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Sample records for aromatic substrates tethered

  1. Palladium-Catalyzed Tandem Oxidative Arylation/Olefination of Aromatic Tethered Alkenes/Alkynes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Yang; Gao, Yinglan; Wu, Wanqing; Jiang, Huanfeng; Yang, Xiaobo; Liu, Wenbo; Li, Chao-Jun

    2017-01-18

    We describe herein a palladium-catalyzed tandem oxidative arylation/olefination reaction of aromatic tethered alkenes/alkynes for the synthesis of dihydrobenzofurans and 2 H-chromene derivatives. This reaction features a 1,2-difunctionalization of C-C π-bond with two C-H bonds using O 2 as terminal oxidant at room temperature. The products obtained are valuable synthons and important scaffolds in biological agents and natural products. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  2. Enhancing trichloroethylene degradation using non-aromatic compounds as growth substrates.

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    Kim, Seungjin; Hwang, Jeongmin; Chung, Jinwook; Bae, Wookeun

    2014-06-30

    The effect of non-aromatic compounds on the trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation of toluene-oxidizing bacteria were evaluated using Burkholderia cepacia G4 that expresses toluene 2-monooxygenase and Pseudomonas putida that expresses toluene dioxygenase. TCE degradation rates for B. cepacia G4 and P. putida with toluene alone as growth substrate were 0.144 and 0.123 μg-TCE/mg-protein h, respectively. When glucose, acetate and ethanol were fed as additional growth substrates, those values increased up to 0.196, 0.418 and 0.530 μg-TCE/mg-protein h, respectively for B. cepacia G4 and 0.319, 0.219 and 0.373 μg-TCE/mg-protein h, respectively for P. putida. In particular, the addition of ethanol resulted in a high TCE degradation rate regardless of the initial concentration. The use of a non-aromatic compound as an additional substrate probably enhanced the TCE degradation because of the additional supply of NADH that is consumed in co-metabolic degradation of TCE. Also, it is expected that the addition of a non-aromatic substrate can reduce the necessary dose of toluene and, subsequently, minimize the potential competitive inhibition upon TCE co-metabolism by toluene. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. The fluorodediazonation - a method for n.c.a.-18F-labelling of aromatic substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zwernemann, O.

    1991-06-01

    For the positron emission tomography (PET) applications, radiopharmaceuticals are required that are labelled with short-lived positron emitters. Fluorine-18 has become the leading radionuclide used for PET, due to its favourable physical properties. However, the labelling of aromatic substances with fluorine-18 with the methods available presents problems not encountered with aliphatic compounds. The decomposition of aromatic diazonium salts opens up feasible ways of preparing a broad range of labelled compounds. The dissertation investigated the possibilities of labelling with fluorine-18 by way of dediazonation on the standard substrate p-Toluidyl diazonium ion. The results reported show that the method of fluorodediazonation is an interesting further method for F-18 labelling of aromatic substrates in addition to the hitherto applied techniques. It allows carrier-free labelling of a large group of substances which cannot be fluorinated via direct nucleophilicity. (BBR) [de

  4. Template-directed ligation of tethered mononucleotides by t4 DNA ligase for kinase ribozyme selection.

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    David G Nickens

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In vitro selection of kinase ribozymes for small molecule metabolites, such as free nucleosides, will require partition systems that discriminate active from inactive RNA species. While nucleic acid catalysis of phosphoryl transfer is well established for phosphorylation of 5' or 2' OH of oligonucleotide substrates, phosphorylation of diffusible small molecules has not been demonstrated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study demonstrates the ability of T4 DNA ligase to capture RNA strands in which a tethered monodeoxynucleoside has acquired a 5' phosphate. The ligation reaction therefore mimics the partition step of a selection for nucleoside kinase (deoxyribozymes. Ligation with tethered substrates was considerably slower than with nicked, fully duplex DNA, even though the deoxynucleotides at the ligation junction were Watson-Crick base paired in the tethered substrate. Ligation increased markedly when the bridging template strand contained unpaired spacer nucleotides across from the flexible tether, according to the trends: A(2>A(1>A(3>A(4>A(0>A(6>A(8>A(10 and T(2>T(3>T(4>T(6 approximately T(1>T(8>T(10. Bridging T's generally gave higher yield of ligated product than bridging A's. ATP concentrations above 33 microM accumulated adenylated intermediate and decreased yields of the gap-sealed product, likely due to re-adenylation of dissociated enzyme. Under optimized conditions, T4 DNA ligase efficiently (>90% joined a correctly paired, or TratioG wobble-paired, substrate on the 3' side of the ligation junction while discriminating approximately 100-fold against most mispaired substrates. Tethered dC and dG gave the highest ligation rates and yields, followed by tethered deoxyinosine (dI and dT, with the slowest reactions for tethered dA. The same kinetic trends were observed in ligase-mediated capture in complex reaction mixtures with multiple substrates. The "universal" analog 5-nitroindole (dNI did not support ligation when

  5. An Aromatic Cap Seals the Substrate Binding Site in an ECF-Type S Subunit for Riboflavin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karpowich, Nathan K.; Song, Jinmei; Wang, Da-Neng

    2016-06-13

    ECF transporters are a family of active membrane transporters for essential micronutrients, such as vitamins and trace metals. Found exclusively in archaea and bacteria, these transporters are composed of four subunits: an integral membrane substrate-binding subunit (EcfS), a transmembrane coupling subunit (EcfT), and two ATP-binding cassette ATPases (EcfA and EcfA'). We have characterized the structural basis of substrate binding by the EcfS subunit for riboflavin from Thermotoga maritima, TmRibU. TmRibU binds riboflavin with high affinity, and the protein–substrate complex is exceptionally stable in solution. The crystal structure of riboflavin-bound TmRibU reveals an electronegative binding pocket at the extracellular surface in which the substrate is completely buried. Analysis of the intermolecular contacts indicates that nearly every available substrate hydrogen bond is satisfied. A conserved aromatic residue at the extracellular end of TM5, Tyr130, caps the binding site to generate a substrate-bound, occluded state, and non-conservative mutation of Tyr130 reduces the stability of this conformation. Using a novel fluorescence binding assay, we find that an aromatic residue at this position is essential for high-affinity substrate binding. Comparison with other S subunit structures suggests that TM5 and Loop5-6 contain a dynamic, conserved motif that plays a key role in gating substrate entry and release by S subunits of ECF transporters.

  6. Tether dynamics and control results for tethered satellite system's initial flight

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    Chapel, Jim D.; Flanders, Howard

    The recent Tethered Satellite System-1 (TSS-1) mission has provided a wealth of data concerning the dynamics of tethered systems in space and has demonstrated the effectiveness of operational techniques designed to control these dynamics. In this paper, we review control techniques developed for managing tether dynamics, and discuss the results of using these techniques for the Tethered Satellite System's maiden flight on STS-46. In particular, the flight results of controlling libration dynamics, string dynamics, and slack tether are presented. These results show that tether dynamics can be safely managed. The overall stability of the system was found to be surprisingly good even at relatively short tether lengths. In fact, the system operated in passive mode at a tether length of 256 meters for over 9 hours. Only monitoring of the system was required during this time. Although flight anomalies prevented the planned deployment to 20 km, the extended operations at shorter tether lengths have proven the viability of using tethers in space. These results should prove invaluable in preparing for future missions with tethered objects in space.

  7. Tethered Nanoparticle–Polymer Composites: Phase Stability and Curvature

    KAUST Repository

    Srivastava, Samanvaya

    2012-04-17

    Phase behavior of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) tethered silica nanoparticles dispersed in PEG hosts is investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering. Phase separation in dispersions of densely grafted nanoparticles is found to display strikingly different small-angle X-ray scattering signatures in comparison to phase-separated composites comprised of bare or sparsely grafted nanoparticles. A general diagram for the dispersion state and phase stability of polymer tethered nanoparticle-polymer composites incorporating results from this as well as various other contemporary studies is presented. We show that in the range of moderate to high grafting densities the dispersion state of nanoparticles in composites is largely insensitive to the grafting density of the tethered chains and chemistry of the polymer host. Instead, the ratio of the particle diameter to the size of the tethered chain and the ratio of the molecular weights of the host and tethered polymer chains (P/N) are shown to play a dominant role. Additionally, we find that well-functionalized nanoparticles form stable dispersions in their polymer host beyond the P/N limit that demarcates the wetting/dewetting transition in polymer brushes on flat substrates interacting with polymer melts. A general strategy for achieving uniform nanoparticle dispersion in polymers is proposed. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

  8. Substrate specific hydrolysis of aromatic and aromatic-aliphatic esters in orchid tissue cultures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnieszka Mironowicz

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We found that tissue cultures of higher plants were able, similarly as microorganisms, to transform low-molecular-weight chemical compounds. In tissue cultures of orchids (Cymbidium 'Saint Pierre' and Dendrobium phalaenopsis acetates of phenols and aromatic-aliphatic alcohols were hydrolyzed, whereas methyl esters of aromatic and aromatic-aliphatic acids did not undergo this reaction. Acetates of racemic aromatic-aliphatic alcohols were hydrolyzed with distinct enantiospecificity.

  9. Fluorescence method for enzyme analysis which couples aromatic amines with aromatic aldehydes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, R.E.; Dolbeare, F.A.

    1980-10-21

    Analysis of proteinases is accomplished using conventional amino acid containing aromatic amine substrates. Aromatic amines such as 4-methoxy-2-naphthylamine (4M2NA), 2-naphthylamine, aminoisophthalic acid dimethyl ester, p-nitroaniline, 4-methoxy-1-aminofluorene and coumarin derivatives resulting from enzymatic hydrolysis of the substrate couples with aromatic aldehydes such as 5-nitrosalicylaldehyde (5-NSA), benzaldehyde and p-nitrobenzaldehyde to produce Schiff-base complexes which are water insoluble. Certain Schiff-base complexes produce a shift from blue to orange-red (visible) fluorescence. Such complexes are useful in the assay of enzymes. No Drawings

  10. Synthesis and characterization of macromolecular rhodamine tethers and their interactions with P-glycoprotein.

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    Crawford, Lindsey; Putnam, David

    2014-08-20

    Rhodamine dyes are well-known P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrates that have played an important role in the detection of inhibitors and other substrates of P-gp, as well as in the understanding of P-gp function. Macromolecular conjugates of rhodamines could prove useful as tethers for further probing of P-gp structure and function. Two macromolecular derivatives of rhodamine, methoxypolyethylene glycol-rhodamine6G and methoxypolyethylene glycol-rhodamine123, were synthesized through the 2'-position of rhodamine6G and rhodamine123, thoroughly characterized, and then evaluated by inhibition with verapamil for their ability to interact with P-gp and to act as efflux substrates. To put the results into context, the P-gp interactions of the new conjugates were compared to the commercially available methoxypolyethylene glycol-rhodamineB. FACS analysis confirmed that macromolecular tethers of rhodamine6G, rhodamine123, and rhodamineB were accumulated in P-gp expressing cells 5.2 ± 0.3%, 26.2 ± 4%, and 64.2 ± 6%, respectively, compared to a sensitive cell line that does not overexpress P-gp. Along with confocal imaging, the efflux analysis confirmed that the macromolecular rhodamine tethers remain P-gp substrates. These results open potential avenues for new ways to probe the function of P-gp both in vitro and in vivo.

  11. Growing substrates for aromatic plant species in green roofs and water runoff quality: pilot experiments in a Mediterranean climate.

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    Monteiro, Cristina M; Calheiros, Cristina S C; Palha, Paulo; Castro, Paula M L

    2017-09-01

    Green roof technology has evolved in recent years as a potential solution to promote vegetation in urban areas. Green roof studies for Mediterranean climates, where extended drought periods in summer contrast with cold and rainy periods in winter, are still scarce. The present research study assesses the use of substrates with different compositions for the growth of six aromatic plant species - Lavandula dentata, Pelargonium odoratissimum, Helichrysum italicum, Satureja montana, Thymus caespititius and T. pseudolanuginosus, during a 2-year period, and the monitoring of water runoff quality. Growing substrates encompassed expanded clay and granulated cork, in combination with organic matter and crushed eggshell. These combinations were adequate for the establishment of all aromatic plants, allowing their propagation in the extensive system located on the 5th storey. The substrate composed of 70% expanded clay and 30% organic matter was the most suitable, and crushed eggshell incorporation improved the initial plant establishment. Water runoff quality parameters - turbidity, pH, conductivity, NH 4 + , NO 3 - , PO 4 3- and chemical oxygen demand - showed that it could be reused for non-potable uses in buildings. The present study shows that selected aromatic plant species could be successfully used in green roofs in a Mediterranean climate.

  12. Tuning peptide self-assembly by an in-tether chiral center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Kuan; Xiong, Wei; Li, Hu; Zhang, Pei-Yu; Yin, Feng; Zhang, Qianling; Jiang, Fan; Li, Zigang

    2018-01-01

    The self-assembly of peptides into ordered nanostructures is important for understanding both peptide molecular interactions and nanotechnological applications. However, because of the complexity and various self-assembling pathways of peptide molecules, design of self-assembling helical peptides with high controllability and tunability is challenging. We report a new self-assembling mode that uses in-tether chiral center-induced helical peptides as a platform for tunable peptide self-assembly with good controllability. It was found that self-assembling behavior was governed by in-tether substitutional groups, where chirality determined the formation of helical structures and aromaticity provided the driving force for self-assembly. Both factors were essential for peptide self-assembly to occur. Experiments and theoretical calculations indicate long-range crystal-like packing in the self-assembly, which was stabilized by a synergy of interpeptide π-π and π-sulfur interactions and hydrogen bond networks. In addition, the self-assembled peptide nanomaterials were demonstrated to be promising candidate materials for applications in biocompatible electrochemical supercapacitors.

  13. Transitions of tethered chain molecules under tension.

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    Luettmer-Strathmann, Jutta; Binder, Kurt

    2014-09-21

    An applied tension force changes the equilibrium conformations of a polymer chain tethered to a planar substrate and thus affects the adsorption transition as well as the coil-globule and crystallization transitions. Conversely, solvent quality and surface attraction are reflected in equilibrium force-extension curves that can be measured in experiments. To investigate these effects theoretically, we study tethered chains under tension with Wang-Landau simulations of a bond-fluctuation lattice model. Applying our model to pulling experiments on biological molecules we obtain a good description of experimental data in the intermediate force range, where universal features dominate and finite size effects are small. For tethered chains in poor solvent, we observe the predicted two-phase coexistence at transitions from the globule to stretched conformations and also discover direct transitions from crystalline to stretched conformations. A phase portrait for finite chains constructed by evaluating the density of states for a broad range of solvent conditions and tensions shows how increasing tension leads to a disappearance of the globular phase. For chains in good solvents tethered to hard and attractive surfaces we find the predicted scaling with the chain length in the low-force regime and show that our results are well described by an analytical, independent-bond approximation for the bond-fluctuation model for the highest tensions. Finally, for a hard or slightly attractive surface the stretching of a tethered chain is a conformational change that does not correspond to a phase transition. However, when the surface attraction is sufficient to adsorb a chain it will undergo a desorption transition at a critical value of the applied force. Our results for force-induced desorption show the transition to be discontinuous with partially desorbed conformations in the coexistence region.

  14. Self-assembled tethered bimolecular lipid membranes.

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    Sinner, Eva-Kathrin; Ritz, Sandra; Naumann, Renate; Schiller, Stefan; Knoll, Wolfgang

    2009-01-01

    This chapter describes some of the strategies developed in our group for designing, constructing and structurally and functionally characterizing tethered bimolecular lipid membranes (tBLM). We introduce this platform as a novel model membrane system that complements the existing ones, for example, Langmuir monolayers, vesicular liposomal dispersions and bimolecular ("black") lipid membranes. Moreover, it offers the additional advantage of allowing for studies of the influence of membrane structure and order on the function of integral proteins, for example, on how the composition and organization of lipids in a mixed membrane influence the ion translocation activity of integral channel proteins. The first strategy that we introduce concerns the preparation of tethered monolayers by the self-assembly of telechelics. Their molecular architecture with a headgroup, a spacer unit (the "tether") and the amphiphile that mimics the lipid molecule allows them to bind specifically to the solid support thus forming the proximal layer of the final architecture. After fusion of vesicles that could contain reconstituted proteins from a liposomal dispersion in contact to this monolayer the tethered bimolecular lipid membrane is obtained. This can then be characterized by a broad range of surface analytical techniques, including surface plasmon spectroscopies, the quartz crystal microbalance, fluorescence and IR spectroscopies, and electrochemical techniques, to mention a few. It is shown that this concept allows for the construction of tethered lipid bilayers with outstanding electrical properties including resistivities in excess of 10 MOmega cm2. A modified strategy uses the assembly of peptides as spacers that couple covalently via their engineered sulfhydryl or lipoic acid groups at the N-terminus to the employed gold substrate, while their C-terminus is being activated afterward for the coupling of, for example, dimyristoylphosphatidylethanol amine (DMPE) lipid molecules

  15. Tethers in Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Les; Bilén, Sven G.; Gilchrist, Brian E.; Krause, Linda Habash

    2017-09-01

    This Special Section of Acta Astronautica contains several peer-reviewed papers selected from among those presented at the Fifth International Conference on Tethers in Space (TiS2016). After a hiatus of 21 years since the last Conference on Tethers in Space, TiS2016 brought together experts, practitioners, and other interested in space tethers and related fields. TiS2016 was held May 24-26, 2016 at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. Leveraging the hard work of a great many volunteers, the conference co-chairs Prof. Brian Gilchrist and Prof. Sven Bilén welcomed an international contingent with authors from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Spain, China, Finland, Estonia, and Italy. The community provided updates on what has transpired since their last gathering by providing lessons learned; describing new technologies and subsystems; and proposing new tether missions and applications. Papers overviewed de-orbit systems, power generation, orbital maneuvering, momentum capture, debris removal, space tugs, space elevators, collision avoidance, and tether dynamics, among others.

  16. Why Not Space Tethers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Noble H.

    2007-01-01

    The Tethered Satellite System Space Shuttle missions, TSS-1 in 1993 and TSS-1R in 1996, were the height of space tether technology development. Since NASA's investment of some $200M and two Shuttle missions in those two pioneering missions, there have been several smaller tether flight experiments, but interest in this promising technology has waned within NASA as well as the DOD agencies. This is curious in view of the unique capabilities of space tether systems and the fact that they have been flight validated and shown to perform as, or better than, expected in earth orbit. While it is true that the TSS-1, TSS-1R and SEDS-2 missions experienced technical difficulties, the causes of these early developmental problems are now known to be design or materials flaws that are (1) unrelated to the basic viability of space tether technology, and (2) they are readily corrected. The purpose of this paper is to review the dynamic and electrodynamic fundamentals of space tethers and the unique capabilities they afford (that are enabling to certain types of space missions); to elucidate the nature, cause, and solution of the early developmental problems; and to provide an update on progress made in development of the technology. Finally, it is shown that (1) all problems experienced during early development of the technology now have solutions; and (2) the technology has been matured by advances made in strength and robustness of tether materials, high voltage engineering in the space environment, tether health and status monitoring, and the elimination of the broken tether hazard. In view of this, it is inexplicable why this flight-validated technology has not been utilized in the past decade, considering the powerful and unique capabilities that space tethers can afford that are, not only required to carryout, otherwise, unobtainable missions, but can also greatly reduce the cost of certain on-going space operations.

  17. Tether-directed synthesis of highly substituted oxasilacycles via an intramolecular allylation employing allylsilanes

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    Cox Liam R

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Using a silyl tether to unite an aldehyde electrophile and allylsilane nucleophile into a single molecule allows a subsequent Lewis-acid-mediated allylation to proceed in an intramolecular sense and therefore receive all the benefits associated with such processes. However, with the ability to cleave the tether post allylation, a product that is the result of a net intermolecular reaction can be obtained. In the present study, four diastereoisomeric β-silyloxy-α-methyl aldehydes, which contain an allylsilane tethered through the β-carbinol centre, have been prepared, in order to probe how the relative configuration of the two stereogenic centres affects the efficiency and selectivity of the intramolecular allylation. Results Syn-aldehydes, syn-4a and syn-4b, both react poorly, affording all four possible diastereoisomeric oxasilacycle products. In contrast, the anti aldehydes anti-4a and anti-4b react analogously to substrates that lack substitution at the α-site, affording only two of the four possible allylation products. Conclusion The outcome of the reaction with anti-aldehydes is in accord with reaction proceeding through a chair-like transition state (T.S.. In these systems, the sense of 1,3-stereoinduction can be rationalised by the aldehyde electrophile adopting a pseudoaxial orientation, which will minimise dipole-dipole interactions in the T.S. The 1,4-stereoinduction in these substrates is modest and seems to be modulated by the R substituent in the starting material. In the case of the syn-substrates, cyclisation through a chair T.S. is unlikely as this would require the methyl substituent α to the reacting carbonyl group to adopt an unfavourable pseudoaxial position. It is therefore proposed that these substrates react through poorly-defined T.S.s and consequently exhibit essentially no stereoselectivity.

  18. Tethering sockets and wrenches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, E. P.

    1990-01-01

    The tethering of sockets and wrenches was accomplished to improve the safety of working over motor segments. To accomplish the tethering of the sockets to the ratchets, a special design was implemented in which a groove was machined into each socket. Each socket was then fitted with a snap ring that can spin around the machined groove. The snap ring is tethered to the handle of the ratchet. All open end wrenches are also tethered to the ratchet or to the operator, depending upon the type. Tests were run to ensure that the modified tools meet torque requirements. The design was subsequently approved by Space Safety.

  19. Tethering sockets and wrenches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, E. P.

    1990-07-01

    The tethering of sockets and wrenches was accomplished to improve the safety of working over motor segments. To accomplish the tethering of the sockets to the ratchets, a special design was implemented in which a groove was machined into each socket. Each socket was then fitted with a snap ring that can spin around the machined groove. The snap ring is tethered to the handle of the ratchet. All open end wrenches are also tethered to the ratchet or to the operator, depending upon the type. Tests were run to ensure that the modified tools meet torque requirements. The design was subsequently approved by Space Safety.

  20. Experiments and Numerical Simulations of Electrodynamic Tether

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    Iki, Kentaro; Kawamoto, Satomi; Takahashi, Ayaka; Ishimoto, Tomori; Yanagida, Atsushi; Toda, Susumu

    As an effective means of suppressing space debris growth, the Aerospace Research and Development Directorate of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been investigating an active space debris removal system that employs highly efficient electrodynamic tether (EDT) technology for orbital transfer. This study investigates tether deployment dynamics by means of on-ground experiments and numerical simulations of an electrodynamic tether system. Some key parameters used in the numerical simulations, such as the elastic modulus and damping ratio of the tether, the spring constant of the coiling of the tether, and deployment friction, must be estimated, and various experiments are conducted to determine these values. As a result, the following values were obtained: The elastic modulus of the tether was 40 GPa, and the damping ratio of the tether was 0.02. The spring constant and the damping ratio of the tether coiling were 10-4 N/m and 0.025 respectively. The deployment friction was 0.038ν + 0.005 N. In numerical simulations using a multiple mass tether model, tethers with lengths of several kilometers are deployed and the attitude dynamics of satellites attached to the end of the tether and tether libration are calculated. As a result, the simulations confirmed successful deployment of the tether with a length of 500 m using the electrodynamic tether system.

  1. Tethered Satellite System Contingency Investigation Board

    Science.gov (United States)

    1992-11-01

    The Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-46) on July 31, 1992. During the attempted on-orbit operations, the Tethered Satellite System failed to deploy successfully beyond 256 meters. The satellite was retrieved successfully and was returned on August 6, 1992. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Associate Administrator for Space Flight formed the Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) Contingency Investigation Board on August 12, 1992. The TSS-1 Contingency Investigation Board was asked to review the anomalies which occurred, to determine the probable cause, and to recommend corrective measures to prevent recurrence. The board was supported by the TSS Systems Working group as identified in MSFC-TSS-11-90, 'Tethered Satellite System (TSS) Contingency Plan'. The board identified five anomalies for investigation: initial failure to retract the U2 umbilical; initial failure to flyaway; unplanned tether deployment stop at 179 meters; unplanned tether deployment stop at 256 meters; and failure to move tether in either direction at 224 meters. Initial observations of the returned flight hardware revealed evidence of mechanical interference by a bolt with the level wind mechanism travel as well as a helical shaped wrap of tether which indicated that the tether had been unwound from the reel beyond the travel by the level wind mechanism. Examination of the detailed mission events from flight data and mission logs related to the initial failure to flyaway and the failure to move in either direction at 224 meters, together with known preflight concerns regarding slack tether, focused the assessment of these anomalies on the upper tether control mechanism. After the second meeting, the board requested the working group to complete and validate a detailed integrated mission sequence to focus the fault tree analysis on a stuck U2 umbilical, level wind mechanical interference, and slack tether in upper tether

  2. Space Station tethered elevator system

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    Haddock, Michael H.; Anderson, Loren A.; Hosterman, K.; Decresie, E.; Miranda, P.; Hamilton, R.

    1989-01-01

    The optimized conceptual engineering design of a space station tethered elevator is presented. The tethered elevator is an unmanned, mobile structure which operates on a ten-kilometer tether spanning the distance between Space Station Freedom and a platform. Its capabilities include providing access to residual gravity levels, remote servicing, and transportation to any point along a tether. The report discusses the potential uses, parameters, and evolution of the spacecraft design. Emphasis is placed on the elevator's structural configuration and three major subsystem designs. First, the design of elevator robotics used to aid in elevator operations and tethered experimentation is presented. Second, the design of drive mechanisms used to propel the vehicle is discussed. Third, the design of an onboard self-sufficient power generation and transmission system is addressed.

  3. Biodegradation of Various Aromatic Compounds by Enriched Bacterial Cultures: Part A-Monocyclic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oberoi, Akashdeep Singh; Philip, Ligy; Bhallamudi, S Murty

    2015-08-01

    Present study focused on the screening of bacterial consortium for biodegradation of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (MAH) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Target compounds in the present study were naphthalene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene (PAHs), and benzene (MAH). Microbial consortia enriched with the above target compounds were used in screening experiments. Naphthalene-enriched consortium was found to be the most efficient consortium, based on its substrate degradation rate and its ability to degrade other aromatic pollutants with significantly high efficiency. Substrate degradation rate with naphthalene-enriched culture followed the order benzene > naphthalene > acenaphthene > phenanthrene. Chryseobacterium and Rhodobacter were discerned as the predominant species in naphthalene-enriched culture. They are closely associated to the type strain Chryseobacterium arthrosphaerae and Rhodobacter maris, respectively. Single substrate biodegradation studies with naphthalene (PAH) and benzene (MAH) were carried out using naphthalene-enriched microbial consortium (NAPH). Phenol and 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde were identified as the predominant intermediates during benzene and naphthalene degradation, respectively. Biodegradation of toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene, phenol, and indole by NAPH was also investigated. Monod inhibition model was able to simulate biodegradation kinetics for benzene, whereas multiple substrate biodegradation model was able to simulate biodegradation kinetics for naphthalene.

  4. Coat/Tether Interactions—Exception or Rule?

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    Schröter, Saskia; Beckmann, Sabrina; Schmitt, Hans Dieter

    2016-01-01

    Coat complexes are important for cargo selection and vesicle formation. Recent evidence suggests that they may also be involved in vesicle targeting. Tethering factors, which form an initial bridge between vesicles and the target membrane, may bind to coat complexes. In this review, we ask whether these coat/tether interactions share some common mechanisms, or whether they are special adaptations to the needs of very specific transport steps. We compare recent findings in two multisubunit tethering complexes, the Dsl1 complex and the HOPS complex, and put them into context with the TRAPP I complex as a prominent example for coat/tether interactions. We explore where coat/tether interactions are found, compare their function and structure, and comment on a possible evolution from a common ancestor of coats and tethers. PMID:27243008

  5. Coat/Tether Interactions-Exception or Rule?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schroeter, Saskia; Beckmann, Sabrina; Schmitt, Hans Dieter

    2016-01-01

    Coat complexes are important for cargo selection and vesicle formation. Recent evidence suggests that they may also be involved in vesicle targeting. Tethering factors, which form an initial bridge between vesicles and the target membrane, may bind to coat complexes. In this review, we ask whether these coat/tether interactions share some common mechanisms, or whether they are special adaptations to the needs of very specific transport steps. We compare recent findings in two multisubunit tethering complexes, the Dsl1 complex and the HOPS complex, and put them into context with the TRAPP I complex as a prominent example for coat/tether interactions. We explore where coat/tether interactions are found, compare their function and structure, and comment on a possible evolution from a common ancestor of coats and tethers.

  6. Two Tethered Balloon Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youngbluth, Otto; Owens, Thomas L.; Storey, Richard W.

    1990-01-01

    Systems take meteorological measurements for variety of research projects. Report describes work done by NASA Langley Research Center in atmospheric research using tethered balloon systems composed of commercially available equipment. Two separate tethered balloon systems described in report have payloads and configurations tailored to requirements of specific projects. Each system capable of measuring atmospheric parameter or species in situ and then telemetering this data in real time to ground station. Meteorological data and concentration of ozone typically measured. Indicates instrumented tethered balloon systems have distinct advantages over other systems for gathering data on troposphere.

  7. Perfluorocyclobutane containing aromatic ether polymers as planarization materials for alternative magnetic media substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perettie, Donald J.; Judy, Jack; Chen, Qixu; Keirstead, Rick

    1994-11-01

    Perfluorocyclobutane aromatic ether polymers (PFCB) are being researched as planarization materials for alternative magnetic media substrates allowing smoother surfaces for lower head flying recording. The results of current work reported herein have shown that PFCB can be used to affect surfaces on canasite with R(sub A)'s less than 2 nm. In addition, magnetic media can be produced of a quality comparative to that obtained on standard NiP-coated Al as well as that produced on regular canasite with equivalent coercivities at about 1500-1600 Oe and squarenesses of 0.8 or better. In addition to the above magnetic properties the recording performance was excellent with signal-to-noise ratios of planarized media 3.5 dB higher than that on regular canasite.

  8. Cation Radical Accelerated Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution via Organic Photoredox Catalysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tay, Nicholas E S; Nicewicz, David A

    2017-11-15

    Nucleophilic aromatic substitution (S N Ar) is a direct method for arene functionalization; however, it can be hampered by low reactivity of arene substrates and their availability. Herein we describe a cation radical-accelerated nucleophilic aromatic substitution using methoxy- and benzyloxy-groups as nucleofuges. In particular, lignin-derived aromatics containing guaiacol and veratrole motifs were competent substrates for functionalization. We also demonstrate an example of site-selective substitutive oxygenation with trifluoroethanol to afford the desired trifluoromethylaryl ether.

  9. Space tether dynamics: an introduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denny, Mark

    2018-05-01

    The dynamics of orbiting tethers (space elevators and skyhooks) is developed from an unusual direction: Lagrangian rather than Newtonian mechanics. These basic results are derived among others: space elevator required length with and without counterweight, location and magnitude of maximum tether tension, skyhook orbital parameters and tether tension. These conceptual devices are being increasingly discussed as technologically feasible; here they make an interesting pedagogical application of Lagrangian mechanics suitable for undergraduate physics students.

  10. The space station tethered elevator system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Loren A.

    1989-01-01

    The optimized conceptual engineering design of a space station tethered elevator is presented. The elevator is an unmanned mobile structure which operates on a ten kilometer tether spanning the distance between the Space Station and a tethered platform. Elevator capabilities include providing access to residual gravity levels, remote servicing, and transportation to any point along a tether. The potential uses, parameters, and evolution of the spacecraft design are discussed. Engineering development of the tethered elevator is the result of work conducted in the following areas: structural configurations; robotics, drive mechanisms; and power generation and transmission systems. The structural configuration of the elevator is presented. The structure supports, houses, and protects all systems on board the elevator. The implementation of robotics on board the elevator is discussed. Elevator robotics allow for the deployment, retrieval, and manipulation of tethered objects. Robotic manipulators also aid in hooking the elevator on a tether. Critical to the operation of the tethered elevator is the design of its drive mechanisms, which are discussed. Two drivers, located internal to the elevator, propel the vehicle along a tether. These modular components consist of endless toothed belts, shunt-wound motors, regenerative power braking, and computer controlled linear actuators. The designs of self-sufficient power generation and transmission systems are reviewed. Thorough research indicates all components of the elevator will operate under power provided by fuel cells. The fuel cell systems will power the vehicle at seven kilowatts continuously and twelve kilowatts maximally. A set of secondary fuel cells provides redundancy in the unlikely event of a primary system failure. Power storage exists in the form of Nickel-Hydrogen batteries capable of powering the elevator under maximum loads.

  11. Tethered Lubricants for Small Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lynden A. Archer

    2006-01-09

    The objective of this research project is two-fold. First, to fundamentally understand friction and relaxation dynamics of polymer chains near surfaces; and second, to develop novel self-lubricated substrates suitable for MEMS devices. During the three-year performance period of this study the PI and his students have shown using theory and experiments that systematic introduction of disorder into tethered lubricant coatings (e.g. by using self-assembled monolayer (SAM) mixtures or SAMs with nonlinear, branched architectures) can be used to significantly reduce the friction coefficient of a surface. They have also developed a simple procedure based on dielectric spectroscopy for quantifying the effect of surface disorder on molecular relaxation in lubricant coatings. Details of research accomplishments in each area of the project are described in the body of the report.

  12. Coat/tether interactions – exceptions or rule?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saskia eSchroeter

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Coat complexes are important for cargo selection and vesicle formation. Recent evidence suggests that they may also be involved in vesicle targeting. Tethering factors, which form an initial bridge between vesicles and the target membrane, may bind to coat complexes. In this review, we ask whether these coat/tether interactions share some common mechanisms, or whether they are special adaptations to the needs of very specific transport steps. We compare recent findings in two multisubunit tethering complexes, the Dsl1 complex and the HOPS complex, and put them into context with the TRAPP I complex as a prominent example for coat/tether interactions. We explore where coat/tether interactions are found, compare their function and structure, and comment on a possible evolution from a common ancestor of coats and tethers.

  13. Tether Elevator Crawler Systems (TECS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swenson, Frank R.

    1987-01-01

    One of the needs of the experimenters on the space station is access to steady and controlled-variation microgravity environments. A method of providing these environments is to place the experiment on a tether attached to the space station. This provides a high degree of isolation from structural oscillations and vibrations. Crawlers can move these experiments along the tethers to preferred locations, much like an elevator. This report describes the motion control laws developed for these crawlers and the testing of laboratory models of these tether elevator crawlers.

  14. Synthesis and insertion chemistry of mixed tether uranium metallocene complexes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Siladke, Nathan A.; LeDuc, Jennifer; Ziller, Joseph W.; Evans, William J. [Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA (United States)

    2012-11-12

    The synthesis of mixed tethered alkyl uranium metallocenes has been investigated by examining the reactivity of the bis(tethered alkyl) metallocene [(η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 2}CH{sub 2}-κC){sub 2}U] (1) with substrates that react with only one of the U-C linkages. The effect of these mixed tether coordination environments on the reactivity of the remaining U-C bond has been studied by using CO insertion chemistry. One equivalent of azidoadamantane (AdN{sub 3}) reacts with 1 to yield the mixed tethered alkyl triazenido complex [(η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 2}CH{sub 2}-κC)U(η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 2}-CH{sub 2}NNN-Ad-κ{sup 2}N{sup 1,3})]. Similarly, a single equivalent of CS{sub 2} reacts with 1 to form the mixed tethered alkyl dithiocarboxylate complex [(η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 2}CH{sub 2}-κC)U(η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 2}- CH{sub 2}C(S){sub 2}-κ{sup 2}S,S{sup '})], a reaction that constitutes the first example of CS{sub 2} insertion into a U{sup 4+}-C bond. Complex 1 reacts with one equivalent of pyridine N-oxide by C-H bond activation of the pyridine ring to form a mixed tethered alkyl cyclometalated pyridine N-oxide complex [(η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 2}CH{sub 2}-κC)(η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 3})U(C{sub 6}H{sub 4}NO-κ{sup 2} C,O)]. The remaining (η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 2}CH{sub 2}-κC){sup 2-} ligand in each of these mixed tethered species show reactivity towards CO and tethered enolate ligands form by insertion. Subsequent rearrangement have been identified in [(η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 3})U(C{sub 5}H{sub 4}NO-κ{sup 2}C,O)(η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 2}C(=CH{sub 2})O- κO)] and [(η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 2}CH{sub 2}NNN-Ad-κ{sup 2}N{sup 1,3})U(η{sup 5}-C{sub 5}Me{sub 4}SiMe{sub 2}C(=CH{sub 2})O-κO)]. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  15. Refining the tethering of American oysters (Crassostrea virginica) to measure the effects of two environmental stressors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poirier, Luke A; Gilbert, Shane T C; St-Hilaire, Sophie; Davidson, Jeff; Cox, Ruth; Quijón, Pedro A

    2018-02-01

    Tethering assays, or the physical restraint of test organisms, has been used in the past to measure selected organisms' response to stressors while removing the observer from the experimental setting. Although informative for monitoring and hypothesis testing, these assays often used microfilaments that have been found to be too invasive or prone to biases given their effects on test organisms' behavior. Here, we describe a new variation of tethering using American oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and illustrate its use in the study of their mortality rates as a result of two stressors: siltation and predation by a non-indigenous species. Our protocol identified a resistant (non-toxic) glue that could be used to attach oysters to stone slabs, thus partially mimicking the natural cementation of the shell to natural substrates. This variation of tethering was harmless and maintained oysters' body position and natural ability to filter feed. Using tethered oysters in separate two-week field cage experiments, we also show how siltation and predation by a non-indigenous species (the European green crab, Carcinus maenas), caused a gradual, easily measurable increase in oyster mortality rates. We argue that this variation of tethering is a cost-effective and advantageous way to monitor or test the effects of these and other stressors on oysters and similar species. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Molecular Structure of Membrane Tethers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baoukina, Svetlana; Marrink, Siewert J.; Tieleman, D. Peter

    2012-01-01

    Membrane tethers are nanotubes formed by a lipid bilayer. They play important functional roles in cell biology and provide an experimental window on lipid properties. Tethers have been studied extensively in experiments and described by theoretical models, but their molecular structure remains

  17. Space Environmental Effects on Coated Tether Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gittemeier, Keith A.; Hawk, Clark W.; Finckenor, Miria M.; Watts, Ed

    2005-01-01

    The University of Alabama in Huntsville s Propulsion Research Center has teamed with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to research the effects of atomic oxygen (AO) bombardment on coated tether materials. Tethers Unlimited Inc. has provided several candidate tether materials with various coatings for AO exposure in MSFC s Atomic Oxygen Beam Facility. Additional samples were exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation at MSFC. AO erodes most organic materials, and ultraviolet radiation embrittles polymers. This test series was performed to determine the effect of AO and UV on the mechanical integrity of tether materials that were treated with AO-protective coatings, such as polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) or metallization. Both TUI's Multi-Application Survivable Tether (MAST) Experiment and Marshall Space Flight Center s Momentum Exchange Electrodynamic Reboost (MXER) programs will benefit from this research by helping to determine tether materials and coatings that give the longest life with the lowest mass penalty.

  18. Membrane tethering complexes in the endosomal system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne eSpang

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Vesicles that are generated by endocytic events at the plasma membrane are destined to early endosomes. A prerequisite for proper fusion is the tethering of two membrane entities. Tethering of vesicles to early endosomes is mediated by the CORVET complex, while fusion of late endosomes with lysosomes depends on the HOPS complex. Recycling through the TGN and to the plasma membrane is facilitated by the GARP and EARP complexes, respectively. However, there are other tethering functions in the endosomal system as there are multiple pathways through which proteins can be delivered from endosomes to either the TGN or the plasma membrane. Furthermore, complexes that may be part of novel tethering complexes have been recently identified. Thus it is likely that more tethering factors exist. In this review, I will provide an overview of different tethering complexes of the endosomal system and discuss how they may provide specificity in membrane traffic.

  19. Attitude control analysis of tethered de-orbiting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, T. V.; Briz Valero, José Francisco; Escorial Olmos, Diego; Lappas, V.; Jakowski, P.; Gray, I.; Tsourdos, A.; Schaub, H.; Biesbroek, R.

    2018-05-01

    The increase of satellites and rocket upper stages in low earth orbit (LEO) has also increased substantially the danger of collisions in space. Studies have shown that the problem will continue to grow unless a number of debris are removed every year. A typical active debris removal (ADR) mission scenario includes launching an active spacecraft (chaser) which will rendezvous with the inactive target (debris), capture the debris and eventually deorbit both satellites. Many concepts for the capture of the debris while keeping a connection via a tether, between the target and chaser have been investigated, including harpoons, nets, grapples and robotic arms. The paper provides an analysis on the attitude control behaviour for a tethered de-orbiting mission based on the ESA e.Deorbit reference mission, where Envisat is the debris target to be captured by a chaser using a net which is connected to the chaser with a tether. The paper provides novel insight on the feasibility of tethered de-orbiting for the various mission phases such as stabilization after capture, de-orbit burn (plus stabilization), stabilization during atmospheric pass, highlighting the importance of various critical mission parameters such as the tether material. It is shown that the selection of the appropriate tether material while using simple controllers can reduce the effort needed for tethered deorbiting and can safely control the attitude of the debris/chaser connected with a tether, without the danger of a collision.

  20. Tethering factors as organizers of intracellular vesicular traffic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, I-Mei; Hughson, Frederick M

    2010-01-01

    Intracellular trafficking entails the budding, transport, tethering, and fusion of transport vesicles and other membrane carriers. Here we review recent progress toward a mechanistic understanding of vesicle tethering. The known tethering factors are large complexes important for one or more intracellular trafficking pathways and are capable of interacting directly with many of the other principal components of the cellular trafficking machinery. Our review emphasizes recent developments in the in vitro reconstitution of vesicle tethering and the structural characterization of multisubunit tethering factors. The combination of these and other approaches has led to exciting progress toward understanding how these essential nanomachines work.

  1. Single-Molecule Tethered Particle Motion: Stepwise Analyses of Site-Specific DNA Recombination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsiu-Fang Fan

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Tethered particle motion/microscopy (TPM is a biophysical tool used to analyze changes in the effective length of a polymer, tethered at one end, under changing conditions. The tether length is measured indirectly by recording the Brownian motion amplitude of a bead attached to the other end. In the biological realm, DNA, whose interactions with proteins are often accompanied by apparent or real changes in length, has almost exclusively been the subject of TPM studies. TPM has been employed to study DNA bending, looping and wrapping, DNA compaction, high-order DNA–protein assembly, and protein translocation along DNA. Our TPM analyses have focused on tyrosine and serine site-specific recombinases. Their pre-chemical interactions with DNA cause reversible changes in DNA length, detectable by TPM. The chemical steps of recombination, depending on the substrate and the type of recombinase, may result in a permanent length change. Single molecule TPM time traces provide thermodynamic and kinetic information on each step of the recombination pathway. They reveal how mechanistically related recombinases may differ in their early commitment to recombination, reversibility of individual steps, and in the rate-limiting step of the reaction. They shed light on the pre-chemical roles of catalytic residues, and on the mechanisms by which accessory proteins regulate recombination directionality.

  2. Atmospheric Electricity and Tethered Aerostats, Volume 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    1976-05-11

    CATALOG NUMBER AFETR -TR-76-07 __ 4. TITLE (and Subtitle) -. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY AND TETHERED AEROSTATS, FINAL. 1...Electricity Faraday Capes Balloons Lightning Effects , Protection, Warning Systems Conducting and Non-Conducting ’Tethers Potential Geadient Anomalies...and identifying feasible protective systems. After a brief introductory section math models of effects of tethered balloons on surrounding

  3. Tether Deployer And Brake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carroll, Joseph A.; Alexander, Charles M.

    1993-01-01

    Design concept promises speed, control, and reliability. Scheme for deploying tether provides for fast, free, and snagless payout and fast, dependable braking. Developed for small, expendable tethers in outer space, scheme also useful in laying transoceanic cables, deploying guidance wires to torpedoes and missiles, paying out rescue lines from ship to ship via rockets, deploying antenna wires, releasing communication and power cables to sonobuoys and expendable bathythermographs, and in reeling out lines from fishing rods.

  4. Review of deployment technology for tethered satellite systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, B. S.; Wen, H.; Jin, D. P.

    2018-03-01

    Tethered satellite systems (TSSs) have attracted significant attention due to their potential and valuable applications for scientific research. With the development of various launched on-orbit missions, the deployment of tethers is considered a crucial technology for operation of a TSS. Both past orbiting experiments and numerical results have shown that oscillations of the deployed tether due to the Coriolis force and environmental perturbations are inevitable and that the impact between the space tether and end-body at the end of the deployment process leads to complicated nonlinear phenomena. Hence, a set of suitable control methods plays a fundamental role in tether deployment. This review article summarizes previous work on aspects of the dynamics, control, and ground-based experiments of tether deployment. The relevant basic principles, analytical expressions, simulation cases, and experimental results are presented as well.

  5. Dynamic multibody modeling for tethered space elevators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Paul

    2009-08-01

    This paper presents a fundamental modeling strategy for dealing with powered and propelled bodies moving along space tethers. The tether is divided into a large number of discrete masses, which are connected by viscoelastic springs. The tether is subject to the full range of forces expected in Earth orbit in a relatively simple manner. Two different models of the elevator dynamics are presented. In order to capture the effect of the elevator moving along the tether, the elevator dynamics are included as a separate body in both models. One model treats the elevator's motion dynamically, where propulsive and friction forces are applied to the elevator body. The second model treats the elevator's motion kinematically, where the distance along the tether is determined by adjusting the lengths of tether on either side of the elevator. The tether model is used to determine optimal configurations for the space elevator. A modal analysis of two different configurations is presented which show that the fundamental mode of oscillation is a pendular one around the anchor point with a period on the order of 160 h for the in-plane motion, and 24 h for the out-of-plane motion. Numerical simulation results of the effects of the elevator moving along the cable are presented for different travel velocities and different elevator masses.

  6. Stable dielectric response of low-loss aromatic polythiourea thin films on Pt/SiO2 substrate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Eršte

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available We have investigated dielectric properties of aromatic polythiourea (ArPTU, a polar polymer containing high dipolar moments with very low defect levels thin films that were developed on Pt/SiO2 substrate. The detected response is compared to the response of commercially available polymers, such as high density polyethylene (HDPE and polypropylene (PP, which are at present used in foil capacitors. Stable values of the dielectric constant ε′≈5 (being twice higher than in HDPE and PP over broad temperature and frequency ranges and dielectric losses as low as in commercial systems suggest ArPTU as a promising candidate for future use in a variety of applications.

  7. Atmospheric Electricity and Tethered Aerostats, Volume 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    1976-05-11

    EASTERN TEST RANGE PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA 11 MAY 1976 028 099 AFETR -TR-76-07 ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY AND ~TETHERED AEROSTATS, VOLUME 11 Range...number) Atmospheric Electricity Lightning- Effects , Protection, Warning Balloons Systems Conducting & Nonconducting Tethers Potential Gradient Anomalies...if necessary and Identify by block number) Part A, "Atmospheric Electrical Effects of and on Tethered Balloon Systems," by Latham includes airborne

  8. GRASP: A multitasking tether

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine eRabouille

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Originally identified as Golgi stacking factors in vitro, the Golgi reassembly stacking protein (GRASP family has been shown to act as membrane tethers with multiple cellular roles. As an update to previous comprehensive reviews of the GRASP family (Vinke et al., 2011 (Giuliani et al., 2011;Jarvela and Linstedt, 2012, we outline here the latest findings concerning their diverse roles. New insights into the mechanics of GRASP-mediated tethering come from recent crystal structures. The models of how GRASP65 and GRASP55 tether membranes relate directly to their role in Golgi ribbon formation in mammalian cells and the unlinking of the ribbon at the onset of mitosis. However, it is also clear that GRASPs act outside the Golgi with roles at the ER and ER exit sites (ERES. Furthermore, the proteins of this family display other roles upon cellular stress, especially in mediating unconventional secretion of both transmembrane proteins (Golgi bypass and cytoplasmic proteins (through secretory autophagosomes.

  9. Passivity-Based Control of a Rigid Electrodynamic Tether

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Martin Birkelund; Blanke, Mogens

    2011-01-01

    Electrodynamic tethers provide actuation for performing orbit correction of spacecrafts. When an electrodynamic tether system is orbiting the Earth in an inclined orbit, periodic changes in the magnetic field result in a family of unstable periodic solutions in the attitude motion. This paper shows...... how these periodic solutions can be stabilized by controlling only the current through the tether. A port-controlled Hamiltonian formulation is employed to describe the tethered satellite system and a passive input-output connection is utilized in the control design. The control law consists of two...

  10. Assessing tether anchor labeling and usability in pickup trucks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klinich, Kathleen D; Manary, Miriam A; Malik, Laura A; Flannagan, Carol A; Jermakian, Jessica S

    2018-04-03

    The objective of this study was to investigate vehicle factors associated with child restraint tether use and misuse in pickup trucks and evaluate 4 labeling interventions designed to educate consumers on proper tether use. Volunteer testing was performed with 24 subjects and 4 different pickup trucks. Each subject performed 8 child restraint installations among the 4 pickups using 2 forward-facing restraints: a Britax Marathon G4.1 and an Evenflo Triumph. Vehicles were selected to represent 4 different implementations of tether anchors among pickups: plastic loop routers (Chevrolet Silverado), webbing routers (Ram), back wall anchors (Nissan Frontier), and webbing routers plus metal anchors (Toyota Tundra). Interventions included a diagram label, Quick Response (QR) Code linked to video instruction, coordinating text label, and contrasting text tag. Subjects used the child restraint tether in 93% of trials. However, tether use was completely correct in only 9% of trials. An installation was considered functional if the subject attached the tether to a tether anchor and had a tight installation (ignoring routing and head restraint position); 28% of subjects achieved a functional installation. The most common installation error was attaching the tether hook to the anchor/router directly behind the child restraint (near the top of the seatback) rather than placing the tether through the router and attaching it to the anchor in the adjacent seating position. The Nissan Frontier, with the anchor located on the back wall of the cab, had the highest rate of correct installations but also had the highest rate of attaching the tether to components other than the tether anchor (seat adjustor, child restraint storage hook, around head restraint). None of the labeling interventions had a significant effect on correct installation; not a single subject scanned the QR Code to access the video instruction. Subjects with the most successful installations spent extensive time

  11. Mobile tethering: Overview, perspectives and challengess

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Constantinescu, M.; Onur, E.; Durmus, Y.; Nikou, S.; Reuver, M. de; Bouwman, H.; Djurica, M.; Glatz, P.M.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze mobile tethering from technological and social perspectives. Mobile tethering allows us to share cellular data connection with others over WiFi, Bluetooth or USB. Although the technology is ready and has promising outcomes, service providers and the

  12. Membrane Tethering Complexes in the Endosomal System

    OpenAIRE

    Spang, Anne

    2016-01-01

    Vesicles that are generated by endocytic events at the plasma membrane are destined to early endosomes. A prerequisite for proper fusion is the tethering of two membrane entities. Tethering of vesicles to early endosomes is mediated by the class C core vacuole/endosome tethering (CORVET) complex, while fusion of late endosomes with lysosomes depends on the homotypic fusion and vacuole protein sorting (HOPS) complex. Recycling through the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and to the plasma membrane is...

  13. Enabling Tethered Exploration on Mars, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Strong science motivations exist for exploring hard to reach terrain on Mars and the leading systems proposed to do so require tethers. While tethers are used...

  14. Tether applications for space station

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nobles, W.

    1986-01-01

    A wide variety of space station applications for tethers were reviewed. Many will affect the operation of the station itself while others are in the category of research or scientific platforms. One of the most expensive aspects of operating the space station will be the continuing shuttle traffic to transport logistic supplies and payloads to the space station. If a means can be found to use tethers to improve the efficiency of that transportation operation, it will increase the operating efficiency of the system and reduce the overall cost of the space station. The concept studied consists of using a tether to lower the shuttle from the space station. This results in a transfer of angular momentum and energy from the orbiter to the space station. The consequences of this transfer is studied and how beneficial use can be made of it.

  15. Investigation of electrodynamic stabilization and control of long orbiting tethers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colombo, G.; Arnold, D.

    1984-01-01

    The state-of-the-art in tether modelling among participants in the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) Program, the slack tether and its behavior, and certain advanced applications of the tether to problems in orbital mechanics are identified. The features and applications of the TSS software set are reviewed. Modelling the slack tether analytically with as many as 50 mass points and the application of this new model to a study of the behavior of a broken tether near the Shuttle are described. A reel control algorithm developed by SAO and examples of its use are described, including an example which also demonstrates the use of the tether in transferring a heavy payload from a low-orbiting Shuttle to a high circular orbit. Capture of a low-orbiting payload by a Space Station in high circular orbit is described. Energy transfer within a dumbbell-type spacecraft by cyclical reeling operations or gravitational effects on the natural elasticity of the connecting tether, it is shown, can circularize the orbit of the spacecraft.

  16. Flowing Plasma Interaction with an Electric Sail Tether Element

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Todd; Vaughn, Jason; Wright, Kenneth; Anderson, Allen; Stone, Nobie

    2017-01-01

    Harnessing the power of the solar wind, an Electric Sail, or E-sail, is a relatively new concept that promises to deliver high speed propellant-less propulsion. The electric sail is an invention made in 2006 at the Kumpula Space Centre in Finland by Pekka Janhunen [Janhunen and Sandroos, 2007]. At its core, an electric sail utilizes multiple positively biased tethers which exchange momentum with solar wind protons via the repelling electric field established around each tether, in other words, by reflecting the solar wind protons. Recognizing the solar wind is a plasma, the effective repelling area of each tether is increased significantly by the formation a plasma sheath around each tether. Fig. 1 shows schematically a spacecraft employing an electric sail. The positive voltage bias (greater than10kV) applied to each tether naturally results in electron collection. Therefore, the electric sail concept necessarily includes an electron source (electron gun) to return collected electrons to space and maintain the positive bias of the tether system.

  17. Modeling and Simulation of a Tethered Harpoon for Comet Sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quadrelli, Marco B.

    2014-01-01

    This paper describes the development of a dynamic model and simulation results of a tethered harpoon for comet sampling. This model and simulation was done in order to carry out an initial sensitivity analysis for key design parameters of the tethered system. The harpoon would contain a canister which would collect a sample of soil from a cometary surface. Both a spring ejected canister and a tethered canister are considered. To arrive in close proximity of the spacecraft at the end of its trajectory so it could be captured, the free-flying canister would need to be ejected at the right time and with the proper impulse, while the tethered canister must be recovered by properly retrieving the tether at a rate that would avoid an excessive amplitude of oscillatory behavior during the retrieval. The paper describes the model of the tether dynamics and harpoon penetration physics. The simulations indicate that, without the tether, the canister would still reach the spacecraft for collection, that the tether retrieval of the canister would be achievable with reasonable fuel consumption, and that the canister amplitude upon retrieval would be insensitive to variations in vertical velocity dispersion.

  18. Tension waves in tethered satellite cables

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lallman, F. J.

    1984-01-01

    A one-degree-of-freedom simulation of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) was programmed using a distributed system model of the tether based on the one-dimensional wave equation. This model represents the time varying tension profile along the tether as the sum of two traveling waves of tension moving in opposite directions. A control loop was devised which combines a deployment rate command with the measured tension at the deployer to produce a smooth, stable rate of deployment of the subsatellite. Simulation results show a buildup of periodic bursts of high frequency oscillation in tension. This report covers the mathematical modelling and simulation results and explains the reason for the observed oscillations. The design of a possible vibration damping device is discussed.

  19. The stochastic dynamics of tethered microcantilevers in a viscous fluid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robbins, Brian A.; Paul, Mark R. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 (United States); Radiom, Milad; Ducker, William A. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 (United States); Walz, John Y. [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506 (United States)

    2014-10-28

    We explore and quantify the coupled dynamics of a pair of micron scale cantilevers immersed in a viscous fluid that are also directly tethered to one another at their tips by a spring force. The spring force, for example, could represent the molecular stiffness or elasticity of a biomolecule or material tethered between the cantilevers. We use deterministic numerical simulations with the fluctuation-dissipation theorem to compute the stochastic dynamics of the cantilever pair for the conditions of experiment when driven only by Brownian motion. We validate our approach by comparing directly with experimental measurements in the absence of the tether which shows excellent agreement. Using numerical simulations, we quantify the correlated dynamics of the cantilever pair over a range of tether stiffness. Our results quantify the sensitivity of the auto- and cross-correlations of equilibrium fluctuations in cantilever displacement to the stiffness of the tether. We show that the tether affects the magnitude of the correlations which can be used in a measurement to probe the properties of an attached tethering substance. For the configurations of current interest using micron scale cantilevers in water, we show that the magnitude of the fluid coupling between the cantilevers is sufficiently small such that the influence of the tether can be significant. Our results show that the cross-correlation is more sensitive to tether stiffness than the auto-correlation indicating that a two-cantilever measurement has improved sensitivity when compared with a measurement using a single cantilever.

