Discovering SnB: a half-sandwich structure with double aromaticity and pathways to molecular machines.

Numerous boron-based molecular fluxional models, such as the Wankel motor, tank treads B and BC, and the Earth-Moon system BeB, have been widely recognized for their potential to develop molecular machines. From a series of tin-doped boron clusters SnB ( = 5-14), the half-sandwich structure SnB is found to possess high relative energy stability, and a HOMO-LUMO gap of 4.33 eV.

Design, synthesis and activity evaluation of pseudilin analogs against cyanobacteria as IspD inhibitors.

The discovery of safe, effective, and selective chemical algicides is the stringent need for the algicides development, and it is also one of the effective routes to control cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms and to meet the higher requirements of environmental and ecological. In this work, a series of novel bromo-N-phenyl-5-o-hydroxyphenylpyrazole-3-carboxyamides were rationally designed as pseudilin analogs by bioisosteric replacement and molecular hybridization strategies, in which the pyrrole unit of pseudilin was replaced with pyrazole and further combined with the dominant structural fragments of algicide diuron. The synthesis was carried out by a facile four-step routeincluding cyclization, amidation, transanulation, and halogenation.

Aromatic and magnetic properties in a series of heavy rare earth-doped Ge cluster anions.

A series of pentagonal bipyramidal anionic germanium clusters doped with heavy rare earth elements, (RE = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu), have been identified at the PBE0/def2-TZVP level using density functional theory (DFT). Our findings reveal that the centrally doped pentagonal ring structure demonstrates enhanced stability and heightened aromaticity due to its uniform bonding characteristics and a larger charge transfer region. Through natural population analysis and spin density diagrams, we observed a monotonic decrease in the magnetic moment from Gd to Yb.

Evaluation of Cardiac Function Characteristics after Patent Ductus Arteriosus Closure in Children and Adults by Echocardiographic Data.

This study was to investigate the value of echocardiographic data in assessing changes in cardiac function before and after transcatheter closure in children and adult patients with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). In this study, 150 patients with isolated PDA treated by cardiac catheterization and transcatheter closure were selected as the study sample. Real-time color Doppler echocardiography was used both after and after operation.

Raman spectroscopic analysis of skin penetration and moisturizing effects of Bionics vernix caseosa cream compared with Vaseline.

Background: The stratum corneum (SC) is the outermost layer of human skin and deemed as barrier against chemical exposure and water loss. Moisturizers have beneficial effects in treating dry skin, especially the SC. Confocal Raman spectroscopy (CRS) was used to evaluate the efficacy of moisturizers on skin hydration and penetration, with such agents posing inherent characteristics of being noninvasive, nondestructive, timesaving, and cost effective.

In vivo Raman spectroscopy study on the stimulation mechanism of surfactant.

Background: Surfactant is widely used in skin care products and cleansers, while it may cause physical discomfort. In this study, in vivo Raman spectroscopy was used to explore surfactant irritation mechanism on skin, which was not found in literature.

Methods: Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was chosen to represent surfactant.

Rapid Monitoring Approach for Microplastics Using Portable Pyrolysis-Mass Spectrometry.

Microplastics (MPs) pollution has drawn increasing concern due to its widespread occurrence and potential risks in the environment. The reliable methods and instruments for fast analysis of microplastics (MPs) less than 5 mm are urgently needed. In this study, a new method based on custom-made portable pyrolysis-mass spectrometry (Pyr-MS) is developed, which enables rapid identification and mass related quantification of MPs.

A simple and efficient approach toward deep-red to near-infrared-emitting iridium(iii) complexes for organic light-emitting diodes with external quantum efficiencies of over 10.

While the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of iridium(iii) (Ir(iii)) phosphor based near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes (NIR OLEDs) has been limited to 5.7% to date, there is no significant EQE improvement for these types of OLEDs due to the lack of efficient Ir(iii) emitters. Here, a convenient approach within three synthetic steps is developed to afford two novel and efficient deep-red to near-infrared (DR-NIR) emitting phosphors ( and ), in which a cyano group is added into a commercial red emitter named to significantly stabilize the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals of the newly designed Ir(iii) complexes.

Rapid determination of cadmium in rice by portable dielectric barrier discharge-atomic emission spectrometer.

In this work, a home-made portable dielectric barrier discharge-atomic emission spectrometer (DBD-AES) was explored to the determination of heavy metal in foodstuffs. A rapid and simple method was developed for Cd determination in rice based on this instrument. Rice was pretreated with diluted acid dissolution without complex operations and apparatus.

Mammography and MRI manifestations of breast angiosarcoma.

Background: Breast angiosarcoma is rare and previous studies only focus on its pathology. This study aimed to summarize its imaging features.

Methods: Overall 17 patients pathologically confirmed with breast angiosarcoma were recruited.

Ultrasound-Targeted Microbubble Destruction (UTMD) Combined with Liposome Increases the Effectiveness of Suppressing Proliferation, Migration, Invasion, and Epithelial- Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) via Targeting Metadherin (MTDH) by ShRNA.

BACKGROUND Reports show that ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) is a promising method of gene therapy, and metadherin (MTDH) is related to the development of breast cancer. Thus, we investigated the role of MTDH in breast cancer and compared the effect of suppressing MTDH by shRNA using liposome, UTMD, or the combination of these 2 methods. MATERIAL AND METHODS Graphing of survival curves of MTDH was analyzed by bioinformatics.

Portable Dielectric Barrier Discharge-Atomic Emission Spectrometer.

This paper describes the first demonstration of a portable dielectric barrier discharge-atomic emission spectrometer (DBD-AES). The instrument primarily consists of a miniature electro-thermal vaporizer (ETV), DBD, and optical signal acquisition units. It weighs only 4.

[Determination of four fluorescent whitening agents in laundry detergents by solid phase extraction combined with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography].

A new method was established to determine three stilbene-type disulfonate and one distyrylbiphenyl-type fluorescent whitening agents (FWA351, FWA85, FWA28 and FWA71) in laundry detergents by solid phase extraction (SPE) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (UPLC-DAD). The fluorescent whitening agents were extracted from laundry detergents with 2% formic acid aqueous solution and methanol, and purified by WAX SPE column, and analyzed by UPLC-DAD on a Phenomenex Synergi Max-RP column (150 mm x 2.0 mm), employing acetonitrile-10 mmol/L ammonium acetate as the mobile phase in a gradient elution mode.

A practical approach to the degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls in transformer oil.

A practical and efficient disposal method for hydrodechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in transformer oil is reported. Transformer oil containing PCBs was treated by nanometric sodium hydride (nano-NaH) and transition metal catalysts. High destruction and removal efficiency (89.

Copper and manganese: two concordant partners in the catalytic oxidation of p-cresol to p-hydroxybenzaldehyde.

Copper and manganese were found to be two concordant partners in the synthesis of p-hydroxybenzaldehyde from p-cresol; under mild conditions, this research realised 95.6% selectivity for p-hydroxybenzaldehyde at 98.5% conversion of p-cresol.