Synthesis of CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramic via a sol-gel method

The novel nano-ultrafine powders for the preparation of CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramic were prepared by the sol-gel method and citrate auto-ignition method. The obtained precursor powders were pressed, sintered at 1000 degrees C to fabricate microcrystal CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramic. The microcrystalline phase of CaCu3Ti4O12 was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The morphology and size of the grains of the powders and ceramics under different heat treatments were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The relative dielectric constant of the ceramic sintered at 1000 degrees C was measured with a magnitude of more than 10(4) at room temperature, which was approaching to those of Pb-containing complex perovskite ceramics, and the loss tangent was less than 0.20 in a broad frequency region. The relative dielectric constant and loss tangent were also compared with that of CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramic prepared by other reported methods. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of adrenergic agents on the expression of zebrafish (Danio rerio) vitellogenin Ao1

Teleost vitellogenins (VTGs) are large multidomain apolipoproteins, traditionally considered to be estrogen-responsive precursors of the major egg yolk proteins, expressed and synthesized mainly in hepatic tissue. The inducibility of VTGs has made them one of the most frequently used in vivo and in vitro biomarkers of exposure to estrogen-active substances. A significant level of zebrafish vtgAo1, a major estrogen responsive form, has been unexpectedly found in heart tissue in our present studies. Our studies on zebrafish cardiomyopathy, caused by adrenergic agonist treatment, suggest a similar protective function of the cardiac expressed vtgAo1. We hypothesize that its function is to unload surplus intracellular lipids in cardiomyocytes for "reverse triglyceride transportation" similar to that found in lipid transport proteins in mammals. Our results also demonstrated that zebrafish vtgAo1 mRNA expression in heart can be suppressed by both (x-adrenergic agonist, phenylephrine (PE) and beta-adrenergic agonist, isoproterenol (ISO). Furthermore, the strong stimulation of zebrafish vtgAo1 expression in plasma induced by the beta-adrenergic antagonist, MOXIsylyl, was detected by Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA). Such stimulation cannot be suppressed by taMOXIfen, an antagonist to estrogen receptors. Thus, Our present data indicate that the production of teleost VTG in vivo can be regulated not only by estrogenic agents, but by adrenergic signals as well. (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of estrogenic activities and mechanism of action of perfluorinated chemicals determined by vitellogenin induction in primary cultured tilapia hepatocytes

Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) are emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and are widely present in the environment, wildlife and humans. Recently, reports have suggested that PFCs may have endocrine-disrupting activities. In the present study, we have developed a non-competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method to investigate estrogenic activities of selected PFCs using vitellogenin (VTG) induction in primary cultured hepatocytes of freshwater male tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Cultured hepatocytes were exposed to various concentrations of perfluorooctanyl sulfonate (PFOS), pentadecafluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-nonafluoro-1-hexanol (4:2 FTOH), 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctanol (6:2 FTOH) and 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluoro-1-decanol (8:2 FTOH) for 48h, while 17 beta-estradiol (E2) and 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) were used as positive controls. A dose-dependent induction of VTG was observed in E2-, 4-NP-, PFOS-, PFOA- and 6:2 FrOH-treated cells, whereas VTG levels remained unchanged in the 4:2 FTOH and 8:2 FTOH exposure groups at the concentrations tested. The estimated 48-h EC50 values for E2,4-NP, PFOS, PFOA and 6:2 FTOH were 4.7 x 10(-7), 7.1 x 10(-6), 1.5 x 10(-5), 2.9 x 10(-5) and 2.8 x 10(-5) M, respectively. In the time-course study, significant VTG induction took place at 24 h (E2), 6 It (4-NP), 48 It (PFOS), 48 It (PFOA), 72 It (4:2 FTOH), 12 h (6:2 FTOH), 72 h (8:2 FTOH), and increased further after 96 It of exposure. Co-exposure to binary mixtures of individual PFCs and E2 for 48 It significantly inhibited E2-induced hepatocellular VTG production in a dose-dependent manner except for 4:2 FTOH. The estimated 48-h IC50 (concentration of a compound that elicits 50% inhibition of maximally E2-induced VTG) values for PFOS, PFOA, 6:2 FTOH and 8:2 FTOH were 3.1 x 10(-7), 5.1 X 10(-7), 1.1 X 10(-6) and 7.5 x 10(-7) M, respectively. In order to further investigate the estrogenic mechanism of PFCs, the hepatocytes were co-exposed to binary mixtures of individual chemicals (E2,4-NP, PFOS, PFOA and 6:2 FTOH) and the known estrogen receptor inhibitor tamoxifen for 48 h; tamoxifen significantly inhibited the ability of these chemicals to stimulate vitellogenesis. The overall results demonstrated that PFOS, PFOA and FTOHs have estrogenic activities and that exposure to a combination of E2 and PFCs produced anti-estrogenic effects. The results of the estrogen receptor inhibition assay further suggested that the estrogenic effect of PFCs may be mediated by the estrogen receptor pathway in primary cultured tilapia hepatocytes. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dissolution of kaolinite induced by citric, oxalic, and malic acids

