Surface-based and mass spectrometric approaches to deciphering sugar-protein interactions in a galactose-specific agglutinin

Interest in powerful, nanosized tools to analyze in detail glycan-protein interactions has increased significantly over recent years. Here, we report two complementary approaches to characterize such interactions with high sensitivity, low sample consumption, and without the need for sample labeling, namely, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and an approach that combines limited proteolysis and mass spectrometry. Combination of these two approaches to investigate glycan-protein interactions allows (1) to characterize interactions through kinetic and thermodynamic parameters, (2) to capture efficiently the carbohydrate-binding protein, and (3) to identify the interacted protein and its carbohydrate binding site by mass spectrometry. As a proof of principle, the interaction of the galactose-specific legume lectin Erythrina cristagalli agglutinin with several sugars has been characterized in-depth by means of these two approaches.     

Flow pattern and heat transfer characteristics of R-134a refrigerant during flow boiling in a horizontal circular mini-channel

Flow boiling heat transfer of R-134a refrigerant in a circular mini-channel, 600 mm long with a diameter of 1.75 mm, is investigated experimentally in this study. The test section is a stainless steel tube placed horizontally. Flow pattern and heat transfer coefficient data are obtained for a mass flux range of 200–1000 kg/m² s, a heat flux range of 1–83 kW/m² and saturation pressures of 8, 10, and 13 bar. Five different flow patterns including slug flow, throat-annular flow, churn flow, annular flow and annular-rivulet flow are observed and the heat transfer coefficient data for different flow patterns are presented. The heat transfer coefficient increases with increasing heat flux but is mostly independent of mass flux and vapour quality. In addition, it is indicated from the experiments that the higher the saturation pressure, the lower is the heat transfer coefficient. Comparisons of the present data with the existing correlations are also presented.     

Gelatin hydrolysate powder from the scales of spotted golden goatfish: Effect of drying conditions and juice fortification

Effects of different spray drying temperatures (inlet temperatures of 160, 180, and 200°C) on characteristics, bioactivity, and sensory properties of gelatin hydrolysate from spotted golden goatfish scales using maltodextrin as a carrier agent were investigated. The yield of gelatin hydrolysate powder was higher, when inlet temperature increased (p?p?p?p?相似文献   

Pd Control For Active Vibration Damping In An Underactuated Nonlinear System

A Lyapunov based control approach is proposed for the specification of the constant gains of an asymptotically stabilizing Proportional‐Derivative (PD) controller, devised to damp the oscillations of an underactuated nonlinear mechanical system. The system consists of a rigid beam, sliding on the interior of a spherical surface, and an actuated cart, located over the beam, which acts as an active vibration damping element.     

Enhanced liquid biofuel production from crude palm oil over synthesized NiMoW-ZSM-5/MCM-41 catalyst

Micro-mesoporous ZSM-5/MCM-41 composites were prepared and then loaded with varied contents of NiMoW by the wet impregnation method. The hydrocracking conversion of crude palm oil to liquid biofuels with the prepared catalysts was carried out in a batch reactor at 400°C for 2 h. ZSM-5/MCM-41 composite exhibited 51.00% conversion with a yield of 9.23% gasoline, 20.60% kerosene, and 21.17% diesel. Upon loading of NiMoW, the catalysts exhibited an improved conversion (≥ 62.60%) and a reduced formation of coke, which resulted from combined properties of ZSM-5 with MCM-41 and the presence of dispersed NiMoW. The contents of impregnated metals also affected the performance of catalysts. Using ANOVA analysis (p < 0.05), we found that 8:8:8 wt.% NiMoW-ZSM-5/MCM-41 catalyst was suitable for the production of biofuels, when considering the efficiency and cost-effectiveness.     

DC‐to‐AC power conversion on a ‘boost’ converter

In this article, we provide an approximate sliding mode control‐based solution to the DC–AC power conversion problem on a ‘boost’ converter. The approach uses the flatness property of the system as a pivot for generating a sequence of minimum phase output reference trajectory candidates. The generated candidates are obtained as differential parameterizations of the minimum phase inductor current variable in terms of the non‐minimum phase desired output capacitor voltage. The associated residual dynamics of the ideal sliding motions is shown to reasonably approximate the desired biased sinusoidal output capacitor voltage signal. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sliding Mode ∑‐Δ Modulation Control of the Boost Converter

A switched implementation of average dynamic output feedback laws trough a ∑‐Δ‐modulator, widely known in the classic communications and analog signal encoding literature, not only frees the sliding mode control approach from state measurements and the corresponding synthesis of sliding surfaces in the plant's state space, but it also allows to effectively transfer all desired closed loop features of an uniformly bounded, continuous, average output feedback controller design into the more restrictive discrete‐valued (ON‐OFF) control framework of a switched system. The proposed approach is here used for the input‐output sliding mode stabilization of the “boost” DC‐to‐DC converter. This is achieved by means of a well known passivity based controller but any other output feedback design would have served our purposes. This emphasizes the flexibility of the proposed sliding mode control design implementation through ∑‐Δ‐modulators.     

The role of replications in Empirical Software Engineering

Replications play a key role in Empirical Software Engineering by allowing the community to build knowledge about which results or observations hold under which conditions. Therefore, not only can a replication that produces similar results as the original experiment be viewed as successful, but a replication that produce results different from those of the original experiment can also be viewed as successful. In this paper we identify two types of replications: exact replications, in which the procedures of an experiment are followed as closely as possible; and conceptual replications, in which the same research question is evaluated by using a different experimental procedure. The focus of this paper is on exact replications. We further explore them to identify two sub-categories: dependent replications, where researchers attempt to keep all the conditions of the experiment the same or very similar and independent replications, where researchers deliberately vary one or more major aspects of the conditions of the experiment. We then discuss the role played by each type of replication in terms of its goals, benefits, and limitations. Finally, we highlight the importance of producing adequate documentation for an experiment (original or replication) to allow for replication. A properly documented replication provides the details necessary to gain a sufficient understanding of the study being replicated without requiring the replicator to slavishly follow the given procedures.

Reviewing 25 Years of Testing Technique Experiments

Mature knowledge allows engineering disciplines the achievement of predictable results. Unfortunately, the type of knowledge used in software engineering can be considered to be of a relatively low maturity, and developers are guided by intuition, fashion or market-speak rather than by facts or undisputed statements proper to an engineering discipline. Testing techniques determine different criteria for selecting the test cases that will be used as input to the system under examination, which means that an effective and efficient selection of test cases conditions the success of the tests. The knowledge for selecting testing techniques should come from studies that empirically justify the benefits and application conditions of the different techniques. This paper analyzes the maturity level of the knowledge about testing techniques by examining existing empirical studies about these techniques. We have analyzed their results, and obtained a testing technique knowledge classification based on their factuality and objectivity, according to four parameters.