Aim: To evaluate the effect of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) injection on retinal damage induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) in rats and on nuclear factorkappa B (NF-κB) family members. Methods: Female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into groups: (i), control group; (ii), model group; and (iii), TMP-injection groups, in which the rats were subdivided into 40 mg/kg, 80 mg/kg and 160 mg/kg groups. Drugs were injected ip into 47-day-old SD rats once a day. At 50 days of age, all rats in the model group and drug groups also received a single ip injection of 60 mg/kg MNU. Rats in group 1 received ip injection of physiological saline. All rats were killed at different times after MNU or physiological saline treatment. The apoptotic index of photoreceptor cells was calculated by TUNEL labeling; retinal damage was evaluated based on retinal thickness and the expression of NF-κB family members was detected by Western blot. Results: TMP injections, in a dose-dependent manner, suppressed photoreceptor cell apoptosis and decreased its loss in the peripheral retina. As compared with the MNU-treated group, TMP injection at a dose of 160 mg/kg also timedependently upregulated the NF-κB/p65 protein level in the nucleus and downregulated the IκBα protein level in the cytoplasm. However, no protective effect of TMP injection on MNU-induced central retinal damage was found. Conclusion: TMP injection partially protects against MNU-induced retinal damage by upregulating the nuclear translocation of p65 to inhibit photoreceptor cells apoptosis. Key wordst e t r a m e t h y l p y r a z i n e ; p h o t o r e c e p t o r s ; methylnitrosourea; apoptosis; NF-kappa B;

In this study, sawdust and polypropylene (PP) are melt-blended and injection-molded to form the wood-plastic composite (WPC).The WPC is then tested in terms of mechanical properties and compared with control groups of pure PP plate and PP/glass fiber (PP/GF) composite. In the tensile test, the WPC displays a tensile strength of 25-27 MPa, regardless of whether the sawdust content is 5, 10, or 15 wt%. Pure PP composite has a tensile strength of 30 MPa; PP/GF composite with 15 wt% glass fibers has a tensile strength of 57 MPa. In the bending test, the WPC displays a flexural strength of 44-45 MPa as the sawdust content does not influence the bending strength. PP/glass fiber composite yields a bending strength of 85 MPa when the content of glass fiber is 15 wt%. WPC is 5% lighter than PP/glass fiber composite.

Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/polypropylene/bamboo charcoal (PET/PP/BC) thermoplastic composites were prepared by melt compounding and then injection molding. The functionalities of the composites, such as electrical resistivity, electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE), far-infrared ray radiativity (FIRR) and negative ion concentration, were evaluated in the study. The surface resistivity and volume resistivity of the functional composites were 2.47 - 9.12×1011 Ω/sq and 5.8 - 7.01×1010 Ωcm, respectively, while composites containing 6 wt% BC or above. The EMSE of the composites were below 10 dB at frequency ranged from 300 kHz to3 GHz. The average FIRR of the composites was 0.85 at BC concentration of 8 wt%. Incorporation of BC into the composites increased the negative ion concentration of about 30 pcs/cc compared to those without BC. However, it is lower than the positive ion concentration in the air.

In this study, the nonwoven composites were made of high strength nylon 6 staples and low-melting-point polyester staples using needle-punching and thermal-bonding. By tensile strength test and constant-rate stab resistance test, the optimum parameters of the composites were obtained for developing and designing the stab-resistant nonwoven composites. The optimum experimental conditions for the nonwoven composites were as follows: the temperature for thermal-bonding was 150 °C; and the wheel speed of thermal compression was 0.5 m/min.

Functional nonwoven products have superiority such as quick mass-production, short processing time, wide sources for raw material, low cost and high output etc. They have been widely studied and promoted in advanced countries. However, comparing with selvedge processing, they brings considerable burden to environment. So in this paper, we chose low cost polyester (LPE) and low melting point fiber (LMPE) respectively blending by 50 wt% through the process of mixing, blowing, carding, laying, and needle punching etc. to form nonwoven fabric in which the needle density was adjusted. Finally it is found that 103 needles/cm2 was optimal after mechanical testing. And then different proportions of PP selvedges were placed in the middle of two optimal nonwoven layers by sandwich structure, and mechanical properties of PET/LMPET/PP fabric produced after thermo bonding and cooling was tested. According to the optimal production evaluation for functionality, these products may apply to reinforced interlayer in general protective clothing, protective glove, reinforcement in simple building structure and stiffening geotextiles in the future.