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A family of hydride-rich bis(borano)hypophosphite-based ionic liquids was developed, which showed good water stability at room temperature and unexpected hypergolic reactivity with oxidizers. These ionic fluids have exhibited the shortest ignition delay times so far, demonstrating their application potential as hypergolic fuels or additives in liquid bipropellants.

Background In recent years, there has been considerable uncertainty about the optimal treatment option for very early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with tumor size less than 2 cm. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the outcomes of the different treatments. Methods This study was designed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA). PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane library were searched for calculating the survival rates, and the "time to event" method was used to compare the outcomes of liver resection (LR) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA). All studies focusing on the treatment of solitary HCC up to 2 cm by different techniques were included in our analysis. The Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) derived from multivariate and univariate analysis were utilized to assess the treatment risks. Results We included 32 studies in our systematic review. The median 5-year overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival rate (RFS) for LR were 73% and 47%, respectively, and those for RFA were 73% and 43%, respectively. RFA was found to be associated with increased risk of mortality and recurrence compared to LR (HR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.35-1.92, P Conclusion Our meta-analysis demonstrated that LR is superior to RFA in the treatment of solitary HCC up to 2 cm, with reduction in mortality and recurrence risk and improved long-term outcome.

This study investigated the effects of microRNA-200c (miR-200c) and cofilin-2 (CFL2) in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in ovarian cancer. The level of miR-200c was lower in invasive SKOV3 cells than that in non-invasive OVCAR3 cells, whereas CFL2 showed the opposite trend. Bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter gene assays indicated that CFL2 was a direct target of miR-200c. Furthermore, SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells were transfected with miR-200c mimic or inhibitor, pCDH-CFL2 (CFL2 overexpression), or CFL2 shRNA (CFL2 silencing). MiR-200c inhibition and CFL2 overexpression resulted in elevated levels of both CFL2 and vimentin while reducing E-cadherin expression. They also increased ovarian cancer cell invasion and migrationin vitroandin vivoand increased the tumor volumes. Conversely, miR-200c mimic and CFL2 shRNA exerted the opposite effects as those aforementioned. In addition, the effects of pCDH-CFL2 and CFL2 shRNA were reversed by the miR-200c mimic and inhibitor, respectively. This finding suggested that miR-200c could be a potential tumor suppressor by targeting CFL2 in the EMT process.

Road detection plays an important role in autonomous driving and driving assistant system. However, the performance of existing methods still suffers from illumination change or bad illumination. In this paper, a novel method is presented which fuses RGB and thermal features to solve these problems. Our method is accurate as well as light-weighted. Evaluating on our RGB-T dataset, the method can achieve 92.01% accuracy and real-time performances on low cost embedded devices.

Chinese students are the largest international student cohort in the higher education institutions of English-speaking developed countries. The paper explores strategies to enhance the Chinese students’ learning efficacy in overseas institutions. This research differs from other research focusing on international students already in English-speaking institutions; it explores the readiness of potential Chinese international students before departure from China, their anticipated challenges for study abroad and expected support from host institutions and staff. Besides the insights of anticipated challenges and expected support, the key findings include: the majority of the sample students are financially ready for overseas study, however they are not fully ready on English language; students from the public institute in the study have a higher level of readiness for subject knowledge than their private institute’s peers. The findings offer a guide, to both the English-speaking institutions and their Chinese partners, on facilitating, teaching and preparing the Chinese students for a fruitful learning experience abroad and enhanced academic performance.

Two series of super-base-derived hypergolic ionic liquid materials were synthesized and fully characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, IR spectroscopy, and high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Their physicochemical properties such as thermal properties, density, viscosity, heats of formation, specific impulse, and ignition delay time were intensively characterized or calculated. Among fourteen new organic ionic materials, eleven salts are liquids at room temperature, which all exhibit good stability to heat and expected hypergolic properties upon contact with WFNA. The densities of these ionic compounds range from 1.00 to 1.22 g cm−3, and their heats of formation vary between −38.0 and 478.6 kJ mol−1. Surprisingly, most of these new ionic liquids exhibited an unexpected thermal stability of >280 °C, in which salt 1 gave the Td value of 310 °C, which is superior to those of any known hypergolic ionic liquids. As a new class of hypergolic fuels, these novel ionic liquid materials have some unique advantages compared to traditional propellant fuels like hydrazine and its derivatives, including extremely low vapour pressure, short ID time, high thermal stability, etc., thereby demonstrating their potential applications as green fuels in liquid bipropellant formulations.

