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A hierarchical ZnO/V2C MXene hybrid exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performance due to its close coupling heterojunction facilitating photo-generated carrier transfer.

Purpose Radiation therapy elicits profound alterations in gene expression in tumor cells. This study aims to determine the dynamic changes in the expression of immunity-associated genes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells upon radiation therapy. Methods and materials The study was performed using NPC patient-derived tumor xenograft tumors, cell lines, CCR4+ CD8 T cells sorted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy volunteers, and TCGA-derived bulk RNA-seq or single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data sets. Patient-derived tumor xenograft tumors or cell lines were irradiated and collected for bulk RNA sequencing or for CCL22 expression and release detection. Malignant phenotypes and radiosensitivity were assessed in cells with or without overexpression of CCL22 or recombinant CCL22 treatment in the presence or absence of irradiation. TCGA data sets were used for uncovering CCR4 status in subtypes of T cells. CCL22 in supernatants, cell lysates, or serum samples was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results CCL22 was significantly increased in the irradiated patient-derived tumor xenograft tumors, the supernatants and cell lysates collected from irradiated NPC cell lines, and the serum of patients who received radiation therapy. No alterations of malignant phenotypes were found in tumor cells with CCL22 overexpression or recombinant CCL22 treatment. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that CCL22 or its receptor CCR4 positively correlated with cytotoxic T lymphocyte signatures, and high expression of CCL22 or CCR4 was associated with better prognosis for patients with NPC. scRNA-seq data set-based analysis demonstrated that CCR4 was expressed in multiple subtypes of T cells, including effector CD8 T cells. Chemotaxis assay indicated that CCR4+ CD8 T cells could be recruited by CCL22 treatment. Conclusion The radiation-enhanced release of CCL22 from NPC cells promotes migration of CCR4 + effector CD8 T cells, which might partially be associated with radiation therapy-mediated antitumor immunity.

Oncogene StarD4 had the function of promoting proliferation and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), but its clinical value and molecular mechanism are unknown. This paper found that StarD4 was highly expressed in cancer tissues of TNBC patients, and higher expression level of StarD4 in TNBC patient resulted in poorer prognosis. Based on transcriptomics of MDA-MB-231 cell model, the results of bioinformatics analysis showed that down-regulated expression level of StarD4 led to overall downregulation of cholesterol-relative genes and significant enrichment of cancer mechanism and pathway. Further analysis and investigation verified that StarD4 might cross-promote the protein stability of receptor ITGA5 through the cholesterol pathway to enhance TNBC progression, which provides guidance for clinical application of TNBC diagnosis and treatment.StarD4具有促三阴乳腺癌（TNBC）增殖转移功能，但临床价值和分子机制未明。本文发现StarD4在TNBC癌组织高表达，且高表达患者生存预后不良。通过TNBC细胞模型的转录组检测和分析发现：StarD4敲减表达引发胆固醇通路基因的整体下调和TNBC肿瘤通路的显著富集。进一步分析验证了StarD4可能通过胆固醇通路交叉调控细胞膜受体ITGA5的蛋白稳定性，发挥促癌的分子机制，为临床TNBC的诊疗应用提供了指导。.

RIG‐I is associated with the occurrence and development of many tumors. However, the role of RIG‐I in radiotherapy and chemotherapy in NPC has not been reported to date. In our study, RIG‐I expression was significantly reduced in chemoradiotherapy‐resistant NPC tissues and cells compared with that in therapy‐sensitive tissues and cells. RIG‐I expression increased in nonresistant NPC cells, including CNE1 and CNE2, in a dose‐dependent manner with increasing chemotherapy drug concentration or radiotherapy dose. RIG‐I overexpression promoted radiotherapy and chemotherapy sensitivity in NPC cells, leading to cellular apoptosis and increased expression of the proapoptotic factors BAX and caspase‐3. Similarly, RIG‐I knockdown in NPC cells promoted chemoradiotherapy resistance and reduced apoptosis. Analysis of microarray data indicated that the expression of IFN/JAK2 and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response markers, such as JAK2, STAT1, IRF9, IFNB1, IRF3, p‐IRF3, XBP1, ATF6, IFIT2, and ISG15, was inhibited in chemoradiotherapy‐resistant cells compared with that in sensitive cells. Conversely, activation of IFN/JAK2 and ER stress response pathways in NPC cells reduced paclitaxel resistance and increased apoptosis. RIG‐I promotes IFN/JAK2 and ER stress response‐mediated apoptosis to inhibit chemoradiation resistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma., RIG‐I expression was significantly reduced in chemoradiotherapy‐resistant NPC tissues and cells compared with that in therapy‐sensitive tissues and cells. RIG‐I overexpression promoted radiotherapy and chemotherapy sensitivity in NPC cells, leading to cellular apoptosis and increased expression of the proapoptotic factors BAX and caspase‐3. RIG‐I promotes IFN/JAK2 and ER stress response‐mediated apoptosis to inhibit chemoradiation resistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

In this work, the effect of rare-earth dysprosium oxide (Dy2O3) on the thermal stability properties of adipic acid (AA) matrix was investigated in detail. The AA/Dy2O3 composites were prepared by melting and mixing method. The microstructure, phase composition and thermal properties of AA/Dy2O3 composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimeter, respectively. It was found that there was a gradual change in melting temperature and latent heat of fusion after 1000th thermal cycles and the thermal stability of AA can be enhanced by incorporation of Dy2O3. The obtained AA doped with 3.0 mass% dysprosium oxide exhibited a small decline of only 3.2% in the melting latent heat after 1000th cycling tests compared with the decline of 13.7% for pure AA. In addition, the phase transition temperature was 142.1 °C with 227.9 J g−1 in the latent heat of fusion by adding 3.0 mass% dysprosium oxide after 1000th melting/freezing cycles. There was no chemical reaction between AA and Dy2O3 phase during the melting/freezing process, and the AA showed no obvious change in the structures after 1000th melting/freezing cycles. The Dy2O3 particles exhibited a homogenous dispersion in the AA matrix even after 1000th melting/freezing cycles.

