367 research outputs found
Laser hardening of steel sintered parts
The possibility of applying rapid and localized laser hardening to near-net shape parts, like the ones deriving from powder metallurgy (P/M) is investigated, demonstrating that even low alloyed steels (Fe + 2% Cu + 0,7% C) can be successfully heat treated with minimal or no dimensional variations. Laser hardening conditions have been selected on the basis of the results of the previous research, carried out by means of an Nd-YAG high power system [1]. To avoid some carbon loss, observed on previous activities, the samples have been protected by neutral atmosphere. The microstructural features of the laser hardened steels have been analyzed by optical microscopy, whereas the surface micro-geometry has been characterized by scanning electron microscope. Hardened depth (HD), hardened width (HW) and hardened area (HA) have been measured as well. As expected, the micro-hardness profiles present a sharp drop at low distance from the hardened surface. The typical splitting between hardened zone and heat-Affected zone (HAZ), well known from laser hardened fully dense steels, has been observed also on low-Alloy sintered steels. The use of a protective atmosphere has been helpful to control surface decarburization and to prevent oxidation. The research confirm that Laser transformation Hardening (LTH) is a suitable hardening process of P/M components, through the action of a scanning laser beam. The short heating time and the modest volume fraction structurally modified can contribute to avoid part distortion, in comparison with other hardening methods
Magnetoelectrochemistry and asymmetric electrochemical reactions
Magnetoelectrochemistry is a branch of electrochemistry where magnetic fields play a vital role in the oxidation and reduction process of the molecules. When it comes to spin-dependent electrochemistry (SDE), becomes a new paradigm. This work presents electrochemical response during the “chiral imprinting” on working electrodes and the effects of potentiostatic and galvanostatic methods. We explore the use of the SDE concept, which is implemented for chiral-ferromagnetic (CFM) hybrid working electrodes, and we compare various electrochemical parameters affecting the quality of deposition. We electrochemically co-deposited nickel (Ni) with a chiral compound (tartaric acid) in its enantiopure forms (L and D), which allows us to obtain a chiral co-deposited nickel-tartaric acid (Ni-LTA or Ni-DTA) working electrode
Factors influencing the detection of Acidovorax citrulli in naturally contaminated cucurbitaceous seeds by PCR-based assays.
The success of Acidovorax citrulli detection by seed health testing of commercial cucurbitaceous seeds depends
on the efficiency of pathogen extraction. In the present study, different extraction techniques were compared to
identify factors that influence A. citrulli detection in naturally contaminated cucurbit seeds. Embryo-infected
watermelon seeds, produced by pistil inoculation, were mixed with non-infected seeds to generate samples
(n = 1000 seeds) with low infection levels (approximately 104 cells per sample). Additionally, two naturally
infested melon seed lots were tested. A. citrulli was extracted from seeds by soaking or crushing, followed
by one or two centrifugation steps. Samples extracted by soaking seeds yielded better amplification efficiency
(103%) compared with crushing (93%), as determined by quantitative real-time PCR analysis. This was most
likely due to a reduction of the concentration of inhibitors present in the DNA samples. PCR assays using three
different A. citrulli-specific primer sets highlighted that soaking followed by two centrifugation steps enhanced
pathogen detection (100% of the samples) and the mean cycle threshold (Ct) value was significantly lower than
those observed for the other pathogen extraction techniques. These results indicate that the optimised extraction
protocol combined with PCR analysis can improve routine seed health testing for A. citrulli
PANI-Based Stacked Ferromagnetic Systems: Electrochemical Preparation and Characterization
In this work, the electropolymerization of polyaniline (PANI) is explored for its action as either a suitable coating or as a substrate for Nickel (Ni) and Magnetite (Fe3O4) surfaces. PANI electropolymerization has been achieved through cyclic voltammetry (CV), potentiostatic and galvanostatic electrochemical methods. The interaction between the obtained surfaces and the ferromagnetic layers (Ni and Fe3O4) has been investigated as a function of the pH of the electrolytic PANI solution, and also a variety of experimental parameters have been optimized in order to achieve the synthesis of PANI coatings (solvent, substrate, concentrations, and cell set-up). Thus, we obtained stable and consistent PANI thick films at the interface of both the nickel and the magnetite ferromagnetic materials
Pulsed Current Effect on the Hard Anodizing of an AlSi10Mg Aluminum Alloy Obtained via Additive Manufacturing
