mlsa-iai-msu-lab/ru_sci_bench_zho_cite_reranking huggingface dataset:
Synthesis and Magnetic Properties of Co_3O_4 Nanoflowers

Poly(butylene terephthalate)/poly(butylene terephthalate-ε-caprolactone) is a new A/AxB1-x binary crystalline blend with intra-molecular repulsion interaction. Using the mean-field binary interaction model, the value of interaction parameter between the butylene terephthalate and caprolactone structural unit was first reported to be 0.305. This blend exhibited different crystallization behavior from a typical homo-polymer/copolymer blend, which was carefully investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. It was found that poly(butylene terephthalate-ε-caprolactone) copolymers have a great effect on the pure poly(butylene terephthalate) chain mobility and poly(butylene terephthalate) crystalline lattice packing. In the meantime, the crystallization of butylene terephthalate segments in copolymers was restricted by the previously formed poly(butylene terephthalate) crystallites. The two constituents for blending can not form a co-crystal in the range of composition even if they have the same butylene terephthalate unit. It can be concluded that longer segments in a copolymer would be beneficial for the formation of a co-crystal in blends.
Binding Properties of CO, NO, and O_2 to P450 Heme: a Density Functional Study

The structural and binding properties of diatomic molecules CO, NO and O_2 to P450 heme were investigated in two different models (labeled as M1 and M_2) using density functional method at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level. The effects of the serine residue near diatomic molecules XO were considered in the model M_2. The results show that the serine residue near the heme enforced the binding of X_O to heme. Frequency analysis indicates that the stretching vibrational frequency decreased as CO, NO, and O__2 complex with heme.
Influence of New Interaction Potential on MD Simulation of MgSiO_3 Perovskite Thermodynamic Properties

The interaction potential plays an important role in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Pair potential has been used to simulate the melting temperature of MgSiO_3 perovskite in previous studies, but considerable discrepancy of melting temperature exists between these simulations. Comparisons of potential energy curves are performed to explain the discrepancy. To further investigate the influence of the interaction potential parameters on the MD simulation result, a new set of potential parameters is developed based on two fitting potential parameters of previous studies, and is applied in the present study. The simulated molar volume MgSiO_3 perovskite agrees well with the study by Belonoshko and Dubrovinsky at ambient condition. The equations of state, constant-pressure heating capacity and the constant-pressure thermal expansivity of MgSiO_3 perovskite are close to the experimental data. Calculated melting temperatures are also comparable with those derived from previous studies.
Density Functional Theory Study of Structure and Electronic Properties of MgBen (n=2–12) Clusters

Determinations of the lowest energy structures and electronic properties of MgBen (n=2-12) clusters were carried out by using density-functional theory. It was found that MgBe3 and MgBe9 clusters with higher binding energy and larger HOMO-LUMO gap are more stable than the neighboring clusters. The electronic properties from van der Waals to covalent and bulk metallic behavior in MgBen (n=2-12) clusters are discussed with the evolution of the size, and the data indicates Magnesium-doped Beryllium clusters already early appear some metallic-like features than host Ben clusters. By analyzing electronic properties of MgBen (n=2-12) clusters, it can be concluded that Mg-doped reduces the stabilities of Be clusters.
Relationship Between Photocatalytic Activity and Structure of TiO_2 Thin Film

TiO_2 thin films with different crystalline structures were prepared by the CVD method. The relationship between photocatalytic activity of a TiO_2 thin film and its crystalline type was investigated. These films were characterized by XRD and AFM. Their photocatalytic properties were tested by the degradation of NO_2~-. The results showed that the crystalline structures of TiO_2 thin films are primary anatase and/or rutile when the preparation temperatures were less than 573 K and higher than 773 K respectively. When the preparation temperature was around 623 K, the structures of TiO_2 thin films were mixed crystalline structure, which showed the highest catalytic activity. When the ratio of rutile to anatase in TiO_2 thin films fell between 0.5 and 0.7, the highest catalytic activity for the degradation of NO_2~- was found.
Oleanolic Acid Induces Apoptosis in Human Leukemia Cells through Caspase Activation and Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Cleavage

It has been shown that Fructus Ligustri Lucidi (FLL), a promising traditional Chinese medicine, can inhibit the growth of tumors. However, the effective component and molecular mechanism of FLL act to inhibit tumor proliferation are unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that oleanolic acid (OA), a principal chemical component of FLL, inhibited the proliferation of human leukemia HL60 cells in culture. MTT assay showed that treatment of HL60 cells with FLL crude extracts or OA dramatically blocked the growth of target tumor cell in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Morphological changes of the nuclei and DNA fragmentation showed that apoptotic cell death occurred in the HL60 cells after treating with FLL extracts (20 mg/ml) or OA (3.65×10~(-2) mg/ml). Furthermore, flow cytometry assay showed that treatment of HL60 cells with FLL or OA caused an increased accumulation of G1 and sub-G1 subpopulations. Western blot analysis showed that caspase-9 and caspase-3 were activated, accompanied by the cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in the target cells during FLL- or OA-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that OA acts as the effective component of FLL by exerting its cytotoxicity towards target tumor cells through activation of caspases and cleavage of PARP.
A new FIR filter for state estimation and its application