A new type of capric acid (CA)-acid expanded vermiculite (AEV) composite phase change material (PCM) with improved adsorption ability and interface adhesive strength was developed. Through the analysis of non-isothermal phase transition kinetics, modified vermiculite was observed to change and affect the phase transformation mechanism of the composite. AEV was treated with hydrochloric acid to improve the specific surface area and micro-pore structure. The surface area measured by BET increased from 81.94 m2/g for expanded vermiculite (EV) to 544.13 m2/g for AEV. CA-EV and CA-AEV composite PCMs were prepared by direct impregnation. The non-isothermal phase transition isotherms of CA-EV and CA-AEV were recorded by DSC at different heating rates (1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 ℃/min), which indicated that the phase transition rate increased with the heating rate and the phase transition process changed. Kinetics parameters were analyzed by a double extrapolation method. The activation energy (E) under the original state (Eα→0) of CA-AEV and CA-EV was 1 117 kJ/mol and 937 kJ/mol, respectively, and 1 205 kJ/mol and 1 016 kJ/mol under the thermal equilibrium state (Eβ→0). The most probabilistic mechanism function of CA-AEV satisfied G(α)=α2/3, which followed the Mample special rule, and the function of CA-EV satisfied G(α)=[(1+α)(1/3)−1]2, which followed the anti-Jander function.

This work studied the thermophysical properties of Mg-24%Cu, Mg-31%Cu, and Mg-45%Cu (wt.%) alloys to comprehensively consider the possibility of using them as thermal energy storage (TES) phase change materials (PCMs) used at high temperatures. The microstructure, phase composition, phase change temperatures, and enthalpy of these alloys were investigated by an electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The XRD and EPMA results indicated that the binary eutectic phase composed of α-Mg and Mg2Cu exists in the microstructure of the prepared Mg–Cu series alloys. The microstructure of Mg-24%Cu and Mg-31%Cu is composed of α-Mg matrix and binary eutectic phases, and Mg-45%Cu is composed of primary Mg2Cu and binary eutectic phases. The number of eutectic phases is largest in Mg-31%Cu alloy. The DSC curves indicated that the onset melting temperature of Mg-24%Cu, Mg-31%Cu, and Mg-45%Cu alloys were 485, 486, and 485 °C, and the melting enthalpies were 152, 215, and 91 J/g. Thermal expansion and thermal conductivity were also determined, revealing that the Mg–Cu alloys had a low linear thermal expansion coefficient and high thermal conductivity with respect to increasing temperatures. In conclusion, the thermal properties demonstrated that the Mg–Cu alloys can be considered as a potential PCM for TES.

This study focuses on the characterization of eutectic alloy, Mg–25%Cu–15%Zn with a phase change temperature of 452.6 °C, as a phase change material (PCM) for thermal energy storage (TES). The phase composition, microstructure, phase change temperature and enthalpy of the alloy were investigated after 100, 200, 400 and 500 thermal cycles. The results indicate that no considerable phase transformation and structural change occurred, and only a small decrease in phase transition temperature and enthalpy appeared in the alloy after 500 thermal cycles, which implied that the Mg–25%Cu–15%Zn eutectic alloy had thermal reliability with respect to repeated thermal cycling, which can provide a theoretical basis for industrial application. Thermal expansion and thermal conductivity of the alloy between room temperature and melting temperature were also determined. The thermophysical properties demonstrated that the Mg–25%Cu–15%Zn eutectic alloy can be considered a potential PCM for TES.

Radiation therapy elicits profound alterations in gene expression in tumor cells. This study aims to determine the dynamic changes in the expression of immunity-associated genes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells upon radiation therapy.The study was performed using NPC patient-derived tumor xenograft tumors, cell lines, CCR4CCL22 was significantly increased in the irradiated patient-derived tumor xenograft tumors, the supernatants and cell lysates collected from irradiated NPC cell lines, and the serum of patients who received radiation therapy. No alterations of malignant phenotypes were found in tumor cells with CCL22 overexpression or recombinant CCL22 treatment. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that CCL22 or its receptor CCR4 positively correlated with cytotoxic T lymphocyte signatures, and high expression of CCL22 or CCR4 was associated with better prognosis for patients with NPC. scRNA-seq data set-based analysis demonstrated that CCR4 was expressed in multiple subtypes of T cells, including effector CD8 T cells. Chemotaxis assay indicated that CCR4The radiation-enhanced release of CCL22 from NPC cells promotes migration of CCR4

A new capric acid (CA)-modified vermiculite composite phase change material (PCM) with improved adsorption ability and enhanced thermal stability was prepared in the present research. The silanization vermiculite (SV) obtained by two-step acidification and silanization treatment was used as the CA-supporting matrix. The differential scanning calorimeter detected the fusion enthalpy of CA–SV composite as 118.41 J/g, which was 37.1% higher than that of CA-expanded vermiculite (EV). The phase conversion rate (α)–temperature (T) curves and the dα/dT-α curves revealed that the phase transition hysteresis phenomenon of the CA–SV composite was more conspicuous than that of CA–EV. It was also found that the fusion enthalpy loss of CA–SV was 3.1% after 1000 thermal cycles. Therefore, it can be concluded that the CA–SV composite PCM with enhanced containment ability and improved thermal stability is a promising candidate for thermal energy storage applications.

