Solute-solute interactions and their impacts on solute co-segregation and interfacial cohesion of{1012}twin boundary in zinc

Interactions of solute atoms in biodegradable zinc alloys and their effect on alloy mechanical properties have been less investigated.In this work,the interactions between the common solutes(Li,Mg,Mn,Cu,and Ag)used in the biodegradable Zn alloys,including a solute-solute pair with the same element or with two different elements,are investigated based on first-principles calculations.It is found that the energetically favorable configuration is the third nearest-neighboring for most solute-solute pairs in the bulk lattice because of the relatively strong electronic interaction between solute and Zn atoms or the relatively small local elastic deformation associated with the configuration.Considering that interfacial cleavage is a key fracture mode of zinc,the segregation ability of these solutes and their effect on the{1012}twin boundary cohesion are also examined.The result shows that Li tends to fully occupy its preferred site in the twin boundary,while Mg,Mn,Cu,or Ag has a concentration limitation in the twin boundary.The twin boundary cohesion can be significantly enhanced by the segregation of Mn,followed by Cu and Ag,because of the contribution of their d states close to the Fermi level.Furthermore,the co-segregation ability of two solute atoms in the twin boundary increases with increasing the binding tendency of these two solute atoms in the boundary.Mn and Li or Mg show a relatively strong co-segregation ability in the twin boundary.Adding Mn to Zn-Li or Zn-Mg alloys can significantly enhance the resistance to fracture of twin boundaries.

Assessment of co-segregated TLR4 genotypes among Nigerian children with asymptomatic and clinical malaria

Objective: To assess the occurrence and pattern of Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4) cosegregated genotypes among children with Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Nigeria.Methods: In this case-control study, a total of 79 Plasmodium falciparum infected children aged 2–7 years and 105 age-matched uninfected controls of Yoruba descents in Lagos were studied. The extracted DNA samples were used for TLR4 genotyping at codons 299(Asp > Gly) and 399(Thr > Ile) by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Malaria infection was diagnosed by blood smear microscopy and infected children were stratified into asymptomatic, uncomplicated and severe malaria sub-groups.Malnutrition was determined by measuring the mid upper arm circumference and anemia was defined as hemoglobin < 11 g/dL.Results: The proportions of children with acute malnutrition and severe anemia were12.0% and 3.2%, respectively. Parasitemia and malnutrition were not correlated and four distinct patterns of TLR4 genotypes were found in the study population: Asp299Asp/Thr399Thr(90.2%), Asp299Gly/Thr399Thr(4.3%), Gly299Gly/Thr399Thr(3.8%) and Asp299Gly/Thr399Ile(1.6%). These genotypes did not differ significantly(P > 0.05) in frequency between infected and non-infected children. However, low and high occurrences of the TLR4 Asp299Asp/Thr399 Thr and Asp299Gly/Thr399 Thr genotypes were observed in the severe malaria subgroup.Conclusions: This study reveals a protective role for TLR4 Asp299Gly/Thr399 Ile and Asp299Asp/Thr399 Thr genotypes against severe malaria in Nigerian children.

Overaging Phenomenon of Fe-2% Mn-Sb-Ce Structural Steels during Tempering

The temper embrittlement of Fe-2%Mn-Sb-Ce structure steels was studied by measurements of the ductile-brittle transition temperature and observations by AES and SEM of the fracture surface of isothermally embrittle steel. It shows that Sb and Mn can produce non-equilibrium co-segregation to grain boundaries and bring about the temper embrittlement of Fe-2%Mn-Sb-Ce structure steels. Cerium may reduce the temper embrittlement of the steels and the segregation of cerium to grain boundaries may play an important part in reducing the temper embrittlement of the steels.

Effects of impurity elements on SiC grain boundary stability and corrosion

Grain boundaries(GBs)have critical influences on the stability and properties of various materials.In this study,first-principles calculations were performed to determine the effects of four metallic impurities(Ni,Al,Bi,and Pb)and three nonmetallic impurities(H,O,and N)on the GBs of silicon carbide(SiC),using the ∑5(210)GBs as models.The GB energy and segregation energy(SE)were calculated to identify the effects of impurities on the GB stability.Electronic interactions considerably influenced the bonding effects of SiC.The formation of weak bonds resulted in the corrosion and embrittlement of GBs.The co-segregation of Bi,Pb,and O was also investigated in detail.

