Therapeutic vaccination with lentiviral vector in HBV-persistent mice and two inactive HBsAg carriers.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Immunotherapy for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has not yet demonstrated sufficient efficacy. We developed a non-integrative lentiviral-vectored therapeutic vaccine for chronic hepatitis B and tested its antiviral effects in HBV-persistent mice and two inactive HBsAg carriers. METHODS: Lentiviral vectors (LVs) encoding the core, preS1, or large HBsAg (LHBs) proteins of HBV were evaluated for immunogenicity in HBV-naïve mice and therapeutic efficacy in a murine model of chronic HBV infection. In addition, two inactive HBsAg carriers each received two doses of 5×107 transduction units (TU) or 1×108 TU of lentiviral-vectored LHBs (LV-LHBs), respectively. The endpoints were safety, LHBs-specific T-cell responses, and serum HBsAg levels during a 24-week follow-up. RESULTS: In the mouse models, LV-LHBs was the most promising in eliciting robust antigen-specific T cells and in reducing the levels of serum HBsAg and viral load. By the end of the 34-week observation period, six out of ten (60%) HBV-persistent mice vaccinated with LV-LHBs achieved serum HBsAg loss and significant depletion of HBV-positive hepatocytes in the liver. In the two inactive HBsAg carriers, vaccination with LV-LHBs induced a considerable increase in the number of peripheral LHBs-specific T cells in one patient, and a weak but detectable response in the other, accompanied by a sustained reduction of HBsAg (-0.31 log10 IU/ml and -0.46 log10 IU/ml, respectively) from baseline to nadir. CONCLUSIONS: A lentiviral-vectored therapeutic vaccine for chronic HBV infection demonstrated the potential to improve HBV-specific T-cell responses and deplete HBV-positive hepatocytes, leading to a sustained loss or reduction of serum HBsAg. IMPACT AND IMPLICATIONS: Chronic HBV infection is characterized by an extremely low number and profound hypo-responsiveness of HBV-specific T cells. Therapeutic vaccines are designed to improve HBV-specific T-cell responses. We show that immunization with a lentiviral-vectored therapeutic HBV vaccine was able to expand HBV-specific T cells in vivo, leading to reductions of HBV-positive hepatocytes and serum HBsAg.

A strong anion exchanger of poly(glycidyl methacrylate-divinylbenzene) substrate functionalized with cationic quaternary ammonium monomer.

A strong anion exchanger applied for ion chromatography is described by grafting methacrylamido propyl trimethyl ammonium chloride onto hydrolyzed poly(glycidyl methacrylate-divinylbenzene) substrate. The anion exchanger has been in detail characterized and the final capacity of the anion exchanger can be readily manipulated by different monomer amounts. It exhibited obvious temperature-sensitive properties and large tolerance to the samples with high ionic strength. The obtained anion exchanger demonstrated effective separation ability towards the common seven inorganic anions within 12 min and high separation efficiency, for example, 58 000/m of theoretical plate count for chloride.

Medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) induce renal cell aging and ferroptosis.

PURPOSE: Medium-chained chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) are a class of chlorinated derivatives of straight-chain n-alkanes with complex compositions, which are widely used in industry. The chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are divided into short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), medium chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) and long chain chlorinated paraffins (LCCPs). SCCPs have been banned due to their severe bioaccumulation and biotoxicity. Therefore, MCCPs are used as a substitute for SCCPs. However, the toxicological data of MCCPs are still very limited. For this, we systematically investigated the toxicological impact of MCCPs on a renal cell model in the current study. Our work provides basic research data for analyzing the toxicological effects of MCCPs, suggesting that MCCPs should be restricted in their usage. METHOD: A series of biochemical experiments was performed, including Western blot, indirect immunofluorescence assay, and ELISA was performed to analyze the toxicological effects of MCCPs. RESULTS: Two renal cell lines were used as a model for assessing the toxicological effects of MCCPs. Cell proliferation assays showed that MCCPs could inhibit the proliferation of kidney cells in a dose-dependent manner. Further studies showed that MCCPs induced ferroptosis in kidney cells by evaluating a series of ferroptosis marker molecules. Additionally, MCCPs induced inflammatory response and premature senescence in HEK293 and NRK-52E cells. Molecular mechanism experiments showed that ferroptosis induced by MCCPs emerged as a significant contributor to premature aging of kidney cells. CONCLUSION: The current study provides basic research data to analyze the toxicological effects of MCCPs and their toxicity mechanisms. It also provides a theoretical basis for the assessment of the potential ecological risk of MCCPs, as well as basic experimental data for the rational and standardized use of MCCPs.