In this work, highly pure Nb2AlC was successfully synthesized using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique with Nb, NbC and black carbon as raw materials at 1450 °C and 30 MPa for 8 min. The obtained Nb2AlC grain shows a characteristic layered structure. More interestingly, the obtained Nb2AlC exhibits good electrical, thermal and mechanical properties. The coefficient of thermal expansion is 9.0 × 10−6 K−1 from room temperature to 1200 °C. The electrical conductivity reaches 1.3 × 106 S m-1 at 500 °C, indicating excellent high-temperature conductivity. The Vickers hardness and flexural strength are 4.0 GPa and 440 ± 10 MPa, respectively. Importantly, fracture toughness of the obtained Nb2AlC material reaches 7.8 ± 0.2 MPa m1/2, which is higher than that of other previously studied MAX materials. Therefore, SPS is a very effective method to fabricate Nb2AlC materials and can also be used to prepare other MAX materials.

In order to improve the thermal storage capacity of expanded vermiculite (EV) based form-stable composite PCM (FS-PCM) via organic modification of EV, first, EV was modified with a sodium stearate (NaSt) as surface modifier, and organic EV (OEV) with hydrophobicity and higher adsorption capacity for fatty acid was obtained. A novel capric-stearic acid eutectic (CA-SA)/OEV FS-PCM with high thermal storage capacity was then developed. OEV and CA-SA/OEV were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal gravimetry (TG), and thermal cycling test. Results showed that OEV has obvious hydrophobicity and a higher adsorption capacity for fatty acid. Its adsorption ratio has increased by 48.71% compared with that of EV. CA-SA/OEV possesses high thermal storage density (112.52 J/g), suitable melting temperature (20.49 °C), good chemical compatibility, excellent thermal stability and reliability, indicating great application potential for building energy efficiency. Moreover, organic modification of inorganic matrix may offer novel options for improving its adsorption capacity for organic PCMs and increasing heat storage capacity of corresponding FS-PCMs.

Ti3AlC2/Al2O3 composite materials were successfully fabricated from TiO2/TiC/Ti/Al powders by the in situ reactive hot pressed technique. The microstructure, mechanical and oxidation properties of the composites were investigated in the paper. Vickers hardness increased with the Al2O3 content. The relative density of Ti3AlC2/Al2O3 composites exhibits a declining tendency with Al2O3 content especially exceeds 10 vol. %. The Ti3AlC2/Al2O3 composites show excellent electrical conductivity. The flexural strength and fracture toughness of Ti3AlC2/10 vol. % Al2O3 are 461 ± 20 MPa and 6.2 ± 0.2 MPa m1/2, respectively. The cyclic oxidation behaviour of resistance of Ti3AlC2/10 vol. % Al2O3 composites at 800–1000°C generally obeys a parabolic law. The oxide scale of sample consists of a mass of α-Al2O3 and TiO2, forming a dense and adhesive protect layer. The result indicates that the Al2O3 can greatly improve the oxidation resistance of Ti3AlC2.

Incorporating PCMs into building envelope for energy conservation and maintaining indoor thermal comfort has attracted growing attention worldwide. This study focused on the development of a novel form-stable PCM, which using capric-stearic acid eutectic (CA-SA) as phase change energy storage material and White Carbon Black (WCB) as matrix. Based on theoretical prediction, CA-SA (78.40/21.60 wt.%) was prepared. Then CA-SA/WCB was obtained by capsulation of CA-SA into the pores of WCB without leakage. CA-SA/WCB was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), thermal gravimetric (TG), thermal constants analyzer and thermal cycling test. Results show that WCB has good performance for interacting with CA-SA via physical interaction, indicating good adsorption and compatibility. The melting temperature and latent heat of CA-SA/WCB are 20.79 °C and 78.74 J/g, respectively. CA-SA/WCB is stable up to 143.10 °C, indicating a much higher thermal stability than CA-SA. Besides, CA-SA/WCB has a thermal conductivity of 0.38 W/(m·K) and good thermal reliability up to 500 thermal cycles. All results suggest that CA-SA/WCB possesses high thermal storage density, suitable melting temperature and thermal conductivity, good chemical compatibility and thermal stability, as well as good reliability, indicating great potential in building application.

In this work, ternary carbide Ti 2 SC with high purity was synthesized by a facile spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique with two-step method for the first time. Compared with other methods, SPS required a lower sintering temperature of 1450 °C and lower pressure of 30 MPa. The purity and microstructure of Ti 2 SC can be controlled by the molar ratio of TiS 2 /Ti/C as precursor. Interestingly, it was found that TiS and TiC were two kinds of important intermediate during the sintering process and thus played a crucial role in the formation of Ti 2 SC. More importantly, the obtained Ti 2 SC showed excellent properties including low density of 4.60 g/cm 3 , high Vickers’ hardness of 6.7 GPa, high fracture toughness (5.4±0.2 MPa m 1/2 ) and flexural strength (394±10 MPa). Therefore, SPS was a very promising method to synthesize Ti 2 SC material and could be used in the preparation of other MAX phases.