The experimental detection and synthesis of pentazole (HN

Hepatic insulin sensitivity is critical for glucose homeostasis, and insulin resistance is a fundamental syndrome found in various metabolic disorders, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Despite considerable studies on the mechanisms of hepatic insulin resistance, the link between epigenetic regulation and the development of insulin resistance remains elusive. Here, we reported that G9a/EHMT2, a histone methyltransferase, was markedly decreased in the liver of db/db mice and high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. In cultured hepatic cells, G9a knockdown resulted in downregulation of insulin receptor, p-AKT and p-GSK3β; while upon upregulation, G9a prevented the palmitic acid- or glucosamine-induced insulin resistance by preserving the normal level of insulin receptor and integrity of insulin signaling. Further mechanistic study suggested that G9a regulated the expression level of high mobility group AT-hook 1 (HMGA1), a key regulator responsible for the transcription of insulin receptor (INSR) gene. Overexpression of HMGA1 normalized the impaired insulin signaling in G9a knockdown hepatic cells. Importantly, in db/db mice, restoring the expression level of G9a not only upregulated HMGA1 level and improved the impaired hepatic insulin signaling, but also alleviated hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. Together, our results revealed a novel role for G9a in modulating insulin signaling, at least in part, depending on its regulatory function on HMGA1.

The rapid growth of Asian and Hispanic populations in urban areas is superceding traditional classifications of neighborhoods (for example as white, transitional, or minority). The “global neighborhood” that includes all groups (white, black, Hispanic and Asian) is one important new category. We examine the emerging spatial pattern of racial/ethnic composition in the Chicago metropolis, documenting an expansion of all-minority neighborhoods in the city and just beyond its borders, a shrinking set of all-white neighborhoods in the outer suburbs, and more diverse neighborhoods including whites mainly in between. The most novel element of this pattern is how large the zone of diversity has become and how far it extends into suburbia, upending the old dichotomy of “chocolate city” and “vanilla suburbs.” In addition to comparing the distance of different kinds of neighborhoods from the urban core, we also analyze their adjacency to neighborhoods of the same type or other types. There is a strong tendency toward spatial clustering of each neighborhood type and also for transitions on the boundaries of clusters either to expand or to contract their territory.

In this study we quantified the alterations of retinal histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) in diabetic rats using a liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) approach. Some diabetic rats were subsequently treated with minocycline, a tetracycline antibiotic, which has been shown to inhibit the diabetes-induced chronic inflammation in the retinas of rodents. We quantified 266 differentially modified histone peptides, including 48 out of 83 methylation marks with significantly different abundancein retinas of diabetic rats as compared to non-diabetic controls. About 67% of these marks had their relative abundance restored to non-diabetic levels after minocycline treatment. Mono- and di-methylation states of histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20me1/me2), markers related to DNA damage response, were found to be up-regulated in the retinas of diabetic rats and restored to control levels upon minocycline treatment. DNA damage response biomarkers showed the same pattern once quantified by western blotting. Collectively, this study indicates that alteration of some histone methylation levels is associated with the development of diabetic retinopathy in rodents, and the beneficial effect of minocycline on the retinas of diabetic rodents is partially through its ability to normalize the altered histone methylation levels.

Objectives: This study's aim was to evaluate the protective effects of salvianolate on contrast-induced nephropathy after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) compared with normal saline (NS) hydration. Methods: We enrolled patients with acute myocardial infarction who underwent PPCI in 3 centers in Shanghai. The patients were randomly assigned to the salvianolate group or the NS group. The incidence of CIN, the changes in renal function parameters, and the occurrence of adverse events after the procedure were compared between the 2 groups. We used a multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine the independent correlates of CIN after PPCI. Results: A total of 484 patients were finally included in the statistical analysis. Compared with the control group, salvianolate reduced the incidence of CIN (9.1 vs. 16.3%, p = 0.018) after PPCI. The renal function parameters after PPCI in the salvianolate group were superior to those of the control group (p < 0.05). The composite adverse events rate was significantly lower in the salvianolate group within 1 month after the procedure (9.5 vs. 15.5%, p = 0.046). A higher peak of troponin I and loop diuretic therapy were the independent correlates of CIN after PPCI. Conclusions: Salvianolate reduces the incidence of CIN and protects renal function after PPCI, and the effects were superior to those of NS hydration.