ASMNet: Action and Style-Conditioned Motion Generative Network for 3D Human Motion Generation.

Extensive research has explored human motion generation, but the generated sequences are influenced by different motion styles. For instance, the act of walking with joy and sorrow evokes distinct effects on a character's motion. Due to the difficulties in motion capture with styles, the available data for style research are also limited. To address the problems, we propose ASMNet, an action and style-conditioned motion generative network. This network ensures that the generated human motion sequences not only comply with the provided action label but also exhibit distinctive stylistic features. To extract motion features from human motion sequences, we design a spatial temporal extractor. Moreover, we use the adaptive instance normalization layer to inject style into the target motion. Our results are comparable to state-of-the-art approaches and display a substantial advantage in both quantitative and qualitative evaluations. The code is available at https://github.com/ZongYingLi/ASMNet.git.

A lysine and amide functionalized polymer-based polar stationary phase for hydrophilic interaction chromatography.

A novel polymer-based polar stationary phase for hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) is described. It was obtained by grafting lysine and acrylamide onto poly (glycidyl methacrylate-divinylbenzene) (GMA-DVB) microspheres via ring-opening reaction of epoxy groups and free radical polymerization with pendant double bonds of the microspheres. Multiple types of polar groups including zwitterionic (carboxylate and amine), amide and diol onto the microspheres make them highly hydrophilic. It showed typical HILIC character and good separation performance towards model polar analytes. Negligible bleed level under gradient elution mode (up to 50% fraction of water) was observed. It also exhibited specific separation selectivity to ionic analytes and simultaneous separation of anions and cations could be achieved in ideal electrostatic selectivity elution order, e.g. I-< NO3-

Six-year analysis of key monitoring for bacterial strain distribution and antibiotic sensitivity in a hospital.

BACKGROUND: With the widespread use of antimicrobial drugs, bacterial resistance has become a significant problem, posing a serious threat to public health. The prevalence of clinical infection strains in hospitals and their drug sensitivities are key to the appropriate use of antibiotics in clinical practice. AIM: To identify prevalent bacteria and their antibiotic resistance profiles in a hospital setting, thereby guiding effective antibiotic usage by clinicians. METHODS: Specimens from across the institution were collected by the microbiology laboratory. The VITEK 2 compact fully automatic analyzer was used for bacterial identification and antibiotic sensitivity testing, and the WHONET5.6 software was utilized for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 12062 bacterial strains of key monitoring significance were detected. Staphylococcus aureus demonstrated widespread resistance to penicillin, but none of the strains were resistant to vancomycin or linezolid. Moreover, 219 strains of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci and 110 strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus were detected. Enterococcus faecalis showed moderate resistance to the third-generation quinolones ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin, but its resistance to nitrofurantoin and tetracycline was low. Enterococcus faecium displayed significantly lower resistance to third- and fourth-generation quinolones than Enterococcus faecalis. The resistance of two key monitoring strains, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, to piperacillin/tazobactam was 5%-8%. However, none of the Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains were resistant to meropenem. The resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii to piperacillin/sulbactam was nearly 90%. Nonetheless, the resistance to tigecycline was low, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa demonstrated minimal resistance in the antibiotic sensitivity test, maintaining a resistance of < 10% to the cephalosporin antibiotics cefotetan and cefoperazone over the last 6 years. The resistance to amikacin remained at 0.2% over the past 3 years. CONCLUSION: Our hospital's overall antibiotic resistance rate was relatively stable from 2017 to 2022. The detection rates of key monitoring strains are reported quarterly and their resistance dynamics are monitored and communicated to the entire hospital, which can guide clinical antibiotic selection.

Astragaloside IV improves renal function and alleviates renal damage and inflammation in rats with chronic glomerulonephritis.

From Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge.var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao, astragaloside IV (AS-IV), a saponin can be purified and is considered traditional Chinese medicine. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the AS-IV-mediated mechanism on chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN). A cationic bovine serum albumin-induced CGN rat model was established and 10, 15, or 20 mg/kg of AS-IV was administered to measure renal function and inflammatory infiltration. Influences of AS-IV on proliferation, cell cycle, and inflammation of LPS-induced rat mesangial cells (RMCs) were determined. The results demonstrated that AS-IV alleviated renal dysfunction, renal lesions, and inflammation in CGN rats. AS-IV prolonged the G0-G1 phase, shortened the S phase, and inhibited cell proliferation and inflammation in RMCs. AS-IV can promote miR-181d-5p expression to inhibit CSF1. miR-181d-5p promotion or CSF1 suppression could further enhance the therapeutic role of AS-IV in CGN rats, while miR-181d-5p silencing or CSF1 overexpression abolished the effect of AS-IV. In conclusion, AS-IV by mediating the miR-181d-5p/CSF1 axis protects against CGN.

A polyethyleneimine-functionalized polymer substrate polar stationary phase.

A polyethyleneimine (PEI)-functionalized polymer substrate polar stationary phase was prepared for hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) by grafting PEI onto poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) (PS-DVB) microspheres. The phase shows a U-shape retention profile and it exhibits typical hydrophilic characteristic when the organic solvent fraction in the mobile phase is > 60%. Hydrogen bonding, anion exchange, and hydrophobic interaction are involved in the retention mechanism. Good separation and unique selectivity for acidic, basic and neutral polar analytes were achieved. It showed extremely low column bleed (comparable to that of blank) under gradient elution mode (even to 50% fraction of water) and wide pH tollerance range (at least 1-13).

Assessing Early Atherosclerosis by Detecting and Imaging of Hypochlorous Acid and Phosphorylation Using Fluorescence Nanoprobe.

The assessment of early atherosclerosis (AS) is of great significance for the early diagnosis and mechanism research. Herein, a novel nanoprobe PCN@FL is developed to realize the simultaneous detection and imaging of phosphorylation and hypochlorous acid (HClO). The selective recognition of HClO is achieved through the specific interaction between DMTC and HClO, while the levels of phosphorylation are detected via the specific interaction between Zr (IV) and phosphates. The nanoprobe can be utilized to monitor the fluctuations in HClO and phosphate in early atherosclerosis. It is observed that the levels of HClO and phosphate in the serum of early AS mice are higher than those of the normal mice. Ultimately, the levels of hypochlorous acid and phosphorylation in the inner wall of aortic vessels are imaged by two-photon microscope. The results show that the levels of HClO and phosphorylation in the early atherosclerotic mice are significantly higher than those of in normal mice. The nanoprobe provides a suitable fluorescent tool for simultaneous detection and imaging of HClO and phosphorylation, which holds promise for early atherosclerotic disease assessment.

Exercise training attenuates neuropathic pain and cytokine expression after chronic constriction injury of rat sciatic nerve.

BACKGROUND: The underlying mechanism of exercise on neuropathic pain is not well understood. We investigated whether physical exercise regulates the functional recovery and heat shock protein 72 (Hsp72), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interlukin-1ß (IL-1ß) expression after chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 7 groups: control, sham operated (SO), SO with swimming or treadmill exercise (SOSE or SOTE), CCI, CCI with swimming or treadmill exercise (CCISE or CCITE). We recorded body weight, thermal withdrawal latency, and mechanical withdrawal threshold as well as Hsp72, TNF-α, and IL-1ß expression in sciatic nerve. RESULTS: The body weights in the control and SO groups were heavier than those in the SOSE, SOTE, CCI, CCISE, and CCITE groups. CCI rats with swimming or treadmill exercise showed significant increase in thermal withdrawal latency and mechanical withdrawal threshold when compared with CCI rats without exercise on day 21 after CCI. Both CCISE and CCITE groups demonstrated greater Hsp72 expression and lower TNF-α or IL-1ß level than did the CCI group in sciatic nerve on day 21 after CCI. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that progressive exercise training decreases peripheral neuropathic pain as well as TNF-α and IL-1ß overproduction and increases HSP72 expression after CCI of the sciatic nerve.

[Preparation of an anion stationary phase modified by quaternary ammoniated allyl glycidyl ether].

