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Metal oxides (e.g. In 2 O 3 , InZnO) have demonstrated mobility an order of magnitude higher than a-Si, which makes them excellent candidates for display applications [1] . One common practice to achieve higher mobility in metal oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) is to use high-κ gate dielectrics [2] . We have recently explored this phenomenon with a systematic study which found that the observed ‘mobility enhancement' in metal oxides on high-κ dielectrics is due in large part to the increased gate capacitance, which increases carrier concentration in the channel [4] . However, the interfaces also play a significant role, and in some cases a poor-quality interface offsets the benefits of the higher gate capacitance. In this work, we compare two different metal oxide semiconductors – nanocrystalline In 2 O 3 and sol-gel indium zinc oxide (IZO) – to show that these conclusions are consistent across different semiconductor materials. We continue to investigate the charge transport with high-κ dielectrics by introducing an interfacial SiO x layer between the high-κ dielectric and the IZO channel.

Metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived nanostructures exhibit wonderful characteristics and possess broad application potential by modulating the complex composition and inner nanostructure. Although various MOF-based nanocomposites have been successfully developed, a facile method that can easily modulate the structure-dependent chemical components of the MOF-derived hybrids remains a challenge. By coating zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) with Au/polydopamine (Au/PDA) via in situ redox-oxidation polymerization of HAuCl4 and dopamine, it was found that the ZIF-8 templates were simultaneously etched off to give Au/PDA hybrid microcapsules with a cubic shape. This one-step sacrificial templating process followed a competing chelation between gold ions and Zn2+ cations to 2-methylimidazole and PDA; thus, both the hollow and the yolk-like hybrid cubic microcapsules were controllably obtained by varying the synthetic dynamics. Owing to the hollow nature, penetrated PDA shell, well-distributed Au nanocrystals, and unique stable nanostructure, the non-spherical Au/PDA hybrid cubic microcapsules showed high performance in catalyzing the reduction of 4-nitrophenol as well as adsorption/release of ibuprofen as a model drug. Moreover, this simple strategy offers a controllable design in developing multifunctional nanocomposites with definite inner nanostructures and activities for nanocatalysis, drug delivery, energy storage etc.

Our previous study reported that aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) promoted influenza replication. Mannan oligosaccharide (MOS), derived from the cell walls of yeast, is a potent immunomodulator. Here, we investigated the role of MOS in AFB1-promoted influenza replication and further explored the underlying mechanisms. In vitro and in vivo, the exposure to AFB1 alone resulted in significantly decreased weight gain and increased viral replication as well as lung and spleen damages. Increased influenza replication coupled with increases in toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), phosphorylated nuclear factor κB, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) levels. However, MOS given in conjunction with exposure to AFB1 significantly reversed these above changes. A further study indicated that MOS activity was abolished by TLR4 knockout or TLR4 overexpression. Surprisingly, TNF-α played no role in the MOS-mediated protective effects. Collectively, our data suggest that MOS alleviates the AFB1-promoted influenza replication, inflammation, and tissue damages in a TLR4-dependent manner.

Perilipin1 (PLIN1), the most abundant lipid droplet (LD)-associated protein, plays a vital role in regulating lipid storage and breakdown in adipocytes. Recently, we found that the overexpression of PLIN1 promotes chicken preadipocyte lipid accumulation. However, the mechanisms by which transcription of the chicken PLIN1 gene is regulated remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of retinoid X receptor α (RXRα) in transcription of the chicken PLIN1 gene. Notably, reporter gene and expression assays showed that RXRα activates transcription of the chicken PLIN1 gene in a PPARγ-independent manner. Furthermore, promoter deletion and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) analysis revealed that the chicken PLIN1 gene promoter region (-774/-785) contains an RXRα-binding site. Further study demonstrated that RXRα overexpression promotes differentiation of an immortalized chicken preadipocyte cell line (ICP1), causing a concomitant increase in PLIN1 transcripts. Taken together, our results show for the first time that RXRα activates transcription of the chicken PLIN1 gene in a PPARγ-independent manner, which might be at least in part responsible for RXRα-induced adipogenesis.

