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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a leading cause of cancer-related death, is associated with viral hepatitis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and alcohol-related steatohepatitis, all of which trigger endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, hepatocyte death, inflammation, and compensatory proliferation. Using ER stress-prone MUP-uPA mice, we established that ER stress and hypernutrition cooperate to cause NASH and HCC, but the contribution of individual stress effectors, such as activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), to HCC and their underlying mechanisms of action remained unknown. Hepatocyte-specific ATF4-deficient MUP-uPA mice (MUP-uPA/Atf4 Δhep) and control MUP-uPA/Atf4 F/F mice were fed a high-fat diet to induce NASH-related HCC, and Atf4 F/F and Atf4 Δhep mice were injected with diethylnitrosamine to model carcinogen-induced HCC. Histological, biochemical, and RNA-sequencing analyses were performed to identify and define the role of ATF4-induced solute carrier family 7a member 11 (SLC7A11) expression in hepatocarcinogenesis. Reconstitution of SLC7A11 in ATF4-deficient primary hepatocytes and mouse livers was used to study its effects on ferroptosis and HCC development. Hepatocyte ATF4 ablation inhibited hepatic steatosis, but increased susceptibility to ferroptosis, resulting in accelerated HCC development. Although ATF4 activates numerous genes, ferroptosis susceptibility and hepatocarcinogenesis were reversed by ectopic expression of a single ATF4 target, Slc7a11 , coding for a subunit of the cystine/glutamate antiporter xCT, which is needed for glutathione synthesis. A ferroptosis inhibitor also reduced liver damage and inflammation. ATF4 and SLC7A11 amounts were positively correlated in human HCC and livers of patients with NASH. Despite ATF4 being upregulated in established HCC, it serves an important protective function in normal hepatocytes. By maintaining glutathione production, ATF4 inhibits ferroptosis-dependent inflammatory cell death, which is known to promote compensatory proliferation and hepatocarcinogenesis. Ferroptosis inhibitors or ATF4 activators may also blunt HCC onset. Liver cancer or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with multiple aetiologies. Most HCC aetiologies cause hepatocyte stress and death, as well as subsequent inflammation, and compensatory proliferation, thereby accelerating HCCdevelopment. The contribution of individual stress effectors to HCC and their underlying mechanisms of action were heretofore unknown. This study shows that the stress-responsive transcription factor ATF4 blunts liver damage and cancer development by suppressing iron-dependent cell death (ferroptosis). Although ATF4 ablation prevents hepatic steatosis, it also increases susceptibility to ferroptosis, due to decreased expression of the cystine/glutamate antiporter SLC7A11, whose expression in human HCC and NASH correlates with ATF4. These findings reinforce the notion that benign steatosis may be protective and does not increase cancer risk unless accompanied by stress-induced liver damage. These results have important implications for prevention of liver damage and cancer. [Display omitted] • ER and metabolic stresses activate ATF4, which induces SLC7A11 expression. • The ATF4–SLC7A11 axis controls glutathione metabolism and ferroptosis. • ATF4 deficiency potentiates stress-induced ferroptosis and liver tumorigenesis. • Ectopic SLC7A11 abrogates ATF4 ablation-potentiated liver tumorigenesis. • ATF4 and SLC7A11 positively correlate in human HCC and patients with NASH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is challenging to fabricate supported Ni catalysts with more active sites to improve their low-temperature catalytic performance in CO 2 methanation. Herein, firstly, ultrathin (∼4 nm) NiZrAl layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets were synthesized by co-precipitation method, followed by aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST), and applied as catalyst precursors for CO 2 methanation. After H 2 reduction, the surface area of Ni particles in NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R was significantly higher than that of NiZrAl-LDH-R without AMOST. As a result, the NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R showed higher catalytic activity than NiZrAl-LDH-R owing to its higher H 2 and CO 2 chemisorption capacity and lower activation energy. During the 100 h-lifetime test, NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R maintained a steady CO 2 conversion of about 92.3%. Moreover, NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R maintained its catalytic activity after a 600 °C-hydrothermal treatment, suggesting its high stability. In situ DRIFTS results reveal that CO 2 methanation on both NiZrAl-LDH-R and NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R followed the HCOO∗ route. Interestingly, more active sites obtained after AMOST strongly promoted the generation and decomposition of HCOO∗, and thus significantly improved the activity of NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R at low temperatures. Ni catalyst derives from the ultrathin NiZrAl-AMO-LDH nanosheets precursor shows remarkably improved low-temperature catalytic performance in CO 2 methanation via the HCOO∗ pathway. This is because the exfoliation of LDH by aqueous miscible organic solvents (AMOST) exposes more Ni active sites, which significantly promote the formation of HCOO∗ from CO 2. [Display omitted] • NiZrAl-LDH-AMO ultrathin nanosheets were facilely prepared. • NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R catalyst has more active sites. • NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R catalyst shows high stability for CO 2 methanation. • NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R can maintain catalytic activity after 5 h-hydrothermal treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BaO–SrO–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 sealing glass for Al 2 O 3 ceramic substrates was prepared and the effect of B 2 O 3 on its structure, sintering behavior, and properties was studied. Owing to the fluxing action of B 2 O 3 , the glass transition temperature, sintering temperature, and crystallization temperature of the sealing glass were decreased with increasing B 2 O 3. With an increase in the B 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratio, the average bridge oxygen number of the glass network first increased and then decreased, and the boron abnormality phenomenon was detected at a B 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratio of 0.55, at which the polymerization degree of the glass network was maximized. Furthermore, the precipitation of BaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 crystals was promoted and the crystallinity of the sealing glass was increased, inhibiting sintering densification and weakening the material. The sealing glass with a B 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratio of 0.55 sintered at 800 °C for 10 min showed the best properties: a thermal expansion coefficient of 7.89 × 10−6 K−1, flexural strength of 114.28 MPa, Vickers hardness of 622.98 HV, dielectric constant of 12.14, and a dielectric loss value of 4.11 × 10−3. After the sealing glass was co-sintered with the Al 2 O 3 ceramic substrate, the interface was tightly bonded. This indicates the great potential applicability of BaO–SrO–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 sealing glass for Al 2 O 3 ceramic substrate packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfide or sulfur metabolism plays an important role in the growth and development of plants. Cystathionine β-lyase (CBL) is an important enzyme in methionine synthesis, but a comprehensive understanding of CBL functions is limited. As the third gasotransmitter, hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) plays important physiological roles in plants. In this study, we found that the endogenous H 2 S content in Arabidopsis thaliana cbl mutants was lower than that in the wild type. Under PEG-based osmotic stress conditions, the H 2 S contents of CBL -overexpression (OE-CBL) plants increased significantly compared with the wild type. Additionally, the OE-CBL plants increased their tolerance to osmotic