To obtain the influence of surface roughness of the fracture on hydraulic characteristics of rock mass. Firstly, the roughness of three kinds of fracture surfaces were determined using TR600 roughness profiler. The vertical stress and horizontal stress and water head pressure of samples are simulated by normal load, shear load, and seepage water pressure respectively. The coupled shear-seepage tests were carried out using a JAW-600 shear–seepage coupled test system. The changes in hydraulic opening and permeability with shear displacement were obtained under different initial normal stress and normal stiffness conditions. This study shows that the hydraulic opening and permeability of fracture rock mass can be divided into three stages of reduction, accelerated rise and stability with the increase of the shear displacement. Larger initial normal stress correspond to greater the hydraulic opening and transmission rate of the rock mass. Greater roughness of the fracture surfaces correspond to greater hydraulic opening and transmission rate, and worse stability. The water infiltration is proportional to three times the degree of hydraulic opening. A small change in the degree of hydraulic opening can cause great changes in the transmission rate. Under the same stress condition, the degree of the fracture surface roughness will produce important influence on the volume of gushing water.

A novel quantum gray-level image encryption and decryption algorithm based on image correlation decomposition is proposed. The correlation among image pixels is established by utilizing the superposition and measurement principle of quantum states. And a whole quantum image is divided into a series of sub-images. These sub-images are stored into a complete binary tree array constructed previously and then randomly performed by one of the operations of quantum random-phase gate, quantum revolving gate and Hadamard transform. The encrypted image can be obtained by superimposing the resulting sub-images with the superposition principle of quantum states. For the encryption algorithm, the keys are the parameters of random phase gate, rotation angle, binary sequence and orthonormal basis states. The security and the computational complexity of the proposed algorithm are analyzed. The proposed encryption algorithm can resist brute force attack due to its very large key space and has lower computational complexity than its classical counterparts.

The yolk-shell structured Ni/Co-based MOFs were first synthesized via one-step hydrothermal method without any template, followed by the pyrolysis treatment to prepare the multilayer core-shells NiCo2O4/NiO structure spheres. The growth mechanism of the Co/Ni-MOF and multilayer core-shells NiCo2O4/NiO microsphere can be explained by the Ostwald ripening and heterogeneous contraction effect, respectively. The obtained multilayer NiCo2O4/NiO microspheres displayed unique three-layer structure with an average diameter of 1–2 μm by TEM. Due to the compositional and structural benefits, the obtained multilayer NiCo2O4/NiO structure spheres exhibited high specific capacitance of 726 F·g−1 at the current density of 1 A·g−1 and a good cycling stability of 91.4% retention over 5000 cycles. In addition, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) based on multilayer NiCo2O4/NiO microspheres and active carbon was fabricated and shown a high energy density of 22.1 Wh·kg−1 at a power density of 4518.6 W·kg−1. These superior electrochemical properties indicated that the multilayer NiCo2O4/NiO microsphere was a promising electroactive candidate for high-performance supercapacitors.

Over the past few decades, toxic and highly volatile hydrazine derivatives have been the main fuel choices for liquid bipropellants, especially in traditional hypergolic rocket engines. The search for new hypergolic fuels as replacements for hydrazine derivatives is of great interest to researchers. In this study, a series of N-alkylimidazole borane compounds has been synthesized and characterized. Interestingly, these compounds display promising applications as potential hypergolic fuels owing to their excellent physiochemical properties including low melting points, high thermal stability, low viscosities, and unique hypergolic reactivity. Compared with popular hypergolic ionic liquids, the cost-effective and scaling-up advantages of these materials highlight their promising potential as high-performance fuels in liquid bipropellant formulations.

