Ground observations of post-noon aurora: a case study

The characteristics of the post-noon aurora observed at Antarctic Zhongshan station on June 12, 1999, were discussed and analyzed. In the condition of the magnetic activity is not large (K _p≈1), for post-noon 630.0 nm emissions, the total fluxes of soft precipitating particles were increasing from 10∶50 UT to 13∶35 UT and were decreasing from 13∶35 UT to 18∶00 UT in almost monotonous way. Away from noon, the 557.7 nm emissions increased gradually from 10∶50 UT to 17∶10 UT. The behaviors of the precipitating particles for exciting 630.0 nm aurora and 557.7 nm aurora were quite different. The peak intensity of 630.0 nm and 557.7 nm emissions appeared at about 13∶35 UT and 15∶40 UT respectively, the time difference of two peaks is about 2 h. The energy of precipitating electrons remained fairly steady until 15∶00 UT when it rose dramatically. Foundation item: Support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (49634160) Biography: Ai Yong (1958-), male, Associate professor, research direction: upper atmosphere physics.     

A convenient preparation of enantiopure 1,1′-bi-2-naphtholsvia an inclusion complexation in the solid state

Inclusion reaction of racemic 1,1′-bi-2-naphthol and (S)-proline was examined under the solid state and the solid-liquid conditions. The results indicated that a solid mixture of racemic 1,1′-bi-2-naphthol and (S)-proline in a 1∶1 molar ratio was kept at 50–80 °C for 3–4 h, followed by treatment with benzene to give an insoluble solid and a benzene solution, from which (S)-(−)- and (R)-(+)-1,1′-bi-2-naphthols of a modest level of optical purity were obtained. After “kinetic” crystallization, both essentially enantiopure isomers were provided in 15%–35% overall yields, respectively. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (29972033) and the Key Science Research Foundation of Hubei Province (891P1305) Biography: Shan Zi-xing (1945-), male, Professor, research direction: asymmetric synthesis.     

The synthesis of a fluorescent chemosensor containing two thiourea groups and its recognition behavior for dicarboxylate anions

A novel anion receptor 2 bearing anthracene flurophore and thiourea was synthesized and identified by ^1H NMR,MS,IR and elemental analysis. The interaction between receptor 2 and various α,ω-dicarboxylate anions was studied by fluorescence spectrum. The obtained fluorescence data indicate that 1：1 stoichiometry complex is formed between receptor 2 with diferent dicarboxylate anions through a hydrogen-bonging interaction. The selectivity of 2 for recognition of different dicarboxylates deponds on chain length of the anionic species.     

Formation of the inclusion complex of Orange II with β-Cyclodextrin and its photostability

Inclusion complex of Orange II with β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) and the anti-photolysis effect under UV-light were investigated. The molar ratio of inclusion complex of β-Cyclodextrin and Orange II is 1∶1. The formation constantK = 1.236×10³ L/mol was determined by the UV and Fluorescence spectra respectively, which was quite in accordance with the calculation with a modified Benesi-Hildbrand equation. The inclusion complex was characterized by the IR spectra and the molar ratio of inclusion complex is 1∶1 too. The formation constantK = 1.266×10³ L/mol was determined by¹H NMR analysis and was nearly the same by UV and fluorescence spectra. The photocatalytic decolorization rate of Orange II solutions containing β-CD and TiO₂ was smaller by 51.9% than that of the Orange II solutions only containing TiO₂, while in the case of direct photolysis of Orange II solutions, β-CD can lower the photolysis rate by 48.1% under UV-light. This result indicates β-CD can inhibit the photolysis and photocatalytic decolorization of Orange II under UV-light. The β-CD inclusion complex was found to be persistent to UV-light photolysis. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (20177017) Biography: Lu Ping (1958), male. Associate professor, research direction: environmental photochemistry.     

Organic solvent- and phase transfer catalyst-free oxidation of cyclohexanol to cyclohexanone with dilute H2O2

The oxidation of cyclohexanol to cyclohexanone with 30% aqueous hydrogen peroxide by using peroxotungstate complexes formed in situ from sodium tungstate dihydrate and various bidentate organic ligands as the catalysts, without organic solvents, halide and phase transfer catalyst has been carried out. The influence of 13 ligands on the oxidation is investigated. The maximum yield of cyclohexanone is obtained when using 1,10-phenanthroline (96%) and oxalic acid (95%) as the ligand. Very high yields (around 90%) have also been obtained for the instances of using salicylic acid, 3,5-dibromosalicylic acid, and 8-hydro- xylquinoline as ligands. A research to improve the reaction condition using cheap oxalic acid as the ligand indicates that the optimum condition is that the reaction mixture with a molar ratio of cycohexanol︰tungstate dihydrate︰oxalic acid︰30% H₂O₂=100︰2︰2︰120 was stirred at 85—90℃ for 12 h. :     

