Current studies on inhibitory effects of n-3 PUFA on pro-inflammatory cytokines have inconsistent results. Thus, a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials was conducted to identify the effects of n-3 PUFA administration on circulating IL-6 and TNF in patients with cancer. Studies that examined the effects of n-3 PUFA administration on circulating IL-6 and TNF in patients with cancer were identified by searching PubMed and EMBASE from January 1975 to February 2021. Differences in n-3 PUFA administration and control conditions were determined by calculating standardised mean differences (SMD) with 95 % CI. Twenty studies involving 971 patients met the inclusion criteria. The overall SMD were 0·485 (95 % CI 0·087, 0·883) for IL-6 and 0·712 (95 % CI 0·461, 0·962) for TNF between n-3 PUFA administration and control conditions. Sources of heterogeneity were not found through subgroup and meta-regression analyses. Publication bias was observed in TNF with a slight contribution to the effect size. n-3 PUFA can reduce circulating IL-6 and TNF levels in patients with cancer. Results supported the recommendation of n-3 PUFA as adjuvant therapy for patients with cancer, possibly excluding head and neck cancer, owing to their anti-inflammatory properties.

The current study reports the identification of previously undiscovered single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the bovine AGPAT3 gene and further investigates their associations with milk production traits. Our results demonstrate that the major allele C of the SNP g.12264 C > T is positively correlated with test-day milk yield, protein percentage and 305-day milk yield. Importantly, in silico analysis showed that the C/T transition at this locus gives rise to two new transcription factor binding sites (TFBS), E2F1 and Nkx3-2. Polymorphism g.18658 G > A was the only SNP associated with milk urea nitrogen (MUN) with the G allele related to an increase in milk urea nitrogen as well as fat percentage. The GG genotype of SNP g.28731 A > G was associated with the highest fat and protein percentage and lowest 305-day milk yield and somatic cell score (SCS). The association between AGPAT3 locus and milk production traits could be utilized in marker-assisted selection for the genetic improvement of milk production traits and, probably in conjunction with other traits, for selection to improve fitness of dairy cattle.

Large amounts of bronze weapons have been unearthed from the pits of the Terracotta Warriors. Though they are of the same period, their condition is quite different; some are slightly corroded; some have almost no corrosion with a gray-black or green-gray surface; some are badly corroded. ICP, XRD, SEM, EDX, XRF, AES and Metalloscope were employed on seven bronze weapons to investigate their composition, structure and differences between the surfaces and bulk metals. Results showed that all these bronze weapons are high-tin bronzes. The three bronze swords contain a higher tin content than the others and have undergone heat treatment, which gives them the necessary tenacity of weapons. The surface layers of the weapons are rich in tin in various degrees because of selective corrosion and the migration of copper ions during corrosion. Some objects are more corrosion-resistant by a quenching treatment and the formation of compact tin oxides.

During a two-step sintering practice, important factors such as final grain sizes and residual pore status can be controlled through adjusting the first and second step sintering temperatures and durations. Moreover, the sintering temperatures (both the first and the second step) can be several hundred degrees lower than those in a traditional sintering process to obtain fully dense ceramics. Therefore, it is a potentially cost-effective preparation procedure for ceramics with fine grains. In this work, we successfully demonstrated the synthesis of aggregate-free sesquioxide nanometer-sized powders with a narrow size distribution through a modified chemical co-precipitation process. Subsequently, ytterbium-doped Lu2O3 ceramics of near full density were obtained through a two-step sintering process.

Ball milling of ammonothermally synthesized GaN powders was performed in an ethanol solution for a variety of durations, resulting in average particle sizes of nanometer. The ball milled powders showed an obviously brightened color and improved dispersability, indicating reduced levels of aggregation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks of the ball milled GaN powders were significantly broadened compared to those of the as-synthesized powders. The broadening of the XRD peaks was partially attributed to the reduction in the average particle size, which was confirmed through SEM analyses. On the other hand, rare earth doping of commercial GaN powders was also achieved through a ball mill assisted solid state reaction process. Rare earth salts were mixed with GaN powder by ball milling. The as-milled powders were heat treated under different conditions to facilitate the dopant diffusion. Luminescence properties of the rare earth doped GaN powders at near infrared range were investigated and the results were discussed.

A novel multiferroic thin-film heterostructure exhibiting both ferromagnetic (FM) and ferroelectric (FE) properties, as well as magneto-optic (MO) and electro-optic (EO) properties, was fabricated via a wet chemical route. Oxide buffer layers were used to allow the growth of ferroelectric lanthanum modified lead magnesium niobate titanate (La:PMNT) layer on top of ferromagnetic bismuth and aluminum substituted yttrium iron garnet (BiAl:YIG). X-ray diffractometer (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of both crystalline structures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to examine the surface and cross-section morphologies of the resulted heterostructure. Multiferroic properties of the film were investigated.

Several sulfide phosphors, such as CaS:Ce3+,Na+, CaS:Eu2+,Ce3+, ZnS:Te,Mn, ZnS:Se,Te,Mn and ZnS:Ce,Li were prepared and their excitation and luminescent spectra were investigated. The possible applications in LED-Phosphors white light devices are discussed.