The coxsackievirus-adenovirus receptor protein can function as a cellular attachment protein for adenovirus serotypes from subgroups A, C, D, E, and F

Attachment of an adenovirus (Ad) to a cell is mediated by the capsid fiber protein. To date, only the cellular fiber receptor for subgroup C serotypes 2 and 5, the so-called coxsackievirus-adenovirus receptor (CAR) protein, has been identified and cloned. Previous data suggested that the fiber of the subgroup D serotype Ad9 also recognizes CAR, since Ad9 and Ad2 fiber knobs cross-blocked each other's cellular binding. Recombinant fiber knobs and 3H-labeled Ad virions from serotypes representing all six subgroups (A to F) were used to determine whether the knobs cross-blocked the binding of virions from different subgroups. With the exception of subgroup B, all subgroup representatives cross-competed, suggesting that they use CAR as a cellular fiber receptor as well. This result was confirmed by showing that CAR, produced in a soluble recombinant form (sCAR), bound to nitrocellulose-immobilized virions from the different subgroups except subgroup B. Similar results were found for blotted fiber knob proteins. The subgroup F virus Ad41 has both short and long fibers, but only the long fiber bound sCAR. The sCAR protein blocked the attachment of all virus serotypes that bound CAR. Moreover, CHO cells expressing human CAR, in contrast to untransformed CHO cells, all specifically bound the sCAR-binding serotypes. We conclude therefore that Ad serotypes from subgroups A, C, D, E, and F all use CAR as a cellular fiber receptor.     

Distributed associative memory for use in scene analysis

A distributed associative memory system which is ideal for scene analysis is described. Recall of associated patterns using incomplete originals is made possible by the use of a distributed storage mechanism and a novel recall procedure. The memory is shown to store associations between patterns more efficiently than a conventional file store. The paper describes the memory structure, the recall process and its storage abilities, as well as an example of its implementation in hardware.     

Life prediction of stainless steels by cyclic and stable hysteresis curves

Abstract

This study develops an analytical expression to describe the cyclic stress‐strain curve obtained from a series of fully‐reversed fatigue tests. A set of stress‐strain relationships is proposed to simulate the tensile branch of the stable hysteresis loop. The complete shape of the stable hysteresis loop is then constructed and the associated theoretical plastic work calculated by integrating the area within the enclosed curve. The theoretical plastic work is employed to predict the fatigue lives of the investigated materials on the basis of their respective stable plastic work per cyclelife curves. In this paper, the current mathematical derivations are based upon the endochronic theory of plasticity. The accuracy of the proposed set of stress‐strain relationships is verified by conducting fully‐reversed constant strain amplitude fatigue tests on AISI 316 and AISI 304 stainless steels. The experimental and simulation results are found to be in good agreement, hence confirming the accuracy of the proposed analytical stress‐strain relationships. Again, comparing the obverted and predicted fatigue lives, a good agreement is found between the two sets of results.     

BCB-bridged distributed wideband SPST switch using 0.25-/spl mu/m In/sub 0.5/Al/sub 0.5/As--In/sub 0.5/Ga/sub 0.5/As metamorphic HEMTs

In/sub 0.5/Al/sub 0.5/As--In/sub 0.5/Ga/sub 0.5/As metamorphic high-electron mobility transistor (mHEMT) dc-30 GHz distributed single-pole-single through (SPST) switches were designed and fabricated using the low-/spl kappa/ benzocyclobutene (BCB) bridged technology. The current gain cutoff frequency, and the electron transit time of In/sub 0.5/Al/sub 0.5/As--In/sub 0.5/Ga/sub 0.5/As mHEMTs have been investigated. By analyzing the extrinsic total delay time, the effective velocity of electrons can be estimated, and the average velocity is 2.3/spl times/10/sup 7/cm/s. The dc-30 GHz distributed wideband SPST switch exhibits an insertion loss of less than 5.5 dB, and an isolation larger than 30 dB, which is the first demonstration of the high-isolation of InAlAs-InGaAs mHEMTs monolithic switch. As to the power performance, this switch can handle the power up to 12 dBm at 2.4 GHz. After over 250 h of 85-85 (temperature =85/spl deg/C, humidity =85%) environmental evaluation, this BCB passivated and bridged microwave and monolithic integrated circuit switch demonstrates reliable RF characteristics without any significant performance change, which proves that this process using the low-/spl kappa/ BCB layer is attractive for millimeter-wave circuit applications.     

