Reducing the mechanical action of polishing pressure and abrasive during copper chemical mechanical planarization

Chemical mechanical planarization（CMP） is a critical process in deep sub-micron integrated circuit manufacturing. This study aims to improve the planarization capability of slurry, while minimizing the mechanical action of the pressure and silica abrasive. Through conducting a series of single-factor experiments, the appropriate pressure and the optimum abrasive concentration for the alkaline slurry were confirmed. However, the reduced mechanical action may bring about a decline of the polishing rate, and further resulting in the decrease of throughput.Therefore, we take an approach to compensating for the loss of mechanical action by optimizing the composition of the slurry to enhance the chemical action in the CMP process. So 0.5 wt% abrasive concentration of alkaline slurry for copper polishing was developed, it can achieve planarization efficiently and obtain a wafer surface with no corrosion defect at a reduced pressure of 1.0 psi. The results presented here will contribute to the development of a ＂softer gentler polishing＂ technique in the future.

Developments in the study of Chinese herbal medicine's assessment index and action mechanism for diabetes mellitus

In traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),based on various pathogenic symptoms and the‘golden chamber’medical text,Huangdi Neijing,diabetes mellitus falls under the category‘collateral disease’.TCM,with its wealth of experience,has been treating diabetes for over two millennia.Different antidiabetic Chinese herbal medicines re-duce blood sugar,with their effective ingredients exerting unique advantages.As well as a glucose lowering effect,TCM also regulates bodily functions to prevent diabetes associated complications,with reduced side effects compared to western synthetic drugs.Chinese herbal medicine is usually composed of polysaccharides,saponins,al-kaloids,flavonoids,and terpenoids.These active ingredients reduce blood sugar via various mechanism of actions that include boosting endogenous insulin secretion,enhancing insulin sensitivity and adjusting key enzyme activity and scavenging free radicals.These actions regulate glycolipid metabolism in the body,eventually achiev-ing the goal of normalizing blood glucose.Using different animal models,a number of molecular markers are available for the detection of diabetes induction and the molecular pathology of the disease is becoming clearer.Nonetheless,there is a dearth of scientific data about the pharmacology,dose-effect relationship,and structure-activity relationship of TCM and its constituents.Further research into the efficacy,toxicity and mode of action of TCM,using different metabolic and molecular markers,is key to developing novel TCM antidiabetic formulations.

Design,preparation,application of advanced array structured materials and their action mechanism analyses for high performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur battery(LSB)has brought much attention and concern because of high theoretical specific capacity and energy density as one of main competitors for next-generation energy storage systems.The widely commercial application and development of LSB is mainly hindered by serious“shuttle effect”of lithium polysulfides(Li PSs),slow reaction kinetics,notorious lithium dendrites,etc.In various structures of LSB materials,array structured materials,possessing the composition of ordered micro units with the same or similar characteristics of each unit,present excellent application potential for various secondary cells due to some merits such as immobilization of active substances,high specific surface area,appropriate pore sizes,easy modification of functional material surface,accommodated huge volume change,enough facilitated transportation for electrons/lithium ions,and special functional groups strongly adsorbing Li PSs.Thus many novel array structured materials are applied to battery for tackling thorny problems mentioned above.In this review,recent progresses and developments on array structured materials applied in LSBs including preparation ways,collaborative structural designs based on array structures,and action mechanism analyses in improving electrochemical performance and safety are summarized.Meanwhile,we also have detailed discussion for array structured materials in LSBs and constructed the structure-function relationships between array structured materials and battery performances.Lastly,some directions and prospects about preparation ways,functional modifications,and practical applications of array structured materials in LSBs are generalized.We hope the review can attract more researchers'attention and bring more studying on array structured materials for other secondary batteries including LSB.

Study on the Mechanism of Action of Glyasperin A in the Treatment of Atherosclerosis Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

[Objectives] This study was conducted to investigate the mechanism of action of glyasperin A in the treatment of atherosclerosis using a network pharmacology approach. [Methods] Targets related to atherosclerosis were searched in GeneCards database. An active ingredient-disease-target network was constructed by Cytoscape 3.7.1. A target protein interaction network was constructed by String database. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were performed on the DAVID database. [Results] Glyasperin A acted on 36 atherosclerosis-related targets, and the biofunctional and pathway enrichment analyses showed that it was mainly involved in response to xenobiotic stimulus, drug transport across blood-brain barrier, lipid oxidation, barrier, and lipid oxidation, etc. The results showed that glyasperin A acted on 36 atherosclerosis-related targets. The biofunctional and pathway enrichment analyses showed that it was mainly involved in response to xenobiotic stimulus, drug transport across blood-brain barrier, lipid oxidation, positive regulation of protein localization to nucleus, and hepoxilin biosynthetic process, and it played an anti-fatigue role through signal pathways such as serotonergic synapse, efferocytosis, arachidonic acid metabolism, chemical carcinogenesis-receptor activation and platelet activation. [Conclusions] Glyasperin A has multi-target and multi-pathway effects in the treatment of atherosclerosis. This study provides reference for further research on glyasperin A in the treatment of atherosclerosis.

