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In this study, Ce2[Zr1−x(Ba1/3Nb2/3)x]3(MoO4)9 (0.02 ≤ x ≤ 0.1, CZ1−xNx) ceramics were sintered at 600 °C and 700 °C using the traditional solid-state method. An analysis conducted through XRD and Rietveld refinement confirmed that all the CZ1−xNx ceramics displayed a single phase with a trigonal structure (space group R-3c). The observed increases in cell volume with increasing x values indicate the successful substitution of (Ba1/3Nb2/3)4+. The high densification of the synthesized phase was validated by the density and SEM results. Additionally, the P-V-L theory demonstrates a strong correlation between the Ce-O bond and εr, as well as τf, and between the Mo-O bond and Q×f. Notably, the CZ0.98N0.02 ceramics demonstrated superior performance at 675 °C, exhibiting εr = 10.41, Q×f = 53,296 GHz, and τf = −23.45 ppm/°C. Finally, leveraging CZ0.98N0.02 ceramics as substrate materials enabled the design of a patch antenna suitable for the 5G communication band, demonstrating its significant potential in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the successful preparation of LaPO4-x wt.% LiF (x = 0–5) ceramics using the traditional solid-state reaction method. The crystal structures, sintering behaviors, and dielectric response at microwave and terahertz frequencies were investigated. XRD results indicate that all the diffraction peaks were attributed to LaPO4, and no secondary phase was observed. Rietveld refinement was conducted to analyze the variation of the crystal structure of LaPO4-x wt.% LiF. SEM indicates that the addition of LiF significantly decreased the grain size while increasing the apparent density of the ceramics. When x = 3, the optimum microwave dielectric properties εr = 10.03, Q × f = 81,467 GHz, and τf = −43.79 ppm/°C were achieved in LaPO4-3 wt.% LiF ceramic at 750 °C. The infrared reflectance spectrum and terahertz time-domain spectroscopy were analyzed and compared with the dielectric properties measured at microwave frequency to investigate the inherent dielectric response. The findings indicate that the dielectric constant attributed to ionic displacement polarization and oxygen vacancy is an essential factor affecting dielectric loss. Moreover, it is worth noting that the LaPO4-3 wt.% LiF ceramic demonstrates excellent compatibility with silver powders, suggesting its immense potential as a dielectric material in LTCC applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common and serious microvascular complication of diabetes. Taohong Siwu decoction (THSWD), a famous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, has been proved to have a good clinical effect on DR, whereas its molecular mechanism remains unclear. Our study aimed to uncover the core targets and signaling pathways of THSWD against DR. Methods: First, the active ingredients of THSWD were searched from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) Database. Second, the targets of active ingredients were identified from ChemMapper and PharmMapper databases. Third, DR associated targets were searched from DisGeNET, DrugBank and Therapeutic Target Database (TTD). Subsequently, the common targets of active ingredients and DR were found and analyzed in STRING database. DAVID database and ClueGo plug-in software were used to carry out the gene ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment analysis. The core signaling pathway network of "herb-ingredient-target" was constructed by the Cytoscape software. Finally, the key genes of THSWD against DR were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Results: A total of 2340 targets of 61 active ingredients in THSWD were obtained. Simultaneously, a total of 263 DR-associated targets were also obtained. Then, 67 common targets were found by overlapping them, and 23 core targets were identified from protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Response to hypoxia was found as the top GO term of biological process, and HIF-1 signaling pathway was found as the top KEGG pathway. Among the key genes in HIF-1 pathway, the mRNA expression levels of VEGFA, SERPINE1 and NOS2 were significantly down-regulated by THSWD (P < 0.05), and NOS3 and HMOX1 were significantly up-regulated (P < 0.05). Conclusion: THSWD had a protective effect on DR via regulating HIF-1 signaling pathway and other important pathways. This study might provide a theoretical basis for the application of THSWD and the development of new drugs for the treatment of DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) plays a vital role in national productions with broad application. Herein, the production of MMA is realized by the improved eco-friendly direct methylation method using Aspen Plus software. Three novel kinds of energy-saving measures were proposed in this study, including the recycle streams of an aqueous solution, methacrolein (MAL), and methanol, the deployment of double-effect distillation instead of a normal one, and the design of a promising heat-exchange network. Moreover, MMA with a purity of 99.9% is obtained via the design of a MAL absorber column with an optimal stage number of 11 and a facile chloroform recovery process by using the RadFrac model. Thus, the proposed green process with energy-conservation superiority is the vital clue for developing MMA, and provides a reference for the production of MMA-ramifications with excellent prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]