“Ba0 6Sr0 4TiO3 (BST)/MgO columnar composites are fabricat


“Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 (BST)/MgO columnar composites are fabricated via the spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. The microstructure, dielectric and tunable properties of columnar composites are investigated. The unmodified BST Curie temperatures with the increase of MgO addition indicate a sufficient suppression of ions interdiffusion between the two phases. The dielectric constant is decreased from 7000 to 3800 when MgO weight ratio is up to 15% while the tunability still stays at high level over 45%. The coefficient of the dielectric nonlinearity beta shows a growing trend with increasing

MgO content. The experimental results are in agreement with the theoretical prediction and confirm that if the composite is fabricated in columnar model, a reduction of dielectric constant without a deterioration of tunability could be achieved, which make them useful for potential tunable device applications in wireless GS-7977 inhibitor communication system. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.”
“Molecular docking is an important tool in screening large libraries of compounds to determine the interactions between potential drugs and the target proteins. The molecular docking problem is how to locate a good conformation to dock a ligand to the large molecule. It can be formulated as a parameter optimization problem consisting of a scoring function and a global optimization method. Many docking

methods have been developed with primarily these two parts varying. In this paper, a variety of particle swarm optimization (PSO) variants were introduced to cooperate with the semiempirical free energy force find more field in AutoDock 4.05. The search ability and the docking accuracy of these methods were evaluated

by multiple redocking experiments. The results demonstrate that PSOs were more suitable than Lamarckian genetic algorithm (LGA). Among all of the PSO variants, FIPS takes precedence over others. Compared with the four state-of-art docking methods-GOLD, DOCK, FlexX and AutoDock with LGA, AutoDock cooperated with FIPS is more accurate. Thus, FIPS is an efficient PSO variant which has promising prospects that can be expected in the application to virtual screening.”
“The protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium infects all major vertebrate groups and causes significant diarrhea Anlotinib mw in humans, with a spectrum of diseases ranging from asymptomatic to life-threatening. Children and immunodeficient individuals are disproportionately affected, especially in developing countries, where cryptosporidiosis contributes substantially to morbidity and mortality in preschool-age children. Despite the enormous disease burden from cryptosporidiosis, no antiprotozoal agent or vaccine exists for effective treatment or prevention. Cryptosporidiosis involving the respiratory tract has been described for avian species and mammals, including immunocompromised humans.

At the same time, the overall structure is similar to that of a s

At the same time, the overall structure is similar to that of a semidilute polymer solution, with polycations and polyanions strongly overlapping to form a network with a mesh size that is much smaller than the radius of gyration of the polymers. The mesh size decreases with decreasing salt concentration, following a scaling that is in good agreement with predictions Tariquidar purchase from the corresponding salt polymer phase diagram. These findings

are confirmed by complementary X-ray scattering experiments. Finally, in all scattering experiments with light, X-rays, and neutrons, and for all polymer chain lengths and salt concentrations, we find a remarkable low-q excess scattering, following a power law with a slope close to -2. This points to the

presence of equilibrium, large-scale density fluctuations in the complex coacervates. Dynamic light scattering experiments reveal two complementary diffusive modes in the complex coacervates, corresponding to fluctuations of the polymer mesh and diffusion of domains of varying density, respectively.”
“PEMA- and eugenol-based trial agents (PE 1.0, PE 1.6) possessed the requisite dental engineering properties that, satisfied Nepicastat inhibitor the requirements for temporary luting agents. To assess their clinical applicability. this study examined the following properties after the trial agents were removed: their residue ratios on the abutment surface and the bond strengths of resin-modified glass ionomer cement and resin cement for the abutment materials. The residue ratio of PE

