Intersecting Xenobiology and Neometabolism To Bring Novel Chemistries to Life

The diversity of life relies on a handful of chemical elements (carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus) as part of essential building blocks; some other atoms are needed to a lesser extent, but most of the remaining elements are excluded from biology. This circumstance limits the scope of biochemical reactions in extant metabolism – yet it offers a phenomenal playground for synthetic biology. Xenobiology aims to bring novel bricks to life that could be exploited for (xeno)metabolite synthesis. In particular, the assembly of novel pathways engineered to handle nonbiological elements (neometabolism) will broaden chemical space beyond the reach of natural evolution. In this review, xeno-elements that could be blended into nature's biosynthetic portfolio are discussed together with their physicochemical properties and tools and strategies to incorporate them into biochemistry. We argue that current bioproduction methods can be revolutionized by bridging xenobiology and neometabolism for the synthesis of new-to-nature molecules, such as organohalides.     

Computational Analysis of the Solid-State and Solvation Properties of Carbamazepine in Relation to its Polymorphism

The solvent-dependent polymorphism of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) carbamazepine is interpreted from calculations of the solid-state and API-solvent intermolecular interactions. These simulations suggested that apolar solute-solute interactions could be disrupted by apolar solvents. In contrast, the polar solute-solute interactions were found to be easily disrupted by polar and protic solvents. This is consistent with experimental observations that the crystallization of the metastable form II is more dominant in apolar solvents. The Mercury program remains the gold standard in terms of usability; however, further expansion into more complex simulation techniques could make this package of even greater use in pharmaceutical manufacturing workflows.     

Calcium phosphates grown on bacterial cellulose template

Bacterial cellulose membranes were employed as templates for calcium phosphates deposition by successive immersion in solutions of Ca(NO₃)₂·4H₂O and (NH₄)₂HPO₄, under ultrasonication. During the wet chemical reaction, mineral phases were loaded on bacterial cellulose fibrils, leading to precursor hybrid composites. These were subjected to a lyophilisation procedure in order to preserve the 3D porous aspect and afterwards to a thermal treatment with the aim of removing the polymeric phase and generating well crystallized structures. Different types of morphologies were achieved by varying the heating rate, as well as the calcination temperature and period. The as-prepared samples and the final ones were investigated from compositional and structural point of view through X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and morphologically concerning by scanning electron microscopy. The magnetic properties were also evaluated in order to demonstrate the suitability of the obtained materials for the development of magnetic scaffolds dedicated to hard tissue applications.     

光照水电站装设筒形阀分析

筒形阀是一种新型的水轮机进水阀,它与球阀或蝴蝶阀相比较有防止机组飞逸事故扩大效果明显、减轻导叶全关时导水机构的快速破坏并减少漏水量,以及动水开启方便、所需时间短等优点,但对运行条件也有一定的要求。光照水电站是贵州省第1个拟采用筒形阀的电站,为此对装设筒形阀的可行性和必要性进行了认真的分析。     

Dissociating uncertainty responses and reinforcement signals in the comparative study of uncertainty monitoring.

Although researchers are exploring animals' capacity for monitoring their states of uncertainty, the use of some paradigms allows the criticism that animals map avoidance responses to error-causing stimuli not because of uncertainty monitored but because of feedback signals and stimulus aversion. The authors addressed this criticism with an uncertainty-monitoring task in which participants completed blocks of trials with feedback deferred so that they could not associate reinforcement signals to particular stimuli or stimulus-response pairs. Humans and 1 of 2 monkeys were able to make cognitive, decisional uncertainty responses that were independent of feedback or reinforcement history within a task. This finding unifies the comparative literature on uncertainty monitoring. The dissociation of performance from reinforcement has theoretical implications, and the deferred-feedback technique has many applications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

基于承包商预期收益不变的不平衡报价模型

在招标实践中,通常采用最低价中标原则,使得投标人不得不压低其投标价格。基于承包商预期收益不变的不平衡报价模型,是在“工程量清单报价”的条件下,考虑到施工中工程量的变化及施工顺序的影响,体现了资金的时间价值,在保持承包商预期收益不变的前提下,通过调整各分项工程的单价,来降低工程报价,以增加中标机会而建立的。所建立的模型简单,易于操作,并配以具体的工程实例,通过计算机求得其最优解,可供承包商投标报价时参考。     

新一代IP QoS的实现

文章介绍了新一代IP骨干网上的IP QoS实现技术，论述了集成业务(IntServ)与差分业务(DiffServ)解决方案的特点，详细介绍了相关的队列管理与排队机制。并结合多协议标签交换（MPLS)技术的最新发展，阐述了综合多协议标签交换流量工程与DiffServ技术体系端到端IP QoS的实现。     

横泉水库供水发电洞工程地质分析与评价

通过大量野外工程地质勘察与测试工作，在此基础上给出了横泉水库供水发电洞的工程地质分析与评价，从而使该水库的施工有了充分的理论依据。     

井喷失控预警的远距离自动调焦控制研究

井喷失控是石油及天然气钻井、完井过程可能出现的灾难性事故，给人类生命财产造成严重伤害，污染环境，破坏地下资源以及在城市火灾、森林火灾、环境变化等监测工作中常需要远距离目标监测，为了获得高清晰的实时图像数据，需要实时自动调焦。通过系统分析远距离相机离焦的原因，建立了一个实时调焦数学模型，并以此为基础研制了一种新的对应距离和温度变化的离焦补偿控制系统。该系统采用微型步进电机实现智能控制，通过监测目标距离确定监测相机的初始焦距，以及环境温度变化的实时反馈实现焦距的实时控制，使相机可以在－40～125 ℃范围内获得清晰、稳定的远距离图像。该系统适用于井喷失控石油及天然气火灾、城市火灾、森林火灾、环境变化等远距离目标的实时监测。