The Welding Institute

Background: Metabolic syndrome involves interconnected disturbances in insulin sensitivity, hepatic function, and renal performance. Simple, integrative indices may improve early detection of multisystem metabolic risk. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, adults were stratified into metabolic risk categories (scores 2–11) and evaluated using the triglyceride–glucose (TyG) index, the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Correlation analyses and multivariate regression models (HC3 robust standard errors) were applied to identify independent predictors of hepatic (FIB-4) and renal (eGFR) function. Results: TyG and FIB-4 increased significantly with higher metabolic risk (ANOVA p < 10−6), while eGFR showed a mild, non-significant decline. TyG correlated strongly with triglycerides (r = 0.78) and fasting glucose (r = 0.69), whereas FIB-4 correlated inversely with eGFR (ρ = −0.30). In regression models, age was the strongest predictor of both FIB-4 (β_std = 0.33) and eGFR (β_std = −0.47). Additional predictors of lower eGFR included FIB-4, systolic blood pressure, BMI, and UACR, whereas TyG showed no independent effect after adjustment. Conclusions: The combined use of TyG, FIB-4, and eGFR provides complementary insight into the metabolic–hepatic–renal continuum. These indices highlight progressive insulin resistance, hepatic stress, and subclinical renal involvement, supporting their utility as accessible tools for early identification of high-risk metabolic phenotypes.

This paper investigates a new ‘forged’ wire additive manufacturing processing, in which the metal wire is produced as a by-product from stationary shoulder friction stir channelling (SS-FSC) under the severe plastic deformation mechanism (known as CoreFlow®), and then used as the feedstock in directed energy deposition with a laser beam and wire feedstock (DED-LB/w) additive manufacturing. For the first time, the ‘by-products’ produced in the SS-FSC process, which are ‘forged’ 6082 aluminium alloy wire, were tested with built-tracks using DED-LB/w. Process mapping was built to demarcate the melting states, including the stable, dripping, and incomplete melting regimes, over a wide range of laser energy densities (92 to 303 kJ · s · g − 1 · cm − 2 ). Metallurgy tests were also conducted to reveal the evolution of the microstructure and defect formation of the deposited tracks. It was found that: (i) Stable deposition with a grain size of 9 − 20 μm can be achieved with optimised processing parameters, i.e., energy density 243 kJ · s · g − 1 · cm − 2 with a laser power 3.8 kW , a scanning speed 0.8 cm · s − 1 and a wire feed rate 2.0 cm · s − 1 ; (ii) The substructure morphology is gradually transitioned from columnar at the track bottom to cellular ( 8.9 ± 1.8 μm ) at the top, driven by an increased cooling rate; and (iii) The built track porosity is mainly composed of gas pores that are small (equivalent diameter of 20 − 50 μm ) and spherical, primarily resulting from the ambient gas, the SS-FSC extruded wire oxides and contaminations. The study supports resource-efficient, low-carbon manufacturing via reuse of by-products, in alignment with the Net Zero Strategy. • Directed energy deposition employs novel friction stir channelling extruded wire. • Process mapping is built to demarcate melting regimes based on processing parameters. • Fine grain size (9–20 μm ) is achieved in the additive builds though with porosity. • Gas entrapment and oxides are identified as the primary sources of porosity.

Young people aged 15-24 represent approximately 21% of the global population and increasingly inhabit urban environments. Traditional wellbeing assessment tools typically depend on surveys that use predefined indicators failing to capture emergent, context-specific factors affecting youth navigating complex urban landscapes. This study addresses: How can we identify situations that impact the subjective wellbeing of young city dwellers during their daily commutes? We introduce “Youth-Targeted Mapped Crowd Sourced Storytelling for Wellbeing-Impacting Situation Identification” (YT-MCSST-4WISI), a novel methodology that combines Mapped Crowd-Sourced Storytelling (MCSST) for narrative collection, with a youth-targeted open-call recruitment strategy, and an analysis strategy encompassing thematic, narrative, phenomenological, and phenomenographic analyses with a focus on subjective wellbeing. We piloted YT-MCSST-4WISI via a participatory contest in Envigado, Colombia, engaging 34 ethically recruited participants aged 15-24. Using the open-source Ushahidi platform, participants submitted geotagged narratives describing their commute experiences. Narratives underwent multi-method analysis to identify recurring situations and emotional patterns. Results identified 30 wellbeing-impacting situations mostly overlooked by conventional surveys, including structural issues like steep topography (14.7% prevalence), heat exposure (23.5%), and transit unreliability, plus symbolic moments such as nature as refuge and social affirmations. By merging empathetic storytelling with scalable participatory tools, YT-MCSST-4WISI bridges constructivist and positivist paradigms, offering a scalable framework for youth-centred urban planning and policy, with strong potential for global scalability.

