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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In chronic kidney disease (CKD), patients inevitably reach end-stage renal disease and require renal transplant. Evidence suggests that CKD is associated with metabolite disorders. However, the molecular pathways targeted by metabolites remain enigmatic. Here, we describe roles of 1-hydroxypyrene in mediating renal fibrosis. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH We analysed 5406 urine and serum samples from patients with Stage 1-5 CKD using metabolomics, and 1-hydroxypyrene was identified and validated using longitudinal and drug intervention cohorts as well as 5/6 nephrectomised and adenine-induced rats. KEY RESULTS We identified correlations between the urine and serum levels of 1-hydroxypyrene and the estimated GFR in patients with CKD onset and progression. Moreover, increased 1-hydroxypyrene levels in serum and kidney tissues correlated with decreased renal function in two rat models. Up-regulated mRNA expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor and its target genes, including CYP1A1, CYP1A2 and CYP1B1, were observed in patients and rats with progressive CKD. Further we showed up-regulated mRNA expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor and its three target genes, plus up-regulated nuclear aryl hydrocarbon receptor protein levels in mice and HK-2 cells treated with 1-hydroxypyrene, which caused accumulation of extracellular matrix components. Treatment with aryl hydrocarbon receptor short hairpin RNA or flavonoids inhibited mRNA expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor and its target genes in 1-hydroxypyrene-induced HK-2 cells and mice. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS Metabolite 1-hydroxypyrene was demonstrated to mediate renal fibrosis through activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor signalling pathway. Targeting aryl hydrocarbon receptor may be an alternative therapeutic strategy for CKD progression.

Palladium/BuAd2P efficiently catalyzed the direct α-arylation of ketone in the anti-Alzheimer's disease drug donepezil, leading to 15 aryldonepezil analogues exhibiting high selective inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The cell-based assays revealed that the 3-methylpridinyl analogue (12) shows significantly lower toxicity compared to donepezil and remarkable neuroprotective activity against H2O2-induced damage in SH-SY5Y cells. Docking results of compound 12 also interpreted the possible mechanism of the selective inhibition between AChE and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE).

The first systematic direct diversification of a complex natural product by metal-catalyzed N-H functionalization was carried out. A new series of N-(hetero)aryl analogues (1-32) of the natural anti-Alzheimer's disease drug huperzine A (HPA) was prepared via palladium-catalyzed Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling reactions of HPA with various aryl bromides in good yields. Most of the N-aryl-huperzine A (N-aryl-HPA) analogues showed good acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity in in vitro experiments. Three arylated huperzine A analogues (14, 19, and 30) exhibited stronger anti-AChE activity than HPA. The 5-methoxy-2-pyridyl analogue (30) displayed the most potent AChE inhibition activity, with an IC50 value of 1.5 μM, which was 7.6-fold more active than HPA. Compound 30 also exhibited better neuroprotective activity for H2O2-induced damage in SH-SY5Y cells than HPA. Structure-activity relationship analysis suggested that the electron density of the installed aromatic ring or heteroaromatic ring played a significant role in inducing the AChE inhibition activity. Overall, compound 30 showed the advantages of easy synthesis, high potency and selectivity, and improved neuroprotection, making it a potential huperzine-type lead compound for Alzheimer's disease drug development.

More and more findings illustrate the critical roles of circular RNA (circRNA) in diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications. A major pathological characteristic for DM is the apoptosis of endothelial cells (ECs) induced by high glucose (HG), however, the function of circRNA in the ECs' phenotypes is still elusive. Here, this study identified an up-regulated circRNA (circVEGFC) in the HG-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Functionally, knockdown of circVEGFC alleviated the apoptosis and recovered the proliferation in HUVECs induced by HG administration. Mechanistically, circVEGFC functioned as the sponge of miR-338-3p, and miR-338-3p was found to target the 3'-Untranslated Regions (3'-UTR) of hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α). HIF-1α, a critical transcription factor in DM, could activate the transcription of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and promote its protein product. In conclusion, these findings reveal the promotion of circVEGFC/miR-338-3p/HIF-1α/VEGFA axis in the HG-induced ECs' apoptosis, providing a potential treatment strategy for ECs' damage in DM.

