Predictability of Plastic Parts Behaviour Made from Rapid Manufacturing

One of the most important issues to resolve in parts manufactured from rapid manufacturing (RM) technologies is to know their behavior working under real conditions. Total quality manufacturing (TQM) is only possible if mechanical properties are well known in the design stage depending on the processing parameters. This work is mainly focused on testing of several samples made with different selective laser sintering (SLS) parameters and technologies. This procedure is the starting point to establish a basis for designing for RM and the standardization of RM testing. The experiments and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyzed the effects of several factors on mechanical properties. The SLS technologies were 3DSystem and EOS. The results show which factor has a large effect on the variables and the interaction between them. The conclusions are very useful for developing rules for designing (designing for RM) and creating new standard rules (ISO, AISI, and DIN) for RM materials and parts testing. The ANOVA gives a better knowledge of the effects of these factors and eliminates unimportant parameters.     

乳腺癌血清多肽图研究

乳腺癌一直是全世界范围内威胁妇女健康的恶性疾病, 尽管人们已经进行了大量的研究以减少乳腺癌对人类的危害, 但是乳腺癌仍然是目前导致死亡的恶性肿瘤之一. 乳腺癌的早期发现对于患者的愈后与生存意义重大, 可以明显提高病人生存时间、降低病人的死亡率. 据统计, 在过去的5年里, 早期诊断每年可减少3.2%因乳腺癌死亡的患者. 然而研究表明, 目前常用的乳腺癌诊断技术, 如乳腺X射线摄影和乳房检查均无法诊断出40%的早期乳癌患者和大多数年轻女性的乳腺肿瘤. 因此在乳腺癌临床治疗中, 急需发展新型的高效诊断技术.     

GaInP/GaAs/Ge三结叠层光电池光谱响应的温度特性

利用金属有机物化学气相沉积法(MOCVD)制备了转化效率达27.1%的GaInP/GaAs/Ge三结叠层电池, 并对其光谱响应的温度特性进行了测量研究. 通过光谱响应曲线观察到各子电池的吸收边随温度升高发生红移, 这主要归因于电池材料禁带宽度的变窄效应. 根据光谱响应数据计算得到的GaInP/GaAs/Ge叠层电池各子电池在室温下的短路电流密度分别为12.9, 13.7和17 mA/cm², 且叠层电池的短路电流密度的温度系数为8.9 μA/(cm²·℃). 最后, 根据叠层电池的串联结构推导了其电压温度系数为-6.27 mV/℃.     

三维连通网状SiC陶瓷/Zr基非晶复合材料动态变形特征

利用分离式霍普金森压杆装置,对三维连通网状SiC陶瓷/Zr基非晶复合材料进行不同应变率下的动态压缩实验,采用扫描电子显微镜研究复合材料的动态变形特征和断口形貌.结果表明:复合材料的动态压缩强度随着打击速度的增加而增加;试样发生劈裂和剪切断裂,陶瓷相断口形貌为层片状、台阶式的解理断裂,非晶合金发生粘性流动,断口形貌复杂多样.在应变率＞104 s-1的冲击载荷下,非晶相表现为软化后的多重脊状条带.复合材料断口上大量的非晶球形液滴及非晶软化条带的发现表明,绝热温升在非晶变形与断裂过程中起重要作用.     

非线性离散竞争系统的全局稳定性

考虑一类非线性离散的Lotka-Volterra竞争系统,通过构造适当的Lyapunov函数,得到了保证该系统全局渐近稳定的充分性条件,并给出该结果在一类二维竞争系统中的应用.     

Nest architecture in polydomous grass-cutting ants (Acromyrmex balzani)

Acromyrmex balzani is a grass-cutting ant species frequently found in Cerrado areas. However, little is known about the architecture of the polydomous nests of this ant. Fifteen A. balzani nests located in a cerrado region in Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, were studied. The polydomous nests were studied in three ways. First, we investigated the architecture in nests moulded with cement and without moulding. Second, we performed an aggressiveness test among workers in different subnests and nests. Third, we excavated the nest and collected the colony to measure the population, verifying the existence or not of a queen in all nests. A cement mould was made of seven nests to permit better visualization of internal structures such as chambers and tunnels. Eight nests were excavated without moulding and white neutral talc was used to highlight the parts of the nests. After excavation, the depth and dimensions (length, width and height) of the chambers were measured. The results showed that the nests had a single entrance hole whose structure consisted of straw and other plant residues in winter. Mounds of loose soil, if present, were found 6–48 cm from the hole. The number of chambers containing fungus ranged from one to five, with the first being found a few centimetres beneath the ground surface (4 cm) and the last up to a maximum depth of 160 cm. The length of the tunnels ranged from 12 to 28 cm. These tunnels were built in a vertical or inclined position, leading to the chambers. No waste chambers were found, with the waste being deposited externally. Additionally, the polydomous nests contained one to eight subnests. In the aggressiveness test, when concolonial workers were confronted, no aggressiveness was observed. In contrast, when allocolonial workers were confronted, there was a high incidence of aggression among them. Excavation of polydomous nests showed only one queen for each polydomous nest, i.e. subnests with a single queen. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the so far unknown nest architecture of the polydomous grass-cutting ant A. balzani.     

Common loss-of-function variants of the epidermal barrier protein filaggrin are a major predisposing factor for atopic dermatitis

Atopic disease, including atopic dermatitis (eczema), allergy and asthma, has increased in frequency in recent decades and now affects approximately 20% of the population in the developed world. Twin and family studies have shown that predisposition to atopic disease is highly heritable. Although most genetic studies have focused on immunological mechanisms, a primary epithelial barrier defect has been anticipated. Filaggrin is a key protein that facilitates terminal differentiation of the epidermis and formation of the skin barrier. Here we show that two independent loss-of-function genetic variants (R510X and 2282del4) in the gene encoding filaggrin (FLG) are very strong predisposing factors for atopic dermatitis. These variants are carried by approximately 9% of people of European origin. These variants also show highly significant association with asthma occurring in the context of atopic dermatitis. This work establishes a key role for impaired skin barrier function in the development of atopic disease.     

Analysis of the human protein interactome and comparison with yeast, worm and fly interaction datasets

We present the first analysis of the human proteome with regard to interactions between proteins. We also compare the human interactome with the available interaction datasets from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), worm (Caenorhabditis elegans) and fly (Drosophila melanogaster). Of >70,000 binary interactions, only 42 were common to human, worm and fly, and only 16 were common to all four datasets. An additional 36 interactions were common to fly and worm but were not observed in humans, although a coimmunoprecipitation assay showed that 9 of the interactions do occur in humans. A re-examination of the connectivity of essential genes in yeast and humans indicated that the available data do not support the presumption that the number of interaction partners can accurately predict whether a gene is essential. Finally, we found that proteins encoded by genes mutated in inherited genetic disorders are likely to interact with proteins known to cause similar disorders, suggesting the existence of disease subnetworks. The human interaction map constructed from our analysis should facilitate an integrative systems biology approach to elucidating the cellular networks that contribute to health and disease states.