Synergistic anticancer properties of docosahexaenoic acid and 5-fluorouracil through interference with energy metabolism and cell cycle arrest in human gastric cancer cell line AGS cells

AIM: To explore the synergistic effect of docosahexaenoic acid(DHA)/5-fluorouracil(5-FU) on the human gastric cancer cell line AGS and examine the underlying mechanism.METHODS: AGS cells were cultured and treated with a series of concentrations of DHA and 5-FU alone or in combination for 24 and 48 h. To investigate the synergistic effect of DHA and 5-FU on AGS cells, the inhibition of cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay and cell morphology. Flow cytometric analysis was also used to assess cell cycle distribution, and the expression of mitochondrial electron transfer chain complexes(METCs)?Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅴ in AGS cells was further determined by Western blot analysis. RESULTS: DHA and 5-FU alone or in combination could markedly suppress the proliferation of AGS cells in a significant time and dose-dependent manner. DHA markedly strengthened the antiproliferative effect of 5-FU, decreasing the IC50 by 3.56-2.15-fold in an apparent synergy. The morphological changes of the cells were characterized by shrinkage, cell membrane blebbing and decreased adherence. Cell cycle analysis showed a shift of cells into the G0/G1 phase from the S phase following treatment with DHA or 5-FU(G0/G1 phase: 30.04% ± 1.54% vs 49.05% ± 6.41% and 63.39% ± 6.83%, respectively, P < 0.05; S phase: 56.76% ± 3.14% vs 34.75% ± 2.35% and 25.63% ± 2.21%, respectively, P < 0.05). Combination treatment of DHA and 5-FU resulted in a significantly larger shift toward the G0/G1 phase and subsequent reduction in S phase(G0/G1 phase: 69.06% ± 2.63% vs 49.05% ± 6.41% and 63.39% ± 6.83%, respectively, P < 0.05; S phase: 19.80% ± 4.30% vs 34.75% ± 2.35% and 25.63% ± 2.21%, respectively, P < 0.05). This synergy was also reflected in the significant downregulation of the expression of METCs in AGS cells.CONCLUSION: Synergistic anticancer properties of DHA and 5-FU may involve interference with energy production of AGS cells via downregulation of METCs and cell cycle arrest.

Structures and macrosegregation of a 2024 aluminum alloy fabricated by direct chill casting with double cooling field

Central region coarse grains and centerline segregation are common defects in aluminum ingots fabricated by direct chill(DC)casting.A double cooling field was introduced into the DC casting process to reduce these defects,whereby the external cooling was supplied by the mold and water jets,and intercooling was achieved by inserting a rod of the same alloy into the molten pool along the central axis of the ingot.Rather than forming a good metallurgical interface during solid-liquid compound casting,in the present work,the purpose of inserting the rod is to enforce internal cooling and consequently decrease the sump depth.Moreover,the insertion provides more nucleation sites with the unmoltenα-Al particles.The structure and the macrosegregation of 2024 Al alloy ingots prepared by DC casting with and without the inserts were investigated.Results show that when the inserting position is 50 mm above the upper edge of the graphite ring,significant grain refinement in the central region of the ingot and a reduced centerline segregation are achieved.

Effect of casting speed on floating grains and macrosegregation ofdirect-chill cast 2024 alloy with intensive melt shearing

The ingot was prepared by direct-chill(DC)casting technology with different casting speeds under the influence of intensive melt shearing to explore the effect of casting speed and intensive melt shearing on the floating grains and negative centerline segregation.The results indicate that the application of intensive melt shearing in DC casting process can distribute the floating grains uniformly,reduce the area fraction of the floating grains,alleviate the negative centerline segregation,and improve the uniformity of temperature field in the sump.It is also suggested that under the influence of intensive melt shearing,the casting speed plays a crucial role in the amounts and distribution of floating grains.At low casting speed,the intensive melt shearing can significantly reduce the area fraction of the floating grains and distribute them uniformly throughout the ingot.However,this effect gradually disappears with the increase of casting speed.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of the welding joint filled with microalloying 5183 aluminum welding wires

