Efficient purification of cryoprotective dehydrin protein from the radish (Raphanus sativus) taproot

Dehydrin is a protein that is related to cold stress tolerance in plants. Because dehydrin shows potent cryoprotective activity, it has the potential to be used in food storage applications. In this paper, we presented an efficient purification method for native dehydrin from radishes (Raphanus sativus). Immunoblot analysis using an anti-Arabidopsis KS-type dehydrin antibody revealed that the related dehydrin accumulates in the radish taproot. The radish dehydrin that accumulated in the vascular tissues of the taproot was purified through two simple chromatographic steps: immobilized metal affinity chromatography followed by anion exchange chromatography. The yield was higher than yields previously reported on a fresh weight basis. The cryoprotective activity for malate dehydrogenase shown by purified dehydrin was more potent than that shown by small molecule cryoprotectants. This suggests that the radish is an appropriate source for the production of native dehydrin.     

Operational detection of contrails from NOAA-AVHRR-data

This paper describes a fully automated scheme that allows for the detection of contrails using the infrared channels of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). The presented algorithm is adjusted to have a low rate of misdetection in spite of the low contrail detection efficiency resulting from this tuning. A time-series and regional patterns of contrail cloudiness over Central and Western Europe are derived. Daily analysis of noon scenes in 1996 indicates that the average of daytime contrail coverage over Central Europe was 0.5% 0.25 with regional maxima of 1.2%. Comparing noon and midnight scenes shows that night-time contrail coverage, which is especially effective in greenhouse forcing, is approximately one-third of that of daytime.     

Electronic Properties as a Function of Ag/Sb Ratio in Ag1?y Pb18Sb1+z Te20 Compounds

In this study efforts have been made to optimize the electronic properties such as the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of Ag_{1? y} Pb₁₈Sb_{1+ z} Te₂₀ (lead-antimony-silver-tellurium, LAST-18) compounds by systematically varying the Ag and Sb compositions with constant Pb/Te ratio. It was found that increasing the content of Sb relative to Ag raised the charge carrier density (n) and thereby the electrical conductivity and power factor. The results indicate that, for deficient Ag, the excess trivalent Sb atoms occupy divalent Pb sites in the unit cell, increasing the value of n in the system. It was established that the Seebeck coefficient decreases with increasing n, indicating a dominant acoustic phonon scattering mechanism in the current alloys. The results demonstrate that the interaction between Ag and Sb atoms plays a major role in determining the electronic properties in the current Ag_1?y Pb₁₈Sb_1+z Te₂₀ compounds.     

Uncertainties in probabilistic numerical analysis of structures and solids-Stochastic finite elements

The main sources of uncertainties involved in the analysis of structures and solids are shown and the tools available to deal with them. While trying to cover the complete modeling process, ranging from the problem formulation via the mathematical model all the way to the numerical approximation, we have tried to expose areas in need of further research. The techniques and methods involved in stochastic modeling are explained in somewhat more detail, as they are newer and less known than those used for the deterministic modeling.