CrAlSiN nanocomposite coatings with different (Al+Si)/Cr atomic ratios were deposited by a lateral rotating cathode arc technique. Their composition, structural, and mechanical properties were ...characterized by energy dispersive analysis of X-rays, X-ray diffraction, nanoindentation, and Rockwell indentation experiments. Abrasion resistance of the coatings was evaluated by a micro-scale abrasion tester against a SiC slurry. The hardness of the CrAlSiN coatings increased gradually with increasing (Al+Si)/Cr atomic ratio and a maximum hardness of about 40GPa was obtained at around (Al+Si)/Cr=1.62. Upon further increasing the (Al+Si)/Cr atomic ratio, the coatings' hardness dropped significantly. The coatings' abrasion resistance was found be proportional to the coatings' hardness. In comparison with TiAlN, the CrAlSiN coatings showed a higher abrasion resistance, particularly for coatings with a hardness higher than 30GPa. Selected CrAlSiN coatings with the highest hardness were deposited on WC-based end-mills. An evident improvement in the performance of the CrAlSiN-coated end-mills was observed compared to the TiAlN-coated ones for cutting a hardened tool steel under high speed dry machining conditions.
L-arginine (Arg) is an indispensable amino acid in avians and is required for growth. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of L-Arg on protein synthesis and genes expression involved ...in target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathway in chicken enterocytes. Cells were cultured for 4 days in L-Arg-free Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium containing 10, 100, 200, 400, or 600 μM L-Arg. Cell growth, cell cycle, protein synthesis, and protein degradation as well as mRNA expression levels of TOR, ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1), and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) were determined. The results showed that cell viability was enhanced by L-Arg with a maximal response at 10 to 400 μM. Increasing extracellular concentrations of L-Arg from 10 to 400 μM increased the cells in S and G2/M phase to a significant extent and decreased cell numbers in G0/G1 phase. Further more, addition of 100, 200, or 400 μM L-Arg to culture medium increased protein synthesis and reduced protein degradation in chicken intestinal epithelial cells. Consistent with the data on cell growth and protein turnover, supplementation of 100, 200, or 400 μM L-Arg increased the mRNA abundances of TOR, 4E-BP1, and S6K1. It was concluded the action of L-Arg involves in upregulating the genes expression of TOR cell signaling pathway which increases protein synthesis and reduces protein degradation.
The receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL)/receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANK)/osteoprotegerin (OPG) system plays a key role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-associated bone ...erosion. The upregulation of the RANKL/OPG ratio promotes bone erosion. The objective of this study is to explore the effects of iguratimod, a small-molecule disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), alone or in combination with methotrexate (MTX), on RANKL and OPG expression in RA. We performed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to investigate the modulatory effects of iguratimod, MTX, or their combination on serum RANKL and OPG levels of patients with RA before and after treatment for 12 and 24 weeks. Furthermore, fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) from patients with RA were interleukin (IL)-1β-stimulated and then treated with different concentrations of iguratimod, MTX, or both, and RANKL and OPG expressions were investigated by using ELISA, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blot analysis. We found that RANKL levels and the RANKL/OPG ratio significantly decreased in both serum and IL-1β-induced RA FLS after treatment. Moreover, combination therapy with iguratimod and MTX showed an even stronger inhibition than each drug alone did. Our results suggest that iguratimod and MTX, especially in combination, efficaciously protected against bone erosion by suppressing the production of RANKL.
The great demographic pressure brings tremendous volume of beef demand. The key to solve this problem is the growth and development of Chinese cattle. In order to find molecular markers conducive to ...the growth and development of Chinese cattle, sequencing was used to determine the position of copy number variations (CNVs), bioinformatics analysis was used to predict the function of ZNF146 gene, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used for CNV genotyping and one-way analysis of variance was used for association analysis. The results showed that there exists CNV in Chr 18: 47225201-47229600 (5.0.1 version) of ZNF146 gene through the early sequencing results in the laboratory and predicted ZNF146 gene was expressed in liver, skeletal muscle and breast cells, and was amplified or overexpressed in pancreatic cancer, which promoted the development of tumour through bioinformatics. Therefore, it is predicted that ZNF146 gene affects the proliferation of muscle cells, and then affects the growth and development of cattle. Furthermore, CNV genotyping of ZNF146 gene was three types (deletion type, normal type and duplication type) by Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR). The association analysis results showed that ZNF146-CNV was significantly correlated with rump length of Qinchuan cattle, hucklebone width of Jiaxian red cattle and heart girth of Yunling cattle. From the above results, ZNF146-CNV had a significant effect on growth traits, which provided an important candidate molecular marker for growth and development of Chinese cattle.
Recent experimental results that are associated with the core-localized (i.e. normalized radius ) Alfvénic modes in HL-2A neutral beam injection (NBI) plasmas with weak magnetic shears are reported. ...In the different plasma parameter regions, the energetic ions produced by the NBI drive multiple Alfvénic instabilities, such as the toroidal Alfvén eigenmode (TAE), beta-induced Alfvén eigenmode, reversed shear Alfvén eigenmode (RSAE) and fishbone and energetic particle mode (EPM). Here, we focus on the high-frequency RSAE (HFRSAE) and resonant kinetic ballooning mode (rKBM). A group of downward-sweeping frequency coherent modes (HFRSAEs) with 100 < f < 500 kHz and n = 3-7 are often observed with an increase in the edge safety factor, qa. Their measured frequency is more than that of the TAEs, and . The analysis suggests that these modes localize inside the high-order Alfvén eigenmode (AE) gap of the Alfvénic continuum, and their eigenfrequency and eigenfunction depend on the and q-profile. When the core plasma density is more than m−3 and the impurity or supersonic molecular beam enters the bulk plasma, the profiles of the plasma density/pressure peak, and the magnetic shear is weak or negative. In this case, a group of multi-harmonic coherent modes (rKBMs) with 30 < f < 150 kHz and n = 2-9 are observed through multiple diagnostic techniques, and , where is the diamagnetic drift frequency of the thermal ion. It is found that the HFRSAEs can transit into the rKBMs when the density profile suddenly peaks. Neutron monitoring outside the vacuum chamber demonstrates that the HFRSAE and rKBM both degrade the confinement of the energetic ions. The rKBM instabilities also affect the bulk plasma performance.
