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In this work, hierarchical nanorod-assembled ZnO sunflower-like structures were successfully synthesized through a water bath route. Crystalline phase and surface morphology of as-prepared ZnO were investigated via XRD and SEM techniques, respectively. Gas sensor fabricated from nanorod-assembled ZnO sunflowers was made, which exhibits excellent gas sensing properties at various concentrations of acetone and different operating temperatures. The gas response values at the optimum operating temperature (300 °C) are 49 towards 200 ppm acetone. The sensing measurement results indicates that the as-synthesized ZnO material may depict potential application as an acetone detector in asphalt pavement construction.

Background Zeaxanthin, a carotenoid commonly found in plants, has a variety of biological functions including anti-cancer activity. Purpose This study aimed to investigate the potential mechanisms of zeaxanthin in human gastric cancer cells. Methods CCK-8 assay was used to examine the cytotoxic effect of zeaxanthin on human gastric cancer cells. Flow cytometry was used to analyse AGS cell cycle distribution and apoptosis status. Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression levels of cycle-related proteins (Cyclin A, Cyclin B1, CDK1/2, p21, and p27), apoptosis-related proteins (Bcl-2, Bad, caspase-3, PARP), MAPK, AKT, STAT3, and NF-κB. Results CCK-8 assay showed that zeaxanthin has obvious cytotoxic effects on 12 types of human gastric cancer cells, but no obvious toxic effect on normal cells. In addition, flow cytometry and Western blotting results showed that zeaxanthin induces apoptosis by reducing mitochondrial membrane potential; increasing Cytochrome C, Bax, cleaved-caspase-3 (cle-cas-3), and cleaved-PARP (cle-PARP) expression levels; and decreasing Bcl-2, pro-caspase-3 (pro-cas-3), and pro-PARP expression levels. Additionally, zeaxanthin caused cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase by increasing the levels of p21 and p27 and reduced the levels of AKT, Cyclin A, Cyclin B1, and Cyclin-dependent kinase 1/2 (CDK1/2). Furthermore, after zeaxanthin treatment, the expression levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), p-JNK, p-p38, and I-κB increased, and the expression levels of p-ERK, p-AKT, STAT3, and NF-κB decreased. However, the ROS scavenger N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and MAPK inhibitors inhibited zeaxanthin-induced apoptosis, and under the action of zeaxanthin, MAPK regulated NF-κB and STAT3, and reduced their protein expression levels. Conclusion Zeaxanthin has a potential effect against gastric cancer cells through the ROS-mediated MAPK, AKT, NF-κB, and STAT3 signaling pathways, and it is expected to become a new drug for the treatment of human gastric cancer.

Four modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with diamion-N,N′-bis (salicylidene) Schiff base Cu (II) complexes were successfully prepared by a simple and effective ultrasonic method. Frict...

Nanoporous materials derived from hydrogen-bonded supramolecular liquid crystal complexes present a promising and prevalent perspective in selective adsorption, water desalination, ion conductivity...

Nowadays, two-way shape memory polymeric materials with reversible shape-morphing capability exhibit extraordinary application prospects in robotic, biomedical and intelligent material technologies, and have attracted extensive scientific attention. However, the exploration of facile and efficient preparation protocols for the development of two-way shape memory polymers remains challenging. Here we report a two-step copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) click chemistry strategy to synthesize a new type of main-chain liquid crystal elastomer (MCLCE) material directly from two small molecule monomers bearing terminal dialkyne and diazide units respectively. The azide–alkyne MCLCEs exhibit highly ordered enantiotropic smectic A phase, fully reversible thermal-actuating behavior and excellent mechanical properties. Furthermore, through doping photothermal dyes, coating electric conductive layers and complex programming protocols, the azide–alkyne MCLCE actuators can be fabricated as multifunctional two-way shape memory actuators, such as photo-responsive actuators, electric-responsive actuators and three-dimensional (3D) shape-morphing actuators, which can perform reversible 1D contraction/expansion, 2D bending/unbending, 3D helical curling/uncurling and diversified shape motion modes. This facile CuAAC in situ polymerization/crosslinking approach might bring a new perspective for the development of two-way shape memory polymeric materials with superior mechanical properties and enhanced shape morphing complexity.

