P. R. China and Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Mold (Zhengzhou University), Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou 450002, P. R. China.

Fabrication of nitrogen-doped hollow carbon nanostructures is of great importance for achieving efficient electron and ion transport as a metal-free electrocatalyst. Herein, we report a step-wise polymerization and carbonization route to prepare N-doped hollow carbon nanoflowers (N-HCNFs) with a high nitrogen content up to 5.3 at%. Read More

Chemistry 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Institute of Nano Science and Technology, ​Habitat Centre, Sector 64, Phase-10, S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali, 160062,, Mohali, INDIA.

The design and synthesis of the metal-free catalysts having superior electrocatalytic activity, high durability, low cost and under mild conditions is extremely desirable but remains challenging. To address this problem, we report a polymer assisted electrochemical exfoliation technique of graphite in the presence of aqueous acidic medium. This simple, cost-effective and mass scale production approach could open a possibility for the synthesis of high-quality nitrogen doped graphene-polypyrrole (NG-PPy). Read More

Dalton Trans 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Analysis and Testing Central Facility, Institute of Molecular Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Engineering Research Institute, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan 243002, P.R.China.

The supramolecular assembly, used as a molecular reactor, is of great significance in host-guest chemistry. In this work, we used a tetratopic pyridyl ligand as a building block to hierarchically combine a slightly twisted cuboid with half-sandwich rhodium fragments. The cuboid directionally self-assembled hydrophobic pockets that can encapsulate conjugated molecules like anthracene (ANT) as guests in solutions, by supramolecular interactions including hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. Read More

J Fluoresc 2020 Jul 1. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, 208016, India.

This study deals with the effects of different sets of binary solvents on the Two-Photon Induced Fluorescence (TPIF), a non-linear process, of the Rhodamine-6G (Rh6G) dye, which is a well-known xanthene dye. This work examines the importance of inter-molecular interactions, which results in the modulation of the TPIF of the Rh6G. In this work, we have investigated three binary solvent mixtures representing varying polarity and intermolecular interactions. Read More

Animal Model Exp Med 2020 Jun 8;3(2):169-181. Epub 2020 Jun 8.

Department of Pharmacy International Islamic University Chittagong Chittagong Bangladesh.

Background: () is an enthnomedicinally important herb reported to have significant medicinal values. The present study aimed to explore the in vivo and in silico anti-nociceptive and anti-diarrheal effects of a rhizome methanol extract (Me-RCR).

Methods: The analgesic effects of Me-RCR were assessed using acetic acid-induced writhing and the formalin-induced flicking test. Read More

Biotechnol Rep (Amst) 2020 Sep 21;27:e00473. Epub 2020 May 21.

Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry , Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Airlangga Surabaya, East Java, 60115, Indonesia.

Objective: This research aimed at the discovering the effects of light, sucrose concentration and repetitive subculture on the growth of Burm.f. calluses based on biomass, morphological characters and metabolic profiles. Read More

J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 2020 ;66(3):284-288

Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagasaki International University.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays important roles in synaptic plasticity and neuronal differentiation. The neurotrophic hypothesis of depression, which suggests that reduced BDNF in the hippocampus underlies depression, has attracted increasing attention. Stress, a major cause of depression, leads to decreased BDNF levels, and administration of BDNF into the hippocampus shows an antidepressant effect. Read More

Rev Sci Instrum 2020 Jun;91(6):065104

Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM, Thermal Energy Converters, Heidenhofstr. 8, 79110 Freiburg, Germany.

