Mechanical properties of graphene nanoplatelets reinforced 7075 aluminum alloy composite fabricated by spark plasma sintering

A 0.3wt%graphene nanoplatelets(GNPs)reinforced 7075 aluminum alloy matrix(7075 Al)composite was fabricated by spark plasma sintering and its strength and wear resistance were investigated.The microstructures of the internal structure,the friction surface,and the wear debris were characterized by scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,and Raman spectroscopy.Compared with the original 7075 aluminum alloy,the hardness and elastic modulus of the 7075 Al/GNPs composite were found to have increased by 29%and 36%,respectively.The results of tribological experiments indicated that the composite also exhibited a lower wear rate than the original 7075 aluminum alloy.

Eddy current effects in a high field dipole

Eddy currents produced by a time-varying magnetic field will introduce time delay and thus affect field quality. This effect leads to drifting of the beam position over time, especially for a compact synchrotron.Simulations and measurements of different dipoles have been performed, to investigate the time delay and field quality. The simulations are conducted using OPERA software. The measurements are conducted using a long coil and Hall sensor. All results show that the magnetic field deviation is up to 0.4% for the dipole with stainless steel endplates. The simulations show that the main sources of eddy current are the field saturation effect and the field component Bz, introduced by the bedstead-type coil. Field correction using a power supply is adopted to reduce the deviation to less than 0.02%.

Effects of low molecular heparin combined with ursodeoxycholic acid on liver function, immunologic function and pregnancy outcome in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Objective: To investigate the effects of low molecular heparin (LMWH) combined with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) on liver function, immunologic function and pregnancy outcome in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP). Methods: A total of 110 patients with ICP were randomly divided into the observation group (n=55) and the control group (n=55). Patients in the control group received conventional therapy, while patients in the observation group were treated with LMWH hypodermic injection and UDCA orally on the basis of the treatment plan of the control group. Before and after treatment, the levels of serum total bile acid (TBA), glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (ALT), glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase (AST), total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and immunoglobulin (IgG, IgA, IgM) between the two groups were compared. The changes of T lymphocyte subsets of peripheral blood in the two groups were analyzed, and the pregnancy outcomes of the two groups were observed. Results: After treatment, the serum levels of TBA, ALT, AST, TBIL, DBIL and ALP in the two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment, and the change of each index in the observation group was more obvious than that in the control group. The serum levels of IgG, IgA and IgM in the observation group after treatment were significantly higher than those before treatment and those in the control group after treatment. However, the percentage of CD4+T cells and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ in the observation group after treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment and those in the control group after treatment. Conclusions: LMWH combined with UDCA could effectively reduce serum bile acid level, improve liver function and regulate immune balance in patients with ICP, and improve outcomes of maternal and fetal.

Detection of vitamin D in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus and its effects on insulin resistance, adipokines and TNF-α

Objective:To detect vitamin D levels in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus and the influence and clinical effect of Vitamin D supplement on insulin resistance, fatty factors and TNF-α.Methods:A total of 100 patients with GDM from September 2014 to May 2015 in our hospital were selected as object of observation (GDM Group). 52 cases patients with Vitamin D deficiency were randomly divided into two groups. At the same time, 50 cases of healthy pregnant women were selected as normal group. Biochemical indexes of observation group and normal group were detected. Biosynthetic Human Insulin Injection were given to the patients in the control group. The patients in the observation group were supplemented with vitamin D drops on the basis of the treatment of control group. The level of insulin resistance, adipokines and TNF-α were detected in the 2 groups.Results:FBG, PBG, FINS, TG, Visfatin, TNF-α and HOMA-IR in GDM group were higher compared with that in normal group. 25(OH)D3 and APN in GDM group decreased significantly compared with that in normal group. The comparison of TC, HDL-C and LDL-C in the two groups were not statistically significant. PBG, FINS, HOMA-IR, Visfatin and TNF-α in both groups after treatment significantly decreased compared with that before treatment. PBG, Visfatin and TNF-α in treatment group after treatment decreased more significantly than that in control group. FINS, HOMA-IR in treatment group after treatment increased more significantly than that in control group. The decrease of FBG was not obvious and there was no significant difference between the two groups after treatment. APN and 25(OH)D3 in both groups after treatment significantly increased compared with that before treatment. And they in treatment group after treatment increased more significantly than that in control group. In the correlation analysis, 25(OH) D3in serum was positively correlated to the the level of APN. Also, it was negatively correlated to HOMA-IR, Visfatin and TNF-α.Conclusion:Vitamin D levels in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus decreased more significantly compared with that in healthy pregnant women. And the patients with vitamin D deficiency have higher risk to get GDM. Vitamin D can treat GDM by regulating the degree of insulin resistance and the level of adipokines. And it has clinical value in the treatment of GDM.