The exotic species Spartina alterniflora has recently rapidly expanded in the Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve. As a result, many technologies to control this organism have been developed. To clarify the effects of S. alterniflora invasion as well as the controlling technologies on the organic carbon reservation capability of the Chongming Dongtan Wetland, variations in soil microbial respiration (SMR) after S. alterniflora invasion and the implementation of different controlling technologies in Chongming Dongtan were analyzed, and their influencing mechanisms were studied by analyzing the soil and plant litter characteristics. The results showed that the SMR of S. alterniflora rhizosphere was 1.87 times ( P = 0.000 Phragmites communis rhizosphere, but that their annual organic matter input was almost identical. These findings implied that the organic carbon reservation capability of the S. alterniflora wetland was lower than that of the native P. communis wetland. S. alterniflora stalks more easily decayed into soil than P. communis stalks due to their lower lignin content and C/N ratio. This resulted in increased soil organic carbon (SOC) and TN content in soil of the S. alterniflora rhizosphere, which likely promoted microbial activities, thereby accelerating SMR and organic carbon output. In addition, three artificial measures for controlling the spread of S. alterniflora were found to generally improve the soil microbial activities, thereby increasing organic carbon output when compared to the control. However, when compared to other measures, the effects of mowing plus tillage and waterlogging (MTW) on soil microbial activities and SMR were relatively low owing to restriction by waterlogging. Overall, MTW was a relatively low carbon method for control of the spread of S. alterniflora .

To clarify the effects of artifical disturbances on the soil microbial respiration (SMR) of existed tidal wetlands, the SMR of three typical areas in Chongming Dongtan and Jiuduansha of the Yangtze River Estuary, China, were evaluated. The causes of the differences in the SMR were also evaluated by analyzing the microbial activity factors and community structure, as well as the physical–chemical characteristics of the different wetland soils. The results showed that the SMR of the existed wetlands in the area of siltation promotion was significantly higher (P

Previous studies have shown that the soil enzyme activity and microbial respiration intensities varied in two different types of tidal wetland in Chongming Dongtan, the first a sandy soil in a scouring bank with Phragmites australis and the second a saline-alkali clay soil in silting bank with P. australis/Spartina alterniflora/Scirpus mariqueter, resulting in different organic carbon reservation capabilities; however, their microbial biomass did not differ significantly. To clarify the microbial mechanism that explains the variability of soil respiration among different wetland areas, the community structure and abundance of soil microorganisms in different types of wetland were investigated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) plus real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technologies, and the relationship between soil environmental factors and the microbial community structure and the soil respiration intensity was elucidated. The results revealed that the soil microbial diversity and community structure differed between the two typical wetland areas. The common population was uncultured bacterium in both areas, and the most abundant community was α-, β-, γ-Proteobacteria, which play an important role in the cycling of carbon in soil. However, the abundance of α-Proteobacteria in Area A was 18.2% of that in Area B (P

N-deoxyribosyltransferases are essential enzymes in the nucleotide salvage pathway of lactobacilli. They catalyze the exchange between the purine or pyrimidine bases of 2'-deoxyribonucleosides and free pyrimidine or purine bases. In general, N-deoxyribosyltransferases are referred to as cytoplasmic enzymes, although there is no experimental evidence for this subcellular localization. In this work, the subcellular localization of N-deoxyribosyltransferase II (NTD) from Lactobacillus fermentum was examined by subcellular fractionation, transmission electron microscopy, and fluorescence microscopy. Our results indicate that L. fermentum NTD are distributed not only in the cytoplasm but also on the cell wall surface, and further studies showed that surface-attached NTD can be released into the culture broth and conventional buffers.

We measured organic carbon input and content of soil in two wetland areas of Chongming Dongtan (Yangtze River Estuary) to evaluate variability in organic carbon accumulation capability in different wetland soils. Observed differences were investigated based on the microbial activity and environmental factors of the soil at the two sites. Results showed that the organic carbon content of wetland soil vegetated with Phragmites australis (site A) was markedly lower than that with P. australis and Spartina alterniflora (site B). Sites differences were due to higher microbial activity at site A, which led to higher soil respiration intensity and greater carbon outputs. This indicated that the capability of organic carbon accumulation of the site B soils was greater than at site A. In addition, petroleum pollution and soil salinity were different in the two wetland soils. After bio-remediation, the soil petroleum pollution at site B was reduced to a similar level of site A. However, the culturable microbial biomass and enzyme activity in the remediated soils were also lower than at site A. These results indicated that greater petroleum pollution at site B did not markedly inhibit soil microbial activity. Therefore, differences in vegetation type and soil salinity were the primary factors responsible for the variation in microbial activity, organic carbon output and organic carbon accumulation capability between site A and site B.

