Identification of ages and determination of paeoniflorin in roots of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. From four producing areas based on growth rings

Growth rings were used to determine the root age of medicinal Paeonia lactiflora from four producing areas, and their corresponding paeoniflorin content were measured based on the identification of ages. Different P. lactiflora root samples of different ages were collected from the four major growing areas in China: Bozhou, Anhui Province; Pan'an, Zhejiang Province; Zhongjiang, Sichuan Province; and Heze, Shandong Province. The relationship between the number of growth rings and age was analyzed using hand sections and paraffin sections. The paeoniflorin content in the roots of different P. lactiflora cultivars from different growing areas was measured using high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The growth rings in the P. lactiflora roots were consistent with the age of the plant from Heze, Zhongjiang, Pan'an, whereas that for the P. lactiflora from Bozhou was one less than the age of the plant. The HPLC results show that the paeoniflorin content was highest in P. lactiflora ‘Baihuachuanshaoyao,’ followed by ‘Baihuahangshaoyao,’ ‘Honghuachuanshaoyao,’ and ‘Honghuahangshaoyao,’ ‘Bozhoushaoyao’ had the lowest levels of paeoniflorin. With increasing age, the paeoniflorin in the roots of the different P.lactiflora cultivars slowly declined or remained the same. In summary, the age of the roots of P. lactiflora from different growing areas can be determined using growth rings. The paeoniflorin content in the roots of P. lactiflora is correlated with cultivar and it was slowly declined with increasing age. Microsc. Res. Tech. 75:1191–1196, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Quaternion-based nonlinear trajectory tracking control of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle

At present, most controllers of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) use Euler angles to express attitude. These controllers suffer a singularity problem when the pitch angle is near 90°C, which limits the maneuverability of the UAV. To overcome this problem, based on the quaternion attitude representation, a 6 degree of freedom(DOF) nonlinear controller of a quadrotor UAV is designed using the trajectory linearization control(TLC) method. The overall controller contains a position sub-controller and an attitude sub-controller. The two controllers regulate the translational and rotational motion of the UAV, respectively. The controller is improved by using the commanded value instead of the nominal value as the input of the inner control loop. The performance of controller is tested by simulation before and after the improvement, the results show that the improved controller is better. The proposed controller is also tested via numerical simulation and real flights and is compared with the traditional controller based on Euler angles. The test results confirm the feasibility and the robustness of the proposed nonlinear controller. The proposed controller can successfully solve the singularity problem that usually occurs in the current attitude control of UAV and it is easy to be realized.     

Centering of organic-inorganic hybrid liposomal cerasomes in electrospun gelatin nanofibers

A study investigating the embedding of stabilized organic-inorganic liposomal cerasomes in gelatin nanofibers through the electrospinning of cerasome-dispersed gelatin aqueous solution is presented. Fluorescent and transmission electron microscopy confirm the embedding and centering of cerasomes in the electrospun nanofibers. A simple mechanism is proposed for the centering of cerasomes in gelatin nanofibers. The ability to incorporate cerasomes capable of encapsulating a variety of bioactive molecules provides a promising method to functionalize polymer nanofibers.     

负载限流控制全桥软开关变换器的研制

本文介绍了负载限流控制全桥软开关变换器,包括全桥软开关变换器电路结构和过载限流的工作原理,并阐述了如何实现副边整流桥的尖峰电压抑制。在理论分析的基础上,介绍了电路设计,研制了1台样机,并进行实验验证。     

Ordered dichloro-biphenylene-bridged silsesquioxanes fabricated by interfacial polymerization

Ordered dichloro-biphenylene-bridged silsesquioxanes are fabricated by interfacial polymerization at the aqueous/organic phase interface, which involves hydrogen bonding and aromatic π–π stacking interaction, which are responsible for the preferential orientation of the organic bridged units. The high-resolution transmission electronic microscopy images and wide angle X-ray powder diffraction patterns reveal the well-ordered features with lamellar spacings in the hybrid silsesquioxanes. Fluorescence spectra and molecular simulation verify the possibility of ordered structure formation. A general model is developed for the formation of ordered 3,3′-dichloro-biphenylene-bridged silsesquioxanes by interfacial polymerization. This method should offer a convenient avenue for the preparation of highly ordered hybrid network materials.     

Novel determination of caffeine in human urine by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry

Determination of caffeine is necessary for clinical research. A new method for the determination of caffeine in human urine was established by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry using multiple reaction monitoring. The m/z 195.1 to 138.1 amu transition was employed in positive ionization mode. The preparation and analysis conditions were systemically optimized. The calibration curve was linear from 0.5–50 µg/mL with a limit of detection limit of 0.2 µg/mL. Intra-day and inter-day accuracy and precision were within the acceptable limits of ±15% at all concentrations. Moreover, the matrix effects for the determination of caffeine were evaluated. In conclusion, a simple, rapid, and reliable method without complex sample preparation and chromatographic separation was developed and validated for the determination of caffeine in human urine.     

Electrostatic Control of Structure in Self‐Assembled Membranes

Self‐assembling peptide amphiphiles (PAs) can form hierarchically ordered membranes when brought in contact with aqueous polyelectrolytes of the opposite charge by rapidly creating a diffusion barrier composed of filamentous nanostructures parallel to the plane of the incipient membrane. Following this event, osmotic forces and charge complexation template nanofiber growth perpendicular to the plane of the membrane in a dynamic self‐assembly process. In this work, we show that this hierarchical structure requires massive interfacial aggregation of PA molecules, suggesting the importance of rapid diffusion barrier formation. Strong PA aggregation is induced here through the use of heparin‐binding PAs with heparin and also with polyelectrolytes of varying charge density. Small angle X‐ray scattering shows that in the case of weak PA‐polyelectrolyte interaction, membranes formed display a cubic phase ordering on the nanoscale that likely results from clusters of PA nanostructures surrounded by polyelectrolyte chains.     

Degradation of 1‐amino‐4‐bromoanthraquinone‐2‐sulfonic acid using combined airlift bioreactor and TiO2‐photocatalytic ozonation

BACKGROUND: Traditional treatment systems failed to achieve efficient degradation of anthraquinone dye intermediates at high loading. Thus, an airlift internal loop reactor (AILR) in combination with the TiO₂‐photocatalytic ozonation (TiO₂/UV/O₃) process was investigated for the degradaton of 1‐amino‐ 4‐bromoanthraquinone‐2‐ sulfonic acid (ABAS). RESULTS: The AILR using Sphingomonas xenophaga as inoculum and granular activated carbon (GAC) as biocarrier, could run steadily for 4 months at 1000 mg L^?1 of the influent ABAS. The efficiencies of ABAS decolorization and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal in AILR reached about 90% and 50% in 12 h, respectively. However, when the influent ABAS concentration was further increased, a yellow intermediate with maximum absorbance at 447 nm appeared in AILR, resulting in the decrease of the decolorization and COD removal efficiencies. Advanced treatment of AILR effluent indicated that TiO₂/UV/O₃ process more significantly improved the mineralization rate of ABAS bio‐decolorization products with over 90% TOC removal efficiency, compared with O₃, TiO₂/UV and UV/O₃ processes. Furthermore, the release efficiencies of Br^? and SO₄^2? could reach 84.5% and 80.2% during TiO₂/UV/O₃ treatment, respectively, when 91.5% TOC removal was achieved in 2 h. CONCLUSION: The combination of AILR and TiO₂/UV/O₃ was an economic and efficient system for the treatment of ABAS wastewater. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry