An unconditionally energy stable finite difference scheme for a stochastic Cahn-Hilliard equation

In this work, the MMC-TDGL equation, a stochastic Cahn-Hilliard equation is solved numerically by using the finite difference method in combination with a convex splitting technique of the energy functional. For the non-stochastic case, we develop an unconditionally energy stable difference scheme which is proved to be uniquely solvable. For the stochastic case, by adopting the same splitting of the energy functional, we construct a similar and uniquely solvable difference scheme with the discretized stochastic term. The resulted schemes are nonlinear and solved by Newton iteration. For the long time simulation, an adaptive time stepping strategy is developed based on both first- and second-order derivatives of the energy. Numerical experiments are carried out to verify the energy stability, the efficiency of the adaptive time stepping and the effect of the stochastic term.Comment: This paper has been accepted for publication in SCIENCE CHINA Mathematic

Horizontal dynamic response of a tubular pile based on the Timoshenko theory

Horizontally vibrating characteristics of a tubular pile in saturated soil layer are studied in this paper. Governing equations of the pile is deduced based on the popular Timoshenko theory. Analytical solutions of the pile response are derived based on the continuous boundary conditions in the pile-soil interface. Accordingly, analytical expressions of the pile impedances are obtained. Based on it, a comparison with the Euler-Bernoulli Model is performed to verify this solution. Parametric analyses are carried out to study horizontal responses of the tubular pile

Curcumin induces apoptosis in lung cancer cells via mitochondria-dependent signal pathways

Purpose: To investigate the effect of curcumin on the growth and viability of lung cancer cells.Methods: The viability of curcumin-treated A-427 and A-549 cells, and changes in their morphologies were assessed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and phase-contrast microscopy, respectively. Flow cytometry and western blot assays were employed for the determination of apoptosis and changes in protein expressions, respectively.Results: Curcumin treatment altered the morphologies of A-427 and A-549 lung cancer cells. The viability of A-427 cells was reduced to 89, 71, 49, 26 and 25 %, respectively, on treatment with 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 μM curcumin, while the corresponding decreases in viability of A-549 cells treated with the same doses of curcumin were 91, 74, 53, 31 and 29 %, respectively. Treatment with 20 % curcumin resulted in 62.87 % apoptosis in A-549 lung cancer cells. Curcumin increased the proportion of cells in G0/G1 phase in a concentration-dependent manner, and increased the expressions of p21 and p-p53 proteins in A-427 cells, while the expressions of cyclin E and Cdc25c were decreased. Curcumin treatment also enhanced the expressions of Bax, cleavage-caspase-8 and PARP in A-549 cells.Conclusion: Curcumin inhibits lung cancer growth by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Thus, curcumin has a promising potential for the treatment of lung cancer.Keywords: Curcumin, Lung cancer, Apoptosis, Viability, Intrinsic, Reactive oxygen specie