A polymer-based strong anion stationary phase modified by quaternary ammoniated allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) for ion chromatography (IC) was developed. It was prepared by surface copolymerization between AGE and the pedant double bonds associated with hydrolyzed poly(glycidylmethacrylate-divinylbenzene) (GMA-DVB) substrate, followed by quaternization with N,N-methyldiethanolamine (a tertiary amine, MDEA). The synthesis conditions were optimized, including the type of organic tertiary amines (MDEA, N,N-dimethylethanolamine, trimethylamine), substrate hydrolysis, the amount of monomer and initiator, reaction temperature and reaction time. The obtained anion stationary phase was characterized by scanning electron microscope and elemental analysis. MDEA was observed to be the best quaternization reagent since the anion exchanger obtained by such reagent showed good separation and suitable retention time towards model inorganic anions. The resulting reason probably lies in higher hydrophilicity of MDEA relative the other two ones. The use of rich epoxy groups of GMA-DVB to introduce the functional groups was commonly used in many previous reports. Here the epoxy groups were firstly hydrolyzed to be diol groups and the pendant double bonds onto the surface of GMA-DVB particles were used to graft AGE. The data achieved indicated that the use of hydrolyzed GMA-DVB substrate would be helpful to reduce anion exchange capacity and unwanted non-ion exchange interaction, in which the rich epoxy groups were converted to hydroxy groups. More important, the obtained anion exchanger after hydrolytic treatment could offer a significantly reduction of retention time (~68%) and a ~1.67-fold higher plate count (take Br- as an example). The apparent capacity of the phase was computed to be 264 µmol/g by content of N data and its effective capacity was measured to be 98.5 µmol/column by the breakthrough curve method. Under the optimal chromatographic conditions, the obtained stationary phase showed baseline separation of seven common inorganic anions in less than 13 min using carbonate-bicarbonate mixed eluent, exhibiting high separation efficiency and peak shape, e. g. 49000 plate/m and 38000 plate/m of the theoretical plate counts respectively for chloride and nitrate, and their asymmetric factor were 1.3 and 1.4. These can be comparable or slightly higher than those of commercial columns. The fitted equation of the eluent concentration and the retention factors of model anions was proved that ion exchange model dominates the retention mechanism of the anion stationary phase. This offers a simple way to prepare anion exchanger and to manipulate anion exchange capacity. The utility of the obtained anion exchanger has been demonstrated to the analysis of tap water.

A hyperbranched polyglycerol-functionalized polymer polar stationary phase.

A polymer polar stationary phase functionalized with hyperbranched polyglycerol for hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) is described. It is prepared via surface-initiated ring-opening polymerization of hyperbranched polyglycerol onto hydrolzed poly(glycidyl methacrylate-divinylbenzene) microspheres. The capacity of the functional groups can be maniputed by repeating hyperbranch layers. The phase showed typical HILIC character with good separation performance towards tested polar analytes. It also exhibited wider pH tolerance range (e.g. at least 2 to 12) and as well negligible bleed level under gradient elution mode (even to 50% fraction of water).

A reagent-free acid-base titration method via an electrodialytic titrant generator.

We describe a reagent-free acid-base titration method, in which only water is added and the titrant is online electrodialytically produced. Electrodialytic eluent generator, a well-established technique in ion chromatography to produce high purity base or acid eluent through precise control of an electric current, has been for the first time used for titration, termed as electrodialytic titrant generator (ETG). Three kinds of titrants produced by ETG have been demonstrated, including potassium hydroxide, methanesulfuric acid and sulfuric acid. A series of titrants with different concentration up to at least 140 mM (e.g. KOH) could be accurately and reproducibly obtained by manipulating current and the KOH titrant showed extremely high purity. The titration results achieved by ETG were in a good agreement with those obtained by the regular way and their ratio was in the range of 0.9918 and 1.0034. Good accuracy and precision were achieved for ETG titration, as indicated by 2.2% of relative error and 0.17% of relative standard error. Its utility was demonstrated to measure pKa-differentiated capacity of anion exchange resins.

