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Three AIEE-active V-shaped fused-biscoumarin derivatives were prepared and their potential for application in OLED was explored.

Al-Si casting alloys are the most commonly used materials for piston alloys. The coefficient of thermal expansion is the key property of a piston material for improving the overall performance and service life of an engine. In the present study, the relationship between the morphology of the excess silicon phase and the coefficient of thermal expansion of Al-Si binary casting alloys was discussed. Optical and scanning electron microscopy were utilized to observe the morphology of the excess silicon phase in the Al-Si binary casting alloys before and after solution aging treatment. The results showed that the morphology of the excess silicon phase significantly influenced the coefficient of thermal expansion of the Al-Si binary casting alloys. After solution aging treatment, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the Al-Si binary casting alloys increased due to the rounding and granulating of the excess silicon phase precipitated during the casting process and decreased due to the precipitation of the finely dispersed Si phase in the α-Al matrix. The change in the coefficient of thermal expansion depended on which of the two kinds of morphological transformation of the excess silicon phase is dominant.

In albino tea cultivars, the content of chlorophyll, carotenoids and metabolites changes significantly, which has an important influence on the regulation mechanism of tea albinism. Albino tea mutants with specific shoot colors (white or yellow) have received extensive attention for their uniqueness. Herein, novel natural mutants of C. sinensis ‘Fuyun 6’ with yellow leaves (YF-6) and the same genetic background as the original green variety (GF-6) were obtained. The metabolomes of the two species were compared using LC–ESI–MS/MS. A total of 124 significantly changed metabolites (SCMs) were identified in the metabolite profile of YF-6. Compared with GF-6, 64 upregulated metabolites and 60 downregulated metabolites were identified in YF-6. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the differential metabolites were mainly enriched in flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. Moreover, metabolites related to carbon and nitrogen metabolism were enriched in other secondary metabolic pathways. The chlorophyll content in YF-6 was significantly reduced, and the carotenoid content was slightly decreased. A large number of metabolites related to photoprotection accumulated in YF-6, including flavonoids, l-ascorbic acid, lipids, and vitamins and their derivatives. The decrease in chlorophyll content increases the possibility of light stress, thereby facilitating large-scale metabolic reprogramming events under light pressure. This study provides a reference value for further research on the metabolic mechanism of albino tea germplasm and provides new materials for the production and application of tea.

Iron-based alloy coatings were deposited on grey cast iron through plasma transfer arc welding. Results showed that the iron-based alloy coatings are composed of pearlite, martensite, austenite, an...

The Al-Si-Cu-Mg-Ni alloy is a commonly used piston alloy. In this work, different amounts of phosphorus modifier and Al-2P (Al-2%P) master alloy modifier were added to the original alloy. The ultra...

High-entropy alloys receive more attention for high strength, good ductility as well as good wear resistance. In this work, CoCrFeNiMn high-entropy alloy (HEA) coatings were deposited on compacted graphite iron through plasma transfer arc at different currents. The microstructure and wear properties of the CoCrFeNiMn HEA coatings were investigated. The coatings are composed of single phase with FCC structure. The CoCrFeNiMn HEA coating had the highest microhardness of 394 ± 21.6 HV0.2 and the lowest wear mass loss when the plasma current was 65 A. All of the HEA coatings had higher friction coefficients than that of the substrate. There were adhesive, abrasive and oxidation wear forms in the HEA coatings with the wear couple of N80 alloy. The HEA coating presented higher friction coefficient and better wear resistance than compacted graphite iron.

