The design and operation of a MEMS differential scanning nanocalorimeter for high-speed heat capacity measurements of ultrathin films

A MEMS sensor has been developed for use as a calorimetric cell in an ultra-sensitive, thin-film, differential scanning calorimetric technique. The sensor contains a freestanding, thin (30 nm to 1000 nm), low-stress silicon nitride membrane with lateral dimensions of a few millimeters. This membrane, along with a thin (50 nm) metallization layer, forms a calorimetric cell with an exceptionally small addenda. This small addenda creates a very sensitive calorimetric cell, able to make heat capacity measurements of nanometer-thick metal and polymer films. The sensor fabrication and various design considerations are discussed in detail. The calorimetric technique and examples of applications are described.     

Advanced NDT methods for evaluating concrete bridges and other structures

Several advances in methods and equipment for sonic and ultrasonic non destructive testing (NDT) of concrete structures are presented, including advances for methods applicable to large structures such as bridges and dams. These new advances and methods greatly increase the speed and accuracy of many NDT investigations, and allow collection of NDT information previously not readily obtainable. The first topic presented is a brief overview of the impact echo (IE) method along with a case history on how is has been employed in testing concrete structures. The IE method is used to locate damage and determine member thickness when access is available from one side only. The next topic is a relatively new N DT method for concrete using surface waves analysis, in a method known as the spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW) technique. This allows the determination of the shear wave velocity profile versus depth for any layered system and is particularly applicable to testing pavements, slabs, tunnels, shaft liners, and massive concrete structures. For bridges and dams, the technique is particularly effective in determining the depth of weathering effects on the concrete. Included is an overview of the method and the principles behind it, as well as some case history examples. The final topic presented is an advance in the technique of ultrasonic plus velocity (UPV) testing. This advance involves the use of rapid scanning techniques to greatly increase the speed and utility of UPV testing. The U PV method uses compression wave energy which is sent through a member and the arrival time, wave amplitude, and velocity are recorded and computed. This new scanning technology allows the near-continuous acquisition of data along any given path over a structure. Included is test data collected using the scanning system to show the great increase in testing speed and utility of scanner-collected data when compared to traditional point-by-point methods.     

Near‐surface vapour bubble layers in buoyant low stretch burning of polymethylmethacrylate

Large‐scale buoyant low stretch stagnation point diffusion flames over a solid fuel (polymethylmethacrylate) were studied for a range of aerodynamic stretch rates of 2–12 s⁻¹ which are of the same order as spacecraft ventilation‐ induced stretch in a microgravity environment. An extensive layer of polymer material above the glass transition temperature was observed. Unique phenomena associated with this extensive glass layer included substantial swelling of the burning surface, in‐depth bubble formation, and migration and/or elongation of the bubbles normal to the hot surface. The bubble layer acted to insulate the polymer surface by reducing the effective conductivity of the solid. The reduced in‐depth conduction stabilized the flame for longer than expected from theory neglecting the bubble layer. While buoyancy acts to move the bubbles deeper into the molten polymer, thermocapillary forces and surface regression both act to bring the bubbles to the burning surface. Bubble layers may thus be very important in low gravity (low stretch) burning materials. As bubbles reached the burning surface, monomer fuel vapours jetted from the surface, enhancing burning by entraining ambient air flow. Popping of these bubbles at the surface can expel burning droplets of the molten material, which may increase the fire propagation hazards at low stretch rates. Published in 1999 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Plant–herbivore–carnivore Interactions in Cotton, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gossypium hirsutum</Emphasis>: Linking Belowground and Aboveground

Most studies on plant–herbivore interactions focus on either root or shoot herbivory in isolation, but above- and belowground herbivores may interact on a shared host plant. Cotton (Gossypium spp.) produces gossypol and a variety of other gossypol-like terpenoids that exhibit toxicity to a wide range of herbivores and pathogens. Cotton plants also can emit herbivore-induced volatile compounds at the site of damage and systemically on all tissues above the site of damage. As these volatile compounds attract natural enemy species of the herbivore, they are thought to represent an indirect plant defense. Our study quantified gossypol and gossypol-like compounds in cotton plants with foliage feeding (Heliocoverpa zea), root feeding (Meloidogyne incognita), or their combination. Cotton plants with these treatments were studied also with respect to induced local and systemic volatile production and the attraction of the parasitic wasp Microplitis croceipes to those plants. We also evaluated whether foliage or root feeding affected foliar nitrogen levels in cotton. After 48 hr of leaf feeding and 5 wk of root feeding, local and systemic induction of volatiles (known to attract parasitoids such as M. croceipes) occurred with herbivore damage to leaves, and it increased in levels when root herbivory was added. Nevertheless, M. croceipes were equally attracted to plants with both leaf and root damage and leaf damage only. In contrast to previous studies in cotton, production of gossypol and gossypol-like compounds was not induced in leaf and root tissue following foliage or root herbivory, or their combination. We conclude that root feeding by M. incognita has little influence on direct and indirect defenses of Gossypium hirsutum against insect herbivory.     

