Negotiable Instruments, in Particular Bills of Exchange in Macau, China

The rapid development of Information Technology has revolutionized the way people and businesstransfer funds and has led European nations to enact new laws to regulate payments conducted electronically. TheMacau law of negotiable instruments, mainly stipulated in Commercial Code of Macau and regulations concerningelectronic fund transfers, have been influenced by modern European Law and principles in the way of absorbing thecurrent legal expertise from western countries. In Macau, the Electronic Funds Transfer System provides a costeffectiveand efficient method to transfer funds electronically directly into a specified bank or building societyaccount. At the same time, it has significantly reduced the importance of the traditional negotiable instruments bothin domestic and in International trade

Microfluidic production of porous chitosan/silica hybrid microspheres and its Cu(II) adsorption performance

AbstractWaste water with heavy metal ions has been of great concern because of its increased discharge, toxic and some other bad effects on human beings or the environment. In this article, monodispersed chitosan/silica hybrid microspheres with porous structure and large specific surface area were successfully prepared by using microfluidic technology and they have advantages in mechanical property and adsorption of heavy metal ions such as Cu(II). In the optimum condition, porous chitosan/silica hybrid microspheres with 1.0wt.% TEOS in the dispersed phase and pre-solidified for 3h have enhanced mechanical intensity, faster adsorption kinetic and larger equilibrium adsorption amount of Cu(II) compared to the porous chitosan microspheres. The mechanical intensity and adsorption rate of the porous hybrid microspheres were 1.5 times and two times of porous chitosan microspheres, respectively. Meantime, the adsorption capacity was increased by 25%. The porous hybrid microspheres have good potentials in the applications of removing heavy metal ions from waste water

Self-assembly of copper and cobalt complexes with hierarchical size and catalytic properties for hydroxylation of phenol

A feasible and effective self-assembly method to synthesize different scale coordination polymers in highly dilute solution (from nanocrystals to microcrystals and to bulk crystals) without any blocking agent has been described. The growth of crystalline particles was controlled by removing the particles at different reaction times to interrupt the growth at the desired size. The nano and microscale particles show better catalytic conversions and selectivities in the hydroxylation of phenols than the bulk crystals

Restoration of Topoisomerase 2 Function by Complementation of Defective Monomers in Drosophila

Type II topoisomerases are essential ATP-dependent homodimeric enzymes required for transcription, replication, and chromosome segregation. These proteins alter DNA topology by generating transient enzyme-linked double-strand breaks for passage of one DNA strand through another. The central role of type II topoisomerases in DNA metabolism has made these enzymes targets for anticancer drugs. Here, we describe a genetic screen that generated novel alleles of Drosophila Topoisomerase 2 (Top2). Fifteen alleles were obtained, resulting from nonsense and missense mutations. Among these, 14 demonstrated recessive lethality, with one displaying temperature-sensitive lethality. Several newly generated missense alleles carry amino acid substitutions in conserved residues within the ATPase, Topoisomerase/Primase, and Winged helix domains, including four that encode proteins with alterations in residues associated with resistance to cancer chemotherapeutics. Animals lacking zygotic Top2 function can survive to pupation and display reduced cell division and altered polytene chromosome structure. Inter se crosses between six strains carrying Top2 missense alleles generated morphologically normal trans-heterozygous adults, which showed delayed development and were female sterile. Complementation occurred between alleles encoding Top2 proteins with amino acid substitutions in the same functional domain and between alleles encoding proteins with substitutions in different functional domains. Two complementing alleles encode proteins with amino acid substitutions associated with drug resistance. These observations suggest that dimerization of mutant Top2 monomers can restore enzymatic function. Our studies establish the first series of Top2 alleles in a multicellular organism. Future analyses of these alleles will enhance our knowledge about the contributions made by type II topoisomerases to development

Study on contents of nutrients and three environmental contaminants for 18 types of overseas online shopping infant formula