Kaolinite is a dominant clay mineral in the soils in tropical and Subtropical regions, and its dissolution has an influence on a variety of soil properties. In this work, kaolinite dissolution induced by three kinds of low-molecular-weight organic acid, i.e., citric, oxalic, and malic acids, was evaluated under far-from-equilibrium conditions. The rates of kaolinite dissolution depended on the kind and concentration of organic acids, with the sequence R-oxalate > R-citrate > R-malate. Chemical calculation showed the change in concentration of organic ligand relative to change in concentration of organic acid in suspensions of kaolinite and organic acid. The effect of organic acid on kaolinite dissolution was modeled by species of organic anionic ligand. For oxalic acid, L-oxalic(2-) and HLoxalic- jointly enhanced the dissolution of kaolinite, but for malic and citric acids, HLmalic- and H2Lcitric- made a higher contribution to the total dissolution rate of kaolinite than L-malic(2-) and L-citric(3-), respectively. For oxalic acid, the proposed model was R-Si = 1.89 x 10(-12) x [(25x)/(1+25x)] + 1.93 x 10(-12) x [(1990x(1))/(1+1990x(1))] (R-2 = 0.9763), where x and x(1) denote the concentrations of HLoxalic and L-oxalic, respectively, and x(1) = 10(-3.81) x x/[H+]. For malic acid, the model was R-Si =4.79 x 10(-12) x [(328-v)/(1+328x)] + 1.67 x 10(-13) x [(1149x(1))/(1+1149x(1))] (R-2 =0.9452), where x and x(1) denote the concentrations of HLmalic and L-malic, respectively, and x(1) = 10(-5.11) x x/[H+], and for citric acid, the model was R-Si = 4.73 x 10(-12) x [(845x)/(1+845x)] +4.68 x 10(-12) x [(2855x(1))/(1+2855x(1))] (R-2 =0.9682), where x and x(1) denote the concentrations of H2Lcitric and L-citric, respectively, and x(1) = 10(-11.16) x x/[H+](2). (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of 2,3,7,8-TCDD and benzo[a]pyrene on modulating vitellogenin expression in primary culture of crucian carp (Carassius auratus) hepatocytes

Vitellogenin (Vtg) is the precursor of yolk protein. Its expression and secretion are estrogen-regulated and are crucial for oocyte maturation. An in vitro xenoestrogen screening model was established by measuring Vtg induction in cultured primary hepatocytes from crucian carp. Vtg production was detected by biotin-avidin sandwich ELISA method while Vtg and cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) mRNA induction were measured by semi- quantitative PCR-primer dropping technique. Vtg and Vtg mRNA were dose-dependently induced by diethylstilbestrol (DES, 0.2-200 ng/mL) in hepatocytes of crucian carp. Co-treatment of the DES-induced hepatocytes with either 2,3,7,8-TCDD (TCDD, 0.1-4 pg/mL) or benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P, 5-1000 ng/mL) resulted in a reduction of Vtg production and an increment of CYP1A1 mRNA expression both in a dose dependent manner, indicating the anti-estrogenic effects of the compounds. However, at lower tested concentrations, TCDD (0.1, 0.2 pg/mL), B[a]P (5 ng/mL) seemed to have a potentiating effect on Vtg expression and secretion, although by their own these compounds had no observable estrogenic effect on Vtg induction. Tamoxifen (a selective estrogen receptor modulators, 1 nmol/L-1 mumol/L), and P-naphtho-flavone (beta-NF, an aryl hydrocarbon receptor inducing compounds, 2.5-1000 ng/mL) also were employed to study the possible interactions in DES-induced Vtg expression. In co-treatment of the DES-induced hepatocytes with beta-NF or tamoxifen, the decrease in Vtg production did parallel induction of CYP1A1 for beta-NF, but tamoxifen inhibited Vtg induction did not parallel induced CYP1A1 expression in all test concentrations. On the contrary, it was found that in co-treatment of the TCDD-induced hepatocytes with DES, TCDD induced CYP1A1 mRNA production was inhibited by DES also. These results implicated a possible cross talk between estrogen receptor- and aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated pathways in the hepatocytes.