The paper reported that the shear bands in the Ti 40 Zr 25 Be 20 Cu 12 Ni 3 bulk metallic glass (BMG) nucleate under the tensile stress at the center of the plate sample and grow to the side under the shear stress, while the shear bands in the Zr 41.2 Ti 13.8 Cu 12.5 Ni 10 Be 22.5 BMG initiate under the shear stress from the side and grow to the center. This indicates that the easier the free volume in the BMG re-arranged for shear bands formation under the tensile stress, the more ductile the BMG is.

A series of dendrons and dendrimers skeleton-constructed with azobenzene moiety were synthesized and doped in a high Tg polycarbonate (PC) as a host for nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. The optimal loading density and poling conditions were investigated using UV–vis spectral and second-harmonic generation (SHG) measurements. The results showed that the dendrons and dendrimers have good solubility in PC host, which increased with the generation increased. Moreover, the SHG measurements indicated that the dendrons possess higher nonlinearity than the dendrimers. The chromophores of lower generation dendrons were easier to orient along the poling electric field and gave a cone shape with the azobenzene branching units, which coherently contributed to the molecular hyperpolarizability and resulted in the higher SHG intensity. The temporal stability of the dendrons with 15% loading density was also investigated, and showed that the decaying in nonlinearity was slower for higher generation dendrons.

Two hyperbranched polymers with methyl ester (P1) and epoxy (P2) terminal groups containing pendant azobenzene chromophores were prepared through an “A2 + B3” approach used for second-order nonlinear optical materials. Their chemical structures were characterized by NMR and GPC analyses. The polymers have good solubility in common organic solvents and film-forming ability. The pure films were fabricated successively without doping into other matrices. The poled films exhibit high second-harmonic generation coefficients (>50 pm/V) due to the three-dimensional spatial isolation effect resulting from their highly branched structures. The optical nonlinearity of the poled P2 film is thermally more stable than that of P1 due to the cross-linking of epoxy groups with carboxylic acid groups in the former during poling. The onset decay temperature of SHG intensity of P2 was determined to be at around 155 °C, which was 20 °C higher than that of P1.

The first to third generation of amphiphilic azobenzene constructed phosphate dendrimers (G0 to G2) was synthesized via a convergent strategy and characterized by NMR and MALDI-TOF-MS measurements. The aggregation behaviors and photoresponsive properties of their aggregates in water were investigated. The TEM observation and UV–vis absorption spectral study showed that the morphologies of the aggregates are greatly affected by the preparation method. The multiple aggregation states, including H-aggregation and J-aggregation, were formed by azobenzene moieties in G1 and G2 aggregates prepared via sonication, which was thought to be due to their different distance from the hydrophilic phosphate group. The controlled release property of G1 vesicle was investigated using calcein as a fluorescence indicator, showing the potential use as a photoregulatable carrier.

A series of dendrons and dendrimers skeleton-constructed with azobenzene moiety based upon 4-carboxy-4′-(1,2-propanediolether)-azobenzene as an AB 2 monomer, via a convergent approach, proceeding in a repeated stepwise growth manner starting from 4-carboxy-4′-( n -butylether)-azobenzene as a peripheral monomer, were synthesized, and characterized by NMR, FTIR, and MALDI-TOF-MS analysis. Their regular molecular architecture and thus monodispersed molecular weights were confirmed by GPC. The UV–Vis absorbance and 1 H NMR spectrum study indicated that the azobenzene moieties in CHCl 3 solution took fully trans – cis isomerization under UV irradiation, and reversely isomerization back to the trans by visible light irradiation or by heat.