stress by increasing the transcription levels of drought-related genes and their relative water-loss rates. Compared with cbl and wild type, OE-CBL plants resisted drought stress by significantly closing their stomata, resulting in improved survival rates. Root tip-bending experiments showed that CBL overexpression relieved osmotic, heavy metal and cold stresses in Arabidopsis. The recombinant CBL activity in vitro revealed that CBL produced H 2 S using L-cysteine as a substrate. Thus, CBL had a very strong cysteine desulfhydrase activity that could produce endogenous H 2 S using L-cysteine as a substrate, and it played an important role in plant abiotic stress resistance. [Display omitted] • The H 2 S concentration of cbl plants were lower than that of Col-0. • The activity of recombinant CBL in vitro revealed that CBL produced H 2 S using L-Cys as a substrate. • CBL enhanced the ability of plants to mitigate drought stress. • Root tip-bending experiment confirmed CBL responses to osmotic, heavy metals or cold stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the influence of TiO 2 and B 2 O 3 contents on the sintering behavior and crystallization of SrO–BaO–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 glass-ceramics, the glass-ceramics with different TiO 2 /B 2 O 3 ratios were prepared by sintering at 800 and 850 °C for 10 min. The results showed that the glass transition temperature and sintering temperature increased with increasing the TiO 2 /B 2 O 3 ratio. The average bridging oxygen number decreased from 2.44 to 2.07, which revealed that the polymerization degree of the glass-ceramics decreased. With increasing the TiO 2 /B 2 O 3 ratio, the crystallinity of the glass-ceramics and the homogenization of grains size were improved, and the precipitation of the SrTiO 3 phase was promoted. The sample with a TiO 2 /B 2 O 3 ratio of 0.62, which achieved excellent densification sintered at 850 °C for 10 min, showed a dielectric constant of 18.11, a dielectric loss of 3.93 × 10−3, and a thermal expansion coefficient of 10.04 × 10−6 K−1, indicating that the SrO–BaO–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 glass-ceramics have great potential in the application of low-temperature cofired ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multi-stage Malmquist-Luenberger index model is constructed for the multiple production of iron and steel industry. • The proposed model can evaluate environmental total factor productivity (ETFP) growth of whole system and sub-process. • Technical regression of steel-making sub-process is the main source of restricting system ETFP growth. • The change of system ETFP varies greatly, being highest in the eastern region, and lowest in the western region. • Compared with the single-stage conventional MLPI, the multi-stage MLPI is smaller and has more discriminatory power. This paper develops a multi-stage Malmquist-Luenberger index (MLPI) model by considering the joint production of desirable and undesirable outputs in multiple production processes. The proposed approach not only evaluates the environmental total factor productivity (ETFP) growth of the whole system but also investigate the progress and regress of each sub-process, i.e., the iron-making sub-process and the steel-making sub-process. Driving factors of ETFP change are identified through multi-stage MLPI decomposition. With an application of the proposed model in China's 48 iron and steel enterprises over the period of 2009–2013, the validity of the proposed models has been demonstrated. Moreover, this study explores the regional difference analysis of system and multi-stage ETFP among 31 provinces in eastern, central and western regions. Results show that the ETFP of system, iron-making sub-process and steel-making sub-process experienced increase annually, the most important finding is that the environmental efficiency increase is the most critical driving factor in promoting ETFP growth. Technical regression of steel-making sub-process is the main source of restricting system ETFP growth. In addition, the change of system ETFP varies greatly in different regions, being highest in the eastern region, and lowest in the western region. Compared with the single-stage conventional MLPI, the multi-stage MLPI is smaller and has more discriminatory power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the photoreduction of U(VI), protective gases and additional sacrificial agents are still the major obstacles. Herein, we developed an oxygen-deficient WO x /g-C 3 N 4 catalyst for the simultaneous reduction of U(VI) and preparation of benzaldehyde by selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol without protective gases and sacrificial agents. The removal of U(VI) by WO x /g-C 3 N 4 could reach 98.5% and the conversion of benzyl alcohol was nearly 32% with a selectivity close to 100%. Compared with single g-C 3 N 4 and defect-free WO 3 , the photoreduction activity of WO x /g-C 3 N 4 was 10.4 and 7 times higher, respectively. Besides, the role of oxygen and oxygen defects was explored. Owing to oxygen defects in the catalyst, oxygen was adsorbed on the oxidation end (WO x) of the catalyst and activated without entering the reduction end to interfere with the photoreduction of U(VI), while favoring the generation of •O 2 - to improve the selectivity of benzaldehyde. Finally, a new mechanism was proposed. [Display omitted] • Synergistic reduction of U(VI) and selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol were achieved. • Photocatalytic reduction of U(VI) was realized without additional sacrificial agents. • A new strategy was proposed to address the need for protective gas for U(VI) reduction. • A new synergistic mechanism of photocatalytic reduction and oxidation was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SrO–BaO–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 glass-ceramics with a high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss were prepared. The influence of the SiO 2 /BaO ratio on the sintering behavior, crystallization behavior, and properties were systematically investigated. The results showed that the increasing amount of liquid phase from increasing the SiO 2 /BaO ratio promoted sintering, resulting in an initial decrease in the sintering activation energy. However, the viscosity of the liquid phase continued to increase, leading to an increase in the sintering temperature and sintering activation energy when the SiO 2 /BaO ratio reached 0.90. As the SiO 2 /BaO ratio increased, the fraction of the primary phase BaSi 2 Al 2 O 8 increased, and its grains grew; the minor phase SrTiO 3 was suppressed, resulting in changes in the properties of the glass-ceramics. The sample with a SiO 2 /BaO ratio of 0.69, which was sintered at 850 °C for 10 min, showed excellent properties: a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of 10.63 × 10−6 K−1 (25–500 °C), a dielectric constant (ϵ r) of 16.24 (1 MHz), a dielectric loss (tanδ) of 3.39 × 10−3 (1 MHz), a flexural strength of 138.80 MPa, and a quality loss of acid corrosion of 1.06 × 10−4 g mm−2. The results indicated that the SrO–BaO–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 glass-ceramics used in this study have great potential for low-temperature co-fired ceramics applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• LncRNA MEG3/miRNA-21/P38MAPK axis exists in the CVB3 infection process. • LncRNA MEG3 inhibits CVB3 replication. • CREB5 modulates LncRNA MEG3 expression in CVB3 infection process. Evidence is emerging on the roles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as regulatory factors in a variety of viral infection processes, but the mechanisms underlying their functions in coxsackievirus group B type3 (CVB3)-induced acute viral myocarditis have not been explicitly delineated. We previously demonstrated that CVB3 infection decreases miRNA-21 expression; however, lncRNAs that regulate the miRNA-21-dependent CVB3 disease process have yet to be identified. To evaluate lncRNAs upstream of miRNA-21, differentially expressed lncRNAs in CVB3-infected mouse hearts were identified by microarray analysis and lncRNA/miRNA-21 interactions were predicted bioinformatically. MEG3 was identified as a candidate miRNA-21-interacting lncRNA upregulated in CVB3-infected mouse hearts. MEG3 expression was verified to be upregulated in HeLa cells 48 h post CVB3 infection and to act as a competitive endogenous RNA of miRNA-21. MEG3 knockdown resulted in the upregulation of miRNA-21, which inhibited CVB3 replication by attenuating P38-MAPK signaling in vitro and in vivo. Knockdown of MEG3 expression before CVB3 infection inhibited viral replication in mouse hearts and alleviated cardiac injury, which improved survival. Furthermore, the knockdown of CREB5, which was predicted bioinformatically to function upstream of MEG3, was demonstrated to decrease MEG3 expression and CVB3 viral replication. This study identifies the function of the lncRNA MEG3/miRNA-21/P38 MAPK axis in the process of CVB3 replication, for which CREB5 could serve as an upstream modulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the hedging properties of aggregate clean energy markets and their subsectors against China economic policy uncertainty from September 14, 2012, to June 16, 2022. We employed wavelet coherence with a phase difference to explore the time-frequency relationship between our chosen markets. Meanwhile, strong time-varying connectedness is observed between clean energy indices against China economic policy uncertainty, especially during market turmoil. In addition, asymmetric patterns in the interconnections of all markets are more evident between 4 and 64 days. However, fuel cells, green IT, and energy management sub-sectors are act as a strong hedge against economic policy uncertainty. In contrast, the global, US, and European aggregate clean energy markets act as strong hedge during different periods. Based on these empirical findings, this research proposes several important implications for energy investors, market regulators, and other market participants to make more informed decisions about their portfolio risk. • Wavelet coherence is used to estimate the return connectedness between clean energy markets and sub-sectors. • Higher interconnection is reported in all clean energy markets and sub-sectors. • The US, European and global clean energy markets act as a strong hedge across different time frequencies. • Fuel cell, green IT and energy management sub-sectors show strong hedging effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online or real-time defect detection of display panels after array process is of paramount importance for quality control and yield rate improvement of products in display industry. However, owing to the limitation in feature representation, the performances of traditional defect detection methods are not satisfactory. This paper develops a novel element-wise feature fusion network (EFFNet) to solve the issue and achieve high-accuracy real-time defect detection of display panels. The method adopts a transfer learning and fine-tuning strategy for feature extraction layers and a decoder with relatively less computational complexity. Particularly, a feature fusion module based on element-wise addition of pyramid features is proposed in skip connection to improve detection efficiency and accuracy. Our method is compared with many state-of-the-art CNN-based models. Additionally, the effects of training dataset size, motion blur, and different backgrounds on the performance of the proposed method are investigated. Extensive experiments, including the ablation study, demonstrate that the developed network can accurately detect defects with complex textures, ambiguous boundaries and low contrast. It also has good robustness against motion blur. It outperforms state-of-the-art methods in terms of mIoU, mPA, and F1-Measure. Moreover, it is able to detect defects at speeds of up to 159 fps with input images of size 256 × 256 pixels. • A deep learning-based method for real-time defect detection of display panels. • An element-wise feature fusion module (EFFM) for the feature decoder. • A comprehensive study of the proposed network and transfer learning strategy. • A highly efficient, effective and robust model for challenging objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, arterial spin labeling (ASL) and amide proton transfer (APT) imaging have shown potential for distinguishing glioblastoma from brain metastases. Thus, a meta-analysis was conducted to investigate this further. An extensive and comprehensive search was conducted in 6 English and Chinese databases according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, encompassing data up to July 2023. Data from eligible literature were extracted, and bivariate models were employed to calculate pooled sensitivities, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) of the summary receiver operating characteristic curve. The meta-analysis included 11 articles. For ASL, the pooled sensitivity was 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63–0.87), and the pooled specificity was 0.87 (95% CI, 0.77–0.93). The pooled PLR was 5.89 (95% CI, 2.97–11.69), the pooled NLR was 0.26 (95% CI, 0.15–0.47), the pooled DOR was 22.33 (95% CI, 6.89–72.34), and AUC was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.87–0.92). For APT imaging, the pooled sensitivity was 0.78 (95% CI, 0.70–0.85), and the pooled specificity was 0.86 (95% CI, 0.77–0.92). The pooled PLR was 5.51 (95% CI, 3.24–9.37), the pooled NLR was 0.25 (95% CI, 0.17–0.37), the pooled DOR was 21.99 (95% CI, 10.28–47.03), and the AUC was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.87–0.92). This meta-analysis suggest that both ASL and APT imaging exhibit high accuracy in distinguishing between glioblastoma and brain metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multicomponent L1 2 phase in high entropy alloys (HEAs) has shown excellent thermal stability. However, the understanding of its intrinsic origins is limited to the Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner (LSW) theory. In the present study, we investigate the influence of lattice misfit, which is not considered in LSW theory, on the coarsening kinetics of the multicomponent L1 2 phase. Different from that in most traditional alloys, the coarsening constant of multicomponent L1 2 particles decreases with the increasing lattice misfit in HEAs. This finding provides a new view for understanding the sluggish coarsening kinetics of L1 2 phase in HEAs. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatomegaly can be triggered by insulin and insulin-unrelated etiologies. Insulin acts via AKT, but how other challenges cause hepatomegaly is unknown. Since many hepatomegaly-inducing toxicants and stressors activate NRF2, we examined the effect of NRF2 activation on liver size and metabolism using a conditional allele encoding a constitutively active NRF2 variant to generate Nrf2 Act-hep mice in which NRF2 is selectively activated in hepatocytes. We also used adenoviruses encoding variants of the autophagy adaptor p62/SQSTM1, which activates liver NRF2, as well as liver-specific ATG7-deficient mice (Atg7 Δhep ) and liver specimens from patients with hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). RNA sequencing and cell signaling analyses were used to determine cellular consequences of NRF2 activation and diverse histological analyses were used to study effects of the different manipulations on liver and systemic pathophysiology. Hepatocyte-specific NRF2 activation, due to p62 accumulation or inhibition of KEAP1 binding, led to hepatomegaly associated with enhanced glycogenosis, steatosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest, fostering hyperplasia without cell division. Surprisingly, all manipulations that led to NRF2 activation also activated AKT, whose inhibition blocked NRF2-induced hepatomegaly and glycogenosis, but not NRF2-dependent antioxidant gene induction. AKT activation was linked to NRF2-mediated transcriptional induction of PDGF and EGF receptor ligands that signaled through their cognate receptors in an autocrine manner. Insulin and insulin-like growth factors were not involved. The NRF2-AKT signaling axis was also activated in human HSOS- and AIH-related hepatomegaly. NRF2, a transcription factor readily activated by xenobiotics, oxidative stress and autophagy disruptors, may be a common mediator of hepatomegaly; its effects on hepatic metabolism can be reversed by AKT/tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Hepatomegaly can be triggered by numerous etiological factors, including infections, liver cancer, metabolic disturbances, toxicant exposure, as well as alcohol abuse or drug-induced