一种新奇的甲烷氧化细菌——能兼性营养和厌氧生长的沼气甲基弯菌

经过细心的条件选择实现了无甲烷条件下甲烷氧化菌沼气甲基弯菌81Z(methylosinus methanica 81Z)利用C2化合物的生长，同时 发现二碳代谢中间产物甘氨酸的胞外积累及对生长的抑制作用。又在此基础上从81Z原种中富集得到一株菌81Z-A，兼性生长能力大 幅度提高，而且除乙酸外又能利用丙酮酸、苹果酸、柠檬酸、葡萄糖而生长。对细胞氧化各种有机底物时氧吸收的测定及酶分析结 果发现了在其它甲烷氧化细菌中未曾发现的异柠檬酸裂解酶和苹果酸酶的存在，表明81Z除了具有通常II型菌的碳代谢途径外，具 有特殊的补偿代谢途径——乙醛酸支路以及从乙酸生糖的回补途径。因此推证其兼性生长的能力是固有的，从而说明了甲烷氧化菌 的专一性概念没有普遍意义。说明了81Z还能在含有二碳的培养基中厌氧生长，包括细胞的分裂和增值行为。虽然这种厌氧生长还 很弱，但至少可以说明它不是严格好氧的，这对于传统的关于甲烷氧化菌的严格好氧的概念是一个冲击。81Z正常条件下是利用甲 烷而生长的，当供给它乙酸、乙醛酸和丝氨酸时能促进含C-C键有机物氧化的活性，而对甲烷单加氧酶和其它C2化合物的氧化有抑 制或阻遏作用，对碳同化的丝氨酸途径的关键酶羟基丙酮酸还原酶有阻抑作用。同时也证明了81Z的甲烷单加氧酶和甲醇氧化活性 可被甲烷、甲醇所诱导，而因甲酸而降低。The growth of Methylosinus methanica 81Z on C2-compounds without methane was realized by selecting suitable conditions. The intermediate product Gly from its C2 metabolism was found to accumulate out cells and inhibit its growth. 81Z-A, which was obtained from 81Z by richening, could grow on C2- compounds rapidly. It can even grow on pyruvate, malate, citrate and glucose. The results of measurements of oxygen consumption by cell suspensions in the presence of various organic compounds and the results of enzyme assays of detected activities of isocitrate lyaze and malic enzyme in cell extracts which were not found in other methantrophs showed that 81Z possesses not only the regular carbon metabalic pathways but also some peculiar anaplerotic pathways--the glyoxylate cycle and the gluconeogenic pathway from acetate. As a consequence of these studies, its ability of facultative growth is inherent. Therefore, the concept of obligate dependence on C2- compounds of methanotrophs is not of universal significance. The ability of 81Z's growth(including desintegration and proliferation behaviour) on C2-compounds anaerobically was also demonstrated. Despite of the weakness of this growth, at least it could be said that 81Z is not strictly aerobic. This is a strike to the traditonal concept about the strictly aerobic action of methanotrophs. Regularly, 81Z grows on methane. The presence of acetate, glyoxylate and serine could increaze its ability of oxidizing the organic coumpounds containing C-C ponds. In contrast, they could inhibit the activities of MMO and other C2-compounds oxidation, they also repressed the key enzyme hydroxypyruvate reductase of the serine-pathway for carbon assimilation. At the some time, it was testified that the activities of MMO and methanol oxidation were inducible by methane or methanol and were lower in the presence of formate.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering from surfactant-free 3D gold nanowire networks substrates

A useful method for the fabrication of three-dimensional gold nanowire networks based on the chemical reduction of HAuCl4 with trisodium citrate was presented. The coverage of the 3D gold nanowire networks was tunable by altering precursor concentration. The as-prepared 3D gold nanowire networks could be used as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates and examined by 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) as a probe molecules.

DNAzyme-based Colorimetric Sensing of Lead (Pb2+) Using Unmodified Gold Nanoparticle Probes

Novel functional oligonucleotides, especially DNAzymes with RNA-cleavage activity, have been intensively studied due to their potential applications in therapeutics and sensors. Taking advantage of the high specificity of 17E DNAzyme for Pb2+, highly sensitive and selective fluorescent, electrochemical and colorimetric sensors have been developed for Pb2+. In this work, we report a simple, sensitive and label-free 17E DNAzyme-based sensor for Pb2+ detection using unmodified gold nanoparticles (GNPs) based on the fact that unfolded single-stranded DNA could be adsorbed on the citrate protected GNPs while double-stranded DNA could not. By our method the substrate cleavage by the 17E DNAzyme in the presence of Pb2+ could be monitored by color change of GNPs, thereby Pb2+ detection was realized.

Investigation of some critical parameters of buffer conditions for the development of quantum dots-based optical sensors

The unique surface-sensitive properties make quantum dots (QDs) great potential in the development of sensors for various analytes. However, quantum dots are not only sensitive to a certain analyte, but also to the surrounding conditions. The controlled response to analyte may be the first step in the designing of functional quantum dots sensors. In this study, taking the quenching effect of benzoquinone (BQ) on CdTe QDs as model, several critical parameters of buffer solution conditions with potential effect on the sensors were investigated. The pH value and the concentration of sodium citrate in the buffer solution critically influenced the quenching effects of BQ.

