Impact of Thermal Oxidation on Morphological,Structural and Magnetic Properties of Fe-Ni Wire-Like Nanochains

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - This work presents the evolution of morphological, structural and magnetic properties of amorphous Fe-Ni wire-like nanochains caused by thermal...     

Current Diagnosis and Treatment Options for Cutaneous Adnexal Neoplasms with Apocrine and Eccrine Differentiation

Adnexal tumors of the skin are a rare group of benign and malignant neoplasms that exhibit morphological differentiation toward one or more of the adnexal epithelium types present in normal skin. Tumors deriving from apocrine or eccrine glands are highly heterogeneous and represent various histological entities. Macroscopic and dermatoscopic features of these tumors are unspecific; therefore, a specialized pathological examination is required to correctly diagnose patients. Limited treatment guidelines of adnexal tumor cases are available; thus, therapy is still challenging. Patients should be referred to high-volume skin cancer centers to receive an appropriate multidisciplinary treatment, affecting their outcome. The purpose of this review is to summarize currently available data on pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment approach for apocrine and eccrine tumors.     

Knotted Proteins under Tension

We study the behavior of two knotted proteins under stretching by a constant force within a coarse-grained structure-based model. One protein, with the structure code 1J85, has a knot that is deep and another, 2ETL, has a knot that is shallow. We demonstrate that tightening of the deep knot may take place before the ultimate end-to-end distance is achieved. However, as with proteins without knots, we observe the existence of a crossover between the low- and high-force regimes of the dependence of the mean unfolding time (as defined through properties of the end-to-end distance) on the applied force. We find little correlation between the unfolding time and the final placement of the tightened knot. We also consider the novel mechanical protection strategy in the single-molecule force spectroscopy of host-guest fusion proteins. We find that it should be useful in studies of guest proteins with knots in the constant-speed mode. However, at constant force, its usefulness is limited if the mechanostability of the host is larger than that of the guest molecule.     

Detection of shape deviations and measurement errors by a point cloud analysis

For the enhancement of technical workpiece surfaces with even larger dimensions, the application of microstructures on the surface is an appropriate way to improve the fitness for use without changing the properties of the basic material. Considering the extremely small dimensions of approximately 5–20 μm of the applied microstructure, the quality assurance faces new challenges related to the obtainment and evaluation of measurement data. This article presents an approach for the automated detection of shape deviations of a microstructure, as well as the detection of measurement errors during an optical or tactile measurement. The explained algorithm is based on the analysis of the measurement points within a point cloud by observing the distances between the single points. To illustrate the disturbance in the measurement point cloud every point is evaluated by an adaptive weighting function. The weighting of each measurement point can then be visualized by plotting the whole point cloud according to a corresponding color scale. The suitability of the point cloud analysis is demonstrated by the examples of a shape deviation (artificial groove) and a measurement error, occurred by measurement via confocal microscopy.     

Key Properties of a Bioactive Ag-SiO2/TiO2 Coating on NiTi Shape Memory Alloy as Necessary at the Development of a New Class of Biomedical Materials

Recent years have seen the dynamic development of methods for functionalizing the surface of implants using biomaterials that can mimic the physical and mechanical nature of native tissue, prevent the formation of bacterial biofilm, promote osteoconduction, and have the ability to sustain cell proliferation. One of the concepts for achieving this goal, which is presented in this work, is to functionalize the surface of NiTi shape memory alloy by an atypical glass-like nanocomposite that consists of SiO₂-TiO₂ with silver nanoparticles. However, determining the potential medical uses of bio(nano)coating prepared in this way requires an analysis of its surface roughness, tribology, or wettability, especially in the context of the commonly used reference coat-forming hydroxyapatite (HAp). According to our results, the surface roughness ranged between (112 ± 3) nm (Ag-SiO₂)—(141 ± 5) nm (HAp), the water contact angle was in the range (74.8 ± 1.6)° (Ag-SiO₂)—(70.6 ± 1.2)° (HAp), while the surface free energy was in the range of 45.4 mJ/m² (Ag-SiO₂)—46.8 mJ/m² (HAp). The adhesive force and friction coefficient were determined to be 1.04 (Ag-SiO₂)—1.14 (HAp) and 0.247 ± 0.012 (Ag-SiO₂) and 0.397 ± 0.034 (HAp), respectively. The chemical data showed that the release of the metal, mainly Ni from the covered NiTi substrate or Ag from Ag-SiO₂ coating had a negligible effect. It was revealed that the NiTi alloy that was coated with Ag-SiO₂ did not favor the formation of E. coli or S. aureus biofilm compared to the HAp-coated alloy. Moreover, both approaches to surface functionalization indicated good viability of the normal human dermal fibroblast and osteoblast cells and confirmed the high osteoconductive features of the biomaterial. The similarities of both types of coat-forming materials indicate an excellent potential of the silver-silica composite as a new material for the functionalization of the surface of a biomaterial and the development of a new type of functionalized implants.     

Comparative tests of steel car body sheet welds made using CMT and MIG/MAG methods

Results of tests on the influence of automatic welding process parameters using the cold metal transfer (CMT) method on the quality of lap joints made of 0.8 mm steel car body sheets (DC 04) were described. These joints were compared with joints executed using a traditional short arc in gas shielding (MAG). Research work included visual and metallographic inspections, microhardness measurements, and mechanical properties tests of the welded joints. It was noted that the CMT method allowed for the joining of thin workpieces at much higher velocities than previously used in arc welding in shielding gases (approximately four times faster than using MIG/MAG methods), while maintaining very good quality. Metallographic tests were also used to state the changes taking place in the joint and welded material depending on parameter changes. Additionally, attempts were made to determine a mixing factor for both upper and lower metal sheets. It was observed that increased arc length caused deeper depth of fusion of the material of the lower sheet, resulting in an incremental increase in the mixing factor.     

Metallacarborane Derivatives Effective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Yersinia enterocolitica

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen that has become a nosocomial health problem worldwide. The pathogen has multiple drug removal and virulence secretion systems, is resistant to many antibiotics, and there is no commercial vaccine against it. Yersinia pestis is a zoonotic pathogen that is on the Select Agents list. The bacterium is the deadliest pathogen known to humans and antibiotic-resistant strains are appearing naturally. There is no commercial vaccine against the pathogen, either. In the current work, novel compounds based on metallacarborane cage were studied on strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and a Yersinia pestis substitute, Yersinia enterocolitica. The representative compounds had IC₅₀ values below 10 µM against Y. enterocolitica and values of 20–50 μM against P. aeruginosa. Artificial generation of compound-resistant Y. enterocolitica suggested a common mechanism for drug resistance, the first reported in the literature, and suggested N-linked metallacarboranes as impervious to cellular mechanisms of resistance generation. SEM analysis of the compound-resistant strains showed that the compounds had a predominantly bacteriostatic effect and blocked bacterial cell division in Y. enterocolitica. The compounds could be a starting point towards novel anti-Yersinia drugs and the strategy presented here proposes a mechanism to bypass any future drug resistance in bacteria.