hepatitis. This study identified the oxidative stress response transcription factor NRF2 as a common mediator of hepatomegaly. NRF2 activation results in elevated expression of several growth factors. These growth factors are made by hepatocytes and activate their receptors in an autocrine fashion to stimulate the accumulation of glycogen and lipids that lead to hepatocyte and liver enlargement. The protein kinase AKT plays a key role in this process and its inhibition leads to reversal of hepatomegaly. • Liver p62 accumulation and constitutive NRF2 activation lead to liver lipid buildup, glycogen synthesis and hepatomegaly. • NRF2 activation mediates transcriptional induction of PDGF and EGF receptor ligands that activate AKT. • AKT and tyrosine kinase inhibitors block NRF2-mediated AKT activation and hepatomegaly. • NRF2-AKT signaling is elevated in HSOS- and AIH-related human hepatomegaly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is strong evidence for a causal relationship between salt intake and blood pressure. Randomized trials demonstrate that salt reduction lowers blood pressure in both individuals who are hypertensive and those who are normotensive, additively to antihypertensive treatments. Methodologically robust studies with accurate salt intake assessment have shown that a lower salt intake is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality, and other conditions, such as kidney disease, stomach cancer, and osteoporosis. Multiple complex and interconnected physiological mechanisms are implicated, including fluid homeostasis, hormonal and inflammatory mechanisms, as well as more novel pathways such as the immune response and the gut microbiome. High salt intake is a top dietary risk factor. Salt reduction programs are cost-effective and should be implemented or accelerated in all countries. This review provides an update on the evidence relating salt to health, with a particular focus on blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, as well as the potential mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The price of lithium-containing minerals and other chemical materials continues to increase, resulting in an increase in the production cost of Li 2 O-Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 (LAS) system glass-ceramics. In the LAS glass-ceramics component, the reduction in the amount of Li 2 O used can reduce the cost of the product. It is worthwhile to study whether it is possible to prepare glass-ceramics with low expansion properties under low Li 2 O content. The effect of Li 2 O content on the glass-ceramics of LAS system was studied. In this paper, spodumene was used as the main raw material, and TiO 2 and ZrO 2 were added as crystal nucleating agents to prepare transparent glass-ceramics with low expansion coefficient. The effects of the change of Li 2 O content on the crystal phase and microstructure of glass-ceramics were investigated by XRD, DSC, FTIR and SEM. The results show that the main crystalline phase of the low expansion transparent glass-ceramics is β-quartz solid solution. When Li 2 O content is in the range of 2.99 wt% to 4.13 wt%, low expansion glass ceramics can be prepared by an appropriate method. With the increase of Li 2 O content, the average coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) in the temperature range of 30 °C–300 °C shows a decreasing trend. When Li 2 O content is in the range of 3.51 wt% to 4.13 wt%, the thermal expansion coefficient of the glass ceramics is extremely small, and even a negative expansion coefficient occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performances of vitrified cBN composites are deeply affected by the wettability of vitrified bonds on cBN particles. CeO 2 coated cBN particles were successfully prepared for the further improvement of the covering and wetting of cBN by vitrified bonds. The microstructure and properties of vitrified cBN composites were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), hot stage microscope (HSM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and flexural strength. Results showed that the prepared CeO 2 coating on the surface of cBN was uniform and dense. Besides, the improved wettability of vitrified bonds on CeO 2 coated cBN particles accompanied with the formation of Ce–O–Al and N–Si confirmed by XPS were supposed to conduce to enhancing the holding power of the vitrified bonds to cBN particles, which resulted in increasing the flexural strength of vitrified cBN composites by 9.16%. Thus, coating cBN with CeO 2 was a potential and effective method to obtain vitrified cBN composites with higher flexural strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• [AlO 4 ] has the greatest degree of substitution of [SiO 4 ] when the Al/Si = 0.36. • NBO/Si is increasing and NBO/Al is decreasing with the increase of Al/Si. • Al/Si leads to the change of DOP, which makes the crystallization ability change. • The precipitated crystals have a great influence on the thermal conductivity. The effect of Al/Si (weight ratio of Al 2 O 3 /SiO 2) on the crystallization behaviors and structure of mold flux used for high Al-steel casting has been investigated by differential thermal analyses (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Raman spectroscopy technique. It can be found that the activation energy for crystallization increased with the increase of Al/Si when Al/Si <0.36, when Al/Si is greater than 0.36, the activation energy for crystallization decreased with the increase of Al/Si. The results of FT-IR and Raman spectrum showed that [AlO 4 ] has the greatest degree of substitution of [SiO 4 ] when the Al/Si = 0.36. The Q2 species is the main structural unit, the value of NBO/Si is increasing and NBO/Al is decreasing with the increase of Al/Si. The mainly precipitated crystal from mold flux change from akermanite to gehlenite with increasing Al/Si, besides, the forsterite increased with the increase of Al/Si. When the Al/Si = 0.22, the laminar fluorophlogopite crystal precipitated. The thermal conductivity increased with the increase of Al/Si because the structure of the precipitated crystal became simpler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li 2 O–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 –B 2 O 3 –BaO glass-ceramic bonds for vitrified cBN abrasives with various Li 2 O/SiO 2 ratio were prepared by the traditional melt-quenching method. The structure of parent glass was identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The reduction in the Li 2 O/SiO 2 ratio increased the connectivity of the glassy network, resulting in a decrease of the crystallization ability for the parent glasses. Besides, a comprehensive understanding of measured and calculated coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for glass-ceramic bonds demonstrated that the simultaneous presence of a higher content of LiAlSi 2 O 6 and LiAlSi 3 O 8 along with the absence of SiO 2 precipitation were believed to contribute largely to the lower CTE of glass-ceramic bonds. Lastly, the highest bending strength of cBN composites (100.53 MPa) relied on the sufficient wetting of B3 glass-ceramic bonds (Li 2 O/SiO 2 = 0.11) on cBN and the close CTE between them when composites were sintered at 860 °C for 2 h, indicating B3 is a kind of suitable and promising glass-ceramic bonds for cBN abrasives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glass ceramics with different Al/Na molar ratio from blast furnace slag were prepared using conventional melting-casting method. The structure and properties of glasses or glass ceramics were investigated by DSC, Raman, MAS NMR, XRD, and SEM. The DSC results indicated that the thermal stability (ΔT = T c - T g) and crystallization temperature (T c) of the parent glass firstly increased and then decreased when Al/Na exceeded 1.21. The Raman and 27Al MAS NMR spectra analysis revealed that [AlO 6 ] increased positively with Al 2 O 3 /Na 2 O. The calculation of Qn ([SiO 4 ] units with bridging oxygen atoms number of n) suggested an obvious decline of (Q0+Q2)/(Q1+Q3) and that [SiO 4 ] mainly existed in the form of Q1 when Al/Na exceeded 1.21, which accorded closely with T c variation. The crystallization results determined by XRD showed that as Al/Na increased, the main crystal phase was transformed from akermanite to gehlenite and nepheline disappeared. Glass ceramics with Al/Na of 1.48 nucleated