It is widely believed in the medical community that the pathological and anatomical basis for the occurrence of external abdominal hernia is the fascia defect, and how to correctly deal with this kind of fascia defect is the key point in the treatment of external abdominal hernia. Theodore Billorth famously said that if we could artificially create dense and tough tissues like fascia and tendons, the secret to the complete healing of hernia would be solved. These similar theories largely guide the research and practice in the treatment of external abdominal hernia. along with the breakthrough progress in the mesh treatment of external abdominal hernia, According to the chemical composition and biological characteristics, the patch materials can be divided into non-absorbable materials, absorbable materials, composite repair materials and biological materials. Methods In this paper, Pubmed database and Chinese journal full-text database literatures were searched,and all mesh materials used in inguinal hernia repair were comprehensively studied, summarized and analyzed in clinical application. Keywords: external abdominal hernia; patch material; conclusion; application

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a master regulator of adipogenesis and lipogenesis. To understand its roles in fiber formation and fat deposition in skeletal muscle, we successfully generated muscle-specific overexpression of PPARγ in two pig models by random insertion and CRISPR/Cas9 transgenic cloning procedures. The content of intramuscular fat was significantly increased in PPARγ pigs while had no changes on lean meat ratio. PPARγ could promote adipocyte differentiation by activating adipocyte differentiating regulators such as FABP4 and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP), along with enhanced expression of LPL, FABP4, and PLIN1 to proceed fat deposition. Proteomics analyses demonstrated that oxidative metabolism of fatty acids and respiratory chain were activated in PPARγ pigs, thus, gathered more Ca2+ in PPARγ pigs. Raising of Ca2+ could result in increased phosphorylation of CAMKII and p38 MAPK in PPARγ pigs, which can stimulate MEF2 and PGC1α to affect fiber type and oxidative capacity. These results support that skeletal muscle-specific overexpression of PPARγ can promote oxidative fiber formation and intramuscular fat deposition in pigs.

The supported ultra-small Fe2O3 nanoparticles, as conventional functional materials for versatile applications, are scarcely investigated for their catalytic properties in peroxymonosulfate-activated reactions to deal with the ever-growing environment issues. In this work, highly dispersed ultrafine Fe2O3 nanoparticles are successfully generated in framework of mesoporous silicas (such as Fe/Si-3, with 3.01 wt% of Fe content) through an in-situ approach with iron phthalocyanine as Fe source. The formation of Fe-N or Fe-C bonds exerted remarkable isolation effect on the generation of the nanoparticles. Fe/Si-3 gave superior activity to other Fe catalysts analogues including bulk Fe2O3 in peroxymonosulfate-triggered degradation of tetracycline. Fe/Si-3 has a wide working pH window of 3–11. It can be recycled for 3 times without significant loss of the degradation activity. The radicals of S O 4 ⋅ − , ⋅ O H , O 2 ⋅ − and 1O2 all contributed to the degradation reaction. The factors for high degradation efficiency and broad working pH range of Fe/Si-3, the mechanism for formation of various radicals, as well as the transformation pathway of tetracycline molecules were proposed.

PPARγ is a master regulator of adipogenesis and lipogenesis. To understand its roles in fat deposition and fiber formation in skeletal muscle, we successfully generated muscle-specific overexpression of PPARγ by pig cloning procedures. The content of intramuscular fat was significantly increased in PPARγ transgenic pigs while the muscle mass as lean percentage of body weight was not changed. The proteomics analysis demonstrated oxidative metabolism of fatty acids and respiratory chain were increased in PPARγ pigs. Furthermore, expressions of oxidative muscle fiber-related genes such as MyHC1 and TNNT1 were enhanced. CAMK2, MEF2 and PGC1α were also significantly increased in skeletal muscle of PPARγ pigs, indicating that Ca2+-sensitive phosphatases and kinases may play an important role in the switch of muscle fiber types when PPARγ activity is elevated in skeletal muscle. The results support skeletal muscle-specific overexpression of PPARγ can promote oxidative fiber formation and intramuscular fat deposition in pigs.