The hard anodizing treatments of cast Al-Si alloys are notoriously difficult. Indeed, their microstructural features hinder the growth of a uniform, compact, and defect-free anodic oxide. In this paper, AlSi10Mg samples, produced via Gravity Casting (GC) and Additive Manufacturing, i.e., Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), were hard anodized in a sulfuric acid bath, in order to verify how the particular microstructure obtained via L-PBF affects the thickness, hardness, compactness, and defectiveness of the anodic oxide. Moreover, for the first time, Pulsed Direct Current (PDC) procedures were used to perform the hard anodizing treatments on additively manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy. Several combinations of temperature and electrical parameters, i.e., current density, frequency, and Duty Cycle, were tested. The anodized samples were characterized through optical microscopy analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis, and accelerated corrosion tests, i.e., Potentiodynamic Polarization (POL) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The PDC procedures allowed improvement of the compromise between evenness, compactness, and defectiveness. Among the attempted PDC procedures, a specific combination of electrical parameters and temperature allowed the best results to be obtained, i.e., the highest hardness and the lowest volumetric expansion values without compromising the oxide quality rating and the corrosion resistance behavior. However, none of the attempted PCD strategies allowed the hardness values obtained on samples produced via GC to be reached
Virulence-associated genes in Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli of turkey
50 Escherichia coli (APEC-Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli) strains and 15 E. coli (AFEC-Avian Faecal Escherichia coli) from turkeys affected by colibacillosis and from healthy turkeys were tested for the presence of eight different virulence-associated genes. Besides, APEC were serotyped. O78 has been the most detected serotyped. The presence of the tested virulence genes was prevalently related to the APEC isolates. With reference to serogroup, all the tested O78 resulted iss and irp2 positive. Besides, tsh e cva/cvi were respectively present in 88.9 and 83.3% of O78. Nevertheless, the finding of a not typeable strains equipped with all the eight tested virulence genes among the APEC isolates suggest the importance of a careful and complete characterisation of the isolate to evaluate the real potential pathogenic attitude of the bacterium
Re-active Passive (RAP) Devices for Control of Noise Transmission through a Panel
Re-Active Passive (RAP) devices have been developed to control low frequency (200 Hz), reactive distributed vibration absorber) to cover the medium frequency range (75 to 250 Hz), and active control for controlling low frequencies (<200 Hz). The device was applied to control noise transmission through a panel mounted in a transmission loss test facility. Experimental results are presented for the bare panel, and combinations of passive treatment, reactive treatment, and active control. Results indicate that three RAP devices were able to increase the overall broadband (15-1000 Hz) transmission loss by 9.4 dB. These three devices added a total of 285 grams to the panel mass of 6.0 kg, or approximately 5%, not including control electronics
Anthropic pressures on Nature 2000 Sites: recommendations and monitoring criteria for the pollution emergency response activities within the Orbetello lagoon
L’elevato valore naturalistico e socioeconomico
di un Sito Natura 2000 richiede che tutte le
attività antropiche che si svolgono al suo interno
(es. pesca, turismo, trasporti, attività industriali,
etc.) siano gestite in maniera tale da non pregiudicare
le specie e gli habitat per i quali l’area è
stata designata. Molti di questi Siti sono ambienti
di transizione, ovvero zone che costituiscono il
passaggio naturale tra terra e mare. La loro
posizione di interfaccia tra questi due ambienti li
rende ecosistemi unici e biologicamente molto
produttivi, sede di meccanismi di regolazione dei processi interattivi della biosfera nelle due
fasi, terrestre e marina. In alcuni Siti la presenza
di attività antropiche diffuse e prolungate nel
tempo ha portato al riscontro di stati di
contaminazione elevata, fino all’inclusione di
queste zone, o parti di esse, tra i Siti di bonifica
di Interesse Nazionale (SIN). Il presente lavoro
descrive le linee di indirizzo e le attività di
monitoraggio da attuare per la salvaguardia della
salute pubblica e dell’ambiente nel corso degli
interventi di messa in sicurezza di emergenza
predisposti nell’area lagunare antistante l’area
industriale Ex Sitoco, all’interno della perimetrazione
del SIN di Orbetello, incluso in un Sito di
Importanza Comunitaria. Le matrici ambientali
potenzialmente a rischio a causa dell’esecuzione
di tali interventi sono: acqua, sedimento,
biocenosi acquatiche, avifauna, uomo.