at 780 °C for 2 h and crystallized at 880 °C for 3 h exhibited the maximum value of flexural strength. Orthogonal experiment (L9(34)) were carried out to investigated the optimum heat treatment of glass ceramics with a Al/Na of 1.48. The analyses indicated that nucleation time variation has little influence on the flexural strength, and the optimum heat treatment was determined as 760 °C – 1 h–900 °C – 1 h and the flexural strength was characterized as 81.310 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used for not only assessing the performance of a set of homogeneous decision-making units (DMUs), but finding the target operating points to improve inefficient DMUs. When inefficient DMUs are far from their target, it will be impossible to reach those in a single move, therefore, a strategy of gradual improvements with intermediate targets has been proposed. In this study, we propose a method to determine benchmarking paths, which consider the improvement steps as the learning of the production functions, not the learning of inputs and outputs. Under the constant returns-to-scale (CRS) assumption, the paper, for each inefficient DMU, sets the ultimate target as the closest target and determines the shortest improvement path with existing DMUs by Dijkstra's algorithm, and this is illustrated with a numerical experiment. As a real-world example, the method is introduced to the irons and steel enterprises in China, so that the specific steps to make efficient ones has been pointed out. The proposed method is the first study to discuss stepwise benchmarking path from the perspective of the production function. • The benchmarking paths are composed of existing DMUs. • The ultimate target is set as the closest efficient DMU. • The inefficient DMU learns the production functions of DMUs. • The distance between two production functions is calculated. • Dijkstra's algorithm is used to find the optimal benchmarking path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Precipitation strengthening is one of the most promising mechanisms to develop high-performance high entropy alloys (HEAs). However, the design of a reinforcing phase with an excellent strengthening effect is still one of the most pivotal challenges. In the present study, a design strategy based on overall valence electron concentration (OVEC) is developed, and a coherent D0 22 superlattice (noted as γ″ phase) with superior strengthening effect is designed. The newly developed γ″ phase is systematically characterized using transmission electron microscope and atom probe tomography. Differentiating from the traditional Ni 3 Nb γ″ phase, the present high-entropy γ″ phase contains ∼7.7% Co and follows the (Ni,Co,Cr,Fe) 3 (Nb,Fe) stoichiometry. Three γ″ phase variants are observed with crystallographic orientation relationships of [001] γ″ //<001> γ and (001) γ″ //{100} γ. The lenticular γ″ particles with small volume fraction (7%) causes a significant yield strength increase (670 MPa) and ductility retention (40%), resulting in excellent yield strength-ductility combination. The excellent strengthening effect of the γ″ phase is attributed to both ordering strengthening and coherency strengthening. The present study proposes a new design strategy of precipitates and develops a superior reinforcing phase for HEAs. These findings will not only promote the development of precipitation-hardened HEAs but deepen the fundamentals of precipitates design for other complex concentrated alloys as well. Graphical abstract Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Propylene polymerization with two TiCl 4 /MgCl 2 catalysts (Cat-1: Ti 0.1%; Cat-2: Ti 1.0%) showed different responses to (cyclo-C 5 H 9) 2 Si(OCH 3) 2 (De) addition. Cat-1 was deactivated more than Cat-2 by De. Amount of three groups of active centers producing atactic, medium isotactic and isotactic polypropylene chains were all reduced by De addition, but those of Cat-1 were reduced more. Reactivity of the isospecific active centers (k pi) was enhanced by De, but k pi of Cat-2 was changed more sensitively than Cat-1. The lower stereoselectivity of Cat-1 than Cat-2 are attributable to weaker De adsorption on its surface Mg, and the more sparsely dispersed Ti species on Cat-1 is responsible for weak De adsorption. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Propylene polymerize with two TiCl 4 /MgCl 2 catalysts of low and high Ti content • The catalysts responsed differently to addition of an alkoxy silane donor. • Donor adsorbed more weakly on surface Mg of the catalyst with low Ti load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract α-Diimine nickel catalyst Cat.1 with methyl-substituted naphthalene backbone was synthesized and investigated for ethylene polymerization. Compared with typical brookhart catalyst B-Cat , Cat.1 exhibited higher polymerization activity at elevated temperature. With union of experimental and computational methods, electronic effects was found to have significant effects on the thermal stability of α-diimine nickel catalysts. Highlights • Cat.1 with 2 -CH 3 S on naphthalene backbone was synthesized and investigated for ethylene polymerization. • Cat.1 exhibited better thermal stability as compared with typical Brookhart catalyst (B-Cat). • Cat.1 showed higher ratio of activated nickel and longer catalyst lifetime than B-Cat. • Methyl substituents made an electron-rich nickel center, enhancing thermal stability of Cat.1. Abstract A novel α-diimine nickel pre-catalyst Cat.1 with two electron-donating methyl substituents on the ligand backbone was synthesized and investigated for ethylene polymerization using methylaluminoxane as cocatalyst. Cat.1 exhibited higher polymerization activity and produced highly branched polyethylene with slightly higher molecular weight than that of the typical Brookhart catalyst (B-Cat) at elevated temperature. By tracing the changes of active center number in the polymerization process, Cat.1 was found to have higher ratio of activated nickel ([C∗]/[Ni]), longer catalyst lifetime and larger chain propagation rate constant (k p) as compared with B-Cat. The computational studies demonstrated the electron-donating methyl substituents can make a more electron-rich ligand to influence the catalytic properties of Cat.1. Stronger interactions between the electron-rich ligand and the nickel center should be the main reasons for longer catalyst lifetime and enhanced thermal stability of Cat.1. The production of polyethylene with higher molecular weight by Cat.1 can be explained by its larger k p value and more stable transition state for ethylene insertion than for chain transfer reaction due to the electron-donating ligand. Overall, the results of this work clearly support the importance of ligand electronic effects on the thermal stability and intrinsic reactivity of active centers in α-diimine Ni(II) catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper is aimed to evaluate the high temperature tribological behaviors of CoCrFeNiNb x eutectic high entropy alloys which would be highly-promising candidates for high-temperature applications. The effects of testing temperature and material structure on the friction and wear properties are investigated. The CoCrFeNiNb x alloys display a low harness decrement rate about 35% from room temperature to 1000 °C, indicating good softening resistance. The main wear mechanisms are abrasion wear at room temperature, change to adhesion wear at 400 °C, and translate into oxidation wear and mechanical wear over 600 °C. The wear rates increase from room temperature to 400 °C and decrease afterwards. The effects of material structure are dominated by the hardness of alloy, the content of chemically active Nb element and the structure of oxidized tribo-layer. The compact oxidized tribo-layers with excellent anti-wear properties are formed on the worn surface of CoCrFeNiNb 0.65 and CoCrFeNiNb 0.8 alloys at 800 °C, leading to extremely low wear rate. Highlights • Tribological behaviors of CoCrFeNiNb x alloys at elevated temperatures are studied. • CoCrFeNiNb x eutectic high entropy alloys possess excellent softening resistance. • Wear rate increases from room temperature to 400 °C and decreases afterwards. • Oxidized tribo-layers with excellent anti-wear properties are formed at 800 °C. • Effects of material structure on wear behaviors and mechanisms are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Influence