Investigation on Compositional Structures of the Organic Matter and Biomarker Distributions in Shengli Lignite.

The structural characteristics of the organic matter and biomarker distributions in Shengli lignite (SL) were comprehensively studied by combining a variety of modern analytical techniques and solvent extraction/thermal dissolution. Characterization of SL with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, solid 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and thermogravimetry showed that organic matter in SL is rich in oxygen functional groups, such as C-O, >C=O, and -COOH, and hydrogen bonds. The hydrogen bonds mainly include -OH···π, self-associated -OH, -OH···ether O, tightly bound cyclic -OH, -OH···N, -COOH dimers, and -SH···N. The highest content of organic nitrogen and sulfur on SL surface are pyrrole nitrogen and aromatic sulfur, respectively. The proportions of aromatic and aliphatic carbons in SL are about 58% and 39%, respectively. The aromatic carbon is mainly composed of protonated aromatic and aromatic bridged carbons; methylene carbon has the highest content among the aliphatic carbons, with chains of average length of 1.43 carbon atoms. The average number of aromatic structural units in the carbon skeleton of SL is about 3, and each aromatic structural unit contains an average of 1-2 substituent groups. Thermogravimetric analysis clarified the distribution of the main types of covalent bonds in SL and their possible cracking temperatures during pyrolysis. The extracts and soluble portion of thermal dissolution from SL were analyzed by a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer, and a series of biomarkers were identified, mainly concentrated in petroleum ether extract and cyclohexane thermal soluble portion. These included long-chain n-alkanes, isoprenoid alkanes, long-chain n-alkenes, terpenoids, n-alkan-2-ones, long-chain n-alkylbenzene, and long-chain n-alkyltoluene. The comprehensive characterization of the organic matter and the distribution of related biomarkers provided an important scientific basis for understanding the molecular structural characteristics and geochemical information on SL.

Building quality primary health care development in the new era towards universal health coverage: a Beijing initiative.

Primary health care (PHC) is the most effective way to improve people's health and well-being, and primary care services should act as the cornerstone of a resilient health system and the foundation of universal health coverage. To promote high quality development of PHC, an International Symposium on Quality Primary Health Care Development was held on December 4-5, 2023 in Beijing, China, and the participants have proposed and advocated the Beijing Initiative on Quality Primary Health Care Development. The Beijing Initiative calls on all countries to carry out and strengthen 11 actions: fulfill political commitment and accountability; achieve "health in all policies" through multisectoral coordination; establish sustainable financing; empower communities and individuals; provide community-based integrated care; promote the connection and integration of health services and social services through good governance; enhance training, allocation and motivation of health workforce, and medical education; expand application of traditional and alternative medicine for disease prevention and illness healing; empower PHC with digital technology; ensure access to medicinal products and appropriate technologies; and last, strengthen global partnership and international health cooperation. The Initiative will enrich the content of quality development of PHC, build consensus, and put forward policies for quality development of PHC in China in the new era, which are expected to make contributions in accelerating global actions.

Corrigendum: Contaminants from a former Croatian coal sludge dictate the structure of microbiota in the estuarine (Rasa Bay) sediment and soil.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1126612.].

Contaminants from a former Croatian coal sludge dictate the structure of microbiota in the estuarine (Rasa Bay) sediment and soil.

Introduction: Croatian superhigh-organic-sulfur Rasa coal had been mined for nearly 400 years. The release of hazardous trace elements (HTEs) and toxic organic pollutants (TOPs) into the local environment by coal mining, preparation, and combustion activities has resulted in pollution. Methods: In this study, the diversity and composition of microbial communities in estuarine sediment and soil samples as well as community function responses to the pollutants were investigated. Results: The results showed that PAH degradation does occur following 60 years of natural attenuation, the location is still heavily polluted by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and HTEs. Microbial analyses have shown that high concentrations of PAHs have reduced the diversity and abundance of microbial communities. The pollution exerted an adverse, long-term impact on the microbial community structure and function in the brackish aquatic ecosystem. Microorganisms associated with the degradation of PAHs and sulfur-containing compounds have been enriched although the diversity and abundance of the microbial community have reduced. Fungi which are believed to be the main PAH degrader may play an important role initially, but the activity remains lower thereafter. It is the high concentrations of coal-derived PAHs, rather than HTEs, that have reduced the diversity and abundance of microbial communities and shaped the structure of the local microbiota. Discussion: This study could provide a basis for the monitoring and restoration of ecosystems impacted by coal mining activities considering the expected decommission of a large number of coal plants on a global scale in the coming years due to growing global climate change concerns.

