Quantitative approach to realization of ultrasonic grain refinement of Al-7Si-2Cu-1Mg alloy.

Ultrasonic melt treatment (UST) was applied to Al-7Si-2Cu-1Mg melt at various temperatures of 620, 650, 700 and 785 °C. MgAl2O4 particles which were often found to be densely populated along oxide films, became effectively dispersed and well-wetted by UST. Transmission electron microscopy work combined with crystallography analysis clearly indicates that MgAl2O4 particles can act as α-Al nucleation site with the aid of UST. However, with UST, grain refinement occurred only at temperature of 620 °C and the grain size increased from 97 to 351 µm with increase of melt temperature to 785 °C for UST. In quantitative analysis of grain size and MgAl2O4 particle diameter, it was found that ultrasonic de-agglomeration decreased mean particle size of the MgAl2O4 particles, significantly reducing size from 1.2 to 0.4 µm when temperature increased from 620 to 785 °C. Such a size reduction with increased number of MgAl2O4 particles does not always guarantee grain refinement. Thus, in this work, detailed condition for achieving grain refinement by UST is discussed based on quantitative measurement. Furthermore, we tried to suggest the most valid grain refinement mechanism among the known mechanisms by investigation of the relationship between grain size and particle size with variation of melt temperature.

Ca(2+) Entry is Required for Mechanical Stimulation-induced ATP Release from Astrocyte.

Astrocytes and neurons are inseparable partners in the brain. Neurotransmitters released from neurons activate corresponding G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) expressed in astrocytes, resulting in release of gliotransmitters such as glutamate, D-serine, and ATP. These gliotransmitters in turn influence neuronal excitability and synaptic activities. Among these gliotransmitters, ATP regulates the level of network excitability and is critically involved in sleep homeostasis and astrocytic Ca(2+) oscillations. ATP is known to be released from astrocytes by Ca(2+)-dependent manner. However, the precise source of Ca(2+), whether it is Ca(2+) entry from outside of cell or from the intracellular store, is still not clear yet. Here, we performed sniffer patch to detect ATP release from astrocyte by using various stimulation. We found that ATP was not released from astrocyte when Ca(2+) was released from intracellular stores by activation of Gαq-coupled GPCR including PAR1, P2YR, and B2R. More importantly, mechanical stimulation (MS)-induced ATP release from astrocyte was eliminated when external Ca(2+) was omitted. Our results suggest that Ca(2+) entry, but not release from intracellular Ca(2+) store, is critical for MS-induced ATP release from astrocyte.

The extent and historical trend of metal pollution recorded in core sediments from the artificial Lake Shihwa, Korea.

The vertical distribution of trace metals in sediment cores was investigated to evaluate the extent and the historical record of metal pollution over 30 years in the artificial Lake Shihwa in Korea. A marked increase of trace metals after 1980 was observed due to the operation of two large industrial complexes and dike construction for a reclamation project. There was a decreasing trend of metal concentrations with the distance from the pollution source. The enrichment factor and pollution load index of the metals indicated that the metal pollution was mainly derived from Cu, Zn and Cd loads due to anthropogenic activities. The concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As and Pb in the upper part of all core sediments exceeded the ERL criteria of NOAA. Our results indicate that inadequate planning and management of industrialization and a large reclamation project accomplished by dike construction have continued to strongly accelerate metal pollution in Lake Shihwa.

Microstructures and shape memory characteristics of a nanostructured Ti-50.0Ni(at%) alloy.

Nanostructured Ti-Ni alloys were prepared by cold working followed by annealing, and then their shape memory characteristics and superelasticity were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal cycling tests under constant load and tensile tests. Morphology of amorphous phases induced by cold working depended largely on the amount of cold working. They had domain like shape in the 40% cold rolled alloy, while had mainly wide band shape in the 70% cold rolled alloy. In 40% cold rolled alloy, the average grain size increased from 27 nm to 80 nm with increasing annealing temperature from 573 K to 673 K. Transformation elongation increases with raising annealing temperature, which was ascribed to the increase in grain size reducing the constraints of grain boundaries. Transformation hysteresis increased rapidly with raising annealing temperature up to 623 K, above which they almost keep constant, which was ascribed to the small grain size and large constraints of grain boundaries.