Since the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells in 2006, cellular reprogramming has attracted increasing attention as a revolutionary strategy for cell replacement therapy. Recent advances have revealed that so...Since the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells in 2006, cellular reprogramming has attracted increasing attention as a revolutionary strategy for cell replacement therapy. Recent advances have revealed that somatic cells can be directly converted into other mature cell types, which eliminates the risk of neoplasia and the generation of undesired cell types. Astrocytes become reactive and undergo proliferation, which hampers axon regeneration following injury, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases. An emerging technique to directly reprogram astrocytes into induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) and induced neurons (iNs) by neural fate determinants brings potential hope to cell replacement therapy for the above neurological problems. Here, we discuss the development of direct reprogramming of various cell types into iNs and iNSCs, then detail astrocyte-derived iNSCs and iNs in vivo and in vitro. Finally, we highlight the unsolved challenges and opportunities for improvement.展开更多
In this study,a laser-assisted pulsed plasma thruster(LA-PPT)with a novel configuration is proposed as an electric propulsion thruster which separates laser ablation and electromagnetic acceleration.Owing to the uniqu...In this study,a laser-assisted pulsed plasma thruster(LA-PPT)with a novel configuration is proposed as an electric propulsion thruster which separates laser ablation and electromagnetic acceleration.Owing to the unique structure of the thruster,metals can also be used as propellants,and a higher specific impulse is expected.The ablation quality,morphology,and plume distribution of various metals(aluminium alloy,red copper,and carbon steel)with different laser energies were studied experimentally.The ablation morphology and plume distribution of red copper were more uniform,as compared to those of other metals,and the ablation quality was higher,indicating its greater suitability for LA-PPT.The plume generated by nanosecond laser ablation of aluminium alloy expanded faster,which indicated that the response time of the thruster with aluminium alloy as the propellant was shorter.In addition,when the background pressure was 0.005 Pa,an obvious plume splitting phenomenon was observed in the ablation plume of the pulsed laser irradiating aluminium alloy,which may significantly reduce the utilisation rate of the propellant.展开更多
Saccharide production is critical to the development of biotechnology in the field of food and biofuel.The extraction of saccharide from biomass-based hydrolysate mixtures has become a trend due to low cost and abunda...Saccharide production is critical to the development of biotechnology in the field of food and biofuel.The extraction of saccharide from biomass-based hydrolysate mixtures has become a trend due to low cost and abundant biomass reserves.Compared to conventional methods of fractionation and recovery of saccharides,nanofiltration(NF)has received considerable attention in recent decades because of its high selectivity and low energy consumption and environmental impact.In this review the advantages and challenges of NF based technology in the separation of saccharides are critically evaluated.Hybrid membrane processes,i.e.,combining NF with ultrafiltration,can complement each other to provide an efficient approach for removal of unwanted solutes to obtain higher purity saccharides.However,use of NF membrane separation technology is limited due to irreversible membrane fouling that results in high capital and operating costs.Future development of NF membrane technology should therefore focus on improving material stability,antifouling ability and saccharide targeting selectivity,as well as on engineering aspects such as process optimisation and membrane module design.展开更多
High-temperature ablation is a common failure phenomenon that limits the service life of the transmission parts on heavy-duty machines used in heavy load,high temperature,high shock conditions due to in-sufficient sup...High-temperature ablation is a common failure phenomenon that limits the service life of the transmission parts on heavy-duty machines used in heavy load,high temperature,high shock conditions due to in-sufficient supply of lubricating oil and grease.Traditional self-lubricating coatings prepared by inorganic,organic or organic-inorganic hybrid methods are prone to be oxidated at high temperatures to lose their friction reducing function,so that it is difficult to meet the engineering requirements of high-temperature lubrication.We design viscoelastic polymer coatings by a high-temperature self-lubricating and wear-resistant strategy.Polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE,T_(m)=329℃)and polyphenylene sulfide(PPS,T_(g)=84℃,T_(m)=283℃)are used to prepare a PTFE/PPS polymer alloy coating.As the temperature increases from 25 to 300℃,the PTFE/PPS coating softens from