Effect of Diffusion Length in Modeling of Equiaxed Dendritic Solidification under Buoyancy Flow in a Configuration of Hebditch–Hunt Experiment

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - Modeling of equiaxed solidification is vital for understanding the solidification process of metallic alloys. In this work, an extended literature...     

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.     

Interlinking Music-Related Data on the Web

This article describes how Semantic Web technologies can be used to interlink musical data sources that have traditionally been isolated and difficult to integrate.     

Lipid oxidation products of heated soybeans as a possible cause of protection from ruminal biohydrogenation

Heating oilseeds has been shown to improve the milk fatty acid profile when given to dairy cows, compared to raw oilseeds. However, results from published studies are conflicting. The conditions of heating and storage of the oilseeds could be responsible for these differences, probably partly through their effects on lipid oxidation, the products of which could act on ruminal biohydrogenation (BH). Thus, 15 different treatments were applied to ground soybeans: three levels of heating (no heating, 30 min at 110 or 150°C) × 5 ambient storage durations (0, 1, 2, 4, or 6 months). Soybeans were incubated in vitro with ruminal fluid for 6 h. Triacylglycerol (TAG) polymers, hydroperoxides and hydroxyacids (HOA), aldehydes, and fatty acids were assayed in soybeans and ruminal culture. No TAG polymer was detected in any treatment. Soybeans stored for a long time had a high content of HOA, whereas those heated at 150°C, whatever the storage duration, had high aldehyde contents. The percentage disappearance of cis‐9,cis‐12 18:2 and cis‐9,cis‐12,cis‐15 18:3 in incubates decreased significantly in cultures with heated soybeans, especially at 150°C, suggesting that this partial protection of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) from BH was at least in part linked to the aldehyde content of the heated soybeans. Practical applications: Oilseeds given to ruminants are often heated, and heat treatment is known to generate oxidation products. Knowing what oxidation products influence ruminal biohydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids could result in technological processes allowing a better transfer of unsaturated fatty acids from oilseeds to ruminant products.     

Mechanochemical degradation of poly(vinyl fluoride) by sodium hydroxide measured by microindentation

The degradation of the mechanical properties of deformed PVDF during its mechanochemical ageing in sodium hydroxide (soda) was followed by microindentation measurements, especially the local reduction of the elastic modulus and the hardness. This allows measurements on a local scale of the mechanical properties on the surface and in-depth as a function of the strain level and the ageing time. Microindentation tests with Berkovich indenter have been performed with a Nanoindenter XP^® (MTS). Measurements are made at penetration depth less than 2 μm for an applied load of 10 mN. During ageing in soda (Ph 14) at 90 °C up to 16 days, various deformations ε (0, 22 and 38%) are imposed on PVDF tensile specimen. For the first two imposed deformations (ε = 0 and ε = 22%), mechanical degradation is limited to some percent (less than 7%). For the greatest deformation (ε = 38%), mechanical degradation continues to decrease with ageing time (more than 21%). Microindentation tests show that a range of low deformations exists in which the mechanochemical degradation is limited and no limitation is observed for larger imposed deformation.     

Review of Bioretention System Research and Design: Past, Present, and Future

This paper reviews the evolution of bioretention systems, a promising at-source storm-water best management practice. The introduction of bioretention systems in the 1990s by Prince George’s County, Md. is examined along with the motivations behind the development of the systems. A summary of the research findings on the performance of bioretention systems is provided including proposed design modifications to improve the field performance. Also included is an overview of past and current bioretention design guidelines in North America, as well as a discussion of issues surrounding the public adoption and implementation of bioretention systems. Potential alternative uses for the systems are highlighted and a review of bioretention modeling work is provided. Finally, the paper outlines research needs and anticipated future work necessary to bring about the widespread use of bioretention systems.     

Development of an experimental technique to assess the permeability of metal coated polymer films

The experimental time required to measure water vapour permeability of barrier film using the cup method is extremely long. In this study, a new technique is proposed, based on light transmission. This fast and accurate method was first validated using model films constituted of aluminized PET (polyethylene terephthalate) with aluminium layers of different thicknesses (<100 nm). It was possible to show that the ‘illuminating’ method could advantageously be employed to control the film’s barrier properties during their fabrication. In a second step, the method was tentatively used to measure the changes in barrier properties over time, when the samples are submitted to severe hydrothermal ageing (70 °C, 90% relative humidity [RH]). It was concluded that the complex degradation mechanism prevents accurate measurement while ageing.     

Determination of Materials Selection Performance Indices Through the Combination of Numerical Modeling and Optimization Methods

After translation, the first stages traditionally involved in the materials selection are filtration and classification, which require formulation of criteria (constraints or objectives) deduced from information written in the set of material requirements. These criteria, which are representative of the behavior of the material and the studied structure, must be formulated analytically in order to be used during selection stage. However, for complex behavior, analytical processing of models is no longer possible and it can be replaced by a combination of numerical resolution methods and an optimization method which make it possible to obtain approximate formal expressions of the criteria. In this paper, a complete selection method is proposed. The method is applied to the constraints as well as the objectives, in order to carry out the filtration and classification stages at the same time. The study of the thermomechanical behavior of a machine tool frame has been used to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.