Spectrofluorimetric determination of magnesium (II) with 7-(8-Hydroxy-3, 6-disulfonaphthylazo)-8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid

A new fluorescent reagent, 7-(8-hydroxy-3, 6-disulfonaphthylazo)-8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid (HDNHQ) for the determination of magnesium has been developed. It reacted with magnesium to form a 1∶1 fluorescent complex withλ _ex/λ _em immediately at room temperature in ammonia-ammonium chloride buffer (pH 10.7). A linear relationship was obtained in the magnesium concentration range of 0–160 ng·mL⁻¹ with the detection limit of 0.04 ng·mL⁻¹. The proposed method was simple, rapid and sensitive. It has been successfully applied to the determination of trace magnesium in blood serum with recoveries of 103.75% and 98.16%, respectively. Foundation item: Supported by the Zi-Qiang Foundation of Wuhan University Biography: Zhang Xian (1975-), female, Ph. D candidant, research direction: organic reagent synthesis and analysis.     

Spectrophotometric determination of aluminium with 2,3,7-trihydroxy-9-[4-(2,4-dihydroxy)phenylazo] phenylfluorone

The conditions of color reaction of Aluminium(III) with a new organic reagent 2,3,7-trihydroxy-9-[2,4-dihydroxy)phenylazo] phenylfluorone (ARPF) in the presence of cetyltrimethyammonium bromide (CTMAB) were studied. It was found that Aluminium(III) reacts with ARPF and CTMAB in pH 6.5 HAc-NaAc buffer solution to form a 1∶2 red complex with maximum absorption at 562 nm. The molar absorptivity is 1.10×10⁵ L·mol⁻¹·cm⁻¹. Beer’s law is obeyed in the range of 0–5.5 μg Al(III) per 25 mL. The method has been applied to determination of Aluminium in the limestone with satisfactory results. To whom Correspondence should be addressed Foundation item: Supported by Special Funds of State Education Committee for Doctorate Research Biography: Huang Ying-ping (1963-), male, Ph.D Candidate.     

Investigation of performances and mechanism of fluoride removal by Fe (III)-loaded ligand exchange cotton cellulose adsorbent

Novel adsorbent, Fe(III)-loaded ligand exchange cotton cellulose adsorbent [Fe(III)LECCA], was used to investigate the adsorption performances and mechanism of fluoride removal from aqueous solutions. The adsorbent was found to adsorb fluoride rapidly and effectively. The fluoride removal was influenced by pH. Adsorption model followed first-order reaction at different temperature, theapparent adsorption activated energyE, was 6.37 kJ·mol⁻¹, and adsorption enthalpy ΔH was 5.35 kJ·mol⁻¹. The adsorption capacity of fluoride on adsorbent was 3.2 mmol·g⁻¹ (dry weight). The maximal integer coordination ratio of fluoride with Fe(III) LECCA was 3∶1. The ligand exchange mechanism of adsorption was elucidated through chemical methods and IR spectral analysis. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (29977010) and Shanghai Priority Academic Discipline Biography: ZHAO Ya-ping (1974-), female, Ph.D., research direction: water and wastewater treatment.     

Ligand-metal interaction in transition-metal complexes with tripodal polyaza ligands

Five complexes ([Cu(tpc)]²⁺ 1, [Cu(tpa)]²⁺ 2, [Co(tpa)]²⁺ 3, [Fe(tpa)]²⁺ 4 and [Mn(tpa)]²⁺ 5) (tpc=N, N’, N"-tris[(2-pyridyl)methyl]-1,4,7-triaza-cyclononane(L1) and tpa=tris[2-((2-pyridyl) methyl-imino)ethyl]amine(l2)) were synthesized and characterized. The crystal structures of 1, 3 and 4 were determined by X-ray crystallography. Electrochemical investigations over two cupric complexes reveal that 2 has a less negative redox potential than that of 1. Electronic spectra of 2, 3, 4 and 5 show that the distinction in metal ion results in a shift of the ligand-based π*→π transition. Foundation item: Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei province Biography: Yin Ye-gao (1950-), male, Associate professor, researching for the the synthsis and properties of tripodal polydentate ligands.     