P2Y purinoceptor 2 (P2RY2) is involved in the regulation of cell proliferation and apoptosis. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of P2RY2 on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and its molecular mechanism. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model in rats and OXYGEN and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) model in PC12 cells were established. P2RY2 expressions in I/R injury model in vitro and in vivo were up-regulated. In the OGD/R group, ROS level, cyto-CytC and mitochondrial fission factors expressions and cell apoptosis were increased, while SOD activity, mito-CytC and mitochondrial fusion factors expressions were decreased. P2RY2 overexpression could reverse these results. Up-regulated P2RY2 expression decreased Yes-associated protein (YAP) phosphorylation level, promote the nuclear translocation of YAP, and inhibit cell apoptosis, which can be reversed by YAP inhibitor verteporfin. The addition of PI3K/AKT inhibitor LY294002 could reverse the decrease of YAP phosphorylation level and cell apoptosis, and the increase of nuclear translocation caused by P2RY2 overexpression. Further in vivo studies validated that interference with P2RY2 increased the cerebral infarction area, decreased AKT expression, enhanced YAP phosphorylation, and inhibited the nuclear translocation of YAP. In conclusion, P2RY2 can alleviate cerebral I/R injury by inhibiting YAP phosphorylation and reducing mitochondrial fission.

The success of an in situ combustion process is dependent on the stability and movement of the combustion front. During an in situ combustion process, coke is an important product for maintaining the stability of the combustion front. However, before being consumed by the combustion reaction, coke is deposited in the porous media; thus, it may cause the blockage of the pore throat and affect the subsequent air injection. In this study, the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance technique was applied to examine the influence of oxidized coke and pyrolyzed coke on the porous media. The results revealed that the coke deposition phenomenon was considerable in porous media and affected porosity. The formation damage was considerably severe in oxidized coke because of the drastic low-temperature oxidation. In case of the pyrolyzed core, the influence of coke on porosity is limited because of the low amount of coke generation. The average reduction in porosity was 21.90%, while that of the pyrolyzed coke is only 9.09%. Montmorillonite had the greatest catalytic effect on coke deposition for both oxidation and pyrolysis processes. Illite, kaolinite, and chlorite have an impact on coke deposition; however, because the change in porosity is attribute to a combination of multiple factors, the result is a lack of regularity. Heat causes the pore to reform and the fracture to form. The change in porous media can reduce the impact of coke deposition phenomenon on total porosity. Because of the high-temperature environment, this influence is more pronounced in the pyrolyzed core.

BackgroundAlthough Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) regiment has been applied to the treatment of cartilage injury clinically, the effect of LIPUS stress loading on the proliferation and differentiation of hUCMSCs is still controversial. Yet the specific mechanical mechanism of LIPUS stimulates cartilage differentiation of hUCMSCs has not been clarified.ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of low intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) on proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) via BMP2 /smad signaling pathway in vitro.MethodThe hUCMSCs at P4 were randomly divided into control group(no LIPUS), L30 group (30mW/cm2), L50 group (50mW/cm2), L80 group (80mW/cm2), each LIPUS group respectively loaded 5, 10, 20 min/d, the cell proliferation activity was detected by CCK-8 assay after continuous irradiation for 5 days. For chondrogenic differentiation, hUCMSCs were divided 4 groups as follows: control group, Noggin group, LIPUS group, Noggin+LIPUS group, LIPUS irradiation was given 50w/cm2, 5min/d. Cartilage formation after 3 weeks was evaluated by Alician blue staining for GAG and COL II immunohistochemical staining. Furthermore, RT-PCR analysis of Sox-9, COL II Aggrecan, BMP2, Smad1, Smad5 and Smad9. Result： (1) The proliferation activity of L50 group(50w/cm2 , 5min/d) was noticeably higher compared with other groups, Alcian blue staining of GAG , COL II fluorescent staining in the LIPUS group were much stronger, quantitative RT-PCR assays showed that the expression of COL II, GAG, Sox-9, smad1, smad5 and smad9 in LIPUS group was significantly increased. Conclusion：The suitable LIPUS irradiation can promote cell proliferation, 50mW/cm2 intensity at 5min/d is most significant. And it can promote chondrogenesis of hUCMSCs via upregulating MP2 /smads signaling pathway.