Barriers and enablers in the implementation of a quality improvement program for acute coronary syndromes in hospitals: a qualitative analysis using the consolidated framework for implementation research.

BACKGROUND: Ischemic heart disease causes a high disease burden globally and numerous challenges in treatment, particularly in developing countries such as China. The National Chest Pain Centers Program (NCPCP) was launched in China as the first nationwide, hospital-based, comprehensive, continuous quality improvement (QI) program to improve early diagnosis and standardized treatment of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and improve patients' clinical outcomes. With implementation and scaling up of the NCPCP, we investigated barriers and enablers in the NCPCP implementation process and provided examples and ideas for overcoming such barriers. METHODS: We conducted a nationally representative survey in six cities in China. A total of 165 key informant interviewees, including directors and coordinators of chest pain centers (CPCs) in 90 hospitals, participated in semi-structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, translated into English, and analyzed in NVivo 12.0. We used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to guide the codes and themes. RESULTS: Barriers to NCPCP implementation mainly arose from nine CFIR constructs. Barriers included the complexity of the intervention (complexity), low flexibility of requirements (adaptability), a lack of recognition of chest pain in patients with ACS (patient needs and resources), relatively low government support (external policies and incentives), staff mobility in the emergency department and other related departments (structural characteristics), resistance from related departments (networks and communications), overwhelming tasks for CPC coordinators (compatibility), lack of available resources for regular CPC operations (available resources), and fidelity to and sustainability of intervention implementation (executing). Enablers of intervention implementation were inner motivation for change (intervention sources), evidence strength and quality of intervention, relatively low cost (cost), individual knowledge and beliefs regarding the intervention, pressure from other hospitals (peer pressure), incentives and rewards of the intervention, and involvement of hospital leaders (leadership engagement, engaging). CONCLUSION: Simplifying the intervention to adapt routine tasks for medical staff and optimizing operational mechanisms between the prehospital emergency system and in-hospital treatment system with government support, as well as enhancing emergency awareness among patients with chest pain are critically important to NCPCP implementation. Clarifying and addressing these barriers is key to designing a sustainable QI program for acute cardiovascular diseases in China and similar contexts across developing countries worldwide. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( ChiCTR 2100043319 ), registered 10 February 2021.

Pharmaceutical Industry's Engagement in the Global Equitable Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines: Corporate Social Responsibility of EUL Vaccine Developers.

(1) Objectives: Inequality in the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines has brought about great challenges in terms of resolving the pandemic. Although vaccine manufacturers are undoubtedly some of the most influential players, studies on their role in global vaccine distribution have been scarce. This study examined whether the pharmaceutical industry is acting according to the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) during the pandemic. (2) Methods: Three categories were used to analyze the CSR of vaccine developers. The first was research and development: effectiveness, funding, and profits were measured. The second was transparency and accountability: the transparency of clinical trials and vaccine contracts was analyzed. The final was vaccine delivery: the status of the provision of vaccines to COVAX and lower-income countries, intellectual property management, manufacturing agreements, and equitable pricing were measured. (3) Results: Vaccine developers have acquired large profits. The vaccine delivery category faces the most challenges. Participation of pharmaceutical companies through COVAX was significantly low, and most vaccine supply agreements were secretive, bilateral deals. It was not clear if companies were maintaining equitable pricing. The evaluation indicated that the companies' CSR practices have differed during the pandemic. (4) Conclusions: Our study contributes to the methodology of assessing the CSR of vaccine developers. This would help understand the current COVID-19 vaccine distribution inequality and propose that pharmaceutical companies re-examine their roles and social responsibilities.

