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The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of TSAHC [4'-(p-toluenesulfonylamido)-4-hydroxychalcone] in K/BxN serum transfer arthritis model and fibroblast-like synoviocytes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA-FLS). In in vivo experiments, TSAHC attenuated the incidence and severity of arthritis in comparison with the vehicle group. Histological findings showed that TSAHC decreased the inflammation, bone erosion, cartilage damage, and osteoclasts activity in the ankle. Furthermore, we confirmed by biochemical analysis that the observations were associated with the decreased expression of proinflammatory cytokines, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and RANKL in serum and ankle. In in vitro experiments, TSAHC induced apoptosis, while it significantly suppressed tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced cell proliferation in RA-FLS. Moreover, TSAHC inhibited mRNA expression of TNF-α-induced interleukin (IL)-6, MMP-1, MMP-3, and MMP-13. Evaluation of signaling events showed that TSAHC inhibited the translocation and transcriptional activity of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) by regulating phosphorylated-IκB-α (p-IκB-α) and IκB-α in TNF-α-induced RA-FLS. Our results suggest that TSAHC inhibits experimental arthritis in mice and suppresses TNF-α-induced RA-FLS activities via NF-κB pathway. Therefore, TSAHC may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of RA.

A micropin fabrication process has been developed based on micromachining technology. One group of micromachining technology is microturning. It has the capability to produce three dimensional features on the micro scale. This paper deals with the CNC microturning process. Basically two types of microturning processes are used: straight microturning and taper microturning. Experiments were performed using a programmable multi-purpose miniature machine tool developed for tool based micromachining. NC codes were generated using Borland C++ Builder 6.0. Brass bars of 6 mm diameter have been machined to fabricate the micropin with carbide cutting tools. Work materials were clamped on the spindle which has the facility of three-axis movements. Unlike the conventional processes, the cutting tool has no movement. A step cutting process was applied to eliminate workpiece deflection in the microturning process. Finally a micropin was fabricated with 2 mm length. The larger and smaller diameter of the pin are 475 μm and 276 μm, respectively.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary herbal product(Miracle )s up- plementation on the performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal microflora and blood parameters in pigs. Forty eight cross bred(Y × L × D) weanling pigs (average initial body weight 7.84kg±0.17, 28 d old) were used in 35 d feeding trial. Pigs were allotted to 16 raised floor cages(W 35.5cm × L45cm × H 55cm). Each treatment had four replications of 3 pigs each. Treatments were: control (T1), CTC 100ppm (T2), Miracle 0.15% (T3) and CTC 100ppm + Miracle 0.15% (T4). The herbal product supplementation(T3) tended to improve the weight gain, feed intake, feed/gain but there were no significant differences among treatments. Nutrient digestibility was significantly(P 0.05) affected by dietary treatments. The pigs fed T3 diet showed the lowest digestibility of DM, crude protein, NFE, P, and amino acids among treatments. Serum cholesterol level of pigs fed T3 diet was lowest and significantly(P 0.05) lower than those fed antibiotic supplemented diet(T2). Triglyceride and HDL level of the pigs fed T3 diet were also lower than those of others but the differences were not significant. The level of serum IgG was significantly(P 0.05) different among treatments. The level of serum IgG was highest in T4, followed by T1, T2 and T3. Serum AST(Aspartate aminotransferase) level of the control(T1) was lower than other treatments. Levels of serum total protein, albumin and ALT(Alanine aminotransferase) were not significantly different among treatments. The colony forming units (CFU) of Lactobacillus, Cl. perfringens and E.coli in feces were not significantly different among treatments but those of Cl. perfringens of T2 (CTC 100ppm) showed the lowest count at both 3rd and 5th wk. It is concluded that herbal product Miracle does not significantly affect growth performance of weanling pigs but it influenced the digestibility, serum IgG, cholesterol and AST level. The combination of the herbal product Miracle with antibiotic(CTC) showed no synergistic effects.

Recent developments in grinding have opened up new avenues for finishing of hard and brittle materials with nano-surface finish, high tolerance and accuracy. Grinding with superabrasive wheels is an excellent way to produce ultraprecision surface finish. However, superabrasive diamond grits need higher bonding strength while grinding, which metal-bonded grinding wheels can offer. Truing and dressing of the wheels are major problems and they tend to glaze because of wheel loading. When grinding with superabrasive wheels, wheel loading can be avoided by dressing periodically to obtain continuous grinding. Electrolytic inprocess dressing (ELID) is the most suitable process for dressing metal-bonded grinding wheels during the grinding process. Nano-surface finish can be achieved only when chip removal is done at the atomic level. Recent developments of ductile mode machining of hard and brittle materials show that plastically deformed chip removal minimizes the subsurface damage of the workpiece. When chip deformation takes place in the ductile regime, a defect-free nano-surface is possible and it completely eliminates the polishing process. ELID is one of the processes used for atomic level metal removal and nano-surface finish. However, no proper and detailed studies have been carried out to clarify the fundamental characteristics for making this process a robust one. Consequently, an attempt has been made in this study to understand the fundamental characteristics of ELID grinding and their influence on surface finish.

Micromachining is gaining popularity due to recent advancements in Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. Using conventional micromachining, it is relatively difficult to produce moving components in the order of microns. In this study, an attempt is made to fabricate microstructures using a combination of turning and electrodischarge machining (EDM). Several sets of experiments have been performed to study the characteristics of the hybrid machining process. From the experiments, it has been observed that a higher form of accuracy could be obtained by integrating the on-machine fabrication of the tool and by subsequently using the same tool for EDM. The main cause of the form error is due to the deflection of the shaft during turning. Hence, an attempt is made to observe the deflection of the shaft using a deflection sensor. The influence of micro-EDM parameters such as feed rate, discharge circuits, and gap control parameters on material removal rate and tool wear is also discussed in this study.

Grinding of brittle materials such as glass is gaining importance due to the rapid developments in the areas of machining of storage devices, microlenses, and optical communication devices. Grinding of such glasses is difficult because grinding wheels wear out easily due to the hard and brittle nature of the materials being machined. Grinding wheels with fine abrasive size are required in order to achieve ductile mode grinding. Problems such as wheel loading and glazing can be encountered while grinding with fine abrasive wheels. Electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID) is an efficient method to dress the grinding wheel while performing grinding. In this paper, a fundamental study on the mechanism of the ELID grinding technique is discussed in detail. Several sets of experiments have been performed to determine the optimal grinding conditions. From the experiments, it has been established that surface roughness could be further improved if the current duty ratio to dress the grinding wheel were increased. The force patterns and the changes in the profile of the grinding wheel during machining are also presented and discussed in detail.