Phase noise estimation based white light scanning interferometry for high-accuracy surface profiling.

White light scanning interferometry (WLSI) has been an extremely powerful technique in precision measurements. In this work, a phase noise estimation based surface recovery algorithm is proposed, which can significantly improve the measurement accuracy by decreasing the noise level in phase map coming from the systemic and environmental disturbances. The noise existed in phase map is firstly researched in spectrum domain and defined as the linear combination of complex terms at each angular wavenumber. Afterwards, based on the theoretical linearity of the phase distribution, the surface features can be redefined through establishing the function with respect to phase noise. By applying least square estimation (LSE), a spectral coefficient is defined to determine the optimal estimation of phase noise that represents the best statistical consistency with the actual case, from which a more accurate surface after removing most phase noise will then be generated. In order to testify the noise elimination ability of the proposed method, a nano-scale step height standard (9.5nm±1.0nm) is scanned, and the measurement result 9.49nm with repeatability 0.17nm is successfully achieved. Moreover, a leading edge of an aero-engine blade is also tested to investigate the potential of this method in industrial inspections. The measurement comparison with AFM is also displayed.

[Planning of ecologically suitable areas for Ligusticum chuanxiong under background of soil cadmium pollution].

Chuanxiong Rhizoma is a traditional Chinese medicinal material mainly produced in Sichuan and Chongqing of China. In recent years, the cadmium content in Chuanxiong Rhizoma produced in most of the genuine producing areas has exceeded the standard, which makes Chuanxiong Rhizoma difficult to be exported. To solve the problem of excessive cadmium content in soil, this study employed the MaxEnt model to simulate the potential geographic distribution of Ligusticum chuanxiong and evaluate important environmental factors, and re-plan its ecologically suitable areas based on the mineral distribution characteristics and soil cadmium pollution status. The results showed that the places suitable for L. chuanxiong growing covered an area of 335 523.69 km~2, mainly in central and eastern Sichuan, southern Shaanxi and most parts of Chongqing. Among them, the highly suitable areas of L. chuanxiong were mainly concentrated in Chengdu, Ya'an, Deyang, and Mianyang. Solar radiation, annual precipitation, and annual range of temperature were evaluated as important variables affecting the distribution of L. chuanxiong, with the contribution rates of 62.3%, 13.3%, and 6.8%, respectively. In addition, Qionglai county, Chongqing county, Mianyang city(Youxian district and Fucheng district), Qingchuan county, and Xinjin county were classified into the first-class ecologically suitable zone, covering a total area of 2 768.87 km~2. The se-cond-class ecologically suitable zone was even wider, involving such counties as Tongjiang county, Renshou county, Jianyang county, and Nanjiang county, and the total area reached 43 616.92 km~2. The re-planning of the ecologically suitable areas for L. chuanxiong has provided strong data support for the cultivation and resource development of L. chuanxiong and also new ideas for solving the problem of excessive cadmium content in L. chuanxiong.

[6-Gingerol ameliorates adipose tissue insulin resistance in aging rats].

This study investigated the effects and mechanisms of 6-gingerol on adipose tissue insulin resistance in naturally aging rats with glycolipid metabolism disorders. Twenty-seven aging male SD rats were randomly divided into a model group(aged, n=9) and two groups treated with 6-gingerol at 0.05 mg·kg~(-1)(G-L, n=9) and 0.2 mg·kg~(-1)(G-H, n=9). Six young rats were randomly assigned to a normal control group(NC). Rats were treated for seven weeks by gavage. Non-esterified fatty acid(NEFA) and insulin content was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA), and adipose tissue insulin resistance index(Adipo-IR) was calculated. HE staining was used to observe the size of adipocytes in epididymal white adipose tissue(eWAT). The gene and protein expression levels of adiponectin receptor 1(AdipoR1), AMP-activated protein kinase α(AMPKα), phosphorylated AMPK(p-AMPKα~(Thr172)), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α(PGC-1α), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3 K), protein kinase B(Akt), phosphorylated Akt(p-Akt~(Ser473)), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1/2(JNK1/2), phosphorylated JNK1/2(p-JNK~(Thr183/Tyr185)), interleukin-1ß(IL-1ß), and interleukin-6(IL-6) in adiponectin(APN), insulin, and inflammatory factor signaling pathways were detected by Western blot and real-time RCR, respectively. The results showed that 6-gingerol at a high dose could significantly decrease the fasting plasma content of NEFA and insulin and reduce Adipo-IR. Additionally, 6-gingerol at a high dose significantly increased the protein and mRNA expression of APN, AdipoR1, PGC-1α, and PI3 K in eWAT, elevated the relative expression of p-AMPK~(Thr172) and p-Akt~(Ser 473), reduced the protein and mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-1, and IL-6 in eWAT, and decreased the relative expression of p-JNK1 and p-JNK2. This study reveals that 6-gingerol can improve insulin sensitivity of adipose tissues in aging rats with glycolipid metabolism disorders, and this effect is presumedly achieved by enhancing the PI3 K/Akt signaling pathway, inhibiting adipose tissue inflammation, increasing APN synthesis, enhancing AdipoR1 expression, and activating its downstream AMPK/PGC-1α signaling pathway.