Effect of Hot-Plate Rolling on the Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of In-Situ Nano-TiC_(P)/Al-Mg-Si Composites

The hot-plate rolling(HPR)process is adopted to achieve the optimal strength-ductility for the in-situ nano-TiC_(P)/Al-Mg-Si composites.There was no crack in the sheet by single pass of hot-plate rolling with a thickness reduction of 80%,while there were numerous cracks in the sheet by two passes of conventional hot rolling to achieve a total reduction of 50%.The microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites subjected to 80%thickness reduction of hot rolling at 540℃were investigated by tensile tests,scanning electron microscopy,and electron backscatter diffraction.The yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of in-situ nano-TiC_(P)/Al-Mg-Si composites after the hot-plate rolling process and T6 heat treatment increased significantly due to the dislocation strengthening and precipitation strengthening.

Eco Insulation Materials： Reduction of Cooling Loads of a House Made of Breeze Block or Laterite in a Dry Tropical Climate

In this paper, we study the influence ofeco materials for roof insulation and fiber-reinforced mortar coatings on cooling loads of a home in dry tropical climate. The walls of the house are made of cinderblock or laterite and the insulating material of a roof panel is made with lime （24%）, cement （6%）, water （50%） of vegetable fibers hibiscus sabdariffa （16%）, tree widespread in Burkina Faso and sugar cane bagasse （4%）. This panel roof insulation and the fiber-reinforced mortar were characterized at the Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of the environment by the hot plate method. The building is modeled in TRNSYS using climate data from the city of Ouagadougou. The results obtained show that in the warmer months of the year, that is to say in March and April, the relative differences between heat gains the configurations ＂breeze block-coating mortar and roof not insulated＂ and ＂laterite- fiber-reinforced mortar coating and insulated roof＇ vary between 15.6% and 16.8%. The configuration ＂laterite-fiber-reinforced mortar coating and insulated roof allows a reduction of annual heat gains of 15.5% compared to the configuration ＂breeze block-coating mortar and roof not insulated＂.

A Context-Based Analgesia Model in Rats: Involvement of Prefrontal Cortex

Cognition and pain share common neural substrates and interact reciprocally: chronic pain compromises cognitive performance, whereas cognitive processes modulate pain perception. In the present study, we established a non-drug-dependent rat model of context-based analgesia,where two different contexts(dark and bright) were matched with a high(52°C) or low(48°C) temperature in the hot-plate test during training. Before and after training,we set the temperature to the high level in both contexts.Rats showed longer paw licking latencies in trials with the context originally matched to a low temperature than those to a high temperature, indicating successful establishment of a context-based analgesic effect in rats. This effect was blocked by intraperitoneal injection of naloxone(an opioid receptor antagonist) before the probe. The context-based analgesic effect also disappeared after optogenetic activation or inhibition of the bilateral infralimbic or prelimbic sub-region of the prefrontal cortex. In brief, we established a context-based, non-drug dependent, placebo-like analgesia model in the rat. This model provides a new and useful tool for investigating the cognitive modulation of pain.

Evaluation of Antinociceptive Activity of Methanol Extract from Cleome rutidosperma in Mice

Objective C/eome rutidosperma （Capparidaceae）, commonly known as ＂Fringed Spider Flower＂, is a medicinal plant found in Southeast Asia. C. rutidosperma is used in folk medicine for diuretic, laxative, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antimicrobial, anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, and anthelmintic activities. We have evaluated the anti-nociceptive properties of methanol extract from C. rutidosperma （MECR） in vivo. Methods Thermal method （hot plate test and tail flick test） was induced to judge the anti-inflammatory effect and couple of chemical method also used （formalin induced licking test; writhing test carried by acetic acid） to evaluate analgesic effect. Both of these tests were made over animal models, like mice and rats. Two different doses （1 O0 and 200 mg/kg） were used for each case of test, while morphine sulphate （5mg/kg, ip） was used as reference drug. Results MECR demonstrated the significantly anti-nociceptive activity in the analgesic and anti-inflammatory tests by reducing nociception in mice models （P 〈 0.001）. in the hot-plate and tail-flick tests, MECR significantly elongated the time to response to the thermal stimuli （100 and 200 mg/kg with P 〈 0.05, 0.001）. The remarkable increase in the latency was observed at 90 and 120 min. In acetic acid-induced writhing test and formalin induced licking test for anti-inflammatory activity, MECR at 100 and 200 mg/kg doses exhibited significant （P〈 0.001） reduction of writhing and licking response. Conclusion The anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of C. rutidosperma propose that this effect may be a result of both peripheral and central mechanisms. Further study is required to ensure the proper mechanism of action as well as the active ingredient.