Search

Background Previous studies have shown that monotherapy with apatinib, an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has promising efficacy for treating recurrent or metastatic (RM) nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. In this study, we aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of apatinib combined with capecitabine as a second-line therapy or beyond for treating RM-NPC patients who failed the first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Methods In this single-arm, phase II study, we enrolled RM-NPC patients who had at least one measurable lesion according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST v1.1). The sample size was determined using Simon’s two-stage design. All patients were administered with apatinib 500 mg once daily and capecitabine 1000 mg/m2 twice per day on days 1–14 of each 21-day cycle. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR), and the secondary endpoints comprised disease control rate (DCR), duration of response (DoR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. Results We enrolled 64 patients from September 2018 to August 2020. The ORR and DCR were 39.1% (95% CI, 27.1–52.1) and 85.9% (95% CI, 75.0–93.4), respectively. The median DoR was 14.4 months (95% CI, 7.8–21.0). As of April 20, 2021, the median follow-up duration was 12.0 months. The median PFS was 7.5 months (95% CI, 5.0–10.0) and the median OS was 15.7 months (95% CI, 11.3–20.1). The most common toxicities of any grade were anemia (75.0%), hand-foot syndrome (65.6%), and proteinuria (64.0%). Grade 3–4 toxicities were observed in 36 (56.3%) patients, with hypertension (14.1%), mucositis (12.4%), and fatigue (10.9%) most commonly observed. Conclusions Apatinib plus capecitabine shows promising efficacy as a second-line treatment option in pretreated platinum-refractory RM-NPC patients. Dose selection of this combination needs further investigation considering the toxicity. Trial registration Chi-CTR1800017229.

Background & objective “Anti-angiogenetic drugs plus chemotherapy” (anti-angio-chemo) and “immune checkpoint inhibitors plus chemotherapy” (ICI-chemo) are superior to traditional chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, in the absence of a direct comparison of ICI-chemo with anti-angio-chemo, the superior one between them has not been decided, and the benefit of adding anti-angiogenetic agents to ICI-chemo remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the role of antiangiogenic agents for advanced NSCLC in the era of immunotherapy. Methods Eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing chemotherapy versus therapeutic regimens involving ICIs or anti-angiogenetic drugs were included. Outcomes included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), and rate of grade 3–4 toxicity assessment. R-4.3.1 was utilized to perform the analysis. Results A total of 54 studies with a sample size of 25,046 were finally enrolled. “Atezolizumab + Bevacizumab + Chemotherapy” significantly improved the ORR compared with “Atezolizumab + Chemotherapy” (Odds ratio (OR) = 2.73, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.27–5.87). The trend also favored “Atezolizumab + Bevacizumab + Chemotherapy” in PFS and OS (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.39–1.31; HR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.77–1.16, respectively). In addition, “Pembrolizumab + Chemotherapy” and “Camrelizumab + Chemotherapy” significantly prolonged the PFS compared to “Bevacizumab + Chemotherapy” (HR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.46–0.92; HR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.41–0.97; respectively). Meanwhile, “Pembrolizumab + Chemotherapy” and “Sintilimab + Chemotherapy” yielded more OS benefits than “Bevacizumab + Chemotherapy” (HR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.56–0.83; HR = 0.64, 95%CI: 0.46–0.91; respectively). Scheme between “Atezolizumab + Bevacizumab + Chemotherapy” and “Atezolizumab + Chemotherapy” made no significant difference (OR = 1.18, 95%CI: 0.56–2.42) concerning the rate of grade 3–4 toxicity. It seemed that ICI-chemo yielded more improvement in quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) than “Bevacizumab + Chemotherapy” in cost-effectiveness analysis. Conclusion Our results suggest that ICI-chemo is associated with potentially longer survival, better cost-effectiveness outcomes, and comparable safety profiles than anti-angio-chemo. Also, adding bevacizumab to ICI-chemo seemed to provide additional therapeutic benefits without adding treatment burden. Our findings would supplement the current standard of care and help the design of future clinical trials for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC.

This work studies the solidification processes and microstructures of Zr55Cu30Al10Ni5 (at. pct) and Cu64Zr36 (at. pct) amorphous alloy sheets fabricated by twin-roll strip casting. A largely excessive volume was frozen in the alloy during the twin-roll strip-casting process, resulting in many soft regions and the inhomogeneity of the microstructure in the amorphous alloy sheet. The results provide insights into the solidification process of amorphous alloys and guidelines for adjusting their microstructure.