Risk factors for iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women from plateau region and their impact on pregnancy outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the risk factors for iron deficiency (ID) and iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) in pregnant women from plateau region and their impact on pregnancy outcome. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 1,206 pregnant women admitted to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Qinghai Red Cross Hospital from January 2016 to October 2021. Among them, 721 women were diagnosed with ID and 104 women with IDA. We analyzed the potential risk factors for ID and IDA and also observed the impact of ID and IDA on the pregnancy outcome. RESULTS: Multivariate regression analyses showed that the risk factors for ID were age over 35 years old, number of pregnancies ≥2, number of childbirths >1, number of abortions ≥3 and drinking of strong tea or coffee, while the protective factors against ID were regular prenatal cares, iron supplementation and nutrition guidance during pregnancy. The risk factors for IDA were age ≥35 years old, number of abortions ≥3 and drinking of strong tea or coffee, while the protective factors against IDA were regular prenatal cares and iron supplementation during pregnancy. The incidences of gestational hypertension, fetal distress, preterm birth, cesarean section, postpartum hemorrhage and neonatal asphyxia in the IDA group were higher than those in the non-ID group (all P<0.05). Also, the incidences of gestational hypertension, cesarean section and postpartum hemorrhage were higher in the IDA group than those in the ID group (all P<0.05). Moreover, the incidences of gestational hypertension, cesarean section and postpartum hemorrhage in the ID group were higher than those in the non-ID group (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Pregnant women from the plateau region show a high incidence of ID and IDA, especially elderly parturient women or those with multiple pregnancies, child births or abortions. To reduce the incidence of ID and IDA as well as to improve the pregnancy outcome, our findings suggest pregnant woman to have regular prenatal care and a proper diet by avoiding strong tea or coffee, supplementing iron and receiving nutritional guidance.

Chiral Assembly and Recognition of Seven Copper (II) Coordination Polymers from Tartaric Acid Derivative Ligands.

A pair of enantiomeric ligands, (2R,3R)-dibenzyl-2,3-bis(isonicotinoyloxy)succinate ((R,R)-L) and (2S,3S)-dibenzyl-2,3-bis(isonicotinoyloxy)succinate ((S,S)-L), are designed and synthesized. Seven copper (II) coordination polymers {[Cu((R,R)-L)Br2 (THF)] ⋅ CH3 CN} n (1 a) and {[Cu((S,S)-L)Br2 (THF)] ⋅ CH3 CN}n (1 b), {[Cu((R,R)-L)Cl2 (THF)] ⋅ CH3 CN}n (2 a) and {[Cu((S,S)-L)Cl2 (THF)] ⋅ CH3 CN}n (2 b), {[Cu((R,R)-L)(NO3 )2 (CH3 CN)]}n (3 a) and {[Cu((S,S)-L)(NO3 )2 (CH3 CN)]}n (3 b), {[Cu((R,R)-L)2 (CH3 CN)2 ](ClO4 )2 ⋅ 3CH3 CN}n (4) were obtained through the assemblies with CuBr2 , CuCl2 ⋅ 2H2 O, Cu(NO3 )2 ⋅ 3H2 O, Cu(ClO4 )2 ⋅ 6H2 O, respectively. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction and circular dichroism analysis demonstrate that 1 a-3 a, 1 b-3 b have a mono chiral one-dimensional (1D) chain-like spiral structure, while 4 have 1D chain-like structure whose metal centers have chiral propeller coordination environment. Ligand structure, anions and solvent systems have a regulatory effect on the formation of chiral helical structure. Further investigation has proved that 1 a can be used as circular dichroism spectrum probe for monitoring L-/D-cysteine and L-/D-penicillamine configuration and concentration in aqueous media based on ligand interchange mechanism.

[Advances of electrodialytic technologies used in ion chromatography].

An electrodialysis device is used to transport salt ions from one solution to another through an ion-exchange membrane under the influence of an applied electric potential. They can produce hydronium or hydroxide ions via electrodialysis water, which can be used for online preparation of eluents or suppression or detection in ion chromatography (IC). As opposed to the manual preparation of eluents or regenerant solutions, electrodialysis devices have the advantages such as green, efficient and high purity. Thus, IC systems equipped with electrodialysis devices dominate the majority uses of IC system, and more importantly, find widespread application. The present thesis briefly summarizes the latest developments in this area.

Preparation and evaluation of a polymer-based sulfobetaine zwitterionic stationary phase.

We describe a polymer-based sulfobetaine zwitterionic stationary phase for hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC). It was prepared by grafting acrylamide-type sulfobetaine monomer instead of common methacrylate-type sulfobetaine onto hydrolysed poly (glycidyl methacrylate-divinylbenzene) (GMA-DVB) microspheres via pendant double bonds of DVB. The phase has been characterized by elemental analysis, scanning electron micrograph and N2 adsorption-desorption experiment. It shows wider pH tolerance range (from 2 to 12) and excellent separation ability towards common strong polar analytes such as nucleosides and nucleic bases, water-soluble vitamins, amino acids, inorganic anions and cations. Notably, it exhibits negligible baseline noise level (~0.15 pA) under typical HILIC mobile phase. Excellent selectivity in separation of α- and ß-anomers of reducing sugars and lactose/lactulose has also been observed.

