Laser-Induced Color Marking of Titanium Alloy

A Nd:YAG nanosecond laser was utilized in the laser color marking of  titanium alloy substrates. It was focused on how several laser parameters, such as pumping current, delay between the effective vector step, laser line spacing, Q-switch frequency and focal plane offset, affected the resulting colors, and the influence of the resulting colors on the substrate. Firstly, single-factor experiments were carried out. Then the dark blue square pattern and two samples were analyzed using an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) respectively. Results clearly showed that the Nd:YAG nanosecond laser can induce multiple colors on titanium alloy substrates and all the five parameters had an effect on the resulting colors significantly. The dark blue square pattern didn’t induce internal stresses within the substrate material, so  the influence of the resulting colors on the substrate is negligible

Monitoring the Supply of Products in a Supply Chain Environment: a Fuzzy Neural Approach

The fuzzy logic is applied to resolve the monitoring problem of products quality and products quantity increasingly varying as market requirement. A series of fuzzy rules are employed and the fuzzy system may generate suggested supply change rate. At the same time, the operation of supplier is also dynamically changing and the evaluation and selection for supplier are the basis of supply –chain co-operation. So whether it is scientific to select a supplier is crucial for sustaining and developing a company. Therefore, in this paper the neural network is introduced to dynamically assess suppliers and recommend to substituting for new ones when necessary, only supplementing fuzzy logic system with its advantages. This paper describes the methodology for the deployment of this proposed hybrid approach to enhance the machine intelligence of a supply chain network with the description of a case study to exemplify its underlying principles

Al-Co-Ce glass forming alloys and their corrosion behaviour

There is growing interest in Al-TM (transition metal)-RE (rare earth) amorphous alloys because of the combination of their good mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. However, the high critical cooling rate required to form the amorphous structure leads to difficulties in generating bulk amorphous material. Therefore, there has been greater interest in producing amorphous Al-TM-RE alloys as surface layers. In this study, wedge mould casting, laser surface melting (LSM) and large area electron beam (LAEB) surface melting were used to fabricate Al Co-Ce alloys in both crystalline and amorphous form. An eutectic Al 33Cu (wt.%) alloy was also used to quantify the solidification conditions based on the well-known relationship. The microstructures formed by different processes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, image analysis and X ray and glancing angle X-ray diffraction. In particular, LAEB surface melting was found to be able to provide a sufficiently high solidification velocity for the generation of an amorphous layer on the remelted surface of bulk crystalline Al Co-Ce alloys. Experimental results show that the LAEB treatment can remelt, homogenise the multiphase crystalline starting material and generate a predominantly amorphous layer, although it also caused cracking of the treated layer. However, the cracking was largely reduced in the laser refined starting microstructure. Laser microstructural refinement also improved the homogenisation and amorphisation generated by the subsequent LAEB treatment. The temperature field of multi-pulse LAEB irradiated Al-Co-Ce and Al-Cu alloys was numerically simulated through a finite difference method. The simulation results were generally consistent with the experimental results. The corrosion behaviour of Al-Co-Ce alloys with different microstructures was studied through potentiodynamic polarisation tests. Al-Co-Ce amorphous layer exhibited an enhanced corrosion resistance compared to the crystalline counterpart, although cracking in the amorphous layer greatly influenced the effectiveness of the amorphous layer protecting the substrate

The Translational Regulation of Lipoprotein Lipase in Diabetic Rats Involves the 3′-Untranslated Region of the Lipoprotein Lipase mRNA

Adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity is decreased in patients with poorly controlled diabetes, and this contributes to the dyslipidemia of diabetes. To study the mechanism of this decrease in LPL, we studied adipose tissue LPL expression in male rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. Heparin releasable and extractable LPL activity in the epididymal fat decreased by 75-80% in the diabetic group and treatment of the rats with insulin prior to sacrifice reversed this effect. Northern blot analysis indicated no corresponding change in LPL mRNA levels. However, LPL synthetic rate, measured using [35S]methionine pulse labeling, was decreased by 75% in the diabetic adipocytes, and insulin treatment reversed this effect. These results suggested regulation of LPL at the level of translation. Diabetic adipocytes demonstrated no change in the distribution of LPL mRNA associated with polysomes, suggesting no inhibition of translation initiation. Addition of cytoplasmic extracts from control and diabetic adipocytes to a reticulocyte lysate system demonstrated the inhibition of LPL translation in vitro. Using different LPL mRNA transcripts in this in vitro translation assay, we found that the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of the LPL mRNA was important in controlling translation inhibition by the cytoplasmic extracts. To identify the specific region involved, gel shift analysis was performed. A specific shift in mobility was observed when diabetic cytoplasmic extract was added to a transcript containing nucleotides 1818-2000 of the LPL 3′-UTR. Thus, inhibition of translation is the predominant mechanism for the decreased adipose tissue LPL in this insulin-deficient model of diabetes. Translation inhibition involves the interaction of a cytoplasmic factor, probably an RNA-binding protein, with specific sequences of the LPL 3′-UTR

Dasatinib-loaded Albumin Nanoparticles Possess Diminished Endothelial Cell Barrier Disruption and Retain Potent Anti-Leukemia Cell Activity

Dasatinib (DAS), a second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is highly effective in treating chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, its clinical use is limited due to serious adverse effects. DAS can disrupt endothelial barrier integrity and increase endothelial permeability which may cause peripheral edema and pleural effusion. Albumin nanoparticles (NPs) as a drug carrier may serve as a useful tool for cell-selective drug delivery to reduce DAS-induced endothelial hyperpermeability and maintain endothelial barrier integrity. In this study, we reported that DAS-loaded NPs exhibited potent anti-leukemia efficacy as DAS alone. Importantly, albumin NPs as a drug carrier markedly reduced DAS-induced endothelial hyperpermeability by restraining the inhibition of Lyn kinase signaling pathway in endothelial cells. Therefore, albumin NPs could be a potential tool to improve anti-leukemia efficacy of DAS through its cell-selective effects