Optimization of a roller levelling process for Al7001T9 pipes with finite element analysis and Taguchi method

This paper is concerned with the optimization of process parameters for a roller leveller that is an indispensable piece of equipment to eliminate the undesirable curvature of a thin-walled aluminum pipe. Optimization of process parameters has been carried out for a multi-staggered-type 14-roller leveller. A finite element model of a multi-staggered 14-roller leveller was constructed for numerical analysis. The analysis is carried out with the fractional model and the Taguchi method for evaluation of the effect of process parameters such as the intermesh and the slanted angle of rollers. The response variable is set to the plastic strain along the pipe length. The optimum combination of process parameters is determined from the numerical result and confirmed by experiments. The comparison of the numerical result with the experimental one shows good coincidence for its validity and reliability.     

Weakly Binding Molecules-Based Fast Charging Li-Ion Batteries

Fast charging of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) beyond standard 0.3 C (charged in 3.3 h) are desperately pursued but hindered by sluggish desolvation kinetics of ethylene carbonate-based traditional electrolyte, and Li-plating and dendrites growth at graphite anode and fire hazard. Herein, a new class of weakly binding all linear molecules-based nonflammable electrolyte (WNLE) is reported, comprising 1 m LiPF₆ in ethyl methyl carbonate and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl acetate with additives for 10–20 times faster charging LIBs than traditional ones. The critical benefits of WNLE are 44% lower viscosity, 62% higher Li⁺ diffusion coefficient, 20% higher Li⁺ transference number, and 17% lower desolvation energy, which promotes diffusion kinetics and desolvation kinetics of Li⁺ in the vicinity of graphite anode enabling dendrites-free LIB, along with nonflammability. Under 3 C (charged in 20 min), WNLE-based industrial 800 mAh graphite//LiNi_0.8Mn_0.1Co_0.1O₂ (high active mass 13 mg cm⁻²) Li-ion pouch battery achieves outstanding 700 cycles, delivering 82% capacity retention and high Coulombic efficiencies ≈100%. Robust solid electrolyte interphase layers formed at the anode and cathode mitigate interfacial failures, making fast charge to 7 C and longer cycle-life. This new class of electrolyte formulation is a promising solution and a new opportunity to realize safe and long operation of fast-charging LIBs for practical applications.     

Berbamine Reduces Chloroquine-Induced Itch in Mice through Inhibition of MrgprX1

Chloroquine (CQ) is an antimalaria drug that has been widely used for decades. However, CQ-induced pruritus remains one of the major obstacles in CQ treatment for uncomplicated malaria. Recent studies have revealed that MrgprX1 plays an essential role in CQ-induced itch. To date, a few MrgprX1 antagonists have been discovered, but they are clinically unavailable or lack selectivity. Here, a cell-based high-throughput screening was performed to identify novel antagonists of MrgprX1, and the screening of 2543 compounds revealed two novel MrgprX1 inhibitors, berbamine and closantel. Notably, berbamine potently inhibited CQ-mediated MrgprX1 activation (IC₅₀ = 1.6 μM) but did not alter the activity of other pruritogenic GPCRs. In addition, berbamine suppressed the CQ-mediated phosphorylation of ERK1/2. Interestingly, CQ-induced pruritus was significantly reduced by berbamine in a dose-dependent manner, but berbamine had no effect on histamine-induced, protease-activated receptors 2-activating peptide-induced, and deoxycholic acid-induced itch in mice. These results suggest that berbamine is a novel, potent, and selective antagonist of MrgprX1 and may be a potential drug candidate for the development of therapeutic agents to treat CQ-induced pruritus.     

Cellular Regulation of Kynurenic Acid-Induced Cell Apoptosis Pathways in AGS Cells

Kynurenic acid was included in the three compounds (caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and kynurenic acid) that showed high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential among the phenolic compounds contained in Gynura procumbens. In this study, the mechanism of cancer cell death induced by kynurenic acid (KYNA), which has the highest molecular binding affinity, in the gastric cancer cell line AGS was confirmed in molecular docking analysis. KYNA showed the most cancer cell death effect on AGS cells among several gastric cancer cell lines (MKN, AGS, and SNU). AGS cells were used for later experiments, and KYNA concentrations of 0, 150, 200, and 250 µM were used. KYNA inhibited cell migration and proliferation in AGS cells in a concentration-dependent manner. G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and reduction of related proteins (Cdc25C, CDK1 and CyclinB1) were confirmed in KYNA-treated AGS cells. Apoptosis of KYNA-treated AGS cells was confirmed by Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining flow cytometry analysis. As a result of morphological chromatin condensation through DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole), intense blue fluorescence was confirmed. The mechanism of apoptosis induction of KYNA-treated AGS cells was confirmed by western blotting. In the extrinsic pathway, apoptosis induction markers FasL, Fas, and Caspase-3 and -8 were increased in a concentration-dependent manner upon KYNA treatment. In the intrinsic pathway, the expression of anti-apoptotic factors PI3K, AKT, and Bcl-xL was down-regulated, and the expression of apoptosis-inducing factors BAD, Bak, Bax, Cytochrom C, and Caspase-9 was up-regulated. Therefore, in the present study, we strongly imply that KYNA induces apoptosis in AGS gastric cancer cells. This suggests that KYNA, a natural compound, could be the basis for drug for the treatment of gastric cancer.     