To summarize the clinical and prognostic features of children with opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome (OMAS).
A total of 46 patients who met the diagnostic criteria of OMAS in the Department of ...Neurology, Beijing Children's Hospital from June 2015 to June 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Centralized online consultations or telephone visits were conducted between June and August 2023. The data of the children during hospitalization and follow-up were collected, including clinical manifestations, assistant examination, treatment and prognosis. According to the presence or absence of tumor, the patients were divided into two groups. The chi-square test or Mann-Whitney
test was used to compare the differences between the two groups. Univariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the factors related to OMAS recurrence and prognosis.
There were 46 patients, with 25 males and the onset age of 1.5 (1.2, 2.4) years. Twenty-six (57%) patients were diagnosed with neuroblastoma during the course of the disease,
To explore the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) related to SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection.
A retrospective ...analysis was conducted on clinical data of 11 children with MIS-C, who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of Peking University First Hospital from December 2022 to January 2023. Clinical characteristics, treatment, and follow-up of MIS-C were summarized in this study.
The 11 cases contained 7 boys and 4 girls, with an age of 4.4 (2.0, 5.5) years on admission. All the patients had fever, with a duration of 7(5, 9) days. Other clinical manifestations included rash in 7 cases, conjunctival hyperemia in 5 cases, red lips and raspberry tongue in 3 cases, lymphadenopathy in 3 cases, and swollen fingers and toes in 2 cases. There were 8 cases of digestive symptoms, 8 cases of respiratory symptoms, and 3 cases of nervous system symptoms. Eight patients had multi-system injuries, and one of them had shock presen
Edge impurity transport is studied in electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) L-mode plasmas of the HL-2A tokamak based on space-resolved vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy with which radial ...profiles of impurity line emissions are measured from the core region inside the last closed flux surface (LCFS) and the edge region in the scrape-off layer, simultaneously. The radial profile of carbon emissions of C V (2271 : 1s2s 3S-1s2p 3P) reconstructed into the local emissivity profile is analysed with a one-dimensional impurity transport code, and the diffusion coefficient and convective velocity of impurity ions are determined in the core region of the HL-2A tokamak. The impurity source is also determined with the measured absolute emissivity profiles of C IV (1548 : 1s22s 2S-1s22p 2P) located at the LCFS. The ratio of C V to C IV can therefore be used as an index to characterize the core impurity transport between the LCFS and the radial region of the C V emission at a normalized radius of about ρ = 0.6. The ratio measured from ohmic discharges shows a gradual decrease with electron density. However, the ratio suddenly decreases by a factor of three when the ECRH focused in the plasma centre is switched on, suggesting a strong enhancement of the impurity transport. The analysis with the transport code indicates a change in the convective term. The convective velocity of C4+ ions changes from inward to outward direction during the ECRH phase, while an inward velocity usually exists in the ohmic phase. Possible mechanisms for the reversal of the convective velocity are discussed.
Micro-structural characteristics and electrical properties of an n-type GaN epilayer on Al2O3 irradiated by 290-MeV 238U32+ ions to various fluences were investigated using atomic force microscopy ...(AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), and Raman scattering spectroscopy. AFM images show that the nano-hillocks generated, and the diameter and density of the nano-hillocks, increase obviously with increasing ion fluence, accompanied by an increase in surface roughness. SEM images display that the Al, O, and C elements appear on the GaN surface, along with a spiral-like, layered volcanic-cone structure formed at the highest-fluence irradiation. HRXRD reveals that the dislocation density increases, as the lattices gradually expand, and that Ga2O3 was produced with increasing ion fluence. Raman scattering spectra show that no N and Ga vacancies were produced, the free-carrier concentration decreases, while its mobility first increases and then exhibits a significant reduction with increasing ion fluence.
In this paper, an overview of the magnetohydrodynamic instabilities induced by energetic electrons on HL-2A is given and some new phenomena with high-power electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) ...are presented. A toroidal Alfvén eigenmode with frequency from 200 to 350 kHz is identified during powerful ECRH. In the lower frequency range from 10 to 35 kHz, which is in the beta-induced Alfvén eigenmode frequency range, the coexistence of multi-mode is found during the high-power ECRH for the first time. The spectra become wide when the power is sufficiently high. The frequencies of the modes increase with and are much lower than the Alfvén frequency. The relationship between the mode frequency and (7/4 + Te/Ti)1/2 (Ti)1/2 can be obtained by statistical data analysis. Between the two previous frequency ranges, a group of new modes with frequencies from 50 to 180 kHz is observed with high-power ECRH and neutral beam injection heating together. The modes have clear frequency chirping within several milliseconds or several tens of milliseconds, which are identified as energetic particle mode like instabilities. The new features of the fishbone instability excited by energetic electrons are identified. It is interesting to find the frequency jump phenomena in the high-power ECRH. The difference between the low and high frequencies increases with ECRH power. The frequency jumps between 8 and 15 kHz within about 25 ms periodically, when the power is 1.2 MW.
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