Monolithic zirconia aerogel from polyacetylacetonatozirconium precursor and ammonia hydroxide gel initiator: formation mechanism, mechanical strength and thermal properties.

Zirconia (ZrO) aerogels are potential candidates for use at temperatures higher than those attainable with silica aerogels. However, fabricating a robust ZrO aerogel with a high thermal stability is still a challenge. The extreme electronegativity of Zr makes the hydrolysis and polycondensation of zirconium precursors difficult to control, leading to poor structural integrity and unsatisfactory physical properties.

The relationship between the laser damaged threshold and step velocity in different supersaturation regions.

The laser damaged threshold (LDT) of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals grown at different supersaturation points were investigated using a Nd:YAG nanosecond laser. The growth rate was measured by a laser polarization interference system. Combining the step slopes, the dependence of -() was obtained.

MaxMIF: A New Method for Identifying Cancer Driver Genes through Effective Data Integration.

Identification of a few cancer driver mutation genes from a much larger number of passenger mutation genes in cancer samples remains a highly challenging task. Here, a novel method for distinguishing the driver genes from the passenger genes by effective integration of somatic mutation data and molecular interaction data using a maximal mutational impact function (MaxMIF) is presented. When evaluated on six somatic mutation datasets of Pan-Cancer and 19 datasets of different cancer types from TCGA, MaxMIF almost always significantly outperforms all the existing state-of-the-art methods in terms of predictive accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity.

High throughput mass spectrometry-based characterisation of group H glycosyltransferases.

In this report, we cloned and characterised four members of group H glycosyltransferases (GTs) by studying their substrate specificities and kinetics. The formation of products and possible glycosylation position was confirmed using MS/MS. The results revealed that 76E1 and 76E5 have broader donor specificity, including UDP-glucose (UDPGlc), UDP-galactose (UDPGal) and UDP--acetylglucosamine (UDPGlcNAc) with various flavonoids as acceptor substrates.

Do the fragments from decomposed ZIF-8 greatly affect some of the intramolecular proton-transfer of thymine? A quantum chemical study.

The intramolecular proton-transfer processes of thymine were investigated by the density functional theory method. It is shown that the mutation from keto (T) to enol (T') form is affected by zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) fragments such as single 2-methylimidazole neutral crystals (M), and negatively charged 2-methylimidazole ligands (M). Results show that with the number () of water (w) molecules that assist proton-transfer increasing from 1 to 4, the order of the tautomeric energy barriers (in kcal mol) is T-2w (16.

One-pot synthesis of highly active Ni/Fe nano-bimetal by simultaneous ball milling and chemical deposition.

In this study, nanoscale bimetallic particles (Ni/Fe) were prepared by a simultaneous ball milling and chemical deposition process (B&C) with high dechlorination activity for 4-chlorophenol (4-CP). The results suggest that the introduction of Ni significantly improved the dechlorination of 4-CP. The dechlorination activity of Ni/Fe-B&C ( = 0.

3D Visible-Light Invisibility Cloak.

The concept of an invisibility cloak is a fixture of science fiction, fantasy, and the collective imagination. However, a real device that can hide an object from sight in visible light from absolutely any viewpoint would be extremely challenging to build. The main obstacle to creating such a cloak is the coupling of the electromagnetic components of light, which would necessitate the use of complex materials with specific permittivity and permeability tensors.

The physicochemical properties of a room-temperature liquidus binary ionic liquid mixture of [HNMP][CHSO]/[Bmim]Cl and its application for fructose conversion to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.

heating first and then cooling, binary ionic liquid (IL) mixture of -methyl-2-pyrrolidonium methylsulfonate ([HNMP][CHSO]) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) could form a liquid at room temperature. The glass-transition temperature ( ) characterized by DSC depends on its composition with being as low as -63 °C. The physicochemical properties of the binary IL mixtures also vary with the composition.

Efficient activation of persulfate by FeO@β-cyclodextrin nanocomposite for removal of bisphenol A.

Experimental studies were conducted to investigate the degradation of bisphenol A (BPA) by using persulfate (PS) as the oxidant and FeO@β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) nanocomposite as a heterogeneous activator. The catalytic activity was evaluated in consideration of the effect of various parameters, such as pH value, PS concentration and FeO@β-CD load. The results showed that 100% removal of BPA was gained at pH 3.

TiN nanosheet arrays on Ti foils for high-performance supercapacitance.

A simple template-free method of preparing mesoporous TiN nanostructures directly on Ti foils is developed by combining hydrothermal, ion exchange and nitridation reactions. The as-prepared TiN nanosheet arrays on Ti foils can be directly used as an electrode without any subsequent processing, and are found to be a good capacitance material. The specific capacitance of the TiN nanosheets electrode measured at the current density of 0.

Toroidal Localized Spoof Plasmons on Compact Metadisks.

Localized spoof surface plasmons (LSSPs) have recently emerged as a new research frontier due to their unique properties and increasing applications. Despite the importance, most of the current researches only focus on electric/magnetic LSSPs. Very recent research has revealed that toroidal LSSPs, LSSPs modes with multipole toroidal moments, can be achieved at a point defect in a 2D groove metal array.

The influence of isolated and penta-hydrated Zn on some of the intramolecular proton-transfer processes of thymine: a quantum chemical study.

Zinc cation (Zn) plays an important role in the chemistry of DNA base pairs. In this work, the influence of isolated and penta-hydrated Zn on some of the intramolecular proton-transfer processes of thymine (T) is investigated by the density functional theory method. It is shown that the calculated binding energies between Zn and T are exothermic in vacuum.

Quantification of C-induced membrane disruption using a quartz crystal microbalance.

