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Traditional Chinese medicine for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis is a kind of drug with cold or warm medicinal properties which is commonly used in clinical practice. It is an excellent carrier for studying the nature-effect relationship of traditional Chinese medicine. Therefore,this study will acquire the main active components and targets based on the drug-based research method. The Cytoscape 3. 5. 1 platform was used to construct the protein interaction network,and the Bin GO plug-in was used to perform functional annotation and statistical analysis on the identified functional modules. The results showed that the bitter-liver protein interaction network mainly participates in cell cycle process,lipid catabolic process,blood circulation to exert the effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis; the cold protein interaction network mainly participates in vasoconstriction through targets such as EDNRA,regulates blood coagulation through targets such as PLAU,and thus exerts the effect of cooling blood and eliminating phlegm; warm protein interaction network mainly participates in the regulation of platelet activation through targets such as P2 RY12,thereby exerting the effect of promoting blood circulation,relieving pain and relieving pain. This study explains the common characteristics of the bitter-liver combination and the specific characteristics of cold or warm medicinal properties from the molecular network level,which provides a new idea for the intrinsic relationship between the medicinal properties and efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine.

Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Carthami Flos are commonly traditional Chinese medicines with invigorating blood circulation and eliminating blood stasis,but they are different in effects due to differences in five tastes and four properties. In this study,Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Carthami Flos are selected as research vectors to obtain the active ingredients and targets through TCMD,TCMSP database and Ch EMBL database. The protein interaction information of the target is used to obtain from STRING online database,then imported into Cytoscape software to plot the protein interaction network and perform GO enrichment analysis.The results show that the heart-liver protein interaction network,involving blood circulation and hepatic lipid metabolism,thereby exerting the effect of activating blood circulation. The cold-bitter protein interaction network involves the biological process of vasoconstriction,thereby exerting cooling blood and the efficacy of eliminating phlegm. The warm-pungent protein interaction network involves blood coagulation,lipid metabolism and other biological processes to play the role of phlegm pain. Through analysis,it is found that the relationship between pharmacological efficacy and medicinal properties has a certain degree of specificity,which facilitates the subsequent scientific and systematic study of medicinal properties on the basis of this study.

The herbs for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis were used commonly in clinical,and most of them are pungent and bitter. In order to study the nature-effect interrelationship of the herbs for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis,the TCMSP platform and Cytoscape 3. 5. 1 platform were used to construct warm-pungent-liver and warm-bitter-liver of the complement and intersection protein interaction network and the target-disease network and the network module was analyzed. As a result,warm-liver target-disease network is associated with diseases such as cancer,hypertension,and depression,which exerts the efficacy of warming Yang and transforming Qi,promoting Qi and activating blood,removing blood stasis and dispersing phlegm. The bitter taste target-disease network is associated with diseases such as myocardial infarction,cancer,inflammation and other diseases,which exerts the efficacy of dissipating the stasis. The pungent taste target-disease network is associated with diseases such as cancer,cardiovascular disease,osteoporosis and other diseases,which exerts the efficacy of invigorating the circulation of blood and eliminating stagnation. The research shows that the medicinal combination of warm-pungent-liver and warm-bitter-liver has the efficacy of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis by regulating different targets in different disease processes.

The efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine is the therapeutic effect of the drug on the body. The nature of traditional Chinese medicine is a further generalization of the effect of efficacy,and there is an intrinsic relationship between efficacy and nature of traditional Chinese medicine. In this study,the nature-effect relationship is found on the whole level,through the research mode of " nature combination-targets of traditional Chinese medicine-modules of protein interaction network-efficiency". The results showed that the warm-pungent-liver protein interaction network mainly participated in lipid catabolic process,blood coagulation,platelet activation,heme oxidation,platelet degranulation,apoptotic process,acute inflammatory response to exert the effect of anti-tumor,antithrombotic,anti-myocardial ischemia and anti-inflammatory.

Decreased autophagy has been reported to contribute to the progression of cardiac hypertrophy. Our previous research has demonstrated that endophilin A2 (EndoA2) attenuates H(2)O(2)-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis by strengthening autophagy. However, the role of EndoA2 in the regulation of autophagy in cardiac hypertrophy is unknown. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that EndoA2 suppresses cardiac hypertrophy induced by isoproterenol (ISO) by activating autophagy. In vivo, we established a cardiac hypertrophy model by subcutaneous injection of ISO and used intramyocardial delivery of adenovirus vector harboring EndoA2 cDNA (Ad-EndoA2) to overexpress EndoA2. The cardiac hypertrophic response and autophagy level were measured. EndoA2 overexpression suppressed pathological cardiac hypertrophy and enhanced autophagy in rat hearts. In addition, the effects of EndoA2 on cardiac hypertrophy and autophagy were observed in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) with gain- and loss-of-function approaches to regulate EndoA2 expression. The results were consistent with those of the in vivo study. Furthermore, the involvement of EndoA2-mediated autophagy in the attenuation of ISO-induced cardiac hypertrophy was explored by pharmaceutical inhibition of autophagy. Pretreatment with 3-methyladenine (3-MA) clearly diminished the anti-hypertrophic effects of EndoA2 in ISO-treated NRCMs. The results presented here provide the first evidence that EndoA2 is involved in ISO-induced cardiac hypertrophy. The anti-hypertrophic effects of EndoA2 can be partially attributed to its regulation of autophagy.

Nano-antibodies possess great potential in many applications. However, they are naturally derived from heavy chain-only antibodies (HcAbs), which lack light chains and the CH1 domain, and are only found in camelids and sharks. In this study, we investigated whether the precise genetic removal of the CH1 exon of the γ1 gene enabled the production of a functional heavy chain-only IgG1 in mice. IgG1 heavy chain dimers lacking associated light chains were detected in the sera of the genetically modified mice. However, the genetic modification led to decreased expression of IgG1 but increased expression of other IgG subclasses. The genetically modified mice showed a weaker immune response to specific antigens compared with wild type mice. Using a phage-display approach, antigen-specific, single domain VH antibodies could be screened from the mice but exhibited much weaker antigen binding affinity than the conventional monoclonal antibodies. Although the strategy was only partially successful, this study confirms the feasibility of producing desirable nano-bodies with appropriate genetic modifications in mice.

Oxidative stress is the main pathogenesis of diabetic microangiopathy, which can cause microvascular endothelial cell damage and destroy vascular barrier. In this study, it is found that carnosol protects human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVEC) through antioxidative mechanisms. First, we measured the antioxidant activity of carnosol. We showed that carnosol pretreatment suppressed tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced cell viability, affected the production of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) as well as reactive oxygen species (ROS), and increased the produce of nitric oxide (NO). Additionally, carnosol promotes the protein expression of vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin) to keep the integrity of intercellular junctions, which indicated that it protected microvascular barrier in oxidative stress. Meanwhile, we investigated that carnosol can interrupt Nrf2-Keap1 protein&minus, protein interaction and stimulated antioxidant-responsive element (ARE)-driven luciferase activity in vitro. Mechanistically, we showed that carnosol promotes the expression of heme oxygenase 1(HO-1) and nuclear factor-erythroid 2 related factor 2(Nrf2). It can also promote the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). Collectively, our data support the notion that carnosol is a protective agent in HMVECs and has the potential for therapeutic use in the treatments of microvascular endothelial cell injury.

Different from judging whether the proposed structure meets the requirements in the design stage, the evaluation of the existing structure has always been a difficult issue for structural engineers. Using the four-years monitoring data of a long span cable-stayed bridge in this paper, the probability distribution of the load effect is studied based on the reliability theory. The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical reference for the safety assessment, operation management and maintenance reinforcement decision of existing structures. The results show that the load effect obeys the normal distribution or the beta distribution. The reliability indexes of the cable are calculated separately in months and in years. It is noted that the reliability indexes varies with the different time period. This study also conducts a preliminary discussion on the remaining life of the cable based on the regression analysis of reliability index.

It is of great importance for climate change studies to construct a worldwide, long-term surface downward longwave radiation (Ld, 4–100 μm) dataset. Although a number of global Ld datasets are available, their low accuracies and coarse spatial resolutions limit their applications. This study generated a daily Ld dataset with a 5-km spatial resolution over the global land surface from 2000 to 2018 using atmospheric parameters, which include 2-m air temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH) at 1000 hPa, total column water vapor (TCWV), surface downward shortwave radiation (Sd), and elevation, based on the gradient boosting regression tree (GBRT) method. The generated Ld dataset was evaluated using ground measurements collected from AmeriFlux, AsiaFlux, baseline surface radiation network (BSRN), surface radiation budget network (SURFRAD), and FLUXNET networks. The validation results showed that the root mean square error (RMSE), mean bias error (MBE), and correlation coefficient (R) values of the generated daily Ld dataset were 17.78 W m−2, 0.99 W m−2, and 0.96 (p < 0.01). Comparisons with other global land surface radiation products indicated that the generated Ld dataset performed better than the clouds and earth’s radiant energy system synoptic (CERES-SYN) edition 4.1 dataset and ERA5 reanalysis product at the selected sites. In addition, the analysis of the spatiotemporal characteristics for the generated Ld dataset showed an increasing trend of 1.8 W m−2 per decade (p < 0.01) from 2003 to 2018, which was closely related to Ta and water vapor pressure. In general, the generated Ld dataset has a higher spatial resolution and accuracy, which can contribute to perfect the existing radiation products.

Nb powder with an average diameter of 15 μm was added to the molten pool during wire arc additive manufacturing of 5B06 aluminum alloy. The unmelted Nb with high melting point and the in-situ alloying of Al3Nb acted as heterogeneous nucleation core. The fine equiaxed grains with a diameter less than 50 μm was achieved, and the texture intensity of which was obviously weakened. An improvement in both the ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the Nb added samples were observed, and the micro-hardness of which was also improved due to the refined grain structure.

Xun Yuan, Yi-Chuan Xiao, Gui-Ping Zhang, Ning Hou, Xiao-Qian Wu, Wen-Liang Chen, Jian-Dong Luo, Gen-Shui Zhang Department of Pharmacology, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China Abstract: Diabetes is a potent risk factor for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Autophagy can be activated under pathological conditions, including diabetic cardiomyopathy. The therapeutic effects of chloroquine (CQ), an autophagy inhibitor, on left ventricle function in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice were investigated. The cardiac function, light chain 3 (LC3)-II/LC3-I ratio, p62, beclin 1, reactive oxygen species, apoptosis, and fibrosis were measured 14days after CQ (ip 60mg/kg/d) administration. In STZ-induced mice, cardiac diastolic function was decreased significantly with normal ejection fraction. CQ significantly ameliorated cardiac diastolic function in diabetic mice with HFpEF. In addition, CQ decreased the autophagolysosomes, cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and cardiac fibrosis but increased LC3-II and p62 expressions. These results suggested that CQ improved the cardiac diastolic function by inhibiting autophagy in STZ-induced HFpEF mice. Autophagic inhibitor CQ might be a potential therapeutic agent for HFpEF. Keywords: chloroquine, diastolic function, HFpEF, autophagy, diabetic cardiomyopathy, type 1 diabetes mellitus

The Endangered giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca is one of the most threatened mammals. The species has experienced declines in its population and habitat as a result of human disturbance. We investigated the influence of human disturbance on habitat use by giant pandas in the Daxiangling Mountains, in China's Sichuan Province. We mapped all signs of giant panda and all locations of seven types of human disturbance in the study area. We used correlation analysis, generalized linear models, and Akaike information criteria to analyse the influence of the various types of human disturbances on habitat use by the giant panda. Our results showed that habitat use was positively correlated with elevation and distance from roads, residences, hydropower stations and logging or tree-felling sites, but negatively correlated with distance from bamboo shoot collection sites and trap sites. We found that the road-effect zone spanned a distance of c. 1,200 m and that human residence could affect the intensity of habitat use by giant pandas at distances > 2,500 m. The effect of roads on habitat use was probably influenced by the association of roads with residences, hydropower stations and mines. In the area occupied by giant pandas, we recommend increased regulation to minimize the expansion and impact of roads, residences, hydropower stations and logging activities.

