CORROSION PROTECTION OF STAINLESS STEEL TYPE 304 USING GRAPHENE COMPOSITES

Polyetherimide-Graphene (PEI/G) composites were prepared using in situ polymerization approach and thermally cured under vacuum on Stainless Steel 304 (SS304) substrates in order to be evaluated as corrosion protection coatings. Several steps curing were performed to ensure complete imidization of PEI/G composites. Dispersion of the graphene fillers in the PEI matrices was captured using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The study examines PEI/G composites as corrosion protection coatings using electrochemical techniques such as Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). Furthermore, the influences of the load of graphene on the electrochemical behavior as well as the interface adhesion of the PEI/G composites are illustrated. Adhesion tests were conducted and evaluated according to ASTM D3359 standard and the long term performances of the prepared PEI/G coatings were confirmed by conducting the adhesion tests after 30 days of exposure to the corrosive medium. The study revealed that PEI may slow down the corrosion process on SS304 substrates and this protection property of PEI can be excelled by the incorporation of graphene in the PEI matrix.

Systematic elucidation of the traditional Chinese medicine prescription Danxiong particles via network pharmacology and molecular docking

Purpose: To investigate the pharmacological effect of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription Danxiong particles (TDX105) and its mechanism of action.Methods: The active compound and targets of TDX105 were investigated via network pharmacology. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were enriched, and protein-protein interaction network (PPI) was constructed. A network of ‘components-targets-pathways’ was developed with Cytoscape 3.8.0 software, while the formation of molecular docking analysis was conducted using Autodock vina software.Results: There were 304 compounds and 482 targets identified in total. Genes with degree ≥ mean node values were selected as the crucial targets, and string database was to be combined to 64 targets identified with cytoscape so as to draw a protein interaction map. A total of 137 pathways were enriched from 64 targets involving mainly 10 pathways, for example, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, pathways in cancer, human cytomegalovirus infection and focal adhesion. Then, compound-target and compoundtarget- pathways were constructed using cytoscape (3.8.0). Finally, the five most active compounds, viz, quercetin, myricetin, luteolin, ellagic acid and kaempferol, and the top ten targets AKT1, GAPDH, TP53, ALB, EGFR, MAPK3, JUN, MAPK1, SRC and ESR1 were selected for molecular docking. These targets and compounds had strong interactions through a combination of hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic forces.Conclusion: The mechanism of action of TDX105 has been successfully explained using the combination of network pharmacology and molecular docking. This may offer a solid foundation to the clinical use of TDX105, and further strengthen the prospects of its development for clinical use

Aqueous intercalation-type electrode materials for grid-level energy storage: Beyond the limits of lithium and sodium

The final publication is available at Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.05.049 © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Intermittent, fluctuational, and unpredictable features of renewable energy require grid-level energy storage (GES). Among various types of GES, aqueous electrochemical storage is undoubtedly the most promising method due to its high round-trip efficiency, long cycle life, low cost and high safety. As the most encouraging candidate for aqueous electrochemical storage, aqueous rocking-chair batteries have been heavily investigated. Recently, intercalation-type aqueous batteries beyond the limits of Li+ and Na+ have caught researchers’ attention due to potentially higher capacity and better cyclability, and the number of publications in this nascent field since 2015 has dramatically increased. Therefore, it is highly demanded to summarize what have been learned in this field. In this first comprehensive review paper, we summarize these novel intercalation-type electrode materials and provide perspectives of opportunities and challenges for future research.Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology National Natural Science Foundation of China (51272182, 51772219, 21471116, and 51641210) Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LZ17E020002 and LZ15E020002) Wenzhou Scientific and Technological in Public Project (G20170018

Sharp kinetic acceleration potentials during mediated redox catalysis of insulators

Redox mediators could catalyse otherwise slow and energy-inefficient cycling of Li-S and Li-O 2 batteries by shuttling electrons/holes between the electrode and the solid insulating storage materials. For mediators to work efficiently they need to oxidize the solid with fast kinetics yet the lowest possible overpotential. Here, we found that when the redox potentials of mediators are tuned via, e.g., Li + concentration in the electrolyte, they exhibit distinct threshold potentials, where the kinetics accelerate several-fold within a range as small as 10 mV. This phenomenon is independent of types of mediators and electrolyte. The acceleration originates from the overpotentials required to activate fast Li + /e – extraction and the following chemical step at specific abundant surface facets. Efficient redox catalysis at insulating solids requires therefore carefully considering the surface conditions of the storage materials and electrolyte-dependent redox potentials, which may be tuned by salt concentrations or solvents

In vitro effect of lysophosphatidic acid on proliferation, invasion and migration of human ovarian cancer cells

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) on the proliferation, invasion and migration ability of 3AO, SKOV3 and CAOV3 human ovarian cancer cell lines.Methods: SKOV3, 3AO and CAOV3 cell lines were respectively treated with LPA. Changes in the proliferation rate of these cell lines were observed after LPA treatment. The cell lines that were not treated with LPA served as control group. Boyden chamber was used to assess cell invasion and migration capability. The expression levels of relevant cytokines related to cell migration in the supernatant of CAOV3 cell line were determined using ELISA following LPA stimulation.Results: The cell proliferation rate of human ovarian cancer cell lines was significantly accelerated after in vitro LPA treatment in a concentration-dependent fashion. Boyden chamber assay data indicate that invasion indices in 3AO and CAOV3 cell lines were significantly higher than those in untreated control cell lines (p < 0.05). However, no statistical significance was noted between 3AO and CAOV3 cell lines (p < 0.05). The expression levels of relevant cytokines in the CAOV3 cell line were significantly upregulated after LPA treatment (p < 0.05).Conclusion: LPA intervention in vitro accelerates cell proliferation rate and also significantly upregulates the expression levels of multiple cytokines related to cell migration in human ovarian cancer cell lines, suggesting that LPA plays a significant role in the invasion and migration of SKOV3, 3AO and CAOV3 cell lines.Keywords: Ovarian carcinoma, Tumor infiltration, Lysophosphatidic acid, Cell migration, Cytokine

