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This work investigated the impact of cutting tools varying edge radii by presenting a 3-dimensional finite element analysis (3D FEA) model during the milling of hardened steels. The proposed numerical model was able to capture the effect of micro geometrical changes between cutting tools of five different edge radii (25 μ m , 30 μ m , 35 μ m , 40 μ m , and 45 μ m). Experimental milling tests were performed to validate the numerical model and close agreement was reported between the experimentally acquired cutting forces and the numerically simulated ones. Results concluded that experimental and numerical cutting forces increased with the increase of edge radius. Furthermore, the effect of the five different edge radii and cutting conditions on the integrity of machined surfaces were studied. The integrity parameters of choice were surface roughness, feed marks pattern, subsurface plastic deformation, and subsurface microhardness. Results indicated that the surface roughness increased with increasing the feed rate and decreasing the cutting speed, and vice versa. However, altering the edge radius did not introduce a significant impact on the surface roughness. Results also revealed that increasing the edge radius made feed marks more visible and increased the subsurface plastic deformation and microhardness beneath the machined surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the flow of blood through a slanted stenosed artery beneath the impact of a magnetism field. The equations that control the behavior of blood use a type of derivative called Caputo Fabrizio time fractional derivatives. These equations explain that blood acts like a non-Newtonian Casson fluid. The objective of this study is to explore the governing equations of blood flow in a narrow artery by utilizing Caputo Fabrizio fractional derivatives. Using the Laplace and limited Hankel changes of arrange zero, expository arrangements for the overseeing conditions have been inferred. Using the Akbari Ganji method, simple math problems have been solved and transformed into simpler forms. Answers have been found using this method. This article introduces a new approach by applying the AGM analytical and numerical method to address dimensionless fractional equations related to velocity and pressure, in conjunction with the Capato method, marking a significant innovation. Generally, the velocity of the particles is slower than the velocity of the blood. Anyway, the Reynolds number and Casson's liquid parameters are incrementing in both blood and molecule velocities. However, blood velocity diminishes with an increment within the Hartmann number. These discoveries hold noteworthy suggestions for the progress of atherosclerosis treatment. The narrowing of the diameter of the blood vessel with a radius of 45° and a relative percentage of 35 increases the flow resistance and height of the stenosis.

Thermoplastic polymers are widely used in industry to generate parts with reasonable production costs, lightweight, chemical stability, sustainability, and recyclability compared to other materials such as metals, metalloids, or even thermoset polymers. The innovative additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, e.g., fused deposition modelling (FDM), can be used to fabricate thermoplastic products with complex geometries and specific properties. However, the mechanical integrity of those FDM-printed plastic parts can be greatly impacted by a phenomenon named material anisotropy. In this study, an experimental study on a popular 3D printing polymer material—acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)—is performed to determine how FDM process parameters affect the mechanical properties of the printed ABS parts. This study uniquely concentrates on investigating mechanical anisotropy in FDM-printed ABS, delving into a combination of key printing parameters for a comprehensive exploration. Meanwhile, a finite-element-based numerical analysis is also utilised to numerically evaluate the influences of infill percentage and build orientations on the mechanical properties of the 3D-printed ABS materials for comparison. It generates a better understanding of material anisotropy and helps to find the optimal FDM process parameters to print high-quality ABS parts and may attract industrial interests in transitioning from traditional ABS part production methods such as injection moulding or hot pressing to additive manufacturing.

We report pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) as the merely manifestation in a young man with covid 19. He had no any infectious presentation such as fever, headache, bone pain, cough, dyspnea and diarrhea. The Upsetting left pleuritic chest pain was the only compliant. Lung CT angiogram reported thrombus in the left and right pulmonary artery, but no any risk factor for PTE detected was found. According to high prevalence and world epidemic of the Covid 19, PCR was performed and then defined Corona virus 2.

Top-hat hollow-section beams are widely used in passenger vehicle’s body-in-white structure because of their proper shape for the montage process and also crashworthiness advantages. Hollow section beams with top-hat cross-section are mostly employed in structures like B-pillar, rocker sill, and roof rail which are engaged in side impact collisions. In the present investigation, simplified top-hat beams are developed based on a conventional B-pillar with the aim of improving energy absorption characteristics. Reinforcements are conducted by employing fiber glass-epoxy composite material. Three types of reinforced beams are presented which are either improved by composite-laminating, or by installation of an extra composite-made internal reinforcement. Experimental tests are performed in quasi-static three-point bending condition and based on results, a FE simulation is developed using LS-Dyna explicit code. Specimens are compared based on peak load, total energy absorption (TEA) and specific energy absorption (SEA) amounts. Also, to illustrate the extent of improvements, a not-reinforced top-hat beam is experimentally subjected under three-point bending test. Results depict a significant difference between the performance of beams reinforced by different methods. Comparison between specimens, considering their respective load-displacement diagram and crashworthiness characteristics, show that applying composite laminates to the inside surface of a hat-shaped beam would produce a beam with satisfying flexural behavior.