An amphiphilic dendrimer (DPEA-PEG) grafting polyethylene glycol at the terminals was prepared by endcapping of dendritic poly(ether-amide) (DPEA) with isocyanate terminated linear polyethylene glycol (PEG-NCO). The molecular structure was verified by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), 1 H NMR and FT-IR. The micelle characteristic of DPEA-PEG in water was investigated. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) was determined by a fluorescence technique to be 55.5 mg/L. The hydrodynamic radius of micelles was measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS) to be 76.2 nm. The UV–vis spectrum showed that the solubility of salicylic acid increased from 1.91 to 2.78 mg/L when the concentration of DPEA-PEG attained 5 mg/mL in an aqueous solution.

A series of thermally responsive dendritic core–shell polymers were prepared based upon dendritic poly(ether-amide) (DPEA), modified with carboxyl end-capped linear poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm-COOH) or both PNIPAAm-COOH and carboxyl end-capped methoxy polyethylene glycol (PEG-COOH) in different ratios via an esterification process to obtain DPEA–PNIPAAm or DPEA–PNIPAAm–PEG. Their molecular structures were verified by gel permeation chromatography, and 1 H NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. The temperature-dependent characteristics study has revealed that DPEA–PNIPAAm exhibits a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of about 34 °C, whereas DPEA–PNIPAAm–PEG polymers with the PNIPAAm/PEG ratio of about 1.0 and 0.4 possess about 36 °C and 39 °C, respectively, compared with 32 °C for homopolymer PNIPAAm. The critical aggregation temperature was investigated using fluorescence excitation spectrum of pyrene as a sequestered guest molecule based upon the sharp increase of the I 338 / I 333 value.

The application of hypergolic ionic liquids as propellant fuels is a newly emerging area in the fields of chemistry and propulsion science. Herein, a new class of [imidazolyl-amine-BH2](+)-cation-based ionic liquids, which included fuel-rich anions, such as dicyanamide (N(CN)2(-)) and cyanoborohydride (BH3CN(-)) anions, were synthesized and characterized. As expected, all of the ionic liquids exhibited spontaneous combustion upon contact with the oxidizer 100 % HNO3. The densities of these ionic liquids varied from 0.99-1.12 g cm(-3), and the heats of formation, predicted based on Gaussian 09 calculations, were between -707.7 and 241.8 kJ mol(-1). Among them, the salt of compound 5, that is, (1-allyl-1H-imidazole-3-yl)-(trimethylamine)-dihydroboronium dicyanamide, exhibited the lowest viscosity (168 MPa s), good thermal properties (Tg-70 °C, Td130 °C), and the shortest ignition-delay time (18 ms) with 100 % HNO3. These ionic fuels, as "green" replacements for toxic hydrazine-derivatives, may have potential applications as bipropellant formulations.

To fabricate metal–ceramic multilayer hollow functionally gradient materials (FGMs) that might meet the requirement of repeated service and long working time of high temperature burners, such as spacecraft engine, the microstructure and properties of composites of stainless steel and partially stabilized zirconia were investigated. Samples of different proportions of stainless steel (316L) to partially yttria-stabilized zirconia (PSZ) were fabricated by powder extrusion and sintering method. Shrinkage, relative density, microstructure, micro-Vickers hardness, compression strength, bending strength, fractographic morphology, Young’s modulus, coefficient of thermal expansion, thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity and electric-resistivity of gas-pressure sintered samples with different proportions of stainless steel were measured. The results shows that threshold of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) and metal matrix composites (MMCs) are approximately equal to 50 vol.% 316L and 60 vol.% 316L, respectively, and there is some difference between mechanical properties and physical properties in transient point.

Multilayer metal-ceramic gradient composite pipes were extruded through simultaneous extrusion of different types of particulate pastes composed of different proportions of stainless steel (316L) to partially yttria-stabilized zirconia (PSZ) with binder by means of multi-billet extrusion, then were solidified utilizing gas-pressure sintering. The multilayer composite pipes have sound transitional boundaries between adjacent layers. Because of the composition gradient, transitional boundaries between adjacent layers possess good bonding, and no interfacial decohesion occurs during flexural and compressive loading, which shows relatively high bonding strength between adjacent layers. In summary, multilayer metal-ceramic gradient composite pipe with good interfacial bonding between adjacent layers can be fabricated utilizing multi-billet extrusion and sintering.