1.0 on the abutment material after temporary restoration removal was lower than those of comparable temporary luting agents (polycarboxylate cement type, zinc oxide-eugenol cement type), and no residue was recognized for PE 1.6. On bond strength, those of the resin-modified glass ionomer cement and resin cement. for the resin core and bovine dentin surface after the removal of trial agents tended to be the same or increase in comparison to commercial temporary luting agents. In Conclusion. results of this study suggested that the trial agents were suitable for clinical use.”
“A real-time TaqMan PCR assay based on the gene encoding the protein p37 was developed to detect Mycoplasma hyorhinis. Its specificity VX-770 supplier was validated with 29 epidemiologically unrelated M. hyorhinis strains (28 field strains and one reference strain) and other mycoplasma species or with other microorganisms commonly found in pigs. The estimated detection limit of this qPCR assay was 125 microorganism equivalents/mu l. The same 29 epidemiologically unrelated M. hyorhinis strains and four previously fully sequenced strains were typed by two portable typing methods, the sequencing of the p37 gene and a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) scheme. The first method revealed 18 distinct nucleotide sequences and insufficient discriminatory power (0.934). The MLST scheme was developed with the sequenced genomes of the M.

Immediately, 24 hr and 2 weeks (in OR) after last bout of exercis

Immediately, 24 hr and 2 weeks (in OR) after last bout of exercise blood samples were obtained. The plasma concentrations of TNF alpha, IL-6, IL-10, IL-4 and IFN gamma were measured by ELISA method.\n\nResults: Immediately after last bout of exercise the following findings AG-014699 were observed; IL-6, IL-10 and TNF alpha concentrations increased in OT and OR groups compared with control (P<0.05-P<0.001). Serum level of IL-4 decreased (P<0.01) but IFN gamma increased (P<0.05) in MT group vs. control. In addition, circulatory levels of TNF alpha, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-4 were higher but the IFN gamma concentrations

were lower in OT and OR groups than MT group (P<0.05-P<0.01). The IFN-gamma/IL4 ratio was significantly

increased in MT (P<0.01) while it decreased in Ricolinostat cell line OT group. There were not statistical differences in TNF alpha, IL-6, and IFN gamma levels between different time intervals after exercise in MT, OT and OR groups.\n\nConclusion: These data confirm a positive effect of moderate exercise on immune function and a decrease in susceptibility to viral infection by inducing Th1 cytokine profile shift. However, prolonged and overtraining exercise causes numerous changes in immunity that possibly reflects physiological stress and immune suppression.”
“Introduction:\n\nThe decision to acquire a mobile dental unit is based on a standard capital budgeting analysis. The next step is to determine whether to obtain the use of the mobile dental unit by borrowing and purchasing or by leasing. As a financing mechanism, leases are simply another way of borrowing money to pay

for the asset.\n\nObjective:\n\nTo compare lease vs. debt as financial vehicles to acquiring a mobile dental unit.\n\nMethods:\n\nAn estimate for a new mobile unit was obtained. Lease and loan Salubrinal price proposals from financial lenders were collected. A cost of capital rate was chosen for comparison. Cash flows associated with borrowing and leasing vs. buying were determined for two different scenarios: for profit (FP) vs. not-for-profit (NFP), at 5 years. A dollar-cost analysis was utilized to determine the option with the lowest capitalized value.\n\nResults:\n\nThere was a net advantage to buying vs. leasing for both for FP and NFP organizations. Due to tax advantages, owning and leasing were substantially less expensive for FP than for NFP. Slight decreases in the monthly lease payments would make leasing competitive to the buying approach.\n\nConclusion:\n\nExploring alternative financing vehicles may allow dental programs to expand their services through the acquisition of a mobile unit.

Specifically, partial derivative V/partial derivative t was assoc

Specifically, partial derivative V/partial derivative t was associated with anterior and posterior cingulate cortices, superior parietal lobule, and ventral pallidum, whereas V was primarily associated with DMXAA cell line supplementary motor, pre and post central gyri, cerebellum, and thalamus. The association between the partial derivative V/partial derivative t and brain regions previously related to decision-making is consistent with the primary role of the

temporal derivative of expected utility in dynamic decision-making. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Electrostatic correlation effects in inhomogeneous symmetric electrolytes are investigated within a previously developed electrostatic self-consistent theory [R.R. Netz and H. Orland, Eur. Phys. J.E 11, 301 (2003)]. To this aim, we introduce two computational approaches that allow to solve the self-consistent equations beyond the loop expansion. The first method is based on a perturbative Green’s function technique, and the buy SNX-5422 second one is an extension of a previously introduced semiclassical approximation for single dielectric interfaces to the case of slit nanopores. Both approaches can handle the case

