Transient liquid phase sintering of high-purity mullite for high-temperature structural ceramics

High-purity mullite ceramics, promising engineering ceramics for high-temperature applications, were fabricated using transient liquid phase sintering to improve their high-temperature mechanical properties. Small amounts of ultrafine alumina or silica powders were uniformly mixed with the mullite precursor depending on the silica-alumina ratio of the resulting ceramics to allow for the formation of a transient liquid phase during sintering, thus, enhancing densification at the early stage of sintering and mullite formation by the reaction between additional alumina and the residual glassy phase (mullitization) at the final stage of sintering. The addition of alumina powder to the silica-rich mullite precursor resulted in a reaction between the glassy silica and alumina phases during sintering, thereby forming a mullite phase without inhibiting densification. The addition of fine silica powder to the mullite single-phase precursor led to densification with an abnormal grain growth of mullite, whereas some of the added silica remained as a glassy phase after sintering. The resulting mullite ceramics prepared using different powder compositions showed different sintering behaviors, depending on the amount of alumina added. Upon selecting an optimum process and the amount of alumina to be added, the pure mullite ceramics obtained via transient liquid phase sintering exhibited high density (approximately 99%) and excellent high-temperature flexural strength (approximately 320 MPa) at 1500 °C in air. These results clearly demonstrate that pure mullite ceramics fabricated via transient liquid phase sintering with compositions close to those of stoichiometric mullite could be a promising process for the fabrication of high-temperature structural ceramics used in an ambient atmosphere. The transient liquid phase sintering process proposed in this study could be a powerful processing tool that allows for the preparation of superior high-temperature structural ceramics used in the ambient processing atmosphere.     

Re-evaluation of Radiation-Energy Transfer to an Extraction Solvent in a Minor-Actinide-Separation Process Based on Consideration of Radiation Permeability

ABSTRACT

Absorbed-dose estimation is essential for evaluation of the radiation tolerance of minor-actinide-separation processes. We propose a dose-evaluation method based on radiation permeability, with comparisons of heterogeneous structures seen in the solvent-extraction process, such as emulsions forming in the mixture of the organic and aqueous phases. A demonstration of radiation-energy-transfer simulation is performed with a focus on the minor-actinide-recovery process from high-level liquid waste with the aid of the Monte Carlo radiation-transport code PHITS. The simulation results indicate that the dose absorbed by the extraction solvent from alpha radiation depends upon the emulsion structure, and that from beta and gamma radiation depends upon the mixer-settler-apparatus size. Non-negligible contributions of well-permeable gamma rays were indicated in terms of the plant operation of the minor-actinide-separation process.     

Unsupervised Segmentation of Stereoscopic Video Objects: Constrained Segmentation Fusion Versus Greedy Active Contours

In this paper, we present a novel memory access reduction scheme (MARS) for two-dimension fast cosine transform (2-D FCT). It targets programmable DSPs with high memory-access latency. It reduces the number of memory accesses by: 1) reducing the number of weighting factors and 2) combining butterflies in vector-radix 2-D FCT pruning diagram from two stages to one stage with an efficient structure. Hardware platform based on general purpose processor is used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method for vector-radix 2-D FCT pruning implementation. Experimental results validate the benefits of the proposed method with reduced memory access, less clock cycle and fewer memory space compared with the conventional implementation.     

Expression of RCAS1 Correlates with Urothelial Bladder Cancer Malignancy

RCAS1 is a protein that participates in regulation of the tumor microenvironment and its immune responses, all in order to evade the immune system. The aim of this study was to analyze RCAS1 expression in urothelial bladder cancer cells (and in fibroblasts and macrophages of the tumor stroma) and its relationship with the histological pattern of malignancy. Eighty-three postcystectomy patients were enrolled. We analyzed the histological maturity (grade), progress (pT stage), tissue invasion type (TIT), nonclassic differentiation number (NDN), and the ability to metastasize (pN). The expression of RCAS1 protein was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Indicators of histological malignancy were observed solely in association with the RCAS1 expression in cells in the border parts (BPs) of the tumor. Histological malignancy of the tumor, indicated by the pT and pN, and metastasis-free survival time, correlated significantly with RCAS1 expression in tumor neoplastic cells, whereas malignancy determined by grade, TIT, and NDN correlated with RCAS1 expression in fibroblasts and macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. These findings suggest that the increased RCAS1 expression depends on its cellular source and that RCAS1 expression itself is a component of various signaling pathways. The immune escape occurs within the tumor BPs, where the increase in the RCAS1 expression occurs within tumor cells and stromal cells in its microenvironment. We conclude that the histological pattern of tumor malignancy, indicated by grade, TIT, NDN, pT, and pN is a morphological indicator of immune escape.     

Sperm metabolism is altered during storage by female insects: evidence from two-photon autofluorescence lifetime measurements in bedbugs

We explore the possibility of characterizing sperm cells without the need to stain them using spectral and fluorescence lifetime analyses after multi-photon excitation in an insect model. The autofluorescence emission spectrum of sperm of the common bedbug, Cimex lectularius, was consistent with the presence of flavins and NAD(P)H. The mean fluorescence lifetimes showed smaller variation in sperm extracted from the male (tau m, τ_m = 1.54–1.84 ns) than in that extracted from the female sperm storage organ (tau m, τ_m = 1.26–2.00 ns). The fluorescence lifetime histograms revealed four peaks. These peaks (0.18, 0.92, 2.50 and 3.80 ns) suggest the presence of NAD(P)H and flavins and show that sperm metabolism can be characterized using fluorescence lifetime imaging. The difference in fluorescence lifetime variation between the sexes is consistent with the notion that female animals alter the metabolism of sperm cells during storage. It is not consistent, however, with the idea that sperm metabolism represents a sexually selected character that provides females with information about the male genotype.     

