Hydrogen effects on nanoindentation behavior of metallic glass ribbons

Recently, metallic glass (MG) membranes that are permeable to hydrogen have gained interest due to the increasing importance of hydrogen separation in a number of applications, e.g., hydrogen-powered fuel cells. An important issue in the context of MG membranes is the hydrogen-induced embrittlement and efforts to understand the role played by hydrogen in the mechanical properties, especially yielding and plastic deformation behavior, of MGs are being made. In this study, therefore, an attempt was made by performing nanoindentation tests with cube-corner and spherical indenter tips on a series of Ni–Nb–Zr amorphous alloy ribbons to investigate the hydrogen effects on nanohardness and pop-in behavior (Figure 1). Weight gain measurements after hydrogen charging and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) studies (Figure 2) were utilized to identify how the total hydrogen is partitioned into mobile and immobile parts. These, in turn, indicate the significant role of hydrogen mobility in the amorphous structure on the mechanical properties. In high-Zr alloys containing immobile H, both hardness (H) and shear yielding stress (τmax) increase significantly; while in low-Zr alloys having only mobile hydrogen, decrease in hardness and τmax were noted (Figure 1). The changes in shear transformation zone (STZ) volume, estimated through cumulative analysis of τmax, caused by hydrogen absorption were also found to depend on hydrogen mobility such that immobile hydrogen reduces the STZ volume while mobile hydrogen increases it. *This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. 2013R1A1A2A10058551)

The OAuth 2.0 Web Authorization Protocol for the Internet Addiction Bioinformatics (IABio) Database

Internet addiction (IA) has become a widespread and problematic phenomenon as smart devices pervade society. Moreover, internet gaming disorder leads to increases in social expenditures for both individuals and nations alike. Although the prevention and treatment of IA are getting more important, the diagnosis of IA remains problematic. Understanding the neurobiological mechanism of behavioral addictions is essential for the development of specific and effective treatments. Although there are many databases related to other addictions, a database for IA has not been developed yet. In addition, bioinformatics databases, especially genetic databases, require a high level of security and should be designed based on medical information standards. In this respect, our study proposes the OAuth standard protocol for database access authorization. The proposed IA Bioinformatics (IABio) database system is based on internet user authentication, which is a guideline for medical information standards, and uses OAuth 2.0 for access control technology. This study designed and developed the system requirements and configuration. The OAuth 2.0 protocol is expected to establish the security of personal medical information and be applied to genomic research on IA

WATCHFUL OBSERVATION VERSUS EARLY AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT FOR SYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS WITH LOW-GRADIENT SEVERE AORTIC STENOSIS AND PRESERVED EJECTION FRACTION

Brief Communications Arising: arising from X. Dong, B. Milholland & J. Vijg Nature 538, 257–259 (2016); doi:10.1038/nature19793. Comments by: Beer, J.A.A. de, Bardoutsos, A. & Janssen, F. (2017)

Comparison Between Bioactive Fluoride Modified and Bioinert Anodically Oxidized Implant Surfaces in Early Bone Response Using Rabbit Tibia Model

PURPOSE:: The aim of this study was to investigate whether bioactive surfaces were more favorable to bone than bioinert surfaces by evaluating bone responses around two commercial dental implants.MATERIALS AND METHODS:: Bioactive fluoride-modified implants (Osseospeed) were compared with bioinert oxidized implants (TiUnite). Field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy analyzed the implant surface characteristics. Five New Zealand white rabbits were used to evaluate the bone response. Each rabbit received two implants: a fluoride-modified implant in one tibia and an oxidized implant in the other. Drilling was performed bicortically, and a gap defect was created in the upper cortexonly. Bone-to-implant contact and bone area were measured on the histological specimens 2 weeks after implant insertion.RESULTS:: No significant differences were found in surface roughness (P > 0.05). The gap defects were almost filled with new bone within a period of 2 weeks. The histomorphometry revealed no significant differences in bone-to-implant contact and bone area (P > 0.05).CONCLUSIONS:: Within the limitation of this study, the bioactive fluoride-modified surface may show no superiority to the bioinert anodized surface in early bone response.OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2012-01/102/2008003883/1SEQ:1PERF_CD:SNU2012-01EVAL_ITEM_CD:102USER_ID:2008003883ADJUST_YN:NEMP_ID:A078517DEPT_CD:861CITE_RATE:1.05FILENAME:Implant Dent 201204 21(2) 124-8.pdfDEPT_NM:치의학과EMAIL:[email protected]_YN:YCONFIRM:

Phagocytosis and Endocytosis of Silver Nanoparticles Induce Interleukin-8 Production in Human Macrophages

