Influence of soaking time in deep cryogenic treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of low-alloy medium-carbon HY-TUF steel

The influence of soaking time in deep cryogenic treatment on the tensile and impact properties of low-alloy medium-carbon HY-TUF steel was investigated in this study. Microstructural studies based on phase distribution mapping by electron backscatter diffraction show that the deep cryogenic process causes a decrease in the content of retained austenite and an increase in the volume fraction of η-carbide with increasing soaking time up to 48 h. The decrease in the content of retained austenite from ~1.23vol% to 0.48vol% suggests an isothermal martensitic transformation at 77 K. The η-type precipitates formed in deep cryogenic-treated martensite over 48 h have the Hirotsu and Nagakura orientation relation with the martensitic matrix. Furthermore, a high coherency between η-carbide and the martensitic matrix is observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The variations in macrohardness, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and ductility with soaking time in the deep cryogenic process show a peak/plateau trend.     

SAMHD1 is the dendritic- and myeloid-cell-specific HIV-1 restriction factor counteracted by Vpx

The primate lentivirus auxiliary protein Vpx counteracts an unknown restriction factor that renders human dendritic and myeloid cells largely refractory to HIV-1 infection. Here we identify SAMHD1 as this restriction factor. SAMHD1 is a protein involved in Aicardi-Goutières syndrome, a genetic encephalopathy with symptoms mimicking congenital viral infection, that has been proposed to act as a negative regulator of the interferon response. We show that Vpx induces proteasomal degradation of SAMHD1. Silencing of SAMHD1 in non-permissive cell lines alleviates HIV-1 restriction and is associated with a significant accumulation of viral DNA in infected cells. Concurrently, overexpression of SAMHD1 in sensitive cells inhibits HIV-1 infection. The putative phosphohydrolase activity of SAMHD1 is probably required for HIV-1 restriction. Vpx-mediated relief of restriction is abolished in SAMHD1-negative cells. Finally, silencing of SAMHD1 markedly increases the susceptibility of monocytic-derived dendritic cells to infection. Our results demonstrate that SAMHD1 is an antiretroviral protein expressed in cells of the myeloid lineage that inhibits an early step of the viral life cycle.     

Evolution of a new enzyme for carbon disulphide conversion by an acidothermophilic archaeon

Extremophilic organisms require specialized enzymes for their exotic metabolisms. Acid-loving thermophilic Archaea that live in the mudpots of volcanic solfataras obtain their energy from reduced sulphur compounds such as hydrogen sulphide (H(2)S) and carbon disulphide (CS(2)). The oxidation of these compounds into sulphuric acid creates the extremely acidic environment that characterizes solfataras. The hyperthermophilic Acidianus strain A1-3, which was isolated from the fumarolic, ancient sauna building at the Solfatara volcano (Naples, Italy), was shown to rapidly convert CS(2) into H(2)S and carbon dioxide (CO(2)), but nothing has been known about the modes of action and the evolution of the enzyme(s) involved. Here we describe the structure, the proposed mechanism and evolution of a CS(2) hydrolase from Acidianus A1-3. The enzyme monomer displays a typical β-carbonic anhydrase fold and active site, yet CO(2) is not one of its substrates. Owing to large carboxy- and amino-terminal arms, an unusual hexadecameric catenane oligomer has evolved. This structure results in the blocking of the entrance to the active site that is found in canonical β-carbonic anhydrases and the formation of a single 15-?-long, highly hydrophobic tunnel that functions as a specificity filter. The tunnel determines the enzyme's substrate specificity for CS(2), which is hydrophobic. The transposon sequences that surround the gene encoding this CS(2) hydrolase point to horizontal gene transfer as a mechanism for its acquisition during evolution. Our results show how the ancient β-carbonic anhydrase, which is central to global carbon metabolism, was transformed by divergent evolution into a crucial enzyme in CS(2) metabolism.     