10-Hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA), also known as royal jelly acid, has a variety of physiological functions, and recent studies have shown that it also has anticancer effects. However, its anticancer mechanisms have not been clearly defined. In this study, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of 10-HDA in A549 human lung cancer cells. We used Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, scratch wound healing assay, flow cytometry, and western blot analysis to investigate its apoptotic effects and underlying mechanism. Our results showed that 10-HDA inhibited the proliferation of three types of human lung cancer cells and had no significant toxic effects on normal cells. Accompanying reactive oxygen species (ROS), 10-HDA induced A549 cell apoptosis by regulating mitochondrial-associated apoptosis, and caused cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase in a time-dependent manner. Meanwhile, 10-HDA also regulated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways by increasing the expression levels of phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase, p-p38, and I-κB, and additionally, by decreasing the expression levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase, p-STAT3, and NF-κB. These effects were blocked by MAPK inhibitors and N-acetyl-L-cysteine. Furthermore, 10-HDA inhibited cell migration by regulating transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), SNAI1, GSK-3β, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin. Taken together, the results of this study showed that 10-HDA induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in A549 human lung cancer cells through ROS-mediated MAPK, STAT3, NF-κB, and TGF-β1 signaling pathways. Therefore, 10-HDA may be a potential therapy for human lung cancer.

Doxorubicin is a widely used anthracycline-based anti-tumor agent for both solid and liquid tumors. Mounting evidence has demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in chemoresistance and tumorigenesis. However, the roles of microRNA-501-5p (miR-501) in doxorubicin resistance and gastric cancer cell proliferation and invasion are still not fully understood. In this study, we identified that BLID (BH3-like motif-containing protein, cell death inducer) was directly regulated by miR-501 at the post-transcriptional level in multiple gastric cancer cell lines. Endogenous miR-501 was higher, whereas BLID was lower, in doxorubicin-resistant gastric cancer SGC7901/ADR cells compared with their parental SGC7901 cells. miR-501 suppressed gastric cancer cell apoptosis, induced resistance to doxorubicin, and enhanced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Subcutaneous injection of miR-501 lentivirus-infected SGC7901 cells resulted in rapid growth of xenograft tumors and resistance to doxorubicin treatment, unlike injection of negative miRNA lentivirus-infected SGC7901 cells. This is achieved at least partially by directly targeting BLID and subsequent inactivation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 and phosphorylation of Akt. Taken together, miR-501 induces doxorubicin resistance and enhances the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer cells by suppressing BLID. miR-501 might be a potential target for doxorubicin resistance and gastric cancer therapy. Keywords: microRNA-501-5p, chemoresistance, doxorubicin, BLID, gastric cancer

The Kafubu Emerald Area in Zambia is an important producer of gemstone-quality emeralds. The country rocks include carbonatization altered rock and emerald-hosting biotite chlorite schist from the Anzan emerald deposit in the Kafubu area, Zambia. The technique of LA-MC-ICP-MS is used to perform chronology measurements of the country rock and emerald-hosting rock which belong to Muva Supergroup, yielding zircon U-Pb concordia ages of 1966 ± 12 Ma in carbonatization altered rock and 1853 ± 58 Ma and 1344 ± 30 Ma in biotite chlorite schist. Meanwhile, dating of biotite chlorite schist using the biotite 40 Ar– 39 Ar method has obtained the plateau age of t = 578.3 ± 2.6 Ma, isochron age of 577.5 ± 3.0 Ma and reverse isochron age of 577.4 ± 3.0 Ma. Thus, we have redefined the age of Muva Supergroup in the Copperbelt Province in Zambia to be older than or equal to 1966 ± 12 Ma, and found that the ore bodies in the Anzan emerald deposit underwent three phases of metamorphism at 1853 ± 58 Ma, 1344 Ma ± 30 and 578.3 ± 2.6 Ma and finally accomplished the emerald mineralization. The age of the Anzan emerald deposit is earlier than the Kagem (452.1 ± 16 Ma) and the Kamakanga emerald deposits (447 ± 8.6 Ma).