of heat treatments on the Li 2 O-Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 -BaO glass-ceramic bond and the glass-ceramic bond cBN grinding tools had been methodically discussed. The results revealed that the different heat treatments mainly varied the content of LiAlSi 2 O 6 and LiAlSi 3 O 8 in the glass-ceramic bonds which in turn resulted in the variation of bonds' CTE and affected the performance of glass-ceramic bond cBN grinding tools in bending strength. In addition, results of XPS indicated chemical bonds such as N Al, N Si, and N Li bonds were generated at the interface between the bonds and cBN abrasives during the sintering process, which acted as a vital part in improving the holding power for the bonding of glass-ceramic bonds and cBN abrasives. In this study, glass-ceramic bond cBN grinding tools sintered at 860°C for 120 min presented the highest bending strength (89.71 MPa) with the highest potential for high performance grinding tools among all the samples. Highlights • Heat treatments affect the content of major phases in glass-ceramic bond. • cBN particles are well-wetted by glass-ceramic bonds sintered at 860 °C for 2 h. • cBN grinding tools sintered at 860 °C for 2 h exhibit the highest bending strength. • Chemical bonding between cBN and bonds has been verified by XPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Glass ceramics from modified molten blast furnace (BF) slag were prepared. The crystallization behavior of the modified BF slag was characterized using differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The crystallization kinetics results indicated that the crystallization activation energy initially decreased and subsequently increased with increasing CaO/SiO 2. The crystallization temperature and the crystallization index (n) decreased from 916 to 867 °C, and 5.66–1.13, respectively. The crystallization mechanism transformed from bulk crystallization to surface crystallization. By XRD analyzing, Melilite was developed as the main crystal phase, and the transformation of crystal from akermanite to gehlenite was observed. The rapid surface crystallization was beneficial for maintaining the shape of glass ceramics. The complex replacement in melilite crystals resulted in the micro cracks in glass ceramics, therefore led to the decrease of flexural strength of glass ceramics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the period of financial crisis, financial assets clustered and dropped together. However, such phenomenon can hardly be predicted before it really happened. While traditional test methods can only detect pairwise relationship between two variables, we applied empirical copula to measure multi-assets univariate dependence. The test method is applied in China economy with manufactory, finance and real estate sector from 2000 to 2014. Results suggests that there exists univariate dependent relationship, although pairwise correlation had not been detected between each pair. Further, we construct dependence structure diachronically with these three sectors in stock market to generate an early warning signal for systemic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The face centered cubic (FCC) high entropy alloys (HEAs) showed highly attractive properties because of their simple crystal structures and low stacking fault energies. However, deep understandings of micro-alloying in FCC HEAs, including solid solubility, precipitates formation and stacking fault energy variation, remain unsatisfactory. In present study, we systematically investigated the solubility of Ti, Al, and Mo in the CoCrFeNi HEA and evaluated the effect of every single element on the precipitation behavior. The results showed that at 750 °C the CoCrFeNi matrix can separately dissolve up to 0.6 at.% Ti, 4 at.% Al, and 3 at.% Mo. The roles of both additional and base elements in the precipitation behaviors were identified. Specifically, Co can stabilize the γ′ phase in the Ti-doped HEAs, while Al leads to the formation of B2 phase in the CoCrFeNiAl x system. The annealing stacking faults and twins in the matrix changed with the addition of different elements, which was mainly due to stacking fault energy variations. These insights will greatly benefit the design of precipitate-hardening HEAs and provide a deeper understanding of metallurgical behaviors of HEAs. Highlights • The CoCrFeNi HEA dissolve 0.6 at.%, 4 at.% Al and 3 at.% Mo at 750 °C, respectively. • In the CoCrFeNi system, Co stabilizes the γ′ phase through decreasing the VEC. • The Al leads to the formation of B 2 phase at 750 °C, rather than the γ′ phase. • The Al and Ti decrease the stacking fault energy of CoCrFeNi while Mo increases it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The friction and wear behavior of micro-molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) is studied by atomic force microscope (AFM), and both positive and negative bias are applied to the conductive probe and substrate. The experimental results show that the nano-friction between MoS 2 nano-sheets and AFM probes can be regulated by an external normal electric field. Friction force will increase with the increase of the external bias. The maximum bias has a threshold value. If the bias exceeds the threshold, it will promote the formation of MoS 2 charge transfer and accelerate oxidation during the friction process. The tuning value of the friction force can be increased by 2 times, compared with the friction force under the condition of non-bias. We propose a feasible and valuable strategy to adjust the friction characteristics of the MoS 2 system, which provides great significance to understand and control the nano-friction in the practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme-low (even negative) and strong temperature-dependent stacking fault energy (SFE) is one of the most unique properties in face centered cubic (FCC) high entropy alloys (HEAs). Here, by making full use of this unique property, we present a proof-of-principle investigation of tuning defects in FCC HEAs through changing SFE during deformation. A qualitative model is proposed to predict the possibilities of different types of defects in FCC HEAs. Following this model, different defects combinations, instead of individual defects, are well controlled by rolling. FCC HEAs with balanced dislocation, stacking faults and twins show good balance between strength and ductility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene-based nanomaterials, such as graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide, have been attracting increasing attention in the field of biology and biomedicine over the past few years. Incorporation of these novel materials with drug, gene, photosensitizer and other cargos to construct novel delivery systems has witnessed rapid advance on the basis of their large surface area, distinct surface properties, excellent biocompatibility and pH sensitivity. Moreover, the inherent photothermal effect of these appealing materials enables them with the ability of killing targeting cells via a physical mechanism. Recently, more attentions have been attached to tissue engineering, including bone, neural, cardiac, cartilage, musculoskeletal, and skin/adipose tissue engineering, due to the outstanding mechanical strength, stiffness, electrical conductivity, various two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) morphologies of graphene-based nanomaterials. Herein, emerging applications of these nanomaterials in bio-imaging, drug/gene delivery, phototherapy, amultimodality therapy and tissue engineering were comprehensively reviewed. Inevitably, the burgeon of this kind of novel materials leads to the endeavor to consider their safety so that this issue has been deeply discussed and summarized in our review. We hope that this review offers an overall understanding of these nanomaterials for later in-depth investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation of plant respiratory burst oxidase homologs (RBOHs) to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a crucial defense signaling event. RBOH activation occurs predominantly through N-terminal phosphorylation and the binding of a small GTPase. Two recent papers reported that C-terminal phosphorylation and ubiquitination modulates AtRBOHD activity, which extends our understanding of the fine-tuning of RBOH