of dielectrically discontinuous boundaries where the one-loop theory is known to fail. By comparing the theoretical results obtained from these schemes with the results of the Monte Carlo simulations that we ran for ions at neutral single dielectric interfaces, we first show that the weak coupling Debye-Huckel theory remains quantitatively accurate up to the bulk ion density rho(b) similar or equal to 0.01 M, whereas the self-consistent theory exhibits a good quantitative accuracy up to rho(b) similar or equal to 0.2 M, thus improving the accuracy of the Debye-Huckel

theory by one order of magnitude in ionic strength. Furthermore, we compare the predictions of the self-consistent theory with previous Monte Carlo simulation data for charged dielectric interfaces and show that the proposed approaches can also accurately handle the correlation effects induced by the surface charge in a parameter regime where the mean-field result significantly MG-132 inhibitor deviates from the Monte Carlo data. Then, we derive from the perturbative self-consistent scheme the one-loop theory of asymmetrically partitioned salt systems around a dielectrically homogeneous charged surface. It is shown that correlation effects originate in these systems from a competition between the salt screening loss at the interface driving the ions to the bulk region, and the interfacial counterion screening excess attracting them towards the surface. This competition can be quantified in terms of the characteristic surface charge sigma*(s) = root 2 rho(b)/(pi l(B)), where l(B) = 7 angstrom is the Bjerrum length. In the case of weak surface charges sigma(s) << sigma*(s) where counterions form a diffuse layer, the interfacial salt screening loss is the dominant effect.

The results demonstrated that Mndoped ZnO/Graphene nanocomposites

The results demonstrated that Mndoped ZnO/Graphene nanocomposites efficiently bleached out the MB, showing an impressive photocatalytic enhancement over Mn-doped ZnO and pure ZnO samples. The enhanced activity of composite photocatalysts can be attributed to large adsorption by the dyes, enhanced visible light absorption and efficient charge separation

and fast transfer processes. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.”
“ObjectiveThis study examined the mechanisms by which H2S modulates coronary microvascular resistance and myocardial perfusion at rest and in response to cardiac ischemia. MethodsExperiments were conducted in isolated coronary arteries and in open-chest anesthetized dogs. ResultsWe found that the H2S substrate l-cysteine (1-10mM) did not alter coronary BV-6 purchase tone of isolated arteries in vitro or coronary blood flow in vivo. In contrast, intracoronary (ic) H2S (0.1-3mM) increased coronary flow from 0.490.08 to 2.65 +/- 0.13mL/min/g (p smaller than 0.001). This increase in flow was unaffected by inhibition of K-v channels with 4-aminopyridine (p=0.127) but was attenuated (0.23 +/- 0.02-1.13 +/- 0.13mL/min/g) by the K-ATP channel antagonist glibenclamide (p smaller than beta-catenin mutation 0.001). Inhibition of NO synthesis (l-NAME) did not attenuate coronary responses to H2S. Immunohistochemistry revealed expression of CSE, an endogenous H2S enzyme, in myocardium. Inhibition

of CSE with -cyano-l-alanine (10M) had no effect on baseline coronary flow or responses to a 15-second coronary occlusion (p=0.82). ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate that exogenous H2S induces potent, endothelial-independent dilation of the coronary microcirculation predominantly through the activation of K-ATP channels, however, our data do not support a functional role for endogenous H2S in the regulation of coronary microvascular resistance.”
“BACKGROUND: Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience some of the highest unemployment rates among all groups of chronic illnesses. Pain has been found to be a common reason

for sick leave or early retirement in healthy populations or other groups with selleck chemicals chronic illness; however, there is little awareness regarding the effect of pain on the work status of individuals with MS. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the extent to which individuals with pain differ in employment status compared with those without pain among MS patients. METHODS: An extensive systematic review of the scientific literature was performed within the framework of the Cochrane Collaboration to identify studies focusing on the effect of pain on employment in individuals with MS. The following databases were searched: PubMed, EMBASE, PsychInfo, Web of Science, MD Consult and Elsevier, and Science Direct. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the McMaster Critical Review Form. RESULTS: Ten articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review.

9 % at 2 h Treatment with nVNS was safe and well tolerated Conc

9 % at 2 h. Treatment with nVNS was safe and well tolerated. Conclusion: Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation may be effective as acute treatment for HFEM or CM and may help to reduce medication overuse and medication-associated adverse events.”
“A series of novel compounds N-(4-(2,6-dichloroquinolin-3-yl)-6-(aryl)pyrimidin-2-yl)-2-morpholinoacetamides OICR-9429 chemical structure (5a-l) were synthesized by a series of multistep reactions. Newly synthesized compounds have been characterized

by IR, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, and mass spectral data. Antimicrobial screening of title compounds 5a-l was examined against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes), Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and three fungi (Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus clavatus) by serial broth dilution method. Synthesized compounds showed potent inhibitory action against test organisms. Screened compounds 5e-g and 5i-l

were associated with considerably higher antibacterial and antifungal activities than commercially used antibiotics.”
“Ethnopharmacological relevance: Rhizoma Smilacis Glabrae (RSG) has been used in the clinical treatment of gout and hyperuricemia in China for thousands of years. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that RSG exhibits hypouricemic effects because of its significant inhibitory effect on the activity of xanthine oxidase.\n\nMaterials and methods: The Rhizoma Smilacis Glabrae extract (RSGE) at 1 mL/100 g oral administration was demonstrated to possess in vivo potent hypouricemic effects in hyperuricemic rats pretreated with Rabusertib clinical trial oxonic acid potassium salt (200 mg/kg, 2 mL/kg). UPLC-MS was used to identify the constituents absorbed GDC-0973 mouse in the serum. In addition, a bivariate correlation analysis between the changes in the relative contents of the constituents from RSGE detected by HPLC and the serum uric acid levels in hyperuricemic rats at different points in time was used to calculate their correlation coefficients.\n\nResults: A total of

14 constituents were observed in the RSGE-treated rat serum, and 11 of these were inferred. An RSGE constituent was considered correlated with the hypouricemic effects if its correlation coefficient was above 0.5. The results suggested that only seven of the constituents absorbed in the serum of the hyperuricemic rats were correlated with hypouricemic effects, namely, palmitic acid, 3′-O-methyltaxifolin glucuronide, 3′-O-methyiastilbin glucuronide, astilbin glucuronide, 5-O-caffeoylshikimic acid glucuronide, resveratrol glucuronide, and dihydrokaempferol.\n\nConclusion: These findings provide potent evidence for the study on RSG as a pharmacodynamic material basis and for developing RSG as a safe and promising natural drug to prevent hyperuricemia and gout instead of allopurinol. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

In this study, we have addressed the role of palmitoylation of AK

In this study, we have addressed the role of palmitoylation of AKAP79 using a combination of pharmacological, mutagenesis, and cell biological approaches. We reveal that AKAP79 is palmitoylated via two cysteines in its N-terminal region. This palmitoylation plays a key role in targeting the AKAP to lipid rafts in HEK-293 cells. Mutation of the two critical cysteines results in exclusion of AKAP79 from lipid rafts and alterations in its membrane diffusion behavior. This is accompanied by a

loss of the ability of AKAP79 to regulate SOCE-dependent AC8 activity in intact cells and decreased PKA-dependent phosphorylation of raft proteins, including AC8. We conclude that palmitoylation plays a key role in the targeting and action of AKAP79. This novel property of AKAP79 adds an unexpected regulatory and targeting option for AKAPs, which may be exploited in the

cellular context.”
“Hydrangea selleck inhibitor Liver X Receptor inhibitor s. l., belonging to the up-market segment of ornamental cultivars, currently faces a renaissance in horticulture. Hence, novel molecular-assisted breeding approaches are timely. Wide hybridization, i.e. crosses between distantly related species, has been shown to be problematic. Recent studies have considerably improved our knowledge of the phylogenetic relationships between the ornamental Hydrangea s. l. species. A fully resolved and highly supported phylogenetic tree is currently available, based on an extensive marker selection including 13 highly variable chloroplast Z-IETD-FMK markers. This robust phylogenetic framework includes the majority of widely cultivated Hydrangea s. l. species that have been the center of attention in a number of crossing projects. The present study is based on this highly supported phylogenetic hypothesis. Here, we aim to select the best candidates for future successful

