Insoluble Vascular Amyloid Deposits Trigger Disruption of the Neurovascular Unit in Alzheimer’s Disease Brains

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease, characterized histopathologically by intra-neuronal tau-related lesions and by the accumulation of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) in the brain parenchyma and around cerebral blood vessels. According to the vascular hypothesis of AD, an alteration in the neurovascular unit (NVU) could lead to Aβ vascular accumulation and promote neuronal dysfunction, accelerating neurodegeneration and dementia. To date, the effects of insoluble vascular Aβ deposits on the NVU and the blood–brain barrier (BBB) are unknown. In this study, we analyze different Aβ species and their association with the cells that make up the NVU. We evaluated post-mortem AD brain tissue. Multiple immunofluorescence assays were performed against different species of Aβ and the main elements that constitute the NVU. Our results showed that there are insoluble vascular deposits of both full-length and truncated Aβ species. Besides, insoluble aggregates are associated with a decrease in the phenotype of the cellular components that constitute the NVU and with BBB disruption. This approach could help identify new therapeutic targets against key molecules and receptors in the NVU that can prevent the accumulation of vascular fibrillar Aβ in AD.     

LaMgAl11O19-La2Ce2O7 复合陶瓷的高温相稳定性

La2Ce2O7(LC) 和 LaMgAl11O19(LMA) 是两种新型热障涂层材料。 LC 具有优良的热物理及抗腐蚀性能, 但 其断裂韧性差。 LMA 具有良好的综合性能, 特别是力学性能优良。 基于复合材料设计理念, 为充分利用 LC 和 LMA 的优势, 本文探究了制备 LMA-LC 双相复合陶瓷的可行性。 采用高温固相法合成了 LMA 和 LC 粉末, 重 点研究了 LMA 和 LC 的高温稳定性, 初步研究了 LMA-LC 复合陶瓷块材的力学性能。 结果表明： LMA 和 LC 在 高温下发生了化学反应, 反应程度随温度升高而加剧, 主要反应产物为 LaAlO3, 其在低温下的铁弹性可能是复 合陶瓷在室温下具有良好力学性能的原因。     

Electronic Theory of Thermodynamic Adhesion inMetal/Ceramic Systems

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弥散Gd_2O_3质点改性的新型复合铝化物涂层的氧化行为SCIEI

研究了Gd_2O_3质点及其添加量对涂层在空气中1100℃氧化行为的影响及作用机制。结果表明,NiAl涂层中加入Gd_2O_3质点后,极大地降低了涂层的氧化速率,显著提高了氧化膜的粘附性,比简单NiAl涂层具有更好的抗高温氧化性能。复合镀层经渗Al后,一部分Gd_2O_3质点仍弥散分布于涂层中,另一部分细小的亚微观质点在涂层/基体界面处富集,形成氧化物聚集带,聚集带具有扩散障作用。连续的聚集带更有效地抑制退化,提高涂层使用寿命。     

熔融织构YBCO块样品的磁特性研究

对MTG区熔生长法,慢冷法,粉末熔融生长法这3种方法制备的熔融织构YBCO块样品进行了交流磁化率和磁阻的测量。根据实验结果计算了样品的钉扎势,并且发现3种方法制备的样品在150 mT外磁场下均显示出基本消除弱连接的特性;粉末融熔生长法所制样品中有较纯净123相和较好织构,质量最好。     

用WKB方法讨论透射系数和反射系数

本文用WKB近似方法讨论了势垒贯穿问题系数T和其透射反射系数R之和恒等为1,即满足恒等式T R=1,并进一步得出这一结论不仅适用于一般势垒贯穿而且在方势垒贯穿中也成立,最后讨论了势垒贯穿的几种极限情况,例如,h→0(即经典情况),势垒高度v→∞、v→0,势垒宽度a→∞、a→0,等几种特殊情况下的T及R的取值问题。     

Local‐scale Benefits of River Connectivity Restoration Planning Beyond Jurisdictional Boundaries

Conservation planning aims to optimize outcomes for select species or ecosystems by directing resources toward high‐return sites. The possibility that local benefits might be increased by directing resources beyond the focal area is rarely considered. We present a case study of restoring river connectivity for migratory fish of the Great Lakes Basin by removing dams and road crossings within municipal jurisdictions versus their broader watersheds. We found that greater river connectivity could often be achieved by considering both intra‐jurisdictional and extra‐jurisdictional barriers. Focusing on jurisdictional barriers alone generally forfeited <20% (median = 0%) of habitat gains for those who value solely habitat gains within the jurisdiction, but >75% (median = 100%) for planners who value larger‐scale habitat gains. Similarly, cost savings tended to be between ?50% and +50%, but in some cases were very negative. Our study underscores the local‐scale benefits of broadening restoration investments, especially for decision makers of the Great Lakes Basin and contributes to a discussion of appropriate and efficient scales of conservation planning. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Free energy barrier for compact chains escaping from a small sphere

