Accelerated formation of an ultrafine-grained structure in a two-phase Ti alloy during compression with decreasing temperatures

ABSTRACT

Ultrafine-grained (UFG) structure is beneficial for overcoming the strength-ductility trade-off and enhancing the superplasticity of two-phase Ti alloys. Recently, it has been demonstrated that compression with decreasing temperatures is effective for producing UFG two-phase Ti alloys initially with lamellar microstructures. However, the effect of lamellar thickness on the microstructural evolution during this process has not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, Ti-6Al-4V alloys with different lamellar thicknesses were compressed while the processing temperature was decreased from 800°C to 600°C. The thinner lamellar microstructure was preferable for preventing void/crack formation, while accelerating the continuous dynamic recrystallisation, thus providing a fully UFG structure at a relatively low strain of 1.4. In addition, the origin of different plastic flows in each sample was analysed in detail by analysing the microstructural evolution. These findings demonstrate that the processing method is effective for reducing the grain size of a two-phase Ti alloy without severe plastic deformation techniques, which require large strain (≥4). A reduction in the strain required to achieve the UFG structure would be beneficial because conventional metal-forming processes, i.e. rolling, extrusion, or forging, which are suitable for mass production, could be used.     

Turn-on DNA damage sensors for the direct detection of 8-oxoguanine and photoproducts in native DNA

The integrity of the genetic information in all living organisms is constantly threatened by a variety of endogenous and environmental insults. To counter this risk, the DNA-damage response is employed for repairing lesions and maintaining genomic integrity. However, an aberrant DNA-damage response can potentially lead to genetic instability and mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, or cell death. To directly monitor DNA damage events in the context of native DNA, we have designed two new sensors utilizing genetically fragmented firefly luciferase (split luciferase). The sensors are comprised of a methyl-CpG binding domain (MBD) attached to one fragment of split luciferase for localizing the sensor to DNA (50-80% of the CpG dinucleotide sites in the genome are symmetrically methylated at cytosines), while a damage-recognition domain is attached to the complementary fragment of luciferase to probe adjacent nucleotides for lesions. Specifically, we utilized oxoguanine glycosylase 1 (OGG1) to detect 8-oxoguanine caused by exposure to reactive oxygen species and employed the damaged-DNA binding protein 2 (DDB2) for detection of pyrimidine dimer photoproducts induced by UVC light. These two sensors were optimized and validated using oligonucleotides, plasmids, and mammalian genomic DNA, as well as HeLa cells that were systematically exposed to a variety of environmental insults, demonstrating that this methodology utilizing MBD-directed DNA localization provides a simple, sensitive, and potentially general approach for the rapid profiling of specific chemical modifications associated with DNA damage and repair.     

Temperature-driven Precipitation of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) in Cationic,Anionic and Nonionic Surfactant Solutions

The temperature-driven precipitation of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) (P(NIPAM-co-MAA)) in anionic, cationic, and non-ionic surfactants solutions was investigated under an acidic (e.g. pH 3.0) and an alkali condition (pH 9.0). Under the acidic condition, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS, anionic) and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC, cationic) increased the cloud point of the copolymer and they suppressed the temperature-sensitivity. Under the alkali condition, SDS suppressed the temperature sensitivity as under the acidic condition, but CTAC boosted the temperature sensitivity and it decreased the cloud point of the copolymer. The effect of CTAC on the phase transition under the alkali condition was opposite to the effect observed under the acidic condition. Tween 20 (non-ionic) had little effect on the cloud point and the temperature-sensitivity under both the acidic and the alkali conditions.     

Logit tree models for discrete choice data with application to advice-seeking preferences among Chinese Christians

Logit models are popular tools for analyzing discrete choice and ranking data. The models assume that judges rate each item with a measurable utility, and the ordering of a judge’s utilities determines the outcome. Logit models have been proven to be powerful tools, but they become difficult to interpret if the models contain nonlinear and interaction terms. We extended the logit models by adding a decision tree structure to overcome this difficulty. We introduced a new method of tree splitting variable selection that distinguishes the nonlinear and linear effects, and the variable with the strongest nonlinear effect will be selected in the view that linear effect is best modeled using the logit model. Decision trees built in this fashion were shown to have smaller sizes than those using loglikelihood-based splitting criteria. In addition, the proposed splitting methods could save computational time and avoid bias in choosing the optimal splitting variable. Issues on variable selection in logit models are also investigated, and forward selection criterion was shown to work well with logit tree models. Focused on ranking data, simulations are carried out and the results showed that our proposed splitting methods are unbiased. Finally, to demonstrate the feasibility of the logit tree models, they were applied to analyze two datasets, one with binary outcome and the other with ranking outcome.     

