Effects of the Anti-Tumorigenic Agent AT101 on Human Glioblastoma Cells in the Microenvironmental Glioma Stem Cell Niche

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a barely treatable disease due to its profound chemoresistance. A distinct inter- and intratumoral heterogeneity reflected by specialized microenvironmental niches and different tumor cell subpopulations allows GBMs to evade therapy regimens. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop alternative treatment strategies. A promising candidate for the treatment of GBMs is AT101, the R(-) enantiomer of gossypol. The present study evaluates the effects of AT101, alone or in combination with temozolomide (TMZ), in a microenvironmental glioma stem cell niche model of two GBM cell lines (U251MG and U87MG). AT101 was found to induce strong cytotoxic effects on U251MG and U87MG stem-like cells in comparison to the respective native cells. Moreover, a higher sensitivity against treatment with AT101 was observed upon incubation of native cells with a stem-like cell-conditioned medium. This higher sensitivity was reflected by a specific inhibitory influence on the p-p42/44 signaling pathway. Further, the expression of CXCR7 and the interleukin-6 receptor was significantly regulated upon these stimulatory conditions. Since tumor stem-like cells are known to mediate the development of tumor recurrences and were observed to strongly respond to the AT101 treatment, this might represent a promising approach to prevent the development of GBM recurrences.     

高岭土性质对催化裂化催化剂性能的影响

采用X射线荧光分析仪、X射线衍射仪、N2物理吸附仪、场发射扫描电子显微镜等仪器表征了苏州、广西和美国佐治亚州3个产地的高岭土，并以此3种高岭土为原料制备了模型催化裂化（FCC）催化剂，在ACE评价装置上对比了模型催化剂的反应性能。结果表明:苏州及广西高岭土主要组分为高岭石，佐治亚高岭土主要组分为地开石及珍珠陶土；苏州高岭土呈片状，还含有少量棒状颗粒；广西高岭土呈多层片状，晶粒粒径较大；佐治亚高岭土呈薄片状，晶粒粒径较小；3种高岭土制备的模型催化剂反应活性、Na2O及RE2O3质量分数相近；广西高岭土制备的模型催化剂具有最大的孔体积和磨损指数，但比表面积最小，具有较强的重油转化能力，其目标产物（液化气+汽油）和副产物（干气+焦炭）收率都高于苏州、佐治亚高岭土制备的催化剂的。     

Effect of spheroidized microstructure on the impact toughness and electrochemical performance of a high-carbon steel

The influence of cementite spheroidization on the impact toughness and electrochemical properties of a high-carbon steel has been thoroughly investigated in this study. Heavy warm rolling, followed by 2 h of annealing, has resulted in near-complete spheroidization, leading to a microstructure consisting of nano-cementite globules dispersed in the ultrafine-grained ferritic matrix. The Charpy impact test exhibited superior impact toughness with increased spheroidization. It is validated by the presence of abundant dimples in the fractographs of spheroidized specimens, in contrast to the as-received one that experienced a brittle failure due to its lamellar pearlitic structure. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) carried out in a 3.5% NaCl solution revealed that the corrosion resistance of the alloy gets improved with the increase in the degree of spheroidization. This is attributed to the lower susceptibility of the spheroidized specimen to microgalvanic corrosion owing to the minimum area of contact between nano-spheroidized cementite and ferrite, as elucidated with the help of EIS results aided by equivalent electrical circuit model.     

Fire safe,sustainable loose furnishing

The aim of this exploratory study has been to investigate the fire properties and environmental aspects of different upholstery material combinations, mainly for domestic applications. An analysis of the sustainability and circularity of selected textiles, along with lifecycle assessment, is used to qualitatively evaluate materials from an environmental perspective. The cone calorimeter was the primary tool used to screen 20 different material combinations from a fire performance perspective. It was found that textile covers of conventional fibres such as wool, cotton and polyester, can be improved by blending them with fire resistant speciality fibres. A new three‐dimensional web structure has been examined as an alternative padding material, showing preliminary promising fire properties with regard to ignition time, heat release rates and smoke production.     

