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Graphical abstract, Highlights • Spred2-/- mice developed exacerbated Con A-induced liver damage with increased IFNγ production. • MEK/ERK inhibitor U0126 markedly inhibited the damage and reduced IFNγ production. • Neutralization of IFNγ abolished the damage with down-regulated hepatic STAT1 activation. • Depletion of CD4+/CD8+ T cells improved the damage with decreased IFNγ production. • Transplantation of CD4+/CD8+ T cells into RAG1-/- mice reproduced severe liver damage. • Liver damage and IFNγ production were significantly lower in Spred2 transgenic mice., Introduction Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are involved in T cell-mediated liver damage. However, the inhibitory mechanism(s) that controls T cell-mediated liver damage remains unknown. Objectives We investigated whether Spred2 (Sprouty-related, EVH1 domain-containing protein 2) that negatively regulates ERK-MAPK pathway has a biological impact on T cell-mediated liver damage by using a murine model. Methods We induced hepatotoxicity in genetically engineered mice by intravenously injecting Concanavalin A (Con A) and analyzed the mechanisms using serum chemistry, histology, ELISA, qRT-PCR, Western blotting and flow cytometry. Results Spred2-deficient mice (Spred2-/-) developed more sever liver damage than wild-type (WT) mice with increased interferon-γ (IFNγ) production. Hepatic ERK phosphorylation was enhanced in Spred2-/- mice, and pretreatment of Spred2-/- mice with the MAPK/ERK inhibitor U0126 markedly inhibited the liver damage and reduced IFNγ production. Neutralization of IFNγ abolished the damage with decreased hepatic Stat1 activation in Spred2-/- mice. IFNγ was mainly produced from CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and their depletion decreased liver damage and IFNγ production. Transplantation of CD4+ and/or CD8+ T cells from Spred2-/- mice into RAG1-/- mice deficient in both T and B cells caused more severe liver damage than those from WT mice. Hepatic expression of T cell attractants, CXCL9 and CXCL10, was augmented in Spred2-/- mice as compared to WT mice. Conversely, liver damage, IFNγ production and the recruitment of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in livers after Con A challenge were lower in Spred2 transgenic mice, and Spred2-overexpressing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells produced lower levels of IFNγ than WT cells upon stimulation with Con A in vitro. Conclusion We demonstrated, for the first time, that Spred2 functions as an endogenous regulator of T cell IFNγ production and Spred2-mediated inhibition of ERK-MAPK pathway may be an effective remedy for T cell-dependent liver damage.

Nucleic acid-binding proteins (NABPs), including DNA-binding proteins (DBPs) and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), play vital roles in gene expression. Accurate identification of these proteins is crucial. However, there are two existing challenges: one is the problem of ignoring DNA- and RNA-binding proteins (DRBPs), and the other is a cross-predicting problem referring to DBP predictors predicting DBPs as RBPs, and vice versa. In this study, we proposed a computational predictor, called DeepMC-iNABP, with the goal of solving these difficulties by utilizing a multiclass classification strategy and deep learning approaches. DBPs, RBPs, DRBPs and non-NABPs as separate classes of data were used for training the DeepMC-iNABP model. The results on test data collected in this study and two independent test datasets showed that DeepMC-iNABP has a strong advantage in identifying the DRBPs and has the ability to alleviate the cross-prediction problem to a certain extent. The web-server of DeepMC-iNABP is freely available at http://www.deepmc-inabp.net/. The datasets used in this research can also be downloaded from the website.

Electric discharge machining (EDM) can be used to cut complex parts and hard materials, making it one of the most popular machining processes today. However, the energy efficiency of EDM is low compared with conventional methods such as turning, milling and grinding. In addition, the gas and noise emissions of the EDM process affect the environment and the health of operators. This paper reviews the research trends in the latest sustainable techniques in EDM. First, a detailed review of existing EDM techniques for enhancing energy efficiency conducted. The review considers three aspects: energy distribution, the relationship between process parameters and specific discharge energy, and the effects of external field assistance. Second, the dry-EDM process-a clean manufacturing technique is introduced and its environmental impact is discussed. The machining performance indicators of dry-EDM, such as the material removal rate, tool wear ratio, surface topography, and microstructures, are compared with those of conventional EDM. Next, the indicators of gas and noise emissions in EDM are proposed to evaluate the sustainable manufacturing process. The relationship between the process parameters and emission indicators is reviewed, and multi-optimization considering machining noise is discussed. Finally, the impact of sustainable techniques in EDM on the environment, society, and economy are discussed, as well as the application costs of these techniques. Some directions for future research are also proposed.

Polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers (CH3-O-(CH2O)n-CH3, PODEn, n > 1) can be added to diesel to reduce air pollution caused by incomplete combustion. Driven by this need, a cost-effective and efficient synthetic route is presented and investigated by this work for the production of PODEn, which are formed from methylal and trioxane with low water content (

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a thermophysical-based material removal process that has excellent ability for noncontact machining of brittle and hard materials with accurate 3-D complex shapes. Improvements in machining characteristics, including the material removal rate (MRR), surface integrity, electrode wear rate (EWR), energy consumption, and negative environmental impact, are significant for further developing the performance of the EDM process. Recently, magnetic field assisted method has shown great potential and superiority for enhancing the machining process and its performance due to the ease of contactless forces. In this paper, a review was conducted on the magnetic field-assisted electrical discharge machining process. This review first presented the principles and modeling of magnetic field-assisted electrical discharge machining (MF-EDM) and then analyzed the effect of magnetic fields on machining performance including the discharge status, MRR, EWR, and surface integrity. Parametric optimization and machining characteristics of typical difficult-to-cut materials in the MF-EDM process were further investigated. Finally, future research directions and trends were suggested for exploring new applications of magnetic field assisted technology in the electromachining process.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy, and metastasis is the main cause of cancer-associated mortality in women worldwide. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling, an inducer of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), plays an important role in breast cancer metastasis. Abnormal expression of miR-543 is associated with tumorigenesis and progression of various human cancers; however, the knowledge about the role of miR-543 in breast cancer metastasis is still unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that miR-543 inhibits the EMT-like phenotype and TGF-β-induced breast cancer metastasis both in vitro and in vivo by targeting ZNF281. ZNF281 transactivates the EMT-related transcription factor ZEB1 and Snail. Furthermore, both ZEB1 and Snail can transcriptionally suppress miR-543 expression. Taken together, our data uncover the ZNF281-miR-543 feedback loop and provide a mechanism to extend the understanding of TGF-β network complexity., Graphical Abstract, miR-543 suppresses breast cancer metastasis and EMT-like phenotype by targeting ZNF281. ZNF281 functions as an inducer of EMT and transactivates the expression of ZEB1 and Snail. Furthermore, miR-543 is a transcriptional target of ZEB1 and Snail. The ZNF281-miR-543 feedback loop regulates transforming growth factor-β-induced breast cancer metastasis.

To improve their catalytic activity, herein, three types of metal chloride hydrate were introduced into pure choline chloride-glycerol (CGly) for fabricating new three constituents-natural deep eutectic solvents (3c-NADESs) with enhanced Lewis acidity. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) confirmed that the Lewis acidity of CGly was significantly improved due to the addition of metal chloride hydrates. The catalytic performance of these new-designed 3c-NADESs was characterized via the amidation reaction of lauric acid and lysine. Compared with pure CGly, a significant enhancement of the yield of Gemini lauroyl lysine (GLL) was obtained. Interestingly, the control experiments suggested that there was an apparent synergistic effect between Lipase immobilized on acrylic resin from Candida antarctica (CALB) and NADESs. Quantum calculation studies suggested fatty acid and amino acid were activated by chloride ions via multiple hydrogen-bonding interactions, resulting in the enhancement of electron-attracting capacity of fatty acid and electron-loss ability of amino acid. The frontier molecular orbits analysis provided us with a cogent evidence that chloride ions activated both lysine and lauric acid and made the reaction easier to be performed. The intrinsic reaction coordinates (IRC) study indicated chloride ions act as a “freighter”, which transported the hydrogen atom of amino group to the hydroxyl group. This in-depth study may shed light on developing sustainable and efficient strategies of amidation and other nucleophilic or electrophilic reactions.

