A Study on the Manufacturing of Large Size Hollow Shape Parts for Prototype-Car Using Rapid Prototyping Technology and Vacuum Molding

Rapid Prototyping(RP) techniques have revolutionized traditional manufacturing methods. These techniques allow the user to fabricate a part directly from a conceptual model before investing in production tooling and help develop new models with significant short time. This paper suggests the new process to manufacture large size hollow shape parts for prototype-car using Rapid Prototyping technology and Vacuum Molding with the reduction of delivery time. In addition, this paper introduces the dividing and combining method to make large size RP master model in spite of the limit of the build chamber dimensions of commercialized RP systems and post-processing method to achieve sufficient surface quality.Mechanical Engineerin

Tensile Behavior and Cracking Pattern of an Ultra-High Performance Mortar Reinforced by Polyethylene Fiber

This paper presents an experimental study of the compressive strength, tensile behavior (including the tensile strength, tensile strain capacity, and toughness), and cracking patterns of an ultra-high performance mortar (UHPM) reinforced by polyethylene (PE) fiber as well as a discussion of the different tensile behaviors of the UHPM according to the types and contents of fibers used. The UHPM reinforced by microsteel fiber of 1.5 vol% and the UHPM reinforced by PE fibers with three different fiber contents were designed and prepared. A series of experiments was undertaken to assess the effect of PE fiber on the properties of the UHPM. The results found a lower strength level, higher tensile strain capacity and toughness, and a larger crack width in the PE fiber-reinforced UHPM compared to microsteel fiber-reinforced UHPM. It was also demonstrated that tensile strain capacity and toughness of 4.05% and 0.454 MPa m/m, respectively, can be attained when using the proposed polyethylene-fiber-reinforced UHPM

Electrical spin injection and accumulation in CoFe/MgO/Ge contacts at room temperature

We first report the all-electrical spin injection and detection in CoFe/MgO/moderately doped n-Ge contact at room temperature (RT), employing threeterminal Hanle measurements. A sizable spin signal of ~170 k{\Omega} {\mu}m^2 has been observed at RT, and the analysis using a single-step tunneling model gives a spin lifetime of ~120 ps and a spin diffusion length of ~683 nm in Ge. The observed spin signal shows asymmetric bias and temperature dependences which are strongly related to the asymmetry of the tunneling process.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figure

Predictive biomarkers for 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy in gastric cancers via profiling of patient-derived xenografts.

Gastric cancer (GC) is commonly treated by chemotherapy using 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) derivatives and platinum combination, but predictive biomarker remains lacking. We develop patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) from 31 GC patients and treat with a combination of 5-FU and oxaliplatin, to determine biomarkers associated with responsiveness. When the PDXs are defined as either responders or non-responders according to tumor volume change after treatment, the responsiveness of PDXs is significantly consistent with the respective clinical outcomes of the patients. An integrative genomic and transcriptomic analysis of PDXs reveals that pathways associated with cell-to-cell and cell-to-extracellular matrix interactions enriched among the non-responders in both cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME). We develop a 30-gene prediction model to determine the responsiveness to 5-FU and oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy and confirm the significant poor survival outcomes among cases classified as non-responder-like in three independent GC cohorts. Our study may inform clinical decision-making when designing treatment strategies

Trends in Deceased Organ Donation and Utilization in Korea: 2000-2009

Continuous efforts have been made by the organ donation and transplantation community in Korea to increase organ donation by the deceased. The authors detailed trends of organ donation and utilization over the past 10 yr using data provided by the KONOS. The yearly number of deceased donors has grown gradually since 2003. The number and percentage of old donors (≥50 yr) and donors dying from intracranial hemorrhage has increased continuously. Therefore, the percentage of standard criteria donors (SCD) has been declining significantly, from 94% in 2000 to 79.2% in 2009. The number of organs transplanted per donor (OTPD) has also declined slightly since 2007, from 3.28 in 2007 to 2.95 in 2009. This decline may be attributable to increases in the number and percentage of extended criteria donors (ECD) and donors after cardiac death (DCD), since the OTPD was 2.25 for DCD, 2.5 for ECD, and 3.09 for SCD in 2009. In summary, the makeup of donors has changed significantly. There is an urgent need for establishment of an institutional framework including an independent organ procurement organization and for improvement for the National Transplant Act to increase deceased donor pool and to optimize management of ECD and DCD

