Preparation of 3-D porous fibroin scaffolds by freeze drying with treatment of methanol solutions

In this study, silk scaffolds with appropriate porous structures were prepared by adjusting solution concentrations and providing treatment with methanol solutions in the way of freeze drying. The effects of the preparation conditions on the microstructures and properties of the scaffolds were discussed. Fibroin solutions with different concentrations of 4, 6, 8, 10 wt% were used respectively to prepare the scaffolds. The effects of the addition of 20 vol% methanol before or after freeze drying to the 4 wt% fibroin solution were investigated. As demonstrated by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), the fib-roin scaffolds prepared without methanol had porous microstructures composed of thin sheets, and the sizes of the pores decreased with the increase of the fibroin solution concentrations, while the scaffolds prepared in the presence of methanol showed porous microstructures formed by fine-particle aggregates. The porosities and mechanical properties of the prepared fibroin scaffolds under different conditions were tested. The crystalline structures and conformations of the fibroin scaffolds were detected by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD).     

The orbital scale evolution of regional climate recorded in a long sediment core from Heqing, China

Based on the analysis of carbonate content and loss on ignition for a long sediment core (737 m in length) drilled in Heqing, the orbital scale evolution of the Southwest Monsoon is revealed, by using overlapped spectral analysis and filter methods. It is shown that the obliquity cycle and precession cycle are the key factors for the Southwest Monsoon evolution and that the change of the global ice volume and the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau also impose great influences on it.     

Single grain Rb-Sr dating of euhedral and cataclastic pyrite from the Qiyugou gold deposit in western Henan, central China

The Rb-Sr isotopic dating of pyrite mineral from ore deposits can directly provide mineralization age. However, many geological factors may affect the Rb-Sr isotopic system,which baffles application of this method. Employing ultra-low procedural blank Rb-Sr method,we have dated pyrites separated from the No. 4 breccia pipe of the Qiyugou gold deposit,western Henan Province. Single grains of euhedral pyrite crystal with few microcracks yield an isochron age of 126 ± 11 Ma, which represents time of the main mineralization stage of the deposit. Pyrite grains of cataclastic type show nevertheless scattered Rb-Sr isotopic composition and no reasonable isochron can be defined. Crystal morphology and mineral inclusion studies reveal that Rb and Sr of pyrite mineral probably are preserved mainly in biotite, K-feldspar, and sericite mineral inclusions. The dating results likely suggest that cataclastic pyrite is not suitable for the Rb-Sr dating due to modification of the Rb-Sr isotopic system by later hydrothermal activity of fluid.     

Linear and third-order nonlinear optical properties for the heptamethine cyanine chromophore H-aggregates thin film

The thin film of a heptamethine cyanine chromophore HC was prepared by spin-coating technique. Its surface morphology and linear optical property were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. The results show that HC molecules are arranged in a well-ordered H-aggregate type. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of the spin-coating film were also measured by degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) measurement. Enhanced third-order nonlinear susceptibility can be attributed to molecular aggregation effects, and the corresponding mechanism was dealt with by collective electronic oscillator (CEO) approach.     

A tubular focused sonochemistry reactor

This paper presents a new sonochemistry reactor, which consists of a cylindrical tube with a certain length and piezoelectric transducers at tube’s end with the longitudinal vibration. The tube can effectively transform the longitudinal vibration into the radial vibration and thereby generates ultrasound. Furthermore, ultrasound can be focused to form high-intensity ultrasonic field inside tube. The reactor boasts of simple structure and its whole vessel wall can radiate ultrasound so that the electroacoustic transfer efficiency is high. The focused ultrasonic field provides good condition for sonochemical reaction. The length of the reactor can be up to 2 meters, and liquids can pass through it continuously, so it can be widely applied in liquid processing such as sonochemistry.     

A novel salicylaldehyde dehydrosenase-NahV involved in catabolism of naphthalene from Pseudomonas putida ND6