The research and application of digital twin (DT) technology have brought new technical means to the development of many fields. Many problems still exist in the manufacturing process of large and complex products, and the manufacturing industry seeks new breakthroughs. Research on DT workshops provides new ideas for technological innovation in manufacturing. To improve the production quality and efficiency of marine diesel engines (MDE), in this paper, a DT workshop is constructed for MDE manufacturing. A DT-based application framework is proposed, and based on it, physical workshop, bridge module, and virtual workshop are illustrated in detail. In the process of building the DT workshop, an object-oriented DT modeling method and a virtual and real data-fusion method are proposed. Besides the method of virtual workshop construction, the DT-based service platform, and the data interaction mechanism within the physical-virtual workshop are applied in the case study.

Tuning eutectoid carbides through tailoring austenitization parameters offers an alternative pathway for the ductility enhancement of high-speed steels. This study probes the origin of austenitization-dependent eutectoid reaction and revisits the role of primary carbides in the annealing process. The increase of austenitization temperature and/or duration produces more rod-shaped eutectoid carbides while suppressing their granular counterparts, corresponding to a transition of eutectoid transformation from a divorced mode to a lamellar manner. Primary carbides can serve as chemical conditioners of the austenite as well as nucleation substrates of eutectoid carbides. Austenitization conditions determine the dissolution of primary carbides and concurrently affect the two essential factors of eutectoid reaction modes, i.e., the inter-particle spacing and the undercooling, thereby causing the austenitization dependence of eutectoid carbides in high-speed steels.

Mechanical properties of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) with the face-centered cubic (fcc) structure strongly depend on their initial grain orientations. However, the orientation-dependent mechanical responses and the underlying plastic flow mechanisms of such alloys are not yet well understood. Here, deformation of the equiatomic FeMnCoCrNi HEA with various initial orientations under uniaxial tensile testing has been studied by using atomistic simulations, showing the results consistent with the recent experiments on fcc HEAs. The quantitative analysis of the activated deformation modes shows that the initiation of stacking faults is the main plastic deformation mechanism for the crystals initially oriented with [001], [111], and [112], and the total dislocation densities in these crystals are higher than that with the [110] and [123] orientations. Stacking faults, twinning, and hcp-martensitic transformation jointly promote the plastic deformation of the [110] orientation, and twinning in this crystal is more significant than that with other orientations. Deformation in the crystal oriented with [123] is dominated by the hcp-martensite transformation. Comparison of the mechanical behaviors in the FeMnCoCrNi alloy and the conventional materials, i.e. Cu and Fe50Ni50, has shown that dislocation slip tends to be activated more readily in the HEA. This is attributed to the larger lattice distortion in the HEA than the low-entropy materials, leading to the lower critical stress for dislocation nucleation and elastic–plastic transition in the former. In addition, the FeMnCoCrNi HEA with the larger lattice distortion leads to an enhanced capacity of storing dislocations. However, for the [001]-oriented HEA in which dislocation slip and stacking fault are the dominant deformation mechanisms, the limited deformation modes activated are insufficient to improve the work hardening ability of the material.

Advanced materials for electrocatalytic water splitting applications have been sought-after considering both environmental and economic requirements. However, the traditional materials design concept limits the exploration of high-performance catalysts. The born of a materials design concept based on multiple elements, high-entropy materials, provides a promising path to break the shackles of compositional design in materials science. A number of high-entropy materials were reported to show remarkable properties for electrocatalytic water splitting applications. High-entropy materials were widely confirmed to be one kind of the best electrocatalysts for water splitting applications. Due to the synergy of multiple metal components, they show excellent catalytic activity. Several nontraditional methods were developed and reported to prepare high-performance high-entropy materials. This review article presents the recent progress on high-entropy materials for electrocatalytic water splitting applications. Moreover, it presents the research interests and future prospects in this field.