This paper aims to reveal the heat transfer mechanism of low-temperature phase change material (PCM) and design PCM heat storage device in building heating environment. Firstly, low-temperature binary PCMs of lauric acid and stearic acid are prepared, and their thermal properties are investigated by DSC. Then, shell and tube latent heat thermal energy storage units are conducted, and heat transfer experiments are carried out to analyze the heat transfer mechanism of PCM. The results demonstrate that natural convection plays an important role in heat transfer process, and the heat storage efficiency of PCMs can be significantly enhanced by increasing the fin width and improving the inlet heat transfer fluid (HTF) temperature. Furthermore, some proposals are put forward to guide the design of PCM storage device in building heating environment.

Expanded graphite (EG)/adipic acid (AA) composite phase change materials were prepared in the paper. The structure and properties of composite were investigated by FTIR, DSC and FE-SEM. The results showed AA can be adsorbed into the structure of the expanded graphite. Meanwhile, they exhibited good compatibility. With the content of EG increased, the latent heat and thermal conductivity of the composites were decreased. When the content of EG is 10 mass%, the thermal conductivity of composites was 4.35 W m−1 K−1, which was obviously higher than pure adipic acid. The melting and freezing latent heats of AA were 220.2 and 220.5 J g−1, decreasing 16.1 and 13.7% after 1000 times thermal cycling. The results showed the composites had good thermal stability.

// Youhong Liu 1, 2, * , Yijun Liu 1, 2, * , Bowen Yuan 1, 2 , Linglong Yin 1, 2 , Yuchong Peng 1, 2 , Xiaohui Yu 1, 2 , Weibing Zhou 3 , Zhicheng Gong 4 , Jianye Liu 5, 6 , Leye He 5, 6 , Xiong Li 1, 2, 6 1 Center for Molecular Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, China 2 Hunan Key Laboratory of Molecular Radiation Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, China 3 Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, China 4 Department of Pharmacy, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, China 5 Department of Urology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, China 6 Research Institute of Prostate Diseases, Central South University, China * These authors equally contributed to this paper Correspondence to: Xiong Li, email: lixiongxiangya@csu.edu.cn Keywords: PSA, FOXM1, gene transcription, androgen receptor, prostate cancer Received: November 11, 2016 Accepted: January 09, 2017 Published: February 09, 2017 ABSTRACT Androgen/AR is the primary contributor to prostate cancer (PCa) progression by regulating Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) gene transcription. The disease inevitably evolves to androgen-independent (AI) status. Other mechanisms by which PSA is regulated and develops to AI have not yet been fully determined. FOXM1 is a cell proliferation-specific transcription factor highly expressed in PCa cells compared to non-malignant prostate epithelial cells, suggesting that the aberrant overexpression of FOXM1 contributes to PCa development. In addition to regulating AR gene transcription and cell cycle-regulatory genes, FOXM1 selectively regulates the gene transcription of KLK2 and PSA, typical androgen responsive genes. Screening the potential FOXM1-binding sites by ChIP-PCR, we found that FOXM1 directly binds to the FHK binding motifs in the PSA promoter/enhancer regions. AI C4-2 cells have more FOXM1 binding sites than androgen dependent LNCaP cells. The depletion of FOXM1 by small molecular inhibitors significantly improves the suppression of PSA gene transcription by the anti-AR agent Cadosax. This is the first report showing that FOXM1 promotes PCa progression by regulating PSA gene transcription, particularly in AI PCa cells. The combination of anti-AR agents and FOXM1 inhibitors has the potential to greatly improve therapy for late-stage PCa patients by suppressing PSA levels.

Purpose. Because of the poor prognosis for high-grade glioma (HGG) patients, it is important to increase the dose of the tumor to improve the efficacy while minimizing the dose of organs at risk (OARs). Thus, we evaluated the potential dosimetric gains of helical tomotherapy (HT) versus intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) or volume-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for high-grade glioma (HGG). Methods. A total of 42 HGG patients were retrospectively selected who had undergone helical tomotherapy; then, IMRT and VMAT plans were generated and optimized for comparison after contouring crucial neuronal structures for neurogenesis and neurocognitive function. IMRT and VMAT were optimized with the Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS) (Version 11.0.31) and HT using TomoTherapy Hi-Art Software (Version 2.0.7) (Accuray, Madison, WI, USA). All three techniques were optimized for simultaneously delivering 60 Gy to planning target volume (PTV) 1 and 50-54 Gy to PTV2. We also analyzed the homogeneity index (HI) and conformity index (CI) of PTVs and organ at risk (OAR) sparing. Results. There was no significant difference in the PTV coverage among IMRT, VMAT, or HT. As for the HI, HT plans (PTV1 HI: 0.09±0.03, PTV2 HI: 0.17±0.05) had the best homogeneity when compared to IMRT plans (PTV1 HI: 0.10±0.04, PTV2 HI: 0.18±0.04) and VMAT plans (PTV1 HI: 0.11±0.03, PTV2 HI: 0.20±0.03). The CI value of HT (PTV1 CI: 0.98±0.03, PTV2: 0.98±0.05) was closest to the optimal value. Except for the IMRT and VMAT groups, there were statistically significant differences between the other two groups of the CI values in both PTV1 and PTV2. The other comparison values were statistically significant except for the optic nerve, and VMAT had the best sparing of the optic chiasm. The mean and max doses of OARs declined significantly in HT. Conclusions. For high-grade glioma patients, HT had superior outcomes in terms of PTV coverage and OAR sparing as compared with IMRT/VMAT.

