Design and construction of a refrigerator-cooled adiabatic calorimeter for heat capacity measurement in liquid helium temperature region.

Heat capacity is a fundamental thermodynamic property of a substance. Although heat capacity values and related thermodynamic functions are available for many materials, low-temperature heat capacity measurements, especially for novel materials, can still provide valuable insights for research in physics, chemistry, thermodynamics, and other fields. Reliable low-temperature heat capacity data are typically measured using classical adiabatic calorimeters, which use liquid helium as the refrigerant to provide a cryogenic environment for heat capacity measurements. However, liquid helium is not only expensive but also not easy to obtain, which greatly limits the application of adiabatic calorimetry. In this work, an accurate adiabatic calorimeter equipped with a Gifford-MacMahon refrigerator was designed and constructed for measuring the heat capacity of condensed matter in the temperature range from 4 to 100 K. The Gifford-MacMahon refrigerator was utilized to provide a stable liquid helium-free cryogenic environment. A simple mechanical thermal switch assembly was designed to facilitate switching between the refrigeration mode and the adiabatic measurement mode of the calorimeter. Based on the measurement results of standard reference materials, the optimized repeatability and accuracy of heat capacity measurements were determined to be within 0.8% and 1.5%, respectively. The heat capacity of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles was also investigated with this device. Furthermore, this adiabatic calorimeter only requires electricity to operate in the liquid helium temperature range, which may significantly advance the research on low-temperature heat capacity based on adiabatic calorimetry.

Cordyceps cicadae polysaccharides inhibit human cervical cancer hela cells proliferation via apoptosis and cell cycle arrest.

The present study presented the extraction and purification of polysaccharides from artificially cultured Cordyceps cicadae and wild Cordyceps cicadae by pre-soaking ultrasonic water extraction. The effects of different concentrations of polysaccharides on proliferation and cytotoxicity of Hela cells were detected by MTT and LDH methods. The results showed that the proliferation of Hela cells was inhibited by polysaccharides treatment (25 µg/mL-1600 µg/mL). The results of flow cytometry further confirmed that polysaccharides blocked the cell cycle in the S phase and promoted apoptosis. RT-qPCR and Western Blot were used to study the mRNA and protein expression of genes related to cell cycle and apoptosis signaling pathway. The results showed that polysaccharides treatment inhibited the expression of Cyclin E, Cyclin A and CDK2 and up regulated the expression of P53. Further, activation of Caspase cascade reaction, up regulation of death receptor, and the ratio of pro-apoptotic factor/anti-apoptotic factors, thus caused the cell cycle arrest and induced the apoptosis. The above research results lay a foundation for extending the anti-cancer effects of natural plant resources with low toxicity and high efficiency.

Transcriptome sequencing reveals potential mechanisms of diapause preparation in bivoltine silkworm Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae).

In the bivoltine strain of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, embryonic diapause is induced transgenerationally as a maternal effect. Progeny diapause ability is determined by the environmental condition such as temperature and lightness that mothers experience during their own embryonic development. Diapause preparation is a crucial phase of this process; diapause-destined individuals undergo a series of preparatory events before the entry into developmental arrest. However, the molecular regulatory mechanisms of diapause preparation have largely remained unknown. In the present study, we sequenced the transcriptome of bivoltine silkworm Qiufeng's ovaries resulted in laying of diapause destined or non-diapause eggs, using high-throughput RNA-Seq technology. Differential expression analyses identified 183 genes with higher expression, and 106 with lower expression under diapause-inducing conditions. GO and KEGG analysis revealed that the enrichment of several functional terms related to peroxisome, glycerolipid metabolism, steroid biosynthesis, longevity regulating pathway - multiple species, three signaling transductions, insect hormone biosynthesis, and cytoskeleton components. We conducted a detailed comparison of transcript profile data of ovaries from diapause-inducing and non-diapause conditions, the results imply up-regulation of peroxisomal metabolism, triacylglycerides accumulation, cryoprotectant production, and ecdysteroid biosynthesis in diapause-inducing group. Differential expression of genes related to actin cytoskeleton implies the occurrence of shifts in cellular structure and composition between diapause-inducing and non-diapause-inducing groups. The Hippo and FOXO signaling pathways may play an important role in preparing for entering diapause. This study provides an insight into the molecular events of insect diapause, in particular for the preparatory phase.

Low-temperature heat capacities of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(oxalato)borate ionic liquids and the influence of anion structural characteristics on thermodynamic properties.