The improvement of recrystallization texture and magnetic properties in grain-oriented electrical steel with trace Bi addition processed by strip casting process was studied in this study. Low casting temperature and sufficient liquid steel flow during strip casting process enabled relatively homogeneous distribution of Bi in the as-cast strip, which accelerated the precipitation during solidification and cooling process. As a result, relatively high density of duplex MnS + AlN, MnS and AlN was formed at grain boundaries and inside grain. Due to the synergistic effect of continuous precipitation and fragmentation of coarse precipitates during cold rolling, the number density of precipitates was increased and mean size was decreased along the processing route. High density of precipitates is attributed to severe inhomogeneous plastic deformation, which promoted the formation of high density in-grain shear bands during cold rolling and recrystallization Goss texture during annealing. Homogeneous microstructure with average grain size of ~ 11.6 μm, strong Goss texture with intensity of 2.5 multiples of random distribution, fine precipitates with number density of ~ 1.9 × 109 /cm2 and mean size of ~ 49 nm were formed after primary recrystallization annealing. Furthermore, grain-oriented electrical steel with Bi addition experienced complete secondary recrystallization of exact Goss grains during high-temperature annealing, which is attributed to beneficial optimization of Goss texture and strong inhibition effect, and superior magnetic induction B8 of 1.91 T was obtained. It is expected that this study paves a new way for fabrication of high-performance grain-oriented electrical steel.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), the enzyme that catabolizes tryptophan (Trp) metabolism to promote regulatory T cells (Tregs) and suppress CD8+ T cells, is regulated by several intrinsic signaling pathways. Here, we found that tobacco smoke, a major public health concern that kills 8 million people each year worldwide, induced IDO1 in normal and malignant lung epithelial cells in vitro and in vivo. The carcinogen nicotine-derived nitrosaminoketone (NNK) was the tobacco compound that upregulated IDO1 via activation of the transcription factor c-Jun, which has a binding site for the IDO1 promoter. The NNK receptor α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) was required for NNK-induced c-Jun activation and IDO1 upregulation. In A/J mice, NNK reduced CD8+ T cells and increased Tregs. Clinically, smoker patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) exhibited high IDO1 levels and low Trp/kynurenine (Kyn) ratios. In NSCLC patients, smokers with lower IDO1 responded better to anti-PD1 antibody treatment than those with higher IDO1. These data indicate that tobacco smoke induces IDO1 to catabolize Trp metabolism and immune suppression to promote carcinogenesis, and lower IDO1 might be a potential biomarker for anti-PD1 antibodies in smoker patients, whereas IDO1-high smoker patients might benefit from IDO1 inhibitors in combination with anti-PD1 antibodies.

The climatic warming and humidification observed in the arid region of Northwest China (ARNC) and their impacts on the ecological environment have become an issue of concern. The associated multi-scale characteristics and environmental responses are currently poorly understood. Using data from satellite remote sensing, field observations, and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6, this paper systematically analyzes the process and scale characteristics of the climatic warming and humidification in the ARNC and their impacts on ecological vegetation. The results show that not only have temperature and precipitation increased significantly in the ARNC over the past 60 years, but the increasing trend of precipitation is also obviously intensifying. The dryness index, which comprehensively considers the effects of precipitation and temperature, has clearly decreased, and the trend in humidification has increased. Spatially, the trend of temperature increase has occurred over the entire region, while 93.4% of the region has experienced an increase in precipitation, suggesting a spatially consistent climatic warming and humidification throughout the ARNC. Long-term trends and interannual changes in temperature and precipitation dominate the changes in climatic warming and humidification. Compared to interannual variations in temperature, the trend change of temperature contributes more to the overall temperature change. However, the contribution of interannual variations in precipitation is greater than that of the precipitation trend to the overall precipitation change. The current climatic warming and humidification generally promote the growth of ecological vegetation. Since the 1980s, 82.4% of the regional vegetation has thrived. The vegetation index has a significant positive correlation with precipitation and temperature. However, it responds more significantly to interannual precipitation variation, although the vegetation response varies significantly under different types of land use. The warming and humidification of the climate in the ARNC are probably related to intensifications of the westerly wind circulation and ascending air motions. They are expected to continue in the future, although the strength of the changes will probably be insufficient to significantly change the basic climate pattern in the ARNC. The results of this study provide helpful information for decision making related to China’s “Belt and Road” development strategies.

Given the sub-rapid solidification characteristics of twin-roll strip casting (TRSC), the solidification structure and growth process of precipitates during aging treatment were studied. The results showed that TRSC could refine the solidification structure and inhibit the microsegregation of Cu-3.2Ni-0.75Si alloy. During aging treatment, the precipitates mainly consisted of rod β-Ni3Si and disk δ-Ni2Si. The precipitate size was increased by increasing the aging time, which altered the mechanism of precipitation strengthening. Also, the experimental results indicated that precipitate strengthening arises either from the cutover mechanism or from the Orowan mechanism. Furthermore, the Avrami equation, which describes the kinetics of phase transformation and electrical conductivity during aging were established for the Cu-Ni-Si alloy, and the calculated results are consistent with the data. The Cu-3.2Ni-0.75Si alloy after aging treatment at 450 °C for 4 h exhibited optimum performance, and the tensile strength and electrical conductivity were as high as 711 MPa and 43.2% IACS, respectively.