Torrefied biomass‐polypropylene composites

Torrefied almond shells and wood chips were incorporated into polypropylene as fillers to produce torrefied biomass‐polymer composites. The composites were prepared by extrusion and injection molding. Response surface methodology was used to examine the effects of filler concentration, filler size, and lignin factor (relative lignin to cellulose concentration) on the material properties of the composites. The heat distortion temperatures, thermal properties, and tensile properties of the composites were characterized by thermomechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and tensile tests, respectively. The torrefied biomass composites had heat distortion temperatures of 8–24°C higher than that of neat polypropylene. This was due to the torrefied biomass restricting mobility of polypropylene chains, leading to higher temperatures for deformation. The incorporation of torrefied biomass generally resulted in an increase in glass transition temperature, but did not affect melting temperature. Also, the composites had lower tensile strength and elongation at break values than those of neat polypropylene, indicating weak adhesion between torrefied biomass and polypropylene. However, scanning electron microscopy results did indicate some adhesion between torrefied biomass and polypropylene. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41582.     

Reactive compatibilization of the poly(ethylene terephthalate)/liquid crystalline polymer blends by solid epoxy resin as a coupling agent

A selected reactive coupling agent can be served as an effective compatibilizer for certain immiscible and incompatible blends should both blend constituents possess the necessary functional groups that can react with the coupling agent at comparable rates. Solid epoxy resin with two epoxide endgroups per molecule was demonstrated to be an efficient reactive compatibilizer for the incompatible blends of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and copolyester liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) by functioning as a coupling agent. The main chain structure of the epoxy resin is neither identical not miscible with PET and LCP and tends to reside at interface during melt mixing. This preferential residence gives the epoxy compatibilizer greater opportunity to react with both PET and LCP simultaneously to produce the in situ–formed epoxy-b-LCP mixed copolymer. This in situ–formed mixed copolymer is highly effective in compatibilizing the PET/LCP blends. This reactive epoxy compatibilizer enhances the LCP fibril formation and results in substantial improvements on stiffness and toughness of the PET/LCP blends. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Fracture toughness characterization of a PC/ABS blend under different strain rates by various J-integral methods

A published, nonconventional J-integral method, based on the hysteresis energy and the ASTM E813 methods, has been employed to test the fracture toughness of a polycarbonate (PC)/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) blend. The critical J values (J_Ic) at crosshead speeds ranging from 0.5 to 20 mm/min obtained from the hysteresis energy method are ∼10 to 20% higher than those obtained from the E813–81 method and ∼50 to 70% lower than those obtained from the E813–87 method. However, the hysteresis energy method results in comparable J_Ic values with a modified ASTM E813–87 method when the 0.2 mm offset line is replaced with a 0.1 mm offset line. The critical displacements in terms of the onset of crack initiation, determined from the plots of hysteresis energy vs. displacement, hysteresis ratio vs. displacement, and the true crack growth length vs. displacement, are fairly close in value. This indicates the critical crack initiation and the corresponding J_Ic obtained from this hysteresis energy method indeed represent the actual physical event of the onset of crack initiation.     

Linear adsorption of nonionic organic compounds from water onto hydrophilic minerals: silica and alumina

To characterize the linear adsorption phenomena in aqueous nonionic organic solute-mineral systems, the adsorption isotherms of some low-molecular-weight nonpolar nonionic solutes (1,2,3-trichlorobenzene, lindane, phenanthrene, and pyrene) and polar nonionic solutes (1,3-dinitrobenzene and 2,4-dinitrotoluene) from single- and binary-solute solutions on hydrophilic silica and alumina were established. Toward this objective, the influences of temperature, ionic strength, and pH on adsorption were also determined. It is found that linear adsorption exhibits low exothermic heats and practically no adsorptive competition. The solute-solid configuration and the adsorptive force consistent with these effects were hypothesized. For nonpolar solutes, the adsorption occurs presumably by London (dispersion) forces onto a water film above the mineral surface. For polar solutes, the adsorption is also assisted by polar-group interactions. The reduced adsorptive forces of solutes with hydrophilic minerals due to physical separation by the water film and the low fractions of the water-film surface covered by solutes offer a theoretical basis for linear solute adsorption, low exothermic heats, and no adsorptive competition. The postulated adsorptive forces are supported by observations that ionic strength or pH poses no effect on the adsorption of nonpolar solutes while it exhibits a significant effect on the uptake of polar solutes.     

Sorption of aromatic organic pollutants to grasses from water

The influence of plant lipids on the equilibrium sorption of three aromatic solutes from water was studied. The plant-water sorption isotherms of benzene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, and phenanthrene were measured over a large range of solute concentrations using sealed vessels containing water, dried plant material, and solute. The plant materials studied include the shoots of annual rye, tall fescue, red fescue, and spinach as well as the roots of annual rye. Seven out of eight sorption isotherms were linear with no evidence of competitive effects between the solutes. For a given plant type, the sorption coefficient increased with decreasing solute water solubility. For a given solute, sorption increased with increasing plant lipid content. The estimated lipid-water partition coefficients of individual solutes were found to be significantly greater than the corresponding octanol-water partition coefficients. This indicates that plant lipids are a more effective partition solvent than octanol for the studied aromatic compounds. As expected, the solute lipid-water partition coefficients were log-linearly related to the respective water solubilities. For the compounds studied, partitioning into the lipids is believed to be the primary sorption mechanism.