We present a novel measurement method for the characterization of thermal diodes in a saturated steam atmosphere. A measuring setup has been developed in which two pressure sensors are integrated. Using a developed analytical model, the heat flow, the volume flow, and the cracking pressure are determined from the measured absolute pressures and the pressure difference. Read More

J Am Chem Soc 2020 Jul 1. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Herein we employ classical molecular dynamics simulations using the Drude oscillator based polarizable force field, quantum chemical calculations, and ONIOM multiscale calculations to study a) how an external field orders the solvent environment in a chemical reaction and then b) whether, in the absence of this same applied field, the ordered solvent environment alone can electrostatically catalyse a chemical reaction when compared with the corresponding disordered solvent. Our results show that a 0.2 V/Å external electric field, which is below the threshold for bond breaking of solvent molecules, leads to significant ordering of bulk methanol solvent and the ionic liquid [EMIM][BF4]. Read More

Antibiotics (Basel) 2020 Jun 29;9(7). Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Faculty of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland.

In Sudanese traditional medicine, decoctions of the stem bark of are used for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). However, this plant has not been investigated before for its antimycobacterial effects. Our screening results show, for the first time, that many extracts of various parts of exhibit growth inhibitory activity against . Read More

J Vasc Res 2020 Jul 1:1-7. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Laboratory of Physiopharmacology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium,

Multiple lines of evidence suggest that intraplaque (IP) neovascularization promotes atherosclerotic plaque growth, destabilization, and rupture. However, pharmacological inhibition of IP neovascularization remains largely unexplored due to the limited number of animal models that develop IP neovessels and the lack of reliable methods for visualizing IP angiogenesis. Here, we applied 3D confocal microscopy with an optimized tissue-clearing process, immunolabeling-enabled three-dimensional imaging of solvent-cleared organs, to visualize IP neovessels in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE-/-) mice carrying a heterozygous mutation (C1039+/-) in the fibrillin-1 gene. Read More

Huan Jing Ke Xue 2020 Feb;41(2):952-961

College of Horticulture and Landscape, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, China.

An analytical approach was developed to simultaneously determine 13 antibiotics in sulfonamides, quinolones, and macrolides in leafy vegetables by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). After optimizing extracted solutions, purification methods, and eluents of antibiotics in vegetable substrates, and taking into account the influence of environmental changes and experimental conditions on the results, the optimal experimental scheme was determined. This involved ①weighing 500 mg of vegetable samples and adding 20 mL of methanol-Mcllvaine-Na EDTA solution; ② conducting ultrasonic and centrifugal extraction three times; ③ Allowing rotary evaporation to 20 mL to pass a HLB solid phase extraction column; ④ Eluting the extraction column using 6 mL of methanol, upon which the eluent was dried almost completely; ⑤ Re-dissolving the eluent with a mixed solution of acetonitrile:water (volume ratio of 2:8); ⑥ Detecting by UPLC-MS/MS after centrifugation and filtering. Read More

Org Biomol Chem 2020 Jul 1. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, 260-8675, Japan.

We report aromaticity switching from a 6π pyridine ring to a 22π macrocyclic ring of 3-oxypyripentaphyrin(0.1.1. Read More

J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2020 Dec;35(1):1433-1441

Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.

Mangosteen is one of the best tasting tropical fruit widely cultivated in Southeast Asia. This study aimed to quantify xanthone content in different parts of by LC-QTOF-MS and determine its influence on their cholinesterase inhibitory activities. The total xanthone content in was in the following order: pericarp > calyx > bark > stalk > stem > leaves > aril. Read More

Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2020 Jul 1. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Research Centre for Gas Innovation (RCGI-POLI-USP), University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

An alternative for non-biodegradable oil-based plastics has been the focus of many researchers throughout the years. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are potential substitutes due to their biodegradable characteristic and diversity of monomers that allow different biopolymer compositions and physical-chemical properties suitable for a variety of applications. The most well-known biopolymer from this class, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB), is already produced industrially, but its final price cannot compete with the oil-based plastics. Read More

Methods Mol Biol 2020 ;2164:101-108

Division of Clinical Chemistry, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

The determination of the lipid content in liver offers the potential to investigate metabolic alterations in different research contexts. Here, we describe a method to determine cholesterol, triglycerides, and phospholipids in liver samples based on total lipid isolation by a 2:1 chloroform-methanol mixture (Folch extraction) and specific enzymatic colorimetric microassays in plate. Read More

Environ Monit Assess 2020 Jun 30;192(7):472. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.