Socioeconomic status and depressive symptoms in older people with the mediation role of social support: A population-based longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms has become an increasingly important public health issue, contributing to disability and disease burden around the world. Higher socioeconomic status (SES) has been found to be associated with lower prevalence of depression, but there are few studies about the older Chinese adults with long-term follow up and rigorous prospective design. Meanwhile, there is little conclusive evidence about the mechanisms through which SES influences the onset of depressive symptoms. OBJECTIVE: To prospectively examine the association of baseline socioeconomic factors with the risks of developing depressive symptoms during 7-year follow up in older Chinese population, and to study the mechanism by which SES impacts the prevalence of depressive symptoms. METHODS: A total of 5677 individuals over 45 years who participated in an ongoing nationally representative prospective cohort study, China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, were free from depressive symptoms at baseline, and completed 7-year follow-up were included. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale score. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to examine the association of SES and the incidence of depressive symptoms in 2011 to 2018. Generalized structural equation model was used to analyze the mediation effects of social support on the relation between SES and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: During the 7-year follow-up, 2398 (42.2%) cases were identified as depressive symptoms. Compared with the lowest level of household income, participants with the highest level of household income had a 20% reduction in risk (95% CI, 0.70-0.92, P < 0.001). Participants who had junior high school or above education had a 41% lower risk of depressive disorders compared with illiterate participants (95% CI, 0.52-0.69, P < 0.001). The relationship between SES and depressive symptoms was partially mediated by the social support, where higher social support was negatively associated with depressive symptoms. The proportion of mediation effect was even larger for women compared with men. CONCLUSION: Socioeconomic factors were independently associated with the development of depressive symptoms, and the relationship was partially mediated by social support. Social support could be an effective intervention to alleviate the negative effects of lower SES on mental health. Multiple-level policies should precisely target low-SES groups, and timely intervention to promote social support for this group should be used to reduce the influence of depression on individuals, family as well as the whole society.

Associations of apparent temperature with acute cardiac events and subtypes of acute coronary syndromes in Beijing, China.

Limited evidence is available on apparent temperature (AT) and hospital admissions for acute cardiac events. We examined the associations of AT with admissions for acute cardiac events and acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and explored the effect difference between ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction ACS (NSTE-ACS). Poisson regression with distributed lag non-linear model was applied to examine the temperature-lag-admission associations. Stratified analyses were performed by gender and age-groups for acute cardiac events. A total of 11,657 acute cardiac events admissions were collected from hospital-based chest pain centers in Beijing, during 2017-2019. The single day effect of low AT (- 11 °C, 2.5th percentile) appeared on the 2nd day and persisted until the 11th day, with estimated relative risk (RR) ranging from 1.44 (95% CI: 1.159, 1.790) to 1.084 (95% CI: 1.022, 1.150) for acute cardiac events and from 1.034 (95% CI: 1.010, 1.059) to 1.006 (95% CI: 1.000, 1.011) for ACS. The single day effect of high AT (34 °C, 97.5th percentile) was only observed on the current day. The cold effect on acute cardiac events was more pronounced among female and older patients. The cumulative effect of high AT on STEMI admissions and low AT on NSTE-ACS reached a peak RR peak of 2.545 (95% CI: 1.016, 6.375) and 3.71 (95% CI: 1.315, 10.469) on lag 0-6 days, respectively. Both high and low ATs were associated with increased risk of acute cardiac events and ACS admissions. STEMI admissions may be more sensitive to high AT while NSTE-ACS to low AT.

A stepped wedge cluster randomized control trial to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of optimized initiatives in improving quality of care for ST segment elevation myocardial infarction in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