Research Progress of Mechanism of Action of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria

The paper first introduces the definition and classification of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria （PGPR）, then reviews the research achievements on the mechanism of action of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, including growth pro-moting mechanism and bio-control mechanism, subsequently lists the use of excel-lent plant growth promoting rhizobacteria strains in recent years, especial y Pseu-domonas and Bacil us strains, and final y discusses problems existing in this area and points out issues requiring further exploration, including PGPR screening meth-ods, preservation methods, mechanism of action, in order to commercialize PGPR as soon as possible and practical y realize its application to production.

Naturally derived anti-hepatitis B virus agents and their mechanism of action

Despite that some approved drugs and genetically engineered vaccines against hepatitis B virus(HBV)are available for HBV patients,HBV infection is still a severe public health problem in the world.All the approved therapeutic drugs(including interferonalpha and nucleoside analogues)have their limitations.No drugs or therapeutic methods can cure hepatitis B so far.Therefore,it is urgently needed to discover and develop new anti-HBV drugs,especially nonnucleoside agents.Naturally originated compounds with enormous molecular complexity and diversity offer a great opportunity to find novel anti-HBV lead compounds with specific antiviral mechanisms.In this review,the natural products against HBV are discussed according to their chemical classes such as terpenes,lignans,phenolic acids,polyphenols,lactones,alkaloids and flavonoids.Furthermore,novel mode of action or new targets of some representative anti-HBV natural products are also discussed.The aim of this review is to report new discoveries and updates pertaining to anti-HBV natural products in the last 20years,especially novel skeletons and mode of action.Although many natural products with various skeletons have been reported to exhibit potent anti-HBV effects to date,scarcely any of them are found in the list of conventional anti-HBV drugs worldwide.Additionly,in anti-HBV mechanism of action,only a few references reported new targets or novel mode of action of antiHBV natural products.

Reagent types and action mechanisms in ilmenite flotation:A review

Ilmenite is an essential mineral for the extraction of titanium.Conventional physical separation methods have difficulty recovering fine ilmenite,and dressing plants have begun applying flotation to recover ilmenite.The interaction of reagent groups with Ti and Fe sites on the ilmenite surface dramatically influences the ilmenite flotation.However,the investigation on Fe sites has received more attention because the activity of Ti is lower than that of Fe.For the activators on ilmenite flotation,most are metal ions but typically lead ions.The metal ions of activators promote ilmenite flotation by increasing the active sites on the ilmenite surface.Combined reagents have a better selective separation of ilmenite than single reagents due to their synergistic effect.Combining the lead ion(Pb^(2+))and the benzyl hydroxamic acid(BHA)into a Pb-BHA complex has a marked effect on ilmenite flotation,which puts forward a new idea of developing combined reagents for ilmenite flotation.This review considers reagent types and action mechanisms in ilmenite flotation.On the basis of the analysis of previous research,a brief future outlook of reagent types and action mechanisms in ilmenite flotation is also proposed in this study.

Recent progress in preventive effect of collagen peptides on photoaging skin and action mechanism

Ultraviolet(UV)-induced photoaging skin has become an urgent issue.The functional foods and cosmetics aiming to improve skin photoaging are developing rapidly,and the demand is gradually increasing year by year.Collagen peptides have been proven to display diverse physiological activities,such as excellent moisture retention activity,hygroscopicity,tyrosinase inhibitory activity and antioxidant activity,which indicates that they have great potential in amelioration of UV-induced photoaging.The main objective of this article is to recap the main mechanisms to improve photoaging skin by collagen peptides and their physiological activities in photo-protection.Furthermore,the extraction and structural characteristics of collagen peptides are overviewed.More importantly,some clinical trials on the beneficial effect on skin of collagen peptides are also discussed.In addition,prospects and challenges of collagen peptides are emphatically elucidated in this review.This article implies that collagen peptides have great potential as an effective ingredient in food and cosmetics industry with a wide application prospect.

