The mechanical behavior of cohesive soil is sensitized to drying-wetting cycles under confinements.However,the hydromechanical coupling effect has not been considered in current constitutive models.A macro-micro analy...The mechanical behavior of cohesive soil is sensitized to drying-wetting cycles under confinements.However,the hydromechanical coupling effect has not been considered in current constitutive models.A macro-micro analysis scheme is proposed in this paper to investigate the soil deformation behavior under the coupling of stress and drying-wetting cycles.A new device is developed based on CT(computerized tomography)workstation to apply certain normal and shear stresses on a soil specimen during drying-wetting cycles.A series of tests are conducted on a type of loess with various coupling of stress paths and drying-wetting cycles.At macroscopic level,stress sensor and laser sensor are used to acquire stress and strain,respectively.The shear and volumetric strain increase during the first few drying-wetting cycles and then become stable.The increase of the shear stress level or confining pressure would cause higher increase rate and the value of shear strain in the process of drying-wetting cycles.At microscopic level,the grayscale value(GSV)of CT scanning image is characterized as the proportion of soil particles to voids.A fabric state parameter is proposed to characterize soil microstructures under the influence of stress and drying-wetting cycle.Test results indicate that the macroand micro-responses show high consistence and relevance.The stress and drying-wetting cycles would both induce collapse of the soil microstructure,which dominants degradation of the soil mechanical properties.The evolution of the macro-mechanical property of soil exhibits a positive linear relationship with the micro-evolution of the fabric state parameter.展开更多
A massive amount of plastic waste has presented an immense management challenge.This escalating ecological damage,coupled with the detrimental effects of plastics infiltrating the marine food web,poses a significant t...A massive amount of plastic waste has presented an immense management challenge.This escalating ecological damage,coupled with the detrimental effects of plastics infiltrating the marine food web,poses a significant threat to human livelihoods.To combat this,there is a call for the development of plastic detection algorithms using remote sensing data.Here we tested a new index,referred to index_(MP),to detect clusters of floating macro plastics in the ocean using satellite imagery.The index_(MP)was applied to convolution high-pass filtered(3×3)Sentinel 2 Level 1 C images,showing the potential to reduce atmospheric interference and enhance the object edges,thereby improving the clarity of detection.In the analysis,we used three scatter plots to identify and assess plastic pixels.To differentiate the common features of plastic from non-plastic objects,the Sentinel 2 bands 5,8,and 9 were plotted against index_(MP)calculated and convolution high-pass filtered Level 1 C(CHPIC)images.The plastic pixels,clustering in the three scatter plots,showed positive‘X’,i.e.,CHPIC image value and‘Y’,i.e.,each band 5,8,and 9 reflectance values,along with a CHPIC image value exceeding 0.05.Using the index_(MP)and scatter plot analysis,we identified plastic pixels containing 14%or more plastic bottles.Detection of other types of plastics,such as fishing nets and plastic bags,required pixel proportions greater than 50%.Hence,plastic bottles were notably responsive even at a low pixel fraction.We further explored the classification of plastic and non-plastic objects by analyzing reed(plant)pixels;the differentiation between plastic and reed was conducted in the band 5 and 9 scatter plots.展开更多
Plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO)coatings were prepared on Al−Mg laminated macro composites(LMCs)using both unipolar and bipolar waveforms in an appropriate electrolyte for both aluminum and magnesium alloys.The tech...Plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO)coatings were prepared on Al−Mg laminated macro composites(LMCs)using both unipolar and bipolar waveforms in an appropriate electrolyte for both aluminum and magnesium alloys.The techniques of FESEM/EDS,grazing incident beam X-ray diffraction(GIXRD),and electrochemical methods of potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)were used to characterize the coatings.The results revealed that the coatings produced using the bipolar waveform exhibited lower porosity and higher thickness than those produced using the unipolar one.The corrosion performance of the specimens’cut edge was investigated using EIS after 1,8,and 12 h of immersion in a 3.5 wt.%NaCl solution.It was observed that the coating produced using the bipolar waveform demonstrated the highest corrosion resistance after 12 h of immersion,with an estimated corrosion resistance of 5.64 kΩ·cm^(2),which was approximately 3 times higher than that of the unipolar coating.Notably,no signs of galvanic corrosion were observed in the LMCs,and only minor corrosion attacks were observed on the magnesium layer in some areas.展开更多
