Southwest University

About: Southwest University is a education organization based out in Chongqing, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Bombyx mori. The organization has 29772 authors who have published 27755 publications receiving 409441 citations. The organization is also known as: Southwest University in Chongqing & SWU.

Highly anticorrosion, self-cleaning superhydrophobic Ni–Co surface fabricated on AZ91D magnesium alloy

Abstract: A highly anticorrosion and self-cleaning superhydrophobic surface with hierarchical flowerlike structures fabricated on AZ91D magnesium alloy is reported in this work. The hierarchical micro/nanostructures were created through electrodeposition of Ni–Co alloy coating. Followed by modification of stearic acid, a superhydrophobic surface with a water contact angle as high as 167.3 ± 1.3° and an ultra-low sliding angle of about 1° was achieved. The anticorrosion performance of the superhydrophobic surface was studied by using a combination of potentiodynamic polarization and EIS in neutral 3.5 wt.% NaCl solutions. The superhydrophobic surface can present an excellent anticorrosion effect with the inhibition efficiency of 99.99% to the bare magnesium alloy and its corrosion rate being 0.06% of that of bare magnesium alloy. The resulting superhydrophobic surface showed excellent superhydrophobicity in a wide range of pH values from 1 to 14. Besides, the as-prepared superhydrophobic surface possessed good chemical stability and self-cleaning effect. It's believed that the highly anticorrosion and self-cleaning superhydrophobic surface can efficiently protect magnesium alloy from corrosion and expand its application scope.

Finite-Time Synchronization of Discontinuous Neural Networks With Delays and Mismatched Parameters

Abstract: This paper investigates the problem of finite-time drive-response synchronization for a class of neural networks with discontinuous activations, time-varying discrete and infinite-time distributed delays, and mismatched parameters. In order to cope with the difficulties induced by discontinuous activations, time delays, as well as mismatched parameters simultaneously, new 1-norm-based analytical techniques are developed. Both state feedback and adaptive controllers with and without the sign function are designed. Based on differential inclusion theory and Lyapunov functional method, several sufficient conditions on the finite-time synchronization are obtained. Our results show that the controllers with a sign function can reduce the conservativeness of control gains and the controllers without a sign function can overcome the chattering phenomenon. Numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis.

Selenium Embedded in Metal-Organic Framework Derived Hollow Hierarchical Porous Carbon Spheres for Advanced Lithium-Selenium Batteries.

Abstract: Metal–organic framework derived hollow hierarchical porous carbon spheres (MHPCS) have been fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method combined with a subsequent annealing treatment. Such MHPCS are composed of masses of small hollow carbon bubbles with a size of ∼20 nm and shells of ∼5 nm thickness interconnected to each other. MHPCS/Se composite is developed as a cathode for Li–Se cells and delivers an initial specific capacity up to 588.2 mA h g–1 at a current density of 0.5 C, exhibiting an outstanding cycling stability over 500 cycles with a decay rate even down to 0.08% per cycle. This material is capable of retaining up to 200 mA h g–1 even after 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 C. Such good electrochemical performance may be ascribed to the distinct hollow structure of the carbon spheres and a large amount of Se wrapped within small carbon bubbles, thus not only enhancing the electronic/ionic transport but also providing additional buffer space to adjust volume changes of Se during charge/dis...

Prolyl isomerase Pin1: a promoter of cancer and a target for therapy.

Abstract: Pin1 is the only known peptidyl-prolyl cis–trans isomerase (PPIase) that specifically recognizes and isomerizes the phosphorylated Serine/Threonine-Proline (pSer/Thr-Pro) motif. The Pin1-mediated structural transformation posttranslationally regulates the biofunctions of multiple proteins. Pin1 is involved in many cellular processes, the aberrance of which lead to both degenerative and neoplastic diseases. Pin1 is highly expressed in the majority of cancers and its deficiency significantly suppresses cancer progression. According to the ground-breaking summaries by Hanahan D and Weinberg RA, the hallmarks of cancer comprise ten biological capabilities. Multiple researches illuminated that Pin1 contributes to these aberrant behaviors of cancer via promoting various cancer-driving pathways. This review summarized the detailed mechanisms of Pin1 in different cancer capabilities and certain Pin1-targeted small-molecule compounds that exhibit anticancer activities, expecting to facilitate anticancer therapies by targeting Pin1.

Comparative Study on the Fungicidal Activity of Metallic MgO Nanoparticles and Macroscale MgO Against Soilborne Fungal Phytopathogens

Abstract: Engineered nanoparticles have provided a basis for innovative agricultural applications, specifically in plant disease management. In this interdisciplinary study, by conducting comparison studies using macroscale magnesium oxide (mMgO), we evaluated the fungicidal activity of MgO nanoparticles (nMgO) against soilborne Phytophthora nicotianae and Thielaviopsis basicola for the first time under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. In vitro studies revealed that nMgO could inhibit fungal growth and spore germination and impede sporangium development more efficiently than could macroscale equivalents. Indispensably, direct contact interactions between nanoparticles and fungal cells or nanoparticle adsorption thereof were found, subsequently provoking cell morphological changes by scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In addition, the disturbance of the zeta potential and accumulation of various modes of oxidative stress in nMgO-exposed fungal cells accounted for the underlying antifungal mechanism. In the greenhouse, approximately 36.58 and 42.35% decreases in tobacco black shank and black root rot disease, respectively, could testify to the efficiency by which 500 μg/ml of nMgO suppressed fungal invasion through root irrigation (the final control efficiency reached 50.20 and 62.10%, respectively) when compared with that of untreated controls or mMgO. This study will extend our understanding of nanoparticles potentially being adopted as an effective strategy for preventing diversified fungal infections in agricultural fields.