High-energy and long-life aluminum−sulfur battery: Employment of electrocatalytic function into continuous multiple reactions within quasi-solid-state electrolyte

Aluminum−sulfur (Al−S) batteries of ultrahigh energy-to-price ratios are promising for next-generation energy storage, while they suffer from large charge/discharge voltage hysteresis and short lifespan. Herein, an electrocatalyst-boosting quasi-solid-state Al−S battery is proposed, in which sulfur is anchored on the cobalt/nitrogen co-doped graphene (S@CoNG, as the positive electrode) and chloroaluminate-based ionic liquid (IL) is encapsulated into metal-organic frameworks (IL@MOF, as the quasi-solid-state electrolyte). Mechanistically, the Co−N bonds in CoNG act as electrocatalytic center to continuous induce breaking of Al−Cl bonds and S−S bonds and accelerate the kinetics of sulfur conversion, endowing the Al−S battery with much shortened voltage gap of 0.32 V and 0.98 V in the discharge voltage plateau. Within quasi-solid-state IL@MOF electrolytes, shuttle effect of polysulfides has been inhibited, which stabilizes the process of reversible sulfur conversion. Consequently, the assembled Al−S battery presents high specific capacity of 820 mAh g−1 and 78% capacity retention after 300 cycles. This concept here offers novel insights to design practical Al−S batteries for stable energy storage.

Multifactor Uncertain Chemical Reaction Equation

The previous uncertain chemical reaction equation describes the time evolution of single reactions. But in many practical cases, a substance is consumed by several different reaction pathways. For the above considerations, this paper extends the discussion to multiple reactions. Specifically, by taking the decomposition of C2H5OH as an example, parallel reactions with one reactant are analyzed with the multifactor uncertain differential equation. The derived equation is called the multifactor uncertain chemical reaction equation. Following that, the parameters in the multifactor uncertain chemical reaction equation are estimated by the generalized moment estimation. Based on the multifactor uncertain chemical reaction equation, half-life of reaction is investigated. Finally, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the usefulness of the multifactor uncertain chemical reaction equation.

Comparative pharmacokinetic study of bicalutamide administration alone and in combination with vitamin D in rats

Bicalutamide (BCL) has been approved for treatment of advanced prostate cancer (Pca), and vitamin D is inevitably used in combination with BCL in Pca patients for skeletal or anti-tumor strategies. Therefore, it is necessary to study the effect of vitamin D application on the pharmacokinetics of BCL. We developed and validated a specific, sensitive and rapid UHPLC–MS/MS method to investigate the pharmacokinetic behaviours of BCL in rat plasma with and without the combined use of vitamin D. Plasma samples were extracted by protein precipitation with ether/dichloromethane (2:1 v/v), and the analytes were separated by a Kinetex Biphenyl 100A column (2.1 × 100 mm, 2.6 μm) with a mobile phase composed of 0.5 mM ammonium acetate (PH 6.5) in water (A) and acetonitrile (B) in a ratio of A:B = 35:65 (v/v). Analysis of the ions was run in the multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode. The linear range of BCL was 5–2000 ng mL−1. The intra- and inter-day precision were less than 14%, and the accuracy was in the range of 94.4–107.1%. The mean extraction recoveries, matrix effects and stabilities were acceptable for this method. The validated method was successfully applied to evaluate the pharmacokinetic behaviours of BCL in rat plasma. The results demonstrated that the pharmacokinetic property of BCL is significantly affected by combined use of vitamin D, which might help provide useful evidence for the clinical therapy and further pharmacokinetic study.

Determination of oroxin A, oroxin B, oroxylin A, oroxyloside, chrysin, chrysin 7-O-beta-gentiobioside, and guaijaverin in mouse blood by UPLC-MS/MS and its application to pharmacokinetics

In this study, a UPLC-MS/MS method was developed to measure the concentrations of the flavonoids oroxin A, oroxin B, oroxylin A, oroxyloside, chrysin, chrysin 7-O-beta-gentiobioside, and guaijaverin in the blank mouse blood, and the method was then used in the measurement of the pharmacokinetics of the compounds in mice. Oroxin A, oroxin B, oroxylin A, oroxyloside, chrysin, chrysin 7-O-beta-gentiobioside, and guaijaverin were administered intravenously at a dose of 5 mg kg−1, and the mouse blood (20 μL) was withdrawn from the caudal vein 0.08333, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 h after administration. The mobile phase used for chromatographic separation by gradient elution was composed of acetonitrile and water (0.1% formic acid). The analytes were detected by operating in electrospray ionization (ESI) positive-ion mode using multiple reactions monitoring (MRM). The intra-day and inter-day accuracy ranged from 86.2 to 109.3%, the intra-day precision was less than 14%, and the inter-day precision was less than 15%. The matrix effect ranged from 85.3 to 111.3%, and the recovery of the analytes after protein precipitation were all above 78.2%. This method had the advantages of high sensitivity, accuracy, and recovery, and it had excellent selectivity, which enabled it to be applied to measuring the pharmacokinetics of the analytes in mice.

