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Ephedra-cinnamomi, composed of ephedra (stems of Ephedra sinica) and cinnamomi (twig of Cinnamomum cassia), can attenuate the symptoms of colds by inducing sweat and relieving cough, asthma, headache, and arthralgia. The study was aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of the prescription of ephedra-cinnamomi on the cerebral ischemia-induced neuroinflammation. Ephedra-cinnamomi down-regulating the inflammatory mediators including Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α, Interleukins (IL) IL-6. Moreover, Ephedra-cinnamomi significantly induced reduction of TLR4 and NF-κB mRNA level, consistent with the RT-qPCR results, Ephedra-cinnamomi decreased TLR4 expression and phosphorylated NF-κB p65 in concentration-dependent manners. The results revealed that Ephedra-cinnamomi may effectively inhibit ischemia-induced neuroinflammation through TLR4/NF-κB pathway. We have provided evidence indicating that Ephedra-cinnamomi induces suppression of inflammatory mediators and possesses therapeutic effect on neuroinflammation.

Dielectric response test is a non-destructive and highly sensitive tool for insulation characterization, it requires a high-precision micro-current measurement circuit, which can meet the requirements of field with complex electromagnetic interference and large temperature change. Ultra low bias current amplifiers are commonly used in micro-current measurements to complete I-V transformation. However, bias and offset currents are very susceptible to temperature. The test process is easily disturbed by external power frequency and electromagnetic noise in the form of radiation. In this paper, the principle of feedback resistance method in micro current test is analyses. At the same time, this paper analyses the effect of the error caused by the amplifier and temperature. On the basis of error analysis, a novel current test topology is proposed, which can effectively suppress the power frequency interference and temperature drift of chip. Through the introduction of differential architecture, the purpose of high accuracy current measurement under limited component accuracy is achieved. Experimental results show that test results of the proposed circuit having high linearity in the current range of 10-7A to 10-10A Additional current testing results using dielectric response test system which contains proposed circuit are also given, which reveals the stability of the designed micro-current measurement device.

A planar millimeter-wave 2-D beam-scanning multibeam array antenna fed by compact 16-way beam-forming network (BFN) in multilayered substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology is addressed. The BFN is formed by connecting two stacks of sub-BFNs, the E-plane sub-BFN and the H-plane sub-BFN. The H-plane sub-BFN is realized by a traditional H-plane $4 \times 4$ Butler matrix (BM). The key point of this design is to propose an E-plane $4 \times 4$ BM which realizes a planar E-plane sub-BFN. These two sets of sub-BFNs can joint directly without resorting to any connectors or connecting networks to form such a compact 16-way BFN with a reduced area of merely $3\lambda \times 12\lambda $ . After that, to be compatible with the proposed BFN, a ladder-type $4 \times 4$ slot antenna array is employed, which is comprised of four linear $1 \times 4$ slot antenna arrays. Different from traditional array, the four subarrays are distributed in separate layers for the purpose of jointing to the BFN more conveniently. Transition network are also required to connect the BFN with the antenna array. Finally, a compact 2-D scanning multibeam array antenna based on the planar SIW BFN are fabricated and measured, which would be an attractive candidate for 5G application.

To investigate the antipyretic mechanism of Herba Ephedrae (Eph)-Ramulus Cinnamomi (RC) herb pair on yeast-induced pyrexia in rats. Totally 30 qualified male SD rats were randomly assigned to the normal control (NC) group, the pyrexia model (model) group, the Eph, RC and Eph-RC treatment groups by a random digital table, 6 rats in each group. Each rat received a 20% aqueous suspension of yeast (10 mL/kg) except the NC group. The 3 treatment groups were administered 8.1, 5.4 and 13.5 g/kg Eph, RC and Eph-RC respectively at 5 and 12 h after yeast injection, the NC group and the model groups were administered equal volume of distilled water. Rectal temperatures were measured at 0, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 24 and 30 h and urine was collected prior to yeast injection and at 6, 10, 18, 24, 30, and 36 h after yeast injection. Then urine metabolomic profiling by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, coupled with multivariate statistical analysis and pattern recognition techniques were used to explore the antipyretic effects of Eph-RC. Partial least squares discriminate analysis was used to analyze the metabolomics dataset including classification and regression in metabolomics plot profiling. Compared with the NC group, rectal temperatures were significantly higher in the model group (P