BACKGROUND: The National Chest Pain Center Accreditation Program (CHANGE) is the first hospital-based, multifaceted, nationwide quality improvement (QI) initiative, to monitor and improve the quality of the ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) care in China. The QI initiatives, as implementation strategies, include a bundle of evidence-based interventions adapted for implementation in China. During the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), fear of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, national lockdowns, and altered health care priorities have highlighted the program's importance in improving STEMI care quality. This study aims to minimize the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of STEMI care, by developing interventions that optimize the QI initiatives, implementing and evaluating the optimized QI initiatives, and developing scale-up activities of the optimized QI initiatives in response to COVID-19 and other public health emergencies. METHODS: A stepped wedge cluster randomized control trial will be conducted in three selected cities of China: Wuhan, Suzhou, and Shenzhen. Two districts have been randomly selected in each city, yielding a total of 24 registered hospitals. This study will conduct a rollout in these hospitals every 3 months. The 24 hospitals will be randomly assigned to four clusters, and each cluster will commence the intervention (optimized QI initiatives) at one of the four steps. We will conduct hospital-based assessments, questionnaire surveys among health care providers, community-based household surveys, and key informant interviews during the trial. All outcome measures will be organized using the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, maintenance) framework, including implementation outcomes, service outcomes (e.g., treatment time), and patient outcomes (e.g., in-hospital mortality and 1-year complication). The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research framework will be used to identify factors that influence implementation of the optimized QI interventions. DISCUSSION: The study findings could be translated into a systematic solution to implementing QI initiatives in response to COVID-19 and future potential major public health emergencies. Such actionable knowledge is critical for implementors of scale-up activities in low- and middle-income settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR 2100043319 . Registered on 10 February 2021.

Enzymatic decolorization of melanin by lignin peroxidase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

Skin darkening results as a consequence of the accumulation of skin pigment melanin. To combat this, the amplitude of skin lightening agents are commercially available, most of which inhibit melanin synthesis. Decolorization of melanin is an alternative method of skin lightening. In this study, we show that lignin peroxidase (LiP), an extracellular enzyme purified from Phanerochaete chrysosporium NK-1 isolated from a forest soil can effectively degrade and decolorize melanin in vitro. Decolorization conditions including pH, temperature, incubation time, enzyme concentration, and mediator addition were investigated to optimize the reaction conditions. The results indicate that pH 3, 40 °C, 15 IU/ml, and 10 h incubation were the optimal conditions for the decolorization of the melanin. The use of the mediator, veratryl alcohol was also found effective to enhance the efficacy of the melanin decolonization, with up to 92% decolorization. The scanning electron microscopy results showed void spaces on the treated melanin granules as compared to the untreated sample, indicating the degradation of melanin. Changes in the fingerprint region of the melanin were observed. Between wavenumbers 1500-500 cm-1, for example, the presence of new peaks in the treated melanin at 1513, 1464, and 1139 cm-1 CH2, CH3 bend and C-O-C stretch represented structural changes. A new peak at 2144 cm-1 (alkynyl C≡C stretch) was also detected in the decolorized melanin. The cytotoxicity study has shown that the treated melanin and LiP have low cytotoxic effects; however, the mediator of veratryl alcohol could result in high mortality which suggests that its use should be meticulously tested in formulating health and skincare products. The findings of the study suggest that LiP produced by Phanerochaete chrysosporium has the potential to be used in the medical and cosmetic industries, particularly for the development of biobased cosmetic whitening agents.

Relationship between ABO blood group and risk of venous thrombosis in cancer patients with peripherally inserted central catheters: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) is closely related to venous thromboembolism (VTE). It is a common complication of hospitalized patients, and its etiology is complex. How to prevent the occurrence of VTE is the focus of clinical work. In order to provide basis for individual prevention and accurate treatment of VTE, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between ABO blood group and the risk of VTE in cancer patients associated with PICC through meta-analysis. METHODS: Electronic databases, including Embase, Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Chinese databases SinoMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP), and Wanfang Data, were searched for case-control studies of ABO blood group and PICC-related VTE in cancer patients. The languages were limited to Chinese and English. Two reviewers were responsible for the selection of the study, the extraction of data and the evaluation of the quality of the research. All statistical analyses were carried out with Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 14.0. RESULTS: The results of this meta-analysis would be published in peer-reviewed journals. CONCLUSION: This study provided evidence to support the relationship between ABO blood group and the risk of PICC-related VTE in cancer patients. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/6DPFG.

Enhanced bioremediation of diesel range hydrocarbons in soil using biochar made from organic wastes.

