Influence of heat input and powder density on energetic efficiency of high power diode laser cladding of carbon steel with AISI316L powder

High power diode laser with coaxial powder injection was used to deposit single tracks of austenitic stainlesssteel on to a carbon steel plate, and the influence of heat input and powder density on energetic efficiencyof the process, as well as on some geometrical features of the clad and on dilution was investigated. Theenergetic efficiency, calculated as the energy used to form the clad and the Heat Affected Zone, tends toincrease with the powder density, while it decreases on increasing heat input. The combination of a highpowder density and a low heat input is expected to optimize the energetic efficiency. In these conditions, thechemical dilution of the clad is minimized whilst aspect ratio is rather low but still acceptable. Moreover, theenergy spent for the powder and the substrate can be correlated to the iron contamination of the clad

EFFETTO DI INCLUSIONI METALLICHE NEI PROCESSI DI ANODIZZAZIONE DI LEGHE DI ALLUMINIO

La necessità di lavorare mediante asportazione di truciolo leghe di alluminio ha da tempo portato allo sviluppo di leghe specifiche, far cui le più diffuse contengono piombo. Tali leghe devono ora essere superate a causa delle restrizioni legate alla presenza del piombo, motivate principalmente da ragioni ambientali. Diverse leghe sono state sviluppate cercando di sostituire il piombo con il manganese, il ferro, il nichel o l’indio. Un altro promettente sostituto del piombo per queste applicazioni è il berillio, oggetto di studio negli ultimi anni come alligante dell’alluminio. Molto spesso per applicazioni che spaziano dalla motoristica alla attrezzatura sportiva alla componentistica per l’elettronica, i componenti in lega di alluminio devono essere modificati superficialmente per migliorarne sia la resistenza alla corrosione che le proprietà tribologiche. Uno dei trattamenti più diffusi è l’anodizzazione. La presenza però di una particolare microstruttura, contenente isole di metallo elettrochimicamente più nobile (Pb o Bi) può notevolmente influenzare la qualità dell’ossido anodico e di conseguenza le proprietà di resistenza alla corrosione del componente anodizzato. Tale aspetto non è stato ancora sufficientemente analizzato scientificamente. In questo studio sono stati considerati campioni di diverse leghe di alluminio contenenti sia Pb che Bi, sottoposti a trattamenti di anodizzazione. Sono state studiate le difettosità riscontrate nell’ossido individuate mediante microscopia elettronica ed ottica, collegandole al comportamento corrosivo e alla microstruttura del materiale (dimensioni e distribuzione delle isole di Pb o di Bi). Sono state eseguite prove elettrochimiche di vario tipo al fine di comprendere il meccanismo di degrado. Lo scopo finale del lavoro sperimentale è quello di fornire informazioni utili all’ottimizzazione di nuove leghe di alluminio, lavorabili per asportazione di truciolo esenti piombo, che mantengano buone proprietà protettive dell’ossido anodico

Emerging role of tumor-associated macrophages as therapeutic targets in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) derived from peripheral blood monocytes recruited into the renal cell carcinoma (RCC) microenvironment. In response to inflammatory stimuli, macrophages undergo M1 (classical) or M2 (alternative) activation. M1 cells produce high levels of inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-12, IL-23 and IL-6, while M2 cells produce anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-10, thus contributing to RCC-related immune dysfunction. The presence of extensive TAM infiltration in RCC microenvironment contributes to cancer progression and metastasis by stimulating angiogenesis, tumor growth, and cellular migration and invasion. Moreover, TAMs are involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition of RCC cancer cells and in the development of tumor resistance to targeted agents. Interestingly, macrophage autophagy seems to play an important role in RCC. Based on this scenario, TAMs represent a promising and effective target for cancer therapy in RCC. Several strategies have been proposed to suppress TAM recruitment, to deplete their number, to switch M2 TAMs into antitumor M1 phenotype and to inhibit TAM-associated molecules. In this review, we summarize current data on the essential role of TAMs in RCC angiogenesis, invasion, impaired anti-tumor immune response and development of drug resistance, thus describing the emerging TAM-centered therapies for RCC patients

Survival kit for the afterlife or instruction manual for prehistorians? Staging artefact production in Middle Neolithic cemetery Kadruka 23, Upper Nubia, Sudan

The burials at the Neolithic cemetery Kadruka 23 in Sudan have yielded adornments and bone and lithic artefacts that occur as distinct stages of the chaîne opératoire. This article reports on a hitherto unrecognised funerary practice that highlights the importance of craftsmanship for Neolithic communities in life and beyond. Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd

Intermittent docetaxel chemotherapy as first-line treatment for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients

Aims: The intermittent administration of chemotherapy is a means of preserving patients' quality of life (QL). The aim of this study was to verify whether the intermittent administration of docetaxel (DOC) improves the patients' QL. Patients & methods: All patients received DOC 70 mg/m every 3 weeks for eight cycles. The patients were randomized to receive DOC continuously or with a fixed 3-month interval after the first four DOC courses. Results: The study involved 148 patients. There was no difference in QL between the groups receiving intermittent or continuous treatment. Intermittence had no detrimental effects on disease control. Conclusion: Although feasible and not detrimental, our results showed that true intermittent chemotherapy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients failed to improve the patients' QL