  20. Models of dynamic extraction of lipid tethers from cell membranes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nowak, Sarah A; Chou, Tom

    2010-01-01

    When a ligand that is bound to an integral membrane receptor is pulled, the membrane and the underlying cytoskeleton can deform before either the membrane delaminates from the cytoskeleton or the ligand detaches from the receptor. If the membrane delaminates from the cytoskeleton, it may be further extruded and form a membrane tether. We develop a phenomenological model for this process by assuming that deformations obey Hooke's law up to a critical force at which the cell membrane locally detaches from the cytoskeleton and a membrane tether forms. We compute the probability of tether formation and show that tethers can be extruded only within an intermediate range of force loading rates and pulling velocities. The mean tether length that arises at the moment of ligand detachment is computed as are the force loading rates and pulling velocities that yield the longest tethers

  1. Lyapunov Orbits in the Jupiter System Using Electrodynamic Tethers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bokelmann, Kevin; Russell, Ryan P.; Lantoine, Gregory

    2013-01-01

    Various researchers have proposed the use of electrodynamic tethers for power generation and capture from interplanetary transfers. The effect of tether forces on periodic orbits in Jupiter-satellite systems are investigated. A perturbation force is added to the restricted three-body problem model and a series of simplifications allows development of a conservative system that retains the Jacobi integral. Expressions are developed to find modified locations of equilibrium positions. Modified families of Lyapunov orbits are generated as functions of tether size and Jacobi integral. Zero velocity curves and stability analyses are used to evaluate the dynamical properties of tether-modified orbits.

  2. Brownian motion of tethered nanowires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ota, Sadao; Li, Tongcang; Li, Yimin; Ye, Ziliang; Labno, Anna; Yin, Xiaobo; Alam, Mohammad-Reza; Zhang, Xiang

    2014-05-01

    Brownian motion of slender particles near a boundary is ubiquitous in biological systems and in nanomaterial assembly, but the complex hydrodynamic interaction in those systems is still poorly understood. Here, we report experimental and computational studies of the Brownian motion of silicon nanowires tethered on a substrate. An optical interference method enabled direct observation of microscopic rotations of the slender bodies in three dimensions with high angular and temporal resolutions. This quantitative observation revealed anisotropic and angle-dependent hydrodynamic wall effects: rotational diffusivity in inclined and azimuth directions follows different power laws as a function of the length, ∼ L(-2.5) and ∼ L(-3), respectively, and is more hindered for smaller inclined angles. In parallel, we developed an implicit simulation technique that takes the complex wire-wall hydrodynamic interactions into account efficiently, the result of which agreed well with the experimentally observed angle-dependent diffusion. The demonstrated techniques provide a platform for studying the microrheology of soft condensed matters, such as colloidal and biological systems near interfaces, and exploring the optimal self-assembly conditions of nanostructures.

  3. The PROPEL Electrodynamic Tether Demonstration Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilen, Sven G.; Johnson, C. Les; Wiegmann, Bruce M.; Alexander, Leslie; Gilchrist, Brian E.; Hoyt, Robert P.; Elder, Craig H.; Fuhrhop, Keith P.; Scadera, Michael

    2012-01-01

    The PROPEL ("Propulsion using Electrodynamics") mission will demonstrate the operation of an electrodynamic tether propulsion system in low Earth orbit and advance its technology readiness level for multiple applications. The PROPEL mission has two primary objectives: first, to demonstrate the capability of electrodynamic tether technology to provide robust and safe, near-propellantless propulsion for orbit-raising, de-orbit, plane change, and station keeping, as well as to perform orbital power harvesting and formation flight; and, second, to fully characterize and validate the performance of an integrated electrodynamic tether propulsion system, qualifying it for infusion into future multiple satellite platforms and missions with minimal modification. This paper provides an overview of the PROPEL system and design reference missions; mission goals and required measurements; and ongoing PROPEL mission design efforts.

  4. Use of top tethers with forward-facing child restraints: observations and driver interviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichelberger, Angela H; Decina, Lawrence E; Jermakian, Jessica S; McCartt, Anne T

    2014-02-01

    Despite the safety benefits, many parents do not use top tethers with forward-facing child restraints. Detailed information was collected about why parents are not using tethers. The sample included 479 drivers who had forward-facing child restraints installed in passenger vehicles equipped with tether anchors. The survey was conducted primarily at shopping centers, recreation facilities, child care facilities, car seat check events, and health care facilities in mostly suburban areas surrounding Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Fredericksburg (VA), and Seattle. Drivers were surveyed about their knowledge and use of tethers and experience with child restraints. Tether use was observed to verify whether tethers were being used correctly. Fifty-six percent of forward-facing child restraints were installed with the tether; 39% were installed with the tether used correctly. The tether was used with 71% of LATCH lower anchor installations and 33% of seat belt installations. Drivers who installed child restraints without tethers most often said they did not know about the tether or how to use it. Although the tether use rate was slightly higher in the current research than in previous studies, many parents and caregivers still use forward-facing child restraints without attaching the tether. Because the main problem is lack of awareness of the tether or how to use it, public education should focus specifically on the safety benefits of tethers and how to use them. Information about why caregivers fail to use top tethers is potentially useful to child restraint manufacturers, child passenger safety technicians, and others who work with parents to improve motor vehicle safety. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

  5. Numerical modelling of elastic space tethers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristiansen, Kristian Uldall; Palmer, P. L.; Roberts, R. M.

    2012-01-01

    In this paper the importance of the ill-posedness of the classical, non-dissipative massive tether model on an orbiting tether system is studied numerically. The computations document that via the regularisation of bending resistance a more reliable numerical integrator can be produced. Furthermo....... It is also shown that on the slow manifold the dynamics of the satellites are well-approximated by the finite dimensional slack-spring model....

  6. Modeling and Control of Electrodynamic Tethers - an Energy and Topology Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Martin Birkelund

    A space tether is a cable used to connect spacecrafts in an orbiting structure. If an electrical current is lead through the tether, it can be utilized to provide propulsion for the spacecraft. In this case the cable is referred to as an electrodynamic tether. The system utilizes the magnetic field...... of the Earth for creating a Lorentz force along the tether which occur when a current carrying wire operates in a magnetic field. The use of electrodynamic tethers are interesting since they operate solely on electrical energy, which can be provided by solar panels of the spacecrafts. In this way the amount...... when using electrodynamic tethers is that the force created along the tether is based on an external uncontrollable condition, namely the magnetic field. Even whit a known model of the magnetic field, limitations to the creation of the Lorentz force still exists, since the force can only be generated...

  7. One kilometer (1 km) electric solar wind sail tether produced automatically.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seppänen, Henri; Rauhala, Timo; Kiprich, Sergiy; Ukkonen, Jukka; Simonsson, Martin; Kurppa, Risto; Janhunen, Pekka; Hæggström, Edward

    2013-09-01

    We produced a 1 km continuous piece of multifilament electric solar wind sail tether of μm-diameter aluminum wires using a custom made automatic tether factory. The tether comprising 90,704 bonds between 25 and 50 μm diameter wires is reeled onto a metal reel. The total mass of 1 km tether is 10 g. We reached a production rate of 70 m/24 h and a quality level of 1‰ loose bonds and 2‰ rebonded ones. We thus demonstrated that production of long electric solar wind sail tethers is possible and practical.

  8. Selected Tether Applications Cost Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keeley, Michael G.

    1988-01-01

    Diverse cost-estimating techniques and data combined into single program. Selected Tether Applications Cost Model (STACOM 1.0) is interactive accounting software tool providing means for combining several independent cost-estimating programs into fully-integrated mathematical model capable of assessing costs, analyzing benefits, providing file-handling utilities, and putting out information in text and graphical forms to screen, printer, or plotter. Program based on Lotus 1-2-3, version 2.0. Developed to provide clear, concise traceability and visibility into methodology and rationale for estimating costs and benefits of operations of Space Station tether deployer system.

  9. Metal-free hydration of aromatic haloalkynes to α-halomethyl ketones

    KAUST Repository

    Ye, Min

    2016-10-01

    A highly regioselective and efficient metal-free hydration of aromatic haloalkynes to alpha-halomethyl ketones using cheap tetrafluoroboric acid as catalyst is described. The protocol is conducted under convenient conditions and affords products in good to excellent yields, with broad substrate scope, including a variety of aromatic alkynyl chlorides, alkynyl bromides, and alkynyl iodides. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Metal-free hydration of aromatic haloalkynes to α-halomethyl ketones

    KAUST Repository

    Ye, Min; Wen, Yuelu; Li, Huifang; Fu, Yejuan; Wang, Qinghao

    2016-01-01

    A highly regioselective and efficient metal-free hydration of aromatic haloalkynes to alpha-halomethyl ketones using cheap tetrafluoroboric acid as catalyst is described. The protocol is conducted under convenient conditions and affords products in good to excellent yields, with broad substrate scope, including a variety of aromatic alkynyl chlorides, alkynyl bromides, and alkynyl iodides. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. The subtilisin-like protease AprV2 is required for virulence and uses a novel disulphide-tethered exosite to bind substrates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruth M Kennan

    Full Text Available Many bacterial pathogens produce extracellular proteases that degrade the extracellular matrix of the host and therefore are involved in disease pathogenesis. Dichelobacter nodosus is the causative agent of ovine footrot, a highly contagious disease that is characterized by the separation of the hoof from the underlying tissue. D. nodosus secretes three subtilisin-like proteases whose analysis forms the basis of diagnostic tests that differentiate between virulent and benign strains and have been postulated to play a role in virulence. We have constructed protease mutants of D. nodosus; their analysis in a sheep virulence model revealed that one of these enzymes, AprV2, was required for virulence. These studies challenge the previous hypothesis that the elastase activity of AprV2 is important for disease progression, since aprV2 mutants were virulent when complemented with aprB2, which encodes a variant that has impaired elastase activity. We have determined the crystal structures of both AprV2 and AprB2 and characterized the biological activity of these enzymes. These data reveal that an unusual extended disulphide-tethered loop functions as an exosite, mediating effective enzyme-substrate interactions. The disulphide bond and Tyr92, which was located at the exposed end of the loop, were functionally important. Bioinformatic analyses suggested that other pathogenic bacteria may have proteases that utilize a similar mechanism. In conclusion, we have used an integrated multidisciplinary combination of bacterial genetics, whole animal virulence trials in the original host, biochemical studies, and comprehensive analysis of crystal structures to provide the first definitive evidence that the extracellular secreted proteases produced by D. nodosus are required for virulence and to elucidate the molecular mechanism by which these proteases bind to their natural substrates. We postulate that this exosite mechanism may be used by proteases produced by

  12. TMBM: Tethered Micro-Balloons on Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sims, M. H.; Greeley, R.; Cutts, J. A.; Yavrouian, A. H.; Murbach, M.

    2000-01-01

    The use of balloons/aerobots on Mars has been under consideration for many years. Concepts include deployment during entry into the atmosphere from a carrier spacecraft, deployment from a lander, use of super-pressurized systems for long duration flights, 'hot-air' systems, etc. Principal advantages include the ability to obtain high-resolution data of the surface because balloons provide a low-altitude platform which moves relatively slowly. Work conducted within the last few years has removed many of the technical difficulties encountered in deployment and operation of balloons/aerobots on Mars. The concept proposed here (a tethered balloon released from a lander) uses a relatively simple approach which would enable aspects of Martian balloons to be tested while providing useful and potentially unique science results. Tethered Micro-Balloons on Mars (TMBM) would be carried to Mars on board a future lander as a stand-alone experiment having a total mass of one to two kilograms. It would consist of a helium balloon of up to 50 cubic meters that is inflated after landing and initially tethered to the lander. Its primary instrumentation would be a camera that would be carried to an altitude of up to tens of meters above the surface. Imaging data would be transmitted to the lander for inclusion in the mission data stream. The tether would be released in stages allowing different resolutions and coverage. In addition during this staged release a lander camera system may observe the motion of the balloon at various heights above he lander. Under some scenarios upon completion of the primary phase of TMBM operations, the tether would be cut, allowing TMBM to drift away from the landing site, during which images would be taken along the ground.

  13. Analytical investigation of the dynamics of tethered constellations in Earth orbit, phase 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenzini, Enrico C.; Gullahorn, Gordon E.; Cosmo, Mario L.; Estes, Robert D.; Grossi, Mario D.

    1994-01-01

    This final report covers nine years of research on future tether applications and on the actual flights of the Small Expendable Deployment System (SEDS). Topics covered include: (1) a description of numerical codes used to simulate the orbital and attitude dynamics of tethered systems during station keeping and deployment maneuvers; (2) a comparison of various tethered system simulators; (3) dynamics analysis, conceptual design, potential applications and propagation of disturbances and isolation from noise of a variable gravity/microgravity laboratory tethered to the Space Station; (4) stability of a tethered space centrifuge; (5) various proposed two-dimensional tethered structures for low Earth orbit for use as planar array antennas; (6) tethered high gain antennas; (7) numerical calculation of the electromagnetic wave field on the Earth's surface on an electrodynamically tethered satellite; (8) reentry of tethered capsules; (9) deployment dynamics of SEDS-1; (10) analysis of SEDS-1 flight data; and (11) dynamics and control of SEDS-2.

  14. Robust forests of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes chemically assembled on carbon substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrett, David J; Flavel, Benjamin S; Shapter, Joseph G; Baronian, Keith H R; Downard, Alison J

    2010-02-02

    Forests of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) have been chemically assembled on carbon surfaces. The structures show excellent stability over a wide potential range and are resistant to degradation from sonication in acid, base, and organic solvent. Acid-treated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were assembled on amine-terminated tether layers covalently attached to pyrolyzed photoresist films. Tether layers were electrografted to the carbon substrate by reduction of the p-aminobenzenediazonium cation and oxidation of ethylenediamine. The amine-modified surfaces were incubated with cut SWCNTs in the presence of N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC), giving forests of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs). The SWCNT assemblies were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and electrochemistry. Under conditions where the tether layers slow electron transfer between solution-based redox probes and the underlying electrode, the assembly of VACNTs on the tether layer dramatically increases the electron-transfer rate at the surface. The grafting procedure, and hence the preparation of VACNTs, is applicable to a wide range of materials including metals and semiconductors.

  15. Alkyne Benzannulation Reactions for the Synthesis of Novel Aromatic Architectures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hein, Samuel J; Lehnherr, Dan; Arslan, Hasan; J Uribe-Romo, Fernando; Dichtel, William R

    2017-11-21

    Aromatic compounds and polymers are integrated into organic field effect transistors, light-emitting diodes, photovoltaic devices, and redox-flow batteries. These compounds and materials feature increasingly complex designs, and substituents influence energy levels, bandgaps, solution conformation, and crystal packing, all of which impact performance. However, many polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of interest are difficult to prepare because their substitution patterns lie outside the scope of current synthetic methods, as strategies for functionalizing benzene are often unselective when applied to naphthalene or larger systems. For example, cross-coupling and nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions rely on prefunctionalized arenes, and even directed metalation methods most often modify positions near Lewis basic sites. Similarly, electrophilic aromatic substitutions access single regioisomers under substrate control. Cycloadditions provide a convergent route to densely functionalized aromatic compounds that compliment the above methods. After surveying cycloaddition reactions that might be used to modify the conjugated backbone of poly(phenylene ethynylene)s, we discovered that the Asao-Yamamoto benzannulation reaction is notably efficient. Although this reaction had been reported a decade earlier, its scope and usefulness for synthesizing complex aromatic systems had been under-recognized. This benzannulation reaction combines substituted 2-(phenylethynyl)benzaldehydes and substituted alkynes to form 2,3-substituted naphthalenes. The reaction tolerates a variety of sterically congested alkynes, making it well-suited for accessing poly- and oligo(ortho-arylene)s and contorted hexabenzocoronenes. In many cases in which asymmetric benzaldehyde and alkyne cycloaddition partners are used, the reaction is regiospecific based on the electronic character of the alkyne substrate. Recognizing these desirable features, we broadened the substrate scope to include silyl

  16. High performance liquid chromatographic separation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on microparticulate pyrrolidone and application to the analysis of shale oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mourey, T.H.; Siggia, S.; Uden, P.C.; Crowley, R.J.

    1980-01-01

    A chemically bonded pyrrolidone substrate is used for the high performance liquid chromatographic separation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The cyclic amide phase interacts electronically with the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in both the normal and reversed phase modes. Separation is effected according to the number of aromatic rings and the type of ring condensation. Information obtained is very different from that observed on hydrocarbon substrates, and thus these phases can be used in a complementary fashion to give a profile of polycyclic aromatics in shale oil samples. 7 figures, 1 table

  17. The Science and Applications Tethered Platform (SATP) project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merlina, P.

    1986-01-01

    The capabilities of tether systems in orbit are going to be demonstrated by the first planned flights of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS). These test flights will investigate the properties of tether systems as low altitude atmospheric research facilities and as electric power generators. Studies are being conducted with the purpose of testing a variety of concepts and approaches. A comparative analysis of results will allow the choosing of the most promising ideas for further development. The broad range of applications presently under study include applications in electrodynamics, transportation, microgravity in addition to basic research. The SATP project definition study is now about midway through its first phase. The analyses conducted have led to an appraisal of users interest in the project and to a deeper understanding of the problems associated with large, long-lived tether systems in space. In addition, two specialized platform designs, devoted to microgravity and precise pointing applications, are being studied because of their potential usefulness and the promise of technical feasibility.

  18. Relaxation Dynamics of Nanoparticle-Tethered Polymer Chains

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Sung A

    2015-09-08

    © 2015 American Chemical Society. Relaxation dynamics of nanoparticle-tethered cis-1,4-polyisoprene (PI) are investigated using dielectric spectroscopy and rheometry. A model system composed of polymer chains densely grafted to spherical SiO2 nanoparticles to form self-suspended suspensions facilitates detailed studies of slow global chain and fast segmental mode dynamics under surface and geometrical confinement-from experiments performed in bulk materials. We report that unentangled polymer molecules tethered to nanoparticles relax far more slowly than their tethered entangled counterparts. Specifically, at fixed grafting density we find, counterintuitively, that increasing the tethered polymer molecular weight up to values close to the entanglement molecular weight speeds up chain relaxation dynamics. Decreasing the polymer grafting density for a fixed molecular weight has the opposite effect: it dramatically slows down chain relaxation, increases interchain coupling, and leads to a transition in rheological response from simple fluid behavior to viscoelastic fluid behavior for tethered PI chains that are unentangled by conventional measures. Increasing the measurement temperature produces an even stronger elastic response and speeds up molecular relaxation at a rate that decreases with grafting density and molecular weight. These observations are discussed in terms of chain confinement driven by crowding between particles and by the existence of an entropic attractive force produced by the space-filling constraint on individual chains in a self-suspended material. Our results indicate that the entropic force between densely grafted polymer molecules couples motions of individual chains in an analogous manner to reversible cross-links in associating polymers.

  19. Climber Motion Optimization for the Tethered Space Elevator

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Williams, P.; Ockels, W.J.

    The tethered space elevator could provide a revolutionary means for enabling cheap transportation to geostationary altitude and beyond. Assuming that such a system can be built, one of the dynamic design problems is determining a means of moving the elevator along the tether so as to minimize the

  20. The effects of tether placement on antibody stability on surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grawe, Rebecca W.; Knotts, Thomas A.

    2017-06-01

    Despite their potential benefits, antibody microarrays have fallen short of performing reliably and have not found widespread use outside of the research setting. Experimental techniques have been unable to determine what is occurring on the surface of an atomic level, so molecular simulation has emerged as the primary method of investigating protein/surface interactions. Simulations of small proteins have indicated that the stability of the protein is a function of the residue on the protein where a tether is placed. The purpose of this research is to see whether these findings also apply to antibodies, with their greater size and complexity. To determine this, 24 tethering locations were selected on the antibody Protein Data Bank (PDB) ID: 1IGT. Replica exchange simulations were run on two different surfaces, one hydrophobic and one hydrophilic, to determine the degree to which these tethering sites stabilize or destabilize the antibody. Results showed that antibodies tethered to hydrophobic surfaces were in general less stable than antibodies tethered to hydrophilic surfaces. Moreover, the stability of the antibody was a function of the tether location on hydrophobic surfaces but not hydrophilic surfaces.

  1. Tethered Pyrotechnic Apparatus for Acquiring a Ground Sample

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Jack; Zimmerman, Wayne; Wu, Jiunn Jenq; Badescu, Mircea; Sherrit, Stewart

    2009-01-01

    A proposed alternative design for the balloon-borne ground-sampling system described in the immediately preceding article would not rely on free fall to drive a harpoonlike sample-collecting device into the ground. Instead, the harpoon-like sample-collecting device would be a pyrotechnically driven, tethered projectile. The apparatus would include a tripod that would be tethered to the gondola. A gun for shooting the projectile into the ground would be mounted at the apex of the tripod. The gun would include an electronic trigger circuit, a chamber at the breech end containing a pyrotechnic charge, and a barrel. A sabot would be placed in the barrel just below the pyrotechnic charge, and the tethered projectile would be placed in the barrel just below the sabot. The tripod feet would be equipped with contact sensors connected to the trigger circuit. In operation, the tripod would be lowered to the ground on its tether. Once contact with the ground was detected by the sensors on all three tripod feet, the trigger circuit would fire the pyrotechnic charge to drive the projectile into the ground. (Requiring contact among all three tripod feet and the ground would ensure that the projectile would be fired into the ground, rather than up toward the gondola or the balloon.) The tethered projectile would then be reeled back up to the gondola for analysis of the sample.

  2. Fluid-membrane tethers: minimal surfaces and elastic boundary layers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powers, Thomas R; Huber, Greg; Goldstein, Raymond E

    2002-04-01

    Thin cylindrical tethers are common lipid bilayer membrane structures, arising in situations ranging from micromanipulation experiments on artificial vesicles to the dynamic structure of the Golgi apparatus. We study the shape and formation of a tether in terms of the classical soap-film problem, which is applied to the case of a membrane disk under tension subject to a point force. A tether forms from the elastic boundary layer near the point of application of the force, for sufficiently large displacement. Analytic results for various aspects of the membrane shape are given.

  3. Autonomous Vision-Based Tethered-Assisted Rover Docking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Dorian; Nesnas, Issa A.D.; Zarzhitsky, Dimitri

    2013-01-01

    Many intriguing science discoveries on planetary surfaces, such as the seasonal flows on crater walls and skylight entrances to lava tubes, are at sites that are currently inaccessible to state-of-the-art rovers. The in situ exploration of such sites is likely to require a tethered platform both for mechanical support and for providing power and communication. Mother/daughter architectures have been investigated where a mother deploys a tethered daughter into extreme terrains. Deploying and retracting a tethered daughter requires undocking and re-docking of the daughter to the mother, with the latter being the challenging part. In this paper, we describe a vision-based tether-assisted algorithm for the autonomous re-docking of a daughter to its mother following an extreme terrain excursion. The algorithm uses fiducials mounted on the mother to improve the reliability and accuracy of estimating the pose of the mother relative to the daughter. The tether that is anchored by the mother helps the docking process and increases the system's tolerance to pose uncertainties by mechanically aligning the mating parts in the final docking phase. A preliminary version of the algorithm was developed and field-tested on the Axel rover in the JPL Mars Yard. The algorithm achieved an 80% success rate in 40 experiments in both firm and loose soils and starting from up to 6 m away at up to 40 deg radial angle and 20 deg relative heading. The algorithm does not rely on an initial estimate of the relative pose. The preliminary results are promising and help retire the risk associated with the autonomous docking process enabling consideration in future martian and lunar missions.

  4. Dynamics and stability of a tethered centrifuge in low earth orbit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quadrelli, B. M.; Lorenzini, E. C.

    1992-01-01

    The three-dimensional attitude dynamics of a spaceborne tethered centrifuge for artificial gravity experiments in low earth orbit is analyzed using two different methods. First, the tethered centrifuge is modeled as a dumbbell with a straight viscoelastic tether, point tip-masses, and sophisticated environmental models such as nonspherical gravity, thermal perturbations, and a dynamic atmospheric model. The motion of the centrifuge during spin-up, de-spin, and steady-rotation is then simulated. Second, a continuum model of the tether is developed for analyzing the stability of lateral tether oscillations. Results indicate that the maximum fluctuation about the 1-g radial acceleration level is less than 0.001 g; the time required for spin-up and de-spin is less than one orbit; and lateral oscillations are stable for any practical values of the system parameters.

  5. T-Rex: A Japanese Space Tether Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Les

    2009-01-01

    Electrodynamic tether (EDT) thrusters work by virtue of the force a magnetic field exerts on a wire carrying an electrical current. The force, which acts on any charged particle moving through a magnetic field (including the electrons moving in a current-carrying wire), were concisely expressed by Lorentz in 1895 in an equation that now bears his name. The force acts in a direction perpendicular to both the direction of current flow and the magnetic field vector. Electric motors make use of this force: a wire loop in a magnetic field is made to rotate by the torque the Lorentz Force exerts on it due to an alternating current in the loop times so as to keep the torque acting in the same sense. The motion of the loop is transmitted to a shaft, thus providing work. Although the working principle of EDT thrusters is not new, its application to space transportation may be significant. In essence, an EDT thruster is just a clever way of getting an electrical current to flow in a long orbiting wire (the tether) so that the Earth s magnetic field will accelerate the wire and, consequently the payload attached to the wire. The direction of current flow in the tether, either toward or away from the Earth along the local vertical, determines whether the magnetic force will raise or lower the orbit. The bias voltage of a vertically deployed metal tether, which results just from its orbital motion (assumed eastward) through Earth s magnetic field, is positive with respect to the ambient plasma at the top and negative at the bottom. This polarization is due to the action of the Lorentz force on the electrons in the tether. Thus, the natural current flow is the result of negative electrons being attracted to the upper end and then returned to the plasma at the lower end. The magnetic force in this case has a component opposite to the direction of motion, and thus leads to a lowering of the orbit and eventually to re-entry. In this generator mode of operation the Lorentz Force

  6. Tethered Forth system for FPGA applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goździkowski, Paweł; Zabołotny, Wojciech M.

    2013-10-01

    This paper presents the tethered Forth system dedicated for testing and debugging of FPGA based electronic systems. Use of the Forth language allows to interactively develop and run complex testing or debugging routines. The solution is based on a small, 16-bit soft core CPU, used to implement the Forth Virtual Machine. Thanks to the use of the tethered Forth model it is possible to minimize usage of the internal RAM memory in the FPGA. The function of the intelligent terminal, which is an essential part of the tethered Forth system, may be fulfilled by the standard PC computer or by the smartphone. System is implemented in Python (the software for intelligent terminal), and in VHDL (the IP core for FPGA), so it can be easily ported to different hardware platforms. The connection between the terminal and FPGA may be established and disconnected many times without disturbing the state of the FPGA based system. The presented system has been verified in the hardware, and may be used as a tool for debugging, testing and even implementing of control algorithms for FPGA based systems.

  7. Learning characteristics of a space-time neural network as a tether skiprope observer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lea, Robert N.; Villarreal, James A.; Jani, Yashvant; Copeland, Charles

    1993-01-01

    The Software Technology Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center is testing a Space Time Neural Network (STNN) for observing tether oscillations present during retrieval of a tethered satellite. Proper identification of tether oscillations, known as 'skiprope' motion, is vital to safe retrieval of the tethered satellite. Our studies indicate that STNN has certain learning characteristics that must be understood properly to utilize this type of neural network for the tethered satellite problem. We present our findings on the learning characteristics including a learning rate versus momentum performance table.

  8. Trace gas measurements from tethered balloon platforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bandy, Alan R.; Bandy, Terese L.; Youngbluth, Otto; Owens, Thomas L.

    1987-01-01

    Instrumentation and chemical sampling and analysis procedures are described for making measurements of atmospheric carbon disulfide in the concentration range 1-1000 pptv from tethered balloon platforms. Results of a study on the CS2 composition of air downward of a saltwater marsh are reported. A method for obtaining the necessary data for solving the budget equations for surface fluxes, chemical formation rates and chemical destruction rates using data acquired from tethered balloon platforms is presented.

  9. Dynamic analysis of the tether transportation system using absolute nodal coordinate formulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xin; Xu, Ming; Zhong, Rui

    2017-10-01

    Long space tethers are becoming a rising concern as an alternate way for transportation in space. It benefits from fuel economizing. This paper focuses on the dynamics of the tether transportation system, which consists of two end satellites connected by a flexible tether, and a movable vehicle driven by the actuator carried by itself. The Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation is applied to the establishment of the equation of motion, so that the influence caused by the distributed mass and elasticity of the tether is introduced. Moreover, an approximated method for accelerating the calculation of the generalized gravitational forces on the tether is proposed by substituting the volume integral every step into summation of finite terms. Afterwards, dynamic evolutions of such a system in different configurations are illustrated using numerical simulations. The deflection of the tether and the trajectory of the crawler during the transportation is investigated. Finally, the effect on the orbit of the system due to the crawler is revealed.

  10. Thrust Control During Towing of Space Debris using an Elastic Tether

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. D. Ledkov

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers a maneuver for deorbiting the large space debris using an active spacecraft connected with the debris by an elastic tether. Tether slacking during the maneuver can lead to the tether rupture, kinking, and winding on the descending object. Therefore it is important to prevent slacking. The objective of this work is to find the law of thrust force control of the active spacecraft to ensure a continuously strained tether during the maneuver.Using Lagrange formalism a mathematical model to describe the system plane motion is developed. This model considers the active spacecraft as a mass point, the space debris as a rigid body, and the tether as a weightless elastic rod. A thrust force is directed along the local horizon of the spacecraft. Linearization of nonlinear differential equation describing longitudinal oscillations of the tether length is performed. Its phase portrait is analyzed. An approximate expression describing the position of the center on the phase portrait is obtained. A time-optimal control with full feedback to ensure that the tether is in the strained state is found by solving the Bellman equation. To use the obtained optimal law it is necessary to set the measuring equipment on the spacecraft, which is capable of accurate measuring a distance to the space debris and its relative velocity. An alternative control law, which is simpler in terms of the practical implementation, is proposed. As an example, the descent from an orbit of nonfunctioning Soviet satellite Meteor-2 is considered. It is shown that both proposed laws provide continuous strain of the tether during deorbiting of the satellite. Moreover, slack does not occur even at the first period of oscillation of the tether length. It is shown that the use of the proposed control laws leads to slight increase of deorbiting time as compared to the case of using the constant thrust.The results can be used to develop the control systems of small spacecrafts

  11. Sonography compared with MR imaging in the evaluation of card tethering following myelomeningocele repair

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newman, B.; Bowen, A.; Albright, L.

    1989-01-01

    This paper reports on MR imaging and videotaped US spine examinations to evaluate cord tethering were retrospectively compared in 12 children with prior myelomeningocele repair and correlated with clinical and surgical findings. Although US did not delineate normal or abnormal anatomy as well as MR imaging, both types of studies confirmed the presence of tethering in 10 patients. One child with a normal US examination and abnormal MR images had tethering confirmed surgically. A second child had a US study suggestive of tethering with equivocal MR images. Postoperative studies in eight patients correlated less well; US suggested persistent tethering in five patients and MR imaging indicated tethering in two

  12. High-field MR imaging of tethered cord

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sigal, R.; Bicetre, L.; Blass, C.; Doyon, D.; Pariente, D.

    1986-01-01

    MR imaging examinations of 12 patients with tethered cord syndrome have been performed on a 1.5-T MR imaging unit. Patients ranged in age from 3 to 60 years. MR findings were compared with those of myelography and metrizamide CT in all cases. Five patients underwent surgical control and postoperative MR imaging. Sagittal and axial sections were obtained using a spin-echo multisection, multiecho technique. T1-axial weighted images (SE 600/25) were sufficient to locate the position of the tip of the conus. They also allowed identification of extraspinal and intraspinal lipomas and clear-cut demarcation form associated tethered cord. Drawbacks of MR imaging were lack of precise depiction of the bone structures and the fact that clear identification of abnormal roots was problematic. The craniovertebral junction was always checked; two asymptomatic Chiari malformations were visualized. This study leads the authors to conclude that MR imaging should be used as the examination of first choice in the management of tethered cord syndrome

  13. The investigation of tethered satellite system dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenzini, E. C.

    1986-01-01

    The analysis of the rotational dynamics of the satellite was focused on the rotational amplitude increase of the satellite, with respect to the tether, during retrieval. The dependence of the rotational amplitude upon the tether tension variation to the power 1/4 was thoroughly investigated. The damping of rotational oscillations achievable by reel control was also quantified while an alternative solution that makes use of a lever arm attached with a universal joint to the satellite was proposed. Comparison simulations between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Martin Marietta (MMA) computer code of reteival maneuvers were also carried out. The agreement between the two, completely independent, codes was extremely close, demonstrating the reliability of the models. The slack tether dynamics during reel jams was analytically investigated in order to identify the limits of applicability of the SLACK3 computer code to this particular case. Test runs with SLACK3 were also carried out.

  14. Nitration of naphthalene and remarks on the mechanism of electrophilic aromatic nitration*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olah, George A.; Narang, Subhash C.; Olah, Judith A.

    1981-01-01

    Naphthalene was nitrated with a variety of nitrating agents. Comparison of data with Perrin's electrochemical nitration [Perrin, C. L. (1977) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 99, 5516-5518] shows that nitration of naphthalene gives an α-nitronaphthalene to β-nitronaphthalene ratio that varies between 9 and 29 and is thus not constant. Perrin's data, therefore, are considered to be inconclusive evidence for the proposed one-electron transfer mechanism for the nitration of naphthalene and other reactive aromatics. Moodie and Schoefield [Hoggett, J. G., Moodie, R. B., Penton, J. R. & Schoefield, K. (1971) Nitration and Aromatic Reactivity (Cambridge Univ. Press, London)], as well as Perrin, independently concluded that, in the general scheme of nitration of reactive aromatics, there is the necessity to introduce into the classical Ingold mechanism an additional step involving a distinct intermediate preceding the formation of the Wheland intermediate (σ complexes). This view coincides with our two-step mechanistic picture [Kuhn, S. J. & Olah, G. A. (1961) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 83, 4564-4571] of the nitronium salt nitration of aromatic hydrocarbons (including benzene and toluene), in which low substrate selectivity but high positional selectivity was found, indicating the independence of substrate from positional selectivity. PMID:16593026

  15. Nitration of naphthalene and remarks on the mechanism of electrophilic aromatic nitration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olah, G A; Narang, S C; Olah, J A

    1981-06-01

    Naphthalene was nitrated with a variety of nitrating agents. Comparison of data with Perrin's electrochemical nitration [Perrin, C. L. (1977) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 99, 5516-5518] shows that nitration of naphthalene gives an alpha-nitronaphthalene to beta-nitronaphthalene ratio that varies between 9 and 29 and is thus not constant. Perrin's data, therefore, are considered to be inconclusive evidence for the proposed one-electron transfer mechanism for the nitration of naphthalene and other reactive aromatics. Moodie and Schoefield [Hoggett, J. G., Moodie, R. B., Penton, J. R. & Schoefield, K. (1971) Nitration and Aromatic Reactivity (Cambridge Univ. Press, London)], as well as Perrin, independently concluded that, in the general scheme of nitration of reactive aromatics, there is the necessity to introduce into the classical Ingold mechanism an additional step involving a distinct intermediate preceding the formation of the Wheland intermediate (sigma complexes). This view coincides with our two-step mechanistic picture [Kuhn, S. J. & Olah, G. A. (1961) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 83, 4564-4571] of the nitronium salt nitration of aromatic hydrocarbons (including benzene and toluene), in which low substrate selectivity but high positional selectivity was found, indicating the independence of substrate from positional selectivity.

  16. Extreme halophilic alcohol dehydrogenase mediated highly efficient syntheses of enantiopure aromatic alcohols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsafadi, Diya; Alsalman, Safaa; Paradisi, Francesca

    2017-11-07

    Enzymatic synthesis of enantiopure aromatic secondary alcohols (including substituted, hetero-aromatic and bicyclic structures) was carried out using halophilic alcohol dehydrogenase ADH2 from Haloferax volcanii (HvADH2). This enzyme showed an unprecedented substrate scope and absolute enatioselectivity. The cofactor NADPH was used catalytically and regenerated in situ by the biocatalyst, in the presence of 5% ethanol. The efficiency of HvADH2 for the conversion of aromatic ketones was markedly influenced by the steric and electronic factors as well as the solubility of ketones in the reaction medium. Furthermore, carbonyl stretching band frequencies ν (C[double bond, length as m-dash]O) have been measured for different ketones to understand the effect of electron withdrawing or donating properties of the ketone substituents on the reaction rate catalyzed by HvADH2. Good correlation was observed between ν (C[double bond, length as m-dash]O) of methyl aryl-ketones and the reaction rate catalyzed by HvADH2. The enzyme catalyzed the reductions of ketone substrates on the preparative scale, demonstrating that HvADH2 would be a valuable biocatalyst for the preparation of chiral aromatic alcohols of pharmaceutical interest.

  17. Vesicle fusion observed by content transfer across a tethered lipid bilayer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rawle, Robert J; van Lengerich, Bettina; Chung, Minsub; Bendix, Poul Martin; Boxer, Steven G

    2011-10-19

    Synaptic transmission is achieved by exocytosis of small, synaptic vesicles containing neurotransmitters across the plasma membrane. Here, we use a DNA-tethered freestanding bilayer as a target architecture that allows observation of content transfer of individual vesicles across the tethered planar bilayer. Tethering and fusion are mediated by hybridization of complementary DNA-lipid conjugates inserted into the two membranes, and content transfer is monitored by the dequenching of an aqueous content dye. By analyzing the diffusion profile of the aqueous dye after vesicle fusion, we are able to distinguish content transfer across the tethered bilayer patch from vesicle leakage above the patch. Copyright © 2011 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Effect of binding group on hybridization across the silicon/aromatic-monolayer interface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toledano, Tal; Garrick, Rachel; Sinai, Ofer [Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovoth 76100 (Israel); Bendikov, Tatyana [Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovoth 76100 (Israel); Haj-Yahia, Abd-Elrazek [Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovoth 76100 (Israel); Lerman, Keti; Alon, Hadas; Sukenik, Chaim N. [Chemistry Department, Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900 (Israel); Vilan, Ayelet, E-mail: ayelet.vilan@weizmann.ac.il [Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovoth 76100 (Israel); Kronik, Leeor, E-mail: leeor.kronik@weizmann.ac.il [Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovoth 76100 (Israel); Cahen, David [Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovoth 76100 (Israel)

    2015-10-01

    We report a combined ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and density functional theory (DFT) study of the electronic structure of aromatic self-assembled monolayers covalently bound to Si, using several different aromatic groups (phenyl, biphenyl, and fluorene) and binding groups (O, NH, and CH{sub 2}). We obtain excellent agreement between theory and experiment, which allows for a detailed interpretation of the experimental results. Our analysis reveals a significant effect of the binding group on state hybridization at the organic/inorganic interface. Specifically, it highlights that lone-pair electrons in the binding atom facilitate hybridization between the aromatic system and the Si substrate, resulting in a significant induced density of interface states (IDIS). These interface states are manifested as a broadened HOMO peak in the experimental UPS data and are clearly observed in a theoretical spatially-resolved density of states map. This provides means to control the degree of coupling between substrate and molecule, which may prove useful in the design of transport across organic/inorganic interfaces.

  19. Hierarchical Structure in Semicrystalline Polymers Tethered to Nanospheres

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Sung A

    2014-01-28

    We report on structural and dynamic transitions of polymers tethered to nanoparticles. In particular, we use X-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy, and thermal measurements to investigate multiscale structure and dynamic transitions of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains densely grafted to SiO2 nanoparticles. The approach used for synthesizing these hybrid particles leads to homogeneous SiO2-PEG composites with polymer grafting densities as high as 1.5 chains/nm2, which allows the hybrid materials to exist as self-suspended suspensions with distinct hierarchical structure and thermal properties. On angstrom and nanometer length scales, the tethered PEG chains exhibit more dominant TTG conformations and helix unit cell structure, in comparison to the untethered polymer. The nanoparticle tethered PEG chains are also reported to form extended crystallites on tens of nanometers length scales and to exhibit more stable crystalline structure on small dimensions. On length scales comparable to the size of each hybrid SiO 2-PEG unit, the materials are amorphous presumably as a result of the difficulty fitting the nanoparticle anchors into the PEG crystal lattice. This structural change produces large effects on the thermal transitions of PEG molecules tethered to nanoparticles. © 2014 American Chemical Society.

  20. NASA Langley Research Center tethered balloon systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owens, Thomas L.; Storey, Richard W.; Youngbluth, Otto

    1987-01-01

    The NASA Langley Research Center tethered balloon system operations are covered in this report for the period of 1979 through 1983. Meteorological data, ozone concentrations, and other data were obtained from in situ measurements. The large tethered balloon had a lifting capability of 30 kilograms to 2500 meters. The report includes descriptions of the various components of the balloon systems such as the balloons, the sensors, the electronics, and the hardware. Several photographs of the system are included as well as a list of projects including the types of data gathered.

  1. Tethered catalysts for the hydration of carbon dioxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdez, Carlos A; Satcher, Jr., Joe H; Aines, Roger D; Wong, Sergio E; Baker, Sarah E; Lightstone, Felice C; Stolaroff, Joshuah K

    2014-11-04

    A system is provided that substantially increases the efficiency of CO.sub.2 capture and removal by positioning a catalyst within an optimal distance from the air-liquid interface. The catalyst is positioned within the layer determined to be the highest concentration of carbon dioxide. A hydrophobic tether is attached to the catalyst and the hydrophobic tether modulates the position of the catalyst within the liquid layer containing the highest concentration of carbon dioxide.

  2. Numerical Simulation of Tethered Underwater Kites for Power Generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghasemi, Amirmahdi; Olinger, David; Tryggvason, Gretar

    2015-11-01

    An emerging renewable energy technology, tethered undersea kites (TUSK), which is used to extract hydrokinetic energy from ocean and tidal currents, is studied. TUSK systems consist of a rigid-winged ``kite,'' or glider, moving in an ocean current which is connected by tethers to a floating buoy on the ocean surface. The TUSK kite is a current speed enhancement device since the kite can move in high-speed, cross-current motion at 4-6 times the current velocity, thus producing more power than conventional marine turbines. A computational simulation is developed to simulate the dynamic motion of an underwater kite and extendable tether. A two-step projection method within a finite volume formulation, along with an Open MP acceleration method, is employed to solve the Navier-Stokes equations. An immersed boundary method is incorporated to model the fluid-structure interaction of the rigid kite (with NACA 0012 airfoil shape in 2D and NACA 0021 airfoil shape in 3D simulations) and the fluid flow. PID control methods are used to adjust the kite angle of attack during power (tether reel-out) and retraction (reel-in) phases. Two baseline simulations (for kite motions in two and three dimensions) are studied, and system power output, flow field vorticity, tether tension, and hydrodynamic coefficients (lift and drag) for the kite are determined. The simulated power output shows good agreement with established theoretical results for a kite moving in two-dimensions.

  3. Broad specificity dioxygenase enzymes and the bioremediation of hazardous aromatic pollutants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonus, P.A.; Nies, L.

    1996-01-01

    The release of aromatic compounds to the environment is a major source of global pollution. In particular, the contamination of soil and groundwater with benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) is the most ubiquitous form of aromatic pollution. The major source of BTX contamination is the release of gasoline and other petroleum products. This research focused on the improvement of bioremediation of BTX through a better understanding of broad specificity dioxygenase enzymes produced by soil and sediment bacteria. The investigation utilized pure bacterial strains isolated on biphenyl, naphthalene, or toluene. These isolated aerobic bacteria were then used to investigate the specificity of the initial enzymatic attack on aromatic compounds including BTX and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The enzymatic specificity and competency of the five isolates selected for study were determined through the use of growth tests and two rapid assay techniques. The growth tests were conducted on mineral agar plates or in liquid cultures, and they were used to determine substrate specificity. In addition, rapid assays for both BTX and PCBs were carried out using various growth substrates. These assays allowed further clarification of the specificity of the dioxygenase enzymes involved in aromatic degradation. Preliminary results of the PCB assay show that biphenyl and naphthalene isolated organisms grown on biphenyl, benzoate, naphthalene, and succinate maintain production of broad specificity dioxygenase enzymes able to degrade PCBs. Likewise, the BTX assay confirms that biphenyl and naphthalene selected organisms grown on their respective selection substrates completely degrade BTX including all three xylene isomers. In comparison, the toluene selected organism that was studied was unable to degrade PCBs, but it was able to degrade all BTX constituents

  4. Biomimicry enhances sequential reactions of tethered glycolytic enzymes, TPI and GAPDHS.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chinatsu Mukai

    Full Text Available Maintaining activity of enzymes tethered to solid interfaces remains a major challenge in developing hybrid organic-inorganic devices. In nature, mammalian spermatozoa have overcome this design challenge by having glycolytic enzymes with specialized targeting domains that enable them to function while tethered to a cytoskeletal element. As a step toward designing a hybrid organic-inorganic ATP-generating system, we implemented a biomimetic site-specific immobilization strategy to tether two glycolytic enzymes representing different functional enzyme families: triose phosphoisomerase (TPI; an isomerase and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDHS; an oxidoreductase. We then evaluated the activities of these enzymes in comparison to when they were tethered via classical carboxyl-amine crosslinking. Both enzymes show similar surface binding regardless of immobilization method. Remarkably, specific activities for both enzymes were significantly higher when tethered using the biomimetic, site-specific immobilization approach. Using this biomimetic approach, we tethered both enzymes to a single surface and demonstrated their function in series in both forward and reverse directions. Again, the activities in series were significantly higher in both directions when the enzymes were coupled using this biomimetic approach versus carboxyl-amine binding. Our results suggest that biomimetic, site-specific immobilization can provide important functional advantages over chemically specific, but non-oriented attachment, an important strategic insight given the growing interest in recapitulating entire biological pathways on hybrid organic-inorganic devices.

  5. Biomimicry enhances sequential reactions of tethered glycolytic enzymes, TPI and GAPDHS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukai, Chinatsu; Gao, Lizeng; Bergkvist, Magnus; Nelson, Jacquelyn L; Hinchman, Meleana M; Travis, Alexander J

    2013-01-01

    Maintaining activity of enzymes tethered to solid interfaces remains a major challenge in developing hybrid organic-inorganic devices. In nature, mammalian spermatozoa have overcome this design challenge by having glycolytic enzymes with specialized targeting domains that enable them to function while tethered to a cytoskeletal element. As a step toward designing a hybrid organic-inorganic ATP-generating system, we implemented a biomimetic site-specific immobilization strategy to tether two glycolytic enzymes representing different functional enzyme families: triose phosphoisomerase (TPI; an isomerase) and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDHS; an oxidoreductase). We then evaluated the activities of these enzymes in comparison to when they were tethered via classical carboxyl-amine crosslinking. Both enzymes show similar surface binding regardless of immobilization method. Remarkably, specific activities for both enzymes were significantly higher when tethered using the biomimetic, site-specific immobilization approach. Using this biomimetic approach, we tethered both enzymes to a single surface and demonstrated their function in series in both forward and reverse directions. Again, the activities in series were significantly higher in both directions when the enzymes were coupled using this biomimetic approach versus carboxyl-amine binding. Our results suggest that biomimetic, site-specific immobilization can provide important functional advantages over chemically specific, but non-oriented attachment, an important strategic insight given the growing interest in recapitulating entire biological pathways on hybrid organic-inorganic devices.

  6. Tethered Ozonesonde Measurements During FRAPPE July-August 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oltmans, S. J.; Johnson, B.; Sterling, C. W.; Cullis, P.; Hall, E. G.; Jordan, A. F.; Wendell, J.; Schnell, R. C.; McClure-Begley, A.; Thompson, A. M.

    2015-12-01

    O3 and temperature profiles were measured from tethered ozonesondes from surface to 400 m above ground level on 9 days during the summer of 2014 Colorado Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Experiment (FRAPPE). The portable tethered ozonesonde system was set up at one of 3 sites located next to a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment surface monitoring station. The day and site chosen were based on the previous day O3 and weather forecast. Measurements typically began at 8:30 AM and ended at 4:30 PM, averaging 40 profiles in one day. The ozonesonde when sampling at the surface consistently read within 0-3 ppbv of the surface monitor at each of the sites with a typical daytime range of 20-90 ppbv. The hourly values were averaged at 50 meter intervals showing O3 production rates were consistently around 8 ppbv per hour from 50 to 300 meters above ground level. On sunny, light wind days the O3 mixing ratio reached a maximum of 80-90 ppbv between 14:00 and 15:00 local time. The generally constant mixing ratio with height and highest mixing ratios above the surface indicate that photochemical O3 production was taking place throughout the profile. Continuous O3 profiles from a tall tower (5 and 300 m) and daily ozonesondes tracked O3 variability through the experiment. High O3 at each site was associated with different local wind directions. At Ft. Collins winds were generally out of the southeast, at Chatfield from the northeast, and at City Park Golf Course more variable. The tether system was developed at NOAA/ESRL to provide a cost effective method to measure O3 profiles on a continuous basis. The tether system consisted of a deep sea fishing pole, electric motor driving the reel with light-weight fishing line attached to the balloon ozonesonde, a tether control box, and laptop. The in house software package monitored data and controlled the tether speed and turn-around point based on real time GPS altitude from the transmitting radiosonde.

  7. An Effective Approach Control Scheme for the Tethered Space Robot System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhongjie Meng

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The tethered space robot system (TSR, which is composed of a platform, a gripper and a space tether, has great potential in future space missions. Given the relative motion among the platform, tether, gripper and the target, an integrated approach model is derived. Then, a novel coordinated approach control scheme is presented, in which the tether tension, thrusters and the reaction wheel are all utilized. It contains the open-loop trajectory optimization, the feedback trajectory control and attitude control. The numerical simulation results show that the rendezvous between TSR and the target can be realized by the proposed coordinated control scheme, and the propellant consumption is efficiently reduced. Moreover, the control scheme performs well in the presence of the initial state's perturbations, actuator characteristics and sensor errors.

  8. Modelling a tethered mammalian sperm cell undergoing hyperactivation

    KAUST Repository

    Curtis, M.P.

    2012-09-01

    The beat patterns of mammalian sperm flagella can be categorised into two different types. The first involves symmetric waves propagating down the flagellum with a net linear propulsion of the sperm cell. The second, hyperactive, waveform is classified by vigorous asymmetric waves of higher amplitude, lower wavenumber and frequency propagating down the flagellum resulting in highly curved trajectories. The latter beat pattern is part of the capacitation process whereby sperm prepare for the prospective penetration of the zona pellucida and fusion with the egg. Hyperactivation is often observed to initiate as sperm escape from epithelial and ciliary bindings formed within the isthmic regions of the female oviducts, leading to a conjecture in the literature that this waveform is mechanically important for sperm escape. Hence, we explore the mechanical effects of hyperactivation on a tethered sperm, focussing on a Newtonian fluid. Using a resistive force theory model we demonstrate that hyperactivation can indeed generate forces that pull the sperm away from a tethering point and consequently a hyperactivated sperm cell bound to an epithelial surface need not always be pushed by its flagellum. More generally, directions of the forces generated by tethered flagella are insensitive to reductions in beat frequency and the detailed flagellar responses depend on the nature of the binding at the tethering point. Furthermore, waveform asymmetry and amplitude increases enhance the tendency for a tethered flagellum to start tugging on its binding. The same is generally predicted to be true for reductions in the wavenumber of the flagellum beat, but not universally so, emphasising the dynamical complexity of flagellar force generation. Finally, qualitative observations drawn from experimental data of human sperm bound to excised female reproductive tract are also presented and are found to be consistent with the theoretical predictions. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

  9. Modelling a tethered mammalian sperm cell undergoing hyperactivation

    KAUST Repository

    Curtis, M.P.; Kirkman-Brown, J.C.; Connolly, T.J.; Gaffney, E.A.

    2012-01-01

    The beat patterns of mammalian sperm flagella can be categorised into two different types. The first involves symmetric waves propagating down the flagellum with a net linear propulsion of the sperm cell. The second, hyperactive, waveform is classified by vigorous asymmetric waves of higher amplitude, lower wavenumber and frequency propagating down the flagellum resulting in highly curved trajectories. The latter beat pattern is part of the capacitation process whereby sperm prepare for the prospective penetration of the zona pellucida and fusion with the egg. Hyperactivation is often observed to initiate as sperm escape from epithelial and ciliary bindings formed within the isthmic regions of the female oviducts, leading to a conjecture in the literature that this waveform is mechanically important for sperm escape. Hence, we explore the mechanical effects of hyperactivation on a tethered sperm, focussing on a Newtonian fluid. Using a resistive force theory model we demonstrate that hyperactivation can indeed generate forces that pull the sperm away from a tethering point and consequently a hyperactivated sperm cell bound to an epithelial surface need not always be pushed by its flagellum. More generally, directions of the forces generated by tethered flagella are insensitive to reductions in beat frequency and the detailed flagellar responses depend on the nature of the binding at the tethering point. Furthermore, waveform asymmetry and amplitude increases enhance the tendency for a tethered flagellum to start tugging on its binding. The same is generally predicted to be true for reductions in the wavenumber of the flagellum beat, but not universally so, emphasising the dynamical complexity of flagellar force generation. Finally, qualitative observations drawn from experimental data of human sperm bound to excised female reproductive tract are also presented and are found to be consistent with the theoretical predictions. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

  10. Tethered elevator and platforms as space station facilities: Systems studies and demonstrative experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    1986-01-01

    Several key concepts of the science and applications tethered platforms were studied. Some conclusions reached are herein listed. Tether elevator and platform could improve the space station scientific and applicative capabilities. The space elevator presents unique characteristics as microgravity facility and as a tethered platform servicing vehicle. Pointing platforms could represent a new kind of observation facility for large class of payloads. The dynamical, control and technological complexity of these concepts advised demonstrative experiments. The on-going tethered satellite system offers the opportunity to perform such experiments. And feasibility studies are in progress.

  11. Aromatic residues located close to the active center are essential for the catalytic reaction of flap endonuclease-1 from hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus horikoshii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsui, Eriko; Abe, Junko; Yokoyama, Hideshi; Matsui, Ikuo

    2004-04-16

    Flap endonuclease-1 (FEN-1) possessing 5'-flap endonuclease and 5'-->3' exonuclease activity plays important roles in DNA replication and repair. In this study, the kinetic parameters of mutants at highly conserved aromatic residues, Tyr33, Phe35, Phe79, and Phe278-Phe279, in the vicinity of the catalytic centers of FEN-1 were examined. The substitution of these aromatic residues with alanine led to a large reduction in kcat values, although these mutants retained Km values similar to that of the wild-type enzyme. Notably, the kcat of Y33A and F79A decreased 333-fold and 71-fold, respectively, compared with that of the wild-type enzyme. The aromatic residues Tyr33 and Phe79, and the aromatic cluster Phe278-Phe279 mainly contributed to the recognition of the substrates without the 3' projection of the upstream strand (the nick, 5'-recess-end, single-flap, and pseudo-Y substrates) for the both exo- and endo-activities, but played minor roles in recognizing the substrates with the 3' projection (the double flap substrate and the nick substrate with the 3' projection). The replacement of Tyr33, Phe79, and Phe278-Phe279, with non-charged aromatic residues, but not with aliphatic hydrophobic residues, recovered the kcat values almost fully for the substrates without the 3' projection of the upstream strand, suggesting that the aromatic groups of Tyr33, Phe79, and Phe278-Phe279 might be involved in the catalytic reaction, probably via multiple stacking interactions with nucleotide bases. The stacking interactions of Tyr33 and Phe79 might play important roles in fixing the template strand and the downstream strand, respectively, in close proximity to the active center to achieve the productive transient state leading to the hydrolysis.

  12. Forces, energetics, and dynamics of conjugated-carbon ring tethers adhered to CNTs: a computational investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filla, Nicholas; Ramasamy, Ramaraja; Wang, Xianqiao

    2018-04-25

    The strength and nature of the interactions between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and molecular tethers plays a vital role in technology such as CNT-enzyme sensors. Tethers that attach noncovalently to CNTs are ideal for retaining the electrical properties of the CNTs since they do not degrade the CNT surface and effect its electrical conductivity. However, leaching due to weak CNT-tether attachment is very common when using noncovalent tethers, and this has limited their use in commercial products including biosensors. Thus, understanding the fundamental mechanics governing the strength of CNT-tether adhesion is crucial for the design of highly sensitive, viable sensors. Here, we computationally investigate the adhesion strength of CNT-tether complexes with 8 different tethering molecules designed to adhere noncovalently to the CNT surface. We study the effects of CNT diameter, CNT chirality, and the size/geometry of the tethering molecule on the adhesion energy and force. Our results show an asymptotic relationship between adhesion strength and CNT diameter. Calculations show that noncovalent tethers tested here can reach adhesion forces and energies that are up to 21% and 54% of the strength of the carbon-carbon single bond force and bond energy respectively. We anticipate our results will help guide CNT-enzyme sensor design to produce sensors with high sensitivity and minimal leaching.