Effects of diphosphonic acid on ilmenorutile collecting property and research of action mechanism

The effects of several collectors and their dosage on pure ilmenorutile atdifferent pH values were studied and the collecting strength of several representative collectorswas investigated. The experimental results indicate that diphosphonic acid is a good collector forilmenorutile and the recovery of ilmenorutile ranges from 90.87 percent to 91.70 percent when thepulp pH value is 2.0-4.0 and the dosage is 75 mg/L. The sequence of collecting ability for severalcollectors is as follows: diphosphonic acid> TF279 > cyclic allryl hydroximic acid > benzyl arsenicacid> salicylic hydroximic acid> alkyl hydroximic acid. Meanwhile, IAS (infrared absorptionspectrum) and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) were used to detect and analyze the actionmechanism of diphosphonic acid on ilmenorutile. IAS results showed that the characteristicabsorption peak relating to P=O as well as P-O vibration occurred between wave numeber 1140 and 1032cm^(-1), and diphosphonic acid had adsorbed on the surface of ilmenorutile. XPS results indicatedthat the binding energy of P2P peak of ilmenorutile had changed 0.45 eV after treated bydiphosphonic acid. This proves that the adsorption is mainly chemical adsorption.

Antimicrobial peptides: mechanism of action, activity and clinical potential

The management of bacterial infections is becoming a major clinical challenge due to the rapid evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria.As an excellent candidate to overcome antibiotic resistance,antimicrobial peptides(AMPs)that are produced from the synthetic and natural sources demonstrate a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity with the high specificity and low toxicity.These peptides possess distinctive structures and functions by employing sophisticated mechanisms of action.This comprehensive review provides a broad overview of AMPs from the origin,structural characteristics,mechanisms of action,biological activities to clinical applications.We finally discuss the strategies to optimize and develop AMP-based treatment as the potential antimicrobial and anticancer therapeutics.

Comparison of Hypolipidemic Effect of Refined Konjac Meal With Several Common Dietary Fibers and Their Mechanisms of Action

The effects of RKM in comparison with pectin, algin and agar on lipid levels in serum and liver and on liver histopathology in rats were studied. In addition, the effects of all the tested materials on the composition and output of fecal bile acid were observed. All four kinds of dietary fiber were given at a level of 5% of diet to young male rats of Wistar strain fed on a lipid-rich diet contalning 5 % lard, 1% cholesteral and 0. 25 % cholate. All the dietary fibers tested have similar effects on serum lipid composition. In all groups, these substances prevent ed increases in total cholesterol in fasting serum, but the level of triglyceride was tmchangd.The concentrations of totaI cholesterol and triglyceride in the liver were lower in the RKM group than in the control group and the other three groups. Hepatic histopathological exami nation also showed the most significant lipotropic effect in the RKM group. The daily output of fecal bile acids (CDCA+GDCA) was significantly increased in the four experimental groups than in the normal group and the control group. The increase of CDCA was more significant than GDCA, suggesting that the increase of fecal bile acids, especially CDCA, may be one of the mechanisms by which RKM and the other three dietary fibers exerts a hypocholesterolemic effect

Existing form and action mechanism of minor scandium and zirconium in Al-Cu-Mg alloy

In order to investigate the existing form and action mechanism of minor scandium （Sc） and zirconium （Zr） in AI-Cu-Mg alloy, microstructures of Al-4Cu-1Mg-Sc-Zr alloy under different conditions, including states of as-cast, homogenized, hot-rolled, as-solution and natural aged, were observed by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffractometry （XRD） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. It is revealed that Sc and Zr are completely dissolved into the supersaturated solid solution in as-cast ingot, but grain refinement is not observed. Coffee-bean-like AI3（Sc, Zr） particles deposit during homogenization of ingot induce an increase in hardness. Al3（Sc, Zr） particles are slightly coarsened in as-solution samples, but they still maintain coherent to matrix, which indicates a high thermal stability of these particles. Good coherency ofAl3（Sc, Zr） particles makes some benefits for inhibiting recrystallization and reserving work-hardening.

Role and mechanism of action of leucine-rich repeat kinase 1 in bone

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 1 （LRRK1） plays a critical role in regulating cytoskeletal organization, osteoclast activity, and bone resorption with little effect on bone formation parameters. Deficiency of Lrrkl in mice causes a severe osteopetrosis in the metaphysis of the long bones and vertebrae bones, which makes LRRK1 an attractive alternative drug target for the treatment of osteoporosis and other high-turnover bone diseases. This review recent advances on the functions of the Lrrkl-related family members, Lrrkl deficiency-induced skeletal phenotypes, LRRK1 structure-function, potential biological substrates and interacting proteins, and the mechanisms of LRRK1 action in osteoclasts.