Many workers are exposed to health problems arising from molds, fungi, and their toxins during waste processing. Aflatoxin B (AFB) level in airborne and settled dust, aflatoxin B-albumin (AFB-Alb) adduct in serum, liver and kidney biochemical tests, and body redox change of workers in municipal dry waste-processing sites were investigated. The surface, personal, and area air dust and the blood of workers' samples were collected from the plastic and bread waste-sorting sections in three recycling municipal dry waste sites. Read More

J Exp Pharmacol 2020 9;12:137-150. Epub 2020 Jun 9.

Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia.

Background: Liver is a vital organ that plays a major role in the elimination of xenobiotics from the body. Diseases that affect the liver become major health problems and challenge health-care professionals as well as the pharmaceutical industry. Since the conventional treatment of liver diseases is associated with a wide range of adverse effects, botanical agents are commonly used. Read More

BMC Complement Med Ther 2020 Jun 30;20(1):201. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mekelle University, 1871, Mekelle, Ethiopia.

Background: Diarrhoea has been the major cause of death especially in children of developing countries. Brucea antidysenterica is one of the several medicinal plants used traditionally for the treatment of diarrhoea in Ethiopia. Hence, the present study was undertaken to investigate the antidiarrhoeal and antibacterial activities of the root extract of B. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2020 Jun 27;20(13). Epub 2020 Jun 27.

Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Via Politecnico 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.

Making use of a small direct methanol fuel cell device (DMFC), used as an analytical sensor, chemometric methods, organic compounds very different from one another, can be determined qualitatively and quantitatively. In this research, the following seven different organic compounds of pharmaceutical and biomedical interest, having in common only one -OH group, were considered: chloramphenicol, imipenem, methanol, ethanol, propanol, atropine and cortisone. From a quantitative point of view, the traditional approach, involving the building of individual calibration curves, which allow the quantitative determination of the corresponding organic compounds, even if with different sensitivities, was followed. Read More

J Biomol Struct Dyn 2020 Jun 30:1-15. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

() is a popular invasive seed utilized in the management of diabetes in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The objective of the current study was to scrutinize the antidiabetic effect of (PA) against Streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats and explore the possible mechanism of action at cellular and sub-cellular levels. Box Benkan Design (BBD) was performed to determine the effect of PA powder to methanol, extraction time and extraction temperature on DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging activity of decoction. Read More

Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020 Jun 30. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland.

Photophysics of hexaazatrinaphthylene (HATN) in solution and in the solid state is determined by the nπ* character of its lowest excited singlet state and by the ππ* character of the first triplet state. The relaxation of an electronically excited state is dominated by nonradiative relaxation channels and only very weak fluorescence is observed for HATN monomers in solution. In liquid solution, the fluorescence quantum yield is 3-7 × 10-4 and the triplet formation yield ranges from 0. Read More

Dalton Trans 2020 Jun 30. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, Howrah 711 103, West Bengal, India.

A huge variety of silver based ternary sulfide semiconductors (SCs) have been considered for the sustainable advancement of renewable energy sources. Herein, we have synthesized two important classes of newly emerging semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) Ag3SbS3 (SAS), i.e. Read More

Trends Plant Sci 2020 Jun 26. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Climate and Ecosystems Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA. Electronic address:

Terrestrial ecosystem dynamics are strongly modified by stresses associated with climate change, impacting plant growth and development, mortality, and ecological succession. Here we highlight the potential role of plant cell wall esters to link changes in cell wall structure and function with biosphere-atmosphere fluxes of methanol, acetic acid, carbon dioxide (CO), and water (HO). Read More

BMC Biotechnol 2020 Jun 29;20(1):36. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Newworld Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237, People's Republic of China.

