Microstructure,Texture, and Mechanical Properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis> Solution-Treated and Aged Metastable <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis> Titanium Alloy,Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr

The current study describes the aging characteristics and mechanical properties of a metastable β titanium alloy Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr. The aged microstructures consist of fine α-phase precipitates (lath morphology) in equiaxed β grains. The sizes of the α-phase precipitates increase with the increasing aging temperature. The β ST WQ and 823 K (550 °C)-aged material exhibits maximum hardness due to precipitation hardening. The low- and high-temperature aging conditions result in strong c-type basal and prismatic textures in the α-phase, respectively. The β-phase of the alloy aged at low temperature reveals the presence of texture with moderate intensity. In contrast, high-temperature-aged material exhibits very strong β-phase texture. The strengths of the alloy under β ST WQ- and 923 K (650 °C)-aged conditions are the maximum and minimum along TD and RD, while the ductility values are the maximum and minimum along the RD and TD direction samples, respectively. The flow curves follow typical Holloman equation along three sample directions, and the work hardening rate curves display two distinctive regimes, namely, stage I and stage II. The yield locus plots of the β ST WQ and aged materials exhibit the presence of anisotropy.     

Biologically important thiols in aqueous extracts of spices and evaluation of their in vitro antioxidant properties

The levels of the biologically important thiols in aqueous extracts of different spices were determined using a sensitive high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique. The spices analysed: turmeric, ginger, cardamom, mustard, fenugreek, and coriander showed different levels of thiols. Biologically important thiols or biothiols measured in these spices included glutathione (GSH), cysteine (CYS), N-acetylcysteine (NAC), homocysteine (HCYS), and γ-glutamyl cysteine (GGC). Our results showed that thiol levels varied from 4 to 1089 nM/g weight (dry or wet). Furthermore, none of the biothiols analysed were found in cumin, nutmeg, clove or star anise. We also studied the antioxidant abilities of these aqueous extracts using various in vitro antioxidant methods to correlate between the levels of these thiols and their antioxidant effects. Our results suggested that antioxidant activities may be independent of thiol content and may be, in part the combination of all the phytochemicals present. These results may be useful in explaining the effect of spices on thiol levels in in vitro and in vivo studies.     

Design of novel compact eight-element lotus shaped UWB-MIMO antenna with triple-notch characteristics on hollow substrate

The design of novel compact two-element and eight-element lotus shaped multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna system employing pattern diversity with enhanced isolation characteristics is presented. The proposed two-element antenna system is arranged rotationally on a square-hollow substrate resulting in an eight-element MIMO antenna system employing pattern diversity. The developed eight-element MIMO antenna system resonates in the frequency range 3.1 to 14.6 GHz housing the complete UWB band with triple band-notch characteristics at 3.7–4.5 GHz (C-band satellite down link [3.7–4.2 GHz]), 5.1–5.9 GHz (WLAN) and 6.8–8.25 GHz (X-band satellite down link (7.25–7.75 GHz) and up link (7.9–8.4 GHz)) bands. The antenna system gives element-to-element isolation of more than 25 dB in the majority of the operating band with a peak gain of 6.8 dBi and a maximum 90% efficiency. The important MIMO metrics like ECC (envelope correlation coefficient), DG (diversity gain), total active reflection coefficient (TARC), channel capacity losses (CCL) and MEG (mean effective gain) are presented for both two-element and eight-element to estimate the performance the proposed antennas in multi-antenna environments. The both two- and eight-element designs are fabricated and the measured results of those are well agreed with simulation results.     

脑灌注显像剂^99mTc—MRP20的放化研究及初步药理实验

报道了＾９９ｍＴｃ－ＭＲＰ２０的最佳标记条件、小鼠脏器分布、兔血药清除动力学、血浆蛋白结合率、不同ｐＨ值时的分配系数、猴显像等结果。     

Pepper Alkaloid Piperine Increases Radiation Sensitivity of Cancer Cells from Glioblastoma and Hypopharynx In Vitro

In our study, our aim was to examine the cytotoxic and radio-sensitizing effect of the alkaloid piperine, a major pungent of black pepper, on two different human epithelial tumor cell lines in vitro. The growth of the human cell lines T98G (glioblastoma) and FaDu (hypopharyngeal carcinoma) was examined under the influence of piperine in different concentrations. In addition, after combined treatment with ionizing radiation, long-term survival was investigated with a colony formation assay. The proliferation was analyzed using the BrdU-assay, while the DNA repair capacity was examined via the γH2AX assay. Piperine reduced the growth of both cell lines in a concentration-dependent manner as well as a time-dependent one. After combined treatment with piperine and ionizing radiation, an inhibition of clonogenic survival could be proven. A reduced proliferation capacity and an additive effect on DNA damage 24 h after irradiation are possible causal mechanisms, which were also demonstrated for both cell lines. Based on the results presented in this study, piperine was shown to have cytotoxic antitumor activity and a radio-sensitizing effect in micromolar concentrations in the human tumor cells that were tested. Based on these results piperine represents a potential therapeutic option in radio-oncological treatment.