An efficient combination of supercritical fluid extraction and high-speed counter-current chromatography to extract and purify homoisoflavonoids from Ophiopogon japonicus (Thunb.) Ker-Gawler

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was used to extract homoisoflavonoids from Ophiopogon japonicus (Thunb.) Ker-Gawler. The optimization of parameters was carried out using an orthogonal test L-9 (3)(4) including pressure, temperature, dynamic extraction time and the amount of modifier. The process was then scaled up by 100 times with a preparative SFE system under the optimized conditions of 25 MPa, 55 degrees C, 4.0 h and 25% methanol as a modifier. Then crude extracts were separated and purified by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/ACN/water (1.8:1.0:1.0:1.2:1.0 v/v). There three homoisoflavonoidal compounds including methylophiopogonanone A 6-aldehydo-isoophiopogonone A, and 6-formyl-isoophiopogonanone A, were successfully isolated and purified in one step. The collected fractions were analyzed by HPLC. In each operation, 140 mg crude extracts was separated and yielded 15.3 mg of methylophiopogonanone A (96.9% purity), 4.1 mg of 6-aldehydo-isoophiopogonone A (98.3% purity) and 13.5 mg of 6-formyl-isoophiopogonanone A (97.3% purity) respectively. The chemical structure of the three homoisoflavonoids are identified by means of ESI-MS and NMR analysis.

Influences Of Precursor Constitution And Processing Speed On Microstructure And Wear Behavior During Laser Clad Composite Coatings On Gamma-Tial Intermetallic Alloy

The effects of constitution of precursor mixed powders and scan speed on microstructure and wear properties were designed and investigated during laser clad gamma/Cr7C3/TiC composite coatings on gamma-TiAl intermetallic alloy substrates with NiCr-Cr3C2 precursor mixed powders. The results indicate that both the constitution of the precursor mixed powders and the beam scan rate have remarkable influence on microstructure and attendant hardness as well as wear resistance of the formed composite coatings. The wear mechanisms of the original TiAl alloy and laser clad composite coatings were investigated. The composite coating with an optimum compromise between constitution of NiCr-Cr3C2 precursor mixed powders as well as being processed under moderate scan speed exhibits the best wear resistance under dry sliding wear test conditions. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integratable and High Speed Complex-Coupled MQW-DFB Lasers Fabricated on Semi-Insulating Substrates

A novel integratable and high speed InGaAsP multi-quantum well (MQW) complex-coupled distributed feedback (DFB) laser is successfully fabricated on a semi-insulating substrate. The fabricated ridge DFB laser exhibits a threshold current of 26 mA, a slope efficiency of 0.14 W.A(-1) and a side mode suppression ratio of 40 dB together with a 3 dB bandwidth of more than 8 GHz. The device is suitable for 10 Gbit/s optical fiber communication.

High-Saturation-Power and High-Speed Ge-on-SOI p-i-n Photodetectors

Ge-on-silicon-on-insulator p-i-n photodetectors were fabricated using an ultralow-temperature Ge buffer by ultrahigh-vacuum chemical vapor deposition. For a detector of 70-mu m diameter, the 1-dB small-signal compression power was about 110.5 mW. The 3-dB bandwidth at 3-V reverse bias was 13.4 GHz.

Effects of increased pCO(2) and temperature on the North Atlantic spring bloom. I. The phytoplankton community and biogeochemical response

The North Atlantic spring bloom is one of the largest annual biological events in the ocean, and is characterized by dominance transitions from siliceous (diatoms) to calcareous (coccolithophores) algal groups. To study the effects of future global change on these phytoplankton and the biogeochemical cycles they mediate, a shipboard continuous culture experiment (Ecostat) was conducted in June 2005 during this transition period. Four treatments were examined: (1) 12 degrees C and 390 ppm CO2 (ambient control), (2) 12 degrees C and 690 ppm CO2 (high pCO(2)) (3) 16 degrees C and 390 ppm CO2 (high temperature), and (4) 16 degrees C and 690 ppm CO2 ('greenhouse'). Nutrient availability in all treatments was designed to reproduce the low silicate conditions typical of this late stage of the bloom. Both elevated pCO(2) and temperature resulted in changes in phytoplankton community structure. Increased temperature promoted whole community photosynthesis and particulate organic carbon (POC) production rates per unit chlorophyll a. Despite much higher coccolithophore abundance in the greenhouse treatment, particulate inorganic carbon production (calcification) was significantly decreased by the combination of increased pCO(2) and temperature. Our experiments suggest that future trends during the bloom could include greatly reduced export of calcium carbonate relative to POC, thus providing a potential negative feedback to atmospheric CO2 concentration. Other trends with potential climate feedback effects include decreased community biogenic silica to POC ratios at higher temperature. These shipboard experiments suggest the need to examine whether future pCO2 and temperature increases on longer decadal timescales will similarly alter the biological and biogeochemical dynamics of the North Atlantic spring bloom.

