All-metallic corrugate core sandwich panels as primary loading structures may rapidly soften under compressive loading due mainly to core member buckling once the peak compressive stress is reached, ...resulting in reduced load-carrying capability. Inserting close-celled aluminum foam into the corrugate core has been envisioned as a feasible way to enhance the load capacity. The enhancement due to foam filling were firstly explored experimentally under quasi-static out-of-plane compression and the underlying mechanisms subsequently numerically studied using finite element simulations. The foam filled corrugated panel was found to have strength and energy absorption much greater than the sum of those of an empty corrugated sandwich panel and the aluminum foam alone. It was demonstrated that the core members in the foam-filled panel were considerably stabilized by the filling foam against lateral deflection. In particular, the elastoplastic buckling wavelength of the core members was significantly reduced and the transition from axial deformation to bending of the core member was much delayed, both of which contributing to the enhanced strength and energy adsorption capability of the foam filled panel.
Biothermomechanics of skin is highly interdisciplinary, involving bioheat transfer, burn damage, biomechanics and physiology. Comprehension of the phenomena of heat transfer and related ...thermomechanics in skin tissue is of great importance and can contribute to a variety of medical applications. Due to the “lengthy” thermal relaxation time in biological tissue, non-Fourier thermal behaviour has been experimentally observed, attracting increasingly more attention to this phenomenon. The aim of this study is to review previous researches on the non-Fourier heat transfer process and to develop a computational approach to examine this non-Fourier process and its influence on the mechanical response in skin tissue. The dual-phase-lag (DPL) model is first used to model bioheat transfer across the tissue. Together with the thermal wave model, the non-Fourier thermomechanical behaviour of the tissue is analyzed under various surface heating boundary conditions. For single-layer tissue model, exact solutions for temperature, thermal stress and thermal damage fields are derived; for multi-layer structural models, numerical solutions are obtained with the finite difference method. Large discrepancies are found to exist amongst the predictions of Pennes model, thermal wave model and dual-phase-lag model, while different DPL bioheat transfer models give similar predictions.
This paper presents a combined experimental and numerical study on finned metal foam (FMF) and metal foam (MF) heat sinks under impinging air jet cooling. Experiments were conducted on aluminum foams ...of 96.3% porosity and 8 PPI (pores per inch) with four 2 mm-thickness plate fins. Different foam heights were tested at varying Reynolds numbers. Experimental results show that under a given flow rate condition, as the foam height increases, the heat transfer of MF heat sinks decreases monotonously whilst that of FMF heat sinks first increases and then slightly decreases. Under a given pumping power condition, the heat transfer of MF heat sinks is insensitive to the foam height whilst that of FMF heat sinks increases as the foam height increases. Under either a given flow rate or a given pumping power condition, the heat transfer of FMF heat sinks can be 1.5-2.8 times that of the MF heat sinks having the same height. A numerical model was also developed to simulate the conjugated heat transfer between platefins and metal foams in FMF heat sinks. The influence of the bonding material between metal foams and plate-fins as well as the inlet thermal boundary condition were discussed in detail using the numerical model. Comparisons of experimental and numerical results reveal that using the laminar Darcy's extended model can predict fairly both the heat transfer and pressure drop of MF and FMF heat sinks under high Reynolds numbers if the foam properties are given correctly.
Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common cancer of bone and the 5th leading cause of cancer-related death in young adults. Currently, 5-year survival rates have plateaued at ~70% for patients with ...localized disease. Those with disseminated disease have an ~20% 5-year survival. An improved understanding of the molecular genetics of OS may yield new approaches to improve outcomes for OS patients. To this end, we applied murine models that replicate human OS to identify and understand dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in OS. miRNA expression patterns were profiled in murine primary osteoblasts, osteoblast cultures and primary OS cell cultures (from primary and paired metastatic locations) isolated from two genetically engineered murine models of OS. The differentially expressed miRNA were further assessed by a cross-species comparison with human osteoblasts and OS cultures. We identified miR-155-5p and miR-148a-3p as deregulated in OS. miR-155-5p suppression or miR-148a-3p overexpression potently reduced proliferation and induced apoptosis in OS cells, yet strikingly, did not impact normal osteoblasts. To define how these miRNAs regulated OS cell fate, we used an integrated computational approach to identify putative candidate targets and then correlated these with the cell biological impact. Although we could not resolve the mechanism through which miR-148a-3p impacts OS, we identified that miR-155-5p overexpression suppressed its target Ripk1 (receptor (TNFRSF)-interacting serine-threonine kinase 1) expression, and miR-155-5p inhibition elevated Ripk1 levels. Ripk1 is directly involved in apoptosis/necroptosis. In OS cells, small interfering RNA against Ripk1 prevented cell death induced by the sequestration of miR-155-5p. Collectively, we show that miR-148a-3p and miR-155-5p are species-conserved deregulated miRNA in OS. Modulation of these miRNAs was specifically toxic to tumor cells but not normal osteoblasts, raising the possibility that these may be tractable targets for miRNA-based therapies for OS.
Background
Lactic acid sting test (LAST) is a classical method to identify sensitive skin. However, some subjects with self‐perceived sensitive skin are negative for LAST.
Objective
To determine ...whether LAST scores are associated with specific phenotype of sensitive skin.
Methods
A total of 292 subjects with self‐perceived sensitive skin were enrolled in this study. The Sensitive Scale was used to evaluate the severity of burning, stinging, itching, tautness, erythema and scaling based on 0–10 scale scores. In addition to the assessment of LAST scores, epidermal biophysical properties were measured using an MPA system.