Preparation and Action Mechanism of Inclusion Complex of β-cyclodextrin and Sulfurized Isobutylene as Additives in Solution of Polyethylene Glycol-600

The inclusion complex of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and sulfurized isobutylene (T321) was prepared with a co-precipitation method. The tribological properties of the complex with different concentrations were investigated by a four-ball tester in the solution of polyethylene glycol-600 (PEG-600). The experimental results suggest that the complex exhibits better anti-friction and anti-wear properties than β-CD under different load conditions. The tribo-system shows the least friction coefficient when the concentration of the complex is 0.8%. During the friction process, the complex was decomposed into various molecular fragments and the T321 molecules were released onto the friction interface to provide effective lubrication. The XPS analytical results on the worn surfaces reveal that sulfide film formed by the released T321 plays a major role, and the iron alkoxide and carbon deposition films formed by the β-CD fragments have better anti-friction effect on the sulfide film surface. The interactions of different films result in the formation of a mixed boundary lubrication film.

Preparation and Action Mechanism of Inclusion Complex of/%cyelodextrin and Sulfurized Isobutylene as Additives in Solution of Polyethylene Glycol-600

The inclusion complex of fl-cyclodextrin （β-CD） and sulfurized isobutylene （T321） was prepared with a co-precipitation method. The tribological properties of the complex with different concentrations were investigated by a four-ball tester in the solution of polyethylene glycol-600 （PEG-600）. The experimental results suggest that the complex exhibits better anti-friction and anti-wear properties than fl-CD under different load conditions. The tribo-system shows the least friction coefficient when the concentration of the complex is 0.8%. During the friction process, the complex was decomposed into various molecular fragments and the T321 molecules were released onto the friction interface to provide effective lubrication. The XPS analytical results on the worn surfaces reveal that sulfide film formed by the released T321 plays a major role, and the iron alkoxide and carbon deposition films formed by the β-CD fragments have better anti-friction effect on the sulfide film surface. The interactions of different films result in the formation of a mixed boundary lubrication film.

The interaction of an atmospheric pressure plasma jet using argon or argon plus hydrogen peroxide vapour addition with bacillus subtilis

This paper reports that an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasma jet, which uses argon or argon ＋ hydrogen peroxide vapour as the working gas, is designed to sterilize the bacillus subtilis. Compared with the pure argon plasma, the bacterial inactivation efficacy has a significant improvement when hydrogen peroxide vapour is added into the plasma jet. In order to determine which factors play the main role in inactivation, several methods are used, such as determination of optical emission spectra, high temperature dry air treatment, protein leakage quantification, and scanning electron microscope. These results indicate that the possible inactivation mechanisms are the synergistic actions of chemically active species and charged species.

The action mechanisms and structures designs of F-containing functional materials for high performance oxygen electrocatalysis

Non-renewable fossil fuels have led to serious problems such as global warming,environmental pollution,etc.Oxygen electrocatalysis including oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER)plays a central role in clean energy conversion,enabling a number of sustainable processes for future air battery technologies.Fluorine,as the most electronegative element(4.0)not only can induce more efficient regulation for the electronic structure,but also can bring more abundant defects and other novel effects in materials selection and preparation for favorable catalysis with respect to the other nonmetal elements.However,an individual and comprehensive overview of fluorine-containing functional materials for oxygen electrocatalysis field is still blank.Therefore,it is very meaningful to review the recent progresses of fluorine-containing oxygen electrocatalysts.In this review,we first systematically summarize the controllable preparation methods and their possible development directions based on fluorine-containing materials from four preparation methods.Due to the strong electron-withdrawing properties of fluorine,its control of the electronic structure can effectively enhance the oxygen electrocatalytic activity of the materials.In addition,the catalytic enhancement effect of fluorine on carbonbased materials also includes the prevent oxidation and the layer peeling,and realizes the precise atomic control.And the catalytic improvement mechanism of fluorine containing metal-based compounds also includes the hydration of metal site,the crystal transformation,and the oxygen vacancy induction.Then,based on their various dimensions(0D–3D),we also have summarized the advantages of different morphologies on oxygen electrocatalytic performances.Finally,the prospects and possible future researching direction of F-containing oxygen electrocatalysts are presented(e.g.,novel pathways,advanced methods for measurement and simulation,field assistance and multi-functions).The review is considered valuable and helpful in exploring the novel designs and mechanism analyses of advanced fluorine-containing electrocatalysts.