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been widely accepted as a detrimental factor in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)-induced early brain injury (EBI), which is eminently related to poor neurologic function outcome. Previous studies have revealed that enhancement of heat shock protein 22 (hsp22) under conditions of stress is a friendly mediator of mitochondrial homeostasis, oxidative stress and apoptosis, thus accelerating neurological recovery. However, no study has confirmed whether hsp22 attenuates mitochondrial stress and apoptosis in the setting of SAH-induced EBI. Our results indicated that endogenous hsp22, p-AMPK/AMPK, PGC1α, TFAM, Nrf1 and Drp1 were significantly upregulated in cortical neurons in response to SAH, accompanied by neurologic impairment, brain edema, neuronal degeneration, lower level of mtDNA and ATP, mitochondria-cytosol translocation of cytochrome c, oxidative injury and caspase 3-involved mitochondrial apoptosis. However, exogenous hsp22 maintained neurological function, reduced brain edema, improved oxidative stress and mitochondrial apoptosis, these effects were highly dependent on PGC1α-related mitochondrial biogenesis/fission, as evidenced by co-application of PGC1α siRNA. Furthermore, we demonstrated that blockade of AMPK with dorsomorphin also compromised the neuroprotective actions of hsp22, along with the alterations of PGC1α and its associated pathway molecules. These data revealed that hsp22 exerted neuroprotective effects by salvaging mitochondrial function in an AMPK-PGC1α dependent manner, which modulates TFAM/Nrf1-induced mitochondrial biogenesis with positive feedback and DRP1-triggered mitochondrial apoptosis with negative feedback, further reducing oxidative stress and brain injury. Boosting the biogenesis and repressing excessive fission of mitochondria by hsp22 may be an efficient treatment to relieve SAH-elicited EBI., Graphical abstract The schematic diagram demonstrating that Hsp22 modulates mitochondrial biogenesis and fission through AMPK-PGC1α signaling pathway to alleviate the early brain injury after SAH in rats. SAH subarachnoid hemorrhage, Hsp22 heat shock protein 22, AMPK Adenosine 5'monophosphate-activated protein kinase, PGC1α peroxisome proliferative activated receptor γ (PPARγ) coactivator 1α, Drp1 dynamin-related protein 1, TFAM mitochondrial transcription factor A, Nrf1 nuclear respiratory factor 1, UCP2 uncoupling protein 2, ROS reactive oxygen species, 8-OHdG 8-hydroxyguanine, MDA malondialdehyde, PCO protein carbonyl, Bcl-2 B-cell lymphoma-2, Bax Bcl-2 associated X protein, siRNA small interfering ribonucleic acid.Image 1, Highlights • Hsp22 is notably upregulated in neurons at 24 h after SAH. • Hsp22 boosts the NRF1/TFAM-dependent mitochondrial biogenesis. • Hsp22 represses DRP1-sparked mitochondrial apoptosis. • AMPK-PGC1α pathway is involved in hsp22-mediated neuroprotection after SAH. • Modulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and fission may be efficient for treating SAH.

Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles(UCNPs) are great promising to apply to biomedical imaging and therapy. We prepared NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ nanoparticles with different surface ligands, i.e., without any ligands(bare), coordinated with 2-aminoethyl dihydrogen phosphate(AEP), polyacrylic acid(PAA) or polyallylamine (PAAm), via a simple two-step ligand exchange of oleic acid capped NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ nanoparticles. Although the surface modification retained the crystal structure and transimission electron microscope(TEM) size distribution of the nanoparticles, and good dispersibility in aqueous solution and did not significantly change the upconversion luminescence, distinct differences were observed in the surface charge and hydrodynamic diameter. The cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of the nanoparticles were studied on two different cell lines, breast cancer MCF-7 and fibroblast 3T3. Confocal microscopy images demonstrate that PAAm-coordinated UCNPs can enhance the cellular uptake and endocytosis, whereas AEP- and PAA-coordinated UCNPs show a very low level of nonspecific adsorption. Biocompatibility studies based on 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide(MTT) assay, however, indicate that PAAm-coordinated UCNPs are more toxic than the other two, and thus need further modifiaction(like PEG coordinating) to improve their biocompatibility. These results are important to the knowledge base required for the biomedical application of the UCNPs.

