Texture evolution in Fe-1.3%Si steels with ultra-high magnetic induction produced by strip casting, cold rolling and annealing was investigated using macro-/micro-texture analysis. A new and strong ...{110} fiber has been founded in thin as-cast sheets. The in-grain shear bands with the Cube orientation can be observed in deformed {110}〈110〉 grains after cold rolling. The new Cube grains are mainly nucleated and grow within those shear bands at the beginning of recrystallization and consequently determine the overall annealing texture.
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► Coupled micro- and macro-cell corrosion process is numerically simulated. ► Oxygen is a crucial factor influencing corrosion rate under cracked concrete cover. ► Microcell corrosion ...dominates corrosion process after concrete cover cracking. ► Corrosion-induced longitudinal crack accelerates subsequent deterioration process.
Chloride-induced corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete may cause severe damage to RC structures. This paper examines the interaction between corrosion-induced cover crack growth and corrosion propagation. The coupled micro- and macro-cell corrosion process involved in a typical chloride-induced corrosion is numerically simulated. Both oxygen concentration and electrical potential distribution within concrete cover are considered in the electrochemical analysis. A uniform thick-walled cylinder model is formulated to simulate the cover surface crack width evolution. Results show that macrocell corrosion rate may not change so much while microcell corrosion rate increases a lot as oxygen permeability increases with corrosion-induced cover crack.
A theoretical model to describe heat transport in functionally graded nanomaterials is developed in the framework of extended thermodynamics. The heat-transport equation used in our theoretical model ...is of the Maxwell-Cattaneo type. We study the propagation of acceleration waves in functionally graded materials (FGMs). In the special case of functionally graded Si
Ge
thin layers, we point out the influence of the composition gradient on the propagation of heat pulses. A possible use of heat pulses as exploring tool to infer the inner composition of FGMs is suggested.
Purpose
Tumoral calcinosis is a rare clinicopathological entity characterized by ectopic soft-tissue calcification, typically periarticular. Normophosphatemic tumoral calcinosis is seldom reported in ...East Asian populations, and the preoperative diagnosis is often elusive. This study was performed to characterize the clinical profile of normophosphatemic tumoral calcinosis and investigate the presence of the
SAMD9
gene mutation.
Methods
The clinical features, pathological examination findings, and outcomes of 19 subjects were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were analyzed for
SAMD9
gene mutation using paraffin-embedded tumoral calcinosis specimens.
Results
Nineteen subjects were analyzed (7 males, 12 females). Their mean age at surgery, mean age at symptom onset, and median disease duration was 51.9 ± 17.3 (range 7–75) years, 49.1 ± 17.2 (range 7–74) years, and 1.3 (interquartile range 0.5–3.0) years, respectively. Lesions were located in the hand in 8 (42.1%) subjects; wrist in 5 (26.3%); shoulder in 2 (10.5%); and hip, knee, buttock, and scrotum in 1 (5.3%) subject each. The lesions in 17 (89.5%) subjects were located around the joints small joints (hand and wrist) in 13 (68.4%) and large joints (shoulder, hip, and knee) in 4 (21.1%). Lesions occurred in the upper limbs in 15 (78.9%) subjects and in the lower limbs in 2 (10.5%). Multiple-lesion involvement (distal right index finger and middle finger) occurred in one (5.3%) subject. Symptoms included pain in 15 (78.9%) subjects, impaired mobility in 5 (26.3%), swelling in 5 (26.3%), numbness in 2 (10.5%), and an asymptomatic mass in 2 (10.5%). The serum inorganic phosphorus concentration was normal in all 19 subjects (mean 1.17 ± 0.15 mmol/L). The serum calcium concentration was normal in 18 subjects and low in 1. The serum alkaline phosphatase concentration was normal in all 19 subjects. Pathological examination indicated multiple nodules of calcified materials that manifested an amorphous or granular blue-purple crystal and were surrounded by proliferation of mononuclear or multinuclear macrophages, osteoclastic-like giant cells, fibroblasts, and chronic inflammatory cells. Notably, different phases of pathological manifestations were observed in the same microscopic field. During follow-up (0.5–65.0 months), no recurrence of tumoral calcinosis was observed in 18 (94.7%) subjects, but 1 subject developed in situ recurrence of an asymptomatic subcutaneous mass after 6 months postoperatively. Genetic analysis in all 19 subjects revealed no
SAMD9
gene mutations.
