Chemical basis for interspecific responses to sex pheromones ofTrogoderma species (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)

Interspecific responses among severalTrogoderma species have been correlated with their pheromone components. The most important component emitted by four of the species is (Z)- or (E)-14-methyl-8-hexadecenal, which is not detectable in extracts of macerated beetles. The response to macerated beetles is probably due to the corresponding alcohol and ester. The recency of common origin of seven species is discussed.     

Enhancing the weldability of CP titanium friction stir welds with elemental foils

ABSTRACT

Friction stir welding (FSW) has proven to be a viable technique for joining a wide variety of alloys. However, thick section welding of alpha and near-alpha Ti alloys has proven particularly challenging. Previous research at the Naval Research Laboratory using Ni markers in CP Ti friction stir welds indicated that elemental additions of Ni to the joint line can provide substantial benefits for improved weldability of these alloys. The current study surveys the effects of Ni and other elemental additions to CP Ti friction stir welds to determine their influence on the resultant weld microstructure, weld surface finish, and welding machine forces. These results reveal that Ni provides the most benefits for the concentrations examined, but other elements may also provide benefits at lower concentrations. The addition of these elements may improve the weldability and weld quality for FSW of CP Ti, enabling thick section welding of this and similar alloys.     

Quantification of Microstructural Evolution in Grain Boundary Networks

In this work, the effect of grain boundary engineering (GBE) on the structure and connectivity of networks of two types of boundaries was quantified. General high angle boundaries and “special” Σ = 3 and Σ = 9 coincident site lattice boundaries were considered. The effect of GBE processing was to increase the population and length of special boundaries and to disrupt the network of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) in the microstructure. The GBE processing resulted in an increase in the population of special boundaries as determined by line length fraction from approximately 37% to approximately 57%. The connectivity of the special boundaries, as determined by topological analysis, increased by a factor of 4, while the connectivity of HAGBs decreased by an order of magnitude. Cluster sizes in the special boundary network increased across the range of sizes, and the maximum cluster size of HAGBs decreased significantly. The metrics reported here allow for a quantitative analysis of grain boundary connectivity in microstructures, as well as for a quantitative means of comparison of microstructures. These metrics will be used in simulations of diffusional creep, with the aim of quantifying structure–property relationships in grain boundary engineered systems.     

Infant Mortality, Freaks, and Wear-Out: Application of Modern Semiconductor Reliability Methods to Ceramic Multilayer Capacitors

An overview of the methods of modern semiconductor reliability and accelerated life testing based on the lognormal distribution is given, Bimodal distributions due to the presence of freak failure populations are also discussed, along with the Fowlkes test for a bimodal lognormal distribution. A novel analysis of recent published results on capacitor reliability is given, based on the known properties of the lognormal and Weibull distributions as well as recent experience in their application to semiconductor device reliability. For test periods of 168 and 1000 h, estimates of the required voltages and temperature stresses as well as sample sizes are made to ensure a hazard rate of less than 100 FIT (failures per unit time) per capacitor after 40 yr of operation. The results show that the customary accelerated test at twice the rated voltage and 125°C for 1000 h, is insufficient. Comparison with data from a recent highly accelerated life test (HALT) indicates that the HALT procedures may be useful as an effective screen. Bimodal failure distributions are shown to be due to the presence of freak (early failure) populations of about 10%.     

Effect of Heat Treatments on the Wetting Behavior of Bismuth-Rich Intergranular Phases in ZnO:Bi:Co Varistors

The effect of annealing on the wetting behavior of Bi-rich intergranular phases in ZnO:Bi:Co varistors was studied. The intergranular phase exhibits temperature-dependent grain-boundary wetting, with an average equilibrium dihedral angle of 0° at 1140°C and over 55° at 610°C. The temperature-dependent wetting may be related to the temperature dependence of the ZnO concentration in the Bi₂O₃ liquid phase. The effect of the intergranular phase distribation on the electrical properties of ZnO varistors is discussed.     

