Induction of Oxidative Stress and Antioxidative Mechanisms in Arabidopsis thaliana after Uranium Exposure at pH 7.5

To evaluate the environmental impact of uranium (U) contamination, it is important to investigate the effects of U at ecologically relevant conditions. Since U speciation, and hence its toxicity, strongly depends on environmental pH, the present study aimed to investigate dose-dependent effects of U at pH 7.5. Arabidopsis thaliana plants (Mouse-ear Cress) were exposed for three days to different U concentrations at pH 7.5. In the roots, the increased capacities of ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase indicate an important role for the ascorbate-glutathione cycle during U-induced stress. However, a significant decrease in the ascorbate redox state was observed after exposure to 75 and 100 µM U, indicating that those roots are severely stressed. In accordance with the roots, the ascorbate-glutathione cycle plays an important role in the antioxidative defence systems in A. thaliana leaves exposed to U at pH 7.5 as the ascorbate and glutathione biosynthesis were upregulated. In addition, small inductions of enzymes of the antioxidative defence system were observed at lower U concentrations to counteract the U-induced stress. However, at higher U concentrations it seems that the antioxidative defence system of the leaves collapses as reductions in enzyme activities and gene expression levels were observed.     

Peeking at the ERP Decline stage: Japanese empirical evidence

This research located and analyzed forty case studies in Japan related to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) switching, and specifically discussed the Decline stage of the ERP Life Cycle which has not been concerned enough in the academia. Qualitative data was mainly collected to answer the research questions fully. The results indicate the Decline stage does exist empirically. The prior studies explore the ERP failure cases which usually happen soon after the kickoff. This research finds empirical evident that both Large Enterprises (LEs) and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have experienced some kinds of declining in system performance and business performance, and had the urges and needs to retire or upgrade the current ERP system. Based on the findings, the causes of ERP termination, the two strategies which organizations adopted to deal with the current ERP systems, and the five events after the decision-making point were summarized and discussed. The findings also revealed three ambiguous issues that need more efforts. The results of this research fill up the blank in the ERP life cycle theory for more than one decade. The findings from a relatively large sample can also help practitioners and researchers to explore the shifting period more thoroughly and to build tools to solve current and potential problems in order to prepare and assist organizations.     

Computational micromechanics of fatigue of microstructures in the HCF–VHCF regimes

Advances in higher resolution experimental techniques have shown that metallic materials can develop fatigue cracks under cyclic loading levels significantly below the yield stress. Indeed, the traditional notion of a fatigue limit can be recast in terms of limits associated with nucleation and arrest of fatigue cracks at the microstructural scale. Although fatigue damage characteristically emerges from irreversible dislocation processes at sub-grain scales, the specific microstructure attributes, environment, and loading conditions can strongly affect the apparent failure mode and surface to subsurface transitions. In this paper we discuss multiple mechanisms that occur during fatigue loading in the high cycle fatigue (HCF) to very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) regimes. We compare these regimes, focusing on strategies to bridge experimental and modeling approaches exercised at multiple length scales and discussing particular challenges to modeling and simulation regarding microstructure-sensitive fatigue driving forces and thresholds. We conclude by discussing some of the challenges in predicting the transition of failure mechanisms at different stress and strain amplitudes.     

A Phenylacetamide Resveratrol Derivative Exerts Inhibitory Effects on Breast Cancer Cell Growth

Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural compound that displays several pharmacological properties, including anti-cancer actions. However, its clinical application is limited because of its low solubility and bioavailability. Here, the antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory activity of a series of phenylacetamide RSV derivatives has been evaluated in several cancer cell lines. These derivatives contain a monosubstituted aromatic ring that could mimic the RSV phenolic nucleus and a longer flexible chain that could confer a better stability and bioavailability than RSV. Using MTT assay, we demonstrated that most derivatives exerted antiproliferative effects in almost all of the cancer cell lines tested. Among them, derivative 2, that showed greater bioavailability than RSV, was the most active, particularly against estrogen receptor positive (ER+) MCF7 and estrogen receptor negative (ER-) MDA-MB231 breast cancer cell lines. Moreover, we demonstrated that these derivatives, particularly derivative 2, were able to inhibit NO and ROS synthesis and PGE2 secretion in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated U937 human monocytic cells (derived from a histiocytoma). In order to define the molecular mechanisms underlying the antiproliferative effects of derivative 2, we found that it determined cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase, modified the expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins, and ultimately triggered apoptotic cell death in both breast cancer cell lines. Taken together, these results highlight the studied RSV derivatives, particularly derivative 2, as promising tools for the development of new and more bioavailable derivatives useful in the treatment of breast cancer.     

