Effect of Pre-cold Rolling-Induced Twins and Subsequent Precipitated x-Phase on Mechanical Properties in a β-Type Ti–Mo Alloy

This paper reported an effectiveness of pre-cold rolling-induced{332}\113[twins combined with subsequent isothermal x-phase formation for enhancement of uniform elongation in a b-type Ti–15Mo alloy with high yield strength level.Mechanical{332}\113[twins were induced by cold rolling with an thickness reduction of 5%,which had little effect on x-phase precipitation after aging at 573 K for 3.6 ks.Twinning after the cold rolling was further activated during tensile deformation,even with the presence of isothermal x-phase.This combination of twins and x-phase enhanced uniform elongation from 0 to 9%at yield strength level of 890 MPa.The high yield strength was mainly dominated by dislocation slip due to the isothermal x-phase formation,and early onset of plastic instability after yielding was hindered due to the pre-cold rolling-induced twins.Dynamic microstructural refinement was induced by further twinning activation during deformation,which resulted in high work hardening rate corresponding enhancement of uniform elongation.     

Pregnancy by Assisted Reproductive Technology Is Associated with Shorter Telomere Length in Neonates

Telomere length (TL) influences the development of lifestyle-related diseases, and neonatal TL may influence their prevalence. Various factors have been reported to affect neonatal TL. Although the fetus is exposed to multiple conditions in utero, the main factors affecting the shortening of neonatal TL are still not known. In this study, we sought to identify factors that influence fetal TL. A total of 578 mother-newborn pairs were included for TL analysis. TL was measured in genomic DNA extracted from cord blood samples using quantitative PCR. The clinical factors examined at enrollment included the following intrauterine environmental factors: maternal age, assisted reproductive technology (ART) used, body mass index (BMI), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), maternal stress, smoking, alcohol consumption, preterm delivery, small-for-gestational-age, neonatal sex, and placental weight. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to verify the relationship between neonatal TL and these clinical factors. The median neonatal TL to single-copy gene ratio was 1.0. Pregnancy with ART was among the 11 factors associated with shorter neonatal TL. From multiple regression analysis, we determined that neonatal TL was significantly shorter for pregnancies in the ART group than in the other groups. We conclude that pregnancy with ART is associated with shorter neonatal TL.     

Monolithiation of 5,5′‐Dibromo‐2,2′‐bithiophene Using Flow Microreactors: Mechanistic Implications and Synthetic Applications

The lithiation of 5,5′‐dibromo‐2,2′‐bithiophene with one equivalent of an alkyllithium such as n‐BuLi or s‐BuLi was studied by varying the residence time in flow microreactors. With a short residence time, the product 2,2′‐bithiophene (3) derived from dilithiation was obtained preferentially and a significant amount of the starting material 5,5′‐dibromo‐2,2′‐bithiophene remained unchanged. An increase in the residence time caused a higher yield of the product 5‐bromo‐2,2′‐bithiophene derived from monolithiation with expense in the yields of 2,2′‐bithiophene and 5,5′‐dibromo‐2,2′‐bithiophene. The lithiation using MeLi gave the product 5‐bromo‐2,2′‐bithiophene preferentially even with a very short residence time.     

Biodegradation of poly(lactic acid)—cassava bagasse composites produced by injection molding

Neat poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and PLA/cassava bagasse (CB) composites were used to produce seedling tubes by extrusion and injection molding. The tubes were buried in simulated soil, and their biodegradation was investigated by weight loss, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). After 180 days, the composites' biodegradation was higher than neat PLA material, and the higher the CB content, the higher the biodegradation, which caused fissures and voids in the material. The biodegradation of PLA/CB composites increased the phosphorus content in the soil after 180 days. Composites of PLA with CB, an abundant agro-industrial residue in Brazil, are promising because they can reduce the environmental impact due to CB's proper destination, and the composites' costs and biodegradation are faster than pure PLA material. Both the faster biodegradation of the tube and the higher P content are advantageous for seedling tubes.     

Aerobic Exercise Ameliorates Cancer Cachexia-Induced Muscle Wasting through Adiponectin Signaling

Cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by muscle loss that cannot be reversed by conventional nutritional support. To uncover the molecular basis underlying the onset of cancer cachectic muscle wasting and establish an effective intervention against muscle loss, we used a cancer cachectic mouse model and examined the effects of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise successfully suppressed muscle atrophy and activated adiponectin signaling. Next, a cellular model for cancer cachectic muscle atrophy using C2C12 myotubes was prepared by treating myotubes with a conditioned medium from a culture of colon-26 cancer cells. Treatment of the atrophic myotubes with recombinant adiponectin was protective against the thinning of cells through the increased production of p-mTOR and suppression of LC3-II. Altogether, these findings suggest that the activation of adiponectin signaling could be part of the molecular mechanisms by which aerobic exercise ameliorates cancer cachexia-induced muscle wasting.     