The effect of diamond surface pretreatment and content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of NiAl/Fe–x diamond (x=0,5,10,15,and 20 wt.%) alloys was investigated after mechanical alloying with subsequent hot-pressing sintering. The results showed that after the surface pretreatment, a complete transition layer containing W existed on the outer surface of the diamond grains, which improved the interfacial bonding strength of the diamond grains and NiAl/Fe matrix to an excellent level. As the diamond content increased, the compressive strength of the NiAl/Fe-based alloys declined, but the alloy with 10 wt.% diamond had a higher value than that of the other NiAl/Fe-based alloys. Short cracks and transgranular fracture were observed in the fracture surface of all materials. For the material with 20 wt.% diamond, intergranular fracture was obvious, and many diamond particles appeared along the fracture direction, which caused the compressive strength to be the lowest of the samples considered in this study. After the addition of diamond, the oxidation resistance of NiAl/Fe-based alloys decreased due to a loose oxidation layer and diamond graphitization. The thermal conductivity of the alloy first increased and then decreased with increasing diamond content. A NiAl/Fe-based alloy with 15 wt.% diamond demonstrated the maximum thermal conductivity of 53.2 W/(m·k) at 600°C among the samples in this study.

Plasma transfer arc cladding technology has been widely utilized in surface engineering, repairing and remanufacturing. In the present work, multiple cladded thick claddings were prepared on compacted graphite cast iron (CGI) substrates with iron-based powders through plasma transfer arc cladding technology using different plasma arc currents to improve the surface wear resistance. The coatings’ phase and microstructure were analysed through XRD, SEM and EDS. The coatings’ microhardness and wear resistance were characterized. There were pearlite, graphite, austenite and secondary carbides in the iron-based alloy coatings. Due to the heat influence during the multiple cladding process, a spheroidal graphite transition zone appeared between the substrate and the coating. The microhardness of the claddings varied from 363 to 402 HV as the plasma arc current was changed from 45 to 60 A. With the increase of plasma arc current, the cladding’s microhardness increased. The iron-based coating’s minimum friction coefficient and wear mass loss were about 0.48 and 4.2 mg, respectively, when the plasma arc current was 60 A, which are lower values than those of the compacted graphite iron substrate with the friction coefficient and wear mass loss of 0.55 and 8.2 mg. Compared with the substrate, the iron-based alloy claddings achieved the effect of reducing friction and wear resistance simultaneously, which resulted from the self-lubricating effect of graphite and high wear-resistance of carbides in the claddings. The iron-based coatings had a similar abrasive wear mechanism to the CGI, which should be helpful to repair or remanufacture CGI workpieces.

Blast-furnace slag is one of the main by-products produced in the process of blast-furnace ironmaking. Its metallurgical properties have an important impact on the smooth operation and long life of blast furnaces. In this paper, the activity of MgO in a CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3 quaternary slag system was measured using the reference-slag method at 1773–1873 K. The effects of temperature on MgO activity and the activity coefficient of Mg in Sn of the CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3 quaternary slag system were discussed. The results showed that when w(MgO)/w(Al2O3) = 0.40, B(w(CaO)/w(SiO2)) = 1.30 and w(Al2O3) = (12 %; 15 %; 18 %; 20 %), the activity of the MgO and the activity coefficient of the Mg in Sn increased with increasing temperature. With increasing temperature, the grooves in the SiO4 tetrahedral structure at wavenumbers of 800–1200 cm–1 gradually became shallow and flat, indicating that the complex silicate structure synthesized in the form of SiO2 decreased and the activity of the MgO increased. According to the CaF2-MgO binary phase diagram, the dissolution enthalpy of MgO was calculated to be –16.409 kJ/mol.

