Curvature-mediated interactions between membrane proteins

Membrane proteins can deform the lipid bilayer in which they are embedded. If the bilayer is treated as an elastic medium, then these deformations will generate elastic interactions between the proteins. The interaction between a single pair is repulsive. However, for three or more proteins, we show that there are nonpairwise forces whose magnitude is similar to the pairwise forces. When there are five or more proteins, we show that the nonpairwise forces permit the existence of stable protein aggregates, despite their pairwise repulsions.     

An anisotropic tertiary creep damage constitutive model for anisotropic materials

When an anisotropic material is subject to creep conditions and a complex state of stress, an anisotropic creep damage behavior is observed. Previous research has focused on the anisotropic creep damage behavior of isotropic materials but few constitutive models have been developed for anisotropic creeping solids. This paper describes the development of a new anisotropic tertiary creep damage constitutive model for anisotropic materials. An advanced tensorial damage formulation is implemented which includes both material orientation relative to loading and the degree of creep damage anisotropy in the model. A variation of the Norton-power law for secondary creep is implemented which includes the Hill’s anisotropic analogy. Experiments are conducted on the directionally-solidified bucket material DS GTD-111. The constitutive model is implemented in a user programmable feature (UPF) in ANSYS FEA software. The ability of the constitutive model to regress to the Kachanov-Rabotnov isotropic tertiary creep damage model is demonstrated through comparison with uniaxial experiments. A parametric study of both material orientation and stress rotation are conducted. Results indicate that creep deformation is modeled accurately; however an improved damage evolution law may be necessary.     

Transformation of retained austenite in carburized 4320 steel

A systematic study of stress-induced and thermal-induced transformation of retained austenite in carburized 4320 steel with an initial retained austenite of 35 pct has been conducted. The transformation was monitored by recording the change in volume of smooth fatigue specimens. Stress-induced transformation was studied by conducting monotonic and cyclic tests at temperatures in the range from 22 °C to 150 °C. The volumetric transformation strain was as large as 0.006 at 22 °C. The anisotropy of the transformation was such that the axial transformation strain component exceeded the diametral transformation strain component by a factor of 1.4. Thermal-induced transformation was investigated with temperature stepup tests in the range from 150 °C to 255 °C at constant stress (-500 MPa, 0 MPa, and 500 MPa) and with static tests where temperature was held constant at zero load. The maximum thermal-induced volumetric transformation strain of 0.006 was independent of stress. However, the anisotropy of the transformation strain components was dependent on stress direction and magnitude. An axial tensile stress increased the axial transformation strain relative to the diametral transformation strain. The influence of low-temperature creep(T = 150 °C) on the anisotropy of strains is noted. The differences between stress-induced and thermal-induced transformation mechanisms are discussed. Thermal-induced transformation primarily occurred at temperatures between 100 °C and 200 °C, with the rate of transformation increasing with temperature, while the stress-induced transformation primarily occurred at 22 °C, with the rate of transformation decreasing with increasing temperature. There was no stress-induced transformation above 60 °C.     

Aerated treatment pond technology with biofilm promoting mats for the bioremediation of benzene, MTBE and ammonium contaminated groundwater

A novel aerated treatment pond for enhanced biodegradation of groundwater contaminants was tested under field conditions. Coconut fibre and polypropylene textiles were used to encourage the development of contaminant-degrading biofilms. Groundwater contaminants targeted for removal were benzene, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and ammonium. Here, we present data from the first 14 months of operation and compare contaminant removal rates, volatilization losses, and biofilm development in one pond equipped with coconut fibre to another pond with polypropylene textiles. Oxygen concentrations were constantly monitored and adjusted by automated aeration modules. A natural transition from anoxic to oxic zones was simulated to minimize the volatilization rate of volatile organic contaminants. Both ponds showed constant reductions in benzene concentrations from 20 mg/L at the inflow to about 1 μg/L at the outflow of the system. A dynamic air chamber (DAC) measurement revealed that only 1% of benzene loss was due to volatilization, and suggests that benzene loss was predominantly due to aerobic mineralization. MTBE concentration was reduced from around 4 mg/L at the inflow to 3.4-2.4 mg/L in the system effluent during the first 8 months of operation, and was further reduced to 1.2 mg/L during the subsequent 6 months of operation. Ammonium concentrations decreased only slightly from around 59 mg/L at the inflow to 56 mg/L in the outflow, indicating no significant nitrification during the first 14 months of continuous operation. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) demonstrated that microorganisms rapidly colonized both the coconut fibre and polypropylene textiles. Microbial community structure analysis performed using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) revealed little similarity between patterns from water and textile samples. Coconut textiles were shown to be more effective than polypropylene fibre textiles for promoting the recruitment and development of MTBE-degrading biofilms. Biofilms of both textiles contained high numbers of benzene metabolizing bacteria suggesting that these materials provide favourable growth conditions for benzene degrading microorganisms.     