A novel salicylaldehyde dehydrogenase involved in catabolism of naphthalene from Pseudomonas putida ND6, NahV, has been identified. NahV exhibited lower identity in amino acid sequence with the classic salicylaldehyde dehydrogenase, NahF, from P. putida ND6. This is the first report of an isofunctional enzyme of bacterial salicylaldehyde dehydrogenase. Comparison of Km and Vmax values of NahV and NahF demonstrated that NahF has a more efficient catalytic reaction than NahV, while NahV has much higher affinity for salicylaldehyde and NAD^＋. Both enzymes exhibited broad substrate specificities and catalyzed the oxidation of salicylaldehyde, 5-chlorosalicylaldehyde, formaldehyde, m-nitrobenzaldehyde, o-nitrobenzaldehyde, o-methoxybenxaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, caprylic aldehyde, and glyoxal. However, the relative rates at which the substituted analogs are transformed differ considerably. NahV activity could be enhanced by Fe^2＋, Cu^2＋ and Zn^2＋; whereas NahF activity could only be stimulated by Fe^2＋, NahF is more stable than NahV at elevated temperatures. Dot-blot hybridization analyses showed that nahF-like genes occurred in all naphthalene-degradation bacteria isolated in this study, whereas nahV-like genes were present in only some naphthalene-degrading bacteria.     

Nickel accumulation and its effects on the survival rate of Spodoptera litura Fabricius under continuous nickel stress

The artificial diets mixed with various concentrations of nickel were offered to the larvae of the phytophagous insect Spodoptera litura Fabricius for 3 generations. Nickel accumulations in the 6th instar larvae, pupae and newly emerged adults of the corresponding generations of S. litura were investigated by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES), and the effects of nickel accumulations on the survival rate of S. litura were also evaluated by individual rearing. The results showed that nickel accumulated in the 6th instar larvae, pupae and adults of S. litura, and the accu- mulated nickel in all the tested developmental stages within a generation increased with the increase of the nickel doses in the treated diets and showed significant dose-dependent relationship with the nickel doses in the artificial diets. The results also indicated that the nickel accumulations in the 6th instar larvae, pupae, and newly emerged adults from the 3rd generation were higher than those from the 2nd generation, which were also higher than those from the 1st generation. Nickel concentrations in pupae and adults were significantly lower than those in larvae, which indicated that the excessive nickel might be excreted during metamorphosis. Furthermore, larval survival rate, pupation rate and eclosion rate of S. litura in the tested three generations all decreased with the increase of the nickel doses in the treated diets.     

Density functional theory study on the insertion reaction mechanism of dibromocarbene with formaldehyde

The insertion reaction mechanism of CBr2 with CH3CH2O has been studied by using the B3LYP/6-311G(d) and CCSD(T)/6-311G(d) at single point. The geometries of reactions,transition state and products were completely optimized. All the transition state is verified by the vibrational analysis and the internal re-action coordinate (IRC) calculations. The results show that reaction (1) is the dominant reaction path,which proceeds via two steps: i) two reactants form an intermediate (IM1),which is an exothermal re-action of 8.62 kJ·mol?1 without energy barrier; ii) P1 is obtained via the TS1 and the H-shift,in which the energy barrier is 44.53 kJ·mol?1. The statistical thermodynamics and Eyring transition state theory with Wigner correction are used to study the thermodynamic and kinetic characters of this reaction in temperature range from 100 to 2200 K. The results show that the appropriate reaction temperature ranges from 200 to 1900 K at 1.0 atm,in which the reaction has a bigger spontaneity capability,equi-librium constant (K) and higher rate constant (k).     

Visible light photocatalytic decoloration of methylene blue on novel N-doped TiO2

Novel N-doped TiO2 (denoted as N-NTA600) was prepared by treating nanotube titanic acid (NTA) in NH3 flow. Its visible light photocatalytic activity,evaluated by decoloration reaction of methylene blue,is higher than that of N-P25(600) prepared by treatment of P25-TiO2 in the same condition. It is suggested that the origin of visible-light photocatalytic activity is single-electron-trapped oxygen vacancy (Vo·) modified by chemisorbed NO.     

Determining method and conditional factors of electrochemical fingerprint of Chinese traditional medicine

The thermodynamic systems and kinetic model suitable for the electrochemical token of the compo-nent throng in Chinese traditional medicines have been analyzed. It has been indicated that the damp oscillatory reactions in the non-equilibrium close system and open system without the supplement of dissipative substance have important significance for the throng token and analysis of chemical com-ponents in Chinese traditional medicines. Various factors influencing the electrochemical fingerprint,such as reactant species and their concentrations,electrode types,temperature,stir rate,the kind,dosage and granularity of Chinese traditional medicines,have amply been researched by the B-Z os-cillatory reaction which used malonic acid as a main dissipative substance. In addition,the quantitative information about the chemical components in Chinese traditional medicines has been discussed in detail. The method and its conditions for determining the electrochemical fingerprint used in scientifi-cally distinguishing and evaluating Chinese traditional medicines have successfully been put forward.