breeding projects, involving interspecific crosses of both closely and distantly related Hydrangea s. l. lineages. Therefore, we integrated the phylogenetic relatedness of potential parental lines along with genetic distances calculated from a wide plastid marker selection. Direct crosses between two species were found to be successful up to an average genetic distance of 0.01065, while failure could be expected at an average genetic distance of 0.01385 and higher. In order to overcome this genetic distance threshold, we propose Hydrangea arborescens, H. sargentiana, H. integrifolia, and H. seemannii as the best candidates for future bridge-cross projects with currently available fertile hybrids. We expect that our results will allow breeders to overcome long-standing wide crossing difficulties and motivate breeding initiatives of potential economic value.”
“Neural processes are explored through macroscopic neuroimaging and microscopic molecular measures, but the two levels remain primarily detached.


“Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the most widespread vir


“Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the most widespread viral infections in the world and poses a significant global public health problem. The implementation of effective vaccination programs has resulted JNJ-26481585 order in a significant decrease in the incidence of acute hepatitis B.

Nevertheless, there is still a need for as many effective anti-HBV drugs as possible. In this study, the role of pu-erh tea extracts (PTE) against HBV was analyzed in vitro by using a stably HBV-transfected cell line HepG2 2.2.15. The MTT assay showed that PTE and its active components (tea polyphenols, theaflavins, and theanine) presented low cytotoidcity. ELISA analysis revealed that PTE effectively reduced the secretion of HBeAg, but any one of the active components alone showed weaker efficacy, suggesting that the anti-HBV activity of PTE might be a synergetic effect of different components. RT-PCR and luciferase assay showed that PTE suppressed HBV mRNA expression while leaving four HBV promoter transcriptional activities www.selleckchem.com/products/mcc950-sodium-salt.html unchanged. Fluorescence quantitative PCR results demonstrated that PTE dramatically diminished HBV DNA produced in cell supernatants as well as encapsidated DNA in intracellular core particles. Finally, PTE significantly reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level.

This study is the first to demonstrate that PTE possesses anti-HBV ability and could be used as a potential treatment against HBV infection with an additional

merit of low cytotoxicity.”
“Background: Attention deficit is an early and key characteristic of minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) and has been used as indicator for MHE detection. The aim of this study is to classify the cirrhotic patients with or without MHE (NMHE) and healthy controls (HC) using LOXO-101 the resting-state attention-related brain network analysis. Methods and Findings: Resting-state fMRI was administrated to 20 MHE patients, 21 NMHE patients, and 17 HCs. Three attention-related networks, including dorsal attention network (DAN), ventral attention network (VAN), and default mode network (DMN), were obtained by independent component analysis. One-way analysis of covariance was performed to determine the regions of interest (ROIs) showing significant functional connectivity (FC) change. With FC strength of ROIs as indicators, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) was conducted to differentiate MHE from HC or NMHE. Across three groups, significant FC differences were found within DAN (left superior/inferior parietal lobule and right inferior parietal lobule), VAN (right superior parietal lobule), and DMN (bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus and precuneus, and left inferior parietal lobule). With FC strength of ROIs from three networks as indicators, LDA yielded 94.6% classification accuracy between MHE and HC (100% sensitivity and 88.2% specificity) and 85.