Summary: Drug development has been hampered by a high failure rate in clinical trials due to our incomplete understanding of drug functions across organs and species. Therefore, elucidating species- and tissue-specific drug functions can provide insights into therapeutic efficacy, potential adverse effects, and interspecies differences necessary for effective translational medicine. Here, we present PharmOmics, a drug knowledgebase and analytical tool that is hosted on an interactive web server. Using tissue- and species-specific transcriptome data from human, mouse, and rat curated from different databases, we implemented a gene-network-based approach for drug repositioning. We demonstrate the potential of PharmOmics to retrieve known therapeutic drugs and identify drugs with tissue toxicity using in silico performance assessment. We further validated predicted drugs for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in mice. By combining tissue- and species-specific in vivo drug signatures with gene networks, PharmOmics serves as a complementary tool to support drug characterization and network-based medicine.

INTRODUCTION: An important phase in the process of visual design for the narrative media is previsualization (previs). Professionals use complicated 3D software applications that are not especially designed for the purpose of previs which makes it difficult for the artists and non-technical users to create previs content.OBJECTIVES: The aim is to empower artists to express and visualize their ideas and creative capabilities in an optimal way.METHODS: We suggest using natural user interfaces (NUIs) and discuss suitable interactions for different previs tasks. We developed and evaluated a series of individual prototypes as well as a central overarching prototype following our NUI concepts.RESULTS: The results show that our NUI-based interaction methods were perceived highly positive and experts found it valuable for their work.CONCLUSION: With only a brief familiarization phase, NUIs can provide a convenient substitute to traditional design tools that require long training sessions.

Building envelopes separate the confined interior world engineered for human comfort and indoor activity from the exterior world with its uncontainable climatic forces and man-made immission. In the future, active, sustainable and lightweight building skins are needed to serve as an adaptive interface to govern the building-physical interactions between these two worlds. This article provides conceptual and experimental results regarding the integration of ionic electroactive polymer sensors and actuators into fabric membranes. The ultimate goal is to use this technology for adaptive membrane building skins. These devices have attracted high interest from industry and academia due to their small actuation voltages, relatively large actuation and sensing responses and their flexible and soft mechanical characteristics. However, their complex manufacturing process, sophisticated material compositions and their environmental sensitivity have limited the application range until now. The article describes the potentials and limitations of employing such devices for two different adaptive building functionalities: first, as a means of ventilation control and humidity regulation by embedding small actuated apertures into a fabric membrane, and second, as flexible, energy- and cost-efficient distributed sensors for external load monitoring of such structures. The article focusses on designing, building and testing two experimental membrane demonstrators with integrated polymer actuators and sensors. It addresses the challenges encountered and draws conclusions for potential future optimization at the device and system level.

Objectives Latent toxoplasmosis modifies various hormones and behaviors in infected hosts and possibly involves in etiology of different neurologic and psychiatric disorders. The aim of the current study was to assess possible associations between latent toxoplasmosis and testosterone concentration in Toxoplasma infected and free subjects. Briefly, 18–49 year-old participated in the study. After collected blood samples, sera were analyzed for the detection of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibody. Totally, 76 positive sera were selected as study group (38 from men and 38 from women) and a same number of negative sera as control group. Results Comparison of testosterone concentrations and control groups showed that testosterone concentration in study group was higher than that in control group with statistically significant difference (P = 0.024 and P = 0.043 for men and women, respectively). Significant differences were found in testosterone concentrations and anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibody levels in study and control groups (P