Preparation of a polymer-based weak cation exchanger for ion chromatography via atom transfer radical polymerization.

A novel polymer-based weak cation exchanger (WCX) for ion chromatography has been described. It was prepared by grafting tert-butyl acrylate and maleic anhydride onto the surface of poly(glycidyl methacrylate-divinylbenzene) microspheres via atom transfer radical polymerization, followed by hydrolytic treatment to produce acrylic and maleic acid groups. The obtained WCX showed better separation and higher selectivity for model cations relative to solely acrylic or maleic acid. Simultaneous separation of alkali and alkaline earth cations (including NH4+) was achieved in a single isocratic run under suppressed mode, and ion exchange was found to dominate the separation process. Its utility was demonstrated for determination of several cations in a beer sample and the recovery was ranging from 98.4 to 109.9%.

Characteristics and sources of atmospheric pollutants in typical inland cities in arid regions of central Asia: A case study of Urumqi city.

The arid zone of central Asia secluded inland and has the typical features of the atmosphere. Human activities have had a significant impact on the air quality in this region. Urumqi is a key city in the core area of the Silk Road and an important economic center in Northwestern China. The urban environment is playing an increasingly important role in regional development. To study the characteristics and influencing factors of the main atmospheric pollutants in Urumqi, this study selected Urumqi's daily air quality index (AQI) data and observation data of six major pollutants including fine particulate matter (PM2.5), breathable particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3_8h) from 2014 to 2018 in conjunction with meteorological data to use a backward trajectory analysis method to study the main characteristics of atmospheric pollutants and their sources in Urumqi from 2014 to 2018. The results showed that: (1) From 2014 to 2018, the annual average of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2 and CO concentrations showed a downward trend, and O3_8h concentrations first increased, then decreased, and then increased, reaching the highest value in 2018 (82.15 µg·m-3); The seasonal changes of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2 and CO concentrations were characterized by low values in summer and fall seasons and high values in winter and spring seasons. The concentration of O3_8h, however, was in the opposite trend, showing the high values in summer and fall seasons, and low values in winter and spring seasons. From 2014 to 2018, with the exception of O3_8h, the concentration changes of the other five major air pollutants were high in December, January, and February, and low in May, June, and July; the daily changes showed a "U-shaped" change during the year. The high-value areas of the "U-shaped" mode formed around the 50th day and the 350th day. (2) The high-value area of AQI was from the end of fall (November) to the beginning of the following spring (March), and the low-value area was from April to October. It showed a U-shaped change trend during the year and the value was mainly distributed between 50 and 100. (3) The concentrations of major air pollutants in Urumqi were significantly negatively correlated with precipitation, temperature, and humidity (P<0.01), and had the highest correlation coefficients with temperature. (4) Based on the above analysis results, this study analyzed two severe pollution events from late November to early December. Analysis showed that the PM2.5/PM10 ratio in two events remained at about 0.1 when the pollution occurred, but was higher before and after the pollution (up to 1.46). It was shown that the pollution was a simple sandstorm process. Backward trajectory analysis clustered the airflow trajectories reaching Urumqi into 4 categories, and the trajectories from central Asia contributed the maximum values of average PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations.

A hydrolytically stable amide polar stationary phase for hydrophilic interaction chromatography.

A novel amide functionalized polar stationary phase has been described by grafting acrylamide polymer coating onto hydrolysed poly (glycidyl methacrylate-divinylbenzene) (GMA-DVB) microsphere. The grafting of acrylamide coating is performed via free radical polymerization of acrylamide with pendant double bonds of hydrolysed GMA-DVB microsphere. The obtained stationary phase (G-pAM) possesses favorable hydrophilicity, as proved by strong retention and good separation ability towards several types of model polar analytes (e.g. 71913 plates/m plate count of sucrose), and excellent hydrolytically stability, as indicated by extremely low bleed level (much superior to commercial ones, ~23.7-fold-~77.4-fold lower). Negligible baseline drift under gradient elution (water fraction even up to 50%) was observed. It also exhibits good selectivity in the separation of isomers and homologue sugars.