Sterility (ste) genes of Schizosaccharomyces pombe

In previous experiments of Girgsdies (1982), eight sterile (ste) mutants of Schizosaccharomyces pombe did not sporulate when fused with h⁺ or h^? protoplasts. We succeeded in achieving sporulation with these mutants. Two hitherto unknown ste genes, ste7 and ste8, were found.     

Association between erythrocyte dynamics and vessel remodelling in developmental vascular networks

Sprouting angiogenesis is an essential vascularization mechanism consisting of sprouting and remodelling. The remodelling phase is driven by rearrangements of endothelial cells (ECs) within the post-sprouting vascular plexus. Prior work has uncovered how ECs polarize and migrate in response to flow-induced wall shear stress (WSS). However, the question of how the presence of erythrocytes (widely known as red blood cells (RBCs)) and their impact on haemodynamics affect vascular remodelling remains unanswered. Here, we devise a computational framework to model cellular blood flow in developmental mouse retina. We demonstrate a previously unreported highly heterogeneous distribution of RBCs in primitive vasculature. Furthermore, we report a strong association between vessel regression and RBC hypoperfusion, and identify plasma skimming as the driving mechanism. Live imaging in a developmental zebrafish model confirms this association. Taken together, our results indicate that RBC dynamics are fundamental to establishing the regional WSS differences driving vascular remodelling via their ability to modulate effective viscosity.     

Detailed Structure–Function Correlations of Bacillus subtilis Acetolactate Synthase

Isobutanol is deemed to be a next‐generation biofuel and a renewable platform chemical. 1 Non‐natural biosynthetic pathways for isobutanol production have been implemented in cell‐based and in vitro systems with Bacillus subtilis acetolactate synthase (AlsS) as key biocatalyst. 2 – 6 AlsS catalyzes the condensation of two pyruvate molecules to acetolactate with thiamine diphosphate and Mg²⁺ as cofactors. AlsS also catalyzes the conversion of 2‐ketoisovalerate into isobutyraldehyde, the immediate precursor of isobutanol. Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that the ALS enzyme family forms a distinct subgroup of ThDP‐dependent enzymes. To unravel catalytically relevant structure‐function relationships, we solved the AlsS crystal structure at 2.3 Å in the presence of ThDP, Mg²⁺ and in a transition state with a 2‐lactyl moiety bound to ThDP. We supplemented our structural data by point mutations in the active site to identify catalytically important residues.     

Die Sturzflut von Braunsbach – Ingenieuranalyse der Gebäudeschäden

The flash flood of Braunsbach – engineering analysis of the building damage At the end of May to the beginning of June, a series of extreme rainfall events occurred in the southern part of Germany, which triggered some severe flash floods with significant building damage in the affected municipalities. The devastating flash flood of May 29, 2016 in Braunsbach in the district Schwäbisch Hall in Baden‐Württemberg caused heavy structural damage to some of the approximately 130 affected buildings. The paper gives an overview of the building damages documented immediately after the event. The damages cases were classified and assessed using the evaluation system of the EDAC‐flood damage model developed at the Earthquake Damage Analysis Center (EDAC) of the Bauhaus‐Universität Weimar. The analysis illustrates the particularities of the damage patterns due to flash floods compared to conventional river floods.     

Water vapor sorption kinetics of wood modified with glutaraldehyde

The modifying effects of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood with the crosslinking agent glutaraldehyde (GA) on the water vapor sorption kinetics were studied by curve fitting the experimental isotherm sorption data obtained using a Dynamic Vapor Sorption apparatus using the parallel exponential kinetics model (PEK model) and the Hailwood–Horrobin model (H–H model) for the isotherm. Both the H–H model and the PEK model provided good fits to the experimental data. Modification of wood with GA reduced both the time to equilibrium and the equilibrium moisture content (EMC). According to the PEK and H–H models, the reduction in EMC was mainly due to the decrease of moisture content (MC) associated with the slow sorption processes and polylayer water. The fast sorption processes and monolayer water were little affected by GA modification. Compared to the untreated control, the estimated total water absorbed by wood treated to a WPG of 20.9% at 100% RH decreased by 52.2%, by extrapolating the fitted curves derived from the H–H model. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Polystyrene/Polyolefin Elastomer Blends Loaded with Halloysite Nanotubes: Morphological,Mechanical, and Gas Barrier Properties

Herein, a simple melt-blending method is utilized to disperse of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) in polystyrene/polyolefin elastomer (PS/POE) blends. Based on morphological studies, the PS/POE/HNT nanocomposite containing up to 3 phr HNTs shows excellent nanofiller dispersion, while those filled with 5 phr HNTs exhibit nanofiller aggregation. To overcome the nanofiller aggregation issue, the polypropylene-grafted-maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) compatibilizer is added to the PS/POE/HNT nanocomposite, which results in improved mechanical properties for the nanocomposite sheets. Furthermore, the addition of compatibilized HNTs to the PS/POE blends leads to decreased O₂ and N₂ gas permeabilities. Besides, incorporating POE, HNTs, and PP-g-MA leads to a decrease in water vapor transmission of PS. In the end, the experimentally-determined mechanical properties and gas permeabilities of the nanocomposite sheets are compared to those predicted by prevalent theoretical models, revealing a good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results. Molecular-dynamics simulations are also carried out to calculate the gas diffusion coefficients in the different sheets to further support the experimental findings in this study. Overall, the PS/POE/HNT/PP-g-MA nanocomposite sheets fabricated in this work demonstrate excellent mechanical and gas barrier properties; and hence, can be used as candidate packaging materials. However, the strength of the resulting PS/POE blend may be inferior to that of the virgin PS.