Synthesis of calix[4]dithiacrown platinum complexes and their catalytic behavior in the hydrosilylation of olefins with triethoxysilane

5,11,17,23-Tetrakis-1′, 1′-dimethylethyl-25,27-dihydroxy-26,28-1″, 7″, 13″-trioxa-4″, 10″-dithiatridecylcene-calix[4]arene (calix[4]dithiacrown-5) and its O-methylated derivate (dimethylcalix[4]dithiacrown-5) were synthesized fromp-tert-butylcalix[4] arene via 1, 3-lower rim functionalization with chloroethyltosylate, followed by ring-closing condensation with β,β/t'-dimercaptoethyl ether in the presence of sodium ethoxide as a base in reflux ethanol under nitrogen atmosphere, followed by methylation with methyltosylate in the presence of NaH as a base in dioxane. It was found that they can coordinate with platinous chloride and the platinous complexes are efficient catalysts for the hydrosilylation of olefins with triethoxysilane. Foundation item: Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China Biography: CHEN Yuan-yin (1936-), male, Professor.     

Thermal effect of the cable-stayed bridge tower

0　IntroductionXiantaoHanjiangRiverHighwayBridgelocatesonnorth westsuburbofXiantaocity ,crossesovertheHanjiangRiv er.Thecable stayedbridgeisasingle towersystemwiththespansof (5 0 + 82 + 180 )m .Thenon symmetricalstructureisusedheresothatthemainpiercankeepoffthemainchannel.Thesectionofthegirderisnotconstantinorderthatthedeadloadcanbeinbalancealthoughthespansaredifferent.Thedeckwidthis 2 3m (notincludingthewidthofthecablelane) ,laterallayoutisthatofdouble directionfour lanewithoutsidewalk ,b…     

The study on the immune response induced by expressing recombinant plasmid of dengue virus type 2 NS3 protein

The PSV·NS3, an expressing recombinant plasmid of dengue virus type 2 NS3 protein, was injected directly into the quadriceps of Balb/C mice to explore whether it could inducing immune response. The splenic T cell subsets of two groups was analysed by flow cytometry. It was found that the percentage of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells of experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group. The titer of IgG antibody was as high as 1∶5 120 in experimental group, but it couldn’t be detected in control group by ELISA. The western blot further proved that the IgG antibody was specific for NS3 protein. Those results Suggested that inoculation Balb/C mice with PSV·NS3 could inducing immune response, and the NS3 protein might be used as the candidate protein of DNA vaccine of dengue virus. Foundation item: Supported by Foundation of American Chinese Medicine Biography, LI Xiang-qun(1963−), male, M.D, Research direction: molecular and clinical virology.     

Synthesis of novel polymer-bonded water-soluble metal porphyrins

The reaction of 5, 10, 15, 20-tetra-(4-pyridyl) porphyrin 1 with triruthenium dodecacarbonyl [Ru₃(CO)₁₂], zinc(II) acetate, copper(II) acetate, cobalt(II) acetate afforded complexes 2a−2d respectively. Treatment of 2a−2d with Merrifield’s peptide resin obtained 3a−3d. The compounds 3a−3d reacted with methyl iodide respectively gave 4a−4d. New complexes 4a−4d have been identified by IR, UV-visible spectra, and AES. Foundation item: Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province Biography: LI Zao-ying (1949-), female, Associate professor.     

Distribution of lanthanum among the chloroplast subcomponents of spinach and its biological effects on photosynthesis： location of the lanthanum binding sites in photosystem Ⅱ

The effects of lanthanum at different concentrations on the related photosynthetic activities of Hill reaction, Mg^2＋-ATPase and Ca^2＋-ATPase in spinach chloroplast were studied. Experimental results showed that lanthanum can increase all the activities at suitable concentration （15-30 mg· L^-1）, however, it behaves toxically on them when over used （60 mg. L^-1）. To get an improved understanding of the mechanism of lanthanum effects on the photosynthesis of spinach, the different subcomponents in the chloroplast of the cultured spinach were isolated, and the content of lanthanum in each subcomponent was determined by ICP-MS. The results obtained indicated that among these different subcomponents, about 90% out of the total chloroplast lanthanum was located in photosystem Ⅱ （PS Ⅱ） while there was little lanthanum in photosystem Ⅰ （PS Ⅰ）. Moreover, size exclusion high performance liquid chromatography （SE-HPLC） coupled with online UV and ICP-MS detections was novelly used for locating lanthanum binding sites in PS Ⅱ proteins for the first time. It was found that lanthanum has two binding sites in PS Ⅱ： La associates with chlorophyll together with magnesium in PS Ⅱ by partly replacing magnesium and also shares the common binding sites of PS Ⅱ proteins together with the inorganic cofactors of calcium and manganese, influencing the process of photosynthesis.     

