CMAS-resistance of a yttria graded thermal barrier coating fabricated by plasma activated EB-PVD

EB-PVD yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are susceptible to calcia-magnesia-aluminum-silicate (CMAS) corrosion. The service lifetime of typical 8YSZ TBCs can be significantly reduced by CMAS attack. Currently, composition and microstructure modifications are the most commonly used methods for CMAS infiltration resistance. It has been reported by previous researchers that reactive elements, including Y, Gd, La, and etc., doped in TBCs can promote the formation of a dense protective layer by a sacrificing reaction with CMAS. It is therefore that the CMAS infiltration can be retarded. Besides, tailored columnar grains of TBCs are are also proved to be effective for CMAS mitigation. In this work, TBCs specimens with graded microstructure were fabricated by EB-PVD. The upper region of the TBC was doped with a higher Y2O3 content up to 25 wt.%, compared with the conventional 8YSZ composition. Besides, plasma activation was also introduced in the EB-PVD process to yield a tailored coating morphology and prosity. The coating specimens were tested at 1250 oC for evaluating CMAS resistance. Conventional YSZ coatings and graded coatings without plasma activation were also investigated for comparison

S-Palmitoylation of the sodium channel Nav1.6 regulates its activity and neuronal excitability

S-Palmitoylation is a reversible post-translational lipid modification that dynamically regulates protein functions. Voltage-gated sodium channels are subjected to S-palmitoylation and exhibit altered functions in different S-palmitoylation states. Our aim was to investigate whether and how S-palmitoylation regulates Nav1.6 channel function and to identify S-palmitoylation sites that can potentially be pharmacologically targeted. Acyl-biotin exchange assay showed that Nav1.6 is modified by S-palmitoylation in the mouse brain and in a Nav1.6 stable HEK 293 cell line. Using whole-cell voltage clamp, we discovered that enhancing S-palmitoylation with palmitic acid increases Nav1.6 current, whereas blocking S-palmitoylation with 2-bromopalmitate reduces Nav1.6 current and shifts the steady-state inactivation in the hyperpolarizing direction. Three S-palmitoylation sites (Cys1169, Cys1170, and Cys1978) were identified. These sites differentially modulate distinct Nav1.6 properties. Interestingly, Cys1978 is exclusive to Nav1.6 among all Nav isoforms and is evolutionally conserved in Nav1.6 among most species. Cys1978S-palmitoylation regulates current amplitude uniquely in Nav1.6. Furthermore, we showed that eliminating S-palmitoylation at specific sites alters Nav1.6-mediated excitability in dorsal root ganglion neurons. Therefore, our study reveals S-palmitoylation as a potential isoform-specific mechanism to modulate Nav activity and neuronal excitability in physiological and diseased conditions

Design of Magnetic Coordination Polymers Built from Polyoxalamide Ligands: A Thirty Year Story

International audienceThe aim of this review is to pay tribute to the legacy of O. Kahn. Kahn's credo was to synthesize magnetic compounds with predictable structure and magnetic properties. This is illustrated herein with results obtained by Kahn's group during his Orsay period thirty years ago, but also on the basis of our recent results on the synthesis of coordination polymers with oxamate ligands. The first part of this review is devoted to a short description of the necessary knowledge in physics and theoretical chemistry that Kahn and his group have used to select oxamate ligands, the complex‐as‐ligand strategy and the synthesis of heterobimetallic systems. Then, we describe the strategies we have later used to obtain the desired target compounds. The use of complexes as building‐blocks, associated to a control of the metal ions chirality and stoichiometry, allowed us to obtain coordination polymers with predictable dimensionality. For the synthesis of single‐chain magnets (SCMs) we show that the ligand chemical flexibility makes the isolation of the chains in the solid and the occurence of slow magnetic relaxation possible. For 1D and 2D molecule‐based magnets (MBMs), the magnetic ordering strongly depends on the interchain or interplane interactions, which are difficult to control. Again the flexibility of the oxamate ligands allowed their strengthening in the solid sate, yielding MBMs with critical temperatures up to 30 K. We will also present our results on 3D coordination polymers, particularly on the porous magnets displaying large octagonal channels. This family of porous MBMs possess outstanding chemical properties, such as post‐synthetic transformation in the solid state. Finally, we will also show that oxamate ligands allows the design of multifunctional materials, as in the case of the first chiral SCM. Overall, the results presented in this review show the impressive potential the oxamate ligands have for the design of coordination polymers