Individual skeletal muscles in the animal body are heterogeneous, as each is comprised of different fiber types. Type I muscle fibers are rich with mitochondria, and have high oxidative metabolisms while type IIB fibers have few mitochondria and high glycolytic metabolic capacity. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1α (PGC-1α), a transcriptional co-activator that regulates mitochondrial biogenesis and respiratory function, is implicated in muscle fiber-type switching. Over-expression of PGC-1α in transgenic mice increased the proportion of red/oxidative type I fiber. During pig muscle growth, an increased number of type I fibers can give meat more red color. To explore the roles of PGC-1α in regulation of muscle fiber type conversion, we generated skeletal muscle-specific PGC-1α transgenic mice and pig. Ectopic over-expression of PGC-1α was detected in both fast and slow muscle fibers. The transgenic animals displayed a remarkable amount of red/oxidative muscle fibers in major skeletal muscle tissues. Skeletal muscles from transgenic mice and pigs have increased expression levels of oxidative fiber markers such as MHC1, MHC2x, myoglobin and Tnni1, and decreased expressions of glycolytic fiber genes (MHC2a, MHC2b, CASQ-1 and Tnni2). The genes responsible for the TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, cytochrome coxidase 2 and 4, and citrate synthase were also increased in the transgenic mice and pigs. These results suggested that transgenic over-expressed PGC-1α significantly increased muscle mitochondrial biogenesis, resulting in qualitative changes from glycolytic to oxidative energy generation. The transgenic animals also had elevated levels of PDK4 and PPARγ proteins in muscle tissue, which can lead to increased glycogen deposition and fatty acid oxidation. Therefore, the results support a significant role of PGC-1α in conversion of fast glycolytic fibers to slow and oxidative fiber through enhanced mitochondrial respiration and fatty acid oxidation, and transgenic over-expression of PGC-1α in skeletal muscle leads to more red meat production in pigs.

Calycosin is one of the main ingredients extracted from the Chinese medical herb, Radix astragali (RA). It has been shown to inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in several cancer cell lines, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The effects of calycosin on the proliferation and apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, as well as its mechanism, were investigated in this study. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay results suggested that calycosin had anti-proliferation effects on HCC in dose- and time-dependent manners, and had less cytotoxicity in normal cells. Hoechst/PI double staining and flow cytometry results showed cellular morphological changes and apoptosis after treatment of HepG2 cells with calycosin. The western blot assay showed calycosin decreased the expression of Bcl-2 and increased the expression of Bax, caspase-3, and PARP. Calycosin induced the activation of MAPK, STAT3, NF-κB, apoptosis-related proteins, and induced cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase by regulating AKT. In addition, calycosin reduced the expression of TGF-β1, SMAD2/3, SLUG, and vimentin. Furthermore, phosphorylation, apoptosis, and cell migration induced by calycosin were mediated by the production of reactive oxygen species. These events could be inhibited by pretreatment with N-acetyl-L-cysteine. Calycosin resisted HCC by activating ROS-mediated MAPK, STAT3, and NF-κB signaling pathways.

Two novel prenylated kaempferol derivatives (1, 2), together with seven known metabolites were isolated from ethanol extract of fresh Platanus acerifolia bud’s fur by multistep chromatographic processing. Structure of compounds 1 and 2 was confirmed by 1D, 2D NMR spectra and HR-ESI-MS. In addition, compound 1 was further analysed by X-ray crystallography. Anti-proliferative activities in vitro against human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) and human hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep-G2) cell lines for compound 1, 2 and 8 were evaluated. Compound 1 exhibited cytotoxic activity towards MCF-7 and Hep-G2 cell lines with the IC50 values 38.2 and 39.5 μM, respectively. Moreover, compound 2 showed weak cytotoxic activities against the two cell lines.

Background The protective effect of Neuregulin-1 (NRG-1) on heart failure is well established. In this study, we assessed whether NRG-1 could protect the heart by mimicking the cardioprotective effects of ischaemic postconditioning (IP). Methods We used a myocardial reperfusion injury rat model in vivo to compare the cardioprotective effects of NRG-1(3 μg/kg, iv. at the onset of reperfusion) and IP. In Langendorff isolated heart perfusion experiments, we used the erythroblastic leukaemia viral oncogene homolog 4 (ErbB4) inhibitor AG1478, a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 and a mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal regulated kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD98059 to clarify whether the protective effects of NRG-1and IP depend on the NRG-1/ErbB4 signals and the reperfusion injury salvage kinase (RISK) pathway. Infarct size was detected by Evans blue and TTC. Apoptosis was detected by TUNEL assays. The expression of NRG-1/ErbB4 and downstream ERK1/2, AKT, AMPK and p70s6K were detected by western blotting. Hematoxylin/eosin (H&E) staining was used for histological analysis. Results We found that NRG-1 and IP had similar effects on reducing myocardial infarct size and apoptosis in vivo. NRG-1 heart protein levels were upregulated in the IP group. Phosphorylation of AKT, ERK1/2 and ErbB4 were also increased in both the IP and NRG-1 groups. Furthermore, in Langendorff analyses, the ErbB4 inhibitor AG1478 suppressed the phosphorylation of ErbB4 and the RISK pathway and aggravated myocardial edema and fiber fracture, thereby inhibited the cardioprotective effects in both the IP and NRG-1 groups. For assessment of downstream signals, the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 and the MEK inhibitor PD98059 suppressed the phosphorylation of AKT and ERK1/2 respectively and abolished the cardioprotective effects induced by IP and NRG-1. Conclusion In conclusion, both IP and NRG-1 could reduce infarct size and apoptosis through ErbB4-dependent activation of the RISK pathway in the same model; these results indicated the therapeutic potential of NRG-1 as a pharmacological postconditioning agent against myocardial reperfusion injury.

