Preparation of AZ91D Slurries for Semi-Solid Forming Using Al8 ( Mn, Fe) 5 Precipitates

During the solidification of the AZ91D-alloys, the Al8(Mn, Fe)5 phase is generally precipitated in the melt in advance of the precipitation of the primary α-Mg. The basic principle for manufacturing AZ91D-alloy slurries for semi solid forming is to use the Al8(Mn, Fe)5 precipitates as the heterogeneous nucleation sites for primary α-Mg phases. Microscopic analysis for the location of the Al8(Mn, Fe)5 precipitate explains that the Al8(Mn, Fe)5 precipitate is the effective heterogeneous nucleation site for the primary α-Mg phase. It was also observed that increase of the Mn content in the melt and the cooling rate below to the solid/liquid two-phase region resulted in smaller and more globular primary α-Mg due to the increase of heterogeneous nucleation sites. It was found that the average α-Mg diameter grew as a function of t0.278, where t is the holding time at the solid/liquid two-phase region. This would be attributed to the Ostwald type ripening and coalescence between primary α-Mg phases. The cooling rate below to the solid/liquid two-phase region, Mn content in AZ91D alloy, and the holding time and temperature affected on the quality of slurry.     

Ultra-precision lapping of machinable ceramic Si3N4-BN by in-process electrolytic dressing

The machinable ceramic Si₃N₄-BN is a material which is increasingly being employed for automobile bearings and machinable ceramics. This material is very hard and has high resistance against volatile temperature and wear. It's efficient quality and accurate surfaces have always been of high demand for many applications in the industrial field. Besides, this material is varied by the percentage of BN contained in it, and the characteristics of lapping also varies according to this percentage of BN. Hence, in-process electrolytic dressing for ultra-precision lapping was introduced and used to experiment with the differing BN percentages in machinable ceramic Si₃ N₄. Metal-bonded super-abrasive diamond lapping wheels have superior qualities such as high bond strength, high stability and high machinability. The major problems encountered are wheel loading and glazing, which impedes the effectiveness of the cast-iron bonded diamond lapping wheel and, therefore, dressing should be considered. In this respect, in-process electrolytic dressing (IED) is proposed as an effective method regarding continuous protruding abrasives on the surface of wheels, whereby loading and glazing phenomena can apparently disappear. In this paper, the machining characteristics of machinable ceramic Si₃N₄-BN have been studied by adapting the IED lapping process in terms of the percentage of h-BN material.     

Isolation and Characterization of Urinary Extracellular Vesicles from Healthy Donors and Patients with Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy among men in developed countries. The five-year survival rate for men diagnosed with early-stage PCa is approximately 100%, while it is less than 30% for castration-resistant PCa (CRPC). Currently, the detection of prostate-specific antigens as biomarkers for the prognosis of CRPC is criticized because of its low accuracy, high invasiveness, and high false-positive rate. Therefore, it is important to identify new biomarkers for prediction of CRPC progression. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from tumors have been highlighted as potential markers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Specifically, urinary EVs directly reflect changes in the pathophysiological conditions of the urogenital system because it is exposed to prostatic secretions. Thus, detecting biomarkers in urinary EVs provides a promising approach for performing an accurate and non-invasive liquid biopsy for CPRC. In this study, we effectively isolated urinary EVs with low protein impurities using size-exclusion chromatography combined with ultrafiltration. After EV isolation and characterization, we evaluated the miRNAs in urinary EVs from healthy donors and patients with CRPC. The results indicated that miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-574-3p, and miR-6880-5p) could be used as potential biomarkers for the prognosis of CRPC. This analysis of urinary EVs contributes to the fast and convenient prognosis of diseases, including CRPC, in the clinical setting.     

Simulation of the mushroom cloud generated from a high-energy explosion using large-eddy simulation

We performed numerical simulations of a 20 kT heavy explosion to predict the rise and diffusion of mushroom cloud after the atmospheric pressure is recover     

Dual-wavelength cascaded Raman fibre laser

Dual-wavelength lasing at 1480 and 1500 nm has been demonstrated from a cascaded Raman fibre laser with a WDM coupler and two pairs of Bragg gratings. Intensity-adjustable, wavelength-tunable laser operation was achieved by tensile stress wavelength tuning of the gratings     

Intratracheal Transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Attenuates Hyperoxia-Induced Microbial Dysbiosis in the Lungs,Brain, and Gut in Newborn Rats