  13. Novel roaming and stationary tethered aerial robots for continuous mobile missions in nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gu, Beom W.; Choi, Su Y.; Rim, Chun T. [Dept. of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Young Soo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cai, Guowei; Seneviratne, Lakmal [Dept. of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

    2016-08-15

    In this paper, new tethered aerial robots including roaming tethered aerial robots (RTARs) for radioactive material sampling and stationary tethered aerial robots (STARs) for environment monitoring are proposed to meet extremely-long-endurance missions of nuclear power plants. The flight of the proposed tethered aerial robots may last for a few days or even a few months as long as the tethered cable provides continuous power. A high voltage AC or DC power system was newly adopted to reduce the mass of the tethered cable. The RTAR uses a tethered cable spooled from the aerial robot and an aerial tension control system. The aerial tension control system provides the appropriate tension to the tethered cable, which is accordingly laid down on the ground as the RTAR roams. The STAR includes a tethered cable spooled from the ground and a ground tension control system, which enables the STAR to reach high altitudes. Prototypes of the RTAR and STAR were designed and successfully demonstrated in outdoor environments, where the load power, power type, operating frequency, and flight attitude of the RTAR and STAR were: 180 W, AC 100 kHz, and 20 m; and 300 W, AC or DC 100 kHz, and 80 m, respectively.

  14. Novel Roaming and Stationary Tethered Aerial Robots for Continuous Mobile Missions in Nuclear Power Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beom W. Gu

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, new tethered aerial robots including roaming tethered aerial robots (RTARs for radioactive material sampling and stationary tethered aerial robots (STARs for environment monitoring are proposed to meet extremely-long-endurance missions of nuclear power plants. The flight of the proposed tethered aerial robots may last for a few days or even a few months as long as the tethered cable provides continuous power. A high voltage AC or DC power system was newly adopted to reduce the mass of the tethered cable. The RTAR uses a tethered cable spooled from the aerial robot and an aerial tension control system. The aerial tension control system provides the appropriate tension to the tethered cable, which is accordingly laid down on the ground as the RTAR roams. The STAR includes a tethered cable spooled from the ground and a ground tension control system, which enables the STAR to reach high altitudes. Prototypes of the RTAR and STAR were designed and successfully demonstrated in outdoor environments, where the load power, power type, operating frequency, and flight attitude of the RTAR and STAR were: 180 W, AC 100 kHz, and 20 m; and 300 W, AC or DC 100 kHz, and 80 m, respectively.

  15. Electron Emitter for small-size Electrodynamic Space Tether using MEMS Technology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fleron, René A. W.; Blanke, Mogens

    2004-01-01

    Adjustment of the orbit of a spacecraft using the forces created by an electro-dynamic space-tether has been shown as a theoretic possibility in recent literature. Practical implementation is being pursued for larger scale missions where a hot filament device controls electron emission...... and the current flowing in the electrodynamic space tether. Applications to small spacecraft, or space debris in the 1–10 kg range, possess difficulties with electron emission technology, as low power emitting devices are needed. This paper addresses the system concepts of a small spacecraft electrodynamic tether...... system with focus on electron emitter design and manufacture using micro-electro-mechanical- system (MEMS) technology. The paper addresses the system concepts of a small size electrodynamic tether mission and shows a novel electron emitter for the 1-2 mA range where altitude can be effectively affected...

  16. Results from a tethered rocket experiment (Charge-2)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawashima, N.; Sasaki, S.; Oyama, K. I.; Hirao, K.; Obayashi, T.; Raitt, W. J.; White, A. B.; Williamson, P. R.; Banks, P. M.; Sharp, W. F.

    A tethered payload experiment (Charge-2) was carried out as an international program between Japan and the USA using a NASA sounding rocket at White Sands Missile Range. The objective of the experiment was to perform a new type of active experiment in space by injecting an electron beam from a mother-daughter rocket system connected with a long tether wire. The electron beam with voltage and current up to 1 kV and 80 mA (nominal) was injected from the mother payload. An insulated conductive wire of 426 m length connected the two payloads, the longest tether system flown so far. The electron gun system and diagnostic instruments (plasma, optical, particle and wave) functioned correctly throughout the flight. The potential rise of the mother payload during the electron beam emission was measured with respect to the daughter payload. The beam trajectory was detected by a camera onboard the mother rocket. Wave generation and current induction in the wire during the beam emission were also studied.

  17. Binding of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by humic acids formed during composting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plaza, Cesar; Xing Baoshan; Fernandez, Jose M.; Senesi, Nicola; Polo, Alfredo

    2009-01-01

    Binding of two model polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenanthrene and pyrene, by humic acids (HAs) isolated from an organic substrate at different stages of composting and a soil was investigated using a batch fluorescence quenching method and the modified Freundlich model. With respect to soil HA, the organic substrate HA fractions were characterized by larger binding affinities for both phenanthrene and pyrene. Further, isotherm deviation from linearity was larger for soil HA than for organic substrate HAs, indicating a larger heterogeneity of binding sites in the former. The composting process decreased the binding affinity and increased the heterogeneity of binding sites of HAs. The changes undergone by the HA fraction during composting may be expected to contribute to facilitate microbial accessibility to PAHs. The results obtained also suggest that bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soils with matured compost, rather than with fresh organic amendments, may result in faster and more effective cleanup. - Composting of organic materials decreases the binding affinity of the humic acid fraction for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

  18. Adsorption of aromatic hydrocarbons and ozone at environmental aqueous surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vácha, Robert; Cwiklik, Lukasz; Rezác, Jan; Hobza, Pavel; Jungwirth, Pavel; Valsaraj, Kalliat; Bahr, Stephan; Kempter, Volker

    2008-06-05

    Adsorption of environmentally important aromatic molecules on a water surface is studied by means of classical and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and by reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy. Both techniques show strong activity and orientational preference of these molecules at the surface. Benzene and naphthalene, which bind weakly to water surface with a significant contribution of dispersion interactions, prefer to lie flat on water but retain a large degree of orientational flexibility. Pyridine is more rigid at the surface. It is tilted with the nitrogen end having strong hydrogen bonding interactions with water molecules. The degree of adsorption and orientation of aromatic molecules on aqueous droplets has atmospheric implications for heterogeneous ozonolysis, for which the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics mechanism is discussed. At higher coverages of aromatic molecules the incoming ozone almost does not come into contact with the underlying aqueous phase. This may rationalize the experimental insensitivity of the ozonolysis on the chemical nature of the substrate on which the aromatic molecules adsorb.

  19. Long-term evaluation of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring-assisted tethered cord surgery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dulfer, S E; Drost, G; Lange, F; Journee, H L; Wapstra, F H; Hoving, E W

    2017-01-01

    PURPOSE: Patients with tethered spinal cord have been investigated for short-term effects after tethered spinal cord surgery in the past. However, little is known about the long-term effects in this patient group. In this retrospective, longitudinal, observational study, a patient sample of a

  20. Two-Way Tether Gun

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanger, George F.

    1994-01-01

    Safety-tether device enables crewmembers on spacecraft to retrieve crewmember drifting away from spacecraft. Alternatively, drifting crewmember who carries device uses it to grasp and return to spacecraft. Also used on Earth. For example, rescuer on vessel or pier uses it to retrieve and haul drowning or unconscious person to safety; drifting person or rescuer in water uses it to grasp and hold onto support.

  1. Efficient and Selective Reduction of Aromatic Nitro Compounds to Aromatic Amines by NbCl{sub 5}/Indium System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoo, Byung Woo; Kim, Duckil; Kim, Hyung Min; Kang, Sung Ho [Korea Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-09-15

    -selective reduction of aromatic nitro compounds in the presence of the above-mentioned functional groups. After screening the reaction conditions, THF has been found to be the most suitable solvent for the reaction in terms of reaction time and yield. We investigated that the use of NbCl{sub 5}/Zn in place of NbCl{sub 5}/In is also equally effective but require slight longer reaction time and lower yield as compared to NbCl{sub 5}/In (Table 1). Thus, we have been able to demonstrate the utility of easily accessible NbCl{sub 5}/In system as a convenient reagent for effecting chemo-selective reduction of aromatic nitro compounds. Although the role of niobium(V) chloride is still not clarified, it is assumed that reduction of niobium(V) chloride with indium provides low-valent niobium species, which are involved in complexation with the substrates. The reduction probably proceeds by a reductive cleavage of polarized N.O bonds through a single electron transfer from indium metal to the niobium-substrate complex due to the high oxophilic nature of the niobium species. The reducing property exhibited by metal-metal salt combinations proceeds through transfer of one electron from the metal surface to the substrate. We believe that the present procedure using NbCl{sub 5}/In system proceeds through a SET (single electron transfer) process. The notable advantages of this methodology are mild reaction condition, simple manipulation, high yield, and tolerance of various functional groups. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that the NbCl{sub 5}/In system mediates an efficient and mild reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to the corresponding amines. Although the scope and limitations were not fully established, the present method could be a practical alternative to the conventional method. Further work on the application of the NbCl{sub 5}/In system is currently in progress.

  2. Investigation of electrodynamic stabilization and control of long orbiting tethers. [space shuttle payloads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, D. A.; Dobrowolny, M.

    1981-01-01

    An algorithm for using electric currents to control pendular oscillations induced by various perturbing forces on the Skyhook wire is considered. Transverse and vertical forces on the tether; tether instability modes and causes during retrieval by space shuttle; simple and spherical pendulum motion and vector damping; and current generation and control are discussed. A computer program for numerical integration of the in-plane and out-of-plane displacements of the tether vs time was developed for heuristic study. Some techniques for controlling instabilities during payload retrieval and methods for employing the tether for launching satellites from the space shuttle are considered. Derivations and analyses of a general nature used in all of the areas studied are included.

  3. Position Control of an X4-Flyer Using a Tether

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    , Keigo Watanabe

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In Japan, aging of infrastructures, such as roads, bridges, and water and sewer services, etc. poses a problem, and it is required to extend the life-span of such infrastructures by maintenance. Among infrastructures, especially bridges are periodically inspected by short range visual observations, which check the damage and deterioration of the surface. However, since there are some cases where the short range visual observation is difficult, an alternative method is required so as to replace the short range visual observation with it. So, "X4-Flyer" is very attractive because of realizing a movement at high altitude easily. The objective of this study is to develop a tethered X4- Flyer, so that the conventional short range visual observation of bridges is replaced by it. In this paper, a method for the measurement and control of the position is described by using a tether for controlling the position of the X4-Flyer. In addition, it is checked whether the tethered X4-Flyer can control the position using the proposed method or not, letting it fly in a state in which a tether is being attached.

  4. Aromatic-Mediated Carbohydrate Recognition in Processive Serratia marcescens Chitinases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jana, Suvamay; Hamre, Anne Grethe; Wildberger, Patricia; Holen, Matilde Mengkrog; Eijsink, Vincent G H; Beckham, Gregg T; Sørlie, Morten; Payne, Christina M

    2016-02-25

    Microorganisms use a host of enzymes, including processive glycoside hydrolases, to deconstruct recalcitrant polysaccharides to sugars. Processive glycoside hydrolases closely associate with polymer chains and repeatedly cleave glycosidic linkages without dissociating from the crystalline surface after each hydrolytic step; they are typically the most abundant enzymes in both natural secretomes and industrial cocktails by virtue of their significant hydrolytic potential. The ubiquity of aromatic residues lining the enzyme catalytic tunnels and clefts is a notable feature of processive glycoside hydrolases. We hypothesized that these aromatic residues have uniquely defined roles, such as substrate chain acquisition and binding in the catalytic tunnel, that are defined by their local environment and position relative to the substrate and the catalytic center. Here, we investigated this hypothesis with variants of Serratia marcescens family 18 processive chitinases ChiA and ChiB. We applied molecular simulation and free energy calculations to assess active site dynamics and ligand binding free energies. Isothermal titration calorimetry provided further insight into enthalpic and entropic contributions to ligand binding free energy. Thus, the roles of six aromatic residues, Trp-167, Trp-275, and Phe-396 in ChiA, and Trp-97, Trp-220, and Phe-190 in ChiB, have been examined. We observed that point mutation of the tryptophan residues to alanine results in unfavorable changes in the free energy of binding relative to wild-type. The most drastic effects were observed for residues positioned at the "entrances" of the deep substrate-binding clefts and known to be important for processivity. Interestingly, phenylalanine mutations in ChiA and ChiB had little to no effect on chito-oligomer binding, in accordance with the limited effects of their removal on chitinase functionality.

  5. Simulations of momentum transfer process between solar wind plasma and bias voltage tethers of electric sail thruster

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Guangqing; Han, Yajie; Chen, Liuwei; Wei, Yanming; Yu, Yang; Chen, Maolin

    2018-06-01

    The interaction between the solar wind plasma and the bias voltage of long tethers is the basic mechanism of the electric sail thruster. The momentum transfer process between the solar wind plasma and electric tethers was investigated using a 2D full particle PIC method. The coupled electric field distribution and deflected ion trajectory under different bias voltages were compared, and the influence of bias voltage on momentum transfer process was analyzed. The results show that the high potential of the bias voltage of long tethers will slow down, stagnate, reflect and deflect a large number of ions, so that ion cavities are formed in the vicinity of the tether, and the ions will transmit the axial momentum to the sail tethers to produce the thrust. Compared to the singe tether, double tethers show a better thrust performance.

  6. Low Earth Orbit Environmental Effects on Space Tether Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finckernor, Miria M.; Gitlemeier, Keith A.; Hawk, Clark W.; Watts, Ed

    2005-01-01

    Atomic oxygen (AO) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation erode and embrittle most polymeric materials. This research was designed to test several different materials and coatings under consideration for their application to space tethers, for resistance to these effects. The samples were vacuum dehydrated, weighed and then exposed to various levels of AO or UV radiation at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. They were then re-weighed to determine mass loss due to atomic oxygen erosion, inspected for damage and tensile tested to determine strength loss. The experiments determined that the Photosil coating process, while affording some protection, damaged the tether materials worse than the AO exposure. TOR-LM also failed to fully protect the materials, especially from UV radiation. The POSS and nickel coatings did provide some protection to the tethers, which survived the entire test regime. M5 was tested, uncoated, and survived AO exposure, though its brittleness prevented any tensile testing.

  7. Utilizing the σ-complex stability for quantifying reactivity in nucleophilic substitution of aromatic fluorides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magnus Liljenberg

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available A computational approach using density functional theory to compute the energies of the possible σ-complex reaction intermediates, the “σ-complex approach”, has been shown to be very useful in predicting regioselectivity, in electrophilic as well as nucleophilic aromatic substitution. In this article we give a short overview of the background for these investigations and the general requirements for predictive reactivity models for the pharmaceutical industry. We also present new results regarding the reaction rates and regioselectivities in nucleophilic substitution of fluorinated aromatics. They were rationalized by investigating linear correlations between experimental rate constants (k from the literature with a theoretical quantity, which we call the sigma stability (SS. The SS is the energy change associated with formation of the intermediate σ-complex by attachment of the nucleophile to the aromatic ring. The correlations, which include both neutral (NH3 and anionic (MeO− nucleophiles are quite satisfactory (r = 0.93 to r = 0.99, and SS is thus useful for quantifying both global (substrate and local (positional reactivity in SNAr reactions of fluorinated aromatic substrates. A mechanistic analysis shows that the geometric structure of the σ-complex resembles the rate-limiting transition state and that this provides a rationale for the observed correlations between the SS and the reaction rate.

  8. The motion and control of a complex three-body space tethered system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Gefei; Zhu, Zhanxia; Chen, Shiyu; Yuan, Jianping; Tang, Biwei

    2017-11-01

    This paper is mainly devoted to investigating the dynamics and stability control of a three body-tethered satellite system which contains a main satellite and two subsatellites connected by two straight, massless and inextensible tethers. Firstly, a detailed mathematical model is established in the central gravitational field. Then, the dynamic characteristics of the established system are investigated and analyzed. Based on the dynamic analysis, a novel sliding mode prediction model (SMPM) control strategy is proposed to suppress the motion of the built tethered system. The numerical results show that the proposed underactuated control law is highly effective in suppressing the attitude/libration motion of the underactuated three-body tethered system. Furthermore, cases of different target angles are also examined and analyzed. The simulation results reveal that even if the final equilibrium states differ from different selections of the target angles, the whole system can still be maintained in acceptable areas.

  9. Catalytic oxidation of o-aminophenols and aromatic amines by mushroom tyrosinase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz-Muñoz, Jose Luis; Garcia-Molina, Francisco; Garcia-Ruiz, Pedro Antonio; Varon, Ramon; Tudela, Jose; Rodriguez-Lopez, Jose N; Garcia-Canovas, Francisco

    2011-12-01

    The kinetics of tyrosinase acting on o-aminophenols and aromatic amines as substrates was studied. The catalytic constants of aromatic monoamines and o-diamines were both low, these results are consistent with our previous mechanism in which the slow step is the transfer of a proton by a hydroxyl to the peroxide in oxy-tyrosinase (Fenoll et al., Biochem. J. 380 (2004) 643-650). In the case of o-aminophenols, the hydroxyl group indirectly cooperates in the transfer of the proton and consequently the catalytic constants in the action of tyrosinase on these compounds are higher. In the case of aromatic monoamines, the Michaelis constants are of the same order of magnitude than for monophenols, which suggests that the monophenols bind better (higher binding constant) to the enzyme to facilitate the π-π interactions between the aromatic ring and a possible histidine of the active site. In the case of aromatic o-diamines, both the catalytic and Michaelis constants are low, the values of the catalytic constants being lower than those of the corresponding o-diphenols. The values of the Michaelis constants of the aromatic o-diamines are slightly lower than those of their corresponding o-diphenols, confirming that the aromatic o-diamines bind less well (lower binding constant) to the enzyme. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Palladium-catalysed electrophilic aromatic C-H fluorination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Kumiko; Li, Jiakun; Garber, Jeffrey A. O.; Rolfes, Julian D.; Boursalian, Gregory B.; Borghs, Jannik C.; Genicot, Christophe; Jacq, Jérôme; van Gastel, Maurice; Neese, Frank; Ritter, Tobias

    2018-02-01

    Aryl fluorides are widely used in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries, and recent advances have enabled their synthesis through the conversion of various functional groups. However, there is a lack of general methods for direct aromatic carbon-hydrogen (C-H) fluorination. Conventional methods require the use of either strong fluorinating reagents, which are often unselective and difficult to handle, such as elemental fluorine, or less reactive reagents that attack only the most activated arenes, which reduces the substrate scope. A method for the direct fluorination of aromatic C-H bonds could facilitate access to fluorinated derivatives of functional molecules that would otherwise be difficult to produce. For example, drug candidates with improved properties, such as increased metabolic stability or better blood-brain-barrier penetration, may become available. Here we describe an approach to catalysis and the resulting development of an undirected, palladium-catalysed method for aromatic C-H fluorination using mild electrophilic fluorinating reagents. The reaction involves a mode of catalysis that is unusual in aromatic C-H functionalization because no organometallic intermediate is formed; instead, a reactive transition-metal-fluoride electrophile is generated catalytically for the fluorination of arenes that do not otherwise react with mild fluorinating reagents. The scope and functional-group tolerance of this reaction could provide access to functional fluorinated molecules in pharmaceutical and agrochemical development that would otherwise not be readily accessible.

  11. Toxicity of Aromatic Ketone to Yeast Cell and Improvement of the Asymmetric Reduction of Aromatic Ketone Catalyzed by Yeast Cell with the Introduction of Resin Adsorption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhong-Hua Yang

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Asymmetric reduction of the prochiral aromatic ketone catalyzed by yeast cells is one of the most promising routes to produce its corresponding enantiopure aromatic alcohol, but the space-time yield does not meet people’s expectations. Therefore, the toxicity of aromatic ketone and aromatic alcohol to the yeast cell is investigated in this work. It has been found that the aromatic compounds are poisonous to the yeast cell. The activity of yeast cell decreases steeply when the concentration of acetophenone (ACP is higher than 30.0 mmol/L. Asymmetric reduction of acetophenone to chiral S-α-phenylethyl alcohol (PEA catalyzed by the yeast cell was chosen as the model reaction to study in detail the promotion effect of the introduction of the resin adsorption on the asymmetric reduction reaction. The resin acts as the substrate reservoir and product extraction agent in situ. It has been shown that this reaction could be remarkably improved with this technique when the appropriate kind of resin is applied. The enantioselectivity and yield are acceptable even though the initial ACP concentration reaches 72.2 mmol/L.

  12. Biological production of hydroxylated aromatics : Optimization strategies for Pseudomonas putida S12

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verhoef, A.

    2010-01-01

    To replace environmentally unfriendly petrochemical production processes, the demand for bio-based production of organic chemicals is increasing. This thesis focuses on the biological production of hydroxylated aromatics from renewable substrates by engineered P. putida S12 including several cases

  13. Emerging insights into the roles of membrane tethers from analysis of whole organisms: The tip of an iceberg?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Hong eToh

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Membrane tethers have been identified throughout different compartments of the endomembrane system. It is now well established that a number of membrane tethers mediate docking of membrane carriers in anterograde and retrograde transport and in regulating the organization of membrane compartments. Much of our information on membrane tethers have been obtained from the analysis of individual membrane tethers in cultured cells. In the future it will be important to better appreciate the network of interactions mediated by tethers and the potential co-ordination of their collective functions in vivo. There are now a number of studies which have analyzed membrane tethers in tissues and organisms which are providing new insights into the role of this class of membrane protein at the physiological level. Here we review recent advances in the understanding of the function of membrane tethers from knock outs (or knock downs in whole organisms and from mutations in tethers associated with disease.

  14. Experiments and simulation of a net closing mechanism for tether-net capture of space debris

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharf, Inna; Thomsen, Benjamin; Botta, Eleonora M.; Misra, Arun K.

    2017-10-01

    This research addresses the design and testing of a debris containment system for use in a tether-net approach to space debris removal. The tether-net active debris removal involves the ejection of a net from a spacecraft by applying impulses to masses on the net, subsequent expansion of the net, the envelopment and capture of the debris target, and the de-orbiting of the debris via a tether to the chaser spacecraft. To ensure a debris removal mission's success, it is important that the debris be successfully captured and then, secured within the net. To this end, we present a concept for a net closing mechanism, which we believe will permit consistently successful debris capture via a simple and unobtrusive design. This net closing system functions by extending the main tether connecting the chaser spacecraft and the net vertex to the perimeter and around the perimeter of the net, allowing the tether to actuate closure of the net in a manner similar to a cinch cord. A particular embodiment of the design in a laboratory test-bed is described: the test-bed itself is comprised of a scaled-down tether-net, a supporting frame and a mock-up debris. Experiments conducted with the facility demonstrate the practicality of the net closing system. A model of the net closure concept has been integrated into the previously developed dynamics simulator of the chaser/tether-net/debris system. Simulations under tether tensioning conditions demonstrate the effectiveness of the closure concept for debris containment, in the gravity-free environment of space, for a realistic debris target. The on-ground experimental test-bed is also used to showcase its utility for validating the dynamics simulation of the net deployment, and a full-scale automated setup would make possible a range of validation studies of other aspects of a tether-net debris capture mission.

  15. Cooperative networks : The mobile tethering game

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Constantinescu, M.; Bouwman, H.; Djurica, M.; Durmus, Y.; Onur, E.; Reuver, M. de

    2012-01-01

    We propose an analysis of cooperation for data sharing and the behavioral aspects involved in the process of decision making. Starting with the tethering capabilities of recent devices we apply game theoretical principles and models, inquire what makes the cooperation work, and what are the

  16. ER-to-plasma membrane tethering proteins regulate cell signaling and ER morphology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manford, Andrew G; Stefan, Christopher J; Yuan, Helen L; Macgurn, Jason A; Emr, Scott D

    2012-12-11

    Endoplasmic reticulum-plasma membrane (ER-PM) junctions are conserved structures defined as regions of the ER that tightly associate with the plasma membrane. However, little is known about the mechanisms that tether these organelles together and why such connections are maintained. Using a quantitative proteomic approach, we identified three families of ER-PM tethering proteins in yeast: Ist2 (related to mammalian TMEM16 ion channels), the tricalbins (Tcb1/2/3, orthologs of the extended synaptotagmins), and Scs2 and Scs22 (vesicle-associated membrane protein-associated proteins). Loss of all six tethering proteins results in the separation of the ER from the PM and the accumulation of cytoplasmic ER. Importantly, we find that phosphoinositide signaling is misregulated at the PM, and the unfolded protein response is constitutively activated in the ER in cells lacking ER-PM tether proteins. These results reveal critical roles for ER-PM contacts in cell signaling, organelle morphology, and ER function. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Tethered balloon-based measurements of meteorological variables and aerosols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sentell, R. J.; Storey, R. W.; Chang, J. J. C.; Jacobsen, S. J.

    1976-01-01

    Tethered balloon based measurements of the vertical distributions of temperature, humidity, wind speed, and aerosol concentrations were taken over a 4-hour period beginning at sunrise on June 29, 1976, at Wallops Island, Virginia. Twelve consecutive profiles of each variable were obtained from ground to about 500 meters. These measurements were in conjuction with a noise propagation study on remotely arrayed acoustic range (ROMAAR) at Wallops Flight Center. An organized listing of these vertical soundings is presented. The tethered balloon system configuration utilized for these measurements is described.

  18. A tethering complex drives the terminal stage of SNARE-dependent membrane fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Agostino, Massimo; Risselada, Herre Jelger; Lürick, Anna; Ungermann, Christian; Mayer, Andreas

    2017-11-01

    Membrane fusion in eukaryotic cells mediates the biogenesis of organelles, vesicular traffic between them, and exo- and endocytosis of important signalling molecules, such as hormones and neurotransmitters. Distinct tasks in intracellular membrane fusion have been assigned to conserved protein systems. Tethering proteins mediate the initial recognition and attachment of membranes, whereas SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) protein complexes are considered as the core fusion engine. SNARE complexes provide mechanical energy to distort membranes and drive them through a hemifusion intermediate towards the formation of a fusion pore. This last step is highly energy-demanding. Here we combine the in vivo and in vitro fusion of yeast vacuoles with molecular simulations to show that tethering proteins are critical for overcoming the final energy barrier to fusion pore formation. SNAREs alone drive vacuoles only into the hemifused state. Tethering proteins greatly increase the volume of SNARE complexes and deform the site of hemifusion, which lowers the energy barrier for pore opening and provides the driving force. Thereby, tethering proteins assume a crucial mechanical role in the terminal stage of membrane fusion that is likely to be conserved at multiple steps of vesicular traffic. We therefore propose that SNAREs and tethering proteins should be considered as a single, non-dissociable device that drives fusion. The core fusion machinery may then be larger and more complex than previously thought.

  19. Observing Formation of Flux Rope by Tether-cutting Reconnection in the Sun

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xue, Zhike; Yan, Xiaoli; Yang, Liheng; Wang, Jincheng; Zhao, Li, E-mail: zkxue@ynao.ac.cn [Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Yunnan 650216 (China)

    2017-05-10

    Tether-cutting reconnection is considered as one mechanism for the formation of a flux rope. It has been proposed for more than 30 years; however, so far, direct observations of it are very rare. In this Letter, we present observations of the formation of a flux rope via tether-cutting reconnection in NOAA AR 11967 on 2014 February 2 by combining observations with the New Vacuum Solar Telescope and the Solar Dynamic Observatory . The tether-cutting reconnection occurs between two sets of highly sheared magnetic arcades. Comprehensive observational evidence of the reconnection is as follows: changes of the connections between the arcades, brightenings at the reconnection site, hot outflows, formation of a flux rope, slow-rise motion of the flux rope, and flux cancelation. The outflows are along three directions from the reconnection site to the footpoints with the velocities from 24 ± 1 km s{sup −1} to 69 ± 5 km s{sup −1}. Additionally, it is found that the newly formed flux rope connects far footpoints and has a left-handed twisted structure with many fine threads and a concave-up-shape structure in the middle. All the observations are in agreement with the tether-cutting model and provide evidence that tether-cutting reconnection leads to the formation of the flux rope associated with flux shear flow and cancelation.

  20. Relaxation Dynamics of Nanoparticle-Tethered Polymer Chains

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Sung A; Mangal, Rahul; Archer, Lynden A.

    2015-01-01

    © 2015 American Chemical Society. Relaxation dynamics of nanoparticle-tethered cis-1,4-polyisoprene (PI) are investigated using dielectric spectroscopy and rheometry. A model system composed of polymer chains densely grafted to spherical SiO2

  1. Phobos L1 Operational Tether Experiment (PHLOTE)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A sensor package that “floats” just above the surface of Phobos, suspended by a tether from a small spacecraft operating at the Mars/Phobos Lagrange 1 (L1) Point...

  2. Substrate-bound tyrosinase electrode using gold nanoparticles anchored to pyrroloquinoline quinone for a pesticide biosensor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, G.Y.; Kang, M.S.; Shim, J.; Moon, S.H. [Gwangju Inst. of Science and Technology (Korea, Republic of). Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering

    2008-07-01

    Enzyme electrodes are now being considered for use in the detection of pesticides. However, the electrodes do not have the sensitivity to detect low concentration pesticides, and external substrates are needed to measure changes in enzyme activity. This study discussed a chemical species designed to mimic a substrate in the preparation of a tyrosinase (TYR) electrode for use without substrate standard solutions. Pyrroloquinolone quinone (PQQ) was integrated within the tyrosinase electrode and used as an assimilated substrate for measuring the pesticide. Gold (Au) nanoparticles were also used to detect low concentration pesticides. The TYR was immobilized on the PQQ-anchored Au nanoparticles by a covalent bond. The tethered PQQ was then reduced by obtaining 2-electrons from the electrode. The study showed that the substrate-bound enzyme electrode can be used to detect pesticide without a substrate standard solution through the immobilization of the enzyme and the substrate on the Au nanoparticles.

  3. Lumbosacral arachnoid cyst with tethered cord: A rare case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S K Jain

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Arachnoid cysts are cerebrospinal fluid collections in the spine that can present with neurological symptoms or be discovered accidentally. Intradural location of such cysts especially in the lumbosacral region is relatively rare. The association of such cysts with other congenital anomalies such as tethered cord lends evidence to the developmental origin of arachnoid cysts. We report a case of lumbosacral arachnoid cyst with tethered cord in a 6-year-old male child and discuss the etiopathogenesis and management options.

  4. Unilateral pedicle screws asymmetric tethering: an innovative method to create idiopathic deformity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Xuesong

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective To evaluate the feasibility of the method that unilateral pedicle screws asymmetric tethering in concave side in combination with convex rib resection for creating idiopathic deformity. Summary of background data Various methods are performed to create idiopathic deformity. Among these methods, posterior asmmetric tethering of the spine shows satisfying result, but some drawbacks related to the current posterior asymmetric tether were still evident. Materials and methods Unilateral pedicle screws asymmetric tethering was performed to 14 female goats (age: 5–8 week-old, weight: 6–8 kg in concave side in combination with convex rib resection. Dorsoventral and lateral plain radiographs were taken of each thoracic spine in the frontal and sagittal planes right after the surgery and later every 4 weeks. Results All animals ambulated freely after surgery. For technical reasons, 2 goats were excluded (one animal died for anesthetic during the surgery, and one animal was lost for instrumental fail due to postoperative infection. Radiography showed that 11 goats exhibited scoliosis with convex toward to the right side, and as the curve increased with time, only 1 goat showed nonprogressive. The initial scoliosis generated in the progressors after the procedures measured 29.0° on average (range 23.0°–38.5° and increased to 43.0° on average (range 36.0°–58.0° over 8 to 10 weeks. The average progression of 14.0° was measured. The curvature immediately after tethering surgery (the initial Cobb angle did have a highly significant correlation with the final curvature (p Conclusion Unilateral pedicle screws asymmetric tethering is a practical method to create experimental scoliosis, especially for those who would like to study the correction of this deformity.

  5. Titanium-tethered vancomycin prevents resistance to rifampicin in Staphylococcus aureus in vitro.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Rottman

    Full Text Available Rifampicin is currently recognized as the most potent drug against Gram positive implant related infections. The use of rifampicin is limited by the emergence of bacterial resistance, which is often managed by coadministration of a second antibiotic. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of soluble rifampicin in combination with vancomycin tethered to titanium metal as a means to control bacterial growth and resistance in vitro. Bacterial growth was inhibited when the vancomycin-tethered titanium discs were treated with Staphylococcus aureus inocula of ≤2×10⁶ CFU, however inocula greater than 2×10⁶ CFU/disc adhered and survived. The combination of surface-tethered vancomycin with soluble rifampicin enhanced the inhibitory effect of rifampicin for an inoculum of 10⁶ CFU/cm² by one dilution (combination MIC of 0.008 mg/L versus 0.015 mg/L for rifampicin alone. Moreover, surface tethered vancomycin prevented the emergence of a rifampicin resistant population in an inoculum of 2×10⁸ CFU.

  6. Catalytic oxidation of 2-aminophenols and ortho hydroxylation of aromatic amines by tyrosinase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toussaint, O.; Lerch, K.

    1987-01-01

    The usual substrates of tyrosinase, a copper-containing monooxygenase (EC 1.14.18.1), are monophenols and o-diphenols which are both converted to o-quinones. In this paper, the authors studied the reaction of this enzyme with two new classes of substrates: aromatic amines and o-aminophenols, structural analogues of monophenols and o-diphenols, respectively. They undergo the same catalytic reactions (ortho hydroxylation and oxidation), as documented by product analysis and kinetic studies. In the presence of tyrosinase, arylamines and o-aminophenols are converted to o-quinone imines, which are isolated as quinone anils or phenoxazones. As an example, in the presence of tyrosinase, 2-amino-3-hydroxybenzoic acid (an o-aminophenol) is converted to cinnabarinic acid, a well-known phenoxazone, while p-aminotoluene (an aromatic amine) gives rise to the formation of 5-amino-2-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone 1-(4-methylanil). Kinetic studies using an oxygen electrode show that arylamines and the corresponding monophenols exhibit similar Michaelis constants. In contrast, the reaction rates observed for aromatic amines are relatively slow as compared to monophenols. The enzymatic conversion of arylamines by tryosinase is different from the typical ones: N-oxidation and ring hydroxylation without further oxidation. This difference originates from the regiospecific hydroxylation (ortho position) and subsequent oxidation of the intermediate o-aminophenol to the corresponding o-quinone imine. Finally, the well-know monooxygenase activity of tyrosinase was also confirmed for the aromatic amine p-aminotoluene, with 18 O 2

  7. Two-Stage Winch for Kites and Tethered Balloons or Blimps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miles, Ted; Bland, Geoff

    2011-01-01

    A winch system provides a method for launch and recovery capabilities for kites and tethered blimps or balloons. Low power consumption is a key objective, as well as low weight for portability. This is accomplished by decoupling the tether-line storage and wind ing/ unwinding functions, and providing tailored and efficient mechanisms for each. The components of this system include rotational power input devices such as electric motors or other apparatus, line winding/unwinding reel(s), line storage reel(s), and independent drive trains. Power is applied to the wind/unwind reels to transport the tether line. Power is also applied to a line storage reel, from either the wind/unwind power source, the wind/unwind reel itself, or separate power source. The speeds of the two reels are synchronized, but not dependent on each other. This is accomplished via clutch mechanisms, variable transmissions, or independent motor controls. The speed of the storage reel is modulated as the effective diameter of the reel changes with line accumulation.

  8. FCAPD Protective Coating for Space Tethers, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Alameda Applied Sciences Corporation (AASC) proposes to demonstrate extended service lifetime of space tethers in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment by using...

  9. A copper-mediated reverse aromatic Finkelstein reaction in ionic liquid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anh T.H. Nguyen

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available We have developed a general method for reverse aromatic Finkelstein reactions. Good reaction yields were obtained when aryl iodides or aryl bromides were treated with copper halide salts as promoters in a 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([BMIM]Br ionic liquid (IL solvent at 140 °C for 8 h. Preliminary investigation supported that the copper salts were also the halide sources in halogen exchange reactions. The optimized conditions are applicable to a variety of substrates and have excellent functional group tolerance. Additionally, the [BMIM]Br solvent showed good stability for at least 10 consecutive runs. Results indicated that the [BMIM]Br solvent was recyclable for reverse aromatic Finkelstein reactions.

  10. The ATPases of cohesin interface with regulators to modulate cohesin-mediated DNA tethering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çamdere, Gamze; Guacci, Vincent; Stricklin, Jeremiah; Koshland, Douglas

    2015-01-01

    Cohesin tethers together regions of DNA, thereby mediating higher order chromatin organization that is critical for sister chromatid cohesion, DNA repair and transcriptional regulation. Cohesin contains a heterodimeric ATP-binding Cassette (ABC) ATPase comprised of Smc1 and Smc3 ATPase active sites. These ATPases are required for cohesin to bind DNA. Cohesin’s DNA binding activity is also promoted by the Eco1 acetyltransferase and inhibited by Wpl1. Recently we showed that after cohesin stably binds DNA, a second step is required for DNA tethering. This second step is also controlled by Eco1 acetylation. Here, we use genetic and biochemical analyses to show that this second DNA tethering step is regulated by cohesin ATPase. Furthermore, our results also suggest that Eco1 promotes cohesion by modulating the ATPase cycle of DNA-bound cohesin in a state that is permissive for DNA tethering and refractory to Wpl1 inhibition. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.11315.001 PMID:26583750

  11. The mechanics of motorised momentum exchange tethers when applied to active debris removal from LEO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caldecott, Ralph; Kamarulzaman, Dayangku N. S.; Kirrane, James P.; Cartmell, Matthew P.; Ganilova, Olga A. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, S1 3JD, England (United Kingdom)

    2014-12-10

    The concept of momentum exchange when applied to space tethers for propulsion is well established, and a considerable body of literature now exists on the on-orbit modelling, the dynamics, and also the control of a large range of tether system applications. The authors consider here a new application for the Motorised Momentum Exchange Tether by highlighting three key stages of development leading to a conceptualisation that can subsequently be developed into a technology for Active Debris Removal. The paper starts with a study of the on-orbit mechanics of a full sized motorised tether in which it is shown that a laden and therefore highly massasymmetrical tether can still be forced to spin, and certainly to librate, thereby confirming its possible usefulness for active debris removal (ADR). The second part of the paper concentrates on the modelling of the centripetal deployment of a symmetrical MMET in order to get it initialized for debris removal operations, and the third and final part of the paper provides an entry into scale modelling for low cost mission design and testing. It is shown that the motorised momentum exchange tether offers a potential solution to the removal of large pieces of orbital debris, and that dynamic methodologies can be implemented to in order to optimise the emergent design.

  12. The mechanics of motorised momentum exchange tethers when applied to active debris removal from LEO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caldecott, Ralph; Kamarulzaman, Dayangku N. S.; Kirrane, James P.; Cartmell, Matthew P.; Ganilova, Olga A.

    2014-01-01

    The concept of momentum exchange when applied to space tethers for propulsion is well established, and a considerable body of literature now exists on the on-orbit modelling, the dynamics, and also the control of a large range of tether system applications. The authors consider here a new application for the Motorised Momentum Exchange Tether by highlighting three key stages of development leading to a conceptualisation that can subsequently be developed into a technology for Active Debris Removal. The paper starts with a study of the on-orbit mechanics of a full sized motorised tether in which it is shown that a laden and therefore highly massasymmetrical tether can still be forced to spin, and certainly to librate, thereby confirming its possible usefulness for active debris removal (ADR). The second part of the paper concentrates on the modelling of the centripetal deployment of a symmetrical MMET in order to get it initialized for debris removal operations, and the third and final part of the paper provides an entry into scale modelling for low cost mission design and testing. It is shown that the motorised momentum exchange tether offers a potential solution to the removal of large pieces of orbital debris, and that dynamic methodologies can be implemented to in order to optimise the emergent design

  13. Electrodynamic Tethers and E-Sails as Active Experiment Testbeds and Technologies in Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilchrist, B. E.; Wiegmann, B.; Johnson, L.; Bilen, S. G.; Habash Krause, L.; Miars, G.; Leon, O.

    2017-12-01

    The use of small-to-large flexible structures in space such as tethers continues to be studied for scientific and technology applications. Here we will consider tether electrodynamic and electrostatic interactions with magneto-plasmas in ionospheres, magnetospheres, and interplanetary space. These systems are enabling fundamental studies of basic plasma physics phenomena, allowing direct studies of the space environment, and generating technological applications beneficial for science missions. Electrodynamic tethers can drive current through the tether based on the Lorenz force adding or extracting energy from its orbit allowing for the study of charged bodies or plasma plumes moving through meso-sonic magnetoplasmas [1]. Technologically, this also generates propulsive forces requiring no propellant and little or no consumables in any planetary system with a magnetic field and ionosphere, e.g., Jupiter [2]. Further, so called electric sails (E-sails) are being studied to provide thrust through momentum exchange with the hypersonic solar wind. The E-sail uses multiple, very long (10s of km) charged, mostly bare rotating conducting tethers to deflect solar wind protons. It is estimated that a spacecraft could achieve a velocity over 100 km/s with time [3,4]. 1. Banks, P.M., "Review of electrodynamic tethers for space plasma science," J. Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 234-239, 1989. 2. Talley, C., J. Moore, D. Gallagher, and L. Johnson, "Propulsion and power from a rotating electrodynamic tether at Jupiter," 38th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, January 2000. 3. Janhunen, P., "The electric sail—A new propulsion method which may enable fast missions to the outer solar system," J. British Interpl. Soc., vol. 61, no. 8, pp. 322-325, 2008. 4. Wiegman, B., T. Scheider, A. Heaton, J. Vaughn, N. Stone, and K. Wright, "The Heliopause Electrostatic Rapid Transit System (HERTS)—Design, trades, and analyses performed in a two-year NASA investigation

  14. Tethered Aerostat Effects on Nearby Seismometers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bowman, Daniel [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2017-12-01

    This report assesses seismic interference generated by a tethered aerostat. The study was motivated by a planned aerostat deployment within the footprint of the Dry Alluvium Geology seismic network. No evidence was found for seismic interference generated by the aerostat, and thus the e ects on the Dry Alluvium Geology sensors will be negligible.

  15. Inverse kinetic solvent isotope effect in TiO2 photocatalytic dehalogenation of non-adsorbable aromatic halides: a proton-induced pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Wei; Sun, Chunyan; Pang, Xibin; Sheng, Hua; Li, Yue; Ji, Hongwei; Song, Wenjing; Chen, Chuncheng; Ma, Wanhong; Zhao, Jincai

    2015-02-09

    An efficient redox reaction between organic substrates in solution and photoinduced h(+) vb /e(-) cb on the surface of photocatalysts requires the substrates or solvent to be adsorbed onto the surface, and is consequentially marked by a normal kinetic solvent isotope effect (KSIE ≥ 1). Reported herein is a universal inverse KSIE (0.6-0.8 at 298 K) for the reductive dehalogenation of aromatic halides which cannot adsorb onto TiO2 in a [D0 ]methanol/[D4 ]methanol solution. Combined with in situ ATR-FTIR spectroscopy investigations, a previously unknown pathway for the transformation of these aromatic halides in TiO2 photocatalysis was identified: a proton adduct intermediate, induced by released H(+) /D(+) from solvent oxidation, accompanies a change in hybridization from sp(2) to sp(3) at a carbon atom of the aromatic halides. The protonation event leads these aromatic halides to adsorb onto the TiO2 surface and an ET reaction to form dehalogenated products follows. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. STICS: surface-tethered iterative carbohydrate synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pornsuriyasak, Papapida; Ranade, Sneha C; Li, Aixiao; Parlato, M Cristina; Sims, Charles R; Shulga, Olga V; Stine, Keith J; Demchenko, Alexei V

    2009-04-14

    A new surface-tethered iterative carbohydrate synthesis (STICS) technology is presented in which a surface functionalized 'stick' made of chemically stable high surface area porous gold allows one to perform cost efficient and simple synthesis of oligosaccharide chains; at the end of the synthesis, the oligosaccharide can be cleaved off and the stick reused for subsequent syntheses.

  17. Hierarchical Structure in Semicrystalline Polymers Tethered to Nanospheres

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Sung A; Archer, Lynden A.

    2014-01-01

    We report on structural and dynamic transitions of polymers tethered to nanoparticles. In particular, we use X-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy, and thermal measurements to investigate multiscale structure and dynamic transitions of poly

  18. Biomechanical simulations of costo-vertebral and anterior vertebral body tethers for the fusionless treatment of pediatric scoliosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aubin, Carl-Éric; Clin, Julien; Rawlinson, Jeremy

    2018-01-01

    Compression-based fusionless tethers are an alternative to conventional surgical treatments of pediatric scoliosis. Anterior approaches place an anterior (ANT) tether on the anterolateral convexity of the deformed spine to modify growth. Posterior, or costo-vertebral (CV), approaches have not been assessed for biomechanical and corrective effectiveness. The objective was to biomechanically assess CV and ANT tethers using six patient-specific, finite element models of adolescent scoliotic patients (11.9 ± 0.7 years, Cobb 34° ± 10°). A validated algorithm simulated the growth and Hueter-Volkmann growth modulation over a period of 2 years with the CV and ANT tethers at two initial tensions (100, 200 N). The models without tethering also simulated deformity progression with Cobb angle increasing from 34° to 56°, axial rotation 11° to 13°, and kyphosis 28° to 32° (mean values). With the CV tether, the Cobb angle was reduced to 27° and 20° for tensions of 100 and 200 N, respectively, kyphosis to 21° and 19°, and no change in axial rotation. With the ANT tether, Cobb was reduced to 32° and 9° for 100 and 200 N, respectively, kyphosis unchanged, and axial rotation to 3° and 0°. While the CV tether mildly corrected the coronal curve over a 2-year growth period, it had sagittal lordosing effect, particularly with increasing initial axial rotation (>15°). The ANT tether achieved coronal correction, maintained kyphosis, and reduced the axial rotation, but over-correction was simulated at higher initial tensions. This biomechanical study captured the differences between a CV and ANT tether and indicated the variability arising from the patient-specific characteristics. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:254-264, 2018. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Manipulating neuronal circuits with endogenous and recombinant cell-surface tethered modulators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mandë Holford

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Neuronal circuits depend on the precise regulation of cell-surface receptors and ion channels. An ongoing challenge in neuroscience research is deciphering the functional contribution of specific receptors and ion channels using engineered modulators. A novel strategy, termed “tethered toxins”, was recently developed to characterize neuronal circuits using the evolutionary derived selectivity of venom peptide toxins and endogenous peptide ligands, such as lynx1 prototoxins. Herein, the discovery and engineering of cell-surface tethered peptides is reviewed, with particular attention given to their cell-autonomy, modular composition, and genetic targeting in different model organisms. The relative ease with which tethered peptides can be engineered, coupled with the increasing number of neuroactive venom toxins and ligand peptides being discovered, imply a multitude of potentially innovative applications for manipulating neuronal circuits and tissue-specific cell networks, including treatment of disorders caused by malfunction of receptors and ion channels.

  20. Biodegradation of Various Aromatic Compounds by Enriched Bacterial Cultures: Part B--Nitrogen-, Sulfur-, and Oxygen-Containing Heterocyclic Aromatic Compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oberoi, Akashdeep Singh; Philip, Ligy; Bhallamudi, S Murty

    2015-07-01

    Present study focused on the biodegradation of various heterocyclic nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen (NSO) compounds using naphthalene-enriched culture. Target compounds in the study were pyridine, quinoline, benzothiophene, and benzofuran. Screening studies were carried out using different microbial consortia enriched with specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and NSO compounds. Among different microbial consortia, naphthalene-enriched culture was the most efficient consortium based on high substrate degradation rate. Substrate degradation rate with naphthalene-enriched culture followed the order pyridine > quinoline > benzofuran > benzothiophene. Benzothiophene and benzofuran were found to be highly recalcitrant pollutants. Benzothiophene could not be biodegraded when concentration was above 50 mg/l. It was observed that 2-(1H)-quinolinone, benzothiophene-2-one, and benzofuran-2,3-dione were formed as metabolic intermediates during biodegradation of quinoline, benzothiophene, and benzofuran, respectively. Quinoline-N and pyridine-N were transformed into free ammonium ions during the biodegradation process. Biodegradation pathways for various NSO compounds are proposed. Monod inhibition model was able to simulate single substrate biodegradation kinetics satisfactorily. Benzothiophene and benzofuran biodegradation kinetics, in presence of acetone, was simulated using a generalized multi-substrate model.

  1. Position Control of an X4-Flyer Using a Tether

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuke Ouchi

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available In Japan, aging of infrastructures, such as roads,bridges, and water and sewer services, etc. poses a problem, andit is required to extend the life-span of such infrastructures bymaintenance. Among infrastructures, especially bridges areperiodically inspected by short range visual observations, whichcheck the damage and deterioration of the surface. However,since there are some cases where the short range visualobservation is difficult, an alternative method is required so as toreplace the short range visual observation with it. So, "X4-Flyer"is very attractive because of realizing a movement at high altitudeeasily. The objective of this study is to develop a tethered X4-Flyer, so that the conventional short range visual observation ofbridges is replaced by it. In this paper, a method for themeasurement and control of the position is described by using atether for controlling the position of the X4-Flyer. In addition, itis checked whether the tethered X4-Flyer can control the positionusing the proposed method or not, letting it fly in a state in whicha tether is being attached

  2. Tethered elevator: A unique opportunity for space processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monti, R.

    1986-01-01

    The latest fluid dynamic and material science experiments in the microgravity environment have emphasized the importance of the residual gravity level and of the g-jitter on fluid physics phenomena. The tethered elevator presents the possibility of providing variable g-levels (both steady and g-jitter) around a very low steady g-level (that can be realized when the elevator is near the center of mass of the space station-tether complex). When positioning a variable periodic oscillation to the payload a clean g-jitter disturbance can be obtained that would not be otherwise obtainable by other systems. These two possibilities make the elevator a facility to help resolve a number of still open questions that are preventing wider utilization of the space environment in the microgravity area.

  3. Nanofabricated racks of aligned and anchored DNA substrates for single-molecule imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorman, Jason; Fazio, Teresa; Wang, Feng; Wind, Shalom; Greene, Eric C

    2010-01-19

    Single-molecule studies of biological macromolecules can benefit from new experimental platforms that facilitate experimental design and data acquisition. Here we develop new strategies to construct curtains of DNA in which the molecules are aligned with respect to one another and maintained in an extended configuration by anchoring both ends of the DNA to the surface of a microfluidic sample chamber that is otherwise coated with an inert lipid bilayer. This "double-tethered" DNA substrate configuration is established through the use of nanofabricated rack patterns comprised of two distinct functional elements: linear barriers to lipid diffusion that align DNA molecules anchored by one end to the bilayer and antibody-coated pentagons that provide immobile anchor points for the opposite ends of the DNA. These devices enable the alignment and anchoring of thousands of individual DNA molecules, which can then be visualized using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy under conditions that do not require continuous application of buffer flow to stretch the DNA. This unique strategy offers the potential for studying protein-DNA interactions on large DNA substrates without compromising measurements through application of hydrodynamic force. We provide a proof-of-principle demonstration that double-tethered DNA curtains made with nanofabricated rack patterns can be used in a one-dimensional diffusion assay that monitors the motion of quantum dot-tagged proteins along DNA.

  4. Tethered Nanoparticle–Polymer Composites: Phase Stability and Curvature

    KAUST Repository

    Srivastava, Samanvaya; Agarwal, Praveen; Archer, Lynden A.

    2012-01-01

    different small-angle X-ray scattering signatures in comparison to phase-separated composites comprised of bare or sparsely grafted nanoparticles. A general diagram for the dispersion state and phase stability of polymer tethered nanoparticle-polymer

  5. Diels-Alder reactions of inert aromatic compounds within a self-assembled coordination cage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horiuchi, Shinnosuke; Murase, Takashi; Fujita, Makoto

    2011-07-04

    A self-assembled coordination cage serves as a nanometer-sized molecular flask to promote the Diels-Alder reactions of aromatic hydrocarbons with N-cyclohexylmaleimide. The coordination cage accelerated the Diels-Alder reaction of anthracene at the electronically unfavorable, terminal benzene ring to give a compact, cavity-restrained syn-adduct. Activation-parameter measurements for the reactions revealed considerable reduction in the entropy cost, and preorganization of the substrates is a dominant factor in the enhanced reactivity. Owing to this entropy-cost reduction, otherwise-unreactive aromatic compounds, such as naphthalenes or triphenylene, also underwent Diels-Alder reactions in a regio- and stereocontrolled fashion. In the naphthalene Diels-Alder reaction, X-ray crystallographic analysis of the guest-inclusion complex clarified the reinforced orientation and proximity of the substrate pairs before the reaction. A perylene Diels-Alder adduct was stabilized inside the cage and protected from aerial oxidation. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Dynamics Model for a Multi-Tethered Space-Based Interferometer

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Gates, Stephen

    2000-01-01

    .... Tether constitutive behavior is discussed. Prescribed motion of any system degrees of freedom is treated, and expressions for the corresponding constraint force/torque components are established.

  7. Ionic-Liquid-Tethered Nanoparticles: Hybrid Electrolytes

    KAUST Repository

    Moganty, Surya S.

    2010-10-22

    A new class of solventless electrolytes was created by tethering ionic liquids to hard inorganic ZrO2 nanostructures (see picture; NIM=nanoscale ionic material). These hybrid fluids exhibit exceptional redox stability windows, excellent thermal stability, good lithium transference numbers, long-term interfacial stability in the presence of a lithium anode and, when doped with lithium salt, reasonable ionic conductivities.

  8. System Dynamics and Feedforward Control for Tether-Net Space Robot System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guang Zhai

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available A new concept using flexible tether-net system to capture space debris is presented in this paper. With a mass point assumption the tether-net system dynamic model is established in orbital frame by applying Lagrange Equations. In order to investigate the net in-plane trajectories during after cast, the non-control R-bar and V-bar captures are simulated with ignoring the out-of-plane libration, the effect of in-plane libration on the trajectories of the capture net is demonstrated by simulation results. With an effort to damp the in-plane libration, the control scheme based on tether tension is investigated firstly, after that an integrated control scheme is proposed by introduced the thrusters into the system, the nonlinear close-loop dynamics is linearised by feedforward strategy, the simulation results show that feedforward controllor is effective for in-plane libration damping and enable the capture net to track an expected trajectory.

  9. A NASBA on microgel-tethered molecular-beacon microarray for real-time microbial molecular diagnostics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Y; Dai, X; Hong, T; Munk, G B; Libera, M

    2016-12-19

    Despite their many advantages and successes, molecular beacon (MB) hybridization probes have not been extensively used in microarray formats because of the complicating probe-substrate interactions that increase the background intensity. We have previously shown that tethering to surface-patterned microgels is an effective means for localizing MB probes to specific surface locations in a microarray format while simultaneously maintaining them in as water-like an environment as possible and minimizing probe-surface interactions. Here we extend this approach to include both real-time detection together with integrated NASBA amplification. We fabricate small (∼250 μm × 250 μm) simplex, duplex, and five-plex assays with microarray spots of controllable size (∼20 μm diameter), position, and shape to detect bacteria and fungi in a bloodstream-infection model. The targets, primers, and microgel-tethered probes can be combined in a single isothermal reaction chamber with no post-amplification labelling. We extract total RNA from clinical blood samples and differentiate between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bloodstream infection in a duplex assay to detect RNA- amplicons. The sensitivity based on our current protocols in a simplex assay to detect specific ribosomal RNA sequences within total RNA extracted from S. aureus and E. coli cultures corresponds to tens of bacteria per ml. We furthermore show that the platform can detect RNA- amplicons from synthetic target DNA with 1 fM sensitivity in sample volumes that contain about 12 000 DNA molecules. These experiments demonstrate an alternative approach that can enable rapid and real-time microarray-based molecular diagnostics.