Impact of slip boundary on sloshing motions in partially filled containers

Sloshing is a kind of fluid motion inside partially filled containers. In spacecraft and other partially filled moving containers, sloshing plays an important role. The contact line between the fluid and solid boundary affects the fluid movement and sloshing during motion. A physical model for steady fluid flow with a partial slip boundary is presented and equations for this model are derived for cylindrical (tube-shaped) tanks. This gives a nonlinear system of differential equations that is solved numerically by using a Successive Over-Relaxation (SOR) technique and graphical results are shown. Variations in steady fluid flow are observed with changes in the slip length and some useful results are derived. The effects on the microscopic radius of the fluid layer in a capillary tube are also shown through graphical results.     

Interference-Aware Multipath Routing Protocol for QoS Improvement in Event-Driven Wireless Sensor Networks

The existing multipath routing protocols for wireless sensor networks demonstrate the efficacy of traffic distribution over multiple paths to fulfill the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of different applications.However,the performance of these protocols is highly affected by the characteristics of the wireless channel and may be even inferior to the performance of single-path approaches.Specifically,when multiple adjacent paths are being used concurrently,the broadcast nature of wireless channels res...     

Kinetics of magnetite oxidation under non-isothermal conditions

Oxidation of magnetite concentrates, which occurs during the pellet induration process, must be deeply understood to enable the appropriate design of induration machines. In the present paper, the kinetics of the magnetite oxidation reaction was studied. Primary samples were obtained from the Gol-e-Gohar iron ore deposit. Magnetic separation and flotation decreased the sulfur content in the samples to be approximately 0.1wt%. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to measure mass changes during the oxidation of magnetite and, consequently, the conversion values. The aim of this study was to use isoconversional methods to calculate the kinetic parameters. The Coats-Redfern method was also used to obtain the activation energy. Thermogravimetric analyses were run at three different heating rates. The Coats-Redfern results were too ambiguous for a meaningful interpretation. In the case of the isoconversional method, however, the mean activation energy and pre-exponential factor of the oxidation reaction were obtained as 67.55 kJ and 15.32×108 min-1, respectively. Such a large activation energy implies that temperature strongly affects the reaction rate. The oxidation reaction exhibits a true multi-step nature that is predominantly controlled by chemical reaction and diffusion mechanisms.     

Synthesis of WC powder through microwave heating of WO3-C mixture

A simple, easy, and low-cost process for the fabrication of tungsten carbide (WC) powder through microwave heating of WO₃-C mixtures was developed. Thermodynamic calculations and experimental investigations were carried out for WO₃-C and W-C systems, and a formation mechanism was proposed. In the results, for the synthesis of WC, the use of over stoichiometric amount of C together with a specially assembled experimental setup (which effectively retains heat in the system) is necessary. The WC powder is successfully obtained by heating WO₃:5C mixture for 900s in a domestic microwave oven.     

Effect of oxygen content on the structural and optical properties of ZnO films grown by atmospheric pressure MOCVD

Atmospheric pressure MOCVD was used to deposit ZnO layers on sapphire and homoepitaxial template under different oxygen flow rates.Oxygen content affects the lattice constant value and texture coefficient of the films as evidenced by the θ-2θ peaks position and their intensity.Films deposited at lower oxygen flow rate possess higher value of strain and stresses.ZnO films deposited at high oxygen flow rates show intense UV emissions while samples prepared under oxygen deficient conditions exhibited defect related emission along with UV luminescence.The results are compared to the ZnO films deposited homoepitaxially on annealed ZnO samples.The data obtained suggest that ZnO stoichiometry is responsible for the structural and optical quality of ZnO films.     

Mechanical properties of TiO2-hydroxyapatite nanostructured coatings on Ti-6Al-4V substrates by APS method

TiO₂-hydroxyapatite (HA) nanostructured coatings were produced by atmospheric plasma spray method. The effects of starting powder composition and grain size on their mechanical properties were investigated. The microstructure and morphology were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It is found that the coating with 10% HA has the best mechanical properties. Based on Rietveld refinement method, the mean grain size of the as-received powder (212 nm) extensively decreases to 66.4 nm after 20 h of high-energy ball milling. In spite of grain growth, the deposited coatings maintain their nanostructures with the mean grain size of 112 nm. SEM images show that there is a lower porosity in the coating with a higher HA content. Optical microscopy images show that uniform thickness is obtained for all the coatings.