A TEM study on the microstructure of spark plasma sintered ZrB_2-based composite with nano-sized SiC dopant

Sintering behavior of ZrB₂ ceramic with nano-sized SiC dopant was studied. ZrB₂-25 vol% nano-sized SiC was selected as the starting mixture to fabricate the composite. The manufacturing process was accomplished at 1800℃ for 5 min under 25 MPa via spark plasma sintering(SPS). The as-sintered sample reached a relative density of 99%. Besides the initial phases, namely ZrB₂ and SiC, the high-resolution X-ray diffraction(HRXRD) was used to study the formation of an i...     

An analysis of medieval solar theories

Archive for History of Exact Sciences - From Antiquity through the early modern period, the apparent motion of the Sun in longitude was simulated by the eccentric model set forth in Ptolemy’s...     

Protease-activated-receptor-2 affects protease-activated-receptor-1-driven breast cancer

Mammalian protease-activated-receptor-1 and -2 (PAR₁ and PAR₂) are activated by proteases found in the flexible microenvironment of a tumor and play a central role in breast cancer. We propose in the present study that PAR₁ and PAR₂ act together as a functional unit during malignant and physiological invasion processes. This notion is supported by assessing pro-tumor functions in the presence of short hairpin; shRNA knocked-down hPar2 or by the use of a truncated PAR₂ devoid of the entire cytoplasmic tail. Silencing of hPar2 by shRNA-attenuated thrombin induced PAR₁ signaling as recapitulated by inhibiting the assembly of Etk/Bmx or Akt onto PAR₁-C-tail, by thrombin-instigated colony formation and invasion. Strikingly, shRNA-hPar2 also inhibited the TFLLRN selective PAR₁ pro-tumor functions. In addition, while evaluating the physiological invasion process of placenta extravillous trophoblast (EVT) organ culture, we observed inhibition of both thrombin or the selective PAR₁ ligand; TFLLRNPNDK induced EVT invasion by shRNA-hPar2 but not by scrambled shRNA-hPar2. In parallel, when a truncated PAR₂ was utilized in a xenograft mouse model, it inhibited PAR₁–PAR₂-driven tumor growth in vivo. Similarly, it also attenuated the interaction of Etk/Bmx with the PAR₁-C-tail in vitro and decreased markedly selective PAR₁-induced Matrigel invasion. Confocal images demonstrated co-localization of PAR₁ and PAR₂ in HEK293T cells over-expressing YFP-hPar2 and HA-hPar1. Co-immuno-precipitation analyses revealed PAR₁-PAR₂ complex formation but no PAR₁-CXCR4 complex was formed. Taken together, our observations show that PAR₁ and PAR₂ act as a functional unit in tumor development and placenta-uterus interactions. This conclusion may have significant consequences on future breast cancer therapeutic modalities and improved late pregnancy outcome.     

伊朗西北部Arasbaran生物圈保护区及邻近地区的天牛种类(鞘翅目:天牛科)

天牛(鞘翅目Coleoptera:天牛科Cerambycidae)为树木重要的钻蛀性害虫.本文研究了伊朗西北部Arasbaran生物圈保护区及邻近地区的天牛种类,采集鉴定了5个亚科26属33种,提供了一些种类的植物寄主.     

An integrated semiconductor device enabling non-optical genome sequencing

The seminal importance of DNA sequencing to the life sciences, biotechnology and medicine has driven the search for more scalable and lower-cost solutions. Here we describe a DNA sequencing technology in which scalable, low-cost semiconductor manufacturing techniques are used to make an integrated circuit able to directly perform non-optical DNA sequencing of genomes. Sequence data are obtained by directly sensing the ions produced by template-directed DNA polymerase synthesis using all-natural nucleotides on this massively parallel semiconductor-sensing device or ion chip. The ion chip contains ion-sensitive, field-effect transistor-based sensors in perfect register with 1.2 million wells, which provide confinement and allow parallel, simultaneous detection of independent sequencing reactions. Use of the most widely used technology for constructing integrated circuits, the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process, allows for low-cost, large-scale production and scaling of the device to higher densities and larger array sizes. We show the performance of the system by sequencing three bacterial genomes, its robustness and scalability by producing ion chips with up to 10 times as many sensors and sequencing a human genome.     

Chemically Synthesised Pt Particles on Surface Oxidized Carbon Nanotubes as an Effective Catalyst for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

1 Results The synthesis, physical characterization and electrochemical analysis of Pt particles prepared using the surface oxidized carbon nanotubes prepared by chemically anchoring Pt onto the surface of the CNTs with 2.0 mol/L HNO3 by refluxing for 10 h to introduce surface functional groups.The particles of Pt are synthesized by reduction with sodium borohydride of H2PtCl6. The electro-oxidation of liquid methanol of this catalyst as a thin layer on glassy carbon electrode is investigated at room te...     

Improvement in the protective performance and adhesion of polypyrrole coating on AZ31 Mg alloys

The electrochemical synthesis of polypyrrole (Ppy) coating on AZ31 magnesium alloy was successfully achieved in a solution containing sodium salicylate and monomer of pyrrole through cyclic voltammetry technique. The effect of potential range, passivation pretreatment and number of cycles of polymerization on the quality and protective performance of the coatings was evaluated using surface analysis and electrochemical techniques. Through taking the advantage of charge transfer resistance, current density, corrosion potential, optical microscopy images and SEM micrographs, the optimum condition of synthesis of a Ppy coating with the best adhesion and corrosion protection was determined. The optimal PPy coating synthesized over AZ31 increases the polarization resistance and decreases the corrosion current more than one order of magnitude and shift the corrosion potential about 200 mV toward nobler potentials. The SEM studies showed that Ppy coating have cauliflower morphology of Ppy grains with a diameter ranging from 20 nm to 60 nm.