Hydrogen as the main cause of the gas porosity in aluminium alloys should be removed before casting. The degassing process with intensive melt shearing shows a high efficiency. In the present work, the water simulation was used to study the high shear degassing process and the effect of rotation speed on the size and distribution of inert gas bubbles. The results show that with the increase of rotation speed, the bubble size decreases and the affected region becomes larger. The proper rotation speed of the rotor for the rotor-stator high shear degassing process is 5000-6000 RPM.

Aluminum brass possesses an attractive combination of properties including high strength, high thermal and electrical conductivity, good mechanical workability, excellent corrosion resistance, low susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking. This make it a preferred choice for bimetal strips. The materials for preparing bimetal strips with cold roll bonding should have a good plasticity. In the present work, a Cu-Zn-Al-Ni alloy was proposed and the annealing process for this aluminium brass alloy was studied. The effect of annealing temperature and annealing time on the microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated. The proper annealing parameters were obtained.

A purity of 99.995% high purity aluminum was deformed by multi-forging with different conditions (forged by different forging passes with and without water cooling). The effect of multi-forging on macrostructure and mechanical property of the high purity aluminum was investigated. The results show that the deformation heat during the MDF process can obviously affect the recrystallization of the high purity aluminum. Recrystallization occurs in the easy deformation zone of the sample as forged by 3 passes at room temperature. While, when the sample are cooling by water for each pass, no recrystallization occurs in the whole sample as forged by 9 passes. When the high purity forged at room temperature, the structure difference between the easy deformation zone and stagnant zone can not be eliminated by increasing the forging pass to 9. While, the area of the recrystal grain extends with increment of the forging pass.

Tyrosine 177 and the Src homology 2 (SH2) domain play important roles in linking p185Bcr-Abl to downstream pathways critical for cell growth and survival. However, a mutant p185(Y177FR552L) (p185(YR)), in which tyrosine 177 and arginine 552 in the SH2 domain are mutated, is still capable of transforming hematopoietic cells in vitro. Transplant of these cells into syngeneic mice also leads to leukemogenesis, albeit with a phenotype distinct from that produced by wild-type p185Bcr-Abl (p185(wt))-transformed cells. Here we show that G-protein coupled receptor 34 (Gpr34) expression is markedly up-regulated in p185(YR)-transformed cells compared to those transformed by p185(wt). Knockdown of Gpr34 in p185(YR) cells is sufficient to suppress growth factor-independent proliferation and survival in vitro and attenuate leukemogenesis in vivo. The Erk and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathways are activated in p185(YR) cells and the activation is dependent on Gpr34 expression. These studies identify Gpr34 as an alternative pathway that may mediate p185Bcr-Abl-induced transformation and leukemogenesis.

A phytochemical investigation of the ethanolic extracts of the dried roots of Euphorbia nematocypha resulted in the isolation of a new phenylpropanoid, 16-O-caffeoyl-16-hydroxylhexadecanoic acid (1), together with 23 known compounds (2-24). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Compound 1 was first to be isolated as a caffeic acyl long chain alkyl acid from the family Euphorbiaceae. The new isolated phenylpropanoid showed potent cytotoxic activities against the MCF-7 and HeLa cell lines.

Magnesium-calcium binary alloys were prepared with pure Mg and pure Ca to study the influence of Ca on the microstructure of Mg-Ca binary alloys. The results showed that with the increase of the content of Ca, there is a sharp decrease of the grain size of Mg alloy with Ca content in the range of 0 to 0.5%, then there is slight decrease of grain size with increasing the content of Ca from 0.5 to 2%; the grain size becomes increasing with further increasing the content of Ca.