Two blue donor-acceptor fluorophores with 1,4,5-triphenylimidazole as the electron-transporting unit and phenothiazine as the hole-transporting unit were synthesized by grafting 1,4,5-triphenylimidazole moieties onto 3- and 3,7-position of the phenothiazine core and characterized by spectroscopic methods. Their thermal stability, photophysical, electrochemical and electroluminescence properties were systematically investigated. These compounds exhibit good thermal stability and show blue emission in dichloromethane solution and thin solid films. The solution-processed doped devices were fabricated by using these fluorophores as the emitting dopant in 1,3-bis(N-carbazolyl)benzene host, in which the device fabricated from the fluorophore containing two 1,4,5-triphenylimidazole moieties exhibited blue emission with a luminance of 648 cd/m2 and external quantum efficiency of 1.48%.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a well-known chronic degenerative joint disease, with multiple changes in the phenotype of chondrocytes. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been shown to be involved in various human diseases, including OA. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of circ_0020093 in OA pathological changes in vitro. C28/I2 cells were treated with interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) to mimic OA pathological conditions. The expression levels of circ_0020093, miR-181a-5p and ETS-related gene (ERG) mRNA were measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). For functional analyses, cell proliferative capacity was detected using EdU assay and CCK-8 assay. Inflammatory response was assessed by determining the release of pro-inflammatory factors using ELISA kits. Cell apoptosis was examined by flow cytometry assay. The levels of apoptosis-related proteins and extracellular matrix (ECM)-associated proteins were assessed by Western blot. The binding relationship between miR-181a-5p and circ_0020093 or ERG was confirmed by RNA pull-down assay, dual-luciferase reporter assay or RIP assay. The expression level of circ_0020093 was decreased in IL-1β-treated C28/I2 cells. Circ_0020093 overexpression relieved inflammatory responses, cell apoptosis and ECM degradation in IL-1β-induced C28/I2 cells. Circ_0020093 directly targeted miR-181a-5p, and miR-181a-5p bound to the 3' -untranslated region (3'UTR) of ERG to regulate ERG expression. Circ_0020093 overexpression promoted the expression of ERG by sponging miR-181a-5p. Rescue experiments showed that miR-181a-5p overexpression or ERG knockdown could reverse the inhibitory effects of circ_0020093 overexpression on the pathological changes in IL-1β-induced C28/I2 cells. Circ_0020093 overexpression alleviated IL-1β-induced human chondrocyte inflammatory injury, apoptosis and ECM degradation by targeting miR-181a-5p/ERG pathway.

Hard coatings have important protective effects on the surface of engineering parts due to their high hardness and decent anti-wear properties [...]

A sulphide capacity prediction model of CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3 slags has been developed based on the ion and molecule coexistence theory(IMCT). Sulphide capacity(Cs) of slag for blast furnace (BF) with high Al2O3 in the CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3 system at 1773K were measured by applying slag-metal equilibrium method. The feasibility of the developed IMCT model is verified by the sulphide capacity measured in the experiment. Effects of R(w(CaO)/w(SiO2)), w(MgO)/w(Al2O3) and w(Al2O3) on sulphide capacity were discussed. There is a good linear relationship between the experimental value and the predicted value. Therefore, the theoretical model of ion and molecule coexistence can be used to calculate the sulphide capacity of CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3 quaternary slag system. When w(Al2O3)=20% and w(MgO)/w(Al2O3)=0.5, the sulphide capacity of slag increased with the increase of R. When w(Al2O3)=20% and R=1.30, the sulphide capacity of slag increased with the increase of w(MgO)/w(Al2O3). When R=1.30 and w(MgO)/w(Al2O3)=0.4, the sulphide capacity of slag decreased with the increase of w(Al2O3).

A Ti40Zr40Ni20 quasicrystal (QCs) rod and ribbons were prepared by conventional casting and rapid solidification. The X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) techniques were used to investigate the microtissue, phase composition, and solidification features of the samples, the nano-indentation test was carried out at room temperature. The results show that a mixture of the α-Ti(Zr) phase and the icosahedral quasicrystal (I-phase) was formed in the Ti40Zr40Ni20 rod, the microstructure of Ti40Zr40Ni20 ribbons mainly consisted of the I-phase. The solidification mechanism of the I-phase was different in the two alloys. The I-phase in the quasicrystalline rod was formed by packet reaction while in the ribbons it was generated directly from the liquid. At room temperature, both samples had relatively high hardness and elastic modulus, the elastic modulus of the ribbons is 76 GPa, higher than the 45 GPa of the rod. The hardness of the ribbons was more than twice that of the rod.

