Intralayer Negative Poisson's Ratio in Two-Dimensional Black Arsenic by Strain Engineering

Negative Poisson's ratio as the anomalous characteristic generally exists in artificial architectures, such as re-entrant and honeycomb structures. The structures with negative Poisson's ratio have attracted intensive attention due to their unique auxetic effect and many promising applications in shear resistant and energy absorption fields. However, experimental observation of negative Poisson's ratio in natural materials barely happened, although various two-dimensional layered materials are predicted in theory. Herein, we report the anisotropic Raman response and the intrinsic intralayer negative Poisson's ratio of two-dimensional natural black arsenic (b-As) via strain engineering strategy. The results were evident by the detailed Raman spectrum of b-As under uniaxial strain together with density functional theory calculations. It is found that b-As was softer along the armchair than zigzag direction. The anisotropic mechanical features and van der Waals interactions play essential roles in strain-dependent Raman shifts and negative Poisson's ratio in the natural b-As along zigzag direction. This work may shed a light on the mechanical properties and potential applications of two-dimensional puckered materials.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figure

The Combination of Human Urinary Kallidinogenase and Mild Hypothermia Protects Adult Rats Against Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy-Induced Injury by Promoting Angiogenesis and Regeneration

Objectives: Human Urinary Kallidinogenase (HUK) is a tissue kallikrein that plays neuroprotective role in ischemic conditions via different mechanisms. Mild hypothermia (MH) is another robust neuroprotectant that reduces mortality but does not profoundly ameliorate the neurological outcome in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) patients. However, whether the combination of HUK and MH can be used as a promising neuroprotective treatment in HIE is unknown.Methods: One-hundred and forty-four adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: Sham, HIE, HUK, MH and a combination of HUK and MH treatment. The HIE rat model was established by right carotid dissection followed by hypoxia aspiration. The survival curve was created within 7 days, and the neurological severity scores (NSS) were assessed at days 0, 1, 3, and 7. Nissl staining, Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL), immunofluorescent staining and western blotting were used to evaluate neuronal survival, apoptosis and necrosis, tight-junction proteins Claudin-1 and Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), doublecortex (DCX), bradykinin receptor B1 (BDKRB1), BDKRB2 and Ki67 staining.Results: The combined treatment rescued all HIE rats from death and had a best survival curve compared to HIE. The Combination also reduced the NSS scores after HIE at days 7, better than HUK or MH alone. The combination of HUK and MH reserved more cells in Nissl staining and inhibited neuronal apoptosis and necrosis as well as significantly attenuated HIE-induced decreases in claudin-1, ZO-1, cyclin D1 and BDKRB1/B2 in comparison to HUK or MH treatment alone. Moreover, the combined treatment increased the expression of VEGF and DCX as well as the number of Ki67-labeled cells.Conclusions: This study demonstrates that both HUK and MH are neuroprotective after HIE insult; however, the combined therapy with HUK and MH enhanced the efficiency and efficacy of either therapy alone in the treatment of HIE, at least partially by promoting angiogenesis and regeneration and rescuing tight-junction loss. The combination of HUK and MH seems to be a feasible and promising clinical strategy to alleviate cerebral injury following HIE insult.Highlights: -The combination of HUK and MH distinctly reduces neurological dysfunction in HIE rats.-HUK enhances the neuroprotective effects of MH in HIE.-MH attenuates tight-junction disruption, upregulates the BDKR B1/2, DCX and cyclin D1.-The combination of MH and HUK enhances the expressions of MH/HUK mediated-BDKR B1/2, DCX, cyclin D1 and Ki67 positive cells

Synthesis and Characterization of 1-(1-chlorocyclopropyl)-2-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)ethan-1-one

A simple and efficient method to prepare 1-(1-chlorocyclopropyl)-2-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)ethan-1-one via nucleophilic substitution of 2-chloro-1-(1-chlorocyclopropyl)ethanone and 1,2,4-triazole is described. The title compound is the key intermediate required for the synthesis of prothioconazole, a promising agricultural fungicide. By exploring changes in the reaction time, temperature, ratio of starting reagents, acid binding agent, and the nature of phase transfer catalyst, the reaction conditions could be optimized to afford the desired N-alkylated material in near-quantitative yield. The ultimate yield of the product after recrystallization was 93%, with a purity of 99% based on its characterization by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS), Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (IR), Proton Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR), and Carbon-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (13C NMR). The synthetic process is suitable for industrial application, with the advantages of high yield and facile preparation under mild operating conditions