This paper presents an any-degrees-of-freedom (anyDOF) registration method for the characterization of freeform surfaces. The method attempts to fill the research gap regarding traditional surface registration methods which are normally dedicated to solving the global optimization problem with all DOF but they lack flexibility. The proposed anyDOF method is capable of registering surfaces with any specified combination of DOF. This is particularly useful when some of the DOF are known to be unchanged according to the a priori knowledge. The anyDOF surface registration method is regarded as a typical optimization problem of finding the minimum distance from target surface to the reference surface, with constraints of the unwanted DOF. The problem is solved by the Levenberg-Marquardt method. Simulated experiments for a two-dimensional (2D) profile and a three-dimensional (3D) surface were undertaken, together with three measurement experiments including a fluid-jet polished surface, a bonnet polished surface and a diamond machined freeform surface. Experimental results show that the anyDOF registration method is highly flexible in the characterization of freeform surfaces.

This paper presents a study on the trajectory planning of optical polishing based on an optimized implementation of dwell time to improve the polishing quality and efficiency of optical surfaces. The large-scale, sparse, and ill-posed linear equation solution is transformed into a quadratic programming problem with boundary constraint, and the monotone projection gradient method is adopted to obtain an optimal dwell time solution by considering its fluctuation characteristic. Then, parametric polishing paths are constructed using cubic B-spline curves to guarantee one-to-one correspondence between each curve segment and dwell time of a removal spot. Finally, an interpolation process of polishing trajectory is proposed on the basis of the equal–proportional feed rate adjustment strategy to improve the implementation accuracy of dwell time. Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed dwell time algorithm and spline interpolation method can considerably improve the solution accuracy of dwell time and the convergence rate of the form error during polishing. These results provide important scientific basis and technical support for the high-efficiency and high-precision polishing of large-aperture aspheric optical surfaces.

The production of traditional and advanced ceramics is an energy-intensive activity, which requires high temperatures and long dwelling times to activate diffusional processes necessary for densification. Electric field assisted processing has received considerable attention recently, due to its potential to significantly reduce the costs of required heat treatments. However, the effect of electric fields on the densification and coarsening of oxide ceramics is still not completely understood, and the mechanisms behind, in particular for fields, are still under debate. The potential influence of electric field on the sintering parameters (uniaxial viscosity and uniaxial sintering stress) and microstructure of polycrystalline yttria doped ceria were studied. Sintering parameters were measured without and with AC electric fields (14 V/cm and 28 V/cm, 50 Hz) which were below the “flash regime”. During all sintering measurements, the sample temperature was adjusted by lowering the furnace temperature according to the temperature measurements using densified samples. Major findings are: (i) The densification behavior is clearly modified by these moderate electric fields, although temperature increase due to macroscopic Joule heating is excluded. (ii) The densification rate remains proportional to the applied stress under electrical fields. (iii) Sintering parameters are significantly affected by the applied electric fields.

This paper focus on a space fusion technology of MMV radar and visual sensor. The four coordinate systems covered by millimeter-wave radar and visual sensor are studied, including millimeter-wave coordinate system, camera coordinate system, image coordinate system and world coordinate system. The relationship between the four coordinate systems is studied and the transformation between coordinate systems is realized by matrix transformation method.

In this paper, a novel fixed-abrasive lapping process to finish off-axis aspheric surfaces efficiently is proposed. The lapping mechanism of fused quartz glass was evaluated using the novel fixed-abrasive pad tool. The applied load and not the rotation speed and feed rate is the key factor affecting the material removal mode of fused quartz glass in the fixed-abrasive lapping process. Analysis of surface characteristic and subsurface damage indicates that lower applied load produces more ductile mode removal and that the removal on fused quartz glass can be changed from brittle fracture to ductile regime if the applied load is less than 25 N. The material removal rate (MMR) increases as the applied load is increased, which further increases the surface roughness. In addition, the MMR increases and the surface roughness decreases as the rotation speed is increased or the feed rate is deceased. A theoretical model for predicting the maximum SSD depth of the specimens during lapping was developed. The model can predict well that the maximum SSD depth increases with increasing applied load.