  10. Application of the NASCAP Spacecraft Simulation Tool to Investigate Electrodynamic Tether Current Collection in LEO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Mitzi; HabashKrause, Linda

    2012-01-01

    Recent interest in using electrodynamic tethers (EDTs) for orbital maneuvering in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) has prompted the development of the Marshall ElectroDynamic Tether Orbit Propagator (MEDTOP) model. The model is comprised of several modules which address various aspects of EDT propulsion, including calculation of state vectors using a standard orbit propagator (e.g., J2), an atmospheric drag model, realistic ionospheric and magnetic field models, space weather effects, and tether librations. The natural electromotive force (EMF) attained during a radially-aligned conductive tether results in electrons flowing down the tether and accumulating on the lower-altitude spacecraft. The energy that drives this EMF is sourced from the orbital energy of the system; thus, EDTs are often proposed as de-orbiting systems. However, when the current is reversed using satellite charged particle sources, then propulsion is possible. One of the most difficult challenges of the modeling effort is to ascertain the equivalent circuit between the spacecraft and the ionospheric plasma. The present study investigates the use of the NASA Charging Analyzer Program (NASCAP) to calculate currents to and from the tethered satellites and the ionospheric plasma. NASCAP is a sophisticated set of computational tools to model the surface charging of three-dimensional (3D) spacecraft surfaces in a time-varying space environment. The model's surface is tessellated into a collection of facets, and NASCAP calculates currents and potentials for each one. Additionally, NASCAP provides for the construction of one or more nested grids to calculate space potential and time-varying electric fields. This provides for the capability to track individual particles orbits, to model charged particle wakes, and to incorporate external charged particle sources. With this study, we have developed a model of calculating currents incident onto an electrodynamic tethered satellite system, and first results are shown

  11. Long distance cell communication using spherical tether balloons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manchanda, R. K.; Rajagopalan, Vasudevan; Vasudevan, Rajagopalan; Mehrotra, R. K.; Sreenivasan, S.; Pawaskar, M.; Subba Rao Jonnalagadda, Venkata; Buduru, Suneelkumar; Kulkarni, P. M.

    A proof-of-concept experiment was conducted for long-range cell communication for rural tele-phony and internet. We designed and fabricated a spherical tether balloon to carry the con-ventional micro base transceiver station (BTS) along with three slotted antenna to cover 2-pi radius. AC power and optical fiber were anchored along with the tether line. A special fre-quency license was obtained from Wireless Planning Commission (WPC) wing of Department of Telecommunication (DoT), India for the period of experiment so as not to affect the opera-tional networks. The experiments were carried out for different BTS heights up to 500 meter. Signal measurement both in data mode and voice quality were done in different quadrant using mobile vans. This paper describes the methodology (under patenting) and utility of technique for operational application.

  12. Tethered "kiteplane" design for the Laddermill project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Breukels, J.; Ockels, W.

    2005-01-01

    The Laddermill is an innovative concept for generating energy from wind using large kite-like wings on a tether. The wings are able to fly in both the regime of airplanes and kites. We therefore call these structures "kiteplanes". By providing a recurring motion with a large lift during ascending

  13. Aromatic hydrocarbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roder, M.

    1985-01-01

    Papers dealing with radiolysis of aromatic hydrocarbons of different composition (from benzene to terphenyls and hydrocarbons with condensed rings) as well as their mixtures (with alkanes, alkenes, other aromatic hydrocarbons) are reviewed. High radiation stability of aromatic hydrocarbons in condensed phases associated with peculiarities of molecular structure of compounds is underlined. Mechanisms of radiolytic processes, vaues of product yields are considered

  14. An aromatic sensor with aversion to damaged strands confers versatility to DNA repair.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olivier Maillard

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available It was not known how xeroderma pigmentosum group C (XPC protein, the primary initiator of global nucleotide excision repair, achieves its outstanding substrate versatility. Here, we analyzed the molecular pathology of a unique Trp690Ser substitution, which is the only reported missense mutation in xeroderma patients mapping to the evolutionary conserved region of XPC protein. The function of this critical residue and neighboring conserved aromatics was tested by site-directed mutagenesis followed by screening for excision activity and DNA binding. This comparison demonstrated that Trp690 and Phe733 drive the preferential recruitment of XPC protein to repair substrates by mediating an exquisite affinity for single-stranded sites. Such a dual deployment of aromatic side chains is the distinctive feature of functional oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding folds and, indeed, sequence homologies with replication protein A and breast cancer susceptibility 2 protein indicate that XPC displays a monomeric variant of this recurrent interaction motif. An aversion to associate with damaged oligonucleotides implies that XPC protein avoids direct contacts with base adducts. These results reveal for the first time, to our knowledge, an entirely inverted mechanism of substrate recognition that relies on the detection of single-stranded configurations in the undamaged complementary sequence of the double helix.

  15. Measurement of calcium influx in tethered rings of rabbit aorta under tension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gleason, M.M.; Ratz, P.H.; Flaim, S.F.

    1985-01-01

    Calcium (Ca) influx in vascular smooth muscle is routinely measured in untethered preparations not under passive stretch, and Ca influx data are correlated with data for steady-state isometric tension obtained under parallel conditions from tethered preparations under passive stretch. The validity of this method was tested by simultaneous measurement of Ca influx and tension in tethered rings of rabbit thoracic aorta. Ca influx ( 45 Ca 3-min pulse) and tension were measured at 3 and 30 min after norepinephrine (NE) or KCl and under control (no agonist) conditions. Active tension was significantly altered by variations in passive tension. Ca influx was unaffected by passive tension under control, NE, or KCl conditions, and results were similar at 3 and 30 min. The results confirm the validity of correlating Ca influx data from untethered rings with steady-state contractile response data obtained from tethered rings under similar experimental conditions

  16. Differential Regulation of Synaptic Vesicle Tethering and Docking by UNC-18 and TOM-1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gracheva, Elena O; Maryon, Ed B; Berthelot-Grosjean, Martine; Richmond, Janet E

    2010-01-01

    The assembly of SNARE complexes between syntaxin, SNAP-25 and synaptobrevin is required to prime synaptic vesicles for fusion. Since Munc18 and tomosyn compete for syntaxin interactions, the interplay between these proteins is predicted to be important in regulating synaptic transmission. We explored this possibility, by examining genetic interactions between C. elegans unc-18(Munc18), unc-64(syntaxin) and tom-1(tomosyn). We have previously demonstrated that unc-18 mutants have reduced synaptic transmission, whereas tom-1 mutants exhibit enhanced release. Here we show that the unc-18 mutant release defect is associated with loss of two morphologically distinct vesicle pools; those tethered within 25 nm of the plasma membrane and those docked with the plasma membrane. In contrast, priming defective unc-13 mutants accumulate tethered vesicles, while docked vesicles are greatly reduced, indicating tethering is UNC-18-dependent and occurs in the absence of priming. C. elegans unc-64 mutants phenocopy unc-18 mutants, losing both tethered and docked vesicles, whereas overexpression of open syntaxin preferentially increases vesicle docking, suggesting UNC-18/closed syntaxin interactions are responsible for vesicle tethering. Given the competition between vertebrate tomosyn and Munc18, for syntaxin binding, we hypothesized that C. elegans TOM-1 may inhibit both UNC-18-dependent vesicle targeting steps. Consistent with this hypothesis, tom-1 mutants exhibit enhanced UNC-18 plasma membrane localization and a concomitant increase in both tethered and docked synaptic vesicles. Furthermore, in tom-1;unc-18 double mutants the docked, primed vesicle pool is preferentially rescued relative to unc-18 single mutants. Together these data provide evidence for the differential regulation of two vesicle targeting steps by UNC-18 and TOM-1 through competitive interactions with syntaxin.

  17. Differential regulation of synaptic vesicle tethering and docking by UNC-18 and TOM-1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena O Gracheva

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available The assembly of SNARE complexes between syntaxin, SNAP-25 and synaptobrevin is required to prime synaptic vesicles for fusion. Since Munc18 and tomosyn compete for syntaxin interactions, the interplay between these proteins is predicted to be important in regulating synaptic transmission. We explored this possibility, by examining genetic interactions between C. elegans unc-18(Munc18, unc-64(syntaxin and tom-1(tomosyn. We have previously demonstrated that unc-18 mutants have reduced synaptic transmission, whereas tom-1 mutants exhibit enhanced release. Here we show that the unc-18 mutant release defect is associated with loss of two morphologically distinct vesicle pools; those tethered within 25nm of the plasma membrane and those docked with the plasma membrane. In contrast, priming defective unc-13 mutants accumulate tethered vesicles, while docked vesicles are greatly reduced, indicating tethering is UNC-18-dependent and occurs in the absence of priming. C. elegans unc-64 mutants phenocopy unc-18 mutants, losing both tethered and docked vesicles, whereas overexpression of open syntaxin preferentially increases vesicle docking, suggesting UNC-18/closed syntaxin interactions are responsible for vesicle tethering. Given the competition between vertebrate tomosyn and Munc18, for syntaxin binding, we hypothesized that C. elegans TOM-1 may inhibit both UNC-18-dependent vesicle targeting steps. Consistent with this hypothesis, tom-1 mutants exhibit enhanced UNC-18 plasma membrane localization and a concomitant increase in both tethered and docked synaptic vesicles. Furthermore, in tom-1;unc-18 double mutants the docked, primed vesicle pool is preferentially rescued relative to unc-18 single mutants. Together these data provide evidence for the differential regulation of two vesicle targeting steps by UNC-18 and TOM-1 through competitive interactions with syntaxin

  18. Acquisition of Ice-Tethered Profilers with Velocity (ITP-V) Instruments for Future Arctic Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-11-15

    San Diego, CA, IEEE Xplore . Toole, J. M., R. A. Krishfield, M.-L. Timmennans, and A. Proshutinsky, 2011: The Ice-Tethered Profiler: Argo ofthe Arctic, Oceanogr., 24, 126-135. 4 ...observations from Ice-Tethered Profilers, MTS/ IEEE Oceans’ 2015, Washington DC, 1-10. Krishfield, R., J. Toole, A. Proshutinsky, and M.-L. Timmennans, 2008

  19. Orbital Propagation of Momentum Exchange Tether Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westerhoff, John

    2002-01-01

    An advanced concept in in-space transportation currently being studied is the Momentum-Exchange/Electrodynamic Reboost Tether System (MXER). The system acts as a large momentum wheel, imparting a Av to a payload in low earth orbit (LEO) at the expense of its own orbital energy. After throwing a payload, the system reboosts itself using an electrodynamic tether to push against Earth's magnetic field and brings itself back up to an operational orbit to prepare for the next payload. The ability to reboost itself allows for continued reuse of the system without the expenditure of propellants. Considering the cost of lifting propellant from the ,ground to LEO to do the same Av boost at $10000 per pound, the system cuts the launch cost of the payload dramatically, and subsequently, the MXER system pays for itself after a small number of missions.1 One of the technical hurdles to be overcome with the MXER concept is the rendezvous maneuver. The rendezvous window for the capture of the payload is on the order of a few seconds, as opposed to traditional docking maneuvers, which can take as long ets necessary to complete a precise docking. The payload, therefore, must be able to match its orbit to meet up with the capture device on the end of the tether at a specific time and location in the future. In order to be able to determine that location, the MXER system must be numerically propagated forward in time to predict where the capture device will be at that instant. It should be kept in mind that the propagation computation must be done faster than real-time. This study focuses on the efforts to find and/or build the tools necessary to numerically propagate the motion of the MXER system as accurately as possible.

  20. Space webs based on rotating tethered formations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmerini, Giovanni B.; Sgubini, Silvano; Sabatini, Marco

    2009-07-01

    Several on-going studies indicate the interest for large, light orbiting structures, shaped as fish nets or webs: along the ropes of the web small spacecraft can move like spiders to position and re-locate, at will, pieces of hardware devoted to specific missions. The concept could be considered as an intermediate solution between the large monolithic structure, heavy and expensive to realize, but easy to control, and the formations of satellites, where all system members are completely free and should manoeuvre in order to acquire a desired configuration. Instead, the advantage of having a "hard-but-light" link among the different grids lays in the partition of the tasks among system components and in a possible overall reduction of the control system complexity and cost. Unfortunately, there is no stable configuration for an orbiting, two-dimensional web made by light, flexible tethers which cannot support compression forces. A possible solution is to make use of centrifugal forces to pull the net, with a reduced number of simple thrusters located at the tips of the tethers to initially acquire the required spin. In this paper a dynamic analysis of a simplified rotating web is performed, in order to evaluate the spinning velocity able to satisfy the requirement for the stability of the system. The model adopted overlaps simpler elements, each of them given by a tether (made up of a number of linear finite elements) connecting two extreme bodies accommodating the spinning thrusters. The combination of these "diameter-like" elements provides the web, shaped according to the specific requirements. The net is primarily considered as subjected to Keplerian attraction and J2 and drag perturbations only, but its behaviour under thermal inputs is also investigated.

  1. Computer Simulations Reveal Multiple Functions for Aromatic Residues in Cellulase Enzymes (Fact Sheet)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2012-07-01

    NREL researchers use high-performance computing to demonstrate fundamental roles of aromatic residues in cellulase enzyme tunnels. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) computer simulations of a key industrial enzyme, the Trichoderma reesei Family 6 cellulase (Cel6A), predict that aromatic residues near the enzyme's active site and at the entrance and exit tunnel perform different functions in substrate binding and catalysis, depending on their location in the enzyme. These results suggest that nature employs aromatic-carbohydrate interactions with a wide variety of binding affinities for diverse functions. Outcomes also suggest that protein engineering strategies in which mutations are made around the binding sites may require tailoring specific to the enzyme family. Cellulase enzymes ubiquitously exhibit tunnels or clefts lined with aromatic residues for processing carbohydrate polymers to monomers, but the molecular-level role of these aromatic residues remains unknown. In silico mutation of the aromatic residues near the catalytic site of Cel6A has little impact on the binding affinity, but simulation suggests that these residues play a major role in the glucopyranose ring distortion necessary for cleaving glycosidic bonds to produce fermentable sugars. Removal of aromatic residues at the entrance and exit of the cellulase tunnel, however, dramatically impacts the binding affinity. This suggests that these residues play a role in acquiring cellulose chains from the cellulose crystal and stabilizing the reaction product, respectively. These results illustrate that the role of aromatic-carbohydrate interactions varies dramatically depending on the position in the enzyme tunnel. As aromatic-carbohydrate interactions are present in all carbohydrate-active enzymes, the results have implications for understanding protein structure-function relationships in carbohydrate metabolism and recognition, carbon turnover in nature, and protein engineering

  2. The shear flow processing of controlled DNA tethering and stretching for organic molecular electronics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Guihua; Kushwaha, Amit; Lee, Jungkyu K; Shaqfeh, Eric S G; Bao, Zhenan

    2011-01-25

    DNA has been recently explored as a powerful tool for developing molecular scaffolds for making reproducible and reliable metal contacts to single organic semiconducting molecules. A critical step in the process of exploiting DNA-organic molecule-DNA (DOD) array structures is the controlled tethering and stretching of DNA molecules. Here we report the development of reproducible surface chemistry for tethering DNA molecules at tunable density and demonstrate shear flow processing as a rationally controlled approach for stretching/aligning DNA molecules of various lengths. Through enzymatic cleavage of λ-phage DNA to yield a series of DNA chains of various lengths from 17.3 μm down to 4.2 μm, we have investigated the flow/extension behavior of these tethered DNA molecules under different flow strengths in the flow-gradient plane. We compared Brownian dynamic simulations for the flow dynamics of tethered λ-DNA in shear, and found our flow-gradient plane experimental results matched well with our bead-spring simulations. The shear flow processing demonstrated in our studies represents a controllable approach for tethering and stretching DNA molecules of various lengths. Together with further metallization of DNA chains within DOD structures, this bottom-up approach can potentially enable efficient and reliable fabrication of large-scale nanoelectronic devices based on single organic molecules, therefore opening opportunities in both fundamental understanding of charge transport at the single molecular level and many exciting applications for ever-shrinking molecular circuits.

  3. Calculating Payload for a Tethered Balloon System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charles D. Tangren

    1980-01-01

    A graph method to calculate payload for a tethered balloon system, with the supporting helium lift and payload equations. is described. The balloon system is designed to collect emissions data during the convective-lift and no-convective-lift phases of a forest fire. A description of the balloon system and a list of factors affecting balloon selection are included....

  4. Spectroscopic Diagnosis of Excited-State Aromaticity: Capturing Electronic Structures and Conformations upon Aromaticity Reversal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Juwon; Sung, Young Mo; Hong, Yongseok; Kim, Dongho

    2018-03-06

    Aromaticity, the special energetic stability derived from cyclic [4 n + 2]π-conjugated electronic structures, has been the topic of intense interest in chemistry because it plays a critical role in rationalizing molecular stability, reactivity, and physical/chemical properties. Recently, the pioneering work by Colin Baird on aromaticity reversal, postulating that aromatic (antiaromatic) character in the ground state reverses to antiaromatic (aromatic) character in the lowest excited triplet state, has attracted much scientific attention. The completely reversed aromaticity in the excited state provides direct insight into understanding the photophysical/chemical properties of photoactive materials. In turn, the application of aromatic molecules to photoactive materials has led to numerous studies revealing this aromaticity reversal. However, most studies of excited-state aromaticity have been based on the theoretical point of view. The experimental evaluation of aromaticity in the excited state is still challenging and strenuous because the assessment of (anti)aromaticity with conventional magnetic, energetic, and geometric indices is difficult in the excited state, which practically restricts the extension and application of the concept of excited-state aromaticity. Time-resolved optical spectroscopies can provide a new and alternative avenue to evaluate excited-state aromaticity experimentally while observing changes in the molecular features in the excited states. Time-resolved optical spectroscopies take advantage of ultrafast laser pulses to achieve high time resolution, making them suitable for monitoring ultrafast changes in the excited states of molecular systems. This can provide valuable information for understanding the aromaticity reversal. This Account presents recent breakthroughs in the experimental assessment of excited-state aromaticity and the verification of aromaticity reversal with time-resolved optical spectroscopic measurements. To

  5. Towing Asteroids with Gravity Tractors Enhanced by Tethers and Solar Sails

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Haijun; Roithmayr, Carlos M.

    2015-01-01

    Material collected from an asteroid's surface can be used to increase gravitational attraction between the asteroid and a Gravity Tractor (GT); the spacecraft therefore operates more effectively and is referred to as an Enhanced Gravity Tractor (EGT). The use of tethers and solar sails to further improve effectiveness and simplify operations is investigated. By employing a tether, the asteroidal material can be placed close to the asteroid while the spacecraft is stationed farther away, resulting in a better safety margin and improved thruster efficiency. A solar sail on a spacecraft can naturally provide radial offset and inter-spacecraft separation required for multiple EGTs.

  6. Stability control of a flexible maneuverable tethered space net robot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fan; Huang, Panfeng

    2018-04-01

    As a promising solution for active space debris capture and removal, a maneuverable Tethered Space Net Robot (TSNR) is proposed as an improved Space Tethered Net (TSN). In addition to the advantages inherit to the TSN, the TSNR's maneuverability expands the capture's potential. However, oscillations caused by the TSNR's flexibility and elasticity of make higher requests of the control scheme. Based on the dynamics model, a modified adaptive super-twisting sliding mode control scheme is proposed in this paper for TSNR stability control. The proposed continuous control force can effectively suppress oscillations. Theoretical verification and numerical simulations demonstrate that the desired trajectory can be tracked steadily and efficiently by employing the proposed control scheme.

  7. Probing ADAMTS13 substrate specificity using phage display.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karl C Desch

    Full Text Available Von Willebrand factor (VWF is a large, multimeric protein that regulates hemostasis by tethering platelets to the subendothelial matrix at sites of vascular damage. The procoagulant activity of plasma VWF correlates with the length of VWF multimers, which is proteolytically controlled by the metalloprotease ADAMTS13. To probe ADAMTS13 substrate specificity, we created phage display libraries containing randomly mutated residues of a minimal ADAMTS13 substrate fragment of VWF, termed VWF73. The libraries were screened for phage particles displaying VWF73 mutant peptides that were resistant to proteolysis by ADAMTS13. These peptides exhibited the greatest mutation frequency near the ADAMTS13 scissile residues. Kinetic assays using mutant and wild-type substrates demonstrated excellent agreement between rates of cleavage for mutant phage particles and the corresponding mutant peptides. Cleavage resistance of selected mutations was tested in vivo using hydrodynamic injection of corresponding full-length expression plasmids into VWF-deficient mice. These studies confirmed the resistance to cleavage resulting from select amino acid substitutions and uncovered evidence of alternate cleavage sites and recognition by other proteases in the circulation of ADAMTS13 deficient mice. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the key role of specific amino acids residues including P3-P2' and P11', for substrate specificity and emphasize the importance in flowing blood of other ADAMTS13-VWF exosite interactions outside of VWF73.

  8. Highly Conductive Aromatic Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube for Inkjet Printable High Performance Supercapacitor Electrodes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjeev K Ujjain

    Full Text Available We report the functionalization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT via the 1,3-dipolar [3+2] cycloaddition of aromatic azides, which resulted in a detangled CNT as shown by transmission electron microscopy (TEM. Carboxylic moieties (-COOH on aromatic azide result in highly stable aqueous dispersion (max. conc. ~ 10 mg/mL H2O, making the suitable for inkjet printing. Printed patterns on polyethylene terephthalate (PET flexible substrate exhibit low sheet resistivity ~65 Ω. cm, which is attributed to enhanced conductivity. Fabricated Supercapacitors (SC assembled using these printed substrates exhibit good electrochemical performance in organic as well as aqueous electrolytes. High energy and power density (57.8 Wh/kg and 0.85 kW/kg in 1M H2SO4 aqueous electrolyte demonstrate the excellent performance of the proposed supercapacitor. Capacitive retention varies from ~85-94% with columbic efficiency ~95% after 1000 charge/discharge cycles in different electrolytes, demonstrating the excellent potential of the device for futuristic power applications.

  9. Catalytic mechanism of phenylacetone monooxygenases for non-native linear substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalho, Alexandra T P; Dourado, Daniel F A R; Skvortsov, Timofey; de Abreu, Miguel; Ferguson, Lyndsey J; Quinn, Derek J; Moody, Thomas S; Huang, Meilan

    2017-10-11

    Phenylacetone monooxygenase (PAMO) is the most stable and thermo-tolerant member of the Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase family, and therefore it is an ideal candidate for the synthesis of industrially relevant compounds. However, its limited substrate scope has largely limited its industrial applications. In the present work, we provide, for the first time, the catalytic mechanism of PAMO for the native substrate phenylacetone as well as for a linear non-native substrate 2-octanone, using molecular dynamics simulations, quantum mechanics and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics calculations. We provide a theoretical basis for the preference of the enzyme for the native aromatic substrate over non-native linear substrates. Our study provides fundamental atomic-level insights that can be employed in the rational engineering of PAMO for wide applications in industrial biocatalysis, in particular, in the biotransformation of long-chain aliphatic oils into potential biodiesels.

  10. Tethered spinal cord: the effect of neurosurgery on the lower urinary tract and male sexual function

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boemers, T. M.; van Gool, J. D.; de Jong, T. P.

    1995-01-01

    To determine the effect of neurosurgical untethering on the lower urinary tract and male sexual function, in patients with tethered spinal cord. Thirty-six children with tethered spinal cord due to neurospinal dysraphism were assessed clinically and urodynamically before and after surgical

  11. Crystal Structure and Substrate Specificity of Drosophila 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine Decarboxylase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Q.; Ding, H; Robinson, H; Christensen, B; Li, J

    2010-01-01

    3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylase (DDC), also known as aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase, catalyzes the decarboxylation of a number of aromatic L-amino acids. Physiologically, DDC is responsible for the production of dopamine and serotonin through the decarboxylation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and 5-hydroxytryptophan, respectively. In insects, both dopamine and serotonin serve as classical neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, or neurohormones, and dopamine is also involved in insect cuticle formation, eggshell hardening, and immune responses. In this study, we expressed a typical DDC enzyme from Drosophila melanogaster, critically analyzed its substrate specificity and biochemical properties, determined its crystal structure at 1.75 Angstrom resolution, and evaluated the roles residues T82 and H192 play in substrate binding and enzyme catalysis through site-directed mutagenesis of the enzyme. Our results establish that this DDC functions exclusively on the production of dopamine and serotonin, with no activity to tyrosine or tryptophan and catalyzes the formation of serotonin more efficiently than dopamine. The crystal structure of Drosophila DDC and the site-directed mutagenesis study of the enzyme demonstrate that T82 is involved in substrate binding and that H192 is used not only for substrate interaction, but for cofactor binding of drDDC as well. Through comparative analysis, the results also provide insight into the structure-function relationship of other insect DDC-like proteins.

  12. Crystal structure and substrate specificity of Drosophila 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylase.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qian Han

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylase (DDC, also known as aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase, catalyzes the decarboxylation of a number of aromatic L-amino acids. Physiologically, DDC is responsible for the production of dopamine and serotonin through the decarboxylation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and 5-hydroxytryptophan, respectively. In insects, both dopamine and serotonin serve as classical neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, or neurohormones, and dopamine is also involved in insect cuticle formation, eggshell hardening, and immune responses.In this study, we expressed a typical DDC enzyme from Drosophila melanogaster, critically analyzed its substrate specificity and biochemical properties, determined its crystal structure at 1.75 Angstrom resolution, and evaluated the roles residues T82 and H192 play in substrate binding and enzyme catalysis through site-directed mutagenesis of the enzyme. Our results establish that this DDC functions exclusively on the production of dopamine and serotonin, with no activity to tyrosine or tryptophan and catalyzes the formation of serotonin more efficiently than dopamine.The crystal structure of Drosophila DDC and the site-directed mutagenesis study of the enzyme demonstrate that T82 is involved in substrate binding and that H192 is used not only for substrate interaction, but for cofactor binding of drDDC as well. Through comparative analysis, the results also provide insight into the structure-function relationship of other insect DDC-like proteins.

  13. Operator's Manual for SHEBA Powered Tether Balloon System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lappen, Cara-Lyn; Randall, David A.

    1998-01-01

    The Surface Heat and Energy Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA) was an intensive field project which took place in the Arctic Ocean from October 1997 through October 1998. Its purpose was to measure as many facets of the Arctic environment as possible so that we would be able to better understand the interaction between the ice, atmosphere, and ocean and their interactions with global climate. One aspect of the atmospheric field component was launching tethered balloons to monitor the profiles of temperature, wind, pressure, and humidity, as well as examine the vertical structure of cloud droplet sizes and distributions. The tethered balloon that we used was one specially designed for use in freezing climates by SPEC Corporation in Boulder, Colorado. A special winch that was able to withstand Arctic temperature and weather became necessary when the testing of simple winch systems used in warmer climates failed under these extreme conditions. The purpose of this manual is to acquaint any new user to the powered tethered balloon system deployed at the The Surface Heat and Energy Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA ice camp. It includes a description of the preparations necessary to get ready for a launch, the mechanics of the actual launch, and an account of the proper procedure for taking down the equipment when finished. It will also include tips on how to minimize potential equipment failures, some trouble shooting, and some safety ideas. This manual is designed so that new operators can use the system with minimal previous training. At the end of this manual, the reader will find a quick checklist.

  14. A meta-selective C-H borylation directed by a secondary interaction between ligand and substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuninobu, Yoichiro; Ida, Haruka; Nishi, Mitsumi; Kanai, Motomu

    2015-09-01

    Regioselective C-H bond transformations are potentially the most efficient method for the synthesis of organic molecules. However, the presence of many C-H bonds in organic molecules and the high activation barrier for these reactions make these transformations difficult. Directing groups in the reaction substrate are often used to control regioselectivity, which has been especially successful for the ortho-selective functionalization of aromatic substrates. Here, we describe an iridium-catalysed meta-selective C-H borylation of aromatic compounds using a newly designed catalytic system. The bipyridine-derived ligand that binds iridium contains a pendant urea moiety. A secondary interaction between this urea and a hydrogen-bond acceptor in the substrate places the iridium in close proximity to the meta-C-H bond and thus controls the regioselectivity. 1H NMR studies and control experiments support the participation of hydrogen bonds in inducing regioselectivity. Reversible direction of the catalyst through hydrogen bonds is a versatile concept for regioselective C-H transformations.

  15. Oxidation of aromatic alcohols by purified methanol dehydrogenase from Methylosinus trichosporium.

    OpenAIRE

    Mountfort, D O

    1990-01-01

    Methanol dehydrogenase was found to be present in subcellular preparations of methanol-grown Methylosinus trichosporium and occurred almost wholly in the soluble fraction of the cell. The enzyme, purified by DEAE-Sephadex and Sephadex G-100 chromatography, showed broad specificity toward different substrates and oxidized the aromatic alcohols benzyl, vanillyl, and veratryl alcohols in addition to a range of aliphatic primary alcohols. No enzyme activity was found toward the corresponding alde...

  16. Effect of aromatic SAMs molecules on graphene/silicon schottky diode performance

    OpenAIRE

    Yağmurcukardeş, Nesli; Aydın, Hasan; Can, Mustafa; Yanılmaz, Alper; Mermer, Ömer; Okur, Salih; Selamet, Yusuf

    2016-01-01

    Au/n-Si/Graphene/Au Schottky diodes were fabricated by transferring atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposited (APCVD) graphene on silicon substrates. Graphene/n-Si interface properties were improved by using 5-[(3-methylphenyl)(phenyl) amino]isophthalic acid (MePIFA) and 5-(diphenyl)amino]isophthalic acid (DPIFA) aromatic self-assembled monolayer (SAM) molecules. The surface morphologies of modified and non-modified films were investigated by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron ...

  17. Electromechanical engineering in SnO2 nanoparticle tethered hybrid ionic liquid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deb, Debalina; Bhattacharya, Subhratanu

    2017-05-01

    Challenge of developing electrolytes comprising synergic properties of high mechanical strength with superior electrical and electrochemical properties has so far been unmet towards the application of secondary storage devices. In this research, we have engineered the electromechanical properties of 2-(trimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide [TMEM]TFSI ionic liquid by tethering silane modified SnO2 nanoparticles within it. Different percentages of tethering are employed to achieve improved ionic conductivity, better discharge/ charging ratio (40%) along with gel like mechanical properties. Our findings appear to provide an optimal solution towards the future prospects in application in a number of areas, notably in energy-related technologies.

  18. Implications of polluted soil biostimulation and bioaugmentation with spent mushroom substrate (Agaricus bisporus) on the microbial community and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons biodegradation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Delgado, Carlos; D'Annibale, Alessandro; Pesciaroli, Lorena; Yunta, Felipe; Crognale, Silvia; Petruccioli, Maurizio; Eymar, Enrique

    2015-03-01

    Different applications of spent Agaricus bisporus substrate (SAS), a widespread agro-industrial waste, were investigated with respect to the remediation of a historically polluted soil with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH). In one treatment, the waste was sterilized (SSAS) prior to its application in order to assess its ability to biostimulate, as an organic amendment, the resident soil microbiota and ensuing contaminant degradation. For the other treatments, two bioaugmentation approaches were investigated; the first involved the use of the waste itself and thus implied the application of A. bisporus and the inherent microbiota of the waste. In the second treatment, SAS was sterilized and inoculated again with the fungus to assess its ability to act as a fungal carrier. All these treatments were compared with natural attenuation in terms of their impact on soil heterotrophic and PAH-degrading bacteria, fungal growth, biodiversity of soil microbiota and ability to affect PAH bioavailability and ensuing degradation and detoxification. Results clearly showed that historically PAH contaminated soil was not amenable to natural attenuation. Conversely, the addition of sterilized spent A. bisporus substrate to the soil stimulated resident soil bacteria with ensuing high removals of 3-ring PAH. Both augmentation treatments were more effective in removing highly condensed PAH, some of which known to possess a significant carcinogenic activity. Regardless of the mode of application, the present results strongly support the adequacy of SAS for environmental remediation purposes and open the way to an attractive recycling option of this waste. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Stationary Tether Device for Buoy Apparatus and System for Using

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A rigid, neutrally buoyant hydrodynamicaly-faired tether and associated fastening hardware that loosely holds a bathymetric float at a predetermined distance from a...

  20. Fiber Optic Shape Sensing for Tethered Marsupial Rovers, Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Building upon the successful proof of concept work in Phase I, Luna Innovations Incorporated is proposing to design, build, and test a sensing tether for marsupial...

  1. 75 FR 47316 - Centennial Challenges 2010 Strong Tether Challenge

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-05

    ... NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION Centennial Challenges 2010 Strong Tether Challenge... teams that wish to compete may register. Centennial Challenges is a program of prize competitions to..., please visit: http://www.spaceward.org/elevator2010-ts . For general information on the NASA Centennial...

  2. The TyrA family of aromatic-pathway dehydrogenases in phylogenetic context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolinsky Murray

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The TyrA protein family includes members that catalyze two dehydrogenase reactions in distinct pathways leading to L-tyrosine and a third reaction that is not part of tyrosine biosynthesis. Family members share a catalytic core region of about 30 kDa, where inhibitors operate competitively by acting as substrate mimics. This protein family typifies many that are challenging for bioinformatic analysis because of relatively modest sequence conservation and small size. Results Phylogenetic relationships of TyrA domains were evaluated in the context of combinatorial patterns of specificity for the two substrates, as well as the presence or absence of a variety of fusions. An interactive tool is provided for prediction of substrate specificity. Interactive alignments for a suite of catalytic-core TyrA domains of differing specificity are also provided to facilitate phylogenetic analysis. tyrA membership in apparent operons (or supraoperons was examined, and patterns of conserved synteny in relationship to organismal positions on the 16S rRNA tree were ascertained for members of the domain Bacteria. A number of aromatic-pathway genes (hisHb, aroF, aroQ have fused with tyrA, and it must be more than coincidental that the free-standing counterparts of all of the latter fused genes exhibit a distinct trace of syntenic association. Conclusion We propose that the ancestral TyrA dehydrogenase had broad specificity for both the cyclohexadienyl and pyridine nucleotide substrates. Indeed, TyrA proteins of this type persist today, but it is also common to find instances of narrowed substrate specificities, as well as of acquisition via gene fusion of additional catalytic domains or regulatory domains. In some clades a qualitative change associated with either narrowed substrate specificity or gene fusion has produced an evolutionary "jump" in the vertical genealogy of TyrA homologs. The evolutionary history of gene organizations that include

  3. Clustering of tethered satellite system simulation data by an adaptive neuro-fuzzy algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitra, Sunanda; Pemmaraju, Surya

    1992-01-01

    Recent developments in neuro-fuzzy systems indicate that the concepts of adaptive pattern recognition, when used to identify appropriate control actions corresponding to clusters of patterns representing system states in dynamic nonlinear control systems, may result in innovative designs. A modular, unsupervised neural network architecture, in which fuzzy learning rules have been embedded is used for on-line identification of similar states. The architecture and control rules involved in Adaptive Fuzzy Leader Clustering (AFLC) allow this system to be incorporated in control systems for identification of system states corresponding to specific control actions. We have used this algorithm to cluster the simulation data of Tethered Satellite System (TSS) to estimate the range of delta voltages necessary to maintain the desired length rate of the tether. The AFLC algorithm is capable of on-line estimation of the appropriate control voltages from the corresponding length error and length rate error without a priori knowledge of their membership functions and familarity with the behavior of the Tethered Satellite System.

  4. Tethered balloon operation for wintering aerosol measurements in the lower troposphere at Syowa Station, Antarctica

    OpenAIRE

    Keiichiro Hara; Kazuo Osada; Takashi Yamanouchi

    2007-01-01

    The 46th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-46) carried out twenty seven tethered-balloon-borne aerosol measurements at Syowa Station for better understanding of aerosol chemical and physical properties in the lower troposphere from 6th January 2005 until 11 December 2005. This report summarizes the plan, preparation, field activities and some troubles/problems in the tethered-balloon observations.

  5. Tethered balloon operation for wintering aerosol measurements in the lower troposphere at Syowa Station, Antarctica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keiichiro Hara

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available The 46th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-46 carried out twenty seven tethered-balloon-borne aerosol measurements at Syowa Station for better understanding of aerosol chemical and physical properties in the lower troposphere from 6th January 2005 until 11 December 2005. This report summarizes the plan, preparation, field activities and some troubles/problems in the tethered-balloon observations.

  6. Lifting options for stratospheric aerosol geoengineering: advantages of tethered balloon systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, Peter; Burgoyne, Chris; Hunt, Hugh; Causier, Matt

    2012-09-13

    The Royal Society report 'Geoengineering the Climate' identified solar radiation management using albedo-enhancing aerosols injected into the stratosphere as the most affordable and effective option for geoengineering, but did not consider in any detail the options for delivery. This paper provides outline engineering analyses of the options, both for batch-delivery processes, following up on previous work for artillery shells, missiles, aircraft and free-flying balloons, as well as a more lengthy analysis of continuous-delivery systems that require a pipe connected to the ground and supported at a height of 20 km, either by a tower or by a tethered balloon. Towers are shown not to be practical, but a tethered balloon delivery system, with high-pressure pumping, appears to have much lower operating and capital costs than all other delivery options. Instead of transporting sulphuric acid mist precursors, such a system could also be used to transport slurries of high refractive index particles such as coated titanium dioxide. The use of such particles would allow useful experiments on opacity, coagulation and atmospheric chemistry at modest rates so as not to perturb regional or global climatic conditions, thus reducing scale-up risks. Criteria for particle choice are discussed, including the need to minimize or prevent ozone destruction. The paper estimates the time scales and relatively modest costs required if a tethered balloon system were to be introduced in a measured way with testing and development work proceeding over three decades, rather than in an emergency. The manufacture of a tether capable of sustaining the high tensions and internal pressures needed, as well as strong winds, is a significant challenge, as is the development of the necessary pumping and dispersion technologies. The greatest challenge may be the manufacture and launch of very large balloons, but means have been identified to significantly reduce the size of such balloons or aerostats.

  7. Stabilization of periodic solutions in a tethered satellite system by damping injection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Martin Birkelund; Blanke, Mogens

    2009-01-01

    presents a control design for stabilizing these periodic solutions. The design consists of a control law for stabilizing the open-loop equilibrium and a bias term which forces the system trajectory away from the equilibrium. The tether needs to be positioned away from open-loop equilibrium for the tether...... to affect the orbit parameters. An approximation of the periodic solutions of the closed loop system is found as a series expansion in the parameter plane spanned by the controller gain and the bias term. The stability of the solutions is investigated using linear Floquet analysis of the variational...

  8. Crowded, Confined, and Frustrated: Dynamics of Molecules Tethered to Nanoparticles

    KAUST Repository

    Agarwal, Praveen; Kim, Sung A.; Archer, Lynden A.

    2012-01-01

    Above a critical chemistry-dependent molecular weight, all polymer molecules entangle and, as a result, exhibit slow dynamics, enhanced viscosity, and elasticity. Herein we report on the dynamics of low molecular weight polymers tethered

  9. Disaster Coverage Predication for the Emerging Tethered Balloon Technology: Capability for Preparedness, Detection, Mitigation, and Response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsamhi, Saeed H; Samar Ansari, Mohd; Rajput, Navin S

    2018-04-01

    A disaster is a consequence of natural hazards and terrorist acts, which have significant potential to disrupt the entire wireless communication infrastructure. Therefore, the essential rescue squads and recovery operations during a catastrophic event will be severely debilitated. To provide efficient communication services, and to reduce casualty mortality and morbidity during the catastrophic events, we proposed the Tethered Balloon technology for disaster preparedness, detection, mitigation, and recovery assessment. The proposed Tethered Balloon is applicable to any type of disaster except for storms. The Tethered Balloon is being actively researched and developed as a simple solution to improve the performance of rescues, facilities, and services of emergency medical communication in the disaster area. The most important requirement for rescue and relief teams during or after the disaster is a high quality of service of delivery communication services to save people's lives. Using our proposed technology, we report that the Tethered Balloon has a large disaster coverage area. Therefore, the rescue and research teams are given higher priority, and their performance significantly improved in the particular coverage area. Tethered Balloon features made it suitable for disaster preparedness, mitigation, and recovery. The performance of rescue and relief teams was effective and efficient before and after the disaster as well as can be continued to coordinate the relief teams until disaster recovery. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:222-231).

  10. Isothermal pumping analysis for high-altitude tethered balloons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Kirsty A; Hunt, Hugh E M

    2015-06-01

    High-altitude tethered balloons have potential applications in communications, surveillance, meteorological observations and climate engineering. To maintain balloon buoyancy, power fuel cells and perturb atmospheric conditions, fluids could be pumped from ground level to altitude using the tether as a hose. This paper examines the pumping requirements of such a delivery system. Cases considered include delivery of hydrogen, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and powders as fluid-based slurries. Isothermal analysis is used to determine the variation of pressures and velocities along the pipe length. Results show that transport of small quantities of hydrogen to power fuel cells and maintain balloon buoyancy can be achieved at pressures and temperatures that are tolerable in terms of both the pipe strength and the current state of pumping technologies. To avoid solidification, transport of SO2 would require elevated temperatures that cannot be tolerated by the strength fibres in the pipe. While the use of particle-based slurries rather than SO2 for climate engineering can reduce the pipe size significantly, the pumping pressures are close to the maximum bursting pressure of the pipe.

  11. Abilities of some higher plants to hydrolyze the acetates of phenols and aromatic-aliphatic alcohols

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnieszka Mironowicz

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In the biotransformations carried out under the same conditions, the whole intact plants of Spirodela punctata, Nephrolepis exaltata, Cyrtomium falcatum, Nephrolepis cordifolia and the suspension cultures of Helianthus tuberosus, Daucus carota and Petunia hybrida hydrolyze (partially or totally the ester bonds of the acetates of phenols and aromatic-aliphatic alcohols and also the menthyl acetate. Nevertheless, the methyl esters of aromatic acids, structurally similar to the former substrates, do not undergo hydrolysis. At the same time, the viability of first four plants was observed for different levels of acetate concentration. The method of continuous preparative hydrolysis of the same acetates was worked out in Cyrtomium falcatum culture.

  12. Aromatic chemical feedstocks from coal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collin, G

    1982-06-01

    Liquid byproducts of coal carbonization meet some 25% of the world demand for aromatic chemicals, currently at approx. 30 million t/a, in particular 15% of the demand for benzene and over 95% of the demand for condensed aromatics and heteroaromatics. Industrial processing of the aromatic byproducts of coal pressure gasification is carried out to only a minor extent. Other methods that may be employed in future to obtain carbochemical aromatic compounds are solvolysis and supercritical gas extraction, the catalytic liquid-phase hydrogenation and hydropyrolysis of coal, which also permit recovery of benzene and homologues, phenols, and condensed and partially hydrogenated aromatics, and the synthesis of aromatics using methanol as the key compound. As with the present means of obtaining aromatic chemicals from coal, the processes that may in the future be applied on an industrial scale to obtain pure aromatics will only be economically feasible if linked with the manufacture of other mass products and combined with the present production of carbochemical aromatics.

  13. Aromatic raw materials from coal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collin, G

    1982-06-01

    Liquid byproducts of coal carbonization meet some 25% of the world demand for aromatic chemicals, currently at approx. 30 million t/a, in particular 15% of the demand for benzene and over 95% of the demand for condensed aromatics and heteroaromatics. Industrial processing of the aromatic byproducts of coal pressure gasification is carried out to only a minor extent. Other methods that may be employed in future to obtain carbochemical aromatic compounds are solvolysis and supercritical gas extraction, the catalytic liquid-phase hydrogenation and hydropyrolysis of coal, which also permit recovery of benzene and homologues, phenols, and condensed and partially hydrogenated aromatics, and the synthesis of aromatics using methanol as the key compound. As with the present means of obtaining aromatic chemicals from coal, the processes that may in future be applied on an industrial scale to obtain pure aromatics will only be economically feasible if linked with the manufacture of other mass products and combined with the present production of carbochemical aromatics. (In German)

  14. Gas-separation membranes loaded with porous aromatic frameworks that improve with age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Cher Hon; Konstas, Kristina; Thornton, Aaron W; Liu, Amelia C Y; Mudie, Stephen; Kennedy, Danielle F; Howard, Shaun C; Hill, Anita J; Hill, Matthew R

    2015-02-23

    Porosity loss, also known as physical aging, in glassy polymers hampers their long term use in gas separations. Unprecedented interactions of porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) with these polymers offer the potential to control and exploit physical aging for drastically enhanced separation efficiency. PAF-1 is used in the archetypal polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM), PIM-1, to achieve three significant outcomes. 1) hydrogen permeability is drastically enhanced by 375% to 5500 Barrer. 2) Physical aging is controlled causing the selectivity for H2 over N2 to increase from 4.5 to 13 over 400 days of aging. 3) The improvement with age of the membrane is exploited to recover up to 98% of H2 from gas mixtures with N2 . This process is critical for the use of ammonia as a H2 storage medium. The tethering of polymer side chains within PAF-1 pores is responsible for maintaining H2 transport pathways, whilst the larger N2 pathways gradually collapse. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Beta-galactosidase catalyzed selective galactosylation of aromatic compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bridiau, Nicolas; Taboubi, Selma; Marzouki, Nejib; Legoy, Marie Dominique; Maugard, Thierry

    2006-01-01

    A new approach to galacto-oligosaccharides and galacto-conjugates synthesis performed by the beta-galactosidase from Kluyveromyces lactis is reported. The enzymatic galactosylation of eight kinds of adsorbed aromatic primary alcohols, in particular the two drugs guaifenesin and chlorphenesin, gave the corresponding beta-D-galacto-pyranosides in yields ranging between approximately 10% and 96%. For the first time, we have showed that the adsorption of acceptor substrates onto solid supports such as silica gel influences the yield and the selectivity of galacto-conjugates synthesis. In particular, we observed that adsorption of acceptor favored the synthesis of digalactosylated compounds.

  16. An allosteric conduit facilitates dynamic multisite substrate recognition by the SCFCdc4 ubiquitin ligase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Csizmok, Veronika; Orlicky, Stephen; Cheng, Jing; Song, Jianhui; Bah, Alaji; Delgoshaie, Neda; Lin, Hong; Mittag, Tanja; Sicheri, Frank; Chan, Hue Sun; Tyers, Mike; Forman-Kay, Julie D.

    2017-01-01

    The ubiquitin ligase SCFCdc4 mediates phosphorylation-dependent elimination of numerous substrates by binding one or more Cdc4 phosphodegrons (CPDs). Methyl-based NMR analysis of the Cdc4 WD40 domain demonstrates that Cyclin E, Sic1 and Ash1 degrons have variable effects on the primary Cdc4WD40 binding pocket. Unexpectedly, a Sic1-derived multi-CPD substrate (pSic1) perturbs methyls around a previously documented allosteric binding site for the chemical inhibitor SCF-I2. NMR cross-saturation experiments confirm direct contact between pSic1 and the allosteric pocket. Phosphopeptide affinity measurements reveal negative allosteric communication between the primary CPD and allosteric pockets. Mathematical modelling indicates that the allosteric pocket may enhance ultrasensitivity by tethering pSic1 to Cdc4. These results suggest negative allosteric interaction between two distinct binding pockets on the Cdc4WD40 domain may facilitate dynamic exchange of multiple CPD sites to confer ultrasensitive dependence on substrate phosphorylation.

  17. Associative visual learning by tethered bees in a controlled visual environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buatois, Alexis; Pichot, Cécile; Schultheiss, Patrick; Sandoz, Jean-Christophe; Lazzari, Claudio R; Chittka, Lars; Avarguès-Weber, Aurore; Giurfa, Martin

    2017-10-10

    Free-flying honeybees exhibit remarkable cognitive capacities but the neural underpinnings of these capacities cannot be studied in flying insects. Conversely, immobilized bees are accessible to neurobiological investigation but display poor visual learning. To overcome this limitation, we aimed at establishing a controlled visual environment in which tethered bees walking on a spherical treadmill learn to discriminate visual stimuli video projected in front of them. Freely flying bees trained to walk into a miniature Y-maze displaying these stimuli in a dark environment learned the visual discrimination efficiently when one of them (CS+) was paired with sucrose and the other with quinine solution (CS-). Adapting this discrimination to the treadmill paradigm with a tethered, walking bee was successful as bees exhibited robust discrimination and preferred the CS+ to the CS- after training. As learning was better in the maze, movement freedom, active vision and behavioral context might be important for visual learning. The nature of the punishment associated with the CS- also affects learning as quinine and distilled water enhanced the proportion of learners. Thus, visual learning is amenable to a controlled environment in which tethered bees learn visual stimuli, a result that is important for future neurobiological studies in virtual reality.

  18. Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons/aromatics, BDNF and child development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perera, Frederica; Phillips, David H.; Wang, Ya; Roen, Emily; Herbstman, Julie; Rauh, Virginia; Wang, Shuang; Tang, Deliang

    2015-01-01

    Objectives: Within a New York City (NYC) birth cohort, we assessed the associations between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and other aromatic DNA adducts and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentrations in umbilical cord blood, and neurodevelopment at age 2 years and whether BDNF is a mediator of the associations between PAH/aromatic-DNA adducts and neurodevelopment. Methods: PAH/aromatic-DNA adduct concentrations in cord blood were measured in 505 children born to nonsmoking African-American and Dominican women residing in NYC, and a subset was assessed for neurodevelopment at 2 years using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development Mental Development Index (MDI). A spectrum of PAH/aromatic-DNA adducts was measured using the 32 P-postlabeling assay; DNA adducts formed by benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), a representative PAH, were measured by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)/fluorescence. BDNF mature protein in cord blood plasma was quantified by an ELISA. Multivariate regression analysis, adjusting for potential confounders, was conducted. Results: PAH/aromatic-DNA adduct concentration measured by postlabeling was inversely associated with BDNF concentration (p=0.02) and with MDI scores at 2 years (p=0.04). BDNF level was positively associated with MDI scores (p=0.003). Restricting to subjects having all three measures (PAH/aromatic-DNA adducts by postlabeling, MDI, and BDNF), results were similar but attenuated (p=0.13, p=0.05, p=0.01, respectively). Associations between B[a]P-DNA adducts and BDNF and B[a]P-DNA adducts and MDI at age 2 years were not significant. At age 3 years, the positive association of BDNF with MDI was not observed. Conclusions: The results at age 2 suggest that prenatal exposure to a spectrum of PAH/aromatic pollutants may adversely affect early neurodevelopment, in part by reducing BDNF levels during the fetal period. However, the same relationship was not seen at age 3. - Highlights: • Cord blood Polycyclic Aromatic

  19. Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons/aromatics, BDNF and child development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perera, Frederica, E-mail: fpp1@columbia.edu [Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032 (United States); Columbia Center for Children' s Environmental Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032 (United States); Phillips, David H. [Analytical and Environmental Sciences Division, MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, King' s College London, Franklin-Wilkins Building, London SE1 9NH (United Kingdom); Wang, Ya [Columbia Center for Children' s Environmental Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032 (United States); Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032 (United States); Roen, Emily; Herbstman, Julie [Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032 (United States); Columbia Center for Children' s Environmental Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032 (United States); Rauh, Virginia [Columbia Center for Children' s Environmental Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032 (United States); The Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Columbia University, 60 Haven Avenue, New York, NY 10032 (United States); Wang, Shuang [Columbia Center for Children' s Environmental Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032 (United States); Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032 (United States); Tang, Deliang [Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032 (United States); Columbia Center for Children' s Environmental Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032 (United States)

    2015-10-15

    Objectives: Within a New York City (NYC) birth cohort, we assessed the associations between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and other aromatic DNA adducts and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentrations in umbilical cord blood, and neurodevelopment at age 2 years and whether BDNF is a mediator of the associations between PAH/aromatic-DNA adducts and neurodevelopment. Methods: PAH/aromatic-DNA adduct concentrations in cord blood were measured in 505 children born to nonsmoking African-American and Dominican women residing in NYC, and a subset was assessed for neurodevelopment at 2 years using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development Mental Development Index (MDI). A spectrum of PAH/aromatic-DNA adducts was measured using the {sup 32}P-postlabeling assay; DNA adducts formed by benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), a representative PAH, were measured by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)/fluorescence. BDNF mature protein in cord blood plasma was quantified by an ELISA. Multivariate regression analysis, adjusting for potential confounders, was conducted. Results: PAH/aromatic-DNA adduct concentration measured by postlabeling was inversely associated with BDNF concentration (p=0.02) and with MDI scores at 2 years (p=0.04). BDNF level was positively associated with MDI scores (p=0.003). Restricting to subjects having all three measures (PAH/aromatic-DNA adducts by postlabeling, MDI, and BDNF), results were similar but attenuated (p=0.13, p=0.05, p=0.01, respectively). Associations between B[a]P-DNA adducts and BDNF and B[a]P-DNA adducts and MDI at age 2 years were not significant. At age 3 years, the positive association of BDNF with MDI was not observed. Conclusions: The results at age 2 suggest that prenatal exposure to a spectrum of PAH/aromatic pollutants may adversely affect early neurodevelopment, in part by reducing BDNF levels during the fetal period. However, the same relationship was not seen at age 3. - Highlights: • Cord blood Polycyclic

  20. Probing ADAMTS13 Substrate Specificity using Phage Display

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desch, Karl C.; Kretz, Colin; Yee, Andrew; Gildersleeve, Robert; Metzger, Kristin; Agrawal, Nidhi; Cheng, Jane; Ginsburg, David

    2015-01-01

    Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a large, multimeric protein that regulates hemostasis by tethering platelets to the subendothelial matrix at sites of vascular damage. The procoagulant activity of plasma VWF correlates with the length of VWF multimers, which is proteolytically controlled by the metalloprotease ADAMTS13. To probe ADAMTS13 substrate specificity, we created phage display libraries containing randomly mutated residues of a minimal ADAMTS13 substrate fragment of VWF, termed VWF73. The libraries were screened for phage particles displaying VWF73 mutant peptides that were resistant to proteolysis by ADAMTS13. These peptides exhibited the greatest mutation frequency near the ADAMTS13 scissile residues. Kinetic assays using mutant and wild-type substrates demonstrated excellent agreement between rates of cleavage for mutant phage particles and the corresponding mutant peptides. Cleavage resistance of selected mutations was tested in vivo using hydrodynamic injection of corresponding full-length expression plasmids into VWF-deficient mice. These studies confirmed the resistance to cleavage resulting from select amino acid substitutions and uncovered evidence of alternate cleavage sites and recognition by other proteases in the circulation of ADAMTS13 deficient mice. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the key role of specific amino acids residues including P3-P2’ and P11’, for substrate specificity and emphasize the importance in flowing blood of other ADAMTS13–VWF exosite interactions outside of VWF73. PMID:25849793

  1. A Fiber-Optic Tether for the Hull Search UUV System Documentation

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Buescher, J. G

    2006-01-01

    ...) conducting ship hull inspection missions, defines the required specifications that will allow the integration and installation of a FO tether system on UUVs with ship hull inspection capability...

  2. A simplified tether model for molecular motor transporting cargo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang-Zhen, Li; Li-Chun, Jiang

    2010-01-01

    Molecular motors are proteins or protein complexes which function as transporting engines in biological cells. This paper models the tether between motor and its cargo as a symmetric linear potential. Different from Elston and Peskin's work for which performance of the system was discussed only in some limiting cases, this study produces analytic solutions of the problem for general cases by simplifying the transport system into two physical states, which makes it possible to discuss the dynamics of the motor–cargo system in detail. It turns out that the tether strength between motor and cargo should be greater than a threshold or the motor will fail to transport the cargo, which was not discussed by former researchers yet. Value of the threshold depends on the diffusion coefficients of cargo and motor and also on the strength of the Brownian ratchets dragging the system. The threshold approaches a finite constant when the strength of the ratchet tends to infinity. (general)

  3. Phase 3 study of selected tether applications in space. Volume 2: Study results

    Science.gov (United States)

    1986-01-01

    Engineering designs were developed relative to a tethered launch assist from the Shuttle for payloads up to 10,000 kg mass and the tethering of a 15,000 kg science platform from the space station. These designs are used for a cost benefit analysis which assesses the feasibility of using such systems as a practical alternative to what would otherwise be accomplished by conventional means. The term conventional as related to both these applications is intended to apply to the use of some form(s) of chemical propulsion system.

  4. Tethered Contactless Mobile Nuclear Environment Monitoring Robot

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, S. Y.; Lee, E. S.; Lee, Kun J.; Kim, Su H.; Rim, C. T.

