Formed Metal Products and Methods of Making the Same

Provided herein are methods of forming a metal product, including applying a water soluble formability film to the metal blank and/or applying a network polymer preprime (e.g., a hybrid organic-inorganic preprime, or a heat-resistant hybrid preprime) to the metal blank, forming the metal blank into a formed metal product, and optionally removing the formability film. A removable formability film and/or a preprime can improve the formability of an aluminum alloy and replace lubricants that used for forming processes by reducing the coefficient of friction of the metal product surface. Further, employing a water soluble polymer film eliminates lubricant removal for downstream processing. The formability film and/or preprime can include chemical additives that provide additional surface properties. The methods of processing the aluminum alloy products described herein provide a more efficient method for producing aluminum alloy products, as required by end users (e.g., original equipment manufacturers (OEMs))

MicroRNAs as Biomarkers for Myocardial Infarction

MicroRNAs (miRs) are short non-coding RNA molecules involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation by binding to the 3′ untranslated region of a messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting the translation or inducing mRNA destabilization. MiRs are generally considered to act as intracellular mediators essential for normal cardiac function, and their deregulated expression profiles have been associated with cardiovascular diseases. Recent studies have revealed the existence of freely circulating miRs in human peripheral blood, which are present in a stable nature. This has raised the possibility that miRs may be released in the circulation and can serve as novel diagnostic markers for acute or chronic human disorders, including myocardial infarction (MI). This review summarizes the recent findings of miRs that fulfill the criteria of candidate biomarkers for MI

JOURNAL OF PLASTIC RECONSTRUCTIVE AND AESTHETIC SURGERY

Permanent correction of septal deformities is one of the most difficult and controversial subjects in aesthetic nasal surgery. The main reasons for failure in most of the corrective procedures are either not to weaken the septal cartilage enough to straighten it, or to treat the septum too radically causing iatrogenic deformities or predisposing it to new deformities postoperatively. Our approach to correct septal deformities relies on the principle of strengthening/reinforcing the septal cartilage (with or without some weakening maneuvers to correct the deformities beforehand) with application of titanium hemoclips at some critical locations in septum. Eighty-seven patients operated on between 2007 and 2009 are included in this study. Thirty-six of these patients had combined septo-nasal deformities while the remaining 51 had solely septal deformities. In 30 patients with septo-nasal deformity the technique was proven to be successful. The remaining 6 patients of this group had axial nasal deformity (rather than intrinsic septal problems) and did not respond to our technique successfully. Within four years of follow up, we did not encounter any recurrences, infections, ulcerations or exposure in the mucosa covering the titanium clips. None of the titanium clips were required to be removed for any reasons. (C) 2011 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Development of New Inorganic Luminescent Materials by Organic-Metal Complex Route

AbstractThe development of novel inorganic luminescent materials has provided important improvements in lighting, display, and other technologically-important optical devices. The optical characteristics of inorganic luminescent materials (phosphors) depend on their physicochemical characteristics, including the atomic structure, homogeneity in composition, microstructure, defects, and interfaces which are all controlled by thermodynamics and kinetics of synthesis from various raw materials. A large variety of technologically-important phosphors have been produced using conventional high-temperature solid-state methods. For the synthesis of functional ceramic materials with ionic dopants in a host lattice, (such as phosphors), synthesis using organic-metal complex methods and other wet chemistry routes have been found to be excellent techniques. These methods have inherent advantages such as good control of stoichiometry by molecular level of mixing, product homogeneity, simpler synthesis procedures, and use of relatively-low calcination temperatures. Supporting evidence for this claim is accomplished by a comparison of photoluminescence characteristics of a commercially available green phosphor, Zn2SiO4:Mn, with the same material system synthesized by organic-metal synthesis route.In this study, new inorganic luminescent materials were produced using rare-earth elements (Eu3+, Ce3+, Tb3+) and transition metals (Cu+, Pb2+) as dopants within the crystalline host lattices; SrZnO2, Ba2YAlO5, M3Al2O6 (M=Ca,Sr,Ba). These novel phosphors were prepared using the organic-metal complex route. Polyvinyl alcohol, sucrose, and adipic acid were used as the organic component to prepare the ceramic precursors. Materials characterization of the synthesized precursor powders and calcined phosphor samples was performed using X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Photon-Correlation spectroscopy, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy techniques. In addition to the Fluorescence Spectrometer, and Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy, the Time Resolved Spectroscopy technique was also used to study the photoluminescence characteristics of the synthesized phosphors. Using these characterization techniques, and through careful comparisons with related studies in the literature, the mechanisms of luminescence for each of the new phosphor materials synthesized here was discussed in a detail