This study investigated the association between premature ovarian failure (POF), MTHFR C677T/A1298C and MTRR A66G genotypes and serum homocysteine (Hcy) concentration. A prospective study was conducted in Chinese women, which included POF patients (n = 180) and controls (n = 195). Peripheral blood samples were used to determine MTHFR C677T/A1298C and MTRR A66G genotypes, and serum Hcy and sex hormone concentrations. Results showed that serum Hcy concentrations of POF patients were significantly higher than those of controls (P < 0.0001). In POF patients, serum Hcy concentrations were significantly correlated with oestradiol and FSH concentrations (r = -0.174, P = 0.037 and r = +0.238, P = 0.006, respectively). There were no significant differences in the distributions of MTHFR C677T/A1298C or MTRR A66G genotypes between the two groups. However, these genetic variants influenced serum Hcy concentrations in POF patients, especially for MTRR 66 AA/AG/GG genotypes, which were significantly correlated with the patients' Hcy concentrations (τ = 0.166, P = 0.033). These results suggest that serum Hcy concentrations in Chinese POF patients are increased and correlated with serum oestradiol/FSH concentrations. In conclusion, MTHFR C667T/A1298C and MTRR A66G genotypes are not associated with POF development, but they affect the patients' serum Hcy concentrations.

Aims Overexpression of either member of the miR-199 family, miR-199a-5p or miR-199b-5p (hereinafter referred to as miR-199a or miR-199b), promotes pathological cardiac hypertrophy, but little is known about the role of endogenous miR-199 in cardiac development and disease. Our study aimed to determine the physiological function of the endogenous miR-199 family in cardiac homeostasis maintenance. Methods and results We generated a sponge transgenic mouse model with a specific disruption of miR-199 in the heart. To our surprise, we found that knockdown of endogenous miR-199 caused physiological cardiac hypertrophy characterized by an increased heart weight and cardiomyocyte size, but with normal cardiac morphology and function. Furthermore, we also identified PGC1α as the target gene of the miR-199 family, and PGC1α was also increased in sponge transgenic mice. Conclusions Inhibition of endogenous miR-199 led to physiological cardiac hypertrophy probably due to the upregulation of PGC1α, uncovering a surprising role for endogenous miR-199 in the maintenance of cardiac homeostasis.

The solubilizations of dense nonaqueous phase liquids trichloroethylene (TCE), carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ), 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE) in microemulsions containing mixed surfactants 1- dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ( C 12 mimBr ) and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), were studied by application of the e - β fishlike phase diagram approach. It was found that the three-phase microemulsions would form at two X C 12 mimBr ranges of 0.0–0.1 and 0.8–1.0. Compared to the microemulsions containing single surfactant C 12 mimBr or SLS, the mixed C 12 mimBr -SLS microemulsions have lower solubility of the alcohol ( e B ) and lower mass fraction of the alcohol in the interfacial layer ( A S ), but higher solubilization parameter ( SP *) values. The order of magnitude for the solubilization ability of the chlorohydrocarbons in the C 12 mimBr -SLS mixed ( X C 12 mimBr = 0.8) microemulsion systems is: TCE > CCl 4 > PCE > DCE. This is consistent with the results of the literature. As the mass fraction values of oil in oil-water mixture ( α ) increase, e B and A S decrease, while SP * increases. The effects of both NaCl contents ( w ) and temperatures (T) on the physicochemical parameters of the microemulsions were also investigated. As the NaCl contents and the temperatures increase, the solubilization ability of the microemulsions increases.

DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are most dangerous lesions. To determine whether oxidative stress can induce DSBs and how they are repaired in cardiomyocytes (CMs), cultured neonatal rat CMs were treated with different doses of H2O2 and followed for up to 72 hours for monitoring the spatiotemporal dynamics of DNA repair protein assembly/disassembly at DSB foci. The protein levels and foci numbers of histone H2AX phosphorylated at serine 139 (γ-H2AX) increased proportionally to 50, 100 and 200 µmol/L H2O2 after 30 min treatment. When H2O2 was at or above 400 µmol/L, γ-H2AX became predominantly pan-nuclear. After 30 min, 200 µmol/L of H2O2 treatment, γ-H2AX levels were highest within the first hour and then gradually declined during the recovery and returned to basal levels at 48 hours. Among DNA damage transducer kinases, ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) was significantly activated by H2O2 in contrast to mild activation of ataxia telangiectasia mutated and Rad3-related (ATR). DSB binding protein, p53 binding protein 1 formed distinct nuclear foci that colocalized with γ-H2AX foci and phosphorylated ATM. Our findings indicate that DNA double strand breaks can be induced by H2O2 and ATM is the main kinase to mediate DSB repair in cardiomyocytes. Therefore, monitoring DSB repair can assess oxidative injury and response in cardiomyocytes.

The antibacterial activity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) is well described, but little is known of their impact on specific microbial functions such as denitrification, nor on microbial community structure. In this study, a denitrifier (named as Pseudomonas stutzeri CFY1), which was isolated from the activated sludge and could remove up to 111.68 mg/L of NO3(-)-N under aerobic conditions, was utilized to evaluate the influences of TiO2 NPs on its nitrogen removal ability and associated gene expression under aerobic conditions. The variations of the bacterial diversity of activated sludge were also observed. The results showed that antibacterial activity increased with increasing concentrations of TiO2 NPs. Increased production of reactive oxygen species was responsible for TiO2 NPs toxicity. An up-regulation of denitrification genes was observed with increasing concentrations of TiO2 NPs under aerobic conditions. Accordingly, denitrification by P. stutzeri was accelerated when the concentration of TiO2 NPs was increased to 50 mg/L. However, the denitrification of CFY1 was inhibited at low concentrations of TiO2 NPs (5-25 mg/L), indicating that assimilatory and dissimilatory denitrification were synchronized in P. stutzeri CFY1; the latter process plays a major role in denitrification. Further study of the community using 454 pyrosequencing showed that after 7 days of exposure to 50 mg/L TiO2 NPs, the microbial composition of the activated sludge was significantly different and had a lower diversity compared to the controls.