Background: Esterases are widely distributed in nature and have important applications in medical, industrial and physiological. Recently, the increased demand for flavor esters has prompted the search of catalysts like lipases and esterases. Esterases from thermophiles also show thermal stability at elevated temperatures and have become enzymes of special interest in biotechnological applications. Read More

Molecules 2020 Jun 24;25(12). Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Laser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 17011, Doornfontein 2028, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Cancer, pain and inflammation have long been a cause for concern amongst patients, clinicians and research scientists. There is an alarming increase in the demand for medicines suppressing these disease conditions. The present study investigates the role of bark methanol (SMBM) extract against MCF-7 breast cancer cells, pain and inflammation. Read More

Chemistry 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

University of Victoria, chemistry, CANADA.

Zeise's salt, [PtCl 3 (H 2 C=CH 2 )] - , is the oldest known organometallic complex, featuring ethylene strongly bound to a platinum salt. Many derivatives are known, but none involving dinitrogen, and indeed dinitrogen complexes are unknown for both platinum and palladium. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of K 2 [PtCl 4 ] solutions generate ions corresponding to [PtCl 3 (N 2 )] - , whose identity was confirmed through ion mobility spectrometry and MS/MS experiments that proved it to be distinct from its isobaric counterparts [PtCl 3 (C 2 H 4 )] - and [PtCl 3 (CO)] - . Read More

J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Background Bidens pilosa (BP) possessed anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory activities. Its beneficial effects on intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress in 2,4,6 trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) induced colitis in Wistar rats was evaluated. Methods Thirty female Wistar rats weighing 180-200 g were distributed into six groups (n = 5): non-colitic, untreated colitic and colitic rats treated graded doses of methanol extract of BP (50-400 mg/kg). Read More

Zebrafish 2020 Jun 27. Epub 2020 Jun 27.

Zebrafish International Resource Center, 5274 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA.

We evaluated the cryoprotective effects of methanol on zebrafish sperm at different concentrations, exposure times, and stages during cryopreservation. Samples were collected by crushing of dissected testes or abdominal stripping. After exposure to 0%, 2%, 5%, 8%, and 10% methanol for 0-11 min, fresh sperm (1 × 10 cells/mL) did not show changes in plasma membrane integrity (measured by flow cytometer), but cell size changes (light scatter) were observed after exposure to 8% or 10%. Read More

Anal Chem 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Broadband stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is often observed in applications that use nonlinear spectroscopy to probe the composition or dynamics of complex systems. Whether the SRS response is measured intentionally or unintentionally, as a background signal, the relative scattering intensities provide a quantitative measure of the population profile of target molecules. Solvent scattering is a valuable internal reference for determining absolute concentrations in these applications, but accurate cross sections have been reported for only a limited number of transitions in select solvents, and were measured using spontaneous Raman scattering with narrowband cw or ns light sources. Read More

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Technical University of Denmark, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Building 229, 2800, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, DENMARK.

Catalytic methanol synthesis is one of the major processes in the chemical industry and may grow in importance, as methanol produced from CO2 and sustainably derived H2 is envisioned to play an important role as energy carrier in a future low CO2 emission society. However, despite the widespread use, the reaction mechanism and the nature of the active sites are not fully understood. Here we report that methanol synthesis at commercially applied conditions using the industrial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst is dominated by a methanol-assisted, autocatalytic reaction mechanism. Read More

J Am Chem Soc 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Direct oxidation of methane to methanol is a long-standing challenge in the heterogeneous catalysis community. This communication demonstrates that water, not dioxygen, is the main source of the oxygen present in the methanol produced in the partial oxidation of methane to methanol over Cu-SSZ-13 in a continuous flow reactor. This is confirmed by experiments performed in the absence of molecular oxygen and the use of 18O labeled water. Read More

J Phys Chem Lett 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Hollow gold (Au)-based nanostructures have recently been developed for various applications. However, current nanosynthesis approaches have not yet successfully implemented for hollow Au-based nanostructures with uniform and well-defined mesoporous shell frameworks. Here, we develop an easy one-pot seedless strategy for fabricating hollow mesoporous AuAg (h-mesoAuAg) nanospheres by combining the galvanic replacement reaction with the surfactant-templated growth. Read More

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

itq, itq, SPAIN.