The present study aimed to evaluate the renoprotective effects of chelerythrine (CHE), a protein kinase C inhibitor, on neonatal rats after partial unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) surgery. New born Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to partial UUO 48 h after birth and received a daily intraperitoneal injection of 5 mg/kg CHE. At 21-day age, the rats were scarified and the kidneys were collected for analysis. Results showed that CHE treatment significantly increased kidney weight and restored renal function in the obstructed kidney. Histological examination demonstrated that CHE attenuated renal injury by reducing renal parenchymal loss and preventing glomerular and tubular degeneration. In addition, CHE inhibited partial UUO-induced upregulated kidney injury molecule-1 expression and apoptosis and renal fibrosis. Moreover, as a PKC inhibitor, CHE significantly inhibited PKCα and PKCβ membrane translocation. This action may be associated with its effects of anti-apoptosis and anti-fibrosis and contribute to the renoprotection. This short-term study suggests that CHE is beneficial for obstructive nephropathy in neonatal rats and provides foundation for further studies to reveal the long-term effects of CHE on obstructive nephropathy in children and infants.

Background/Aims: Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury involves multiple independently fatal terminal pathways. CK2α/NADPH oxidase is an important signaling pathway associated with ischemia-reperfusion injury, and miR-125b can regulate oxidative stress-related injury. In this study, we investigated whether the effect of miR-125b in rat brain I/R injury occurs through its modulation of the CK2α/NADPH oxidase pathway. Methods: Rats were subjected to 2 h of cerebral ischemia followed by 24 h of reperfusion to establish an I/R injury model. Neurological deficit was evaluated using a five-point score. Infarct volume was evaluated with 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, and RT-PCR was used to detect expressions of miR125b and CK2α. We then examined the association between miR-125b expression and the CK2α/NADPH oxidative signaling pathway in a PC-12 cell oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R) injury model. Transfection with miR-125b mimics, an miR-125b inhibitor, and luciferase reporter gene plasmid was accomplished using commercial kits. In these cells, Western blots were used to detect the levels of expression of CK2α, cleaved caspase-3, NOX2, and NOX4. RT-PCR was used to detect the expressions of CK2α, miR125b, NOX2, and NOX4. We evaluated Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) level, NADPH oxidase activity, and caspase-3 activity using commercial kits. Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by fluorescence microscopy. For both PC-12 cells and rat brains, histological analyses were conducted to observe morphological changes, and apoptosis was measured using a commercial kit. Results: I/R rats exhibited an increase in neurological deficit score, infarct volume, and cellular apoptosis, along with miR-125b elevation and CK2α downregulation. OGD/R treatment increased PC-12 cells’ injuries, cellular apoptosis, and ROS levels. These changes were associated with miR-125b elevation, CK2α downregulation and activations of NOX2 and NOX4, mimicking our in vivo findings. All of these effects were reversed by the inhibition of miR-125b, confirming a strong correlation between miR-125b activity and the CK2α/NADPH oxidase signaling pathway. Conclusions: Based on these observations, we conclude that inhibition of miR-125b protects the rat brain from I/R injury by regulating the CK2α/NADPH oxidative signaling pathway.

Lung injury is the main manifestation of paraquat poisoning. Few studies have addressed brain damage after paraquat poisoning. Ulinastatin is a protease inhibitor that can effectively stabilize lysosomal membranes, prevent cell damage, and reduce the production of free radicals. This study assumed that ulinastatin would exert these effects on brain tissues that had been poisoned with paraquat. Rat models of paraquat poisoning were intraperitoneally injected with ulinastatin. Simultaneously, rats in the control group were administered normal saline. Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that most hippocampal cells were contracted and nucleoli had disappeared in the paraquat group. Fewer cells in the hippocampus were concentrated and nucleoli had disappeared in the ulinastatin group. Western blot assay showed that expressions of GRP78 and cleaved-caspase-3 were significantly lower in the ulinastatin group than in the paraquat group. Immunohistochemical findings showed that CHOP immunoreactivity was significantly lower in the ulinastatin group than in the paraquat group. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling staining showed that the number of apoptotic cells was reduced in the paraquat and ulinastatin groups. These data confirmed that endoplasmic reticular stress can be induced by acute paraquat poisoning. Ulinastatin can effectively inhibit this stress as well as cell apoptosis, thereby exerting a neuroprotective effect.

