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Abstract: Osteoporosis is a systemic disease in which bone mass decreases, leading to an increased risk of bone fragility and fracture. The occurrence of osteoporosis is believed to be related to the disruption of the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts and adipocytes. N6-adenylate methylation (m6A) modification is the most common type of chemical RNA modification and refers to a methylation modification formed by the nitrogen atom at position 6 of adenine (A), which is catalyzed by a methyltransferase. The main roles of m6A are the post-transcriptional level regulation of the stability, localization, transportation, splicing, and translation of RNA; these are key elements of various biological activities, including osteoporosis and the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts and adipocytes. The main focus of this review is the role of m6A in these two biological processes.

MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) can induce proliferation and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to promote bone formation, we therefore aimed to investigate whether exosomes derived from miR-21 overexpressing adipose tissue-derived MSCs (AD-MSCs) could improve spine osteoporosis in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) mice. Cultured AD-MSCs were transfected with lentivirus vectors containing miR-21 or control vector, and the supernatant was centrifugated and filtrated to harvest the exosomes (miR-21-Exos or vector-Exos). BALB/c mice were immunized with cartilage proteoglycan to establish proteoglycan-induced ankylosing spondylitis (PGIA) model. Six weeks later, PGIA mice were further injected with miR-21-Exos or vector-Exos. Transfection of miR-21 in AD-MSCs significantly enhanced miR-21 levels in AD-MSCs and their exosomes. miR-21-Exos showed concentration-dependent protective effect against spine osteoporosis in PGIA mice, evidenced by increased bone mineral content and bone mineral density, reduced number of osteoclasts, decreased content of deoxypyridinoline in the urine, decreased content of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP)-5b and cathepsin K in the serum, and down-regulated interleukin (IL)-6 expression in the spine, whereas vector-Exos did not show any treatment benefit. The above findings indicate that miR-21-Exos could be utilized to treat spine osteoporosis in AS.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the short-term effectiveness and the impact on cervical segmental range of motion using Prodisc-C Vivo artificial disc replacement and Zero-P fusion for the treatment of single-segment cervical spondylosis. METHODS: The clinical data of 56 patients with single-segment cervical spondylosis who met the selection criteria between January 2015 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed, and they were divided into study group (27 cases, using Prodisc-C Vivo artificial disc replacement) and control group (29 cases, using Zero-P fusion) according to different surgical methods. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of gender, age, type of cervical spondylosis, disease duration, involved segments and preoperative pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, neck disability index (NDI), surgical segments range of motion, upper and lower adjacent segments range of motion, overall cervical spine range of motion, and cervical curvature (P>0.05). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative hospitalization stay, time of returning to work, clinical effectiveness indicators (VAS score, JOA score, NDI, and improvement rate of each score), and imaging indicators (surgical segments range of motion, upper and lower adjacent segments range of motion, overall cervical spine range of motion, and cervical curvature, prosthesis position, bone absorption, heterotopic ossification, etc.) were recorded and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in operation time and intraoperative blood loss between the two groups (P>0.05); the postoperative hospitalization stay and time of returning to work in the study group were significantly shorter than those in the control group (P0.05); there was no significant difference in the improvement rate of each score between the two groups at last follow-up (P>0.05). The surgical segments range of motion in the study group maintained to varying degrees after operation, while it in the control group basically disappeared after operation, showing significant differences between the two groups (P0.05), while the upper adjacent segments range of motion in the control group increased significantly (P0.05). At last follow-up, X-ray films and CT examinations showed that no prosthesis loosening, subsidence, or displacement was found in all patients; there were 2 cases (7.4%) of periprosthetic bone resorption and 3 cases (11.1%) of heterotopic ossification which did not affect the surgical segments range of motion. CONCLUSION: Both the Prodisc-C Vivo artificial disc replacement and Zero-P fusion have satisfactory short-term effectiveness in treatment of single-segment cervical spondylosis. Prodisc-C Vivo artificial disc replacement can also maintain the cervical spine range of motion to a certain extent, while reducing the occurrence of excessive motion of adjacent segments after fusion.