Evaluation of various Bacillus coagulans isolates for the production of high purity L-lactic acid using defatted rice bran hydrolysates

Defatted rice bran (DRB) constitutes an abundant by-product stream, generated during rice milling and subsequent bran oil extraction. Enzymatic hydrolysis of starch and protein content in DRB was optimised in terms of solid loading. Among the four solid loadings evaluated (10%, 15%, 20% and 25%), the hydrolysate derived from 20% solids resulted in the highest concentration of glucose (82.3 g L⁻¹) and free amino nitrogen (234.8 mg L⁻¹). The fermentability of the hydrolysate was evaluated via screening of sixteen isolates. All the strains were able to grow and produce high purity L-lactic acid, utilising the DRB as sole carbon and nutrient source. Among the studied strains, the Bacillus coagulans A107 isolate presented the most promising results in terms of final lactic acid concentration (75.9 g L⁻¹), yield (0.90 g g⁻¹) and productivity (2.7 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹). The results of this study indicate that DRB could be employed as an inexpensive, alternative substrate for L-lactic acid production.     

Subsurface damage development during fretting fatigue of high strength steel

The results of fretting fatigue experiments performed on two high-strength structural steels, PH 13-8 Mo stainless steel and quenched and tempered 4340 steel, are evaluated. Observations regarding the subsurface deformation and cracking behavior of the steels are compared and contrasted. It was found that the fretting stresses influenced early crack growth to a greater depth in PH 13-8 Mo stainless steel than in 4340 steel. In addition, experiments on PH 13-8 Mo led to the development of a region below the fretting scar that underwent a microstructural transformation, while experiments on 4340 steel did not. Likely reasons for this discrepancy are suggested. Differences in the formation of oxide layers and the occurrence of adhesion between the two materials are also discussed.     

阻抗受控的通孔之设计

随着数据通信速度提高到3Gbps以上,信号完整性对于数据传输的顺利进行至关重要.     

Low-molecular-weight tumor necrosis factor receptor p55 controls induction of autoimmune heart disease

BACKGROUND: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is involved in the pathogenesis of myocarditis and can bind to either tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNF-R) p55 or TNF-Rp75. However, it is not known which TNF-R mediates the specific functions of TNF in disease. To determine the role of the TNF/TNF-R system in chronic heart disease, we used a murine model of cardiac myosin-induced myocarditis that closely resembles the chronic stages of virus-induced myocarditis in humans. METHODS AND RESULTS: Mice lacking TNF-Rp55 expression after targeted disruption of the TNF-Rp55 gene were backcrossed into a genetic background susceptible to the induction of myocarditis with cardiac myosin. Here, we demonstrate that TNF-Rp55 gene-deficient mice did not develop any inflammatory infiltration into the heart after autoantigen injection, whereas control littermates showed autoimmune myocarditis at high prevalence and severity. Despite the absence of autoimmune heart disease, TNF-Rp55-/- mice produced cardiac myosin-specific IgG autoantibodies, indicating that activation of autoaggressive T and B lymphocytes had occurred. However, heart interstitial cells failed to express major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules in TNF-Rp55-/- animals, and adoptive transfer of autoreactive T cells resulted in heart disease only in TNF-Rp55-/- but not in TNF-Rp55-/- littermates. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac myosin-induced myocarditis is dependent on autoaggressive T cells and on autoantigen presentation in association with MHC class II molecules within the heart. Thus, lack of TNF-Rp55 expression could interfere with either lymphocyte activation or target organ susceptibility. The data presented here show that the TNF-Rp55 is a key regulator for the induction of autoimmune heart disease by its controlling target organ susceptibility.