One-regular Normal Cayley Graphs on Dihedral Groups of Valency 4 or 6 with Cyclic Vertex Stabilizer

A graph G is one-regular if its automorphism group Aut（G） acts transitively and semiregularly on the arc set. A Cayley graph Cay（Г, S） is normal if Г is a normal subgroup of the full automorphism group of Cay（Г, S）. Xu, M. Y., Xu, J. （Southeast Asian Bulletin of Math., 25, 355-363 （2001）） classified one-regular Cayley graphs of valency at most 4 on finite abelian groups. Marusic, D., Pisanski, T. （Croat. Chemica Acta, 73, 969-981 （2000）） classified cubic one-regular Cayley graphs on a dihedral group, and all of such graphs turn out to be normal. In this paper, we classify the 4-valent one-regular normal Cayley graphs G on a dihedral group whose vertex stabilizers in Aut（G） are cyclic. A classification of the same kind of graphs of valency 6 is also discussed.     

ON THE ASYMPTOTIC BEHAVIOR OF HOLOMORPHIC ISOMETRIES OF THE POINCARE DISK INTO BOUNDED SYMMETRIC DOMAINS

In this article we bounded symmetric domains study holomorphic isometries of the Poincare disk into Earlier we solved the problem of analytic continuation of germs of holomorphic maps between bounded domains which are isometrics up to normalizing constants with respect to the Bergman metric, showing in particular that the graph 170 of any germ of holomorphic isometry of the Poincar6 disk A into an irreducible bounded symmetric domain Ω belong to C^N in its Harish-Chandra realization must extend to an affinealgebraic subvariety V belong to C × C^N = C^N＋1, and that the irreducible component of V ∩ （△ × Ω） containing V0 is the graph of a proper holomorphic isometric embedding F ： A→ Ω. In this article we study holomorphie isometric embeddings which are asymptotically geodesic at a general boundary point b ∈ δ△. Starting with the structural equation for holomorphic isometrics arising from the Gauss equation, we obtain by covariant differentiation an identity relating certain holomorphic bisectional curvatures to the boundary behavior of the second fundamental form σ of the holomorphie isometric embedding. Using the nonpositivity of holomorphic bisectional curvatures on a bounded symmetric domain, we prove that ‖σ‖ must vanish at a general boundary point either to the order 1 or to the order 1/2, called a holomorphie isometry of the first resp. second kind. We deal with special cases of non-standard holomorphic isometric embeddings of such maps, showing that they must be asymptotically totally geodesic at a general boundary point and in fact of the first kind whenever the target domain is a Cartesian product of complex unit balls. We also study the boundary behavior of an example of holomorphic isometric embedding from the Poincare disk into a Siegel upper half-plane by an explicit determination of the boundary behavior of holomorphic sectional curvatures in the directions tangent to the embedded Poincare disk, showing that the map is indeed asymptotically totally geodesic at a general boundary point and of the first kind. For the metric computation we make use of formulas for symplectic geometry on Siegel upper half-planes.     

Hybrid Polymeric Nanomaterials for siRNA Delivery and Imaging

A combined nanomaterials‐based approach for simultaneous therapy and molecular imaging has powerful potential for efficient treatment and monitoring the prognosis of incurable diseases such as malignant tumors or degenerative diseases. Recent developments of hybrid polymeric nanomaterials for siRNA delivery and imaging are highlighted. A particular focus is on various conjugation and formulation strategies of how to incorporate siRNA and imaging agents onto the surface of functionally active polymer‐coated inorganic nanomaterials such as iron oxide, gold, and quantum‐dot nanoparticles for theranostic applications. These multifunctional nanocarriers may allow real‐time tracking of siRNA as well as visualization of its therapeutic effects in vitro and in vivo.

     

Ellipsometry measurements of glass transition breadth in bulk films of random, block, and gradient copolymers

Bulk films of random, block and gradient copolymer systems were studied using ellipsometry to demonstrate the applicability of the numerical differentiation technique pioneered by Kawana and Jones for studying the glass transition temperature (T _g) behavior and thermal expansivities of copolymers possessing different architectures and different levels of nanoheterogeneity. In a series of styrene/n -butyl methacrylate (S/nBMA) random copolymers, T _g breadths were observed to increase from ～ 17^° C in styrene-rich cases to almost 30^° C in nBMA-rich cases, reflecting previous observations of significant nanoheterogeneity in PnBMA homopolymers. The derivative technique also revealed for the first time a substantial increase in glassy-state expansivity with increasing nBMA content in S/nBMA random copolymers, from 1.4×10^-4 K-1 in PS to 3.5×10^-4 K-1 in PnBMA. The first characterization of block copolymer T _g ’s and T _g breadths by ellipsometry is given, examining the impact of nanophase-segregated copolymer structure on ellipsometric measurements of glass transition. The results show that, while the technique is effective in detecting the two T _g ’s expected in certain block copolymer systems, the details of the glass transition can become suppressed in ellipsometry measurements of a rubbery minor phase under conditions where the matrix is glassy; meanwhile, both transitions are easily discernible by differential scanning calorimetry. Finally, broad glass transition regions were measured in gradient copolymers, yielding in some cases extraordinary T _g breadths of 69- 71^° C , factors of 4-5 larger than the T _g breadths of related homopolymers and random copolymers. Surprisingly, one gradient copolymer demonstrated a slightly narrower T _g breadth than the S/nBMA random copolymers with the highest nBMA content. This highlights the fact that nanoheterogeneity relevant to the glass transition response in selected statistical copolymers can be comparable to or exceed that observed in moderately phase-segregated gradient copolymers.