Engineering grain boundary anisotropy to elucidate grain growth behavior in alumina

Current grain growth models have evolved to account for the relationship between grain boundary energy/mobility anisotropy and the five degrees of grain boundary character. However, the role of grain boundary networks on overall growth kinetics remains poorly understood. To experimentally investigate this problem, a highly textured Al₂O₃ was fabricated by colloidal casting in a strong magnetic field to engineer a unique spatial distribution of grain boundary character. Microstructural evolution was quantified and compared to an untextured sample. From this comparison, a prevalence of (0001)/(0001) terminated grain boundaries with anisotropic networks were identified in the textured sample. These boundaries and their networks were found to be driving grain growth at a faster rate than predicted by models. These findings will allow better modelling of grain growth in real systems by experimentally exploring the impact thereon of grain boundary plane anisotropy and relative energy/mobility differences between neighboring boundaries.     

Controlling thickness to tune performance of high-mobility transparent conducting films deposited from Ga-doped ZnO ceramic target

Structure modification has been found to tune significantly the transparent-conducting performance, especially mobility and conductivity of hydrogenated Ga-doped ZnO (HGZO) films. The strong correlation between film thickness and mobility of the films is revealed. The mobility increases quickly with increasing the thickness from 350 to 900 nm, and then tends to be saturated at further thicknesses. A higher mobility than 50 cm²/Vs can be achieved, which is an extra-high value for polycrystalline ZnO films deposited by using the sputtering technique. The thickness-dependent mobility originates from scatterings on grain boundaries and dislocation-induced defects controlled by thin-film growth. Based on the Volmer-Weber model, an expansion model is built up to describe the thickness-dependent crystal growth of the HGZO films, especially at the thick films. As a result, the 800 nm-thick HGZO film obtains the highest performance with high mobility of 51.5 cm²/Vs, low resistivity of 5.3 × 10^?4 Ωcm, and good transmittance of 83.3 %.     

Association of solid fuel use with risk of stunting in children living in China

Stunting adversely affects physical and mental outcomes of children. It has not been examined whether household air pollution from solid fuel combustion is a risk factor for stunting in children. In a total of 41,439 children aged 6-17 across China, height was measured using a unified protocol. Multivariable linear regression models and logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of solid fuel use for cooking/heating with stunting in children. Adjusted for covariates, cooking/heating with solid fuel was significantly associated with a lower z-score for height for age and sex (β = −0.21 [−0.32 to −0.09] and −0.17 [−0.31 to −0.03], respectively) and an increased risk of stunting with an estimated ORs of 1.34 [1.07~1.68] and 1.37 [1.02~1.83], respectively. The risk of stunting associated with solid fuel use was statistically significant in high-age children. And the effect was greater on girls than on boys, though the difference was not statistically significant. Our study suggested that Chinese children living in households using solid fuel had a significantly higher risk of stunting than those living in households using cleaner fuel.     

Crystal-field engineering of ultrabroadband mid-infrared emission in Co2+-doped nano-chalcogenide glass composites

Tunable and ultrabroadband mid-infrared (MIR) emissions in the range of 2.5–4.5 μm are firstly reported from Co²⁺-doped nano-chalcogenide (ChG) glass composites. The composites embedded with a variety of binary (ZnS, CdS, ZnSe) and ternary (ZnCdS, ZnSSe) ChG nanocrystals (NCs) can be readily obtained by a simple one-step thermal annealing method. They are highly transparent in the near- and mid-infrared wavelength region. Low-cost and commercially available Er³⁺-doped fiber lasers can be used as the excitation source. By crystal-field engineering of the embedded NCs through cation- or anion-substitution, the emission properties of Co²⁺ including its emission peak wavelength and bandwidth can be tailored in a broad spectral range. The phenomena can be accounted for by crystal-field theory. Such nano-ChG composites, perfectly filling the 3–4 μm spectral gap between the oscillations of Cr²⁺ and Fe²⁺ doped IIVI ChG crystals, may find important MIR photonic applications (e.g., gas sensing), or can be used directly as an efficient pump source for Fe²⁺: IIVI crystals which are suffering from lack of pump sources.     

Influence of Bridgman solidification on microstructures and magnetic behaviors of a non-equiatomic FeCoNiAlSi high-entropy alloy

The non-equiatomic FeCoNiAlSi alloy is prepared by the Bridgman solidification (BS) technique at different withdrawal velocities (V = 30, 100, and 200 μm/s). Various characterization techniques have been used to study the microstructure and crystal orientation. The morphological evolutions accompanying the crystal growth of the alloy prepared at different withdrawal velocities are nearly the same, from equiaxed grains to columnar crystals. The transition of coercivity is closely related to the local microstructure, while the saturation magnetization changes little at different sites. The coercivity can be significantly reduced from the equiaxed grain area to the columnar crystal area when the applied magnetic field direction is parallel to the crystal growth direction, no matter what is the withdrawal velocity. In addition, the alloy possesses magnetic anisotropy when the applied magnetic field is in different directions.     

