The effect of Si on the microstructure and properties of Cu–10Fe alloy was systematically studied in this paper. By adding 0.4 wt% Si to Cu–10Fe alloy, the mechanical properties, electric ...conductivity, thermal conductivity, saturation magnetization and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness are significantly improved. After 90% cold rolling and 450 °C/32 h heat treatment, the electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, tensile strength, elongation and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of Cu–10Fe-0.4Si alloy are 68.02 %IACS, 304 W/(m·K), 521 MPa, 29.6% and 107.4 dB, respectively. Microstructure observation shown that FCC FeSi phases formed in two different sizes and the precipitation of the Fe atoms was promoted in Cu–10Fe-0.4Si alloy, which lead to the simultaneously improvement of conductivity, strength and magnetic properties. This high-strength, high-conductivity and magnetic Cu–Fe alloy has great application potential in electromagnetic shielding and other fields.
Atherosclerosis is the main cause of cardiovascular diseases, and healthy dietary habits are a feasible strategy to prevent atherosclerosis development. Camellia oil, an edible plant oil, exhibits ...multiple beneficial cardiovascular effects. Our previous study showed that oral administration of camellia oil attenuated hyperglycemia, fat deposits in the liver, and the atherosclerosis index in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. Here, an atherosclerosis model of apolipoprotein E (ApoE)−/− mice induced by HFD was used to study the effect of camellia oil on atherosclerosis, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to analyze the changes in gut microbiota composition. The results showed that camellia oil significantly inhibited the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in ApoE−/− mice, which were characterized by significantly reduced levels of serum total cholesterol and enhanced levels of serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The aortic levels of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor were decreased. The results of the 16S rRNA analysis showed that after camellia oil interventions, the intestinal flora of ApoE−/− mice changed significantly, with the diversity of intestinal flora especially increasing, the relative abundances of Bacteroides, Faecalibaculum, Bilophila, and Leuconostoc increasing, and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and Firmicutes abundance decreasing. Collectively, our findings confirmed the promising value of camellia oil in preventing the development of atherosclerosis in ApoE−/− mice. Mechanistically, this preventive effect of camellia oil was probably due to its lipid-lowering activity, anti-inflammatory effects, and alteration of the gut microbiota composition in the mice.
In this work, we realized the detection of diamino-pentazolium cation (DAPZ
) in the reaction solution experimentally and proved it to be meta-diamino-pentazole based on the transition state theory. ...Quantum chemical methods were used to predict its spectral properties, charge distribution, stability and aromaticity. Considering that DAPZ
has excellent detonation properties, it was further explored by assembling it with N
, N
and C(NO
)
anions, respectively. The results show a strong interaction between DAPZ
and the three anions, which will have a positive effect on its stability. Thanks to the high enthalpy of formation and density, the calculated detonation properties of the three systems are exciting, especially DAPZ
N
(D: 10,016 m·s
; P: 37.94 GPa), whose actual detonation velocity may very likely exceed CL-20 (D: 9773 m·s
). There is no doubt that this work will become the precursor for the theoretical exploration of new polynitrogen ionic compounds.
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders. Early intervention is very important for reducing the burden of the disease, but current methods of diagnosis remain limited. Previously, ...acoustic features of speech have been identified as possible cues for depression, but there has been little research to link depression with speech types and emotions. This study investigated acoustic correlates of depression in a sample of 170 subjects (85 depressed patients and 85 healthy controls). We examined the discriminative power of three different types of speech (interview, picture description, and reading) and three speech emotions (positive, neutral, and negative) using different classifiers, with male and female subjects modeled separately. We observed that picture description speech rendered significantly better (p < 0.05) classification results than other speech types for males, and interview speech performed significantly better (p < 0.05) than other speech types for females. Based on speech types and emotions, a new computational methodology for detecting depression (STEDD) was developed and tested. This new approach showed a high accuracy level of 80.30% for males and 75.96% for females, with a desirable sensitivity/specificity ratio of 75.00%/85.29% for males and 77.36%/74.51% for females. These results are encouraging for detecting depression, and provide guidance for future research.
Chiral light-matter interactions as an emerging aspect of quantum optics enable exceptional physical phenomena and advanced applications in nanophotonics through the nanoscale exploitation of ...photon-emitter interactions. The chiral radiative properties of quantum emitters strongly depend on the photonic environment, which can be drastically altered by plasmonic nanostructures with a high local density of states (LDOS). Hence, precise knowledge of the chiral photonic environment is essential for manipulating the chirality of light-matter interactions, which requires high resolution chiral characterization techniques. In this work, chiral radiative LDOS distributions of single plasmonic nanostructures that directly govern the chiral radiative spontaneous decay of quantum emitters are imaged at the nanoscale by using cathodoluminescence nanoscopy, enabling precise and highly efficient control of chiral photon emission for chiroptical technologies. Radiative LDOS hot-spots with the chirality larger than 93% are obtained by properly designing chiral plasmonic modes of Au nanoantennas. After fabricating monolayered WSe2 nanodisks (NDs) at chiral radiative LDOS hot-spots and forming ND/Au hybrid nanostructures, the chiral radiative properties of WSe2 NDs are significantly modified, leading to chiral photoluminescence. Our experimental concept and method provide an effective way to characterize and manipulate chiral light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, facilitating future applications in chiral quantum nanophotonics such as single-photon sources and light emission devices.
