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To explore the law of load-carrying performance enhancement of concrete beams reinforced with corrugated steel plates (CSPs), three groups of controlled bending tests were conducted on five beam specimens. The load-bearing capacity of concrete members commensurately increased with the thickness of reinforcing flat and corrugated steel plates. Additionally, for the same amount of steel, the load-bearing capacity of concrete beams improved more with CSP reinforcement than with reinforcement with flat steel plates. Accordingly, a theoretical formula for the moment of inertia of the combined section of a CSP-reinforced concrete beam was derived. Comparison verification showed that the calculation results for the beams reinforced with CSPs of different thicknesses were highly accurate. Finally, based on the damage mode of the CSP-reinforced concrete beam specimens, a formula for calculating the flexural bearing capacity of the positive cross-section of the beam with corrugated steel reinforcement was established. The calculated values agreed with the experimental values, which validated the flexural load capacity theory pertaining to positive sections and the flexural capacity model for reinforced beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α-Hydroxy ketones are a class of vital organic skeletons that generally exist in a variety of natural products and high-value chemicals. However, the traditional synthetic route for their production involves toxic Hg salts and corrosive H2SO4 as catalysts, resulting in harsh conditions and the undesired side reaction of Meyer–Schuster rearrangement. In this study, CO2-promoted hydration of propargylic alcohols was achieved for the synthesis of various α-hydroxy ketones. Notably, this process was catalyzed using an environmentally friendly and cost-effective biomass-based ionic liquids/CuCl system, which effectively eliminated the side reaction. The ionic liquids utilized in this system are derived from natural biomass materials, which exhibited recyclability and catalytic activity under 1 bar of CO2 pressure without volatile organic solvents or additives. Evaluation of the green metrics revealed the superiority of this CuCl/ionic liquid system in terms of environmental sustainability. Further mechanistic investigation attributed the excellent performance to the ionic liquid component, which exhibited multifunctionality in activating substrates, CO2 and the Cu component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone metastatic (BM) prostate cancer (PCa) belongs to the most lethal form of PCa, and therapeutic options are limited. Molecular profiling of metastases contributes to the understanding of mechanisms defining the bone metastatic niche. Our aim was to explore the transcriptional profile of PCa BM and to identify genes that drive progression. Paraffin-embedded tissues of 28 primary PCa and 30 BM were submitted to RNA extraction and analyzed by RNA sequencing using the Nanostring nCounter gene expression platform. A total of 770 cancer-related genes were measured using the Nanostring™ PanCancer progression panel. Gene Ontology (GO), KEGG, Reactome, STRING, Metascape, PANTHER, and Pubmed were used for data integration and gene annotation. We identified 116 differentially expressed genes (DEG) in BM compared to primaries. The most significant DEGs include CD36, FOXC2, CHAD, SPP1, MMPs, IBSP, and PTX3, which are more highly expressed in BM, and ACTG2, MYH11, CNN1, FGF2, SPOCK3, and CHRDL1, which have a lower expression. DEGs functionally relate to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteoglycans, ECM-receptors, cell-substrate adhesion, cell motility as well as receptor tyrosine kinase signaling and response to growth factors. Data integration and gene annotation of 116 DEGs were used to build a gene platform which we termed "Manually Annotated and Curated Nanostring-data Platform". In summary, our results highlight the significance of certain genes in PCa BM to which essential pro-metastatic functions could be ascribed. Data from this study provide a comprehensive platform of genes that are related to PCa BM and provide evidence for further investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have received extensive attention due to their high theoretical specific capacity and theoretical energy density. However, their commercialization is hindered by the shuttle effect caused by the dissolution of lithium polysulfide. To solve this problem, a method is proposed to improve the performance of Li-S batteries using Ti2N(Ti2NS2) with S-functional groups as the sulfur cathode host material. The calculation results show that due to the mutual attraction between Li and S atoms, Ti2NS2 has the moderate adsorption energies for Li2Sx species, which is more advantageous than Ti2NO2 and can effectively inhibit the shuttle effect. Therefore, Ti2NS2 is a potential cathode host material, which is helpful to improve the performance of Li-S batteries. This work provides a reference for the design of high-performance sulfur cathode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) is a major issue to ensure environmental protection and the sustainable development of the nuclear energy industry; it is also an equally important issue regarding nuclear safety. Deep-buried geological disposal is recognized worldwide as the safest and most feasible way to protect human beings and the environment. To satisfy the research functions, most underground research laboratories (URLs) for geological repositories are buried deeply, and their layout is quite complex. To research nonlinear deformation characteristics and failure mechanism of deep underground caverns in the process of construction, we developed an intelligent true triaxial non-uniform loading/unloading model test system. The system has the advantages of a large rated output, starting from zero pressure, cyclic loading and unloading, high loading accuracy and displacement test accuracy, and arbitrary adjustment of device size. We carried out a true three-dimensional physical model test, taking the URL for the deep-buried geological disposal of HLW in Beishan area, Gansu Province as the prototype. The nonlinear deformation characteristics and the law of displacement change of the underground laboratory caverns are reproduced. We observed the whole process, from the appearance of micro cracks to the expansion of the cracks and the collapse of the cavern group. This provides an important experimental basis for optimizing the design and construction of URL for the deep-buried geological disposal of HLW. The value and slope of displacement calculated by the numerical simulation are mainly the same as the experimental results of the geological model test, which validates the accuracy and reliability of the model test system in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Panax ginseng is a famous herbal medicine widely used in Asia. Ginsenosides have been identified as the principle active ingredients for Panax ginseng's biological activity, among which ginsenoside Rd (Rd) attracts extensive attention for its obvious neuroprotective activities. Here we investigated the effect of Rd on neurite outgrowth, a crucial process associated with neuronal repair. PC12 cells, which respond to nerve growth factor (NGF) and serve as a model for neuronal cells, were treated with different concentrations of Rd, and then their neurite outgrowth was evaluated. Our results showed that 10 μM Rd significantly increased the percentages of long neurite- and branching neurite-bearing cells, compared with respective controls. The length of the longest neurites and the total length of neurites in Rd-treated PC12 cells were much longer than that of respective controls. We also showed that Rd activated ERK1/2 and AKT but not PKC signalings, and inhibition of ERK1/2 by PD98059 or/and AKT by LY294002 effectively attenuated Rd-induced neurite outgrowth. Moreover, Rd upregulated the expression of GAP-43, a neuron-specific protein involved in neurite outgrowth, while PD98059 or/and LY294002 decreased Rd-induced increased GAP-43 expression. Taken together, our results provided the first evidence that Rd may promote the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells by upregulating GAP-43 expression via ERK- and ARK-dependent signaling pathways.