Interfacial microstructure and shear strength of Ti-6Al-4V/TiAl laminate composite sheet fabricated by hot packed rolling

A two layer Ti-6Al-4V(wt%)/Ti-43Al-9V-Y(at%) laminate composite sheet with a uniform interfacial microstructure and no discernible defects at the interfaces has been prepared by hot-pack rolling, and its interfacial microstructure and shear strength were characterized. Characterization of the interfacial microstructure shows that there was an interfacial region of uniform thickness of about 250 μm which consisted of two layers: Layer I on the TiAl side which was 80 μm thick and Layer II on the Ti-6Al-4V side which was 170 μm thick. The microstructure of Layer I consisted of massive γ phases, needlelike γ phases and B2 phase matrix, while the microstructure of Layer II consisted of α₂ phase. The microstructure of the interfacial region is the result of the interdiffusion of Ti element from Ti-6Al-4V alloy layer into the TiAl alloy layer and Al element from the TiAl alloy layer into the Ti-6Al-4V alloy layer. The shear strength measurement demonstrated that the bonding strength between the TiAl alloy and Ti-6Al-4V alloy layers in the laminate composite sheet was very high. This means that the quality of the interfacial bonding between the two layers achieved by the multi-path rolling is high, and the interface between the layers is very effective in transferring loading, causing significantly improved toughness and plasticity of the TiAl/Ti-6Al-4V laminate composite sheet

Microstructure and mechanical properties of large size as-cast Ti-43Al-9V-0.2Y (at.%) alloy ingot from brim to centre

A Ti-43Al-9V-0.2Y (at.%) alloy ingot with the size of Ф160×400mm was prepared by vacuum arc remelting (VAR). The microstructure of the as-cast Ti-43Al-9V-0.2Y alloy was composed of B2/α₂/γ lamellar colonies and massive B2 and γ phases which were distributed along the boundaries of these lamellar colonies in the form of equiaxed grains. Based on the grain size variation along the radius direction of the ingot, the ingot could be divided into four ring regions from brim to centre. It has been understood that the grain size variation between these four regions was due to the interplay of the effects of the cooling rate and the yttrium content on solidified microstructures in these regions. Mechanical testing of the samples cut from these four regions showed that there existed a clear correlation between the yield strength and the average grain sizes of the four ring regions, which approximately conformed to a Hall-Petch relationship

Uncovering the Changing Gene Expression Profile of Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Worker Larvae Transplanted to Queen Cells

The reproductive division of labor, based on caste differentiation in social insects, is of great significance in evolution. Generally, a healthy bee colony consists of a queen and numerous workers and drones. Despite being genetically identical, the queen and workers exhibit striking differences in morphology, behavior, and lifespan. The fertilized eggs and larvae selectively develop into queen and worker bees depending on the local nutrition and environment. Bee worker larvae that are transplanted within 3 days of age to queen cells of a bee colony can develop into queens with mature ovaries. This phenomenon is important to understand the regulatory mechanisms of caste differentiation. In this study, we transplanted worker larvae (Apis mellifera) at the age of 1 (L1), 2 (L2), and 3 days (L3) into queen cells until the age of 4 days. Subsequently, genetic changes in these larvae were evaluated. The results revealed that the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in L1 vs. L3 was more than that in L1 vs. L2. Furthermore, many of the genes that were downregulated are mostly involved in metabolism, body development, reproductive ability, and longevity, indicating that these functions decreased with the age of transplantation of the larvae. Moreover, these functions may be critical for worker larvae to undergo the developmental path to become queens. We also found that the DEGs of L1 vs. L2 and L1 vs. L3 were enriched in the MAPK, FoxO, mTOR, Wnt, TGF-beta Hedgehog Toll and Imd, and Hippo signaling pathways. Gene ontology analysis indicated that some genes are simultaneously involved in different biological pathways; through these genes, the pathways formed a mutual regulatory network. Casein kinase 1 (CK 1) was predicted to participate in the FoxO, Wnt, Hedgehog, and Hippo signaling pathways. The results suggest that these pathways cross talked through the network to modify the development of larvae and that CK 1 is an important liaison. The results provide valuable information regarding the regulatory mechanism of environmental factors affecting queen development, thus, amplifying the understanding of caste differentiation in bees

The 100 most-cited articles in castration-resistant prostate cancer: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose: To assess the present landscape and future research directions, a bibliometric analysis was performed to identify the characteristics of the 100 most-cited articles (T100 articles) on CRPC research. Methods: A list of the T100 articles investigating CRPC was generated by searching the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database. Different characteristics of the T100 articles, including the countries/territories, journals, authors, and research areas, were analyzed. Results: The number of citations of T100 articles published between 1992 and 2017 ranged from 282 to 3594, with an average of 654.9 citations. According to the topic of the article, “Mechanisms related to tumor progression or metastasis” ranked first with 41 T100 articles, while immunotherapy ranked fourth with 7 T100 articles. The T100 articles originated from 31 countries, with more than half originating from the USA (n = 89). Professor Scher HI published the most T100 articles as the first author (4) and as the corresponding author (5), while Pro De Bono JS from the Institute of Cancer Research published 3 articles as the first author and 8 articles as the corresponding author. The journal Cancer Research published 20 T100 articles with a total of 8946 citations. The number of T100 articles (r = 0.485, P = 0.01) and the total number of citations (r = 0.626, P < 0.001) were all positively correlated with the IF of the journal. Conclusions: This analysis offers a historical perspective on the progress and attempts to reveal future trends in CRPC research using bibliometric analysis. This study’s results suggest that immunotherapy and the study of androgen receptors as well as their signaling axes will possibly be hot topics and trends in CRPC research