Direct contact between fullerene C nanoparticles (NPs) and cell membranes is one of mechanisms for its cytotoxicity. In this study, the influence of C NPs on lipid membranes was investigated. Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) were used as model cell membranes to observe the membrane disruption after C exposure.

Seawater splitting for hydrogen evolution by robust electrocatalysts from secondary M (M = Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Mo) incorporated Pt.

Water splitting is a promising technique for clean hydrogen energy harvesting. The creation of cost-effective electrocatalysts with improved hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity and stability is crucial in realizing persistent hydrogen evolution by reducing the reaction overpotential and minimizing energy consumption. Herein, we present the preparation of alloyed PtM (M = Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Mo) modified titanium (Ti) mesh by a simple electrodeposition method, aiming at hydrogen generation from seawater splitting.

Optical modulation of microfibers and application to ultrafast fiber lasers.

Microfibers with different waist diameters were prepared successfully by a flame-brushing technique. Their saturable absorption properties were investigated. The non-saturable loss and modulation depth both decreased with the increase of the diameter.

Fabrication of a magnetite/diazonium functionalized-reduced graphene oxide hybrid as an easily regenerated adsorbent for efficient removal of chlorophenols from aqueous solution.

A magnetic hybrid nanomaterial, which contains magnetite (FeO) particles and diazonium functionalized-reduced graphene oxide (DF-RGO), was fabricated a three-pot reaction. First, the reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was synthesized a redox reaction. Second, diazonium functionalized-RGO was prepared a feasible chemical reaction.

A coumarin Schiff's base two-photon fluorescent probe for hypochlorite in living cells and zebrafish.

Selective and sensitive fluorescent probes for ClO are desirable due to the importance of ClO in biological processes. Here, a coumarin Schiff's base, compound 1, has been developed and successfully used as a one- and two-photon fluorescent probe for ClO with high selectivity. This probe can recognize ClO with obvious color change from yellow-green to colorless and green to blue fluorescence emission, which can be observed by the naked eye.

Stability and electronic structure of hydrogen vacancies in ADP: hybrid DFT with vdW correction.

The formation energies, charge transition levels, and electronic structures of positively charged, neutral, and negatively charged hydrogen vacancies in the NHHPO (ADP) crystal are investigated in the framework of density functional theory with local and hybrid exchange-correlation functionals. The inclusion of nonlocal exchange opens the ADP fundamental band gap by nearly 1 eV and well reproduces the experimental value. The van der Waals (vdW) interaction is found to have a major influence on the energetics of charged hydrogen vacancies in ADP.

Triple network hydrogels (TN gels) prepared by a one-pot, two-step method with high mechanical properties.

In this work, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was incorporated into the networks of polyacrylamide/polyacrylic acid (PAM/PAA) to prepare novel PAM/PAA/PVA Triple-network (TN) hydrogels by an polymerization and repeated freezing-thawing (F-T) process. The TN hydrogels have not only high mechanical strength, but also a moderate swelling ability by varying the weight ratio of calcium chloride (CaCl) and PVA and free shaping. The compressive stress of the as-prepared hydrogels could reach 11 MPa, and the highest stretching stress could reach 0.

Effect of OH on chemical mechanical polishing of β-GaO (100) substrate using an alkaline slurry.

β-GaO, a semiconductor material, has attracted considerable attention given its potential applications in high-power devices, such as high-performance field-effect transistors. For decades, β-GaO has been processed through chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Nevertheless, the understanding of the effect of OH on β-GaO processed through CMP with an alkaline slurry remains limited.

A small molecule targeting glutathione activates Nrf2 and inhibits cancer cell growth through promoting Keap-1 -glutathionylation and inducing apoptosis.

The level of glutathione (GSH) is increased in many cancer cells. Consuming intracellular GSH by chemical small molecules that specifically target GSH is a new strategy to treat cancer. Recently, we synthesized and proved that a new compound 2-(7-(diethylamino)-2-oxo-2-chromen-3-yl)cyclohexa-2,5-diene-1,4-dione (PBQC) could target to and consume intracellular GSH specifically, but, it is not clear if PBQC can affect cancer cell growth and the activity of the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) which is a key factor involved in regulation of cancer cell growth.

Experimental and theoretical calculation investigation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid adsorption onto core-shell carbon microspheres@layered double hydroxide composites.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) usually aggregate irregularly and hardly redisperse in water. Moreover, the affinity of LDHs is poor for organic compounds. In this study, three different core-shell composites, CMS@MgAl-LDH, CMS@NiAl-LDH, and CMS@ZnAl-LDH, were synthesized by direct fabrication of LDH nanoplatelets onto carbon microspheres (CMS) for the removal of the adsorbed 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D).

Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting over MIL-125(Ti) upon CoPi and Pt Co-catalyst Deposition.

Photocatalytic overall water splitting is realized by taking advantage of the semiconductive and porous properties of MIL-125(Ti). CoPi and Pt are deposited into MIL-125(Ti) in two steps. The co-catalysts CoPi and Pt not only act as reactive sites for oxygen and hydrogen evolution, respectively, but also improve the photogenerated charge separation efficiency.

Outcome of radiofrequency ablation over partial nephrectomy for small renal mass (<4 cm): a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: A meta-analysis was undertaken to provide evidence-based clinical trials comparing radiofrequency ablation with partial nephrectomy for small renal mass.

Methods: We searched through the major medical databases such as Pub Med, EMBASE, Medline, Science Citation Index, Web of Science and CNKI (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database) and Wangfang (Database of Chinese Ministry of Science & Technology) for all published studies without any limit on language from May 2007 until May 2015. The following search terms wereused: partial nephrectomy, radiofrequency ablation, renal cell carcinoma, small renal tumor or mass.