A Study on High Strength, High Plasticity, Non-Heat Treated Die-Cast Aluminum Alloy

The non-heat-treated, die-cast aluminum alloy samples were prepared meticulously via die-casting technology. The crystal structure, microstructure, and phase composition of the samples were comprehensively studied through electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), metallographic microscopy, spectrometer, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The microhardness and tensile properties of the samples were tested. The die-cast samples were found to have desirable properties by studying the structure and performance of the samples. There were no defects, such as pores, cold partitions, or surface cracks, found. The metallographic structure of the samples was mainly α-Al, and various phases were distributed at the grain boundaries. Before heat treating, α-Al grains were mainly equiaxed with a great number of second phase particles at the grain boundaries. After heat treating, the α-Al grains were massive and coarsened, and the second phase grains were refined and uniformly distributed, compared with those before the heat treating. The EBSD results showed that the grain boundary Si particles were solid solution decomposed after heat treatment. The particles became smaller, and their distribution was more uniform. Transmission electron microscopy found that there were nano-scale Al-Mn, Al-Cu, and Cu phases dispersed in the samples. The average microhardness of the samples before heat treating was 114 HV0.1, while, after the heat treating, the microhardness reached 121 HV0.1. The mechanical features of the samples were tremendous, and the obtained die-cast aluminum alloy had non-heat-treatment performance, which was greater than the ordinary die-cast aluminum alloys with a similar composition. The tensile strength of the aluminum alloys reached up to 310 MPa before heat treatment

Microstructural and intergranular corrosion properties of Inconel 625 superalloys fabricated using wire arc additive manufacturing

Inconel 625 superalloy samples were fabricated using wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM). The phase composition, microstructure, anti-corrosion, and mechanical properties of the Inconel 625 WAAM samples were analyzed. The microstructure of the Inconel 625 WAAM alloy showed good forming quality, no defects, and good metallurgical bonding within the specimens. The metallographic structure exhibited primarily γ -Ni and granular precipitated phases; the average microhardness of the transverse and longitudinal cross-sections of the sample was 243.5 and 243.3 HV _0.1 , respectively. Yield and tensile strength as well as elongation, decrease in area, and the room-temperature impact values of this alloy were equal to 450 and 736 MPa, 38% and 52%, and 152 J, respectively. The intergranular corrosion test results indicated that the average corrosion rate of the sample is 0.609 mm/year, indicating excellent resistance to intergranular corrosion

Microstructure and Properties of a 2.25Cr1Mo0.25V Heat-Resistant Steel Produced by Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) technology was used to produce samples of a 2.25Cr1Mo0.25V heat-resistant steel. The phase composition, microstructure, and crystal structure of the investigated material in the as-cladded state and postcladding heat-treated (705°C × 1 h) state were analysed by optical emission spectrometry (OES), optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The properties of the investigated material in the as-cladded state and postcladding heat-treated (705°C × 1 h) state were determined by a microhardness tester, mechanical properties tester, and Charpy impact tester. Through a study of the microstructure and properties, it is found that the investigated material produced by WAAM exhibits good forming quality and excellent metallurgical bonding properties, and no obvious defects are found. The microstructure consists mainly of Bg (granular bainite) and troostite precipitated at the grain boundaries. The results from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations show that the crystal structures of the 2.25Cr1Mo0.25V heat-resistant steel samples produced by WAAM in the as-cladded condition have many defects, such as dislocations and martensite-austenite (M-A) constituents, and their grain edges are sharp. There is a dramatic decrease in the dislocations in the 2.25Cr1Mo0.25V heat-resistant steel samples produced by the WAAM condition after the postcladding heat treatment (705°C × 1 h), and the grains become smooth. The distribution of the microhardness in the longitudinal and transverse cross sections of the samples is very uniform. The average longitudinal and transverse microhardness of the samples in the as-cladded state is 310 HV0.5 and 324 HV0.5, respectively. The average longitudinal and transverse microhardness of the samples after post-cladding heat treatment is 227 HV0.5 and 229 HV0.5, respectively. The yield strength of the samples without a postcladding heat treatment is 743 MPa, the tensile strength is 951 MPa, the elongation is 10%, and the Charpy impact value at -20°C is 15 J. After the postcladding heat treatment, the yield strength, tensile strength, elongation, and Charpy impact value of the samples are 611 MPa, 704 MPa, 14.5%, and 70 J, respectively

