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Freeze–thaw damage and the lack of aggregate resources have become two major problems facing the construction industry. The use of recycled aggregate to produce recycled concrete has good social and economic value. In this study, the author used recycled coarse aggregate as a substitute for stone to mix recycled concrete. In order to enhance the performance of concrete, a microwave heating modification process was introduced and 0.10% volume fraction of polypropylene fiber (PPF) was added. The effect of microwave heating modification on the frost resistance of fiber-reinforced self-compacting recycled concrete was studied. The results show that with the increase in the number of freeze–thaw cycles, the degree of denudation and deterioration of the three groups of concrete surfaces becomes more and more serious, the number of surface cracks gradually increases after the concrete is damaged, and the plastic deformation becomes more and more serious, W n gradually increases, E n gradually increases, D n gradually increases, σ 0 gradually decreases, ε 0 gradually increases, ε u gradually increases, E c gradually decreases, and μ gradually decreases. Under the same number of freeze–thaw cycles, the frost resistance of the three groups of concrete is A > C > B. Microwave heating modification improved the frost resistance of group C concrete compared to that of group B concrete. Due to the incorporation of PPF into the concrete, the load did not drop sharply when the load acting on the concrete reached the failure load. The prediction results of the established constitutive model are in good agreement with the experimental results.

This study recommends a non-grinding measurement method of leaf pH which can reduce the destructive interference to the measured fresh-leaf pH values. To verify the accuracy of this method, we measured leaf pH with the non-grinding and grinding method and further assessed the dilution effect on leaf pH in the grinding process. Compared with the non-grinding method, the grinding method significantly increased the measured pH value; leaf pH increased with decreasing leaf–water ratio in the procedure of the grinding method, but gradually stabilized. The grinding effects of severe physical damage and thereafter oxidization of leaf samples, and the dilution effects according to the Debye–Hückel limiting law and acid-base ionization theory, may both contribute to the increased leaf pH measured with the grinding method. Thus, leaf pH measured with the non-grinding method was expected to be much closer to those of leaf sap in vivo and be more suitable to indicating the dynamic variation or instant response of leaf pH to the environmental changes. Finally, considering that non-significant difference had been proved in the measured leaf pH between dried, frozen, refrigerated, and fresh ground samples, a conversion equation was provided to facilitate mutual conversion of the results with non-grinding fresh samples (y) against those with grinding dried samples (as representative) (x): y = 1.097x − 0.722.

Air pollution emissions can exceed the environmental self-purification capacity and trigger hazardous meteorological events, which have non negligible impacts on all aspects of society. The aim of this paper is to study the relationship between China’s manufacturing industry benefits and air quality, taking into account the role of government policies in the era of big data, and to study the change points in the time series relationship between industry benefits and air quality. First, we apply and analyze big data and estimate values based on the maximum deviation method. Then, gray relational analysis is used to identify change points, which occur in 2005 and 2010 for both industry benefits and air quality. The total study period is divided into three subperiods: 1998–2005, 2006–2010, and 2011–2017. We find that air pollution control policy was relatively extensive from 1998 to 2005, and that there was a negative relationship between air quality and manufacturing industry benefits. From 2006 to 2010, a positive relationship gradually appeared and, since 2011, with the popularization of big data technology in policy making and environmental governance, intergovernmental cooperation has deepened and manufacturing enterprises have been more actively involved in governance. Consequently, the positive relationship between air quality and the comprehensive benefits of the manufacturing industry has remained stable. Finally, suggestions for policy makers and manufacturing companies are made from the perspectives of system construction, integration, and differentiation, big data challenges, and enterprise innovation.

Enhancing the combustion efficiency of gas fuel, i.e., hydrogen, in supersonic reacting flows has attracted wide attention around the world, besides, the flame holders are the key components of scramjet engines which even can make the injected fuel and local air mix and burn better in milliseconds. In previous researches, two struts with backward facing-steps have been proved to be a superior flame holder, also, some parameters of the two struts have been studied in detail. In this work, an in-house code was developed to compute the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations coupled with the SST k − ω turbulence model and the one-step reaction finite-rate/eddy-dissipation model, next, the effects of the horizontal staggered distances of the two struts have been investigated computationally including with/without chemical reactions. The results indicate that the structure of the flow field behaves comparably, also, the distributions of the mixing efficiencies, including mixing length, show little differences for all the cases with distinct staggered (horizontal) distances, i.e., the cases of upper and lower struts staggered, in the cold flows. However, there are considerable discrepancies for the total pressure losses, and the symmetric struts case is the minimal one. In the reactive flows, the flow field including the section in the vicinity of the fuel injectors, combustion efficiency and total pressure loss vary obviously for the cases lower strut staggered, here, the case of the staggered distance, which equals 2 mm, has the greatest combustion efficiency at the outlet of the combustion chamber. Whereas the total pressure loss at the outlet of the combustor for the symmetric struts case, which's staggered distance equals 0, is minimal. Next, the flow field and total pressure loss for the cases of upper strut staggered show considerable discrepancies, also, the symmetric case has the lowest total pressure loss. Whilst the combustion efficiency behaves comparably, except in the vicinity of the injection position. Note that, the asymmetric struts benefit the combustion of the fuels with extra pressure loss cost. For high combustion efficiency with the total pressure loss acceptable, the case sd-l = 2 mm is the optimal scheme.

Alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) play vital roles in alcohol metabolism and alcohol toxicity, yet little is known about miRNA-mediated regulation of ADH gene cluster. Here, we showed that miR-29c might activate ADH gene cluster transcription by targeting an enhancer element within ADH6 gene. miR-29c is differentially expressed in alcoholic liver disease. Following biochemical and molecular evidences demonstrated that miR-29c could increase ADH6 mRNA and protein levels without affecting the stability of ADH6 transcript. Further evidence showed that exogenous miR-29c could move into the nucleus and then unconventionally bound an enhancer element within ADH6 gene. Luciferase reporter assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation data indicated that miR-29c could activate the enhancer and increase the enrichment of RNA Polymerase II at the promoter region of ADH1A, ADH1B, ADH1C, ADH4, and ADH6. Finally, exogenous miR-29c transfection promoted the expressions of ADH1A, ADH1B, ADH1C, and ADH4 pre-mRNA and mRNA transcripts in the ADH gene cluster. In conclusion, our data suggest that miR-29c might represent as a novel epigenetic regulator involved in ADH gene cluster activation.

We propose a stepped upper waveguide layer (UWG) to improve the hole injection efficiency of GaN-based laser diodes (LDs), and investigate its effect on the performance of LDs from experiments and theoretical calculations. The experimental characterization of the LD with stepped UWG presents a decrease of 16.6% for the threshold current as well as an increase of 41.2% for the slope efficiency compared to the LD with conventional GaN UWG. Meanwhile, strong localized effects are found in the quantum wells of LD with stepped UWG and a large blue-shift in the electroluminescence (EL) spectra below the threshold by analyzing the differential efficiency and the EL spectra. The large blue shift implies a stronger polarization field in the LDs, which may affect the injection of holes. Additionally, the simulation results demonstrate that the LD with stepped UWG achieves higher hole injection efficiency by modulating the valence band, and the hole current density injected into the quantum wells reaches 6067 A/cm2.

The modeling of the deformation and failure process of a cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine modified double-base (HMX-MDB) propellant based on the microstructure is of great importance for its manufacturing process and storage lifetime. In the present work, the debonding, nucleation, and crack propagation in an HMX-MDB propellant were investigated experimentally and numerically. Stress-strain responses and viscoelastic parameters were obtained through uniaxial tensile tests on the HMX-MDB propellant and stress relaxation tests on a nitrocellulose-nitroglycerine (NC-NG) propellant, respectively. A two-dimensional representative volume element (RVE) model was developed based on the molecular dynamics method by embedding HMX particles in the NC-NG matrix. A zero-thickness cohesive element was used to simulate the damage behavior of the matrix and the interface. A piecewise cohesive zone model (PCZM) was established to capture stress-strain responses resulted from the matrix rupture and the debonding process at the particle-matrix interface. The effects of matrix strength and interface strength on the mechanical properties of the HMX-MDB propellant were investigated by PCZM. The different ratio of matrix strength to interface strength revealed three kinds of HMX-MDB propellant’s damage patterns: matrix cracking, matrix cracking followed by particle-matrix interfacial debonding, and particle-matrix interfacial debonding followed by matrix cracking.

We theoretically investigate the effects of three independent p-type contact layers on the photoelectric properties of deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV-LEDs). From the simulation results, the DUV-LED using a w-shaped p-AlGaN layer has a better photoelectric performance. The internal quantum efficiency and output power in the new structure are significantly increased compared to the two other structures. Besides, the novel structure reveals lower contact resistance and higher electroluminescence intensity, and the efficiency droop is very small at 200 mA injection current. These improvements are attributed to not only decreased electron leakage but also increased hole injection efficiency, thereby enhancing radiative recombination rates. The specially designed p-type layer provides an attractive solution for improving the photoelectric performance of DUV-LEDs with the Al-rich p-AlGaN contact layers.

Alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) play vital roles in alcohol metabolism and alcohol toxicity, yet little is known about microRNA-mediated regulation of the ADH gene cluster. Here, we showed that miR-29c activated ADH gene cluster transcription by targeting an enhancer element within the ADH6 gene. miR-29c is differentially expressed in alcoholic liver disease. Following biochemical and molecular evidence demonstrated that miR-29c increased ADH6 mRNA and protein levels without affecting the stability of the ADH6 transcript. Further evidence showed that exogenous miR-29c translocated into the nucleus and then unconventionally bound an enhancer element within the ADH6 gene. Luciferase reporter assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation data indicated that miR-29c activated the enhancer and increased the enrichment of RNA polymerase II at the promoter regions of ADH1A, ADH1B, ADH1C, ADH4, and ADH6. Finally, exogenous miR-29c transfection promoted the expression of ADH1A, ADH1B, ADH1C, and ADH4 pre-mRNA and mRNA transcripts from the ADH gene cluster. In conclusion, our data suggest that miR-29c might be a novel epigenetic regulator involved in ADH gene cluster activation.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes play critical roles in drug transformation, and the total CYPs are markedly decreased in alcoholic hepatitis (AH), a fatal alcoholic liver disease. miRNAs are endogenous small noncoding RNAs that regulate many essential biological processes. Knowledge concerning miRNA regulation of CYPs in AH disease is limited. Here we presented the changes of key CYPs in liver samples of AH patients retrieved from GEO database, performed in silico prediction of miRNAs potentially targeting the dysregulated CYP transcripts, and deciphered a novel mechanism underlying miRNA mediated CYPs expression in liver cells. Nine miRNAs were predicted to regulate CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C19, CYP2J2, and CYP3A4, among which hsa-miR-148a-3p was selected as a case study. Biochemical and molecular evidences demonstrated that miR-148a promoted CYP2B6 expression by increasing mRNA stability via directly binding to the 3'UTR sequence, and that this positive posttranscriptional regulation was AGO1/2-dependent. Further, luciferase reporter gene assay and RNA secondary structure analysis illustrated that the seedless target site, not the seed target site, controlled miR-148a-mediated CYP2B6 upregulation. Moreover, we identified HNF4A as a liver-specific transcription factor of MIR-148A through EMSA and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments. In conclusion, ethanol downregulated miR-148a in hepatocytes through HNF4A regulation, which eventually decreased CYP2B6 expression. Our finding will benefit the understanding of dysregulated drug metabolism in AH patients and highlight an unconventional mechanism for epigenetic regulation of CYP gene expression.

The alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) and aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) play critical roles in alcoholism development and alcohol toxicology; however, few studies have focused on the miRNA-mediated mechanisms underlying the expressions of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes. In the present study, we showed the expression changes of each alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) in the liver samples of alcoholic hepatitis (AH) patients, and predicted the miRNAs targeting the dysregulated alcohol-metabolizing genes by a systematic in silico analysis. 13 miRNAs were predicted to regulate the expressions of ADH1A, ADH4, and ALDH2, respectively, with hsa-miR-148a-3p (miR-148a) showing the most significant down-regulation in AH patients. Following experimental evidence using HepG2 cells proved that miR-148a promoted ADH4 expression by directly binding to the coding sequence of ADH4 and increasing the mRNA stability via an AGO1-dependent manner. Additional assays showed that secondary structure of ADH4 transcript affected the target accessibility and binding of miR-148a-3p. In sum, our results suggest that the expressions of key alcohol-metabolizing enzymes are repressed in AH patients, and the non-canonical positive regulation of miR-148a on ADH4 reveals a new regulationary mechanism for ADH genes.

Long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve a pivotal role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression and have been confirmed to participate in the carcinogenesis and development of HCC. Certain studies have focused on lncRNA nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) in HCC. However, the relationship between lncRNA NEAT1 and HCC remains unclear. The present study found that NEAT1 was significantly overexpressed in HCC cell lines compared with LX‑2 hepatic stellate cells. NEAT1 expression in Huh7 and MHCC‑97H cells was increased following transfection with lentivirus (LV)‑NEAT1 but inhibited by LV‑short hairpin NEAT1. Knockdown of NEAT1 significantly repressed HCC cell viability, increased cell apoptosis, and inhibited cell migration and invasion capacity. By contrast, upregulation of NEAT1 demonstrated the reverse effects. Furthermore, microRNA‑320a (miR‑230a) was predicted to be a direct target of NEAT1 and was significantly reduced in HCC cells. Additionally, a luciferase activity reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay were performed to confirm the interaction between miR‑320a and NEAT1. Using a dual‑luciferase activity assay, L antigen family member 3 (LAGE3) was found to be a target of miR‑320a. Finally, in vivo nude mouse models were established, and the results indicated that NEAT1 suppressed HCC progression by targeting miR‑320a. In conclusion, the present findings revealed that the NEAT1/miR‑320a/LAGE3 axis participates in HCC development and that NEAT1 could be used as a biomarker for HCC.

3-bromo-4,5-Bis(2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl)-1,2-benzenediol (CYC31) is a bromophenol protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitor isolated from the red alga Rhodomela confervoides. Here, the effect of CYC31 on the insulin signaling and fatty-acid-induced disorders in C2C12 myotubes was investigated. Molecular docking assay showed that CYC31 was embedded into the catalytic pocket of PTP1B. A cellular study found that CYC31 increased the activity of insulin signaling and promoted 2-NBDG uptake through GLUT4 translocation in C2C12 myotubes. Further studies showed that CYC31 ameliorated palmitate-induced insulin resistance in C2C12 myotubes. Moreover, CYC31 treatment significantly increased the mRNA expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1B (CPT-1B) and fatty acid binding protein 3 (FABP3), which was tightly linked with fatty acid oxidation. These findings suggested that CYC31 could prevent palmitate-induce insulin resistance and could improve fatty acid oxidation through PTP1B inhibition.

With numerous new chemicals introduced into the environment everyday, identification of their potential hazards to the environment and human health is a considerable challenge. Developing adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework is promising in helping to achieve this goal as it can bring In Vitro testing into toxicity measurement and understanding. To explore the toxic mechanism underlying environmental chemicals via the AOP approach, an integration of adequate experimental data with systems biology understanding is preferred. Here, we describe a novel method to develop reliable and sensible AOPs that relies on chemical-gene interactions, toxicity pathways, molecular regulations, phenotypes, and outcomes information obtained from comparative toxicogenomics database (CTD) and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Using Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a highly studied chemical as a stressor, we identified the pivotal IPA toxicity pathways, the molecular initiating event (MIE), and candidate key events (KEs) to structure AOPs in the liver and lung, respectively. Further, we used the corresponding CTD information of multiple typical AHR-ligands, including 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzoparadioxin (TCDD), valproic acid, quercetin, and particulate matter, to validate our AOP networks. Our approach is likely to speed up AOP development as providing a time- and cost-efficient way to collect all fragmented bioinformation in published studies. It also facilitates a better understanding of the toxic mechanism of environmental chemicals, and potentially brings new insights into the screening of critical paths in the AOP network.