In this study, a purity of 99.995percent high purity aluminum was multi-directionally forged up to a maximum cumulative strain of 4.5 at room temperature. The macro and micro structure evolution in the multi-directionally forge process was investigated by structure observations and hardness measurements. The results show that the inhomogeneous deformation of multi-directional forging results in that the structure and hardness is quite different between the easy deformation zone and stagnant zone. Dynamic recrystallization occurs in easy deformation zone of high purity aluminum sample at room temperature as the cumulative true strain is 1.5 (3 forging passes), while the structure in the stagnant zone is still not recrystallizated even at a cumulative true strain of 4.5 (9 forging passes). The recrystallized grain size in the easy deformation zone is reduced with the number of forging passes, and the area of recrystallize grains increase with the number of forging passes.

A physical modification method with the application of intensive melt shearing during solidification was used to treat a hypereutectic aluminium silicon alloy. The effect of intensive melt shearing on the microstructure of the alloy was studied. Experimental results showed that intensive melt shearing can significantly refine the primary silicon particles, and treatment temperature plays a very important role in the refinement. The optimum condition for refining primary silicon particles of Al-20wt%Si alloy is treating at 660 °C.

In order to understand the effect of casting temperature on the low frequency electromagnetic casting process, 200mm billets of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy were produced, the microstructure was analyzed and the temperature field was measured during the casting process. The experimental results showed that low frequency electromagnetic casting process has an evident grain refining effect on aluminum alloy and casting temperature is not a sensitive parameter for this process, which can tolerate a large range of casting temperature. In the range of 710 to 750 °C, casting temperature does not show significant effect on the microstructure.

Grain refinement is quite important for producing 7050 alloy billet especially in large scale. Low frequency electromagnetic casting (LFEC) process was used to make 7050 aluminum alloy Φ500 mm billets and study the effect of electromagnetic field on the microstructure. The sound Φ500 mm billets of 7050 alloys without any grain refiner can be successfully prepared by the LFEC process. The results show that low frequency electromagnetic field has a significant grain refining effect on 7050 alloy and can effectively eliminate feather grain structure. The microstructures of LFEC ingot from the border to the center of the cross section are all equiaxed grains and are finer and more uniform than that of conventional direct chill (DC) cast billets. The LFEC process also shows a strong power to eliminate hot tearing during casting large sized billet of high strength aluminium alloy.

Low frequency electromagnetic casting (LFEC) process was used to make 7050 aluminum alloy 162mm ingots and study its effect on the as-cast microstructure. Effects of electromagnetic field parameters such as frequency and current intensity on microstructures were systemically investigated. The results showed that LFEC has a significant grain refining effect on 7050 alloy. The microstructures of LFEC ingot from the border to the center of the cross section are all equiaxed or nearly equiaxed grains which are much finer and more uniform than those of DC cast ingot. It was also found that electromagnetic field frequency and current intensity play important roles on the microstructure refinement. The discussion was mainly focused on the mechanism of grain refinement by LFEC process.

Grain refinement is quite important for producing 7050 alloy ingot especially in large scale. Low frequency electromagnetic casting (LFEC) process was used to make 7050 aluminum alloy Φ310 ingots and study the effect of electromagnetic field and grain refiner on the microstructure of 7050 alloy ingots. The results showed that both grain refiner and low frequency electromagnetic field can result in some grain refinement of 7050 alloy. However, the low frequency electromagnetic field shows more remarkable grain refinement. For the grain refined alloy by grain refiner, further significant grain refinement can be achieved with the application of low frequency electromagnetic field. The finest microstructure was achieved by combining the applications of both grain refiner and electromagnetic field.

On the basis of conventional hot-top casting, low frequency electromagnetic field was applied in the process of hot-top casting to produce 7050 aluminum alloy ingot, the influences of low frequency electromagnetic field on cold-shut have been studied. The experimental results show that under the effect of the low frequency electromagnetic filed, the depth of cold folding has been decreased, and the as-cast structure has been refined. The reasons for low frequency electromagnetic field improving the surface quality, refining the structure of the ingot were summarized.

