Wear Performance Evaluation of Polymer Overlays on Engine Bearings.

Modern engine bearing materials encounter the challenge of functioning under conditions of mixed lubrication, low viscosity oils, downsizing, start-stop engines, potentially leading to metal-to-metal contact and, subsequently, premature bearing failure. In this work, two types of polymer overlays were applied to the bearing surface to compensate for extreme conditions, such as excessive loads and mixed lubrication. Two different polymer overlays, created through a curing process on a conventional engine bearing surface with an approximate thickness of 13 µm, were investigated for their friction and wear resistances under a 30 N load using a pin-on-disc setup.

Investigation of the Tribological Behaviour of Various AMC Surfaces against Brake Lining Material.

AlSi7Mg/SiC aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) with a high ceramic content (35 vol.%) that were produced by using the field-assisted sintering technique (FAST) were subjected to tribological preconditioning and evaluated as a potential lightweight material to substitute grey cast iron brake discs. However, since an uncontrolled running-in process of the AMC surface can lead to severe wear and thus to failure of the friction system, AMC surfaces cannot be used directly after finishing and have to be preconditioned.

Heat Treatment Influencing Porosity and Tensile Properties of Field Assisted Sintered AlSi7Mg0.6.

In this study, an attempt was made to improve the mechanical properties and in particular the strength of a precipitation-hardenable aluminum alloy while still maintaining high ductility. For this purpose, AlSi7Mg0.6 (A357) powder with an average particle diameter of d = 40 µm was consolidated using field assisted sintering technique (FAST), and two material conditions were compared: an as-sintered and an underaging heat treated condition (T61).

Chemogenetic activation of oxytocin neurons: Temporal dynamics, hormonal release, and behavioral consequences.

Chemogenetics provides cell type-specific remote control of neuronal activity. Here, we describe the application of chemogenetics used to specifically activate oxytocin (OT) neurons as representatives of a unique class of neuroendocrine cells. We injected recombinant adeno-associated vectors, driving the stimulatory subunit hM3Dq of a modified human muscarinic receptor into the rat hypothalamus to achieve cell type-specific expression in OT neurons.

Brain neuropeptide S: via GPCR activation to a powerful neuromodulator of socio-emotional behaviors.

Neuropeptide S (NPS) has attracted the attention of the scientific community due to its potent anxiolytic-like and fear-attenuating effects studied in rodents. Therefore, NPS might represent a treatment option for neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorders, even more so as single nucleotide polymorphisms in the human NPS receptor gene have been associated with increased anxiety traits that contribute to the pathogenesis of fear- and anxiety-related disorders. However, the signaling mechanisms underlying the behavioral effects of NPS and the interaction with other brain neuropeptides are still rather unknown.

Oxytocin Signaling in the Lateral Septum Prevents Social Fear during Lactation.

Oxytocin (OXT)-mediated behavioral responses to social and stressful cues have extensively been studied in male rodents. Here, we investigated the capacity of brain OXT receptor (OXTR) signaling in the lateral septum (LS) to prevent social fear expression in female mice using the social-fear-conditioning paradigm. Utilizing the activated OXT system during lactation, we show that lactating mice did not express fear 24 hr after social fear conditioning.

Neuropeptide S Activates Paraventricular Oxytocin Neurons to Induce Anxiolysis.

Neuropeptides, such as neuropeptide S (NPS) and oxytocin (OXT), represent potential options for the treatment of anxiety disorders due to their potent anxiolytic profile. In this study, we aimed to reveal the mechanisms underlying the behavioral action of NPS, and present a chain of evidence that the effects of NPS within the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) are mediated via actions on local OXT neurons in male Wistar rats. First, retrograde studies identified NPS fibers originating in the brainstem locus coeruleus, and projecting to the PVN.

Neuropeptide S Induces Acute Anxiolysis by Phospholipase C-Dependent Signaling within the Medial Amygdala.

Neuropeptide S (NPS) is an important anxiolytic substance of the brain. However, the signaling pathways downstream of NPS receptor (NPSR) activation, underlying the behavioral effect of NPS, remain largely unknown. Here, we show that bilateral microinfusion of NPS (0.

Salivary oxytocin concentrations in response to running, sexual self-stimulation, breastfeeding and the TSST: The Regensburg Oxytocin Challenge (ROC) study.

Intranasal oxytocin (OXT) application is emerging as a potential treatment for socio-emotional disorders associated with abnormalities in OXT system (re-) activity. The crucial identification of patients with such abnormalities could be streamlined by the assessment of basal and stimulus-induced OXT concentrations in saliva, using a simple, stress-free sampling procedure (i.e.

Oxytocin Stimulates Extracellular Ca2+ Influx Through TRPV2 Channels in Hypothalamic Neurons to Exert Its Anxiolytic Effects.

There is growing interest in anxiolytic and pro-social effects of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT), but the underlying intraneuronal mechanisms are largely unknown. Here we examined OXT-mediated anxiolysis in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of rats and effects of OXT administration on signaling events in hypothalamic primary and immortalized cells. In vivo, the application of SKF96365 prevented the anxiolytic activity of OXT in the PVN, suggesting that changes in intracellular Ca(2+) mediate the acute OXT behavioral effects.

Selective breeding for high anxiety introduces a synonymous SNP that increases neuropeptide S receptor activity.

Neuropeptide S (NPS) has generated substantial interest due to its anxiolytic and fear-attenuating effects in rodents, while a corresponding receptor polymorphism associated with increased NPS receptor (NPSR1) surface expression and efficacy has been implicated in an increased risk of panic disorder in humans. To gain insight into this paradox, we examined the NPS system in rats and mice bred for high anxiety-related behavior (HAB) versus low anxiety-related behavior, and, thereafter, determined the effect of central NPS administration on anxiety- and fear-related behavior. The HAB phenotype was accompanied by lower basal NPS receptor (Npsr1) expression, which we could confirm via in vitro dual luciferase promoter assays.

Multidimensional Homophily in Friendship Networks.

Homophily - the tendency for individuals to associate with similar others - is one of the most persistent findings in social network analysis. Its importance is established along the lines of a multitude of sociologically relevant dimensions, e.g.

How natural selection can create both self- and other-regarding preferences, and networked minds.

Biological competition is widely believed to result in the evolution of selfish preferences. The related concept of the 'homo economicus' is at the core of mainstream economics. However, there is also experimental and empirical evidence for other-regarding preferences.

Modeling the impact of supra-structural network nodes: The case of anonymous syringe sharing and HIV among people who inject drugs.

Networks are well understood as crucial to the diffusion of HIV among injection drug users (IDUs), but quasi-anonymous risk nodes - such as shooting galleries - resist measurement and incorporation into empirical analyses of disease diffusion. Drawing on network data from 767 IDUs in Bushwick, Brooklyn, we illustrate the use of calibrated agent-based models (CABMs) to account for network structure, injection practices, and quasi-anonymous transmission in shooting galleries. Results confirm the importance of network structure and actor heterogeneity to the magnitude and speed of HIV transmission.