glass state to viscoelastic state and viscous flow state,which is owing to the thermodynamic transformation characteristic of the PPS component.Additionally the friction coefficient(μ)decreased from 0.096 to 0.042 with the increasing of temperature from 25 to 300℃.The mechanism of mechanical deformation and surface morphology evolution for the PTFE/PPS coating under the multi-field coupling action of temperature(T),temperature–centrifugal force(T–F_(ω)),temperature–centrifugal force–shearing force(T–F_(ω)–F_(τ))were investigated.The physical model of“thermoviscoelasticity driven solid–liquid interface reducing friction”is proposed to clarify the self-lubricating mechanism determined by the high-temperature viscoelastic properties of polymers.The high-temperature adjusts the viscosity(η)of the coating,increases interface slipping and intensifies shear deformation(τ),reducing the friction coefficient.The result is expected to provide a new idea for designing anti-ablation coatings served in high temperature friction and wear conditions.展开更多
Despite the achievement of shock wave focusing with certain reflectors,the influence of the radial entrance width of a circular cavity on the flow field has yet to be addressed.In this study,we systematically investig...Despite the achievement of shock wave focusing with certain reflectors,the influence of the radial entrance width of a circular cavity on the flow field has yet to be addressed.In this study,we systematically investigated the effects of the shock wave focusing process in a cavity based on the radial entrance widths.An experimental system was installed to research the evolution of the flow field under conditions with different radial entrance widths of 3.0,11.1,19.5,and 33.0 mm.A schlieren system was used to photograph the structures of the flow field in the cavity,and a data acquisition system was used to record the dynamic pressure histories of different points.A numerical simulation was carried out to investigate greater details of the shock wave focusing process.A third-order strong stability-preserving Runge-Kutta method,third-order weighed essential non-oscillation scheme,and an adaptive mesh refinement algorithm were adopted to simulate the shock wave reflection,diffraction,and focus process.Good agreement between the experimental and numerical results was observed.By comparing the evolution process of the flow field under the conditions of four different entrance cavity widths,we found that when the entrance width was 19.5 mm,there was the stronger intensity of the shock wave focusing in the focal region,and the larger pressure value at the apex of the cavity than the other three entrance widths,occur.This study improves our understanding of shock wave focusing.展开更多
基金supported by a grant from Department of Neurology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical Universityl, China (2014257)
文摘Since the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells in 2006, cellular reprogramming has attracted increasing attention as a revolutionary strategy for cell replacement therapy. Recent advances have revealed that somatic cells can be directly converted into other mature cell types, which eliminates the risk of neoplasia and the generation of undesired cell types. Astrocytes become reactive and undergo proliferation, which hampers axon regeneration following injury, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases. An emerging technique to directly reprogram astrocytes into induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) and induced neurons (iNs) by neural fate determinants brings potential hope to cell replacement therapy for the above neurological problems. Here, we discuss the development of direct reprogramming of various cell types into iNs and iNSCs, then detail astrocyte-derived iNSCs and iNs in vivo and in vitro. Finally, we highlight the unsolved challenges and opportunities for improvement.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.11772354)。
文摘In this study,a laser-assisted pulsed plasma thruster(LA-PPT)with a novel configuration is proposed as an electric propulsion thruster which separates laser ablation and electromagnetic acceleration.Owing to the unique structure of the thruster,metals can also be used as propellants,and a higher specific impulse is expected.The ablation quality,morphology,and plume distribution of various metals(aluminium alloy,red copper,and carbon steel)with different laser energies were studied experimentally.The ablation morphology and plume distribution of red copper were more uniform,as compared to those of other metals,and the ablation quality was higher,indicating its greater suitability for LA-PPT.The plume generated by nanosecond laser ablation of aluminium alloy expanded faster,which indicated that the response time of the thruster with aluminium alloy as the propellant was shorter.In addition,when the background pressure was 0.005 Pa,an obvious plume splitting phenomenon was observed in the ablation plume of the pulsed laser irradiating aluminium alloy,which may significantly reduce the utilisation rate of the propellant.