Although traditional computer-controlled optical surfacing (CCOS) technology has been successfully developed for polishing large aspheric optics, the polishing process continues to pose several challenges, including polishing tool wear and uneven distribution of polishing particles in contact areas. To improve the efficiency and stability of the polishing process, we present a novel center-inlet computer-controlled polishing (CCCP) process and tool for high-efficiency polishing of large-diameter aspheric optics. Compared with traditional CCOS, the most distinctive feature of CCCP is that the polishing slurry is supplied by the central hole of the polishing tool to improve its utilization efficiency. Moreover, a flexible coupling is used to connect the tool and motorized spindle to keep the tool in parallel with the work surface during the polishing process. The experimental apparatus and optimization design of the CCCP tool were first constructed based on CCOS. Then, the material removal mechanisms were explained by a series of theoretical and experimental studies. Results indicated that CCCP can improve the wear resistance of the polishing pad and make fuller and more even abrasive grain supply compared with traditional CCOS. The innovative theoretical model was verified and used for optimizing the epicyclic tool motion in CCCP. The experiments indicated that CCCP can produce a higher material removal rate and a better surface state than can CCOS.

This study investigates gob side entry retaining by means of roof pre-fracturing. Based on short cantilever beam theory, the entry roof was pre-fractured from gob roof via orientated blasting. The gob gangue was then blocked and used as one side wall of the retained entry. The blasting hole length relied on site geological conditions, and a design method was formulated. Yieldable cable bolt anchored into stable overlaying strata is one key technique to stabilise the entry roof under double dynamic pressure. For the gangue management I-steel and retractable U-steel formed frameworks were investigated with regards to varying seam thicknesses. A real-time remote monitoring system was developed and used to investigate surrounding rock mass deformation of the proposed retaining method and to provide early warning for mining safety. We present two working cases to show the applicability of the retaining method under different geological conditions. Field monitoring reveals that the periodic weighting loads decreased at the working face after roof blasting. The entry roof and gangue wall became stable after the working face passed a certain distance. Our proposed mining method provides an innovative approach for mining safety and economy.

For lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with lithium metal anode, the Li-dendrite penetration has captured much attention due to the safety issue. Single-ion solid polymer electrolytes (SSPEs), due to their minimality of the concentration gradient near the anode, are widely considered as effective substitutions to lower the driving force for dendrite generating. In this work, we prepare a novel SSPE of the high transference number of the lithium ion (tLi+ = 0.97). The prepared SSPE membrane exhibits the decent ionic conductivity (σ = 3.08 × 10−4 S cm−1 at 25 °C). The symmetric Li/SSPE/Li cell exhibits a favorable cycle performance without any short circuiting, suggesting the great ability of the novel SSPE to restrict the growth of Li dendrites. Sandwiched by lithium metal anode and LiFePO4 cathode, the 20 wt% SSPE membrane performs good compatibility with these electrodes and the battery displays fantastic cycling performance. In consequence, this novel SSPE membrane possesses the potential of the application in high-performance LIBs.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the influences of dietary lipid composition on the gastrointestinal digestion and postprandial serum lipid profiles, and the connections between them. The in-vitro digestion results showed that maximum free fatty acid (FFA) release level of different lipid samples was PO (Palm oil) > RO (Rapeseed oil) > LINO (Linseed oil) > SO (Sunflower oil) > LO (Lard oil), and the first-order kinetics apparent rate constant was PO > SO ≈ RO > LO ≈ LINO, this may probably be ascribed to their specific lipid fatty acid composition and TAG structure. The individual FFA released during 240 min in-vitro digestion time was measured, and it showed that the release rate of short-chain saturated fatty acids (e.g. C16:0 in PO) were higher than the long-chain poly-unsaturated fatty acids (e.g. C18:3n-3 in LINO). Besides, the position of fatty acids within TAG molecules could also impose influences on the lipid hydrolysis process upon pancreas lipase in gastrointestinal tract using in-vitro digestion model. The postprandial serum fatty acid composition of the adult SD male rats were examined within 240 min after oral gavage administration, and the Pearson correlations between lipid fatty acid composition and the serum fatty acid profiles were analyzed. Certain correlations were summarized between lipid compositions (i.e. fatty acid composition and TAG structure), lipid digestion fates and serum fatty acid content in postprandial. The present work may provide some basic understandings of the connections among lipid compositions, lipid gastrointestinal digestion differences and the postprandial serum lipid profiles, and provide useful information about their nutritional and functional evaluation.