Organic solid waste consists of 70 % biodegradables, such as cellulose, which is unable to be degraded quickly and efficiently in the cold region of China. Psychrotrophic cellulose-degrading bacteria play an important role in cellulose degradation at low temperatures. In this study, a psychrotrophic cellulose-degrading FLX-7 strain with high carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) activity was isolated from the soil of a solid waste landfill under the environmental temperature of −10 °C. The FLX-7 strain was identified as Sphingobacterium sp. based on morphology and physiological and biochemical properties as well as 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. To improve the cold-active CMCase production of FLX-7, fermentation conditions were optimized using response surface methodology based on a Box–Behnken design. The maximum CMCase activity (16.95 U/mL) was obtained at optimal fermentation conditions (inoculum size 2.1 %, temperature 10.4 °C, incubation time 73.5 h, and pH 7.2). The optimum pH and temperature for enzymatic reaction of cold-active CMCase were 5.0 and 25 °C, respectively. The cold-active CMCase was stable at a wide pH range of 5.0–9.0 and temperature range of 10–30 °C. The FLX-7 strain could be distributed via a psychrotrophic cellulose-degrading strain library and applied more broadly to organic solid waste composting in cold regions.

Aims Cardiomyocyte (CM) proliferation increases from the inner trabecular to outer compact myocardium in fetal hearts. We determined if canonical Wnt signaling has directional and graded activity to maintain this CM proliferation gradient. Moreover, we investigated whether perturbation of Wnt signaling intensity could modulate CM proliferative activity. Methods and results With confocal microscopy and image analysis we found that the Wnt effector, β-catenin, formed a signaling gradient which positively correlated with CM proliferative activity across ventricular walls of wild type (WT) embryos at embryonic day (E) 13.5 and 17.5. Negative Wnt regulators, adenomatosis polyposis coli (APC), had a reverse distribution pattern. The activation of canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling by deletion of Apc in CMs led to ventricular hyperplasia with no adverse effects on fetal survival or CM differentiation. In contrast, cardiac deletion of β-catenin resulted in ventricular hypoplasia and fetal demise by E14.5. We further revealed differential distribution and regulation of three cyclin Ds in fetal hearts. Cyclin D1 was mainly expressed in endothelial cells. Although both cyclin D2 and D3 were present in CMs, only cyclin D2 was regulated by Wnt signaling perturbation: downregulation by β-catenin deletion and upregulation by Apc knockout. Conclusion Canonical Wnt signaling is asymmetrical and graded across ventricular walls and positively regulates CM proliferation via cyclin D2.

Biodemulsifiers are widely applied in petroleum processing, mining and petroleum pollution treatment. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a common component in petroleum-polluted environments; however, little is known about the mechanism behind the effect of biodemulsifiers on promoting PAH biodegradation. To obtain clear mechanistic insights, the facilitating effects of biodemulsifiers on the bioavailability of phenanthrene (PHE), which is used as a model PAH, and the cell membrane properties of PHE-degrading bacteria Achromobacter sp. LH-1 were researched. The results showed that LH-1 achieved a 96.1 % degradation rate and a 60 % adsorption rate. Biodemulsifiers could encapsulate PHE within micelles to solubilize PHE and increase the cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) of LH-1 to improve the association of LH-1 with PHE. Furthermore, biodemulsifier molecules can be embedded in the phospholipid bilayer of the LH-1 membrane to increase the permeability and the area of the LH-1 membrane, and they can increase the unsaturated fatty acid contents of the LH-1 membrane to loosen the arrangement of carbon chains, thus further facilitating the uptake of PHE by LH-1 for biodegradation. These results suggest that biodemulsifiers are powerful biological products for increasing the degradation potential of PHE-degrading bacteria in ecosystems, and their application will be important for the economical and efficient bioremediation of PHE-contaminated environments.

Downward surface solar radiation (Rs) plays a dominant role in determining the climate and environment on the Earth. However, the densely distributed ground observations of Rs are usually insufficient to meet the increasing demand of the climate diagnosis and analysis well, so it is essential to build a long-term accurate Rs dataset. The extremely randomized trees (ERT) algorithm was used to generate Rs using routine meteorological observations (2000&ndash, 2015) from the Climate Data Center of the Chinese Meteorological Administration (CDC/CMA). The estimated Rs values were validated against ground measurements at the national scale with an overall correlation coefficient value of 0.97, a mean bias of 0.04 Wm&minus, 2, a root-mean-square-error value of 23.12 Wm&minus, 2, and a mean relative error of 9.81%. It indicates that the estimated Rs from the ERT-based model is reasonably accurate. Moreover, the ERT-based model was used to generate a new daily Rs dataset at 756 CDC/CMA stations from 1958 to 2015. The long-term variation trends of Rs at 454 stations covering 46 consecutive years (1970&ndash, 2015) were also analyzed. The Rs in China showed a significant decline trend (&minus, 1.1 Wm&minus, 2 per decade) during 1970&ndash, 2015. A decreasing trend (&minus, 2.8 Wm&minus, 2 per decade) in Rs during 1970&ndash, 1992 was observed, followed by a recovery trend (0.23 Wm&minus, 2 per decade) during 1992&ndash, 2015. The recovery trends at individual stations were found at 233 out of 454 stations during 1970&ndash, 2015, which were mainly located in southern and northern China. The new Rs dataset would substantially provide basic data for the related studies in agriculture, ecology, and meteorology.

The surface integrity of a potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystal significantly affects the laser damage threshold of the material. However, the detection of the surface integrity of KDP crystals is difficult due to the material’s special properties including soft, brittle, and sensitive to external environments (e.g., humidity, temperature, and applied stress). This results in conventional characterization methods, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), which cannot be used to study the mechanisms of surface/subsurface damages of KDP crystals. This paper investigates the ultra-precision fly-cutting effect on the surface integrity of KDP crystals. To explore the fundamentals, nanoindentation was used. The results demonstrated that the elastic-plastic deformation of a KDP crystal occurs more easily on a machined surface than on a cleaved (damage-free) surface. The elastic modulus and hardness of the former surface are lower than that of the latter. Additionally, fly-cutting reduces the anisotropy of the elastic modulus and hardness. To explore the mechanisms behind such variations, a novel method to characterize subsurface damage was proposed by using the grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) technique. It was identified that the damages induced by fly-cutting are dislocations and lattice misalignments.