    2013-01-01

    In fact, the nuclear environment monitoring is significantly crucial for early detection of NPP accident, radiological emergency, the estimation of radiation exposure to nearby residents as well as the long term radioactivity. In the UAE, the nuclear environment monitoring is, however, quite challenging because sampling locations are far from NPPs and the outdoor temperature and humidity are very high for NPP workers to collect soil, air, and water samples. Therefore, nuclear environment monitoring robots (Nubos) are strongly needed for the NPPs in the UAE. The Nubos can be remotely controlled to collect samples in extreme environment instead of NPP workers. Moreover, the Nubos can be unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned marine vehicles (UMVs) to collect soil, air, and water samples, respectively. In this paper, the prototype development of UGV type Nubos using power cable for a long distance power delivery, called Tethered contactless mobile Nubo is introduced and validated by experiments. In this paper, the prototype development of Tethered Contactless Mobile (TeCoM) Nubo, which can be powered continuously within several km distance and avoid tangled cable, and the indoor test are finished. As further works, outdoor demonstration and a grand scale R and D proposal of practical Nubo will be proceeded

  5. Tethered Contactless Mobile Nuclear Environment Monitoring Robot

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, S. Y.; Lee, E. S.; Lee, Kun J.; Kim, Su H.; Rim, C. T. [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-05-15

    In fact, the nuclear environment monitoring is significantly crucial for early detection of NPP accident, radiological emergency, the estimation of radiation exposure to nearby residents as well as the long term radioactivity. In the UAE, the nuclear environment monitoring is, however, quite challenging because sampling locations are far from NPPs and the outdoor temperature and humidity are very high for NPP workers to collect soil, air, and water samples. Therefore, nuclear environment monitoring robots (Nubos) are strongly needed for the NPPs in the UAE. The Nubos can be remotely controlled to collect samples in extreme environment instead of NPP workers. Moreover, the Nubos can be unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned marine vehicles (UMVs) to collect soil, air, and water samples, respectively. In this paper, the prototype development of UGV type Nubos using power cable for a long distance power delivery, called Tethered contactless mobile Nubo is introduced and validated by experiments. In this paper, the prototype development of Tethered Contactless Mobile (TeCoM) Nubo, which can be powered continuously within several km distance and avoid tangled cable, and the indoor test are finished. As further works, outdoor demonstration and a grand scale R and D proposal of practical Nubo will be proceeded.

  6. Stability analysis and trend study of a balloon tethered in a wind, with experimental comparisons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redd, L. T.; Bland, S. R.; Bennett, R. M.

    1973-01-01

    A stability analysis and trend study for a balloon tethered in a steady wind are presented. The linearized, stability-derivative type analysis includes balloon aerodynamics, buoyancy, mass (including apparent mass), and static forces resulting from the tether cable. The analysis has been applied to a balloon 7.64 m in length, and the results are compared with those from tow tests of this balloon. This comparison shows that the analysis gives reasonable predictions for the damping, frequencies, modes of motion, and stability boundaries exhibited by the balloon. A trend study for the 7.64-m balloon was made to illustrate how the stability boundaries are affected by changes in individual stability parameters. The trends indicated in this study may also be applicable to many other tethered-balloon systems.

  7. Tethered by Self-Generated Flow: Mucus String Augmented Feeding Current Generation in Larval Oysters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, H.; Wheeler, J.; Anderson, E.

    2016-02-01

    Marine zooplankton live in a nutritionally dilute environment. To survive, they must process an enormous volume of water relative to their own body volume for food. To achieve this, many zooplankters including copepods, invertebrate larvae, and protists create a feeding current to concentrate and transport food items to their food gathering structures. To enhance the efficiency of the feeding current, these zooplankters often rely on certain "tethering" mechanisms to retard their translational motion for producing a strong feeding current. The tethering force may include excess weight due to gravity, force from attachment to solid surfaces, and drag experienced by strategically placed morphological structures. Larval oysters are known from previous studies to release mucus strings during feeding, presumably for supplying a tethering force to enhance their feeding-current efficiency. But the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this study, we used a high-speed microscale imaging system (HSMIS) to observe the behavior of freely swimming and feeding larval oysters. We also used HSMIS to measure larval imposed feeding currents via a micro-particle image velocimetry (µPIV) technique. HSMIS allows observations along a vertically oriented focal plane in a relatively large water vessel with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. Our high-speed videos show that a feeding larval oyster continuously released a long mucus string into its feeding current that flows downward; the feeding current subsequently dragged the mucus string downward. Analysis of our µPIV data combined with a hydrodynamic model further suggests that the drag force experienced by the mucus string in the feeding current contributes significantly to the tethering force required to generate the feeding current. Thus, mucus strings in larval oysters act as "anchors" in larval self-generated flow to actively tether the feeding larvae.

  8. Regular pattern formation on surface of aromatic polymers and its cytocompatibility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Michaljaničová, I. [Department of Solid State Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, 166 28 Prague (Czech Republic); Slepička, P., E-mail: petr.slepicka@vscht.cz [Department of Solid State Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, 166 28 Prague (Czech Republic); Rimpelová, S. [Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technicka 5, Prague 6, 166 28 (Czech Republic); Slepičková Kasálková, N.; Švorčík, V. [Department of Solid State Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, 166 28 Prague (Czech Republic)

    2016-05-01

    Highlights: • The nanopatterning technique of PES, PEI and PEEK with KrF laser was described. • Both nanodots and ripples on aromatic polymers were successfully constructed. • Dimensions of nanostructures can be precisely controlled. • Surface parameters dependent on angle of laser beam incidence were characterized. • U-2 OS cell adaptation and growth on nanopatterned surface was described. - Abstract: In this work, we describe ripple and dot nanopatterning of three different aromatic polymer substrates by KrF excimer laser treatment. The conditions for regular structures were established by laser fluence and number of pulses. Subsequently, the influence of the angle of incidence of a laser beam was investigated. We have chosen polyethersulfone (PES), polyetherimide (PEI) and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) as substrates for modification since they are thermally, chemically and mechanically resistant aromatic polymers with high absorption coefficients at excimer laser wavelength. As a tool of wettability investigation, we used contact angle measurement and for determination of the absorption edge, UV–vis spectroscopy was used. Material surface chemistry was analyzed using FTIR and the changes caused by modification were gained as differential spectra by subtraction of the spectra of non-modified material. Surface morphology was investigated by atomic force microscopy, also the roughness and surface area of modified samples were studied. The scans showed the formation of regular periodic structures, ripples and dots, after treatment by 8 and 16 mJ cm{sup −2} and 6000 pulses. Further, initial in vitro cytocompatibility tests were performed using U-2 OS cell line growing on PES samples subjected to scanning electron microscopy analysis. The structure formation mapping contributes strongly to development of new applications using nanostructured polymers, e.g. in tissue engineering or in combination with metallization in selected electronics and metamaterials

  9. Myocardial Infarction Alters Adaptation of the Tethered Mitral Valve

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dal-Bianco, Jacob P; Aikawa, Elena; Bischoff, Joyce; Guerrero, J Luis; Hjortnaes, Jesper; Beaudoin, Jonathan; Szymanski, Catherine; Bartko, Philipp E; Seybolt, Margo M; Handschumacher, Mark D; Sullivan, Suzanne; Garcia, Michael L; Mauskapf, Adam; Titus, James S; Wylie-Sears, Jill; Irvin, Whitney S; Chaput, Miguel; Messas, Emmanuel; Hagège, Albert A; Carpentier, Alain; Levine, Robert A

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: In patients with myocardial infarction (MI), leaflet tethering by displaced papillary muscles induces mitral regurgitation (MR), which doubles mortality. Mitral valves (MVs) are larger in such patients but fibrosis sets in counterproductively. The investigators previously reported that

  10. Development of a Tethered Formation Flight Testbed for ISS, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The development of a testbed for the development and demonstration of technologies needed by tethered formation flying satellites is proposed. Such a testbed would...

  11. Parsing of the free energy of aromatic-aromatic stacking interactions in solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kostjukov, Viktor V.; Khomytova, Nina M. [Department of Physics, Sevastopol National Technical University, Sevastopol 99053, Crimea (Ukraine); Hernandez Santiago, Adrian A.; Tavera, Anna-Maria Cervantes; Alvarado, Julieta Salas [Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Autonomous University of Puebla, Puebla (Mexico); Evstigneev, Maxim P., E-mail: max_evstigneev@mail.ru [Department of Physics, Sevastopol National Technical University, Sevastopol 99053, Crimea (Ukraine)

    2011-10-15

    Graphical abstract: Highlights: > A protocol for decomposition of the free energy of aromatic stacking is developed. > The factors stabilizing/destabilizing stacking of aromatic molecules are defined. > Hydrophobic contribution is found to be dominant. - Abstract: We report an analysis of the energetics of aromatic-aromatic stacking interactions for 39 non-covalent reactions of self- and hetero-association of 12 aromatic molecules with different structures and charge states. A protocol for computation of the contributions to the total energy from various energetic terms has been developed and the results are consistent with experiment in 92% of all the systems studied. It is found that the contributions from hydrogen bonds and entropic factors are always unfavorable, whereas contributions from van-der-Waals, electrostatic and/or hydrophobic effects may lead to stabilizing or destabilizing factors depending on the system studied. The analysis carried out in this work provides an answer to the questions 'What forces stabilize/destabilize the stacking of aromatic molecules in aqueous-salt solution and what are their relative importance?'

  12. Parsing of the free energy of aromatic-aromatic stacking interactions in solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kostjukov, Viktor V.; Khomytova, Nina M.; Hernandez Santiago, Adrian A.; Tavera, Anna-Maria Cervantes; Alvarado, Julieta Salas; Evstigneev, Maxim P.

    2011-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Highlights: → A protocol for decomposition of the free energy of aromatic stacking is developed. → The factors stabilizing/destabilizing stacking of aromatic molecules are defined. → Hydrophobic contribution is found to be dominant. - Abstract: We report an analysis of the energetics of aromatic-aromatic stacking interactions for 39 non-covalent reactions of self- and hetero-association of 12 aromatic molecules with different structures and charge states. A protocol for computation of the contributions to the total energy from various energetic terms has been developed and the results are consistent with experiment in 92% of all the systems studied. It is found that the contributions from hydrogen bonds and entropic factors are always unfavorable, whereas contributions from van-der-Waals, electrostatic and/or hydrophobic effects may lead to stabilizing or destabilizing factors depending on the system studied. The analysis carried out in this work provides an answer to the questions 'What forces stabilize/destabilize the stacking of aromatic molecules in aqueous-salt solution and what are their relative importance?'

  13. Degradation and utilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by indigenous soil bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stetzenbach, L.D.A.

    1986-01-01

    The persistence of industrially derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the subsurface may be significantly affected by the metabolism of soil bacteria. This study was conducted to determine the ability of indigenous soil bacteria to decrease the concentration of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene, fluorene, anthracene, and pyrene) and to utilize the compounds as a substrate for growth. Soil cores from petroleum contaminated and noncontaminated sites contained 10 5 -10 7 viable microorganisms per gram dryweight of soil. Gram negative rod-shaped bacteria predominated. Decreases in the concentration of the four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were observed during incubation with bacterial isolates in aqueous suspension by the use of high performance liquid chromatography. Corresponding increases in bacterial numbers indicated utilization of the compounds as a carbon source. Soil samples from the contaminated sites contained greater numbers of bacteria utilizing anthracene and pyrene than soil samples from uncontaminated sites. Degradation rates of the four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were related to the compound, its concentration, and the bacterium. Biodegradation of pyrene was positively correlated with the presence of oxygen. Pyrene was biodegraded by an Acinetobacter sp. under aerobic conditions but not under anaerobic or microaerophilic conditions. Studies with radiolabeled 14 C-anthracene demonstrated utilization of the labeled carbon as a source of carbon by viable bacterial cells in aqueous suspension. Incorporation of 14 C into cellular biomass however was not observed during incubation of 14 C-anthracene in soil

  14. Engineering Aromatic-Aromatic Interactions To Nucleate Folding in Intrinsically Disordered Regions of Proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balakrishnan, Swati; Sarma, Siddhartha P

    2017-08-22

    Aromatic interactions are an important force in protein folding as they combine the stability of a hydrophobic interaction with the selectivity of a hydrogen bond. Much of our understanding of aromatic interactions comes from "bioinformatics" based analyses of protein structures and from the contribution of these interactions to stabilizing secondary structure motifs in model peptides. In this study, the structural consequences of aromatic interactions on protein folding have been explored in engineered mutants of the molten globule protein apo-cytochrome b 5 . Structural changes from disorder to order due to aromatic interactions in two variants of the protein, viz., WF-cytb5 and FF-cytb5, result in significant long-range secondary and tertiary structure. The results show that 54 and 52% of the residues in WF-cytb5 and FF-cytb5, respectively, occupy ordered regions versus 26% in apo-cytochrome b 5 . The interactions between the aromatic groups are offset-stacked and edge-to-face for the Trp-Phe and Phe-Phe mutants, respectively. Urea denaturation studies indicate that both mutants have a C m higher than that of apo-cytochrome b 5 and are more stable to chaotropic agents than apo-cytochrome b 5 . The introduction of these aromatic residues also results in "trimer" interactions with existing aromatic groups, reaffirming the selectivity of the aromatic interactions. These studies provide insights into the aromatic interactions that drive disorder-to-order transitions in intrinsically disordered regions of proteins and will aid in de novo protein design beyond small peptide scaffolds.

  15. Materials for advancement of MXER tether design (1000-371), Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — There exist a need to develop, identify, and classify various materials that can be used in the fabrication of electrodynamic tethers for various applications. These...

  16. Implementation Options for the PROPEL Electrodynamic Tether Demonstration Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilen, Sven G.; Johnson, C. Les; Gilchrist, Brian E.; Hoyt, Robert P.; Elder, Craig H.; Fuhrhop, Keith P.; Scadera, Michael; Stone, Nobie

    2014-01-01

    The PROPEL ("Propulsion using Electrodynamics") flight demonstration mission concept will demonstrate the use of an electrodynamic tether (EDT) for generating thrust, which will allow the propulsion system to overcome the limitations of the rocket equation. The mission concept has been developed by a team of government, industry, and academia partners led by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). PROPEL is being designed for versatility of the EDT system with multiple end users in mind and to be flexible with respect to platform. Previously, we reported on a comprehensive mission design for PROPEL with a mission duration of six months or longer with multiple mission goals including demonstration of significant boost, deboost, inclination change, and drag make-up activities. To explore a range of possible configurations, primarily driven by cost considerations, other mission concept designs have been pursued. In partnership with the NASA's Office of Chief Technologist (OCT) Game Changing Program, NASA MSFC Leadership, and the MSFC Advanced Concepts Office, a mission concept design was developed for a near-term EDT propulsion flight validation mission. The Electrodynamic Tether Propulsion Study (ETPS) defined an EDT propulsion system capable of very large delta-V for use on future missions developed by NASA, DoD, and commercial customers. To demonstrate the feasibility of an ETPS, the study focused on a space demonstration mission concept design with configuration of a pair of tethered satellite busses, one of which is the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). The HTV would fly its standard ISS resupply mission. When resupply mission is complete, the ISS reconfigures and releases the HTV to perform the EDT experiment at safe orbital altitudes below the ISS. Though the focus of this particular mission concept design addresses a scenario involving the HTV or a similar vehicle, the propulsion system's capability is relevant to a number of applications, as noted above

  17. Substrate-dependent cell elasticity measured by optical tweezers indentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousafzai, Muhammad S.; Ndoye, Fatou; Coceano, Giovanna; Niemela, Joseph; Bonin, Serena; Scoles, Giacinto; Cojoc, Dan

    2016-01-01

    In the last decade, cell elasticity has been widely investigated as a potential label free indicator for cellular alteration in different diseases, cancer included. Cell elasticity can be locally measured by pulling membrane tethers, stretching or indenting the cell using optical tweezers. In this paper, we propose a simple approach to perform cell indentation at pN forces by axially moving the cell against a trapped microbead. The elastic modulus is calculated using the Hertz-model. Besides the axial component, the setup also allows us to examine the lateral cell-bead interaction. This technique has been applied to measure the local elasticity of HBL-100 cells, an immortalized human cell line, originally derived from the milk of a woman with no evidence of breast cancer lesions. In addition, we have studied the influence of substrate stiffness on cell elasticity by performing experiments on cells cultured on two substrates, bare and collagen-coated, having different stiffness. The mean value of the cell elastic modulus measured during indentation was 26±9 Pa for the bare substrate, while for the collagen-coated substrate it diminished to 19±7 Pa. The same trend was obtained for the elastic modulus measured during the retraction of the cell: 23±10 Pa and 13±7 Pa, respectively. These results show the cells adapt their stiffness to that of the substrate and demonstrate the potential of this setup for low-force probing of modifications to cell mechanics induced by the surrounding environment (e.g. extracellular matrix or other cells).

  18. Pro-aromatic and anti-aromatic π-conjugated molecules: an irresistible wish to be diradicals

    KAUST Repository

    Zeng, Zebing

    2015-01-01

    © 2015 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Aromaticity is an important concept to understand the stability and physical properties of π-conjugated molecules. Recent studies on pro-aromatic and anti-aromatic molecules revealed their irresistible tendency to become diradicals in the ground state. Diradical character thus becomes another very important concept and it is fundamentally correlated to the physical (optical, electronic and magnetic) properties and chemical reactivity of most of the organic optoelectronic materials. Molecules with distinctive diradical character show unique properties which are very different from those of traditional closed-shell π-conjugated systems, and thus they have many potential applications in organic electronics, spintronics, non-linear optics and energy storage. This critical review first introduces the fundamental electronic structure of Kekulé diradicals within the concepts of anti-aromaticity and pro-aromaticity in the context of Hückel aromaticity and diradical character. Then recent research studies on various stable/persistent diradicaloids based on pro-aromatic and anti-aromatic compounds are summarized and discussed with regard to their synthetic chemistry, physical properties, structure-property relationships and potential material applications. A summary and personal perspective is given at the end.

  19. The adhesion of SiNx thin layers on silica-acrylate coated polymer substrates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Abdallah, Amir; Lu, K.; Ovchinnikov, C.D.; Bulle-Lieuwma, C.W.T.; Bouten, P.C.P.; With, de G.

    2009-01-01

    Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) was used to grow 200, 300 and 400 nm thick silicon nitride layers (SiN x ) on a high temperature aromatic polyester substrate spin coated with a silica-acrylate hybrid coating (hard coat). Layers deposited without oxygen plasma treatment remained

  20. Folding of multidomain proteins: biophysical consequences of tethering even in apparently independent folding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arviv, Oshrit; Levy, Yaakov

    2012-12-01

    Most eukaryotic and a substantial fraction of prokaryotic proteins are composed of more than one domain. The tethering of these evolutionary, structural, and functional units raises, among others, questions regarding the folding process of conjugated domains. Studying the folding of multidomain proteins in silico enables one to identify and isolate the tethering-induced biophysical determinants that govern crosstalks generated between neighboring domains. For this purpose, we carried out coarse-grained and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of two two-domain constructs from the immunoglobulin-like β-sandwich fold. Each of these was experimentally shown to behave as the "sum of its parts," that is, the thermodynamic and kinetic folding behavior of the constituent domains of these constructs seems to occur independently, with the folding of each domain uncoupled from the folding of its partner in the two-domain construct. We show that the properties of the individual domains can be significantly affected by conjugation to another domain. The tethering may be accompanied by stabilizing as well as destabilizing factors whose magnitude depends on the size of the interface, the length, and the flexibility of the linker, and the relative stability of the domains. Accordingly, the folding of a multidomain protein should not be viewed as the sum of the folding patterns of each of its parts, but rather, it involves abrogating several effects that lead to this outcome. An imbalance between these effects may result in either stabilization or destabilization owing to the tethering. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Single base substitution causing the fragrant phenotype and development of a type-specific marker in aromatic coconut (Cocos nucifera).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vongvanrungruang, A; Mongkolsiriwatana, C; Boonkaew, T; Sawatdichaikul, O; Srikulnath, K; Peyachoknagul, S

    2016-09-19

    The fragrance gene, betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (Badh2), has been well studied in many plant species. The objectives of this study were to clone Badh2 and compare the sequences between aromatic and non-aromatic coconuts. The complete coding region was cloned from cDNA of both aromatic and non-aromatic coconuts. The nucleotide sequences were highly homologous to Badh2 genes of other plants. Badh2 consisted of a 1512-bp open reading frame encoding 503 amino acids. A single nucleotide difference between aromatic and non-aromatic coconuts resulted in the conversion of alanine (non-aromatic) to proline (aromatic) at position 442, which was the substrate binding site of BADH2. The ring side chain of proline could destabilize the structure leading to a non-functional enzyme. Badh2 genomic DNA was cloned from exon 1 to 4, and from exon 5 to 15 from the two coconut types, except for intron 4 that was very long. The intron sequences of the two coconut groups were highly homologous. No differences in Badh2 expression were found among the tissues of aromatic coconut or between aromatic and non-aromatic coconuts. The amino acid sequences of BADH2 from coconut and other plants were compared and the genetic relationship was analyzed using MEGA 7.0. The phylogenetic tree reconstructed by the Bayesian information criterion consisted of two distinct groups of monocots and dicots. Among the monocots, coconut (Cocos nucifera) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) were the most closely related species. A marker for coconut differentiation was developed from one-base substitution site and could be successfully used.

  2. Biomimetic chimeric peptide-tethered hydrogels for human mesenchymal stem cell delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shim, Gayong; Kim, Gunwoo; Choi, Junhyeok; Yi, TacGhee; Cho, Yun Kyoung; Song, Sun Uk; Byun, Youngro; Oh, Yu-Kyoung

    2015-12-01

    Here, we report a chimeric peptide-tethered fibrin hydrogel scaffold for delivery of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC). Osteopontin-derived peptide (OP) was used as an hMSC-tethering moiety. OP showed hMSC adhesion properties and enhanced hMSC proliferation. A natural fibrin-binding protein-derived peptide (FBP) was tested for its ability to tether hMSC to the fibrin gel matrix. FBP loading on fibrin gels was 8.2-fold higher than that of a scrambled peptide (scFBP). FBP-loaded fibrin gels were retained at injection sites longer than scFBP-loaded fibrin gels, showing a 15.9-fold higher photon intensity of fluorescent FBP-grafted fibrin gels than fluorescent scFBP-loaded fibrin gels 48 h after injection. On the basis of the fibrin gel-binding properties of FBP and the hMSC-binding and proliferation-supporting properties of OP, we constructed chimeric peptides containing FBP and OP linked with a spacer (FBPsOP). Four days after transplantation, the survival of hMSC in FBPsOP-grafted fibrin gels was 3.9-fold higher than hMSC in fibrin gels alone. Our results suggest the potential of FBPsOP-grafted fibrin gels as a bioactive delivery system for enhanced survival of stem cells. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Acquisition of Human Operation Characteristics for Kite-based Tethered Flying Robot using Human Operation Data

    OpenAIRE

    Todoroki, Chiaki; Takahashi, Yasutake; Nakamura, Takayuki

    2015-01-01

    This paper shows human skill acquisition systems to control the kite-based tethered flying robot. The kite-based tethered flying robot has been proposed as a flying observation system with long-term activity capability[1]. It is a relatively new system and aimed to complement other information gathering systems using a balloon or an air vehicle. This paper shows some approaches of human operation characteristics acquisition based on fuzzy learning controller, knearest neighbor algorithm, and ...

  4. Control by damping Injection of Electrodynamic Tether System in an Inclined Orbit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Martin Birkelund; Blanke, Mogens

    2009-01-01

    dynamical system. Based on this model, a nonlinear controller is designed that will make the system asymptotically stable around its open-loop equilibrium. The control scheme handles the time-varying nature of the system in a suitable manner resulting in a large operational region. The performance...... of the closed loop system is treated using Floquet theory, investigating the closed loop properties for their dependency of the controller gain and orbit inclination.......Control of a satellite system with an electrodynamic tether as actuator is a time-periodic and underactuated control problem. This paper considers the tethered satellite in a Hamiltonian framework and determines a port-controlled Hamiltonian formulation that adequately describes the nonlinear...

  5. A Correlational Analysis of Tethered Swimming, Swim Sprint Performance and Dry-land Power Assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loturco, I; Barbosa, A C; Nocentini, R K; Pereira, L A; Kobal, R; Kitamura, K; Abad, C C C; Figueiredo, P; Nakamura, F Y

    2016-03-01

    Swimmers are often tested on both dry-land and in swimming exercises. The aim of this study was to test the relationships between dry-land, tethered force-time curve parameters and swimming performances in distances up to 200 m. 10 young male high-level swimmers were assessed using the maximal isometric bench-press and quarter-squat, mean propulsive power in jump-squat, squat and countermovement jumps (dry-land assessments), peak force, average force, rate of force development (RFD) and impulse (tethered swimming) and swimming times. Pearson product-moment correlations were calculated among the variables. Peak force and average force were very largely correlated with the 50- and 100-m swimming performances (r=- 0.82 and -0.74, respectively). Average force was very-largely/largely correlated with the 50- and 100-m performances (r=- 0.85 and -0.67, respectively). RFD and impulse were very-largely correlated with the 50-m time (r=- 0.72 and -0.76, respectively). Tethered swimming parameters were largely correlated (r=0.65 to 0.72) with mean propulsive power in jump-squat, squat-jump and countermovement jumps. Finally, mean propulsive power in jump-squat was largely correlated (r=- 0.70) with 50-m performance. Due to the significant correlations between dry-land assessments and tethered/actual swimming, coaches are encouraged to implement strategies able to increase leg power in sprint swimmers. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  6. Quinine-Promoted, Enantioselective Boron-Tethered Diels-Alder Reaction by Anomeric Control of Transition State Conformation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholl, Katie; Dillashaw, John; Timpy, Evan; Lam, Yu-Hong; DeRatt, Lindsey; Benton, Tyler R; Powell, Jacqueline P; Houk, Kendall N; Morgan, Jeremy B

    2018-05-01

    Diels-Alder reactions of tethered vinyl-metal species offer the opportunity to fashion highly functionalized diol intermediates for synthesis. We have developed the first enantioselective boron-tethered Diels-Alder reaction using quinine as a chiral promoter. Quinine recovery, enantioselectivity enhancement, and manipulation of the cyclohexene core are also investigated. DFT modeling calculations confirm the role of quinine as a bidentate ligand enhancing reaction rates. The enantioselectivity of the cycloaddition is proposed to originate from a boron-centered anomeric effect.

  7. UV-Curable Hybrid Nanocomposite Coating to Protect Tether Polymer Materials, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — To address the NASA need for coatings to protect and strengthen tether materials for Momentum-exchange Electrodynamic Reboost (MXER) technology, Luminit, LLC,...

  8. Bacterial degradation of monocyclic aromatic amines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pankaj Kumar Arora

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Aromatic amines are an important group of industrial chemicals, which are widely used for manufacturing of dyes, pesticides, drugs, pigments, and other industrial products. These compounds have been considered highly toxic to human beings due to their carcinogenic nature. Three groups of aromatic amines have been recognized: monocyclic, polycyclic and heterocyclic aromatic amines. Bacterial degradation of several monocyclic aromatic compounds has been studied in a variety of bacteria, which utilizes monocyclic aromatic amines as their sole source of carbon and energy. Several degradation pathways have been proposed and the related enzymes and genes have also been characterized. Many reviews have been reviewed toxicity of monocyclic aromatic amines; however, there is lack of review on biodegradation of monocyclic aromatic amines. The aim of this review is to summarize bacterial degradation of monocyclic aromatic amines. This review will increase our current understanding of biochemical and molecular basis of bacterial degradation of monocyclic aromatic amines.

  9. Mini-open spinal column shortening for the treatment of adult tethered cord syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safaee, Michael M; Winkler, Ethan A; Chou, Dean

    2017-10-01

    Tethered cord syndrome (TCS) is a challenging entity characterized by adhesions at the caudal spinal cord that prevent upward movement during growth and result in stretching of the cord with a concomitant constellation of neurologic symptoms. Although growth in height stops in adulthood, some patients still develop progressive symptoms; many underwent detethering as a child or adolescent, resulting in significant scar tissue and re-tethering. Recent strategies have focused on spinal column shortening to reduce tension on the spinal cord without exposing the previous de-tethering site. Mini-open and minimally invasive approaches avoid the large dissection and exposure associated with traditional approaches and are associated with reduced blood loss, shorter hospital stay, and similar outcomes when compared to conventional open approaches. We describe a technique for mini-open spinal column shortening. Using intraoperative navigation pedicle screws were placed at T10, T11, L1, and L2. A mini-open 3-column "egg shell" decancellation osteotomy of T12 was performed through a transpedicular approach with preservation of the superior and inferior endplates. This procedure was performed on a 28year old male with recurrent TCS and neurogenic bladder. Postoperative imaging showed a reduction in spinal column length of 1.5cm and evidence of decreased tension on the spinal cord. At last follow-up he was recovering well with improved urinary function. Spinal column shortening for adult TCS can be safely achieved through a mini-open approach. Future studies should compare the efficacy of this technique to both traditional de-tethering and open spinal column shortening. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Au nanoparticles grafted on Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} as effective SERS substrates for label-free detection of the 16 EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Du, Jingjing; Xu, Jianwei; Sun, Zhenli; Jing, Chuanyong, E-mail: cyjing@rcees.ac.cn

    2016-04-07

    Several methods and materials have been explored for the sensitive and practicable detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, it is still a challenge to develop simple and cost-effective sensing techniques for PAHs. Herein we report the synthesis and construction of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@Au SERS substrate. This magnetic substrate was composed by Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} microspheres and Au NPs. The size, morphology, and surface composition of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@Au were characterized by multiple complimentary techniques including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction. The spatial distributions of electro-magnetic field enhancement around Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@Au was calculated using finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations. As a result of its remarkable sensitivity, the Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@Au-based SERS assay has been applied to detect the 16 EPA priority PAHs. The LODs achieved by our method (100–5 nM, 16.6–1.01 μg L{sup −1}) make it promising for the rapid screening of highly contaminated cases. As a proof-of-concept study, the substrate was applied in SERS sensing of PAHs in river matrix. The 16 PAHs could be differentiated based upon their characteristic SERS peaks. Most importantly, the detection was successfully conducted using a portable Raman spectrometer, which could be used for on-site monitoring of PAHs. - Highlights: • SERS detection of the 16 EPA priority PAHs was conducted. • The satellite-core structure lead to high SERS enhancement by confined hotspots. • The approach does not require expensive instrumentation or large sample volumes. • The effective protocol is useful for the identification of hydrophobic molecules.

  11. Diamond surface functionalization with biomimicry – Amine surface tether and thiol moiety for electrochemical sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sund, James B., E-mail: jim@jamessund.com [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC (United States); Causey, Corey P. [Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC (United States); Wolter, Scott D. [Department of Physics, Elon University, Elon, NC 27244 (United States); Parker, Charles B., E-mail: charles.parker@duke.edu [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC (United States); Stoner, Brian R. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC (United States); Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States); Toone, Eric J. [Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC (United States); Glass, Jeffrey T. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC (United States)

    2014-05-01

    Highlights: • Diamond surfaces were functionalized with organic molecules using a novel approach. • Used biomimicry to select a molecule to bind NO, similar to the human body. • Molecular orbital theory predicted the molecule-analyte oxidation behavior. • A thiol moiety was attached to an amine surface tether on the diamond surface. • XPS analysis verified each surface functionalization step. - Abstract: The surface of conducting diamond was functionalized with a terminal thiol group that is capable of binding and detecting nitrogen–oxygen species. The functionalization process employed multiple steps starting with doped diamond films grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition followed by hydrogen termination and photochemical attachment of a chemically protected amine alkene. The surface tether was deprotected to reveal the amine functionality, which enabled the tether to be extended with surface chemistry to add a terminal thiol moiety for electrochemical sensing applications. Each step of the process was validated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis.

  12. Diamond surface functionalization with biomimicry – Amine surface tether and thiol moiety for electrochemical sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sund, James B.; Causey, Corey P.; Wolter, Scott D.; Parker, Charles B.; Stoner, Brian R.; Toone, Eric J.; Glass, Jeffrey T.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Diamond surfaces were functionalized with organic molecules using a novel approach. • Used biomimicry to select a molecule to bind NO, similar to the human body. • Molecular orbital theory predicted the molecule-analyte oxidation behavior. • A thiol moiety was attached to an amine surface tether on the diamond surface. • XPS analysis verified each surface functionalization step. - Abstract: The surface of conducting diamond was functionalized with a terminal thiol group that is capable of binding and detecting nitrogen–oxygen species. The functionalization process employed multiple steps starting with doped diamond films grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition followed by hydrogen termination and photochemical attachment of a chemically protected amine alkene. The surface tether was deprotected to reveal the amine functionality, which enabled the tether to be extended with surface chemistry to add a terminal thiol moiety for electrochemical sensing applications. Each step of the process was validated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis

  13. Technical and economical assessment on tethered wind-energy systems (TWES)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Furuya, O.; Maekawa, S.

    1982-06-01

    The objective of the work reported was to establish the potential of tethered wind energy systems for energy conversion in the upper atmosphere. Of the concepts investigated, the Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) lift generation concept had the highest potential as compared to balloon, wind and hybrid concepts.

  14. Novel chemoselective hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds over ferric hydroxide supported nanocluster gold in the presence of CO and H2O.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lequan; Qiao, Botao; Chen, Zhengjian; Zhang, Juan; Deng, Youquan

    2009-02-14

    Chemoselective hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds were first efficiently achieved over Au/Fe(OH)(x) at 100-120 degrees C for 1.5-6 h (depending on different substrates) in the presence of CO and H(2)O.

  15. Theoretical studies of the structures and local aromaticity of conjugated polycyclic hydrocarbons using three aromatic indices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakai, Shogo; Kita, Yuki

    2013-07-01

    The structures and local aromaticity of some conjugated polycyclic hydrocarbons (from the butadienoid, acene, and phenylene series) are studied using ab initio MO and density functional methods. The aromaticities of the molecules are estimated using three indices: the nucleus-independent chemical shift (NICS), the harmonic oscillator model of aromaticity (HOMA), and the index of deviation from aromaticity (IDA). Assessment of the relationships between the structures and the aromatic indices shows that the IDA values correspond best to the characteristics of the conjugated polycyclic hydrocarbon structures.

  16. Synthesis of organolanthanides by metal addition on insaturated substrates in ether and reactivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olivier, H.

    1988-01-01

    The aim of the study is the extension to rare earths of the synthesis, well known for alkaline or alkaline earth metals, by direct metal addition to insaturated substrates in ether and where the metal is directly bound to carbon. A definition of formation conditions and affinity rules is attempled, both with substrates (essentially aromatic hydrocarbons and ketones) and with metals: Yb, Sm, Ce, Nd and others. The nature of obtained products by reaction of electrophiles on synthetised organometallics, allows investigations specific reactivity and structure. Potential catalytic transformation of olefins is precised [fr

  17. Diamond surface functionalization with biomimicry - Amine surface tether and thiol moiety for electrochemical sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sund, James B.; Causey, Corey P.; Wolter, Scott D.; Parker, Charles B.; Stoner, Brian R.; Toone, Eric J.; Glass, Jeffrey T.

    2014-05-01

    The surface of conducting diamond was functionalized with a terminal thiol group that is capable of binding and detecting nitrogen-oxygen species. The functionalization process employed multiple steps starting with doped diamond films grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition followed by hydrogen termination and photochemical attachment of a chemically protected amine alkene. The surface tether was deprotected to reveal the amine functionality, which enabled the tether to be extended with surface chemistry to add a terminal thiol moiety for electrochemical sensing applications. Each step of the process was validated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis.

  18. Cyano-containing ionic liquids for the extraction of aromatic hydrocarbons from an aromatic/aliphatic mixture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meindersma, G.W.; Haan, de A.B.

    2012-01-01

    Ionic liquids can replace conventional solvents in aromatic/aliphatic extractions, if they have higher aromatic distribution coefficients and higher or similar aromatic/aliphatic selectivities. Also physical properties, such as density and viscosity, must be taken into account if a solvent is

  19. Mild and Efficient Oxidation of Aromatic Alcohols and Other Substrates Using NiO2/CH3COOH System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Kooti

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available A variety of aromatic alcohols were efficiently oxidized to their corresponding aldehydes and ketones in good to excellent yields using nickel peroxide activated by acetic acid. Some thiols and amines were also readily oxidized by this oxidant under mild conditions.

  20. Phase coupling of a circadian neuropeptide with rest/activity rhythms detected using a membrane-tethered spider toxin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Wu

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Drosophila clock neurons are self-sustaining cellular oscillators that rely on negative transcriptional feedback to keep circadian time. Proper regulation of organismal rhythms of physiology and behavior requires coordination of the oscillations of individual clock neurons within the circadian control network. Over the last decade, it has become clear that a key mechanism for intercellular communication in the circadian network is signaling between a subset of clock neurons that secrete the neuropeptide pigment dispersing factor (PDF and clock neurons that possess its G protein-coupled receptor (PDFR. Furthermore, the specific hypothesis has been proposed that PDF-secreting clock neurons entrain the phase of organismal rhythms, and the cellular oscillations of other clock neurons, via the temporal patterning of secreted PDF signals. In order to test this hypothesis, we have devised a novel technique for altering the phase relationship between circadian transcriptional feedback oscillation and PDF secretion by using an ion channel-directed spider toxin to modify voltage-gated Na(+ channel inactivation in vivo. This technique relies on the previously reported "tethered-toxin" technology for cell-autonomous modulation of ionic conductances via heterologous expression of subtype-specific peptide ion channel toxins as chimeric fusion proteins tethered to the plasma membrane with a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI anchor. We demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, the utility of the tethered-toxin technology in a transgenic animal, validating four different tethered spider toxin ion channel modifiers for use in Drosophila. Focusing on one of these toxins, we show that GPI-tethered Australian funnel-web spider toxin delta-ACTX-Hv1a inhibits Drosophila para voltage-gated Na(+ channel inactivation when coexpressed in Xenopus oocytes. Transgenic expression of membrane-tethered delta-ACTX-Hv1a in vivo in the PDF-secreting subset of clock neurons

  1. Computer Programs for Calculating and Plotting the Stability Characteristics of a Balloon Tethered in a Wind

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, R. M.; Bland, S. R.; Redd, L. T.

    1973-01-01

    Computer programs for calculating the stability characteristics of a balloon tethered in a steady wind are presented. Equilibrium conditions, characteristic roots, and modal ratios are calculated for a range of discrete values of velocity for a fixed tether-line length. Separate programs are used: (1) to calculate longitudinal stability characteristics, (2) to calculate lateral stability characteristics, (3) to plot the characteristic roots versus velocity, (4) to plot the characteristic roots in root-locus form, (5) to plot the longitudinal modes of motion, and (6) to plot the lateral modes for motion. The basic equations, program listings, and the input and output data for sample cases are presented, with a brief discussion of the overall operation and limitations. The programs are based on a linearized, stability-derivative type of analysis, including balloon aerodynamics, apparent mass, buoyancy effects, and static forces which result from the tether line.

  2. Use of Tethered Enzymes as a Platform Technology for Rapid Analyte Detection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roy Cohen

    Full Text Available Rapid diagnosis for time-sensitive illnesses such as stroke, cardiac arrest, and septic shock is essential for successful treatment. Much attention has therefore focused on new strategies for rapid and objective diagnosis, such as Point-of-Care Tests (PoCT for blood biomarkers. Here we use a biomimicry-based approach to demonstrate a new diagnostic platform, based on enzymes tethered to nanoparticles (NPs. As proof of principle, we use oriented immobilization of pyruvate kinase (PK and luciferase (Luc on silica NPs to achieve rapid and sensitive detection of neuron-specific enolase (NSE, a clinically relevant biomarker for multiple diseases ranging from acute brain injuries to lung cancer. We hypothesize that an approach capitalizing on the speed and catalytic nature of enzymatic reactions would enable fast and sensitive biomarker detection, suitable for PoCT devices.We performed in-vitro, animal model, and human subject studies. First, the efficiency of coupled enzyme activities when tethered to NPs versus when in solution was tested, demonstrating a highly sensitive and rapid detection of physiological and pathological concentrations of NSE. Next, in rat stroke models the enzyme-based assay was able in minutes to show a statistically significant increase in NSE levels in samples taken 1 hour before and 0, 1, 3 and 6 hours after occlusion of the distal middle cerebral artery. Finally, using the tethered enzyme assay for detection of NSE in samples from 20 geriatric human patients, we show that our data match well (r = 0.815 with the current gold standard for biomarker detection, ELISA-with a major difference being that we achieve detection in 10 minutes as opposed to the several hours required for traditional ELISA.Oriented enzyme immobilization conferred more efficient coupled activity, and thus higher assay sensitivity, than non-tethered enzymes. Together, our findings provide proof of concept for using oriented immobilization of active

  3. Spinal column shortening for tethered cord syndrome associated with myelomeningocele, lumbosacral lipoma, and lipomyelomeningocele in children and young adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldave, Guillermo; Hansen, Daniel; Hwang, Steven W; Moreno, Amee; Briceño, Valentina; Jea, Andrew

    2017-06-01

    OBJECTIVE Tethered cord syndrome is the clinical manifestation of an abnormal stretch on the spinal cord, presumably causing mechanical injury, a compromised blood supply, and altered spinal cord metabolism. Tethered cord release is the standard treatment for tethered cord syndrome. However, direct untethering of the spinal cord carries potential risks, such as new neurological deficits from spinal cord injury, a CSF leak from opening the dura, and retethering of the spinal cord from normal scar formation after surgery. To avoid these risks, the authors applied spinal column shortening to children and transitional adults with primary and secondary tethered cord syndrome and report treatment outcomes. The authors' aim with this study was to determine the safety and efficacy of spinal column shortening for tethered cord syndrome by analyzing their experience with this surgical technique. METHODS The authors retrospectively reviewed the demographic and procedural data of children and young adults who had undergone spinal column shortening for primary or secondary tethered cord syndrome. RESULTS Seven patients with tethered cord syndrome caused by myelomeningocele, lipomyelomeningocele, and transitional spinal lipoma were treated with spinal column shortening. One patient with less than 24 months of follow-up was excluded from further analysis. There were 3 males and 4 females; the average age at the time was surgery was 16 years (range 8-30 years). Clinical presentations for our patients included pain (in 5 patients), weakness (in 4 patients), and bowel/bladder dysfunction (in 4 patients). Spinal column osteotomy was most commonly performed at the L-1 level, with fusion between T-12 and L-2 using a pedicle screw-rod construct. Pedicle subtraction osteotomy was performed in 6 patients, and vertebral column resection was performed in 1 patient. The average follow-up period was 31 months (range 26-37 months). Computed tomography-based radiographic outcomes showed solid

  4. Endogenous opioids are involved in abnormal stereotyped behaviour of tethered sows

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cronin, G.M.; Wiepkema, P.R.; Ree, van J.M.

    1985-01-01

    Tethered sows continuously performed stereotypies during a substantial part of the day time. A single subcutaneous injection with naloxone significantly decreased the profound stereotypies, while explorative behaviours of pigs were not affected by naloxone. In addition a long-term effect of naloxone

  5. Endogenous opioids are involved in abnormal stereotyped behaviours of tethered sows

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cronin, G.M.; Wiepkema, P.R.; Ree, J.M. van

    1985-01-01

    Tethered sows continuously performed stereotypies during a substantial part of the day time. A single subcutaneous injection with naloxone significantly decreased the profound stereotypies, while explorative behaviours of pigs were not affected by naloxone. In addition a long-term effect of naloxone

  6. TETHERED BALLOON MEASUREMENTS OF BIOGENIC VOCS IN THE ATMOSPHERIC BOUNDARY LAYER

    Science.gov (United States)

    Measurements of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) have been made on a tethered balloon platform in eleven field deployments between 1985 and 1996. A series of balloon sampling packages have been developed for these campaigns and they have been used to describe boundary ...

  7. Bacterial Degradation of Aromatic Compounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qing X. Li

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Aromatic compounds are among the most prevalent and persistent pollutants in the environment. Petroleum-contaminated soil and sediment commonly contain a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs and heterocyclic aromatics. Aromatics derived from industrial activities often have functional groups such as alkyls, halogens and nitro groups. Biodegradation is a major mechanism of removal of organic pollutants from a contaminated site. This review focuses on bacterial degradation pathways of selected aromatic compounds. Catabolic pathways of naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, and benzo[a]pyrene are described in detail. Bacterial catabolism of the heterocycles dibenzofuran, carbazole, dibenzothiophene, and dibenzodioxin is discussed. Bacterial catabolism of alkylated PAHs is summarized, followed by a brief discussion of proteomics and metabolomics as powerful tools for elucidation of biodegradation mechanisms.

  8. Aromater i drikkevand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nyeland, B. A.; Hansen, A. B.

    DMU har den 10. Juni 1997 afholdt en præstationsprøvning: Aromater i drikkevand. Der deltog 21 laboratorier i præstationsprøvningen. Prøvningen omfattede 6 vandige prøver og 6 ampuller indeholdende 6 aromater. Laboratorierne spikede de tilsendte vandprøver med indholdet fra ampullerne...

  9. Analytical investigation of the dynamics of tethered constellations in Earth orbit, phase 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenzini, E. C.; Arnold, D. A.; Cosmo, M.; Grossi, M. D.

    1986-10-01

    The following topics related to the dynamics of the 4-mass tethered system are addressed: (1) the development of damping algorithms for damping the out-of-plane libration of the system and the interaction of the out-of-plane control with the other degrees of freedom; and (2) the development of environmental models to be added to the dynamics simulation computer code. The environmental models are specifically a new drag routine based on the Jacchia's 1977 model, a J(2) model and an accurate thermal model of the wire. Regarding topic (1) a survey of various out-of-plane libration control laws was carried out. Consequently a yo-yo control law with amplitude of the tether length variation proportional to the amplitude of the out-of-game libration has been selected. This control law provides good damping when applied to a (theoretical) two-dimensional system. In the actual 3-dimensional 4-mass tethered system, however, energy is transferred to the least damped degrees of freedom (the out-of-plane lateral deflections are still undamped in the present simulations) in such a way as to decrease the effectiveness of the algorithm for out-of-plane libration control. The addition of damping algorithms for the out-of-plane lateral deflections is therefore necessary.

  10. Compact, planar, translational piezoelectric bimorph actuator with Archimedes’ spiral actuating tethers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Chenye; Liu, Sanwei; Livermore, Carol; Xie, Xin

    2016-01-01

    The design, analytical modelling, finite element analysis (FEA), and experimental characterization of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) out-of-plane (vertical) translational piezoelectric lead–zirconate–titanate (PZT) bimorph actuator supported on Archimedes’ spiral tethers are presented. Three types of bimorph actuators with different electrode patterns (with spiral tethers half actuated, fully actuated with uniform polarity, or fully actuated with reversed polarity) are designed and modelled. The two actuators with the highest predicted performance (half actuated and fully actuated with uniform polarity) are implemented and characterized. Both designs are fabricated by commercial processes and are compatible with integration into more complex MEMS systems. Analytical modelling and FEA are used to analyze and predict the actuators’ displacements and blocking forces. Experimental measurements of the deflections and blocking forces of actuators with full uniform actuation and half actuation validate the design. At an applied voltage of 110 V, the out-of-plane deflections of the actuators with half actuation and full uniform actuation are measured at about 17 µ m and 29 µ m respectively, in good agreement with analytical predictions of 17.3 µ m and 34.2 µ m and FEA predictions of 17.1 µ m and 25.8 µ m. The blocking force for devices with half-actuated tethers is predicted to be 12 mN (analytical) and 10 mN (FEA), close to the experimental value of 9 mN. The blocking force for devices with full uniform actuation is predicted to be 23 mN (analytical) and 17 mN (FEA), as compared with 15 mN in experiments. (paper)

  11. Functional characterization of diverse ring-hydroxylating oxygenases and induction of complex aromatic catabolic gene clusters in Sphingobium sp. PNB

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pratick Khara

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Sphingobium sp. PNB, like other sphingomonads, has multiple ring-hydroxylating oxygenase (RHO genes. Three different fosmid clones have been sequenced to identify the putative genes responsible for the degradation of various aromatics in this bacterial strain. Comparison of the map of the catabolic genes with that of different sphingomonads revealed a similar arrangement of gene clusters that harbors seven sets of RHO terminal components and a sole set of electron transport (ET proteins. The presence of distinctly conserved amino acid residues in ferredoxin and in silico molecular docking analyses of ferredoxin with the well characterized terminal oxygenase components indicated the structural uniqueness of the ET component in sphingomonads. The predicted substrate specificities, derived from the phylogenetic relationship of each of the RHOs, were examined based on transformation of putative substrates and their structural homologs by the recombinant strains expressing each of the oxygenases and the sole set of available ET proteins. The RHO AhdA1bA2b was functionally characterized for the first time and was found to be capable of transforming ethylbenzene, propylbenzene, cumene, p-cymene and biphenyl, in addition to a number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Overexpression of aromatic catabolic genes in strain PNB, revealed by real-time PCR analyses, is a way forward to understand the complex regulation of degradative genes in sphingomonads.

  12. The secret life of tethers: the role of tethering factors in SNARE complex regulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle L Dubuke

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Trafficking in eukaryotic cells is a tightly regulated process to ensure correct cargo delivery to the proper destination organelle or plasma membrane. In this review, we focus on how the vesicle fusion machinery, the SNARE complex, is regulated by the interplay of the multisubunit tethering complexes (MTC with the SNAREs and Sec1/Munc18 (SM proteins. Although these factors are used in different stages of membrane trafficking, e.g. Golgi to plasma membrane transport vs vacuolar fusion, and in a variety of diverse eukaryotic cell types, many commonalities between their functions are being revealed. We explore the various protein-protein interactions and findings from functional reconstitution studies in order to highlight both their common features and the differences in their modes of regulation. These studies serve as a starting point for mechanistic explorations in other systems.

  13. Theseus: tethered distributed robotics (TDR)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Digney, Bruce L.; Penzes, Steven G.

    2003-09-01

    The Defence Research and Development Canada's (DRDC) Autonomous Intelligent System's program conducts research to increase the independence and effectiveness of military vehicles and systems. DRDC-Suffield's Autonomous Land Systems (ALS) is creating new concept vehicles and autonomous control systems for use in outdoor areas, urban streets, urban interiors and urban subspaces. This paper will first give an overview of the ALS program and then give a specific description of the work being done for mobility in urban subspaces. Discussed will be the Theseus: Thethered Distributed Robotics (TDR) system, which will not only manage an unavoidable tether but exploit it for mobility and navigation. Also discussed will be the prototype robot called the Hedgehog, which uses conformal 3D mobility in ducts, sewer pipes, collapsed rubble voids and chimneys.

  14. Cholesterol tethered bioresponsive polycation as a candidate for gene delivery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu Ying [Second Affiliated Hospital, Medical College, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009 (China); Wang Youxiang, E-mail: yx_wang@zju.edu.cn [Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Hu Qiaoling; Shen Jiacong [Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China)

    2009-04-30

    The efficient unpacking of viral protein shell gave the inspiration for the synthesized vectors. In this research, novel cholesterol tethered bioresponsive polyethylenimine (PEI) was specially designed via disulfide-containing cross-linker. The cholesterol lipid had proved to increase the permeability of gene vector through cell membrane. The acid-base titration indicated that the synthesized polycation possessed efficient proton sponge effect, which was suggested to increase endosomal release of pDNA complexes into the cytoplasm. The cholesterol tethered polycation could effectively induce DNA condensation and form spherical particles with diameter about 200 nm at N/P ratio of 10. At glutathione concentration of 3 mM, the polyplexes were unpacked due to the bioresponsive cleavage of the disulfide bonds. The in-vitro experiment indicated that the polyplexes showed efficient transfection efficiency to HEK293T cells. All the results indicated that the bioresponsive polycation could be served as an effective trigger to control the release of DNA at the intracellular environment. The novel bioresponsive polycation might have great potential in non-viral gene delivery research and application.

  15. Effect of mass variation on dynamics of tethered system in orbital maneuvering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Liang; Zhao, Guowei; Huang, Hai

    2018-05-01

    In orbital maneuvering, the mass variation due to fuel consumption has an obvious impact on the dynamics of tethered system, which cannot be neglected. The contributions of the work are mainly shown in two aspects: 1) the improvement of the model; 2) the analysis of dynamics characteristics. As the mass is variable, and the derivative of the mass is directly considered in the traditional Lagrange equation, the expression of generalized force is complicated. To solve this problem, the coagulated derivative is adopted in the paper; besides, the attitude dynamics equations derived in this paper take into account the effect of mass variation and the drift of orbital trajectory at the same time. The bifurcation phenomenon, the pendular motion angular frequency, and amplitudes of tether vibration revealed in this paper can provide a reference for the parameters and controller design in practical engineering. In the article, a dumbbell model is adopted to analyze the dynamics of tethered system, in which the mass variation of base satellite is fully considered. Considering the practical application, the case of orbital transfer under a transversal thrust is mainly studied. Besides, compared with the analytical solutions of librational angles, the effects of mass variation on stability and librational characteristic are studied. Finally, in order to make an analysis of the effect on vibrational characteristic, a lumped model is introduced, which reveals a strong coupling of librational and vibrational characteristics.

  16. Calculating the electromagnetic field on the earth due to an electrodynamic tethered system in the ionosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estes, Robert D.

    1989-01-01

    A method is presented for calculating the electromagnetic wave field on the earth's surface associated with the operation of an electrodynamic tethered satellite system of constant or slowly varying current in the upper ionosphere. The wave field at the ionospheric boundary and on the earth's surface is obtained by numerical integration. The results suggest that the ionospheric waves do not propagate into the atmosphere and that the image of the Alfven wings from a steady-current tether should be greatly broadened on the earth's surface.

  17. Noncomparative scaling of aromaticity through electron itinerancy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paul, Satadal; Goswami, Tamal; Misra, Anirban

    2015-01-01

    Aromaticity is a multidimensional concept and not a directly observable. These facts have always stood in the way of developing an appropriate theoretical framework for scaling of aromaticity. In the present work, a quantitative account of aromaticity is developed on the basis of cyclic delocalization of π-electrons, which is the phenomenon leading to unique features of aromatic molecules. The stabilization in molecular energy, caused by delocalization of π-electrons is obtained as a second order perturbation energy for archetypal aromatic systems. The final expression parameterizes the aromatic stabilization energy in terms of atom to atom charge transfer integral, onsite repulsion energy and the population of spin orbitals at each site in the delocalized π-electrons. An appropriate computational platform is framed to compute each and individual parameter in the derived equation. The numerical values of aromatic stabilization energies obtained for various aromatic molecules are found to be in close agreement with available theoretical and experimental reports. Thus the reliable estimate of aromaticity through the proposed formalism renders it as a useful tool for the direct assessment of aromaticity, which has been a long standing problem in chemistry

  18. Elasticity of Hard-Spheres-And-Tether Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farago, O.; Kantor, Y.

    1999-01-01

    Physical properties of a large class of systems ranging from noble gases to polymers and rubber are primarily determined by entropy, while the internal energy plays a minor role. Such systems can be conveniently modeled and numerically studied using ''hard' (i.e., ''infinity-or-zero'') potentials, such as hard sphere repulsive interactions, or inextensible (''tether'') bonds which limit the distance between the bonded monomers, but have zero energy at all permitted distances. The knowledge of elastic constants is very important for understanding the behavior of entropy-dominated systems. Computational methods for determination of the elastic constants in such systems are broadly classified into ''strain'' methods and (fluctuation methods. In the former, the elastic constants are extracted from stress-strain relations, while in the latter they are determined from measurements of stress fluctuations. The fluctuation technique usually enables more accurate and well-controlled determination of the elastic constants since in this method the elastic constants are computed directly from simulations of the un strained system with no need to deform the simulation cell and perform numerical differentiations. For central forces systems, the original ''fluctuation'' formalism can be applied provided the pair potential is twice differentiable. We have extended this formalism to apply to hard-spheres-and-tether models in which this requirement is not fulfilled. We found that for such models the components of the tensor of elastic constants can be related to (two-, three- and four-point) probability densities of contacts between hard spheres and stretched bonds. We have tested our formalism on simple (phantom networks and three-dimensional hard spheres systems

  19. Three-dimensional aromatic networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toyota, Shinji; Iwanaga, Tetsuo

    2014-01-01

    Three-dimensional (3D) networks consisting of aromatic units and linkers are reviewed from various aspects. To understand principles for the construction of such compounds, we generalize the roles of building units, the synthetic approaches, and the classification of networks. As fundamental compounds, cyclophanes with large aromatic units and aromatic macrocycles with linear acetylene linkers are highlighted in terms of transannular interactions between aromatic units, conformational preference, and resolution of chiral derivatives. Polycyclic cage compounds are constructed from building units by linkages via covalent bonds, metal-coordination bonds, or hydrogen bonds. Large cage networks often include a wide range of guest species in their cavity to afford novel inclusion compounds. Topological isomers consisting of two or more macrocycles are formed by cyclization of preorganized species. Some complicated topological networks are constructed by self-assembly of simple building units.