The general path planning algorithm can only solve the shortest path or the lowest cost path problem, and can not play a very good role in path planning with throttling transfer points. In order to deal with the problem of road traffic flow or material flow path planning in the transportation process, this paper constructs the joint transportation network structure model based on the transfer point and the genetic algorithm, which can solve the problem of road traffic flow or material flow path planning in the transportation process. The model includes two sets of transfer point and connecting arc segment. The throttling information contained in the transfer point of the model can well constrain the flow problem in the path planning. The joint transportation network structure based on the transfer point is planned by genetic algorithm. In this paper, nine transport particles with flow are used for planning, and the results show that the method is simple and effective.

We have investigated the effect of In/Ga ratio on InGaN waveguide layers obtained by the epitaxial growth, and analyzed their physical mechanisms in detail. It is found that enhancing the In/Ga ratio by increasing the TMIn flux and reducing the TEGa flux can alleviate the decrease of In composition in InGaN waveguide. Moreover, the intensity of the yellow band of the photoluminescence is obviously reduced due to the reduction of the residual carbon impurity concentration. The smaller scattering of injected carriers by impurities and defects is beneficial for enhancing the hole concentration in the p-type layer. Meanwhile, the results of Raman spectroscopy clarify that InGaN waveguide layers grown with larger In/Ga ratio can achieve higher carrier mobility and lower resistivity. Therefore, properly increasing the In/Ga ratio during the growth can effectively improve the crystal quality of InGaN waveguide layers, which facilitates the obtaining of high-performance GaN-based laser diodes.

Local analgesics effectively allow patients to relieve postoperative pain and reduce the need for inhaled general anesthetics or opioids. Compared with other similar long-acting local anesthetics, ropivacaine (Rop) is widely used due to its potential to minimize cardiotoxicity. However, the relatively short duration of Rop efficacy, which lasts for several hours after injection, is considered insufficient for long-term acute and chronic pain treatment. At present, repeated injections or indwelling catheters are used to achieve long-term drug delivery, which can easily cause infection and inflammation. To achieve externally controllable analgesia for a prolonged time, we prepared near-infrared (NIR)-responsive Rop liposomes (Rop@Lip) containing photosensitizers PdPC(OBu)8 and unsaturated phospholipid DLPC. The particle size of the Rop@Lip was 234.73 ± 5.21 nm, the PDI was 0.42 ± 0.02, and the drug encapsulation rate was 94.62 ± 1.1%. The release of Rop was highly NIR-dependent in vitro and in vivo. To ensure that the liposomes reside around the nerve for an extended period, we next designed an in situ gel with chitosan (CS) and β-sodium glycerophosphate (β-GP) to form a liposomal gel (Lip/Gel). This Lip/Gel composite drug delivery system could be retained in vivo for 10 d, reduce the side effects caused by drug overdose, and prolong the duration of efficacy. In summary, the NIR-responsive Rop composite drug delivery system generated in this paper can effectively solve the shortcomings of traditional local injections, reduce the toxicity and side effects of free Rop, and provide a basis for a light-responsive delivery system of analgesic drugs.

Cu-Al bimetallic composite plates with a thickness of 2 mm were prepared by a horizontal continuous composite casting-rolling process. The effects of rolling parameters on the forming performance of Cu-Al composite plates and the interface evolution mechanisms were investigated. The results reveal that a suitable deformation temperature and an increase in first-pass deformation are both conducive to enhancing bimetallic deformation coordination. For cold rolling, the first-pass reduction should exceed 60 % to avoid delamination cracking. When the rolling temperature rises to 200–300 °C, the first-pass reduction can be decreased to 55 % due to the better deformation coordination of bimetallic. However, an excessive rolling temperature results in the formation of a continuous layer of intermetallic compounds at the new interface, and the formability of the plates is decreased significantly. In the rolling process of Cu-Al composite plates, the original Cu-Al interface is first shattered, and then the matrix metal flows into the gaps of the broken interface. Finally, a new oxidation-free interface at the atomic scale is developed, which is beneficial to the bonding strength of the composite plates. The Cu-Al composite sheets prepared by the above reasonable parameters exhibit a tensile strength of 180–191 MPa, an elongation of 8%–12 %, and an excellent interfacial bonding strength of 66–89 MPa.