Delineating a locus conferring Fusarium crown rot resistance on chromosome arm 1HL in barley by developing and analysing a large population derived from near isogenic lines

Fusarium crown rot(FCR),a chronic and severe disease caused by various Fusarium species,is prevalent in semi-arid cropping regions worldwide.One of the major QTL conferring FCR resistance was detected on chromosome arm 1 HL(Qcrs.cpi-1 H)in barley.To develop markers that can be reliably used to incorporate the resistance locus into breeding programs,we developed and assessed a near-isogenic line-derived population consisting of1180 recombinant inbred lines targeting the locus.Using this population,we delineated Qcrs.cpi-1 H into an interval of 0.4 c M covering a physical length of about 487 kb.Six markers co-segregating with this locus were generated.Co-linearity for genes located in this interval between the genome of barley and those of either rice or Brachypodium distachyon is poor.Three genes with non-synonymous variations between the resistant and susceptible lines were identified within the interval.The results reported in this study not only provide markers for integrating Qcrs.cpi-1 H into breeding programs,but also form a solid foundation for cloning the causal gene(s)underlying this locus.

Atomic-scale mechanism of effect of co-separation of elements at interface of ferrite and austenite on Cr-depleted zone of duplex stainless steel

Three-dimensional atom-probe tomography and first-principles calculation combined with density functional theory were used to study the effect of the co-segregation of different elements formed during the solidification process of S32205 duplex stainless steel on the Cr-depleted zone at the interface between ferrite and austenite.It was found that the co-segregation of different elements formed during the solidification process of duplex stainless steel can also form Cr-depleted zone at the interface between ferrite and austenite.Moreover,Mo,Si,B,C and P atoms promote co-segregation with Cr atoms,which promotes the formation of Cr-depleted zone at the interface between ferrite and austenite in duplex stainless steel.Mo and Si strongly promote the segregation of Cr at the interface between ferrite and austenite,thereby promoting the formation of Cr-depleted zone.B,C and P elements also promote the segregation of Cr element at the interface between ferrite and austenite and the formation of Cr-depleted zone,but their effect is weaker than that of Mo and Si elements.These conclusions provide a new theoretical basis for improving the intergranular corrosion performance of duplex stainless steel.

Effects of trace elements on mechanical properties of the TiZrHfNb high-entropy alloy

Refractory high-entropy alloys have great potential to be utilized as high-temperature materials,and the repeatability and reproducibility of their mechanical properties are critical for practical applications.In this work,nevertheless,we found that the mechanical properties of the TiZrHfNb HEA greatly varied with the content of impurities in the samples even using high-purity raw materials.Specifically,the oxygen impurity is mainly responsible for the increment of the yield stress due to the strong interstitial hardening effect,whilst the ductility deterioration closely associates with the content of metalloid elements B,C,and Si.Our analysis reveals that the metalloid elements not only tend to segregate at grain boundaries but also enhance the aggregation of Zr and Ti.Such co-segregation induced the formation of strong(Zr,Ti)-metalloid bonds,resulting in grain boundary embrittlement and brittle fracture.Our current work demonstrates that the impurity contents in refractory HEAs need to be strictly controlled during production in order to improve their stability of mechanical performance.

Achieving high strength above 400 MPa in conventionally extruded Mg-Ca-Zn ternary alloys

In this work,the role of Zn content in modifying the microstructure and mechanical properties of the Mg-1.2Ca-xZn(x=0.6,2.0 wt.%,named as XZ10-0 and ZX21-0,respectively)based alloys was studied,and it is found that the yield strength(YS)of the present Mg-(Zn)-Ca based alloys increases monotonically with increasing the Zn concentration,from~339 MPa in low-Zn content XZ10-0 sample to~406 MPa in high-Zn content ZX21-0 sample.Microstructure characterization shows that the enhanced YS can be attributed to the grain refinement,fine and dispersed nano-phases,a large number of lamellae structures,and the decrease of recrystallization fraction.TEM results show that the formation mechanism for the ultra-fine grains in present Mg-(Zn)-Ca based alloys can be attributed to the co-segregation of Ca and Zn elements at the grain boundary,as well as the dynamic nanoprecipitations.When the Zn content is high,the nano-phases in ZX21-0 sample belong to the Ca;Mg;Zn;ternary phases,which exert much higher thermal stability than the nano-sized Mg2 Ca binary phases formed in the low-Zn content XZ10-0 sample.The finer size and higher number density of the nano-Mg Zn Ca phases lead to the much finer grain size and sub-grain lamellae thickness in ZX21-0 sample,which thus results in the higher YS of~406 MPa.