Pharmacological Studies of Meisoindigo: Absorption and Mechanism of Action

Meisoindigo, an indirubin derivative, is a new type of cancer chemotherapeutic agent. It exhibited higher activity against rodent tumors than indirubin itself. Experiments have shown the improved absorption of meisoindigo, compared to indirubin to be one of the major reasons for the enhancement of antitumor activity. Studies on the mechanism of meisoindigo action indicate that it strongly inhibits DNA biosynthesis in tumor cells. Strong inhibition of the drug on assembly of microtubule protein was also obtained. By means of FCM technique the effects of meisoindigo on mouse leukemia L1210 cell cycle were examined. Experimental results showed that under the action of meisoindigo the S phase cells accumulated and the traverse of the cells in G2 + M phase to G1 phase may also be blocked to some extent.

Exploring Action Mechanism of Sanzi Yangqin Decoction in Treating Bronchial Asthma Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

[Objectives]To explore the molecular mechanism of Sanzi Yangqin Decoction in the treatment of bronchial asthma based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.[Methods]The components of Fructus Perillae,Semen Raphani and Semen Sinapis three traditional Chinese medicine-related components and targets of Feiduqing Sanzi Yangqin Decoction were obtained using Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP),and the targets of bronchial asthma were obtained using Genecards and OMIM databases.Sanzi Yangqin Decoction"drug-active ingredient-target-disease"network was established with the aid of Cytoscape 3.7.2 software and network topology analysis was carried out.The gene ontology(GO)function enrichment analysis and the KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were performed by DAVID.The top 3 components and targets in the network topology analysis were respectively molecularly docked.[Results]Through network analysis,4 key active components were obtained,mainly luteolin,arachidonic acid,β-carotene,etc.;5 key targets,mainly NCOA2,PGR,PTGS2,etc.Through GO analysis,523 items(P<0.05)were obtained,including 396 items in biological process(BP),53 items in cell composition(CC),and 74 items in molecular function(MF).KEGG analysis generated 144 signal pathways(P<0.05),involving PI3K-Akt signal pathway,human cytomegalovirus infection,Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus infection,proteoglycans in cancer,prostate cancer,etc.The results of molecular docking showed that core active compounds such as luteolin andβ-carotene in Sanzi Yangqin Decoction had good affinity with NCOA2,PGR,PTGS2 and other target genes,which were similar to clinically recommended chemical drugs.[Conclusions]The active compounds luteolin and carotene in Sanzi Yangqin Decoction may mainly bind to targets such as NCOA2,PGR,PTGS2,and regulate multiple signaling pathways such as PI3K-Akt to play a role in treating bronchial asthma.It is intended to provide new ideas for the clinical application and research of Sanzi Yangqin Decoction.

Network Pharmacology-based Analysis of the Mechanism of Action of the Herb Pair Chai Hu-Bai Shao

Objective To analyze the mechanism of action and compatibility of the active compounds of the traditional herb pair Bupleuri Radix(Chai Hu,CH,柴胡)-Paeoniae Radix Alba(Bai Shao,BS,白芍).Methods All chemical compounds related to CH and BS were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP),Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database(TCMID),Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular mechANism of Traditional Chinese Medicine(Batman-TCM),Traditional Chinese Medicine Database@Taiwan(TCM Database@Taiwan),and the literature.Relevant compounds were screened for oral bioavailability(OB),drug-likeness(DL),and the Caco-2 cell model.The Uniprot,Genecard,and CTD databases were used to obtain information on potential targets and diseases of associated compounds.Based on this,Cytoscape 3.2.1 software,GO enrichment analysis,and KEGG pathway enrichment were used to analyze the potential mechanism of action and pathways of the CH-BS drug combination.Results A total of 23 active compounds of CH and BS were indentified after meeting specific criteria by network pharmacology,showing 79 predicted targets of active compounds.Among them,all targets were associated with 344 diseases,and the compounds in CH and BS were connected to 94 pathways and biological,such as calcium signaling pathway,neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction and TNF signaling pathway.Conclusions Our results preliminarily validated the main compounds in CH-BS herb pair interacted with multiple targets in different diseases,and the molecular mechanism of these compounds involves multiple pathways,thereby establishing a good foundation for further studies.