Owing to their high flexibility and directional actuation capabilities,macro fiber composites(MFCs)have attracted significant attention for the active control of structures,especially in the nonlinear vibration suppre...Owing to their high flexibility and directional actuation capabilities,macro fiber composites(MFCs)have attracted significant attention for the active control of structures,especially in the nonlinear vibration suppression applications for large-scale flexible structures.In this paper,an MFC-based self-feedback system is introduced for the active control of geometrically nonlinear steady-state forced vibrations in functionally graded carbon nanotube reinforced composite(FG-CNTRC)plates subject to transverse mechanical loads.Based on the first-order shear deformation theory and the von Kármán nonlinear strain-displacement relationship,the nonlinear vibration control equations of the plate with MFC sensor and actuator layers are derived by Hamilton's principle.These equations are discretized by the finite element method(FEM),and solved by the Newton-Raphson and direct iterative methods.A velocity feedback control algorithm is introduced,and the effects of the control gain and the MFC actuator position on the nonlinear vibration active control effectiveness are analyzed.Additionally,a nonlinear resonance analysis is carried out,considering the effects of carbon nanotube(CNT)volume fraction and distribution type.The results indicate that the intrinsic characteristics of the structures significantly influence the vibration behavior.Furthermore,the appropriate selections of control gain and MFC position are crucial for the effective active control of the structures.The present work provides a promising route of the active and efficient nonlinear vibration suppression for various thin-walled structures.展开更多
Understanding the physical,mechanical behavior,and seepage characteristics of coal under hydro-mechanical coupling holds significant importance for ensuring the stability of surrounding rock formations and preventing ...Understanding the physical,mechanical behavior,and seepage characteristics of coal under hydro-mechanical coupling holds significant importance for ensuring the stability of surrounding rock formations and preventing gas outbursts.Scanning electron microscopy,uniaxial tests,and triaxial tests were conducted to comprehensively analyze the macroscopic and microscopic physical and mechanical characteristics of coal under different soaking times.Moreover,by restoring the stress path and water injection conditions of the protective layer indoors,we explored the coal mining dynamic behavior and the evolution of permeability.The results show that water causes the micro-surface of coal to peel off and cracks to expand and develop.With the increase of soaking time,the uniaxial and triaxial strengths were gradually decreased with nonlinear trend,and decreased by 63.31%and 30.95%after soaking for 240 h,respectively.Under different water injection pressure conditions,coal permeability undergoes three stages during the mining loading process and ultimately increases to higher values.The peak stress of coal,the deviatoric stress and strain at the permeability surge point all decrease with increasing water injection pressure.The results of this research can help improve the understanding of the coal mechanical properties and seepage evolution law under hydro-mechanical coupling.展开更多
Scientists and engineers are looking forward to new manufacturing technologies to realize the integrated fabrication of macro shape and microstructure for the components with a short production chain, which can also s...Scientists and engineers are looking forward to new manufacturing technologies to realize the integrated fabrication of macro shape and microstructure for the components with a short production chain, which can also save materials and reduce energy consumption. Additive manufacturing (AM) technology is a new fabrication pattern with a character of a lay-by-lay material deposition. The components are fabricated in a bottom-up way, from points, lines, to layers and volume, which provided a capability to solve the impossible integrated fabrication problem for micro- and macro-structure by using conventional manufacturing technologies. Thus, based on integrated fabrication of micro- and macro- structures, research team in Xi’an Jiaotong University has been focusing on technological innovations and applications of advanced additive manufacturing technologies. Novel additive manufacturing principles have been proposed and explored, by which new AM processes and equipment for met- als, composites, ceramics, and biomaterials have been developed to support the industrial applications. Additive manufacturing and cutting-edge applications of advanced composite structure, metamaterials, bio-implants, and monocrystal alloy components have been investigated to push the new development of integrated fabrication of micro- and macro- structures.展开更多
The precise compact modeling of magnetic devices is pivotal for the integrated design of spin-transfer torque magnetic tunnel junction(STT-MTJ)in conjunction with CMOS circuitry.This work presents a macro model for an...The precise compact modeling of magnetic devices is pivotal for the integrated design of spin-transfer torque magnetic tunnel junction(STT-MTJ)in conjunction with CMOS circuitry.This work presents a macro model for an STT-MTJ which is compatible with SPICE simulation platforms.The model accurately replicates the electrical performance of the MTJ,encompassing the resistance-voltage characteristics and the pulse-width-dependent state switching behavior,and is validated with various experimental data.Additionally,the impact of process variations,particularly those affecting the MTJ diameter and barrier thickness is investigated and summarized in a corner model.Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that our adaptable and streamlined model can be efficiently incorporated into the design of integrated circuits.展开更多
