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The doctor-blade method is investigated for the preparation of Cu2ZnSnS4 films for low-cost solar cell application. Cu2ZnSnS4 precursor powder, the main raw material for the doctor-blade paste, is synthesized by a simple ball-milling process. The doctor-bladed Cu2ZnSnS4 films are annealed in N2 ambient under various conditions and characterized by X-ray diffraction, ultraviolent/vis spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy, and current-voltage (J-V ) meansurement. Our experimental results indicate that (i) the X-ray diffraction peaks of the Cu2ZnSnS4 precursor powder each show a red shift of about 0.40; (ii) the high-temperature annealing process can effectively improve the crystallinity of the doctor-bladed Cu2ZnSnS4, whereas an overlong annealing introduces defects; (iii) the band gap value of the doctor-bladed Cu2ZnSnS4 is around 1.41 eV; (iv) the short-circuit current density, the open-circuit voltage, the fill factor, and the efficiency of the best Cu2ZnSnS4 solar cell obtained with the superstrate structure of fluorine-doped tin oxide glass/TiO2/In2S3/Cu2ZnSnS4/Mo are 7.82 mA/cm2, 240 mV, 0.29, and 0.55%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by the accumulation of senile plaque and neurofibrilary tangle formation in the brain, including the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Nowadays, the first-line treatment for AD is the application of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. However, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are basically anti-symptomatic for a limited aspect of AD pathology and are associated with serious side-effects. With the advantage of multiple targets, pathways and systems, Chinese herbal compounds hold promising potential for the development of drugs for the treatment of AD. Over the past few years, with the development of Chinese herbal compounds and in vitro pharmacological studies, cell-based disease models are one of the main methods used to screen Chinese herbal compounds for potential efficacy. Testing the efficacy of possible anti-Alzheimer's disease drugs and the development of new drugs are hindered by the lack of objective high-throughput screening methods. Currently, the assessment of the effects of drugs is usually made by MTT assays, involving laborious, subjective, low-throughput methods. Herein, we suggest a novel application for a real-time cell monitoring device (xCELLigence) that can simply and objectively assess the effective composition of Chinese herbal compounds by assessing amyloid-β peptide Aβ1-42-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells. We detected the proliferation and motility of the cells using a fully automated high-throughput and real-time system. We quantitatively assessed cell motility and determined the real-time IC50 values of various anti-AD drugs that intervene in several developmental stages of Aβ1-42-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells, Then, we identified the optimal time phase by curative efficacy. Our data indicate that this technique may aid in the discovery and development of novel anti-Alzheimer's disease drugs. It is possible to utilize a similar technique to measure changes in electrical impedance as cells attach and spread in a culture dish covered with a gold microelectrode array that covers approximately 80% of the area on the bottom of a well. As cells attach and spread on the electrode surface, it leads to an increase in electrical impedance of 9-12. The impedance is displayed as a dimensionless para-meter termed the cell index, which is directly proportional to the total area of tissue culture well that is covered by the cells. Hence, the cell index can be used to monitor cell adhesion, spreading, morphological variation and cell density.

Objective: To observe the effect of acupoint-catgut-implantation on blood pressure and cardiac function in chronic heart failure (CHF) rats., Methods: A total of 60 SD female rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group (sham), CHF model group, catgut-implantation group, Captopril group. CHF model was established by suprarenal abdominal artery constriction. Surgical catgut (No. 3-0, 2-3 mm length piece) was implanted into bilateral "Neiguan" (PC 6), "Xinshu" (BL 15) and "Zusanli" (ST 36) twice for 7 weeks. Rats of the Captopril group were treated with intragastric infusion of Captopril from the 50= day on after the operation, once daily for 7 weeks. Blood pressure (BP) including the systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and mean blood pressure (MBP), heart rate (HR) and the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were detected respectively by cardiac sonography., Results: On the 14th week after modeling, in comparison with the sham group, the SBP, DBP, MBP and HR in rats of the model group were increased significantly (P<0. 01, P<0. 05), while LVEF of the model group was decreased considerably (P<0. 01). Compared with the model group, the SBP, DBP, MBP and HR after 7 weeks' treatment in rats of the catgut-implantation and Captopril groups were decreased considerably (P<0. 01), while the LVEF of the catgut-implantation group was increased evidently (P<0. 05). No significant differences were found between the catgut-implantation and Captopril groups in the SBP, DBP, MBP and HR levels, and between the model and Captopril groups in LVEF values (P>0. 05)., Conclusion: Acupoint-catgut-implantation can down-regulate BP and HR, and increase LVEF in chronic congestive heart failure rats, which may contribute to its effect in ameliorating the cardiac function.

Based on the pharmacological research of Chinese herbs on AD and some famous hypothesis on AD, such as dysfunction of nervous transmitter metabolism, apoptosis, inflammation etc, we consulted and analyzed relevant papers. We found the effective mechanism of Ginsenoside, Osthol, Rhodosin, and (-) Clausenamide were related to many pathological channels of AD, and Ginsenoside had effect on many pathological channels. The results have provided some clues for selecting effective herbs on AD.