In this study, 7A52 aluminum alloy sheets of 4 mm in thickness were welded by tungsten inert gas welding using microalloying welding wires containing traces of Zr and Er. The influence of rare earth elements Zr and Er on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded joints was analyzed by optical microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, hardness testing, and tensile mechanical properties testing. Systematic analyses indicate that the addition of trace amounts of Er and Zr leads to the formation of fine Al3Er, Al3Zr, and Al3（Zr,Er） phases that favor significant grain refinement in the weld zone. Besides, the tensile strength and hardness of the welded joints were obviously improved with the addition of Er and Zr, as evidenced by the increase in tensile strength and elongation by 40 MPa and 1.4%, respectively, and by the welding coefficient of 73%.

Evolution of V-containing phases during preparation of Al-based Al−V master alloys

Al-based Al−V master alloys were prepared by both the stepwise heating melting experiment and stepwise melting cooling experiment with rapid solidification to investigate the transformation of V-containing phases which gave different effects on microstructures and properties of commercial Al alloys and Ti alloys,as both melting and solidification processes affect the evolution of V-containing phases largely.The results showed that the raw Al−50wt.%V alloy consisted of needle-like Al_(3)V phase and Al8V5 phase(matrix),while petal-like Al_(3)V,needle-like Al_(7)V and plate-like Al_(10)V phase were present in the Al−V master alloys.The metastable Al_(7)V phase was evolved from Al_(3)V phase and then evolved into Al_(10)V phase during melting process.The number of Al_(10)V phase increased with the decrease of temperature in the range of 800−1000℃.Petal-like Al_(3)V phases could be transformed from Al_(8)V_(5) phase,pre-precipitated from Al−V molten liquid during melting process and precipitated directly during rapid solidification,respectively.

As-cast structure of DC casting 7075 aluminum alloy obtained under dual-frequency electromagnetic field

We have experimentally determined the as-cast structures of semi-continuous casting 7075 aluminum alloy obtained in the pres-ence of dual-frequency electromagnetic field. Results suggest that the use of dual-frequency electromagnetic field during the semi-continuous casting process of 7075 aluminum alloy ingots reduces the thickness of the surface segregation layer, increases the height of the melt menis-cus, enhances the surface quality of the ingot, and changes the surface morphology of the melt pool. Moreover, low-frequency electromag-netic field was found to show the most obvious influence on improving the as-cast structure because of its high permeability in conductors.

Efficient spectral single-pixel imaging via Morton frequency-domain scanning [Invited]

Single-pixel imaging (SPI) captures two-dimensional images utilizing a sequence of modulation patterns and measurements recorded by a single-pixel detector. However, the sequential measurement of a scene is time-consuming, especially for high-spatial-resolution imaging. Furthermore, for spectral SPI, the enormous data storage and processing time requirements substantially diminish imaging efficiency. To reduce the required number of patterns, we propose a strategy by optimizing a Hadamard pattern sequence via Morton frequency domain scanning to enhance the quality of a reconstructed spectral cube at low sampling rates. Additionally, we expedite spectral cube reconstruction, eliminating the necessity for a large Hadamard matrix. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through both simulation and experiment,achieving sub-Nyquist sampling of a three-dimensional spectral cube with a spatial resolution of 256×256 pixels and181 spectral bands and a reduction in reconstruction time by four orders of magnitude. Consequently, our method offers an efficient solution for compressed spectral imaging.

