Triphenylphosphonium (TPP)-Based Antioxidants: A New Perspective on Antioxidant Design

Mitochondrial oxidative damage and dysfunction contribute to a wide range of human diseases. Considering the limitation of conventional antioxidants and that mitochondria are the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which induce oxidative damage, mitochondria-targeted antioxidants which can selectively block mitochondrial oxidative damage and prevent various types of cell death have been widely developed. As a lipophilic cation, triphenylphosphonium (TPP) has been commonly used in designing mitochondria-targeted antioxidants. Conjugated with the TPP moiety, antioxidants can achieve more than 1000-fold higher mitochondrial concentration depending on cell membrane potentials and mitochondrial membrane potentials. Herein we discuss the deficiencies of conventional antioxidants and the advantages of mitochondrial targeting, and review various types of TPP-based mitochondria-targeted antioxidants. These provide theoretical and background support for the design of new anti-oxidant.     

Effect of hyperbranched poly(citric polyethylene glycol) with various polyethylene glycol chain lengths on starch plasticization and retrogradation

A series of hyperbranched poly(citric polyethylene glycol) (PCPEG) materials with varied polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain lengths as plasticizers were mixed with maize starch (MS) via cooking and film‐forming. The structure, pasting property, plasticization, aging property, moisture absorption and compatibility of plasticized starches were studied by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, rapid viscosity analysis, tension testing, moisture absorption measurements and scanning electron microscopy. Compared with PEG and citric acid, PCPEG was more effective in promoting starch chain movement and inhibiting the retrogradation of starch film. Also, PCPEG/MS had smaller moisture content. The longer the plasticizer chain, the better were the aging resistance and moisture resistance of starch. But with an increase of PEG chain length, mechanical properties of PCPEG/MS deteriorated and the compatibility between PCPEG and MS decreased. The hyperbranched derivative of PEG with longer chain exhibited improved plasticization and compatibility with starch. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

A unified critical state model for geomaterials with an application to tunnelling

This paper is prepared in honour of Professor E.T. Brown for his outstanding contributions to rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering and also for his personal influence on the first author's research career in geomechanics and geotechnical engineering. As a result, we have picked a topic that reflects two key research areas in which Professor E.T. Brown has made seminal contributions over a long and distinguished career. These two areas are concerned with the application of the critical state concept to modelling geomaterials and the analysis of underground excavation or tunnelling in geomaterials.Partially due to Professor Brown's influence, the first author has also been conducting research in these two areas over many years. In particular, this paper aims to describe briefly the development of a unified critical state model for geomaterials together with an application to cavity contraction problems and tunnelling in soils.     

Irreversible deformation and the superplasticity of a TN-1 alloy during thermal cycling through the martensitic transformations ranges under loading

The influence of the thermal cycling conditions on the thermal-cycling creep of a TN-1 alloy and the related irreversible deformations is studied. The conditions under which an anomalous increase in the irreversible deformations begins are determined. The structural mechanism of the irreversible deformations of an equiatomic alloy is shown to be analogous to the structural mechanism of metal creep at high temperatures: it predominantly has a dislocation character. It is proposed to use the effect of anomalous increase in the deformation of materials with reversible martensitic transformations for forming parts made of these materials at low temperatures.     

Spreading and Curing Behaviors of a Thermosetting Droplet-Silicone on a Heated Surface

Thermosetting materials are widely used as encapsulation in the electrical packaging to protect the core electronic components from external force, moisture, dust, and other factors. However, the spreading and curing behaviors of such kind of fluid on a heated surface have been rarely explored. In this study, we experimentally and numerically investigated the spreading and curing behaviors of the silicone(OE6550 A/B, which is widely used in the light-emitting diode packaging) droplet with diameter of ～2.2 mm on a heated surface with temperature ranging from 25 ℃ to 250 ℃. For the experiments, we established a setup with high-speed camera and heating unit to capture the fast spreading process of the silicone droplet on the heated surface. For the numerical simulation, we built a viscosity model of the silicone by using the Kiuna's model and combined the viscosity model with the Volume of Fluid(VOF) model by the User Defined Function(UDF) method. The results show that the surface temperature significantly affected the spreading behaviors of the silicone droplet since it determines the temperature and viscosity distribution inside the droplet. For surface temperature varied from 25 ℃ to 250 ℃, the final contact radius changed from ～2.95 mm to ～1.78 mm and the total spreading time changed from ～511 s to ～0.15 s. By further analyzing the viscosity evolution of the droplet, we found that the decreasing of the total spreading time was caused by the decrease of the viscosity under high surface temperature at initial spreading stage, while the reduction of the final contact radius was caused by the curing of the precursor film. This study supplies a strategy to tuning the spreading and curing behavior of silicone by imposing high surface temperature, which is of great importance to the electronic packaging.     

Tuning the Operating Band of an Artificial Magnetic Conductor

Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics - Approximate formulas for calculating the coefficient of reflection from an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) based on a capacitive lattice...