Polystyrene (PS)/clay nanocomposites were successfully prepared by the γ-ray irradiation technique. Four different types of organophilic clays were used: three of the four contained a reactive group, while the other did not. Exfoliated PS/clay nanocomposites can be obtained by using reactive organophilic clay and intercalated PS/nanocomposites can be formed by using non-reactive ones, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In the formation of exfoliated PS/nanocomposites, the effect of the double bond of the clay-intercalated agents is much more important than the alkyl chain length. The enhanced thermal properties of PS/nanocomposites were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In particular, the enhancement of the thermal properties of PS/nanocomposites made using the reactive organophilic clay was much higher than that of the thermal properties of PS/nanocomposites incorporating non-reactive clay.

Being a part of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, closing of the Buqingshan-Anyemaqen oceanic basin left a rich geologic record in the East Kunlun Orogenic Belt. The genesis and tectonic setting of the granites including quartz monzodiorite, granodiorite and mozogranite is discussed in light of the geochemical and U–Pb chronological data obtained. U–Pb dating studies on zircon from the quartz monzodiorite and monzogranite of the research area yielded ages of 220.11 ± 0.49 Ma ((Mean Square Weighted Deviates) MSWD = 0.046) and 223.33 ± 0.54 Ma (MSWD = 0.14), respectively, by Laser Ablation Multiple Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA–MC–ICP–MS) method. According to sedimentological and structural investigations, the Paleo-Tethys Ocean in the Qimantag region began to close at about 235 Ma, and completely disapperared at about 220 Ma. The three types of granites in this study are considered to intrude the syn- to post-collisional stages. The quartz monzodiorite and granodiorite belong to the I-type granite whereas the monzogranite is of the S-type granite. These two types of granites were formed by different ways of partial melting: first, partial melting of the lower crust took place as a result of asthenosphere upwelling triggered by break-up of the leading edge or tearing of the descending oceanic slab. Subsequently partial melting of the middle–lower crust was caused by the underplating of basaltic magma formed by partial melting of the mantle wedge fluxed by fluids liberated by the oceanic slab dehydration. The magma responsible for the formation of S-type granites appears to have originated from partial melting of the upper crustal material at a shallower level with a clear signature of continental crust.

This study investigated the effect of catheter-based renal sympathetic denervation (RDN) in pigs with rapid pacing induced heart failure.Heart failure was induced by rapid right ventricular pacing in 12 pigs and pigs were randomly divided into RDN group (n = 6): pacing+RDN at 7 days post pacing; control group (n = 6): pacing only. Echocardiography examination (LVEF, LVEDD and LVESD) was performed before pacing and at 1 and 2 weeks post pacing. Serum biochemical markers including renin, aldosterone and creatinine were also measured at baseline, 1 and 2 weeks after pacing. Repeated renal artery angiography was performed at 1 week after RDN. All pigs were sacrificed to examine the heart and renal pathology and renal artery sympathetic nerve staining at 2 weeks post pacing.LVEF decreased 1 week after rapid pacing from (60.5 ± 6.0)% to (35.3 ± 9.8)%. LVEF was significantly higher [(42.8 ± 5.9) % vs. (33.4 ± 9.7)%, P = 0.001 8] while LVESD was significantly lower [(28.4 ± 3.7) mm vs. (33.0 ± 2.0) mm, P = 0.001 6] in the RDN group than in the control group at 2 weeks post pacing. At 2 weeks after pacing, plasma concentrations of renin and aldosterone were significantly lower in RDN group compared to the control group (all P0.05) . Kidney function and blood pressure were comparable between the two groups at 2 weeks post pacing. There were no signs of renal damages such as renal artery stenosis, dissection and thrombus in all pigs after 2 weeks pacing. Sympathetic neurons of adventitia were injured in RND group.RDN could significantly improve cardiac function and attenuate left ventricular remodeling via inhibiting renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in this pacing induced pig heart failure model.

Baodian mine is gradually mining shallow area with thin bedrock, and failure height of overburden strata in shallow area has a certain difference from one of thick bedrock area. According to the measurement of “Two zones” in 5304-1top slice face and 5304 mechanized sublevel caving face, the paper confirms the heights of caving zone and water flowing fractured zone. And then the heights are compared with forecasts of empirical formula. In the end development characteristics of strata damage is concluded.