This paper proposes a new FIR (finite impulse response) filter under a least squares criterion using a forgetting factor. The proposed FIR filter does not require information of the noise covariances as well as the initial state, and has some inherent properties such as time-invariance, unbiasedness and deadbeat. The proposed FIR filter is represented in a batch form and then a recursive form as an alternative form. From discussions about the choice of a forgetting factor and a window length, it is shown that they can be considered as useful parameters to make the estimation performance of the proposed FIR filter as good as possible. It is shown that the proposed FIR filter can outperform the existing FIR filter with incorrect noise covariances via computer simulations. Finally, as a useful application, an image sequence stabilization problem is considered. Through this application, the FIR filtering based approach is shown to be superior to the Kalman filtering based approach.
Sperm maturation in the epididymis: a new look at an old problem

The osmotic challenges facing maturing spermatozoa and their responses to them are discussed in relation to the concept of sperm maturation, defined as the increased ability of more distally recovered epididymal spermatozoa to fertilize eggs when inseminated into the female tract. One explanation could be that the more distal cells are better able to regulate their volume, and reach the oviducts, as a consequence of uptake of epididymal osmolytes. Increased motility, zona binding and oolemma fusion capacities are also acquired within the epididymis and are necessary for those cells that finally arrive at the site of fertilization.
Role of the epididymis in sperm competition

Although it is generally understood that the testes recruited kidney ducts for reproductive function during the evolution of vertebrates, little is understood of the biological significance of the adaptation. In the context of the evolution of the mammalian epididymis, this report provides evidence that a major role of the epididymis is to enhance a male's chance of achieving paternity in a competitive mating system. A unique example of sperm cooperation in monotremes is used as evidence that the epididymis produces sperm competition proteins to form groups of 100 sperm into bundles that have a forward motility nearly thrice that of individual spermatozoa. As it required 3-h incubation in vitro under capacitation conditions to release motile sperm from the bundles, it is suggested that the monotremes provide an example of capacitation that is quite different from capacitation in higher mammals. It is suggested that variation between species in the intensity of sperm competition could explain the variation that occurs between species in the amount of post-testicular sperm maturation and storage in the epididymis, an explanation of why the human epididymis does not play as important a role in reproduction as the epididymis of most mammals.
MORPHOLOGY AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYPROPYLENE WITH in situ FORMED POLYAMIDE-6 FIBRILS

in situ Fibril formation of polyamide-6 (PA6) in isotropic polypropylene (iPP) was first fabricated using a slit die extrusion and hot stretching process. Then the prepared materials were subjected to injection molding in the temperature range higher than the melting temperature of iPP but lower than that of PA6. The obtained injection-molded samples were characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray scattering (2D-WAXS). Mechanical properties were also investigated. The SEM result shows that the optimum fibril formation could be only achieved in the range of 20 wt% to 30 wt% of PA6 content for the studied system. The fibril morphology changes along the sample thickness in the injection-molded bars. The fibril morphology in the skin layer was better than that in the core layer. 2D-WAXS results showed that the orientation of PP decreased with the increase of PA6 content, which indicated that the orientation of PP was confined by PA6 fibrils. Combined consideration of mechanical properties and morphology indicates that only PP/PA6 composites with 20 wt% of PA6 content show better properties because of the better fibril morphology and PP chain orientation.
A NOVEL METHOD TO PREPARE CROSSLINKED POLYETHYLENEIMINE HOLLOW NANOSPHERES

A novel method to prepare crosslinked polyethyleneimine (CPEI) hollow nanospheres was reported. Uniform silica nanospheres were used as templates, 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane (APS) was immobilized on the surface of silica nanospheres as couple agent. Aziridine was initiated ring-opening polymerization with the amino groups in APS to form polyethyleneimine (PEI) shell layer. 1,4-Butanediol diacrylate was utilized to crosslink PEI polymeric shell. The silica nanospheres in core were etched by hydrofluoric acid to obtain hollow CPEI nanospheres. The hollow nanospheres were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).
Organic anion transporting polypeptide-1B1 haplotypes in Chinese patients