Progress in pressureless sintering of boron carbide ceramics – a review

ABSTRACT

Boron carbide (B₄C) ceramics has many outstanding performance, such as extremely high hardness, low density, high melting point, high elastic modulus, high thermoelectromotive force, high chemical resistance, high neutron absorption cross section, high impact and excellent wear resistance. Therefore, B₄C ceramics can be used in various industrial applications, such as lightweight ceramic armour, high temperature thermocouples, neutron absorber, reactor control rods in nuclear power engineering, polishing media for hard materials, abrasive media for lapping and grinding, and wear resistant components (blasting nozzles, die tips and grinding wheels). Pressureless sintering is the method with industrialised application value for B₄C ceramics, however, it is impossible to sinter pure B₄C ceramics to high densities without additives by pressureless sintering. So sintering additives must be used to promote the densification of B₄C ceramics. The different sintering additives used to promote the densification of boron carbide will be described in this review, including carbon additives, metallic additives, oxide additives, non-oxide additives, combined additives and rare earth oxide additives. Finally, the recent research trends for sintering methods and sintering additives of B₄C ceramics will also be proposed.     

Engineering of Lipid Nanoparticles by the Multifunctionalization of the Surface with Amino Acid Derivatives for the Neutralization of a Target Toxic Peptide

Protein affinity reagents (e.g., antibodies) are often used for basic research, diagnostics, separations, and disease therapy. Although a lot of “synthetic” protein affinity reagents have been developed as a cost-effective alternative to antibodies, their low biocompatibility is a considerable problem for clinical application. Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) represent a highly biocompatible drug delivery agent. However, little has been reported that LNP itself works as a protein affinity reagent in living animals. Here, LNP is engineered for binding to and neutralizing a target toxic peptide in living animals by multifunctionalization with amino acid derivatives. Multifunctionalized LNP (MF-LNP) is prepared using amino acid derivative-conjugated lipids. Optimized MF-LNP exhibits nanomolar affinity to the target toxic peptide and inhibits toxic peptide-dependent hemolysis and cytotoxicity. In addition, MF-LNP captures and neutralizes the toxic peptide after intravenous injection in the bloodstream; in addition, MF-LNP does not release the toxic peptide in the accumulated organ. These results reveal the potential of using LNP as a highly biocompatible protein affinity reagent such as an antidote.     

Mass transfer in polycrystalline ytterbium monosilicate under oxygen potential gradients at high temperatures

Mass transfer in polycrystalline Yb₂SiO₅ wafers with precise composition control was evaluated and analyzed by oxygen permeation experiments at high temperatures using an oxygen tracer. Oxygen permeation proceeded due to mutual grain boundary diffusion of oxide ions and Yb ions without synergistic effects such as acceleration or suppression. The oxygen shielding properties of Yb₂SiO₅ were compared with those of the other line compounds such as Yb₂Si₂O₇ and Al₂O₃ based on the determined mass transfer parameters. It was found that the more preferentially an oxide ion diffuses in the grain boundary compared to the interior of the grain, the greater the effect of suppressing the movement of the oxide ion by applying an oxygen potential gradient becomes.     

Cold-start performance of an ammonia-fueled spark ignition engine with an on-board fuel reformer

This work demonstrated the first-ever cold-start operation of an ammonia (NH₃)-fueled four-cylinder spark ignition engine with an on-board fuel reformer, applying autothermal reforming. In this system, an electrically heated NH₃-air mixture was provided to a reforming catalyst and approximately 3 s was found to elapse between the start of engine rotation and the onset of combustion. Stable fast idle operation in conjunction with a cold start was realized with a H₂-to-NH₃ molar ratio of 2:1. Nearly zero NH₃ emissions were achieved during cold start and fast idle until the engine warmed up, by adsorbing unburned NH₃ passing through a three-way catalyst before the catalyst was sufficiently warmed up. The NH₃ adsorption capacity of this system could be regenerated during the engine warm-up when the engine was running under lean conditions.     

γ-radiation effects on metal oxide particles and their wetted surfaces

ABSTRACT

Typical metal oxide corrosion products of structural materials have been irradiated with γ-rays in ultra-pure water to investigate the effect of radiation on the surface oxide and the nature of adsorbed water. Analysis techniques including thermal gravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy before and after γ-irradiation were employed to investigate surface structural effects and adsorbed water behaviour. The production of H₂ in the oxide nanoparticle mixtures was investigated by gas chromatography to probe the mechanism of radiolysis in the water/oxide mixtures and the relationship with surface water. The nature of water at the surface of the oxides was affected by γ-radiation and the relationship was dependent on the particle composition. The rate of H₂ production was shown to be oxide dependent, and higher rates of H₂ formation were attributed to the decomposition of surface adsorbed water. Changes to the surface chemistry and H₂ production rates were found to be highly dependent on the surface chemistry of the metal oxide nanoparticle and no bulk structural changes were observed.