Human Serum Transferrin Fibrils: Nanomineralisation in Bacteria and Destruction of Red Blood Cells

Fibrils formed by human serum transferrin [(1–3 μM ) apo‐Tf, partially iron‐saturated (Fe_0.6‐Tf) and holo‐Tf (Fe₂‐Tf) forms], from dilute bicarbonate solutions, were deposited on formvar surfaces and studied by electron microscopy. We observed that possible bacterial contamination appears to give rise to long, pea‐pod‐like (PPL) structures for Fe₂‐Tf, attributable to the formation of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) storage granules, under the nutrient‐limiting conditions used. These PPL structures contained periodic nanomineralisation sites susceptible to uranyl stain. Extended incubation of transferrin solutions (about four days) gave rise to extensive transferrin fibril structures. Optical microscopy and AFM studies showed that red blood cells (RBCs) readily adhere to these fibrils. Moreover, the fibrils appear to penetrate RBC membranes and to induce rapid cell destruction (within about 5 h). It is speculated that in situations in vivo where transferrin fibrils can form, such interactions might have adverse physiological consequences, and further studies could aid the understanding of related pathological events.     

High quality amorphous silicon materials and cells grown with hydrogen dilution

Hydrogen dilution of the active gas during deposition has been found to be a very effective way to improve the quality of amorphous silicon-based materials and solar cells. With increasing hydrogen dilution, the material is characterized by an improved order, and at a certain threshold dilution, the amorphous to microcrystalline transition takes place. The best material is grown just below the threshold and is heterogeneous consisting of tiny crystallites embedded in an amorphous matrix of improved order. In this paper, we discuss the effects of hydrogen dilution on the material and cell properties of amorphous silicon-based alloys and provide an explanation for their improved stability against light-induced degradation. We also discuss some special properties of the on-the-edge materials that are not seen in the conventional amorphous or microcrystalline alloys.     

Physical,mechanical, and transdermal diltiazem release analysis of nanosilica tailored various poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes

Hybrid membranes based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) of widely different molecular weights and ex situ nanosilica were synthesized and characterized as transdermal delivery device for Diltiazem hydrochloride. Investigations showed that change in PVA molecular weight strongly influenced physico‐mechanicals of the hybrids especially at low nanosilica content than at higher levels. As for example at 1 wt %, low molecular weight PVA induced finer dispersion of silica nanoparticles resulting into higher dry state crystallinity and mechanical strength but slightly lower biocompatibility as compared to high molecular weight PVA. Those variations in physico‐mechanicals finally affected Diltiazem retention and its elution from those membranes under physiological conditions. Low molecular weight PVA produced highest drug retention as well as slowest yet steady release than both high molecular weight PVA and neat PVA membranes. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2076–2086, 2013     

Process parameter optimization during EDM of AISI 316 LN stainless steel by using fuzzy based multi-objective PSO

The present contribution describes an application of a hybrid approach using fuzzy logic and particle swarm optimization (PSO) for optimizing the process parameters in the electric discharge machining (EDM) of AISI 316LN Stainless Steel. In this study, each experimentation was performed under different machining conditions of pulse current, pulse on-time, and pulse off-time. Machining performances such as MRR and EWR were evaluated. A Taguchi L9 orthogonal array was produced to plan the experimentation and the regression method was applied to model the relationship between the input factors and responses. A fuzzy model was employed to provide a fitness function to PSO by unifying the multiple responses. Finally, PSO was used to predict the optimal process parametric settings for the multi-performance optimization of the EDM operation. The experimental results confirm the feasibility of the strategy and are in good agreement with the predicted results over a wide range of machining conditions employed in the process.     

Mapping monsoonal soil wetness regions from multi‐temporal VEGETATION dataset

Using the temporal and multi‐spectral signature of the soil wetness regions formed by monsoon storms in Indian river catchments, an analysis of time‐series VEGETATION images is proposed here to map the wetness regions and their spatial distribution for 1999, 2000 and 2001. The spatial distribution of the mapped regions was then compared with the corresponding distribution of topographic index range in 41 watersheds of the River Mahanadi. The comparison shows that there was a significant relationship (n = 41, r ² = 0.65) between the two. Extending the same analysis for all other Indian river catchments, similar relationships were obtained, except in the Brahmaputra catchment, where the temporal and spatial patterns of monsoon storms are different from those of the other river catchments.     