Accurately characterizing the liver's mechanical properties is of paramount importance for disease diagnosis,treatment,surgical prosthetic modeling,and impact injury dummies.However,due to its inherent biological ...Accurately characterizing the liver's mechanical properties is of paramount importance for disease diagnosis,treatment,surgical prosthetic modeling,and impact injury dummies.However,due to its inherent biological soft tissue nature,the characterization of mechanical behavior varies across testing methods and sample types.In this study,we employed transmission electron microscope and Micro CT to observe the morphology of the marginal and center of rat livers and conducted macroscopic mechanical tests to characterize their elasticity and viscoelasticity.The results revealed that the central region displayed higher metabolic levels,elongated mitochondria,and an abundance of rough endoplasmic reticulum at the microscale.At the mesoscale,larger diameter portal veins were mainly distributed in the central region,while smaller diameter arteries were predominantly located at the periphery.At the macroscale,under a strain rate of 0.0167 s^(-1),no significant differences were observed in the elastic properties between the two regions.However,as the strain rate increased up to 0.167 s^(-1),the central region displayed higher porosity,resulting in reduced liquid loss,increased hardness,and higher viscosity compared to the periphery.Consequently,the liver demonstrated overall heterogeneity,with isotropic models suitable for the peripheral region,while more intricate models may be required to capture the complexity of the central region with its intricate vasculature.展开更多
The experimental study on the macro and micro characteristics of the spray from a pressure swirl nozzle embraces the growth of surface unstable wave,disintegration process,spray angle,breakup length and so on.The e...The experimental study on the macro and micro characteristics of the spray from a pressure swirl nozzle embraces the growth of surface unstable wave,disintegration process,spray angle,breakup length and so on.The effects of injection pressure,nozzle geometry and liquid properties on these characteristics are also discussed.The results are helpful to understand the underlying physics of the pressure swirl nozzle and serve as the basis for the practical design,usage and improvement of the nozzle.展开更多
This article presents a micro-macro unified model for predicting the deformation of metal matrix composites （MMCs）. A macro-scale model is developed to obtain the proper boundary conditions for the micro-scale model...This article presents a micro-macro unified model for predicting the deformation of metal matrix composites （MMCs）. A macro-scale model is developed to obtain the proper boundary conditions for the micro-scale model, which is used to assess the microstructural deformation of materials. The usage of the submodel technique in the analysis makes it possible to shed light on the stress and strain field at the microlevel. This is helpful to investigate the linkage between the microscopic and the macroscopic flow behavior of the composites. An iterative procedure is also proposed to find out the optimum parameters. The results show that the convergence can be attained after three iterations in computation. In order to demonstrate the reliability of mi- cro-macro unified model, results based on the continuum composite model are also investigated using the stress-strain relation of composite obtained from the iterations. By comparing the proposed unified model to the continuum composite model, it is clear that the former exhibits large plastic deformation in the case of little macroscopic deformation, and the stresses and strains obtained from the submodel are higher than those from the macroscopic deformation.展开更多
BACKGROUND Macro-aspartate aminotransferase(AST), a macroenzyme, is a high-molecular mass complex formed by self-polymerization or association with other serum components that are difficult for the kidney to clear, le...BACKGROUND Macro-aspartate aminotransferase(AST), a macroenzyme, is a high-molecular mass complex formed by self-polymerization or association with other serum components that are difficult for the kidney to clear, leading to the isolated elevation of serum AST activity. Cases of macro-AST formation are rare, with only 3 published in the English language literature up to September 2019 in China. In this paper, we present a case in which an asymptomatic woman with persistent isolated elevated AST was confirmed as having macro-AST by the polyethylene glycol precipitation method.CASE SUMMARY A 34-year-old woman was referred to our clinic for elevated AST levels with normal levels of other liver-associated enzymes on November 12, 2018. Her AST level of liver function test had been abnormal for 7 mo before she came to the clinic. The patient was asymptomatic with a normal physical examination. There was no relevant family history and no alcohol consumption or smoking. She had a several-month history of traditional Chinese medical taking and had stopped it 1 year prior. The laboratory tests in our clinic showed only the elevation of AST(89.5 U/L) with no other significant abnormalities. We performed the precipitation technique with polyethylene glycol to confirm the presence of macro-AST. Then for almost a year, her AST level still fluctuated in the abnormal range.CONCLUSION This case highlights that clinical physicians should be familiar with this rare condition of persistent isolated AST elevation due to the presence of macro-AST to avoid unnecessary investigation and patient anxiety.展开更多
基金funded by National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2023YFC3007001)Beijing Natural Science Foundation(Grant No.8244053)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(Grant No.2024M754065).