The wet etchings of as-grown and thermal annealed ZnO films were carried out by using NH 4 Cl and acidic etchants respectively. The lateral profiles and side faces of the etched ZnO samples were exhibited by profiler and SEM measurements. NH 4 Cl etchant can avoid W-like lateral profile and eave-like slope at the side face of the etched ZnO patterns for both as-grown and post-annealed ZnO samples. The etching rate has been compared between NH 4 Cl etchant and acidic etchants for both as-grown and post-annealed ZnO samples. NH 4 Cl etchant can maintain slower etching rate with higher NH 4 Cl concentration. The thermal annealing procedure can be helpful to achieving uniform etching surface, and the etching rates of the annealed ZnO samples are even slower, which can be explained by the better crystallinity and lower density of oxygen vacancy.

The properties of germanium nanowire transistors (DNWTs) with diamond cross section are studied numerically. Ge nanowire channels can be obtained by three isotropic/anisotropic etching steps. The working mechanism of DNWTs and the influence of physical parameters are studied. The results show that the current of DNWT is mainly concentrated in the center of the channel and extends to the corner at higher gate voltage. DNWT has a larger cross section than the corresponding triangular nanowires, so it has a higher leakage current. The moderate design of DNWT is less affected by the short channel effect and the subthresh-old slope is lower.

The aim of this paper was to study the effect of total flavones of Clematis filamentosa Dunn(TFCD) post-conditioning against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) and the role of PI3K/Akt-eNOS signaling pathway. Forty male SD rats were divided randomly into five groups: Sham group, model group (I/R), TFCD post-conditioning group (TFCD), TFCD post-condition-ing+LY294002 (a PI3K/Akt signaling pathway inhibitor) group (TFCD+LY), and LY294002 group (LY). At the end of reperfusion, hemodynamic parameters were recorded, morphology changes of myocardial tissue were evaluated by using HE staining, and myocardial infarct size were observed, blood samples were obtained to determine plasma activation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK) nitric oxide (NO), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), maleic dialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). The expressions of Akt, p-Akt, eNOS and p-eNOS proteins were assessed by using Western blot, and eNOS and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA was measured by RT-PCR. The results showed that, compared with the model group, TFCD post-conditioning remarkably improved hemodynamics function and myocardial structure, reduced myocardial infarct size and enhanced the contents of NO, eNOS, SOD and GSH-Px, and decreased the contents of LDH, CK and MDA, increased the levels of phosphorylation of Akt and eNOS protein expression, eNOS and iNOS mRNA expression significantly(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01). These effects were inhibited by LY294002, a blocker of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. The above experiments indicated that TFCD post-conditioning could significantly reduce MIRI in rats, the mechanism of which may be associated with increasing antioxidation, scavenging oxygen free radicals, regulating NO generation and activating PI3K/Akt-eNOS signaling pathway.

The Chinese Hα Solar Explorer (CHASE) is designed to test a newly developed satellite platform and conduct solar observations. The scientific payload of the satellite is an Hα imaging spectrograph (HIS), which can, for the first time, acquire full-disk spectroscopic solar observations in the Hα waveband. This paper briefly introduces CHASE/HIS including its scientific objectives, technical parameters, scientific application system, etc. The CHASE mission is scheduled to launch in 2021. It will complement the observations by on-orbit solar spacecraft (such as SDO, IRIS, STEREO and PSP), as well as future solar missions of the Solar Orbiter and Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S).