The effects of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2) on the expression of fatty acid synthesis regulators and triglyceride production were investigated in primary cultured chicken hepatocytes. The full-length chicken IGFBP2 coding region was synthesized by overlap extension PCR and cloned into the pcDNA3.1 vector. An in situ digestion method was used to prepare the chicken hepatocytes. Primary chicken hepatocytes were maintained in monolayer culture. Real-time PCR was used to detect changes in the expression of IGFBP2, PPARG, IGF1, IGF1R, APOAI, and LFABP, after the overexpression of IGFBP2 in chicken hepatocytes. Triglyceride production and glucose content were also evaluated using triglyceride and glucose analysis methods. The expression level of IGFBP2 increased after transfection of the IGFBP2-containing vector. The expression levels of PPARG, IGF1, and IGF1R also increased in cultured chicken hepatocytes after the overexpression of IGFBP2, whereas the expression of LFABP and APOAI decreased. Triglyceride production in primary cultured chicken hepatocytes increased after the overexpression of IGFBP2. These results suggest that IGFBP2 is involved in lipogenesis, increasing both the expression of fatty acid synthesis regulators, and triglyceride production in primary cultured chicken hepatocytes.

Metal support interactions modulation is one of the effective strategies to enhance the catalytic performance. Herein, we reported that modulating metal support interactions by switching the strength (CO, H2, NH3) and temperature (200, 300, 400 oC) of reducing gases is a facile way to improve the catalytic performance of Pt/CeO2 for toluene oxidation. The distinct reduction treatments will stepwise enhance the reducibility, ratio of Pt0 and oxygen vacancy concentration, which dominated the activity. The metal support interactions modulation can significantly affect toluene deep oxidation (from benzoate to formate or monodentate carbonate) via enhancing the mobility of surface/lattice oxygen and activation ability towards O2 molecules, since the main activation sites for O2 molecules expand from Pt0 sites to oxygen vacancies and Pt0 sites with temperature increasing.

Background/Aims: Swine influenza virus (SIV) is a major pathogen of both animals and humans. Afatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of the most common mycotoxins in feed and food. However, the central contribution of AFB1 to SIV infection remains unclear. Methods: Here, TCID50 assays, fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR, western blotting, immunofluorescence staining, histopathological examination, flow cytometry and scanning electron microscopy were performed to investigate the involvement and underlying mechanism of AFB1 in SIV infection in vivo and in vitro using mouse models and porcine alveolar macrophage (PAM) models, respectively. Results: The in vivo study showed that low levels of AFB1 promoted SIV infection and increased its severity, as demonstrated by the increased mRNA expression of viral matrix protein (M); by the increased protein expression of nucleoprotein (NP), matrix protein 1 and ion channel protein; and by animal weight loss, lung index and lung histologic damage. In addition, the increased occurrence of SIV infection accompanied by increases in the level of IL-10 in sera and lungs, in the spleen index and in the number of CD206-positive mouse alveolar macrophages but decreases in the level of TNF-α in sera and lungs, in the thymus index and in the number of CD80-positive mouse alveolar macrophages was observed in SIV-infected mice after low-level AFB1 exposure. The in vitro study showed that low concentrations of AFB1 promoted SIV infection, as demonstrated by the increases in viral titers and viral M mRNA and NP expression levels in SIV-infected PAMs as well as by the number of cells positive for NP protein expression. Furthermore, AFB1 promoted the polarization of SIV-infected PAMs to the M1 phenotype at 8 hpi and to the M2 phenotype at 24 hpi, as measured by the increases in IL-10 expression and in the number of CD206-positive PAMs as well as by the morphological changes observed by scanning electron microscopy. The administration of the immune stimulant lipopolysaccharide (LPS) reversed the switch in PAM polarization from M2 to M1 and thereby counteracted the promotion of influenza virus infection induced by AFB1. Conclusion: Our results are the first to confirm that low-level exposure to AFB1 promotes SIV infection and modulates a switch in macrophage polarization from M1 to M2. The work reported here provides important data that point to a role for AFB1 in SIV infection, and it opens a new field of study.