The industrial silica fume pretreated by nitric acid at 80 °C was re-used in this work. Then, the obtained silica nanoparticles were surface functionalized by silane coupling agents, such as (3-Mercaptopropyl) triethoxysilane (MPTES) and (3-Amincpropyl) trithoxysilane (APTES). Some further modifications were studied by chloroaceetyl choride and 1,8-Diaminoaphalene for amino modified silica. The surface functionalized silica nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FI-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The prepared adsorbent of surface functionalized silica nanoparticles with differential function groups were investigated in the selective adsorption about Pb2+, Cu2+, Hg2+, Cd2+ and Zn2+ ions in aqueous solutions. The results show that the (3-Mercaptopropyl) triethoxysilane functionalized silica nanoparticles (SiO2-MPTES) play an important role in the selective adsorption of Cu2+ and Hg2+, the (3-Amincpropyl) trithoxysilane (APTES) functionalized silica nanoparticles (SiO2-APTES) exhibited maximum removal efficiency towards Pb2+ and Hg2+, the 1,8-Diaminoaphalene functionalized silica nanoparticles was excellent for removal of Hg2+ at room temperature, respectively.

Process of solution treatment of 2024 aluminum alloy was done by hardness test and microanalysis in this paper. The effects of different solution treatment temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 2024 aluminum alloy were studied and the influence of overburning on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 2024 aluminum alloy were also analyzed. The experimental results show that overburning occurs while 2024 aluminum alloy is heated over 490°C×50min . The hardness tests and microstructure analysis results show that the hardness decreased, grain boundary becomes trigemanal and compounded –melting structure (burnt structure) appeared when overburning occuring for this alloy .

This is mainly due to the high chemical reactivity and spontaneous etching nature of the fluorine radicals towards silicon, and the high volatility of the silicon fluorides as reaction products. Anisotropy can only be achieved by the inclusion of sidewall passivation schemes to the process. The existing approaches to deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of silicon are distinguished by the way sidewall passivation is achieved, the key to anisotropy and overall performance of the etch process. Cryogenic etching and the so-called Bosch process with alternating etch and passivation cycles are the two most well-known high-aspect-ratio silicon etch processes and are discussed in this paper.

xBaZr0.2Ti0.8O3-(1-x)BiFeO3(x=0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7) solid solution ceramics were prepared by conventional solid-state reaction method. The crystal structure and dielectric properties ofxBaZr0.2Ti0.8O3-(1-x)BiFeO3ceramics have been investigated. The result indicates that the crystal structure of solid solution ceramics changes from rhobohedral to pseudocubic structure with the increase of barium zirconate titanate content. The room temperature dielectric constant of all samples decreases with the increasing of frequency. When the temperature is in the range of 30oC~150oC, the dielectric constant of all samples increases as temperature rises. In the same temperature range, the dielectric loss of BiFeO3ceramics increases with the rise of temperature and the dielectric loss ofxBaZr0.2Ti0.8O3-(1-x)BiFeO3(x=0.3~0.7) changes a little. The addition of barium zirconate titanate leads to the decrease of dielectric loss and leakage current for BiFeO3ceramics.

The design and fabrication of MEMS capacitive differential pressure sensor is reported. Silicon membrane is used as movable electrode. Gold metal film on glass is used as fixed electrode. Anodic bonding is used to bond together the silicon and glass to form the capacitive pressure sensor. The measurement capacitance of the sensors is 5.37 pF at an applied pressure of 0 kPa and 7.26 pF and the full operating range of 40 kPa.The ratio of changed to initial capacitance was 0.35. The error of the MEMS capacitive pressure sensor is less than 4‰ full-scale(FS) by using quadratic curve fitting which can meet most application requirements.

The thermomechanical treatment of a 2A12 aluminum alloy was researched and the influence of deformation ratio above recrystallization temperature on microstructure and hardness was analyzed emphatically. The result reveals that when the deformation ratio is low at first, the hardness of specimen decreased because the effect of recrystallization softening overwhelms the effect of deformation strengthening. However, hardness increased with increasing deformation ratio. In addition, the microstructure became more homogeneous and grains were refined obviously by metallography microscope observation with increasing deformation ratio. The second phase precipitates dispersedly to strengthen the alloy.

The thermomechanical treatment of a 2A12 aluminum alloy was researched and the influence of pre-ageing on microstructure and hardness was analyzed emphatically. The results reveal that the hardness of specimen increases when they are pre-aged, the hardness value rises at first and then decreases, reaching the maxmum value when pre-aged at 180°C×30min . After plastically deformed at 450°C, the hardness keeps on increasing, and the grains are equiaxed polygon structure. After all the workpieces are aged in the end, the small particles of the second phase precipitates completely and disperses within the original phase matrix, the particles interact with dislocations in upper state that formed during plastic deformation and lead to a great increase in hardness compared with as-received. the best pre-aging parameter is 180°C×30min.

