A review of the renal system and diurnal variations of renal activity in livestock

Kidneys are the main organs regulating water-electrolyte homeostasis in the body. They are responsible for maintaining the total volume of water and its distribution in particular water spaces, for electrolyte composition of systemic fluids and also for maintaining acid-base balance. These functions are performed by the plasma filtration process in renal glomeruli and the processes of active absorption and secretion in renal tubules, all adjusted to an 'activity-rest' rhythm. These diurnal changes are influenced by a 24-hour cycle of activity of hormones engaged in the regulation of renal activity. Studies on spontaneous rhythms of renal activity have been carried out mainly on humans and laboratory animals, but few studies have been carried out on livestock animals. Moreover, those results cover only some aspects of renal physiology. This review gives an overview of current knowledge concerning renal function and diurnal variations of some renal activity parameters in livestock, providing greater understanding of general chronobiological processes in mammals. Detailed knowledge of these rhythms is useful for clinical, practical and pharmacological purposes, as well as studies on their physical performance

Metastability and fatigue behavior of austenitic stainless steels

This study presents the results of a detailed investigation of metastability and susceptibility to deformation induced α’-martensite formation of several austenitic steels (AISI 304, AISI 321, AISI 348 and two batches from AISI 347) in the solution-annealed state. Besides conventional characterization of metastability by calculating stacking-fault energy and threshold temperature (designated as MS and Md30), the present work introduced a new method for determining susceptibility to α’-martensite formation. The method was based on dynamically applied local plastic deformation and non-destructive micro-magnetic measurement of α’-martensite content. The parameter Iξ was established, which correlated very well with the grade of α’-martensite formation during cyclic loading. The cyclic deformation and phase transformation behavior of cyclically loaded specimens from different metastable austenitic steels were investigated in total-strain and stress controlled fatigue tests with load ratio R = -1 at ambient temperature. The influence of the strain rate on the cyclic deformation and phase transformation behavior was also examined. During the fatigue tests, besides stress-strain hysteresis and temperature measurement, in situ micro-magnetic measurements were performed. Using the compressive measured data, the influence of plastic induced self-heating of the specimen and the strain rate on α’-martensite formation was analyzed

Metastability and fatigue behavior of austenitic stainless steels

This study presents the results of a detailed investigation of metastability and susceptibility to deformation induced α’-martensite formation of several austenitic steels (AISI 304, AISI 321, AISI 348 and two batches from AISI 347) in the solution-annealed state. Besides conventional characterization of metastability by calculating stacking-fault energy and threshold temperature (designated as MS and Md30), the present work introduced a new method for determining susceptibility to α’-martensite formation. The method was based on dynamically applied local plastic deformation and non-destructive micro-magnetic measurement of α’-martensite content. The parameter Iξ was established, which correlated very well with the grade of α’-martensite formation during cyclic loading. The cyclic deformation and phase transformation behavior of cyclically loaded specimens from different metastable austenitic steels were investigated in total-strain and stress controlled fatigue tests with load ratio R = -1 at ambient temperature. The influence of the strain rate on the cyclic deformation and phase transformation behavior was also examined. During the fatigue tests, besides stress-strain hysteresis and temperature measurement, in situ micro-magnetic measurements were performed. Using the compressive measured data, the influence of plastic induced self-heating of the specimen and the strain rate on α’-martensite formation was analyzed