Performance analysis of the ejector-expansion refrigeration cycle using zeotropic mixtures

To evaluate the performance of the ejector-expansion refrigeration cycle (EERC) using zeotropic mixtures, a numerical study is conducted. A constant-pressure two-phase ejector model for zeotropic mixtures is established. The effects of both the fluid composition and the working conditions are investigated. Mixture R134a/R143a is selected as the working and the simulation results reveal that, the cycle COP increases first and then decreases as MF_t (the mass fraction of R134a) increases in the researched condition. The COP gets a maximum value of 4.18 with MF_t of 0.9 and yields a minimum value of 3.66 with MF_t of 0.5. With mixture 0.9/0.1, the COP improvement reaches a maximum value of 10.47%. This improvement rises at high condensing temperature or low evaporating temperature. The exergy analysis shows that the compressor and ejector contribute the most exergy destruction, and the cycle exergy efficiency achieves a maximum value with MF_t of 0.7.     

Catalytic properties of dispersed iron oxides Fe2O3/MO2 (M = Zr,Ce, Ti and Si) for sulfuric acid decomposition reaction: Role of support

Supported iron oxides have been established as an important class of catalyst for high temperature sulfuric acid decomposition. With an objective to elucidate the role of support in modifying the overall catalytic properties of dispersed iron oxide catalysts, a series of supported iron oxide based catalysts, Fe₂O₃ (15 wt%)/MO₂ (M = Zr, Ce, Ti and Si), synthesized by adsorption-equilibrium method, is investigated for sulfuric acid decomposition reaction. The structure of dispersed iron oxide phases largely depended on the nature of the support oxide as revealed by the XRD and Mössbauer studies. α-Fe₂O₃ is found to be present as a major phase on ZrO₂ and CeO₂ support while ε-Fe₂O₃ was the major phase on silica supported iron oxide. On the other hand, presence of mixed oxide Fe₂TiO₅ was revealed over TiO₂ support. Strong dispersed metal oxide-support interactions inhibited the total reduction of the dispersed phase on SiO₂ and TiO₂ as compared to complete reduction of dispersed iron oxide on CeO₂ and ZrO₂ supports during temperature programmed reduction upto 1000 °C. The order of catalytic activity at a temperature of ～750 °C is observed as Fe₂O₃/SiO₂ > Fe₂TiO₅/TiO₂ > Fe₂O₃/ZrO₂ > Fe₂O₃/CeO₂, while at higher temperatures of ～900 °C the SO₂ yield is found to be comparable for all catalysts. A relationship between the rate of sulfate decomposition and catalytic activity is established through detailed TG-DTA investigations of sulfated catalyst and support. Considerable influence of the support oxide on the composition, structure, redox properties, morphology and catalytic activities of the active iron oxide dispersed phase has been observed. Thus, the support oxides operate as a critical component in the complex supported metal oxide catalysts and these findings might influence the design and development of future high temperature sulfuric acid decomposition catalysts.     

基于Workbench的组合式锚钻机关键零部件仿真研究

利用Workbench对液压夹持器进行分析,得到在不同工况下的工作振动频率与其固有频率之间的关系;对顶锚排钻框架进行静力学分析,可知顶锚排钻框架设计满足强度要求且变形较小。研究结果表明,液压夹持器与顶锚排钻框架具有强度高、运行稳定性好等特点,为锚杆支护工程施工装备的研究提供了理论参考。     

Quantitative spectrum occupancy evaluation in China: based on a large scale concurrent spectrum measurement

Due to the usable frequency becomes more and more crowed,dynamic spectrum access (DSA) is a new hope to solve this problem.However,DSA in China requires a quantitative analysis of the current spectrum ...     

岩石冻融循环试验建议性方案探讨

岩石冻融循环试验是低温岩石力学基础性试验,其主要涉及冻融循环温度、冻融时长、循环次数等3个指标。但目前关于指标的选取,国内外的试验规程或相关学者研究成果,均未给出明确参考依据,对岩石冻融循环试验方案的确定造成较大困扰。本研究旨在明确各指标的确定办法,提出建议性岩石冻融循环试验方案。首先,展开国内外冻融循环试验方案的全面综述,指出目前冻融循环试验方案确定时所存在问题,并藉此明确冻融循环试验方案思路;接着,针对以上三大影响指标,通过设计室内岩石冻融循环试验,详细探讨冻融循环温度、冻融时长、循环次数对岩石物理、力学参数的影响,最终根据试验结果,明确出针对不同岩性、孔隙率所对应的建议性试验方案。本研究将为后期冻融循环指标选取及标准化试验方案建立提供技术借鉴。     

Performance Impacts of Web-Enabled Retail Services: An Empirical Study

Prior studies suggest that the growth in online retail is attributed to the effective implementation of media-rich and interactive services and functionalities that help overcome the para-social distance between customers and online retail stores. However, few studies have offered empirical evidence that demonstrates the specific impacts these interactive services and functionalities have on the financial performance of online retailers. Using data on the operations and financial performance of the top 500 online retailers in the U.S., this study investigates the impact that website features and functionalities have on sales performance and other intermediate performance measures. Our findings suggest that website features and functionalities have a significant direct impact on sales as well as an indirect impact through intermediate performance measures. Furthermore, our model identifies the specific performance measures that each website feature targets to improve.