Electron Transport through Hydrogen Bonded Single-Molecule Junctions

Hydrogen bonding is a vital driving force for organizing the hierarchy of molecular structure,especially in biologic field.Due to its directionality,selectivity and moderate strength,hydrogen bonding has been extensively introduced into the molecular recognition,sensing and electronic devices.Electric measurements at single-molecule level facilitate the investigation of hydrogen bonds and provide a comprehensive understanding of the electron transport properties governed by the hydrogen bonding,which is essential for the development of self-assembled electronic systems.This review provides a detailed overview of recent advancements in constructing single-molecule junctions utilizing intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonding.We first introduce the methods utilized for characterizing the electric and dynamic properties of non-covalent interactions.Next,we discuss the mechanisms of electron transport,relevant influencing factors,and typical applications utilizing electrical signals based on single-molecule junctions.Finally,we propose our perspective on the existing challenges and prospective opportunities in utilizing hydrogen bonding for electronic device applications.

Directional Growth of Tin Crystals Controlled by Combined Solute Concentration Gradient Field and Static Magnetic Field

A new method was introduced to achieve directional growth of Sn crystals. Microstructures in liquid （Pb）/ liquid （Sn） diffusion couples were investigated under various static magnetic fields. Results show that the β-Sn crystals mainly reveal an irregular dendritic morphology without or with a relatively low static magnetic field （〈0.3 T）. When the magnetic field is increased to 0.5 T, the β-Sn dendrites close to the final stage of growth begin to show some directional character. With a further increase in the magnetic field to a higher level （0.8-5 T）, the β-Sn dendrites have an enhanced directional growth character, but the dendrites show a certain deflection. As the magnetic field is increased to 12 T, the directional growth of the β-Sn dendrites in the center of the couple is severely destroyed. The mechanism of the directional growth of the β-Sn crystals and the deflection of the β-Sn crystals with the application of static magnetic field was tentatively discussed.

Large electro-strain signal of the BNT-BT-KNN lead-free piezoelectric ceramics with CuO doping

This paper investigates a system of 0.93Bi_(0.5)Na_(0.5)TiO_(3)–0.06BaTiO_(3)–0.01K_(0.5)Na_(0.5)NbO_(3)–xCuO(BNT–BT–KNN–xCuO,x=0-0:04 mol.%)ceramics,which were fabricated by the conventional solid-state process through the granulation of vacuum freeze drier.The results show that the CuO doping made a significant enhancement on the piezoelectric properties of the BNT–BT–KNN ceramics.With the doping of CuO,the transition temperature between ferroelectric phase and ergodic relaxor state is reduced to near room temperature,resulting in pinched P–E loops and“sprout”shape S-E curves.For the composition with x=0.01,a high unipolar strain of 0.39%under 5 kV/mm contributes a large d^(*)33~780 pm/V at room temperature,which is competitive with the other BNT-based ceramics.

Altering the Hierarchical Morphology Distribution of Injection Molded Polyethylene by the Introduction of Crosslink Network and Periodical Shear

High density polyethylene （HDPE） with moderate content of crosslink network （CPE） was successfully prepared through chemical method. Specimens for structural characterization have been molded by conventional injection molding （CIM） and pressure vibration injection molding （PVIM）. Influence of crosslink network on hierarchical morphology distribution and mechanical properties was systematically studied. Polarized light microscopy （PLM） revealed that both CIM and PVIM PE samples have a typical ＂skin-core＂ structure and the thickness of shear layer of CIM PE and PVIM CPE samples obviously increase. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） showed that shish-kebab structures are clearly observed in shear layer of CIM CPE sample, indicating that the crosslink network can surely improve the formation of shish-kebab structures. Moreover, we suppose that shish-kebab structures emerged in shear and core layer of PVIM CPE sample. Wide- angle X-ray diffraction （WAXD） and small-angle X-ray scattering （SAXS） confirmed that more orientation and shish-kebab structures form even in core layer of PVIM CPE sample, which demonstrated that the hierarchical morphology was apparently altered by periodical shear and crosslink network. Finally, the mechanical properties revealed that this oriented structure increase the tensile strength from 31 MPa of CIM PE sample to 46 MPa of PVIM CPE sample. However, the tensile behavior tended to change from ductile fracture to brittle fracture.