Conclusions
Most subjects were females and developed calcinosis in adulthood. Small joints (hand and wrist) and the upper limbs were frequently involved. The presence of different phases of pathological features in the same subject suggests that about half of the study participants had been misdiagnosed with another condition (such as gout, osteoarthritis, etc.). Complete surgical excision led to cure without recurrence during follow-up in majority of the study participants.
Background and purpose:
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is widely practised and is viewed as an attractive alternative to conventional medicine. Quantitative information about TCM prescriptions, ...constituent herbs and herbal ingredients is necessary for studying and exploring TCM.
Experimental approach:
We manually collected information on TCM in books and other printed sources in Medline. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Information Database TCM‐ID, at http:tcm.cz3.nus.edu.sggrouptcm‐idtcmid.asp, was introduced for providing comprehensive information about all aspects of TCM including prescriptions, constituent herbs, herbal ingredients, molecular structure and functional properties of active ingredients, therapeutic and side effects, clinical indication and application and related matters.
Results:
TCM‐ID currently contains information for 1,588 prescriptions, 1,313 herbs, 5,669 herbal ingredients, and the 3D structure of 3,725 herbal ingredients. The value of the data in TCM‐ID was illustrated by using some of the data for an in‐silico study of molecular mechanism of the therapeutic effects of herbal ingredients and for developing a computer program to validate TCM multi‐herb preparations.
Conclusions and Implications:
The development of systems biology has led to a new design principle for therapeutic intervention strategy, the concept of ‘magic shrapnel’ (rather than the ‘magic bullet’), involving many drugs against multiple targets, administered in a single treatment. TCM offers an extensive source of examples of this concept in which several active ingredients in one prescription are aimed at numerous targets and work together to provide therapeutic benefit. The database and its mining applications described here represent early efforts toward exploring TCM for new theories in drug discovery.
British Journal of Pharmacology (2006) 149, 1092–1103. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0706945
ABSTRACT
We report on the Insight-HXMT observations of the new black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070 during its 2018 outburst. Detailed spectral analysis via the continuum fitting method shows an ...evolution of the inferred spin during its high soft sate. Moreover, the hardness ratio, the non-thermal luminosity and the reflection fraction also undergo an evolution, exactly coincident to the period when the inferred spin transition takes place. The unphysical evolution of the spin is attributed to the evolution of the inner disc, which is caused by the collapse of a hot corona due to condensation mechanism or may be related to the deceleration of a jet-like corona. The studies of the inner disc radius and the relation between the disc luminosity and the inner disc radius suggest that, only at a particular epoch, did the inner edge of the disc reach the innermost stable circular orbit and the spin measurement is reliable. We then constrain the spin of MAXI J1820 + 070 to be $a_*=0.2^{+0.2}_{-0.3}$. Such a slowly spinning black hole possessing a strong jet suggests that its jet activity is driven mainly by the accretion disc rather than by the black hole spin.
Purpose
Though type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is an important and independent risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) in the general population, the impact of T2DM on CAD in patients with ...familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is less understood. Thus, the current study aimed to examine the features of FH patients with T2DM and explore the effects of T2DM on CAD in FH.
Methods
A total of 289 clinical heterozygous FH (HeFH) patients diagnosed with Dutch Lipid Clinic Criteria were consecutively recruited and divided into a T2DM group (
n
= 58) and non-T2DM group (
n
= 231). Clinical characteristics and laboratory findings were compared between the two groups. Target exome sequencing was used for gene mutation analysis.
Results
HeFH patients with T2DM had significantly higher levels of triglycerides, body mass index and free fatty acids than did non-T2DM patients; moreover, patients with T2DM more frequently exhibited hypertension. However, the spectrum of FH-causing mutations was not significantly different (
p
= 0.061). Notably, patients with T2DM had higher prevalence of CAD (
p
= 0.012) and higher Gensini Score (
p
= 0.002). The regression analysis confirmed that HbA1c was an independent risk factor for both the presence and severity of CAD OR 2.321 (1.098–4.904),
p
= 0.027; OR 1.349 (1.032–1.762),
p
= 0.028, respectively in patients with HeFH.
Conclusions
Although there were not many differences in the clinical, lipid and genetic aspects of HeFH patients with and without T2DM, T2DM and HbA1c were associated with worse coronary lesions, suggesting that diabetes and the degree of blood glucose control are also important determinants of cardiovascular disease in these patients.
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