Application of the generalized body-fixed coordinate system for the wave-body interaction problem of a small-depth elastic structure in head seas

The body-fixed coordinate system is applied to the wave-body interaction problem of a small-depth elastic structure which has both rigid and elastic body motion...     

Atractylodin Ameliorates Colitis via PPARα Agonism

Atractylodin is a major compound in the rhizome of Atractylodes lancea, an oriental herbal medicine used for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, including dyspepsia, nausea, and diarrhea. Recent studies have shown that atractylodin exerts anti-inflammatory effects in various inflammatory diseases. Herein, we investigated the anti-colitis effects of atractylodin and its molecular targets. We determined the non-cytotoxic concentration of atractylodin (50 μM) using a cell proliferation assay in colonic epithelial cells. We found that pretreatment with atractylodin significantly inhibits tumor necrosis factor-α-induced phosphorylation of nuclear factor-κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B in HCT116 cells. Through docking simulation analysis, luciferase assays, and in vitro binding assays, we found that atractylodin has an affinity for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα). Daily administration of atractylodin (40 mg/kg) increased the survival rate of mice in a dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis mouse model. Thus, atractylodin can be a good strategy for colitis therapy through inducing PPARα-dependent pathways.     

An exploratory study on the gaps and pathways to the Korean fusion DEMO

With the vision of being an early demonstrator of fusion energy, the strategic plans for the Fusion DEMO program of Korea (K-DEMO program) has been developed. A staged development of the K-DEMO plant was considered in the strategic plans as to verify technical feasibility in the first stage and economic feasibility in the second stage. The top-tier design requirements and assumptions of the first stage K-DEMO plant are defined and postulated. With these requirements and assumptions, the desired and current status of nuclear fusion technologies are compared to identify the gaps to be filled to design, fabricate, construct, and operate it. The pathways from KSTAR, ITER to K-DEMO plant have also been studied to identify R&D activities for K-DEMO program that are to go in parallel with KSTAR and ITER are extracted from the pathways. Cross-cutting with the fusion R&D activities of the other countries and utilizing the commonalities with the existing systems are discussed with the provision of open-innovation strategy that is one of the key strategies of K-DEMO program. The priority of the R&D activities of K-DEMO program is qualitatively determined in consideration of the gaps, cross-cutting, and risks associated with the R&D investments.     

A facile synthesis, in vitro and in vivo MR studies of d-glucuronic acid-coated ultrasmall Ln₂O₃ (Ln = Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, and Er) nanoparticles as a new potential MRI contrast agent

A facile one-pot synthesis of d-glucuronic acid-coated ultrasmall Ln(2)O(3) (Ln = Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, and Er) nanoparticles is presented. Their water proton relaxivities were studied to address their possibility as a new potential MRI contrast agent. We focused on the d-glucuronic acid-coated ultrasmall Dy(2)O(3) nanoparticle because it showed the highest r(2) relaxivity among studied nanoparticles. Its performance as a T(2) MRI contrast agent was for the first time proved in vivo through its 3 T T(2) MR images of a mouse, showing that it can be further exploited for the rational design of a new T(2) MRI contrast agent at high MR fields.     

Adaptive Bit-Interleaved Coded OFDM With Reduced Feedback Information

If the channel is static and is perfectly known to both the transmitter and the receiver, the water-filling technique with adaptive modulation is known to be optimal (Gallager, 1968). However, for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, this requires intensive traffic overheads for reporting channel state information on all subcarriers to the transmitter. In this paper, we consider an adaptive modulation and coding scheme for bit-interleaved coded OFDM with reduced feedback information satisfying a specified quality of service level. We propose a rate adaptation scheme, which utilizes the estimated bit error rate for supportable transmission rates. In this scheme, a user equipment chooses a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) level, which can provide the maximum spectral efficiency based on one OFDM symbol rather than on all subchannels. Then the user needs to send back only the selected MCS level index. The proposed scheme does not require the water-filling procedure, and the amount of the feedback information reduces to a single integer value irrespective of the number of subcarriers. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can significantly reduce the system complexity while minimizing the performance loss compared to the optimum water-filling scheme.     

Recrystallization and precipitation behavior of low-activation V-Cr-Ti alloys after cold rolling

Recrystallization and precipitation behavior after cold working were investigated for three V-4Cr-4Ti alloys, NIFS-HEAT-1, NIFS-HEAT-2 and US 832665, which contain different levels of impurities. The decrease in hardness and the initiation of recrystallization against test temperature do not depend on the oxygen level. However, the rate of grain growth decreased with the increase in the impurity levels. Bimodal distribution of the precipitates was observed after annealing at 1273 K. The large precipitates were Ti-rich precipitates, and the small ones were composed mainly of Ti, C and O (Ti-C-O precipitates). The impurities were dissolved from Ti-C-O precipitates above 1273 K, and the level of impurities in the matrix increased and resulted in the increase in the hardness. Based on the results, the annealing temperature for V-4Cr-4Ti alloys is recommended not to exceed 1273 K for the purpose of maintaining good mechanical properties such as tensile and impact properties.