The relationship between prion propagation, generation

The relationship between prion propagation, generation Proteases inhibitor of neurotoxic species and clinical onset has remained obscure. Prion incubation periods in experimental animals are known to vary inversely with expression level of cellular prion

protein. Here we demonstrate that prion propagation in brain proceeds via two distinct phases: a clinically silent exponential phase not rate-limited by prion protein concentration which rapidly reaches a maximal prion titre, followed by a distinct switch to a plateau phase. The latter determines time to clinical onset in a manner inversely proportional to prion protein concentration. These findings demonstrate an uncoupling of infectivity and toxicity. We suggest that prions themselves are not neurotoxic but catalyse the formation of such species from PrPC. Production of neurotoxic species is triggered when prion propagation saturates, leading to a switch from autocatalytic production of infectivity (phase 1) to a toxic

(phase 2) pathway.”
“To determine the apicultural value of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Fabaceae) CHIR-99021 and evaluate the Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae) activity on its pod and seed yields, the bee foraging and pollinating activities were studied in Ngaoundere. The experiment was carried out within the University of Ngaoundere Campus on 210 flowers differentiated in two lots, based on the protection/or not of plant inflorescences against insect visits. The bee’s seasonal rhythm of activity, its foraging behaviour on flowers, the fructification rate, the number and dry weight of seeds/pod, the percentage of normal seeds/pod, and the pod length were evaluated. Results show that A. m. adansonii foraged on plants throughout the whole blooming period. Worker bees intensively and preferably harvested nectar. The greatest mean number of workers foraging simultaneously was 500 per 1000 flowers. The mean foraging speed was 8.67 flowers/min. These findings

allow the classification of V. unguiculata as a highly nectariferous bee plant. The number and dry weight of seed/pod, the pod length and the percentage of normal seeds/pod from unprotected Selleck Adriamycin flowers were significantly higher than those of flowers protected from insects. The fructification rates were 62 and 48%, while the percentages of healthly seeds were 97.61 and 76.17%, respectively in unprotected and protected inflorescences. The installation of A. m. adansonii colonies close to V. unguiculata field could be recommended to improve its pods and seeds production in the region.”
“The growing number of bacterial strains resistant to conventional antibiotics has become a serious medical problem in recent years. Marine sponges are a rich source of bioactive compounds, and many species can be useful for the development of new antimicrobial drugs. This study reports the in vitro screening of marine sponges in the search for novel substances against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

These results suggest that: (1) HBO treatment could alleviate bra

These results suggest that: (1) HBO treatment could alleviate brain damage after TBI; (2) a single treatment with HBO has a time limitation of 12 h post-TBI; and (3) multiple HBO treatments have the possibility to extend the post-TBI delivery time window. Therefore, our results clearly suggest the validity of HBO therapy for the treatment of TBI.”
“An independent origin of find more the left vertebral artery from the aortic arch is the second most common aortic arch anomaly and occurs in 7% of otherwise

healthy persons. Bilateral and independent origins of vertebral arteries are distinctly unusual. We present and illustrate such a case.”
“Regaining poststroke mobility is considered a primary goal of the stroke patient in early rehabilitation. Predictive recovery of poststroke mobility is clinically important, and provides important information to healthcare professionals, patients and their families. We conducted a systematic review aimed at identifying the predictive or associated baseline factors, assessed within one-week of stroke onset, and the recovery of poststroke mobility within 30 days. A comprehensive search strategy was applied to all Nepicastat mw major electronic databases to identify potentially relevant studies. Included in the review are two studies that evaluate the predictive value of baseline factors by developing a prognostic model, and

three studies that assess the baseline factors that were associated with

the outcome by univariate analysis. Walking is the most commonly assessed mobility outcome; age, the severity of paresis, reduced leg power, presence of hemianopia, size of brain lesion and type of stroke were shown to be predictive or associated with walking within 30 days poststroke. This review has identified the potential predictors of the recovery of mobility poststroke. There is a need to explore and validate these predictors in other patient cohorts, and consider additional factors believed to be associated with mobility. The recovery of mobility other than walking also buy ACY-241 needs investigation. In order to move prognostic research in stroke forward, a collaborative approach to sharing and collecting data is recommended.”
“In this article, we study the problems of Borel’s directions of meromorphic functions concerning shared values and prove that if two meromorphic functions of infinite order share three distinct values, their Borel’s directions are same.”
“Liquid ball-milling dispersant method was used to prepare the ZrO2-doped carbon laminations from mesocarbon microbeads(MCMBs). After sintering at 1 300 degrees C in nitrogen atmosphere, the effect of ZrO2 concentration on sintering behavior, electric conductivity as well as bending strength of the carbon laminations was investigated in detail.