In this work, Ti2AlC powders of high purity were prepared successfully by a facile microwave sintering technique which can reduce the sintering temperature from 1300 to 850°C obviously. This was probably because of the fact that the microwave field can decrease the activation energy of the particle surface, and improve ionic conductivity and the grain surface migration of charged vacancies. In addition, the purity of Ti2AlC powders can be controlled by adjusting the molar ratio of Ti/Al/C/TiC as a precursor. It was interestingly found that Ti2AlC powders with the highest purity of 96.6% were obtained at the molar ratio of Ti/Al/C/TiC = 1.5:1.0:0.5:0.45. This was probably attributed to the addition of TiC which favoured the formation of Ti2AlC. However, excess TiC would influence the reaction path in the Ti–Al–C system and thus reduce the purity of Ti2AlC. Therefore, this work can provide a facile method to synthesise other MAX powders.

In this paper, Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 glass-ceramic was prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), further, the porosity was detected by Archimedes principle, thermo physical properties were investigated by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), respectively. The phase composition was detected by XRD, and the morphology was observed by SEM. The results indicated that the thermal conductivities of the Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 glass-ceramic were between 1.3 and 1.5 W·(m·K) −1 , and the material had good thermal stability in the range of 300–900 °C. The porosity and apparent density were increased with the temperature. The porosity of Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 glass-ceramic in ranging from 1.2 to 9.6%, the apparent density were between 2.12 and 2.67 g·cm −3 , and heat capacities were between 0.64 and 0.79 kJ/(kg·K). All the results indicated that the Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 glass-ceramic can be applied as encapsulation material in high temperature latent thermal energy storage.

This paper focused on the preparation and characterization of a novel thermal storage material applied in thermal storage. Sodium nitrate-Expanded vermiculite (EV) composite phase change materials were prepared by direct impregnation method. The chemical composition is investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed that EV is porous structures, and sodium nitrate was stably adsorbed in the pores of EV. Further, the adsorptive capacity of EV to sodium nitrate is 734.6%. Meanwhile the thermal conductivity of composites is higher than single component, and the silicon carbide can improve the thermal conductivity of composites obvious. After 200 h heat treatment, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) result indicated that the melting temperature changes are

Using Ba(OH)2·8H2O as phase change material (PCM) and water as heat transfer fluid (HTF), we numerically simulated annular finned-tube heat exchangers. In order to measure and analyze the impact of parameters in the heating/cooling process, temperature changes of different monitoring points, fin widths, and fin pitches as key parameters were considered and applied. The experimental results show that the heat exchange process can be divided into three stages within a certain time. The faster heat transfer rate is associated with the greater temperature difference between PCM and HTF. Furthermore, fins width and pitch affect dramatically the heat charging/discharging rate. The large fins width or small fins pitch is beneficial for extending the heat exchange surface, leading to improve heat transfer efficiency.

The present work focused on the preparation and characterization of a new thermal storage material applied in thermal energy management. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that Expanded Perlite (EP) has a good thermal stability varying from 300 °C to 900 °C. Morphology of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that sodium nitrate is uniformly encapsulated and embedded in the three-dimensional network structure of EP. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy indicated that the EP is physically combined with the nitrate salt. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) indicated that the composites have good thermal stability. The adsorption capacity of loose EP was 213.21%. When the EP mass fraction varying from 10% to 60%, thermal conductivity decreased with the content of EP increased, and the highest thermal conductivity is 1.14 W (m K)−1 at 300 °C. SEM revealed the network structure of EP provided thermal conduction paths which enhanced the thermal conductivity of the composites. All results indicated that EP could be a good adsorption material to be applied in the thermal storage fields.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is one of organic phase change materials with low thermal conductivity, which hindered the application of the PCM. In this paper, PEG/expanded graphite (EG) with the different mass fraction was prepared and the thermal properties were investigated first. And then, experiments of latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) with pure PEG and PEG/EG PCMs were conducted to investigate the temperature involutions at certain position in LHTES during the charging and discharging processes. Compared with the pure PEG, LHTES with PEG/EG can dramatically enhance the heat transfer rate with little latent heat loss.

Inorganic hydrated salt Ba(OH)2⋅8H2O is one of most potential thermal storage materials in the low–medium temperature range due to its highest latent heat per unit volume. Thermal stability tests, super-cooling and corrosion investigations of Ba(OH)2⋅8H2O on four metal materials were conducted, thermal cycling tests revealed that Ba(OH)2⋅8H2O as PCM had a good thermal reliability, the super-cooling increased and then stabilized after 300 thermal cooling cycles, the corrosion investigations showed that the copper had the strongest resistance corrosion performance. Furthermore, using copper as finned-tube and cylindrical shell and Ba(OH)2⋅8H2O as phase change material (PCM), numerical simulation of heat exchangers was carried out. The simulation results showed higher heat transfer efficiency was associated with the greater temperature difference between PCM and heating/cooling wall. The large fin width or small fin pitch could help extend the surface of the heat exchange, and contribute to improving the heat transfer efficiency.