Two chelated orthoborate ionic liquids (ILs), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(oxalato)borate ([Bmim][BOB]) and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(oxalato)borate ([Hmim][BOB]), were prepared and characterized. Their thermodynamic properties were studied using adiabatic calorimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The thermodynamic properties of the two ILs were evaluated and compared with each other, and then with those of other [Bmim] type ILs. The results clearly indicate that for a given cation (or anion) and at a certain temperature, the more atoms in the anion (or cation), the higher the heat capacity; the higher glass-transition temperatures of [BOB] type ILs than others are mainly caused by the higher symmetry of the orthoborate anion structure. It is suggested that a high content of strong electronegative atoms and C(n) or C(nv) (n = 1,2,3,…,∞) point group symmetry in the anion are favorable for the design and synthesis of room temperature ILs with a wide liquid range.

Thermochemistry of alkyl pyridinium bromide ionic liquids: calorimetric measurements and calculations.

Two ionic liquids, 1-ethylpyridinium bromide (EPBr) and 1-propylpyridinium bromide (PPBr), were prepared and the structures were characterized by 1H NMR. The thermodynamic properties of EPBr and PPBr were studied with adiabatic calorimetry (AC) and thermogravimatric analysis (TG-DTG). The heat capacity was precisely measured in the temperature range from 78 to 410 K by means of a fully automated adiabatic calorimeter. For EPBr, the melting temperature, enthalpy, and entropy of solid-liquid phase transition were determined to be 391.31 +/- 0.28 K, 12.77 +/- 0.09 kJ x mol(-1), and 32.63 +/- 0.22 J x K(-1) x mol(-1), respectively, and for PPBr they were 342.83 +/- 0.69 K, 10.97 +/- 0.05 kJ x mol(-1), and 32.00 +/- 0.10 J x K(-1) x mol(-1), respectively. The thermodynamic functions (H(T)(0) - H(298.15)(0)) and (S(T)(0) - S(298.15)(0)) were derived from the heat capacity data in the experimental temperature range with an interval of 5 K. The thermostablility of the compounds was further studied by TGA measurements. The phase change behavior and thermodynamic properties were compared and estimated in a series of alkyl pyridinium bromide ionic liquids. Results indicate that EPBr has higher melting and decomposition temperature, as well as phase transition enthalpy and entropy but lower heat capacity than PPBr due to their different molecular structures.

Low Temperature Heat Capacities and Standard Molar Enthalpy of Formation of 2-Pyrazinecarboxylic Acid (C5H4N2O2)(s).

Low-temperature heat capacities of 2-pyrazinecarboxylic acid (C5H4N2O2)(s) were measured by a precision automated adiabatic calorimeter over the temperature range from 78 to 400 K. A polynomial equation of heat capacities as a function of temperature was fitted by least squares method. Based on the fitted polynomial, the smoothed heat capacities and thermodynamic functions of the compound relative to the standard reference temperature 298.15 K were calculated and tabulated at 10 K intervals. The constant-volume energy of combustion of the compound at T = 298.15 K was measured by a precision rotating-bomb combustion calorimeter to be ΔcU = -(17839.40 ± 7.40) J g-1. The standard molar enthalpy of combustion of the compound was determined to be ΔcH0m = -(2211.39 ± 0.92) KJ mol-1, according to the definition of combustion enthalpy. Finally, the standard molar enthalpy of formation of the compound was calculated to be ΔfH0m = -(327.82 ± 1.13) kJ mol-1 in accordance with Hess law.

The study on a PVC membrane electrode for gemfibrozil.

In this paper, a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane electrode is prepared for gemfibrozil, 2, 2-dimethyl-5-(2,5-xylyloxy) valeric acid, based on its ion pair complexes with hexadecyltrioctyl ammonium iodide (HTOA). The membrane composition of the electrode was optimized by using the sequential level elimination method for orthogonal experimental design. The electrode has a Nernstian response range from 2.5 x 10(-5) to 0.1 mol/l with an average slope of 55.3 mV/decade. The limit of detection is 7.1 x 10(-6) mol/l. The electrode responses were not affected by pH in the range 10.0-12.3. A Na2B4O7-Na2CO3 buffer of pH = 11.0 was selected as the background electrolyte solution for potentiometric measurements. The electrode was used for determining gemfibrozil in pharmaceutical preparations with satisfactory results.