With ideal optical properties, semiconducting polymer quantum dots (SPs) have become a research focus in recent years; a considerable number of studies have been devoted to the application of SPs in non-invasive and biosafety phototherapy with near-infrared (NIR) lasers. Nevertheless, the relatively poor stability of SPs in vitro and in vivo remains problematic. PCPDTBT was chosen to synthesize photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) dual-model SPs, considering its low band gap and desirable absorption in the NIR window. For the first time, cetrimonium bromide was used as a stabilizer to guarantee the in vitro stability of SPs, and as a template to prepare SP hybrid mesoporous silica nanoparticles (SMs) to achieve long-term stability in vivo. The mesoporous structure of SMs was used as a reservoir for the hypoxia-activated prodrug Tirapazamine (TPZ). SMs were decorated with polyethylene glycol-folic acid (SMPFs) to specifically target activated macrophages in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Upon an 808 nm NIR irradiation, the SMPFs generate intracellular hyperthermia and excessive singlet oxygen. Local hypoxia caused by molecular oxygen consumption simultaneously activates the cytotoxicity of TPZ, which effectively kills activated macrophages and inhibits the progression of arthritis. This triple PTT-PDT-chemo synergistic treatment suggests that SMPFs realize the in vivo application of SPs and may be a potential nano-vehicle for RA therapy with negligible side-toxicity.

Impregnation capability at particle-matrix interfacial deteriorates during the preparation of composite solid propellant due to manufacturing and environmental factors, which leads to the initial defects in the HTPB solid propellant. In the present work, the effects of initial particle-matrix interfacial defects on the debonding, nucleation, and crack propagation of the composite solid propellant is investigated experimentally and numerically. A random packing model is developed based on the molecular dynamics method by embedding AP particles in the HTPB propellant. The strength of particle-matrix interface obeys Weibull function. Moreover, a zero-thickness cohesive element is used to simulate the particle-matrix interfacial debonding and matrix rupture. According to the simulation and experiment results, the initial interface defects makes a marked effect on the initial modulus, limit strength and elongation at fracture of the composite solid propellant. The initial modulus, limit strength and elongation at fracture of the composite solid propellant decrease with the increase of the initial interface defects.

Alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) and aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) are vital enzymes involved in the metabolism of a variety of alcohols. Differences in the expression and enzymatic activity of human ADHs and ALDHs correlate with individual variability in metabolizing alcohols and drugs and in the susceptibility to alcoholic liver disease. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) function as epigenetic modulators to regulate the expression of drug-metabolizing enzymes. To characterize miRNAs that target ADHs and ALDHs in human liver cells, we carried out a systematic bioinformatics analysis to analyze free energies of the interaction between miRNAs and their cognate sequences in

The co-delivery of nanoparticles encapsulating gene therapies and chemotherapeutic drugs can achieve synergistic treatment and reduce side effects in normal tissues relative to the systemic use of single drug delivery. Activated macrophages play a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Hyaluronic acid (HA), a natural polysaccharide, is a specific ligand for CD44 that is overexpressed on the surface of activated macrophages. In this study, HA-coated pH-responsive nanoparticles loaded with MCL-1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) and dexamethasone (HNPs/MD) were developed for RA treatment. The HNPs/MD had a mean particle size of 117.07 ± 2.21 nm and zeta potential of 15.53 ± 1.06 mV. The release rates of both MCL-1 siRNA and dexamethasone from the HNPs/MD at pH 4.5 and 6.0 were higher than those at pH 7.4, indicating that the nanoparticles were acid-sensitive. Cytotoxicity assays showed that compared with single drug loaded nanoparticles, the HNPs/MD showed higher cytotoxicity to activated macrophages. The superior therapeutic effect of HNPs/MD was demonstrated in an adjuvant-induced arthritis rat model. These findings indicate that pH-sensitive and HA-targeting co-delivery nanoparticles provide a new direction for the therapy of RA.

To obtain high performance of GaN-based laser diodes (LDs), three series of LDs are proposed, the effects of Al content of p-AlGaN cladding layer, as well as the material composition and thickness of upper waveguide layer (UWG) are investigated separately. As the Al content increases, the threshold current and output power are found to improve significantly. Meanwhile, the optical field distributed on the p-type side is reduced. Besides, the photoelectric characteristics of LDs are further improved when In0.03Ga0.97N/In0.01Ga0.99N UWG is used. Moreover, proper choice of the In0.03Ga0.97N/In0.01Ga0.99N UWG thickness is necessary to achieve the high performance of GaN-based LDs.