In this paper, a novel Cross-layer Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation Algorithm Based on Convex Optimization Theory(CO-CDBA) in Digital Video Broadcast-Return Channel via Satellite system is proposed. A novel utility function by taking application layer, Data Link Layer and physical layer(PHY) parameters into account is established. The Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation(DBA) problem is converted to a convex optimization problem with constraints, which can be solved by using a fast interval iterative algorithm. The allocation result, utility value, users' fairness performance and allocation procedure based on CO-CDBA are simulated. Results show that CO-CDBA can reduce computational complexity and efficiently allocate bandwidth for each user. Fairness and utility are significantly improved compared with Max-Min and water-filling model.

To investigate the site and characteristic of p53 gene mutations in familial or early-onset breast cancer patients in part population of southern China. Methods: A total of 150 patients with familial and early-onset breast cancer in parts population of southern China were enrolled. Genomic DNA was isolated from each peripheral blood sample, and the entire coding sequence and exon and intron splicing region of p53 gene were amplificated by PCR in the 150 patients. The mutation analysis were detected by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and confirmed by DNA sequence analysis. Results: In the 150 patients with familial and early-onset breast cancer, 6 mutations including one novel pathogenic mutation 869_888 ins20 (insert mutation) and 5 previously reported pathogenic mutations (deletion mutation 643_660del18 and 4 missense mutation 91GA, 215CG, 537TG, 743GA) were identified in p53 gene encoding region in 9 patients of breast cancer. Moreover, one same sense mutation 141GA in exon 4, one 16 bases deletion in intron 3, and 9 single nucleotide polymorphisms in p53 gene introns were also identified. The total mutation frequency of p53 gene in 150 patients with familial breast cancer and early-onset breast cancer from part population of southern China was 6.00%, and the mutation frequency of familial breast cancer and early-onset breast cancer was 6.81% and 6.25%, respectively. Conclusion: The total mutation frequency of p53 gene in 150 patients with familial breast cancer and early-onset breast cancer from partpopulation of southern China is higher than the frequency previously reported. The pathogenicity of the novel mutations (insert mutation) 869_888ins20 will be confirmed by function analysis in the future study. The deletion mutation 643_660del18 enriches the p53 gene mutation database among Chinese population, which is probably the specific mutation of breast cancer in Chinese population.目的：分析p53基因在中国南方部分地区家族性和早发性乳腺癌中的突变位点及特征。方法：以中国南方地区150例家族性和早发性乳腺癌患者为研究对象，提取静脉血基因组DNA，对p53基因的全部编码序列及外显子与内含子拼接区进行扩增。 采用变性高效液相色谱进行预筛后，应用DNA测序分析和证实基因突变的结果。结果：150例患者中，9例的p53编码区域共发现6种不同的p53变异，其中869_888ins20(插入突变)为新发现的致病性突变，643_660del18(缺失突变)为已报道的致病性突变，91GA，215CG，537TG和743GA为已报道有致病意义的错义突变位点。此外，还发现了第4外显子区域的同义突变141GA及第3内含子区域的缺失突变IVS3+54_70del16和9个基因多态性位点。家族性及早发性乳腺癌的p53总突变率为6.00%，其中家族性乳腺癌的p53突变率约为6.81%。早发性乳腺癌突变率约为6.25%。结论：中国南部人群家族性乳腺癌患者的p53基因胚系总突变率高于国内外文献报道，首次发现的插入突变869_888ins20的致病意义有待今后的功能学验证。缺失突变643_660del18丰富了国人p53基因突变数据库，有可能是中国乳腺癌人群的特有突变。.

Highly-transparent trivalent erbium ion doped calcium fluoride (5 mol % Er:CaF2) ceramics were fabricated by a hotpressing (HP) method using high-purity Er:CaF2 nanoparticles, which were synthesized by co-precipitation method. The mean grain size of the nanoparticles was about 24.7 nm. The nanoparticles were sintered at 600 °C, 700 °C, 800 °C and 900 °C, respectively, for 30 min under a uniaxial pressure of 30 MPa and vacuum of 10−3 Pa with 1 mol % lithium fluoride (LiF) as sintering additive. The 5 mol % Er:CaF2 ceramics sintered at 800 °C exhibits high density and pore-free microstructure with an average grain size of about 8 μm. The optical transmittance of the transparent ceramics is close to 85 % at visible and nearinfrared wavelengths. The strong and broad absorptions peaks corresponding to characteristic absorption of trivalent erbium ions make the ceramics a potential candidate for infrared and upconversion laser operating.

To investigate the associations of ANLN expression with prognosis of breast cancer and clinical outcome of anthracycline-based chemotherapy. This study enrolled 308 breast cancer patients in which 264 of them received anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect ANLN expression level of the patients. Clinical characteristics of the patients were collected, and associations of ANLN expression with prognosis were analyzed. Our results showed that ANLN expression was associated with survival of breast cancer patients, and it was also related to clinical outcome of patients received anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Breast cancer patients with high expression of ANLN would have poor prognosis and poor clinical outcome to anthracycline-based chemotherapy. ANLN could be an independent prognosis predictor for breast cancer, and its expression might be used to predict the anthracycline-based chemotherapy clinical outcome in breast cancer patients.