AESTHETIC PLASTIC SURGERY

Dorsal irregularity after hump reduction is one of the most annoying problems in aesthetic nasal surgery. Spreader grafts, cartilaginous autogenous thin (CATS) grafts, Skoog-type dorsal grafts, cartilage grafts, bone grafts, fascia grafts, dermal grafts and nonbiologic products such as silicon and polytetrafluoroethylene are used to overcome this problem. In cases managed with spreader flaps rather than graft procedures, problems may persist in the area of the nasal bones, whereas irregularities in the cartilage dorsum can be minimized. More specifically, the surgically treated surface of the dorsum's upper third and the rhinion area [nasal bone and upper lateral cartilage (ULC) junction], which has the thinnest nasal soft tissue, present the greatest challenge for hiding irregularities and call for special attention. The ULC has a cephalic extension with varying lengths under the nasal bone. When these pieces of cartilage are protected during hump excision and sutured to each other, a strong, smooth, and a single-unit structure can be obtained. This technique was applied to 76 patients between 2009 and 2010. Manual examination during the postoperative period showed no irregularities in 60 patients. In the remaining 16 patients, minimal irregularities in the bony region were encountered. In 4 of these patients, the irregularities were visible in the profile view, and in the remaining 12 patients, they were felt only by manual examination. The bridging suture technique using cephalic extensions of the ULC is an improvement of the spreader flap technique to obtain a straight, smooth, and single-unit dorsum in rhinoplasty patients. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266

Aluminum Beverage Can Lid Testing Method Under Real Conditions with EIS Online Monitoring

The coatings on aluminum beverage can lid interiors can be prone to long-term degradation due to the high impact forces during fabrication and the corrosive nature of beverages. Multi-month tests are required to assess their resistance to this degradation. The purpose of this work is to introduce an accelerated can lid testing method with online Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) monitoring under real conditions and with real beverages that can imitate the lengthy pack tests typically employed. Twelve reactors were constructed and incorporated in a testing setup, EIS spectra were collected and analyzed using equivalent circuit models. The effect of test duration, pressure, temperature, and beverage on the degradation of the lids were investigated. The results showed that both temperature and pressure accelerate degradation. In addition, 10-day accelerated tests with EIS online monitoring were compared to 10-day and 6-month pack tests. Metal Exposure and aluminum concentration from the pack tests were correlated with the pore resistance, the charge transfer resistance, and the double layer capacitance of the lids extracted from the EIS spectra. The developed method has the potential to mimic the multi-month pack tests and offers a quicker, more insightful, and less laborious alternative for the lid degradation assessment. Ultimately, this method could help in improving the longevity and quality of aluminum beverage cans

The gender differences in the relaxation to levosimendan of human internal mammary artery

Purpose The mechanism of the vasorelaxation to levosimendan varies depending on the vascular bed and species studied. Here, we examined the vasorelaxation to levosimendan as well as its modification by various potassium channel antagonists in human internal mammary artery (IMA) obtained from male and female patients

Levosimendan effect on spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury following aortic clamping

Background and aim of the study: The new calcium sensitizer, levosimendan, not only acts as a positive inotropic agent but also, vasodilates both venules and arterioles. The aim of this experimental study was to investigate whether levosimendan has protective effects on spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury. Material and Methods: Twelve New Zealand rabbits were enrolled in this study. In addition to the control group, levosimendan is administered to the experimental group with a loading dose of 12 mu g/kg prior to ischemia over a 10-minute period, followed by an infusion of 0.2 mu g/kg/min during the ischemia period (30-minutes). Following the neurologic evaluation at the 24th hour of reperfusion, lumbar spinal cords were removed in order to perform microscopic examination and malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) measurements. Results: The mean Tarlov score of the levosimendan group (3.25) was higher than the control group (0.7) (p< 0.05). MDA level was found significantly lower in the levosimendan group when compared with the control group as 1.6 +/- 0.4 nmol/gr and 189.3 +/- 43.6 nmol/gr respectively (p < 0.05). MPO level was also found statistically significant when we compared levosimendan group with the control group. It was calculated as 11.3 +/- 1.0 mu/gr tissue and 39.1 +/- 16.9 mu/gr in the levosimendan and the control groups (p< 0.05). Light microscopic examination was carried out with tissue samples in the 24th hour of the reperfusion. Levosimendan group had better preservation with the microscopic appearance with respect to the control group. Conclusion: Levosimendan exhibits an important protection by means of neurological outcome, histopathological, and biochemical analysis for the ischemia-reperfusion injury of the spinal cord following the aortic clamping