Limited cold formability has been a longstanding challenge for processing high-speed steels. In this study, we probe the relationship between the ductility and eutectoid carbides. The results show that larger-fractioned eutectoid carbides are formed and gradually evolve from granular M6C to rod-shaped M23C6 with increasing annealing duration. Rod-shaped M23C6 carbides have limited shear resistance and are readily sheared by dislocations at large strains, which deteriorates work-hardening abilities and the ductility. Highly dispersive M6C eutectoid carbides are desirable for the ductility enhancement of annealed high-speed steels.

This paper aims to propose a digital twin-driven (DTD) approach that consists of the machining data (MD) in twin data (TD), design of MD acquisition methodology, construction of intelligent algorithm, real-virtual data interaction analysis and fusion technology, which improvs the predictability and management of on-line quality control of marine diesel engine (MDE) critical parts. Firstly, this paper introduces the theoretical framework of DTD on-line quality control in machining process. Secondly, we construct the process of DTD on-line quality control and introduce the digital twin model of on-line quality control based on TD-driven; the operation of data-driven quality on-line control based on digital twin including description and modeling of MD; acquisition of MD based on digital twin; TD-driven on-line tool life prediction and data fusion on-line machining parameters optimization methods. Finally, a case study is applied to validate the accuracy and availability of the DTD approach. The proposed approach provides a new way for the on-line quality control of MDE critical parts in machining process.

In lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), separators play a vital role in lithium-ion (Li+) transport, and thus affect rate performance, battery life, and safety. Here, a new kind of multifunctional copolymer poly(acrylonitrile-co-lithium acrylate-co-butyl acrylate) (PAAB-Li) is synthesized through soap-free emulsion polymerization, and is used to form homogeneous-covered separator based on PP matrix by a simple dip-annealing process. Compared to the bare PP separator, the modified separators with PAAB-Li enable higher ionic conductivity, higher lithium ion transference number (increased from 0.360 to 0.525), and lower interface impedance (reduced from 155 Ω to 34 Ω). It has been indicated that PAAB-Li functional layer significantly promotes the fast transport of Li+ and improves the compatibility of the separator/electrolyte-electrode interface. The LiCoO2/graphite cells with the PAAB-Li-assisted separator demonstrate excellent cycle stability and rate performance. In addition, the Li symmetric cells with the modified separator stably cycle over 800 h, indicating the functional layer effectively suppresses the lithium dendrite growth. This facile strategy can be easily applied to LIBs requiring high safety and even be scalable to Li metal batteries. Moreover, the possible mechanism of the PAAB-Li functional layer promoting fast and uniform Li+ transport is discussed in this paper.

Two new phenylpropanoids, named stytonkinol A (1) and stytonkinol B (2), have been isolated from the resin of Styrax tonkinensis (Pierre) Craib ex Hartw. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR, and HR-ESI–MS. Two isolated compounds were assayed for cytotoxic activities against five tumor cell lines (HepG-2, A549, Hela, MCF-7, and PC-3) by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) test in vitro. The cytotoxic effectiveness observed against Hela, and MCF-7 cell lines of compound 1 were superior or similar to the positive control cisplatin (IC50 values of 40.95 and 47.36 μM), with IC50 values of 26.75 and 45.16 μM, respectively, while it showed moderate cytotoxic activities against the HepG-2 and PC-3 cell lines. Compound 2 showed moderate cytotoxic activities on cells MCF-7 with IC50 values of 57.1 μM.

One key challenge for tailoring microstructure of high-speed steel (HSS) is to obtain small-sized carbides with a homogeneous distribution. Although diffusion annealing followed by post-deformation offers an opportunity to refine carbides, it requires high annealing temperatures and large strains. In this study, we employ a pre-compression step and examine its role in following carbide decomposition and spheroidization. The result shows that pre-deformation may introduce dislocations into M2C carbides and hence triggers a significant enhancement of M2C decomposition into M6C and MC. Structural defects in M2C act as potential nucleation sites of new precipitates and activate an alternative decomposition pathway via nucleation along dislocations or intersections of stacking faults and dislocations. The decomposition enhancement effect exhibits a dependence on strain and temperature, which may originate from a temperature-mediated balance between dislocation densities and element diffusion rates in M2C carbides. Compared with post-deformation, pre-deformation facilitates carbide spheroidization and enables smaller carbides as well as higher tempered hardness. This may offer an alternate pathway for carbide refinement in HSS.