The cryogenic process has been widely applied in various fields, but it has rarely been reported in the preparation of anode materials for lithium-ion battery. In this paper, activated carbon derived from hemp stems was prepared by carbonization and activation; then, it was subjected to cryogenic treatment to obtain cryogenic activated carbon. The characterization results show that the cryogenic activated carbon (CAC) has a richer pore structure than the activated carbon (AC) without cryogenic treatment, and its specific surface area is 1727.96 m2/g. The porous carbon had an excellent reversible capacity of 756.8 mAh/g after 100 cycles at 0.2 C as anode of lithium-ion battery, in which the electrochemical performance of CAC was remarkably improved due to its good pore structure. This provides a new idea for the preparation of anode materials for high-capacity lithium-ion batteries.

In this study, an inverse method with the integration of finite element simulation and optimization algorithms is proposed to determine the flow curve of cylindrical specimen characterized by the modified Voce hardening model. The tensile test is repetitiously simulated with different combinations of model parameters designed through Latin hypercube design method, where the baseline values and variation ranges of model parameters are identified through Leroy–Bridgman method, obtaining different simulated load–displacement curves. The corresponding response is defined as the sum of the absolute area difference between the simulated load–displacement curves and the experimental one. The relationship between the model parameters and the response is established through response surface methodology and the optimal parameters combination in the modified Voce model is then determined through nonlinear programming by quadratic Lagrangian. In the case of uniaxial tensile test of mild steel Q345, the inversely identified flow curve is validated by numerically reproducing the experimental load–displacement curve and necking profile. The results indicate that the proposed inverse method is capable of evaluating the flow curve in large range of strains for cylindrical specimen accurately.

During air bending of sheet metals, the correction of punch stroke for springback control is always implemented through repeated trial bending until achieving the forming accuracy of bending parts. In this study, a modelling method for correction of punch stroke is presented for guiding trial bending based on a data-driven technique. Firstly, the big data for the model are mainly generated from a large number of finite element simulations, considering many variables, e.g., material parameters, dimensions of V-dies and blanks, and processing parameters. Based on the big data, two punch stroke correction models are developed via neural network and dimensional analysis, respectively. The analytic comparison shows that the neural network model is more suitable for guiding trial bending of sheet metals than the dimensional analysis model, which has mechanical significance. The actual trial bending tests prove that the neural-network-based punch stroke correction model presents great versatility and accuracy in the guidance of trial bending, leading to a reduction in the number of trial bends and an improvement in the production efficiency of air bending.

The hardening curve for cylindrical specimens determined by conventional uniaxial tension tests generally corresponds to a relatively narrow strain range due to the occurrence of necking. To achieve the hardening curve within a large strain range, in this study, the multi-specimen tension tests with pre-torsion are developed through extrapolating the hardening curve from the stress–strain data of cylindrical specimens with various magnitudes of pre-torsion strains. The calculation of pre-strain of twisted specimen needs to be addressed for the multi-specimen tension tests. The three calculation methods on the multi-specimen tension tests are proposed, leading to their individual hardening curves for Q345 specimens. An optimal strategy for the multi-specimen tests with pre-torsion is presented by comparison with the inverse method for a single specimen tension test. The results for Q345 specimen show the strain range (0–0.6) of the hardening curve determined by the multi-specimen tension tests is significantly larger than one (0–0.04) from conventional tension test, with reasonable accuracy. Compared with the current multi-specimen tests with pre-extrusion/drawing, the proposed multi-specimen tests with pre-torsion is possessed of stronger applicability and generality, lower cost, and higher efficiency.