Dairy cows exposed to heat stress (HS) show decreased performance and immunity, but increased heat shock protein expressions and apoptosis. Zymosan, an extract from yeast cell walls, has been shown to modulate immune responses and defense against oxidative stress. However, few literatures are available about the effects of zymosan on immune responses and other parameters of the dairy cows under HS. Here, both primary peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) and dairy cow models were established to assess the effects of zymosan on performance, immunity, heat shock protein, and apoptosis-related gene expressions of dairy cows under HS. In vitro study showed that proliferation, IL-2 production, and Bcl-2/Bax-α ratio of cow primary PBMC were reduced, whereas hsp70 mRNA and protein expressions, as well as Annexin V-bing, were increased when PBMCs were exposed to heat. In contrast, zymosan significantly reversed these above changes induced by the HS. In the in vivo study, 40 Holstein dairy cows were randomly selected and assigned into zymosan group (supplemental zymosan; n = 20) and control group (no supplemental zymosan; n = 20). The results showed that zymosan improved significantly the dry matter intake and milk yield, increased IgA, IL-2, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) contents in sera, as well as hepatic Bcl-2/Bax-α ratio, but decreased respiration rate and hepatic hsp70 expressions in the dairy cows under HS. Taken together, zymosan could alleviate HS-induced immunosuppression and apoptosis and improve significantly the productive performance and immunity of dairy cows under HS. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s12192-018-0916-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A new titanium-tungsten-bearing hot rolled high strength bainitic steel was developed through the design of chemical composition and rolling processing. The chemical composition of 0.04C-0.1Ti-0.4W (wt%) was determined to make full use of alloying elements through considering the atomic ratio of elements. The rolling condition in the region through austenite recrystallization to austenite non-recrystallization region was adopted to realize a homogenous and fine microstructure. The effects of coiling temperature (CT) on the microstructure, precipitation and mechanical properties of the steel were investigated. Results showed that the average effective grain sizes of bainite ferrite were measured to be 2.2 µm, 1.8 µm and 2.4 µm for the sample of CTs 550 °C, 600 °C and 650 °C, respectively. The precipitates formed during coiling process were identified as nanoscale NaCl-type (TiW)C carbides that contain a high level of Ti and W. As CT increases, the precipitation amount of nanoscale precipitate increases. At the CT of 600 °C, an optimal combination of strength and ductility was achieved (yield strength: 733 MPa; ultimate tensile strength: 806 MPa; uniform elongation: 14.9%; total elongation: 24.4%). In addition, due to re-precipitation of nanoscale carbides, the strength of the steels coiled at 600 °C was obviously increased after tempering at 650 °C for 15 × 103 s holding, exhibiting superior ageing strengthening effect.

N-doped mesoporous carbons, NMCs, have attracted intensive attention recently and have shown potential applications in various scientific fields including catalysis and energy conversion/storage. Via modification with foreign N elements and construction of mesoporous structures for NMCs, their electronic and spin structure, as well as their porosity can be greatly tailored. And the resultant electron-donor property, surface wettability, conductivity, ion/molecular transfer and reactivity are changed accordingly. In this review, we will summarize the recent research progress of these metal-free NMCs, with an emphasis on their synthesis and performance, especially for their synthetic strategy and catalytic properties toward oxygen and nitro compound reductions, as well as their electrochemical properties as electrode materials for lithium-ion/sulfur batteries and supercapacitors. We hope for future developments, such as controlling doping methods more precisely, generating more active sites by N-doping, and finding wider applications of NMCs in other fields.

With the aim to elucidate the roles of different oxygen species, the catalytic oxidation of toluene over Pt/Mn3O4 synthesized by a facile reduction method was investigated. Compared with the Pt/Mn3O4-C using the commercial Mn3O4 as the support, Pt/Mn3O4-R was found to possess more surface oxygen vacancies, exhibit better redox properties and dispersion of platinum particles, leading to its higher activity for toluene oxidation (T90 = 183 ℃). Through toluene-TPD, toluene-TPSR and in-situ DRIFTS, it was found that toluene oxidation over Pt/Mn3O4-R catalyst might follow the Mars–van Krevelen (MVK) mechanism and the pathway of toluene oxidation over Pt/Mn3O4-R was possible toluene → benzoate → carbonate → CO2. The lattice oxygen species on the surface of catalysts was directly involved in the oxidation of toluene and played an important role in the formation of key intermediate such as carbonate, resulting in the difference of the reaction mechanism and pathway between Pt/Mn3O4-R and Pt/Mn3O4-C. In addition, the degradation of the surface carbonate was demonstrated to be the rate-controlling step at 180℃ to 200℃.