Analysis of flow over backward facing step with transition

The present study deals with the study of the velocity distribution and the separation phenomenon of flow of air over a two dimensional backward facing step. The flow of air over a backward facing step has been investigated numerically using FLUENT. Flow simulation has been carried out in a backward facing step having an expansion ratio (ratio of the height before and after the step) of 1:1.94 and the results obtained are compared with the published experimental results. Comparison of flow characteristics between steps with three different transitions is made. The variation of reattachment length for all the three cases are analyzed for wide range of Reynolds number ranging from 100 to 7000 which covers the laminar, transition and turbulent flow of air. Simulation of the flow over steps with expansion ratios of 1:1.24, 1:1.38, 1:1.47, 1:1.53, 1:1.94, 1:2.20 are also carried out to examine the effect of different expansion ratios on the reattachment length. It is found that the primary reattachment length increases with increase in the expansion ratio. The primary reattachment length at the bottom wall downstream of the step is minimum for the step with round edged transition and maximum for the step with a vertical drop transition.     

How the monomer concentration of polymerization influences various properties of polybenzimidazole: A case study with poly(4,4′‐diphenylether‐5,5′‐bibenzimidazole)

In this work, a series of poly(4,4′‐diphenylether‐5,5′‐bibenzimidazole)s (OPBIs) were synthesized from 4,4′‐oxybis(benzoic acid) and 3,3′,4,4′‐tetraaminobiphenyl through the variation of the initial monomer concentration with a solution polycondensation technique in a poly(phosphoric acid) medium. The resulting polymers were characterized by various techniques such as infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and thermogravimetric analysis. The initial monomer concentration in the polymerization mixture played an important role in controlling the molecular weight of the resulting polymers. A temperature‐dependent IR study showed that the free movement of the ? NH group of the imidazole ring was blocked by the absorbed moisture. The DMA study showed that the glass‐transition temperature (T_g) varied with the molecular weight, and the presence of the ether linkage in the OPBI polymer backbone had a significant influence on T_g. A high‐molecular‐weight OPBI polymer tended to form a supramolecular organization, which influenced the thermal characteristic of the polymer. Photophysical studies demonstrated the fluorescent characteristics of the OPBI polymers in both solid and solution states. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Characterization of water-soluble organic carbon in urban atmospheric aerosols using solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy

Solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been used to investigate the distribution of carbon functional groups in urban Atlanta aerosol fine (PM2.5) particles. Carbonaceous aerosol particles comprise a significant fraction of the ambient particle mass and are environmentally significant as they may influence radiative and cloud-nucleating properties and can also produce adverse health effects upon inhalation. The water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) fraction was extracted from multiple 24 h integrated high-volume quartz filter samples and further separated into recovered hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions using an approach similar to that used to extract humic and fulvic acids from aqueous samples. Solid-state 13C NMR results indicate that WSOC in urban atmospheric aerosol particles is mostly aliphatic in nature (approximately 95% by C mass) with major contributions from alkyl and oxygenated alkyls (approximately 80%), carboxylic acid (approximately 10%), and aromatic functional groups (approximately 4%). The aromatic C is associated with the recovered hydrophobic fraction of WSOC. These spectra have been compared to the 13C NMR results obtained from Suwannee River humic acid and a fractionated biomass burning sample. WSOC, and more importantly, its recovered hydrophobic fraction, is found to be only qualitatively similar to aqueous humic material. The biomass burning sample is significantly different from urban Atlanta WSOC and is composed of substantial amounts of sugar derivatives and phenolic compounds, as expected. The NMR results demonstrate the potential of this technique to investigate aerosol WSOC composition and to study its variations with changes in parameters such aerosol sources.     

The representation,analysis and verification of business processes: a metagraph-based approach

Business processes can be modeled using a variety of schemes such as Petri Nets, Metagraphs and UML Activity Diagrams. When information analysis is as important an objective as the proper sequencing of tasks, the metagraph formalism is the most appropriate. In practice, however, metagraphs have not achieved wide popularity. Here we propose a modification of the original formulation that eliminates some of the inconveniences that have hindered the use of this technique. We represent a business process as a Task-Precedence Metagraph (TPMG), which is a type of AND/OR graph. A TPMG is similar to a metagraph but is visually clearer and more appealing, and the algorithmic procedures are graphical rather than algebraic. We first describe the proposed representation scheme for TPMGs and present a simple graph-search algorithm for the analysis of information flow. This can be readily extended to perform task analysis, resource analysis, and operational (i.e., semantic) verification. We then present a generalized graphical algorithm for structural (i.e., syntactic) verification that runs correctly not only on TPMGs containing directed cycles, but even on those that have overlapping patterns. Editor-in-Chief’s Note: An earlier version of this paper was accepted for WITS2004. The authors were subsequently invited to submit an expanded paper for publication consideration in Information Technology and Management. The conference co-chairs, Professors Amit Dutta and Paulo Goes were the guest editors for this paper.