The dynamics of curved columnar growth and ripple formation in Fe-Mn-Cr-Ni-Si alloys were studied in situ during gas tungsten arc (GTA) melt-run welding using synchrotron radiation X-ray imaging with high spatial resolution. In situ observations demonstrated that primary dendrite arm growth ceased when the angle between the growth direction of the primary dendrite arms and the direction of the maximum temperature gradient exceeded 44° to 49° at welding speeds of 1 to 7 mm/s. Consequently, curved columnar grains were formed by changing the growth direction via the development of secondary dendrite arms into primary dendrite arms. Image analysis revealed that a weld ripple, where solutes were highly segregated in the dendrite trunk, was formed by a rapid increase in the interface velocity.

Abstract This research aims to enhance the deformability of Inconel 718 by modifying the feedstock microstructures prior to deposition through solution treatment process at 950 °C and 1050 °C. It was observed that the gamma phase has transformed into a stable delta precipitate at 950 °C. Higher treatment temperature at 1050 °C shows a complete solution transition, proven by EBSD phase map, and electron channelling contrast imaging (ECCI).

The Fe-15Mn-10Cr-8Ni-4Si alloy, which has excellent low-cycle fatigue durability, was developed as a core material for steel-based vibration dampers that are effective against large-amplitude, long-period earthquake motions, and was put into practical use in 2014. However, manufacturing using small-scale equipment was expensive, so the authors tried manufacturing using stainless steel continuous casting facility and rolling facility, and succeeded in mass production. The authors also developed welding materials and welding techniques to assemble a buckling restraint brace damper with flat plasticizing section and one with cruciform plasticizing section, and successfully put these two types of brace dampers into practical use. The alloy plate has been recognized as an industrial product that can be manufactured with stable quality, and has been approved by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as a steel material for construction.

Abstract Prostate cancer (PCa) is a major, and increasingly global, health concern with current screening and diagnostic tools’ severe limitations causing unnecessary, invasive biopsy procedures. While gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been used to detect urinary volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with PCa, efforts to identify consistent molecular biomarkers have failed to generalize across studies. Inspired by the olfactory diagnostic capabilities of medical detection dogs, we do not reduce chromatograms to a list of compounds and concentrations. Instead, we deploy a machine learning approach that bypasses molecular identification: PCa “scent character” signatures are extracted from raw time series data transformed into image representations for classification via convolutional neural networks. To address confounding factors such as sample-source bias, we implement a multi-step pre-processing and debiasing pipeline, including empirical Bayes correction, baseline drift removal, and domain adversarial learning. The resulting model achieves classification performance on par with similarly trained canines, achieving a recall of 88% and an F1-score of 0.78. These findings demonstrate that, at least in the context of PCa detection from urine, machine learning-based scent signature analysis can serve as a fully non-invasive diagnostic alternative, with these early results being also relevant to the wider emergent field of medical machine olfaction.

As the transition to clean energy progresses, geothermal energy is poised to play a crucial role due to its reliability. However, corrosion remains a challenge, affecting the economic viability of thermal energy storage. This study investigates the use of thermal spray aluminum (TSA) on carbon steel substrates to mitigate corrosion in phase change materials (PCMs) used in geothermal plants. The research involved creating artificial defects in the coatings and exposing them to molten nitrate-nitrite PCM at 165°C (329 °F) for 168 h. Post-test analyses revealed that TSA coatings can protect carbon steel structures even when damaged, offering a potential corrosion mitigation strategy.

There is a long-standing and ongoing problem of practice with at-risk families in child welfare work focusing primarily on mothers and failing to properly engage fathers. The article describes a child welfare innovation from the UK designed to tackle this issue—the ISAFE (Improving Safeguarding through Audited Father-Engagement) intervention, developed by The Fatherhood Institute and The Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE) at Cardiff University and based on two previous separate interventions which had positive initial evaluations. ISAFE combines in-service social work practitioner training with other elements of organisational development to improve the engagement of fathers. Activities targeting organisational culture are case file audits, identification and training of team champions, and a webinar for service leaders. The practitioner training involves both awareness raising about the importance of engaging men and skills development via an introduction to motivational interviewing. ISAFE’s theory of change is summarised in the form of a logic model. Limitations of the intervention and its evaluation are discussed.