Aim: To detect 388G>A and 521T>C variant alleles in the organic anion transporting polypeptide-1B1 (OATP1B1, encoding gene SLCO1B1) gene. Methods: One hundred and eleven healthy volunteers were screened for OATP1B1 alleles in our study. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to identify the 388G>A polymorphism and a 1-step tetra-primer method was developed for the determination of 521T>C mutation. Results: The frequencies of the 388G>A and 521T>C variant alleles in the Chinese population were 73.4% and 14.0%, respectively. The frequencies of the SLCO1B1*1b and *15 haplotypes were 59.9% and 14.0%, respectively. Conclusion: The SLCO1B1*1b and SLCO1B1*15 variants are relatively common in the Chinese population. Their frequencies are similar to that in the Japanese, but significantly different from that in Caucasians and blacks.
Expression and regulation of versican in neural precursor cells and their lineages

Aim: To have a better understanding of the expression and regulation of versican isoforms in neural precursor cells (NPC) and oligodendrogliogenesis. Methods: By immunocytochemistry, RT-PCR, and real-time PCR, we examined the temporal expression of versican in NPC isolated from embryonic d 16 rats as well as in oligodendrocyte (OL) lineage cells induced to differentiate from NPC, which mimicked the oligodendrogliogenesis in vivo. Results: We found that versican was constitutively expressed in NPC and their lineage cells, including neurons, astrocytes, and OL. In addition, 2 versican isoforms, V1/V0 and V2, were found to express at low levels in NPC, but at significantly higher levels in OL lineage cells. The peak expression of versican V2 was found at the oligo-dendrocyte precursor cell stage. Furthermore, the treatment of 2 pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α and IFN-γ, enhanced the transcription of versican V2 in NPC in a dose-dependent manner, but showed no effect on V1/V0 expression. Conclusion: Taken together, our results demonstrate that versican, particularly the inhibitory V2 isoform, is increasingly expressed in OL lineage cells induced to differentiate from NPC. An increase in versican V2 expression after cytokine stimulation implies the interplay between the injury-induced upregulation of inflammatory cytokines and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan-mediated inhibition of axonal regeneration after central nervous system injury.
Icariin promotes expression of PGC-1α, PPARα, and NRF-1 during cardiomyocyte differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells in vitro1

Aim: To investigate the effect of icariin on the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), and nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1) on cardiomyocyte differentiation of murine embryonic stem (ES) cells in vitro. Methods: The cardiomyocytes derived from murine ES cells were verified by immunocytochemistry using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Cardiac-specific sarcomeric proteins (ie α-actinin, troponin T) were evaluated when embryoid bodies (EB) were treated with icariin or retinoid acid. The expression of PGC-1α, PPARα, and NRF-1 were analyzed using both semiquantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting in cardiomyocyte differentiation. The phosphorylation of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) was studied in the differentiation process, and its specific inhibitor SB203580 was employed to confirm the function of the p38 MAPK on icariin-induced cardiac differentiation. Results: The application of icariin significantly induced the cardiomyocyte differentiation of EB as indicated by the promoted expression of α-actinin and troponin T. The expression of PGC-1α, PPARα, and NRF-1 increased coincidently in early differentiation and the increase was dose-dependently upregulated by icariin treatment. The phosphorylation of the p38 MAPK peaked on d 6 and decreased after d 8, and the activation was further enhanced and prolonged when the EB were subjected to icariin, which was concurrent with the elevation of PGC-1α, PPARα, and NRF-1. Moreover, the inhibition of the p38 MAPK pathway by SB203580 efficiently abolished icariin-stimulated cardiomyocyte differentiation and resulted in the capture of the upregulation of PGC-1α, PPARα, and NRF-1. Conclusion: Taken together, icariin promoted the expression of PGC-1α, PPARα, and NRF-1 during cardiomyocyte differentiation of murine ES cells in vitro and the effect was partly responsible for the activation of the p38 MAPK.
A Physics-Based Compact Direct-Current and Alternating-Current Model for AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors

A set of analytical models for the dc and small signal characteristics of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are presented. A modified transferred-electron mobility model is adapted and a phenomenological low-field mobility model is developed. We calculate the channel charge considering the neutralization of donors and the contribution of free electrons in the AlGaN layer. The gate-to-source and gate-to-drain capacitances are obtained analytically, and the cut-off frequency is predicted. The models are implemented into the HSPICE simulator for the dc, ac and transient simulations and verified by experimental data for the first time. A high efficiency class-E GaN HEMT power amplifier is designed and simulated by the HSPICE to verify the applicability of our models.
Validity ranges of interfacial wave theories in a two-layer fluid system

