Friction and wear behavior of bioinspired composites with nacre-like lamellar and brick-and-mortar architectures against human enamel

Friction and wear performance is critical for dental materials which are inevitably subject to reciprocating friction against opposing teeth in applications. Here in-vitro friction and wear behavior of bioinspired ceramic-polymer composites, which possess nacre-like lamellar and brick-and-mortar architectures and resemble human teeth in their stiffness and hardness, against human tooth enamel were quantitatively investigated to imitate actual service conditions in line with standardized testing ...     

Processable Potassium Metal Anode for Stable Batteries

The future of high-energy density electrochemical energy storage systems relies on the advancement of rechargeable batteries that utilize reactive metals as anodes. In the alkaline metal, secondary battery systems because of abundant resource, high capacity and low redox potential, potassium(K)metal secondary battery(KMB) is expected to replace the existing lithiumion battery as a versatile platform for high-energy density, cost-effective energy storage devices. However, the difficulty in proces...     

通过ESR测定卷烟纸多孔性对燃烧温度及烟气内自由基水平的影响

卷烟纸多孔性是允许进入点燃卷烟的燃烧锥中空气流量变化的一个重要的制造参数。我们的试验研究采用孔隙分别为12（低孔隙）和80（高孔隙）CORESTA单位，基重分别为28g／m^2和24．7g／m^2的两种不同的卷烟纸。一种卷烟纸使用相同的烟丝配方，保湿剂以及其它制造参数分别卷制成卷烟。低孔隙和高孔隙卷烟之间的压降，焦油释放以及一氧化碳生成均有差异。     

Numerical modeling of SiC by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition from methyltrichlorosilane

The development of functional relationships between the observed deposition rate and the experimental conditions is an important step toward understanding and optimizing low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) or low-pressure chemical vapor infiltration (LPCVI). In the field of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), methyltrichlorosilane (CH₃SiCl₃, MTS) is the most widely used source gas system for SiC, because stoichiometric SiC deposit can be facilitated at 900℃-1300℃. However, the reliability and accuracy of existing numerical models for these processing conditions are rarely reported. In this study, a comprehensive transport model was coupled with gas-phase and surface kinetics. The resulting gas-phase kinetics was confirmed via the measured concentration of gaseous species. The relationship between deposition rate and 24 gaseous species has been effectively evaluated by combining the special superiority of the novel extreme machine learning method and the conventional sticking coefficient method. Surface kinetics were then proposed and shown to reproduce the experimental results. The proposed simulation strategy can be used for different material systems.     

In Vitro Efficacy of Myxococcus fulvus ANSM068 to Biotransform Aflatoxin B(1)

Aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1)) is commonly found in cereals and animal feeds and causes a significant threat to the food industry and animal production. Several microbial isolates with high AFB(1) transformation ability have been identified in our previous studies. The aim of this research was to characterize one of those isolates, Myxococcus fulvus ANSM068, and to explore its biotransformation mechanism. The bacterial isolate of M. fulvus ANSM068, isolated from deer feces, was able to transform AFB(1) by 80.7% in liquid VY/2 medium after incubation at 30 °C for 72 h. The supernatant of the bacterial culture was more effective in transforming AFB(1) as compared to the cells alone and the cell extract. The transformation activity was significantly reduced and eradicated after the culture supernatant was treated with proteinase K, proteinase K plus SDS and heating. Culture conditions, including nitrogen source, initial pH and incubation temperature were evaluated for an optimal AFB(1) transformation. Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LCMS) analyses showed that AFB(1) was transformed to a structurally different compound. Infrared analysis (IR) indicated that the lactone ring on the AFB(1) molecule was modified by the culture supernatant. Chromatographies on DEAE-Ion exchange and Sephadex-Molecular sieve and SDS-PAGE electrophoresis were used to determine active components from the culture supernatant, indicating that enzyme(s) were responsible for the AFB(1) biotransformation. This is the first report on AFB(1) transformation by a strain of myxobacteria through enzymatic reaction(s).     

Compartment modeling for mammalian protein turnover studies by stable isotope metabolic labeling

Protein turnover studies on a proteome scale based on metabolic isotopic labeling can provide a systematic understanding of mechanisms for regulation of protein abundances and their transient behaviors. At this time, these large-scale studies typically utilize a simple kinetic model to extract protein dynamic information. Although many high-quality, protein isotope incorporation data are available from those experiments, accurate and additionally useful protein dynamic information cannot be extracted from the experimental data by use of the simple kinetic models. In this paper, we describe a formal connection between data obtained from elemental isotope labeling experiments and the well-known compartment modeling, and we demonstrate that an appropriate application of a compartment model to turnover of proteins from mammalian tissues can indeed lead to a better fitting of the experimental data.     

