Study of the corrosion rate behavior of ion implanted Fe-based alloys

We report on some studies we have made of the time evolution of the corrosion behavior of ion implanted samples of pure iron, medium carbon steel, and 18-8 Cr-Ni stainless steel. Ti, Cr, Ni, Cu, Mo and Yb were implanted at mean ion energies near 100 keV and at doses up to 1 {times} 10{sup 17} cm{sup {minus}2} using a Mevva metal ion implantation facility. A novel feature of this experiment was the simultaneous implantation with several different implanted species. The implanted samples were immersed in sulfuric acid solution at 40{degrees}C and the corrosion monitored as a function of time. The loss in mass was accurately measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The functional dependence of the corrosion behavior was established for all samples. The cumulative mass loss Q is given as a function of time t by Q = At{sup N}, where A and N are parameters; thus the corrosion rate V is given by V = ANt{sup N-1}. A is dominated by the initial mass loss and N reflects the long-time corrosion behavior. The values of the parameters A and N were obtained by a least-squares regression for all the samples investigated. We determined that for the samples investigated here, N > 1 always and V increases with time throughout the experimental duration. In this paper we summarize the experimental results and discuss the effect of A and N on corrosion rate and the relationship between the corrosion current density and the parameters A and N. 11 refs., 4 figs

Screening Level of PAHs in Sediment Core from Lake Hongfeng, Southwest China

Using data from a 25-year retrospective of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment core from Lake Hongfeng, Southwest China, their possible sources and potential toxicologic significance were investigated. The total PAH concentrations (16 priority PAHs as proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency) in sediments ranged from 2936.1 to 5282.3 ng/g and gradually increased from the analyzed deeper sediments to surface sediments. PAHs were dominated by low molecular-weight components, especially phenanthrene (PHEN) and fluorene (FLU). However, a significantly increased number of high molecular-weight (HMW) PAHs was found in upper segments. The temporal trends of individual PAH species suggest that there may have been a change in energy use from low- to high-temperature combustion, especially after approximately 2001. PAH input to Lake Hongfeng originated mainly from domestic coal combustion and biomass burning, whereas fuel combustion characteristics have also been found in recent years. Sediment-quality assessment implied that potential adverse biologic impact could be a probability for most low-ring PAHs (including naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthylene, FLU, PHEN, and anthracene). Nevertheless, more concern should be paid to HMW PAHs in the future due to their rapidly increasing trends in upper sediments. Because only one core was analyzed in this study, more work is needed to confirm the sources and toxicity of PAHs in Lake Hongfeng

Localized-Statistical Quantification of Human Serum Proteome Associated with Type 2 Diabetes

BACKGROUND: Recent advances in proteomics have shed light to discover serum proteins or peptides as biomarkers for tracking the progression of diabetes as well as understanding molecular mechanisms of the disease. RESULTS: In this work, human serum of non-diabetic and diabetic cohorts was analyzed by proteomic approach. To analyze total 1377 high-confident serum-proteins, we developed a computing strategy called localized statistics of protein abundance distribution (LSPAD) to calculate a significant bias of a particular protein-abundance between these two cohorts. As a result, 68 proteins were found significantly over-represented in the diabetic serum (p<0.01). In addition, a pathway-associated analysis was developed to obtain the overall pathway bias associated with type 2 diabetes, from which the significant over-representation of complement system associated with type 2 diabetes was uncovered. Moreover, an up-stream activator of complement pathway, ficolin-3, was observed over-represented in the serum of type 2 diabetic patients, which was further validated with statistic significance (p = 0.012) with more clinical samples. CONCLUSIONS: The developed LSPAD approach is well fit for analyzing proteomic data derived from biological complex systems such as plasma proteome. With LSPAD, we disclosed the comprehensive distribution of the proteins associated with diabetes in different abundance levels and the involvement of ficolin-related complement activation in diabetes

The R2R3-MYB Transcription Factor Gene Family in Maize

MYB proteins comprise a large family of plant transcription factors, members of which perform a variety of functions in plant biological processes. To date, no genome-wide characterization of this gene family has been conducted in maize (Zea mays). In the present study, we performed a comprehensive computational analysis, to yield a complete overview of the R2R3-MYB gene family in maize, including the phylogeny, expression patterns, and also its structural and functional characteristics. The MYB gene structure in maize and Arabidopsis were highly conserved, indicating that they were originally compact in size. Subgroup-specific conserved motifs outside the MYB domain may reflect functional conservation. The genome distribution strongly supports the hypothesis that segmental and tandem duplication contribute to the expansion of maize MYB genes. We also performed an updated and comprehensive classification of the R2R3-MYB gene families in maize and other plant species. The result revealed that the functions were conserved between maize MYB genes and their putative orthologs, demonstrating the origin and evolutionary diversification of plant MYB genes. Species-specific groups/subgroups may evolve or be lost during evolution, resulting in functional divergence. Expression profile study indicated that maize R2R3-MYB genes exhibit a variety of expression patterns, suggesting diverse functions. Furthermore, computational prediction potential targets of maize microRNAs (miRNAs) revealed that miR159, miR319, and miR160 may be implicated in regulating maize R2R3-MYB genes, suggesting roles of these miRNAs in post-transcriptional regulation and transcription networks. Our comparative analysis of R2R3-MYB genes in maize confirm and extend the sequence and functional characteristics of this gene family, and will facilitate future functional analysis of the MYB gene family in maize

Viscoelastic Parameter Model of Magnetorheological Elastomers Based on Abel Dashpot

In this paper, a parametric constitutive model based on Abel dashpot is established in a simple form and with clear physical meaning to deduce the expression of dynamic mechanical modulus of MREs. Meanwhile, in consideration for the pressure stress on MREs in the experiment of shear mechanical properties or the application to vibration damper, some improvements are made on the particle chain model based on the coupled field. In addition, in order to verify the accuracy of the overall model, five groups of MREs samples based on silicone rubber with different volume fractions are prepared and the MCR51 rheometer is used to conduct the experiment of dynamic mechanical properties based on frequency and magnetic field scanning. Finally, experimental results indicate that the established model fits well with laboratory data; namely, the relationship between the dynamic modulus of MREs and changes in frequency and magnetic field is well described by the model