Untersuchungen zur Thermischen Umsetzung von Phenylcyclopentan, -hexan, -heptan und -octan in der Gasphase

Studies on Thermal Conversion of Phenyleyclopentane, -hexane, -heptane, and -octane in the Gas Phase The title compounds were pyrolyzed from 700 to 780°C in a metallic laboratory tubular reactor in the presence of steam. The reaction products were analyzed by gas chromatography and by a combination of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. From the phenylcyclanes tested, more than 65 hydrocarbons could be detected in the liquids, besides gaseous reaction products. In most cases unambiguous structures could be derived by using different analytical methods. As typical initial-step products phenylcyclenes, ω-phenyl-1-alkenes and 1-phenyl-1-alkenes are formed by dehydrogenation and isomerization of the title compounds. The detection of phenylalkenes corresponds well with the isomerization of unsubstituted cyclanes to the corresponding α-olefines described in former papers.     

Synthesis of atom probe experiments on irradiation-induced solute segregation in French ferritic pressure vessel steels

Microstructural changes due to neutron irradiation cause an evolution of the mechanical properties of reactor pressure vessels (RPV) steels. This paper aims at identifying and characterising the microstructural changes which have been found to be responsible in part for the observed embrittlement. This intensive work relies principally on an atom probe (AP) study of a low Cu-level French RPV steel (Chooz A). This material has been irradiated in in-service conditions for 0–16 years in the frame of the surveillance program. Under this aging condition, solute clustering occurs (Cu, Ni, Mn, Si, P, …). In order to identify the role of copper, experiments were also carried out on Fe–Cu model alloys submitted to different types of irradiations (neutron, electron, ion). Cu-cluster nucleation appears to be directly related to the presence of displacement cascades during neutron (ion) irradiation. The operating basic physical process is not clearly identified yet. A recovery of the mechanical properties of the irradiated material can be achieved by annealing treatments (20 h at 450°C in the case of the RPV steel under study, following microhardness measurements). It has been shown that the corresponding microstructural evolution was a rapid dissolution of the high number density of irradiation-induced solute clusters and the precipitation of a very low number density of Cu-rich particles.     

Monte Carlo uncertainty quantification of the effective delayed neutron fraction

The applicability of Monte Carlo techniques, namely the Monte Carlo sensitivity method and the random-sampling method, for uncertainty quantification of the effective delayed neutron fraction β_eff is investigated using the continuous-energy Monte Carlo transport code, MCNP, from the perspective of statistical convergence issues. This study focuses on the nuclear data as one of the major sources of β_eff uncertainty. For validation of the calculated β_eff, a critical configuration of the VENUS-F zero-power reactor was used. It is demonstrated that Chiba's modified k-ratio method is superior to Bretscher's prompt k-ratio method in terms of reducing the statistical uncertainty in calculating not only β_eff but also its sensitivities and the uncertainty due to nuclear data. From this result and a comparison of uncertainties obtained by the Monte Carlo sensitivity method and the random-sampling method, it is shown that the Monte Carlo sensitivity method using Chiba's modified k-ratio method is the most practical for uncertainty quantification of β_eff. Finally, total β_eff uncertainty due to nuclear data for the VENUS-F critical configuration is determined to be approximately 2.7% with JENDL-4.0u, which is dominated by the delayed neutron yield of ²³⁵U.     

Rosmarinic Acid,as an NHE1 Activator,Decreases Skin Surface pH and Improves the Skin Barrier Function

Stratum corneum (SC) pH regulates skin barrier functions and elevated SC pH is an important factor in various inflammatory skin diseases. Acidic topical formulas have emerged as treatments for impaired skin barriers. Sodium proton exchanger 1 (NHE1) is an important factor in SC acidification. We investigated whether topical applications containing an NHE1 activator could improve skin barrier functions. We screened plant extracts to identify NHE1 activators in vitro and found Melissa officinalis leaf extract. Rosmarinic acid, a component of Melissa officinalis leaf extract, significantly increased NHE1 mRNA expression levels and NHE1 production. Immunofluorescence staining of NHE1 in 3D-cultured skin revealed greater upregulation of NHE1 expression by NHE1 activator cream, compared to vehicle cream. Epidermal lipid analysis revealed that the ceramide level was significantly higher upon application of the NHE1 activator cream on 3D-cultured skin, compared to application of a vehicle cream. In a clinical study of 50–60-year-old adult females (n = 21), application of the NHE1 activator-containing cream significantly improved skin barrier functions by reducing skin surface pH and transepidermal water loss and increasing skin hydration, compared to patients who applied vehicle cream and those receiving no treatment. Thus, creams containing NHE1 activators, such as rosmarinic acid, could help maintain or recover skin barrier functions.     