This paper introduces a newly designed grinding wheel where micro-graphite particles are impregnated in an aluminum oxide matrix to form a grinding wheel to lubricate the grinding site; these are known as graphite-impregnated grinding wheels. The graphite particles were heat-treated under a layer of hydrogen ions at a temperature of about 500 °C for 30 min to disperse them uniformly in the aluminum oxide matrix. In this study, grinding wheels with five different graphite contents (0.1, 0.5, 1, 3, and 5 wt%) were investigated. Different aspects of the grinding performance (e.g., surface roughness, morphology, wheel wear ratio, grinding temperature, and grinding forces) using these grinding wheels under two different coolant strategies (dry and minimum quantity lubrication with pure water) were compared with the corresponding values for a conventional grinding wheel. The experimental results indicate that using graphite-impregnated grinding wheels considerably improves the grinding process performance compared to using a conventional grinding wheel. A graphite content of below 0.5 wt% is recommended because this provides not only better surface roughness and topography, and lower grinding temperature and force but also less grinding wheel consumption; hence, the wheel life was extended. In summary, combining graphite-impregnated grinding wheels with minimum-quantity lubrication technology has the potential to effectively eliminate the use of any oils or toxic organic lubricants in the grinding process.

Fe3O4 nanoparticles were covalently functionalized by N-(quinoline-8-yl)-2-(3-triethoxysilyl-propylamino)- acetamide (QTPA), and finally utilized to be magnetic chemosensor for sensitive and efficient Cu2+ removal in aqueous solution. Fourier FT-IR, TEM, XRD and XPS results showed that QTPA was bonded to the surface of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. At room temperature, the magnetic chemosensor exhibited high removal efficiency towards Cu2+.

The mechanical properties of Al-Zn-Mg aluminum alloy were improved by deformation strengthening and transformations strengthening adopting thermomechanical treatment, whose process are solution treatment, preageing treatment, deformation treatment and ageing treatment in turn. The paper focuses on the influences of deforming degree and ageing process on microstructure and properties of Al-Zn-Mg aluminum alloy. The experimental results show that hardness increased with increasing deformation ratio, and the value are greatly higher than that of samples after solution treatment. The results of ageing after deformation show that the hardness enhanced with prolonging the ageing time, which reach the peak value at 16 hours. In addition, the microstructure became more homogeneous and the grain was refined obviously by metallography microscope observation. The second phase precipitate dispersedly to strengthen the alloy. Above all, in order to obtain the better mechanical properties, the optimal thermomechanical treatment processes are solution treatment at 470°C for 2h, preageing treatment at 140°C for 24h, deformation with ratio of 40% as well as ageing at 120°C for 16h.

Comprehensive performance of 6061 aluminum alloy was improved by solution treatment and two-step ageing treatment in this paper . The effects of different thermal processing parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 6061 aluminum alloy were studied. The experimental results show that the optimal process of solution treatment for 6061 aluminum alloy is heated at 500°C for 10min. After first-stage aging, the hardness measurements and microstructure analysis results show that the hardness increased with increasing aging temperature, and reached peak value at temperature 180°C for 10h, while in the second-stage ageing treatment, the sample got the ageing peak value at 220°C for 1h. After two-stage treatment, the grains of 6061 aluminum alloy became uniform and fine and the second phase distributed along the grain boundary and play an important role of dispersion strengthening. Above all, the optimal heat treatment process of 6061 aluminum alloy is solution treated at 500°C for 10min, as well as ageing at 180°C, 10h and 220°C, 1h

In this paper, a novel RF MEMS switch driven by combs with low insertion loss is presented. The developed SPST RF MEMS switch with a lateral resistive contact and gold structure layer on a silicon substrate has been fabricated by surface micromachining process. The RF performance of the switch indicates an insertion loss below 0.30 dB at 20 GHz, a return loss better than 20 dB and isolation greater than 30 dB. Good RF characteristics have been achieved by the large contact area and a lateral Au-to-Au resistive contact.