Background Chloroplast transfer RNAs (tRNAs) can participate in various vital processes. Gymnosperms have important ecological and economic value, and they are the dominant species in forest ecosystems in the Northern Hemisphere. However, the evolution and structural changes in chloroplast tRNAs in gymnosperms remain largely unclear. Results In this study, we determined the nucleotide evolution, phylogenetic relationships, and structural variations in 1779 chloroplast tRNAs in gymnosperms. The numbers and types of tRNA genes present in the chloroplast genomes of different gymnosperms did not differ greatly, where the average number of tRNAs was 33 and the frequencies of occurrence for various types of tRNAs were generally consistent. Nearly half of the anticodons were absent. Molecular sequence variation analysis identified the conserved secondary structures of tRNAs. About a quarter of the tRNA genes were found to contain precoded 3′ CCA tails. A few tRNAs have undergone novel structural changes that are closely related to their minimum free energy, and these structural changes affect the stability of the tRNAs. Phylogenetic analysis showed that tRNAs have evolved from multiple common ancestors. The transition rate was higher than the transversion rate in gymnosperm chloroplast tRNAs. More loss events than duplication events have occurred in gymnosperm chloroplast tRNAs during their evolutionary process. Conclusions These findings provide novel insights into the molecular evolution and biological characteristics of chloroplast tRNAs in gymnosperms.

The influence of solution treatment temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of hot rolled Inconel 625 alloy was investigated. The results show that the microstructure of the hot rolled alloy is mainly composed of austenite equiaxed grains, with the secondary phase being dominated by MC carbide rich in Nb and Ti. The alloy possesses a high strength of 959 MPa with a hardness of 262 HV, but modest plasticity with a tensile elongation of 48%. The effects of grain refinement and dislocation entanglement are considered to be the main mechanisms responsible for the excellent strength in the alloy. For the solution treatment temperature set in the range of 950–1050 °C, the average grain size of the treated alloy did not change significantly, and the carbide phase was dissolved slowly. As such, the temperature has little effect on the mechanical properties of the alloy. At the temperature higher than 1150 °C, the carbide was dissolved near the grain boundaries and, at the same time, the grains grew rapidly. Consequently, the tensile strength and hardness of the treated alloy decreased considerably, whereas the elongation to fracture increased from about 47% to more than 60%. The strength-ductility trade-off is attributable to a synergy of grain coarsening, dislocation annihilation and the dissolution of precipitate phase during solid solution treatment. Moreover, the recrystallization texture was observed after solution treatment at higher temperatures.

Deformation-induced carbide transformation (DICT) is first observed in M2 high-speed steel (HSS) wherein deformation enables a lower transformation temperature and enhanced transformation rate of M2C carbide into M6C and MC. Dislocations introduced into M2C by pre-deformation act as nucleation sites of new precipitates and enable an evolution of the transformation pathway from a common interface-nucleation mode to a dislocation-nucleation manner. DICT offers an opportunity to circumvent the carbide-related trade-off between the wear resistance and toughness of M2 HSS.

Low carbon steel wires were prepared by two processes, serial drawing (SD) and reverse-direction drawing (RD). Effects of the two processes on microstructure and mechanical properties in steel wires were investigated by field emission-scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Residual compressive stress and more low-angle grain boundaries were introduced into the steel wire by the RD. As a result, the RD wires exhibited a greater tensile strength when drawing strain e

Antiviral ultrafiltration membranes (UF) were successfully fabricated using amphiphilic polyvinylchloride-co-acrylic acid) (PVC-AA), which were incorporated with organometallic compound manganese acetylacetonate Mn(acac)3. Non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method was used to prepare the UF membrane based on PVC-AA. Fabricated membranes were characterized by different analytical methods. The fabricated membranes (PVC-AA/ Mn(acac)3) provided the highest removal percentage for proteins when compared to the neat amphiphilic (PVC-AA). The hydrophilicity and antifouling properties of the membranes were improved with increasing load of manganese acetylacetonate Mn(acac)3 in the polymeric solution to 1%. The membrane with 1 wt% Mn(acac)3 (UF3) exhibited the best antifouling properties using bovine serum albumin 1 g.L−1and sodium alginate 2 g.L−1 and a real sample of wastewater namely ~ 99% of flux recovery ratio. PVC-AA- Mn(acac)3 provided antifouling and antiviral properties. The viral test using real sewage wastewater indicated that the membranes UF 2 and UF3 removes all viruses of 100%, which indicated negative detection in the treated water.

