Structural Aspects and Prediction of Calmodulin-Binding Proteins

Calmodulin (CaM) is an important intracellular protein that binds Ca²⁺ and functions as a critical second messenger involved in numerous biological activities through extensive interactions with proteins and peptides. CaM’s ability to adapt to binding targets with different structures is related to the flexible central helix separating the N- and C-terminal lobes, which allows for conformational changes between extended and collapsed forms of the protein. CaM-binding targets are most often identified using prediction algorithms that utilize sequence and structural data to predict regions of peptides and proteins that can interact with CaM. In this review, we provide an overview of different CaM-binding proteins, the motifs through which they interact with CaM, and shared properties that make them good binding partners for CaM. Additionally, we discuss the historical and current methods for predicting CaM binding, and the similarities and differences between these methods and their relative success at prediction. As new CaM-binding proteins are identified and classified, we will gain a broader understanding of the biological processes regulated through changes in Ca²⁺ concentration through interactions with CaM.     

Susceptor-assisted fast microwave sintering of TiN reinforced SiAlON composites in a single mode cavity

In the present study, 17 wt % TiN reinforced α-β SiAlON composites were sintered at low temperature by susceptor-assisted microwave heating. The effect of TiN addition on dielectrical properties of starting powders, as well as the influence of sintering temperature on phase evolution, microstructure development and mechanical properties of α/β-SiAlON-TiN composites were investigated. The obtained results showed that TiN addition increased the microwave absorbing properties which is reflected in the peak sintering temperature. Thus, the α:β ratio decreased and mechanical properties were improved, especially the fracture toughness of the composites. Furthermore, an estimate of energy consumption during microwave assisted sintering at the laboratory scale is presented. As a result, the highest values for relative density (97.1%), Vickers hardness (13.35 ± 0.47 GPa), and fracture toughness (7.52 ± 0.54 MPa m^1/2) were obtained by microwave sintering for 30 min at 1300 °C.     

In Silico Analysis of the Molecular-Level Impact of SMPD1 Variants on Niemann-Pick Disease Severity

Sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase (SMPD1) is a key enzyme in the sphingolipid metabolism. Genetic SMPD1 variants have been related to the Niemann-Pick lysosomal storage disorder, which has different degrees of phenotypic severity ranging from severe symptomatology involving the central nervous system (type A) to milder ones (type B). They have also been linked to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson and Alzheimer. In this paper, we leveraged structural, evolutionary and stability information on SMPD1 to predict and analyze the impact of variants at the molecular level. We developed the SMPD1-ZooM algorithm, which is able to predict with good accuracy whether variants cause Niemann-Pick disease and its phenotypic severity; the predictor is freely available for download. We performed a large-scale analysis of all possible SMPD1 variants, which led us to identify protein regions that are either robust or fragile with respect to amino acid variations, and show the importance of aromatic-involving interactions in SMPD1 function and stability. Our study also revealed a good correlation between SMPD1-ZooM scores and in vitro loss of SMPD1 activity. The understanding of the molecular effects of SMPD1 variants is of crucial importance to improve genetic screening of SMPD1-related disorders and to develop personalized treatments that restore SMPD1 functionality.     

川中地区侏罗系沙溪庙组致密气处理和解释关键技术与应用

四川盆地蕴含丰富的致密砂岩气资源，近期利用高精度三维资料开展侏罗系沙溪庙组河道砂体勘探取得突出成效。沙溪庙组河道砂体具有横向变化快、储层非均质性强的特点，因此提高河道砂体的边界识别及其含气性预测精度是致密气地震勘探的关键。通过开展AVO特征低频保护的“六分法”（分类、分频、分时、分域、分步和分区）高保真叠前去噪、近地表Q补偿和OVT域叠前时间偏移等技术攻关，形成了一套针对川中地区侏罗系沙溪庙组致密气藏的“双高”（高保真、高分辨率）地震处理技术，并创新应用“双亮点”属性及多波、多分量砂体含气性地震预测等解释技术，提高了含气砂体预测精度。该技术系列在川中沙溪庙组致密气预测应用成果显著，地震数据频带得到了拓宽，低频信息更加丰富，资料信噪比明显提升，河道边界及其含气性预测的精度大幅提高，钻井成功率超过83%，应用成果有力地支撑了该地区沙溪庙组致密气的增储上产。     

FE-SEA方法在平台支持船噪声预报中的应用

平台支持船由于作业需要通常配备有动力定位系统,其在侧推工况下舱室噪声超标较为严重。针对这个问题采用计算流体力学(CFD)方法,得到侧推螺旋桨作用在导管上的脉动压力,并将时域计算结果转换成噪声计算的激励条件。采用有限元(FE)与统计能量分析(SEA)混合方法建立船体中频段FE-SEA耦合模型并建立船体高频段SEA模型,对某65 m AHTS船侧推工况下全频段(63 Hz~8000 Hz)舱室噪声进行预报,分析该船噪声分布规律及主要影响因素。并建立起全船的SEA模型,在中频段对比SEA与FE-SEA两种方法得到的舱室声压级频谱曲线,验证了使用混合模型的必要性。     