Introduction: Bioremediation is an effective, inexpensive and environmental friendly manner for removing oil pollutions. Studding the biodiversity of indigenous microorganisms and their function is very important for bioremediation strategy selection and performance. This study was aimed to investigate the rule of Bacillus species in bioremediation of diesel contaminated soil. Materials and Methods: Soil microcosms were prepared by adding 2 and 4% (W/W) of diesel to the soil. A control microcosm without diesel contamination was also set up. Microcosms were amended with nitrogen and phosphate sources and water (20%) and in a six month study period and parameters includingdiesel degradation, heterotrophic bacterial count and Bacillus spp. diversity by 16S rRNA PCR-DGGE were studied. Results: The results showed that in 2% microcosm up to 50% and in 4% microcosm up to 44.44% of diesel were degraded after six months. The increase of bacterial count was completely coincided with the highest diesel removal rate. The count of heterotrophic bacteria in 2 and 4% microcosms was elevated from 2Í108 to 2Í1011 and 2Í1012 at the highest point, respectively. Accordingly, introduction of the diesel stimulated the native soil bacteria and the amount of pollution was determinative in bioremediation efficiency. Discussion and conclusion: Comparison of the pattern of DGGE bands variation between the microcosms showed that by entry of the contaminant into the soil, the diversity of Bacillus species was increased, indicating that Bacillus species has a particular role in diesel degradation. Simultaneous with decline of the pollution and microbial count of the soil, diversity of DGGE bands was decreased. Out of these findings we may conclude that addition of diesel as a carbon source to the soil increases the Bacillus spp. diversity at the beginning of bioremediation and afterwards by elimination of the pollutant, the diversity decreases gradually and shifts back to its original structure.

Optical frequency conversion in chip-scale devices enables crucial applications in myriad fields, such as optical communication, spectroscopy, and sensing. With large nonlinearities and the possibility of monolithic pump laser integration coexisting within the same platform, compound semiconductor is a choice of material superior to many others. In this work, we demonstrate an intracavity difference frequency generation, electrically pumped diode lasers with external input signal beam. Thanks to exact phase matching and large bulk nonlinearity in the laser structures reported, there is a normalized internal conversion efficiency of 169% W−1 cm−2. We also demonstrate a broad tuning range between 1486 nm and 1686 nm, or 24 THz, which spans the S-C-L-U telecommunications bands.

Immune cells are vital constituents of the adipose microenvironment that influence both local and systemic lipid metabolism. Mice lacking IL10 have enhanced thermogenesis, but the roles of specific cell types in the metabolic response to IL10 remain to be defined. We demonstrate here that selective loss of IL10 receptor α in adipocytes recapitulates the beneficial effects of global IL10 deletion, and that local crosstalk between IL10-producing immune cells and adipocytes is a determinant of thermogenesis and systemic energy balance. Single Nuclei Adipocyte RNA-sequencing (SNAP-seq) of subcutaneous adipose tissue defined a metabolically-active mature adipocyte subtype characterized by robust expression of genes involved in thermogenesis whose transcriptome was selectively responsive to IL10Rα deletion. Furthermore, single-cell transcriptomic analysis of adipose stromal populations identified lymphocytes as a key source of IL10 production in response to thermogenic stimuli. These findings implicate adaptive immune cell-adipocyte communication in the maintenance of adipose subtype identity and function.

This study characterizes and compares coffee chaff (CC) and spent coffee grounds (SCG), the two most useful coffee waste products, and evaluates their performance as fillers and/or reinforcing agents in polymer composites. The morphologies of the CC and the SCG were studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Detailed compositional and elemental analyses of the samples were carried out using several techniques. The thermal stabilities of the two types of biomass were evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Infrared spectroscopy was performed to investigate the functional groups available on the surface of the biomass. It was found that the CC had higher thermal stability, lower fat content, and a denser fibrous structure than the SCG, making it potentially a more suitable material than the SCG for use as a reinforcing filler in polymer composites. To verify this potential, CC and SCG filled polypropylene composites were produced and evaluated.

This study aims to deal with a more realistic combined problem of project scheduling and material ordering. The goal is to minimize the total material holding and ordering costs by determining the starting time of activities along with material ordering schedules subject to some constraints. The problem is first mathematically modelled. Then a hybrid simulated annealing and genetic algorithm is proposed tosolve it. In addition, some experiments are designed and the Taguchi method is employed to both tune the parameters of the proposed algorithm and to evaluate its performance. The results of the performance analysis show the efficiency of the proposed methodology.

