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GaN with aligned nanopores was fabricated using a lateral anodic etching process in HNO3 solution. This laterally porous structure can be modified from triangular pores to quasi-circular pores with increasing the voltage, indicating the transformation from anisotropic etching gradually toward isotropic etching. Furthermore, we have established the correlation between the etching current and pore trajectories based on the in situ chronoamperometry and find that the lateral etching is initially driven by the avalanche effect, then enter a steady state as a balance between the oxidation and dissolution of GaN at the pore tips. The water splitting properties of the laterally porous photoanode have also been studied. Compared with the as-grown GaN film, nearly 3.4 times enhancement of self-driven photocurrent was achieved for the porous GaN with triangular pores. Our findings not only reveal the formation kinetics of porous GaN but also pave a way for the application of solar water splitting using laterally porous GaN.

Background: Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital cardiovascular disease in general population and is frequently associated with the development of thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). There is no effective strategy to intervene with TAA progression due to an incomplete understanding of the pathogenesis. Insufficiency of NOTCH1 expression is highly related to BAV-TAA, but the underlying mechanism remains to be clarified. Methods: A comparative proteomics analysis was used to explore the biological differences between non-diseased and BAV-TAA aortic tissues. A microfluidics-based aorta smooth muscle-on-a-chip model was constructed to evaluate the effect of NOTCH1 deficiency on contractile phenotype and mitochondrial dynamics of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HAoSMCs). Results: Protein analyses of human aortic tissues showed the insufficient expression of NOTCH1 and impaired mitochondrial dynamics in BAV-TAA. HAoSMCs with NOTCH1-knockdown exhibited reduced contractile phenotype and were accompanied by attenuated mitochondrial fusion. Furthermore, we identified that mitochondrial fusion activators (leflunomide and teriflunomide) or mitochondrial fission inhibitor (Mdivi-1) partially rescued the disorders of mitochondrial dynamics in HAoSMCs derived from BAV-TAA patients. Conclusions: The aorta smooth muscle-on-a-chip model simulates the human pathophysiological parameters of aorta biomechanics and provides a platform for molecular mechanism studies of aortic disease and related drug screening. This aorta smooth muscle-on-a-chip model and human tissue proteomic analysis revealed that impaired mitochondrial dynamics could be a potential therapeutic target for BAV-TAA.Funding: National Key R&D Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project, Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission.

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Laser cladding repair is an advanced technology for repairing Invar alloy moulds; however, the influences of various processing parameters on the quality of the Invar alloy moulds have yet to be determined. To explore the optimisation of laser cladding repair parameters, analyses of the geometric features and microstructure of the cladding layer were conducted. First, the influences of different powder feeding rates and scanning speeds on the dilution rate of the substrate were investigated by establishing a mathematical model of the laser power attenuation. Next, the influences of the parameters on the geometric features of the cladding layer were analysed. Finally, the influences of the parameters on the microstructure of the cladding layer were evaluated. At a laser power of 2300 W, a scanning speed of 3 m/min, and a powder feeding rate of 9 g/min, the best results of the width, height, dilution rate, roughness, and contact angle of the cladding layer were obtained. The results of this study indicated that excellent metallurgical bonding occurred between the cladding layer and the interface layer, and that the intended geometric features and desired microstructure of the cladding layer were obtained.

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