Development of thermodynamic and kinetic databases in micro-soldering alloy systems and their applications

AbstractRecent progress in the development of thermodynamic and kinetic databases of micro-soldering alloys, which were constructed within the framework of the Thermo-Calc and DICTRA software, was presented. Especially, a thermodynamic tool, ADAMIS (alloy database for micro-solders) was developed by combining the thermodynamic databases of micro-solders with Pandat, a multi-component phase diagram calculation software program. ADAMIS contains 11 elements, namely, Ag, Al, Au, Bi, Cu, In, Ni, Sb, Sn, Zn and Pb, and can handle all combinations of these elements in the whole composition range. The obtained thermodynamic and kinetic databases can not only provide much valuable thermodynamic information such as phase equilibria and phase fraction, but also shows the kinetics and the evolution of microstructures when they are combined with some appropriate software programs and models, such as the phase field method and ADSTEFAN software. From the viewpoints of computational thermodynamics and kinetics, some technical examples were given to demonstrate the great utility of these databases for the applications in the development of micro-soldering materials. These databases are expected to be powerful tools for the development of micro-solders and Cu substrate materials, as well as for promoting the understanding of interfacial phenomena and microstructure evolution between solders and substrates in electronic packaging technology

QCD sum rule studies on the sssˉsˉs s \bar s \bar s tetraquark states with JPC=1+−J^{PC} = 1^{+-}

We apply the method of QCD sum rules to study the structure $X$ newly observed by the BESIII Collaboration in the $\phi \eta^\prime$ mass spectrum in 2.0-2.1 GeV region in the $J/\psi \rightarrow \phi \eta \eta^\prime$ decay. We construct all the $s s \bar s \bar s$ tetraquark currents with $J^{PC} = 1^{+-}$, and use them to perform QCD sum rule analyses. One current leads to reliable QCD sum rule results and the mass is extracted to be $2.00^{+0.10}_{-0.09}$ GeV, suggesting that the structure $X$ can be interpreted as an $s s \bar s \bar s$ tetraquark state with $J^{PC} = 1^{+-}$. The $Y(2175)$ can be interpreted as its $s s \bar s \bar s$ partner having $J^{PC} = 1^{--}$, and we propose to search for the other two partners, the $s s \bar s \bar s$ tetraquark states with $J^{PC} = 1^{++}$ and $1^{-+}$, in the $\eta^\prime f_0(980)$, $\eta^\prime K \bar K$, and $\eta^\prime K \bar K^*$ mass spectra.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, suggestions and comments are welcom

Development of thermodynamic and kinetic databases in micro-soldering alloy systems and their applications

National Natural Science Foundation of China [51031003]; Ministry of Science and Technology of China [2009DFA52170, 2009AA03Z101]; Fujian Provincial Department of Science and Technology [200910024]; Xiamen City Department of Science and Technology [3502Z2Recent progress in the development of thermodynamic and kinetic databases of micro-soldering alloys, which were constructed within the framework of the Thermo-Calc and DICTRA software, was presented. Especially, a thermodynamic tool, ADAMIS (alloy database for micro-solders) was developed by combining the thermodynamic databases of micro-solders with Pandat, a multi-component phase diagram calculation software program. ADAMIS contains II elements, namely, Ag, Al, Au, Bi, Cu, In, Ni, Sb, Sn, Zn and Pb, and can handle all combinations of these elements in the whole composition range. The obtained thermodynamic and kinetic databases can not only provide much valuable thermodynamic information such as phase equilibria and phase fraction, but also shows the kinetics and the evolution of microstructures when they are combined with some appropriate software programs and models, such as the phase Field method and ADSTEFAN software. From the viewpoints of computational thermodynamics and kinetics, some technical examples were given to demonstrate the great utility of these databases for the applications in the development of micro-soldering materials. These databases are expected to be powerful tools for the development of micro-solders and Cu substrate materials, as well as for promoting the understanding of interfacial phenomena and microstructure evolution between solders and substrates in electronic packaging technology

Alterations of the gut microbiota associated with the occurrence and progression of viral hepatitis

