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The stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior and tensile properties of 310S stainless steel were studied by slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests, which were carried out in oxygenated supercritical water at the temperature of 400, 550, and 620 °C, respectively. The distribution of chemical composition of oxide, tensile properties, fracture morphology of the materials were analyzed for evaluating the SCC susceptibility of 310S stainless steel, respectively. The results show that both the elongation and tensile strength decreased significantly with the increase of the temperature, implying that a higher temperature may lead to a higher SCC susceptibility. The remarkable changes of the morphology of the fracture surface and gauge surface of 310S stainless steel were observed at different temperatures, that is, from an entire ductile fracture at lower temperature to a brittle fracture at higher temperature. The temperature has significant effects on morphologies and thickness. Oxides with double layer were observed. TEM analysis revealed that the inner oxide layer is composed of Cr and O, and Ni‐enrichment can be observed to segregate at the metal‐oxide interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Mycotoxins are produced by fungi as secondary metabolites. They often multi-contaminate food and feed commodities posing a health risk to humans and animals. Fast and easy multiplex screening could be thought as a useful tool for detection of multi-contaminated food and feed commodities. RESULTS A highly sensitive immune-affinity monolithic arrays for detecting the mycotoxins zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, and fumonisin B1 were fabricated using UV induced co-polymerisation. The mycotoxin antibodies firstly reacted with functional monomer to form antibody/functional monomer bio-conjugates. Subsequently, the antibody/functional monomer bio-conjugates co-polymerised with cross-linker to form mycotoxins immune-affinity arrays. With optimal fabrication conditions, all mycotoxin immune-affinity monolithic arrays exhibited a linear response spanning three orders of magnitude. And the immune-affinity monolithic array has a low detection limit and has a good uniformity (intra-assay CV, and inter-assay CV both <8%). CONCLUSION The fabricated mycotoxin immune-affinity monolithic arrays were proved as a sensitive, stable and economical tool in real food samples detection. Moreover, the mycotoxin immune-affinity monolithic arrays would be able to minimise manipulation steps: add samples and enzyme labelled mycotoxins, and detect CL signals. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A composting method was applied to improve the processability of rice straw (RS) and its interfacial interaction with a biodegradable resin, hydrolyzed-soy-protein-modified urea formaldehyde adhesives. The composted RS was characterized by fiber testing, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy. We found that the particle size of RS was reduced from 0.6-2.0 to 0.2-0.6 mm. The cellulose content decreased, and the lignin content increased; unstable bonds were decomposed after composting. All of the results were beneficial for improving the plasticity of RS. Composted RS with inoculant exhibited a higher peak degradation temperature (352 °C) than the untreated RS (347 °C). The porous structure and tissue in RS were destroyed by the microorganism. The best bonding results were obtained by the composted RS with inoculant. Compared with untreated composites, the modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and tensile strength of the composites were improved by 14.94, 25.36, and 27.21%, respectively. In addition, a mechanism of the structural changes of RS during composting was also proposed. The full biodegradable composites have potential applications in agriculture toward the achievement of sustainable development. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 44878. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aberrant sialylation profiles on the cell surface have been recognized for their potential diagnostic value in identifying the regulation of tumor properties in several cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC). Recently, increasing evidence has suggested that the deregulation of micro RNA (mi RNA) is a common feature in human cancers. In this study, we found obvious upregulation of sialyltransferase ST3 GAL6 both in HCC cell lines and in tissue samples. The altered expression of ST3 GAL6 was found to correlate with cell proliferation, migration, and invasion ability in HCC. Further investigation showed that miR-26a negatively regulated ST3 GAL6, inducing the suppression of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Moreover, we identified the protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (Akt/ mTOR) pathway as the target of ST3 GAL6 based on Western blot analysis. Analysis of a xenograft mouse model showed that miR-26a significantly reduced tumor growth by suppressing activation of the Akt/ mTOR pathway by directly targeting ST3 GAL6. In conclusion, these data indicate that ST3 GAL6 promotes cell growth, migration, and invasion and mediates the effect of miR-26a through the Akt/ mTOR signaling pathway in HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate whether the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway mediates myocardial cell injuries in rats under brain death ( BD), and observe the effects and mechanisms of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase ( JNK) inhibitor SP600125 on cell death in the heart. Forty healthy male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomized into four groups: sham group (dural external catheter with no BD); BD group (maintain the induced BD state for 6 hrs); BD + SP600125 group (intraperitoneal injection of SP600125 10 mg/kg 1 hr before inducing BD, and maintain BD for 6 hrs); and BD + Dimethyl Sulphoxide (DMSO) group (intraperitoneal injection of DMSO 1 hr before inducing BD, and maintain BD for 6 hrs). Real-time quantitative PCR was used to evaluate mRNA levels of Cyt-c and caspase-3. Western blot analysis was performed to examine the levels of mitochondrial apoptosis-related proteins p- JNK, Bcl-2, Bax, Cyt-c and Caspase-3. TUNEL assay was employed to evaluate myocardial apoptosis. Compared with the sham group, the BD group exhibited increased mitochondrial apoptosis-related gene expression, accompanied by the elevation of p- JNK expression and myocardial apoptosis. As the vehicle control, DMSO had no treatment effects. The BD + SP600125 group had decreased p- JNK expression, and reduced mitochondrial apoptosis-related gene expression. Furthermore, the apoptosis rate of myocardial cells was reduced. The JNK inhibitor SP600125 could protect myocardial cells under BD through the inhibition of mitochondrial apoptosis-related pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Altered sialylation is closely associated with tumor progression and invasiveness. Micro-RNAs endogenous regulators of gene expression have been implicated in human thyroid carcinoma invasiveness. The objective of this study is to examine the alterations of miR-4299 and ST6GALNAC family in human follicular thyroid carcinoma during metastatic process. qRT-PCR showed the differential expressional profiles of miR-4299 and ST6GALNAC family in three kinds of thyroid cell lines (FTC-133,FTC-238, Nthy-ori 3-1) and clinical tissue specimens(malignant and borderline). The altered expression levels of ST6GALNAC4 were corresponding to invasive phenotypes of FTC-133 and FTC-238 cells both in vitro and in vivo. Further date indicated that miR-4299 regulated tumor progression and invasiveness by directly targeting ST6GALNAC4. This study implies the potential therapeutic application of miR-4299 and ST6GALNAC4 in modulating the invasion and tumorigenicity of follicular thyroid carcinoma cell. © 2015 IUBMB Life, 68(2):136-144, 2016 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The invasion and chemoresistance are crucial causes of morbidity and relapse for cancer patients. Axl is implicated in the modulation of cell invasion, cancer metastasis, and chemosensitivity in human breast carcinoma cell lines. Both breast cancer cell lines and tissues displayed increased expression of Axl, and it over expressed in highly metastatic breast cancer. The altered expression level of Axl was corresponding to the changed invasive phenotype and chemosensitivity of MDA-MB-231 cells both in vitro and in vivo. Further data indicated that experimental inhibition of Axl by RNAi assay inhibited phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/GSK3β signaling pathway, resulted in the decrease of Slug expression, and further suppressed cell invasion properties and chemosensitivity. What is more, after the detection and statistics in human breast cancer specimens, we found the Axl expression was closely correlated with histological grade, lymph node metastasis, and clinical stage ( P < 0.01). Taken together, these findings indicate that Axl exerts the role of tumor metastasis and chemosensitivity through activation of the PI3K/Akt/GSK3β signaling pathway, which is transcriptionally regulated by Slug. Our findings support the possibility that Axl is a novel regulator. It means by targeting Axl or its related signaling pathways, we can reduce the invasion and chemosensitivity of breast tumor. © 2014 IUBMB Life, 66(7):507-518, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A stable skull layer formed on the inner surface of the hearth could effectively protect the lining and extend blast furnace campaign life. This is the first comprehensive work of using integrated heat transfer, fluid flow dynamics and solidification numerical simulation to investigate skull formation phenomena in a blast furnace hearth. The impact of hearth design and furnace operation parameters on skull formation is examined, including lining property and structure, cooling water temperature and flow rate, hot metal production rate, temperature and viscosity, and cast practice. The findings from this study are compared with operating experience of United States Steel blast furnaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metastasis of tumor cells is the most deadly attribute of breast cancer patients. Aberrant sialylation is closely associated with malignant phenotype of tumor cells, including invasiveness and metastasis. The objective of this study is to clarify the possible role and mechanism of ST6GalNAcII in the metastasis process of breast carcinoma. Real-time PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemical were used to analyze differential expression of ST6GalNAc II in breast carcinoma cell lines and tissue specimens. PI3K/AKt signaling pathway was also analyzed. The high expression level of ST6GalNAcII was corresponding to invasive phenotype of breast cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. Further data indicated that manipulation of ST6GalNAcII gene expression led to alter the activity of phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. Blocking the PI3K/Akt pathway resulted in reduced capacity in invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. ST6GalNAcII elucidated the unusual properties of invasion in breast cancer cell via modulating the PI3K/AKt signaling pathway. © 2014 IUBMB Life, 66(4):300-308, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]