Tunable aqueous virtual micropore

A charged microparticle can be trapped in an aqueous environment by forming a narrow virtual pore--a cylindrical space region in which the particle motion in the radial direction is limited by forces emerging from dynamical interactions of the particle charge and dipole moment with an external radiofrequency quadrupole electric field. If the particle satisfies the trap stability criteria, its mean motion is reduced exponentially with time due to the viscosity of the aqueous environment; thereafter the long-time motion of particle is subject only to random, Brownian fluctuations, whose magnitude, influenced by the electrophoretic and dielectrophoretic effects and added to the particle size, determines the radius of the virtual pore, which is demonstrated by comparison of computer simulations and experiment. The measured size of the virtual nanopore could be utilized to estimate the charge of a trapped micro-object.     

Structural effect and mechanism of C70-carboxyfullerenes as efficient sensitizers against cancer cells

Carboxyfullerenes with different adduct numbers and cage sizes are tested as photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT). The photodynamic efficiency of these carboxyfullerenes depends mainly on the cage size, C(60) versus C(70) , and to a lesser extent on the adduct numbers. In particular, malonic acid modified C(70) fullerenes are more efficient than their C(60) counterparts as photosensitizers, and the mechanism of cell death induced by C(70) -carboxyfullerene under light irradiation is investigated in detail. The results indicate that cell death occurs via necrosis accompanied by membrane blebbing, which is a unique phenomenon for photosensitizer-induced cell death. Since C(70) -carboxyfullerene displays an efficient PDT property and negligible dark cytotoxicity, it is promising for use in PDT applications, especially in vascular capillary diseases usually occurring under the surface.     

Experimental evidence of improved transthoracic defibrillation with electroporation-enhancing pulses

There is considerable work on defibrillation wave form optimization. This paper determines the impedance changes during defibrillation, then uses that information to derive the optimum defibrillation wave form. METHODS PART I: Twelve guinea pigs and six swine were used to measure the current wave form for square voltage pulses of a strength which would defibrillate about 50% of the time. In guinea pigs, electrodes were placed thoracically, abdominally and subcutaneously using two electrode materials (zinc and steel) and two electrode pastes (Core-gel and metallic paste). RESULTS PART I: The measured current wave form indicated an exponentially increasing conductance over the first 3 ms, consistent with enhanced electroporation or another mechanism of time-dependent conductance. We fit this current with a parallel conductance composed of a time-independent component (g0 = 1.22 +/- 0.28 mS) and a time-dependent component described by g delta (1-e(-t/tau)), where g delta = 0.95 +/- 0.20 mS and tau = 0.82 +/- 0.17 ms in guinea pigs using zinc and Cor-gel. Different electrode placements and materials had no significant effect on this fit. From our fit, we determined the stimulating wave form that would theoretically charge the myocardial membrane to a given threshold using the least energy from the defibrillator. The solution was a very short, high voltage pulse followed immediately by a truncated ascending exponential tail. METHODS PART II: The optimized wave forms and similar nonoptimized wave forms were tested for efficacy in 25 additional guinea pigs and six additional swine using methods similar to Part I. RESULTS PART II: Optimized wave forms were significantly more efficacious than similar nonoptimized wave forms. In swine, a wave form with the short pulse was 41% effective while the same wave form without the short pulse was 8.3% effective (p < 0.03) despite there being only a small difference in energy (111 J versus 116 CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that a short pulse preceding a defibrillation pulse significantly improves efficacy, perhaps by enhancing electroporation.     

Inactivation of hepatitis A virus by high-pressure processing: the role of temperature and pressure oscillation

Inactivation of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium with 10% fetal bovine serum was studied at pressures of 300, 350, and 400 MPa and initial sample temperatures of -10, 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 degrees C. Sample temperature during pressure application strongly influenced the efficiency of HAV inactivation. Elevated temperature (> 30 degrees C) enhanced pressure inactivation of HAV, while lower temperatures resulted in less inactivation. For example, 1-min treatments of 400 MPa at -10, 20, and 50 degrees C reduced titers of HAV by 1.0, 2.5, and 4.7 log PFU/ml, respectively. Pressure inactivation curves of HAV were obtained at 400 MPa and three temperatures (-10, 20, and 50 degrees C). With increasing treatment time, all three temperatures showed a rapid initial drop in virus titer with a diminishing inactivation rate (or tailing effect). Analysis of inactivation data indicated that the Weibull model more adequately fitted the inactivation curves than the linear model. Oscillatory high-pressure processing for 2, 4, 6, and 8 cycles at 400 MPa and temperatures of 20 and 50 degrees C did not considerably enhance pressure inactivation of HAV as compared with continuous high-pressure application. These results indicate that HAV exhibits, unlike other viruses examined to date, a reduced sensitivity to high pressure observed at cooler treatment temperatures. This work suggested that slightly elevated temperatures are advantageous for pressure inactivation of HAV within foods.