文摘The mechanical behavior of cohesive soil is sensitized to drying-wetting cycles under confinements.However,the hydromechanical coupling effect has not been considered in current constitutive models.A macro-micro analysis scheme is proposed in this paper to investigate the soil deformation behavior under the coupling of stress and drying-wetting cycles.A new device is developed based on CT(computerized tomography)workstation to apply certain normal and shear stresses on a soil specimen during drying-wetting cycles.A series of tests are conducted on a type of loess with various coupling of stress paths and drying-wetting cycles.At macroscopic level,stress sensor and laser sensor are used to acquire stress and strain,respectively.The shear and volumetric strain increase during the first few drying-wetting cycles and then become stable.The increase of the shear stress level or confining pressure would cause higher increase rate and the value of shear strain in the process of drying-wetting cycles.At microscopic level,the grayscale value(GSV)of CT scanning image is characterized as the proportion of soil particles to voids.A fabric state parameter is proposed to characterize soil microstructures under the influence of stress and drying-wetting cycle.Test results indicate that the macroand micro-responses show high consistence and relevance.The stress and drying-wetting cycles would both induce collapse of the soil microstructure,which dominants degradation of the soil mechanical properties.The evolution of the macro-mechanical property of soil exhibits a positive linear relationship with the micro-evolution of the fabric state parameter.
基金Supported by the Guangdong Special Support Program for Key Talents Team Program(No.2019BT02H594)the PI Project of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Guangzhou)(No.GML2021GD0810)the Major Project of National Social Science Foundation of China(No.21ZDA097)。
文摘A massive amount of plastic waste has presented an immense management challenge.This escalating ecological damage,coupled with the detrimental effects of plastics infiltrating the marine food web,poses a significant threat to human livelihoods.To combat this,there is a call for the development of plastic detection algorithms using remote sensing data.Here we tested a new index,referred to index_(MP),to detect clusters of floating macro plastics in the ocean using satellite imagery.The index_(MP)was applied to convolution high-pass filtered(3×3)Sentinel 2 Level 1 C images,showing the potential to reduce atmospheric interference and enhance the object edges,thereby improving the clarity of detection.In the analysis,we used three scatter plots to identify and assess plastic pixels.To differentiate the common features of plastic from non-plastic objects,the Sentinel 2 bands 5,8,and 9 were plotted against index_(MP)calculated and convolution high-pass filtered Level 1 C(CHPIC)images.The plastic pixels,clustering in the three scatter plots,showed positive‘X’,i.e.,CHPIC image value and‘Y’,i.e.,each band 5,8,and 9 reflectance values,along with a CHPIC image value exceeding 0.05.Using the index_(MP)and scatter plot analysis,we identified plastic pixels containing 14%or more plastic bottles.Detection of other types of plastics,such as fishing nets and plastic bags,required pixel proportions greater than 50%.Hence,plastic bottles were notably responsive even at a low pixel fraction.We further explored the classification of plastic and non-plastic objects by analyzing reed(plant)pixels;the differentiation between plastic and reed was conducted in the band 5 and 9 scatter plots.