Study on the flow injection micro-column pre-separation system coupled with high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of ecdysterone in traditional Chinese medicine

A flow injection (FI) micro-column system coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was proposed for the pre-separation and determination of active organic component (ecdysterone) in traditional Chinese medicine, Loulu. The factors influencing separation performance were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the contents of ecdysterone in Loulu were determined by HPLC system using MeOH-H₂O (40∶60,V/V) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.5∼100 mg/L of ecdysterone concentrations. The detection limit of the analyte was 0.11 μmol/L (3σ) with a precision of 0.38% RSD (n=7,c=10.0 mg/L). The average recovery of the method was 98.7%. The proposed method has been applied to determine ecdysterone in practical samples, and the determined values by both external standard method and standard addition method were in good agreement. Compared to the traditional solid extraction method, the system proposed has the advantages of simple procedure, good reproducibility, minimum volume requirement, reduction of matrix interference and low contamination risk. Foundation item: Supported by Education Ministy Foundation for Chinese Returned Scholars and Nature Science Foundation of Hubei province (98J054). Biography: SHUAI Qin (1963-), famale, Ph.D. Candidate.     

Study on synthesis and biological activities of novel water-soluble metalloporphyrins

The synthesis and characterization of a series of metal porphyrins, M^II(Por), {Por=dianionic of 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis [4-(4′-bromobutyloxy) phenyl]porphyrinato and 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis [4-(4′-butyloxypyridine bromide)phenyl]porphyrinato, M=Zn, Cu, Mn, Co, Ni, Ru-CO} were described. The complexes 3a-3e were prepared from the reactions of compound 2 with metal acetates in chloroform, and the treatment of 3a-3f with excess of pyridine gave corresponding complexes 4a-4f. These new compounds were identified by absorption spectroscopies,¹H-NMR and elemental analyses. The results of biological activity testing for 4a-4f revealed that 4a and 4c had stronger inhibiting action on the growth metabolism ofEsche richia coli. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No: 29972035) and the Zi-Qiang Science Foundation of Wuhan University, 2000 Biography: Li Zao-ying (1949-), famale, Professor, research interests, study on synthesis and biological activities of metalloprphrins.     

Study on laccase-catalyzed oxidation of disubstituted ferrocene and π-arene-π-cyclopentadienyliron derivatives

It is studied that Rhus vernicifera laccase catalyzed oxidation of 26 disubstituted ferrocene and its metal complexes, π-arene-π-cyclopentadienyliron derivatives and metal meso-(tetra-4-sulfanatophenyl)porphyrin in the diethylene glycol monobutyl ether (DGBE)/phosphate buffer (V/V, 1/5). It is found that 1,1′-bishydroxylmethyl ferrocene etc 16 compounds are new substrates of laccase. The relation of structure and function of substrates is discussed. The affective factors of laccase-catalyzed oxidation of 1,1′-bishydroxyl-methyl ferrocene—pH, temperature, substrate concentration, laccase quantity and surfactant were investigated further. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (39170203) Biography: Ji Li-cai(1945-), male, professor, research direction: organic chemistry and biochemistry     

Spectroscopic studies of the interaction between methylene blue and G-quadruplex

The telomere is a complex of simple guanine-rich repeating sequences of single-stranded DNA and pro-tein at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes[1―3]. Hu-man telomere consists of the sequence, 5′-TTAGGG-3′, with the length ranging from 5 to 15 kb. The gu…     

Direct determination of trace silicon in lanthanum oxide by using a selective volatility and slurry sampling-FETV-ICP-AES

A new method for determination of trace sillicon in high purity lanthanum oxide by using electrothermal vaporization (ETV)-ICP-AES with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) slurry as a fluorinating reagent has been proposed. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the fluorination reactions of analyte (Si) and matrix(La) with PTFE in the graphite furnace took place at high temperature, and the fractional volatilily between Si and La was observed. Based on this principle the matrix interference could be eliminated. The detection limit of Si was 4.0μg·L⁻¹, and the RSD was 3.4%(C=0.2mg·L⁻¹,n=10). The procedure proposed has been applied successfully to determine trace Si in La₂O₃ without any chemical pre-treatment. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Qin Yongchao: born in Dec. 1953, ph. D., Assciate Professor     

The role of β18-β19 loop structure in insecticidal activity of Cry1Ac toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis

The β18-β19 loop in domain Ⅲ of Cry1Ac toxin is unique among Bacillus thuringlensis Cry proteins. In this study, the role of the loop structure in insecticidal activity of Cry1Ac toxin was investigated. Alanine scanning mutations within the loop were initially generated and most mutants were over-expressed and reduced toxicity at different degrees, except mutant N546A that showed almost 2 times enhanced toxicity against Helicoverpa armigera larvae. Further mutagenic analysis of N546 revealed that a charged amino acid in this position would cause very unfavorable influence on insecticidal activity. In addition, the deletion of N546 led to protein instability because of destruction of the loop integrity. Besides, mutant W544F was much more toxic than W544Y, indicating that hydrophobic nature of the position was important for maintaining the stability and activity of Cry1Ac protein. These findings are the first biological evidence for a structural function of β18-β19 loop in insecticidal activity of the Cry1Ac toxin.