基金Dr.X.Li thanks the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program for funding under Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No.713683(COFUNDfellowsDTU).
文摘Saccharide production is critical to the development of biotechnology in the field of food and biofuel.The extraction of saccharide from biomass-based hydrolysate mixtures has become a trend due to low cost and abundant biomass reserves.Compared to conventional methods of fractionation and recovery of saccharides,nanofiltration(NF)has received considerable attention in recent decades because of its high selectivity and low energy consumption and environmental impact.In this review the advantages and challenges of NF based technology in the separation of saccharides are critically evaluated.Hybrid membrane processes,i.e.,combining NF with ultrafiltration,can complement each other to provide an efficient approach for removal of unwanted solutes to obtain higher purity saccharides.However,use of NF membrane separation technology is limited due to irreversible membrane fouling that results in high capital and operating costs.Future development of NF membrane technology should therefore focus on improving material stability,antifouling ability and saccharide targeting selectivity,as well as on engineering aspects such as process optimisation and membrane module design.
基金The authors are grateful for the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52075560).
文摘High-temperature ablation is a common failure phenomenon that limits the service life of the transmission parts on heavy-duty machines used in heavy load,high temperature,high shock conditions due to in-sufficient supply of lubricating oil and grease.Traditional self-lubricating coatings prepared by inorganic,organic or organic-inorganic hybrid methods are prone to be oxidated at high temperatures to lose their friction reducing function,so that it is difficult to meet the engineering requirements of high-temperature lubrication.We design viscoelastic polymer coatings by a high-temperature self-lubricating and wear-resistant strategy.Polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE,T_(m)=329℃)and polyphenylene sulfide(PPS,T_(g)=84℃,T_(m)=283℃)are used to prepare a PTFE/PPS polymer alloy coating.As the temperature increases from 25 to 300℃,the PTFE/PPS coating softens from glass state to viscoelastic state and viscous flow state,which is owing to the thermodynamic transformation characteristic of the PPS component.Additionally the friction coefficient(μ)decreased from 0.096 to 0.042 with the increasing of temperature from 25 to 300℃.The mechanism of mechanical deformation and surface morphology evolution for the PTFE/PPS coating under the multi-field coupling action of temperature(T),temperature–centrifugal force(T–F_(ω)),temperature–centrifugal force–shearing force(T–F_(ω)–F_(τ))were investigated.The physical model of“thermoviscoelasticity driven solid–liquid interface reducing friction”is proposed to clarify the self-lubricating mechanism determined by the high-temperature viscoelastic properties of polymers.The high-temperature adjusts the viscosity(η)of the coating,increases interface slipping and intensifies shear deformation(τ),reducing the friction coefficient.The result is expected to provide a new idea for designing anti-ablation coatings served in high temperature friction and wear conditions.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant no.51106178.
文摘Despite the achievement of shock wave focusing with certain reflectors,the influence of the radial entrance width of a circular cavity on the flow field has yet to be addressed.In this study,we systematically investigated the effects of the shock wave focusing process in a cavity based on the radial entrance widths.An experimental system was installed to research the evolution of the flow field under conditions with different radial entrance widths of 3.0,11.1,19.5,and 33.0 mm.A schlieren system was used to photograph the structures of the flow field in the cavity,and a data acquisition system was used to record the dynamic pressure histories of different points.A numerical simulation was carried out to investigate greater details of the shock wave focusing process.A third-order strong stability-preserving Runge-Kutta method,third-order weighed essential non-oscillation scheme,and an adaptive mesh refinement algorithm were adopted to simulate the shock wave reflection,diffraction,and focus process.Good agreement between the experimental and numerical results was observed.By comparing the evolution process of the flow field under the conditions of four different entrance cavity widths,we found that when the entrance width was 19.5 mm,there was the stronger intensity of the shock wave focusing in the focal region,and the larger pressure value at the apex of the cavity than the other three entrance widths,occur.This study improves our understanding of shock wave focusing.