文摘Plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO)coatings were prepared on Al−Mg laminated macro composites(LMCs)using both unipolar and bipolar waveforms in an appropriate electrolyte for both aluminum and magnesium alloys.The techniques of FESEM/EDS,grazing incident beam X-ray diffraction(GIXRD),and electrochemical methods of potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)were used to characterize the coatings.The results revealed that the coatings produced using the bipolar waveform exhibited lower porosity and higher thickness than those produced using the unipolar one.The corrosion performance of the specimens’cut edge was investigated using EIS after 1,8,and 12 h of immersion in a 3.5 wt.%NaCl solution.It was observed that the coating produced using the bipolar waveform demonstrated the highest corrosion resistance after 12 h of immersion,with an estimated corrosion resistance of 5.64 kΩ·cm^(2),which was approximately 3 times higher than that of the unipolar coating.Notably,no signs of galvanic corrosion were observed in the LMCs,and only minor corrosion attacks were observed on the magnesium layer in some areas.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.12072003 and 12372003)Beijing Natural Science Foundation of China(No.1222001)。
文摘Owing to their high flexibility and directional actuation capabilities,macro fiber composites(MFCs)have attracted significant attention for the active control of structures,especially in the nonlinear vibration suppression applications for large-scale flexible structures.In this paper,an MFC-based self-feedback system is introduced for the active control of geometrically nonlinear steady-state forced vibrations in functionally graded carbon nanotube reinforced composite(FG-CNTRC)plates subject to transverse mechanical loads.Based on the first-order shear deformation theory and the von Kármán nonlinear strain-displacement relationship,the nonlinear vibration control equations of the plate with MFC sensor and actuator layers are derived by Hamilton's principle.These equations are discretized by the finite element method(FEM),and solved by the Newton-Raphson and direct iterative methods.A velocity feedback control algorithm is introduced,and the effects of the control gain and the MFC actuator position on the nonlinear vibration active control effectiveness are analyzed.Additionally,a nonlinear resonance analysis is carried out,considering the effects of carbon nanotube(CNT)volume fraction and distribution type.The results indicate that the intrinsic characteristics of the structures significantly influence the vibration behavior.Furthermore,the appropriate selections of control gain and MFC position are crucial for the effective active control of the structures.The present work provides a promising route of the active and efficient nonlinear vibration suppression for various thin-walled structures.
基金Project(52225403)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(2023YFF0615401)supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China+1 种基金Projects(2023NSFSC0004,2023NSFSC0790)supported by Science and Technology Program of Sichuan Province,ChinaProject(2021-CMCUKFZD001)supported by the Open Fund of State Key Laboratory of Coal Mining and Clean Utilization,China。
文摘Understanding the physical,mechanical behavior,and seepage characteristics of coal under hydro-mechanical coupling holds significant importance for ensuring the stability of surrounding rock formations and preventing gas outbursts.Scanning electron microscopy,uniaxial tests,and triaxial tests were conducted to comprehensively analyze the macroscopic and microscopic physical and mechanical characteristics of coal under different soaking times.Moreover,by restoring the stress path and water injection conditions of the protective layer indoors,we explored the coal mining dynamic behavior and the evolution of permeability.The results show that water causes the micro-surface of coal to peel off and cracks to expand and develop.With the increase of soaking time,the uniaxial and triaxial strengths were gradually decreased with nonlinear trend,and decreased by 63.31%and 30.95%after soaking for 240 h,respectively.Under different water injection pressure conditions,coal permeability undergoes three stages during the mining loading process and ultimately increases to higher values.The peak stress of coal,the deviatoric stress and strain at the permeability surge point all decrease with increasing water injection pressure.The results of this research can help improve the understanding of the coal mechanical properties and seepage evolution law under hydro-mechanical coupling.
文摘Scientists and engineers are looking forward to new manufacturing technologies to realize the integrated fabrication of macro shape and microstructure for the components with a short production chain, which can also save materials and reduce energy consumption. Additive manufacturing (AM) technology is a new fabrication pattern with a character of a lay-by-lay material deposition. The components are fabricated in a bottom-up way, from points, lines, to layers and volume, which provided a capability to solve the impossible integrated fabrication problem for micro- and macro-structure by using conventional manufacturing technologies. Thus, based on integrated fabrication of micro- and macro- structures, research team in Xi’an Jiaotong University has been focusing on technological innovations and applications of advanced additive manufacturing technologies. Novel additive manufacturing principles have been proposed and explored, by which new AM processes and equipment for met- als, composites, ceramics, and biomaterials have been developed to support the industrial applications. Additive manufacturing and cutting-edge applications of advanced composite structure, metamaterials, bio-implants, and monocrystal alloy components have been investigated to push the new development of integrated fabrication of micro- and macro- structures.
