Transesterification Kinetics of Jatropha Methyl Ester and Trimethylol propane for Biolubricant Synthesis Using Paphiaundulata Shell Waste

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films of 150 nm thickness were deposited on quartz glass substrates by RF sputtering technique, followed by thermal annealing treatment. In this technique, the samples have been annealed at different temperature, 300ᴼC, 400ᴼC, 500ᴼC respectively in Argon gas flow. Structural and surface morphological properties were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) after annealing. The XRD showed a polycrystalline structure of ITO film with maximum peak intensity at 2θ= 30.54, orientation without any change in the cubic structure. Continuous and homogeneous films obtained by the AFM after annealing treatment. The visible spectrum from the spectrophotometer showed high transparency between 81% and 95% in the. Increasing the annealing temperature yields evenly distributed pyramidal peaks shaped particles with low roughness. Resistance of ITO thin film was significantly improved from 8.75 kΩ to 1.96 kΩ after 10 minute from 300ᴼC to 500ᴼC annealing temperatures respectively under Argon gas flow. ITO films physical properties would be well improved by this method which is highly suitable for cost effective photonic devices

Cerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal bands in Chinese patients with multiple sclerosis: the prevalence and its association with clinical features

BackgroundCerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal band (CSF-OCB) is an established biomarker in diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS), however, there are no nationwide data on CSF-OCB prevalence and its diagnostic performance in Chinese MS patients, especially in the virtue of common standard operation procedure (SOP).MethodsWith a consensus SOP and the same isoelectric focusing system, we conducted a nationwide multi-center study on OCB status in consecutively, and recruited 483 MS patients and 880 non-MS patients, including neuro-inflammatory diseases (NID, n = 595) and non-inflammatory neurological diseases (NIND, n=285). Using a standardized case report form (CRF) to collect the clinical, radiological, immunological, and CSF data, we explored the association of CSF-OCB positivity with patient characters and the diagnostic performance of CSF-OCB in Chinese MS patients. Prospective source data collection, and retrospective data acquisition and statistical data analysis were used.Findings369 (76.4%) MS patients were OCB-positive, while 109 NID patients (18.3%) and 6 NIND patients (2.1%) were OCB-positive, respectively. Time from symptom onset to diagnosis was significantly shorter in OCB-positive than that in OCB-negative MS patients (13.2 vs 23.7 months, P=0.020). The prevalence of CSF-OCB in Chinese MS patients was significantly higher in high-latitude regions (41°-50°N)(P=0.016), and at high altitudes (>1000m)(P=0.025). The diagnostic performance of CSF-OCB differentiating MS from non-MS patients yielded a sensitivity of 76%, a specificity of 87%.InterpretationThe nationwide prevalence of CSF-OCB was 76.4% in Chinese MS patients, and demonstrated a good diagnostic performance in differentiating MS from other CNS diseases. The CSF-OCB prevalence showed a correlation with high latitude and altitude in Chinese MS patients

Transition metal electrocatalysts encapsulated into N-doped carbon nanotubes on reduced graphene oxide nanosheets: efficient water splitting through synergistic effects

The development of efficient noble-metal free electrocatalysts is crucial for clean hydrogen production through water splitting. As carbon-based supports are expected to play a major role in low cost electrocatalysis, improved synthetic methods and a deeper understanding of their mechanisms of action are now required. To this end, we synthesized transition metal catalysts for overall water splitting encapsulated into nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (M–N-CNTs, M = Ni, Co, Fe) through a direct and convenient pyrolysis of bulk g-C3N4. Furthermore, the addition of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) leads to a significant dispersion of the catalytic N-CNTs. Among the obtained catalyst series, NiFe–N-CNT with rGO (NiFe–N-CNT–rGO) exhibits extremely low overpotential of 270 mV (on glassy carbon) for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. This performance is superior to most of the previously reported noble metal-free catalysts for OER. Our comprehensive study unravels that the growth of CNTs follows a “reduction–nucleation–growth” process. The thermally reduced metallic nanoparticles (NPs) serve as nucleation sites of carbon species on their surface to further promote N-CNT growth. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the CNT walls and N-dopants in the catalysts modify the electronic structure and adjust the free energy toward the adsorption of intermediates. The one-step hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) process is influenced more strongly by N-centers when compared to the four-electron transfer OER process. The scalable and straightforward synthesis together with excellent electrocatalytic performance renders the NiFe–N-CNT–rGO hybrid catalyst quite promising for large-scale water splitting applications

Synthesis, structure and separation of a new chiral metal cluster (μ₃-S)FeCoMo(CO)₈ {C₅H₄C(O)C₆H₄C(O)OCH₃-4} on an amylopectin <span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">tris-(phenylcarbamate) chiral column by HPLC</span>

