Metal matrix composites(MMC) can obtain mechanical characteristics of application purposes that a single material is difficult to obtain. Al2 O3/AC8A composites were fabricated by low pressure infiltration process. The purpose is establishing the optimal casting conditions for composite preparation under low pressure. It is known the inorganic binder help infiltration. Therefore Al2O3 fiber preform's optimum sinter temperature is 1160℃, added inorganic binder is mixed binder(SiO2 sol:Al2O3 sol=5:2). And three fibers have been compared (Al2O3 80%/SiO2 20%, Al2O3 80%/SiO2 10% and Al2O3 97%/SiO2 3%). Al2O3/AC8A composites was made by each melting temperatures(650℃, 700℃, 750℃) and wear test was performed about effect of temperatures, kind of fiber, matrix and composites, aging time. Wear test is Ball on disk wear test. The resistance increased with the low melting temperature and Al2O3 80%/SiO2 20% fiber.

Spherical Ti-6Al-4V powders in the size range of 250 and 300 µm were uniformly doped with nano-sized hydroxyapatite (HAp) powders by Spex milling process. A single pulse of 0.75-2.0 kJ/0.7 g of the Ti-6Al-4V powders doped with HAp from 300 mF capacitor was applied to produce fully porous and porous-surfaced Ti-6Al-4V implant compact by electro-discharge-sintering (EDS). The solid core was automatically formed in the center of the compact after discharge and porous layer consisted of particles connected in three dimensions by necks. The solid core increased with an increase in input energy. The compressive yield strength was in a range of 41 to 215 MPa and significantly depended on input energy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer were used to investigate the surface characteristics of the Ti-6Al-4V compact. Ti and O were the main constituents, with smaller amount of Ca and P. It was thus concluded that the porous-surfaced Ti-6Al-4V implant compacts doped with HAp can be efficiently produced by manipulating the milling and electro-discharge-sintering processes.

In ruminants, Interferon-τ (IFN-τ) has the role of recognizing pregnancy signals produced by the embryo and it may have an important role during the luteolysis. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of IFN-τ on prostaglandin synthesis, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene expression in vitro and secretion of progesterone (P4) in vivo. The epithelial and stromal cells isolated from bovine endometrium were cultured with different doses of IFN-τ (0, 0.02, 0.2 and 2 μg/ml). Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG, 1.5 IU/ml) was used as a positive control. Prostaglandin E2 and F2α levels in the culture media were analyzed by enzyme immunoassays, and total RNA was extracted from the cells for RT-PCR. P4 concentrations in blood samples were assayed by chemiluminescent immunoassay system. In epithelial cells, COX-2 gene expression was increased in the presence of IFN-τ (p<0.05), but it was not significantly different in all groups of stromal cells except 2 μg/ml IFN-τ group (p<0.05). Although IFN-τ did not affect PGE2 and PGF2α production in epithelial cells, it decreased PGE2 and PGF2α production significantly in stromal cells (p<0.05). In vivo experiment, the P4 concentrations in blood sample was significantly increased after injection of 1 μg/ml IFN-τ. These results indicate that PG production was mediated by COX-2 expression in the stromal cells but it did not affect in the epithelial cells, and suggest that treatment of IFN-τ was to improve the implantation environment of uterine by maintenance of high P4 concentration. * This work was carried out with the support of “Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development (Project No. PJ907008)” Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.