In this study, a novel chlorimuron-ethyl-degrading Pleurotus eryngiu-SMS-CB was successfully constructed for remediation of soil historically contaminated with chlorimuron-ethyl. The P. eryngiu-SMS-CB was prepared using efficient chlorimuron-ethyl-degrading cocultured bacteria, Rhodococcus sp. D310-1 and Enterobacter sp. D310-5, with spent mushroom substrate (SMS, a type of agricultural waste containing laccase) of Pleurotus eryngiu as a carrier. The chlorimuron-ethyl degradation efficiency in historically chlorimuron-ethyl-contaminated soil reached 93.1% at the end of 80 days of treatment with the P. eryngiu-SMS-CB. Although the P. eryngiu-SMS-CB altered the microbial community structure at the beginning of the 80 days, the bacterial population slowly recovered after 180 days, thus, the P. eryngiu-SMS-CB does not have an excessive effect on the long-term microbial community structure of the soil. Pot experiments indicated that contaminated soil remediation with P. eryngiu-SMS-CB reduced the toxic effects of chlorimuron-ethyl on wheat. This paper is the first to attempt to use chlorimuron-ethyl-degrading bacterial strains adhering to P. eryngiu-SMS to remediate historically chlorimuron-ethyl-contaminated soil, and the microbial community structure and P. eryngiu-SMS-CB activity in chlorimuron-ethyl-contaminated soil were traced in situ to evaluate the long-term effects of this remediation.

Downward shortwave radiation (RS) drives many processes related to atmosphere−surface interactions and has great influence on the earth’s climate system. However, ground-measured RS is still insufficient to represent the land surface, so it is still critical to generate high accuracy and spatially continuous RS data. This study tries to apply the random forest (RF) method to estimate the RS from the Himawari-8 Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) data from February to May 2016 with a two-km spatial resolution and a one-day temporal resolution. The ground-measured RS at 86 stations of the Climate Data Center of the Chinese Meteorological Administration (CDC/CMA) are collected to evaluate the estimated RS data from the RF method. The evaluation results indicate that the RF method is capable of estimating the RS well at both the daily and monthly time scales. For the daily time scale, the evaluation results based on validation data show an overall R value of 0.92, a root mean square error (RMSE) value of 35.38 (18.40%) Wm−2, and a mean bias error (MBE) value of 0.01 (0.01%) Wm−2. For the estimated monthly RS, the overall R was 0.99, the RMSE was 7.74 (4.09%) Wm−2, and the MBE was 0.03 (0.02%) Wm−2 at the selected stations. The comparison between the estimated RS data over China and the Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) RS dataset was also conducted in this study. The comparison results indicate that the RS estimates from the RF method have comparable accuracy with the CERES-EBAF RS data over China but provide higher spatial and temporal resolution.

Nano-antibodies possess great potential in many applications. However, they are naturally derived from heavy chain-only antibodies (HcAbs), which lack light chains and the CH1 domain, and are only found in camelids and sharks. In this study, we investigated whether the precise genetic removal of the CH1 exon of the γ1 gene enabled the production of a functional heavy chain-only IgG1 in mice. IgG1 heavy chain dimers lacking associated light chains were detected in the sera of the genetically modified mice. However, the genetic modification led to decreased expression of IgG1 but increased expression of other IgG subclasses. The genetically modified mice showed a weaker immune response to specific antigens compared with wild type mice. Using a phage-display approach, antigen-specific, single domain VH antibodies could be screened from the mice but exhibited much weaker antigen binding affinity than the conventional monoclonal antibodies. Although the strategy was only partially successful, this study confirms the feasibility of producing desirable nano-bodies with appropriate genetic modifications in mice.

Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a global epidemic afflicting 20–30% in the general population. The animal model of NAFLD available at the present are less clinically relevant. In this study. We aimed to establish a NAFLD model of rhesus monkeys and develop an ultrasonographic steatosis score (USS) system to grade hepatic steatosis in this model. Methods We performed hepatic ultrasonography and blood biochemical tests on 86 rhesus monkeys with and without metabolic syndrome (MetS), among which 45 animals were further assessed by histopathological analysis. Results The liver histological features of rhesus monkeys NAFLD were resemble to those of NAFLD patients. There was a close correlation between the histological steatosis grade and the USS (Spearman’s coefficient, 0.705, p

Previous evidence suggested that puerarin may attenuate cardiac hypertrophy; however, the potential mechanisms were undetermined. Moreover, the use of puerarin is limited by severe adverse events, including intravascular hemolysis. This study used a rat model of abdominal aortic constriction (AAC) -induced cardiac hypertrophy to evaluate the potential mechanisms underlying the attenuating efficacy of puerarin on cardiac hypertrophy as well as the metabolic mechanisms of puerarin involved. We confirmed that puerarin (50 mg/kg/d) significantly attenuated cardiac hypertrophy, upregulated Nrf2 and decreased Keap1 in the myocardium. Moreover, puerarin significantly promoted Nrf2 translocation to the nucleus in parallel with the upregulated downstream proteins including heme oxygenase-1, glutathione s-transferase p-1 and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase-1. Similar results were obtained in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) treated with angiotensin II (1 μM) and puerarin (100 μM), while the silencing of Nrf2 abolished the antihypertrophic effects of puerarin. The mRNA and protein levels of UGT1A1 and UGT1A9, enzymes for puerarin metabolism, were significantly increased in the liver and heart tissues of AAC rats and angiotensin II-treated NRCMs. Interestingly, the silencing of Nrf2 attenuated the puerarin-induced upregulation of UGT1A1 and UGT1A9. The results of chromatin immunoprecipitation-qPCR indicated that the binding of Nrf2 to the promoter region of UGT1A1 or UGT1A9 was significantly enhanced in puerarin-treated cardiomyocytes. These results suggest that Nrf2 is the key regulator of antihypertrophic effects and the upregulation of the metabolic enzymes UGT1A1 and UGT1A9 of puerarin. This autoregulatory circuits between puerarin and Nrf2-induced UGT1A1/1A9 are beneficial to attenuate adverse effects and maintain the pharmacological effects of puerarin.