411-415Preparation of amylopectin tris(phenylcarbamate) (ATP) chiral stationary phases (CSPs) coated on small-particle (5μm, 120Å) spherical silica support is reported. A new chiral tetrahedral cluster FeCoMo(μ3-S) <span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:HiddenHorzOCR;mso-bidi-font-family: HiddenHorzOCR">(CO)8{C5H4C(O)C6H4C(O)OCH3-4) (2) has been synthesized by the thermal reaction of the precursor (μ-S)FeCO2 (CO)<span style="font-size:14.0pt; font-family:HiddenHorzOCR;mso-bidi-font-family:HiddenHorzOCR">9 with functionally substituted cyclopentadienyl tricarbonyl metal anion [<span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:HiddenHorzOCR; mso-bidi-font-family:HiddenHorzOCR">Mo(CO)3C5H4C(O)CH3] and it has been resolved on the amylopectin tris (phenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phase. </span

miR-155 is dispensable in monosodium urate-induced gouty inflammation in mice

Abstract Background The findings of a previous study by Jin et al. have shown that microRNA (miR)-155 was upregulated in patients with acute gouty arthritis and enhanced the proinflammatory cytokines. There is no direct evidence to support that miR-155 is indeed involved in monosodium urate (MSU)-induced inflammatory responses in vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of miR-155 knock-out (KO) or knock-in (KI) mice in MSU-induced animal models to mimic acute gout. Methods MiR-155 expression in cultured bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from miR-155 KO, miR-155 KI, and wild-type (WT) mice treated with MSU crystals in vitro was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). MiR-155 KO and WT mice were used to induce an acute gouty inflammatory response with MSU crystals including models of foot pad inflammation, ankle arthritis, air pouch inflammation, and peritonitis. Furthermore, the proinflammatory interleukin (IL)-1β levels in lavage fluids from air pouch and peritoneal cavity models were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α production from BMDMs of miR-155 KI mice treated with MSU were measured by flow cytometry. Results MiR-155 expression was quickly upregulated in BMDMs from WT mice following MSU treatment in vitro. In comparison with WT mice in vivo, the swelling index of miR-155 KO mice showed no significant difference in the murine foot pad and ankle arthritis models for the indicated different time points. There were similar changes in total cell numbers of lavage fluids in the air pouch and peritoneal cavity models between miR-155 KO and WT mice following MSU crystal injection. Moreover, the IL-1β levels of lavage fluids in the air pouch and peritonitis models from miR-155 KO mice were almost the same as those from WT mice. TNF-α levels were comparable from BMDMs treated with MSU crystals in vitro between miR-155 KI mice and WT mice. Conclusions MiR-155 is dispensable in MSU-induced gouty inflammation in mice. Deletion of miR-155 might not be an effective therapeutic approach to relieve the inflammation in acute gout

Correction to: miR-155 is dispensable in monosodium urate-induced gouty inflammation in mice

Unfortunately, after publication of this article [1], it was noticed that 2 authors were erroneously mentioned as co-first authors

miR-155 is dispensable in monosodium urate-induced gouty inflammation in mice

BACKGROUND: The findings of a previous study by Jin et al. have shown that microRNA (miR)-155 was upregulated in patients with acute gouty arthritis and enhanced the proinflammatory cytokines. There is no direct evidence to support that miR-155 is indeed involved in monosodium urate (MSU)-induced inflammatory responses in vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of miR-155 knock-out (KO) or knock-in (KI) mice in MSU-induced animal models to mimic acute gout. METHODS: MiR-155 expression in cultured bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from miR-155 KO, miR-155 KI, and wild-type (WT) mice treated with MSU crystals in vitro was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). MiR-155 KO and WT mice were used to induce an acute gouty inflammatory response with MSU crystals including models of foot pad inflammation, ankle arthritis, air pouch inflammation, and peritonitis. Furthermore, the proinflammatory interleukin (IL)-1β levels in lavage fluids from air pouch and peritoneal cavity models were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α production from BMDMs of miR-155 KI mice treated with MSU were measured by flow cytometry. RESULTS: MiR-155 expression was quickly upregulated in BMDMs from WT mice following MSU treatment in vitro. In comparison with WT mice in vivo, the swelling index of miR-155 KO mice showed no significant difference in the murine foot pad and ankle arthritis models for the indicated different time points. There were similar changes in total cell numbers of lavage fluids in the air pouch and peritoneal cavity models between miR-155 KO and WT mice following MSU crystal injection. Moreover, the IL-1β levels of lavage fluids in the air pouch and peritonitis models from miR-155 KO mice were almost the same as those from WT mice. TNF-α levels were comparable from BMDMs treated with MSU crystals in vitro between miR-155 KI mice and WT mice. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-155 is dispensable in MSU-induced gouty inflammation in mice. Deletion of miR-155 might not be an effective therapeutic approach to relieve the inflammation in acute gout

Correction to: miR-155 is dispensable in monosodium urate-induced gouty inflammation in mice

Unfortunately, after publication of this article [1], it was noticed that 2 authors were erroneously mentioned as co-first authors