The injection of holes has an important impact on the performance of InGaN-based green laser diodes (LDs). In this work, we propose a new structure with InGaN hole reservoir layer (HRL) inserted between the last quantum barrier and the upper waveguide to improve the hole injection. It is found that the hole injection current is significantly increased due to the reduction of the hole effective barrier height. Furthermore, lower threshold current and higher output power are obtained, and the optical field leakage is effectively suppressed. Besides, the influences of thickness and In composition of the HRL are also investigated. It is more favorable to improve the properties of LDs when the HRL has a quite low-In content and a thickness of only nearly 11 nm.

We have proposed a new stepped-doped lower waveguide (LWG) and systematically investigated its effect on GaN-based blue and ultraviolet laser diodes (LDs) through the simulation software LASTIP. It is found that increasing doping concentration of the LWG is beneficial to decrease the threshold current and raise the output power. Furthermore, when a suitably designed stepped-doped LWG layer replaces the homogeneously heavily doped LWG layer, the performance of the blue and ultraviolet LDs is further improved. It is mainly attributed to the decrease of electron leakage current and the increase of hole injection current. In addition, the stepped-doped LWG improves ultraviolet LDs characteristics more significantly than the blue LDs, which is due to the reduction of the total optical loss.

A graded-compositional waveguide structure is proposed to improve the optical field distribution of InGaN-based green laser diodes (LDs). It is found that the optical field leaking into the GaN substrate is suppressed obviously when using the graded-compositional upper and lower waveguide. Owing to the enhancement of refractive index contrast between the waveguide layer and the cladding layer, the optical field confinement factor increases, and the optical field is more concentrated near the active region. Besides, higher output power and lower threshold current are achieved due to reduced electron leakage and increased hole injection. This work provides a theoretical design method for obtaining high-performance InGaN-based green LDs.

N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) is a universal organic solvent which widely used in various industries, and a considerable amount of DMF is detected in industrial effluents. Accumulating animal and epidemiological studies have identified liver injury as an early toxic effect of DMF exposure; however, the detailed mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we systematically integrated the quantitative proteomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics data obtained from the primary human hepatocytes exposed to DMF, to depict the complicated biochemical reactions correlated to liver damage. Eventually, we identified 284 deregulated proteins (221 downregulated and 63 upregulated) and 149 deregulated lipids or metabolites (99 downregulated and 50 upregulated) induced by DMF exposure. Further, the integration of the protein-metabolite (lipid) interactions revealed that N-glycan biosynthesis (involved in the endoplasmic reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response), bile acid metabolism (involved in the lipid metabolism and the inflammatory process), and mitochondrial dysfunction and glutathione depletion (both contributed to reactive oxygen species) were the typical biochemical reactions disturbed by DMF exposure. In summary, our study identified the versatile protein, lipid, and metabolite molecules in multiple signaling and metabolic pathways involved in DMF induced liver injury, and provided new insights to elucidate the toxic mechanisms of DMF.

In the context of new industrialization, the energy problem being experienced by the manufacturing industry has aroused social concerns. This paper focuses on the energy use of 27 subindustries in China’s manufacturing industry and it develops an energy consumption index for 1994–2015. Subsequently, the method of grey relational analysis is used, with the full period divided according to years in which change points occur. The empirical analysis indicates that the energy consumption indexes generally exhibit a declining trend. Using the grey model (GM (1,1)) to forecast the index indicates a continued downward trend up to 2025 for energy-intensive industries, which is a more optimistic scenario than the trend forecast for the whole manufacturing sector. Thus, these energy-intensive industries do not drag down the performance of the whole manufacturing industry in regard to energy intensity. In future, more attention should be paid to energy-saving efforts by nontraditional high-energy-consuming industries. Although the results show that energy efficiency is improving in China, total annual consumption is rising rapidly. Therefore, the industry needs to continue to strengthen independent innovation and improve the efficiency of new energy use. The Chinese government should formulate feasible long-term plans to encourage enterprises to save energy.