BackgroundGut microbiota is the largest population of microorganisms and is closely related to health. Many studies have explored changes in gut microbiota in viral hepatitis. However, the correlation between gut microbiota and the occurrence and progression of viral hepatitis has not been fully clarified.MethodsPubMed and BioProject databases were searched for studies about viral hepatitis disease and 16S rRNA gene sequencing of gut microbiota up to January 2023. With bioinformatics analyses, we explored changes in microbial diversity of viral hepatitis, screened out crucial bacteria and microbial functions related to viral hepatitis, and identified the potential microbial markers for predicting risks for the occurrence and progression of viral hepatitis based on ROC analysis.ResultsOf the 1389 records identified, 13 studies met the inclusion criteria, with 950 individuals including 656 patient samples (HBV, n = 546; HCV, n = 86; HEV, n = 24) and 294 healthy controls. Gut microbial diversity is significantly decreased as the infection and progression of viral hepatitis. Alpha diversity and microbiota including Butyricimonas, Escherichia-Shigella, Lactobacillus, and Veillonella were identified as the potential microbial markers for predicting the risk of development of viral hepatitis (AUC>0.7). Microbial functions including tryptophan metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, and lipid metabolism related to the microbial community increased significantly as the development of viral hepatitis.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated comprehensively the gut microbiota characteristics in viral hepatitis, screened out crucial microbial functions related to viral hepatitis, and identified the potential microbial markers for predicting the risk of viral hepatitis

Self-testing of a single quantum system from theory to experiment

Self-testing allows one to characterise quantum systems under minimal assumptions. However, existing schemes rely on quantum nonlocality and cannot be applied to systems that are not entangled. Here, we introduce a robust method that achieves self-testing of individual systems by taking advantage of contextuality. The scheme is based on the simplest contextuality witness for the simplest contextual quantum system—the Klyachko-Can-Binicioğlu-Shumovsky inequality for the qutrit. We establish a lower bound on the fidelity of the state and the measurements as a function of the value of the witness under a pragmatic assumption on the measurements. We apply the method in an experiment on a single trapped 40Ca+ using randomly chosen measurements and perfect detection efficiency. Using the observed statistics, we obtain an experimental demonstration of self-testing of a single quantum system

RNAi-mediated silencing of the Bmi-1 gene causes growth inhibition and enhances doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells

The oncogene Bmi-1 is a member of the Polycomb group gene family. Its expression is found to be greatly increased in a number of malignant tumors including breast cancer. This could suggest Bmi-1 as a potent therapeutic target. In this study, RNAi was introduced to down-regulate the expression of Bmi-1 in a highly malignant breast adenocarcinoma cell line, MCF-7. A thorough study of the biological behavior and chemosensitivity changes of the MCF-7 cells was carried out in context to the therapeutic potential of Bmi-1. The results obtained indicated that siRNA targeting of Bmi-1 could lead to an efficient and specific inhibition of endogenous Bmi-1 activity. The mRNA and protein expression of Bmi-1 were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. Furthermore, silencing of Bmi-1 resulted in a drastic inhibition of the growth of MCF-7 cells as well as G1 /S phase transition. The number of target cells was found to increase in phase G 0 /G 1 and decrease in the S phase, but no increase in the basal level of apoptosis was noticed. On the other hand, a reduction in the expression of cyclin D1 and an increase in the expression of p21 were also noticed. Silencing of Bmi-1 made the MCF-7 cells more sensitive to the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin and induced a significantly higher percentage of apoptotic cells. Here, we report on a study regarding the RNAi-mediated silencing of the Bmi-1 gene in breast cancer

Anti-tumor effect of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of pigment epithelium-derived factor on mouse B16-F10 melanoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Angiogenesis plays an important role in tumor growth, invasion, and eventually metastasis. Antiangiogenic strategies have been proven to be a promising approach for clinical therapy for a variety of tumors. As a potent inhibitor of tumor angiogenesis, pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) has recently been studied and used as an anticancer agent in several tumor models.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A recombined adenovirus carrying PEDF gene (Ad-PEDF) was prepared, and its expression by infected cells and in treated animals was confirmed with Western blotting and ELISA, respectively. Its activity for inhibiting human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) proliferation was tested using the MTT assay. C57BL/6 mice bearing B16-F10 melanoma were treated with i.v. administration of 5 × 10⁸IU/mouse Ad-PEDF, or 5 × 10⁸IU/mouse Ad-Null, or normal saline (NS), every 3 days for a total of 4 times. Tumor volume and survival time were recorded. TUNEL, CD31 and H&E stainings of tumor tissue were conducted to examine apoptosis, microvessel density and histological morphology changes. Antiangiogenesis was determined by the alginate-encapsulated tumor cell assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The recombinant PEDF adenovirus is able to transfer the PEDF gene to infected cells and successfully produce secretory PEDF protein, which exhibits potent inhibitory effects on HUVEC proliferation. Through inhibiting angiogenesis, reducing MVD and increasing apoptosis, Ad-PEDF treatment reduced tumor volume and prolonged survival times of mouse bearing B16-F10 melanoma.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data indicate that Ad-PEDF may provide an effective approach to inhibit mouse B16-F10 melanoma growth.</p