Chemical modified silica fume by polyaniline was studied as a sorbent for removal of chromium (VI) determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometer. TEM analysis confirmed that the mean diameter of silica fume before and after treatment was of the order of 120 nm. The functionalized nanoparticles showed an extremely high efficiency towards chromium (VI) in the pH range of 4-5. Adsorption of chromium (VI) from water using functionalized silica fume was both a simple and efficient approach compared to the traditional adsorbents from the angle of integrated utilization of the secondary resources.

We report the studies of epitaxial growth of trichosanthin (TCS) crystals on a mica substrate. TCS crystals grown on mica surface are found to be aligned well in four orientations, which was induced by the lattice of the mica substrate. The effect of potassium ions both at the mica surface and in solution was investigated by using different cation-modified surfaces and different precipitants. The results indicated that the binding of K+ ions on the mica surface played a critical role in the epitaxial crystal growth of TCS. The high-resolution structures of crystals grown in different precipitants were solved by synchrotron radiation X-ray crystallography, and the K+ binding sites in TCS crystals were identified. A strict lattice match between the TCS crystal and the mica substrate has been demonstrated based on the structural analysis of them. It reveals the mechanism of epitaxial nucleation and growth of TCS crystals. The experimental results provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of epitaxial...

We report our efforts towards fabricating nanomechanical resonators patterned by optical lithography in silicon nitride. Optical lithography has advantages of low cost and high efficiency over electron-beam lithography. Double clamped beam resonators with thickness 150nm, length and lateral dimensions 20um, 800nm have been designed. Through utilizing reactive ion etching and controlling gas flow, reaction time of CF4 and O2 plasma and power of the upper and lower electrode, nanomechanical resonators with lateral dimensions within 200nm are demonstrated.

This paper presents a kind of fine polishing technique that adopts three-step polishing procedure and keeping-wafer-wet method. In order to remove the damaged layer created by lapping process or improve surface condition of silicon wafer, polishing process is needed. In this paper, techniques of improving the surface roughness of silicon are studied, three different polishing processes are presented, and optimum condition has been attained. Experiments of Si-Si bonding are also performed, and results show that after polishing ends, keeping surface of wafer wet is necessary to avoid slurry agglomerating.

In Britton-Robinson (B-R) buffer solution (pH 6.5), serum album (SA) and chitosan reacted with each other, and the resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) spectrum of the system seemed to be very weak. After adding Cu 2+ to make the concentration ratio of Cu 2+ to SA being 10:1, which would react to form a ternary complex, its RRS intensity was significantly enhanced. The enhanced intensity of RRS was directly proportional to the concentration of chitosan. In this study, the reaction conditions and the formation mechanism of the ternary complex of BSA (or HSA) with Cu 2+ and chitosan were studied. The maximum RRS wavelengths are observed at 350 nm and 480 nm for BSA system, and at 340 nm for HSA system. The linear ranges and the detection limits are 0.01–4.0 g ml –1 and 3.66 ng ml –1 for BSA system, and 0.01–6.0 g ml –1 and 11.0 ng ml –1 for HSA. The RSD is less than 4.0%. It is obvious that the BSA system has a higher sensibility. So, a sensitive, simple, and fast method for the determination of trace amounts of chitosan by RRS technique has been developed. The influences of coexisting substances were investigated, and it is shown that the method has a good selectivity. This method has been applied for the determination of chitosan in hygienical capsule samples and self-made chitosan raw samples, and satisfactory results have been obtained.

In neutral medium, rifamycin antibiotics such as rifapentin (RFPT), rifampicin (RFP), rifandin (RFD) and rifamycin SV (RFSV) can bind with human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) to form complexes, resulting in the quenching of the intrinsic fluorescence (λex/λem = 285/355 nm) of the BSA and HSA. The quenching intensity (ΔF) is directly proportional to the concentration of the rifamycin antibiotics. Therefore, a new analytical method was established to determine trace rifamycin antibiotics. The method had fairly high sensitivity and the detecting limits (3σ) for RFPT, RFP, RFD and RFSV were 0.85, 0.98, 1.83, 1.89 ng/mL, respectively, for the HSA system and 0.76, 0.89, 1.55, 1.77 ng/mL, respectively, for the BSA system. All relative standard deviations (RSDs) were

Both triangular lattice and square lattice photonic crystals with lattice constant 400 nm and the radius 200 nm of the air pores in the silicon substrate have been designed, fabricated and realized. The processes of the fabrication of the two-dimensional photonic crystals, based on silicon, including mask making, electron-beam lithography, and inductively coupled plasma etching are introduced.

Lattice Boltzmann method is used to investigate sedimentation of a single fiber in a Newtonian fluid. The effects of the aspect ratio of a fiber are carefully examined. The computational results show that the stable orientation of a single fiber is the horizontal direction. The terminal Reynolds number increases as the aspect ratio increases, and basically remains invariable when the aspect ratio is high enough. The lateral drift of the fiber is more apparent at higher aspect ratios and the orientation of the fiber at which the lateral drifting velocity reaches the maximal is not sensitive to the value of the aspect ratio. When the aspect ratio is around 2.8, the fiber rotates fastest from the vertical location to the horizontal. Some of the results are compared with the experimental data and good agreements are found.

This study investigates cross-talk of the related bioactivity mediators in silica-induced pulmonary inflammatory and fibrosis on rats, which contributes to the preventive and therapeutic effect of soluble TNF-α receptor. Wistar rats received saline or 50 mg of quartz by intratracheal instillation. Rats in drug-treated groups were given soluble tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) receptor (500 μg) by hypodermic injection on days 1, 5 and 8 after operation. At 7 days or 14 days after instillation, rats were killed to observe the degree of injury and expression of the related bioactivity mediators including nuclear factor KB (NF-KB), nitric oxide, interleukin-1β, interleukin-10, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), TNF-α, interferon-Y (IFN-Y) and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). The area percentages of type I and III collagens in intervention group were lower than those in silica group. The expression of NF-κB, TGF-β1, and COL I were lower in intervention group than in silica group(p < 0.05) and GM-CSF was significantly higher (p < 0.05) at 7 days after instillation, however, NF-κB, TGF-β1, and COL I were identically lower in intervention group than in silica group, and TNF-α, IFN-γ, and GM-CSF were higher at 14 days after instillation. It may be concluded that soluble TNF-α receptor upregulating or downregulating the expression of the related bioactivity mediators results in decreasing lung injury induced by silica.

Nascent emission and laser-induced dispersed fluorescence spectra of products or intermediates from the multiphoton photolysis reaction of bromomethanes (CHBr(3), CHBr(2)Cl, CHBrCl(2), and CH(2)Br(2)) at 266 nm were recorded in a slow flow cell. Electronically excited species including CH (A(2)Delta, B(2)Sigma(-), and C(2)Sigma(+)), C(2) (d(3)Pi(g)), and atomic Br ((4)D(J) and (4)P(J)) were observed in the nascent emission spectra. Free radicals such CHBr or CHCl were also successfully found using laser-induced dispersed fluorescence spectroscopy. The reactive intermediate, CHBr, was seen only in the photolysis of CHBr(3), whereas CHCl was only discovered when the precursor was CHBr(2)Cl or CHBrCl(2). More experiments including the power dependence and temporal waveform measurements were conducted. The present study reports the first direct measurements of the intermediate products in the multiphoton photodissociation reaction of these bromomethanes at 266 nm. Nascent emission spectra following the photolysis at longer near-ultraviolet wavelengths (280 and 355 nm) were also acquired. On the bassis of these results, the multiphoton photodissociation mechanism of these bromomethanes at 266 nm can be confirmed.

Introduction: In this study, we aim to investigate the changes of PERK-eIF2a-ATF4 signaling pathway in endoplasmic reticulum stress after acute paraquat (PQ) poisoning; and to clear Salubrinal (Sal) effects on PERK-eIF2a-ATF4 signaling pathway and lung injury caused by paraquat. Methods: 200 Wistar

The low-frequency relaxation internal friction spectrum of La2CuO4+δ has been measured from -170 to 200°C in an automatic torsion apparatus at frequencies between 0.1 and 5.0 Hz. Three new relaxation processes are found with maxima, which are attributed to thermally activated diffusive jumps of oxygen atoms or vacancies in the oxygen sublattice, according to various activation enthalpies of three experimental runs. It is shown that the content of oxygen defect have important influences on the physical properties of La2CuO4+δ.

Positronium atoms are formed efficiently by slow positron beam hitting a solid target surface in vacuum. The fraction of positrons which formed positroniums is determined by applying the "peak method" to the energy spectra of the positron annihilation radiation measured at different target temperatures and incident positron energies. The fraction is dependent on the target material, temperature and incident positron energy. For germanium, the fraction is as high as 80%.