Joint denoising method of seismic velocity signal and acceleration signals based on independent component analysis

The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of seismic data is the key to seismic data processing, and it also directly affects interpretation of seismic data results. The conventional denoising method, independent variable analysis, uses adjacent traces for processing. However, this method has problems, such as the destruction of effective signals. The widespread use of velocity and acceleration geophones in seismic exploration makes it possible to obtain different types of signals from the same geological target, which is fundamental to the joint denoising of these two types of signals. In this study, we propose a joint denoising method using seismic velocity and acceleration signals. This method selects the same trace of velocity and acceleration signal for Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to obtain the independent initial effective signal and separation noise. Subsequently, the obtained effective signal and noise are used as the prior information for a Kalman filter, and the final joint denoising results are obtained. This method combines the advantages of low-frequency seismic velocity signals and high-frequency and high-resolution acceleration signals. Simultaneously, this method overcomes the problem of inconsistent stratigraphic reflection caused by the large spacing between adjacent traces, and improves the SNR of the seismic data. In a model data test and in field data from a work area in the Shengli Oilfield, the method increases the dominate frequency of the signal from 20 to 40 Hz. The time resolution was increased from 8.5 to 6.8 ms. The test results showed that the joint denoising method based on seismic velocity and acceleration signals can better improve the dominate frequency and time resolution of actual seismic data

Innovative use of industrially produced steel slag powders in asphalt mixture to replace mineral fillers

Using steel slag to partially replace the natural aggregate in asphalt mixture to produce high-performance asphalt mixture has gained significant interest in recent years as a value-added option to recycle steel slag. However, the poor homogeneity of the material properties of steel slag aggregates remains a concern for this recycling approach. In this study, an innovative method of using industrially produced steel slag powder (SSP) to replace the mineral filler in asphalt mixture was proposed to address this concern. Five fillers, including four SSP fillers, obtained by grinding different steel slag aggregates with an industrialized production line, and one conventional limestone powder (LP) filler, were evaluated. The chemical compositions and micro-morphologies of the SSPs were first characterized to evaluate the material homogeneity and gain insights into the advantages of using SSPs as fillers. Then, asphalt mixtures with different fillers were designed and produced, and their moisture stability, rutting resistance, and low-temperature crack resistance, were characterized. It was found that the industrially produced SSPs possessed homogeneous properties, and improved the compatibility between filler particles and asphalt binder. Besides, the asphalt mixtures with SSP fillers showed better resistance to the moisture damage, permanent deformation, low-temperature crack in terms of fracture energy, than the asphalt mixture with LP filler. Therefore, it was concluded that using SSPs as a replacement of mineral fillers in asphalt mixture provided a reliable and value-added solution to recycle steel slag

Hydroxyl radical-aided thermal pretreatment of algal biomass for enhanced biodegradability

BACKGROUND: Algal biomass, known as a potential feedstock for biofuel production, has cell wall structures that differ from terrestrial biomass. The existing methods for processing algae are limited to conventional pretreatments for terrestrial biomass. RESULTS: In this study, we investigated a novel hydroxyl radical-aided approach for pretreating different types of algal biomass. In this process, hydroxyl radicals formed by a Fenton system were employed in combination with heating to alter the crystalline structure and hydrogen bonds of cellulose in the algal biomass. FeSO(4) and H(2)O(2) at low concentrations were employed to initiate the formation of hydroxyl radicals. This method releases trapped polysaccharides in algal cell walls and converts them into fermentable sugars. The effects of temperature, time, and hydroxyl radical concentration were analyzed. The optimal pretreatment condition [100 °C, 30 min, and 5.3 mM H(2)O(2) (determined FeSO(4) concentration of 11.9 mM)] was identified using a central composite design. Complete (100 %) carbohydrate recovery was achieved with some algal biomass without formation of inhibitors such as hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural as by-products. Both microalgal and macroalgal biomasses showed higher enzymatic digestibility of cellulose conversion (>80 %) after the milder pretreatment condition. CONCLUSION: Hydroxyl radical-aided thermal pretreatment was used as a novel method to convert the carbohydrates in the algal cell wall into simple sugars. Overall, this method increased the amount of glucose released from the algal biomass. Overall, enhanced algal biomass digestibility was demonstrated with the proposed pretreatment process. The new pretreatment requires low concentration of chemical solvents and milder temperature conditions, which can prevent the toxic and corrosive effects that typically result from conventional pretreatments. Our data showed that the advantages of the new pretreatment include higher carbohydrate recovery, no inhibitor production, and lower energy consumption. The new pretreatment development mimicking natural system could be useful for biochemical conversion of algal biomass to fuels and chemicals. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-015-0372-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users