In post-necking tension of cylindrical specimen, the stress corrections based on the current analytical models have relatively significant errors at large strains. In this study, the prediction capability of these models involving Bridgman model, Siebel model and Chen model is evaluated by performing a series of finite element simulations of uniaxial tension of cylindrical specimen with different hardening exponents varied from 0.05 to 0.3. Numerical analysis of stress and strain distributions on the necking cross section indicates that the considerable errors of the corrected stresses corresponding to large strains might be mainly attributed to the assumption of uniform strain distribution on the necking cross section in these analytical models. The modification strategies of these models are presented in order to improve their prediction accuracy of post-necking stresses, taking geometrical configuration of neck and material properties into consideration. Accordingly, the modification formulas are proposed based on simulation results, involving the radius of cross section of neck and the hardening exponent. Finally, these formulas are used to correct the stresses in the post-necking tension of Q345 cylindrical specimen, which are compared with the stresses identified through inverse method. The results indicate that the modified models significantly improve the prediction accuracy of post-necking stresses at large strains.

Cooling rate plays a critical role in determining the thermal conductivity of Al-Si alloys. Although the effect of morphology and size of Si (changed by heat treatment) on its thermal conductivity has been investigated, the effect of cooling rates on thermal conductivity has not been well studied. In this study, we investigated the microstructure of an Al-8Si (with and without modification by Strontium (Sr)) alloy with cooling rates from 46.2 °C/s to 234 °C/s. It was found that the effect of cooling rate on thermal conductivity of Sr modification and Sr-free samples are opposite from each other. As a result, while the cooling rate increased from 46.2 °C/s to 234 °C/s, the calculated thermal conductivity increased from 145.3 MS/m to 151.5 MS/m for Sr-free Al-8Si alloy, and the calculated thermal conductivity was reduced from 187.5 MS/m to 176.7 MS/m for the Sr-modified Al-8Si alloy. By discussing how thermal conductivity correlates with eutectic silicon morphology and secondary dendrite arm spacing, the relationship between cooling rate and thermal conductivity were explained. This work suggests a new design strategy for improving the thermal conductivity of Al-Si hypoeutectic alloys.

As a biomass waste, hemp stems have the advantages of low cost and abundance, and it is regarded as a promising anode material with a high specific capacity. In this paper, activated carbon derived from hemp stems is prepared by low-temperature carbonization and high-temperature activation. The results of characterizations show the activated carbon has more pores due to the advantages of natural porous structure of hemp stem. The aperture size is mainly microporous, and there are mesopores and macropores in the porous carbon. The porous carbon has an excellent reversible capacity of 495 mAh/g after 100 cycles at 0.2 °C as the anode of lithium-ion battery. Compared with the graphite electrode, the electrochemical property of activated carbon is significantly improved due to the reasonable distribution of pore size. The preparation of the activated carbon provides a new idea for low cost and rapid preparation of anode materials for high capacity lithium-ion batteries.

In this study, a combined experimental–numerical method is proposed for quantitatively characterizing the post-necking behavior of cylindrical metal specimens merely through its experimental force–displacement curve during quasi-static tension. This method is based on a rational phenomenological analysis of the correspondence between the necking levels and the experimental variables (force and displacement) in plastic tension. Firstly, the definitions of the global and local inhomogeneity factors based on the statistical analysis of the radial change within the gauge section were introduced to assess the inhomogeneity degrees of post-necking specimens. In the proposed method, a number of tensile deformations with different necking levels are modeled through implanting different initial defects into specimen model in finite element analysis, respectively, outputting the corresponding simulated force–displacement curves. The inhomogeneity factors are calculated based on the intersected points between the experimental and simulated force–displacement curves. Through validation of optical measurement, it is proved that the proposed method has high accuracy and good reliability for investigating the inhomogeneous deformation with significant neck rather than those without significant neck and could exactly replace optical measurement, especially when the camera needs high resolution and acquisition frequency. This indicates it is feasible to utilize the force versus stroke curve in metal plastic forming to quantitatively analyze the localization behavior under general stress states besides uniaxial tension, concerning the contribution of initial defects.

