Estimation of Appropriate Process Parameters for a Plasma Electron Beam Re-Melting Process Using Finite Element Analysis

Metal additive manufacturing using electron beam melting (EBM) process applies electron beam for heating, sintering, and melting of powders to fabricate a three-dimensional component. The component may contain residual porosity internally and may be subjected to poor surface finish externally. To improve the quality of the surface finish and densification, re-melting is conducted. The purpose of this paper was to estimate the appropriate process conditions for a plasma electron beam remelting process using heat transfer finite element analyses (FEAs). The impact of the travel speed of table and thickness of the deposited part on temperature distributions were examined. The size of molten pool was estimated from the results of the thermal FEA. From the estimated size of molten pool, the travel speed of table and the hatch spacing between remelting tracks are discussed and selected as the appropriate process conditions for electron beam re-melting process from the perspective of minimum overlapping region of the molten pool

Measuring IS Service Quality in the Context of the Service Quality-User Satisfaction Relationship

There is little research regarding the relationship between IS service quality and user satisfaction, the most frequently used surrogate for information systems success. The current study is designed to investigate three ways of measuring service quality (i.e., confirmation/disconfirmation, perception-only, and overall assessment) and shed light on the relationship between service quality and user satisfaction. The results imply that when managers try to measure service quality to improve their service, they have to be cautious in ruling out or selecting one way or another of measuring service quality. The current research also clearly shows that mangers have to take care of the service quality to enhance user satisfaction. The models and results are discussed

Use of signal sequences as an in situ removable sequence element to stimulate protein synthesis in cell-free extracts

This study developed a method to boost the expression of recombinant proteins in a cell-free protein synthesis system without leaving additional amino acid residues. It was found that the nucleotide sequences of the signal peptides serve as an efficient downstream box to stimulate protein synthesis when they were fused upstream of the target genes. The extent of stimulation was critically affected by the identity of the second codons of the signal sequences. Moreover, the yield of the synthesized protein was enhanced by as much as 10 times in the presence of an optimal second codon. The signal peptides were in situ cleaved and the target proteins were produced in their native sizes by carrying out the cell-free synthesis reactions in the presence of Triton X-100, most likely through the activation of signal peptidase in the S30 extract. The amplification of the template DNA and the addition of the signal sequences were accomplished by PCR. Hence, elevated levels of recombinant proteins were generated within several hours

Manufacturing method of photonic crystal

A manufacturing method of a photonic crystal is provided. In the method, a high-refractive-index material is conformally deposited on an exposed portion of a periodic template composed of a low-refractive-index material by an atomic layer deposition process so that a difference in refractive indices or dielectric constants between the template and adjacent air becomes greater, which makes it possible to form a three-dimensional photonic crystal having a superior photonic bandgap. Herein, the three-dimensional structure may be prepared by a layer-by-layer method

Anti-Apoptotic Effects of SERPIN B3 and B4 via STAT6 Activation in Macrophages after Infection with Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii penetrates all kinds of nucleated eukaryotic cells but modulates host cells differently for its intracellular survival. In a previous study, we found out that serine protease inhibitors B3 and B4 (SERPIN B3/B4 because of their very high homology) were significantly induced in THP-1-derived macrophages infected with T. gondii through activation of STAT6. In this study, to evaluate the effects of the induced SERPIN B3/B4 on the apoptosis of T. gondii-infected THP-1 cells, we designed and tested various small interfering (si-) RNAs of SERPIN B3 or B4 in staurosporine-induced apoptosis of THP-1 cells. Anti-apoptotic characteristics of THP-1 cells after infection with T. gondii disappeared when SERPIN B3/B4 were knock-downed with gene specific si-RNAs transfected into THP-1 cells as detected by the cleaved caspase 3, poly-ADP ribose polymerase and DNA fragmentation. This anti-apoptotic effect was confirmed in SERPIN B3/B4 overexpressed HeLa cells. We also investigated whether inhibition of STAT6 affects the function of SERPIN B3/B4, and vice versa. Inhibition of SERPIN B3/B4 did not influence STAT6 expression but SERPIN B3/B4 expression was inhibited by STAT6 si-RNA transfection, which confirmed that SERPIN B3/B4 was induced under the control of STAT6 activation. These results suggest that T. gondii induces SERPIN B3/B4 expression via STAT6 activation to inhibit the apoptosis of infected THP-1 cells for longer survival of the intracellular parasites themselves

Role of Transcription Factor Modifications in the Pathogenesis of Insulin Resistance

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by fat accumulation in the liver not due to alcohol abuse. NAFLD is accompanied by variety of symptoms related to metabolic syndrome. Although the metabolic link between NAFLD and insulin resistance is not fully understood, it is clear that NAFLD is one of the main cause of insulin resistance. NAFLD is shown to affect the functions of other organs, including pancreas, adipose tissue, muscle and inflammatory systems. Currently efforts are being made to understand molecular mechanism of interrelationship between NAFLD and insulin resistance at the transcriptional level with specific focus on post-translational modification (PTM) of transcription factors. PTM of transcription factors plays a key role in controlling numerous biological events, including cellular energy metabolism, cell-cycle progression, and organ development. Cell type- and tissue-specific reversible modifications include lysine acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination, and SUMOylation. Moreover, phosphorylation and O-GlcNAcylation on serine and threonine residues have been shown to affect protein stability, subcellular distribution, DNA-binding affinity, and transcriptional activity. PTMs of transcription factors involved in insulin-sensitive tissues confer specific adaptive mechanisms in response to internal or external stimuli. Our understanding of the interplay between these modifications and their effects on transcriptional regulation is growing. Here, we summarize the diverse roles of PTMs in insulin-sensitive tissues and their involvement in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance

An Unusual Case with Membranous Lipodystrophy in a Hypertensive Patient with Transepidermal Elimination

Membranous lipodystrophy represents a peculiar type of fat necrosis that is present in patients with various types of skin disease. It is characterized by the presence of microcysts and macrocysts and is lined by amorphous eosinophilic material with a crenelated arabesque appearance. These findings have been associated with lupus erythematosus, diabetes mellitus, erythema nodosum, trauma, etc. We report a case of a 43-year-old woman who had a red to purple asymptomatic indurated plaque, approximately seven cm in diameter and on the left arm. She was a chronic hepatitis B antigen carrier and had hypertension for four years. Histopathology of the biopsied lesion showed transepidermal elimination of altered collagen and elastic fibers, as well as membranous lipodystrophy changes. There were hypertensive vascular changes including lymphohistiocytic infiltration around the vascular wall, swelling of endothelial cells, increased thickness of the vascular walls, and narrowing of the lumen. We report a case showing transepidermal elimination with membranous lipodystrophy. We carefully suggest that the secondary phenomenon of transepidermal elimination was associated with membranous lipodystrophy and degenerate connective tissues