SRPK3 is a protein kinase belonging to serine/arginine protein kinases (SRPK) family, which phosphorylates serine/arginine repeat-containing proteins, and is controlled by a muscle-specific enhancer directly regulated by MEF2. In this study, a full-length cDNA of the porcine SRPK3 gene encoding a 566 amino acid protein was isolated. It contains 14 exons over approximately 4.3 kb. The deduced amino acid sequence of porcine SRPK3 contains a bipartite kinase domain, and shows high similarities to their corresponding human and cattle homologues. Tissue distribution analysis indicated that porcine SRPK3 mRNAs are highly expressed in heart and skeletal muscle especially in uterus and parorchis, but at low level in brain, stomach, small intestine, and ovary. Expression pattern of SRPK3 was similar in Large White and Chinese Meishan breeds. Both the two breeds had the highest expression levels at fetal 65 days (P < 0.01), and decreased while the age increased until 60 days old, then increased at 120 days (P < 0.01) and decreased at 180 days (P < 0.05). However, at fetal 65 days, the mRNA abundance of SRPK3 in Large White was 12.5-fold higher than in Meishan pigs (P < 0.01), whereas at 180 days, the abundance in Meishan was 3.4-fold higher than in Large White pigs (P < 0.01). These results suggest that the SRPK3 gene might be an important gene of skeletal muscle development and also provides basic molecular information useful for further studies on its roles in porcine skeletal muscle.

The anti-proliferative activities against five cancer cell lines of two flavonols (1, 2) with unsubstituted B ring isolated from the ethanol extract of the leaves of Platanus acerifolia were investigated. The results showed that compound 1 possessed a noteworthy anti-proliferative activity against MGC-803 cells with an IC50 value of 17.26±1.04 μM, and compound 2 was less active than 1 with an IC50 value of 20.29±1.37 μM compared with 41.94±1.58 μM for the positive control group. In addition, the results of Hoechst 33258 staining, AO/EB staining and annexinV-FITC assays indicated that 1 caused a significant MGC-803 cellular apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The further mechanisms showed that compound 1 induced the production of ROS, decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential, and altered pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins, leading to activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 in the process of cellular apoptosis. The present investigation indicated that compound 1 could be used as a potential anti-cancer candidate.

This paper discussed the effects of different cooling rate on the microstructure of the 4Y32 aluminum alloy and the refinement and modification on 4Y32 aluminum alloy by using Na and Al-10%Sr master alloys in various treatment states. And also the effect of Al-10Sr and Al-3Ti-1B compound modification on microstructures of 4Y32 aluminum alloy has also been studied. The results showed that: the primary silicon was eliminated during slow cooling. As the cooling rate increased, the number of primary silicon was also growing, but the size of primary silicon and eutectic silicon were significantly refined; when without modification, the shape of eutectic silicon was needle and flake; 4Y32 aluminum alloy could be effectively refined after Na modification, under the optimum addition amount of 0.8wt%. The best modification was achieved with 15 minutes, that is, the shape of primary silicon changed to small granular or oval and the primary silicon was eliminated; the as-cast structure has been improved after Al-10Sr modification, under the optimum addition amount of 0.2wt. %, the shape of eutectic silicon changed to fine short rod or point and the primary silicon was eliminated; However, in the compound modification, efficiency of Sr was decreased with the increasing additional amount of AI-3Ti-1B master alloy, which was attribute to the interaction of Sr and Ti.

In this article, the densely SrCo0.8Fe0.1Sn0.1O3-δ (SSCF) tubular membranes were prepared by the traditional extrusion method. The prototype oxygen separator was constructed by the resulting SSCF tubular membrane. The resulting oxygen product had purity over 99%. At 920oC, a tubular membrane with a wall thickness of 1.4mm, had the permeation rate of 2.4ml/min.cm2, which kept unchanged during 1000hrs operation.

Hexokinase Ⅱ has been demonstrated to play the role of a key enzyme member in the glycolysis reaction. It catalyzes the conversion of glucose to glucose-6-phosphate, thus committing glucose to the glycolytic pathway. In this paper, the partial exons and introns 10, 11, 13 and 14 of the porcine HK2 gene were cloned and sequenced by comparative genomics. Comparative sequencing of three pig breeds revealed ten putative single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), one of which in intron 10 with differing bases (G981 A) is within the restriction site for enzyme Msp Ⅰ. Distribution of Msp Ⅰ-RFLP genotype and allele frequencies among different pig breeds were studied. By association analysis between Msp ⅠPCRRFLP polymorphism (AA, AB, BB genotypes of HK2 gene intron 10) and some meat quality and carcass traits in F2 group, which was constructed by our laboratory, a significant difference of pig average backfat at rump was found between AB and BB genotypes (P＜005) in F2 group. In addition, the pattern of expression of HK2 in a variety of tissues in pig was also determined using semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The expression of HK2 mRNA was detected only in pig skeletal muscle.