signaling in plant immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) window analysis, a decision-making unit (DMU) in each window is treated as different units in each period so that the evaluation for one unit is performed on different scales over time. This paper proposes a novel window analysis based on common weight across time (CWAT), which evaluates each unit in each window by its common scale independent of time. The model for obtaining common weights is described as linear programming. And the paper suggests the Malmquist productivity index (MPI) on CWAT, CWAT MPI, to analyze productivity change by inheriting the result of window analysis. The numerical experiments are illustrated to examine the validity of CWAT and MPI, and the result shows that the proposed method provides a new evaluation scale compared to previous studies. The proposed model is applied to evaluate the performance of China 45 iron and steel enterprises during 2009–2017. The energy and environmental efficiency are calculated using CWAT, and CWAT MPI analyzes the productivity change. • We study a DEA window analysis based on common weights. • The proposed DEA window is represented by linear programming. • We discuss the Malmquist index in the DEA window. • The MPI is the geometric mean of all indices calculated in individual windows. • The performance of the iron and steel enterprises is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve an economic advantage, nanocrystalline Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 TiO 3 (BST) thin films were prepared on FTO-coated glass substrates using an aqueous sol–gel process. The crystal structures and chemical states of the obtained thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XRD patterns confirmed the perovskite structure of the BST samples, while XPS analysis demonstrated that Ba element was in its single oxidation state in the film with annealing temperature of 600 °C. In contrast, Ba was present in a mixed oxidation state upon increasing the annealing temperature. It was found that the BST thin film prepared at a relatively low annealing temperature of 600 °C exhibited optimal crystallinity and superior dielectric properties, along with excellent optical transparency. More specifically, this film exhibited a dielectric tunability of 44.81% (1.33 MV/cm), a figure of merit of 56.01, and an average transmittance of 87.2% in the visible region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystallization mechanisms for Li 2 O-Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 -BaO glass-ceramics were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) under non-isothermal conduction. The activation energy and Avrami exponent of the glass-ceramics had been calculated by Kissinger method and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) method. Comparison of the measured DSC data with calculated curves at different heating rates using Sestak-Berggren (SB) model and Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) model revealed the commonly used JMAK was not a suitable kinetic model for this glass-ceramic. However, the empirical SB model was found to be acceptable for analyzing the kinetics of crystallization for the studied glass composition. This model matched well with the DSC curves, with slight deviations at the tails of the peaks. Furthermore, the crystalline phases and microstructure of samples sintered at 730 °C for 2 h were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The LiAlSi 2 O 6 and LiAlSi 3 O 8 constituted as the predominant phases in the studied glass-ceramic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of Na 2 O/BaO ratio on the structure and the physical properties of Li 2 O-Al 2 O-B 2 O 3 -SiO 2 low-temperature glass-ceramic vitrified bonds had been systematically studied. Structure and properties of as-quenched samples were analyzed by DSC, FTIR, and Raman. According to the results of (X 3 ) 2 /X 2 derived from deconvolution results of Raman, the degree of polymerization (DOP) of glass structure decreased with increasing Na 2 O/BaO. In addition, LiAlSi 2 O 6 and LiAlSi 3 O 8 were the major crystalline phases in the vitrified bonds sintered at 730 °C for 2 h. Meanwhile, Li 2 SiO 3 and BaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 were determined as the minor crystalline phases by XRD. The results showed that the addition of Na 2 O promoted the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of vitrified bonds sintered at 730 °C for 2 h. Bending strength tests and SEM indicated that the optimum content of dispersed plate-like BaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 crystals inlaid in A2 (Na 2 O/BaO = 0.33) vitrified bonds contributed to showing the highest mechanical strength among the five samples. Moreover, SEM and EDS proved the wettability between A2 vitrified bonds and cBN grains were effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are effective small molecules in the treatment of human cancers. In our continuing efforts to develop novel N -hydroxyterephthalamide-based HDACIs, herein we report the design and development of a new class of N -hydroxybenzamide-based HDACIs. In this new class of analogs, we inserted an ethylene moiety in the linker and used indole as a part of the Y-shaped cap group. Biological characterization identified compounds 4o , 4p , 4q and 4t to show improved HDAC inhibition, while no isoform selectivity for HDACs was observed. These compounds also exhibited improved anti-proliferative activity against multiple cancer cell lines when compared to their parent compound and positive control SAHA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few prospective studies evaluating the association between dietary glycemic load (GL) and diabetes have accounted for changes in GL. However, the diet of patients could be modified in response to an awareness of pre-diabetes. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal associations between changes in GL and the incidence of diabetes among pre-diabetic patients. We hypothesized that subjects with low and high baseline GL would show different correlations with diabetes. A total of 493 pre-diabetic patients (142 men and 351 women) between 40 and 79 years of age were included in this study. Dietary records and oral glucose tolerance tests were conducted every year. The participants were divided into low- and high-GL groups based on baseline GL. During a median 4 years of follow-up, 108 incident cases of diabetes were identified. Among participants with a high baseline GL, the incidence of diabetes increased with decreasing GL reduction, and the multivariate-adjusted HR (95% CI) was 2.34 (1.27-4.29) when comparing the lowest to the highest tertiles; however, among those with a low baseline GL, no significant association was observed. Regardless of baseline GL status, the incidence of diabetes was higher in individuals with a high follow-up GL than in those with a low follow-up GL, and the multivariate-adjusted HR (95% CI) was 1.64 (1.09-2.45). In conclusion, a greater GL reduction was associated with a lower diabetes risk in pre-diabetic patients with a high dietary GL. In patients with pre-diabetes and a low dietary GL, further reductions in GL did not show any additional effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrospinning is a powerful method for preparing porous materials that can be applied as biomedical materials for implantation or tissue engineering or as scaffolds for 3D cell culture experiments. However, this technique is limited in practical applications because the pore size of 3D scaffolds directly prepared by conventional electrospinning is usually less than several tens of micrometres, which may not be suitable for 3D cell culture and tissue growth. To allow for satisfactory 3D cell culture and tissue engineering, the pore size of the scaffold should be controllable according to the requirement of the specific cells to be cultured. Here, we show that layer-structured scaffolds with pore sizes larger than 100 μm can be obtained by stacking meshes prepared by direct-writing using the near-field electrospinning (NFES) technique. In the study, we prepared composite scaffolds made of polycaprolactone (PCL) and hydroxyapatite (HAp) via the above-mentioned method and tested the effectiveness of the novel scaffold in cell culture using mouse pre-osteoblast cells (MC3T3-E1). The