The emerging role of exosomes in the development of testicular

The mechanisms of testicular development in mammals are complex.Testis is an organ that produces sperm and secretes androgens.It is rich in exosomes and cytokines that mediate signal transduction between tubule germ cells and distal cells,promoting testicular development and spermatogenesis.Exosomes are nanoscale extracellular vesicles that transmit information between cells.By transmitting information,exosomes play an important role in male infertility diseases such as azoospermia,varicocele,and testicular torsion.However,due to the wide range of sources of exosomes,extraction methods are numerous and complex.Therefore,there are many difficulties in studying the mechanisms of exosomal effects on normal development and male infertility.Therefore,in this review,first,we introduce the formation of exosomes and methods for culturing testis and sperm.Then,we introduce the effects of exosomes on different stages of testicular development.Finally,we summarize the prospects and shortcomings of exosomes when used in clinical applications.We lay the theoretical foundation for the mechanism of the influence of exosomes on normal development and male infertility.

Synergistic Effects of Solvent Vapor Assisted Spin-coating and Thermal Annealing on Enhancing the Carrier Mobility of Poly(3-hexylthiophene)Field-effect Transistors

Poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT)thin films,obtained by normal spin-coating and solvent vapor assisted spin-coating(SVASP)before and after thermal annealing(TA),and the corresponding devices were prepared to unravel the microstructure-property relationship,which is of great importance for the development of organic electronics.When SVASP-TA films were used as the active layers of the organic field-effect transistors,a hole mobility up to 0.38 cm^(2)·V^(-1)·s^(-1)was achieved.This mobility was one of the highest values and one order of magnitude higher than that of the normal spin-coating films based transistors.The relationship between the microstructure and the device performance was fully investigated by UV-Vis absorption spectra,grazing incident X-ray diffraction(GIXD),and atomic force microscopy(AFM).The impressive mobility was attributed to the high crystallinity and ordered molecule packing,which stem from the synergistic effects of SVASP and thermal annealing.

Active Layer Morphology Engineering of All-polymer Solar Cells by Systematically Tuning Molecular Weights of Polymer Donors/Acceptors

In all-polymer solar cells(APSCs),number-average molecular weights(Mns)of polymer donors and polymer acceptors play an important role in active layer morphology and photovoltaic performance.In this work,based on a series of APSCs with power conversion efficiency of approaching 10%,we study the effect of Mns of both polymer donor and polymer acceptor on active layer morphology and photovoltaic performance of APSCs.We select poly[4-(5-(4,8-bis(5-((2-butyloctyl)thio)thiophen-2-yl)-6-methylbenzo[1,2-b:4,5-b’]dithiophen-2-yl)thiophen-2-yl)-5,6-difluoro-2-(2-hexyldecyl)-7-(5-methylthiophen-2-yl)-2 H-benzo[d][1,2,3]triazole](CD1)as the polymer donor and poly[4-(5-(5,10-bis(2-dodecylhexadecyl)-4,4,9,9-tetrafluuoro-7-methyl-4,5,9,10-tetrahydro3 a,5,8,10-tetraaza-4,9-diborapyren-2-yl)thiophen-2-yl)-7-(5-methylthiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole](PBN-14)as the polymer acceptor.The Mns of polymer donor CD1 are 14.0,35.5 and 56.1 kg/mol,respectively,and the Mns of polymer acceptor PBN-14 are 32.7,72.4 and 103.4 kg/mol,respectively.To get the desired biscontinueous fibrous network morphololgy of the polymer donor/polymer acceptor blends,at least one polymer should have high or medium Mn.Moreover,when the Mn of polymer acceptor is high,the active layer morphology and APSC device performance are insensitive to the Mn of polymer donor.The optimal APSC device performance is obtained when the Mn of both the polymer donor and the polymer acceptor are medium.These results provide a comprehensive and deep understanding on the interplay and the effect of Mn of polymer donors and polymer acceptors in highperformance APSCs.