  20. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation by biosurfactant-producing Pseudomonas sp. IR1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, M. [Unidad de Biotecnologia del Petroleo, Centro de Biotecnologia, Fundacion Inst. de Estudios Avanzados (IDEA), Caracas (Venezuela); Synthesis and Biotics Div., Indian Oil Corp., Research and Development Center, Haryana (India); Leon, V.; Materano, A.D.S.; Ilzins, O.A.; Galindo-Castro, I.; Fuenmayor, S.L. [Unidad de Biotecnologia del Petroleo, Centro de Biotecnologia, Fundacion Inst. de Estudios Avanzados (IDEA), Caracas (Venezuela)

    2006-03-15

    We characterized a newly isolated bacterium, designated as IR1, with respect to its ability to degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and to produce biosurfactants. Isolated IR1 was identified as Pseudomonas putida by analysis of 16S rRNA sequences (99.6% homology). It was capable of utilizing two-, three- and four-ring PAHs but not hexadecane and octadecane as a sole carbon and energy source. PCR and DNA hybridization studies showed that enzymes involved in PAH metabolism were related to the naphthalene dioxygenase pathway. Observation of both tensio-active and emulsifying activities indicated that biosurfactants were produced by IR1 during growth on both water miscible and immiscible substrates. The biosurfactants lowered the surface tension of medium from 54.9 dN cm{sup -1} to 35.4 dN cm{sup -1} and formed a stable and compact emulsion with an emulsifying activity of 74% with diesel oil, when grown on dextrose. These findings indicate that this isolate may be useful for bioremediation of sites contaminated with aromatic hydrocarbons. (orig.)

  1. Self-consistent field theory of tethered polymers: one dimensional, three dimensional, strong stretching theories and the effects of excluded-volume-only interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suo, Tongchuan; Whitmore, Mark D

    2014-11-28

    We examine end-tethered polymers in good solvents, using one- and three-dimensional self-consistent field theory, and strong stretching theories. We also discuss different tethering scenarios, namely, mobile tethers, fixed but random ones, and fixed but ordered ones, and the effects and important limitations of including only binary interactions (excluded volume terms). We find that there is a "mushroom" regime in which the layer thickness is independent of the tethering density, σ, for systems with ordered tethers, but we argue that there is no such plateau for mobile or disordered anchors, nor is there one in the 1D theory. In the other limit of brushes, all approaches predict that the layer thickness scales linearly with N. However, the σ(1/3) scaling is a result of keeping only excluded volume interactions: when the full potential is included, the dependence is faster and more complicated than σ(1/3). In fact, there does not appear to be any regime in which the layer thickness scales in the combination Nσ(1/3). We also compare the results for two different solvents with each other, and with earlier Θ solvent results.

  2. Self-consistent field theory of tethered polymers: One dimensional, three dimensional, strong stretching theories and the effects of excluded-volume-only interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suo, Tongchuan; Whitmore, Mark D.

    2014-01-01

    We examine end-tethered polymers in good solvents, using one- and three-dimensional self-consistent field theory, and strong stretching theories. We also discuss different tethering scenarios, namely, mobile tethers, fixed but random ones, and fixed but ordered ones, and the effects and important limitations of including only binary interactions (excluded volume terms). We find that there is a “mushroom” regime in which the layer thickness is independent of the tethering density, σ, for systems with ordered tethers, but we argue that there is no such plateau for mobile or disordered anchors, nor is there one in the 1D theory. In the other limit of brushes, all approaches predict that the layer thickness scales linearly with N. However, the σ 1/3 scaling is a result of keeping only excluded volume interactions: when the full potential is included, the dependence is faster and more complicated than σ 1/3 . In fact, there does not appear to be any regime in which the layer thickness scales in the combination Nσ 1/3 . We also compare the results for two different solvents with each other, and with earlier Θ solvent results

  3. Cholesterol-Induced Buckling in Physisorbed Polymer-Tethered Lipid Monolayers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph A. Naumann

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The influence of cholesterol concentration on the formation of buckling structures is studied in a physisorbed polymer-tethered lipid monolayer system using epifluorescence microscopy (EPI and atomic force microscopy (AFM. The monolayer system, built using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB technique, consists of 3 mol % poly(ethylene glycol (PEG lipopolymers and various concentrations of the phospholipid, 1-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (SOPC, and cholesterol (CHOL. In the absence of CHOL, AFM micrographs show only occasional buckling structures, which is caused by the presence of the lipopolymers in the monolayer. In contrast, a gradual increase of CHOL concentration in the range of 0–40 mol % leads to fascinating film stress relaxation phenomena in the form of enhanced membrane buckling. Buckling structures are moderately deficient in CHOL, but do not cause any notable phospholipid-lipopolymer phase separation. Our experiments demonstrate that membrane buckling in physisorbed polymer-tethered membranes can be controlled through CHOL-mediated adjustment of membrane elastic properties. They further show that CHOL may have a notable impact on molecular confinement in the presence of crowding agents, such as lipopolymers. Our results are significant, because they offer an intriguing prospective on the role of CHOL on the material properties in complex membrane architecture.

  4. Use of Tethered Enzymes as a Platform Technology for Rapid Analyte Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Roy; Lata, James P.; Lee, Yurim; Hernández, Jean C. Cruz; Nishimura, Nozomi; Schaffer, Chris B.; Mukai, Chinatsu; Nelson, Jacquelyn L.; Brangman, Sharon A.; Agrawal, Yash; Travis, Alexander J.

    2015-01-01

    Background Rapid diagnosis for time-sensitive illnesses such as stroke, cardiac arrest, and septic shock is essential for successful treatment. Much attention has therefore focused on new strategies for rapid and objective diagnosis, such as Point-of-Care Tests (PoCT) for blood biomarkers. Here we use a biomimicry-based approach to demonstrate a new diagnostic platform, based on enzymes tethered to nanoparticles (NPs). As proof of principle, we use oriented immobilization of pyruvate kinase (PK) and luciferase (Luc) on silica NPs to achieve rapid and sensitive detection of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), a clinically relevant biomarker for multiple diseases ranging from acute brain injuries to lung cancer. We hypothesize that an approach capitalizing on the speed and catalytic nature of enzymatic reactions would enable fast and sensitive biomarker detection, suitable for PoCT devices. Methods and findings We performed in-vitro, animal model, and human subject studies. First, the efficiency of coupled enzyme activities when tethered to NPs versus when in solution was tested, demonstrating a highly sensitive and rapid detection of physiological and pathological concentrations of NSE. Next, in rat stroke models the enzyme-based assay was able in minutes to show a statistically significant increase in NSE levels in samples taken 1 hour before and 0, 1, 3 and 6 hours after occlusion of the distal middle cerebral artery. Finally, using the tethered enzyme assay for detection of NSE in samples from 20 geriatric human patients, we show that our data match well (r = 0.815) with the current gold standard for biomarker detection, ELISA—with a major difference being that we achieve detection in 10 minutes as opposed to the several hours required for traditional ELISA. Conclusions Oriented enzyme immobilization conferred more efficient coupled activity, and thus higher assay sensitivity, than non-tethered enzymes. Together, our findings provide proof of concept for using

  5. On the effect of tether composition on cis/trans selectivity in intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paddon-Row, Michael N; Longshaw, Alistair I; Willis, Anthony C; Sherburn, Michael S

    2009-01-05

    Intramolecular Diels-Alder (IMDA) transition structures (TSs) and energies have been computed at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d) and CBS-QB3 levels of theory for a series of 1,3,8-nonatrienes, H(2)C=CH-CH=CH-CH(2)-X-Z-CH=CH(2) [-X-Z- = -CH(2)-CH(2)- (1); -O-C(=O)- (2); -CH(2)-C(=O)- (3); -O-CH(2)- (4); -NH-C(=O)- (5); -S-C(=O)- (6); -O-C(=S)- (7); -NH-C(=S)- (8); -S-C(=S)- (9)]. For each system studied (1-9), cis- and trans-TS isomers, corresponding, respectively, to endo- and exo-positioning of the -C-X-Z- tether with respect to the diene, have been located and their relative energies (E(rel) (TS)) employed to predict the cis/trans IMDA product ratio. Although the E(rel) (TS) values are modest (typically NH or S), the IMDA cis stereoselectivity diminishes. The predicted stereochemical reaction preferences are explained in terms of two opposing effects operating in the cis-TS, namely (1) unfavorable torsional (eclipsing) strain about the C4-C5 bond, that is caused by the -C-X-C(=Y)- group's strong tendency to maintain local planarity; and (2) attractive electrostatic and secondary orbital interactions between the endo-(thio)carbonyl group, C=Y, and the diene. The former interaction predominates when X is weakly electronegative (X=N, S), while the latter is dominant when X is more strongly electronegative (X=O), or a methylene group (X=CH(2)) which increases tether flexibility. These predictions hold up to experimental scrutiny, with synthetic IMDA reactions of 1, 2, 3, and 4 (published work) and 5, 6, and 8 (this work) delivering ratios close to those calculated. The reactions of thiolacrylate 5 and thioamide 8 represent the first examples of IMDA reactions with tethers of these types. Our results point to strategies for designing tethers, which lead to improved cis/trans-selectivities in IMDAs that are normally only weakly selective. Experimental verification of the validity of this claim comes in the form of fumaramide 14, which undergoes a more trans-selective IMDA reaction

  6. The effect of particle size on the morphology and thermodynamics of diblock copolymer/tethered-particle membranes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Bo; Edwards, Brian J.

    2015-01-01

    A combination of self-consistent field theory and density functional theory was used to examine the effect of particle size on the stable, 3-dimensional equilibrium morphologies formed by diblock copolymers with a tethered nanoparticle attached either between the two blocks or at the end of one of the blocks. Particle size was varied between one and four tenths of the radius of gyration of the diblock polymer chain for neutral particles as well as those either favoring or disfavoring segments of the copolymer blocks. Phase diagrams were constructed and analyzed in terms of thermodynamic diagrams to understand the physics associated with the molecular-level self-assembly processes. Typical morphologies were observed, such as lamellar, spheroidal, cylindrical, gyroidal, and perforated lamellar, with the primary concentration region of the tethered particles being influenced heavily by particle size and tethering location, strength of the particle-segment energetic interactions, chain length, and copolymer radius of gyration. The effect of the simulation box size on the observed morphology and system thermodynamics was also investigated, indicating possible effects of confinement upon the system self-assembly processes

  7. The effect of particle size on the morphology and thermodynamics of diblock copolymer/tethered-particle membranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Bo; Edwards, Brian J

    2015-06-07

    A combination of self-consistent field theory and density functional theory was used to examine the effect of particle size on the stable, 3-dimensional equilibrium morphologies formed by diblock copolymers with a tethered nanoparticle attached either between the two blocks or at the end of one of the blocks. Particle size was varied between one and four tenths of the radius of gyration of the diblock polymer chain for neutral particles as well as those either favoring or disfavoring segments of the copolymer blocks. Phase diagrams were constructed and analyzed in terms of thermodynamic diagrams to understand the physics associated with the molecular-level self-assembly processes. Typical morphologies were observed, such as lamellar, spheroidal, cylindrical, gyroidal, and perforated lamellar, with the primary concentration region of the tethered particles being influenced heavily by particle size and tethering location, strength of the particle-segment energetic interactions, chain length, and copolymer radius of gyration. The effect of the simulation box size on the observed morphology and system thermodynamics was also investigated, indicating possible effects of confinement upon the system self-assembly processes.

  8. Otolith tethering in the zebrafish otic vesicle requires Otogelin and α-Tectorin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stooke-Vaughan, Georgina A; Obholzer, Nikolaus D; Baxendale, Sarah; Megason, Sean G; Whitfield, Tanya T

    2015-03-15

    Otoliths are biomineralised structures important for balance and hearing in fish. Their counterparts in the mammalian inner ear, otoconia, have a primarily vestibular function. Otoliths and otoconia form over sensory maculae and are attached to the otolithic membrane, a gelatinous extracellular matrix that provides a physical coupling between the otolith and the underlying sensory epithelium. In this study, we have identified two proteins required for otolith tethering in the zebrafish ear, and propose that there are at least two stages to this process: seeding and maintenance. The initial seeding step, in which otolith precursor particles tether directly to the tips of hair cell kinocilia, fails to occur in the einstein (eis) mutant. The gene disrupted in eis is otogelin (otog); mutations in the human OTOG gene have recently been identified as causative for deafness and vestibular dysfunction (DFNB18B). At later larval stages, maintenance of otolith tethering to the saccular macula is dependent on tectorin alpha (tecta) function, which is disrupted in the rolling stones (rst) mutant. α-Tectorin (Tecta) is a major constituent of the tectorial membrane in the mammalian cochlea. Mutations in the human TECTA gene can cause either dominant (DFNA8/12) or recessive (DFNB21) forms of deafness. Our findings indicate that the composition of extracellular otic membranes is highly conserved between mammals and fish, reinforcing the view that the zebrafish is an excellent model system for the study of deafness and vestibular disease. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  9. Tethered Balloon Operations at ARM AMF3 Site at Oliktok Point, AK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dexheimer, D.; Lucero, D. A.; Helsel, F.; Hardesty, J.; Ivey, M.

    2015-12-01

    Oliktok Point has been the home of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program's (ARM) third ARM Mobile Facility, or AMF3, since October 2013. The AMF3 is operated through Sandia National Laboratories and hosts instrumentation collecting continuous measurements of clouds, aerosols, precipitation, energy, and other meteorological variables. The Arctic region is warming more quickly than any other region due to climate change and Arctic sea ice is declining to record lows. Sparsity of atmospheric data from the Arctic leads to uncertainty in process comprehension, and atmospheric general circulation models (AGCM) are understood to underestimate low cloud presence in the Arctic. Increased vertical resolution of meteorological properties and cloud measurements will improve process understanding and help AGCMs better characterize Arctic clouds. SNL is developing a tethered balloon system capable of regular operation at AMF3 in order to provide increased vertical resolution atmospheric data. The tethered balloon can be operated within clouds at altitudes up to 7,000' AGL within DOE's R-2204 restricted area. Pressure, relative humidity, temperature, wind speed, and wind direction are recorded at multiple altitudes along the tether. These data were validated against stationary met tower data in Albuquerque, NM. The altitudes of the sensors were determined by GPS and calculated using a line counter and clinometer and compared. Wireless wetness sensors and supercooled liquid water content sensors have also been deployed and their data has been compared with other sensors. This presentation will provide an overview of the balloons, sensors, and test flights flown, and will provide a preliminary look at data from sensor validation campaigns and test flights.

  10. Strong CH/O interactions between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and water: Influence of aromatic system size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veljković, Dušan Ž

    2018-03-01

    Energies of CH/O interactions between water molecule and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with a different number of aromatic rings were calculated using ab initio calculations at MP2/cc-PVTZ level. Results show that an additional aromatic ring in structure of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons significantly strengthens CH/O interactions. Calculated interaction energies in optimized structures of the most stable tetracene/water complex is -2.27 kcal/mol, anthracene/water is -2.13 kcal/mol and naphthalene/water is -1.97 kcal/mol. These interactions are stronger than CH/O contacts in benzene/water complex (-1.44 kcal/mol) while CH/O contacts in tetracene/water complex are even stronger than CH/O contacts in pyridine/water complexes (-2.21 kcal/mol). Electrostatic potential maps for different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were calculated and used to explain trends in the energies of interactions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Deviation of the typical AAA substrate-threading pore prevents fatal protein degradation in yeast Cdc48.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esaki, Masatoshi; Islam, Md Tanvir; Tani, Naoki; Ogura, Teru

    2017-07-14

    Yeast Cdc48 is a well-conserved, essential chaperone of ATPases associated with diverse cellular activity (AAA) proteins, which recognizes substrate proteins and modulates their conformations to carry out many cellular processes. However, the fundamental mechanisms underlying the diverse pivotal roles of Cdc48 remain unknown. Almost all AAA proteins form a ring-shaped structure with a conserved aromatic amino acid residue that is essential for proper function. The threading mechanism hypothesis suggests that this residue guides the intrusion of substrate proteins into a narrow pore of the AAA ring, thereby becoming unfolded. By contrast, the aromatic residue in one of the two AAA rings of Cdc48 has been eliminated through evolution. Here, we show that artificial retrieval of this aromatic residue in Cdc48 is lethal, and essential features to support the threading mechanism are required to exhibit the lethal phenotype. In particular, genetic and biochemical analyses of the Cdc48 lethal mutant strongly suggested that when in complex with the 20S proteasome, essential proteins are abnormally forced to thread through the Cdc48 pore to become degraded, which was not detected in wild-type Cdc48. Thus, the widely applicable threading model is less effective for wild-type Cdc48; rather, Cdc48 might function predominantly through an as-yet-undetermined mechanism.

  12. The Tethered Balloon Current Generator - A space shuttle-tethered subsatellite for plasma studies and power generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, P. R.; Banks, P. M.

    1976-01-01

    The objectives of the Tethered Balloon Current Generator experiment are to: (1) generate relatively large regions of thermalized, field-aligned currents, (2) produce controlled-amplitude Alfven waves, (3) study current-driven electrostatic plasma instabilities, and (4) generate substantial amounts of power or propulsion through the MHD interaction. A large balloon (a diameter of about 30 m) will be deployed with a conducting surface above the space shuttle at a distance of about 10 km. For a generally eastward directed orbit at an altitude near 400 km, the balloon, connected to the shuttle by a conducting wire, will be positive with respect to the shuttle, enabling it to collect electrons. At the same time, the shuttle will collect positive ions and, upon command, emit an electron beam to vary current flow in the system.

  13. Using directed evolution to probe the substrate specificity of mandelamide hydrolase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Pan-Fen; Yep, Alejandra; Kenyon, George L; McLeish, Michael J

    2009-02-01

    Mandelamide hydrolase (MAH), a member of the amidase signature family, catalyzes the hydrolysis of mandelamide to mandelate and ammonia. X-ray structures of several members of this family, but not that of MAH, have been reported. These reveal nearly superimposable conformations of the unusual Ser-cisSer-Lys catalytic triad. Conversely, the residues involved in substrate recognition are not conserved, implying that the binding pocket could be modified to change the substrate specificity, perhaps by directed evolution. Here we show that MAH is able to hydrolyze small aliphatic substrates such as lactamide, albeit with low efficiency. A selection method to monitor changes in mandelamide/lactamide preference was developed and used to identify several mutations affecting substrate binding. A homology model places some of these mutations close to the catalytic triad, presumably in the MAH active site. In particular, Gly202 appears to control the preference for aromatic substrates as the G202A variant showed three orders of magnitude decrease in k(cat)/K(m) for (R)- and (S)-mandelamide. This reduction in activity increased to six orders of magnitude for the G202V variant.

  14. Nuclear pore complex tethers to the cytoskeleton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Martin W

    2017-08-01

    The nuclear envelope is tethered to the cytoskeleton. The best known attachments of all elements of the cytoskeleton are via the so-called LINC complex. However, the nuclear pore complexes, which mediate the transport of soluble and membrane bound molecules, are also linked to the microtubule network, primarily via motor proteins (dynein and kinesins) which are linked, most importantly, to the cytoplasmic filament protein of the nuclear pore complex, Nup358, by the adaptor BicD2. The evidence for such linkages and possible roles in nuclear migration, cell cycle control, nuclear transport and cell architecture are discussed. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  15. Approaching control for tethered space robot based on disturbance observer using super twisting law

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yongxin; Huang, Panfeng; Meng, Zhongjie; Wang, Dongke; Lu, Yingbo

    2018-05-01

    Approaching control is a key mission for the tethered space robot to perform the task of removing space debris. But the uncertainties of the TSR such as the change of model parameter have an important effect on the approaching mission. Considering the space tether and the attitude of the gripper, the dynamic model of the TSR is derived using Lagrange method. Then a disturbance observer is designed to estimate the uncertainty based on STW control method. Using the disturbance observer, a controller is designed, and the performance is compared with the dynamic inverse controller which turns out that the proposed controller performs better. Numerical simulation validates the feasibility of the proposed controller on the position and attitude tracking of the TSR.

  16. Pulse shape discrimination in non-aromatic plastics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paul Martinez, H.; Pawelczak, Iwona; Glenn, Andrew M.; Leslie Carman, M.; Zaitseva, Natalia; Payne, Stephen

    2015-01-21

    Recently it has been demonstrated that plastic scintillators have the ability to distinguish neutrons from gamma rays by way of pulse shape discrimination (PSD). This discovery has lead to new materials and new capabilities. Here we report our work with the effects of aromatic, non-aromatic, and mixed aromatic/non-aromatic matrices have on the performance of PSD plastic scintillators.

  17. A Quantitative Study of Tethered Chains in Various Solution Conditions Using Langmuir Diblock Copolymer Monolayers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kent, Michael S.

    1999-08-13

    This article summarizes our investigations of tethered chain systems using Langmuir monolayer of polydimethysiloxane-poly styrene (PDMS-PS) diblock copolymers on organic liquids. In this system, the PDMS block adsorbs to the air surface while the PS block dangles into the subphase liquid. The air surface can be made either repulsive or attractive for the tethered PS chain segments by choosing a subphase liquid which has a surface tension lower or greater than that of PS, respectively. The segment profile of the PS block is determined by neutron reflection as a function of the surface density, the molecular weights of the PS and PDMS blocks, and the solution conditions. We cover the range of reduced surface density (SIGMA) characteristic of the large body of data in the literature for systems of chains tethered onto solid surfaces from dilute solution in good or theta solvent conditions (SIGMA < 12). We emphasize quantitative comparisons with analytical profile forms and scaling predictions. We find that the strong-stretching limit invoked in analytical SCF and scaling theories is not valid over this Z range. On the other hand, over a large portion of this range (SIGMA < 5) tethered layers are well described by a renormalization group theory addressing weakly interacting or noninteracting chains. Simultaneous with the study of the profile form, the free energy of the chains is examined through the surface tension. A strong increase in the surface pressure is observed with increasing surface density which determines the maximum surface density which can be achieved. This apparently nonequilibrium effect is attributed to steric interactions and limited lateral interpenetration. This effect may explain several outstanding discrepancies regarding the adsorption of end-functionalized chains and diblock copolymers onto solid surfaces.

  18. Piperidinium tethered nanoparticle-hybrid electrolyte for lithium metal batteries

    KAUST Repository

    Korf, Kevin S.

    2014-06-23

    We report on the synthesis of novel piperidinium-based ionic liquid tethered nanoparticle hybrid electrolytes and investigate their physical and electrochemical properties. Hybrid electrolytes based on the ionic liquid 1-methyl-1-propylpiperidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfone) imide covalently tethered to silica nanoparticles (SiO2-PP-TFSI) were blended with propylene carbonate-1 M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfone) imide (LiTFSI). We employed NMR analysis to confirm the successful creation of the hybrid material. Dielectric and rheological measurements show that these electrolytes exhibit exceptional room-temperature DC ionic conductivity (10-2 to 10 -3 S cm-1) as well as high shear mechanical moduli (105 to 106 Pa). Lithium transference numbers were found to increase with particle loading and to reach values as high as 0.22 at high particle loadings where the particle jam to form a soft glassy elastic medium. Analysis of lithium electrodeposits obtained in the hybrid electrolytes using SEM and EDX spectra show that the SiO2-PP-TFSI nanoparticles are able to smooth lithium deposition and inhibit lithium dendrite proliferation in Li metal batteries. LTOSiO2-PP-TFSI/PC in 1 M LiTFSILi half-cells based on the SiO2-PP-TFSI hybrid electrolytes exhibit attractive voltage profiles and trouble-free extended cycling behavior over more than 1000 cycles of charge and discharge. This journal is © the Partner Organisations 2014.

  19. Aromatic C-nitrosation of a bioactive molecule. Nitrosation of minoxidil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Jiménez, Mario; Arenas-Valgañón, Jorge; Calle, Emilio; Casado, Julio

    2011-10-26

    Minoxidil (2,4-diamino-6-(piperidin-1'-yl)pyrimidine N(3)-oxide; CASRN 38304-91-5) is a bioactive molecule with several nitrosatable groups widely used as an antihypertensive and antialopecia agent. Here the nitrosation of minoxidil was investigated. The conclusions drawn are as follows: (i) In the pH = 2.3-5.0 range, the minoxidil molecule undergoes aromatic C-nitrosation by nitrite. The dominant reaction was C-5 nitrosation through a mechanism that appears to consist of an electrophilic attack on the nitrosatable substrate by H(2)NO(2)(+)/NO(+), followed by a slow proton transfer; (ii) the reactivity of minoxidil as a C-nitrosatable substrate proved to be 7-fold greater than that of phenol, this being attributed to the preferred para- and ortho-orientations of the two -NH(2) groups at positions 2 and 4 of the minoxidil molecule, which activate electrophilic substitution in the C-5 position through their mesomeric effect. The N-nitrosominoxidil resulting from the nitrosation could be potentially harmful to the minoxidil users.

  20. The radiation budget of stratocumulus clouds measured by tethered balloon instrumentation: Variability of flux measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, David P.; Stephens, Graeme L.; Cox, Stephen K.

    1990-01-01

    Measurements of longwave and shortwave radiation were made using an instrument package on the NASA tethered balloon during the FIRE Marine Stratocumulus experiment. Radiation data from two pairs of pyranometers were used to obtain vertical profiles of the near-infrared and total solar fluxes through the boundary layer, while a pair of pyrgeometers supplied measurements of the longwave fluxes in the cloud layer. The radiation observations were analyzed to determine heating rates and to measure the radiative energy budget inside the stratocumulus clouds during several tethered balloon flights. The radiation fields in the cloud layer were also simulated by a two-stream radiative transfer model, which used cloud optical properties derived from microphysical measurements and Mie scattering theory.

  1. Structural insights into the cofactor-assisted substrate recognition of yeast methylglyoxal/isovaleraldehyde reductase Gre2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Peng-Chao; Bao, Zhang-Zhi; Ma, Xiao-Xiao; Xia, Qingyou; Li, Wei-Fang

    2014-09-01

    Saccharomyces cerevisiae Gre2 (EC1.1.1.283) serves as a versatile enzyme that catalyzes the stereoselective reduction of a broad range of substrates including aliphatic and aromatic ketones, diketones, as well as aldehydes, using NADPH as the cofactor. Here we present the crystal structures of Gre2 from S. cerevisiae in an apo-form at 2.00Å and NADPH-complexed form at 2.40Å resolution. Gre2 forms a homodimer, each subunit of which contains an N-terminal Rossmann-fold domain and a variable C-terminal domain, which participates in substrate recognition. The induced fit upon binding to the cofactor NADPH makes the two domains shift toward each other, producing an interdomain cleft that better fits the substrate. Computational simulation combined with site-directed mutagenesis and enzymatic activity analysis enabled us to define a potential substrate-binding pocket that determines the stringent substrate stereoselectivity for catalysis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Aromatic-Aromatic Interactions in Biological System: Structure Activity Relationships

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajagopal, Appavu; Deepa, Mohan; Govindaraju, Munisamy

    2016-01-01

    While, intramolecular hydrogen bonds have attracted the greatest attention in studies of peptide conformations, the recognition that several other weakly polar interactions may be important determinants of folded structure has been growing. Burley and Petsko provided a comprehensive overview of the importance of weakly polar interactions, in shaping protein structures. The interactions between aromatic rings, which are spatially approximate, have attracted special attention. A survey of the proximal aromatic residue pairs in proteins, allowed Burley and Petsko to suggest that, “phenyl ring centroids are separated by a preferential distance of between 4.5 and 7 Å, and dihedral angles approximately 90° are most common”

  3. Aromatic-Aromatic Interactions in Biological System: Structure Activity Relationships

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rajagopal, Appavu; Deepa, Mohan [Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Sciences-Bangalore, Karnataka (India); Govindaraju, Munisamy [Bio-Spatial Technology Research Unit, Department of Environmental Biotechnology, School of Environmental Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu (India)

    2016-02-26

    While, intramolecular hydrogen bonds have attracted the greatest attention in studies of peptide conformations, the recognition that several other weakly polar interactions may be important determinants of folded structure has been growing. Burley and Petsko provided a comprehensive overview of the importance of weakly polar interactions, in shaping protein structures. The interactions between aromatic rings, which are spatially approximate, have attracted special attention. A survey of the proximal aromatic residue pairs in proteins, allowed Burley and Petsko to suggest that, “phenyl ring centroids are separated by a preferential distance of between 4.5 and 7 Å, and dihedral angles approximately 90° are most common”.

  4. Energy dissipation/transfer and stable attitude of spatial on-orbit tethered system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Weipeng; Song, Mingzhe; Deng, Zichen

    2018-01-01

    For the Tethered Satellite System, the coupling between the platform system and the solar panel is a challenge in the dynamic analysis. In this paper, the coupling dynamic behaviors of the Tethered Satellite System that is idealized as a planar flexible damping beam-spring-mass composite system are investigated via a structure-preserving method. Considering the coupling between the plane motion of the system, the oscillation of the spring and the transverse vibration of the beam, the dynamic model of the composite system is established based on the Hamiltonian variational principle. A symplectic dimensionality reduction method is proposed to decouple the dynamic system into two subsystems approximately. Employing the complex structure-preserving approach presented in our previous work, numerical iterations are performed between the two subsystems with weak damping to study the energy dissipation/transfer in the composite system, the effect of the spring stiffness on the energy distribution and the effect of the particle mass on the stability of the composite system. The numerical results show that: the energy transfer approach is uniquely determined by the initial attitude angle, while the energy dissipation speed is mainly depending on the initial attitude angle and the spring stiffness besides the weak damping. In addition, the mass ratio between the platform system and the solar panel determines the stable state as well as the time needed to reach the stable state of the composite system. The numerical approach presented in this paper provides a new way to deal with the coupling dynamic system and the conclusions obtained give some useful advices on the overall design of the Tethered Satellite System.

  5. Prediction of activation energies for aromatic oxidation by cytochrome P450

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rydberg, Patrik; Ryde, Ulf; Olsen, Lars

    2008-01-01

    We have estimated the activation energy for aromatic oxidation by compound I in cytochrome P450 for a diverse set of 17 substrates using state-of-the-art density functional theory (B3LYP) with large basis sets. The activation energies vary from 60 to 87 kJ/mol. We then test if these results can...... be reproduced by computationally less demanding methods. The best methods (a B3LYP calculation of the activation energy of a methoxy-radical model or a partial least-squares model of the semiempirical AM1 bond dissociation energies and spin densities of the tetrahedral intermediate for both a hydroxyl...

  6. The tissue-specific Rep8/UBXD6 tethers p97 to the endoplasmic reticulum membrane for degradation of misfolded proteins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Louise; Kriegenburg, Franziska; Lages Lino Vala, Andrea

    2011-01-01

    is a transmembrane protein that localizes to the ER membrane with its UBX domain facing the cytoplasm. Knock-down of Rep8 expression in human cells leads to a decreased association of p97 with the ER membrane and concomitantly a retarded degradation of misfolded ER-derived proteasome substrates. Thus, Rep8 tethers p......The protein known as p97 or VCP in mammals and Cdc48 in yeast is a versatile ATPase complex involved in several biological functions including membrane fusion, protein folding, and activation of membrane-bound transcription factors. In addition, p97 plays a central role in degradation of misfolded...... protein named Rep8 or Ubxd6 as a new cofactor of p97. Mouse Rep8 is highly tissue-specific and abundant in gonads. In testes, Rep8 is expressed in post-meiotic round spermatids, whereas in ovaries Rep8 is expressed in granulosa cells. Rep8 associates directly with p97 via its UBX domain. We show that Rep8...

  7. Reverse cope elimination of hydroxylamines and alkenes or alkynes: theoretical investigation of tether length and substituent effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krenske, Elizabeth H; Davison, Edwin C; Forbes, Ian T; Warner, Jacqueline A; Smith, Adrian L; Holmes, Andrew B; Houk, K N

    2012-02-01

    Quantum mechanical calculations have been used to study the intramolecular additions of hydroxylamines to alkenes and alkynes ("reverse Cope eliminations"). In intermolecular reverse Cope eliminations, alkynes are more reactive than alkenes. However, competition experiments have shown that tethering the hydroxylamine to the alkene or alkyne can reverse the reactivity order from that normally observed. The exact outcome depends on the length of the tether. In agreement with experiment, a range of density functional theory methods and CBS-QB3 calculations predict that the activation energies for intramolecular reverse Cope eliminations follow the order 6-exo-dig hydroxylamine and alkyne. Cyclization onto an alkene in the 5-exo-trig fashion incurs slightly less tether strain than a 6-exo-dig alkyne cyclization, but its activation energy is higher because the hydroxylamine fragment must distort more before the TS is reached. If the alkene terminus is substituted with two methyl groups, the barrier becomes so much higher that it is also disfavored compared to the 5- and 7-exo-dig cyclizations. © 2012 American Chemical Society

  8. Direct Synthesis of Co-doped Graphene on Dielectric Substrates Using Solid Carbon Sources

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Qi Wang; Pingping Zhang; Qiqi Zhuo; Xiaoxin Lv; Jiwei Wang; Xuhui Sun

    2015-01-01

    Direct synthesis of high-quality doped graphene on dielectric substrates without transfer is highly desired for simplified device processing in electronic applications.However,graphene synthesis directly on substrates suitable for device applications,though highly demanded,remains unattainable and challenging.Here,a simple and transfer-free synthesis of high-quality doped graphene on the dielectric substrate has been developed using a thin Cu layer as the top catalyst and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as both carbon precursors and doping sources.N-doped and N,F-co-doped graphene have been achieved using TPB and F16Cu Pc as solid carbon sources,respectively.The growth conditions were systematically optimized and the as-grown doped graphene were well characterized.The growth strategy provides a controllable transfer-free route for high-quality doped graphene synthesis,which will facilitate the practical applications of graphene.

  9. Advances towards aromatic oligoamide foldamers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjelmgaard, Thomas; Plesner, Malene; Dissing, Mette Marie

    2014-01-01

    We have efficiently synthesized 36 arylopeptoid dimers with ortho-, meta-, and para-substituted aromatic backbones and tert-butyl or phenyl side chains. The dimers were synthesized by using a "submonomer method" on solid phase, by applying a simplified common set of reaction conditions. X......-ray crystallographic analysis of two of these dimers disclosed that the tert-butyl side chain invokes a cis amide conformation with a comparatively more closely packed structure of the surrounding aromatic backbone while the phenyl side chain results in a trans amide conformation with a more open, extended structure...... of the surrounding aromatic backbone. Investigation of the X-ray structures of two arylopeptoid dimers disclosed that the tert-butyl side chain invokes a cis amide conformation with a closely packed structure of the surrounding aromatic backbone while the phenyl side chain results in a trans amide conformation...

  10. Polytetrafluoroethylene-jacketed stirrer modified with graphene oxide and polydopamine for the efficient extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zinxin; Mwadini, Mwadini Ahmada; Chen, Zilin

    2016-10-01

    Steel stirrers jacketed with polytetrafluoroethylene can be regarded as an ideal substrate for stirrer bar sorptive extraction. However, it is still a great challenge to immobilize graphene onto a polytetrafluoroethylene stirrer due to the high chemical resistance of the surface of a polytetrafluoroethylene stirrer. We describe here a method to modify the surface of polytetrafluoroethylene stirrers with graphene. In this work, graphene was used as the sorbent due to its excellent adsorption capability for aromatic compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic compounds. Graphene was successfully immobilized onto polytetrafluoroethylene-stirrer by a bio-inspired polydopamine functionalization method. The graphene-modified polytetrafluoroethylene-stirrer shows good stability and tolerance to stirring, ultrasonication, strong acidic and basic solutions, and to organic solvents. The multilayer coating was characterized by scanning electronic microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. After the optimization of some experimental conditions, the graphene-modified polytetrafluoroethylene stirrer was used for the stirrer bar sorptive extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in which the binding between the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the graphene layer was mainly based on π-π stacking and hydrophobic interactions. The graphene-modified polytetrafluoroethylene-stirrer-based stirrer bar sorptive extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with great extraction efficiency, with enrichment factors from 18 to 62. The method has low limits of detection of 1-5 pg/mL, wide linear range (5-100 and 10-200 pg/mL), good linearity (R ≥ 0.9957) and good reproducibility (RSD ≤ 6.45%). The proposed method has been applied to determine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in real dust samples. Good recoveries were obtained, ranging from 88.53 to 109.43%. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag

  11. Delineating Substrate Diversity of Disparate Short-Chain Dehydrogenase Reductase from Debaryomyces hansenii.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arindam Ghatak

    Full Text Available Short-chain dehydrogenase reductases (SDRs have been utilized for catalyzing the reduction of many aromatic/aliphatic prochiral ketones to their respective alcohols. However, there is a paucity of data that elucidates their innate biological role and diverse substrate space. In this study, we executed an in-depth biochemical characterization and substrate space mapping (with 278 prochiral ketones of an unannotated SDR (DHK from Debaryomyces hansenii and compared it with structurally and functionally characterized SDR Synechococcus elongatus. PCC 7942 FabG to delineate its industrial significance. It was observed that DHK was significantly more efficient than FabG, reducing a diverse set of ketones albeit at higher conversion rates. Comparison of the FabG structure with a homology model of DHK and a docking of substrate to both structures revealed the presence of additional flexible loops near the substrate binding site of DHK. The comparative elasticity of the cofactor and substrate binding site of FabG and DHK was experimentally substantiated using differential scanning fluorimetry. It is postulated that the loop flexibility may account for the superior catalytic efficiency of DHK although the positioning of the catalytic triad is conserved.

  12. Selectivity of substrate binding and ionization of 2-methyl-3-hydroxypyridine-5-carboxylic acid oxygenase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luanloet, Thikumporn; Sucharitakul, Jeerus; Chaiyen, Pimchai

    2015-08-01

    2-Methyl-3-hydroxypyridine-5-carboxylic acid (MHPC) oxygenase (EC 1.14.12.4) from Pseudomonas sp. MA-1 is a flavin-dependent monooxygenase that catalyzes a hydroxylation and aromatic ring cleavage reaction. The functional roles of two residues, Tyr223 and Tyr82, located ~ 5 Å away from MHPC, were characterized using site-directed mutagenesis, along with ligand binding, product analysis and transient kinetic experiments. Mutation of Tyr223 resulted in enzyme variants that were impaired in their hydroxylation activity and had Kd values for substrate binding 5-10-fold greater than the wild-type enzyme. Because this residue is adjacent to the water molecule that is located next to the 3-hydroxy group of MHPC, the results indicate that the interaction between Tyr223, H2 O and the 3-hydroxyl group of MHPC are important for substrate binding and hydroxylation. By contrast, the Kd for substrate binding of Tyr82His and Tyr82Phe variants were similar to that of the wild-type enzyme. However, only ~ 40-50% of the substrate was hydroxylated in the reactions of both variants, whereas most of the substrate was hydroxylated in the wild-type enzyme reaction. In free solution, MHPC or 5-hydroxynicotinic acid exists in a mixture of monoanionic and tripolar ionic forms, whereas only the tripolar ionic form binds to the wild-type enzyme. The binding of tripolar ionic MHPC would allow efficient hydroxylation through an electrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism. For the Tyr82His and Tyr82Phe variants, both forms of substrates can bind to the enzymes, indicating that the mutation at Tyr82 abolished the selectivity of the enzyme towards the tripolar ionic form. Transient kinetic studies indicated that the hydroxylation rate constants of both Tyr82 variants are approximately two- to 2.5-fold higher than that of the wild-type enzyme. Altogether, our findings suggest that Tyr82 is important for the binding selectivity of MHPC oxygenase towards the tripolar ionic species, whereas the

  13. Facile on-site detection of substituted aromatic pollutants in water using thin layer chromatography combined with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Dawei; Qu, Lulu; Zhai, Wenlei; Xue, Jinqun; Fossey, John S; Long, Yitao

    2011-05-01

    A novel facile method for on-site detection of substituted aromatic pollutants in water using thin layer chromatography (TLC) combined with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was explored. Various substituted aromatics in polluted water were separated by a convenient TLC protocol and then detected using a portable Raman spectrometer with the prepared silver colloids serving as SERS-active substrates. The effects of operating conditions on detection efficacy were evaluated, and the application of TLC-SERS to on-site detection of artificial and real-life samples of aromatics/polluted water was systematically investigated. It was shown that commercially available Si 60-F(254) TLC plates were suitable for separation and displayed low SERS background and good separation efficiency, 2 mM silver colloids, 20 mM NaCl (working as aggregating agent), 40 mW laser power, and 50 s intergration time were appropriate for the detection regime. Furthermore, qualitative and quantitative detection of most of substituted aromatic pollutants was found to be readily accomplished using the developed TLC-SERS technique, which compared well with GC-MS in terms of identification ability and detection accuracy, and a limit of detection (LOD) less than 0.2 ppm (even at ppb level for some analytes) could be achieved under optimal conditions. The results reveal that the presented convenient method could be used for the effective separation and detection of the substituted aromatic pollutants of water on site, thus reducing possible influences of sample transportation and contamination while shortening the overall analysis time for emergency and routine monitoring of the substituted aromatics/polluted water.

  14. Reassessing SERS enhancement factors: using thermodynamics to drive substrate design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guicheteau, J A; Tripathi, A; Emmons, E D; Christesen, S D; Fountain, Augustus W

    2017-12-04

    Over the past 40 years fundamental and application research into Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) has been explored by academia, industry, and government laboratories. To date however, SERS has achieved little commercial success as an analytical technique. Researchers are tackling a variety of paths to help break through the commercial barrier by addressing the reproducibility in both the SERS substrates and SERS signals as well as continuing to explore the underlying mechanisms. To this end, investigators use a variety of methodologies, typically studying strongly binding analytes such as aromatic thiols and azarenes, and report SERS enhancement factor calculations. However a drawback of the traditional SERS enhancement factor calculation is that it does not yield enough information to understand substrate reproducibility, application potential with another analyte, or the driving factors behind the molecule-metal interaction. Our work at the US Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center has focused on these questions and we have shown that thermodynamic principles play a key role in the SERS response and are an essential factor in future designs of substrates and applications. This work will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various experimental techniques used to report SERS enhancement with planar SERS substrates and present our alternative SERS enhancement value. We will report on three types of analysis scenarios that all yield different information concerning the effectiveness of the SERS substrate, practical application of the substrate, and finally the thermodynamic properties of the substrate. We believe that through this work a greater understanding for designing substrates will be achieved, one that is based on both thermodynamic and plasmonic properties as opposed to just plasmonic properties. This new understanding and potential change in substrate design will enable more applications for SERS based methodologies including targeting

  15. Converting lignin to aromatics: step by step

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Strassberger, Z.I.

    2014-01-01

    Lignin, the glue that holds trees together, is the most abundant natural resource of aromatics. In that respect, it is a far more advanced resource than crude oil. This is because lignin already contains the aromatic functional groups. Thus, catalytic conversion of lignin to high-value aromatics is

  16. Conformational switching of ethano-bridged Cu,H2-bis-porphyrin induced by aromatic amines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bettini, Simona; Maglie, Emanuela; Pagano, Rosanna; Borovkov, Victor; Inoue, Yoshihisa; Valli, Ludovico; Giancane, Gabriele

    2015-01-01

    Cu,H2-bis-porphyrin (Cu,H2-Por2), in which copper porphyrin and free-base porphyrin are linked together by an ethano-bridge, was dissolved in chloroform and spread at the air/liquid subphase interface of a Langmuir trough. The bis-porphyrin derivative, floating film was characterized by reflection spectroscopy and the surface pressure of the floating film was studied as a function of the mean area per molecule. When aromatic amines are dissolved in the subphase, an evident interaction between the bis-porphyrin host and the aromatic amine guest is observed. A clear-cut variation of the profile of surface pressure vs area per molecule curve is observed. Reflection spectroscopy highlights that the aromatic amines dissolved in the subphase are able to induce the syn-to-anti conformational switching in the bis-porphyrin derivative. The Langmuir-Schaefer technique has been used to transfer the floating bis-porphyrin film (when using pure water as a subphase) to a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) substrate and the resulting device was able to detect the presence of aniline at concentrations as low as 1 nM in aqueous solution. The high selectivity of the SPR sensing device has been verified by checking the spectral response of the active layer towards other analytes dissolved in the aqueous solutions.

  17. Conformational switching of ethano-bridged Cu,H2-bis-porphyrin induced by aromatic amines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simona Bettini

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Cu,H2-bis-porphyrin (Cu,H2-Por2, in which copper porphyrin and free-base porphyrin are linked together by an ethano-bridge, was dissolved in chloroform and spread at the air/liquid subphase interface of a Langmuir trough. The bis-porphyrin derivative, floating film was characterized by reflection spectroscopy and the surface pressure of the floating film was studied as a function of the mean area per molecule. When aromatic amines are dissolved in the subphase, an evident interaction between the bis-porphyrin host and the aromatic amine guest is observed. A clear-cut variation of the profile of surface pressure vs area per molecule curve is observed. Reflection spectroscopy highlights that the aromatic amines dissolved in the subphase are able to induce the syn-to-anti conformational switching in the bis-porphyrin derivative. The Langmuir–Schaefer technique has been used to transfer the floating bis-porphyrin film (when using pure water as a subphase to a surface plasmon resonance (SPR substrate and the resulting device was able to detect the presence of aniline at concentrations as low as 1 nM in aqueous solution. The high selectivity of the SPR sensing device has been verified by checking the spectral response of the active layer towards other analytes dissolved in the aqueous solutions.

  18. Relationship between anaerobic capacity estimated using a single effort and 30-s tethered running outcomes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandro Moura Zagatto

    Full Text Available The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between alternative anaerobic capacity method (MAODALT and a 30-s all-out tethered running test. Fourteen male recreational endurance runners underwent a graded exercise test, a supramaximal exhaustive effort and a 30-s all-out test on different days, interspaced by 48h. After verification of data normality (Shapiro-Wilk test, the Pearson's correlation test was used to verify the association between the anaerobic estimates from the MAODALT and the 30-s all-out tethered running outputs. Absolute MAODALT was correlated with mean power (r = 0.58; P = 0.03, total work (r = 0.57; P = 0.03, and mean force (r = 0.79; P = 0.001. In addition, energy from the glycolytic pathway (E[La-] was correlated with mean power (r = 0.58; P = 0.03. Significant correlations were also found at each 5s interval between absolute MAODALT and force values (r between 0.75 and 0.84, and between force values and E[La-] (r between 0.73 to 0.80. In conclusion, the associations between absolute MAODALT and the mechanical outputs from the 30-s all-out tethered running test evidenced the importance of the anaerobic capacity for maintaining force during the course of time in short efforts.

  19. Overload control of artificial gravity facility using spinning tether system for high eccentricity transfer orbits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gou, Xing-wang; Li, Ai-jun; Tian, Hao-chang; Wang, Chang-qing; Lu, Hong-shi

    2018-06-01

    As the major part of space life supporting systems, artificial gravity requires further study before it becomes mature. Spinning tether system is a good alternative solution to provide artificial gravity for the whole spacecraft other than additional devices, and its longer tether length could significantly reduce spinning velocity and thus enhance comfortability. An approximated overload-based feedback method is proposed to provide estimated spinning velocity signals for controller, so that gravity level could be accurately controlled without complicated GPS modules. System behavior in high eccentricity transfer orbits is also studied to give a complete knowledge of the spinning stabilities. The application range of the proposed method is studied in various orbit cases and spinning velocities, indicating that it is accurate and reliable for most of the mission phases especially for the final constant gravity level phase. In order to provide stable gravity level for transfer orbit missions, a sliding mode controller based on estimated angular signals is designed for closed-loop control. Numerical results indicate that the combination of overload-based feedback and sliding mode controller could satisfy most of the long-term artificial gravity missions. It is capable of forming flexible gravity environment in relatively good accuracy even in the lowest possible orbital radiuses and high eccentricity orbits of crewed space missions. The proposed scheme provides an effective tether solution for the artificial gravity construction in interstellar travel.

  20. Fullerenic structures and such structures tethered to carbon materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goel, Anish; Howard, Jack B.; Vander Sande, John B.

    2010-01-05

    The fullerenic structures include fullerenes having molecular weights less than that of C.sub.60 with the exception of C.sub.36 and fullerenes having molecular weights greater than C.sub.60. Examples include fullerenes C.sub.50, C.sub.58, C.sub.130, and C.sub.176. Fullerenic structure chemically bonded to a carbon surface is also disclosed along with a method for tethering fullerenes to a carbon material. The method includes adding functionalized fullerene to a liquid suspension containing carbon material, drying the suspension to produce a powder, and heat treating the powder.

  1. Advanced Electrodynamic Tether Systems: Modeling of Scattering and Unsteady Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-06-06

    spacecraft and satellites. A high altitude nuclear detonation would likely create a new high energy electron belt and increase the radiation risk to...our tether has no reason to roll, making O=0, and thus cosO =1. The y-component of the torque is thus expressed: < = < =< = FF cossin3 222 ’ (S...ions from the integral limits to manageable levels. Our goal is to isolate the permutations of initial velocities and impact parameters such that

  2. The Reverse Cope Elimination of Hydroxylamines and Alkenes or Alkynes: Theoretical Investigation of Tether Length and Substituent Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krenske, Elizabeth H.; Davison, Edwin C.; Forbes, Ian T.; Warner, Jacqueline A.; Smith, Adrian L.; Holmes, Andrew B.; Houk, K. N.

    2012-01-01

    Quantum mechanical calculations have been used to study the intramolecular additions of hydroxylamines to alkenes and alkynes (“reverse Cope eliminations”). In intermolecular reverse Cope eliminations, alkynes are more reactive than alkenes. However, competition experiments have shown that tethering the hydroxylamine to the alkene or alkyne can reverse the reactivity order from that normally observed. The exact outcome depends on the length of the tether. In agreement with experiment, a range of density functional theory methods and CBS-QB3 calculations predict that the activation energies for intramolecular reverse Cope eliminations follow the order 6-exo-dig hydroxylamine and alkyne. Cyclization onto an alkene in the 5-exo-trig fashion incurs slightly less tether strain than a 6-exo-dig alkyne cyclization, but its activation energy is higher because the hydroxylamine fragment must distort more before the TS is reached. If the alkene terminus is substituted with two methyl groups, the barrier becomes so much higher that it is also disfavored compared to the 5- and 7-exo-dig cyclizations. PMID:22280245

  3. High atmosphere–ocean exchange of semivolatile aromatic hydrocarbons

    KAUST Repository

    González-Gaya, Belén

    2016-05-16

    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and other semivolatile aromatic-like compounds, are an important and ubiquitous fraction of organic matter in the environment. The occurrence of semivolatile aromatic hydrocarbons is due to anthropogenic sources such as incomplete combustion of fossil fuels or oil spills, and other biogenic sources. However, their global transport, fate and relevance for the carbon cycle have been poorly assessed, especially in terms of fluxes. Here we report a global assessment of the occurrence and atmosphere-ocean fluxes of 64 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons analysed in paired atmospheric and seawater samples from the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The global atmospheric input of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to the global ocean is estimated at 0.09 Tg per month, four times greater than the input from the Deepwater Horizon spill. Moreover, the environmental concentrations of total semivolatile aromatic-like compounds were 10 2 -10 3 times higher than those of the targeted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, with a relevant contribution of an aromatic unresolved complex mixture. These concentrations drive a large global deposition of carbon, estimated at 400 Tg C yr -1, around 15% of the oceanic CO2 uptake. © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited.

  4. Arginine-aromatic interactions and their effects on arginine-induced solubilization of aromatic solutes and suppression of protein aggregation

    KAUST Repository

    Shah, Dhawal

    2011-09-21

    We examine the interaction of aromatic residues of proteins with arginine, an additive commonly used to suppress protein aggregation, using experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. An aromatic-rich peptide, FFYTP (a segment of insulin), and lysozyme and insulin are used as model systems. Mass spectrometry shows that arginine increases the solubility of FFYTP by binding to the peptide, with the simulations revealing the predominant association of arginine to be with the aromatic residues. The calculations further show a positive preferential interaction coefficient, Γ XP, contrary to conventional thinking that positive Γ XP\\'s indicate aggregation rather than suppression of aggregation. Simulations with lysozyme and insulin also show arginine\\'s preference for aromatic residues, in addition to acidic residues. We use these observations and earlier results reported by us and others to discuss the possible implications of arginine\\'s interactions with aromatic residues on the solubilization of aromatic moieties and proteins. Our results also highlight the fact that explanations based purely on Γ XP, which measures average affinity of an additive to a protein, could obscure or misinterpret the underlying molecular mechanisms behind additive-induced suppression of protein aggregation. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

  5. Arginine-aromatic interactions and their effects on arginine-induced solubilization of aromatic solutes and suppression of protein aggregation

    KAUST Repository

    Shah, Dhawal; Li, Jianguo; Shaikh, Abdul Rajjak; Rajagopalan, Raj

    2011-01-01

    We examine the interaction of aromatic residues of proteins with arginine, an additive commonly used to suppress protein aggregation, using experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. An aromatic-rich peptide, FFYTP (a segment of insulin), and lysozyme and insulin are used as model systems. Mass spectrometry shows that arginine increases the solubility of FFYTP by binding to the peptide, with the simulations revealing the predominant association of arginine to be with the aromatic residues. The calculations further show a positive preferential interaction coefficient, Γ XP, contrary to conventional thinking that positive Γ XP's indicate aggregation rather than suppression of aggregation. Simulations with lysozyme and insulin also show arginine's preference for aromatic residues, in addition to acidic residues. We use these observations and earlier results reported by us and others to discuss the possible implications of arginine's interactions with aromatic residues on the solubilization of aromatic moieties and proteins. Our results also highlight the fact that explanations based purely on Γ XP, which measures average affinity of an additive to a protein, could obscure or misinterpret the underlying molecular mechanisms behind additive-induced suppression of protein aggregation. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

  6. Purification, partial characterization, and reactivity with aromatic compounds of two laccases from Marasmius quercophilus strain 17.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farnet, A M; Criquet, S; Tagger, S; Gil, G; Le Petit, J

    2000-03-01

    Two isozymes of laccase were obtained from an induced liquid culture of Marasmius quercophilus with p-hydroxybenzoic acid as the inducer. Both the constitutive and the induced isozyme have a molecular mass of 60 kDa as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Using isoelectric focusing, we found three isozymes with the constitutive enzyme (pI 4, 4.2, 4.4) and four of the induced form (pI 4.75, 4.85, 4.95, 5.1). We observed certain differences between these two isozymes; the specific activity of the induced isozyme was twice as high, and two optimum pH levels (5 and 6) were observed with the induced isozyme (only one, pH 5, for the constitutive isozyme). However, both of these enzymes have the same thermal stability and the same temperature for their highest activity (80 degrees C). Furthermore, the reactivity of both these enzymes with aromatic compounds was similar. The use of mediators extended the oxidized substrate range of the laccases studied. Various products of degradation were observed, depending on the mediator used. When laccase was used alone, the decrease of the signal corresponding to the aromatic cycle, without any formations of other peaks at different wavelengths, suggested polymerisation of aromatic compounds.

  7. Reversibly tethering growth factors to surfaces : guiding cell function at the cell-material interface

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cabanas Danés, Jordi

    2013-01-01

    Development of novel methodologies for tethering growth factors (GFs) to materials is highly desired for the generation of biomaterials with improved tissue repair properties. Progress in the development of biomaterials that incorporate GFs and the in vivo performance of such biomaterials in tissue

  8. Benzo-thia-fused [n]Thienoacenequinodimethanes with Small to Moderate Diradical Characters: The Role of Pro-aromaticity versus Anti-aromaticity

    KAUST Repository

    Shi, Xueliang

    2016-01-19

    Open-shell singlet diradicaloids recently have received much attention due to their unique optical, electronic and magnetic properties and promising applications in materials science. Among various diradicaloids, quinoidal π-conjugated molecules have become the prevailing designs. However, there still lacks fundamental understanding on how the fusion mode and pro-aromaticity/anti-aromaticity affect their diradical character and physical properties. In this work, a series of pro-aromatic benzo-thia-fused [n]thienoacenequinodimethanes (Thn-TIPS (n=1-3) and BDTh-TIPS) were synthesized and compared with the previously reported anti-aromatic bisindeno-[n]thienoacenes (Sn-TIPS, n=1-4). The ground-state geometric and electronic structures of these new quinoidal molecules were systematically investigated by X-ray crystallographic analysis, variable temperature NMR, ESR, SQUID, Raman, and electronic absorption spectroscopy, assisted by DFT calculations. It was found that the diradical character index (y0) increased from nearly zero for Th1-TIPS to 2.4% for Th2-TIPS, 18.2% for Th3-TIPS, and 38.2% for BDTh-TIPS, due to the enhanced aromatic stabilization. Consequently, with the extension of molecular size, the one-photon absorption spectra are gradually red-shifted, the two-photon absorption (TPA) cross section values increase, and the singlet excited state lifetimes decrease. By comparison with the corresponding anti-aromatic analogues Sn-TIPS (n=1-3), the pro-aromatic Thn-TIPS (n=1-3) exhibit larger diradical character, longer singlet excited state lifetime and larger TPA cross section value. At the same time, they display distinctively different electronic absorption spectra and improved electrochemical amphotericity. Spectroelectrochemical studies revealed a good linear relationship between the optical energy gaps and the molecular length in the neutral, radical cationic and dicationic forms. Our research work disclosed the significant difference between the pro-aromatic

  9. Benzo-thia-fused [n]Thienoacenequinodimethanes with Small to Moderate Diradical Characters: The Role of Pro-aromaticity versus Anti-aromaticity

    KAUST Repository

    Shi, Xueliang; Quintero, EstefanÍ a; Lee, Sangsu; Jing, Linzhi; Herng, Tun Seng; Zheng, Bin; Huang, Kuo-Wei; Ló pez Navarrete, Juan T.; Ding, Jun; Kim, Dongho; Casado, Juan; Chi, Chunyan

    2016-01-01

    Open-shell singlet diradicaloids recently have received much attention due to their unique optical, electronic and magnetic properties and promising applications in materials science. Among various diradicaloids, quinoidal π-conjugated molecules have become the prevailing designs. However, there still lacks fundamental understanding on how the fusion mode and pro-aromaticity/anti-aromaticity affect their diradical character and physical properties. In this work, a series of pro-aromatic benzo-thia-fused [n]thienoacenequinodimethanes (Thn-TIPS (n=1-3) and BDTh-TIPS) were synthesized and compared with the previously reported anti-aromatic bisindeno-[n]thienoacenes (Sn-TIPS, n=1-4). The ground-state geometric and electronic structures of these new quinoidal molecules were systematically investigated by X-ray crystallographic analysis, variable temperature NMR, ESR, SQUID, Raman, and electronic absorption spectroscopy, assisted by DFT calculations. It was found that the diradical character index (y0) increased from nearly zero for Th1-TIPS to 2.4% for Th2-TIPS, 18.2% for Th3-TIPS, and 38.2% for BDTh-TIPS, due to the enhanced aromatic stabilization. Consequently, with the extension of molecular size, the one-photon absorption spectra are gradually red-shifted, the two-photon absorption (TPA) cross section values increase, and the singlet excited state lifetimes decrease. By comparison with the corresponding anti-aromatic analogues Sn-TIPS (n=1-3), the pro-aromatic Thn-TIPS (n=1-3) exhibit larger diradical character, longer singlet excited state lifetime and larger TPA cross section value. At the same time, they display distinctively different electronic absorption spectra and improved electrochemical amphotericity. Spectroelectrochemical studies revealed a good linear relationship between the optical energy gaps and the molecular length in the neutral, radical cationic and dicationic forms. Our research work disclosed the significant difference between the pro-aromatic

  10. Elongated membrane tethers, individually anchored by high affinity α4β1/VCAM-1 complexes, are the quantal units of monocyte arrests.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Calvin Chu

    Full Text Available The α4β1 integrin facilitates both monocyte rolling and adhesion to the vascular endothelium and is physiologically activated by monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1. The current study investigated the initial events in the adhesion of THP-1 cells to immobilized Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 (VCAM-1. Using AFM force measurements, cell adhesion was shown to be mediated by two populations of α4β1/VCAM-1 complexes. A low affinity form of α4β1 was anchored to the elastic elements of the cytoskeleton, while a higher affinity conformer was coupled to the viscous elements of the cell membrane. Within 100 ms of contact, THP-1 cells, stimulated by co-immobilized MCP-1, exhibited a tremendous increase in adhesion to VCAM-1. Enhanced cell adhesion was accompanied by a local decoupling of the cell membrane from the cytoskeleton and the formation of long membrane tethers. The tethers were individually anchored by multiple α4β1/VCAM-1 complexes that prolonged the extension of the viscous tethers. In vivo, the formation of these membrane tethers may provide the quantal structural units for the arrest of rolling monocytes within the blood vessels.

  11. Crowded, Confined, and Frustrated: Dynamics of Molecules Tethered to Nanoparticles

    KAUST Repository

    Agarwal, Praveen

    2012-12-01

    Above a critical chemistry-dependent molecular weight, all polymer molecules entangle and, as a result, exhibit slow dynamics, enhanced viscosity, and elasticity. Herein we report on the dynamics of low molecular weight polymers tethered to nanoparticles and find that even conventionally unentangled chains manifest dynamical features similar to entangled, long-chain molecules. Our findings are shown to imply that crowding and confinement of polymers on particles produce topological constraints analogous to those in entangled systems. © 2012 American Physical Society.

  12. The Aspergillus niger faeB gene encodes a second feruloyl esterase involved in pectin and xylan degradation and is specifically induced in the presence of aromatic compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Vries, Ronald P; vanKuyk, Patricia A; Kester, Harry C M; Visser, Jaap

    2002-04-15

    The faeB gene encoding a second feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus niger has been cloned and characterized. It consists of an open reading frame of 1644 bp containing one intron. The gene encodes a protein of 521 amino acids that has sequence similarity to that of an Aspergillus oryzae tannase. However, the encoded enzyme, feruloyl esterase B (FAEB), does not have tannase activity. Comparison of the physical characteristics and substrate specificity of FAEB with those of a cinnamoyl esterase from A. niger [Kroon, Faulds and Williamson (1996) Biotechnol. Appl. Biochem. 23, 255-262] suggests that they are in fact the same enzyme. The expression of faeB is specifically induced in the presence of certain aromatic compounds, but not in the presence of other constituents present in plant-cell-wall polysaccharides such as arabinoxylan or pectin. The expression profile of faeB in the presence of aromatic compounds was compared with the expression of A. niger faeA, encoding feruloyl esterase A (FAEA), and A. niger bphA, the gene encoding a benzoate-p-hydroxylase. All three genes have different subsets of aromatic compounds that induce their expression, indicating the presence of different transcription activating systems in A. niger that respond to aromatic compounds. Comparison of the activity of FAEA and FAEB on sugar-beet pectin and wheat arabinoxylan demonstrated that they are both involved in the degradation of both polysaccharides, but have opposite preferences for these substrates. FAEA is more active than FAEB towards wheat arabinoxylan, whereas FAEB is more active than FAEA towards sugar-beet pectin.

  13. Bacteria from wheat and cucurbit plant roots metabolize PAHs and aromatic root exudates: Implications for rhizodegradation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ely, Cairn S; Smets, Barth F

    2017-10-03

    The chemical interaction between plants and bacteria in the root zone can lead to soil decontamination. Bacteria that degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been isolated from the rhizospheres of plant species with varied biological traits; however, it is not known what phytochemicals promote contaminant degradation. One monocot and two dicotyledon plants were grown in PAH-contaminated soil from a manufactured gas plant (MGP) site. A phytotoxicity assay confirmed greater soil decontamination in rhizospheres when compared to bulk soil controls. Bacteria were isolated from plant roots (rhizobacteria) and selected for growth on anthracene and chrysene on PAH-amended plates. Rhizosphere isolates metabolized 3- and 4-ring PAHs and PAH catabolic intermediates in liquid incubations. Aromatic root exudate compounds, namely flavonoids and simple phenols, were also substrates for isolated rhizobacteria. In particular, the phenolic compounds-morin, caffeic acid, and protocatechuic acid-appear to be linked to bacterial degradation of 3- and 4-ring PAHs in the rhizosphere.

  14. Construction and Optimization of a Heterologous Pathway for Protocatechuate Catabolism in Escherichia coli Enables Bioconversion of Model Aromatic Compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clarkson, Sonya M; Giannone, Richard J; Kridelbaugh, Donna M; Elkins, James G; Guss, Adam M; Michener, Joshua K

    2017-09-15

    The production of biofuels from lignocellulose yields a substantial lignin by-product stream that currently has few applications. Biological conversion of lignin-derived compounds into chemicals and fuels has the potential to improve the economics of lignocellulose-derived biofuels, but few microbes are able both to catabolize lignin-derived aromatic compounds and to generate valuable products. While Escherichia coli has been engineered to produce a variety of fuels and chemicals, it is incapable of catabolizing most aromatic compounds. Therefore, we engineered E. coli to catabolize protocatechuate, a common intermediate in lignin degradation, as the sole source of carbon and energy via heterologous expression of a nine-gene pathway from Pseudomonas putida KT2440. We next used experimental evolution to select for mutations that increased growth with protocatechuate more than 2-fold. Increasing the strength of a single ribosome binding site in the heterologous pathway was sufficient to recapitulate the increased growth. After optimization of the core pathway, we extended the pathway to enable catabolism of a second model compound, 4-hydroxybenzoate. These engineered strains will be useful platforms to discover, characterize, and optimize pathways for conversions of lignin-derived aromatics. IMPORTANCE Lignin is a challenging substrate for microbial catabolism due to its polymeric and heterogeneous chemical structure. Therefore, engineering microbes for improved catabolism of lignin-derived aromatic compounds will require the assembly of an entire network of catabolic reactions, including pathways from genetically intractable strains. Constructing defined pathways for aromatic compound degradation in a model host would allow rapid identification, characterization, and optimization of novel pathways. We constructed and optimized one such pathway in E. coli to enable catabolism of a model aromatic compound, protocatechuate, and then extended the pathway to a related

  15. Survey of benzene and aromatics in Canadian Gasoline - 1994

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tushingham, M.

    1996-01-01

    A comprehensive database of the benzene and aromatics levels of gasoline produced in or imported into Canada during 1994, was presented. Environment Canada conducted a survey that requested refineries and importers to report quarterly on benzene and aromatics levels in gasoline. Benzene, which has been declared toxic by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, is found in gasoline and is formed during the combustion of the aromatic components of gasoline. It was shown that benzene and aromatics levels differ regionally and seasonally. There are also variations in benzene levels between batches of gasoline produced at any one refinery. This report listed the responses to the benzene/aromatics survey. It also described the analytical procedures used to measure benzene and aromatics levels in gasoline, and provided guidelines for reporting gasoline benzene and total aromatics data. 7 tabs., 21 figs

  16. Role of Double-Strand Break End-Tethering during Gene Conversion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suvi Jain

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Correct repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs is critical for maintaining genome stability. Whereas gene conversion (GC-mediated repair is mostly error-free, repair by break-induced replication (BIR is associated with non-reciprocal translocations and loss of heterozygosity. We have previously shown that a Recombination Execution Checkpoint (REC mediates this competition by preventing the BIR pathway from acting on DSBs that can be repaired by GC. Here, we asked if the REC can also determine whether the ends that are engaged in a GC-compatible configuration belong to the same break, since repair involving ends from different breaks will produce potentially deleterious translocations. We report that the kinetics of repair are markedly delayed when the two DSB ends that participate in GC belong to different DSBs (termed Trans compared to the case when both DSB ends come from the same break (Cis. However, repair in Trans still occurs by GC rather than BIR, and the overall efficiency of repair is comparable. Hence, the REC is not sensitive to the "origin" of the DSB ends. When the homologous ends for GC are in Trans, the delay in repair appears to reflect their tethering to sequences on the other side of the DSB that themselves recombine with other genomic locations with which they share sequence homology. These data support previous observations that the two ends of a DSB are usually tethered to each other and that this tethering facilitates both ends encountering the same donor sequence. We also found that the presence of homeologous/repetitive sequences in the vicinity of a DSB can distract the DSB end from finding its bona fide homologous donor, and that inhibition of GC by such homeologous sequences is markedly increased upon deleting Sgs1 but not Msh6.

  17. Stabilized platform for tethered balloon soundings of broadband long- and short-wave radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alzheimer, J.M.; Anderson, G.A.; Whiteman, C.D.

    1993-01-01

    Changes in the composition of trace gases in the earth's atmosphere have been reported by many observers, and a general concern has been expressed regarding possible changes to the earth's climate that may be caused by radiatively active gases introduced into the earth's atmosphere by man's activities. Radiatively active trace gases produce temperature changes in the earth's atmosphere through changes in radiative flux divergence. Our knowledge of and means of measuring radiative flux divergence is very limited. A few observations of vertical radiative flux divergences have been reported from aircraft from radiometersondes from towers and from large tethered balloons. These measurement techniques suffers from one or more drawbacks, including shallow sounding depths (towers), high cost (aircraft), complicated logistics (large tethered balloons), and limitation to nighttime hours (radiometersondes). Changes in radiative flux divergence caused by anthropogenic trace gases are expected to be quite small, and will be difficult to measure with existing broadband radiative flux instruments. The emphasis of present research in global climate change is thus being focused on improving radiative transfer algorithms in global climate models. The radiative parameterizations in these models are at an early stage of development and information is needed regarding their performance, especially in cloudy conditions. The impetus for the research reported in this paper is the need for a device that can supplement existing means of measuring vertical profiles of long- and short-wave irradiance and radiative flux divergence. We have designed a small tethered-balloon-based system that can make radiometric soundings through the atmospheric boundary layer. This paper discusses the concept, the design considerations, and the design and construction of this sounding system. The performance of the system will be tested in a series of balloon flights scheduled for the fall and winter of 1992

  18. Significance of relative velocity in drag force or drag power estimation for a tethered float

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Vethamony, P.; Sastry, J.S.

    There is difference in opinion regarding the use of relative velocity instead of particle velocity alone in the estimation of drag force or power. In the present study, a tethered spherical float which undergoes oscillatory motion in regular waves...

  19. Bicyclic Baird-type aromaticity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cha, Won-Young; Kim, Taeyeon; Ghosh, Arindam; Zhang, Zhan; Ke, Xian-Sheng; Ali, Rashid; Lynch, Vincent M.; Jung, Jieun; Kim, Woojae; Lee, Sangsu; Fukuzumi, Shunichi; Park, Jung Su; Sessler, Jonathan L.; Chandrashekar, Tavarekere K.; Kim, Dongho

    2017-12-01

    Classic formulations of aromaticity have long been associated with topologically planar conjugated macrocyclic systems. The theoretical possibility of so-called bicycloaromaticity was noted early on. However, it has yet to be demonstrated by experiment in a simple synthetic organic molecule. Conjugated organic systems are attractive for studying the effect of structure on electronic features. This is because, in principle, they can be modified readily through dedicated synthesis. As such, they can provide useful frameworks for testing by experiment with fundamental insights provided by theory. Here we detail the synthesis and characterization of two purely organic non-planar dithienothiophene-bridged [34]octaphyrins that permit access to two different aromatic forms as a function of the oxidation state. In their neutral forms, these congeneric systems contain competing 26 and 34 π-electronic circuits. When subject to two-electron oxidation, electronically mixed [4n+1]/[4n+1] triplet biradical species in the ground state are obtained that display global aromaticity in accord with Baird's rule.

  20. A magnetic tether system to investigate visual and olfactory mediated flight control in Drosophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duistermars, Brian J; Frye, Mark

    2008-11-21

    It has been clear for many years that insects use visual cues to stabilize their heading in a wind stream. Many animals track odors carried in the wind. As such, visual stabilization of upwind tracking directly aids in odor tracking. But do olfactory signals directly influence visual tracking behavior independently from wind cues? Also, the recent deluge of research on the neurophysiology and neurobehavioral genetics of olfaction in Drosophila has motivated ever more technically sophisticated and quantitative behavioral assays. Here, we modified a magnetic tether system originally devised for vision experiments by equipping the arena with narrow laminar flow odor plumes. A fly is glued to a small steel pin and suspended in a magnetic field that enables it to yaw freely. Small diameter food odor plumes are directed downward over the fly's head, eliciting stable tracking by a hungry fly. Here we focus on the critical mechanics of tethering, aligning the magnets, devising the odor plume, and confirming stable odor tracking.

  1. Tethered Balloon Technology in Design Solutions for Rescue and Relief Team Emergency Communication Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsamhi, Saeed Hamood; Ansari, Mohd Samar; Ma, Ou; Almalki, Faris; Gupta, Sachin Kumar

    2018-05-23

    The actions taken at the initial times of a disaster are critical. Catastrophe occurs because of terrorist acts or natural hazards which have the potential to disrupt the infrastructure of wireless communication networks. Therefore, essential emergency functions such as search, rescue, and recovery operations during a catastrophic event will be disabled. We propose tethered balloon technology to provide efficient emergency communication services and reduce casualty mortality and morbidity for disaster recovery. The tethered balloon is an actively developed research area and a simple solution to support the performance, facilities, and services of emergency medical communication. The most critical requirement for rescue and relief teams is having a higher quality of communication services which enables them to save people's lives. Using our proposed technology, it has been reported that the performance of rescue and relief teams significantly improved. OPNET Modeler 14.5 is used for a network simulated with the help of ad hoc tools (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 8).

  2. Analysis of tethered balloon data from San Nicolas Island on 8 July 1987

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Stephen K.; Duda, David P.; Guinn, Thomas A.; Johnson-Pasqua, Christopher M.; Schubert, Wayne H.; Snider, Jack B.

    1990-01-01

    Analysis of the 8 July 1987 (Julian Day 189) tethered balloon flight from San Nicolas Island is summarized. The flight commenced at about 14:30 UTC (7:30 Pacific Daylight Time) and lasted six and one-half hours. The position of the Colorado State University (CSU) instrument package as a function of time is shown. For the purpose of presentation of results, researchers divided the flight into 13 legs. These legs consist of 20 minute constant level runs, with the exception of leg 1, which is a sounding from the surface to just above 930 mb. The laser ceilometer record of cloud base is also shown. The cloud base averaged around 970 mb during much of the flight but was more variable near the end. Before the tethered balloon flight commenced, a Communications Link Analysis and Simulation System (CLASS) sounding was released at 12:11 UTC (5:11 PDT). Temperature and moisture data below 927 mb for this sounding is shown. The sounding indicates a cloud top around 955 mb at this time.

  3. Volatilisation of aromatic hydrocarbons from soil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindhardt, B.; Christensen, T.H.

    1996-01-01

    The non-steady-state fluxes of aromatic hydrocarbons were measured in the laboratory from the surface of soils contaminated with coal tar Four soil samples from a former gasworks site were used for the experiments. The fluxes were quantified for 11 selected compounds, 4 mono- and 7 polycyclic...... aromatic hydrocarbons, for a period of up to 8 or 16 days. The concentrations of the selected compounds in the soils were between 0.2 and 3,100 mu g/g. The study included the experimental determination of the distribution coefficient of the aromatic hydrocarbons between the sorbed phase and the water under...... saturated conditions. The determined distribution coefficients showed that the aromatic hydrocarbons were more strongly sorbed to the total organic carbon including the coal tar pitch - by a factor of 8 to 25 - than expected for natural organic matter. The fluxes were also estimated using an analytical...

  4. Nanostructuration of self-assembled poly(styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene) block copolymer thin films in a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zalakain, Inaki; Ramos, Jose Angel; Fernandez, Raquel; Etxeberria, Haritz; Mondragon, Inaki, E-mail: inaki.mondragon@ehu.e

    2011-01-03

    Highly oriented pyrolitic graphite (HOPG) is a useful substrate to visualize epitaxial formation due to its crystallographic structure. The morphology of a poly(styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene) block copolymer thin film on a HOPG substrate was investigated by atomic force microscopy. Block copolymer domains generated a morphology with triangular regularity. This arrangement was induced by the HOPG substrate structure due to van der Waals attraction between the HOPG {pi}-conjugated system and aromatic ring of polystyrene domains. However, increasing the film thickness, the substrate effect on the surface morphology decreased. As a consequence, film surfaces showed the coexistence of different structures such as highly aligned cylinders and perforated lamellae. When film thickness exceeded a threshold value, the substrate did not have effect in the surface arrangements and the surface showed a similar morphology to that existing in bulk.

  5. Candida tropicalis CE017: a new Brazilian enzymatic source for the bioreduction of aromatic prochiral ketones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vieira, Gizelle A.B.; Araujo, Daniel M. de Freitas; Lemos, Telma L.G.; Mattos, Marcos Carlos de; Oliveira, Maria da Conceicao F. de; Melo, Vania M.M.; Gonzalo, Gonzalo de; Gotor-Fernandez, Vicente; Gotor, Vicente

    2010-01-01

    The reactivity and stereoselectivity showed by a new strain of Candida tropicalis in the reduction of prochiral ketones have been compared with the ones previously attained in our laboratory using microorganisms from the Brazilian biodiversity. In this manner, Candida tropicalis has demonstrated its versatility as stereoselective agent in the bioreduction of a series of aromatic ketones. These prochiral compounds were converted into their corresponding optically alcohols with moderate to excellent stereopreference depending on the substrate structure. Among ketones tested, nitroacetophenones were enzymatically reduced to enantiopure (S)-alcohol with complete conversion. (author)

  6. Candida tropicalis CE017: a new Brazilian enzymatic source for the bioreduction of aromatic prochiral ketones

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vieira, Gizelle A.B.; Araujo, Daniel M. de Freitas; Lemos, Telma L.G.; Mattos, Marcos Carlos de; Oliveira, Maria da Conceicao F. de; Melo, Vania M.M., E-mail: mcdmatto@ufc.b [Universidade Federal do Ceara (DQOI/UFC), Fortaleza, CE (Brazil). Dept. de Quimica Organica e Inorganica; Gonzalo, Gonzalo de; Gotor-Fernandez, Vicente; Gotor, Vicente [Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo (Spain). Inst. Univ. de Biotecnologia de Asturias. Dept. de Quimica Organica e Inorganica

    2010-07-01

    The reactivity and stereoselectivity showed by a new strain of Candida tropicalis in the reduction of prochiral ketones have been compared with the ones previously attained in our laboratory using microorganisms from the Brazilian biodiversity. In this manner, Candida tropicalis has demonstrated its versatility as stereoselective agent in the bioreduction of a series of aromatic ketones. These prochiral compounds were converted into their corresponding optically alcohols with moderate to excellent stereopreference depending on the substrate structure. Among ketones tested, nitroacetophenones were enzymatically reduced to enantiopure (S)-alcohol with complete conversion. (author)

  7. Tuning dispersion correction in DFT-D2 for metal-molecule interactions: A tailored reparameterization strategy for the adsorption of aromatic systems on Ag(1 1 1)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiavo, Eduardo; Muñoz-García, Ana B.; Barone, Vincenzo; Vittadini, Andrea; Casarin, Maurizio; Forrer, Daniel; Pavone, Michele

    2018-02-01

    Common local and semi-local density functionals poorly describe the molecular physisorption on metal surfaces due to the lack of dispersion interactions. In the last decade, several correction schemes have been proposed to amend this fundamental flaw of Density Functional Theory. Using the prototypical case of aromatic molecules adsorbed on Ag(1 1 1), we discuss the accuracy of different dispersion-correction methods and present a reparameterization strategy for the simple and effective DFT-D2. For the adsorption of different aromatic systems on the same metallic substrate, good results at feasible computational costs are achieved by means of a fitting procedure against MP2 data.

  8. Bioassay of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Kirk, E.A.

    1980-08-01

    A positive relationship was found between the photodynamic activity of 24 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons versus published results on the mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, and initiation of unscheduled DNA synthesis. Metabolic activation of benzo(a)pyrene resulted in detection of increased mutagenesis in Paramecium tetraurelia as found also in the Ames Salmonella assay. The utility of P. tetraurelia as a biological detector of hazardous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is discussed.

  9. Estimation of added-mass and damping coefficients of a tethered spherical float using potential flow theory

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Vethamony, P.; Chandramohan, P.; Sastry, J.S.; Narasimhan, S.

    Added-mass (alpha) and damping coefficients (beta) of a tethered spherical float, undergoing oscillatory motion in sinusoidal waves, have been derived from the motion generated velocity potential for one degree-of-freedom (surge) using potential...

  10. How non-conventional feedstocks will affect aromatics technologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koehler, E. [Clariant Produkte (Deutschland) GmbH, Muenchen (Germany)

    2013-11-01

    The abundance of non-conventional feedstocks such as coal and shale gas has begun to affect the availability of traditional base chemicals such as propylene and BTX aromatics. Although this trend is primarily fueled by the fast growing shale gas economy in the US and the abundance of coal in China, it will cause the global supply and demand situation to equilibrate across the regions. Lower demand for gasoline and consequently less aromatics rich reformate from refineries will further tighten the aromatics markets that are expected to grow at healthy rates, however. Refiners can benefit from this trend by abandoning their traditional fuel-oriented business model and becoming producers of petrochemical intermediates, with special focus on paraxylene (PX). Cheap gas from coal (via gasification) or shale reserves is an advantaged feedstock that offers a great platform to make aromatics in a cost-competitive manner, especially in regions where naphtha is in short supply. Gas condensates (LPG and naphtha) are good feedstocks for paraffin aromatization, and methanol from coal or (shale) gas can be directly converted to BTX aromatics (MTA) or alkylated with benzene or toluene to make paraxylene. Most of today's technologies for the production and upgrading of BTX aromatics and their derivatives make use of the unique properties of zeolites. (orig.)

  11. Metabolism and Biomarkers of Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines in Molecular Epidemiology Studies: Lessons Learned from Aromatic Amines

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Aromatic amines and heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are structurally related classes of carcinogens that are formed during the combustion of tobacco or during the high-temperature cooking of meats. Both classes of procarcinogens undergo metabolic activation by N-hydroxylation of the exocyclic amine group, to produce a common proposed intermediate, the arylnitrenium ion, which is the critical metabolite implicated in toxicity and DNA damage. However, the biochemistry and chemical properties of these compounds are distinct and different biomarkers of aromatic amines and HAAs have been developed for human biomonitoring studies. Hemoglobin adducts have been extensively used as biomarkers to monitor occupational and environmental exposures to a number of aromatic amines; however, HAAs do not form hemoglobin adducts at appreciable levels and other biomarkers have been sought. A number of epidemiologic studies that have investigated dietary consumption of well-done meat in relation to various tumor sites reported a positive association between cancer risk and well-done meat consumption, although some studies have shown no associations between well-done meat and cancer risk. A major limiting factor in most epidemiological studies is the uncertainty in quantitative estimates of chronic exposure to HAAs and, thus, the association of HAAs formed in cooked meat and cancer risk has been difficult to establish. There is a critical need to establish long-term biomarkers of HAAs that can be implemented in molecular epidemioIogy studies. In this review article, we highlight and contrast the biochemistry of several prototypical carcinogenic aromatic amines and HAAs to which humans are chronically exposed. The biochemical properties and the impact of polymorphisms of the major xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes on the biological effects of these chemicals are examined. Lastly, the analytical approaches that have been successfully employed to biomonitor aromatic amines and HAAs, and

  12. Aromatization of n-octane over Pd/C catalysts

    KAUST Repository

    Yin, Mengchen; Natelson, Robert H.; Campos, Andrew A.; Kolar, Praveen; Roberts, William L.

    2013-01-01

    Gas-phase aromatization of n-octane was investigated using Pd/C catalyst. The objectives were to: (1) determine the effects of temperature (400-600 °C), weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) (0.8-∞), and hydrogen to hydrocarbon molar ratio (MR) (0-6) on conversion, selectivity, and yield (2) compare the activity of Pd/C with Pt/C and Pt/KL catalysts and (3) test the suitability of Pd/C for aromatization of different alkanes including n-hexane, n-heptane, and n-octane. Pd/C exhibited the best aromatization performance, including 54.4% conversion and 31.5% aromatics yield at 500 °C, WHSV = 2 h-1, and a MR of 2. The Pd/C catalyst had higher selectivity towards the preferred aromatics including ethylbenzene and xylenes, whereas Pt/KL had higher selectivity towards benzene and toluene. The results were somewhat consistent with adsorbed n-octane cyclization proceeding mainly through the six-membered ring closure mechanism. In addition, Pd/C was also capable of catalyzing aromatization of n-hexane and n-heptane. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Proximate Composition, Mineral Content and Fatty Acids Analyses of Aromatic and Non-Aromatic Indian Rice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deepak Kumar Verma

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Awareness on nutritive value and health benefits of rice is of vital importance in order to increase the consumption of rice in daily diet of the human beings. In this study, a total of six aromatic and two non-aromatic rice accessions grown in India were analysed for their nutritional quality attributes including proximate composition, mineral contents and fatty acids. Data with three replications were used to measure Pearson's simple correlation co-efficient in order to establish the relationship among various nutritional quality attributes. The result on proximate composition showed that Govind Bhog had the highest moisture (13.57% and fat (0.92% content, which signifies its tasty attribute. Badshah Bhog exhibited the highest fibre content (0.85%, carbohydrate content (82.70% and food energy (365.23 kCal per 100 g. Among the minerals, the higher Ca (98.75 mg/kg, Zn (17.00 mg/kg and Fe (31.50 mg/kg were in Gopal Bhog, whereas the highest Na (68.85 mg/kg was in Badshah Bhog, the highest K (500.00 mg/kg was in Swetganga, Khushboo and Sarbati. The highest contents of unsaturated fatty acids viz. oleic acid (49.14%, linoleic acid (46.99% and linolenic acid (1.27% were found in Sarbati, whereas the highest content of saturated fatty acids viz. myristic acid (4.60% and palmitic acid (31.91% were found in Govind Bhog and stearic acid (6.47% in Todal. The identified aromatic rice accessions Gopal Bhog, Govind Bhog and Badshah Bhog and non-aromatic rice accession Sarbati were found nutritionally superior among all eight tested accessions. The nutritional quality oriented attributes in this study were competent with recognized prominent aromatic and non-aromatic rice accessions as an index of their nutritional worth and recommend to farmers and consumers which may be graded as export quality rice with good unique nutritional values in international market.

  14. Tethered capsule OCT endomicroscopy: from bench to bedside at the primary care office (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gora, Michalina J.; Simmons, Leigh H.; Tiernan, Aubrey R.; Grant, Catriona N.; Soomro, Amna R.; Walker Corkery, Elizabeth S.; Rosenberg, Mireille; Metlay, Joshua P.; Tearney, Guillermo J.

    2016-03-01

    We have developed a swallowable tethered capsule OCT endomicroscopy (TCE) device that acquires microscopic images of the entire esophagus in unsedated subjects in a quick and comfortable procedure. To test its capabilities of TCE to become a population-based screening device, we conducted a clinical feasibility study in the primary care office. The swept-source OCT imaging system (1310nm central wavelength, 40kHz A-line rate, 10um axial resolution) together with the tethered capsule catheter (11x25mm capsule attached to a flexible tether) were transferred to the PCP office where unsedated patients scheduled for non-urgent PCP visits swallowed the capsule and microscopic OCT images of the entire esophagus were collected. After the whole length of the esophagus was imaged, the catheter was disinfected for reuse. Twenty subjects were enrolled in the study, including nine female and eleven male. All TCE procedures were performed by a nurse and lasted in average 5:42 ± 1:54 min. High-resolution images of the esophagus were obtained in all seventeen subjects that swallowed the capsule. Our clinical experience in this cohort, subject feedback, image quality, and technological adaptations for efficient utilization in this setting will be presented. The ease and simplicity of the procedure combined with high quality of the images demonstrate the potential for this technology to become a population-based screening device. Technology limitations and future development guided by findings from this initial experience will be discussed with the goal of effectively translating TCE to the outpatient primary care setting.

  15. Substrate Trapping in Crystals of the Thiolase OleA Identifies Three Channels That Enable Long Chain Olefin Biosynthesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goblirsch, Brandon R.; Jensen, Matthew R.; Mohamed, Fatuma A.; Wackett, Lawrence P.; Wilmot, Carrie M.

    2016-11-04

    Phylogenetically diverse microbes that produce long chain, olefinic hydrocarbons have received much attention as possible sources of renewable energy biocatalysts. One enzyme that is critical for this process is OleA, a thiolase superfamily enzyme that condenses two fatty acyl-CoA substrates to produce a β-ketoacid product and initiates the biosynthesis of long chain olefins in bacteria. Thiolases typically utilize a ping-pong mechanism centered on an active site cysteine residue. Reaction with the first substrate produces a covalent cysteine-thioester tethered acyl group that is transferred to the second substrate through formation of a carbon-carbon bond. Although the basics of thiolase chemistry are precedented, the mechanism by which OleA accommodates two substrates with extended carbon chains and a coenzyme moiety—unusual for a thiolase—are unknown. Gaining insights into this process could enable manipulation of the system for large scale olefin production with hydrocarbon chains lengths equivalent to those of fossil fuels. In this study, mutagenesis of the active site cysteine in Xanthomonas campestris OleA (Cys143) enabled trapping of two catalytically relevant species in crystals. In the resulting structures, long chain alkyl groups (C12 and C14) and phosphopantetheinate define three substrate channels in a T-shaped configuration, explaining how OleA coordinates its two substrates and product. The C143A OleA co-crystal structure possesses a single bound acyl-CoA representing the Michaelis complex with the first substrate, whereas the C143S co-crystal structure contains both acyl-CoA and fatty acid, defining how a second substrate binds to the acyl-enzyme intermediate. An active site glutamate (Gluβ117) is positioned to deprotonate bound acyl-CoA and initiate carbon-carbon bond formation.

  16. Substrate Trapping in Crystals of the Thiolase OleA Identifies Three Channels That Enable Long Chain Olefin Biosynthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goblirsch, Brandon R; Jensen, Matthew R; Mohamed, Fatuma A; Wackett, Lawrence P; Wilmot, Carrie M

    2016-12-23

    Phylogenetically diverse microbes that produce long chain, olefinic hydrocarbons have received much attention as possible sources of renewable energy biocatalysts. One enzyme that is critical for this process is OleA, a thiolase superfamily enzyme that condenses two fatty acyl-CoA substrates to produce a β-ketoacid product and initiates the biosynthesis of long chain olefins in bacteria. Thiolases typically utilize a ping-pong mechanism centered on an active site cysteine residue. Reaction with the first substrate produces a covalent cysteine-thioester tethered acyl group that is transferred to the second substrate through formation of a carbon-carbon bond. Although the basics of thiolase chemistry are precedented, the mechanism by which OleA accommodates two substrates with extended carbon chains and a coenzyme moiety-unusual for a thiolase-are unknown. Gaining insights into this process could enable manipulation of the system for large scale olefin production with hydrocarbon chains lengths equivalent to those of fossil fuels. In this study, mutagenesis of the active site cysteine in Xanthomonas campestris OleA (Cys 143 ) enabled trapping of two catalytically relevant species in crystals. In the resulting structures, long chain alkyl groups (C 12 and C 14 ) and phosphopantetheinate define three substrate channels in a T-shaped configuration, explaining how OleA coordinates its two substrates and product. The C143A OleA co-crystal structure possesses a single bound acyl-CoA representing the Michaelis complex with the first substrate, whereas the C143S co-crystal structure contains both acyl-CoA and fatty acid, defining how a second substrate binds to the acyl-enzyme intermediate. An active site glutamate (Gluβ 117 ) is positioned to deprotonate bound acyl-CoA and initiate carbon-carbon bond formation. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  17. Substrate Trapping in Crystals of the Thiolase OleA Identifies Three Channels That Enable Long Chain Olefin Biosynthesis*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goblirsch, Brandon R.; Jensen, Matthew R.; Mohamed, Fatuma A.; Wackett, Lawrence P.; Wilmot, Carrie M.

    2016-01-01

    Phylogenetically diverse microbes that produce long chain, olefinic hydrocarbons have received much attention as possible sources of renewable energy biocatalysts. One enzyme that is critical for this process is OleA, a thiolase superfamily enzyme that condenses two fatty acyl-CoA substrates to produce a β-ketoacid product and initiates the biosynthesis of long chain olefins in bacteria. Thiolases typically utilize a ping-pong mechanism centered on an active site cysteine residue. Reaction with the first substrate produces a covalent cysteine-thioester tethered acyl group that is transferred to the second substrate through formation of a carbon-carbon bond. Although the basics of thiolase chemistry are precedented, the mechanism by which OleA accommodates two substrates with extended carbon chains and a coenzyme moiety—unusual for a thiolase—are unknown. Gaining insights into this process could enable manipulation of the system for large scale olefin production with hydrocarbon chains lengths equivalent to those of fossil fuels. In this study, mutagenesis of the active site cysteine in Xanthomonas campestris OleA (Cys143) enabled trapping of two catalytically relevant species in crystals. In the resulting structures, long chain alkyl groups (C12 and C14) and phosphopantetheinate define three substrate channels in a T-shaped configuration, explaining how OleA coordinates its two substrates and product. The C143A OleA co-crystal structure possesses a single bound acyl-CoA representing the Michaelis complex with the first substrate, whereas the C143S co-crystal structure contains both acyl-CoA and fatty acid, defining how a second substrate binds to the acyl-enzyme intermediate. An active site glutamate (Gluβ117) is positioned to deprotonate bound acyl-CoA and initiate carbon-carbon bond formation. PMID:27815501

  18. On the escape transition of a tethered Gaussian chain; exact results in two conjugate ensembles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Skvortsov, A.M.; Klushin, L.I.; Leermakers, F.A.M.

    2006-01-01

    Upon compression between two pistons an end-tethered polymer chain undergoes an abrupt transition from a confined coil state to an inhomogeneous flower-like conformation that is partially escaped from the gap. In the thermodynamic limit the system demonstrates a first-order phase transition. A

  19. Environmental Remediation: Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nkansah, Marian Asantewah

    2012-11-15

    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous persistent semi-volatile organic compounds. They are contaminants that are resistant to degradation and can remain in the environment for long periods due to their high degree of conjugation, and aromaticity. PAHs are present in industrial effluents as products of incomplete combustion processes of organic compounds. Petroleum, coal and shale oil contain extremely complex mixtures of these PAHs, and their transport and refining process can also result in the release of PAHs. It is therefore prudent that such effluents are treated before discharge into the environment. In this project, different approaches to the treatment of PAHs have been investigated. Hydrous pyrolysis has been explored as a potential technique for degrading PAHs in water using anthracene as a model compound. The experiments were performed under different conditions of temperature, substrate, redox systems and durations. The conditions include oxidising systems comprising pure water, hydrogen peroxide and Nafion-SiO2 solid catalyst in water; and reducing systems of formic acid and formic acid / Nafion-SiO2 / Pd-C catalysts to assess a range of reactivities. Products observed in GCMS analysis of the extract from the water phase include anthrone, anthraquinone, xanthone and multiple hydro-anthracene derivatives (Paper I). In addition a modified version of the Nafion-SiO2 solid catalyst in water oxidising system was tested; and reducing systems of formic acid and formic acid / Nafion-SiO2 / Pd-C catalysts were adopted for the conversion of a mixture of anthracene, fluorene and fluoranthene. The rate of conversion in the mixture was high as compared to that of only anthracene (Paper II). Also the use of LECA (Lightweight expanded clay aggregates) as an adsorbent (Paper III) for PAHs (phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene) removal from water has been.(Author)

  20. AN AROMATIC INVENTORY OF THE LOCAL VOLUME

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marble, A. R.; Engelbracht, C. W.; Block, M.; Van Zee, L.; Dale, D. A.; Cohen, S. A.; Schuster, M. D.; Smith, J. D. T.; Gordon, K. D.; Wu, Y.; Lee, J. C.; Kennicutt, R. C.; Skillman, E. D.; Johnson, L. C.; Calzetti, D.; Lee, H.

    2010-01-01

    Using infrared photometry from the Spitzer Space Telescope, we perform the first inventory of aromatic feature emission (also commonly referred to as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission) for a statistically complete sample of star-forming galaxies in the local volume. The photometric methodology involved is calibrated and demonstrated to recover the aromatic fraction of the Infrared Array Camera 8 μm flux with a standard deviation of 6% for a training set of 40 SINGS galaxies (ranging from stellar to dust dominated) with both suitable mid-infrared Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph spectra and equivalent photometry. A potential factor of 2 improvement could be realized with suitable 5.5 μm and 10 μm photometry, such as what may be provided in the future by the James Webb Space Telescope. The resulting technique is then applied to mid-infrared photometry for the 258 galaxies from the Local Volume Legacy (LVL) survey, a large sample dominated in number by low-luminosity dwarf galaxies for which obtaining comparable mid-infrared spectroscopy is not feasible. We find the total LVL luminosity due to five strong aromatic features in the 8 μm complex to be 2.47 x 10 10 L sun with a mean volume density of 8.8 x 10 6 L sun Mpc -3 . Twenty-four of the LVL galaxies, corresponding to a luminosity cut at M B = -18.22, account for 90% of the aromatic luminosity. Using oxygen abundances compiled from the literature for 129 of the 258 LVL galaxies, we find a correlation between metallicity and the aromatic-to-total infrared emission ratio but not the aromatic-to-total 8 μm dust emission ratio. A possible explanation is that metallicity plays a role in the abundance of aromatic molecules relative to the total dust content, but other factors, such as star formation and/or the local radiation field, affect the excitation of those molecules.

  1. Design and Operation of Automated Ice-Tethered Profilers for Real-Time Seawater Observations in the Polar Oceans

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Toole, J; Proshutinsky, A; Krishfield, R; Doherty, K; Frye, Daniel E; Hammar, T; Kemp, J; Peters, D; Heydt, K. von der

    2006-01-01

    An automated, easily-deployed Ice-Tethered Profiler (ITP) has been developed for deployment on perennial sea ice in polar oceans to measure changes in upper ocean temperature and salinity in all seasons...

  2. Synthesis and characterization of tethered lipid assemblies for membrane protein reconstitution (Review).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veneziano, Rémi; Rossi, Claire; Chenal, Alexandre; Brenner, Catherine; Ladant, Daniel; Chopineau, Joël

    2017-09-28

    Biological membranes and their related molecular mechanisms are essential for all living organisms. Membranes host numerous proteins and are responsible for the exchange of molecules and ions, cell signaling, and cell compartmentation. Indeed, the plasma membrane delimits the intracellular compartment from the extracellular environment and intracellular membranes. Biological membranes also play a major role in metabolism regulation and cellular physiology (e.g., mitochondrial membranes). The elaboration of membrane based biomimetic systems allows us to reconstitute and investigate, in controlled conditions, biological events occurring at the membrane interface. A whole variety of model membrane systems have been developed in the last few decades. Among these models, supported membranes were developed on various hydrophilic supports. The use of solid supports enables the direct use of surface sensitive techniques (e.g., surface plasmon resonance, quartz crystal microbalance, and atomic force microscopy) to monitor and quantify events occurring at the membrane surface. Tethered bilayer membranes (tBLMs) could be considered as an achievement of the first solid supported membranes described by the McConnell group. Tethered bilayers on solid supports were designed to delimit an inside compartment from an outside one. They were used for measuring interactions with ligands or incorporating large membrane proteins or complexes without interference with the support. In this context, the authors developed an easy concept of versatile tBLMs assembled on amino coated substrates that are formed upon the vesicle fusion rupture process applicable to protein-free vesicles as well as proteoliposomes. The phospholipid bilayer (natural or synthetic lipids) incorporated 5% of 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-poly ethylene glycol-N-hydroxy succinimide to ensure the anchorage of the bilayer to the amino coated surface. The conditions for the formation of tBLMs on amino

  3. Structural and Kinetic Properties of the Aldehyde Dehydrogenase NahF, a Broad Substrate Specificity Enzyme for Aldehyde Oxidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coitinho, Juliana B; Pereira, Mozart S; Costa, Débora M A; Guimarães, Samuel L; Araújo, Simara S; Hengge, Alvan C; Brandão, Tiago A S; Nagem, Ronaldo A P

    2016-09-27

    The salicylaldehyde dehydrogenase (NahF) catalyzes the oxidation of salicylaldehyde to salicylate using NAD(+) as a cofactor, the last reaction of the upper degradation pathway of naphthalene in Pseudomonas putida G7. The naphthalene is an abundant and toxic compound in oil and has been used as a model for bioremediation studies. The steady-state kinetic parameters for oxidation of aliphatic or aromatic aldehydes catalyzed by 6xHis-NahF are presented. The 6xHis-NahF catalyzes the oxidation of aromatic aldehydes with large kcat/Km values close to 10(6) M(-1) s(-1). The active site of NahF is highly hydrophobic, and the enzyme shows higher specificity for less polar substrates than for polar substrates, e.g., acetaldehyde. The enzyme shows α/β folding with three well-defined domains: the oligomerization domain, which is responsible for the interlacement between the two monomers; the Rossmann-like fold domain, essential for nucleotide binding; and the catalytic domain. A salicylaldehyde molecule was observed in a deep pocket in the crystal structure of NahF where the catalytic C284 and E250 are present. Moreover, the residues G150, R157, W96, F99, F274, F279, and Y446 were thought to be important for catalysis and specificity for aromatic aldehydes. Understanding the molecular features responsible for NahF activity allows for comparisons with other aldehyde dehydrogenases and, together with structural information, provides the information needed for future mutational studies aimed to enhance its stability and specificity and further its use in biotechnological processes.

  4. The t-SNAREs syntaxin4 and SNAP23 but not v-SNARE VAMP2 are indispensable to tether GLUT4 vesicles at the plasma membrane in adipocyte

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawaguchi, Takayuki; Tamori, Yoshikazu; Kanda, Hajime; Yoshikawa, Mari; Tateya, Sanshiro; Nishino, Naonobu; Kasuga, Masato

    2010-01-01

    SNARE proteins (VAMP2, syntaxin4, and SNAP23) have been thought to play a key role in GLUT4 trafficking by mediating the tethering, docking and subsequent fusion of GLUT4-containing vesicles with the plasma membrane. The precise functions of these proteins have remained elusive, however. We have now shown that depletion of the vesicle SNARE (v-SNARE) VAMP2 by RNA interference in 3T3-L1 adipocytes inhibited the fusion of GLUT4 vesicles with the plasma membrane but did not affect tethering of the vesicles to the membrane. In contrast, depletion of the target SNAREs (t-SNAREs) syntaxin4 or SNAP23 resulted in impairment of GLUT4 vesicle tethering to the plasma membrane. Our results indicate that the t-SNAREs syntaxin4 and SNAP23 are indispensable for the tethering of GLUT4 vesicles to the plasma membrane, whereas the v-SNARE VAMP2 is not required for this step but is essential for the subsequent fusion event.

  5. Reaction of active uranium and thorium with aromatic carbonyls and pinacols in hydrocarbon solvents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kahn, B.E.; Rieke, R.D.

    1988-01-01

    Highly reactive uranium and thorium metal powders have been prepared by reduction of the anhydrous metal(IV) chlorides in hydrocarbon solvents. The reduction employs the crystalline hydrocarbon-soluble reducing agent [(TMEDA)Li] 2 [Nap] (TMEDA = N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine, Nap = naphthalene). The resulting active metal powders have been shown to be extremely reactive with oxygen-containing compounds and have been used in the reductive coupling of aromatic ketones giving tetra-arylethylenes. Reactions with pinacols have given some mechanistic insight into the ketone coupling reaction. These finely divided metal powders activate very weakly acidic C-H bonds forming metal hydrides, which can be transferred to organic substrates

  6. Fused aromatic thienopyrazines: structure, properties and function

    KAUST Repository

    Mondal, Rajib; Ko, Sangwon; Bao, Zhenan

    2010-01-01

    Recent development of a fused aromatic thieno[3.4-b]pyrazine system and their application in optoelectronic devices are reviewed. Introduction of a fused aromatic unit followed by side chain engineering, dramatically enhanced the charge carrier

  7. A method of refining aromatic hydrocarbons from coal chemical production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zieborak, K.; Koprowski, A.; Ratajczak, W.

    1979-10-01

    A method is disclosed for refining aromatic hydrocarbons of coal chemical production by contact of liquid aromatic hydrocarbons and their mixtures with a strongly acid macroporous sulfocationite in the H-form at atmospheric pressure and high temperature. The method is distinguished in that the aromatic hydrocarbons and their mixtures, from which alkali compounds have already been removed, are supplied for refinement with the sulfocationite with simultaneous addition of olefin derivatives of aromatic hydrocarbons, followed by separation of pure hydrocarbons by rectification. Styrene or alpha-methylstyrene is used as the olefin derivatives of the aromatic hydrocarbons. The method is performed in several stages with addition of olefin derivatives of aromatic hydrocarbons at each stage.

  8. Hydrogenation of diesel aromatic compounds in supercritical solvent environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.P. Martins

    2000-09-01

    Full Text Available Reactions under supercritical conditions have been employed in many processes. Furthermore, an increasing number of commercial reactions have been conducted under supercritical or near critical conditions. These reaction conditions offer several advantages when compared to conditions in conventional catalytic processes in liquid-phase, gas-liquid interface, or even some gas-phase reactions. Basically, a supercritical solvent can diminish the reactant’s transport resistance from the bulk region to the catalyst surface due to enhancement of liquid diffusivity values and better solubility than those in different phases. Another advantage is that supercritical solvents permit prompt and easy changes in intermolecular properties in order to modify reaction parameters, such as conversion or selectivity, or even proceed with the separation of reaction products. Diesel fractions from petroleum frequently have larger than desirable quantities of aromatic compounds. Diesel hydrogenation is intended to decrease these quantities, i.e., to increase the quantity of paraffin present in this petroleum fraction. In this work, the hydrogenation of tetralin was studied as a model reaction for the aromatic hydrogenation process. A conventional gas-liquid-solid catalytic process was compared with that of supercritical carbon dioxide substrate under similar conditions. Additionally, an equilibrium conversion diagram was calculated for this reaction in a wide range of temperature and reactant ratios, so as to optimize the operational conditions and improve the results of subsequent experiments. An increase in the rate of reaction at 493 K in supercritical fluid, as compared to that in the conventional process, was observed.

  9. International congress on aromatic and medicinal plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    Full Text : In Morocco, medicinal and aromatic plants occupy an important place in the traditional care system of a large number of local people. They are also economically strong potential, but unfortunately they are not valued enough. Indeed, Morocco by its privileged geographical position in the Mediterranean basin and its floristic diversity (with a total of over 4,200 species and subspecies of which over 500 are recognized as medicinal and aromatic plants), is a leading provider of traditional global market. In this context and given the back label of the natural global, group research and studies on Aromatic and Medicinal Plants (GREPAM), the Faculty of Semlalia and University Cadi Ayyad, organize: the International Congress on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants CIPAM 2009. The organization of this conference is part of scientific research developed by the GREPAM. [fr

  10. Hexacoordinate bonding and aromaticity in silicon phthalocyanine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yang

    2010-12-23

    Si-E bondings in hexacoordinate silicon phthalocyanine were analyzed using bond order (BO), energy partition, atoms in molecules (AIM), electron localization function (ELF), and localized orbital locator (LOL). Bond models were proposed to explain differences between hexacoordinate and tetracoordinate Si-E bondings. Aromaticity of silicon phthalocyanine was investigated using nucleus-independent chemical shift (NICS), harmonic oscillator model of aromaticity (HOMA), conceptual density functional theory (DFT), ring critical point (RCP) descriptors, and delocalization index (DI). Structure, energy, bonding, and aromaticity of tetracoordinate silicon phthalocyanine were studied and compared with hexacoordinate one.

  11. 40 CFR 721.5762 - Aromatic aldehyde phenolic resin (generic).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Aromatic aldehyde phenolic resin... Specific Chemical Substances § 721.5762 Aromatic aldehyde phenolic resin (generic). (a) Chemical substance... aromatic aldehyde phenolic resin (PMN P-01-573) is subject to reporting under this section for the...

  12. Tethered cord in patients affected by anorectal malformations: a survey from the ARM-Net Consortium

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fanjul, M.; Samuk, I.; Bagolan, P.; Leva, E.; Sloots, C.; Gine, C.; Aminoff, D.; Midrio, P.; Blaauw, I. de; Marcelis, C.L.M.; Rooij, I.A.L.M. van; Wester, T.; Zwink, N.

    2017-01-01

    PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to determine the degree of consensus in the management of spinal cord tethering (TC) in patients with anorectal malformation (ARM) in a large cohort of European pediatric centers. METHODS: A survey was sent to pediatric surgeons (one per center) members of the

  13. A tethered balloon system for observation of atmospheric temperature inversion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayashi, Takashi; Kakuta, Michio

    1979-05-01

    In environmental assessment of near-shore nuclear plants, information is often required on the development of internal boundary layer (IBL) and associated fumigation condition. Single tower data is not sufficient to clarify the site-dependent IBL structure that affects the atmospheric diffusion in shoreline-stack-site boundary complex. A tethered balloon system has been developed, which comprises a fixed point kitoon and a car-borne small balloon. The system enables us to measure the detailed time-space distribution of temperature without much man-power. The system and example of field observations with it are described. (author)

  14. A Pyrene-Linked Cavity within a β-Barrel Protein Promotes an Asymmetric Diels-Alder Reaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Himiyama, Tomoki; Taniguchi, Naomasa; Kato, Shunsuke; Onoda, Akira; Hayashi, Takashi

    2017-10-23

    A unique π-expanded reaction cavity tethering a polycyclic moiety which provides a platform for substrate binding was constructed within the robust β-barrel structure of nitrobindin (NB). NB variants with cavities of different sizes and shapes are coupled with N-(1-pyrenyl)maleimide (Pyr) to prepare a series of NB-Pyr conjugates. The orientation of the pyrene moiety is fixed within the cavity by the coupling reaction. The fluorescent quenching analysis of NB-Pyr indicates that azachalcone (aza), which is a dienophile for a Diels-Alder (DA) reaction, is efficiently incorporated within the pyrene-linked reaction cavity by the aromatic interaction. The DA reaction between aza and cyclopentadiene proceeds within the reaction cavity of NB-Pyr in the presence of Cu II ion in high yield and high enantio- and regioselectivity. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Aromatic VOCs global influence in the ozone production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabrera-Perez, David; Pozzer, Andrea

    2016-04-01

    Aromatic hydrocarbons are a subgroup of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) of special interest in the atmosphere of urban and semi-urban areas. Aromatics form a high fraction of VOCs, are highly reactive and upon oxidation they are an important source of ozone. These group of VOCs are released to the atmosphere by processes related to biomass burning and fossil fuel consumption, while they are removed from the atmosphere primarily by OH reaction and by dry deposition. In addition, a branch of aromatics (ortho-nitrophenols) produce HONO upon photolysis, which is responsible of certain amount of the OH recycling. Despite their importance in the atmosphere in anthropogenic polluted areas, the influence of aromatics in the ozone production remains largely unknown. This is of particular relevance, being ozone a pollutant with severe side effects on air quality, health and climate. In this work the atmospheric impacts at global scale of the most emitted aromatic VOCs in the gas phase (benzene, toluene, xylenes, ethylbenzene, styrene, phenol, benzaldehyde and trimethylbenzenes) are analysed and assessed. Specifically, the impact on ozone due to aromatic oxidation is estimated, as this is of great interest in large urban areas and can be helpful for developing air pollution control strategies. Further targets are the quantification of the NOx loss and the OH recycling due to aromatic oxidation. In order to investigate these processes, two simulations were performed with the numerical chemistry and climate simulation ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model. The simulations compare two cases, one with ozone concentrations when aromatics are present or the second one when they are missing. Finally, model simulated ozone is compared against a global set of observations in order to better constrain the model accuracy.

  16. Recent Advances in Microbial Production of Aromatic Chemicals and Derivatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noda, Shuhei; Kondo, Akihiko

    2017-08-01

    Along with the development of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology tools, various microbes are being used to produce aromatic chemicals. In microbes, aromatics are mainly produced via a common important precursor, chorismate, in the shikimate pathway. Natural or non-natural aromatics have been produced by engineering metabolic pathways involving chorismate. In the past decade, novel approaches have appeared to produce various aromatics or to increase their productivity, whereas previously, the targets were mainly aromatic amino acids and the strategy was deregulating feedback inhibition. In this review, we summarize recent studies of microbial production of aromatics based on metabolic engineering approaches. In addition, future perspectives and challenges in this research area are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Analogs of solid nanoparticles as precursors of aromatic hydrocarbons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadallah, K. A. K.; Mutschke, H.; Jäger, C.

    2013-06-01

    Context. Aromatic =CH and C=C vibrational bands have been observed within shocked interstellar regions, indicating the presence of aromatic emission carriers such as PAHs, which may have been created from adjacent molecular cloud material by interaction with a shock front. Aims: We investigate the evolution of the aromatic =CH and C=C vibrational modes at 3.3 and 6.2 μm wavelength in heated HAC materials, PAHs and mixed PAHs and HACs, respectively, aiming at an explanation of the evolution of carbonaceous dust grains in the shocked regions. Methods: Materials used in these analogs (HAC and PAH materials) were prepared by the laser ablation and the laser pyrolysis methods, respectively. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in high-resolution mode was used as an analytical technique to characterize the aromatic layers in HACs. Spectroscopic analysis was prformed in the mid-IR range. Results: A remarkable destruction of aliphatic structures in HACs has been observed with the thermal processing, while aromatic structures become dominating by increasing the diameters of the graphene layers. The aromatic bands at 3.3 and 6.2 μm, observed in the laboratory spectra of PAHs and of the combination of the PAHs and HAC materials, are also clearly observed in the spectrum of the heated HACs. These bands agree with those of aromatic bands observed in astronomical observations. Conclusions: Aromatization of HACs could be a pre-stage in the decomposition process of hydrocarbons that form PAH-clusters in such hot interstellar medium.

