Processing and properties of Nextel™ 720 fiber reinforced alumina-zirconia ceramic matrix composites

The continuous Nextel? 720 fiber-reinforced zirconia/alumina ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) were prepared by slurry infiltration process and precursor infiltration pyrolysis (PIP) process. The introduction of submicron zirconia powders into the aqueous slurry was optimized to offer comprehensively good sintering activity, high thermal resistance and good mechanical properties for the CMCs. Meanwhile, the zirconia and alumina preceramic polymers were used to strengthen the porous ceramic matrix through the PIP process. The final CMC sample achieved a high flexural strength of 200 MPa after one infiltration cycle of alumina preceramic polymer and thermal treatment at 1150 °C for 2 h. The flexural strength retention of the improved CMC sample was 104% and 89% respectively after thermal exposure at 1100 °C and 1200 °C for 24 h.     

具有保护肠上皮细胞HT-29免受大肠杆菌和H2O2损伤潜力的植物乳杆菌的筛选

益生菌可在肠道定植从而发挥抗炎或抗氧化活性，有利于宿主肠道健康。本实验研究了从新疆传统发酵乳制品中分离得到的8?株植物乳杆菌对大肠杆菌侵袭和过氧化氢刺激肠上皮细胞HT-29的保护作用。结果表明：在8?株植物乳杆菌中，植物乳杆菌35具有最高的黏附能力。植物乳杆菌35可通过取代、竞争、排阻的方式抑制大肠杆菌对HT-29细胞的黏附，抑制率分别为42.60%、59.17%、60.19%。植物乳杆菌35及其多糖可抑制大肠杆菌刺激HT-29细胞产生白细胞介素-8；同时保护HT-29细胞免受过氧化氢的损伤，增加超氧化物歧化酶、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶活力水平并降低丙二醛含量。结论：植物乳杆菌35及其粗胞外多糖具有抑制大肠杆菌O157诱导的炎症性肠病的潜力。     

四氢姜黄素经PI3K/Akt信号通路对人血小板活化和聚集的调控作用

目的：探讨姜黄素的主要肠道代谢物四氢姜黄素（tetrahydrocurcumin，THC）对血小板活化和聚集的影响及其可能的分子机制。方法：在体外实验中，用不同浓度的THC（0、0.5、1、10 μmol/L）提前与健康人纯化血小板共同孵育40 min，然后加入凝血酶激活血小板2 min，用流式细胞术测定血小板表面CD62P和CD63的表达量，用酶联免疫吸附法测定血小板释放血小板因子-4（platelet factor-4，PF4）和趋化因子配体-5（chemokine ligand 5，CCL5）水平，用血小板聚集仪检测血小板释放ATP水平和血小板最大聚集率，用Western blot蛋白免疫印迹法检测血小板磷酸肌醇-3-激酶（phosphoinositide 3-kinase，PI3K）和Akt蛋白的磷酸化水平。结果：与模型组（血小板悬液中加入0.05%二甲基亚砜）相比，THC能抑制凝血酶诱导的血小板表面CD62P和CD63的表达，抑制PF4、CCL5和ATP的释放，降低血小板最大聚集率，下调PI3K和Akt蛋白的磷酸化水平，且呈浓度依赖效应，其中10 μmol/L的浓度下作用效果显著（P＜0.01、P＜0.001）。PI3K的特异性激动剂740 Y-P可部分逆转THC对PF4和CCL5释放和血小板聚集的抑制作用（P＜0.05、P＜0.01）。结论：THC具有显著抑制血小板活化和聚集的作用，其机制可能是THC可下调PI3K/Akt介导的信号通路。     

风险矩阵法在A水泥工厂风险分级的应用初探

本文介绍“风险矩阵法”进行风险分级工作的基本思路，结合水泥厂的生产特点通过危险有害因素辨识，获得危险源分布情况，采用风险矩阵法对风险进行评估，按风险值将风险等级划分为重大风险、较大风险、一般风险和低风险，为水泥生产企业的安全风险分级工作提供参考。     

Unraveling specific role of carbon matrix over Pd/quasi-Ce-MOF facilitating toluene enhanced degradation

