A Ceramic-Anode Supported Low Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

We report the fabrication and evaluation of a ceramic-anode supported button cell LSCM-SDC/SDC/PBSC (thickness 400 μm/20 μm/20 μm). The anode/electrolyte assembly LSCM-SDC/SDC was co-fired at low temperature of 1250°C, where a slight amount of CuO was mixed with LSCM. The CuO (20.3 wt%) were impregnated into the porous substrate to enhance current collecting effect. The cell exhibited power density of 596 mWcm−2 and 381 mWcm−2 at 700°C with wet hydrogen and methane as the fuel respectively, where the silver paste was used as current collectors, the highest performance up to date for the cells with metal oxide anodes at this temperature

Genetic relationship between hydrocarbon system evolution and Carlin-type gold mineralization: Insights from ReOs pyrobitumen and pyrite geochronology in the Nanpanjiang Basin, South China

The spatial association of hydrocarbons with metalliferous ore deposits is found worldwide and is particularly common to Carlin-type gold systems. Both liquid oil and pyrobitumen are found in Carlin-type gold deposits of North Nevada, USA and the Nanpanjiang Basin, South China. However, the temporal and genetic association of hydrocarbons and gold mineralization are still debated. To this end, using rhenium‑osmium (Resingle bondOs) geochronology of pyrobitumen and gold-bearing pyrite from the Laizishan and Banqi reservoirs and the Yata Carlin-type gold deposit in the Nanpanjiang Basin, we consider hydrocarbons played a critical role in the mineralization process. A Resingle bondOs age of 228 ± 16 Ma obtained for highly mature pyrobitumen suggests that liquid oil cracking occurred during the Late Triassic in the Laizishan and Banqi reservoirs. This age is in agreement with the modelled thermal history of the Nanpanjiang Basin. Additionally, a broadly identical gold-bearing pyrite Resingle bondOs age of 218 ± 25 Ma from Yata Carlin-type gold deposit which is in agreement with ages reported for other Carlin-type gold deposits in the Nanpanjiang Basin (e.g., in-situ SIMS Usingle bondPb rutile = 213.6 ± 5.4 Ma, Resingle bondOs arsenopyrite = 204 ± 19 Ma - 235 ± 33 Ma and Rbsingle bondSr illite = 212.8 ± 4.6 Ma) suggests the auriferous Carlin-type systems of the Nanpanjiang Basin also formed during the Late Triassic. Integrating our Resingle bondOs data, with recent liquid hydrocarbon experimental data and fluid inclusion data from both reservoirs and gold deposits within the Nanpanjiang Basin, a methane (CH4) dominated thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) process, which introduced hydrogen sulfide (H2S) into basinal fluid and ultimately led to the deposition of gold-bearing pyrite by sulfidation, is considered to be the genetic link between of pyrobitumen and gold-bearing pyrite mineralization of the Carlin-type systems of the Nanpanjiang Basin

Effect of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 on Proliferation and Apoptosis of Gastric Cancer Cells

Objective: To investigate the effects of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) on the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of normal human gastric mucosal cells and gastric cancer cells

Are We Building on the Rock? On the Importance of Data Preprocessing for Code Summarization

Code summarization, the task of generating useful comments given the code, has long been of interest. Most of the existing code summarization models are trained and validated on widely-used code comment benchmark datasets. However, little is known about the quality of the benchmark datasets built from real-world projects. Are the benchmark datasets as good as expected? To bridge the gap, we conduct a systematic research to assess and improve the quality of four benchmark datasets widely used for code summarization tasks. First, we propose an automated code-comment cleaning tool that can accurately detect noisy data caused by inappropriate data preprocessing operations from existing benchmark datasets. Then, we apply the tool to further assess the data quality of the four benchmark datasets, based on the detected noises. Finally, we conduct comparative experiments to investigate the impact of noisy data on the performance of code summarization models. The results show that these data preprocessing noises widely exist in all four benchmark datasets, and removing these noisy data leads to a significant improvement on the performance of code summarization. We believe that the findings and insights will enable a better understanding of data quality in code summarization tasks, and pave the way for relevant research and practice

Tempol Protects Against Acetaminophen Induced Acute Hepatotoxicity by Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis

Acetaminophen (APAP)-induced acute hepatotoxicity is the leading cause of drug-induced acute liver failure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl (tempol) on the protection of APAP-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. Mice were pretreated with a single dose of tempol (20 mg/kg per day) orally for 7 days. On the seventh day, mice were injected with a single dose of APAP (300 mg/kg) to induce acute hepatotoxicity. Our results showed that tempol treatment markedly improved liver functions with alleviations of histopathological damage induced by APAP. Tempol treatment upregulated levels of antioxidant proteins, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione. Also, phosphorylation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (Akt) and protein expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf 2) and heme oxygense-1 (HO-1) were all increased by tempol, which indicated tempol protected against APAP-induced hepatotoxicity via the PI3K/Akt/Nrf2 pathway. Moreover, tempol treatment decreased pro-apoptotic protein expressions (cleaved caspase-3 and Bax) and increased anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 in liver, as well as reducing apoptotic cells of TUNEL staining, which suggested apoptotic effects of tempol treatment. Overall, we found that tempol normalizes liver function in APAP-induced acute hepatotoxicity mice via activating PI3K/Akt/Nrf2 pathway, thus enhancing antioxidant response and inhibiting hepatic apoptosis