Characterizations of friction welding joint interface for AISI 316

Because of heat amount is different from peripheral to central of friction welding interface, which is leaded to vary the characterizations along that interface. Current study, respectively, focused on the effect of different friction pressure on micro-structural and mechanical properties of that friction welding joint interface. Presently, these friction pressures are 110, 130, 150 and 170 MPa while kept all other conditions constant. The effects of different friction pressure on welding interface characterization were investigated by EDX, SEM, tensile, compression, impact and hardness tests. The tensile tests carried out on the standardized test piece with diameter 6 mm and 8 mm, thus, compression tests were extracted from the positions of 0°, 45° 90° with test specimen of 4 mm diameter and 6.5 mm length at weld center. Whereas, the impact test pieces were picked up in two positions, the first one is symmetrical, which it obtained to the respect of the rotation axis and the interface, on the other hand, the second one is non-symmetrical with the axis of rotation and symmetrical to the interface, for making the notch head coincide with the center of the welded joint, The obtained results showed that with reducing of friction pressure will present lack of bonding increasing from peripheral toward the welding center, which will responsible on reducing of the mechanical properties such as tensile, compression and impact strength.     

飞机撞击下高温气冷堆乏燃料厂房损伤研究

本文针对典型高温气冷堆乏燃料厂房在双发商用飞机撞击载荷下的响应及结构完整性开展研究，并探讨结构特性对撞击损伤的影响。对乏燃料厂房及飞机分别建立有限元模型，通过弹体-目标相互作用分析模拟了飞机撞击过程，综合IAEA与NRC的评价准则对乏燃料厂房在飞机撞击下的损伤程度进行评估。数值结果表明：厂房上对应于机身及发动机的撞击位置发生可接受的局部损伤；乏燃料贮存井墙体对于提高构筑物抗飞机撞击能力有重要作用。此外，构筑物外形对损伤有很大影响，圆柱形壳体的抗飞机撞击能力显著强于方形厂房，是核电厂厂房设计的优化方向之一。     

水泥窑余热发电系统用耐磨材料的研制与应用

本研究针对水泥窑余热发电系统的工作条件,根据耐磨材料的损毁机理,采用高铝矾土、煅烧氧化铝粉、黏土、硅微粉等为原料,以磷酸二氢铝为结合剂,以铝酸钙水泥为促硬剂,通过添加掩蔽剂和优化配料工艺,制备了水泥窑余热发电系统用耐磨材料,并对不同处理温度对耐磨材料的性能影响进行了分析。结果表明增强骨料与基质的结合能力有利于耐磨性的提高,磷酸及磷酸盐与氧化铝之间会随着温度的升高生成不同的磷酸铝相,都能够起到结合作用,比采用水泥结合更有利于提高材料在不同温度下的强度和耐磨性。使用结果表明,制备的耐磨材料施工性能优良,凝结硬化时间适当,强度高,抗冲刷性能好,在水泥窑余热发电系统中取得了良好的使用效果。     

Direct Injection of CRISPR/Cas9-Related mRNA into Cytoplasm of Parthenogenetically Activated Porcine Oocytes Causes Frequent Mosaicism for Indel Mutations

Some reports demonstrated successful genome editing in pigs by one-step zygote microinjection of mRNA of CRISPR/Cas9-related components. Given the relatively long gestation periods and the high cost of housing, the establishment of a single blastocyst-based assay for rapid optimization of the above system is required. As a proof-of-concept, we attempted to disrupt a gene (GGTA1) encoding the α-1,3-galactosyltransferase that synthesizes the α-Gal epitope using parthenogenetically activated porcine oocytes. The lack of α-Gal epitope expression can be monitored by staining with fluorescently labeled isolectin BS-I-B₄ (IB4), which binds specifically to the α-Gal epitope. When oocytes were injected with guide RNA specific to GGTA1 together with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and human Cas9 mRNAs, 65% (24/37) of the developing blastocysts exhibited green fluorescence, although almost all (96%, 23/24) showed a mosaic fluorescent pattern. Staining with IB4 revealed that the green fluorescent area often had a reduced binding activity to IB4. Of the 16 samples tested, six (five fluorescent and one non-fluorescent blastocysts) had indel mutations, suggesting a correlation between EGFP expression and mutation induction. Furthermore, it is suggested that zygote microinjection of mRNAs might lead to the production of piglets with cells harboring various mutation types.