Purification and renaturation of recombinant human lymphotoxin (tumour necrosis factor beta) expressed in Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies

High level expression of recombinant human tumour necrosis factor β (rh TNF-β) in Escherichia coli results in the formation of two portions of protein, namely soluble active protein and insoluble protein which is inactive and aggregates in the form of inclusion bodies (IBs). In this study, a procedure for purification and renaturation of rh TNF-β from inclusion bodies has been designed and verified experimentally with a product purity of more than 90% and a recovery of about 30%. The procedure includes washing of IBs with specific wash buffer (Triton X-100/EDTA/lysozyme/PMSF), their solubilization with 8 mol dm^?3 alkaline urea, purification with ion-exchange columns, refolding with renaturation buffer and finally concentration and desalination with an ultrafiltration membrane. The characteristics of the renatured protein were identical with those of purified protein from the soluble fraction as demonstrated by (1) SDS-PAGE, (2) cytotoxic activity on mouse L929 cells, (3) N-terminal amino acid sequence, and (4) gel filtration chromatography.     

Traffic grooming on WDM rings using optical burst transport

A sublambda traffic-grooming scheme on wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) rings, which is called optical burst transport (OBT), is proposed. The network protocol and architecture allow increased flexibility to tailor the transport network behavior for efficient delivery of bursty data traffic. Using different network parameters, its performance is analyzed via simulation, and the implementation issues including the media-access-control (MAC) protocol, tunable-filter controller, and burst-mode receiver are addressed. Finally, the feasibility of the OBT with an experimental testbed built by the authors is demonstrated and a streaming-video application is used to present its overall functionality.     

悬浮床加氢裂化油溶性催化剂与沥青质的作用

在高压釜反应器中对添加了油溶性 Ni 催化剂(UPC-O)和水溶性 Ni 催化剂(UPC-W)的辽河稠油常压渣油(LHAR)进行了悬浮床加氢裂化实验。通过元素分析和傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)分析对抑制反应生焦效果好的 UPC-O 与 LHAR 沥青质的作用进行了研究。元素分析结果显示,在 LHAR 中加入 UPC-O1000μg/g,沥青质和脱沥青质油中 Ni 含量分别出476μg/g和110μg/g 增加到7 559μg/g 和1 024μg/g,表明 UPC-O 在沥青质中有富集的趋势。FTIR 表征结果显示,UPC-O 和沥青质发生了相互作用。UPC-O 可在沥青质原位硫化为活性组分,对沥青质在悬浮床加氢裂化反应中的缩合起到好的抑制作用。     

Nickel and chromium cycles: Stocks and flows project part IV

Nickel and chromium are essential ingredients in alloys increasingly important for energy-efficient, environmentally friendly modern technology. Quantitative assessment of the flows of these metals through the world economy from resource extraction to final disposal informs resource policy, energy planning, environmental science, and waste management. This article summarizes the worldwide technological cycles of nickel and chromium in 2000. Stainless steel is the major use of these metals, but they serve numerous other special needs, as in superalloys for high-temperature service, as plating materials, and in coinage. Because they are used primarily in alloys, novel recycling issues arise as their use becomes more widespread. “... the great New York and St. Louis double track, nickel plated railroad...” — Norwalk, Ohio, Chronicle 10 March 1881 announces arrival of surveyors for the future Nickel Plate Railway “Later [1911] I formed an alloy of Iron and Chromium, which showed remarkable resistance to rust and tarnish ... [It was] rediscovered by an Englishman named Brearley, in 1914.” —Elwood Haynes to Stephen F. Roberts, 17 January 1925     

Influence of the silicon surface treatment by plasma etching and scratching on the nucleation of diamond grown in HFCVD - a comparative study

A comparative study for the nucleation of diamond was carried out using surface treatment like (i) surface scratching with 1 μm diamond paste and (ii) surface etching using chlorine plasma at different RF powers (50, 100 and 150 W). Atomic force microscopic study shows variation in roughness from 31 nm to 110 nm. Scratching results in random scratches, whereas plasma etches a surface uniformly. Scanning electron microscopic observations show well faceted crystallites with a predominance of angular shaped grains corresponding to 〈100〉 and 〈110〉 crystallite surfaces for the scratched as well as plasma etched substrate. Surface etching at 150 W plasma power results in a better growth in comparison with 50 and 100 W plasma powers. Chlorine-radical is found responsible for the changes in the growth morphology. Raman spectroscopy shows a sharp peak at 1,332 cm⁻¹ and a peak at ∼1,580 cm⁻¹ for both samples.     

Novel Folded Waveguide Resonator Filter Using Slot Technique

This letter presents a primary investigation into developing a compact and low-loss bandpass filter using novel folded-waveguide resonators with a footprint reduction. A slot coupling between adjacent resonators is introduced, which is characterized using full-wave electromagnetic simulations and verified experimentally. Two two-pole folded-waveguide resonator filters of this type have been designed, fabricated and tested. Simulation and measurement results are presented to validate the design and to show the advantages of this type of filter.