Quantitative analysis on the onset of necking of Zn–5%Al alloy at 340 °C in rate-dependent tension is developed based on Hart’s criterion, through accurately measuring the values of the strain hardening index ( n ) and the strain rate sensitivity index ( m ). A critical relation of strain rate to uniform strain is derived and then is verified to be an essential mechanical parameter for characterizing the capability of uniform deformation of rate-dependent materials. The prediction of the onset of necking at specific strain paths with strain rates, tensile velocities and loads agrees well with the critical relation, which suggests the validity of instability analysis in this study. The critical relation indicates that the onset of necking is dependent only on the final values of strain and of strain rate in tension, and is independent of strain path, deformation condition or strain history, which is of great significance for the increase of formability and the reduction of forming time in superplastic forming process. Additionally, it is proved that the tension at constant load is a very effective approach for precisely establishing the critical relation, due to not involving test data at others strain paths.

In order to precisely describe superplastic flow behavior of Al–Zn–Mg–Zr alloy, a phenomenological constitutive equation and an empirical constitutive equation were established based on the experimental data, which were obtained from the constant strain rate tensions (1.0 × 10 −4 to 8.0 × 10 −2 s −1 ) at 530 °C. Through verification of the two constitutive equations with the experimental data in constant strain rate tensions, constant velocity tensions and constant load tensions, it was indicated that the phenomenological constitutive equation has very high accuracy in the local range of some strain rates and strains. The empirical constitutive equation has higher accuracy and more comprehensive reliability in a wide range of strain rates (1.0 × 10 −4 to 8.0 × 10 −2 s −1 ) and strains (0–2.0) due to considering the coupling effects of strain and strain rate on stress, compared with the phenomenological constitutive equation. In addition, both the phenomenological constitutive equation and the empirical constitutive equation have a good ability to model the superplastic flow behavior of Al–Zn–Mg–Zr alloy at 530 °C under other deformation conditions besides constant strain rate tension.

In this study, constitutive equations for superplastic materials with an extra large elongation were investigated through mechanical analysis. From the view of phenomenology, firstly, some traditional empirical constitutive relations were standardized by restricting some strain paths and parameter conditions, and the coefficients in these relations were strictly given new mechanical definitions. Subsequently, a new, general constitutive equation with varying parameters was theoretically deduced based on the general mechanical equation of state. The superplastic tension test data of Zn-5%Al alloy at 340 °C under strain rates, velocities, and loads were employed for building a new constitutive equation and examining its validity. Analysis results indicated that the constitutive equation with varying parameters could characterize superplastic flow behavior in practical superplastic forming with high prediction accuracy and without any restriction of strain path or deformation condition, showing good industrial or scientific interest. On the contrary, those empirical equations have low prediction capabilities due to constant parameters and poor applicability because of the limit of special strain path or parameter conditions based on strict phenomenology.

According to the characteristics of tube under rotary draw bending, the formulae were derived to calculate the springback angles of tubes subjected to combined bending and additional tension. Especially, as the neutral layer (NL) moves to the inner concave surface of the bend, the analytical values agree very well with the experimental results. The analysis shows that the additional tensile force causes the movement of the NL toward the bending center and makes the deformation behavior under rotary draw bending or numerically controlled (NC) bending different with that under pure bending, and also it could enlarge the springback angle if taking the movement of the NL into consideration. In some range, the springback angle would increase slightly with larger wall thickness/diameter ratio and decrease with wall thinning. The investigation could provide reference for the analysis of rotary draw bending, the design of NC tube bender and the related techniques.

