Ti-Zr-Si-Nb nanocrystalline alloys and metallic glasses: Assessment on the structure, thermal stability, corrosion and mechanical properties

The development of novel Ti-based amorphous or \u3b2-phase nanostructured metallic materials could have significant benefits for implant applications, due to improved corrosion and mechanical characteristics (lower Young's modulus, better wear performance, improved fracture toughness) in comparison to the standardized \u3b1+\u3b2 titanium alloys. Moreover, the devitrification phenomenon, occurring during heating, could contribute to lower input power during additive manufacturing technologies. Ti-based alloy ribbons were obtained by melt-spinning, considering the ultra-fast cooling rates this method can provide. The titanium alloys contain in various proportions Zr, Nb, and Si (Ti60Zr10Si15Nb15, Ti64Zr10Si15Nb11, Ti56Zr10Si15Nb19) in various proportions. These elements were chosen due to their reported biological safety, as in the case of Zr and Nb, and the metallic glass-forming ability and biocompatibility of Si. The morphology and chemical composition were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, while the structural features (crystallinity, phase attribution after devitrification (after heat treatment)) were assessed by X-ray diffraction. Some of the mechanical properties (hardness, Young's modulus) were assessed by instrumented indentation. The thermal stability and crystallization temperatures were measured by differential thermal analysis. High-intensity exothermal peaks were observed during heating of melt-spun ribbons. The corrosion behavior was assessed by electrocorrosion tests. The results show the potential of these alloys to be used as materials for biomedical applications

Energy utilization and growth performance of chickens fed novel wheat inbred lines selected for different pentosan levels with and without xylanase supplementation

Different F5 recombinant inbred lines from the cross Yumai 34 × Ukrainka were grown in replicated trials on a single site in one harvest year at Rothamsted Research. A total of 10 samples from those lines were harvested and used in a broiler experiment. Twenty nutritionally complete meal-form diets that had 630 g/kg of wheat with different amounts of pentosan, with and without exogenous xylanase supplementation, were used to compare broiler growth performance and determine apparent metabolizable energy corrected for N retention (AMEn). We examined the relationship between the nutritive value of the wheat samples and their chemical compositions and results of quality tests. The amounts of total and water soluble pentosans in wheat samples ranged from 36.7 to 48.0 g/kg DM, and 6.7 to 11.6 g/kg DM, respectively. The mean crude oil and protein contents of the wheat samples were 10.5 and 143.9 g/kg DM, respectively. The average determined value for the kinematic viscosity was 0.0018 mPa.s, and 2.1 mPa.s for the dynamic viscosity. The AMEn of the wheat-based diets had a maximum range of 0.47 MJ/kg DM within the ten wheat samples that were tested. Xylanase supplementation improved (P < 0.05) dietary AMEn, dry matter, and fat digestibility coefficients. There was a positive (P < 0.05) relationship between in vitro kinematic viscosity of the wheat samples and the total pentosan content. There was a negative relationship between the total pentosan content in the wheat and broiler growth performance. An increase by 10 g of pentosan per kg of wheat reduced (P < 0.001) daily feed intake and weight gain by 2.9 g and 3.5 g, respectively. The study shows that the feeding quality of wheat samples can be predicted by their total pentosan content. Supplementary xylanase improved energy and nutrient availability of all wheat samples that was independent of differences in pentosan content

Estimation of Relevant Variables on High-Dimensional Biological Patterns Using Iterated Weighted Kernel Functions

BACKGROUND The analysis of complex proteomic and genomic profiles involves the identification of significant markers within a set of hundreds or even thousands of variables that represent a high-dimensional problem space. The occurrence of noise, redundancy or combinatorial interactions in the profile makes the selection of relevant variables harder. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Here we propose a method to select variables based on estimated relevance to hidden patterns. Our method combines a weighted-kernel discriminant with an iterative stochastic probability estimation algorithm to discover the relevance distribution over the set of variables. We verified the ability of our method to select predefined relevant variables in synthetic proteome-like data and then assessed its performance on biological high-dimensional problems. Experiments were run on serum proteomic datasets of infectious diseases. The resulting variable subsets achieved classification accuracies of 99% on Human African Trypanosomiasis, 91% on Tuberculosis, and 91% on Malaria serum proteomic profiles with fewer than 20% of variables selected. Our method scaled-up to dimensionalities of much higher orders of magnitude as shown with gene expression microarray datasets in which we obtained classification accuracies close to 90% with fewer than 1% of the total number of variables. CONCLUSIONS Our method consistently found relevant variables attaining high classification accuracies across synthetic and biological datasets. Notably, it yielded very compact subsets compared to the original number of variables, which should simplify downstream biological experimentation

