Borago Officinalis L.: A Review Oon Extraction, Phytochemical, and Pharmacological Activities.

Borago officinalis L., an annual herb belonging to the Boraginaceae family, is used in the traditional medical practices of various countries and for multiple treatments, including respiratory disorders, colds, influenza, diarrhea, cramps, inflammation, palpitation, hypertension menopause, and post-menopausal symptoms. Its pharmacological properties and biological activities - among them antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, insecticidal, antigenotoxic, and anti-obesity activity - were demonstrated in vitro and in vivo and are related to its rich content of bioactive compounds (mainly phenolic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, alkaloids, and terpenes) extracted from various parts of B. officinalis including leaves, flowers, seeds, and roots. This review summarizes all updated information on applied extraction processes, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicity of B. officinalis.

Sacral chordoma: an unusual cause of neurogenic bladder - a case report.

Sacral chordoma is a rare tumor arising from notochord remnants. Sacral pain is the most common sign. The authors report the case of a sacral chordoma diagnosed in a urology department. It was a rare cause of erectile dysfunction and it was unusually revealed by lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTSs). Case Presentation: A 67-year-old man had severe dysuria associated with erectile dysfunction. On digital rectal examination, we palpated a mass protruding through the posterior wall of the rectum. The gluteal region is infiltrated by a firm mass. MRI revealed an osteolytic sacral tumor. A percutaneous biopsy of the tumor was performed. A pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of sacral chordoma. The patient had palliative radiotherapy. One year after radiotherapy, he had rectal stenosis associated with severe constipation. Clinical Discussion: Sacral chordoma is a rare malignant tumor. Sacralgia is the most common sign. LUTS and erectile dysfunction were rarely reported in patients affected by this bone tumor. MRI is very suggestive of this pathology. Diagnostic confirmation requires pathological examination. The curative management consists of a large resection of the tumor. For inextricable tumors, palliative radiotherapy can be carried out. The prognosis of sacral chordoma is defined by a high recurrence potential and a low metastatic risk. Conclusions: Sacral chordoma is a rare bone tumor. It is an unusual cause for LUTS and erectile dysfunction. Complete tumor excision is the only curative treatment. Recurrence after treatment is the main challenge for surgeons.

Non-oxide precipitates in additively manufactured austenitic stainless steel.

Precipitates in an austenitic stainless steel fabricated via any Additive Manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, technique have been widely reported to be only Mn-Si-rich oxides. However, via Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) studies on a 316L stainless steel, we show that non-oxide precipitates (intermetallics, sulfides, phosphides and carbides) can also form when the steel is fabricated via Laser Metal Deposition (LMD)-a directed energy deposition-type AM technique. An investigation into their origin is conducted with support from precipitation kinetics and finite element heat transfer simulations. It reveals that non-oxide precipitates form during solidification/cooling at temperatures ≥ 0.75Tm (melting point) and temperature rates ≤ 105 K/s, which is the upper end of the maximum rates encountered during LMD but lower than those encountered during Selective Laser Melting (SLM)-a powder-bed type AM technique. Consequently, non-oxide precipitates should form during LMD, as reported in this work, but not during SLM, in consistency with existing literature.

In Situ Macroscopic Tensile Testing in SEM and Electron Channeling Contrast Imaging: Pencil Glide Evidenced in a Bulk ß-Ti21S Polycrystal.

In this paper, we report the successful combination of macroscopic uniaxial tensile testing of bulk specimen combined with In situ dislocation-scale observations of the evolution of deformation microstructures during loading at several stress states. The dislocation-scale observations were performed by Accurate Electron Channeling Contrast Imaging in order to follow the defects evolution and their interactions with grain boundaries for several regions of interest during macroscopic loading. With this novel in situ procedure, the slip systems governing the deformation in polycrystalline bulk ß-Ti21S are tracked during the macroscopic uniaxial tensile test. For instance, curved slip lines that are associated with "pencil glide" phenomenon and tangled dislocation networks are evidenced.

Key Parameters to Promote Granularization of Lath-Like Bainite/Martensite in FeNiC Alloys during Isothermal Holding.

The stability of lath-like microstructures during low-temperature isothermal ageing was analyzed in a Fe5Ni0.33C (in wt %) steel. The microstructures were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled with Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). Advanced orientation data processing was applied to quantify the hierarchical and multiscale organization of crystallographic variants subdividing Prior Austenite Grains (PAG) into packets/blocks/sub-blocks. The result shows that ferrite laths of martensite or lower bainite are stable, whatever the ageing temperature (up to 380 °C). On the contrary, a granularization process is triggered when microstructures contain a fraction of upper bainite. This metallurgical evolution corresponds to a rapid and significant change of the ferrite matrix involving a disappearance of 60° disoriented blocks. The phenomenon affects in turn the mechanical properties. The final microstructures obtained after isothermal holding look like granular bainite, which raises some questions about the classification of bainite.