To understand the differences in metabolic changes between cows with ovarian inactivity and estrus cows, we selected cows at 60-90 days postpartum from an intensive dairy farm. According to clinical manifestations, B-ultrasound scan, rectal examination, 10 cows were assigned to the estrus group (A) and 10 to the ovarian inactivity group (B). All plasma samples were analyzed by (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to compare plasma metabolomic profiles between the groups. We used multivariate pattern recognition to screen for different metabolites in plasma of anestrus cows. Compared with normal estrous cows, there were abnormalities in 12 kinds of metabolites in postpartum cows with ovarian inactivity (|r|> 0.602), including an increase in acetic acid (r = -0.817), citric acid (r = -0.767), and tyrosine (r = -0.714), and a decrease in low-density lipoprotein (r = 0.820), very low-density lipoprotein (r = 0.828), lipids (r = 0.769), alanine (r = 0.816), pyruvate (r = 0.721), creatine (r = 0.801), choline (r = 0.639), phosphorylcholine (r = 0.741), and glycerophosphorylcholine (r = 0.881). These metabolites were closely related to abnormality of glucose, amino acid, lipoprotein and choline metabolism, which may disturb the normal estrus. The decrease in plasma creatine and the increase in tyrosine were new changes for ovarian inactivity of postpartum cows. The decrease in plasma creatine and choline and the increase in tyrosine and p-hydroxyphenylalanine in cows with ovarian inactivity provide new directions for research on the mechanism of ovarian inactivity in cows.

This work reports a silicone coating (PDMS-UIa) with marine antifouling and self-healing properties, which was prepared by the first synthesis of polydimethylsiloxane polymer containing imine and urea groups and then adding a small amount of eco-friendly antifoulant. The characteristic structure of the polymer was verified via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The PDMS-UIa coating has rapid self-repairing performance, excellent transparency and the ability to control the release of antifouling agents at a certain rate. The adhesion experiment using four typical benthic diatoms indicated that the PDMS-UIa coating can effectively inhibit the attachment of diatoms, which effectively improves the static antifouling ability of silicone materials.

The porous carbon materials formed from biomass precursors are promising candidates for adsorbing organic vapor pollutants. However, these materials have insufficient pores, which hinder their accessibility to adsorbates. This study develops an ultrahigh-surface-area porous carbon adsorbent with interlacing micro-mesoporous structures through Trichoderma viride decomposition. An orthogonal experiment is conducted, and the most suitable conditions for fabricating porous carbon with an ultrahigh SBET of 3714 m2.g-1 and a hierarchical porous structure are identified. This work achieves one of the highest specific surface areas of biomass carbons among recent studies. T. viride corrodes the internal and external microstructures of rice husks, and regulates the lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose contents, which improve the efficiency of carbonization and chemical activation. The carbonaceous materials with microbial pretreatment exhibit better toluene adsorption performances (100 ppm: 708 mg.g-1), adsorption rates, and cyclic utilization than those without pretreatment (100 pm: 538 mg.g-1). In addition, grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation is conducted. The micropores and mesopores created after microbial pretreatment are effective toluene adsorption sites. Moreover, the diffusion coefficient calculated by utilizing Thomas model and Chemical diffusion verify that the mesopores accelerate the kinetic process of toluene adsorption.

Transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), as highly anisotropic layered compounds, have attracted increasing interest from basic research to practical applications. Among them, zirconium disulfide (ZrS2) with remarkable physical properties has been widely investigated recently. Here, ZrS2 employed as a saturable absorber is utilized in an Er-doped fiber laser. A stable mode-locking operation is achieved, with central wavelength of ~1559.5 nm, 3 dB bandwidth of ~1.72 nm, and pulse duration of ~1.75 ps. These results make ZrS2 an appealing candidate for generating ultrafast laser pulses.

