Resolution of rotational ambiguity for three-component systems

Soft modeling of multivariate data is a powerful method for the analysis of processes that cannot be described quantitatively by a chemical model. Soft modeling usually does not result in unique solutions. Thus, the determination of the range of feasible solutions is important. For two-component systems the determination of that range is well-understood; for three-component systems the task is remarkably more complex. We present a novel method that can be applied to any multivariate data set, irrespective of overlap or realistic noise level. The expansion to four components is indicated.     

Prevalence and risk factors associated with campylobacter infections in broiler flocks in Shiraz, southern Iran

Campylobacter species are among the most common bacterial causes of human gastroenteritis in many countries, and poultry meat is considered as a major source of human campylobacteriosis. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of infection by Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in broiler flocks in Shiraz and to investigate the possible risk factors for the campylobacter infections in this area. For detection of campylobacter, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) was used. Between August and September 2009, a total of 100 broiler flocks from 100 commercial broiler farms were selected at slaughter and campylobacter status was determined by mPCR on caecal samples. Data about farms and flocks were collected by questionnaires. Approximately 76% (95% CI: 67-84%) of the flocks were positive for C. jejuni or C. coli. Twenty two percent were positive for C. jejuni, 32% for C. coli and 22% for both species. Results of the statistical analysis using multivariable logistic regression showed that the odds of flock infection decreased when level of owner's education (years) increased (OR = 0.86, P = 0.04), also odds of infection was nearly five times higher when age at slaughter was ≥ 45 days compared with < 45 days (OR = 5.3, P = 0.003) and use of antibiotic medications at early stage of production period was negatively associated with the infection status of the flock (OR = 0.33, OR = 0.059). We found no evidence of the effects of any other factors such as time interval between successive flocks, hygiene measures and number of broiler houses on the farm on the prevalence of campylobacter infection. Getting more attention to the health education issues and planning qualitative studies to reveal the behavioral aspects of the management policy, may be subjects of interest for future researches.     

Amino Acid Pairing for De Novo Design of Self‐Assembling Peptides and Their Drug Delivery Potential

Molecular self‐assembly has emerged as the “bottom‐up” engineering route to fabricate functional supramolecules for diverse applications. The design of molecular building units becomes critical in determining the structure, properties, and function of the resulting assemblies. Here, a de novo design principle of amino acid pairing (AAP) to generate new classes of self‐assembling peptides (SAPs) is presented. In this study, the AAP focuses on hydrogen bonding, and ionic and hydrophobic interactions among amino acid pairs. With solely hydrogen bond pairs, SAPs can be constructed with only two amino acids. With all three AAP strategies (hydrogen bonds, ionic and hydrophobic pairs), a short novel SAP is constructed. This peptide can self‐assemble into β‐sheet‐rich nanofibers with a relatively low “critical aggregation concentration (CAC)” of ～10 μM . It also shows the ability to stabilize and deliver the hydrophobic anticancer agent ellipticine in aqueous solution. The peptide‐drug complexes/co‐assemblies exhibit anticancer activity against human lung carcinoma cells A549 and breast cancer cells MCF‐7, and have good dilution stability. The presented AAP design provides a new strategy to fabricate functional supramolecules with potential applications in nanomedicine.     

Effect of E-glass Fibers and Phlogopite Mica on the Mechanical Properties and Dimensional Stability of Rigid PVC Foams

In this work, short E-glass fibers and mica were used to enhance the dimensional stability and mechanical properties of extruded rigid polyvinyl chloride foams. Experimental results show that the dimensional stability increased by 50%, and heat resistance of the polyvinyl chloride foam improved as the amount of reinforcing solids increased in the composites. The storage modulus, tensile, and flexural strengths of the composites improved by 220, 82, and 46%, respectively. Scanning electron microscope micrographs show good interaction between glass fibers and foam cells and a good dispersion and orientation of the mica flakes along the cell walls of the polyvinyl chloride foam.     

The effect of stiffener on behavior of reduced beam section connections in steel moment-resisting frames

Reduced Beam Section (RBS) connections are a new type of connection which have been used in steel moment-resisting frames since the 1994 Northridge earthquake. This study is primarily aimed at analyzing the effects of suitable web stiffeners on preventing the deterioration effect of the hysteresis curve for RBS connections. Results of more than 183 nonlinear finite element analyses on different IPE sections with radius cut, straight cut, and drilled-flange RBS connection showed that different web stiffeners considerably contribute to the enhancement of seismic performance of RBS connections. In this research, the effects of factors such as the geometry and the number of the stiffeners, the distance between the stiffener and column side, and the length and thickness of the stiffener on the seismic performance of RBS connections were also studied.     

Biological and chemical redox transformations of mercury in fresh and salt waters of the high arctic during spring and summer

It is well-established that atmospheric deposition transports Hg to Arctic regions, but the postdepositional dynamics of Hg that can alter its impact on Arctic food chains are less understood. Through a series of in situ experiments, we investigated the redox transformations of Hg in coastal and inland aquatic systems. During spring and summer, Hg reduction in streams and pond waters decreased across a 4-fold increase in salinity. This alteration of Hg reduction due to chloride was counterbalanced by the presence of particles, which favored the conversion of oxidized Hg to its elemental form. In saline waters, biogenic organic materials, produced by algae, were able to promote oxidation of Hg(O) even under dark conditions. Overall these results point to the vulnerability of marine/ coastal Arctic systems to Hg, compared to inland systems, with oxidation processes enhancing Hg residence times and thus increasing its potential to enter the food chain.     

Experimental investigation and development of new correlation for influences of temperature and concentration on dynamic viscosity of MWCNT-SiO2 (20-80)/20W50 hybrid nano-lubricant

In current research, MWCNT-SiO_2/oil hybrid nano-lubricant viscosity is experimentally examined. By dispersing 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.8% and 1% volume of MWCNTs and SiO_2 nanoparticle into the engine oil SAE 20W50, the temperature and solid volume fraction consequences were studied. At 40 to 100 ℃ temperature, the viscosities were assessed. The results indicated Newtonian behavior for the hybrid nano-lubricant. Moreover, solid volume fraction augmentation and temperature enhanced the viscosity enhancement of hybrid nano-lubricant. At highest solid volume fraction and temperature, nano-lubricant viscosity was 171% greater compared to pure 20W50. Existed models lack the ability to predict the hybrid nano-lubricant viscosity. Thus, a new correlation regarding solid volume fraction and temperature was suggested with R-squared of 0.9943.     

Silicon Nanoparticles and Methyl Jasmonate Improve Physiological Response and Increase Expression of Stress-related Genes in Strawberry cv. Paros Under Salinity Stress

Silicon - Salinity is one of the most crucial abiotic stresses, which is the consequence of an increase in the concentration of NaCl ions, influencing the plant’s growth, development, and...