Objective To describe the content of nutrients and three environmental contaminants for "overseas online shopping" infant formulas. Methods 18 kinds of "overseas online shopping" infant formula and 14 kinds of domestically purchased infant formula were collected, and their nutritional composition and 3 environmental chemicals were analyzed and compared. Results Four kinds of "overseas online shopping" infant formula did not meet the GB 10765-2010, and the nutrient contents of "overseas online shopping" infant formulas were significantly different from those domestic purchased (P<0.05). The 5 main different indictors were energy (68.09, 66.77 kcal/100 mL), protein (2.00, 2.32 g/100 kcal), fat (5.51, 5.15 g/100 kcal), pantothenic acid (676.33, 910.84 μg/100 kcal), and iodin (20.60, 17.41 μg/100 kcal). Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), bisphenol A (BPA) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were not detected in any infant formula. Conclusion "Overseas online shopping" infant formulas did not completely meet the GB 10765-2010, further studies were needed to investigate the adaption of "overseas online shopping" infant formula to China's infants

Direct Effects of HIV-1 Tat on Excitability and Survival of Primary Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons: Possible Contribution to HIV-1-Associated Pain.

The vast majority of people living with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) have pain syndrome, which has a significant impact on their quality of life. The underlying causes of HIV-1-associated pain are not likely attributable to direct viral infection of the nervous system due to the lack of evidence of neuronal infection by HIV-1. However, HIV-1 proteins are possibly involved as they have been implicated in neuronal damage and death. The current study assesses the direct effects of HIV-1 Tat, one of potent neurotoxic viral proteins released from HIV-1-infected cells, on the excitability and survival of rat primary dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. We demonstrated that HIV-1 Tat triggered rapid and sustained enhancement of the excitability of small-diameter rat primary DRG neurons, which was accompanied by marked reductions in the rheobase and resting membrane potential (RMP), and an increase in the resistance at threshold (RTh). Such Tat-induced DRG hyperexcitability may be a consequence of the inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) activity. Tat rapidly inhibited Cdk5 kinase activity and mRNA production, and roscovitine, a well-known Cdk5 inhibitor, induced a very similar pattern of DRG hyperexcitability. Indeed, pre-application of Tat prevented roscovitine from having additional effects on the RMP and action potentials (APs) of DRGs. However, Tat-mediated actions on the rheobase and RTh were accelerated by roscovitine. These results suggest that Tat-mediated changes in DRG excitability are partly facilitated by Cdk5 inhibition. In addition, Cdk5 is most abundant in DRG neurons and participates in the regulation of pain signaling. We also demonstrated that HIV-1 Tat markedly induced apoptosis of primary DRG neurons after exposure for longer than 48 h. Together, this work indicates that HIV-1 proteins are capable of producing pain signaling through direct actions on excitability and survival of sensory neurons

High performance rechargeable aluminium ion batteries enabled by full utilization and understanding of polyaniline cathodes

As a renowned conductive polymer, polyaniline (PANI) shows remarkable potential in organic cathode materials for rechargeable aluminium ion batteries (RAIBs). However, existing research has not given sufficient understanding and explanation of the structure and states of PANI but failed to achieve ideal electrochemical performance. In this study, we differentiate and investigate for the first time its primary-doped (PANI-1), re-doped (PANI-Re), secondary-doped (PANI-2), and emeraldine based (PANI-EB) forms, meanwhile attempt to enhance the conductivity of PANI-EB using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PANI-EB@C). Among them, the high-doped PANI-2 and non-doped PANI-EB exhibit theoretical capacity utilization far superior to lower doped PANI-1 and PANI-Re, with both specific capacities reaching approximately 225 mAh/g (full capacity utilization rate of 76.53 %) at a current density of 1 A/g, while maintaining capacity retention rates of 92.89 % after 2000 cycles and 92.44 % after 5000 cycles, respectively. Furthermore, the high-conductivity PANI-EB@C displays a discharge specific capacity of 284 mAh/g (full capacity utilization rate of 96.59 %), with a capacity retention rate of 91.19 % after 5000 cycles. Electrochemical analysis, Gaussian theoretical calculations, ex-situ characterization collectively indicate that the electrochemical performance of doped PANI is positively correlated with the degree of doping-induced conductivity changes, while the unique internal redox process of PANI-EB enhances the release of performance and could be further optimized by the assistant of conductivity medium. This work advances the classification of the electrochemical performance and structural understanding of PANI cathode materials to an extremely high stage, towards the practical application of a low-cost, high-performance, sustainable, and green cathode material in large-scale energy storage devices.Chemical Engineering Journa