Laser surface hardening of large cylindrical components utilizing ring spot geometry

A new process, based on ring spot geometry, is presented for laser surface hardening of large cylindrical components. The proposed technique leads to a very hard, deep and uniform hardened layer along the entire work piece surface without introducing a tempered zone, making the process very attractive compared to conventional induction hardening that exhibits both low energy efficiency and poor flexibility. A complete physical model is presented for the process, together with a study of the influence of process parameters on the final outcome. The results of an extensive validation campaign, carried out on AISI 1040 specimens, are also reported.     

Management of Iron Overload in Beta-Thalassemia Patients: Clinical Practice Update Based on Case Series

Thalassemia syndromes are characterized by the inability to produce normal hemoglobin. Ineffective erythropoiesis and red cell transfusions are sources of excess iron that the human organism is unable to remove. Iron that is not saturated by transferrin is a toxic agent that, in transfusion-dependent patients, leads to death from iron-induced cardiomyopathy in the second decade of life. The availability of effective iron chelators, advances in the understanding of the mechanism of iron toxicity and overloading, and the availability of noninvasive methods to monitor iron loading and unloading in the liver, heart, and pancreas have all significantly increased the survival of patients with thalassemia. Prolonged exposure to iron toxicity is involved in the development of endocrinopathy, osteoporosis, cirrhosis, renal failure, and malignant transformation. Now that survival has been dramatically improved, the challenge of iron chelation therapy is to prevent complications. The time has come to consider that the primary goal of chelation therapy is to avoid 24-h exposure to toxic iron and maintain body iron levels within the normal range, avoiding possible chelation-related damage. It is very important to minimize irreversible organ damage to prevent malignant transformation before complications set in and make patients ineligible for current and future curative therapies. In this clinical case-based review, we highlight particular aspects of the management of iron overload in patients with beta-thalassemia syndromes, focusing on our own experience in treating such patients. We review the pathophysiology of iron overload and the different ways to assess, quantify, and monitor it. We also discuss chelation strategies that can be used with currently available chelators, balancing the need to keep non-transferrin-bound iron levels to a minimum (zero) 24 h a day, 7 days a week and the risk of over-chelation.     

The Glioblastoma Microenvironment: Morphology,Metabolism, and Molecular Signature of Glial Dynamics to Discover Metabolic Rewiring Sequence

Different functional states determine glioblastoma (GBM) heterogeneity. Brain cancer cells coexist with the glial cells in a functional syncytium based on a continuous metabolic rewiring. However, standard glioma therapies do not account for the effects of the glial cells within the tumor microenvironment. This may be a possible reason for the lack of improvements in patients with high-grade gliomas therapies. Cell metabolism and bioenergetic fitness depend on the availability of nutrients and interactions in the microenvironment. It is strictly related to the cell location in the tumor mass, proximity to blood vessels, biochemical gradients, and tumor evolution, underlying the influence of the context and the timeline in anti-tumor therapeutic approaches. Besides the cancer metabolic strategies, here we review the modifications found in the GBM-associated glia, focusing on morphological, molecular, and metabolic features. We propose to analyze the GBM metabolic rewiring processes from a systems biology perspective. We aim at defining the crosstalk between GBM and the glial cells as modules. The complex networking may be expressed by metabolic modules corresponding to the GBM growth and spreading phases. Variation in the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) rate and regulation appears to be the most important part of the metabolic and functional heterogeneity, correlating with glycolysis and response to hypoxia. Integrated metabolic modules along with molecular and morphological features could allow the identification of key factors for controlling the GBM-stroma metabolism in multi-targeted, time-dependent therapies.     

Non-hydrolytic sol–gel route to a family of hybrid mesoporous aluminosilicate ethanol dehydration catalysts

Journal of Materials Science - Hybrid materials are intensely studied for potential applications in heterogeneous catalysis. Organic groups at the catalyst surface can modify not only its...     

How the inclusion of mushroom powder can affect the physicochemical characteristics of pasta

In this study, a partial substitution of durum wheat semolina with three different species of mushrooms (white button, shitake and porcini) was undertaken to increase the nutritional value of the pasta. The cooking properties and textural characteristics of the pasta produced were also determined. The results showed that the addition of mushroom powder increased the cooking loss, as well as firmness and resistance of the uniaxial tension of the pasta. Porcini mushroom incorporation significantly decreased the swelling index, water absorption index and moisture content values of the cooked pasta, while, for the white button and shiitake mushrooms, there was no noticeable effect on either index compared with the control sample (containing exclusively durum wheat semolina). The addition of shiitake mushroom powder resulted in pasta with the highest firmness and tensile strength.     

Localization of self-generated synthetic footstep sounds on different walked-upon materials through headphones

This paper focuses on the localization of footstep sounds interactively generated during walking and provided through headphones. Three distinct experiments were conducted in a laboratory involving a pair of sandals enhanced with pressure sensors and a footstep synthesizer capable of simulating two typologies of surface materials: solid (e.g., wood) and aggregate (e.g., gravel). Different sound delivery methods (mono, stereo, binaural) as well as several surface materials, in the presence or absence of concurrent contextual auditory information provided as soundscapes, were evaluated in a vertical localization task. Results showed that solid surfaces were localized significantly farther from the walker’s feet than the aggregate ones. This effect was independent of the used rendering technique, of the presence of soundscapes, and of merely temporal or spectral attributes of sound. The effect is hypothesized to be due to a semantic conflict between auditory and haptic information such that the higher the semantic incongruence the greater the distance of the perceived sound source from the feet. The presented results contribute to the development of further knowledge toward a basis for the design of continuous multimodal feedback in virtual reality applications.