The choice of the sequence of manufacturing processes is a key aspect of smart manufacturing. It can determine the surface functions of the finished component, and it can revolutionize the way things ...are made. The focus of this paper is the post-processing—a combination of sanding, polishing, and burnishing—of 316L steel components made using selective laser melting (SLM). The integrity of the surface (including surface defects) is influenced by post-process conditions as well as the sequence of post-processes, which perform functions such as eliminating surface defects generated during SLM, altering the surface roughness, and imparting compressive residual stress.
Abstract
Van der Waals heterobilayers of transition metal dichalcogenides with spin–valley coupling of carriers in different layers have emerged as a new platform for exploring spin/valleytronic ...applications. The interlayer coupling was predicted to exhibit subtle changes with the interlayer atomic registry. Manually stacked heterobilayers, however, are incommensurate with the inevitable interlayer twist and/or lattice mismatch, where the properties associated with atomic registry are difficult to access by optical means. Here, we unveil the distinct polarization properties of valley-specific interlayer excitons using epitaxially grown, commensurate WSe
2
/MoSe
2
heterobilayers with well-defined (AA and AB) atomic registry. We observe circularly polarized photoluminescence from interlayer excitons, but with a helicity opposite to the optical excitation. The negative circular polarization arises from the quantum interference imposed by interlayer atomic registry, giving rise to distinct polarization selection rules for interlayer excitons. Using selective excitation schemes, we demonstrate the optical addressability for interlayer excitons with different valley configurations and polarization helicities.
Ovarian cancer has a unique tumor microenvironment (TME) that enables cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) to interact with cellular and matrix constituents and influence tumor development and ...migration into the peritoneal cavity. Collagen type XI alpha 1 (COL11A1) is overexpressed in CAFs; therefore this study examines its role during CAF activation in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Coculturing human ovarian fibroblasts (HOFs) with high COL11A1-expressing EOC cells or exposure to the conditioned medium of these cells prompted the expression of COL11A1 and CAF phenotypes. Conversely, coculturing HOFs with low COL11A1-expressing EOC cells or COL11A1-knockdown abrogated COL11A1 overexpression and secretion, in addition to CAF activation. Increased p-SP1 expression attributed to COL11A1-mediated extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation (ERK) induced p65 translocation into the nucleus and augmented its binding to the insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2) promoter, ultimately inducing TGF-β3 activation. The CAF-cancer cell crosstalk triggered interleukin-6 release, which in turn promoted EOC cell proliferation and invasiveness. These in vitro results were confirmed by in vivo findings in a mouse model, showing that COL11A1 overexpression in EOC cells promoted tumor formation and CAF activation, which was inhibited by TGF-β3 antibody. Human tumors with high TGF-β3 levels showed elevated expression of COL11A1 and IGFBP2, which was associated with poor survival. Our findings suggest the possibility that anti-TGF-β3 treatment strategy may be effective in targeting CAFs in COL11A1-positive ovarian tumors.
Background
Cats in respiratory distress have limited tolerance for manipulation, hindering clinical monitoring. Minute volume (MV) can be utilized to rate dyspnea in humans, but its relationship with ...respiratory distress in cats remains poorly investigated.
Hypothesis
Cats with respiratory distress will show higher MV per kg body weight (MV/BW) than normal cats, and the MV/BW increase will correlate with survival.
Animals
Fifty‐two cats with respiratory distress from lung parenchymal disease, pleural space disease, lower airway obstruction (LAO), or upper airway obstruction were recruited since 2014.
Methods
This is a prospective observational study. Study cats were placed in a transparent chamber, allowing clinicians to easily observe their breathing status and record ventilation using barometric whole‐body plethysmography (BWBP). Ventilatory variables of the 52 cats were compared with those of 14 historic control cats. Follow‐up data, including disease category, clinical outcomes, and survival, were prospectively collected.
Results
Cats in respiratory distress demonstrated significantly higher MV/BW (397 mL/kg; range, 158‐1240) than normal cats (269 mL/kg; range, 168‐389; P < .001). Among the etiologies, cats with LAO, parenchymal, and pleural space disease exhibited higher‐than‐normal MV/BW trends. A cutoff value of 373 mL/kg (1.4‐fold increase) indicated abnormally increased breathing efforts (sensitivity, 67%; specificity, 93%). MV/BW was independently associated with increased cardiorespiratory mortality in cats with respiratory distress (adjusted hazard ratio 1.17, 95% confidence interval CI 1.02‐1.35; P = .03).
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
Breathing efforts in cats can be noninvasively quantified using BWBP. Measurement of MV/BW could serve as a prognostic index for monitoring cats experiencing respiratory distress.
We used discarded oyster shells to prepare vaterite calcium carbonate microparticles and explored the removal effects and the underlying mechanism toward several heavy metal ions. The removal ...efficiency for each ion type was: Pb2+ (99.9%), Cr3+ (99.5%), Fe3+ (99.3%), and Cu2+ (57.1%). With the exception of Cu2+, vaterite calcium carbonate particles exhibited excellent removal performance on all tested heavy metal ions, with exceptional results for Pb2+. The factor affecting the removal efficiency of heavy metal ions is shown to involve an ion exchange reaction between calcium and the heavy metal ions resulting in recrystallization. Vaterite calcium carbonate particles prepared by this method have the advantage of low price, easy synthesis, and reduction of environmental waste. Thus, this procedure for synthesizing vaterite CaCO3 provides an environmentally responsible method for preparing materials that can be economically incorporated into common consumer products such as household drinking water filtration systems.
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•Oyster shells-prepared CaCO3 has better removal efficiencies than commercial CaCO3.•Heavy metals removal could also be indirectly monitored via pH changes.•The CaCO3 remove heavy metal ions rapidly and be used in water treatments.
Cancer stem cell (CSC) theory has drawn much attention, with evidence supporting the contribution of stem cells to tumor initiation, relapse, and therapy resistance.
To screen drugs that target CSCs ...to improve the current treatment outcome and overcome drug resistance in patients with lung cancer.
We used publicly available embryonic stem cell and CSC-associated gene signatures to query the Connectivity Map for potential drugs that can, at least in part, reverse the gene expression profile of CSCs. High scores were noted for several phenothiazine-like antipsychotic drugs, including trifluoperazine. We then treated lung CSCs with different EGFR mutation status with trifluoperazine to examine its anti-CSC properties. Lung CSCs resistant to epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor or cisplatin were treated with trifluoperazine plus gefitinib or trifluoperazine plus cisplatin. Animal models were used for in vivo validation of the anti-CSC effect and synergistic effect of trifluoperazine with gefitinib.
We demonstrated that trifluoperazine inhibited CSC tumor spheroid formation and down-regulated the expression of CSC markers (CD44/CD133). Trifluoperazine inhibited Wnt/β-catenin signaling in gefitinib-resistant lung cancer spheroids. The combination of trifluoperazine with either gefitinib or cisplatin overcame drug resistance in lung CSCs. Trifluoperazine inhibited the tumor growth and enhanced the inhibitory activity of gefitinib in lung cancer metastatic and orthotopic CSC animal models.
Using in silico drug screening by Connectivity Map followed by empirical validations, we repurposed an existing phenothiazine-like antipsychotic drug, trifluoperazine, as a potential anti-CSC agent that could overcome epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor and chemotherapy resistance.
The proliferation of drug-resistant pathogens continues to increase, giving rise to serious public health concerns. Many researchers have formulated metal oxide nanoparticles for use as novel ...antibacterial agents. In the present study, copper oxide (CuO) was synthesized by simple hydrothermal synthesis, and doping was performed to introduce different polymers onto the NP surface for bacteriostasis optimization. The polymer-modified CuO NPs were analyzed further with XRD, FTIR, TEM, DLS and zeta potential to study their morphology, size, and the charge of the substrate. The results indicate that polymer-modified CuO NPs had a significantly higher bacteriostatic rate than unmodified CuO NPs. In particular, polydopamine (PDA)-modified CuO (CuO-PDA) NPs, which carry a weakly negative surface charge, exhibited excellent antibacterial effects, with a bacteriostatic rate of up to 85.8 ± 0.2% within 3 h. When compared to other polymer-modified CuO NPs, CuO-PDA NPs exhibited superior bacteriostatic activity due to their smaller size, surface charge, and favorable van der Waals interactions. This may be attributed to the fact that the CuO-PDA NPs had relatively lipophilic structures at pH 7.4, which increased their affinity for the lipopolysaccharide-containing outer membrane of the Gram-negative bacterium
Multi-numerology (MN) providing a flexible transmission frame structure has attracted a considerable attention for supporting abundant services for beyond fifth-generation (B5G) networks. However, ...mobility induces severe performance degradation under different numerologies including temporal and spectral fluctuation, which is not well-investigated in existing literature. We have conceived an MN-enabled energy efficiency (EE) problem aiming for alleviating mobility- and MN-induced interferences through moderate power and sub-carrier assignment, while considering quality-of-service (QoS) and latency requirements for different services. We propose a multi-numerology based power and resource block allocation (MNPRA) scheme considering time-/frequency-division (TD/MD) based MN leveraging temporal and spectral features among numerologies. The original non-solvable problem is theoretically transformed into a convex one by employing Dinkelbach process, Taylor approximation and difference of two concave functions (D.C.). Convergence of proposed MNPRA scheme is analyzed and verified by simulations. In simulation results, we have evaluated MNPRA under different service demands, user velocities and MN types. Our proposed scheme outperforms the conventional single-numerology framing and existing methods in open literature, which results in performances of higher EE as well as of lower throughput/delay outage probability.