Pan-genome analysis of Streptococcus suis serotype 2 highlights genes associated with virulence and antibiotic resistance

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (SS2) is a Gram-positive bacterium. It is a common and significant pathogen in pigs and a common cause of zoonotic meningitis in humans. It can lead to sepsis, endocarditis, arthritis, and pneumonia. If not diagnosed and treated promptly, it has a high mortality rate. The pan-genome of SS2 is open, and with an increasing number of genes, the core genome and accessory genome may exhibit more pronounced differences. Due to the diversity of SS2, the genes related to its virulence and resistance are still unclear. In this study, a strain of SS2 was isolated from a pig farm in Sichuan Province, China, and subjected to whole-genome sequencing and characterization. Subsequently, we conducted a Pan-Genome-Wide Association Study (Pan-GWAS) on 230 strains of SS2. Our analysis indicates that the core genome is composed of 1,458 genes related to the basic life processes of the bacterium. The accessory genome, consisting of 4,337 genes, is highly variable and a major contributor to the genetic diversity of SS2. Furthermore, we identified important virulence and resistance genes in SS2 through pan-GWAS. The virulence genes of SS2 are mainly associated with bacterial adhesion. In addition, resistance genes in the core genome may confer natural resistance of SS2 to fluoroquinolone and glycopeptide antibiotics. This study lays the foundation for further research on the virulence and resistance of SS2, providing potential new drug and vaccine targets against SS2

Pan-genome wide association study of Glaesserella parasuis highlights genes associated with virulence and biofilm formation

Glaesserella parasuis is a gram-negative bacterium that causes fibrotic polyserositis and arthritis in pig, significantly affecting the pig industry. The pan-genome of G. parasuis is open. As the number of genes increases, the core and accessory genomes may show more pronounced differences. The genes associated with virulence and biofilm formation are also still unclear due to the diversity of G. parasuis. Therefore, we have applied a pan-genome-wide association study (Pan-GWAS) to 121 strains G. parasuis. Our analysis revealed that the core genome consists of 1,133 genes associated with the cytoskeleton, virulence, and basic biological processes. The accessory genome is highly variable and is a major cause of genetic diversity in G. parasuis. Furthermore, two biologically important traits (virulence, biofilm formation) of G. parasuis were studied via pan-GWAS to search for genes associated with the traits. A total of 142 genes were associated with strong virulence traits. By affecting metabolic pathways and capturing the host nutrients, these genes are involved in signal pathways and virulence factors, which are beneficial for bacterial survival and biofilm formation. This research lays the foundation for further studies on virulence and biofilm formation and provides potential new drug and vaccine targets against G. parasuis

Synergistic Partitioning in Multiple Large Scale Social Networks

Abstract-Social networks have been part of people's daily life and plenty of users have registered accounts in multiple social networks. Interconnection among multiple social networks adds a multiplier effect to social applications when fully used. With the sharp expansion of network size, traditional standalone algorithms can no longer support computing on large scale networks while alternatively, distributed and parallel computing become a solution to utilizing the data-intensive information hidden in multiple social networks. As such, synergistic partitioning, which takes the relationships among different networks into consideration and focuses on partitioning the same nodes of different networks into same partitions. With that, the partitions containing the same nodes can be assigned to the same server to improve the data locality and reduce communication overhead among servers, which are very important for distributed applications. To date, there have been limited studies on multiple large scale network partitioning due to three major challenges: 1) the need to consider relationships across multiple networks given the existence of intricate interactions, 2) the difficulty for standalone programs to utilize traditional partitioning methods, 3) the fact that to generate balanced partitions is NP-complete. In this paper, we propose a novel framework to partition multiple social networks synergistically. In particular, we apply a distributed multilevel k-way partitioning method to divide the first network into k partitions. Based on the given anchor nodes which exist in all the social networks and the partition results of the first network, using MapReduce, we then develop a modified distributed multilevel partitioning method to divide other networks. Extensive experiments on two real data sets demonstrate that our method can significantly outperform baseline independentpartitioning method in accuracy and scalability

3D N-doped hybrid architectures assembled from 0D T-Nb2O5 embedded in carbon microtubes toward high-rate Li-ion capacitors

The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.10.048. © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Herein, a unique nitrogen-doped T-Nb2O5/tubular carbon hybrid structure in which T-Nb2O5 nanoparticles are homogeneously embedded in an in-situ formed nitrogen-doped microtubular carbon is synthesized, utilizing a facile and innovative synthesis strategy. This structure addresses the poor electron conductivity and rate capability that hinder T-Nb2O5's promise as an anode for Li-ion devices. Such a distinctive structure possesses a robust framework that has ultrasmall active nanocomponents encapsulated in highly conductive carbon scaffold with hollow interior and abundant voids, enabling fast electron/ion transport and electrolyte penetration. Moreover, nitrogen-doping not only ameliorates the electronic conductivity of the heterostructure, but also induces pseudocapacitance mechanism. When evaluated in a half-cell, the as-prepared material delivers a specific capacitance of 370 F g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 within 1–3 V vs. Li/Li+ and excellent cyclability over 1100 cycles. A high energy density of 86.6 W h kg−1 and high power density of 6.09 kW kg−1 are realized. Additionally, a capacitance retention as high as 81% after 3500 cycles is achieved in an Li-ion Capacitor (LIC) with activated carbon as the cathode and nitrogen-doped T-Nb2O5/tubular carbon as the anode.Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council University of Waterlo