Hyperglycemia-induced proximal tubule injury plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Attenuating high glucose (HG)-induced oxidative damage in renal tubular epithelial ...cells has been documented to ameliorate DN. Obacunone (OB), a natural bioactive compound isolated from the Rutaceae family, has been demonstrated to possess various pharmacological effects with low toxicity. However, the role of OB in DN has not yet been investigated. To explore the influence of OB on oxidative damage that is induced by HG and its potential mechanisms of action, we set up a high glucose model and induced oxidative damage in NRK-52E cells. OB could protect the NRK-52E cells from the HG-induced decrease of cell viability and the accumulation of ROS. The protective effects of OB were associated with its ability to increase the levels of antioxidants (SOD, GSH and CAT), inhibit the production of ROS, and stabilize the mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, OB significantly downregulated the activity of GSK-3β, enhanced the nuclear translocation of Nrf2 and increased the mRNA expression of the Nrf2-driven genes NQO-1 and HO-1 in HG-treated cells. OB also decreased the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria to the cytosol and inhibited the activation of caspase-3 in HG-treated cells. Pretreatment with a GSK-3β activator blocked the protective effects of OB, while pretreatment with a GSK-3β inhibitor yielded opposite results. These findings indicate that the renoprotective effects of OB against HG-induced oxidative damage in NRK-52E cells may be mediated by its ability to inhibit oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction through the GSK-3β signaling pathway.
•Obacunone can protect against high glucose-induced cellular damage in renal cells.•The protective effects of obacunone involve GSK-3β-mediated antioxidant defenses.•The protective effects of obacunone involve GSK-3β-related mitochondrial pathway.•Obacunone may be a promising therapeutic option for treating diabetic nephropathy.
ABSTRACT
Obesity, which is often caused by adipocyte metabolism dysfunction, is rapidly becoming a serious global health issue. Studies in the literature have shown that camellia oil (Camellia ...oleifera Abel) exerted potential lipid regulation and other multiple biological activities. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of camellia oil on obese mice induced by a high-fat diet and to explore gut microbiota alterations after camellia oil intervention. The results showed that oral administration of camellia oil dramatically attenuated the fat deposits, serum levels of the total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, the atherosclerosis index, the hepatic steatosis and inflammation in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. Meanwhile, the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in obese mice was enhanced after the camellia oil treatment. Furthermore, 16S rRNA analysis showed that certain aspects of the gut microbiota, especially the gut microbiota diversity and the relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Coriobacteriaceae, Lactobacillus and Anoxybacillus, were significantly increased by camellia oil treatment while the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes was decreased. Taken together, our finding suggested that camellia oil was a potential dietary supplement and functional food for ameliorating fat deposits, hyperglycemia and fatty liver, probably by modifying the gut microbiota composition.
In the current study, we highlight an interesting pharmacological action of camellia oil against HFD-induced obesity in mice, mainly exerting its ability to slow down fat accumulation regulate hyperlipidemia and hamper liver steatosis and inflammation, with the mechanism probably by modifying the gut microbiota composition.
Deposition of calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystals and oxidative stress-induced injury of renal tubular epithelial cell are the primary pathogenic factors of nephrolithiasis. In this study we investigated ...the beneficial effects of metformin hydrochloride (MH) against nephrolithiasis and explored the underlying molecular mechanism. Our results demonstrated that MH inhibited the formation of CaOx crystals and promoted the transformation of thermodynamically stable CaOx monohydrate (COM) to more unstable CaOx dihydrate (COD). MH treatment effectively ameliorated oxalate-induced oxidative injury and mitochondrial damage in renal tubular cells and reduced CaOx crystal deposition in rat kidneys. MH also attenuated oxidative stress by lowering MDA level and enhancing SOD activity in HK-2 and NRK-52E cells and in a rat model of nephrolithiasis. In both HK-2 and NRK-52E cells, COM exposure significantlylowered the expressions of HO-1 and Nrf2, which was rescued by MH treatment even in the presence of Nrf2 and HO-1 inhibitors. In rats with nephrolithiasis, MH treatment significantly rescued the down-regulation of the mRNA and protein expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 in the kidneys. These results demonstrate that MH can alleviate CaOx crystal deposition and kidney tissue injury in rats with nephrolithiasis by suppressing oxidative stress and activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway, suggesting the potential value of MH in the treatment of nephrolithiasis.
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•Metformin hydrochloride inhibits CaOx crystallization and induced oxidative stress.•Metformin hydrochloride alleviates renal stone deposition and tissue injury in rats.•The Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway is activated by metformin hydrochloride treatment.
Machine learning has been widely used in medical image analysis under an assumption that the training and test data are under the same feature distributions. However, medical images from difference ...devices or the same device with different parameter settings are often contaminated with different amount and types of noises, which violate the above assumption. Therefore, the models trained using data from one device or setting often fail to work for that from another. Moreover, it is very expensive and tedious to label data and re-train models for all different devices or settings. To overcome this noise adaptation issue, it is necessary to leverage on the models trained with data from one device or setting for new data. In this paper, we reformulate this noise adaptation task as an image-to-image translation task such that the noise patterns from the test data are modified to be similar to those from the training data while the contents of the data are unchanged. In this paper, we propose a novel Noise Adaptation Generative Adversarial Network (NAGAN), which contains a generator and two discriminators. The generator aims to map the data from source domain to target domain. Among the two discriminators, one discriminator enforces the generated images to have the same noise patterns as those from the target domain, and the second discriminator enforces the content to be preserved in the generated images. We apply the proposed NAGAN on both optical coherence tomography (OCT) images and ultrasound images. Results show that the method is able to translate the noise style. In addition, we also evaluate our proposed method with segmentation task in OCT and classification task in ultrasound. The experimental results show that the proposed NAGAN improves the analysis outcome.
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