Simulation of process control for production of 5-HMF from old coconut water

5-Hydroxymethyl furfural (5-HMF) is one of the intermediate chemicals produced from biomass through the process of dehydration of glucose and fructose in acidic conditions. Biomass resources are one of the sources that attract the attention of many users of unlimited biomass resources, in addition to being able to produce environmentally friendly products such as bio fuels and bio chemicals. Old coconut water and oil palm tree trunk sap was chosen in this study because of its abundance in Malaysia. It is an essential organic compound for the production of bioplastics, chemicals, building materials, fuels, textiles, cosmetics and food. Although the production of 5-HMF is relatively simple, in fact, the synthesis of 5-HMF is complicated by the occurrence of multiple reactions at one time, especially when using biomass as a raw material. In this report, process control of production of 5-HMF from biomass is presented using fuzzy logic controller for controlling temperature of a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). The objective of this paper is to develop a control system for a non-isothermal temperature control of a CSTR with the most stable response curve. Through simulation results, fuzzy logic control performs better because there was no overshoot and successfully reaches the set point at faster settling time.

Image Politics and the Construction of Public Opinion: Readings into the Arab Spring Context

Images are ubiquitous in today's modern society. They tend to be taken for granted and their power is underestimated. However, images do not just reflect the world around us, but they construct reality. They can be inspirational and ideological, as they can trigger a political conscience. They now accompany every occurring event; they update and form the public. The Arab Spring context represents an image-saturated revolution wherein images have proved to be an effectual weapon and a catalyst of a massive public reaction and mobilization. The present paper studies images as a medium that is loaded with messages and is capable of shaping public opinion. It explores the different meanings encoded within these images, as it analyses their effectiveness on the public during and after the last Arab uprisings. The paper also ponders upon the reason why some images raise multiple reactions, and push leaders and masses to action.

Quantification of Tofacitinib in Human Plasma Samples Using Radio-Labeled Internal Standard

A simple, sensitive and accurate liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric method has been developed and validated for determination of Tofacitinib in human plasma. The method was developed on Agilent Zorbax SB-C8 150×4.6 mm, 5 µm column using 10mM ammonium formate: acetonitrile (40:60 v/v) mobile phase for Chromatographic separation of Tofacitinib. The Tofacitinib and Tofacitinib- C3 were monitored by electrospray ionization in positive ion multiple reactions monitoring mode to detect the Tofacitinib at mass/charge 313.200/149.200 and Tofacitinib-13C3 (Internal Standard) at 316.500/149.200. Liquid-liquid extraction was employed in the extraction of analytes from human plasma. Both drug and internal standards were stable in plasma samples. The proposed method was validated as per international council of harmonization guidelines over a linear concentration range of 0.2ng/mL to 100.0ng/mL with a correlation coefficient (r) of ≥ 0.9983. Bioavailability and Bioequivalence studies of tofacitinib in biological samples can be achieved by analyzing them using the validated developed method. This study plays a key role in determining routine therapeutic drug monitoring of tofacitinib drug.

Multifunctional Electrocatalysis on Single-Site Metal Catalysts: A Computational Perspective

Multifunctional electrocatalysts are vastly sought for their applications in water splitting electrolyzers, metal-air batteries, and regenerative fuel cells because of their ability to catalyze multiple reactions such as hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution, and oxygen reduction reactions. More specifically, the application of single-atom electrocatalyst in multifunctional catalysis is a promising approach to ensure good atomic efficiency, tunability and additionally benefits simple theoretical treatment. In this review, we provide insights into the variety of single-site metal catalysts and their identification. We also summarize the recent advancements in computational modeling of multifunctional electrocatalysis on single-site catalysts. Furthermore, we explain each modeling step with open-source-based working examples of a standard computational approach.

4-Nitrophenol-Loaded Magnetic Mesoporous Silica Hybrid Materials for Spectrometric Aptasensing of Carcinoembryonic Antigen

Aptamer- or antibody-based sensing protocols have been reported for detecting carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), but most exhibit complicated procedures or multiple reactions. In this work, we developed a one-step aptasensing protocol for the spectrometric determination of CEA based on 4-nitrophenol (4-NP)-loaded magnetic mesoporous silica nanohybrids (MMSNs) for bioresponsive controlled-release applications. To fabricate such a responsive–controlled sensing system, single-stranded complementary oligonucleotides relative to the CEA-specific aptamer were first modified on the aminated MMSN. Thereafter, 4-NP molecules blocked the pores with the assistance of the aptamers via a hybridization reaction. The introduced target CEA specifically reacted with the hybridized aptamer, thus detaching from the MMSN to open the gate. The loaded 4-NP molecules were released from the pores, as determined using ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectroscopy after magnetic separation. Under optimum conditions, the absorbance increased with an increase in the target CEA in the sample and exhibited a good linear relationship within the dynamic range of 0.1–100 ng mL−1, with a detection limit of 46 pg mL−1. Moreover, this system also displayed high specificity, good reproducibility, and acceptable accuracy for analyzing human serum specimens, in comparison with a commercialized human CEA-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit.