Crystal growth of bullet-shaped magnetite in magnetotactic bacteria of the Nitrospirae phylum

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are known to produce single-domain magnetite or greigite crystals within intracellular membrane organelles and to navigate along the Earth''s magnetic field lines. MTB have been suggested as being one of the most ancient biomineralizing metabolisms on the Earth and they represent a fundamental model of intracellular biomineralization. Moreover, the determination of their specific crystallographic signature (e.g. structure and morphology) is essential for palaeoenvironmental and ancient-life studies. Yet, the mechanisms of MTB biomineralization remain poorly understood, although this process has been extensively studied in several cultured MTB strains in the Proteobacteria phylum. Here, we show a comprehensive transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study of magnetic and structural properties down to atomic scales on bullet-shaped magnetites produced by the uncultured strain MYR-1 belonging to the Nitrospirae phylum, a deeply branching phylogenetic MTB group. We observed a multiple-step crystal growth of MYR-1 magnetite: initial isotropic growth forming cubo-octahedral particles (less than approx. 40 nm), subsequent anisotropic growth and a systematic final elongation along [001] direction. During the crystal growth, one major {111} face is well developed and preserved at the larger basal end of the crystal. The basal {111} face appears to be terminated by a tetrahedral–octahedral-mixed iron surface, suggesting dimensional advantages for binding protein(s), which may template the crystallization of magnetite. This study offers new insights for understanding magnetite biomineralization within the Nitrospirae phylum.     

Immobilization of penicillin G acylase onto amino-modified silica hydrogel

Amino-modified silica hydrogel (N-MSHG) was prepared by a simple sol-gel processing via the co-condensation of commercial silica sol with 3-aminopropyltrie-oxysilane. Penicillin G acylase (PGA), a model enzyme, was covalently immobilized onto the N-MSHG and then was used for the enzymatic synthesis of amoxicillin. The samples were characterized by Nitrogen sorption analysis, FT-IR and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that the amino-modified gel was a mesoporous material with an average pore size of 12.64±0.17nm. The immobilization process was efficient and the immobilized enzyme showed high catalytic efficiency. The yield of the synthesis of amoxicillin in aqueous media was 38% for 2.5h. This sol-gel preparation is simple and shows prominent potential value in industrial processing.     

Highly Hydrophilic and Lipophilic Derivatives of Bile Salts

Lipophilicity of 15 derivatives of sodium cholate, defined by the octan-1-ol/water partition coefficient (log P), has been theoretically determined by the Virtual log P method. These derivatives bear highly hydrophobic or highly hydrophilic substituents at the C3 position of the steroid nucleus, being linked to it through an amide bond. The difference between the maximum value of log P and the minimum one is enlarged to 3.5. The partition coefficient and the critical micelle concentration (cmc) are tightly related by a double-logarithm relationship (VirtuallogP=−(1.00±0.09)log(cmcmM)+(2.79±0.09)), meaning that the Gibbs free energies for the transfer of a bile anion from water to either a micelle or to octan-1-ol differ by a constant. The equation also means that cmc can be used as a measurement of lipophilicity. The demicellization of the aggregates formed by three derivatives of sodium cholate bearing bulky hydrophobic substituents has been studied by surface tension and isothermal titration calorimetry. Aggregation numbers, enthalpies, free energies, entropies, and heat capacities, ΔC_P,demic, were obtained. ΔC_P,demic, being positive, means that the interior of the aggregates is hydrophobic.     

Numerical evaluation of the quarter-point crack tip element

This paper attempts to answer two commonly raised questions during the preparation of a finite element mesh, for the linear elastic fracture analysis of cracked structure: how to set up the finite element mesh around the crack tip, and what level of accuracy is to be expected from such a modelling. Two test problems, with known analytical expressions for their stress intensity factors, are analysed by the finite element method using the isoparametric quadratic singular element. The modified parameters were the order of integration, aspect ratio, number of elements surrounding the crack tip, use of transition elements, the singular element length over the total crack length, the symmetry of the mesh around the crack tip. Based on these analyses, a data base is created and various plots produced. The results are interpreted, the accuracy evaluated and recommendations drawn. Contrary to previous reports, it is found that the computed stress intensity factor (SIF) remains within engineering accuracy (10 per cent) throughout a large range of l/a (singular element length over crack length) for problems with a uniform non-singular stress distribution ahead of the crack tip (i.e. double edge notch), and l/a should be less than 0·1 for problems with a non-singular stress gradient (i.e three-point bend). Also, it is found that the best results are achieved by using at least four singular elements around the crack tip, with their internal angles around 45 degrees, and a reduced (2 × 2) numerical integration.     

5G Based on Cognitive Radio

Both the cognitive radio (CR) and the fifth generation of cellular wireless standards (5G) are considered to be the future technologies: on one hand, CR offers the possibility to significantly increase the spectrum efficiency, by smart secondary users (CR users) using the free licensed users spectrum holes; on the other hand, the 5G implies the whole wireless world interconnection (WISDOM—Wireless Innovative System for Dynamic Operating Megacommunications concept), together with very high data rates Quality of Service (QoS) service applications. In this paper, they are combined together into a “CR based 5G”. With this aim, two novel ideas are advanced: the 5G terminal is a CR terminal and the CR technology is chosen for WISDOM concept. Thus, the 5G takes CR flexibility and adaptability and makes the first step through a commercial and tangible form.     

Using production wastes in electroslag remelting

The possibility of using metallurgical and plating wastes to reduce costs in electroslag remelting is considered, with a view to industrial application.     

Strategic justification of advanced manufacturing technology using an extended AHP model

Layered manufacturing has emerged as a highly versatile process to produce complex parts compared with conventional manufacturing processes, which are either too costly to implement or just downright not possible. However, this relatively new manufacturing process is characterized by a few outstanding issues that have kept the process from being widely applied. One such issue is the reduced part accuracy caused by the primitive method of generating the layer contours. Current practice generates the layer contours by simply intersecting a set of parallel planes through the computer model of the design part. The volumetric geometry of each layer is then constructed by extruding the layer contour by the layer thickness in the part building direction. This practice often leads to distorted part geometry due to the unidirectional bias of the extruded layers. This paper proposes a novel scheme to correct the systematic part distortion of layered manufactured parts resulting from the improperly generated layer contours. A new layer contour generation method utilizing the sectional projected data of a point cloud representation of the part surface is introduced. The systematic part distortion is reduced by extruding the outer boundary of the projected point data into the layer volumetric geometry. The boundary contour construction algorithm is able to adapt to changing density of the point set in order to keep the captured level of detail consistent. Specifically devised case studies were carried out to validate the proposed method.