Precipitating spinel into precursor glass and its assistance in crystallization

The crystallization phenomena of spinel in CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-Fe₂O₃ glass have received much attention due to the particular role in preparation of glass-ceramic materials, which represent an effective option to manage hazardous waste. In this study, both preliminary spinel and secondary spinel were precipitated in the precursor glass. The formation of these spinel was meticulously assessed by a combination of X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. The structure of the microenvironment in the precursor glass was characterized by Raman spectrums. These advanced techniques highlight the potential for one-step crystallization of the glass. The investigation, which focused on one-step crystallization, demonstrated the growth of pyroxene on spinel accompanying a migration of chromium. The results also show the microstructure of the obtained glass-ceramic was very dependent on the heat-treat temperature. This study not only unambiguously reveals the precipitation mechanisms of spinel but also provides more documentation for one-step crystallization in the glass-ceramics field.     

Preliminary Evidence on the Diagnostic and Molecular Role of Circulating Soluble EGFR in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Assessment of biological diagnostic factors providing clinically-relevant information to guide physician decision-making are still needed for diseases with poor outcomes, such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a promising molecule in the clinical management of NSCLC. While the EGFR transmembrane form has been extensively investigated in large clinical trials, the soluble, circulating EGFR isoform (sEGFR), which may have a potential clinical use, has rarely been considered. This study investigates the use of sEGFR as a potential diagnostic biomarker for NSCLC and also characterizes the biological function of sEGFR to clarify the molecular mechanisms involved in the course of action of this protein. Plasma sEGFR levels from a heterogeneous cohort of 37 non-advanced NSCLC patients and 54 healthy subjects were analyzed by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The biological function of sEGFR was analyzed in vitro using NSCLC cell lines, investigating effects on cell proliferation and migration. We found that plasma sEGFR was significantly decreased in the NSCLC patient group as compared to the control group (median value: 48.6 vs. 55.6 ng/mL respectively; p = 0.0002). Moreover, we demonstrated that sEGFR inhibits growth and migration of NSCLC cells in vitro through molecular mechanisms that included perturbation of EGF/EGFR cell signaling and holoreceptor internalization. These data show that sEGFR is a potential circulating biomarker with a physiological protective role, providing a first approach to the functional role of the soluble isoform of EGFR. However, the impact of these data on daily clinical practice needs to be further investigated in larger prospective studies.     

Preparation of nanocrystalline nickel oxide from nickel hydroxide using spark plasma sintering and inverse Hall-Petch related densification

Nanocrystalline nickel oxide (NiO) was prepared from nickel hydroxide by Spark plasma sintering (SPS) and the mechanisms involved in the densification of NiO were studied. Reverse precipitated nickel hydroxide powders were SPS processed at 400, 600 and 700?°C with 70?MPa pressure. Pure NiO with 12?nm crystallite size formed after 400?°C sintering process. However NiO grains had grown to 18 and 38?nm after 600 and 700?°C sintering respectively. NiO pellets prepared using 600 and 700?°C SPS sintering schedules had relative densities of 83% and 94% respectively. Two displacement rate regimes were observed during densification of NiO in both 600 and 700?°C sintering processes. Decomposition of nickel hydroxide and particle sliding of NiO led to first displacement rate maximum while inverse Hall-Petch based plastic deformation facilitated densification during the constant second displacement rate regime. No densification occurred during sintering holding times indicating the limited role that diffusion played during densification.     

Size-controlled synthesis of Mo powders via hydrogen reduction of MoO2 powders with the assistance of Mo nuclei

The size-controlled preparation of Mo powders is always a challenge and important task in the molybdenum metallurgy. In the current study, Mo powders with controllable sizes are synthesized by hydrogen reduction of MoO₂ powders with the assistance of Mo nuclei in the range of 900–1100 °C. The influences of the particle sizes of Mo nuclei, the additive amount as well as reaction temperature on the morphology and particle sizes of the final products are studied. For the hydrogen reduction of MoO₂ without any additive, the obtained Mo powders always have large particle sizes. However, the addition of small amounts of nuclei in MoO₂ can help Mo nucleate dispersedly, and the growth of Mo could be also controlled by adjusting the sizes of added nuclei, amount of addition and the reaction temperature. With the addition of Mo nuclei, the different sizes of Mo powders with the good dispersity can be prepared. As adding commercial Mo powders with the particle size of about 2.03 μm, the micron-sized Mo powders ranged from 2.11 μm to 3.25 μm could be prepared. While for the case of adding ultrafine Mo nuclei of about 170 nm, Mo powders from 0.28 μm to 0.88 μm can be obtained. Moreover, the more the amounts of nuclei added and the lower the reaction temperature (in the range of 900–1100 °C) is, the smaller the particle size of the prepared Mo powder will be. The current method is a facile and feasible method, and is potential to be used for industrial production of Mo powder with controllable particle sizes.     

Effect of microstructure on the fatigue crack growth behaviour of a near-α Ti alloy

Fatigue crack growth behaviour of Ti–6Al–2Zr–1.5Mo–1.5V (VT-20 a near-α Ti alloy) was studied in lamellar, bimodal and acicular microstructural conditions. Fatigue crack growth tests at both increasing and decreasing stress intensity factor range values were performed at ambient temperature and a loading ratio of 0.3 using compact tension samples. Lamellar and acicular microstructures showed lower fatigue crack growth rates as compared to the bimodal microstructure due to the tortuous nature of cracks in the former and the cleavage of primary α in the latter. The threshold stress intensity factor range was highest for acicular microstructure.