pore size and the degradability of the PCL/HAp scaffolds were characterized. The results showed that the average pore size of the scaffolds was 167 μm, which was controllable based on the required application; the degradation rate was controllable depending on the ratio of PCL to HAp. The biocompatibility of the scaffolds in vitro was studied, and it was found that the scaffolds showed no toxicity and that the cells could effectively attach, proliferate, and differentiate in the 3D skeleton of the scaffolds. Our studies showed that a simple modification of the preparation procedure can lead to a new way to fabricate novel layer-structured 3D scaffolds with controllable structures and pore sizes suitable for practical applications in implantation, tissue engineering and 3D cell culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single atom or cluster catalysts supported by two dimensional (2D) materials are the most promising low cost alternatives to the pure Pt catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this work, we have investigated the ORR mechanism on the g-C 3 N 4 supported single Ce atom (i.e., Ce/g-C 3 N 4 ) and cluster (i.e., Ce x Pt 6-x /g-C 3 N 4 ) theoretically. Our study shows that Ce atom can be tightly bound to the g-C 3 N 4 substrate and the presence of Ce atom is extremely favorable for the anchoring of Ce x Pt 6-x clusters on the substrate. The Ce/g-C 3 N 4 shows similar ORR catalytic activity compared with bulk Pt. The reaction is a four-electron process. The most favorable pathway is the hydrogenation of OOH to form O + H 2 O. On the other hand, Ce x Pt 6-x /g-C 3 N 4 (x = 0, 1, 3, 5, 6) is thermodynamically stable and shows a very different catalytic behavior. Particularly, the working potential is predicted to be 0.50 V for Ce 3 Pt 3 /g-C 3 N 4 , implying that it is a potential ORR catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermodynamically, the multi-principal-component compositions of high entropy alloys (HEAs) bring diversified phase transformation paths. In this study, we report that a γ″ phase precipitates from the face centered cubic (FCC) matrix and then abnormally transforms into a ε phase, instead of the δ phase as reported in superalloys. The ε phase has a (NiCo) 3 Nb-type hexagonal crystal structure. The phase transformation takes places in a manner of peritectoid reaction: γ″ + FCC → ε. The present findings indicate a high probability for researchers to find new efficient strengthening phases as well as interesting phase transformation mechanism in HEAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on binary phase diagrams and thermodynamic calculation, CoCrFeNiTa x (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.43, 0.5 and 0.7) eutectic high entropy alloys were designed. With increasing Ta content, as-cast microstructure changed from hypoeutectic (primary γ phase) to eutectic and to hypereutectic (primary Laves phase), and CoCrFeNiTa 0.43 eutectic alloy was composed of γ phase with face-center cubic (FCC) structure and C14 type Laves phase with hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structure. Volume fraction of Laves phase increased with increasing Ta content, and thus microhardness was basically positive correlation with Ta content. Meanwhile, microhardness and elastic modulus of primary phase increased from primary γ phase to primary Laves phase, while hardness and elastic modulus of eutectic phases firstly decreased and then increased with increasing Ta content. In addition, based on nanoindentation load-displacement curves, the reverse analysis algorithms were used to obtain initial yield stress σ y and strain hardening exponent n of primary γ phase and eutectic phases. Moreover, with increasing Ta content, the plasticity of CoCrFeNiTa x alloys decreased, while the compression strength firstly increased and then decreased, and CoCrFeNiTa 0.43 EHEA showed relatively high strength (2377 MPa) and relatively high plastic strain (17.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T cells represent the major contributors to antitumor-specific immunity among the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. However, tumors acquire ways to evade immunosurveillance and anti-tumor responses are too weak to eradicate the disease. T cells are often functionally impaired as a result of interaction with, or signals from, transformed cells and the tumor microenvironment, including stromal cells. Among these, nutrients use and consumption is critically important for the control of differentiation and effector mechanisms of T cells. Moreover, Treg cells-skewing conditions often coexist within the cancer milieu, which sustains the notion of immune privileged tumors. Additionally, cancer cells contend with tumor infiltrating lymphocytes for nutrients and can outcompete the immune response. PD1- and CTLA-based immunotherapies partially remodel cell metabolism leading the way to clinical approaches of metabolic reprogramming for therapeutic purposes. Here we shortly discuss T cell fates during anti-tumor immune responses and how signals within tumor microenvironment influence T cell metabolism, altering functions and longevity of the cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MnO x /TiO 2 catalysts doped with Mg have been prepared with the impregnation method. Surprisingly, 7% Mg-MnO x /TiO 2 catalyst containing more Mn 3+ ions showed superior low-temperature SCR activity and stability. Mg doping resulted in some adverse effects on the phases, BET surface areas, reducibility, NH 3 adsorption, and morphology structures. However, according to the SCR performance, these effects were thought to be rather limited in comparison with the catalytic properties of MgMn 2 O 4 which might stem from the enhancement of NH 3 -SCR activity and stability. Meanwhile, based on the in situ DRIFTS tests, the NH 3 -SCR reaction route of MnO x /TiO 2 and Mg doped MnO x /TiO 2 catalysts depended on the kind of gas (NH 3 or NO) pre-adsorbed on the catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been widely accepted that cell culture in two-dimensional (2D) conditions may not be able to represent growth in three-dimensional (3D) conditions. Systematic comparisons between 2D and 3D cell cultures are needed to appropriately use the existing 2D results. In this work, we conducted a comparative study between 2D and 3D cell cultures of MC3T3-E1 using the same type of material (a mixture of silk fibroin (SF) and chitosan (CS)). Our results showed 3D SF/CS scaffold exhibited different effects on cell culture compared with the 2D cases. 1) The cells grown in 3D scaffold showed multiple morphologies. 2) The proliferation of cells in 3D scaffold was long-term and sustainable. 3) Cell differentiation occurred throughout the entire 3D scaffold. The results showed that cell culture in 3D SF/CS scaffold exhibited different features than 2D cases and 3D SF/CS scaffold could be a promising material for 3D cell culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar with multiple transmitters and multiple receivers can achieve a larger virtual antenna array and more system degrees of freedom; thus applying it to ground moving target indication (GMTI) radar can improve the performance of GMTI. Doppler division multiple access (DDMA) waveforms are approximately orthogonal providing good minimum detectable velocity (MDV) performance. However, in such DDMA systems, a sufficient pulse repetition frequency (PRF) design freedom is required. Furthermore, these waveforms suffer from blind velocities which are serious problems, especially in radar systems with high carrier frequency or low PRF. This paper analyses the blind velocities problem and show that blind velocities are relative to variation of the PRF and/or the carrier frequency. Variable PRF techniques are widely used in conventional GMTI radar including multiple PRFs and variable pulse repetition intervals (PRI). Combined with the characteristics of the DDMA MIMO GMTI radar, this paper proposed two methods to mitigate blind velocities: “multi-PRF DDMA” which employs multiple PRFs over successive coherent processing intervals, and “PRI-dithered DDMA” which employs nonuniform sampling by dithered PRI in slow time. Simulation results demonstrate that both the methods are effective ways to mitigate blind velocities in DDMA MIMO GMTI radar systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]