Effects of genetic polymorphism of phosphoglucomutase identifiable in human milk (PGM4 locus) on the somatotype of the newborn and reproductive function of women

The polyacrylamide gel isoelectrofocusing technique was used to examine structural variations of the human milk-expressed enzyme PGM4-locus phosphoglucomutase. Six phenotypes controlled by four alleles: PGM4*1, PGM4*2, PGM4*3, PGM4*4 with frequencies of 0.261, 0.664, 0.047, 0.028, respectively, were identified in 180 milk samples taken from Moscow Russian women in labour. The empirical distribution of the PGM4 phenotypes is in a moderate agreement with the expected one with chi 2 = 9.622; 6 d.f. (p > 0.05). Its phenotypic belonging to PGM4 1-2 and PGM4 2-2 was examined for its influence on female reproductive function and neonatal somatic type. The PGM4 1-2 phenotype was positively associated with miscarriages whereas PGM4 2-2 negatively correlated with this abnormality. If the mother had PGM4 2-2, there might be increased body dimensions (body length and mass, head and chest circumferences) in male neonates. On the contrary, PGM4 1-2 was negatively correlated with body length and mass in the newborns of both sexes. For female neonates, there was a highly significant association only with the presence of PGM4 2-2 in their mothers, namely: its presence was positively correlated with all body dimensions.     

Location of the complement factor H binding site on streptococcal M6 protein

The surface M protein of group A streptococci binds factor H, a regulatory protein of the alternative complement pathway, which may contribute to the antiphagocytic activity of the M molecules. To locate the factor H binding domain in the alpha-helical coiled-coil structure of the M molecule, the M protein was cleaved with pepsin at pH 5.8, which separates the molecule approximately in half. Western blot (immunoblot), amino acid sequence, and mass spectrometric analyses revealed that factor H bound to a 14.6-kDa C-terminal fragment of the M molecule. Competitive inhibition of factor H binding to the 14.6-kDa fragment with M protein peptides localized the binding site to amino acids 256 to 292. This segment is located within the surface-exposed region of the M6 protein, identified as the C-repeat region, whose sequence is conserved among heterologous M and M-like molecules. These studies also identified a second pepsin-susceptible site with the sequence ELAK located within the cell wall-associated region of the M molecule.     

Replacement of tyrosine 1251 in the carboxyl terminus of the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor disrupts the actin cytoskeleton and inhibits proliferation and anchorage-independent growth

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I signaling through the IGF-I receptor modulates cellular adhesion and proliferation and the transforming ability of cells overexpressing the IGF-I receptor. Tyrosine phosphorylation of intracellular proteins is essential for this transduction of the IGF-I-induced mitogenic and tumorigenic signals. IGF-I induces specific cytoskeletal structure and the phosphorylation of proteins in the associated focal adhesion complexes. The determination of the exact pathways emanating from the IGF-I receptor that are involved in mediating these signals will contribute greatly to the understanding of IGF-I action. We have previously shown that replacement of tyrosine residues 1250 and 1251 in the carboxyl terminus of the IGF-I receptor abrogates IGF-I-induced cellular proliferation and tumor formation in nude mice. In this study, replacement of either tyrosine 1250 or 1251 similarly reduces the cells ability to grow in an anchorage-independent manner. The actin cytoskeleton and cellular localization of vinculin are disrupted by replacement of tyrosine 1251. Tyrosine residues 1250 and 1251 are not essential for tyrosine phosphorylation of two known substrates; insulin receptor substrate-1 and SHC, nor association of known downstream adaptor proteins to these substrates. In addition, these mutant IGF-I receptors do not affect IGF-I-stimulated p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation or phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3'-kinase activity. Thus, it appears that in fibroblasts expressing tyrosine 1250 and 1251 mutant IGF-I receptors, the signal transduction pathways impacting on mitogenesis and tumorigenesis do not occur exclusively through the PI 3'-kinase or mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways.     

Caffeine and other predictors of bone density among pre- and perimenopausal women

Cryopreservation has proved to be a highly successful method for long-term storage of viable embryos. The objective of this study on rat blastocysts was to define conditions for their cryopreservation. Three cryoprotectants, dimethyl sulfoxide, glycerol, and propanediol/sucrose, were compared in two cooling programs (to -30 or -80 degrees C) and two thawing protocols. The cooling was followed by immersion in liquid nitrogen. Programmed thawing was at the rate of 8 degrees C per minute; fast thawing consisted of direct exposure of the frozen embryos to the ambient laboratory temperature. The survival after the freeze/thaw was assessed from the post-thaw embryo morphology and ability to develop into apparently normal offspring in uteri of foster mothers (embryonic survival). The best method for preservation of rat blastocysts proved to be programmed cooling to -80 degrees C followed by fast thawing with glycerol as cryoprotectant (embryonic survival of 28.1%). In all the experimental groups, the proportion of embryos with good to excellent preservation of morphology was high. With dimethyl sulfoxide, after programmed cooling to -80 degrees C, embryonic survival was 9.9% (programmed thawing) and 17.5% (fast thawing). No embryos survived after programmed cooling to -30 degrees C. However, when the cryoprotectant was propanediol/sucrose, no difference was observed between programmed cooling to -80 degrees C with either method of thawing and programmed cooling to -30 degrees C and fast thawing (12.3, 6.2, and 8.0%, respectively).