In this paper, the process of compact polymer chains escaping from a small sphere to a large one in the view of thermodynamics is investigated in detail based on the pruned-enriched-Rosenbluth method (PERM), which is quite efficient for the three-dimensional polymers on the simple-cubic lattice. In our simulation, three representative states of a polymer chain during the escaping process are studied, and some statistical properties of the chain size and the chain shape, such as mean-square radius of gyration per bond 〈S²〉/N and the shape factor 〈δ^∗〉 are investigated. Our aim is to illuminate how the size and shape of the compact chains change during the escaping process. The changes of 〈S²〉/N and 〈δ^∗〉 are not monotone and it is due to the fact that the chain should stretch itself in the escaping process. In the meantime, some thermodynamic properties are also calculated here. The hole is designed to be small enough to allow only one monomer at a time and it thus reduces the number of allowed chain conformations and breaks contacts between monomers at the beginning of the process. Additionally, we discuss the free energy barrier per bond H₂ − H₁ = ΔH of a compact chain, and here H₂ is the maximum free energy per bond during the process and H₁ is the minimum one when the compact chain is within the small sphere. Averaging free energy barrier over chain length N is convenient for the comparison with different chain lengths. ΔH as a function of chain length N and radius r₁ of the small sphere is also studied and our result shows that ΔH for longer chains is lower means that it is relatively easier for each bond in longer chains to surmount the free energy barrier to escape. Some discussions about the self-avoiding walk (SAW) and swollen chains are also made for the comparison, and our results also show that the restriction of the small sphere on the SAW and the swollen chains is more effective because of their relatively looser intrinsic structure.     

Polar and Non-Polar Solvent Permeation Resistance of Blow-Molded Bottles of Polyethylene/Blends of Modified Polyamide and Polyamide 6 Clay Nanocomposite

Investigations on white spirit and acetone permeation resistance of modified polyamide and nylon 6 clay (MPANYC) blends and their corresponding polyethylene/MPANYC bottles were reported in this study. The white spirit and acetone permeation resistance of MPANYC sheets improve consistently with increasing NYC contents present in MPANYC resins after blending nylon 6 clay (NYC) in modified polyamide (MPA) resins. However, the order of barrier improvement of the PE/MPANYC and PE/NYC bottle specimens is not corresponding to the order of barrier improvement of the MPANYC and/or NYC barrier resins added in PE. The blow-molded PE/NYC bottle specimen exhibits similarly worse white spirit and acetone solvent permeation resistance as the PE bottle specimen, wherein no clearly formed NYC laminas but only dispersed NYC droplets or agglomerates were found on the fracture surfaces of the PE/NYC bottles. However, after blending optimum compositions of MPANYC in PE, the PE/MPANYC bottles with demarcated MPANYC laminas exhibit significantly better white spirit and acetone permeation resistance than the PE/MPA bottle, wherein the white spirit and acetone permeation rates of the PE/MPA₈NYC₁ bottle are about 1.3 and 1.4 times slower than those of the PE/MPA bottle, respectively. In order to understand these interesting barrier properties of PE/MPANYC and PE/NYC bottles, rheological, thermal, wide angle X-ray diffraction and morphological properties of the base MPANYC and NYC resins and their corresponding morphology present in the blow-molded bottles were investigated.     

Microstructure and thermal cycling behavior of thermal barrier coating on near-α titanium alloy

Two kinds of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), consisting of NiCoCrAlY bond coats (BCs) deposited by electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) and high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying, respectively, and top 8 wt%Y₂O₃–ZrO₂ (8YSZ) ceramic layers deposited by EB-PVD were prepared on near-α titanium alloys. The field emission scanning electronic microscopy and microhardness indentation are used to study the microstructure and microhardness. Different failure features including cracking patterns and the delamination degree of these two TBCs are discussed according to the thermal cycling tests in the atmosphere. It is found that the morphology of the two BCs deposited by different methods (EB-PVD and HVOF) determines the microstructure and microhardness of their corresponding top 8YSZ layers. The BC prepared by EB-PVD is dense and homogeneous, which leads to a dense and hard 8YSZ with clustered slim columnar grains. The BC prepared by HVOF, however, is porous and inhomogeneous in microstructure and, as a result, the top ceramic layer is loose with low microhardness and clustered coarse columnar grains.