PCE3 Plays a Role in the Reproduction of Male <i>Nilaparvata lugens</i>

Nilaparvata lugens proclotting enzymes (NlPCEs) belong to the clip domain serine protease (clip-SP) family, which is a characteristic protease family in arthropods. NlPCE3 was previously reported to regulate egg production and development in female N. lugens, but its role in male N. lugens is unclear. In the present study, qPCR analysis showed that NlPCE3 was expressed in three different tissues (gut, testis and fat body). RNAi revealed that dsNlPCE3 injection made the male vas deferens thinner and reduced the oviposition level of the females that mated with dsNlPCE3-treated males, causing eggs not to hatch. Furthermore, immunofluorescence staining showed that NlPCE3 was widely expressed in the male internal genitalia. However, after dsNlPCE3 injection, expression of NlPCE3 was diffuse in the male internal genitalia, whose peripheral cells seemed degraded. Overall, these results indicate that NlPCE3 is important for reproduction in male N. lugens

PCE3 Plays a Role in the Reproduction of Male Nilaparvata lugens

Nilaparvata lugens proclotting enzymes (NlPCEs) belong to the clip domain serine protease (clip-SP) family, which is a characteristic protease family in arthropods. NlPCE3 was previously reported to regulate egg production and development in female N. lugens, but its role in male N. lugens is unclear. In the present study, qPCR analysis showed that NlPCE3 was expressed in three different tissues (gut, testis and fat body). RNAi revealed that dsNlPCE3 injection made the male vas deferens thinner and reduced the oviposition level of the females that mated with dsNlPCE3-treated males, causing eggs not to hatch. Furthermore, immunofluorescence staining showed that NlPCE3 was widely expressed in the male internal genitalia. However, after dsNlPCE3 injection, expression of NlPCE3 was diffuse in the male internal genitalia, whose peripheral cells seemed degraded. Overall, these results indicate that NlPCE3 is important for reproduction in male N. lugens

Structural stability under Xe-ion irradiation of TiZrNbTaV-based high-entropy alloy and nitride films

Refractory high-entropy protective coatings are of interest for nuclear fuel cladding applications due to their corrosion resistant properties and irradiation resistance at elevated temperature. Here, TiZrNbTaV metallic and (TiZrNbTaV)N films were deposited by magnetron co-sputtering. The metal elemental contents of both films were nearly equiatomic. These films were irradiated by Xe ions at room temperature and 500 degrees C, and examined by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The as-deposited (TiZrNbTaV)N film showed a single NaCl-type fcc phase and a pronounced columnar growth structure, which could remain intact after irradiation treatments. In contrast, the as-deposited TiZrNbTaV film exhibited an amorphous structure and formed a bcc phase structure after irradiation at 500 degrees C. The TiZrNbTaV film after irradiation at 500 degrees C composed of depth -dependent size of grains. This distribution of grain size is consistent with simulated displacement damage. The stable structure of (TiZrNbTaV)N film under high temperature irradiation indicates that these materials have potential for use as protective coatings for nuclear fuel claddings.Funding Agencies|VINNOVA Competence Centre FunMat-II [2016-05156]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009 00971]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation through the Wallenberg Academy Fellows program [KAW-2020.0196]; Swedish Research Council (VR) [2021-03826]; Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province [LQ20A050001]; Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo City [2019A610183]; State Key Laboratory of Digital Home Appliances (Haier) [KLDH202102]; Swedish National Infrastructure in Advanced Electron Microscopy [2021-00171, RIF21-0026]; Swedish Research Council VR-RFI [2017-00646_9]; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research [RIF14-0053]</p

Initial investigation of B4C-TiB2 composites as neutron absorption material for nuclear reactors

In this study, a specifically designed B4C-TiB2 composite with the typical microstructural feature of a TiB2 network (cages) that encapsulates a B4C matrix was fabricated by the molten-salt and spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. The finite-element (FE) calculation results show that the connected TiB2 cages constitute a thermally conductive network, which effectively improves the overall thermal conductivity of the composite; these results agree well with the experimental results. Moreover, the Vickers indentation results reveal that the TiB2 network (cages) can effectively impinge/block the propagation of cracks, which increases the composite toughness. The composite was subjected to helium (He) ion irradiation to simulate the situation in which the B4C-TiB2 composites serve as neutron absorption material, and for which case a high quantity of He atoms is produced by the B-10(n, alpha)Li-7 nuclear reaction. According to the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results, the interfaces between TiB2 and B4C act as effective sinks for He atoms, and are preferential nucleation sites for He bubbles. The theoretical and experimental results show that when the B4C-TiB2 composites serve as neutron absorption pellets in nuclear reactors, they exhibit a better resistance to their disintegration than pure B4C pellets. Consequently, the performance of the control rods of nuclear reactors can be improved. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved