Melanocyte biology and skin pigmentation

Melanocytes are phenotypically prominent but histologically inconspicuous skin cells. They are responsible for the pigmentation of skin and hair, and thereby contribute to the appearance of skin and provide protection from damage by ultraviolet radiation. Pigmentation mutants in various species are highly informative about basic genetic and developmental pathways, and provide important clues to the processes of photoprotection, cancer predisposition and even human evolution. Skin is the most common site of cancer in humans. Continued understanding of melanocyte contributions to skin biology will hopefully provide new opportunities for the prevention and treatment of skin diseases.     

Spreading rate dependence of gravity anomalies along oceanic transform faults

Mid-ocean ridge morphology and crustal accretion are known to depend on the spreading rate of the ridge. Slow-spreading mid-ocean-ridge segments exhibit significant crustal thinning towards transform and non-transform offsets, which is thought to arise from a three-dimensional process of buoyant mantle upwelling and melt migration focused beneath the centres of ridge segments. In contrast, fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges are characterized by smaller, segment-scale variations in crustal thickness, which reflect more uniform mantle upwelling beneath the ridge axis. Here we present a systematic study of the residual mantle Bouguer gravity anomaly of 19 oceanic transform faults that reveals a strong correlation between gravity signature and spreading rate. Previous studies have shown that slow-slipping transform faults are marked by more positive gravity anomalies than their adjacent ridge segments, but our analysis reveals that intermediate and fast-slipping transform faults exhibit more negative gravity anomalies than their adjacent ridge segments. This finding indicates that there is a mass deficit at intermediate- and fast-slipping transform faults, which could reflect increased rock porosity, serpentinization of mantle peridotite, and/or crustal thickening. The most negative anomalies correspond to topographic highs flanking the transform faults, rather than to transform troughs (where deformation is probably focused and porosity and alteration are expected to be greatest), indicating that crustal thickening could be an important contributor to the negative gravity anomalies observed. This finding in turn suggests that three-dimensional magma accretion may occur near intermediate- and fast-slipping transform faults.     

Columnar grains-covered small grains Cu–Sn alloy prepared by two-phase zone continuous casting

A new theory of two-phase zone continuous casting(TZCC) has been established in order to improve mechanical properties,corrosion resistance and conductivity properties of metals with wide solid-liquid two-phase zone.A Cu-Sn alloy with continuous columnar grains-covered non-columnar small grains of same phase microstructure containing many self-closed grain boundaries were produced by the self-developed TZCC process.Compared with water-cooled mold continuous casting Cu-Sn alloy,the tensile strength and ductility of the TZCC alloy are greatly improved,the corrosion resistance is improved up to fifteenfold,and the conductivity is improved by 12.2%.The excellent high strength may be due to the effective blockage of dislocation motion by numerous self-closed grain boundaries,which suppress the propagation of grain boundary corrosion,and the extremely low electrical resistivity and high ductility may be attributed to continuous columnar grains.     

Experimental study on sulfur removal from ladle furnace refining slag in hot state by blowing air

In view of the present problem of sulfur enrichment in the metallurgical recycling process of ladle furnace (LF) refining slag, a simple and efficient method of removing sulfur from this slag was proposed. The proposed method is compatible with current steelmaking processes. Sulfur removal from LF refining slag for SPHC steel (manufactured at a certain steel plant in China) by blowing air in the hot state was studied by using hot-state experiments in a laboratory. The FactSage software, a carbon/sulfur analyzer, and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to test and analyze the sulfur removal effect and to investigate factors influencing sulfur removal rate. The results show that sulfur ions in LF refining slag can be oxidized into SO₂ by O₂ at high temperature by blowing air into molten slag; SO₂ production was observed to reach a maximum with a small amount of blown O₂ when the temperature exceeded 1350℃. At 1370℃ and 1400℃, experimental LF refining slag is in the liquid state and exhibits good fluidity; under these conditions, the sulfur removal effect by blowing air is greater than 90wt% after 60 min. High temperature and large air flow rate are beneficial for removing sulfur from LF refining slag; compared with air flow rate, temperature has a greater strongly influences on the sulfur removal.     

Simulation study on factors influencing the entrainment behavior of liquid steel as bubbles pass through the steel/slag interface

In this study, a water/silicone oil interface was used to simulate the steel/slag interface in a converter. A high-speed camera was used to record the entrainment process of droplets when air bubbles were passed through the water/silicone oil interface. Motion parameters of the bubbles and droplets were obtained using particle kinematic analysis software, and the entrainment rate of the droplets was calculated. It was found that the entrainment rate decreased from 29.5% to 0 when the viscosity of the silicone oil was increased from 60 mPa·s to 820 mPa·s in the case of bubbles with a 5 mm equivalent diameter passing through the water/silicone oil interface. The results indicate that increasing the viscosity of the silicone oil is conducive to reducing the entrainment rate. The entrainment rate increased from 0 to 136.3% in the case of silicone oil with a viscosity of 60 mPa·s when the equivalent diameter of the bubbles was increased from 3 mm to 7 mm. We therefore conclude that small bubbles are also conductive to reducing the entrainment rate. The force analysis results for the water column indicate that the entrainment rate of droplets is affected by the velocity of the bubble passing through the water/silicone oil interface and that the entrainment rate decreases with the bubble velocity.     

Influence of withdrawal rate on the porosity in a third-generation Ni-based single crystal superalloy

The influence of withdrawal rate on the porosity in a third-generation Ni-based single crystal superalloy was investigated by a quantitative evaluation method. The results showed that the withdrawal rate obviously effected on the average area fraction, number and diameter of porosities except their radius ratios. In consideration of the microstructure observation for dendrite arms, an optimized withdrawal rate was obtained with a minimum porosity level as about 125 μm s~(-1). Simultaneously, a threshold value for the acceptance level of porosities might be set as about 0.1% in order to fulfill the requirements for Ni-based single crystal casting in laboratory scale. Finally, the formation reason of porosity was discussed and it was concluded that the feeding for the volume shrinkage of the last solidified eutectic liquids from the residual liquids and the isolating effect of the morphologies of dendrite arms might be two key factors in controlling the porosities level in Ni-based single crystal superalloy.     

Effect of rare earth and alloying elements on the thermal conductivity of austenitic medium manganese steel

The influence of different contents of Cr, Mo, and rare earth element (RE) additives on the thermal conductivity of austenitic medium manganese steel was studied and discussed. The results show that the addition of Cr in medium manganese steel can improved the ordering of C-Mn atomic clusters, so as to improve the steel's thermal conductivity. However, Cr will lead to precipitation of a great deal of carbides in medium manganese steel when its content is greater than 4wt%. These carbides would aggregate around the grain boundary, and as a result, the thermal conductivity is decreased. By the addition of Mo whose content is about 2wt%, spherical carbides will be formed, thus improving the thermal conductivity of the medium manganese steel. The interaction between rare earth elements and alloying elements will raise both the thermal conductivity and the wear-resisting property of medium manganese steel.     

Dissolution characteristics of sericite in chalcopyrite bioleaching and its effect on copper extraction

The effects of sericite particle size, rotation speed, and leaching temperature on sericite dissolution and copper extraction in a chalcopyrite bioleaching system were examined. Finer particles, appropriate temperature and rotation speed for Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans resulted in a higher Al3+ dissolution concentration. The Al3+ dissolution concentration reached its highest concentration of 38.66 mg/L after 48-d leaching when the sericite particle size, temperature, and rotation speed were -43 μm, 30℃, and 160 r/min, respectively. Meanwhile, the sericite particle size, rotation speed, and temperature can affect copper extraction. The copper extraction rate is higher when the sericite particle size is finer. An appropriately high temperature is favorable for copper leaching. The dissolution of sericite fitted the shrinking core model, 1-(2/3)α-(1-α)2/3=k₁t, which indicates that internal diffusion is the decision step controlling the overall reaction rate in the leaching process. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed small precipitates covered on the surface of sericite after leaching, which increased the diffusion resistance of the leaching solution and dissolved ions.     

Effect of cross wedge rolling on the microstructure of GH4169 alloy

The metal microstructure during the hot forming process has a significant effect on the mechanical properties of final products. To study the microstructural evolution of the cross wedge rolling (CWR) process, the microstructural model of GH4169 alloy was programmed into the user subroutine of DEFORM-3D by FORTRAN. Then, a coupled thermo-mechanical and microstructural simulation was performed under different conditions of CWR, such as area reduction, rolling temperature, and roll speed. Comparing experimental data with simulation results, the difference in average grain size is from 11.2% to 33.4% so it is verified that the microstructural model of GH4169 alloy is reliable and accurate. The fine grain of about 12-15 μm could be obtained by the CWR process, and the grain distribution is very homogeneous. For the symmetry plane, increasing the area reduction is helpful to refine the grain and the value should be around 61%. Moreover, when the rolling temperature changes from 1000 to 1100℃ and the roll speed from 6 to 10 r·min-1, the grain size of the rolled piece decreases first and then increases. The temperature may be better to choose the value around 1050℃ and the speed less than 10 r·min-1.     

Effect of stearic acid on the morphological and structural evolution of mechanically milled Nb-based powder

Nb-based powder was fabricated via mechanical grinding. The influence of stearic acid on the grinding process was studied. The structural evolution and morphological evolution of the milled powder were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. It is indicated that an appropriate amount of stearic acid accelerates the particle refinement process and favors the production of superfine Nb-based particles with good dispersivity and high activity. However, an inappropriate amount of stearic acid has an adverse effect on the refinement process.