Crosslinking structures and dyeing kinetics of cotton cellulose treated with a steeped process

A steeped procedure was introduced to the durable press finishing process in this study to study some physical properties, the crosslinking structure, and the pore structure. The results showed that the values of the dry and wet crease recovery angles of fabrics treated with the steep–pad–dry–cure process were higher than those of fabrics treated with the pad–dry–cure process, and those phenomena increased with higher steeped temperatures and longer times. The lengths of the crosslinks for the steep–pad–dry–cure process were higher than those for the pad–dry–cure process at a given number of crosslinks per anhydroglucose unit. The fabrics treated with the steep–pad–dry–cure process had higher values of the dye absorption, rate constant, and structural diffusion resistance constant than those treated with the pad–dry–cure process at the same dyeing temperature; however, they had lower values of the equilibrium absorption and activation energy than those treated with the pad–dry–cure process. The results of thin‐layer chromatography, H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, and IR analyses suggested that self‐condensation between the crosslinking agents occurred during the steeped procedure. Additionally, the steep–pad–dry–cure‐treated fabric had more inner agent distribution than the pad–dry–cure‐treated fabric. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 2555–2562, 2005     

Preparation and characterization of biodegradable polyurethanes composites filled with silver nanoparticles-decorated graphene

In this study, polyurethane (PU) was synthesized using 4,4,-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) as a hard segment, polycaprolactone diol (PCL) as the soft segments and 1,4-butandiol (1,4-BD) as a chain extender. Nanosilver/graphene (Ag/G) was added to the PU matrix to prepare Ag/G/PU nanocomposites. EDS, SEM and XRD are used for assaying the silver content and characterization of Ag/G. TEM, FT-IR, XRD and EDS were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the Ag/G/PUs nanocomposites. The TEM results show that Ag/G belongs to sheet structures and is dispersed in a PU matrix. The SEM showed that the strong interfacial adhesion between the Ag/G and PU is indicated. FT-IR spectra analysis shows that the functional group of PU is free of obvious changes by adding a small amount of Ag/G in the PU matrix. XRD results showed that the main crystalline peak (26°) of Ag/G became more apparent with increasing content of Ag/G, and EDS showed that the content of Ag increased with increasing content of Ag/G in the Ag/G/PUs nanocomposites. The thermal stability and mechanical properties of Ag/G/PUs nanocomposites are improved with increasing content of Ag/G. Contact angle and AFM results showed that the hydrophobicity and surface roughness increased with increasing content of Ag/G. Moreover, the Ag/G/PUs nanocomposites exhibit antibacterial activities toward Staphylococcus aureus as well as Escherichia coli and their antibacterial rates increase with increasing Ag/G. In addition, the electrical conductivity measurements showed that both surface and volume resistance of the Ag/G/PUs nanocomposites decreased as the amount of Ag/G increased.     

Arecoline inhibits the 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-induced cytochrome P450 1A1 activation in human hepatoma cells

In the present study, we investigated the effect of arecoline, a major areca nut alkaloid, on the 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)-induced activation of cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) in a human hepatoma cell line Huh-7. We treated Huh-7 cells with 10nM TCDD in the presence of different concentrations of arecoline (50-300 microM). Our results indicated that arecoline attenuated the TCDD-induced CYP1A1 enzyme activation with an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation. By using real-time RT-PCR, we demonstrated that arecoline inhibited the TCDD-induced activations of CYP1A1 and AhR repressor (AhRR) mRNA expression in a similar pattern. Our results revealed that arecoline inhibited AhR mRNA expression with no direct effect on CYP1A1 enzyme activity. Therefore, in our present study, the observed inhibitory effect of arecoline on CYP1A1 activation was not due to the up-regulation of AhRR or direct inhibitory effect on CYP1A1. Taken together, here we have demonstrated that arecoline attenuates the TCDD-induced CYP1A1 activation mainly via down-regulation of AhR expression in human hepatoma cells, suggesting the possible involvement of arecoline in the AhR-mediated metabolism of environmental toxicants in liver.     

Effects of pH value and temperature of solution on the removal efficiency of support material

Removing support material from rapid prototyping part fabricated by fused deposition modeling is required when the object is completed. Removing support material from rapid prototyping part system rapidly and efficiently is an important concern because the product life cycle is shorter than before. Effects of pH value and temperature of solution on the removal efficiency of support material were investigated in this study. Both pH value and temperature of the solution contribute to the removal efficiency of support material. The saving in the removing time of up to 83.4% is achieved by integrating two effects. The trend equation of y = 293.42x + 544.72 is capable of predicting the removing time. Removing time (y) can be predicted directly from the volume of support material (x). The error rate can be controlled within 5.11%. Surface roughness improvement rate of up to 46.3% is achieved using the solution with a pH value of 13 and a temperature of 95°C.     

