From Filter Paper to Functional Actuator by Poly(ionic liquid)-Modified Graphene Oxide

A commercially available membrane filter paper composed of mixed cellulose esters bearing typically an interconnected pore structure was transformed into a stimuli-responsive bilayer actuator by depositing a thin film of poly(ionic liquid)-modified graphene oxide sheets (GO-PIL) onto the filter paper. In acetone vapor, the as-synthesized bilayer actuator bent readily into multiple loops at a fast speed with the GO-PIL top film inwards. Upon pulling back into air the actuator recovered their original shape. The asymmetric swelling of the top GO-PIL film and the bottom porous filter paper towards organic vapor offers a favorably synergetic function to drive the actuation. The PIL polymer chains in the hybrid film were proven crucial to enhance the adhesion strength between the GO sheets and the adjacent filter paper to avoid interfacial delamination and thus improve force transfer. The overall construction allows a prolonged lifetime of the bilayer actuator under constant operation, especially when compared to that of the GO/filter paper bilayer actuator without PIL.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figure

DOWNREGULATION OF PAX2 SUPPRESSES OVARIAN CANCER CELL GROWTH

PAX2 is one of nine PAX genes regulating tissue development and cellular differentiation in embryos. PAX2 promotes cell proliferation, oncogenic transformation, cell-lineage specification, migration, and survival. Unattenuated PAX2 has been found in several cancer types. We therefore sought to elucidate the role of PAX2 in ovarian carcinomas. We found that PAX2 was expressed in low-grade serous, clear cell, endometrioid and mucinous cell ovarian carcinomas, which are relatively chemoresistant compared to high grade serous ovarian carcinomas. Four ovarian cancer cell lines, RMUGL (mucinous), TOV21G (clear cell), MDAH-2774 (endometrioid) and IGROV1 (endometrioid), which express high-levels of PAX2, were used to study the function of PAX2. Lentiviral shRNAs targeting PAX2 were used to knock down PAX2 expression in these cell lines. Cellular proliferation and motility assays subsequently showed that PAX2 stable knockdown had slower growth and migration rates. Microarray gene expression profile analysis further identified genes that were affected by PAX2 including the tumor suppressor gene G0S2. Reverse phase protein array (RPPA) data showed that PAX2 knockdown affected several genes that are involved in apoptosis, which supports the fact that downregulation of PAX2 in PAX2-expressing ovarian cancer cells inhibits cell growth. We hypothesize that this growth inhibition is due to upregulation of the tumor suppressor gene G0S2 via induction of apoptosis. PAX2 represents a potential therapeutic target for chemoresistant PAX2-expressing ovarian carcinomas

Architectural formation of growable light steel structure and its 3D visualisation design and construction method

With the applications of new construction technologies and design ideas, innovative construction methods and architectural designs promote overall productivity and enrich architectural impressions. However, faced with the contradictions between construction efficiency, project benefits, and sustainability, together with the dynamically variable social demands and monotonous design of current temporary light steel structures, a new type of growable light steel structure with parameterisable and assembled architectural units is proposed. Besides, a fast-assembled track foundation that can be detachable and recycled is adopted. Both can promote the growth of light steel units. To be specific, its architectural spaces can be extended and contracted, and the structural form and service space can be adjusted by the reorganisation and optimisation of unit arrangements. Meanwhile, due to the advantages of information integrations and 3D visualisations of BIM technology, a BIM-based design and construction method of growable light steel structures is studied. Based on the arrangements of track and parametrically transformed light steel units, this study expands the architectural forms of light steel structures. It explores their respective applications in practical architectural design to solve current shortages of land resources, properly respond to variable building environments, simultaneously enrich the design schemes of current light steel structures, improve the utilisation rate of structural spaces, and enhance the aesthetic sensations of buildings

Seismic performance evaluation of a high-rise building with structural irregularities

In this study, the seismic performances of a 14-storey office building in Nanjing, China, due to its plan and vertical irregularities in the structural system, were evaluated using the response spectrum method, elastic time history analysis and elastic–plastic time history analysis. In combination of these three methods, the storey drifts and elastic–plastic states of typical structural members under three levels of earthquakes were determined to verify the robustness of the structural design program. The damage states of typical structural members at some sensitive positions were estimated and evaluated under rare earthquakes. Consequently, all structural members were within the scope of elastic performances under the actions of frequent earthquakes. The maximum displacements and storey drifts satisfied the requirements of the design codes within the scope of elastic or elastic–plastic deformations. The induced damages could reach “moderate damage” states, satisfying the requirements for the expected performances by the codes. The consequences indicated that the design scheme and critical parameters for the building structure satisfied the requirements of seismic performances from the codes

Reconfigurable mechanism generated from the network of Bennett linkages

A network of four Bennett linkages is proposed in this paper. Totally five types of overconstrained 5R and 6R linkages, including the generalized Goldberg 5R linkage, generalized variant of the L-shape Goldberg 6R linkage, Waldron's hybrid 6R linkage, isomerized case of the generalized L-shape Goldberg 6R linkage, and generalized Wohlhart's double-Goldberg 6R linkage, can be constructed by modifying this Bennett network. The 8R linkage formed by Bennett network serves as the basic mechanism to realise the reconfiguration among five types of overconstrained linkages by rigidifying some of the eight joints. The work also reveals the in-depth relationship among the Bennett-based linkages, which provides a substantial advancement in the design of reconfigurable mechanisms using overconstrained linkages