Analysis of metallographic structure and hardness of aluminum alloy 3L59 from the structure of vulcanization equipment

The use of aluminum and special alloys of aluminum in the construction of large installations as is the case of vulcanization equipment, cause a substantial reduction in their weight, while increasing the useful capacity used in the joint process. Metallic structure of vulcanization equipment is made of aluminum alloy 3L59, and after a period of use it was found a deterioration of the quality of joints caused by the modification of the properties of the metallic structure from 3L59. The modification of the properties of the metallic structure is determined by the presence of heat in the vulcanization process and in this regard it has been made an analyze of modifications of metallographic structure and hardness which occur in aluminum alloy 3L59

Analysis of metallographic structure and hardness of aluminum alloy 3L59 from the structure of vulcanization equipment

The use of aluminum and special alloys of aluminum in the construction of large installations as is the case of vulcanization equipment, cause a substantial reduction in their weight, while increasing the useful capacity used in the joint process. Metallic structure of vulcanization equipment is made of aluminum alloy 3L59, and after a period of use it was found a deterioration of the quality of joints caused by the modification of the properties of the metallic structure from 3L59. The modification of the properties of the metallic structure is determined by the presence of heat in the vulcanization process and in this regard it has been made an analyze of modifications of metallographic structure and hardness which occur in aluminum alloy 3L59

Sterol Carrier Protein-2 Directly Interacts with Caveolin-1 in Vitro and in Vivo

HDL-mediated reverse-cholesterol transport as well as phosphoinositide signaling are mediated through plasma membrane microdomains termed caveolae/lipid rafts. However, relatively little is known regarding mechanism(s) whereby these lipids traffic to or are targeted to caveolae/lipid rafts. Since sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP-2) binds both cholesterol and phosphatidylinositol, the possibility that SCP-2 might interact with caveolin-1 and caveolae was examined. Double immunolabeling and laser scanning fluorescence microscopy showed that a small but significant portion of SCP-2 colocalized with caveolin-1 primarily at the plasma membrane of L-cells and more so within intracellular punctuate structures in hepatoma cells. In SCP-2 overexpressing L-cells, SCP-2 was detected in close proximity to caveolin, 48 ± 4 Å, as determined by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and immunogold electron microscopy. Cell fractionation of SCP-2 overexpressing L-cells and Western blotting detected SCP-2 in purified plasma membranes, especially in caveolae/ lipid rafts as compared to the nonraft fraction. SCP-2 and caveolin-1 were coimmunoprecipitated from cell lysates by anti-caveolin-1 and anti-SCP-2. Finally, a yeast two-hybrid assay demonstrated that SCP-2 directly interacts with caveolin-1 in vivo. These interactions of SCP-2 with caveolin-1 were specific since a functionally related protein, phosphatidyinositol transfer protein (PITP), colocalized much less well with caveolin-1, was not in close proximity to caveolin-1 (i.e., \u3e120 Å), and was not coimmunoprecipitated by anti-caveolin-1 from cell lysates. In summary, it was shown for the first time that SCP-2 (but not PITP) selectively interacted with caveolin-1, both within the cytoplasm and at the plasma membrane. These data contribute significantly to our understanding of the role of SCP-2 in cholesterol and phosphatidylinositol targeted from intracellular sites of synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum to caveolae/lipid rafts at the cell surface plasma membrane

Prototyping open digital tools for urban commoning

The paper will discuss an experimental co-design approach to the development of a digital toolkit prototype and a resulting set of co-design principles, which are put forward as a way of infrastructuring future design of digital tools for urban commoning. Focus is placed on the case study of a commoning hub in a Parisian suburb where the toolkit was co-designed through a series of prototyping workshops, carried out with hub users and addressing key hub needs. The prototyping process explored possibilities for re-appropriating and re-framing existing digital technologies as open toolkits, which can be further re-purposed by users, here and beyond, after the design of an initial toolkit prototype

PAPER Long-chain fatty acid uptake is upregulated in omental adipocytes from patients undergoing bariatric surgery for obesity

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of obesity on adipocyte cell size and long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) uptake kinetics in human subjects undergoing laparoscopic abdominal surgery. SUBJECTS: A total of 10 obese patients (BMI 49.8711.9 (s.d.) kg/m 2 ) undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery, and 10 nonobese subjects (BMI 24.272.3 kg/m 2 ) undergoing other clinically indicated laparoscopic abdominal surgical procedures. MEASUREMENTS: Cell size distribution and [ 3 H]oleic acid uptake kinetics were studied in adipocytes isolated from omental fat biopsies obtained during surgery. Adipocyte surface area (SA) was calculated from the measured cell diameters. Plasma leptin and insulin concentrations were measured by RIA in fasting blood samples obtained on the morning of surgery. RESULTS: The mean SA of obese adipocytes (41 50875381 m 2 /cell) was increased 2.4-fold compared to that of nonobese adipocytes (16 92876529 m 2 /cell; Po0.01). LCFA uptake in each group was the sum of saturable and nonsaturable components. Both the V max of the saturable component (21.376.3 vs 5.171.9 pmol/s/50 000 cells) and the rate constant k of the nonsaturable component (0.01570.002 vs 0.006670.0023 ml/s/50 000 cells) were increased (Po0.001) in obese adipocytes compared with nonobese controls. When expressed relative to cell size, V max /m 2 SA was greater in obese than nonobese adipocytes (Po0.05), whereas k/m 2 SA did not differ between the groups. CONCLUSION: The data support the concepts that (1) adipocyte LCFA uptake consists of distinct facilitated (saturable) and diffusive processes; (2) increased saturable LCFA uptake in obese adipocytes is not simply a consequence of increased cell size, but rather reflects upregulation of a facilitated transport process; and (3) the permeability of adipocyte plasma membranes to LCFA is not appreciably altered by obesity, and increased nonsaturable uptake in obese adipocytes principally reflects an increase in cell SA. Regulation of saturable LCFA uptake by adipocytes may be an important control point for body adiposity

