The effect of ionising radiation on photosynthetic oxygenic microorganisms for survival in space flight revealed by automatic photosystem II-based biosensors

Photosynthetic microorganisms are expected to be useful to maintain an oxygenic atmosphere and to provide biomass for astronauts in the International Space Station as well as in future long-term space flights. However, fluxes of complex ionizing radiation of various intensities and energies make space an extreme environment for the microorganisms, affecting their photosynthetic efficiency. To automatically monitor the photosynthetic Photosystem II (PSII) activity of microorganisms under space conditions an optical biosensor, which utilizes chlorophyll fluorescence as biological transduction system, was built; the PSII activity was monitored by the biosensor during balloon flights at stratospheric altitudes of about 40 km. The effect of space stress on quantum yield of PSII varied among the tested species depending on the growth light conditions at which they were exposed during the flights.     

探析新疆传统民族服饰——袷袢

位于我国西北部的新疆维吾尔自治区在多民族融合交流下形成了独特的人文环境,“袷袢”作为新疆多个民族传统服装款式之一,依据其款式、色彩及装饰风格各民族袷袢特点各异。通过研究新疆地区传统民族服饰“袷袢”与不同民族间的差异性,从中了解各民族间在服饰文化中的相互交融与影响,研究“袷袢”这一典型性民族服饰在文化交融中的共性与特性,从而更准确地认知民族服饰的文化功能,及中华民族多元一体格局下的服饰文化与审美趋向。     

Soy protein supplementation does not cause lymphocytopenia in postmenopausal women

Background  

The health benefits of soy isoflavones have been widely investigated; however, there are some concerns as to whether soy isoflavones, similar to ipriflavone, a synthetic isoflavone, cause lymphocytopenia in postmenopausal women. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which 12-month supplementation of 25 g soy protein containing 60 mg isoflavones alters lymphocyte counts or other hematological parameters in postmenopausal women who were not on hormone replacement therapy.     

Rubber Particles from Tires Out of Use as Toughness Modifiers of Epoxy-Based Thermosets

Rubber particles from tires out of use (TOU) were used to modify an epoxy-based thermoset. The effect of size and particle content were evaluated. Three bending point and Charpy tests were carried out to study the mechanical behavior of the materials. A steady decrease in the critical stress intensity factor, K_Ic, with the content of TOU was observed, being attributed to the fact that the particles might also act as defects in the polymer matrix. Fractographic analysis confirmed that filled specimens showed localized shear yielding at the end of the particles along the crack propagation direction. No signs of cavitation mechanism were found on the surfaces of fracture, evidencing an extraordinary interfacial adhesion. The total energy absorbed at break increased as the size of TOU particles decreased, pointing out that particle size is crucial for the performance of these materials. Matrix yielding and plastic deformation were considered to be the main toughness mechanisms.     

SQL-PL4OCL: an automatic code generator from OCL to SQL procedural language

Software and Systems Modeling - In this paper, we introduce a SQL-PL code generator for OCL expressions that, in contrast to other proposals, is able to map OCL iterate and iterator expressions...     

One year soy protein supplementation has positive effects on bone formation markers but not bone density in postmenopausal women

Background  

Although soy protein and its isoflavones have been reported to reduce the risk of osteoporosis in peri- and post-menopausal women, most of these studies are of short duration (i.e. six months). The objective of this study was to examine if one year consumption of soy-containing foods (providing 25 g protein and 60 mg isoflavones) exerts beneficial effects on bone in postmenopausal women.     

Time-dependent factorial cumulants in interacting nano-scale systems

We discuss time-dependent factorial cumulants in interacting nano-scale systems. Recent theoretical work has shown that the full counting statistics of non-interacting electrons in a two-terminal conductor is always generalized binomial and the zeros of the generating function are consequently real and negative. However, as interactions are introduced in the transport, the zeros of the generating function may become complex. This has measurable consequences: With the zeros of the generating function moving away from the real-axis, the high-order factorial cumulants of the transport become oscillatory functions of time. Here we demonstrate this phenomenon on a model of charge transport through coherently coupled quantum dots attached to voltage-biased electrodes. Without interactions, the factorial cumulants are monotonic functions of the observation time. In contrast, as interactions are introduced, the factorial cumulants oscillate strongly as functions of time. We comment on possible measurements of oscillating factorial cumulants and outline several avenues for further investigations.     

Effect of kaolin nanofiller and processing conditions on the structure,morphology, and biofilm development of polylactic acid

The effect of high energy ball milling, HEBM, and the presence of kaolin on the structure, morphology, and biofilm development of polylactic acid, PLA, were studied. Biofilm development was evaluated in terms of structural and/or morphological variations so as the sole presence of kaolin. Composites based on PLA filled with kaolin were prepared by HEBM followed by hot pressing to obtain films. Structure was studied by X‐ray diffraction and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy whereas morphology was inspected by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. To study biofilm development on the surface of these materials, Pseudomonas fluorescens B52 were used. The shear forces from the milling process favor kaolin dispersion within the PLA. Longer milling times and cryogenic conditions improve clay dispersion. Subsequent hot pressing process enhances the most ordered structure of PLA (α‐phase) which is also favored with previous milling at longer times and under cryogenic conditions. Changes in P. fluorescens biofilm development are mainly due to modifications of surface properties induced by structural variations, being the most ordered structures those which better support bacterial adhesion and proliferation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42676.