Phagocytosis or endocytosis by macrophages is critical to the uptake of fine particles, including nanoparticles, in order to initiate toxic effects in cells. Here, our data enhance the understanding of the process of internalization of silver nanoparticles by macrophages. When macrophages were pre-treated with inhibitors to phagocytosis, caveolin-mediated endocytosis, or clathrin-mediated endocytosis, prior to exposure to silver nanoparticles, Interleukin-8 (IL-8) production was inhibited. Although cell death was not reduced, the inflammatory response by macrophages was compromised by phagocytosis and endocytosis inhibitors

Helical tomotherapy with concurrent capecitabine for the treatment of inoperable pancreatic cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Helical tomotherapy, an advanced intensity-modulated radiation therapy with integrated CT imaging, permits highly conformal irradiation with sparing of normal tissue. Capecitabine, a pro-drug of 5-FU that induces thymidine phosphorylase can achieve higher levels of intracellular 5-FU when administered concurrently with radiation. We evaluated the feasibility as well as the clinical outcome of concurrent administration of capecitabine with tomotherapy in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Nineteen patients with advanced pancreatic cancer including primarily unresectable disease and recurrence after curative surgery were included in the study. Two planning target volumes (PTV) were entered: PTV1 is gross tumor volume; and PTV2, the volume of the draining lymph nodes. The total doses to target 1 and target 2 were 55 and 50 Gy, respectively. Capecitabine at 1600 mg/m²/day was administered on each day of irradiation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty six measurable lesions were evaluated. Overall in-field response rate was 42.3%; partial responses were achieved in 53.3% of the pancreatic masses, 28.6% of distant metastatic lesions and 25.0% of regional lymph nodes. The median duration of follow-up after tomotherapy was 6.5 months. None of the lesions showed in-field progression. Treatment was well tolerated with only minor toxicities such as grade 1 nausea (one patient), grade 1 hand-foot syndrome (one patient) and grade 1/2 fatigue (three patients).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Helical tomotherapy with concurrent capecitabine is a feasible option without significant toxicities in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. We achieved excellent conformal distribution of radiation doses and minimal treatment-related toxicities with promising target volume responses.</p

Expression of Keratin 10 in Rat Organ Surface Primo-vascular Tissues

AbstractThe primo-vascular system is described as the anatomical structure corresponding to acupuncture meridians and has been identified in several tissues in the body, but its detailed anatomy and physiology are not well understood. Recently, the presence of keratin 10 (Krt10) in primo-vascular tissue was reported, but this finding has not yet been confirmed. In this study, we compared Krt10 expression in primo-vascular tissues located on the surface of rat abdominal organs with Krt10 expression on blood and lymphatic vessels. Krt10 protein (approximately 56.5 kDa) was evaluated by western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Krt10 (IR) in the primo-node was visualized as patchy spots around each cell or as a follicle-like structure containing a group of cells. Krt10 IR was also identified in vascular and lymphatic tissues, but its distribution was diffuse over the extracellular matrix of the vessels. Thus Krt10 protein was expressed in all three tissues tested, but the expression pattern of Krt10 in primo-vascular tissue differed from those of blood and lymphatic vascular tissues, suggesting that structural and the regulatory roles of Krt10 in primo-vascular system are different from those in blood and lymphatic vessels

Overexpression of BrSAC1 encoding a phosphoinositide phosphatase isolated from Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L) improved tolerance to cold, dehydration, and salt stresses in transgenic tobacco

This study demonstrates the isolation and characterization of cDNA encoding a phosphoinositide phosphatase (PIP) from a stem cell cDNA library of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) seedling. The full length gene (BrSAC1; GenBank accession no., GU434275) contained 1999 base pairs (bp), with an open reading frame of 1785 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 594 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 65 kDa, including a putative N-terminal signal peptide (the signal peptide counted within the 594 residues). Other regions found within the sequence include a conserved KXKXX COPI-binding motif and a consensus Cx5R (T/S) catalytic motif. BrSAC1 protein shares 92% identity with AtSac1B, and 86% identity with AtRHD4 at the amino acid level. Gene expression analyses revealed that BrsSAC1 was constitutively expressed at high levels in the pistil, stamen and flower bud, whereas it was expressed at low levels in the leaf and stem. In addition to injury, BrSAC1 expression was also induced in response to different types of stress condition, namely cold, desiccation, salt, submergence, abscisic acid and heavy metals. Overexpression of BrSAC1 in transgenic tobacco conferred tolerance to cold, dehydration, and salt stress at the seed germination/seedling stage as reflected by the percentage of germination/green seedlings, the fresh weight of seedlings and their development pattern. Our data suggest that BrSAC1 is an important stress response determinant in plants.Keywords: Abiotic stress, Brassica rapa, phosphoinositide phosphatase, transgenic plantAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(15), pp. 1782-179