Adventitial Tertiary Lymphoid Organs as Potential Source of MicroRNA Biomarkers for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is an inflammatory disease associated with marked changes in the cellular composition of the aortic wall. This study aims to identify microRNA (miRNA) expression in aneurysmal inflammatory cells isolated by laser microdissection from human tissue samples. The distribution of inflammatory cells (neutrophils, B and T lymphocytes, mast cells) was evaluated in human AAA biopsies. We observed in half of the samples that adventitial tertiary lymphoid organs (ATLOs) with a thickness from 0.5 to 2 mm were located exclusively in the adventitia. Out of the 850 miRNA that were screened by microarray in isolated ATLOs (n = 2), 164 miRNAs were detected in ATLOs. The three miRNAs (miR-15a-3p, miR-30a-5p and miR-489-3p) with the highest expression levels were chosen and their expression quantified by RT-PCR in isolated ATLOs (n = 4), M1 (n = 2) and M2 macrophages (n = 2) and entire aneurysmal biopsies (n = 3). Except for the miR-30a-5p, a similar modulation was found in ATLOs and the two subtypes of macrophages. The modulated miRNAs were then evaluated in the plasma of AAA patients for their potential as AAA biomarkers. Our data emphasize the potential of miR-15a-3p and miR-30a-5p as biomarkers of AAA but also as triggers of ATLO evolution. Further investigations will be required to evaluate their targets in order to better understand AAA pathophysiology.     

Radiophotoluminescence phenomenon in copper-doped aluminoborosilicate glass

Radiophotoluminescence phenomena have been widely investigated on various types of materials for dosimetry applications. We report that an aluminoborosilicate glass containing 0.005 mol% copper exhibits intense photoluminescence in the visible region induced by X-ray and γ-ray irradiation. The luminescence is assigned to the 3d⁹4s¹ → 3d¹⁰ transition of Cu⁺. The proportionality of the intensity of the induced photoluminescence to the irradiation dose was confirmed up to 0.5 kGy using ⁶⁰Co γ-ray irradiation. Based on the spectroscopic results, a potential mechanism was proposed for the enhancement of the photoluminescence. The exposure to the ionizing radiation generates electron-hole pairs in the glass, and the electrons are subsequently captured by the Cu²⁺ ions, which are converted to Cu⁺ and emit the luminescence. For the glass containing 0.01 mol% copper, the pronounced enhancement of the photoluminescence was not observed because the reverse reaction, ie, the capture of the holes by the Cu⁺ ions, becomes prominent. The photoluminescence induced by the irradiation was stably observed for the glasses kept at room temperature and even for the glasses heat-treated at 150°C. However, the induced photoluminescence could be eliminated by the heat treatment at a temperature at 500°C, and the glass returned to the initial pre-irradiation state. The Cu-doped aluminoborosilicate glass is a potential candidate for use in dosimetry applications.     

Supramolecular Zn(II)-Dipicolylamine-Azobenzene-Aminocyclodextrin-ATP Complex: Design and ATP Recognition in Water

Cyclodextrins (CyDs) are water-soluble host molecules possessing a nanosized hydrophobic cavity. In the realm of molecular recognition, this cavity is used not only as a recognition site but also as a reaction medium, where a hydrophobic sensor recognizes a guest molecule. Based on the latter concept, we have designed a novel supramolecular sensing system composed of Zn(II)-dipicolylamine metal complex-based azobenzene (1-Zn) and 3A-amino-3A-deoxy-(2AS,3AS)-γ-cyclodextrin (3-NH₂-γ-CyD) for sensing adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP). 1-Zn showed redshifts in the UV-Vis spectra and induced circular dichroism (ICD) only when both ATP and 3-NH₂-γ-CyD were present. Calculations of equilibrium constants indicated that the amino group of 3-NH₂-γ-CyD was involved in the formation of supramolecular 1-Zn/3-NH₂-γ-CyD/ATP. The Job plot of the ICD spectral response revealed that the stoichiometry of 1-Zn/3-NH₂-γ-CyD/ATP was 2:1:1. The pH effect was examined and 1-Zn/3-NH₂-γ-CyD/ATP was most stable in the neutral condition. The NOESY spectrum suggested the localization of 1-Zn in the 3-NH₂-γ-CyD cavity. Based on the obtained results, the metal coordination interaction of 1-Zn and the electrostatic interaction of 3-NH₂-γ-CyD were found to take place for ATP recognition. The “reaction medium approach” enabled us to develop a supramolecular sensing system that undergoes multi-point interactions in water. This study is the first step in the design of a selective sensing system based on a good understanding of supramolecular structures.     

Direct Observation of Pure Cu and Cu-Ag Anode Passivation in H2SO4-CuSO4 Aqueous Solution by Channel Flow Double Electrode and Optical Microscopy

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - The dissolution and passivation of pure Cu and Cu-5 wt pct Ag anodes in H2SO4-CuSO4 electrolyte were investigated by a direct...