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Iron matrix syntactic foams with four different glass microsphere fractions were prepared via powder metallurgy. Effects of compaction pressure and lubricant addition on the microstructure and the mechanical properties were investigated. It was observed that matrix densification and fracture, softening, shrinkage, and bonding of the microspheres tended to increase with the compaction pressures. The compaction pressure incurring microsphere fractures was in inverse ratio to the microsphere fraction. The fracture and softened microspheres degraded onset of plateau stress values proportionally to the microsphere fractions at low compaction pressure, while enhanced and stabilized them at about 240 MPa at higher pressures regardless of the microsphere fraction, owing to increased load bearing capacity by a formation of solid particle-like microspheres. The lubricant formed pores in the matrix or accelerated densification and microsphere fractures depending on the microsphere fractions, while it had no significant effect on mechanical characteristics except brittleness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal fly dust (CFD)-induced asthma model is used as an ambient particulate matter model of serious pulmonary damage. We aimed to evaluate the effects of a combination of ginseng and Salvia plebeia R. Br extract (KGC-03-PS; KG3P) and its individual components (hispidulin, nepetin and rosmarinic acid) in a CFD-induced mouse model of airway inflammation (asthma). We also evaluated signal transduction by KG3P and its individual components in the alveolar macrophage cell line, MH-S cells. In vitro, KG3P and its individual components inhibited nitric oxide production and expression of pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines (iNOS, COX-2, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) through the NF-κB and MAPK pathways in coal fly ash (CFA)-induced inflammation in MH-S cells. Moreover, in the CFD-induced asthma model in mice, KG3P and its predominant individual component, nepetin, inhibited Asymmetric Dimethyl arginine (ADMA) and Symmetric Dimethyl arginine (SDMA) in serum, and decreased the histopathologic score in the lungs. A significant reduction in the neutrophils and immune cells in BALF and lung tissue was demonstrated, with significant reduction in the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines. Finally, IRAK-1 localization was also potently inhibited by KG3P and nepetin. Thus, KG3P extract can be considered as a potent candidate for amelioration of airway inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of seismic profiling aimed to characterize the structure of shallow formation in the Geoncheon Valley (GCV), an area we interpreted as the north tip of the Miryang Fault This profile was deployed in the GCV, near the City of Gyeongju, Republic of Korea. The Miryang Fault is one of the major faults of the Yangsan Fault System in the Cretaceous Gyeongsang Basin, the southeastern Korean Peninsula. Despite local earthquake records showing scattered micro-seismicity along the trace of Miryang Fault, other geophysical and geological information is rare. The location of the GCV is tectonically critical: it is on the major stratigraphic boundary in the Cretaceous Gyeongsang Basin: the Hayang Group (dominantly sedimentary rocks) to the north and Yucheon Group (volcanic and volcanoclastic rocks) to the south. The surface expression of the Miryang Fault in this area is difficult to define by geomorphology since the surface is covered by highly altered cultivated farmlands. We tackle this problem by conducting seismic profiling. On a 1,200-m long linear profile, we deployed a dense array using 3-component seismic sensors and acquired both passive and active seismic data. The passive seismic data acquisition lasted about 12 days. At the end of the deployment period directly before withdrawing the array, an active survey using a sledgehammer source was also conducted. The integrated seismic cross-section displays significant segmentation in the texture of the seismic image, the sediment-bedrock interface is between less than 10 meters to slightly greater than 20 meters with a general trend of dipping to the southeast. The preliminary seismic results suggest that it is likely the Miryang Fault terminates inside the GCV, and the type of tip damage zone appears to be a group of horsetail splays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]