Strain rate sensitivity index m is one of the vital mechanical parameters for determining material superplasticity. In this paper, the existing formulae for measuring m value are reviewed, and it is found that the m values can be classified into three classes: m i under constant length, m v under constant velocity, and m p under constant load. The constraint equation of the generalized m value is established according to the tensile constitutive equation and the basis theory for plastic mechanics. Based on three typical deformation paths, the m value is redefined. Furthermore, from the formula of generalized m value, the formulae for measuring m i, m v and m p are theoretically deduced. The precise methods with numerical simulation are presented. The results prove that the m value is a non-constant and its dependence on $$\dot \varepsilon $$ changes with the deformation path. Under different deformation paths, the m values calculated from the same formula are different. Using different formulae, the m values under the same deformation path are also different. Therefore, deformation path and corresponding formula should be given during the measurement of the m value. Moreover, it is explained theoretically and experimentally that why the m v value under constant velocity is sometimes negative but the m p value under constant load is sometimes lager than 1. The aim of the analysis and measurement of the m value is to facilitate the study on the relationship between macroscopical mechanical laws and microscopic physical mechanisms during superplastic deformation.

The constant load tension is one of typical material deformation paths, and there is not any special instruments used for constant-load test at present. In this paper, the principle, structure, computer-control and acquisition methods of the constant-load tester based on lever-rule are introduced. Also, the precise methods for measuring strain rate sensitivity index m and strain hardening index n are presented by using the measuring formulae related to constant load P, constant velocity v and constant length l. As an example, the tensile test for a superplastic alloy Zn-5%Al under constant load is carried out, and the values of m and n are calculated. It is confirmed that the constant-load tester could stably apply a load on specimen, and the test data are accurate. The results show that under constant load P the calculated m or n values are diverse if the different formulas, which are related to different experimental variables, are used. In order to avoid the confused results, the proper formula for measuring m and n value related to constant load should be used.

Based on the mechanics of material, the bending stiffness and intensity of cylindrical bar and tube are analyzed. By comparing the cylindrical tube whose ratio of outside diameter to internal diameter is 0.7 with the cylindrical bar, it is concluded that when both of them have the same mass, the section stiffness of the cylindrical tube is three times that of the cylindrical bar; when both of them have the same external diameter, the mass of the cylindrical tube is only 1/2 that of the cylindrical bar, but the section stiffness of the cylindrical tube is 3/4 that of the cylindrical bar. By virtue of the elemental elastic-plastic theory, the yield stress of the liquid-filled cylindrical tube is investigated. Due to the incompressibility of liquid and the strain hardening effect of material, the yield stress of the liquid-filled tube is enlarged compared with the hollow tube, thus raising its bending intensity. Under the dynamic load, compared with the hollow tube, the impact resistance of the liquid-filled tube is also raised due to elastic recovery. Because the hydraulic pressures perpendicular to the inner surface are identical everywhere, the local stress concentration resulting from the ovalisation of the tube would be decreased, and the resistance to buckling would be improved.

Based on state equation that stress is the function of strain, strain-rate and temperature, the paper establishes the differential constitutive equation used for analyzing load-stability and the variational constitutive equation used for analyzing geometry-stability during superplastic tensile deformation, which contain strain hardening index, strain-rate sensitivity index, temperature sensitivity index introducted for the first time and tempera-ture undulation index introducted for the first time in the paper. And then, based on the universal condition of plastic elementary theory, the paper analyzes load-stability and geometry-stability under continuously rising temperature and under the non-uniform tem-perature along the axes of specimen respectively. The results prove the impact of con-tinuously rising speed and non-uniform value of temperature on deformation stability is that the faster temperature rises and the more non-uniform temperature is, the smaller the corresponding uniform strain of load-stability and geometry-stability are; strain hardening index is the necessary condition of stability during superplastic tensile deformation, and geometry-instability will not happen when load-instability occurs, but happen when uniform deformation has lasted after load-instability; in the superplastic temperature field, constant temperature is not necessary condition of superplasticitiy, but during the deformation, the slower temperature rises and the more uniform temperature is, the more stable deforma-tion is.