Influenza Virus Respiratory Infection and Transmission Following Ocular Inoculation in Ferrets

While influenza viruses are a common respiratory pathogen, sporadic reports of conjunctivitis following human infection demonstrates the ability of this virus to cause disease outside of the respiratory tract. The ocular surface represents both a potential site of virus replication and a portal of entry for establishment of a respiratory infection. However, the properties which govern ocular tropism of influenza viruses, the mechanisms of virus spread from ocular to respiratory tissue, and the potential differences in respiratory disease initiated from different exposure routes are poorly understood. Here, we established a ferret model of ocular inoculation to explore the development of virus pathogenicity and transmissibility following influenza virus exposure by the ocular route. We found that multiple subtypes of human and avian influenza viruses mounted a productive virus infection in the upper respiratory tract of ferrets following ocular inoculation, and were additionally detected in ocular tissue during the acute phase of infection. H5N1 viruses maintained their ability for systemic spread and lethal infection following inoculation by the ocular route. Replication-independent deposition of virus inoculum from ocular to respiratory tissue was limited to the nares and upper trachea, unlike traditional intranasal inoculation which results in virus deposition in both upper and lower respiratory tract tissues. Despite high titers of replicating transmissible seasonal viruses in the upper respiratory tract of ferrets inoculated by the ocular route, virus transmissibility to naïve contacts by respiratory droplets was reduced following ocular inoculation. These data improve our understanding of the mechanisms of virus spread following ocular exposure and highlight differences in the establishment of respiratory disease and virus transmissibility following use of different inoculation volumes and routes

The Specificity of the FOXL2 c.402C>G Somatic Mutation: A Survey of Solid Tumors

A somatic mutation in the FOXL2 gene is reported to be present in almost all (97%; 86/89) morphologically defined, adult-type, granulosa-cell tumors (A-GCTs). This FOXL2 c.402C>G mutation changes a highly conserved cysteine residue to a tryptophan (p.C134W). It was also found in a minority of other ovarian malignant stromal tumors, but not in benign ovarian stromal tumors or unrelated ovarian tumors or breast cancers.Herein we studied other cancers and cell lines for the presence of this mutation. We screened DNA from 752 tumors of epithelial and mesenchymal origin and 28 ovarian cancer cell lines and 52 other cancer cell lines of varied origin. We found the FOXL2 c.402C>G mutation in an unreported A-GCT case and the A-GCT-derived cell line KGN. All other tumors and cell lines analyzed were mutation negative.In addition to proving that the KGN cell line is a useful model to study A-GCTs, these data show that the c.402C>G mutation in FOXL2 is not commonly found in a wide variety of other cancers and therefore it is likely pathognomonic for A-GCTs and closely related tumors

Faking like a woman? Towards an interpretative theorization of sexual pleasure.

This article explores the possibility of developing a feminist approach to gendered and sexual embodiment which is rooted in the pragmatist/interactionist tradition derived from G.H. Mead, but which in turn develops this perspective by inflecting it through more recent feminist thinking. In so doing we seek to rebalance some of the rather abstract work on gender and embodiment by focusing on an instance of 'heterosexual' everyday/night life - the production of the female orgasm. Through engaging with feminist and interactionist work, we develop an approach to embodied sexual pleasure that emphasizes the sociality of sexual practices and of reflexive sexual selves. We argue that sexual practices and experiences must be understood in social context, taking account of the situatedness of sex as well as wider socio-cultural processes the production of sexual desire and sexual pleasure (or their non-production) always entails interpretive, interactional processes

Heme Oxygenase Isoforms Differ in Their Subcellular Trafficking during Hypoxia and Are Differentially Modulated by Cytochrome P450 Reductase

Heme oxygenase (HO) degrades heme in concert with NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) which donates electrons to the reaction. Earlier studies reveal the importance of the hydrophobic carboxy-terminus of HO-1 for anchorage to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) which facilitates the interaction with CPR. In addition, HO-1 has been shown to undergo regulated intramembrane proteolysis of the carboxy-terminus during hypoxia and subsequent translocation to the nucleus. Translocated nuclear HO-1 was demonstrated to alter binding of transcription factors and to alter gene expression. Little is known about the homologous membrane anchor of the HO-2 isoform. The current work is the first systematic analysis in a eukaryotic system that demonstrates the crucial role of the membrane anchor of HO-2 for localization at the endoplasmic reticulum, oligomerization and interaction with CPR. We show that although the carboxy-terminal deletion mutant of HO-2 is found in the nucleus, translocation of HO-2 to the nucleus does not occur under conditions of hypoxia. Thus, we demonstrate that proteolytic regulation and nuclear translocation under hypoxic conditions is specific for HO-1. In addition we show for the first time that CPR prevents this translocation and promotes oligomerization of HO-1. Based on these findings, CPR may modulate gene expression via the amount of nuclear HO-1. This is of particular relevance as CPR is a highly polymorphic gene and deficiency syndromes of CPR have been described in humans