Twin roll casting of Al-Mg alloy with high added impurity content

The final publication is available at Springer from the link belowThe microstructural evolution during twin roll casting (TRC) and downstream processing of AA5754 Al alloy with high added impurity content have been investigated. Strip casts with a high impurity content resulted in coarse α-Al grains and complex secondary phases. The grain size and centreline segregation reduced significantly on the addition of Al-Ti-B grain refiner (GR). Coarse-dendrite arm spacing (DAS) “floating” grains are observed in the impure alloy (IA) with higher volume in the GR strips. Two dimensional (2D) metallographic analysis of the as-cast strip suggests secondary phases (Fe bearing intermetallics and Mg2Si) are discrete and located at the α-Al cell/grain boundaries, while three dimensional (3D) analysis of extracted particles revealed that they were intact, well interconnected and located in interdendritic regions. Homogenizing heat treatment of the cast strip breaks the interconnective networks and modifies the secondary phases to more equiaxed morphology. During rolling, the eqiaxed secondary phases align along the rolling direction. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis suggests that α-Al(FeMn)Si and Mg2Si are the predominant secondary phases that formed during casting and remain throughout the downstream processing of the GR-IA. The high impurity sheet processed from TRC resulted in superior strength and ductility than the sheet processed from small book mould ingot casting. This study, have shown that the twin roll casting process can tolerate higher impurity levels and produce formable sheets from recycled aluminium for structural applications.UK Engineering Physical and Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Liquid Metal Engineering and the Technology Strategic Board (TSB), U

Prunella vulgaris: A comprehensive review of chemical constituents, pharmacological effects and clinical applications.

Prunella vulgaris (PV) is a perennial herb belonging to the Labiate family and is widely distributed in northeastern Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, and China. It is reported to display diverse biological activities including anti-microbial, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammation as determined by in vitro or in vivo studies. So far, about 200 compounds have been isolated from PV plant and majority of these have been characterized mainly as triterpenoids, sterols and flavonoids, followed by coumarins, phenylpropanoids, polysaccharides and volatile oils. This review summarizes and analyzes the current knowledge on the chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, mechanisms of action and clinical applications of the PV plant including its potential as a future medicinal plant. Although some of the chemical constituents of the PV plant and their mechanism of action have been investigated the biological activities of many of these remain unknown and further clinical trials are required to further enhance its reputation as a medicinal plant

Precision Measurement of the Proton Flux in Primary Cosmic Rays from Rigidity 1 GV to 1.8 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

A precise measurement of the proton flux in primary cosmic rays with rigidity (momentum/charge) from 1 GV to 1.8 TV is presented based on 300 million events. Knowledge of the rigidity dependence of the proton flux is important in understanding the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. We present the detailed variation with rigidity of the flux spectral index for the first time. The spectral index progressively hardens at high rigidities.</p

Effects of Dietary Wheat Gluten Meal on Growth, Intestinal Morphology, and Microbiome in Juvenile Large Yellow croaker Larimichthys crocea

Wheat gluten meal (WGM) was evaluated as a replacement for fish meal (FM) for juvenile Larimichthys crocea．FM was replaced by 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of WGM (WGM0, WGM25, WGM50, WGM75, and WGM100, respectively). In addition, all diets except the control group were supplemented with amino acids. Fish were fed twice daily for 56 days. There were no significant differences in survival and feed conversion ratio (FCR) among all treatments (P>0.05). WGM25, WGM50, and WGM75 groups had significantly higher specific growth rate (SGR) and weight gain ratio (WGR) than those fed with WGM0 (P0.05). The indexes of Chao1, Shannon, Simpson, and Good coverage in fish fed with WGM0, WGM50, and WGM100 were not significantly affected (P>0.05). Firmicutes (81.03~94.03%) were the dominant bacterial community in juvenile large yellow croaker. Compared with the WGM0 group, the abundance of Firmicutes increased significantly, and Proteobacteria decreased significantly in the WGM100 group (P<0.05). These results suggested that WGM could replace 366.3 g kg-1 FM of the juvenile large yellow croaker diet

Psychoneuroendocrine profile associated with hypertension or hyperactivity in spontaneously hypertensive rats

International audienceWe studied the dural plasma protein extravasation response after unilateral electrical stimulation of the trigeminal ganglion in mice lacking serotonin 5-HT1B (5-HT1D beta) receptors by modifying a technique previously described in rats or guinea pigs. We investigated the inhibitory effects of six 5-HT1 receptor agonists in this model: 3-(1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyrid-4-yl)pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrid-5-one (CP-93,129), sumatriptan, serotonin-5-O-carboxymethylglycyl-tyrosinamide (GTI), 5-methylaminosulfonylmethyl-3-(N-methylpyrrolidin-2R-ylmethyl)-1H-indole (CP-122,288), 5-carboxamido-tryptamine (5-CT), and dihydroergotamine. The plasma extravasation response did not differ between wild-type and mutant after vehicle injection. The potency of sumatriptan, CP-122,288, CP-93,129, and 5-CT in wild-type mice was similar to that previously reported for rats. CP-122,288 (1 nmol kg), 5-CT (1 nmol/kg), and dihydroergotamine (72 nmol/kg) inhibited plasma protein extravasation within dura mater after electrical trigeminal ganglion stimulation in both wild-type and knockout mice, which suggests that these agonists act predominantly via receptors other than 5-HT1B. Unlike in wild-type mice, CP-93,129 (1.4 mu mol/kg), a specific 5-HT1B receptor agonist, had no effect in knockout mice. The same held true for sumatriptan (0.7 mu mol/kg) and GTI (0.6 mu mol/kg). These results suggest that CP-93,129, sumatriptan, and GTI exert their effects via 5-HT1B (5-HT1D beta) receptors in mice