Background
Small‐breed dogs commonly have concurrent myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) and lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD).
Hypothesis
Small‐breed dogs with preclinical MMVD and ...concurrent LRTD have more B‐lines on point‐of‐care lung ultrasound (POC‐LUS) compared to dogs without concurrent LRTD and are prone to misdiagnose as cardiogenic pulmonary edema (CPE).
Animals
A total of 114 small‐breed dogs with preclinical MMVD.
Methods
A prospective study was conducted, in which POC‐LUS was obtained and the number of B‐lines was calculated by a single clinician using the Veterinary Bedside Lung Ultrasound Examination protocol. The presence/absence of LRTD was assessed by clinicians blinded to the POC‐LUS results.
Results
Fifty and 64 dogs were in ACVIM stage B1 and B2, respectively. The presence of LRTD was prevalent in 74.6% (85/114) of small‐breed dogs with preclinical MMVD. When a previously reported criterion for CPE diagnosis (≥2 sites with >3 B‐lines/site) was applied, false‐positive results were observed in 15.8% (18/114) of dogs with preclinical MMVD. The summated number of B‐lines (3 vs. 1, P = .003), as well as the false‐positive rate (20% vs 3%, P = .04), were significantly higher in dogs with LRTD compared with dogs without LRTD. Multivariable logistic regression showed the presence of abnormalities other than B‐line on POC‐LUS (eg, thickened pleura or consolidation) could predict false‐positive results (odds ratio = 3.75, 95% confidence intervals 1.12‐12.54; P = .03) after adjustment for other clinical and echocardiographic factors.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
Concurrent LRTD and abnormalities other than B‐lines should be considered in the interpretation of POC‐LUS in MMVD dogs.
Particle-stabilized emulsions, referred as Pickering emulsions (PEs), have been widely explored due to their potential practical interest in last few years. As a sustainable alternative for ...conventional stabilizers, food-grade colloidal particles have exhibited excellent performance in the formulation of novel Pickering emulsions. Among the natural biomacromolecules, cellulosic resources have attracted extensive attention due to their techno-functional, economic, renewable and non-toxic characteristics.
In this article, the central point is on the clarification of nanocelluloses with different properties and the fundamental stabilization principles of the nanocellulose-based PEs. Ultimately, the applications of nanocelluloses-based PEs in food industry are described.
Compared with the traditional emulsion, Pickering emulsion has better interface stability, non-toxic and harmlessness, and is not easily affected by the environment. This review focuses on the fabrication and mechanism of food-grade PEs stabilized by using nanocelluloses, especially for cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), and bacterial cellulose nanofibrils (BCNFs). Nanocelluloses can be prepared by various green modifications, such as high-pressure homogenization (HPH), enzymatic hydrolysis, and sonication. Because of its wide range, degradable, renewable and strong stability, nanofibers have become a research hotspot in the preparation of Pickering emulsion. The obtained nanocellulose has been confirmed to effectively stabilize PEs via the irreversible adsorption into the oil-water interfaces and the formation of three dimensional networks between the droplets. These nanocellulose-based PEs systems are currently gaining an increasing demand in the fields of three-dimensional printing technology, targeted delivery systems and food package materials, which is extremely crucial for practical applications in food-grade products.
•Food-grade Pickering emulsions (PEs) have attracted extensive attention.•Nanocelluloses play an important role in the formulation of PEs.•Properties of nanocelluloses can be modulated via sources and modified methods.•PEs stabilized by cellulose nanofibril (CNF) have wide application in food product.•Investigation about toxicity of PEs stabilized by CNF is still limited.
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