Collective cell guidance by cooperative intercellular forces

Cells comprising a tissue migrate as part of a collective. How collective processes are coordinated over large multi-cellular assemblies has remained unclear, however, because mechanical stresses exerted at cell-cell junctions have not been accessible experimentally. We report here maps of these stresses within and between cells comprising a monolayer. Within the cell sheet there arise unanticipated fluctuations of mechanical stress that are severe, emerge spontaneously, and ripple across the monolayer. Within that stress landscape, local cellular migrations follow local orientations of maximal principal stress. Migrations of both endothelial and epithelial monolayers conform to this behaviour, as do breast cancer cell lines before but not after the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Collective migration in these diverse systems is seen to be governed by a simple but unifying physiological principle: neighbouring cells join forces to transmit appreciable normal stress across the cell-cell junction, but migrate along orientations of minimal intercellular shear stress.     

Effect of support size on the catalytic activity of metal-oxide-doped silica particles in the glycolysis of polyethylene terephthalate

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of preformed silica spheres with diameters ranging from 60 to 750 nm. Ultrasonic irradiation was employed to promote the deposition of the metal oxide nanoparticles on the surface of silica. Silica-supported zinc oxide or cerium oxide was used as a catalyst in the glycolysis of polyethylene terephthalate, one of the key processes in the depolymerization of polyethylene terephthalate. The effect of the support size on the catalytic activity was studied in terms of monomer yield, and the monomer concentration was analyzed via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The morphologies and surface properties of the catalysts were characterized using a scanning electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope, and a BET surface area analyzer, while the monomer was characterized via HPLC and nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopy. Both the zinc oxide and cerium oxide deposited on a smaller support showed better distribution and less aggregation. The high specific surface area of the smaller support catalysts provided a large number of active sites. The highest monomer yield was obtained with a catalyst of 60-nm silica support.     

Reliability data update method for emergency diesel generator of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant

In the field of Living Probabilistic Safety Assessment (LPSA) the reliability data updating is an important factor. In risk analysis equipment failure data is needed to estimate the frequencies of events contributing to risk posed by a facility. Five years data of emergency diesel generator (EDG) of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has been studied in this paper. The data updating process has been done by using two methods, i.e., the classical method and Bayesian method. The aim of using these methods is to calculate the operational failure rate (λ) and demand failure probability (p). The results show that the operational failure rate is 1.7E?3 per hour and the demand failure probability is 2.4E?2 demand per day for Daya Bay NPP. By comparing the results obtain from classical and Bayesian methods with EDF (Electric De France) it is concluded that the design and construction of Daya Bay NPP is very different than EDF therefore the reliability parameters used in Daya Bay NPP is based on the classical method.     

Reactivity feedback coefficients of a low enriched uranium fuelled material test research reactor at end-of-life

The reactivity feedback coefficients at end-of-life of a material test reactor fuelled with low enriched uranium fuel were calculated. The reactor used for the study was the IAEA’s 10 MW benchmark reactor. Simulations were carried out to calculate the different reactivity feedback coefficients including Doppler feedback coefficient, reactivity coefficient for change of water temperature and reactivity coefficient for change of water density. Nuclear reactor analysis codes including WIMS-D4 and CITATION were employed to carry out these calculations. It was observed that the magnitude of all the reactivity feedback coefficients increased at end of life of the reactor by almost 2–5%.     

Properties of Khaya grandifoliola gum

The gum exudate of Khaya grandifoliola has only limited solubility in water. Analysis of the gum showed that approximately 50% was in the free acid form and the remainder was largely the calcium salt. The gum dissolves in sodium carbonate solution with removal of calcium ions. This significantly alters the viscosity of the solution but it may be controlled by addition of calcium ions.     

Studies to analyse the relationship between IFNα2b gene dosage and its expression,using a Pichia pastoris‐based expression system

Human interferon α2b (hIFNα2b) is the most important member of the interferon family. Escherichia coli, yeasts, mammalian cell cultures and baculovirus‐infected insect cells have been used for expressing recombinant human interferon. Recently a Pichia pastoris‐based expression system has emerged as an attractive system for producing functional human recombinant IFNα2b. In this regard, gene dosage is considered an important factor in obtaining the optimum expression of recombinant protein, which may vary from one protein to another. In the present study we have shown the effect of IFNα2b gene dosage on extracellular expression of IFNα2b recombinant protein from P. pastoris. Constructs containing from one to five repeats of IFNα2b‐expressing cassettes were created via an in vitro multimerization approach. P. pastoris host strain X‐33 was transformed using these expression cassettes. Groups of P. pastoris clones transformed with different copies of the IFNα2b expression cassette were screened for intrachromosomal integration. The IFNα2b expression level of stable transformants was checked. The copy number of integrated IFNα2b was determined by performing qPCR of genomic DNA of recombinant P. patoris clones. It was observed that an increase in copy number generally had a positive effect on the expression level of IFNα2b protein. Regarding the performance of multicopy strains, those obtained from transformation of multicopy vectors showed relatively high expression, compared to those generated using transformation vector having only one copy of IFNα2b. It was also observed that an increase in drug resistance of a clone did not guarantee its high expression, as integration of a marker gene did not always correlate with integration of the gene of interest. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Carbon nanofiber based buckypaper used as a thermal interface material