This article describes an approach to render all walls of a rectangular microchannel superhydrophobic by coating them with hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticles. Differences between the coated nanoparticles in terms of feature size and structure resulted in different contact angle hysteresis (CAH) on the channel walls. The generation of water slugs in a continuous air flow was experimentally studied in the superhydrophobic microchannels with T-junction. The breakup mechanism of water slugs was proved to accord with the squeezing regime by analyzing the data collected from pressure sensor and high-speed camera at the T-junction. A home-made optical measurement system was employed to investigate the uniformity of the water slugs, which was characterized by the standard deviation and coefficient of variation of slug length. The results showed that superhydrophobic microchannels with CAH lower than 15° could produce uniform water slugs in a slug flow pattern, whereas those with CAH of nearly 30° led to unstable flow. Lower CAH and higher gas flow rate were preferred to reduce slug length and improve slug uniformity. An empirical scaling law was established to predict the slug length and was based on the finding that the total length and number of water slugs in the microchannel were controlled by the volumetric flow ratio of water to air and water flow rate, respectively. This work provides a novel microfluidic platform to generate uniform liquid-in-gas slugs under moderate ranges of air flow rate from 5 mL min−1 to 30 mL min−1 (6

Deep blue emitters with good stability, high quantum yield, high triplet energy, and good carrier transporting properties are crucial for full color display and white solid lighting. To solve this, We designed, synthesized and characterized two bipolar deep-blue emitters 2-(4-(9,9′-spirobi[fluoren]-2-yl)phenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole (2-PPI SBF) and 2-(4-(9,9′-spirobi[fluoren]-4-yl)phenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole (4-PPI SBF). Both the materials show good stability, high quantum yield and high triplet energy. Equipped with their bipolar properties, 2-PPI SBF and 4-PPI SBF based non-doped devices show impressive performance with maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 4.78% and 5.29% along with desirable color purity of CIE color coordinates of (0.154, 0.105) and (0.155, 0.058) respectively. Interestingly, the high triplet energy allows them to be used as a host for PhOLEDs. High performance green PhOLEDs based on 4-PPI SBF show the maximum EQE, CE and PE of 16.79%, 64.09 cd/A and 67.92 l m/W respectively. And, high performance red PhOLEDs based on 2-PPI SBF and 4-PPI SBF were also achieved with the maximum EQE of 13.07% and 14.83%, respectively. Furthermore, 4-PPI SBF-based WOLED shows high efficiencies with EQEmax of 12.27%, CEmax of 27.78 cd/A and PEmax of 32.68 l m/W. An efficient white OLED with CIE coordinates of (0.367, 0.305) which is slightly deviated from the values of the theoretical white point (0.33, 0.33) was obtained.

Computer-controlled optical surfacing (CCOS) technology is an advantageous polishing process for producing optical surfaces with high convergence rates and high form accuracy, especially for fabricating hard and brittle materials. However, the optimum control of polishing parameters depends critically on the understanding of polishing mechanisms and modeling of material removal characteristics to achieve a deterministic process with high polishing efficiency. Removal analysis still requires further enhancement due to the multi-disciplinary, multi-scale complexity of the material removal mechanism involved in CCOS. Thus, this study presents a novel statistical asperity model and a material removal model to provide scientific and quantitative knowledge of the material removal mechanisms in CCOS. The model is developed on the basis of the research on statistical method, contact mechanics, iterative algorithm, abrasive wear mechanism, and cumulative removal process in CCOS. Practical experiments with different polishing parameters are performed to verify the theoretical model. Simulation results reasonably agree with measured data. Simulation experiments also show that the proposed model helps clarify the effect of pad surface topography on the micro-contact behavior and the material removal characteristics in CCOS and thus forms the theoretical basis for optimizing the polishing process.