Effects of Dioscorea polystachya \u27yam gruel\u27 on the cognitive function of diabetic rats with focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury via the gut-brain axis

© 2020 Pang et al. Published by IMR press. Focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury is closely related to hyperglycemia and gut microbiota imbalance, while gut microbiota contributes to the regulation of brain function through the gut-brain axis. Previous studies in patients with diabetes have found that \u27yam gruel\u27 is a classic medicated diet made from Dioscorea polystachya, increases the content of Bifidobacterium, regulates oxidative stress, and reduces fasting blood glucose levels. The research reported here investigated the effects of \u27yam gruel\u27 on the cognitive function of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats with focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and explored the mechanism underlying the role of the gut-brain axis in this process. \u27Yam gruel\u27 was shown to improve cognitive function as indicated by increased relative content of probiotic bacteria, and short-chain fatty acids in the intestinal tract and cerebral cortex reduced oxidative stress and inflammatory response and promotion of the expression of neurotransmitters and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Thus, it is concluded that \u27yam gruel\u27 has a protective effect on cognitive function via a mechanism related to the gut-brain axis

Identification of three species commonly known as “daqingye” by internal leaf anatomy and high-performance liquid chromatography analyses

The macroscopic and microscopic morphologies and indigo and indirubin concentration of the traditional Chinese medicine herbs Isatis indigotica Fort., Polygonum tinctorium Ait., and Baphicacanthus cusia (Nees) Bremek, all commonly known as “daqingye”, were determined and compared. The morphological analyses indicated that I. indigotica has leaves with winged petioles and no glandular hairs or crystals, P. tinctorium has leaves with membranous ocrea and clusters of calcium oxalate, and B. cusia has palisade cells in the mesophyll running over the main vein and single cells containing calcium carbonate crystals. Indigo and indirubin are chemical constituents that have been previously isolated from daqingye and were selected in this study as identification markers for high-performance liquid chromatography analysis due to their pharmacological activities. The chromatographic results showed that indigo and indirubin concentration varied significantly among the three species: high concentration of both indigo and indirubin were observed in I. indigotica, the highest concentration among the three daqingye plants was found in P. tinctorium but with low levels of indirubin, and the concentration of indigo and indirubin was quite low in B. cusia. In summary, three different species commonly known as daqingye were accurately distinguished by morphological observation, internal leaf anatomy analysis, and chromatographic analysis

A three-dimensional network of graphene/silicon/graphene sandwich sheets as anode for Li-ion battery

Abstract(#br)A freestanding porous three-dimensional (3D) network composed of graphene/silicon/graphene sandwich sheets is proposed to prevent the expansion induced pulverization for Si-based anode in a lithium-ion battery. The architecture ensures the attachment of Si active material, improves the conductivity, and absorbs the Si volume expansions. The 3D Graphene and Si in this architecture work synergistically to contribute to the capacity, while the nanoscale of Si lowers the expansion during lithiation. And the 3D graphene with an interconnected skeleton, in addition to active material, also acts as the current collector as well as a stable support for Si

Deregulation of DUX4 and ERG in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Chromosomal rearrangements deregulating hematopoietic transcription factors are common in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).1,2 Here, we show that deregulation of the homeobox transcription factor gene DUX4 and the ETS transcription factor gene ERG are hallmarks of a subtype of B-progenitor ALL that comprises up to 7% of B-ALL. DUX4 rearrangement and overexpression was present in all cases, and was accompanied by transcriptional deregulation of ERG, expression of a novel ERG isoform, ERGalt, and frequent ERG deletion. ERGalt utilizes a non-canonical first exon whose transcription was initiated by DUX4 binding. ERGalt retains the DNA-binding and transactivating domains of ERG, but inhibits wild-type ERG transcriptional activity and is transforming. These results illustrate a unique paradigm of transcription factor deregulation in leukemia, in which DUX4 deregulation results in loss-of-function of ERG, either by deletion or induction of expression of an isoform that is a dominant negative inhibitor of wild type ERG function

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data