Selenium deficiency and T-2 toxin exposure may contribute to the development of Keshan disease characterized by congestive cardiomyopathy. The aim of this study was to explore the role of autophagy in the aggravation of selenium deficiency on T-2 toxin-induced damages on primary cardiomyocyte. Our present study demonstrated that 0.25–1 μM T-2 toxin damaged primary cardiomyocytes and selenium deficiency exacerbated T-2 toxin-induced damages by measuring the levels of MTT, lactate dehydrogenase and cleaved-caspase 3. T-2 toxin triggered autophagy in primary cardiomyocytes, as indicated by markedly increased expressions of LC3-Ⅱ and Beclin-1 mRNA levels. Rapamycin (autophagy agonist) treatment increased autophagy levels and decreased the cytotoxicity caused by T-2 toxin while 3-methyladenine (autophagy inhibitor) treatment reduced autophagy levels and enhanced the cytotoxicity of T-2 toxin, suggesting that autophagy protect primary cardiomyocytes from the cytotoxicity of T-2 toxin. Selenium deficiency lowered cytoprotective autophagy in the primary cardiomyocytes treated by T-2 toxin. It can be concluded that autophagy induced by T-2 toxin plays a role in protecting primary cardiomyocyte, but selenium deficiency decreases the protective autophagy and then exacerbate T-2 toxin-induced damages. Our finding may partly interpret the combination effects of selenium deficiency and T-2 toxin on the development of Keshan disease.

Ketosis is an important metabolic disorder in dairy cows during the transition period. The urine proteomics of ketosis has not been investigated using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS).The aim is to determine differences between urine proteomic profiles of healthy cows and those with clinical ketosis, and facilitate studies of the underlying physiological and biochemical mechanisms that lead to liver pathology in ketosis.We analyzed the urine samples of 20 cows with clinical ketosis (group 1) and 20 control cows (group 2) using SELDI-TOF-MS.Thirty-nine peptide peaks differed between both groups. Polypeptides corresponding to 26 of these differential peptide peaks were identified using the SWISS-PROT protein database. We found that the peaks of 11 distinct polypeptides from the urine samples of the ketosis group were significantly reduced, compared with those of the control group as based on the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Among these were VGF (non-acronymic) protein, amyloid precursor protein, serum amyloid A (SAA), fibrinogen, C1INH, apolipoprotein C-III, cystatin C, transthyretin, hepcidin, human neutrophil peptides, and osteopontin.These proteins may represent novel biomarkers of the metabolic changes that occur in dairy cows with ketosis. Our results will help to better understand the physiological changes and pathogenesis observed in cows with ketosis.The SELDI-TOF-MS can be used to understand the physiological and biochemical mechanisms of ketosis and identify biomarkers of the disease.

In order to understand pharmacokinetics in vivo and tissue residues of florfenicol in Hybrid sturgeon cultured in cold water, changes in concentration of florfenicol in plasma, muscle, liver and kidney of sturgeon after administration were measured by high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The results show that after 15.0 mg/kg dose administration, the concentration change in plasma and liver, kidney and muscle of sturgeon are suitable for the one compartment open model. Florfenicol pharmacokinetic parameters in plasma, liver, kidney and sturgeon muscle showed that the peak concentration (Cmax ) were 549.7, 551.8, 958.2 and 405.4 μg/kg, respectively. The peak time (Tmax ) was 17.5, 14.2, 14.0 and 20.8 hr, respectively. The elimination half-life (T1/2 ) was 75.1, 99.8, 68.8 and 75.5 hr, respectively. Area under the curve were 70,048.9, 63,850.6, 109,579.9 and 53,437.3 μg/kg hr, respectively. Mean residence time was 100.6, 96.4, 96.5 and 104.6 hr, respectively. The absorption speed and elimination of florfenicol in cold water cultured sturgeon is slow, and the peak concentration is low, but the florfenicol was widely distributed in the body of sturgeon. The results provide a theoretical basis for formulation of medication and withdrawal period of florfenicol used in sturgeon cultured in cold water.