致密砂岩油藏能量补充方式评价及优化

针对致密砂岩油藏大规模体积压裂开发后能量补充困难的问题,利用自主设计制作的大型人造三维岩心物理模型和物理模拟实验舱,开展致密砂岩油藏能量补充方式优化研究。实验结果表明:致密砂岩油藏压裂开发过程中,地层能量损耗严重,采取注水或注气的方式可有效进行能量补充;地层中裂缝规模越大,越有利于原油渗流,后续补充能量的传播范围越广,有助于进一步提高原油采收率;从提高驱油效率和扩大波及系数方面优选吞吐渗吸介质,CO₂均优于活性水,CO₂吞吐开发在矿场试验中取得了显著的增油效果,因此,CO₂吞吐作为一种有效的能量补充方式在致密油开发中展现了良好的应用前景。该文分析了致密砂岩储层水平井压裂开发的渗流规律,优选出致密砂岩储层大规模压裂开发后最佳渗吸介质,可为致密砂岩油藏开发设计提供重要的理论依据。     

防气窜固井技术研究

从气窜机理、气窜预测方法、提高水泥浆防气窜性能、防气窜固井工艺技术四个方面进行研究,为固井防气窜提供理论依据,进而提升防气窜固井技术。     

Influencer-defaulter mutation-based optimization algorithms for predicting electricity prices

Efficient electricity price forecasting plays a significant role in our society. In this paper, a novel influencer-defaulter mutation (IDM) mutation operator has been proposed. The IDM operator has been combined with six well-known optimization algorithms to create mutated optimization algorithms whose performance has been tested on twenty-four standard benchmark functions. Further, the artificial neural network is integrated with mutated optimization algorithms to solve the electricity price prediction problem. The policymakers can identify appropriate variables based on the predicted prices to help future market planning. The statistical results prove the efficacy of the IDM operator on the recent optimization algorithms.     

Effect of utilization of hydrogen-rich reformed biogas on the performance and emission characteristics of common rail diesel engine

The utilization of renewable gaseous fuels in the diesel engine has gained significant interest in recent years due to its clean-burning nature and higher availability. In this study, hydrogen-rich reformed biogas was used as a gaseous fuel in a common rail diesel engine with diesel as pilot fuel. The hydrogen-rich reformed gas was synthesized through dry-oxidative reforming. The experimentations were performed in the load range from 6 to 24 N m with two different flow rates of gaseous fuel (0.5 and 1.5 kg/h) at a constant speed of 1800 RPM. The effects on engine performance parameters (brake thermal efficiency, brake specific energy consumption, and brake specific diesel consumption), combustion parameters (rate of pressure rise and maximum heat release rate) and emission parameters (Unburnt hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide) were assessed. The induction of gaseous fuel led to an increase in brake thermal efficiency by 10.5%, reduction in brake specific energy consumption by 13.6%, and a reduction of 26.4% in brake specific diesel consumption with a flow rate of 0.5 kg/h when compared to diesel-only mode at 24 N m load. The HC, NO_X and CO₂ emissions were reduced by 18.2%, 7.4% and 1.4% with a flow rate of 0.5 kg/h when compared to diesel-only mode at 24 N m load due to lower availability of carbon content in the combustible mixture. The utilization of renewable fuel like hydrogen-rich reformed biogas has great potential for overcoming the issue related to both biogas and hydrogen in diesel engines. Moreover, the higher diesel substitution also demonstrates the potential for cost-saving and fossil fuel conservation.     

A survey on tracking control of unmanned underwater vehicles: Experiments-based approach

This paper aims to provide a review of the conceptual design and theoretical framework of the main control schemes proposed in the literature for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). Additionally, the objective of the paper is not only to present an overview of the recent control architectures validated on UUVs but also to give detailed experimental-based comparative studies of the proposed control schemes. To this end, the main control schemes, including proportional–integral–derivative (PID) based, sliding mode control (SMC) based, adaptive based, observation-based, model predictive control (MPC) based, combined control techniques, are revisited in order to consolidate the principal efforts made in the last two decades by the automatic control community in the field. Besides implementing some key tracking control schemes from the classification mentioned above on Leonard UUV, several real-time experimental scenarios are tested, under different operating conditions, to evaluate and compare the efficiency of the selected tracking control schemes. Furthermore, we point out potential investigation gaps and future research trends at the end of this survey.