We hypothesized that Ventilator-Associated Event (VAE) within 28 days upon admission to medical intensive care units (ICUs) can be a predictor for poor outcomes in sepsis patients. We aimed to determine the risk factors and associated outcomes of VAE. A total of 453 consecutive mechanically ventilated (MV) sepsis patients were enrolled. Of them, 136 patients had immune profile study. Early VAE (

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of secondary carbide precipitation on strain hardening and tensile ductility of high-speed steels and to develop a novel pathway for ductility enhancement by engineering the annealing microstructure. The results demonstrate a strong correlation between secondary precipitation and austenitization. With decreasing austenitization temperature, secondary carbides exhibit a transformation from a rod-shaped Cr-rich M23C6 type to a granular Mo-rich M6C one, corresponding to a transition of the underlying eutectoid decomposition mechanism from a cooperative growth mode to a divorced eutectoid manner. Highly dispersed rod-shaped M23C6 precipitates contribute to an enhanced tensile strength but lead to a degraded work hardening rate in the late deformation stage and, therefore, a lower total elongation. In contrast, granular M6C precipitates exhibit an excellent capacity of accumulating dislocations and enhancing the work hardening rate especially at a high strain, which enables a significant increase of ductility. It is suggested that granular M6C precipitates embedded in fine ferritic grains with lean dislocations is a desirable annealing microstructure to produce a more ductile high-speed steel.

Cr-containing pearlitic steel wires were prepared through cold drawing and simulated galvanization process. Effect of chromium microalloying on microstructural and mechanical properties of the steel wires was investigated. Experimental results show that size of pearlitic colonies of the steel rods decreased as Cr content increased from 0.2 to 0.6 wt.%; meanwhile, interlamellar spacing was little affected because of isothermal phase transition in salt bath. The tensile strength of the pearlitic steel rods was increased from 1480 to 1550 MPa. The tensile strength of the Cr-containing cold drawn wires (e = 1.58) was increased about 33%, and the torsion circle of the wires were about 15 with cleavage fracture. After annealing at 450 °C for 2 min, tensile strength of the wires increased, but torsion circle was decreased to less than 5. As the annealing time increased, the torsion circle of the steel wires with 0.2 wt.% Cr was improved to about 10 with cleavage fracture, while the torsion performance of the wires having high Cr contents remained low because of delamination fracture. The cementite platelets in Cr-containing wires turned into cementite crystal particles during cold drawing. Microstructure observation and thermal analysis have confirmed that thermal stability of cementite was enhanced with the increase of Cr content.

The effect of rolling temperature on the evolution of microstructure, texture, and magnetic properties of ultra-low-carbon grain-oriented silicon steel was studied in strip-casting process. Dynamic strain-aging (DSA) behavior was observed during warm rolling in the temperature range of ~ 200 to 400 °C based on the fact that majority of the inhibitor elements remained in solution during the strip-casting process. Considering the initial coarse grains with strong {100} fiber prior to rolling, the cold-rolled specimen exhibited pronounced α-fiber and weak γ-fiber texture. However, intense shear bands and high stored energy regardless of the orientation were obtained in the warm-rolled specimens at the DSA temperature, accompanied by weak α-fiber and strong γ-fiber texture. While homogenous microstructure with lower stored energy was observed in the case of high temperature, the differences in shear bands and stored energy governed by the rolling temperature were strongly related to the extent of DSA effect, which is attributed to distinct characteristic of rolling and recrystallization texture. After recrystallization annealing, fine-grained homogeneous microstructure with strong Goss and γ-fiber texture was obtained at the DSA temperature, while relatively random texture with much more α-fiber and θ-fiber components was observed in the case of high temperature. The microstructure and texture of primary annealed sheets exhibited sufficient Goss grains and favorable surrounding matrix with pronounced γ-fiber texture, which was responsible for the perfect secondary recrystallization annealing in the warm-rolled specimens at the DSA temperature. The present study suggests that texture optimization of strip-cast grain-oriented silicon steel can be achieved by warm rolling in the appropriate temperature range, with improved magnetic properties.