Results
The Sensitive Scale scores of stinging, itching, tautness and scaling were significantly different between the LAST‐positive and ‐negative groups. However, burning and erythema scores did not differ between the LAST‐positive and ‐negative groups. LAST scores were positively correlated with the Sensitive Scale scores for stinging, itching, tautness and scaling, but not for burning and erythema scores. Moreover, LAST scores negatively correlated with stratum corneum hydration, but positively with transepidermal water loss (TEWL) rates.
Conclusions
Lactic acid sting test scores positively correlated with TEWL rates. LAST scores could be used to identify subjects with sensitive skin characterized mainly by stinging and itching, but not those mainly by burning and erythema.
Résumé
Contexte
Le test de la piqûre d'acide lactique (LAST) est une méthode classique pour identifier les peaux sensibles. Cependant, certaines personnes s’évaluant ayant une peau sensible sont négatifs au test LAST.
Objectif
Déterminer si le score du LAST est associé à un phénotype spécifique de peau sensible.
Méthodes
Au total, 292 personnes s’évaluant ayant une peau sensible ont été inclus dans cette étude. L’échelle de sensibilité a été utilisée pour évaluer la sévérité de la brûlure, du picotements, de la démangeaison, de la tension, de l’érythème et des desquamations basée sur une échelle de 0‐10. En plus de l’évaluation du score LAST, les propriétés biophysiques épidermiques ont été mesurées à l'aide d'un système MPA.
Résultats
Les scores de l’échelle de sensibilité pour le picotement, les démangeaisons, la tension et la desquamation étaient significativement différents entre la groupe LAST positif et celle du LAST négatif. Cependant, les scores de la brûlure et de l’érythème n’étaient pas différents entre les deux groupes. Le score LAST était positivement corrélé avec les scores de l’échelle de sensibilité du picotement, des démangeaisons, de la tension et des desquamations, mais pas pour la brûlure et l’érythème. En plus, les scores LAST étaient négativement corrélés avec l'hydratation du stratum corneum, mais positivement corrélés avec le taux de perte en eau transépidermique (TEWL).
Conclusions
Les scores LAST étaient corrélés positivement avec le taux de perte en eau transépidermique. Les scores LAST pourraient être utilisés pour identifier les personnes avec la peau sensible caractérisée principalement le picotement et les démangeaisons, mais pas la brûlure et l’érythème.
The structure of the adsorbed protein layer at the oil/water interface is essential to the understanding of the role of proteins in emulsion stabilization, and it is important to glean the ...mechanistic events of protein adsorption at such buried interfaces. This article reports on a novel experimental methodology for probing protein adsorption at the buried oil/water interface. Neutron reflectivity was used with a carefully selected set of isotopic contrasts to study the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) at the hexadecane/water interface, and the results were compared to those for the air/water interface. The adsorption isotherm was determined at the isoelectric point, and the results showed that a higher degree of adsorption could be achieved at the more hydrophobic interface. The adsorbed BSA molecules formed a monolayer on the aqueous side of the interface. The molecules in this layer were partially denatured by the presence of oil, and once released from the spatial constraint by the globular framework they were free to establish more favorable interactions with the hydrophobic medium. Thus, a loose layer extending toward the oil phase was clearly observed, resulting in an overall broader interface. By analogy to the air/water interface, as the concentration of BSA increased to 1.0 mg mL–1 a secondary layer extending toward the aqueous phase was observed, possibly resulting from the steric repulsion upon the saturation of the primary monolayer. Results clearly indicate a more compact arrangement of molecules at the oil/water interface: this must be caused by the loss of the globular structure as a consequence of the denaturing action of the hexadecane.
Lithium has been a first-line choice for maintenance treatment of bipolar disorders to prevent relapse of mania and depression, but many patients do not have a response to lithium treatment.
We ...selected subgroups from a sample of 1761 patients of Han Chinese descent with bipolar I disorder who were recruited by the Taiwan Bipolar Consortium. We assessed their response to lithium treatment using the Alda scale and performed a genomewide association study on samples from one subgroup of 294 patients with bipolar I disorder who were receiving lithium treatment. We then tested the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that showed the strongest association with a response to lithium for association in a replication sample of 100 patients and tested them further in a follow-up sample of 24 patients. We sequenced the exons, exon-intron boundaries, and part of the promoter of the gene encoding glutamate decarboxylase-like protein 1 (GADL1) in 94 patients who had a response to lithium and in 94 patients who did not have a response in the genomewide association sample.
Two SNPs in high linkage disequilibrium, rs17026688 and rs17026651, that are located in the introns of GADL1 showed the strongest associations in the genomewide association study (P=5.50×10(-37) and P=2.52×10(-37), respectively) and in the replication sample of 100 patients (P=9.19×10(-15) for each SNP). These two SNPs had a sensitivity of 93% for predicting a response to lithium and differentiated between patients with a good response and those with a poor response in the follow-up cohort. Resequencing of GADL1 revealed a novel variant, IVS8+48delG, which lies in intron 8 of the gene, is in complete linkage disequilibrium with rs17026688 and is predicted to affect splicing.
Genetic variations in GADL1 are associated with the response to lithium maintenance treatment for bipolar I disorder in patients of Han Chinese descent. (Funded by Academia Sinica and others.).