Despite many reports of the use of biodegradation to remove contaminants, the biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is challenging because of the hydrophobicities and low aqueous solubilities of most PAHs. In this study, phenanthrene (PHE) was used as a sole carbon and energy source to screen and identify Achromobacter sp. LH-1 for the production of biodemulsifiers that enhance the bioavailability and solubilization of PAHs. LH-1 achieved a 94% degradation rate and a 40% mineralization rate with 100 mg/L PHE. Additionally, LH-1 degraded various PAHs, and the factors that influenced the growth and PAHs degradation activity of LH-1 were not only the toxicities and structures of the substances but also the acclimation of LH-1 to these substances. Three kinetic models were used to describe the fermentation processes of cell growth, product formation and substrate degradation over time. Finally, multiple PHE degradation pathways were proposed to be utilized by strain LH-1.

Aims To investigate the progression of obesity-related type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in rhesus monkeys, especially dynamic changes in insulin and glucagon. Materials and methods We followed a cohort of 52 rhesus monkeys for 7 years throughout the progression of obesity-related T2DM. Intravenous glucose tolerance tests were performed every 6 months to evaluate dynamic changes in glucose, insulin and glucagon levels. Results Obesity in rhesus monkeys increased the overall mortality and T2DM morbidity. During the progression of T2DM, glucagon remained consistently elevated, while insulin initially increased in compensation but then dropped to below normal levels when the monkeys developed overt T2DM. After a glucose challenge, both the first and second phases of insulin secretion increased during the early stage of T2DM; in later stages the first phase was delayed and the second phase was diminished. Conclusion Our findings showed that, beside the decreased insulin level, hyperglucagonaemia also plays an important role in the development of T2DM.

Objective To evaluate cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in plasma as a promising biomarker for lymphoma, altered levels of cfDNA and its association with clinical parameters are investigated in patients suffered from lymphomas. Methods Peripheral blood specimens were collected from 60 patients with lymphoma during initial diagnosis and those of another 107 patients with lymphoma during treated stage were also collected, 93 healthy volunteers were selected as control group. Quantitative PCR was used to detect cfDNA level in each group, cfDNA level in different groups was analyzed to understand its relationship with lymphoma patients' clinical features. After correlation analysis between cfDNA and clinical characteristics, Receiver operator characteristic curve was performed to analyze sensitivity and specificity of cfDNA and LDH . Results cfDNA concentration and integrity in initial stage of lymphoma patients were significantly higher than those in treated stage, and cfDNA concentration in treated phase was significantly higher than cfDNA concentration in control group. There was no significant difference in cfDNA integrity at treated stage compared with control group. There was no significant correlation between patient's age, gender, extranodal invasion and lymphoma pathological type and cfDNA concentration and integrity; In contrast, there was a significant correlation between ECOG score, LDH content, Ann Arbor stage, IPI, B-symptoms , Ki-67 expression and radiotherapy and cfDNA concentration and integrity, both at the time of initial diagnosis and treated stage. cfDNA concentration detection is an optimal diagnostic indicator, followed by cfDNA integrity detection, the sensitivity and specificity of both are superior to the traditional LDH detection. Conclusion cfDNA level is significantly increased in lymphomas patient plasma and may help lymphoma screening. cfDNA level may serve as a potential indicator of lymphomas treatment efficacy.

Previous evidence has suggested that puerarin may attenuate cardiac hypertrophy; however, the potential mechanisms have not been determined. Moreover, the use of puerarin is limited by severe adverse events, including intravascular hemolysis. This study used a rat model of abdominal aortic constriction (AAC)-induced cardiac hypertrophy to evaluate the potential mechanisms underlying the attenuating efficacy of puerarin on cardiac hypertrophy, as well as the metabolic mechanisms of puerarin involved. We confirmed that puerarin (50 mg/kg per day) significantly attenuated cardiac hypertrophy, upregulated Nrf2, and decreased Keap1 in the myocardium. Moreover, puerarin significantly promoted Nrf2 nuclear accumulation in parallel with the upregulated downstream proteins, including heme oxygenase 1, glutathione transferase P1, and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1. Similar results were obtained in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) treated with angiotensin II (Ang II; 1 μM) and puerarin (100 μM), whereas the silencing of Nrf2 abolished the antihypertrophic effects of puerarin. The mRNA and protein levels of UGT1A1 and UGT1A9, enzymes for puerarin metabolism, were significantly increased in the liver and heart tissues of AAC rats and Ang II-treated NRCMs. Interestingly, the silencing of Nrf2 attenuated the puerarin-induced upregulation of UGT1A1 and UGT1A9. The results of chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative polymerase chain reaction indicated that the binding of Nrf2 to the promoter region of Ugt1a1 or Ugt1a9 was significantly enhanced in puerarin-treated cardiomyocytes. These results suggest that Nrf2 is the key regulator of antihypertrophic effects and upregulation of the metabolic enzymes UGT1A1 and UGT1A9 of puerarin. The autoregulatory circuits between puerarin and Nrf2-induced UGT1A1/1A9 are beneficial to attenuate adverse effects and maintain the pharmacologic effects of puerarin.