The methanol-to-olefins reaction catalyzed by small-pore cage-based acid zeolites and zeotypes produces a mixture of short chain olefins, whose selectivity to ethene, propene and butene varies with the cavity architecture and with the framework composition. The product distribution of aluminosilicates and silicoaluminophosphates with the CHA and AEI structures (H-SSZ-13, H-SAPO-34, H-SSZ-39 and H-SAPO-18) has been experimentally determined, and the impact of acidity and framework flexibility on the stability of the key cationic intermediates involved in the mechanism and on the diffusion of the olefin products through the 8r windows of the catalysts has been evaluated by means of periodic DFT calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The preferential stabilization by confinement of fully methylated hydrocarbon pool intermediates favoring the paring pathway is the main factor controlling the final olefin product distribution. Read More

Waste Manag Res 2020 Jun 29:734242X20935174. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Catalyst Research Center, Razi University, Iran.

With the production of renewable biofuels, concerns about the end of fossil fuels have been partially eliminated. On the other hand, the utilization of low-cost and waste materials to provide the raw essential substances to manufacture these fuels is of paramount importance. Biodiesel is one of these fuels and the required raw materials for the reaction are oil (triglycerides), alcohol and catalyst. Read More

Langmuir 2020 Jun 28. Epub 2020 Jun 28.

Within the homologous series of amphiphilic peptides AK, both AK and AK self-assemble in water to form twisted-ribbon fibrils with lengths around 100 nm. The structure of the fibrils can be described in terms of twisted β-sheets extending in the direction of the fibril, laminated to give a constant cross section of 4 nm by 8 nm. The finite width of the twisted ribbons can be reasonably explained within a simple thermodynamic model, considering a free energy penalty for the stretching of hydrogen bonds along the twisted β-sheets, and an interfacial free energy gain for the lamination of the hydrophobic β-sheets. Read More

Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2020 Mar;71(1):56-62

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.

Beta-blockers are chiral compounds with enantiomers that have different bioactivity, which means that while one is active, the other can be inactive or even harmful. Due to their high consumption and incomplete degradation in waste water, they may reach surface waters and affect aquatic organisms. To address this issue we developed a chromatographic method suitable for determining beta-blocker enantiomers in surface waters. Read More

Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2020 Mar;71(1):48-55

Department of Forensic Toxicology, Legal Medicine Research Center, Legal Medicine Organization, Tehran, Iran.

Diazinon poisoning is an important issue in occupational, clinical, and forensic toxicology. While sensitive and specific enough to analyse diazinon in biological samples, current methods are time-consuming and too expensive for routine analysis. The aim of this study was therefore to design and validate a simple dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) for the preparation of urine samples to be analysed for diazinon with high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) to establish diazinon exposure and poisoning. Read More

Sheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao 2020 Jun;36(6):1021-1030

Key Laboratory for Feed Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Feed Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.

Pectin methylesterase (PME) is an important pectinase that hydrolyzes methyl esters in pectin to release methanol and reduce the degree of methylation of pectin. At present, it has broad application prospects in food processing, tea beverage, paper making and other production processes. With the in-depth study of PME, the crystal structures with different sources have been reported. Read More

Chemistry 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Ocean University of China, School of Material Sciences and Engineering, Ocean University of China, 266100, Qingdao, CHINA.

Electrochemical reduction of O2 (ORR) provides an opportunity yet remains challenging to achieve the commercial application of clean energy, thus the rational design for inexpensive and efficient electrocatalysts is inevitable. The Pd-based electrocatalysts have emerged as a class of the most promising candidates for ORR that could accelerate the O2 adsorption, dissociation and electron transfer. However, the metal Pd atoms tend to aggregate into nanoparticles driven by the tendency of metal surface free energy decrease, which significantly reduces the atom utilization efficiency and the catalytic performance. Read More

J Chromatogr Sci 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.

A precise, swift and environmental-friendly reverse phase ultra-high performance liquid chromatographic assay for the determination of thymoquinone (TQ) in plasma samples using thymol (TM) as an internal standard was developed and validated. The method used a high strength silica C18 1.7 μm column (100 × 2. Read More

ACS Omega 2020 Jun 10;5(24):14805-14813. Epub 2020 Jun 10.

Hebei Key Laboratory of Applied Chemistry, Hebei Key Laboratory of Heavy Metal Deep-Remediation in Water and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, P. R. China.

Designing Pt-based alloy catalysts with multicomponent composition and a controllable structure is important to improve the utilization efficiency of precious metals and catalytic activity, but it still face a lot of challenges for simple preparation. Herein, we used insulin amyloid fibrils as templates and their own one-dimensional spiral structure to synthesize Pt-Rh-Pd ternary alloy nanochains under mild conditions. The prepared Pt-Rh-Pd alloy nanochains (NCs) have uniform diameter, and the particle size is only 2 nm. Read More

Sci Adv 2020 Jun 17;6(25):eaaz2060. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

CAS Key Laboratory of Low-Carbon Conversion Science and Engineering, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, P.R. China.

Renewable energy-driven methanol synthesis from CO and green hydrogen is a viable and key process in both the "methanol economy" and "liquid sunshine" visions. Recently, InO-based catalysts have shown great promise in overcoming the disadvantages of traditional Cu-based catalysts. Here, we report a successful case of theory-guided rational design of a much higher performance InO nanocatalyst. Read More

J Pharm Biomed Anal 2020 Jun 17;189:113429. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Vancomycin (VCN) is an antibiotic used in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-derived infections. As it has a relatively narrow therapeutic window, it is imperative to develop a sensitive and reliable analytical method for drug monitoring and pharmacokinetic purposes. In the present study, quick sample preparations and a sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography method using UV detection (HPLC-UV) have been developed and validated. Read More

Environ Int 2020 Jun 25;142:105869. Epub 2020 Jun 25.

State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 71 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address:

Microbial taxa within complex ecological networks can be classified by their universal roles based on their level of connectivity with other taxa. Highly connected taxa within an ecological network (kinless hubs) are theoretically expected to support higher levels of ecosystem functions than less connected taxa (peripherals). Empirical evidence of the role of kinless hubs in regulating the functional potential of soil microbial communities, however, is largely unexplored and poorly understood in agricultural ecosystems. Read More

Food Chem 2020 Jun 10;331:127305. Epub 2020 Jun 10.

College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Food Technology and Equipment, Key Laboratory for Agro-Products Nutritional Evaluation of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Postharvest Handling of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Health Food Manufacturing and Quality Control, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Fuli Institute of Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Ningbo Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Ningbo 315100, China. Electronic address:

An ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) method was established and validated for the simultaneous quantification of eight cyanogenic glucosides (CNGs) in agri-food. The eight CNGs were linamarin, lotaustralin, linustatin, neolinustatin, taxiphyllin, amygdalin, dhurrin and prunasin. CNGs were extracted with aqueous methanol and cleaned via solid-phase extraction. Read More

J Nat Med 2020 Jun 26. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Department of Pharmacognosy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan.

Unprocessed dried tuberous root of Pinellia ternata (Pinellia Tuber) has been used as a component of traditional Japanese Kampo medicine, while this crude drug is usually used after processing with Ginger in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It is known that the raphides contained in unprocessed Pinellia Tuber can induce severe acrid irritation of the oral and laryngopharynx mucosa when it is boiled insufficiently. However, the mechanism of the inducing irritation by the raphides nor that of the detoxification by heat or processing with Ginger have been left unclear, mainly because of the difficulties in the extraction and the purification of the raphides and in the assays of acridity. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 Jun 26;10(1):10438. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.

A rapid, sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination and quantification of cantharidin in rats liver and kidney. After grinding with methanol, the supernatant was determined by LC-MS/MS using an Thermo Accucore C18 column (100 mm×2.1 mm, 2. Read More