With the consumption of high-quality iron ore resources, the grade of iron ore raw used in the iron making process has gradually decreased. The high aluminum raw materials has led to an increase in the Al2O3 content in the blast furnace slag, which has affected the normal operation of the blast furnace. The activity of the components involved in the desulfurization reaction is an important factor affecting the desulfurization process. In this paper, the effects of B(w(CaO)/w(SiO2)) and w(MgO)/w(Al2O3) on the desulfurization ability of a CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3 quaternary blast furnace slag system were studied by using a double-layer graphite crucible to simulate the process of molten iron dropping through the slag at 1773 K. The desulfurization reaction mechanism of high alumina blast furnace slag is explained from the aspects of slag structure and component activity, which provides a theoretical basis for the reasonable selection of a slag making system under the condition of a high alumina content. The effects of different B and w(MgO)/w(Al2O3) on the slag structure 2343 analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results show that when w(MgO)/w(Al2O3) = 0.50 and w(Al2O3) = 20%, the desulfurization ability and MgO activity of slag increased with the increase of B, when w(Al2O3) = 20% and B = 1.30, the desulfurization ability and MgO activity of the slag increased with the increase of w(MgO)/w(Al2O3). The FT-IR analysis showed that with the increase of B or w(MgO)/w(Al2O3), the dissociated free oxygen ions (O2-) in the slag increased, and the dissociated free oxygen ions (O2-) interacted with the bridging oxygen (O0) of silicate, which made the complex Si-O structure in the slag gradually depolymerize and increase the desulfurization ability.

Oxidation of Al-Sn bearing alloy occurs during production, processing and use, which reduces both alloy performance and performance of coatings applied to the alloy surface. Therefore, the oxidation mechanism of Al-Sn bearing alloy is studied at 25, 180, 300, and 500 °C. The oxidation morphologies of the alloy were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the oxidation products were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The oxidation weight gain curves were obtained by thermogravimetric analysis. The experimental results show that: Al-Sn bearing alloy is oxidized quickly to form Al2O3. As the oxidation temperature increases, Sn phase start to precipitate along the grain boundary and form networked spheroids of Sn on the alloy surface. The amount of precipitation increases with further increase of the oxidation temperature. Cracks and holes are left in the alloy. The oxide layer is mainly composed of Sn, SnO2, and Al2O3. At 25 °C, oxidation rate of Al-Sn alloy approach zero. At 180, 300, and 500 °C, the oxidation rate increases quickly conforming to a power function, and eventually remains stable at about 3 × 10−6 mg·mm−2·s−1.

Genome-wide identification and characterization of nuclear factor-Y family in tea plants, and their expression profiles and putative targets provide the basis for further elucidation of their biological functions. The nuclear factor-Y (NF-Y) transcription factors (TFs) are crucial regulators of plant growth and physiology. However, the NF-Y TFs in tea plant (Camellia sinensis) have not yet been elucidated, and its biological functions, especially the putative target genes within the genome range, are still unclear. In this study, we identified 35 CsNF-Y encoding genes in the tea plant genome, including 10 CsNF-YAs, 15 CsNF-YBs and 10 CsNF-YCs. Their conserved domains and motifs, phylogeny, duplication event, gene structure, and promoter were subsequently analyzed. Tissue expression analysis revealed that CsNF-Ys exhibited three distinct expression patterns in eight tea tree tissues, among which CsNF-YAs were moderately expressed. Drought and abscisic acid (ABA) treatment indicated that CsNF-YAs may have a greater impact than other subunit members. Furthermore, through the genome-wide investigation of the presence of the CCAAT box, we found that CsNF-Ys may participate in the development of tea plants by regulating target genes of multiple physiological pathways, including photosynthesis, chlorophyll metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and amino acid metabolism pathways. Our findings will contribute to the functional analysis of NF-Y genes in woody plants and the cultivation of high-quality tea plant cultivars.

It is important to establish the quantitative effect of graphite's 3D morphology on the thermal conductivity of vermicular graphite iron. In the present study, X-ray tomography is utilized to investigate the 3D morphology of graphite in vermicular graphite iron with different vermicularity. A 3D finite element model was built on the basis of graphite's 3D morphology and the equivalent thermal conductivity of vermicular graphite iron can be calculated. The results show that the volume of graphite clusters in vermicular graphite iron is distributed according to y = a (1 − e−bx)c exponential function. The higher the vermicularity, the more obvious the polarization of graphite volume. Compared with vermicularity, 3D connectivity of graphite is a more appropriate characteristic parameter to investigate the thermal conductivity of vermicular graphite iron from the 3D morphology point of view.