Fabrication and Characterization of MSQ Aerogel Coating on ePTFE Thin Films for Cable Sheaths.

With methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) aerogels synthesized by the sol-gel method as a raw material and Si-Ti sol as a binder, an alcohol-based aerogel slurry consisting of only MSQ aerogel and Si-Ti sol was prepared and coated on expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) to form an MSQ aerogel coating layer, followed by low-temperature heat treatment. The effect of Si-Ti sol content on the microstructure of the MSQ aerogel coating layer was investigated, and the properties of a typical MSQ aerogel-layer-coated ePTFE film were evaluated. The results show that Si-Ti sol has an important role in terms of film-forming capability, surface smoothness, flexibility, and powder dropping of the MSQ aerogel coating layer. With a Si-Ti sol of 10.5 wt.% content as a binder and after heat treatment at 170 °C for 30 min, the coated ePTFE flexible thin film with a layer thickness of 30 µm shows high uniformity, integrity, and electrical insulation properties, with an elongation at break decrease over 130%, a thermal conductivity of 0.1753 W/(m·K) at 25 °C, a dielectric constant of 16.5674, and a dielectric loss of 0.06369, which can be promisingly applied in cable sheaths.

Pathological Features of Enterovirus 71-Associated Brain and Lung Damage in Mice Based on Quantitative Proteomic Analysis.

The outbreaks of enterovirus 71 (EV71)-associated hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) have emerged as an emergency of global health due to its association with fatal encephalitis and subsequent neurogenic pulmonary edema; however, the molecular characteristics and pathological features underlying EV71-associated encephalitis and pulmonary edema remain largely unknown. In this study, we performed a proteomic analysis of fresh brain and lung tissues from EV71-infected mice at 7 days post infection. We detected a perturbed expression of 148 proteins in the brain and 78 proteins in the lung after EV71 expression. Further analysis showed that the dysregulated proteins in the brain are involved in a variety of fundamental biological pathways, including complement and coagulation cascades, innate and adaptive immune responses, platelet activation, and nitrogen metabolism, and those proteins in the lung participate in innate and adaptive immune responses, phagosome, arginine biosynthesis, and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 signaling pathway. Our results suggested that immune activation, complement and coagulation dysfunction, platelet activation, imbalance of nitrogen metabolism, and hypoxia could be involved in the pathogenesis of EV71, which explains the major clinical manifestation of hyperinflammatory status of severe HFMD cases. Our study provides further understanding of the molecular basis of EV71 pathogenesis.