Spin depolarization induced by self-generated magnetic fields during cylindrical implosions.

Spin-polarized fuels are promising for inertial confinement fusion due to the enhanced fusion cross section. One significant concern of spin-polarized inertial confinement fusion is whether the nuclei polarization could survive in the implosions and contribute to ignitions. Here we present numerical simulation methods and results of spin dynamics of polarized deuterium-tritium fuels in strong self-generated magnetic fields during the implosions of dense cylindrical shells. The magnetic field generation and evolution is modeled with generalized Ohm's laws combined with hydrodynamic equations. The spin dynamics is investigated with a particle-tracking method, by solving the spin precession equations of tracked particles. Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities and Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities are found to be the main cause of depolarization. Hydrodynamic instabilities lead to depolarization of nuclei near the hot-spot shell interface, and an asymmetric shock front leads to depolarization of nuclei inside a hot spot. Deuterium polarization is more stable than tritium polarization due to its smaller gyromagnetic ratio. Low-mode perturbations can lead to higher depolarization inside a hot spot than high-mode perturbations. In the multimode simulations, the modes around 16-32 are significant for hot-spot depolarization.

Scavenging activity and mechanism study of ferulic acid against reactive carbonyl species acrolein.

Acrolein, known as one of the most common reactive carbonyl species, is a toxic small molecule affecting human health in daily life. This study is focused on the scavenging abilities and mechanism of ferulic acid and some other phenolic acids against acrolein. Among the 13 phenolic compounds investigated, ferulic acid was found to have the highest efficiency in scavenging acrolein under physiological conditions. Ferulic acid remained at (3.04±1.89)% and acrolein remained at (29.51±4.44)% after being incubated with each other for 24 h. The molecular mechanism of the detoxifying process was also studied. Detoxifying products, namely 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (product 21) and 5-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)pent-4-enal (product 22), were identified though nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), after the scavenging process. Ferulic acid showed significant activity in scavenging acrolein under physiological conditions. This study indicates a new method for inhibiting damage from acrolein.

Hemin-catalyzed sulfonium ylide formation and subsequently reactant-controlled chemoselective rearrangements.

Hemin-catalyzed competing routes of [1,2]-Stevens and Sommelet-Hauser rearrangements of benzyl sulfonium ylides through an iron porphyrin carbenoid were established. These rearrangements can be controlled by the electronic property of the substituents on the benzyl group together with solvent effects. Electron-donating or weak electron-withdrawing groups lead to the [1,2]-Stevens rearrangement, whereas strong electron-withdrawing groups at the para-position favor the latter pathway under aqueous conditions.

Resveratrol derivatives: an updated patent review (2012-2015).

INTRODUCTION: Resveratrol is a well-studied natural small molecule that possesses diverse bioactivities. Chemical derivation based on the resveratrol scaffold is of great importance to overcome the drawbacks of resveratrol and to improve its therapeutic potential. Continuous efforts have been established to develop resveratrol derivatives that target different therapeutic applications. Areas covered: This review covers patents published from 2012 to 2015. All resveratrol derivatives discussed are classified based on its derivation strategy as simple derivatives, conjugated derivatives and miscellaneous derivatives. Their therapeutic related activities are reviewed and discussed. Expert opinion: Chemical derivation is an effective strategy to enhance the benefits of resveratrol and ameliorate its disadvantages. Recent studies on resveratrol derivatives have made great progress in the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases to name a few, demonstrating improved activity compared with resveratrol. Notably, its bioavailability was also improved in some cases. However, the 'next generation' of resveratrol derivatives still requires the development of new strategies and techniques.

Specific ionic effect for simple and rapid colorimetric sensing assays of amino acids using gold nanoparticles modified with task-specific ionic liquid.

In this study, a novel task-specific ionic liquid functionalized gold nanoparticle (TSIL-GNP) was successfully prepared and applied in the recognition of amino acids. Particularly, the surface of GNP was modified with the ionic liquid containing carbamido and ester group via thiol, which was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The stability of this material in aqueous solution improves apparently and can remain unchanged for more than three months. The effect of pH was also discussed in this study. Attractive ionic interaction would effectively weaken intensity of the covalent coupling between the metal ion and the functional groups of amino acids. Thus, TSIL-GNP was successfully applied to recognizing serine, aspartic acid, lysine, arginine, and histidine in the presence of Cu(2+) through distinctive color changes. Suspension would be generated once a spot of cysteine was added into the GNPs solution. Results indicated that it had a good linear relationship between extinction coefficients and concentration of amino acids in a wide range of 10(-3)-10(-6) M. Moreover, the proposed strategy was successfully used to analyze the histidine in urinary samples. In brief, TSIL-GNP is a suitable substrate for discrimination of five amino acids in a rapid and simple way without sophisticated instruments.

Resveratrol dimers, nutritional components in grape wine, are selective ROS scavengers and weak Nrf2 activators.

Resveratrol monomer (Res) and its oligomers are considered as nutritional components distributed in edible plants. Three naturally occurring resveratrol dimers, namely parthenocissin A (Par), quadrangularin A (Qua) and pallidol (Pal), were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) and to activate the transcription factor Nrf2, which regulates cellular antioxidant systems. In vitro studies with different ROS and radical assay models showed that all the three dimers are strong DPPH quenchers and selective singlet oxygen ((1)O2) scavengers (IC50=4.90, 1.05 and 5.50 µM, respectively). However, they were ineffective against hydroxyl radical (OH) or superoxide anion (O2(-)). Exposing the dimers to an antioxidant response element (ARE) reporter cell line revealed that only pallidol was able to activate Nrf2 at 30 µM, while parthenocissin A and quadrangularin A had no significant effect on Nrf2. Our data demonstrates the distinct difference between reservatrol monomer and its dimers in activating the Nrf2/ARE signalling pathway.