A reaction bonding fabrication process using various grain size of SiC powder was investigated. The properties such as mechanical, thermal and physic property were tested and analyzed. RBSiC produced using this process is a polycrystalline material and has high specific stiffness (density of 3.09 g/cm3 with elastic modulus of 362.39 GPa), strength (269.64 MPa) and hardness (19.43 GPa). At room temperature its low CTE (3.47 × 10−6/K), combined with relatively high thermal conductivity (161.14 W/mK) and specific heat capacity (593.86 J/kg·K) can minimize the bothersome thermal distortion. This advantage is outstanding even at higher temperature of test range. Two d 250 mm RBSiC mirror were polished. Surface roughness value less than 5 nm was obtained. Results prove that this reaction bonding process is a feasible method to produced high quality RBSiC optical mirror.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ2 (PPARγ2) is a key regulator of adipocyte differentiation, fatty acid uptake and storage in mammals. The primary goal of the present study was to investigate the consequences of PPARγ2 overexpression in the muscle. A swine muscle creatine kinase promoter was used to drive swine PPARγ2 (sPPARγ2) overexpression in the muscle of a transgenic mice model. The results showed that the mRNA of multiple adipocyte genes was increased in the skeletal muscle, as evidenced by the up-regulation of fatty acid synthase (2.11-fold, P < 0.05), lipoprotein lipase (2.08-fold, P < 0.01), fatty acid-binding protein 4 (14.30-fold, P < 0.01), and CD36 antigen (5.50-fold, P < 0.01). Meanwhile, skeletal muscle triacylglycerol was increased (P < 0.01) and the fatty acid profile of muscle fat was changed in that more polyunsaturated fats acid were augmented. The present study may further serve to develop transgenic pigs with higher intramuscular fat content and improved pork quality.

The microsomal enzyme 1, 2-acyl CoA: diacylglyceroltransferase-1 (DGAT1) plays an important role in triglyceride storage in adipose tissue and expresses in skeletal muscle as well. The primary goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of porcine DGAT1 on intramuscular fat (IMF) content of transgenic mice produced by pronuclear microinjection with muscle specific promoter of porcine muscle creatine kinase (MCK). In normal chow-fed diet, 4 month-old male transgenic mice expressed more DGAT1, ACC1, UCP1, and FABP4 mRNAs and proteins in skeletal muscle than control mice by real-time PCR and western blot. No significant changes were detected for ACC2, CD36, ADRP, PPAR gamma and LPL. Triacylglycerol assay and soleus muscle sections showed overexpression of porcine DGAT1 in skeletal muscle increased intramyocellular triglyceride and percent of the total cell surface covered by lipid droplets. Thus, upregulation of porcine DGAT1 in skeletal muscle increases IMF content. The present study may further serve to develop transgenic pigs with higher IMF content and improved meat quality.

A new direct chill (DC) casting process, melt conditioned DC (MC-DC) process, has been developed for the production of high quality billets/slabs of light alloys by application of intensive melt shearing through a rotor-stator high shear device during the DC casting process. The rotor-stator high shear device provides intensive melt shearing to disperse the naturally occurring oxide films, and other inclusions, while creating a microscopic flow pattern to homogenize the temperature and composition fields in the sump. In this paper, we report the grain refining effect of intensive melt shearing in the MC-DC casting processing. Experimental results on DC casting of Mg-alloys with and without intensive melt shearing have demonstrated that the MC-DC casting process can produce magnesium alloy billets with significantly refined microstructure. Such grain refinement in the MC-DC casting process can be attributed to enhanced heterogeneous nucleation by dispersed naturally occurring oxide particles, increased nuclei survival rate in uniform temperature and compositional fields in the sump, and potential contribution from dendrite arm fragmentation.

A new melt conditioned direct chill (MC-DC) casting process has been developed for producing high quality magnesium alloy billets and slabs. In the MC-DC casting process, intensive melt shearing provided by a high shear device is applied directly to the alloy melt in the sump during DC casting. The high shear device provides intensive melt shearing to disperse potential nucleating particles, creates a macroscopic melt flow to distribute uniformly the dispersed particles, and maintains a uniform temperature and chemical composition throughout the melt in the sump. Experimental results have demonstrated that the MC-DC casting process can produce magnesium alloy billets with significantly refined microstructure and reduced cast defects. In this paper, we introduce the new MC-DC casting process, report the grain refining effect of intensive melt shearing during the MC-DC casting process and discuss the grain refining mechanism.