Two diterpenoids with an unprecedented diterpene carbon skeleton, cinnamomols A (1) and B (2), were isolated from the leaves of Cinnamomum cassia. 1 and 2 feature a cage-like, rigid, 5/5/5/5/5/6-fused hexacyclic ring system. The structures of 1 and 2 were established by extensive spectroscopic techniques and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and their plausible biosynthetic pathways were proposed. 1 and 2 exhibited significant in vitro immunostimulative activity, and the mode of action of 1 was investigated.

The new “conical” torch is a powerful tool for ICP-MS/OES applications as demonstrated by time-resolved particle image velocimetry and 3D computer simulations of single particles.

The conical torch, with less power and gas consumption, offers better analytical performance compared with the Fassel torch for axially viewed ICP-OES.

Significant advancement has been achieved in single-particle analysis with the new conical ICP torch in terms of sensitivity, precision, and throughput. Monodisperse desolvated particles of eight elements (Na, Al, Ag, Sr, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Be) were injected into the conical torch, and signal peak characteristics, precision, and kinetics of atomization and ionization were investigated with optical spectrometry. A particle introduction system was designed to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted delivery of desolvated particles to the plasma. The important finding is that, compared with the conventional Fassel torch, the conical torch offers a 1.5–8 times higher peak intensity, a 2–4 times higher peak area, a 2 times shorter peak width, and higher precision (i.e., a 1.5 times lower RSD for peak intensity and a 1.8 times lower RSD for peak width on average). Also, mass detection limits were found to be similar or up to 8 times lower (i.e., 2 times lower diameter detection limit) for the conical torch. The results indicate that these features are due to a much higher electron density, excitation temperature, and robustness which, together with an improved particle trajectory, lead to rapid vaporization/atomization/ionization of particles with minimized atom/ion cloud diffusion. Finally, the torch was demonstrated to be capable of analyzing single particles at a rate of at least 2000 particles per second with high sensitivity and precision. On the basis of these results, the conical torch is expected to bring about new possibilities in ICP-based single-particle analysis.

Poly(arylene ether sulfone) (PES)–titanium dioxide (TiO2) hybrid membranes were prepared via solution blending method using TiO2 nanoparticles as inorganic filler. The chemical structure and thermal stability of the matrix polymer were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The crystal structure, morphology, mechanical properties, and gas separation performance of hybrid membranes were characterized in detail. As shown in scanning electron microscopic images, TiO2 nanoparticles dispersed homogeneously in the matrix. Although the mechanical properties of hybrid membranes decreased certainly compared to the pure PES membranes, they are strong enough for gas separation in this study. All gas permeability coefficients of PES-TiO2 hybrid membranes were higher than pure PES membranes, attributed to the nanogap caused by TiO2 nanoparticles, for instance, oxygen and nitrogen permeability coefficients of Hybrid-3 (consists of PES with 4-amino-phenyl pendant group and hexafluoroisopropyl (Am-PES)-20 and TiO2 nanoparticles, 5 wt%) increased from 2.57 and 0.33 to 5.88 and 0.63, respectively. In addition, the separation factor increased at the same time attributed to the stimulative transfer effect caused by the interaction of hydroxyl groups on the TiO2 nanoparticle and polar carbon dioxide molecules.

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