Hydrocarbon contamination due to anthropogenic activities is a major environmental concern worldwide. The present study focuses on biochar prepared from fruit and vegetable waste and sewage sludge using a thermochemical approach and its application for the enhanced bioremediation (biostimulation and bioaugmentation) of diesel-polluted soil. The biochar was characterized using FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy), elemental analysis, surface area analysis, and pore analysis. Adsorption experiments showed that hydrocarbon degradation was attributed to biological processes rather than adsorption. The study found that various biochar amendments could significantly increase the rate of hydrocarbon biodegradation with removal efficiencies > 70%. Bioaugmentation using cow dung further improved the removal efficiency to 82%. Treatments showing the highest degree of removal efficiency indicated the presence of 27 different bacteria phyla with Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria as the most abundant phyla. The present study concludes that biochar amendments have great potential for enhancing the bioremediation of soils contaminated with diesel range hydrocarbons.

Selective and effective separation of five condensed arenes from a high-temperature coal tar by extraction combined with high pressure preparative chromatography.

An environmentally benign and cost-effective method was designed for isolating and purifying condensed arenes from acetone-extractable portion (AEP) of a high-temperature coal tar through a high pressure preparative chromatograph (HPPC) with different packings, including silica gel, octadecyl silane, octyl bonded silica gel, and diol bonded silica gel. In total, 196 compounds were detected with a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer from AEP and its eluates. From the eluates, naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and pyrene were successfully isolated and purified, and their structures were confirmed by their 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra in addition to their mass spectra. Extraction-HPPC device and solvent recovery process were designed and developed, which can potentially be applied to industrial production because the process is easy-to-operate and ecofriendliness. In addition, the solvents used can be easily recovered and reused, and neither waste water nor other pollutions are emitted.

Rapid analysis of carboxylic acids and esters with a direct analysis in real time ion source.

RATIONALE: Coal oxidation produces carboxylic acids (CAs), including aliphatic acids, benzoic acids, and benzenepolycarboxylic acids, which are important fine chemicals which could be used to understand the structural features of coals. However, detecting CAs usually presents great challenges due to extremely troublesome pretreatments. Therefore, it is essential to develop an analytical method for the rapid detection of CAs from coal oxidation. METHODS: A series of model compounds (MCs) of oxidation products and two practical samples were investigated by direct analysis in real time time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DART-TOFMS) under three different analytical conditions (ionizing gas temperature, organic solvent, and MC concentration). RESULTS: Ionizing methyl benzoate, dimethyl phthalate, and dimethyl adipate produces typical ions of methyl esters, including [M - OCH3 ]+ , [M + H]+ , and [M + NH4 ]+ . In contrast, the characteristic ions generated from CAs are polymer ions, such as [2 M + NH4 ]+ , [3 M + NH4 ]+ , [4 M + NH4 ]+ , and [5 M + NH4 ]+ , indicating the strong intermolecular hydrogen-bond interaction among CAs. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that DART-TOFMS could rapidly analyze CAs or esters in coal oxidation products according to their typical ions to further gain deep insights into the coal structure.

Coal-derived compounds and their potential impact on groundwater quality during coalbed methane production.

Coalbed methane (CBM) is an important unconventional energy source and accounts for a substantial portion of the overall natural gas production in the USA. The extraction of CBM generates significant amounts of produced water, where the withdrawal of groundwater may disturb the subsurface environment and aquifers. The release of toxic recalcitrant compounds from the coal seam is of great concern for those who use groundwater for irrigation and potable water sources. Experiments were conducted that determined a small fraction of coal carbon can be extracted and solubilized in water during the CBM formation and production. These soluble components included long-chain alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, and humic compounds. Biometer flask assays demonstrated that these compounds are bioamenable and can be potentially degraded by microorganisms to produce methane and carbon dioxide, where these biodegradation processes may further impact groundwater quality in the coal seam.

Application of mass spectrometry in the characterization of chemicals in coal-derived liquids.