To investigate effects of MARCH6 gene knockdown on MCF-7 cell proliferation and cell cycle. Methods: 293T cells were transfected with MARCH6 shRNA lentivirus. Fluorescence microscope was used to observe and verify the transfection efficiency. The initial effect of the MARCH6 gene knockdown in MCF-7 cells was observed via fluorescence microscope. Real-time PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression of MARCH6. MTT and BrdU assay were used to examine cell proliferation, and staining flow cytometry was used to analyze cycle distribution of MCF-7 cells. Results: MARCH6 shRNA lentivirus was successfully transfected and about 80% of the cells expressed green fluorescent in comparison of the control. About 90% of the cells showed green fluorescence. The mRNA and protein in MCF-7 cells were transcription and expression of protein was significantly decreased after the transfection of MARCH6 shRNA lentivirus accompanied by a decrease in MCF-7 cell proliferation (P0.01). Flow cytometry showed that the cell cycles were inhibited at the G1 phase and the proliferation index was significantly reduced. Conclusion: Knockdown of MARCH6 gene by RNA interference inhibits the proliferation of MCF-7 cells, suggesting that the expression of MARCH6 promotes proliferation of breast cancer cells through regulation of the cell cycle.目的：应用慢病毒介导的RNAi技术，在乳腺癌MCF-7细胞中敲减MARCH6基因的表达，研究其对MCF-7细胞增殖及细胞周期的影响。方法：靶向MARCH6基因的shRNA慢病毒转染293T细胞后，在荧光显微镜下观察转染效率；收集慢病毒液感染MCF-7细胞后，应用实时荧光PCR和Western印迹验证RNAi敲减MARCH6基因后，MARCH6基因mRNA和蛋白的表达影响；应用MTT，BrdU细胞增殖实验检测细胞增殖能力的变化；采用增殖指数染色流式细胞术检测细胞周期和增殖的改变。结果：通过在荧光显微镜下观察，MARCH6 shRNA慢病毒质粒成功转染293T细胞，与同明视野对比，可见80%左右的细胞带绿色荧光；感染MCF-7细胞，90%的细胞均带绿色荧光； 实时荧光PCR和Western印迹验证了MARCH6 shRNA慢病毒感染MCF-7细胞后，MARCH6在转录水平和蛋白水平表达均显著下降；MTT实验、BrdU法结果显示MARCH6基因敲减组的MCF-7细胞增殖显著下降(P0.01)，流式细胞术分析显示MARCH6敲减后MCF-7细胞出现细胞周期抑制，细胞分裂处于G1期细胞数明显增多，增殖指数显著降低。结论：敲减乳腺癌MCF-7细胞的MARCH6基因表达后，抑制了MCF-7细胞的增殖，并引起细胞周期G1期阻滞。提示MARCH6通过影响细胞周期的进展，促进乳腺癌细胞的增殖。.

p12(CDK2-AP1) is a growth suppressor that negatively regulates cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) activities and shows to interfere in DNA replication. Here, we aim to elucidate the role of p12(CDK2-AP1) in breast cancer progression.Expression of p12(CDK2-AP1) protein was examined in 60 pairs of breast cancer specimens and adjacent non-tumor tissues using immunohistochemistry assay. Loss-of-function and gain-of-function analysis was performed on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Routine assays including MTT, colony formation, flow cytometry, and tumorigenesis in nude mice were performed and cell cycle regulators were analyzed.p12(CDK2-AP1) was found to be significantly downregulated in 60 breast cancer tissues compared to corresponding non-tumorous tissues. The proliferation and colony formation ability was inhibited in cells that transduced with p12(CDK2-AP1) over-expression lentivirus, but enhanced in cells that transduced with p12(CDK2-AP1) RNAi lentivirus. p12(CDK2-AP1) over-expression led to G0/G1 phase arrest in the cell cycle and caused expression changes of cell cycle-related genes (CDK2, CDK4, p16(Ink4A), p21(Cip1/Waf1)). Furthermore, p12(CDK2-AP1) over-expression inhibited in vivo tumor growth in immunodeficiency mice, supporting an inhibitory role for p12(CDK2-AP1) in breast cancer development.As a cell cycle regulator, p12(CDK2-AP1) is involved in the development of breast cancer and maybe a potential therapeutic candidate to suppress tumorigenicity in breast cancer.

By means of hydration heat, XRD and SEM, effect of phosphorus and fluorine (P2O5 and F−) in phosphorous slag on hydration process of tricalcium silicate (C3S) and tricalcium aluminate (C3A) was explored. The results indicated that the early hydration exothermic rate of C3S and C3A was obviously lowered by P2O5 and F− in phosphorous slag, the second peak occurring time of C3A was delayed by 0.9 h, the exothermal output of C3S was reduced by 25.04% and the time of accelerating stage was postponed by 0.86 h. The early hydration degree of C3S and C3A was also decreased. Due to the infl uence of P2O5 and F−, more pores and thinner crystals can be observed in the microstructure of hardened paste and the chance of cracks was reduced.

Graphite nanoplatelets (GnPs), obtained by sonicating the expanded graphite, were employed to simultaneously enhance the thermal ( k ) and electrical ( σ ) conductivity of organic form-stable phase change materials (FSPCMs). Using the method of in situ polymerization upon ultrasonic irradiation, GnPs serving as the conductive fillers and polyethylene glycol (PEG) acting as the phase change material (PCM) were uniformly dispersed and embedded inside the network structure of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), which contributed to the well package and self-supporting properties of composite FSPCMs. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results indicated that the GnPs were physically combined with PEG/PMMA matrix and did not participate in the polymerization. The GnPs additives were able to effectively enhance the k and σ of organic FSPCM. When the mass ratio of GnP was 8%, the k and σ of FSPCM changed up to 9 times and 8 orders of magnitude over that of PEG/PMMA matrix, respectively. The improvements in both k and σ were mainly attributed to the well dispersion and large aspect ratio of GnPs, which were endowed with benefit of forming conducting network in polymer matrix. It was also confirmed that all the prepared specimens possessed available thermal storage density and thermal stability.