In the present paper, we endeavor to accomplish a diagram, which demarcates the validity ranges for interfacial wave theories in a two-layer system, to meet the needs of design in ocean engineering. On the basis of the available solutions of periodic and solitary waves, we propose a guideline as principle to identify the validity regions of the interfacial wave theories in terms of wave period T, wave height H, upper layer thickness d _1, and lower layer thickness d _2, instead of only one parameter–water depth d as in the water surface wave circumstance. The diagram proposed here happens to be Le Méhauté’s plot for free surface waves if water depth ratio r =  d _1/d _2 approaches to infinity and the upper layer water density ρ _1 to zero. On the contrary, the diagram for water surface waves can be used for two-layer interfacial waves if gravity acceleration g in it is replaced by the reduced gravity defined in this study under the condition of σ =  (ρ_ 2 - ρ _1)/ρ 2 → 1.0 and r > 1.0. In the end, several figures of the validity ranges for various interfacial wave theories in the two-layer fluid are given and compared with the results for surface waves.
Electric Field Enhancement of Nano Gap of Silver Prisms

Using numerical calculation, we examine the effects of gap distance of a pair of nano gap silver prisms with rounded corners on the local light intensity enhancement. Two peaks due to localized surface plasmon (LSP) excitation are observed in a wavelength range from 900 nm to 300 nm. The results demonstrate that peaks at a longer and a shorter wavelength corresponded to dipole-like and quadrupole-like LSP resonances, respectively. It is found that a gap distance up to 20 nm provides larger light intensity enhancement than that of a single silver nano prism with rounded corners. Furthermore, nano gap silver prisms are fabricated by direct focused ion beam processing, and we measure the scattering light spectrum of a pair of nano prisms by a confocal optical system. However, the two LSP peaks are not observed in visible range because the sizes of the nano gap and prisms are too large.
Quantitative Evaluation Methods of In-Line X-Ray Phase Contrast Techniques

By revealing the relationship between edge visibility and imaging parameters in in-line phase contrast imaging (PCI), we propose a method to quantitatively measure the contribution of absorption and phase shift from acquired images. We also prove that edge visibility will grow with the increasing source-object distance and object-detector distance. The result is validated by relative phase factor and by experiments conducted on a microfocus x-ray source. This method provides a new approach to evaluate in-line PCI images and is helpful for deciding imaging parameters.
Relativistic Multichannel Treatment of Ionic Rydberg States of Lanthanum

Ionic Rydberg energy levels of lanthanum are calculated from first principles by relativistic multichannel theory within the framework of multichannel quantum defect theory. The present calculated results are in better agreement with the experimental measurements than the previous calculations [J. Phys. B 34 (2001) 369] due to the consideration of dynamical polarizations. Moreover, in the experimental spectra achieved by a five-laser resonance excitation via the intermediate state 5d6d~3 F_2, a series of weak ionic Rydberg states and some of perturbing states are found and assigned in this work.
Indentation Load Effect on Young's Modulus and Hardness of Porous Sialon Ceramic by Depth Sensing Indentation Tests

Depth sensing indentation (DSI) tests at the range of 200–1800 mN are performed on porous sialon ceramic to determine the indentation load on Young's modulus and hardness values. The Young modulus and hardness (Dynamic and Martens) values are deduced by analysing the unloading segments of the DSI test load-displacement curves using the Oliver–Pharr method. It is found that Young's modulus Er, the dynamic hardness HD and the Martens hardness HM exhibit significant indentation load dependences. The values of Young's modulus and hardness decrease with the increasing indentation load, as a result of indentation load effect. The experimental hf/hm ratios lower than the critical value 0.7, with hm being the maximum penetration depth during loading and hf the final unloading depth, indicate that our sample shows the work hardening behaviour.
Rapid Fabrication of Three-Dimensional Woodpile Photonic Crystals by Means of Two-Photon Photopolymerization

Two-photon photopolymerization (TPP) of femtosecond laser is a promising method to fabricate three-dimensional woodpile photonic crystals (PCs). We build micro-fabrication system based on the principle of TPP. Three-dimensional woodpile PCs consisting of in-plane rod distances ranging from 1000 nm to 2000 nm are fabricated by focusing femtosecond laser in photosensitive liquid resin ORMOCER. The properties of the PCs are also discussed, and fundamental photonic band gaps in middle-infrared range are measured, whose in-plane rod distances are 1500 nm and 2000 nm. Three-dimensional woodpile PC devices with desired defects, such as cross-waveguide and micro-laser structures, are introduced easily by TPP. We fabricate the three-dimensional woodpile PCs in the liquid resin at the fast scanning speed of 120μm/s.
Temperature Effects on Prism-Based Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor

We theoretically analyse the temperature effects on a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor in Kretschmann configuration. The temperature effects include the thermo-optic effect and the dispersion of thermal-optic coefficient in the dielectric along with the thermal expansion effect, phonon–electron scattering and electron–electron scattering in the metal layer. We simulate the temperature dependence of the resonance position and the sensitivity of the SPR sensor under wavelength-interrogation and angular-interrogation mode of operation and the differences are pointed out in the two modes.