Influences of CO2 laser annealing on mechanical and laser-induced damage properties of ZrO2 thin films

Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) thin films were deposited on BK7 glass substrates by the electron beam evaporation method. A continuous wave CO2 laser was used to anneal the ZrO2 thin films to investigate whether beneficial changes could be produced. After annealing at different laser scanning speeds by CO2 laser, weak absorption of the coatings was measured by the surface thermal lensing (STL) technique, and then laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) was also determined. It was found that the weak absorption decreased first, while the laser scanning speed is below some value, then increased. The LIDT of the ZrO2 coatings decreased greatly when the laser scanning speeds were below some value. A Nomarski microscope was employed to map the damage morphology, and it was found that the damage behavior was defect-initiated both for annealed and as-deposited samples. The influences of post-deposition CO2 laser annealing on the structural and mechanical properties of the films have also been investigated by X-ray diffraction and ZYGO interferometer. It was found that the microstructure of the ZrO2 films did not change. The residual stress in ZrO2 films showed a tendency from tensile to compressive after CO, laser annealing, and the variation quantity of the residual stress increased with decreasing laser scanning speed. The residual stress may be mitigated to some extent at proper treatment parameters. (c) 2007 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Effects of CO2 enrichment on microstructure and ultrastructure of two species of freshwater green algae

order to investigate the morphological response of freshwater green algae to elevated CO2 concentration, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dang and Scenedesmus obliquus Kutz were cultured with enriched CO2, and their microstructure and ultrastructure were examined by microscopy and electron microscopy. The effect of CO2 enrichment to 186 mumol/L, was insignificant on the shape and size of C. reinhardtii, but significant in reducing the volume of S. obliquus. High-CO2 increased the amount of chloroplast. The pyrenoids occurred in low-CO2-grown cells but not in high-CO2-grown ones and more starch granules were observed in the former.

Effect of Poly (3-hexylthiophene) Nanofibrils on Charge Separation and Transport in Polymer Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Cells

Crystalline poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanofibrils are introduced into the P3HT: [6, 6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) composite films via P3HT preaggregation in solution by adding a small amount of acetone, and the correlation of P3HT nanofibrils and the optoelectronic properties of P3HT:PCBM bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells is investigated. It is found that the optical absorption and the hole transport or the resulted P3HT:PCBM composite films increase with the increase of the amount of P3HT nanofibrils due to the increased P3HT crystallinity and highly interconnected nanofibrillar P3HT networks. However, it is also found that high contents of crystalline P3HT nanofibrils may restrain PCBM molecules from demixing with the P3HT component that forms electron traps in the active layer. and hence reduce the charge collection efficiency. Small contents of P3HT nanofibrils not only improve the demixing between P3HT and PCBM components, but also enhance the hole transport via crystalline P3HT nanofibrillar networks, resulting in efficient charge collection.

Poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(butyl acrylate). II. Characterization and properties

Poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(butyl acrylate) synthesized by radical polymerization in a one-step procedure were characterized by gel permeation chromatography, infrared, IH-NMR spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The crystalline property, emulsifying property, and phase transfer catalytic effect in the Williamson reaction were studied. It was found that the crystallinity of the copolymer increased with an increase in both the content and molecular weight of poly( ethylene oxide) (PEO) sequences. DSC curves showed two distinct crystallization temperature due to the heterogeneous nucleation and homogeneous nucleation crystallization. The casting solvent significantly affected the morphology and crystallinity of the solvent cast films. Both the emulsifying volume and the phase transfer catalytic efficiency in the Williamson reaction increased with the amount and PEO content of the block copolymers used, but decreased with an increase in the molecular weight of PEO sequences. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Response of coastal marine eco-environment to river fluxes into the sea: A case study of the Huanghe (Yellow) River mouth and adjacent waters

The impact of the Huanghe (Yellow) River outflows on its estuary was investigated with river gauging and shipboard hydrographic observations. The river flux has been decreasing dramatically; the discharges of water and sediment in the 1990s dropped to 27.4% and 31.9% of those in the 1950s, respectively, resulting in frequent and lengthy events of downstream channel dry-up since the 1970s. There were accumulatively 897 zero-flow days during the 1990s in the river course below the Lijin Hydrological Station, 100 km upstream from the river mouth, which is 82.4% of that in 1972. As freshwater input decreases, river-borne nutrients to the estuarine increased significantly. Concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in the 1990s was four times of that in 1950s. Changes in amount and content of the riverine inputs have greatly affected the estuarine ecosystem. Over the past several decades, sea surface temperature and salinity in the estuary and its adjacent waters increased and their distribution pattern altered in response to the reduction of freshwater inflow. The distribution of and seasonal succession in nutrient concentrations in the surface layer have also changed with a shift of river outlet and the decrease in riverine nutrient loads. Furthermore, deterioration of estuarine ecosystem by less river input has decreased primary productivity in the deltaic region waters, and in turn depressed the fishery. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A comparison of future increased CO2 and temperature effects on sympatric Heterosigma akashiwo and Prorocentrum minimum

Very little is known about how global anthropogenic changes will affect major harmful algal bloom groups. Shifts in the growth and physiology of HAB species like the raphidophyte Heterosigma akashiwo and the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum due to rising CO2 and temperature could alter their relative abundance and environmental impacts in estuaries where both form blooms, such as the Delaware Inland Bays (DIB). We grew semi-continuous cultures of sympatric DIB isolates of these two species under four conditions: (1) 20 degrees C and 375 ppm CO2 (ambient control), (2)20 degrees C and 750 ppm CO2 (high CO2),(3) 24 degrees C and 375 ppm CO2 (high temperature), and (4) 24 degrees C and 750 ppm CO2 (combined). Elevated CO2 alone or in concert with temperature stimulated Heterosigma growth, but had no significant effect on Prorocentrum growth. P-Bmax (the maximum biomass-normalized light-saturated carbon fixation rate) in Heterosigma was increased only by simultaneous CO2 and temperature increases, whereas P-Bmax in Prorocentrum responded significantly to CO2 enrichment, with or without increased temperature. CO2 and temperature affected photosynthetic parameters alpha, Phi(max), E-k, and Delta F/F'(m) in both species. Increased temperature decreased and increased the Chl a content of Heterosigma and M Prorocentrum, respectively. CO2 availability and temperature had pronounced effects on cellular quotas of C and N in Heterosigma, but not in Prorocentrum. Ratios of C:P and N:P increased with elevated carbon dioxide in Heterosigma but not in Prorocentrum. These changes in cellular nutrient quotas and ratios imply that Heterosigma could be more vulnerable to N limitation but less vulnerable to P-limitation than Prorocentrum under future environmental conditions. In general, Heterosigma growth and physiology showed a much greater positive response to elevated CO2 and temperature compared to Prorocentrum, consistent with what is known about their respective carbon acquisition mechanisms. Hence, rising temperature and CO2 either alone or in combination with other limiting factors could significantly alter the relative dominance of these two co-existing HAB species over the next century. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of graded levels of rapeseed oil in isonitrogenous diets on the development of the gastrointestinal tract, and utilisation of protein, fat and energy in broiler chickens

The effect of feeding 0, 4, 8 and 16% rapeseed oil from 12-42 days of age was studied in broiler chickens on performance, digestibility of nutrients, and development of gastrointestinal tract, protein and energy metabolism. Thirty six female chickens (Ross 208) with initial body weight average 246 g were allocated to the four groups and kept pair-wise in metabolism cages. The chickens were fed similar amounts of metabolisable energy (ME) per day and similar amounts of essential amino acids relative to ME by adjusting with crystalline amino acids. The chickens were subjected to four balance periods each of five days with two 24 h measurements of gas exchange in two open-air-circuit respiration chambers inserted on the second and third day of each period. The addition of rapeseed oil increased the amount of gutfill indicating a reduced rate of passage and causing a hypertrophy of the gastrointestinal tract. There was a positive effect on feed utilisation as well as on digestibility especially of dietary fat together with higher utilisation of protein with addition of rapeseed oil. The partial fat digestibility of rapeseed oil estimated by regression was 91.1% and the partial metabolisability (ME/GE) of the rapeseed oil was estimated to 85% yielding an apparent metabolisable energy value of 34.30 MJ/kg.