High Temperature Oxidation and Microstructural Evolution of Modified MCrAlY Coatings

Thermal sprayed MCrAlY coatings are widely used as a bond coat in thermal barrier systems to protect the substrate from corrosion and high temperature oxidation and to improve the compatibility between the ceramic top coat and metallic substrate. In this paper, the high temperature oxidation resistance of MCrAlY coatings with modified compositions was evaluated; in particular, the effect of the addition of reactive and refractory elements (Ta, Re, Si, and Hf) was investigated. MCrAlY coatings were obtained by high velocity oxygen fuel spray and vacuum plasma spray techniques; samples were exposed to air at 1423 K (1150 °C) and the oxidation kinetics were evaluated by measuring the thickness of the thermally grown oxide (TGO) scale at several exposure times. Experimental data confirmed that the oxidation resistance of MCrAlY coatings is strictly related to the amount of the reactive and refractory elements in the starting powders and that a thorough understanding of the microstructural modifications taking place during oxidation is essential for controlling TGO growth and thermal barriers’ durability.     

Neural approach for temperature‐dependent modeling of GaN HEMTs

Gallium nitride high electron‐mobility transistors have gained much interest for high‐power and high‐temperature applications at high frequencies. Therefore, there is a need to have the dependence on the temperature included in their models. To meet this challenge, the present study presents a neural approach for extracting a multi‐bias model of a gallium nitride high electron‐mobility transistors including the dependence on the ambient temperature. Accuracy of the developed model is verified by comparing modeling results with measurements. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Eicosapentaenoic Acid,Arachidonic Acid and Eicosanoid Metabolism in Juvenile Barramundi Lates calcarifer

A two part experiment was conducted to assess the response of barramundi (Lates calcarifer; initial weight = 10.3 ± 0.03 g; mean ± S.D.) fed one of five diets with varying eicosapentaenoic acid (diets 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 g/kg) or one of four diets with varying arachidonic acid (1, 6, 12, 18 g/kg) against a fish oil control diet. After 6 weeks of feeding, the addition of EPA or ARA did not impact on growth performance or feed utilisation. Analysis of the whole body fatty acids showed that these reflected those of the diets. The ARA retention demonstrated an inversely related curvilinear response to either EPA or ARA. The calculated marginal utilisation efficiencies of EPA and ARA were high (62.1 and 91.9 % respectively) and a dietary ARA requirement was defined (0.012 g/kg^0.796/day). The partial cDNA sequences of genes regulating eicosanoid biosynthesis were identified in barramundi tissues, namely cyclooxygenase 1 (Lc COX1a, Lc COX1b), cyclooxygenase 2 (Lc COX2) and lipoxygenase (Lc ALOX‐5). Both Lc COX2 and Lc ALOX‐5 expression in the liver tissue were elevated in response to increasing dietary ARA, meanwhile expression levels of Lc COX2 and the mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation gene carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (Lc CPT1a) were elevated in the kidney. A low level of EPA increased the expression of Lc COX1b in the liver. Consideration should be given to the EPA to ARA balance for juvenile barramundi in light of nutritionally inducible nature of the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase enzymes.     

Effect of Mechanical Constraint on Domain Reorientation in Predominantly {111}‐Textured Lead Zirconate Titanate Films

Ferroelectric/ferroelastic domain reorientation was measured in 2.0 μm thick tetragonal {111}‐textured PbZr_0.30Ti_0.70O₃ thin films using synchrotron X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Lattice strain from the peak shift in the 111 Bragg reflection and domain reorientation were quantified as a function of applied electric field amplitude. Domain reorientation was quantified through the intensity exchange between the 112 and 211 Bragg reflections. Results from three different film types are reported: dense films that are clamped to the substrate (as‐processed), dense films that are partially released from the substrate, and films with 3% volume porosity. The highest amount of domain reorientation is observed in grains that are misoriented with respect to the {111} preferred (domain engineered) orientation. Relative to the clamped films, films that were released from the substrate or had porosity exhibited neither significant enhancement in domain reorientation nor in 111 lattice strain. In contrast, similar experiments on {100}‐textured and randomly oriented films showed significant enhancement in domain reorientation in released and porous films. Therefore, {111}‐textured films are less susceptible to changes in properties due to mechanical constraints because there is overall less domain reorientation in {111} films than in {100} films.     

Inflammatory Cutaneous Diseases in Renal Transplant Recipients

Kidney transplant recipients frequently suffer from skin infections and malignancies, possibly due to the effects of long-term immunosuppressive therapy. While the relationships between immunosuppression and these pathological conditions have been widely investigated, little is known about the relative incidence and characteristics of inflammatory skin diseases in this type of patient. In this study, we analyze the incidence of a number of inflammatory cutaneous diseases in a cohort of patients who underwent kidney transplantation. Although our study shows a relatively low incidence of these pathologies in transplanted patients—in agreement with the general action of immunosuppressant therapies in reducing inflammation—we scored a different efficacy of the various immunosuppressive regimens on inflammatory and autoimmune skin diseases. This information can be key for designing immunosuppressive regimens and devising accurate follow-up protocols.     

Self-nucleation of isotactic poly(1-butene) in the trigonal modification

Isotactic poly(1-butene) (i-PBu) is a polyolefin of industrial relevance which exhibits an interesting polymorphism. Upon cooling from the relaxed melt at atmospheric pressure, a tetragonal phase (Form II) develops. However, being metastable, this structure slowly evolves upon aging in the stable trigonal modification (Form I). Another trigonal modification, denoted Form I′, can also crystallize directly from the melt if proper conditions are met, e.g., high pressure, low tacticity, ultrathin samples etc. In this work, we aim to verify whether, by acting on the nucleation stage via a proper thermal history, the direct formation of the trigonal polymorph from the melt in a bulk sample is possible. Nucleation of i-PBu has been tailored by means of the self-nucleation technique, imposed on previously aged samples (Form I). DSC and temperature-resolved WAXS show that different crystallization pathways can be observed, depending on the residual concentration of Form I self-nuclei. With decreasing self-nucleation temperature we first encounter “cross-nucleation” of the tetragonal crystal on trigonal nuclei, followed by concomitant crystallization of Form II and Form I′ and eventually the sole formation of the trigonal modification (Form I′).     

Cholesterol photosensitised oxidation of horse meat slices stored under different packaging films

The effect of the type of packaging film (transparent vs. light-protecting red film) was evaluated on the formation of cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) in refrigerated horse meat slices stored in retail conditions under light exposure for 8 h. In meat wrapped with a transparent film, COPs increased from 233 (control) to 317 μg/g of fat, whereas the red film delayed cholesterol oxidation and offered protection against COPs formation, since COPs decreased from 173 (control) to 139 μg/g of fat after 8 h of light exposure. In addition, light opened the epoxy ring and led to the formation of triol, which was actually absent at T_0. A proper packaging film may represent a useful strategy to retard oxidative degradation in a light-sensitive, high pigment- and fat-containing food, such as horse meat.     

R&D,capital structure and ownership concentration: evidence from Italian microdata

The purpose of the article is to provide some evidence on the interconnection between capital structure, R&D investment and ownership concentration using a unique panel data-set of Italian firms. We study the effect of R&D intensity on leverage for two groups of firms which are different in terms of their degree of ownership concentration. Our results suggest for Public Limited Companies, a nonlinear relationship between R&D intensity and leverage, with the latter first increasing and then decreasing. Interestingly, the same result is not found to hold true for Private Limited Companies, which are characterized by a more concentrated ownership.