È altresì importante valutare gli effetti che le
ipotetiche modifiche su microscala, apportate a
livello di ogni matrice, potrebbero causare nel
lungo periodo su macroscala.The high naturalistic and socio-economic value
of Natura 2000 sites requires that all human
activities performed within their borders (e.g.
fishing, tourism, transports, industrial activities)
are regulated. Indeed, the site management
should assure the effective safeguard of all
species and habitats of European interest
included in the protected area. A lot of such
sites are located in transitional environments,
that are areas characterised by a natural
progression from the terrestrial to the water
environments. Such environments include
unique and very productive habitats, and they
represent the regulation mechanisms of the
interactive processes of the terrestrial and
marine biosphere. In some sites, the presence
of human activities that are distributed both in
space and time has led to high levels of contamination,
that in some cases even required their
inclusion in Reclamation Sites of National
Interest (SIN). The present study describes the
planning and monitoring activities to be
performed in order to safeguard human and
environment health during the actions of MISE in the lagoonal area in front of the industrial area
Ex Sitoco, within the borders of the Orbetello
SIN, included in a SCI. The environmental
parameters that are potentially at risk due to
such activities are: water, sediment, water
biocenosis, birds, humans. Furthermore, it is
important to evaluate the effects that potential
variations at the microscale level may cause at
the macroscale level
The HI content of Early-Type Galaxies from the ALFALFA survey I. Catalogued HI sources in the Virgo cluster
Aims: We are using the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA survey (ALFALFA), which is
covering 17% of the sky at 21 cm, to study the HI content of Early-Type
galaxies (ETG) in an unbiased way. The aim is to get an overall picture of the
hot, warm and cold ISM of ETG, as a function of galaxy mass and environment, to
understand its origin and fate, and to relate it to the formation and evolution
history of these objects. Methods: This paper deals with the first part of our
study, which is devoted to the 8-16 deg. declination strip in the Virgo
cluster. In this sky region, using the Virgo Cluster Catalogue (VCC), we have
defined an optical sample of 939 ETG, 457 of which are brighter than the VCC
completeness limit at B_T=18.0. We have correlated this optical sample with the
catalogue of detected HI sources from ALFALFA. Results: Out of the 389 ETG from
the VCC with B_T<=18.0, outside the 1 deg. region of poor HI detection around
M87, and corrected for background contamination of VCC galaxies without a known
radial velocity, only 9 galaxies (2.3%) are detected in HI with a completeness
limit of 3.5 and 7.6 x 10^7 Mo of HI for dwarf and giant ETG, respectively. In
addition 4 VCC ETG with fainter magnitudes are also detected. Our HI detection
rate is lower than previously claimed. The majority of the detected ETG appear
to have peculiar morphology and to be located near the edges of the Virgo
cluster. Conclusions: Our preliminary conclusion is that cluster ETG contain
very little neutral gas, with the exceptions of a few peculiar dwarf galaxies
at the edge of the ETG classification and of very few larger ETG, where the
cold gas could have a recent external origin.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics; 6 pages, 3
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