Long-Term Relations Among Prosocial-Media Use, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior

Despite recent growth of research on the effects of prosocial media, processes underlying these effects are not well understood. Two studies explored theoretically relevant mediators and moderators of the effects of prosocial media on helping. Study 1 examined associations among prosocial- and violent-media use, empathy, and helping in samples from seven countries. Prosocial-media use was positively associated with helping. This effect was mediated by empathy and was similar across cultures. Study 2 explored longitudinal relations among prosocial-video-game use, violent-video-game use, empathy, and helping in a large sample of Singaporean children and adolescents measured three times across 2 years. Path analyses showed significant longitudinal effects of prosocial- and violent-video-game use on prosocial behavior through empathy. Latent-growth-curve modeling for the 2-year period revealed that change in video-game use significantly affected change in helping, and that this relationship was mediated by change in empathy

Micro-resilience and justice: co-producing narratives of change

Significant lessons can be drawn from grassroots’ experiences of self-organizing to challenge the uneven distribution of resources and opportunities in cities. This paper examines the strategies of low-income dwellers living in squatted buildings in São Paulo, Brazil, and asks how resilience narratives can help one understand the agency of these micro-strategies across multiple scales. The city centre of São Paulo is a key site for housing movements to challenge spatial injustice in Brazil. In a context where housing for low-income groups is in short supply and characterized by highly skewed social and spatial distribution, squatted buildings have emerged since the 1990s as laboratories for alternative ways of producing the city. The paper draws from an action-research project investigating such occupations in São Paulo. Firstly, it explores the practices of individual and groups inhabiting a building known as Ocupação Marconi, focusing on its social production as a device for co-producing local resilience from the micro-scale. Secondly, it reflects on which forms of knowledge production might allow for putting such practices into focus, interrogating participatory action research as a means to facilitate resilience at scale

A Case-base Approach to Workforces’ Satisfaction Assessment

It is well known that human resources play a valuable role in a sustainable organizational development. Indeed, this work will focus on the development of a decision support system to assess workers’ satisfaction based on factors related to human resources management practices. The framework is built on top of a Logic Programming approach to Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, complemented with a Case Based approach to computing. The proposed solution is unique in itself, once it caters for the explicit treatment of incomplete, unknown, or even self-contradictory information, either in terms of a qualitative or quantitative setting. Furthermore, clustering methods based on similarity analysis among cases were used to distinguish and aggregate collections of historical data or knowledge in order to reduce the search space, therefore enhancing the cases retrieval and the overall computational process

Composition and distribution of the peracarid crustacean fauna along a latitudinal transect off Victoria Land (Ross Sea, Antarctica) with special emphasis on the Cumacea

The following study was the first to describe composition and structure of the peracarid fauna systematically along a latitudinal transect off Victoria Land (Ross Sea, Antarctica). During the 19th Antarctic expedition of the Italian research vessel “Italica” in February 2004, macrobenthic samples were collected by means of a Rauschert dredge with a mesh size of 500 m at depths between 85 and 515 m. The composition of peracarid crustaceans, especially Cumacea was investigated. Peracarida contributed 63% to the total abundance of the fauna. The peracarid samples were dominated by amphipods (66%), whereas cumaceans were represented with 7%. Previously, only 13 cumacean species were known, now the number of species recorded from the Ross Sea increased to 34. Thus, the cumacean fauna of the Ross Sea, which was regarded as the poorest in terms of species richness, has to be considered as equivalent to that of other high Antarctic areas. Most important cumacean families concerning abundance and species richness were Leuconidae, Nannastacidae, and Diastylidae. Cumacean diversity was lowest at the northernmost area (Cape Adare). At the area off Coulman Island, which is characterized by muddy sediment, diversity was highest. Diversity and species number were higher at the deeper stations and abundance increased with latitude. A review of the bathymetric distribution of the Cumacea from the Ross Sea reveals that most species distribute across the Antarctic continental shelf and slope. So far, only few deep-sea records justify the assumption of a shallow-water–deep-sea relationship in some species of Ross Sea Cumacea, which is discussed from an evolutionary point of view

Creativity, play and transgression: children transforming spatial design

Spatial designers, who engage children in their design process, most often frame children in this context as experts in their own lives. Findings from a study based at the University of Sheffield, point to new understandings of this participatory role, in which children move towards the role of designer. Drawing on interviews including visual methods with 16 spatial designers and guided by phenemonography, the paper seeks to represent the designers’ perspectives on the under-explored area of child–designer interactions. Findings suggest that the designers understand these interactions to comprise a reciprocal and co-created space – a sphere of behaviours, actions and ways of being which together becomes an enabler of change. It is proposed that what Bhabha (The Location of Culture, 1994) refers to as a ‘Third Space’ in which the ‘dominant culture might be temporarily subverted and its structural systems of power and control renegotiated’ can be re-imagined in this co-design context. The paper weaves together theoretical discourse and empirical illustrations of perceived creativity, play and transgression, which – at their intersection – support a potential transformation of understandings of children as co-designers and of the design process itself