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), whose etiology remains uncertain, is a highly heterogenous and genetically complex endocrine disorder. The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in granulosa cells (GCs) from PCOS patients and make epigenetic insights into the pathogenesis of PCOS. Results Included in this study were 110 women with PCOS and 119 women with normal ovulatory cycles undergoing in vitro fertilization acting as the control group. RNA-seq identified 92 DEGs unique to PCOS GCs in comparison with the control group. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that synthesis of lipids and steroids was activated in PCOS GCs. 5-Methylcytosine analysis demonstrated that there was an approximate 25% reduction in global DNA methylation of GCs in PCOS women (4.44 ± 0.65%) compared with the controls (6.07 ± 0.72%; P

Aim The primary objective of this study was to compare blood glucose (BG) excursions between East Asian and Caucasian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who were injection‐naive, had inadequate glycemic control with oral antihyperglycemic medications, and who required initiation with injectable therapy. Methods This retrospective pooled analysis included individual patient data from completed clinical trials (Insulin lispro injection/dulaglutide development programs, first patient visit ≥1997). All included patients were ≥18 years, were East Asian or Caucasian, and had data for self‐monitored BG at baseline. The primary outcome, BG excursion at baseline (least‐squares mean, standard error), was compared between patient groups using an analysis of covariance with race as the fixed effect. Independent covariates included baseline body weight, baseline HbA1c, age, and duration of T2DM. Results Caucasian (n = 6779) and East Asian (n = 1638) patients from 21 trials were included. BG excursions were significantly higher for East Asian than Caucasian patients at breakfast (4.03 [0.075] vs 2.59 [0.045] mmol/L), lunch (3.37 [0.080] vs 1.43 [0.049] mmol/L), and dinner (3.16 [0.080] vs 1.74 [0.047] mmol/L) (P

Central to bioenergetics and reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling, the mitochondrion plays pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases. Recent advances have shown that mitochondrial flash (“mitoflash”) visualized by the biosensor mt-cpYFP affords a frequency-coded, optical readout linked to mitochondrial ROS production and energy metabolism, at the resolution of a single mitochondrion. To investigate possible mitoflash responses to metabolic stress in insulin resistance (IR), we generated an mt-cpYFP-expressing db/db mouse model with the obesity and IR phenotypes unaltered. In conjunction with in vivo imaging of skeletal muscles, we uncovered a progressive increase of mitoflash frequency along with its morphological changes. Interestingly, enhanced mitochondrial networking occurred at 12 weeks of age, and this was followed by mitochondrial fragmentation at 34 weeks. Pioglitazone treatment normalized mitoflash frequency and morphology while restored mitochondrial respiratory function and insulin sensitivity in 12 weeks mt-cpYFP db/db mice. Mechanistic study revealed that the mitoflash remodeling was associated with altered expression of proteins involved in mitochondrial dynamics and quality control. These findings indicate that mitoflash activity may serve as an optical functional readout of the mitochondria, a robust and sensitive biomarker to gauge IR stresses and their amelioration by therapeutic interventions. Key message In vivo detection of mitochondrial flashes in mt-cpYFP-expressing db/db mouse. Mitoflash frequency increased progressively with disease development. Mitoflash morphology revealed a biphasic change in mitochondrial networking. Mitoflash abnormalities and mitochondrial defects are restored by pioglitazone. Mitoflash may serve as a unique biomarker to gauge metabolic stress in insulin resistance. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00109-015-1278-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

To study the differences in protein expression profiles of follicular fluid (FF) between controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) and natural ovulatory cycles.Twelve infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET), with matched clinical information, were retrospectively recruited in the IVF center of our university hospital, including six undergoing COH and another six with natural cycles. FF was sampled from dominant follicles with mature oocytes. Protein expression profiles in each FF sample were analyzed respectively using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Differentially expressed proteins were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and validated by western blotting. Differentially expressed proteins were further analyzed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software.Two proteins were downregulated and 11 proteins were upregulated (change ≥1.5-fold, P 0.05) in the COH group. We identified one down-egulated and seven upregulated proteins using MALDI-TOF MS. Four differentially expressed proteins, including transferrin, complement component C3 (C3), haptoglobin and alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT), were further validated by rate nephelometry and western blotting analyses. The IPA analysis revealed a significant network involved in the humoral immune and inflammatory responses.The eight differentially expressed proteins were related to immune and inflammatory responses in the ovary. Our results provide new insights into the influence of COH on follicular (spp) development and IVF outcomes.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the commonly used anesthetic ketamine can induce widespread neuroapoptosis in the neonatal brain and can cause persistent cognitive impairments as the animal matures. Therefore, searching for adjunctive neuroprotective strategies that inhibit ketamine-induced neuroapoptosis and persistent cognitive impairments is highly warranted. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the protective effect of 17β-estradiol against ketamine-induced neuroapoptosis and persistent cognitive impairments in adult rats. Starting from postnatal day 7, Sprague-Dawley male rat pups were given a daily administration of ketamine (75mg/kg, i.p.) or 17β-estradiol (600μg/kg, s.c.) in combination with ketamine (75mg/kg, i.p.). The animals were treated for three consecutive days. 24h after the last injection, the rats were decapitated, and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was isolated to detect neuroapoptosis by cleaved caspase-3 immunohistochemistry and by using the TUNEL assay. The neuroactive steroid 17β-estradiol was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The protein levels of BDNF and pAkt were measured by western blot analysis. At two months of age (60 days), the learning and memory abilities were tested using the Morris water maze. The results showed that ketamine triggered significant neuroapoptosis in the neonatal PFC accompanied by the downregulation of 17β-estradiol, BDNF and pAkt. The co-administration of 17β-estradiol with ketamine attenuated these changes. Moreover, 17β-estradiol significantly reversed the learning and memory deficits observed at 60 days of age. In brief, our present data demonstrate that 17β-estradiol attenuates ketamine-induced neuroapoptosis and reverses long-term cognitive deficits in developing rats and thus may be a potential therapeutic and neuroprotective method for the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Brain and Memory.

This paper proposes a new way of damage characterization with the aid of the grazing incidence X-ray diffraction technique. The results showed that a machined potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystal contains a lattice misalignment structure in its shallow subsurface layer. Dislocation motions are the primary mechanism of the structural evolution from the KDP's monocrystalline to the misaligned crystalline structure. These findings allow to identify the underlying causes of lower laser damage threshold (LDT) of KDP components produced by ultra-precision machining.

The receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) is an essential signaling molecule in pathways for cell survival, apoptosis, and necroptosis. We report here that RIPK1 is upregulated in human colorectal cancer and promotes cell proliferation when overexpressed in a colon cancer cell line. RIPK1 interacts with mitochondrial Ca

Background Small RNA and degradome sequencing have identified a large number of miRNA-target pairs in plant seeds. However, detailed spatial and temporal studies of miRNA-mediated regulation, which can reflect links between seed development and germination are still lacking. Results In this study, we extended our investigation on miRNAs-involved gene regulation by a combined analysis of seed maturation and germination in barley. Through bioinformatics analysis of small RNA sequencing data, a total of 1324 known miRNA families and 448 novel miRNA candidates were identified. Of those, 16 known miRNAs with 40 target genes, and three novel miRNAs with four target genes were confirmed based on degradome sequencing data. Conserved miRNA families such as miR156, miR168, miR166, miR167, and miR894 were highly expressed in embryos of developing and germinating seeds. A barley-specific miRNA, miR5071, which was predicted to target an OsMLA10-like gene, accumulated at a high level, suggesting its involvement in defence response during these two developmental stages. Based on target prediction and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis of putative targets, nine highly expressed miRNAs were found to be related to phytohormone signalling and hormone cross-talk. Northern blot and qRT-PCR analysis showed that these miRNAs displayed differential expression patterns during seed development and germination, indicating their different roles in hormone signalling pathways. In addition, we showed that miR393 affected seed development through targeting two genes encoding the auxin receptors TIR1/AFBs in barley, as over-expression of miR393 led to an increased length–width ratio of seeds, whereas target mimic (MIM393)-mediated inhibition of its activity decreased the 1000-grain weight of seeds. Furthermore, the expression of auxin-responsive genes, abscisic acid- and gibberellic acid-related genes was altered in miR393 misexpression lines during germination and early seedling growth. Conclusions Our work indicates that miRNA-target pairs participate in gene expression regulation and hormone interaction in barley embryo and provides evidence that miR393-mediated auxin response regulation affects grain development and influences gibberellic acid and abscisic acid homeostasis during germination. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12870-017-1095-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Based on the perspective of low carbon and greenhouse gas emission reduction, this paper utilizes the synergy theory to analyze the coupling and coordination characteristics of China’s energy investment and financing, and argues that energy investment and energy financing constitute a composite system and find that it has a stress effect on the climate environment, and the climate environment has a constraint effect on energy investment and financing. According to the analysis of the coupling relationship between the two, the energy industry investment and financing coupling coordination model and evaluation index system are established. By revealing the development law and evolution trend between the two, we will actively promote the coordinated and coordinated development of economic growth, energy supply and climate and environment, and provide new research ideas and analysis methods.

We previously suggested that endogenous glucocorticoids (GCs) may inhibit myocardial inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vivo. However, the possible cellular and molecular mechanisms were poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the role of physiological concentration of GCs in inflammation induced by LPS in cardiac fibroblasts and explored the possible mechanisms. The results showed that hydrocortisone at the dose of 127 ng/mL (equivalent to endogenous basal level of GCs) inhibited LPS (100 ng/mL)-induced productions of TNF-α and IL-1β in cardiac fibroblasts. Xanthine oxidase/xanthine (XO/X) system impaired the anti-inflammatory action of GCs through downregulating HDAC2 activity and expression. Knockdown of HDAC2 restrained the anti-inflammatory effects of physiological level of hydrocortisone, and blunted the ability of XO/X system to downregulate the inhibitory action of physiological level of hydrocortisone on cytokines. These results suggested that HDAC2 was required by the physiological concentration of GC to inhibit inflammatory response. The dysfunction of HDAC2 induced by oxidative stress might be account for GC resistance and chronic inflammatory disorders during the cardiac diseases.

This study investigated the facilitative role of adult social self-efficacy in Chinese college students’ first-year transition. We proposed and tested a process model in which perceived social support was hypothesized as a mediator between social self-efficacy and college freshmen adjustment. Participants were 474 college freshmen enrolled at a large university located in an east coast city in the People’s Republic of China. These college freshmen completed four waves of self-report surveys over a 10-month period, at 1, 4, 7, and 10 months post-entry, respectively. Participants’ first-year cumulative grade point average (GPA) was obtained from the University Registrar. Results based on structural equation modeling provided support for the hypothesized process model. Specifically, social self-efficacy (Month 1) positively related to perceived social support (Month 4), which in turn positively related to academic and social adjustment, but negatively related to depression (Month 7). Perceived social support was found to mediate the above relationships. Academic adjustment positively related to, whereas depression negatively related to, first-year GPA (Month 10). The relationship between social adjustment and first-year GPA was complex, with a negative direct link and a positive indirect link through academic adjustment. In addition, academic and social adjustment positively related to subjective well-being (SWB; Month 10), whereas depression negatively related to SWB. Implications for research and practice were discussed.

A simple, affordable hydrogen proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell laboratory was developed through a collaborative effort between faculty and undergraduate students at Brown University. It has been incorporated into the introductory chemistry curriculum and successfully implemented in a class of over 500 students per academic year for over 3 years. This laboratory involves a PEM fuel cell that uses hydrogen gas to power a small cell phone vibrator and a model car. The lab highlights electrochemical and thermodynamic concepts while illuminating how hydrogen fuel cells generate clean energy without polluting the environment. Hydrogen fuel is generated by the in situ electrolysis of water, and the chemical energy of the fuel and oxidant is then converted into electrical energy that can do work. A circuit board with a mini cell phone vibrator and a resistor built onto a model fuel cell car enables students to make a series of electrical measurements in addition to observing the car or mini cell phone vib...

In this study, orthogonal cutting of SiCp/Al composites with a polycrystal diamond tool has been carried out. The influences of cutting velocity, cutting depth, and tool rake angle on the cutting force and edge defects near the exit of orthogonal cutting were analyzed in detail. The research results show that the influence of the cutting depth on cutting force is most obvious, and there is a close relationship between the cutting force and the size of edge defects. At the same time, the fractographs indicated that the brittle fracture mode corresponds to the dominant failure mode during machining of SiCp/Al composites with higher volume fraction and larger SiC particle. Therefore, in the precision and super-precision manufacturing of SiCp/Al composites, with a proper tool rake angle, adopting higher cutting velocity and lower cutting depth not only can reduce the cutting force effectively but also can ensure cutting edge quality.