Woven fabric-elastomer laminate. I. Thermal analysis of cure characterization of fluorocarbon elastomer coatings

Cure characterization of fluorocarbon elastomer coatings has been analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry. The composition of these coatings include Viton GF, peroxide, triallylisocyanurate, sublimed litharge (PbO), carbon black, and solvent. Five different formulations of these compounds have been reported and explored. Kinetic studies indicate that the cure was completed in 3 min at an isothermal curing temperature of 180°C. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 551–554, 1997     

Approach for energy saving and pollution reducing by fueling diesel engines with emulsified biosolution/ biodiesel/diesel blends

The developments of both biodiesel and emulsified diesel are being driven by the need for reducing emissions from diesel engines and saving energy. Artificial chemical additives are also being used in diesel engines for increasing their combustion efficiencies. But the effects associated with the use of emulsified additive/biodiesel/diesel blends in diesel engines have never been assessed. In this research, the premium diesel fuel (PDF) was used as the reference fuel. A soy-biodiesel was selected as the test biodiesel. A biosolution made of 96.5 wt % natural organic enzyme-7F (NOE-7F) and 3.5 wt % water (NOE-7F water) was used as the fuel additive. By adding additional 1 vol % of surfactant into the fuel blend, a nanotechnology was used to form emulsified biosolution/soy-biodiesel/PDF blends for fueling the diesel engine. We found that the emulsified biosolution/soy-biodiesel/PDF blends did not separate after being kept motionless for 30 days. The above stability suggests that the above combinations are suitable for diesel engines as alternative fuels. Particularly, we found that the emulsified biosolution/soy-biodiesel/PDF blends did have the advantage in saving energy and reducing the emissions of both particulate matters (PM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from diesel engines as compared with PDF, soy-biodiesel/PDF blends, and emulsified soy-biodiesel/ PDF blends. The results obtained from this study will provide useful approaches for reducing the petroleum reliance, pollution, and global warming. However, it should be noted that NO(x) emissions were not measured in the present study which warrants the need for future investigation.     

基于数据流传播路径学习的智能合约时间戳漏洞检测

智能合约是一种被大量部署在区块链上的去中心化的应用. 由于其具有经济属性, 智能合约漏洞会造成潜在的巨大经济和财产损失, 并破坏以太坊的稳定生态. 因此, 智能合约的漏洞检测具有十分重要的意义. 当前主流的智能合约漏洞检测方法(诸如Oyente和Securify)采用基于人工设计的启发式算法, 在不同应用场景下的复用性较弱且耗时高, 准确率也不高. 为了提升漏洞检测效果, 针对智能合约的时间戳漏洞, 提出基于数据流传播路径学习的智能合约漏洞检测方法Scruple. 所提方法首先获取时间戳漏洞的潜在的数据传播路径, 然后对其进行裁剪并利用融入图结构的预训练模型对传播路径进行学习, 最后对智能合约是否具有时间戳漏洞进行检测. 相比而言, Scruple具有更强的漏洞捕捉能力和泛化能力, 传播路径学习的针对性强, 避免了对程序整体依赖图学习时造成的层次太深而无法聚焦漏洞的问题. 为了验证Scruple的有效性, 在真实智能合约的数据集上, 开展Scruple方法与13种主流智能合约漏洞检测方法的对比实验. 实验结果表明, Scruple在检测时间戳漏洞上的准确率, 召回率和F1值分别可以达到0.96, 0.90和0.93, 与13种当前主流方法相比, 平均相对提升59%, 46%和57%, 从而大幅提升时间戳漏洞的检测能力.     

Protective Effect of Quercetin on Sodium Iodate-Induced Retinal Apoptosis through the Reactive Oxygen Species-Mediated Mitochondrion-Dependent Pathway

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) leads to gradual central vision loss and is the third leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. The underlying mechanisms for this progressive neurodegenerative disease remain unclear and there is currently no preventive treatment for dry AMD. Sodium iodate (NaIO₃) has been reported to induce AMD-like retinal pathology in mice. We established a mouse model for AMD to evaluate the effects of quercetin on NaIO₃-induced retinal apoptosis, and to investigate the pertinent underlying mechanisms. Our in vitro results indicated that quercetin protected human retinal pigment epithelium (ARPE-19) cells from NaIO₃-induced apoptosis by inhibiting reactive oxygen species production and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential as detected by Annexin V-FITC/PI flow cytometry. We also evaluated the relative expression of proteins in the apoptosis pathway. Quercetin downregulated the protein expressions of Bax, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved PARP and upregulated the expression of Bcl-2 through reduced PI3K and pAKT expressions. Furthermore, our in vivo results indicated that quercetin improved retinal deformation and increased the thickness of both the outer nuclear layer and inner nuclear layer, whereas the expression of caspase-3 was inhibited. Taken together, these results demonstrate that quercetin could protect retinal pigment epithelium and the retina from NaIO₃-induced cell apoptosis via reactive oxygen species-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction, involving the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. This suggests that quercetin has the potential to prevent and delay AMD and other retinal diseases involving NaIO₃-mediated apoptosis.     

Estimate of sludge floc permeability

This paper provides an estimate of the waste-activated sludge floc interior permeability on the basis of observing the motion of individual floc moving vertically towards an impermeable flat plate. The fluid flow fields surrounding and inside the floc were modeled numerically, from which the hydrodynamic drag force was calculated. The experimental data correlate with the numerical solutions regardless of the floc Reynolds number. Over the floc size range investigated in this paper, the permeability is noted to be approximately proportional to the square of floc size, ranging from 2.5×10⁻⁹ to 9×10⁻⁶ m² for floc size ranging from 150 to 10 000 μm. The structure of waste-activated sludge floc is proposed as a multi-fractal. Permeability measured in this work is thereby mainly attributed to the global structure level of the flocs.