Introduction: Cytotoxic T-cell lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) is a member of the super family of immunoglobulins that are mainly expressed by activated Tcells. It is established that blockade of CTLA-4 receptors leads to the enhancement of an immune response. Different polymorphisms of the CTLA-4 gene have been described which cause increased susceptibility to various malignancies such as lymphoma or multiple myeloma. Considering that bladder cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide, we have evaluated the role of CTLA-4 gene polymorphism at position +49 A/G in the formation or progression of bladder cancer in southern Iran.Materials and Methods: A total of 226 individuals between February 2005 and June 2006 were included and placed into two subgroups: patients diagnosed with bladder cancer and a control group. Demographic data and risk factors were collected from both groups. The DNA of all subjects was extracted from their blood samples. Different genotypes of the CTLA-4 gene were determined using the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique and data were compared in both groups by using Pearson's chi-square test.Results: The prevalence of AA, AG and GG genotypes at position 49, according to the PCR-RFLP method, were 57.5%, 37.2% and 5.3% in the control group, respectively. In the patient group, the prevalence of these genotypes was: AA in 57.5%, AG in 32.7% and GG in 9.8%. Statistical analysis of data showed no significant difference in both groups (P value=0.40). Also there was no correlation between different genotypes of the CTLA-4 gene and invasiveness of the disease in our cases.Conclusion: Although polymorphism of the CTLA-4 gene at position 49 of exon-1 increases susceptibility to several malignancies, our study showed no relationship between polymorphism at this position and genetic susceptibility to the development of bladder cancer, nor was there any association with disease progression.

A significant percentage of unaccounted-for water consists of leakage in water distribution networks in Iran. To detect leakage area with less costs and time spending and then identify the exact place of it with special instruments, would be economical and a better water resource management. In this research, a real case has been selected and examined with dynamic simulation using MIKE NET. The method that has been carried out in this research based on maximizing the correlation coefficient and minimizing the sum of error squares between pressure measured inputs (observed data) and calculated pressure (by model). According to the results, dynamic simulation of municipal water distribution system can be used as a guide to determine the place and the amount of leakage.Thereby the area of large leakage can be simulated with appropriate accuracy through measured pressure. Therefor from management aspect, dynamic simulation can be used to decrease time consumption and to save costs for detecting leakage.

The character of height and density of newly high-rise cities, along with the force of globalization, have jeopardized the character of dwellings once entailing a regional flavor. The critical regionalism which serves as a resistant medium against placelessness and lack of identity in the International Style has focused more on mid-rise or low-rise solutions rather than providing direct high-rise resolutions. Additionally, high-rise endeavors are not compatible with critical regionalism theories. This has happened partly due to critical regionalism theories multi-facet character inherent in its dialectic structure. Thus, to remedy the inadvertency of texts in the discourse of architectural regionalism, the present study seeks rethinking of critical regionalism by focusing on the pathology of high-rise buildings in the issues pertaining to place and identity. Finally, the architectonic articulation to place-making and identity-giving is discussed.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is a major cause of cancer-related death in China. Immunotherapies based on PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have improved the survival of some patients with GC. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency, and tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) markers (such as CD3, CD8, and PD-L1) may help to identify specific patients who will respond to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Considering racial heterogeneity, the pattern of TIME markers in Tibetan patients with GC is still unclear. We aimed to identify the prevalence of EBV infection and the MMR status and their association with immune markers in Tibetan GC to aid in patient selection for immunotherapy., Materials and Methods: From 2001 to 2015, we retrospectively collected 120 tissue samples from consecutive Tibetan GC patients and constructed tissue microarrays. EBV infection was assessed by Epstein-Barr-encoded RNA (EBER) in situ hybridization, and MMR protein levels were measured. Immune markers (including CD3 and CD8) in intraepithelial, stromal, and total areas were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). PD-L1 expression was assessed by the combined positive score (CPS). We also analyzed the relationships of EBV infection and MMR status with immune markers., Results: Of the 120 samples, 11 (9.17%) were EBV positive (+), and 6 (5%) were MMR deficient (dMMR). PD-L1 CPS ≥1% was found in 32.5% (39/120) of Tibetan GC patients. EBV infection was associated with higher numbers of CD3+ T cells ( P < 0.05) and CD8+ T cells ( P < 0.05) and higher PD-L1 expression ( P < 0.05). For the limited number of dMMR patients, no significant relationship was observed between dMMR and TIME markers ( P > 0.05)., Conclusions: In Tibetan GC patients, the rates of EBV infection, dMMR, and positive PD-L1 expression were 9.17%, 5%, and 32.5%, respectively. EBV infection was associated with the numbers of CD3+ T cells and CD8+ T cells and PD-L1 expression within the tumor. These markers may guide the selection of Tibetan GC patients for immunotherapy., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2022 Jie Shi et al.)

Graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs) are quickly revolutionizing modern electronics, energy generation and storage, clothing and biomedical devices. Due to GBN's variety of physical and chemical parameters that define their toxicity and their aggregation in suspension, interpreting its toxicology without accurate information on graphene's distribution and behavior in live organisms is challenging. In this work, we present a laser-based optical detection methodology for noninvasive detection and pharmacokinetics analysis of GBNs directly in blood flow in mice using in vivo photoacoustic (PA) flow cytometry (PAFC). PAFC provides unique insight on how chemical modifications of GBNs affect their distribution in blood circulation and how quickly they are eliminated from the flow. Overall, PAFC provided unique data crucial for understanding GBN toxicity through real-time detection of GBNs using their intrinsic light absorption contrast. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., (Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Understanding cell biology greatly benefits from the development of advanced diagnostic probes. Here we introduce a 22-nm spaser (plasmonic nanolaser) with the ability to serve as a super-bright, water-soluble, biocompatible probe capable of generating stimulated emission directly inside living cells and animal tissues. We have demonstrated a lasing regime associated with the formation of a dynamic vapour nanobubble around the spaser that leads to giant spasing with emission intensity and spectral width >100 times brighter and 30-fold narrower, respectively, than for quantum dots. The absorption losses in the spaser enhance its multifunctionality, allowing for nanobubble-amplified photothermal and photoacoustic imaging and therapy. Furthermore, the silica spaser surface has been covalently functionalized with folic acid for molecular targeting of cancer cells. All these properties make a nanobubble spaser a promising multimodal, super-contrast, ultrafast cellular probe with a single-pulse nanosecond excitation for a variety of in vitro and in vivo biomedical applications.

A major benefit to nanomaterial based-medicine is the ability to provide nanosized vehicles for sporadic metabolites. Here, we describe how the conjugation of valuable ginseng secondary metabolites (ginsenoside Rb1 or Rg1) with carbon nanotubes (CNT) can enhance their anti-proliferative and anti-cancer effects. Ginsenoside-CNT conjugate (Rb-CNT or Rg-CNT) permitted the ginsenosides to be used at a low dose, yet achieve a higher incidence of cancer killing. We were able to demonstrate that the ginsenoside-CNT conjugate can decrease cell viability up to 62% in breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and enhance antiproliferation of drug-resistant pancreatic cancer cells (PANC-1) by 61%. The interaction of the ginsenoside-CNT conjugate with breast cancer cells was studied using Raman Spectroscopy mapping. Total transcriptome profiling (Affymetrix platform) of MCF-7 cells treated with the ginsenoside-CNT conjugate shows that a number of cellular, apoptotic and response to stimulus processes were affected. Therefore, our data confirmed the potential use of CNT as a drug delivery system.

Background: Cancer cell chemoresistance is one of the major limitations to successful cancer treatment and one of the factors that is responsible for the possible recurrence of the disease. Here, we aimed to combine a calcium-channel blocker, verapamil, with an alternative delivery of the anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin, using nanostructural materials. This approach could reduce the cellular resistance to chemotherapeutics agents., Results: The outcome of this complex approach on cellular viability was investigated by using various assays in both a time- and concentration-dependent manner: WST-1, flow cytometry cell viability assay, fluorescence microscopy, DNA fragmentation, and TUNEL labeling of apoptotic cells., Conclusion: All of these analytical assays confirmed the ability to reduce the chemoresistance of the cancer cells based on the proposed procedure.

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) affected seed germination, growth, and the development of three important crops (barley, soybean, corn). Early seed germination and activation of growth in exposed seedlings was observed when MWCNTs were added to sterile agar medium. Similarly, seed germination was activated for all tested crop species when MWCNTs were deposited on seed surfaces. The ability of MWCNTs to penetrate the seed coats of corn, barley, and soybean was proven by detection of nanotube agglomerates inside MWCNT-exposed seeds using Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis revealed that the expression of genes encoding several types of water channel proteins was increased in soybean, corn, and barley seeds coated with MWCNTs compared with uncoated control seeds. Our results indicate that the positive effect of MWCNTs on the germination and growth of seedlings is reproducible between crop species and can be observed for different methods of delivering carbon nanotubes. Such studies could prove the significant potential of carbon nanotubes as regulators of germination and plant growth.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were covalently linked to epidermal growth factor (EGF) proteins through an esterification process that was found to be responsible for the docking of SWCNTs on the human pancreatic cancer cells (PANC-1) surface, thus providing a mechanism for the enhanced delivery and internalization of the nanotubes. Micro Raman spectroscopy and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to evaluate the delivery process and kinetics of the SWCNTs. In vitro studies indicated that the delivery kinetics of SWCNT-EGF conjugates, at a concentration of 85 µg ml(-1), to the PANC-1 cell surfaces was significant in the first 30 min of incubation, but reached a plateau with time in accordance with the establishment of equilibrium between the association and the dissociation of EGF with the cell receptors. SWCNT-EGF conjugates could act as strong thermal ablation agents and could induce higher percentages of cellular death compared with the nontargeted SWCNTs alone., (Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)