Embryonic Porcine Skin Precursors Can Successfully Develop into Integrated Skin without Teratoma Formation Posttransplantation in Nude Mouse Model

How to improve the wound healing quality of severe burn patients is still a challenge due to lack of skin appendages and rete ridges, no matter how much progress has been made in the fields of either stem cell or tissue engineering. We thus systematically studied the growth potential and differentiation capacity of porcine embryonic skin precursors. Implantation of embryonic skin precursors (PESPs) of different gestational ages in nude mice can generate the integrity skin, including epidermis, dermis and skin appendages, such as sweat gland, hair follicle, sebaceous gland, etc.. PESPs of embryonic day 42 possess the maximal growth potential, while, the safe window time of PESPs transplantation for prevention of teratoma risk is E56 or later. In conclusion, PESPs can form the 3 dimensional structures of skin with all necessary skin appendages. Our data strongly indicate that porcine embryonic skin precursors harvested from E56 of minipig may provide new hope for high-quality healing of extensive burns and traumas

Highly polarized carbon nano-architecture as robust metal-free catalyst for oxygen reduction in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

The final publication is available at Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.04.021 © 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/Metal-free electrocatalysts have eluded widespread adoption in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells due to their far inferior catalytic activity than most non-precious metal-N-C counterparts (M-Nx-C) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), despite their distinct advantages over the M-Nx-C catalysts, including lower cost and higher durability. Herein, we develop a rational bottom-up engineering strategy to improve the ORR performance of a metal-free catalyst by constructing a three-dimensional ultrathin N, P dual-doped carbon nanosheet. The resultant catalyst represents unprecedented ORR performance with an onset potential of 0.91 V, half-wave potential of 0.79 V. Impressively, a maximum power output at 579 mW cm−2 is generated in the fuel cell test, the best among reported metal-free catalysts and outperforms most of the M-Nx-C catalysts. The outstanding catalytic performance results from the highly active polarized carbon sites which are induced by selective graphitic nitrogen and phosphorous dual doping. Our findings provide new directions for the exploration of alternatives to Pt and bring a renew interests in the metal-free catalysts.National Natural Science Foundation of China || (21633008, 21433003, U1601211, 21733004) National Science and Technology Major Project || (2016YFB0101202) Jilin Province Science and Technology Development Program || (20150101066JC, 20160622037JC, 20170203003SF, 20170520150JH) Hundred Talents Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Recruitment Program of Foreign Experts || (WQ20122200077

Nanofat lysate ameliorates pain and cartilage degradation of osteoarthritis through activation of TGF-β–Smad2/3 signaling of chondrocytes

Introduction: Nanofat is an effective cell therapy for osteoarthritis (OA). However, it has clinical limitations due to its short half-life. We developed Nanofat lysate (NFL) to overcome the defect of Nanofat and explore its anti-OA efficacy and mechanism.Methods: Monoiodoacetate (MIA) was employed to establish rat OA model. For pain assessment, paw withdrawal latency (PWL) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) were evaluated. Degeneration of cartilage was observed by histopathological and immunohistochemical examination. Primary chondrocytes were treated with TNF-α to establish the cellular model of OA. MTT, wound healing, and transwell assays were performed to assess effects of NFL on chondrocytes. RNA-seq, qPCR and Western blot assays were conducted to clarify the mechanism of NFL.Results and Discussion: The animal data showed that PWL and TWL values, Mankin’s and OARSI scorings, and the Col2 expression in cartilage were significantly improved in the NFL-treated OA rats. The cellular data showed that NFL significantly improved the proliferation, wound healing, and migration of chondrocytes. The molecular data showed that NFL significantly restored the TNF-α-altered anabolic markers (Sox9, Col2 and ACAN) and catabolic markers (IL6 and Mmp13). The RNA-seq identified that TGF-β-Smad2/3 signaling pathway mediated the efficacy of NFL, which was verified by qPCR and Western blot that NFL significantly restored the abnormal expressions of TGFβR2, phosphorylated-Smad2, phosphorylated-Smad2/3, Col2, Mmp13 and Mmp3. After long-term storage, NFL exerted similar effects as its fresh type, indicating its advantage of storability. In sum, NFL was developed as a new therapeutic approach and its anti-OA efficacy and mechanism that mediated by TGF-β-Smad2/3 signaling was determined for the first time. Besides, the storability of NFL provided a substantial advantage than other living cell-based therapies

Connecting Openness and the Resting-State Brain Network: A Discover-Validate Approach

In personality neuroscience, the openness-brain association has been a topic of interest. Previous studies usually started from difference in openness trait and used it to infer brain functional activity characteristics, but no study has used a “brain-first” research strategy to explore that association based on more objective brain imaging data. In this study, we used a fully data-driven approach to discover and validate the association between openness and the resting-state brain network. We collected data of 120 subjects as a discovery sample and 56 subjects as a validation sample. The Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) was used to measure the personality characteristics of all the subjects. Using an exploratory approach based on independent component analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, we identified a parietal network that consisted of the precuneus and inferior parietal lobe. The inter-subject similarity of the parietal memory network exhibited significant associations with openness trait, and this association was validated using the 56-subject independent sample. This finding connects the openness trait to the characteristics of a neural network and helps to understand the underlying biology of the openness trait