Coherent interaction of atoms with a beam of light confined in a light cage

Controlling coherent interaction between optical fields and quantum systems in scalable, integrated platforms is essential for quantum technologies. Miniaturise...     

(A)Social reputation: Exploring the relationship between online video game involvement and social competence

Affordable and accessible Internet has changed the way video games are played, allowing individuals to connect worldwide in shared gaming spaces. On the surface participation within these environments may seem socially beneficial, as these highly social, playful spaces allow players to connect, interact with, and learn from others. However, there is a growing concern that increased participation within online gaming environments comes with a wide variety of social consequences, contributing to numerous losses in ‘offline’ sociability. While considerable research has examined these claims, consistent relationships between social competence and online video game involvement have yet to be established. The current work (N = 515) aimed to examine the extent to which online video game involvement may support, or undermine, the development and maintenance of traditional social skills. The results indicate that there are unique relationships between social skills and video game involvement within online gaming populations. However, among online video game players, these links were not as negative or broad as hypothesized. The results of this assessment dispute the anecdotal attribution of a global level of social ineptitude amongst online video game players and provide insight into the potential effects of online video game play on skill development and maintenance.     

The p53-, Bax- and p21-dependent inhibition of colon cancer cell growth by 5-hydroxy polymethoxyflavones

Scope: Previously, we reported that 5‐hydroxy polymethoxyflavones (5OH‐PMFs) isolated from orange, namely 5‐hydroxy‐6,7,8,3′,4′‐pentamethoxyflavone, 5‐hydroxy‐3,6,7,8,3′,4′‐hexamethoxyflavone (5HHMF) and 5‐hydroxy‐6,7,8,4′‐tetramethoxyflavone (5HTMF), potently induced apoptosis and cell‐cycle arrest in multiple human colon cancer cells. Herein, using isogenic variants of HCT116 human colon cancer cells, we investigated the effects of p53, Bax and p21 on the apoptosis and cell‐cycle arrest induced by different 5OH‐PMFs. Methods and results: Annexin V/PI co‐staining assay demonstrated that 5HHMF and 5HTMF significantly induced apoptosis in HCT116 (p53^+/+) cells but not in HCT116 (p53^?/?) cells. Furthermore, 5HHMF and 5HTMF significantly induced apoptosis in HCT116 (Bax^+/?) cells, whereas their pro‐apoptotic effects on HCT116 (Bax^?/?) cells were marginal. All three 5OH‐PMFs increased G0/G1 cell population of HCT116 (p53^+/+) cells, and these effects were abolished in HCT116 (p53^?/?) and HCT116 (p21^?/?) cells. Immunoblotting analysis showed that 5HHMF and 5HTMF increased the levels of cleaved caspase‐3, cleaved PARP in both HCT116 (p53^+/+) and HCT116 (Bax^+/?) cells and these effects were much weaker in HCT116 (p53^?/?) and HCT116 (Bax^?/?) cells. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that 5OH‐PMFs, especially 5HHMF and 5HTMF, induce apoptosis and cell‐cycle arrest by p53‐, Bax‐ and p21‐dependent mechanism.     

Role of physical structures in bulk oils on lipid oxidation

Lipid oxidation is important to food manufacturers especially when they increase unsaturated lipids in their products to improve nutritional profiles. Unfortunately, the number of antioxidants available to food manufacturers to control oxidative rancidity is limited and the approval of new antioxidants is unlikely due to economic barriers in obtaining government approval for new food additives. Therefore, new antioxidant technologies are needed for food oils. This paper reviews the current knowledge of lipid oxidation in foods with emphasis on how physical properties of food systems impact oxidation chemistry. In particular, the role of association colloids in bulk oils on lipid oxidation chemistry is discussed in an attempt to understand mechanisms of oxidation. Increasing the understanding of how physical properties impact lipid oxidation could lead to the development of novel antioxidant technologies that not only protect the oil against oxidation and increase shelf-life but also allow food manufacturers to include more nutritionally beneficial fatty acids in their products.     

Optimized cast components in the drive train of wind turbines and inner ring creep in the main bearing seat

Using large components made of nodular cast iron (GJS) in wind turbines enables the application of lightweight construction through the high degree of design freedom. Besides the sand-casting process, casting into a permanent metal mould, i.e. chill casting, leads to a finer microstructure and higher quasi-static mechanical properties as well as higher fatigue strength. Unfortunately, in present design methodologies specific fatigue data is only available for sand cast and not for chilled cast GJS. Thus, lightweight design strategies for large, chilled cast components are not achievable, which led to the publicly funded project “Gusswelle”. Based on material investigations of EN-GJS-400-18-LT chill cast, an optimized hollow rotor shaft is developed. The design process and the resulting shaft design are presented. The optimized hollow rotor shaft prototype will be tested on a full-scale test bench to validate the design methodology. The intended validation plan as well as the test bench setup is shown in this paper. Furthermore, the decreasing wall thickness influences the interference fit between main bearing and hollow rotor shaft. Thus, through the applied bending moment, inner ring creep is more probable to occur in the main bearing seat. The creeping behaviour is investigated with finite element simulations and a measuring method is presented.