Coal-derived liquids (CDLs) are primarily generated from pyrolysis, carbonization, gasification, direct liquefaction, low-temperature extraction, thermal dissolution, and mild oxidation. CDLs are important feedstocks for producing value-added chemicals and clean liquid fuels as well as high performance carbon materials. Accordingly, the compositional characterization of chemicals in CDLs at the molecular level with advanced analytical techniques is significant for the efficient utilization of CDLs. Although reviews on advancements have been rarely reported, great progress has been achieved in this area by using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), two-dimensional GC-time of flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS), and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). This review focuses on characterizing hydrocarbon, oxygen-containing, nitrogen-containing, sulfur-containing, and halogen-containing chemicals in various CDLs with these three mass spectrometry techniques. Small molecular (< 500 u), volatile and semi-volatile, and less polar chemicals in CDLs have been identified with GC/MS and GC × GC-TOFMS. By equipped with two-dimensional GC, GC × GC-TOFMS can achieve a clearly chromatographic separation of complex chemicals in CDLs without prior fractionation, and thus can overcome the disadvantages of co-elution and serious peak overlap in GC/MS analysis, providing much more compositional information. With ultrahigh resolving power and mass accuracy, FT-ICR MS reveals a huge number of compositionally distinct compounds assigned to various chemical classes in CDLs. It shows excellent performance in resolving and characterizing higher-molecular, less volatile, and polar chemicals that cannot be detected by GC/MS and GC × GC-TOFMS. The application of GC × GC-TOFMS and FT-ICR MS to chemical characterization of CDLs is not as prevalent as that of petroleum and largely remains to be developed in many respects. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 36:543-579, 2017.

Fabrication of large-scale gold nanoplate films as highly active SERS substrates for label-free DNA detection.

We introduce a simple but robust label-free method to detect DNA based on large-scale gold nanoplate (GNP) films with tunable localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and highly surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity. The common probe molecule, Neil Blue A sulfate (NBA) is used for testing the SERS activity of the GNP films at very low concentrations. It is found that the SERS properties are highly dependent on the edge lengths of gold nanoplate and gold nanoplate density in the films. Multiple-layer GNP films which are constructed by gold nanoplate with an edge length of 134±6nm have the density of 916±40GNPsGNPs/spot. It shows the highest signal intensity with SERS enhancement factor (EF) as high as 5.4×10(7) and also has excellent stability, reproducibility and repeatability. The optimized SERS-active substrate with the largest enhancement ability could be used to detect double-strand DNA without a dye label, and the detection limit is down to 10(-6)mg/mL.

Biocatalytically induced growth of gold nanoshells: using enzyme reaction for the controllable fabrication of nanomaterials.

In the present work, the enzymatically controlled growth process of gold nanoshells (GNSs) in the presence of O2/glucose/glucose oxidase (GOx) and its chloroaurate ion electron acceptor is described. The biocatalytically stimulated growth process is one of the bio-inspired synthetic procedures directed by biological molecules which occur under ambient conditions. It is found that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) could enlarge the gold nanoparticles (GNPs) on the surface of GNSs precursor composites, of which the preadsorbed GNPs serve as nucleation sites for further gold deposition. Here, GOx is harnessed for its unparalled level of catalytic activity and substrate specificity while H2O2 is produced as a by-product during the oxidation of D-glucose to gluconic acid by GOx. Then the bio-generated H2O2 is used as the reducing agent in the catalytic deposition process of GNSs formation. During the procedure, the localized surface plasmon resonance peaks range across hundreds of nanometers from visible to near infrared region accompanying by the resultant formation of uniform and continuous core-shell nanostructures. The corresponding optical, morphological and enzyme kinetic properties are all well investigated. The novel protocol offers a new perspective for the bio-directed synthesis method in nanotechnology.

Characterization of a bio-oil from pyrolysis of rice husk by detailed compositional analysis and structural investigation of lignin.

Detailed compositional analysis of a bio-oil (BO) from pyrolysis of rice husk was carried out. The BO was extracted sequentially with n-hexane, CCl(4), CS(2), benzene and CH(2)Cl(2). In total, 167 organic species were identified with GC/MS in the extracts and classified into alkanes, alcohols, hydroxybenzenes, alkoxybenzenes, dioxolanes, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, nitrogen-containing organic compounds and other species. The benzene ring-containing species (BRCCs) were attributed to the degradation of lignin while most of the rests were derived from the degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose. Along with guaiacyl and p-hydroxyphenyl units as the main components, a new type of linkage was suggested, i.e., C(ar)-CH(2)-C(ar) in 4,4'-methylenebis(2,6-dimethoxyphenol). Based on the species identified, a possible macromolecular structure of the lignin and the mechanism for its pyrolysis are proposed. The BO was also extracted with petroleum ether in ca. 17.8% of the extract yield and about 82.1% of the extracted components are BRCCs.