The fracture of highly deformable soft materials: A tale of two length scales

The fracture of highly deformable soft materials is of great practical importance in a wide range of technological applications, emerging in fields such as soft robotics, stretchable electronics and tissue engineering. From a basic physics perspective, the failure of these materials poses fundamental challenges due to the strongly nonlinear and dissipative deformation involved. In this review, we discuss the physics of cracks in soft materials and highlight two length scales that characterize the strongly nonlinear elastic and dissipation zones near crack tips in such materials. We discuss physical processes, theoretical concepts and mathematical results that elucidate the nature of the two length scales, and show that the two length scales can classify a wide range of materials. The emerging multi-scale physical picture outlines the theoretical ingredients required for the development of predictive theories of the fracture soft materials. We conclude by listing open challenges and future investigation directions.Comment: An invited review article, 36 pages, 7 figure

Virus efficacy of recombined Autographa californica M nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) on tea pest Ectropis obliqua

Ectropis obliqua is a major tea pest and chitin synthase (CHS) plays a key role in the pest growth and development. A 192 bp conserved domain from E. obliqua CHS gene was cloned and it was used to construct recombined Autographa californica M nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) with double-stranded RNA interference (dsRNAi) method. The recombined AcMNPV virus could propagate in host cells sf9. Injection test showed that the virus efficacy of the recombined AcMNPV on E. obliqua larvae was significantly enhanced. It is considered that the CHS dsRNAi mediated by the nuclear polyhedrosis virus will be interesting for development of alternative bio-pesticide to control the tea pest E. obliqua.Keywords: Chitin synthase, baculovirus, double-stranded RNA interference, Ectropis obliquaAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(33), pp. 5412-5418, 16 August, 201

Overexpression of transketolase-like gene 1 is associated with cell proliferation in uterine cervix cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tumor cells need large energy and nucleic acids to proliferate and grow. For most of their energy needs, cancer cells depend more on glycolysis. For most of their nucleic acids needs, cancer cells depend more on the nonoxidative pathway of the pentose phosphate pathway. Transketolase(TKT) is a crucial enzyme in the nonoxidative pathway of the PPP.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The real-time quantity PCR was used to determine the expression of transketolase gene family in uterine cervix cancer. Transketolase activity of cell was determined by using enzyme-linked method. Cell proliferation was detected by using MTT.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The TKTL1 mRNA was specifically over-expressed in uterine cervix cancer cells(HeLa cell line) compare with normal human endocervical epithelial cells(End1/E6E7 cell line)(P < 0.05), whereas the expression of TKT and transketolase-like gene 2(TKTL2) have no significant differences between the two cell lines(P > 0.05). Moreover, we found that total transketolase activity was significantly reduced, and cell proliferation was remarkably inhibited after anti-TKTL1 siRNA treatment in HeLa cells. The total transketolase activity and cell proliferation have no significant differences after anti-TKTL1 siRNA treatment in End1/E6E7 cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results indicate that TKTL1 plays an important role in total transketolase activity and cells proliferation in uterine cervix cancer.</p

Application of anastomosis with dacryocystotomy and retrograde intubation in treatment of traumatic lacrimal canaliculi laceration

AIM: To discuss the application of anastomosis in traumatic lacrimal canaliculi laceration. <p>METHODS: Totally 21 patients of which nasal end can not be found out were treated with anastomosis combined dacryocystotomy and retrograde intubation. <p>RESULTS: All the patients were followed up postoperatively for 1 year to 2 years. The total effective rate was 95.2%.<p>CONCLUSION: The anastomosis with dacryocystotomy and retrograde intubation is a affirmative and available method in treatment of traumatic lacrimal canaliculi laceration

Quantum Interference Effects in Molecular Y- and Rhomb-Type Systems

In this paper we report the first observation of molecular population trapping in four level systems. Constructive and destructive quantum interferences between two sum-frequncy two-photon transitions in Y- and rhomb-type four-level systems, respectively, im sodium molecules have been experimentally achieved by using only one laser source. Their energy level schemes are featured by the extremely near-resonant enhancement of the equal-frequency two-photon transitions, sharing both the initial and the intermediate levels for the Y-type, and sharing both the initial and the final levels for the rhomb-type systems. Their novel spectral effects are to show seriously restrained Doppler-free UV peak at the nominal location of the induced two-photon transition with visible fluorescence in rhomb-type schems, and to show a strong extra UV peak but null visible fluorescence in the middle between the two dipole allowed two-photon transitions