Fatty Acid Binding Protein 1 Is Related with Development of Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease

BACKGROUND: Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) refers to the development of bronchoconstriction in asthmatics following the ingestion of aspirin. Although alterations in eicosanoid metabolites play a role in AERD, other immune or inflammatory mechanisms may be involved. We aimed to identify proteins that were differentially expressed in nasal polyps between patients with AERD and aspirin-tolerant asthma (ATA). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Two-dimensional electrophoresis was adopted for differential display proteomics. Proteins were identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining were performed to compare the amount of fatty acid-binding protein 1 (FABP1) in the nasal polyps of patients with AERD and ATA. Fifteen proteins were significantly up- (seven spots) or down-regulated in the nasal polyps of patients with AERD (n = 5) compared to those with ATA (n = 8). LC-MS revealed an increase in seven proteins expression and a decrease in eight proteins expression in patients with AERD compared to those with ATA (P = 0.003-0.045). FABP1-expression based on immunoblotting and immunohistochemical analysis was significantly higher in the nasal polyps of patients with AERD compared to that in patients with ATA. FABP1 was observed in epithelial, eosinophils, macrophages, and the smooth-muscle cells of blood vessels in the polyps. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicate that alterations in 15 proteins, including FABP1, may be related to the development of AERD

CpG methylation at GATA elements in the regulatory region of CCR3 positively correlates with CCR3 transcription

DNA methylation may regulate gene expression by restricting the access of transcription factors. We have previously demonstrated that GATA-1 regulates the transcription of the CCR3 gene by dynamically interacting with both positively and negatively acting GATA elements of high affinity binding in the proximal promoter region including exon 1. Exon 1 has three CpG sites, two of which are positioned at the negatively acting GATA elements. We hypothesized that the methylation of these two CpGs sites might preclude GATA-1 binding to the negatively acting GATA elements and, as a result, increase the availability of GATA-1 to the positively acting GATA element, thereby contributing to an increase in GATA-1-mediated transcription of the gene. To this end, we determined the methylation of the three CpG sites by bisulfate pyrosequencing in peripheral blood eosinophils, cord blood (CB)-derived eosinophils, PBMCs, and cell lines that vary in CCR3 mRNA expression. Our results demonstrated that methylation of CpG sites at the negatively acting GATA elements severely reduced GATA-1 binding and augmented transcription activity in vitro. In agreement, methylation of these CpG sites positively correlated with CCR3 mRNA expression in the primary cells and cell lines examined. Interestingly, methylation patterns of these three CpG sites in CB-derived eosinophils mostly resembled those in peripheral blood eosinophils. These results suggest that methylation of CpG sites at the GATA elements in the regulatory regions fine-tunes CCR3 transcription

Eosinophil Development, Regulation of Eosinophil-Specific Genes, and Role of Eosinophils in the Pathogenesis of Asthma

Eosinophils arise from hematopoietic CD34+ stem cells in the bone marrow. They acquire IL-5Rα on their surface at a very early stage during eosinophilopoiesis, and differentiate under the strong influence of interleukin (IL)-5. They then exit to the bloodstream, and enter the lung upon exposure to airway inflammatory signals, including eotaxins. In inflamed tissues, eosinophils act as key mediators of terminal effector functions and innate immunity and in linking to adaptive immune responses. Transcription factors GATA-1, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein, and PU.1 play instructive roles in eosinophil specification from multipotent stem cells through a network of cooperative and antagonistic interactions. Not surprisingly, the interplay of these transcription factors is instrumental in forming the regulatory circuit of expression of eosinophil-specific genes, encoding eosinophil major basic protein and neurotoxin, CC chemokine receptor 3 eotaxin receptor, and IL-5 receptor alpha. Interestingly, a common feature is that the critical cis-acting elements for these transcription factors are clustered in exon 1 and intron 1 of these genes rather than their promoters. Elucidation of the mechanism of eosinophil development and activation may lead to selective elimination of eosinophils in animals and human subjects. Furthermore, availability of a range of genetically modified mice lacking or overproducing eosinophil-specific genes will facilitate evaluation of the roles of eosinophils in the pathogenesis of asthma. This review summarizes eosinophil biology, focusing on development and regulation of eosinophil-specific genes, with a heavy emphasis on the causative link between eosinophils and pathological development of asthma using genetically modified mice as models of asthma