The synchronization principle in modelling of binding and attention

Recent atomic 3-D reconstructions of the acto-myosin interface suggest that electrostatic interactions are important in the initial phase of cross-bridge formation. Earlier biochemical studies had also given strong evidence for the ionic strength dependence of this step in the cross-bridge cycle. We have probed these interactions by altering the ionic strength (Gamma/2) of the medium mainly with K+, imidazole+ and EGTA2- to vary charge shielding. We examined the effect of ionic strength on the kinetics of rigor development at low Ca2+ (experimental temperature 18-22 degrees C) in chemically skinned single fast-twitch fibres of mouse extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle. On average the delay before rigor onset was 10 times longer, the maximum rate of rigor tension development was 10 times slower, the steady-state rigor tension was 3 times lower and the in-phase stiffness was 2 times lower at high (230 mM) compared to low (60 mM) ionic strength. These results were modelled by calculating ATP depletion in the fibre due to diffusional loss of ATP and acto-myosin Mg.ATPase activity. The difference in delay before rigor onset at low and high ionic strength could be explained in our model by assuming a 15 times higher Mg.ATPase activity and a threefold increase in Km in relaxing conditions at low ionic strength. Activation by Ca2+ induced at different time points before and during onset of rigor confirmed the calculated time course of ATP depletion. We have also investigated ionic strength effects on rigor development with the activated troponin/tropomyosin complex. ATP withdrawal at maximum activation by Ca2+ induced force transients which led into a "high rigor" state. The peak forces of these force transients were very similar at low and high ionic strength. The subsequent decrease in tension was only 10% slower and steady-state "high rigor" tension was reduced by only 27% at high compared to low ionic strength. Addition of 10 mM phosphate to lower cross-bridge attachment strongly suppressed the transient increases in force at high ionic strength and reduced the steady-state rigor tension by 17%. A qualitatively similar but smaller effect of phosphate was observed at low ionic strength where steady-state rigor force was reduced by 10%. The data presented in this study show a very strong effect of ionic strength on rigor development in relaxed fibres whereas the ionic strength dependence of rigor development after thin filament activation was much less. The data confirm the importance of electrostatic interactions in cross-bridge attachment and cross-bridge-attachment-induced activation of thin filaments.     

The interference effects of hexadecylphosphocholine on proliferation and membrane phospholipid metabolism in human myeloid leukemia cell lines

Membrane phospholipids are important regulators of cellular function. The phospholipid activities, such as lipid composition and transportation, contribute to cellular homeostasis in the lifespan of cells. Alterations in phospholipids result in the movement of bilayer lipids and the initiation of coagulation, recognition and internalization. Hexadecylphosphocholine (HePC) exerts antitumor potencies and represents a new class of antitumor agents targeted to the cellular membrane. Human myeloid leukemia cell lines HL-60 and K562 employed in this study were inhibited by HePC in vitro. The results indicate that the HL-60 cell line was sensitive, while K562 was resistant to HePC. Synthetic HePC is an alkyllysophospholipid analog which interacted with the cell membrane, thereby altering lipid composition and metabolism of membrane phospholipids and modulating intracellular calcium in human myeloid leukemia HL-60 and K562 cell lines. The contents of membrane phospholipids, including phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), were determined quantitatively with high performance liquid chromatography. The sensitivity of myeloid leukemia HL-60 and K562 cell lines to HePC probably depends on the different distribution of these four phospholipids in the cellular membrane, or on the response of these phospholipids to HePC. The cytosolic free calcium ([Ca++]i) concentration increased by HePC confirmed that [Ca++]i was released from the intracellular calcium pool and is associated with cell differentiation and apoptosis. We investigated the hypothesis that the antiproliferative effect of HePC was mediated through the interference with cellular membrane phospholipids, including choline-containing phospholipids (PC), aminophospholipids (PE and PS) and PI, in eukaryotic cells.