Chemotactic Activity of Cyclophilin A in the Skin Mucus of Yellow Catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) and Its Active Site for Chemotaxis

Fish skin mucus is a dynamic barrier for invading pathogens with a variety of anti-microbial enzymes, including cyclophilin A (CypA), a multi-functional protein with peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIase) activity. Beside various other immunological functions, CypA induces leucocytes migration in vitro in teleost. In the current study, we have discovered several novel immune-relevant proteins in yellow catfish skin mucus by mass spectrometry (MS). The CypA present among them was further detected by Western blot. Moreover, the CypA present in the skin mucus displayed strong chemotactic activity for yellow catfish leucocytes. Interestingly, asparagine (like arginine in mammals) at position 69 was the critical site in yellow catfish CypA involved in leucocyte attraction. These novel efforts do not only highlight the enzymatic texture of skin mucus, but signify CypA to be targeted for anti-inflammatory therapeutics.     

Modeling tensile response of fiber‐reinforced polymer composites using discrete element method

An advanced discrete element method (DEM), coupled with imaging techniques, of the tensile response of carbon fiber‐reinforced composite materials is presented in this article. DEM was developed using the image‐based shape structural model to determine the composites' elastic modulus, stress–strain response, and tensile strength. The developed model utilizes the microfabric micromechanical discrete element modeling technique. Clusters of very small bonded discrete elements were used to model the two composite constituents (matrix and reinforcement). The microparameters of each discrete element were determined from the macrocharacteristics of each constituent. The results from the developed model were compared with the results from an experimental case study. The results obtained from DEM simulations are within the coefficient of variation of the experimental values. The comparison indicates that the image‐based DEM micromechanical model accurately determines the elastic modulus and tensile strength of the molded carbon fiber‐reinforced polymer composite. POLYM. COMPOS., 34:877–886, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Evaluation of physical and chemical characteristics of newly evolved wheat cultivars

Evaluation of quality characteristics of wheat provides significant feedback to breeders for selection/evolution of the most suitable varieties. Seven advanced wheat cultivars and two commercial varieties were studied for 11 physicochemical characteristics. These cultivars showed significant differences for all parameters except ash content, which showed no significant variation. Test weight ranged between 75.6 kg hl^?1 (NRL‐2005) and 80.5 kg hl^?1 (NRL‐2017). Kernel weight and volume were highest (4.0 g and 3.2 ml) for NRL‐9822 and lowest (3.3 g and 2.6 ml) for NRL‐2005. Biological yield was highest (14 040 kg ha^?1) for NRL‐9822 and lowest (12 380 kg ha^?1) for Takbeer variety. Grain yield varied between 4717 kg ha^?1 (NRL‐01‐7) and 4042 kg ha^?1 (NRL‐9736), non‐grain biomass between 9708 and 8083 kg ha^?1, protein yield between 614.3 and 480.8 kg ha^?1 and harvest index between 34.8 and 30.8%. Moisture content ranged from 7.46 to 9.07%. Gluten and protein contents were highest (39.69 and 13.81%) in NRL‐9736 and lowest (29.78 and 12.70%) in NRL‐9822. Test weight was positively correlated with kernel weight and volume and negatively associated with moisture, protein and gluten contents. Protein and gluten contents had a negative association with kernel weight and volume. Gluten content had a highly positive correlation with protein content. Grain yield was positively correlated with biological yield. Protein yield had a positive relationship with biological and grain yields and a negative association with harvest index. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Preparation of grass-like GaN nanostructures: Its PL and excellent field emission properties

We here report highly pure and single crystalline grass-like gallium nitride (GaN) nanostructures obtained on silicon substrate via catalyst-assisted CVD route under NH₃ atmosphere inside horizontal tube furnace (HTF) by pre-treating the precursors with aqueous NH₃. The as-obtained GaN nanostructures were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, HRTEM and SAED. The field emission (FE) characteristics of grass-like GaN nanostructures exhibited a turn-on field of 7.82 V μm^− 1 and a threshold field of 8.96 V μm^− 1 which are quite reasonable for applications in electron emission devices, field emission displays and vacuum microelectronic devices. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements of grass-like GaN nanostructures exhibited a strong near-band-edge emission at 368.8 nm (3.36 eV) without any defects related emissions which shows its potential applications in optoelectronics.     

Effects of work zone presence on injury and non-injury crashes.

Work zones in the United States have approximately 700 traffic-related fatalities, 24,000 injury crashes, and 52,000 non-injury crashes every year. Due to future highway reconstruction needs, work zones are likely to increase in number, duration, and length. This study focuses on analyzing the effect of work zone duration mainly due to its policy-sensitivity. To do so, we created a unique dataset of California freeway work zones that included crash data (crash frequency and injury severity), road inventory data (average daily traffic (ADT) and urban/rural character), and work zone related data (duration, length, and location). Then, we investigated crash rates and crash frequencies in the pre-work zone and during-work zone periods. For the freeway work zones investigated in this study, the total crash rate in the during-work zone period was 21.5% higher (0.79 crashes per million vehicle kilometer (MVKM)) than the pre-work zone period (0.65 crashes per MVKM). Compared with the pre-work zone period, the increase in non-injury and injury crash rates in the during-work zone period was 23.8% and 17.3%, respectively. Next, crash frequencies were investigated using negative binomial models, which showed that frequencies increased with increasing work zone duration, length, and average daily traffic. The important finding is that after controlling for various factors, longer work zone duration significantly increases both injury and non-injury crash frequencies. The implications of the study findings are discussed in the paper.     

Spectral Phase Estimation Based on Deep Neural Networks for Single Channel Speech Enhancement

Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics - Majority of speech processing algorithms operate only with the spectral magnitude, leaving spectral phase unstructured and unexplored. With...     

A green route for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil over base heterogeneous catalyst

The present work describes the synthesis of porous BaSnO₃ by eco‐friendly sol‐gel method using albumin as a bio‐template agent, and its application as a solid base catalyst in biodiesel production from waste cooking oil. The physico‐chemical, textural, and morphological properties of the catalyst were evaluated by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller (BET), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and temperature programmed desorption (TPD)–CO₂ techniques. The synthesized catalyst showed considerable stability, efficient catalytic activity, and negligible metal leaching. The satisfactory performance of the catalyst could be ascribed to the presence of basic sites of different strength on the surface of the catalyst. The catalyst produced maximum biodiesel yield of 96% at optimum reaction conditions of 90°C reaction temperature, methanol to oil molar ratio of 10:1, catalyst dosage of 6 wt%, and reaction time of 2 hours. Moreover, the catalyst showed substantial reusability up to five reaction cycles without any considerable decrease in transesterification activity.     

Variance based time-frequency mask estimation for unsupervised speech enhancement

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Variance based two dimensional time-frequency mask estimation for unsupervised speech enhancement is proposed to improve the speech quality and intelligibility...