Anti-infective treatment in HIV-infected patients during perioperative period

Abstract Objective To investigate anti-infective treatments in HIV-infected surgical patients during the perioperative period. Methods A retrospective study of sepsis and surgical site infections (SSIs) was conducted in 266 HIV-infected patients. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on CD4+ T cells counts in the preoperative period: group A (0–199 cell/ul), group B (200–349 cell/ul) and group C ([greater than or equal to] 350 cell/ul). When the CD4 count was below 350 cells/uL, anti-retrovirus therapy was started. For patients whose preoperative CD4 counts were [less than or equal to] 200 cells/uL, preoperative antibiotic medication was started. Results Patients in group A were more likely to get sepsis than patients in the other two groups (p0.01). Among 82 patients with clean wounds, only one patient got SSIs. All patients with dirty wounds had acquired SSIs after surgery. There were only 6 patients dead at 30 days after surgery, a death rate of 2.3%. Sepsis appeared in 110 patients (41%). Conclusions Complete evaluation of surgical risk and suitable perioperative anti-infective treatment may lead to better outcome for HIV-infected surgical patients.</p

Willingness to participate in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials among HIV-infected patients on ART in China.

BACKGROUND: More and more HIV therapeutic vaccines will enter clinical trials; however, little is known about the willingness to participate (WTP) in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials among HIV-positive individuals. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the WTP in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials among Chinese HIV-infected patients. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey on HIV-positive inpatients and outpatients at Shanghai Public Health Center. A total of 447 participants were recruited into this study. Following an introduction with general information on HIV therapeutic vaccine and its potential effectiveness and side effects, each participant completed a questionnaire in a self-administered form. The questionnaires covered demographics, high-risk behaviors, clinical characteristics and willingness to participate in HIV therapeutic vaccine trial. RESULTS: The overall willingness to participate in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials was 91.5%. Interestingly, multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that the willingness was higher for those sexually infected by HIV (odds ratio [OR]: 4.36; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.53-12.41), diagnosed as HIV-1 infection for greater than 5 years (OR: 7.12, 95% CI: 1.83-27.76), and with the presence of infectious complications (OR: 2.75; 95% CI: 1.02-7.45). The primary reason for participation was to delay or reduce antiretroviral treatment (ART) and to avoid ART side effects (76.6%), and then followed by delaying disease progression (74.9%), increasing immune response to suppress opportunistic infections (57.7%) and preventing the development of drug resistance (37.1%). Reasons for unwillingness to participate mainly included concern for safety (37.0%), lack of knowledge on therapeutic vaccine (33.3%), and satisfaction with ART effectiveness (22.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The WTP in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials was high among HIV-infected Chinese patients. HIV+ subjects who acquired infection through sexual contact and who were diagnosed for more than 5 years may represent a good candidate population for enrollment in therapeutic vaccine trials

Enhancement of protective immunity in European eel (Anguilla anguilla) against Aeromonas hydrophila and Aeromonas sobria by a recombinant Aeromonas outer membrane protein

To develop a vaccine, which can simultaneously prevent the diseases caused by various pathogenic bacteria in fish, we try to find a conserved outer membrane protein (OMP) antigen from different bacterial pathogens. In this study, an OMP fragment of 747 bp (named as Omp-G), which was highly conserved in seven Aeromonas OMP sequences from the NCBI database, was amplified by PCR from one Aeromonas sobria strain (B10) and two Aeromonas hydrophila strains (B27 and B33) with the designed specific primers. The sequence was cloned into pGEX-2T (6 x His-tag) vector, expressed in Escherichia coli system, and then the recombinant protein (named as rOmp-G) was purified with nickel chelating affinity chromatography. The purified rOmp-G showed a good immunogenicity in rabbits and well-conserved characteristics in these three pathogens by enzyme-linked immunosorbed assay. Furthermore, the rOmp-G also showed good immunogenicity in eels (Anguilla anguilla) for eliciting significantly increased specific antibodies (P < 0.01), and providing higher protection efficiencies (P < 0.05) after the pathogens challenge. The values of the relative percent survival in eels were 70% and 50% for two A. hydrophila strain challenge, and 75% for A. sobria strain challenge. This is the first report of a potential vaccination in eels that simultaneously provide protectiveness against different Aeromonas pathogens with a conserved partial OMP

Multivariate logistic regression analysis of factors associated with willingness to participate (WTP) in HIV therapeutic vaccine trails.

<p>Multivariate logistic regression analysis of factors associated with willingness to participate (WTP) in HIV therapeutic vaccine trails.</p

Reasons for participating or not participating in HIV therapeutic vaccine trails.

a<p>Of the 409 subjects who responded as willing to participate, 175 provided their reasons.</p>b<p>Of the 38 subjects who responded as not willing to participate, 27 provided their reasons.</p><p>Reasons for participating or not participating in HIV therapeutic vaccine trails.</p

Association between sociodemographic/behavioral characteristics and willingness to participate (WTP) in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials.

a<p>the variable was analyzed with exact logistic regression.</p><p>Association between sociodemographic/behavioral characteristics and willingness to participate (WTP) in HIV therapeutic vaccine trials.</p