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) derivatives represented by quasi-MOFs have excellent physical and chemical properties and can be applied for the catalytic combustion of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this work, Pd/quasi-Ce-BTC synthesized by simple one-step N₂ pyrolysis was applied to the oxidation of toluene, showing excellent toluene catalytic activity (T₉₀ = 175 °C, 30000 mL/(g·h)). Microscopic analyses indicate the formation and interaction of a carbon matrix composite quasi-MOF structure interface. The results show that the amorphous carbon matrix formed during the partial pyrolysis of Ce-BTC significantly improves the adsorption and activation capacity of toluene in the reaction, and constructs a reductive system to maintain high concentrations of Ce³⁺ and Pd⁰, which can facilitate the activation and utilization of oxygen in reaction. Quasi in-situ XPS proves that carbon matrix is indirectly involved in the activation and storage of oxygen, and Pd⁰ is the crucial active site for the activation of oxygen. Stability and water resistance tests display good stability of Pd/quasi-Ce-BTC. This work provides a potential method for designing quasi-MOF catalysts towards VOCs effective abatement.     

Thermal shock effects on the impact resistance,tolerance and flexural strength of alumina based oxide/oxide ceramic matrix composites

In this study the effects of thermal shock on the impact damage resistance, damage tolerance and flexural strength of Nextel 610/alumina silicate ceramic matrix composites were experimentally evaluated. Composite laminates with balanced and symmetric layup were gradually heated to 1200°C in an air-based furnace and held for at least 30 min before being removed and immersed in water at room temperature. The laminates were then subjected to low velocity impacts via a hemispherical steel impactor. The resultant damage was characterized non-destructively, following which the laminates were subjected to compression tests. Three-point bend tests were also performed to evaluate the effect of thermal shock on the flexural strength and related failure modes of the laminates. Thermally shocked laminates showed smaller internal damage and larger external damage areas in comparison to their pristine counterparts. For the impact energy and resultant damage size considered, the residual compressive strengths for the thermally shocked and pristine laminates were similar.     

Adaptation to Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Enhances Resistance of Oral Cancer Cells to Cisplatin by Up-Regulating Polymerase η and Increasing DNA Repair Efficiency

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response is an adaptive program to cope with cellular stress that disturbs the function and homeostasis of ER, which commonly occurs during cancer progression to late stage. Late-stage cancers, mostly requiring chemotherapy, often develop treatment resistance. Chemoresistance has been linked to ER stress response; however, most of the evidence has come from studies that correlate the expression of stress markers with poor prognosis or demonstrate proapoptosis by the knockdown of stress-responsive genes. Since ER stress in cancers usually persists and is essentially not induced by genetic manipulations, we used low doses of ER stress inducers at levels that allowed cell adaptation to occur in order to investigate the effect of stress response on chemoresistance. We found that prolonged tolerable ER stress promotes mesenchymal–epithelial transition, slows cell-cycle progression, and delays the S-phase exit. Consequently, cisplatin-induced apoptosis was significantly decreased in stress-adapted cells, implying their acquisition of cisplatin resistance. Molecularly, we found that proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) ubiquitination and the expression of polymerase η, the main polymerase responsible for translesion synthesis across cisplatin-DNA damage, were up-regulated in ER stress-adaptive cells, and their enhanced cisplatin resistance was abrogated by the knockout of polymerase η. We also found that a fraction of p53 in stress-adapted cells was translocated to the nucleus, and that these cells exhibited a significant decline in the level of cisplatin-DNA damage. Consistently, we showed that the nuclear p53 coincided with strong positivity of glucose-related protein 78 (GRP78) on immunostaining of clinical biopsies, and the cisplatin-based chemotherapy was less effective for patients with high levels of ER stress. Taken together, this study uncovers that adaptation to ER stress enhances DNA repair and damage tolerance, with which stressed cells gain resistance to chemotherapeutics.     

Radiation- and Photo-Induced Oxidation Pathways of Methionine in Model Peptide Backbone under Anoxic Conditions

Within the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by cellular metabolisms, hydroxyl radicals (HO^•) play an important role, being the most aggressive towards biomolecules. The reactions of HO^• with methionine residues (Met) in peptides and proteins have been intensively studied, but some fundamental aspects remain unsolved. In the present study we examined the biomimetic model made of Ac-Met-OMe, as the simplest model peptide backbone, and of HO^• generated by ionizing radiation in aqueous solutions under anoxic conditions. We performed the identification and quantification of transient species by pulse radiolysis and of final products by LC-MS and high-resolution MS/MS after γ-radiolysis. By parallel photochemical experiments, using 3-carboxybenzophenone (CB) triplet with the model peptide, we compared the outcomes in terms of short-lived intermediates and stable product identification. The result is a detailed mechanistic scheme of Met oxidation by HO^•, and by CB triplets allowed for assigning transient species to the pathways of products formation.