The mechanical process of aluminium thin films under uniaxial tensile strain was simulated with molecular dynamics method in a low temperature range from 40 to 250 K. The stress-strain curve and potential energy-strain curve of aluminium thin film under uniaxial tensile deformation were obtained. The variation characteristics of stress-strain curves with temperature are alike at the elastic stage. However, at the plastic stage the stress-strain curves are grouped into three categories (40 K ≤ T < 100 K, 100 K ≤ T < 200 K, 200 K ≤ T ≤ 250 K). From the stress-strain curves, we found the strange temperature dependence of the local maximum stress, maximal potential energy and their corresponding strain: when the temperature is below 100 K, they go down quickly with temperature, and when above 100 K and below 200 K, they descend slowly and do very slowly above 200 K. Therefore, we have identified two critical temperatures for the transition of plastic flow mechanism.

One of the most important issues of multinational operations is the decision making of the global marketing strategy. Managers of multinational corporations (MNCs) must coordinate the implementation of their firms' strategies among various subsidiaries in different parts of the world. This study adopted a structure-conduct-outcome (S-C-O) framework to measure the outcome of strategy by structure variables (centralisation, formalisation, and dependencies) and conduct variables (integration and responsiveness) and to identify the interrelationships among network structure, conduct of subsidiary and outcome of subsidiary. The results of this study indicated that the comprehensive model is valuable and presented that high level of centralisation, formalisation and dependencies will result in better integration and responsiveness, which further enhance the performance of the subsidiary.

The performance of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) with dual pentacene channel layer (DL) has been studied. Silvaco ATLAS is used to simulate the influence of different device structure parameters. The result shows that the variation in contact placement, thickness of high mobility pentacene layer, the total thickness of two pentacene layers and the height of source and drain result in different ON- and OFF-state current characteristics. The device structure having dual channel layers of pentacene with bottom source/drain contact has the better ON/OFF current ratio at a carefully chosen pentacene thickness and source/drain height.

Fire retardant performance is an important indicator of fire-resistant fabric, and a major part of fabric protective properties, which has a great relationship with raw materials and weaving processing parameters of weaving. In this paper, basalt fiber were used to make fire-resistant fabric due to the superior properties of heat resistance, anti-oxidation, radiation, insulation of noisy and heat, filtration and high compression strength and shear strength. The fabrics of different weaves were produced on a sample loom. Then the properties, such as abrasion durability, fire resistance, reaction to acid and alkali were measured for evaluation. The results revealed that basalt fiber has great advantages for producing fire-resistant fabric.

Light-weight radar absorbing material (RAM) based on resistive frequency selective surfaces (FSS) was designed and prepared. The principle of the resonances of the RAM was analyzed by calculating the impedance of the FSS and the grounded substrate according to the equivalent circuit method, and the results show that a wideband absorbing structure can be gained by producing two adjacent resonances. After design and optimization by Genetic Algorithm (GA), the RAM with absorbing bandwidth of 7.5~18GHz below -10dB was obtained, whose thickness is only 3mm. The designed RAM was gained by preparing resistive patches on the grounded dielectric substrate of rigid polyurethane foam using screen painting technology. The density of the absorber is only 0.2g/cm3, the reflectivity was measured and it shows that the experimental result is consistent with the design one.

We report a metamaterial absorber (MA) with a broad absorption band in the frequency region of 2–4 GHz, whose thickness is not limited to the quarter-wavelength. Theoretical and experimental results show that the absorber has two adjacent absorption apexes at 2.24 and 3.46 GHz, respectively, which are both related to the electric and magnetic resonances of the metamaterial. The absorption is over 68% in the whole wave band of 2–4 GHz provided the thickness of 4 mm. The distributions of the surface currents and the power loss density indicate that the surface currents produced by the electric and magnetic resonances are strongly consumed by the resistive patches. This low-frequency absorber has potential applications in many scientific and martial fields.