基金Project supported by the National Science and Technology Major Project of China(Grant No.2020AAA0109003)。
文摘The precise compact modeling of magnetic devices is pivotal for the integrated design of spin-transfer torque magnetic tunnel junction(STT-MTJ)in conjunction with CMOS circuitry.This work presents a macro model for an STT-MTJ which is compatible with SPICE simulation platforms.The model accurately replicates the electrical performance of the MTJ,encompassing the resistance-voltage characteristics and the pulse-width-dependent state switching behavior,and is validated with various experimental data.Additionally,the impact of process variations,particularly those affecting the MTJ diameter and barrier thickness is investigated and summarized in a corner model.Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that our adaptable and streamlined model can be efficiently incorporated into the design of integrated circuits.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.U2241273,12172034,U20A20390,and 11827803)the Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation(Grant No.7212205)+1 种基金the 111 project(Grant No.B13003)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.
文摘Accurately characterizing the liver's mechanical properties is of paramount importance for disease diagnosis,treatment,surgical prosthetic modeling,and impact injury dummies.However,due to its inherent biological soft tissue nature,the characterization of mechanical behavior varies across testing methods and sample types.In this study,we employed transmission electron microscope and Micro CT to observe the morphology of the marginal and center of rat livers and conducted macroscopic mechanical tests to characterize their elasticity and viscoelasticity.The results revealed that the central region displayed higher metabolic levels,elongated mitochondria,and an abundance of rough endoplasmic reticulum at the microscale.At the mesoscale,larger diameter portal veins were mainly distributed in the central region,while smaller diameter arteries were predominantly located at the periphery.At the macroscale,under a strain rate of 0.0167 s^(-1),no significant differences were observed in the elastic properties between the two regions.However,as the strain rate increased up to 0.167 s^(-1),the central region displayed higher porosity,resulting in reduced liquid loss,increased hardness,and higher viscosity compared to the periphery.Consequently,the liver demonstrated overall heterogeneity,with isotropic models suitable for the peripheral region,while more intricate models may be required to capture the complexity of the central region with its intricate vasculature.
文摘The experimental study on the macro and micro characteristics of the spray from a pressure swirl nozzle embraces the growth of surface unstable wave,disintegration process,spray angle,breakup length and so on.The effects of injection pressure,nozzle geometry and liquid properties on these characteristics are also discussed.The results are helpful to understand the underlying physics of the pressure swirl nozzle and serve as the basis for the practical design,usage and improvement of the nozzle.
基金Aeronautical Basic Science Foundation of China (03H53048)
文摘This article presents a micro-macro unified model for predicting the deformation of metal matrix composites （MMCs）. A macro-scale model is developed to obtain the proper boundary conditions for the micro-scale model, which is used to assess the microstructural deformation of materials. The usage of the submodel technique in the analysis makes it possible to shed light on the stress and strain field at the microlevel. This is helpful to investigate the linkage between the microscopic and the macroscopic flow behavior of the composites. An iterative procedure is also proposed to find out the optimum parameters. The results show that the convergence can be attained after three iterations in computation. In order to demonstrate the reliability of mi- cro-macro unified model, results based on the continuum composite model are also investigated using the stress-strain relation of composite obtained from the iterations. By comparing the proposed unified model to the continuum composite model, it is clear that the former exhibits large plastic deformation in the case of little macroscopic deformation, and the stresses and strains obtained from the submodel are higher than those from the macroscopic deformation.
文摘BACKGROUND Macro-aspartate aminotransferase(AST), a macroenzyme, is a high-molecular mass complex formed by self-polymerization or association with other serum components that are difficult for the kidney to clear, leading to the isolated elevation of serum AST activity. Cases of macro-AST formation are rare, with only 3 published in the English language literature up to September 2019 in China. In this paper, we present a case in which an asymptomatic woman with persistent isolated elevated AST was confirmed as having macro-AST by the polyethylene glycol precipitation method.CASE SUMMARY A 34-year-old woman was referred to our clinic for elevated AST levels with normal levels of other liver-associated enzymes on November 12, 2018. Her AST level of liver function test had been abnormal for 7 mo before she came to the clinic. The patient was asymptomatic with a normal physical examination. There was no relevant family history and no alcohol consumption or smoking. She had a several-month history of traditional Chinese medical taking and had stopped it 1 year prior. The laboratory tests in our clinic showed only the elevation of AST(89.5 U/L) with no other significant abnormalities. We performed the precipitation technique with polyethylene glycol to confirm the presence of macro-AST. Then for almost a year, her AST level still fluctuated in the abnormal range.CONCLUSION This case highlights that clinical physicians should be familiar with this rare condition of persistent isolated AST elevation due to the presence of macro-AST to avoid unnecessary investigation and patient anxiety.