The Association of Cholesterol Uptake and Synthesis with Histology and Genotype in Cortisol-Producing Adenoma (CPA)

Cortisol-producing adenoma (CPA) is composed of clear and compact cells. Clear cells are lipid abundant, and compact ones lipid poor but associated with higher production of steroid hormones. PRKACA mutation (PRKACA mt) in CPA patients was reported to be associated with more pronounced clinical manifestation of Cushing’s syndrome. In this study, we examined the association of histological features and genotypes with cholesterol uptake receptors and synthetic enzymes in 40 CPA cases, and with the quantitative results obtained by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis in 33 cases to explore their biological and clinical significance. Both cholesterol uptake receptors and synthetic enzymes were more abundant in compact cells. GC-MS analysis demonstrated that the percentage of compact cells was inversely correlated with the concentrations of cholesterol and cholesterol esters, and positively with the activity of cholesterol biosynthesis from cholesterol esters. In addition, hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), which catalyzes cholesterol biosynthesis from cholesterol esters, tended to be more abundant in compact cells of PRKACA mt CPAs. These results demonstrated that both cholesterol uptake and biosynthesis were more pronounced in compact cells in CPA. In addition, more pronounced HSL expression in compact cells of PRKACA mt CPA could contribute to their more pronounced clinical manifestation.     

Cysteine–Cysteine Motif Chemokine Receptor 5 Expression in Letrozole-Induced Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Mice

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which affects 5–10% of women of reproductive age, is associated with reproductive and metabolic disorders, such as chronic anovulation, infertility, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. However, the mechanism of PCOS is still unknown. Therefore, this study used a letrozole-exposed mouse model in which mice were orally fed letrozole for 20 weeks to investigate the effects of letrozole on the severity of reproductive and metabolic consequences and the expression of cysteine–cysteine motif chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) in letrozole-induced PCOS mice. The letrozole-treated mice showed a disrupted estrous cycle and were arrested in the diestrus phase. Letrozole treatment also increased plasma testosterone levels, decreased estradiol levels, and caused multicystic follicle formation. Furthermore, histological analysis of the perigonadal white adipose tissue (pgWAT) showed no significant difference in the size and number of adipocytes between the letrozole-treated mice and the control group. Further, the letrozole-treated mice demonstrated glucose intolerance and insulin resistance during oral glucose and insulin tolerance testing. Additionally, the expression of CCR5 and cysteine-cysteine motif ligand 5 (CCL5) were significantly higher in the pgWAT of the letrozole-treated mice compared with the control group. CCR5 and CCL5 were also significantly correlated with the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Finally, the mechanisms of insulin resistance in PCOS may be caused by an increase in serine phosphorylation and a decrease in Akt phosphorylation.     

Self-assisted wound healing using piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators

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连接器正积极应对疫后变革新常态

1 哪些应用和技术会成为疫后的新常态? 在新冠肺炎疫情高峰时期,生产和供应链受到严重破坏,工业界必须学会敏捷地做出反应.Molex莫仕已经为此做好了准备,采用两管齐下的方法来保障足够的供应能力.首先,我们充分利用全球网络来更好地了解了如何以及在何处可以提高所有组件的产量.     

A simple approximation to rigid body dynamics for computer animation

Recently, the dynamics of linked articulated rigid bodies has become a valuable tool for making realistic three-dimensional computer animations. An exact treatment of rigid body dynamics, however, is based on rather non-intuitive results from classical mechanics (e.g. the Euler equations for rotating bodies) and it relies heavily on sophisticated numerical schemes to solve (large) sets of coupled non-linear algebraic and differential equations. As a result, articulated rigid bodies are not yet supported by most real-time animation systems. This paper discusses an approach to rigid body dynamics which is based on (both conceptually and algorithmically much simpler) point mechanics; this gives rise to an asymptotically exact numerical scheme (NSI) which is useful in the context of real-time animation, provided that the number of degrees of freedom of the simulated system is not too large. Based on NSI, a second scheme (NS2) is derived which is useful for approximating the motions of linked articulated rigid bodies; NS2 turns out to be sufficiently fast to give at least qualitative results in real-time simulation. In general, the algorithm NS2 is not necessarily (asymptotically) exact, but a quantitative analysis shows that in the absence of reaction forces it conserves angular momentum.     

Structured inspections of code

Cleanroom programming and code inspections independently provide evidence that it is more efficient to postpone the testing of code to a later stage than is usually done. This paper argues that an additional gain in quality and efficiency of development can be obtained by structuring inspections by means of an inspection protocol. The written part of such a protocol is prepared by the programmer before the inspection. It is modelled on Floyd's method for the verification of flowcharts. However, the protocol differs from Floyd's method in being applicable in practice. Structured inspections gain this advantage by not attempting to be a proof; they are no more than an articulation of existing forms of inspection. With the usual method of structured programming it may be difficult to prepare the inspection protol. On the other hand, ‘assertion-driven programming’ (of which an example is included in this paper) not only facilitates protocol preparation, but also the coding itself.