A tri gate Ge-based tunneling field-effect transistor (TFET) has been numerically studied with technology computer aided design (TCAD) tools. Dopant segregated Schottky source/drain is applied to the device structure design (DS-TFET). The characteristics of the DS-TFET are compared and analyzed comprehensively. It is found that the performance of n-channel tri gate DS-TFET with a positive bias is insensitive to the dopant concentration and barrier height at n-type drain, and that the dopant concentration and barrier height at a p-type source considerably affect the device performance. The domination of electron current in the entire BTBT current of this device accounts for this phenomenon and the tri-gate DS-TFET is proved to have a higher performance than its dual-gate counterpart.

Color selection in train's inner design plays a crucial role in creating impressions of the overall environment and shaping the special brand image, on account of color's sensibility aspects and being associated with a certain atmosphere or a style. This research used a series of experiments with variable saturation, that the observer was asked to adjust saturation of the seat's color to the most comfortable level. The result shows, in the same backgroud of train interior, the selection of the same color's saturation has no strong consistency. It is caused by individual differences in color preference. When the mean value calculated from each tester's optimum value, the saturation selection has a certain tendency: For the warm color, the overall trend shows that people prefer the medium saturation; For cool colors such as green or blue, the overall trend shows that people prefer the higher saturation.

Based on the transformation thermodynamics, the thermal conductivity expression for the unit cell of the directional heat transmission structure is derived by the oblique and rotary coordinate transformation. We obtain the two-dimensional plate directional heat transmission structure through periodically arranging the unit cells which are realized by layering copper and thermal insulation materials. The results from the numerical calculation indicate that the heat flux flows from the upper surface of the directional heat transmission structure to the two sides, while the upper and lower surface remain at low temperature. Compared with the temperature of SiO2 aerogel thermal insulation material, the upper surface temperature falls 33.3%, the low surface temperature falls 4.3%, while the temperatures of the two sides rise 40.1%. The decrease of the upper surface temperature indicates that the heat on the upper surface can be guided timely, and then the infrared radiation can be weakened. The decrease of the lower surface temperature indicates that the adiabatic efficiency of the directional heat transmission structure is superior to that of the SiO2 aerogel thermal insulation material. The heat transmission from the upper surface to the sides is conducive to the good use of the heat flux. The directional heat transmission has a potential application in the infrared stealth and heat protection.

An equivalent-circuit model is used to analyse the improvement of the wave absorbing performance of the lossy frequency selective surface (FSS) absorber by using a magnetic substrate, showing that it is possible to widen the wave absorbing bandwidth. Three pieces of magnetic substrates are prepared. According to the complex permittivity and permeability, the reflectivity of the corresponding absorber is calculated by the finite difference time-domain (FDTD) method, and the bandwidth of the reflectivity below −10 dB is optimized by genetic algorithm. The calculated results indicate that the wave absorbing performance is significantly improved by increasing the complex permeability of the substrate; the reflectivity bandwidth below −10 dB of the single layer FSS absorber can reach 3.6–18 GHz with a thickness of 5 mm, which is wider than that with a dielectric substrate. The density of the FSS absorber is only 0.92 g/cm3. Additionally, the absorption band can be further widened by inserting a second lossy FSS. Finally, a double layer lossy FSS absorber with a magnetic substrate is fabricated based on the design result. The experimental result is consistent with the design one.

A kind of radar-absorbing material (RAM) based on metamaterial, which contains resistive patches, dielectric substrate and metal backing, is designed. The reflectivity of the RAM is calculated using the finite difference time-domain method (FDTD) and optimized by genetic algorithm(GA). Then RAMs with a reflectivity bandwidth of 818 GHz below -10 dB is obtained. Moreover, its thickness is only 3mm. To confirm the design results, the RAM is prepared by fabricating a hollow quartz fibre reinforced epoxy resin substrate through using hand lay-up process and making the resistive patches by screen painting. The reflectivity of the absorber is measured, showing that the experimental result is consistent with the design value.