catena-Poly[[diaqua­nickel(II)]-bis­(μ-2-{[5-(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]sulfan­yl}acetato)]

In the title compound, [Ni(C9H6N3O3S)2(H2O)2]n, the NiII atom, located on an inversion center, is ligated in an octa­hedral geometry by two carboxyl­ate O atoms from two 2-{[5-(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]sulfan­yl}acetate (L) ligands and two O atoms from water mol­ecules in the equatorial plane, and two pyridine N atoms from other two L ligands at the apical sites. Two L ligands bridge pairs of metal atoms in an anti­parallel manner, forming centrosymmetric dinuclear quasi-recta­ngular units which are linked into infinite double-stranded chains parallel to [100]. O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the coordinating water mol­ecules and the carboxyl­ate groups of the L ligand as well as interchain S⋯N inter­actions [2.726 (2)–3.363 (2) Å] lead to the formation of a layer structure parallel to (001)

Tetra­aqua­bis­[3-(pyridin-4-yl)benzoato-κN]manganese(II)

In the title compound, [Mn(C12H8NO2)2(H2O)4], the Mn2+ ion lies on a twofold rotation axis and has a distorted N2O4 octa­hedral coordination geometry formed by four water O atoms in the equatorial plane and two apical pyridyl N atoms. A three-dimensional network is formed in the crystal structure by multiple O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the coordin­ating water molecules and the free carboxylate groups

Sol-gel synthesis and electrochemical performance of NiCo2O4 nanoparticles for supercapacitor applications

In this work, NiCo2O4 nanoparticles with enhanced supercapacitive performance have been successfully synthesized via a facile sol-gel method and subsequent calcination in air. The morphology and composition of as-prepared samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy (Raman). The electrochemical performances of NiCo2O4 nanoparticles as supercapacitor electrode materials were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD) tests in 3 mol L-1 KOH aqueous solution. The results show that as-prepared NiCo2O4 nanoparticles have diameters of about 20-30 nm with uniform distribution. There are some interspaces between nanoparticles observed, which could increase the effective contact area with the electrolyte and provide fast path for the insertion and extraction of electrolyte ions. The electrochemical tests show that the prepared NiCo2O4 nanoparticles for supercapacitors exhibit excellent electrochemical performance with high specific capacitance and good cycle stability. The specific capacitance of NiCo2O4 electrode has been found as high as 1080, 800, 651, and 574 F g-1 at current densities of 1, 4, 7, and 10 A g-1, respectively. Notably, the capacitance retention rate (compared with 1 A g-1) is up to 74.1 %, 60.3 %, and 53.1 % at current densities of 4, 7, and 10 A g-1 respectively. After 100 cycles, higher capacitance retention rate is also achieved. Therefore, the results indicate that NiCo2O4 material is the potential electrode material for supercapacitors

Potential of Core-Collapse Supernova Neutrino Detection at JUNO

JUNO is an underground neutrino observatory under construction in Jiangmen, China. It uses 20kton liquid scintillator as target, which enables it to detect supernova burst neutrinos of a large statistics for the next galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN) and also pre-supernova neutrinos from the nearby CCSN progenitors. All flavors of supernova burst neutrinos can be detected by JUNO via several interaction channels, including inverse beta decay, elastic scattering on electron and proton, interactions on C12 nuclei, etc. This retains the possibility for JUNO to reconstruct the energy spectra of supernova burst neutrinos of all flavors. The real time monitoring systems based on FPGA and DAQ are under development in JUNO, which allow prompt alert and trigger-less data acquisition of CCSN events. The alert performances of both monitoring systems have been thoroughly studied using simulations. Moreover, once a CCSN is tagged, the system can give fast characterizations, such as directionality and light curve

Detection of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background with JUNO

As an underground multi-purpose neutrino detector with 20 kton liquid scintillator, Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is competitive with and complementary to the water-Cherenkov detectors on the search for the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB). Typical supernova models predict 2-4 events per year within the optimal observation window in the JUNO detector. The dominant background is from the neutral-current (NC) interaction of atmospheric neutrinos with 12C nuclei, which surpasses the DSNB by more than one order of magnitude. We evaluated the systematic uncertainty of NC background from the spread of a variety of data-driven models and further developed a method to determine NC background within 15\% with {\it{in}} {\it{situ}} measurements after ten years of running. Besides, the NC-like backgrounds can be effectively suppressed by the intrinsic pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) capabilities of liquid scintillators. In this talk, I will present in detail the improvements on NC background uncertainty evaluation, PSD discriminator development, and finally, the potential of DSNB sensitivity in JUNO

Compound-based Chinese medicine formula: From discovery to compatibility mechanism.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Chinese medicine formula (CMF) has a long history of clinical use in the treatment of various diseases under the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory. The application of CMF can be divided into three levels, crude extracts, homologous compounds mixture, and specific compounds. However, the modern scientific connotation of the CMF theory has not been clarified. AIM OF THE REVIEW: To critically evaluate the research strategy for the investigation of compound-based CMF (CCMF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The related information was collected from the scientific databases, including CNKI, Elsevier, ScienceDirect, PubMed, SpringerLink, Web of Science, and Wiley Online. RESULTS: The research design including discovery, screening, optimization, pharmacodynamics models, and target research techniques including the targets for compatibility compounds were evaluated. Essentially it has been evaluated that the in vitro multicellular three-dimensional culture or organoid model has been proposed for the optimization model for compatibility research of CCMF. Based on these, the traditional compatibility theory of CMF, such as Monarch-Minister-Assistant-Guide (Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi in Chinese), can probably be elucidated by the CCMF research. CONCLUSIONS: CCMF has the clear advantage of providing the exact composition and controllable quality of modern medicines, in addition to having the characteristics of multi-ingredients and multi-targets synergistic effects of TCM. However, CCMF is still associated with challenges which need to be addressed for its future use

Genomic analyses identify hundreds of variants associated with age at menarche and support a role for puberty timing in cancer risk

The timing of puberty is a highly polygenic childhood trait that is epidemiologically associated with various adult diseases. Using 1000 Genomes Project–imputed genotype data in up to ~370,000 women, we identify 389 independent signals (P < 5 × 10$^{−8}$) for age at menarche, a milestone in female pubertal development. In Icelandic data, these signals explain ~7.4% of the population variance in age at menarche, corresponding to ~25% of the estimated heritability. We implicate ~250 genes via coding variation or associated expression, demonstrating significant enrichment in neural tissues. Rare variants near the imprinted genes MKRN3 and DLK1 were identified, exhibiting large effects when paternally inherited. Mendelian randomization analyses suggest causal inverse associations, independent of body mass index (BMI), between puberty timing and risks for breast and endometrial cancers in women and prostate cancer in men. In aggregate, our findings highlight the complexity of the genetic regulation of puberty timing and support causal links with cancer susceptibility