Protein modification by a Maillard reaction intermediate methylglyoxal. Immunochemical detection of fluorescent 5-methylimidazolone derivatives in vivo

Methylglyoxal (MG), an endogenous metabolite that increases in diabetes, is a common intermediate in nonenzymatic glycation (Maillard reaction) in vivo. Here we describe the immunochemical approach to the detection of MG adducts in proteins in vitro and in atherosclerotic lesions of human aorta in vivo. The reaction of protein (bovine serum albumin) with MG led to selective loss of arginine and lysine residues, accompanied by the formation of 5-methylimidazolone (N delta-(5-methylimidazolon-2-yl)ornithine) and imidazolysine (1,3-di-lysino-4-methylimidazole) derivatives, respectively. The anti-5-methylimidazolone antibody was prepared by immunizing rabbits with a MG-keyhole limpet hemocyanin conjugate and purifying the serum on an affinity gel prepared by covalent attachment of the 5-methylimidazolone derivative. The antibody cross-reacted with the proteins treated with not only MG but trioses, such as hydroxyacetone, dihydroxyacetone, and glyceraldehyde. The immunohistochemical analysis revealed that atherosclerotic lesions of human aorta contained 5-methylimidazolone derivatives whose distributions were identical to those of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) detected by the anti-AGE antibody.     

AI-Li/SiCp composites and Ti-AI alloy powders and coatings prepared by a plasma spray atomization (PSA) technique

There has been increasing use of Al-Li alloys in the aerospace industry, due mainly to the low density and high elastic modulus of this material. However, the problem of low ductility and fracture toughness of this material has limited its present application to only weight- and stiffness-critical components. Development of Al-Li/ceramic composites is currently being investigated to enhance the service capabilities of this material. The Ti-Al alloy is also of interest to aerospace-type applications, engine components in particular, due to its attractive high-temperature properties. Preparation of fine powders by plasma melting of composite feedstock and coatings formed by plasma spraying was carried out to examine the effect of spray parameters on the microstructure and properties of these materials. Characterization of the powders and coatings was performed using the scanning electron microscope and image analyzer. Examination of the plasma-sprayed powders and coatings has shown that in the Al-Li/SiC composite there is melting of both materials to form a single composite particle. The SiC reinforcement was in the submicron range and contributed to additional strengthening of the composite body, which was formed by a cold isostatic press and consolidated by hot extrusion or hot forging processes. The plasma-sprayed Ti-Al powder showed four categories of microstructures: featureless, dendritic, cellular, and martensite-like.     

Functional properties of a protein product from Caryodendron orinocense (Barinas nut)

The functional properties of Caryodendron orinocense protein product were investigated and compared with those of soybean (Glycina maxima). The product protein content was 24.47 g/100 g (Nx6.25). Solubility increased at both sides of the isoelectric point (pH 4.0) and with increased NaCl concentration up to 0.5M. Compared with soybean flour (50% protein), the protein product exhibited higher water and oil absorption, but lower emulsifying activity, emulsion stability, foaming capacity, and foam stability, the last one increase at higher pH. Emulsifying activity, foaming capacity, and foam stability were ionic strength dependent. C. orinocense protein product increased its emulsifying activity steadily from 0.05M to 0.75M NaCl, while it remained almost constant for soybean flour. Foaming capacity increased drastically at pH 10. The minimum time and concentration to form a gel was 20% in 4 min and 10% in 8 min for the Caryodendron protein product and soybean flour, respectively. The bulk density was 0.5056+/-0.0041 g/mL.     

SAHPPA: a novel power pinch analysis approach for the design of off-grid hybrid energy systems

This work proposes a novel approach called stand-alone hybrid system power pinch analysis (SAHPPA), which is particularly applicable for the design of off-grid distributed energy generation systems. The enhanced graphical tool employs new ways of utilising the recently introduced demand composite curve and supply composite curve while honouring and adapting fundamental energy systems engineering concepts. The SAHPPA method is capable of optimising the capacity of both the power generators and energy storage for biomass (i.e. non-intermittent) and solar photovoltaic (i.e. intermittent) energy technologies, which is a contribution to the emerging area of power pinch analysis. In addition, the procedure considers all possible efficiency losses in the overall system encompassing the charging–discharging and current inversion processes.     

Revealing key topics shifts in thermal barrier coatings (TBC) as indicators of technological developments for aerospace engines

Scientometrics - Thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems reduce the temperature of the metallic substrate of aerospace engines, resulting in improved component durability, better fuel economy and...     

Displacement bound of beam‐column with time‐dependent boundary constraints

Abstract

A simplified explicit formula for the displacement bounds of the beam‐column subjected to time‐dependent boundary constraints is proposed. The formula is derived by means of removing time dependence from the boundary conditions. The proposed bounds provide a quick estimation of the displacements for problems with complex loading conditions.     

StockProF: a stock profiling framework using data mining approaches

Information Systems and e-Business Management - Analysing stock financial data and producing an insight into it are not easy tasks for many stock investors, particularly individual investors....     

Reliability and accuracy of measured overpotential in a three-electrode fuel cell system

Numerical simulation was conducted to study the potential and current density distributions at the active electrode surface of a solid oxide fuel cell. The effects of electrode deviation, electrolyte thickness and electrode polarization resistance on the measurement error were investigated. For a coaxial anode/electrolyte/cathode system where the radius of the anode is greater than that of cathode, the cathode overpotential is overestimated while the anode overpotential is underestimated. Although the current interruption method or impedance spectroscopy can be employed to compensate/correct the error for a symmetric electrode configuration, it is not useful when dealing with the asymmetric electrode system. For the purpose of characterizing the respective overpotentials in a fuel cell, the cell configuration has to be carefully designed to minimize the measurement error, in particular the selection of the electrolyte thickness, which may cause significant error. For the anode-support single fuel cell, it is difficult to distinguish the polarization between the anode and cathode with reference to a reference electrode. However, numerical results can offer an approximate idea about the source/cause of the measurement error and provide design criteria for the fuel cell to improve the reliability and accuracy of the measurement technique.