Thyrotroph Embryonic Factor Regulates Light-Induced Transcription of Repair Genes in Zebrafish Embryonic Cells

Numerous responses are triggered by light in the cell. How the light signal is detected and transduced into a cellular response is still an enigma. Each zebrafish cell has the capacity to directly detect light, making this organism particularly suitable for the study of light dependent transcription. To gain insight into the light signalling mechanism we identified genes that are activated by light exposure at an early embryonic stage, when specialised light sensing organs have not yet formed. We screened over 14,900 genes using micro-array GeneChips, and identified 19 light-induced genes that function primarily in light signalling, stress response, and DNA repair. Here we reveal that PAR Response Elements are present in all promoters of the light-induced genes, and demonstrate a pivotal role for the PAR bZip transcription factor Thyrotroph embryonic factor (Tef) in regulating the majority of light-induced genes. We show that tefβ transcription is directly regulated by light while transcription of tefα is under circadian clock control at later stages of development. These data leads us to propose their involvement in light-induced UV tolerance in the zebrafish embryo

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition supports ovarian carcinosarcoma tumorigenesis and confers sensitivity to microtubule-targeting with eribulin

Ovarian carcinosarcoma (OCS) is an aggressive and rare tumour type with limited treatment options. OCS is hypothesised to develop via the combination theory, with a single progenitor resulting in carcinomatous and sarcomatous components, or alternatively via the conversion theory, with the sarcomatous component developing from the carcinomatous component through epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In this study, we analysed DNA variants from isolated carcinoma and sarcoma components to show that OCS from 18 women is monoclonal. RNA sequencing indicated the carcinoma components were more mesenchymal when compared with pure epithelial ovarian carcinomas, supporting the conversion theory and suggesting that EMT is important in the formation of these tumours. Preclinical OCS models were used to test the efficacy of microtubule-targeting drugs, including eribulin, which has previously been shown to reverse EMT characteristics in breast cancers and induce differentiation in sarcomas. Vinorelbine and eribulin more effectively inhibited OCS growth than standard-of-care platinum-based chemotherapy, and treatment with eribulin reduced mesenchymal characteristics and N-MYC expression in OCS patient-derived xenografts (PDX). Eribulin treatment resulted in an accumulation of intracellular cholesterol in OCS cells, which triggered a down-regulation of the mevalonate pathway and prevented further cholesterol biosynthesis. Finally, eribulin increased expression of genes related to immune activation and increased the intratumoral accumulation of CD8+ T cells, supporting exploration of immunotherapy combinations in the clinic. Together, these data indicate EMT plays a key role in OCS tumourigenesis and support the conversion theory for OCS histogenesis. Targeting EMT using eribulin could help improve OCS patient outcomes

Weight reduction by topology optimization of an engine subframe mount, designed for additive manufacturing production

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies are getting more and more strategic for different purposes in many industrial fields. Among the most outstanding are part prototyping, single part to small batch production, relatively reduced manufacturing times and investments costs, reduced material consumption, and innovative and efficient shapes. The considerable advantages these technologies offer, compared to subtractive ones, make additive manufacturing a potentially industry-leading process in almost all domains - from aeronautics to the medical industry. Under these circumstances, the inspiration given by topology optimization tools can lead to feasible industrial parts, with fewer constraints in comparison to traditional manufacturing processes. The paper presents the development and the results obtained using topology optimization and design for AM technology on an automotive part: an engine mount sub-frame component for a rear middle engine sports car. The final design enables a significant weight reduction