Magnetic inspection of fatigue degradation of a high-carbon pearlitic steel

The effect of high-cycle fatigue loading of U10 steel specimens with a fine-lamellar pearlite structure that were a annealed for a short time on the character of variations of the tangential component of the magnetic induction vector of specimens in a residual-magnetization state has been studied. It was found that fatigue loading up to major fatigue-crack formation leads to an increase in the tangential component of the magnetic induction vector and to nonuniformity of the magnetic induction distribution along the length of a specimen. This is due to the spheroidization of cementite plates, which occurs in U10 steel specimens under a fatigue load. Major fatigue-crack formation is accompanied by the appearance of a clearly pronounced peak in the distribution of the tangential component of the magnetic induction vector. The magnetic measurement technique that was used allows us to record both structural changes and cracks that result from the fatigue degradation of high-carbon-pearlitic steel.     

Data acquisition system of the OKA experiment

A data acquisition system of the OKA experiment on studying rare kaon decays on the U-70 accelerator is described. The basis of the blocked data acquisition system was the high-speed multichannel information system MISS with autonomous controllers that read out the front-end electronics in the sequential data reading mode and buffering data during the accelerator burst. Data stored in the buffer memory are read out and processed at the end of the accelerator burst. The DATE package builds subevents from event fragments and events from subevents via the event building network. The event building network with the star topology is made with 1GbE-interfaces and 24 × 1 Gb E-switch. The GlusterFS cluster file system underlies the distributed storage system.     

Multilayer Glass Quality Improvement during Production

Glass and Ceramics - Selective quality control of manufactured multilayer windshields was conducted. Deviations of curved products from a specified shape were brought to light. Linear regression...     

Energy-Saving Technology of Assorted Glassware Decoration by Plasma Spraying

Glass and Ceramics - An energy-saving technology for decorating assorted glassware by plasma spraying of colored assorted and container glasses was developed. The optimal spraying parameters for...     

Effect of Conditions of High-Temperature Treatment on the Structure and Tribological Properties of Nickel-Based Laser-Clad Coating

Russian Journal of Non-Ferrous Metals - Laser cladding, which is characterized by the minimal thermal impact on the substrate, is an advanced technique to restore the working dimensions of parts...     

Peptides before and during the nucleotide world: an origins story emphasizing cooperation between proteins and nucleic acids

Recent developments in Origins of Life research have focused on substantiating the narrative of an abiotic emergence of nucleic acids from organic molecules of low molecular weight, a paradigm that typically sidelines the roles of peptides. Nevertheless, the simple synthesis of amino acids, the facile nature of their activation and condensation, their ability to recognize metals and cofactors and their remarkable capacity to self-assemble make peptides (and their analogues) favourable candidates for one of the earliest functional polymers. In this mini-review, we explore the ramifications of this hypothesis. Diverse lines of research in molecular biology, bioinformatics, geochemistry, biophysics and astrobiology provide clues about the progression and early evolution of proteins, and lend credence to the idea that early peptides served many central prebiotic roles before they were encodable by a polynucleotide template, in a putative ‘peptide-polynucleotide stage’. For example, early peptides and mini-proteins could have served as catalysts, compartments and structural hubs. In sum, we shed light on the role of early peptides and small proteins before and during the nucleotide world, in which nascent life fully grasped the potential of primordial proteins, and which has left an imprint on the idiosyncratic properties of extant proteins.