Two-dimensional beta-NaLuF4 hexagonal microplates

A simple hydrothermal method has been developed to synthesize monodisperse beta-NaLuF4 microplates in a large scale. The microcrystals have a perfect hexagonal shape with a diameter of about 5.2 mu m and a thickness of 300 nm. Trisodium citrate (Cit(3-)), which is introduced into the reaction mixture and acts as the chelating agent and shape modifier, plays a key role in fine-tuning the microstructures. The dominant adsorption of Cit(3-) onto the {0001} facets lowers the surface energy of these facets.

Rapid fabrication of Au nanoparticle films with the aid of centrifugal force

In this work, rapid fabrication of Au nanoparticle (Au NP) films has been simply achieved by alternate adsorption of citrate-stabilized Au NPs and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) with the aid of centrifugal force. In contrast to conventional electrostatic assembly, we carried out the assembly process in a centrifuge with a rotating speed of 4000 rpm, where centrifugal force can be imposed on Au NPs. Scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry were employed to characterize the assembly procedure and the thus-prepared thin solid films. Our results demonstrate that centrifugal force can promote the assembly of Au NPs and therefore enable the rapid fabrication of functional Au NP films.

Controlled Synthesis of Ln(3+) (Ln = Tb, Eu, Dy) and V5+ Ion-Doped YPO4 Nano-/Microstructures with Tunable Luminescent Colors

YPO4 nano/microcrystals with multiform crystal phases and morphologies, such as hexagonal nano/submicroprisms, spherical-like nanoparticles, and nanorods with different length/diameter ratios as well as tetragonal nanospindles, have been synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route. A series of controlled experiments indicate that the pH values in the initial solution, phosphorus sources, and the organic additive trisodium citrate (Cit(3-)) are responsible for crystal phase and shape determination of final products. It is found that Cit(3-) as a ligand and shape modifier has the dynamic effect by adjusting the growth rate of different facets under different experimental conditions, resulting in the formation of various geometries of the final products. The possible formation mechanisms for products with diverse architectures have been presented.

Architectures of Strontium Hydroxyapatite Microspheres: Solvothermal Synthesis and Luminescence Properties

Strontium hydroxyapatite (Sr-5(PO4)(3)OH, SrHAp) microspheres with 3D architectures have been successfully prepared through a efficient and facile solvothermal process. The experimental results indicate that the SrHAP microspheres are composed of a large amount of nanosheets, which are assembled in a radial form from the center to the surface of the microspheres. The as-obtained SrHAp samples show an intense and bright blue emission from 350 to 570 nm centered at 427 nm (CIE coordinates: x = 0.153, y = 0.081; lifetime: 9.2 ns; quantum efficiency: 31%) under long-wavelength UV light excitation (344 nm). This blue emission might result from the CO2 center dot- radical impurities in the crystal lattice. Furthermore, the surfactants CTAB and trisodium citrate have an obvious impact on the morphologies and the luminescence properties of the products, respectively.

LaF3, CeF3, CeF3 : Tb3+, and CeF3 : Tb3+@LaF3 (core-shell) nanoplates: Hydrothermal synthesis and luminescence properties

LaF3. CeF3, CeF3:Tb3+, and CeF3:Tb3+ @LaF3 (core-shell) 2D nanoplates have been successfully synthesized by a facile and effective hydrothermal process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectra as well as kinetic decays were used to characterize the samples. The experimental results indicate that the organic additive, trisodium citrate (Cit(3-)), as a shape modifier has the dynamic effect by adjusting the growth rate of different crystal facets, resulting in forming the anisotropic geometries of the final products. The possible formation mechanisms for different products have been presented. The CeF3, CeF3:Tb3+, and CeF3:Tb3+ @LaF3 (core/shell) nanoplates show characteristic emission of Ce3+ (5d-4f) and Tb3+ (f-f), respectively.

Gold nanowire assembling architecture for H2O2 electrochemical sensor

Morphological control of nanomaterials is of great interest due to their size and shape-dependent chemical and physical properties and very important applications in many fields such as biomedicine, sensors, electronics and others. In this paper, we reported a simple strategy for synthesizing gold nanowire assembling architecture at room temperature. It is found that two important factors, the proper volume ratio of ethanol to water and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), will play important roles in synthesizing flower-like short gold nanowire assembling spheres. Furthermore, the obtained flower-like gold assembling spheres with high surface-to-volume ratio have been employed as enhancing materials for electrochemical sensing H2O2. The present electrochemical sensing platform exhibited good electrocatalytic activity towards the reduction of H2O2. The detection limit for H2O2 was found to be 1.2 mu M, which was lower than certain enzyme-based biosensors.