Mechanical behaviour of surface layer fibreglass-reinforced flexible pavements

The work presented in this paper aims at providing a better understanding of the mechanical response of surface layer fibreglass-reinforced flexible pavements. The surface reinforcement technique consists of installing a fibreglass grid in between the levelling layer (placed on the base course to seal and level the pre-existing distresses) and the wearing course (or overlay). Flexural fracture tests were performed on two-layered reinforced asphalt specimens composed of both levelling and wearing courses to simulate a real overlay structure. Three fibreglass grids characterised by different mechanical and/or geometrical properties were employed. Strain localisation and damage distribution were investigated using an in-house digital image correlation system capable of achieving highly accurate 2D full-field strain maps of the specimens during loading. Finally, an analytical model was developed on purpose to reproduce the mechanical response of the asphalt mixture-interlayer system.     

Adaptive Turbo Coded Modulation for Shallow Underwater Acoustic Communications

In this paper the performance of a wireless communications system over shallow underwater acoustic channels is investigated when adaptive modulation and coding techniques with receiver diversity are used. It is assumed that the communication system experiences Ricean shadowed fading. We obtain the analytical figures of the proposed rate-adaptive transmission schemes, emphasizing in the spectral efficiency and the average bit error rate. These analytical expressions are compared to Monte-Carlo simulations corroborating the analytical results.     

Onset of virus systemic infection in plants is determined by speed of cell-to-cell movement and number of primary infection foci

The cornerstone of today''s plant virology consists of deciphering the molecular and mechanistic basis of host–pathogen interactions. Among these interactions, the onset of systemic infection is a fundamental variable in studying both within- and between-host infection dynamics, with implications in epidemiology. Here, we developed a mechanistic model using probabilistic and spatio-temporal concepts to explain dynamic signatures of virus systemic infection. The model dealt with the inherent characteristic of plant viruses to use two different and sequential stages for their within-host propagation: cell-to-cell movement from the initial infected cell and systemic spread by reaching the vascular system. We identified the speed of cell-to-cell movement and the number of primary infection foci in the inoculated leaf as the key factors governing this dynamic process. Our results allowed us to quantitatively understand the timing of the onset of systemic infection, describing this global process as a consequence of local spread of viral populations. Finally, we considered the significance of our predictions for the evolution of plant RNA viruses.     

Thymosin β4 is differentially expressed in the cerebrospinal fluid of Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease patients: a MALDI‐TOF MS protein profiling study

MALDI‐TOF protein profiling analysis permits the detection of peptides and small proteins in complex protein mixtures with great accuracy. We applied this analysis to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 15 patients affected by Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease (CJD). We compared the levels of the normalized ion signals of 11 sporadic and 4 genetic CJD forms with those from ten healthy control subjects and eight non‐CJD relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis patients. In so doing, we detected 61 differentially expressed ion signals in CJD samples compared to controls. Among the 61 signals, 3 signals had significantly increased levels with high statistical significance (p <0.0001) and were located at 3238.3 m/z, 4963.7 m/z, and 8565.3 m/z. We characterized the 5.0 and 8.6 kDa proteins as thymosin β4 N‐acetylated and free ubiquitin, respectively, while the 3.2‐kDa peptide remained uncharacterized. Although elevated ubiquitin levels have previously been described in CJD, we have demonstrated for the first time the involvement of thymosin β4 in a neurodegenerative disease. To support the validity of thymosin β4 levels obtained by MALDI‐TOF analysis, an independent enzyme immunoassay analysis was performed. Moreover, a validation cohort consisting of CSF from three CJD patients, five healthy subjects, and six non‐CJD relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis patients was analyzed in a similar way, yielding superimposable results. We propose that thymosin β4 is a potential new candidate marker for the ante mortem diagnosis of CJD disease.     

Changes in the free amino acids and the biogenic amine contents during lactic acid fermentation of different lupin species

The aim of the work was to evaluate the profile of free amino acids (FAA) as the possible precursors of biogenic amines (BAs) in different varieties and hybrid lines of Lupinus luteus and Lupinus angustifolius and its changes during fermentation. Lupins have high amounts of FAA, and therefore, significant contents of BAs by the action of bacterial amino acid decarboxylases can be formed. In view of this, the effect of three Pediococcus pentosaceus strains KTU05‐8, KTU05‐9 and KTU05‐10 on BA formation during lupin fermentation was studied. The formation of BAs was monitored during 48‐h fermentation at solid‐state conditions and compared with that in samples after submerged fermentation and in the control nonfermented samples. The lupin variety, fermentation conditions and the Pediococcus strain were found to have the significant effect on the FAA profile and BA contents in fermented lupin; the interaction between analysed factors was F(5.989) = 1755.321 (P < 0.0001) and F(5.660) = 130.736 (P < 0.0001), respectively. A weak correlation was found between amino acid His and histamine (r = 0.3709; P = 0.0005) and between Phe and phenylethylamine (r = 0.3914, P = 0.0002) in lupin samples, but the significant correlations between amino acid Tyr and tyramine and between Lys and cadaverine were not found. By optimising the fermentation technology, it is possible to increase the nutritional value and functionality of lupin.