We attempted to determine whether intratracheal (IT) transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could simultaneously attenuate hyperoxia-induced lung injuries and microbial dysbiosis of the lungs, brain, and gut in newborn rats. Newborn rats were exposed to hyperoxia (90% oxygen) for 14 days. Human umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs (5 × 10⁵) were transplanted via the IT route on postnatal day (P) five. At P14, the lungs were harvested for histological, biochemical, and microbiome analyses. Bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA genes from the lungs, brain, and large intestine were amplified, pyrosequenced, and analyzed. IT transplantation of MSCs simultaneously attenuated hyperoxia-induced lung inflammation and the ensuing injuries, as well as the dysbiosis of the lungs, brain, and gut. In correlation analyses, lung interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were significantly positively correlated with the abundance of Proteobacteria in the lungs, brain, and gut, and it was significantly inversely correlated with the abundance of Firmicutes in the gut and lungs and that of Bacteroidetes in the lungs. In conclusion, microbial dysbiosis in the lungs, brain, and gut does not cause but is caused by hyperoxic lung inflammation and ensuing injuries, and IT transplantation of MSCs attenuates dysbiosis in the lungs, brain, and gut, primarily by their anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects.     

A Composite Formation Route to Well‐Crystalline Manganese Oxide Nanocrystals: High Catalytic Activity of Manganate–Alumina Nanocomposites

Manganese oxide nanocrystals are combined with aluminum oxide nanocrystals to improve their crystallinity via calcination without a significant increase of crystal size. A nanocomposite, consisting of two metal oxides, can be synthesized by the reaction between permanganate anions and aluminum oxyhydroxide keggin cations. The as‐prepared manganese oxide–aluminum oxide nanocomposite is X‐ray amorphous whereas heat‐treatment gives rise to the crystallization of an α‐MnO₂ phase at 600 °C and Mn₃O₄/Mn₂O₃ and γ‐Al₂O₃ phases at 800 °C. Electron microscopy and N₂ adsorption‐desorption‐isotherm analysis clearly demonstrate that the as‐prepared nanocomposite is composed of a porous assembly of monodisperse primary particles with a size of ～20 nm and a surface area of >410 m² g^?1. Of particular interest is that the small particle size of the as‐prepared nanocomposite is well‐maintained up to 600 °C, a result of the prevention of the growth of manganate grains through nanoscale mixing with alumina grains. The calcined nanocomposite shows very‐high catalytic activity for the oxidation of cyclohexene with an extremely high conversion efficiency of >95% within 15 min. The present results show that the improvement of the crystallinity without significant crystal growth is very crucial for optimizing the catalytic activity of manganese oxide nanocrystals.     

Studies on the heating capacity control of a multi-type heat pump system applying a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) method

This paper describes a method to control capacity of a multi-type heat pump system. Because indoor units are interconnected, alteration of the heating or cooling setting of one indoor unit can influence the performance of the other indoor units. Proportional-integral (PI) controllers were used to assess system performance, and the PI controllers’ gain values were optimized by using a genetic algorithm. A system model was established following a system identification optimization process, and a pseudo random binary sequence was selected as the system identification input signal. A multi-input multi-output (MIMO) controller was more effective in reducing such cross-coupling effects than a single-input single-output (SISO) controller. The temperature at the secondary fluid outlet in the condenser and the saturation pressure at the evaporator were selected as the control variables in the MIMO controller. The experimental results showed that an optimized MIMO controller could reduce overshoot by up to 40% compared with the results using a SISO controller.     

X-ray photoelectron study of the MoCl2C30H30 composite

The surface of a MoCl₂C₃₀H₃₀ composite in the form of molybdenum nanoclusters in a polyacetylene matrix, produced by reacting MoCl₅ with C₂H₂ in benzene and toluene, has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy before and after Ar⁺ ion milling. The composite actively reacts with atmospheric oxygen and moisture. As a result, the molybdenum clusters on its surface oxidize to molybdenum(V) or molybdenum(VI) oxides or oxychlorides (E _b(Mo 3d _5/2) = 232.3–232.5 eV) during the sample preparation process. The electron binding energy of molybdenum affter surface etching (E _b(Mo 3d _5/2) = 228.5 eV) suggests that the oxidation state of the molybdenum in the composite is 2⁺ or 3⁺. Analysis of the structure of the spectrum of the C 2s electrons of the inner valence molecular orbitals using the energy level diagram of the C₂ molecule suggests that the hydrocarbon matrix of the composite contains, in addition to-CH=CH-CH=CH- conjugate bonds, linear carbyne fragments: -HC=C=CH- or -C≡C-. After etching, the surface layer of the composite contained argon, which might be due to adsorption because of the small particle size of the composite or chemisorption on the surface of the polyacetylene matrix. The composite is stable in a high vacuum of 1.3 × 10⁻⁵ Pa up to 350°C and does not experience charging when exposed to X-rays, which indicates that it has weak dielectric properties.