The effects of different sintering addictives on the preparation of CaF2 transparent ceramics were studied. Transparent CaF2 ceramics were fabricated by vacuum sintering and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) method, using CaF2 nanopowders synthesized by chemical precipitation method as raw materials. The nanopowders and transparent ceramics were studied using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and spectrophotometer. The experimental results indicated that the obtained nanopowders presented normal distribution with grain size about 30 nm; transmittance of CaF2 transparent ceramics was 39% and 26% at 1100 nm for LiF and NaF as sintering addictives, respectively, with corresponding mean grain size 188 μm and 44 μm. Loss of transmission could be attributed to the residual closed porosity. Sintering mechanism was liquid-phase sintering at pre-stage, then solid-phase sintering at later stage, as well as solid solution of lithium ions and sodium ions in the CaF2 lattice structure.

Er 3+ doped CaF 2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a chemical co-precipitation method. Effect of the dopant concentrations on the structure and optical properties of the CaF 2 nanoparticles was investigated. The X-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis was used to characterize the structure and morphology of the nanoparticles. The nanoparticles with different dopant concentration exhibited a sphere-like morphology with diameters of about 8–36 nm. The incorporation of Er 3+ ions into CaF 2 resulted in the decrease in grain size and deterioration of crystallinity, but enlarged the lattice constants of CaF 2 . Additional annealing treatment at 400 °C to the prepared CaF 2 removed the NO 3 − and OH − groups adsorbed on the particles’ surfaces, and improved the optical properties of the nanoparticles. The fluorescence intensity, with a maximum at approximately 0.4 mol%, decreased with the increase in doping concentration because of concentration quenching.

The effect of tin on synthesis of Ti3AlC2 by spark plasma sintering (SPS) from TiC/Ti/Al powders was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for phase identification and microstructure evaluation. The experimental results show that addition of tin can considerably accelerate the synthesis reaction of Ti3AlC2 and fully dense, essentially single-phase polycrystalline Ti3AlC2 could be successfully obtained by sintering 2TiC/1Ti/1Al/0.2Sn powders at 1200–1250 °C under a pressure of 30 MPa. SEM images show that Ti3AlC2 samples in about 2–5 μm thick and 10–25 μm long platelets can be obtained. The fracture toughness and flexural strength of Ti3AlC2 were 6.5±0.2 MPa·m1/2 and 560±10 MPa, respectively.

Ti2AlC bulk material was synthesized by hot pressing of mixture powders of TiC, Ti, Al and active carbon. The phase compositions of resultant product at different temperature were detected by X-ray diffractometer. The microstructures of the samples were observed by SEM. Finally, the mechanical properties and thermal properties of the sample at 1400 °C were measured. The results show that high purity Ti2AlC material with little Ti3AlC2 can be synthesized by hot pressing 0.5TiC/1.5Ti/1.0A1/0.5C at 1400 °C. Ti2AlC exhibits high mechanical properties and metallic electrical properties. Its fracture toughness is 7.0 MPa·m½, its flexural strength is 384 MPa at room temperature, and its electrical conductivity is 2.56 × 106 Ω−1·m−1 at room temperature.

The effect of silicon on synthesis of Ti 3 AlC 2 by spark plasma sintering (SPS) from TiC/Ti/Al powders was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for phase identification and microstructure evaluation. The results showed that addition of silicon can considerably accelerate the synthesis reaction of Ti 3 AlC 2 and fully dense, essentially single-phase polycrystalline Ti 3 AlC 2 could be successfully obtained by sintering 2TiC/1Ti/1Al/0.2Si powders at 1200–1250 °C under a pressure of 30 MPa. SEM micrographs showed the obtained Ti 3 AlC 2 samples to be about 2–5 μm thick and 10–25 μm long platelets. The fracture toughness and flexural strength of Ti 3 AlC 2 were 7.0 ± 0.2 MPa m 1/2 and 450 ± 10 MPa, respectively.

A ternary-layered carbide Ti2AlC material could be synthesized by spark plasma sintering(SPS) technology using elemental powder mixture of Ti, Al and active carbon. By means of XRD and SEM, phases were identified and microscopically evaluated. The experimental results show that the main phase in the product was fully crystallized Ti2AlC with small particle size when sintered at 1200 °C. The synthesis temperature of SPS was 200–400 °C lower than that of hot pressing (HP) or hot isostatic pressing (HIP). Through thermodynamics calculations, the mechanism of Ti2AlC was studied by calculating changes of Gibbs free energy of reactions.

In this paper, polycrystalline bulk Ti3SiC2 samples were synthesized by spark plasma sintering (SPS) of TiC, Ti, Si, and Al powder mixtures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used for phase identification and microstructure evaluation. The results showed that addition of aluminum can considerably accelerate the synthesis reaction of Ti3SiC2 and fully dense, essentially single-phase polycrystalline Ti3SiC2 could be successfully obtained by sintering 2TiC/1Ti/1Si/0.2Al powders at 1250∼1300 °C. The process parameters in the sintering course revealed that addition of aluminum decreased the temperature for the synthesis reaction of Ti3SiC2. The density of the obtained Ti3SiC2 was 97.8% of the theoretical value. Also, it had Vickers hardness of 4 GPa (at 1 N and 30 s).