Carbon nanofiber (CNF) based buckypaper was explored as a potential thermal interface material (TIM) for electronics. CNFs were subjected to heat treatment temperatures of 1100 °C, 1500 °C and 3000 °C. TIMs were prepared and characterized using thermal impedance test stand. Results show that the thermal impedance at the interface decreased in conjunction with the increasing heat-treatment temperature of CNFs. TIMs with graphitized CNF exhibit a significant decrease of 54% in thermal impedance in comparison with the dry contact. This improvement is likely due to the high degree of CNF graphitizibility and the resulting outstanding electrical and thermal conductivities.     

Biomolecular conjugation inside synthetic polymer nanopores via glycoprotein-lectin interactions

We demonstrate the supramolecular bioconjugation of concanavalin A (Con A) protein with glycoenzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) inside single nanopores, fabricated in heavy ion tracked polymer membranes. Firstly, the HRP-enzyme was covalently immobilized on the inner wall of the pores using carbodiimide coupling chemistry. The immobilized HRP-enzyme molecules bear sugar (mannose) groups available for the binding of Con A protein. Secondly, the bioconjugation of Con A on the pore wall was achieved through its biospecific interactions with the mannose residues of the HRP enzyme. The immobilization of biomolecules inside the nanopore leads to the reduction of the available area for ionic transport, and this blocking effect can be exploited to tune the conductance and selectivity of the nanopore in aqueous solution. Both cylindrical and conical nanopores were used in the experiments. The possibility of obtaining two or more conductance states (output), dictated by the degree of nanopore blocking resulted from the different biomolecules in solution (input), as well as the current rectification properties obtained with the conical nanopore, could also allow implementing information processing at the nanometre scale. Model simulations based on the transport equations further verify the feasibility of the sensing procedure that involves concepts from supramolecular chemistry, molecular imprinting, recognition, and nanotechnology.     

Twinning‐, Polytypism‐, and Polarity‐Induced Morphological Modulation in Nonplanar Nanostructures with van der Waals Epitaxy

Twinning, polytypism, and polarity are important aspects in nanostructural growth since their presence can affect various properties of the as‐grown products. The morphology of nanostructures grown via van der Waals epitaxy is shown to be strongly influenced by the twinning density and the presence of polytypism within the nanostructures, while the growth direction is driven by the compound polarity. With ZnTe as the model material, vertically aligned nanorods are successfully produced with variable cross‐section and branched crystals (tripods and tetrapods) on only a single type of substrate. Van der Waals epitaxy contributes by relaxing the lattice‐mismatch requirements for epitaxial growth and by enabling a variety of crystal planes in the initial stages of the growth to be interfaced to the substrate, regardless of the polarity of the epitaxial material. These results may provide more flexibility in tuning rationally the morphology of epitaxial nanostructures into other shapes with higher complexity by routine adjustment of growth environment.     

Removal of Vanadium from Molten Aluminum—Part III. Analysis of Industrial Boron Treatment Practice

Transition metal impurities (V, Ti, Zr, and Cr) reduce the electrical conductivity of smelter grade aluminum. These impurities are removed in the form of their borides by reacting with added Al-B master alloys i.e., boron treatment. Although, boron treatment is widely used for the production of high purity aluminum alloys in casthouse the fundamental understanding is lacking and published industrial data are limited. In the current study, industrial trials on the removal of impurities were conducted at one of the high purity aluminum alloys producers in Australasia. Kinetics analysis revealed that the rate of reaction is controlled by the mass transfer of impurities in the bulk melt. The measured mass transfer coefficient (k _m) of V and Ti were 1.1 × 10^?4 and 2.6 × 10^?4 m/s respectively, in the naturally stirred molten aluminum. The rate of V and Ti removal was faster compared to Zr and Cr during the boron treatment of smelter grade aluminum. Mass balance analysis revealed that 70 wt pct of V and Ti combined as borides in the first hour of the total 12 hours of boron treatment process. The calculated amount of un-reacted B was approximately 25.5 wt pct of initial amount added that remained in the final alloy. There was no evidence of boride rings formation, although partially dissolved AlB₁₂ particles were observed under scanning electron microscope. Finally, implications for industrial practice are discussed for the improvement of current boron treatment process that include changing the source of boron, multiple stage addition of boron and better stirring of the molten aluminum.