  18. Kv7 channels can function without constitutive calmodulin tethering.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Camilo Gómez-Posada

    Full Text Available M-channels are voltage-gated potassium channels composed of Kv7.2-7.5 subunits that serve as important regulators of neuronal excitability. Calmodulin binding is required for Kv7 channel function and mutations in Kv7.2 that disrupt calmodulin binding cause Benign Familial Neonatal Convulsions (BFNC, a dominantly inherited human epilepsy. On the basis that Kv7.2 mutants deficient in calmodulin binding are not functional, calmodulin has been defined as an auxiliary subunit of Kv7 channels. However, we have identified a presumably phosphomimetic mutation S511D that permits calmodulin-independent function. Thus, our data reveal that constitutive tethering of calmodulin is not required for Kv7 channel function.

  19. Detection of chlorinated aromatic compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekechukwu, A.A.

    1996-02-06

    A method for making a composition for measuring the concentration of chlorinated aromatic compounds in aqueous fluids, and an optical probe for use with the method are disclosed. The composition comprises a hydrophobic polymer matrix, preferably polyamide, with a fluorescent indicator uniformly dispersed therein. The indicator fluoresces in the presence of the chlorinated aromatic compounds with an intensity dependent on the concentration of these compounds in the fluid of interest, such as 8-amino-2-naphthalene sulfonate. The probe includes a hollow cylindrical housing that contains the composition in its distal end. The probe admits an aqueous fluid to the probe interior for exposure to the composition. An optical fiber transmits excitation light from a remote source to the composition while the indicator reacts with chlorinated aromatic compounds present in the fluid. The resulting fluorescence light signal is reflected to a second optical fiber that transmits the light to a spectrophotometer for analysis. 5 figs.

  20. Characterization of the stability and bio-functionality of tethered proteins on bioengineered scaffolds: implications for stem cell biology and tissue repair.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ting-Yi; Bruggeman, Kiara A F; Sheean, Rebecca K; Turner, Bradley J; Nisbet, David R; Parish, Clare L

    2014-05-23

    Various engineering applications have been utilized to deliver molecules and compounds in both innate and biological settings. In the context of biological applications, the timely delivery of molecules can be critical for cellular and organ function. As such, previous studies have demonstrated the superiority of long-term protein delivery, by way of protein tethering onto bioengineered scaffolds, compared with conventional delivery of soluble protein in vitro and in vivo. Despite such benefits little knowledge exists regarding the stability, release kinetics, longevity, activation of intracellular pathway, and functionality of these proteins over time. By way of example, here we examined the stability, degradation and functionality of a protein, glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), which is known to influence neuronal survival, differentiation, and neurite morphogenesis. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) revealed that GDNF, covalently tethered onto polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds, remained present on the scaffold surface for 120 days, with no evidence of protein leaching or degradation. The tethered GDNF protein remained functional and capable of activating downstream signaling cascades, as revealed by its capacity to phosphorylate intracellular Erk in a neural cell line. Furthermore, immobilization of GDNF protein promoted cell survival and differentiation in culture at both 3 and 7 days, further validating prolonged functionality of the protein, well beyond the minutes to hours timeframe observed for soluble proteins under the same culture conditions. This study provides important evidence of the stability and functionality kinetics of tethered molecules. © 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  1. Bioprocess design guided by in situ substrate supply and product removal: process intensification for synthesis of (S)-1-(2-chlorophenyl)ethanol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmölzer, Katharina; Mädje, Katharina; Nidetzky, Bernd; Kratzer, Regina

    2012-03-01

    We report herein on bioprocess development guided by the hydrophobicities of substrate and product. Bioreductions of o-chloroacetophenone are severely limited by instability of the catalyst in the presence of aromatic substrate and (S)-1-(2-chlorophenyl)ethanol. In situ substrate supply and product removal was used to protect the utilized Escherichia coli whole cell catalyst based on Candida tenuis xylose reductase during the reaction. Further engineering at the levels of the catalyst and the reaction media was matched to low substrate concentrations in the aqueous phase. Productivities obtained in aqueous batch reductions were 21-fold improved by addition of 20% (v/v) hexane, NAD(+), expression engineering, cell permeabilization and pH optimization. Reduction of 300 mM substrate was accomplished in 97% yield and use of the co-solvent hexane in subsequent extraction steps led to 88% recovery. Product loss due to high catalyst loading was minimized by using the same extractant in bioreduction and product isolation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Tethered balloon-based particle number concentration, and size distribution vertical profiles within the lower troposphere of Shanghai

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Kun; Wang, Dongfang; Bian, Qinggen; Duan, Yusen; Zhao, Mengfei; Fei, Dongnian; Xiu, Guangli; Fu, Qingyan

    2017-04-01

    A tethered balloon-based measurement campaign of particle number concentration (PNC) and particle number size distribution (PNSD) in the size range of 15.7-661.2 nm was conducted within the lower troposphere of 1000 m in Shanghai, a Chinese megacity, during December of 2015. The meteorological conditions, PNC, and PNSD were synchronously measured at the ground-based station as well as by the tethered balloon. On ground level, the 88.2 nm particles were found to have the highest PNC. The Pearson correlation analysis based on the ground level data showed NO2 had a strong correlation with PNC. The synchronous measurement of PNC and PNSD at the ground station and on the tethered balloon showed that the 15.7-200 nm particles had higher PNC on ground level, but the PNC of 200-661.2 nm particles was higher at 400 m. One haze event (Dec 22nd-Dec 23rd) was selected for detailed discussion on the variation of vertical profiles of PNSD and PNC. The vertical distribution of characteristics of PNC and PNSD were observed and compared. Results indicated that the highest MaxDm (the diameter with the highest PNC) during those three launches all appeared at a high altitude, usually above 300 m. Compared to the clean days, the relatively bigger MaxDm at each height in the haze days also indicated regional transport of pollutants might contribute to more to that haze event.

  3. Calculating the mean time to capture for tethered ligands and its effect on the chemical equilibrium of bound ligand pairs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Lu; Decker, Caitlin G; Maynard, Heather D; Levine, Alex J

    2016-09-01

    We present here the calculation of the mean time to capture of a tethered ligand to the receptor. This calculation is then used to determine the shift in the partitioning between (1) free, (2) singly bound, and (3) doubly bound ligands in chemical equilibrium as a function of the length of the tether. These calculations are used in the research article Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 Dimer with Superagonist in vitro Activity Improves Granulation Tissue Formation During Wound Healing (Decker et al., in press [1]) to explain quantitatively how changes in polymeric linker length in the ligand dimers modifies the efficacy of these molecules relative to that of free ligands.

  4. Evaluation of calix[4]arene tethered Schiff bases for anion recognition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chawla, H.M.; Munjal, Priyanka

    2016-01-01

    Two calix[4]arene tethered Schiff base derivatives (L1 and L2) have been synthesized and their ion recognition capability has been evaluated through NMR, UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. L1 interacts with cyanide ions very selectively to usher a significant change in color and fluorescence intensity. On the other hand L2 does not show selectivity for anion sensing despite having the same functional groups as those present in L1. The differential observations may be attributed to plausible stereo control of anion recognition and tautomerization in the synthesized Schiff base derivatives.

  5. Evaluation of calix[4]arene tethered Schiff bases for anion recognition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chawla, H.M., E-mail: hmchawla@chemistry.iitd.ac.in; Munjal, Priyanka

    2016-11-15

    Two calix[4]arene tethered Schiff base derivatives (L1 and L2) have been synthesized and their ion recognition capability has been evaluated through NMR, UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. L1 interacts with cyanide ions very selectively to usher a significant change in color and fluorescence intensity. On the other hand L2 does not show selectivity for anion sensing despite having the same functional groups as those present in L1. The differential observations may be attributed to plausible stereo control of anion recognition and tautomerization in the synthesized Schiff base derivatives.

  6. Protonation sites of aromatic compounds in (+) atmospheric pressure photoionization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Sung Hwan; Ahmed, Arif [Dept. of Chemistry, Kyungpoo k National University, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-02-15

    Reaction enthalpy of hydrogen transfer reactions of aromatic compounds has been observed to be greatly affected by the exact location of the protonation site. Therefore, to clearly identify the protonation location, each candidate protonation site for 43 aromatic compounds were theoretically determined and their location was compared with that determined based on experimental MS data. Only the basic nitrogen atom is favorable as a protonation site for pyridine-type aromatic compounds, whereas carbon atoms are preferable for the protonation of pyrrole-type compounds. The most favorable protonation sites for aniline or methylated aniline-type aromatic compounds are either the nitrogen atom in the amine group or the carbon atom at the para-position to the amine group. Like pyrrole-type compounds, aromatic compounds with amine groups also favor protonation at the carbon atom instead of at the nitrogen atom. In addition, hydrocarbons having an anthracene structural motif without heteroatoms produced higher or equal percentages of protonated ions compared to that achieved with molecular ions. The results of this study can be used to improve the analyses of aromatic compounds.

  7. Indole-3-acetic acid biosynthetic pathway and aromatic amino acid aminotransferase activities in Pantoea dispersa strain GPK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulkarni, G B; Nayak, A S; Sajjan, S S; Oblesha, A; Karegoudar, T B

    2013-05-01

    This investigation deals with the production of IAA by a bacterial isolate Pantoea dispersa strain GPK (PDG) identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. HPLC and Mass spectral analysis of metabolites from bacterial spent medium revealed that, IAA production by PDG is Trp-dependent and follows indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPyA) pathway. Substrate specificity study of aromatic amino acid aminotransferase (AAT) showed high activities, only when tryptophan (Trp) and α-ketoglutarate (α-kg) were used as substrates. AAT is highly specific for Trp and α-kg as amino group donor and acceptor, respectively. The effect of exogenous IAA on bacterial growth was established. Low concentration of exogenous IAA induced the growth, whereas high concentration decreased the growth of bacterium. PDG treatment significantly increased the root length, shoot length and dry mass of the chickpea and pigeon pea plants. © 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  8. A Simple Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Flight in Insects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attisano, Alfredo; Murphy, James T; Vickers, Andrew; Moore, Patricia J

    2015-12-10

    Flight in insects can be long-range migratory flights, intermediate-range dispersal flights, or short-range host-seeking flights. Previous studies have shown that flight mills are valuable tools for the experimental study of insect flight behavior, allowing researchers to examine how factors such as age, host plants, or population source can influence an insects' propensity to disperse. Flight mills allow researchers to measure components of flight such as speed and distance flown. Lack of detailed information about how to build such a device can make their construction appear to be prohibitively complex. We present a simple and relatively inexpensive flight mill for the study of tethered flight in insects. Experimental insects can be tethered with non-toxic adhesives and revolve around an axis by means of a very low friction magnetic bearing. The mill is designed for the study of flight in controlled conditions as it can be used inside an incubator or environmental chamber. The strongest points are the very simple electronic circuitry, the design that allows sixteen insects to fly simultaneously allowing the collection and analysis of a large number of samples in a short time and the potential to use the device in a very limited workspace. This design is extremely flexible, and we have adjusted the mill to accommodate different species of insects of various sizes.

  9. The mutagenic potential of high flash aromatic naphtha.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreiner, C A; Edwards, D A; McKee, R H; Swanson, M; Wong, Z A; Schmitt, S; Beatty, P

    1989-06-01

    Catalytic reforming is a refining process that converts naphthenes to aromatics by dehydrogenation to make higher octane gasoline blending components. A portion of this wide boiling range hydrocarbon stream can be separated by distillation and used for other purposes. One such application is a mixture of predominantly 9-carbon aromatic molecules (C9 aromatics, primarily isomers of ethyltoluene and trimethylbenzene), which is removed and used as a solvent--high-flash aromatic naphtha. A program was initiated to assess the toxicological properties of high-flash aromatic naphtha since there may be human exposure through inhalation or external body contact. The current study was conducted partly to assess the potential for mutagenic activity and also to assist in an assessment of carcinogenic potential. The specific tests utilized included the Salmonella/mammalian microsome mutagenicity assay, the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HGPRT) forward mutation assay in CHO cells, in vitro chromosome aberration and sister chromatid exchange (SCE) assays in CHO cells, and an in vivo chromosome aberration assay in rat bone marrow.

  10. Effects of halogenated aromatics/aliphatics and nitrogen(N)-heterocyclic aromatics on estimating the persistence of future pharmaceutical compounds using a modified QSAR model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Seung Joo; Fox, Peter

    2014-02-01

    The effects of halogenated aromatics/aliphatics and nitrogen(N)-heterocyclic aromatics on estimating the persistence of future pharmaceutical compounds were investigated using a modified half life equation. The potential future pharmaceutical compounds investigated were approximately 2000 pharmaceutical drugs currently undergoing the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) testing. EPI Suite (BIOWIN) model estimates the fates of compounds based on the biodegradability under aerobic conditions. While BIOWIN considered the biodegradability of a compound only, the half life equation used in this study was modified by biodegradability, sorption and cometabolic oxidation. It was possible that the potential future pharmaceutical compounds were more accurately estimated using the modified half life equation. The modified half life equation considered sorption and cometabolic oxidation of halogenated aromatic/aliphatics and nitrogen(N)-heterocyclic aromatics in the sub-surface, while EPI Suite (BIOWIN) did not. Halogenated aliphatics in chemicals were more persistent than halogenated aromatics in the sub-surface. In addition, in the sub-surface environment, the fates of organic chemicals were much more affected by halogenation in chemicals than by nitrogen(N)-heterocyclic aromatics. © 2013.

  11. Heterobifunctional crosslinkers for tethering single ligand molecules to scanning probes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riener, Christian K.; Kienberger, Ferry; Hahn, Christoph D.; Buchinger, Gerhard M.; Egwim, Innocent O.C.; Haselgruebler, Thomas; Ebner, Andreas; Romanin, Christoph; Klampfl, Christian; Lackner, Bernd; Prinz, Heino; Blaas, Dieter; Hinterdorfer, Peter; Gruber, Hermann J.

    2003-01-01

    Single molecule recognition force microscopy (SMRFM) is a versatile atomic force microscopy (AFM) method to probe specific interactions of cognitive molecules on the single molecule level. It allows insights to be gained into interaction potentials and kinetic barriers and is capable of mapping interaction sites with nm positional accuracy. These applications require a ligand to be attached to the AFM tip, preferably by a distensible poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chain between the measuring tip and the ligand molecule. The PEG chain greatly facilitates specific binding of the ligand to immobile receptor sites on the sample surface. The present study contributes to tip-PEG-ligand tethering in three ways: (i) a convenient synthetic route was found to prepare NH 2 -PEG-COOH which is the key intermediate for long heterobifunctional crosslinkers; (ii) a variety of heterobifunctional PEG derivatives for tip-PEG-ligand linking were prepared from NH 2 -PEG-COOH; (iii) in particular, a new PEG crosslinker with one thiol-reactive end and one terminal nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) group was synthesized and successfully used to tether His 6 -tagged protein molecules to AFM tips via noncovalent NTA-Ni 2+ -His 6 bridges. The new crosslinker was applied to link a recombinant His 6 -tagged fragment of the very-low density lipoprotein receptor to the AFM tip whereupon specific docking to the capsid of human rhinovirus particles was observed by force microscopy. In a parallel study, the specific interaction of the small GTPase Ran with the nuclear import receptor importin β1 was studied in detail by SMRFM, using the new crosslinker to link His 6 -tagged Ran to the measuring tip [Nat. Struct. Biol. (2003), 10, 553-557

  12. Bio-Based Aromatic Epoxy Monomers for Thermoset Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feifei Ng

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The synthesis of polymers from renewable resources is a burning issue that is actively investigated. Polyepoxide networks constitute a major class of thermosetting polymers and are extensively used as coatings, electronic materials, adhesives. Owing to their outstanding mechanical and electrical properties, chemical resistance, adhesion, and minimal shrinkage after curing, they are used in structural applications as well. Most of these thermosets are industrially manufactured from bisphenol A (BPA, a substance that was initially synthesized as a chemical estrogen. The awareness on BPA toxicity combined with the limited availability and volatile cost of fossil resources and the non-recyclability of thermosets implies necessary changes in the field of epoxy networks. Thus, substitution of BPA has witnessed an increasing number of studies both from the academic and industrial sides. This review proposes to give an overview of the reported aromatic multifunctional epoxide building blocks synthesized from biomass or from molecules that could be obtained from transformed biomass. After a reminder of the main glycidylation routes and mechanisms and the recent knowledge on BPA toxicity and legal issues, this review will provide a brief description of the main natural sources of aromatic molecules. The different epoxy prepolymers will then be organized from simple, mono-aromatic di-epoxy, to mono-aromatic poly-epoxy, to di-aromatic di-epoxy compounds, and finally to derivatives possessing numerous aromatic rings and epoxy groups.

  13. A Xylenol Orange-Based Screening Assay for the Substrate Specificity of Flavin-Dependent para-Phenol Oxidases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tom A. Ewing

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Vanillyl alcohol oxidase (VAO and eugenol oxidase (EUGO are flavin-dependent enzymes that catalyse the oxidation of para-substituted phenols. This makes them potentially interesting biocatalysts for the conversion of lignin-derived aromatic monomers to value-added compounds. To facilitate their biocatalytic exploitation, it is important to develop methods by which variants of the enzymes can be rapidly screened for increased activity towards substrates of interest. Here, we present the development of a screening assay for the substrate specificity of para-phenol oxidases based on the detection of hydrogen peroxide using the ferric-xylenol orange complex method. The assay was used to screen the activity of VAO and EUGO towards a set of twenty-four potential substrates. This led to the identification of 4-cyclopentylphenol as a new substrate of VAO and EUGO and 4-cyclohexylphenol as a new substrate of VAO. Screening of a small library of VAO and EUGO active-site variants for alterations in their substrate specificity led to the identification of a VAO variant (T457Q with increased activity towards vanillyl alcohol (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl alcohol and a EUGO variant (V436I with increased activity towards chavicol (4-allylphenol and 4-cyclopentylphenol. This assay provides a quick and efficient method to screen the substrate specificity of para-phenol oxidases, facilitating the enzyme engineering of known para-phenol oxidases and the evaluation of the substrate specificity of novel para-phenol oxidases.

  14. A Xylenol Orange-Based Screening Assay for the Substrate Specificity of Flavin-Dependent para-Phenol Oxidases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ewing, Tom A; van Noord, Aster; Paul, Caroline E; van Berkel, Willem J H

    2018-01-14

    Vanillyl alcohol oxidase (VAO) and eugenol oxidase (EUGO) are flavin-dependent enzymes that catalyse the oxidation of para -substituted phenols. This makes them potentially interesting biocatalysts for the conversion of lignin-derived aromatic monomers to value-added compounds. To facilitate their biocatalytic exploitation, it is important to develop methods by which variants of the enzymes can be rapidly screened for increased activity towards substrates of interest. Here, we present the development of a screening assay for the substrate specificity of para -phenol oxidases based on the detection of hydrogen peroxide using the ferric-xylenol orange complex method. The assay was used to screen the activity of VAO and EUGO towards a set of twenty-four potential substrates. This led to the identification of 4-cyclopentylphenol as a new substrate of VAO and EUGO and 4-cyclohexylphenol as a new substrate of VAO. Screening of a small library of VAO and EUGO active-site variants for alterations in their substrate specificity led to the identification of a VAO variant (T457Q) with increased activity towards vanillyl alcohol (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl alcohol) and a EUGO variant (V436I) with increased activity towards chavicol (4-allylphenol) and 4-cyclopentylphenol. This assay provides a quick and efficient method to screen the substrate specificity of para -phenol oxidases, facilitating the enzyme engineering of known para- phenol oxidases and the evaluation of the substrate specificity of novel para -phenol oxidases.

  15. Multifunctional inulin tethered silver-graphene quantum dots nanotheranostic module for pancreatic cancer therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nigam Joshi, Preeti; Agawane, Sachin; Athalye, Meghana C; Jadhav, Vrushali; Sarkar, Dhiman; Prakash, Rajiv

    2017-09-01

    Cancer nanotechnology is an emerging area of cancer diagnosis and therapy. Although considerable progress has been made for targeted drug delivery systems to deliver anticancer agents to particular site of interest, new nanomaterials are frequently being developed and explored for better drug delivery efficiency. In the present work, we have explored a novel nanoformulation based on silver-graphene quantum dots (Ag-GQDs) nanocomposite for its successful implementation for pancreatic cancer specific drug delivery in wistar rats. Carboxymethyl inulin (CMI); a modified variant of natural polysaccharide inulin is tethered with the nanocomposite via carbodiimide coupling to enhance the biocompatibility of nanoformulation. Experiments are performed to investigate the cytotoxicity reduction of silver nanoparticles after inulin tethering as well as anticancer efficacy of the system using 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) as model drug. SEM, TEM, FT-IR, UV-vis, photoluminescence and anti proliferative assays (MTT) are performed for characterisation of the nanocomposite. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is conjugated as targeting moiety for CD-44 (cancer stem cell marker) to fabricate a complete targeted drug delivery vehicle specific for pancreatic cancer. In the present work two prime objectives were achieved; mitigation the toxicity of silver nanoparticles by inulin coating and it's in vivo application for pancreatic cancer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Comparison of standard, prone and cine MRI in the evaluation of tethered cord

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Sukhjinder; Kline-Fath, Beth; Racadio, Judy M.; Bierbrauer, Karin; Salisbury, Shelia; Macaluso, Maurizio; Jackson, Elizabeth C.; Egelhoff, John C.

    2012-01-01

    Tethered cord syndrome (TCS) is defined by abnormal traction on the spinal cord that confines its movement. Surgical cord release usually stops neurological deterioration; therefore, early and accurate neuroradiological diagnosis is important. Supine MRI is the imaging modality of choice, but prone MRI and cine MRI can demonstrate cord movement. We compared the diagnostic accuracies of standard MRI, prone MRI and cine MRI in patients with clinical suspicion of TCS and evaluated inter-reader reliability for MR imaging. Children who underwent MRI for suspicion of TCS were retrospectively identified. Supine, prone and cine MRI studies were re-read by two pediatric neuroradiologists. Conus level, filum appearance and cord movement were documented. Thirteen of 49 children had tethered cord documented at surgery. Conus level had the highest diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity 69-77%, specificity 94%, positive predictive value 82-83%, negative predictive value 89-92%, correct diagnosis 88-90%) and highest between-reader concordance (98%). Prone and cine MRI did not add to the accuracy of the supine imaging. Conus level provides the highest diagnostic accuracy and inter-reader reliability in TCS. Until a larger series is evaluated, it remains questionable whether prone or cine MRI provides enough additional diagnostic information to warrant routine use. (orig.)

  17. Comparison of standard, prone and cine MRI in the evaluation of tethered cord

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, Sukhjinder [Cohen Children' s Medical Center, Department of Radiology, New Hyde Park, NY (United States); Kline-Fath, Beth; Racadio, Judy M. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Bierbrauer, Karin [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Salisbury, Shelia; Macaluso, Maurizio [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Jackson, Elizabeth C. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Nephrology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Egelhoff, John C. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Phoenix Children' s Hospital, Department of Radiology, Phoenix, AZ (United States)

    2012-06-15

    Tethered cord syndrome (TCS) is defined by abnormal traction on the spinal cord that confines its movement. Surgical cord release usually stops neurological deterioration; therefore, early and accurate neuroradiological diagnosis is important. Supine MRI is the imaging modality of choice, but prone MRI and cine MRI can demonstrate cord movement. We compared the diagnostic accuracies of standard MRI, prone MRI and cine MRI in patients with clinical suspicion of TCS and evaluated inter-reader reliability for MR imaging. Children who underwent MRI for suspicion of TCS were retrospectively identified. Supine, prone and cine MRI studies were re-read by two pediatric neuroradiologists. Conus level, filum appearance and cord movement were documented. Thirteen of 49 children had tethered cord documented at surgery. Conus level had the highest diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity 69-77%, specificity 94%, positive predictive value 82-83%, negative predictive value 89-92%, correct diagnosis 88-90%) and highest between-reader concordance (98%). Prone and cine MRI did not add to the accuracy of the supine imaging. Conus level provides the highest diagnostic accuracy and inter-reader reliability in TCS. Until a larger series is evaluated, it remains questionable whether prone or cine MRI provides enough additional diagnostic information to warrant routine use. (orig.)

  18. Engineering substrate promiscuity in halophilic alcohol dehydrogenase (HvADH2 by in silico design.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer Cassidy

    Full Text Available An alcohol dehydrogenase from the halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii (HvADH2 has been engineered by rational design to broaden its substrate scope towards the conversion of a range of aromatic substrates, including flurbiprofenol, that is an intermediate of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, flurbiprofen. Wild-type HvADH2 showed minimal activity with flurbiprofenol (11.1 mU/mg. A homology model of HvADH2 was built and docking experiments with this substrate revealed that the biphenyl rings of flurbiprofenol formed strong interactions with residues F85 and F108, preventing its optimal binding in the active site. Mutations at position 85 however did not increase activity. Site directed mutagenesis at position F108 allowed the identification of three variants showing a significant (up to 2.3-fold enhancement of activity towards flurbiprofenol, when compared to wild-type HvADH2. Interestingly, F108G variant did not show the classic inhibition in the presence of (R-enantiomer when tested with rac-1-phenylethanol, underling its potential in racemic resolution of secondary alcohols.

  19. Tethered Transition Metals Promoted Photocatalytic System for Efficient Hydrogen Evolutions

    KAUST Repository

    Takanabe, Kazuhiro

    2015-03-05

    The present invention is directed, at least in part, to a process for improving the efficiency of a photocatalyst (a semiconductor photocatalyst) by tethering (depositing) a metal (e.g., metal ions of a late transition metal, such as nickel) to the semiconductor (photocatalyst) surface through the use of an organic ligand. More specifically, 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT) functions as an excellent molecular linker (organic ligand) to attach a transition metal complex (e.g., nickel (Ni.sup.2+ ions)) to the semiconductor surface, which can be in the form of a cadmium sulfide surface. The photocatalyst has particular utility in generating hydrogen from H.sub.2S.

  20. Tethered Transition Metals Promoted Photocatalytic System for Efficient Hydrogen Evolutions

    KAUST Repository

    Takanabe, Kazuhiro; Isimjan, Tayirjan; Yu, Weili; Del Gobbo, Silvano; Xu, Wei

    2015-01-01

    The present invention is directed, at least in part, to a process for improving the efficiency of a photocatalyst (a semiconductor photocatalyst) by tethering (depositing) a metal (e.g., metal ions of a late transition metal, such as nickel) to the semiconductor (photocatalyst) surface through the use of an organic ligand. More specifically, 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT) functions as an excellent molecular linker (organic ligand) to attach a transition metal complex (e.g., nickel (Ni.sup.2+ ions)) to the semiconductor surface, which can be in the form of a cadmium sulfide surface. The photocatalyst has particular utility in generating hydrogen from H.sub.2S.

  1. Aromatic Plants as a Source of Bioactive Compounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Panagiota Florou-Paneri

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Aromatic plants, also known as herbs and spices, have been used since antiquity as folk medicine and as preservatives in foods. The best known aromatic plants, such as oregano, rosemary, sage, anise, basil, etc., originate from the Mediterranean area. They contain many biologically active compounds, mainly polyphenolics, which have been found to possess antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiparasitic, antiprotozoal, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. Currently, the demand for these plants and their derivatives has increased because they are natural, eco-friendly and generally recognized as safe products. Therefore, aromatic plants and their extracts have the potential to become new generation substances for human and animal nutrition and health. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the literature surrounding the in vivo and in vitro use of aromatic plants.

  2. Feasibility study of Tethered Capsule Endomicroscopy (TCE) deployment in the small intestine (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otuya, David O.; Verma, Yogesh; Dong, Jing; Gora, Michalina J.; Tearney, Guillermo J.

    2017-02-01

    Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is a poorly understood disease of the small intestine that causes nutrient malabsorption in children, predominantly from low and middle income countries. The clinical importance of EED is neurological and growth stunting that remains as the child grows into adulthood. Tethered capsule endomicroscopy (TCE) has the potential to improve the understanding of EED and could be used to determine the effectiveness of EED interventions. TCE in the adult esophagus and the duodenum has been demonstrated for Barrett`s esophagus and celiac disease diagnosis, respectively. While adult subjects can independently swallow these capsules, it is likely that infants will not, and, as a result, new strategies for introducing these devices in young children aged 0.5-2 years need to be investigated. Our first approach will be to introduce the TCE devices in infants under the aid of endoscopic guidance. To determine the most effective method, we have tested endoscopic approaches for introducing TCE devices into the small intestine of living swine. These methods will be compared and contrasted to discuss the most effective means for endoscopic tethered capsule introduction into the small intestine.

  3. Sound propagation in water containing large tethered spherical encapsulated gas bubbles with resonance frequencies in the 50 Hz to 100 Hz range.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kevin M; Hinojosa, Kevin T; Wochner, Mark S; Argo, Theodore F; Wilson, Preston S; Mercier, Richard S

    2011-11-01

    The efficacy of large tethered encapsulated gas bubbles for the mitigation of low frequency underwater noise was investigated with an acoustic resonator technique. Tethered latex balloons were used as the bubbles, which had radii of approximately 5 cm. Phase speeds were inferred from the resonances of a water and balloon-filled waveguide approximately 1.8 m in length. The Commander and Prosperetti effective-medium model [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 85, 732-746 (1989)] quantitatively described the observed dispersion from well below to just below the individual bubble resonance frequency, and it qualitatively predicted the frequency range of high attenuation for void fractions between 2% and 5% for collections of stationary balloons within the waveguide. A finite-element model was used to investigate the sensitivity of the waveguide resonance frequencies, and hence the inferred phase speeds, to changes in individual bubble size and position. The results indicate that large tethered encapsulated bubbles could be used mitigate low frequency underwater noise and that the Commander and Prosperetti model would be useful in the design of such a system.

  4. The formation of aromatics and PAH's in laminar flames

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marinov, N M; Pitz, W J; Westbrook, C K

    1999-01-01

    The formation of aromatics and PAH's is an important problem in combustion. These compounds are believed to contribute to the formation of soot whose emission from diesel engines is regulated widely throughout the industrial world. Additionally, the United States Environmental Protection Agency regulates the emission of many aromatics and PAH species from stationary industrial burners, under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. The above emission regulations have created much interest in understanding how these species are formed in combustion systems. Much previous work has been done on aromatics and PAH's. The work is too extensive to review here, but is reviewed in Reference 1. A few recent developments are highlighted here. McEnally, Pfefferle and coworkers have studied aromatic, PAH and soot formation in a variety of non-premixed flames with hydrocarbon additives[2-4]. They found additives that contain a C5 ring increase the concentration of aromatics and soot[4]. Howard and coworkers have studied the formation of aromatic and PAH's in low pressure, premixed, laminar hydrocarbon flames. They found the cyclopentadienyl radical to be a key species in naphthalene formation in a fuel-rich, benzene/Ar/O2 flame[5

  5. Aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in sediments of Placentia Bay, Newfoundland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiceniuk, J.W.

    1992-01-01

    A study was conducted to examine the potential for contamination of recent sediments with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons due to tanker and refinery activity in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, an area without large local anthropogenic sources of aromatics. Sediment samples were taken from the vicinity of the Come By Chance refinery, Woody Island, Wild Cove, and Port Royal Arm, all in the north end of the bay. The samples were extracted by two methods, dichloromethane extraction of dried sediment for determination of total aromatic hydrocarbon content and hexane extraction of wet sediment for estimation of the bioavailability of hydrocarbons and determination of more volatile compounds. Class analysis of aromatic hydrocarbons was conducted on a NH 2 column with detection at 255 nm. Total concentrations of di-tricyclic aromatics were highest at the Woody Island site (0.6 μg/g). The sediments from the Come By Chance site, Wild Cove, and Port Royal Arm sediments contained 0.3, 0.1, and 0.2 μg/g respectively. The hexane extracts from Come By Chance were lowest in di-tricyclic aromatics (0.007 μg/g), with the other sites being equal in concentration (0.01 μg/g). It is evident from the study that aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in Placentia Bay are elevated in some parts of the bay in the absence of local combustion sources, and that the most likely source is petroleum. 12 refs., 5 figs., 2 tabs

  6. DNA Electrochemistry with Tethered Methylene Blue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pheeney, Catrina G.

    2012-01-01

    Methylene blue (MB′), covalently attached to DNA through a flexible C12 alkyl linker, provides a sensitive redox reporter in DNA electrochemistry measurements. Tethered, intercalated MB′ is reduced through DNA-mediated charge transport; the incorporation of a single base mismatch at position 3, 10, or 14 of a 17-mer causes an attenuation of the signal to 62 ± 3% of the well-matched DNA, irrespective of position in the duplex. The redox signal intensity for MB′–DNA is found to be least 3-fold larger than that of Nile blue (NB)–DNA, indicating that MB′ is even more strongly coupled to the π-stack. The signal attenuation due to an intervening mismatch does, however, depend on DNA film density and the backfilling agent used to passivate the surface. These results highlight two mechanisms for reduction of MB′ on the DNA-modified electrode: reduction mediated by the DNA base pair stack and direct surface reduction of MB′ at the electrode. These two mechanisms are distinguished by their rates of electron transfer that differ by 20-fold. The extent of direct reduction at the surface can be controlled by assembly and buffer conditions. PMID:22512327

  7. Fused aromatic thienopyrazines: structure, properties and function

    KAUST Repository

    Mondal, Rajib

    2010-01-01

    Recent development of a fused aromatic thieno[3.4-b]pyrazine system and their application in optoelectronic devices are reviewed. Introduction of a fused aromatic unit followed by side chain engineering, dramatically enhanced the charge carrier mobility in thin film transistor devices and mobilities up to 0.2 cm2/Vs were achieved. The optoelectronic properties of these fused aromatic thienopyrazine polymers (Eg = 1.3 to 1.6 eV, HOMO = -4.9 to -5.2 V) were tuned by introduction of various fused aromatic rings within thienopyrazine. By balancing the fundamental properties of these polymers, both high charge carrier mobilities and moderate PCEs in solar cells were achieved. Further, effects of copolymerizing units are discussed. Low band gap semiconducting polymer (Eg ∼ 1 eV) with high field effect mobility (0.044 cm2/Vs) was obtained using cyclopentadithiophene as copolymerizing unit. Finally, a molecular design approach to enhance the absorption coefficients is discussed, which resulted in improved power conversion efficiency in bulk heterojunction solar cells. © 2010 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  8. DIRECT OBSERVATIONS OF TETHER-CUTTING RECONNECTION DURING A MAJOR SOLAR EVENT FROM 2014 FEBRUARY 24 TO 25

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Huadong; Zhang, Jun; Yang, Shuhong; Li, Ting [Key Laboratory of Solar Activity, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Cheng, Xin [School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Ma, Suli, E-mail: hdchen@nao.cas.cn [College of Science, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580 (China)

    2014-12-20

    Using multi-wavelength data from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we investigated two successive solar flares, a C5.1 confined flare and an X4.9 ejective flare with a halo coronal mass ejection, in NOAA active region 11990 from 2014 February 24 to 25. Before the confined flare onset, EUV brightening beneath the filament was detected. As the flare began, a twisted helical flux rope (FR) wrapping around the filament moved upward and then stopped, and in the meantime an obvious X-ray source below it was observed. Prior to the ejective X4.9 flare, some pre-existing loop structures in the active region interacted with each other, which produced a brightening region beneath the filament. Meanwhile, a small flaring loop appeared below the interaction region and some new helical lines connecting the far ends of the loop structures were gradually formed and continually added into the former twisted FR. Then, due to the resulting imbalance between the magnetic pressure and tension, the new FR, together with the filament, erupted outward. Our observations coincide well with a tether-cutting model, suggesting that the two flares probably have the same triggering mechanism, i.e., tether-cutting reconnection. To our knowledge, this is the first direct observation of tether-cutting reconnection occurring between pre-existing loops in an active region. In the ejective flare case, the erupting filament exhibited an Ω-like kinked structure and underwent an exponential rise after a slow-rise phase, indicating that the kink instability might be also responsible for the eruption initiation.

  9. PrenDB, a Substrate Prediction Database to Enable Biocatalytic Use of Prenyltransferases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunera, Jakub; Kindinger, Florian; Li, Shu-Ming; Kolb, Peter

    2017-03-10

    Prenyltransferases of the dimethylallyltryptophan synthase (DMATS) superfamily catalyze the attachment of prenyl or prenyl-like moieties to diverse acceptor compounds. These acceptor molecules are generally aromatic in nature and mostly indole or indole-like. Their catalytic transformation represents a major skeletal diversification step in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, including the indole alkaloids. DMATS enzymes thus contribute significantly to the biological and pharmacological diversity of small molecule metabolites. Understanding the substrate specificity of these enzymes could create opportunities for their biocatalytic use in preparing complex synthetic scaffolds. However, there has been no framework to achieve this in a rational way. Here, we report a chemoinformatic pipeline to enable prenyltransferase substrate prediction. We systematically catalogued 32 unique prenyltransferases and 167 unique substrates to create possible reaction matrices and compiled these data into a browsable database named PrenDB. We then used a newly developed algorithm based on molecular fragmentation to automatically extract reactive chemical epitopes. The analysis of the collected data sheds light on the thus far explored substrate space of DMATS enzymes. To assess the predictive performance of our virtual reaction extraction tool, 38 potential substrates were tested as prenyl acceptors in assays with three prenyltransferases, and we were able to detect turnover in >55% of the cases. The database, PrenDB (www.kolblab.org/prendb.php), enables the prediction of potential substrates for chemoenzymatic synthesis through substructure similarity and virtual chemical transformation techniques. It aims at making prenyltransferases and their highly regio- and stereoselective reactions accessible to the research community for integration in synthetic work flows. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  10. An ethnopharmacological study of aromatic Uyghur medicinal plants in Xinjiang, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Lu; Tian, Shuge; Wen, E; Upur, Halmuart

    2017-12-01

    An ethnobotanical survey was completed in a remote village and surrounding country of Xinjiang, where most Uyghur medicinal plants could be collected. This work clarifies and increases ethnobotanical data. We surveyed and organized aromatic medicinal plants that are commonly used in clinical settings to provide a significant reference for studying new medical activities. In the survey, informants who have traditional knowledge on aromatic Uyghur medicinal plants were interviewed between March 2014 and September 2014. Aromatic medicinal plant species and pertinent information were collected. Some therapeutic methods and modes of preparation of traditional aromatic medicinal plants were found. A total of 86 aromatic medicinal plant species belonging to 36 families were included in our study. We identified 34 plant species introduced from different regions such as Europe, India and Mediterranean areas. Fruits and whole plants were the most commonly used parts of plant, and most aromatic medicinal plants could be applied as medicine and food. We assigned the medicinal plants a use value (UV). Knowing the UV of species is useful in determining the use reliability and pharmacological features of related plants. Xinjiang is an area in which indigenous aromatic medicinal plants are diversely used and has therefore established a sound dimensional medical healthcare treatment system. Some aromatic Uyghur medicinal plants are on the verge of extinction. Hence, further strategies for the conservation of these aromatic medicinal plants should be prioritized.

  11. Spectrofluorimetric study of the aromatic carbohydrates of Noriisk petroleum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alekseeva, T.A.; Lekveishvili, E.G.; Melikadze, L.D.; Teplitskaia, T.A.; Tevdorashvili, M.N.

    1979-01-01

    Investigation was made of the specimens of aromatic hydrocarbons which were produced by photochemical decomposition of the products of photocondensation with maleicanhydride of narrow aromatic fractions separated by a system of methods from a high temperature part of Noriisk petroleum. Use was made of a standard spectrofluorimeter of low resolution. A series of aromatic hydrocarbons, naphthalene, benzofluorene, phenantrene, chrizene, pyrene, tetraphene, and 3,4-benzophenantrene were installed in the machine.

  12. Biomimicry Promotes the Efficiency of a 10-Step Sequential Enzymatic Reaction on Nanoparticles, Converting Glucose to Lactate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukai, Chinatsu; Gao, Lizeng; Nelson, Jacquelyn L; Lata, James P; Cohen, Roy; Wu, Lauren; Hinchman, Meleana M; Bergkvist, Magnus; Sherwood, Robert W; Zhang, Sheng; Travis, Alexander J

    2017-01-02

    For nanobiotechnology to achieve its potential, complex organic-inorganic systems must grow to utilize the sequential functions of multiple biological components. Critical challenges exist: immobilizing enzymes can block substrate-binding sites or prohibit conformational changes, substrate composition can interfere with activity, and multistep reactions risk diffusion of intermediates. As a result, the most complex tethered reaction reported involves only 3 enzymes. Inspired by the oriented immobilization of glycolytic enzymes on the fibrous sheath of mammalian sperm, here we show a complex reaction of 10 enzymes tethered to nanoparticles. Although individual enzyme efficiency was higher in solution, the efficacy of the 10-step pathway measured by conversion of glucose to lactate was significantly higher when tethered. To our knowledge, this is the most complex organic-inorganic system described, and it shows that tethered, multi-step biological pathways can be reconstituted in hybrid systems to carry out functions such as energy production or delivery of molecular cargo. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Molecular mechanism of strict substrate specificity of an extradiol dioxygenase, DesB, derived from Sphingobium sp. SYK-6.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keisuke Sugimoto

    Full Text Available DesB, which is derived from Sphingobium sp. SYK-6, is a type II extradiol dioxygenase that catalyzes a ring opening reaction of gallate. While typical extradiol dioxygenases show broad substrate specificity, DesB has strict substrate specificity for gallate. The substrate specificity of DesB seems to be required for the efficient growth of S. sp. SYK-6 using lignin-derived aromatic compounds. Since direct coordination of hydroxyl groups of the substrate to the non-heme iron in the active site is a critical step for the catalytic reaction of the extradiol dioxygenases, the mechanism of the substrate recognition and coordination of DesB was analyzed by biochemical and crystallographic methods. Our study demonstrated that the direct coordination between the non-heme iron and hydroxyl groups of the substrate requires a large shift of the Fe (II ion in the active site. Mutational analysis revealed that His124 and His192 in the active site are essential to the catalytic reaction of DesB. His124, which interacts with OH (4 of the bound gallate, seems to contribute to proper positioning of the substrate in the active site. His192, which is located close to OH (3 of the gallate, is likely to serve as the catalytic base. Glu377' interacts with OH (5 of the gallate and seems to play a critical role in the substrate specificity. Our biochemical and structural study showed the substrate recognition and catalytic mechanisms of DesB.

  14. Minimally invasive tethered cord release in children: A technical note

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Kağan Başarslan

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Tethered cord release is commonly performed in pediatric neurosurgery. Nowadays, minimally invasive procedures are created growing interest due to its highly tolerable nature for surgery. It has been main purpose a minimal damaging on access route and maximum protection of normal structures in surgery. We present a surgical treatment of tethered cord syndrome, by which is provided the cord releasing unlike the many methods being applied with tissue removal. The main advantage of performing this surgery through 2 cm hole is to avoid removing ligamentum flavum and bony structure like lamina in addition to reduce the length of the incision and the related scar tissue. J Clin Exp Invest 2014; 5 (1: 115-117 Technical note: the patient was taken on the operating table in the sitting-prone position, and L5-S1 distance was determined by fluoroscopy. The skin and subcutaneous tissues was passed via a 2 cm vertical incision settled in 0.5 cm laterally from midline. L5-S1 distance and its covering ligamentum flavum are displayed by the guidance of L5 lamina. Williams’s retractor was placed in the distance after fetching microscope. The foregoing procedures are the same with microdiscectomic surgery. By a vertical incision made on the flavum, its both layer was lifted up and hanged with simple suture on the back tissue for a comfortable exposure of the Dura. Thecal sac was opened by 0.5 cm long vertical incision on the Dura after obtaining secure CSF drainage with the help of yellow-tipped syringe needle. With finding by a nerve hook, the phylum was burned and released securely. Then the Dura was sutured primarily for the closure by means of microsurgery instruments, and flavum was laid on it again.

  15. Construction and Optimization of a Heterologous Pathway for Protocatechuate Catabolism in Escherichia coli Enables Bioconversion of Model Aromatic Compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Clarkson, Sonya M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Biosciences Division; Giannone, Richard J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Chemical Sciences Division; Kridelbaugh, Donna M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Biosciences Division; Elkins, James G. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Biosciences Division; Guss, Adam M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Biosciences Division; Michener, Joshua K. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Biosciences Division, BioEnergy Science Center; Vieille, Claire [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)

    2017-07-21

    The production of biofuels from lignocellulose yields a substantial lignin by-product stream that currently has few applications. Biological conversion of lignin-derived compounds into chemicals and fuels has the potential to improve the economics of lignocellulose-derived biofuels, but few microbes are able both to catabolize lignin-derived aromatic compounds and to generate valuable products. WhileEscherichia colihas been engineered to produce a variety of fuels and chemicals, it is incapable of catabolizing most aromatic compounds. Therefore, we engineeredE. colito catabolize protocatechuate, a common intermediate in lignin degradation, as the sole source of carbon and energy via heterologous expression of a nine-gene pathway fromPseudomonas putidaKT2440. Then, we used experimental evolution to select for mutations that increased growth with protocatechuate more than 2-fold. Increasing the strength of a single ribosome binding site in the heterologous pathway was sufficient to recapitulate the increased growth. After optimization of the core pathway, we extended the pathway to enable catabolism of a second model compound, 4-hydroxybenzoate. These engineered strains will be useful platforms to discover, characterize, and optimize pathways for conversions of lignin-derived aromatics.

    IMPORTANCELignin is a challenging substrate for microbial catabolism due to its polymeric and heterogeneous chemical structure. Therefore, engineering microbes for improved catabolism of lignin-derived aromatic compounds will require the assembly of an entire network of catabolic reactions, including pathways from genetically intractable strains. By constructing defined pathways for aromatic compound degradation in a model host would allow rapid

  16. Extraction of aromatics from naphtha with ionic liquids

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meindersma, G.W.

    2005-01-01

    The objective of this study was the development of a separation technology for the selective recovery and purification of aromatic compounds benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) from liquid ethylene cracker feeds. Most ethylene cracker feeds contain 10 ¿ 25% of aromatic components,

  17. Synthesis and characterization of aromatic self-assembled monolayers containing methylene and ethyleneglycol entities by means of sum-frequency generation spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dreesen, L.; Sartenaer, Y.; Peremans, A.; Thiry, P.A.; Humbert, C.; Grugier, J.; Marchand-Brynaert, J.

    2006-01-01

    We use infrared-visible sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy in order to investigate the adsorption properties on Pt(111) of molecules having CH 3 -C 6 H 4 -(O-CH 2 -CH 2 ) n -O-(CH 2 ) m -SH as general chemical formula. We synthesized three molecules defined by the values m = 5 n = 4, m = 11 n = 4, m = 11 n = 8 and characterized them by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy. Thanks to spectroscopic measurements, we show that these molecules build self-assembled monolayers on Pt(111). First, the weak SFG signals arising from the ad-layer indicate low order and surface coverage of the substrate by these molecules. Next, the vibrational fingerprints of the aforementioned molecules are determined between 2825 and 3125 cm - 1 and the observed SFG spectral features are ascribed on the basis of the analysis of shorter and simpler molecules (1-dodecanethiol, 4-methylbenzenethiol and CH 3 -C 6 H 4 -O-(CH 2 ) 11 -SH) also adsorbed on Pt(111). The occurrence of methylene vibration modes indicates a significant amount of chain defects whatever the n and m numbers are. Finally, the identification of a particular vibration mode, characteristic of the aromatic ring, enables us to qualitatively discuss the effect of the number of methylene and ethylene glycol entities on its orientation. More precisely, higher these numbers, more tilted (with respect to the substrate normal) the aromatic ring plane is

  18. Critical point measurement of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nikitin, Eugene D.; Popov, Alexander P.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Critical properties of five polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were measured. • These hydrocarbons decompose at near-critical temperatures. • Pulse-heating method with short residence times was used. - Abstract: The critical temperatures and the critical pressures of five polycyclic aromatic compounds, namely, acenaphthene, fluorene, anthracene, phenanthrene, and pyrene have been measured. All the compounds studied decompose at near-critical temperatures. A pulse-heating technique applicable to measuring the critical properties of thermally unstable compounds has been used. The times from the beginning of a heating pulse to the moment of reaching the critical temperature were from (0.06 to 0.85) ms. The short residence times provide little degradation of the substances in the course of the experiments. The experimental critical parameters of the polycyclic aromatic compounds have been compared with those estimated by five predictive methods. The acentric factors of polycyclic aromatic compounds studied have been calculated

  19. Self-assembled electrical materials from contorted aromatics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Shengxiong

    This thesis describes the design, synthesis, self-assembly and electrical properties of new types of contorted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These topologically interesting contorted aromatics show promising transistor characteristics as new building blocks for organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) at different length scales. In chapter 2, a class of pentacenes that are substituted along their long edges with aromatic rings were synthesized. Their solid-state assemblies were studied by X-ray crystallography. Their performance as thin film transistors (TFTs) and single crystal field effect transistors (SCFETs) were systematically evaluated. A structure-property relationship between these highly phenylated pentacenes was found. Chapter 3 explores the new concept of whether a non-planar aromatic core could yield efficacious electronic materials, as the ultimate success in the organic electronics will require a holistic approach to creating new building blocks. Synthesis, functionalization and assembly of a new type of contorted hexabenzocoronene (HBC) whose aromatic core is heavily distorted away from planarity due to the steric congestion around its proximal carbons were discussed. Structural studies by X-ray crystallography showed that these HBC molecules stack into columnar structures in the solid state, which are ideal for conduction. Chapter 4 describes that microscale liquid crystalline thin film OFETs of tetradodecyloxy HBC showed the best transistor properties of all discotic columnar materials. Chapter 5 details the fabrication and characterization of nanoscale single crystalline fiber OFETs of octadodecyloxyl HBC. In Chapter 6 we show that a molecular scale monolayer of HBC acid chlorides could be self-assembled on SiO2 insulating layer and could be organized laterally between the ends of 2 nm carbon nanotube gaps to form high quality FETs that act as environmental and chemical sensors. Chapter 7 details the enforced one-dimensional photoconductivity

  20. A new nitrilase-producing strain named Rhodobacter sphaeroides LHS-305: biocatalytic characterization and substrate specificity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chunsheng; Wang, Xuedong; Wei, Dongzhi

    2011-12-01

    The characteristics of the new nitrilase-producing strain Rhodobacter sphaeroides LHS-305 were investigated. By investigating several parameters influencing nitrilase production, the specific cell activity was ultimately increased from 24.5 to 75.0 μmol g(-1) min(-1), and hereinto, the choice of inducer proved the most important factor. The aromatic nitriles (such as 3-cyanopyridine and benzonitrile) were found to be the most favorable substrates of the nitrilase by analyzing the substrate spectrum. It was speculated that the unsaturated carbon atom attached to the cyano group was crucial for this type of nitrilase. The value of apparent K (m), substrate inhibition constant, and product inhibition constant of the nitrilase against 3-cyanopyridine were 4.5 × 10(-2), 29.2, and 8.6 × 10(-3) mol L(-1), respectively. When applied in nicotinic acid preparation, the nitrilase is able to hydrolyze 200 mmol L(-1) 3-cyanopyridine with 93% conversion rate in 13 h by 6.1 g L(-1) cells (dry cell weight).

  1. Anaerobic catabolism of aromatic compounds: a genetic and genomic view.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carmona, Manuel; Zamarro, María Teresa; Blázquez, Blas; Durante-Rodríguez, Gonzalo; Juárez, Javier F; Valderrama, J Andrés; Barragán, María J L; García, José Luis; Díaz, Eduardo

    2009-03-01

    Aromatic compounds belong to one of the most widely distributed classes of organic compounds in nature, and a significant number of xenobiotics belong to this family of compounds. Since many habitats containing large amounts of aromatic compounds are often anoxic, the anaerobic catabolism of aromatic compounds by microorganisms becomes crucial in biogeochemical cycles and in the sustainable development of the biosphere. The mineralization of aromatic compounds by facultative or obligate anaerobic bacteria can be coupled to anaerobic respiration with a variety of electron acceptors as well as to fermentation and anoxygenic photosynthesis. Since the redox potential of the electron-accepting system dictates the degradative strategy, there is wide biochemical diversity among anaerobic aromatic degraders. However, the genetic determinants of all these processes and the mechanisms involved in their regulation are much less studied. This review focuses on the recent findings that standard molecular biology approaches together with new high-throughput technologies (e.g., genome sequencing, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metagenomics) have provided regarding the genetics, regulation, ecophysiology, and evolution of anaerobic aromatic degradation pathways. These studies revealed that the anaerobic catabolism of aromatic compounds is more diverse and widespread than previously thought, and the complex metabolic and stress programs associated with the use of aromatic compounds under anaerobic conditions are starting to be unraveled. Anaerobic biotransformation processes based on unprecedented enzymes and pathways with novel metabolic capabilities, as well as the design of novel regulatory circuits and catabolic networks of great biotechnological potential in synthetic biology, are now feasible to approach.

  2. Role of tryptophan 95 in substrate specificity and structural stability of Sulfolobus solfataricus alcohol dehydrogenase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pennacchio, Angela; Esposito, Luciana; Zagari, Adriana; Rossi, Mosè; Raia, Carlo A

    2009-09-01

    A mutant of the thermostable NAD(+)-dependent (S)-stereospecific alcohol dehydrogenase from Sulfolobus solfataricus (SsADH) which has a single substitution, Trp95Leu, located at the substrate binding pocket, was fully characterized to ascertain the role of Trp95 in discriminating between chiral secondary alcohols suggested by the wild-type SsADH crystallographic structure. The Trp95Leu mutant displays no apparent activity with short-chain primary and secondary alcohols and poor activity with aromatic substrates and coenzyme. Moreover, the Trp --> Leu substitution affects the structural stability of the archaeal ADH, decreasing its thermal stability without relevant changes in secondary structure. The double mutant Trp95Leu/Asn249Tyr was also purified to assist in crystallographic analysis. This mutant exhibits higher activity but decreased affinity toward aliphatic alcohols, aldehydes as well as NAD(+) and NADH compared to the wild-type enzyme. The crystal structure of the Trp95Leu/Asn249Tyr mutant apo form, determined at 2.0 A resolution, reveals a large local rearrangement of the substrate site with dramatic consequences. The Leu95 side-chain conformation points away from the catalytic metal center and the widening of the substrate site is partially counteracted by a concomitant change of Trp117 side chain conformation. Structural changes at the active site are consistent with the reduced activity on substrates and decreased coenzyme binding.

  3. Nano- to microscale dynamics of P-selectin detachment from leukocyte interfaces. II. Tether flow terminated by P-selectin dissociation from PSGL-1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinrich, Volkmar; Leung, Andrew; Evans, Evan

    2005-03-01

    We have used a biomembrane force probe decorated with P-selectin to form point attachments with PSGL-1 receptors on a human neutrophil (PMN) in a calcium-containing medium and then to quantify the forces experienced by the attachment during retraction of the PMN at fixed speed. From first touch to final detachment, the typical force history exhibited the following sequence of events: i), an initial linear-elastic displacement of the PMN surface, ii), an abrupt crossover to viscoplastic flow that signaled membrane separation from the interior cytoskeleton and the beginning of a membrane tether, and iii), the final detachment from the probe tip most often by one precipitous step of P-selectin:PSGL-1 dissociation. Analyzing the initial elastic response and membrane unbinding from the cytoskeleton in our companion article I, we focus in this article on the regime of tether extrusion that nearly always occurred before release of the extracellular adhesion bond at pulling speeds > or =1 microm/s. The force during tether growth appeared to approach a plateau at long times. Examined over a large range of pulling speeds up to 150 microm/s, the plateau force exhibited a significant shear thinning as indicated by a weak power-law dependence on pulling speed, f(infinity) = 60 pN(nu(pull)/microm/s)(0.25). Using this shear-thinning response to describe the viscous element in a nonlinear Maxwell-like fluid model, we show that a weak serial-elastic component with a stiffness of approximately 0.07 pN/nm provides good agreement with the time course of the tether force approach to the plateau under constant pulling speed.

  4. Separation of aromatics by vapor permeation through solvent swollen membrane

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ito, A.; Adachi, K.; Feng, Y. [Niigata University, Niigata (Japan)

    1995-12-20

    A vapor permeation process for aromatics separation from a hydrocarbon mixture was studied by means of the simultaneous permeation of dimethylsulfoxide vapor as an agent for membrane swelling and preferential permeation of aromatics. The separation performance of the process was demonstrated by a polyvinylalcohol membrane for mixed vapors of benzene/cyclohexane, xylene/octane and a model gasoline. The aromatic vapors preferentially permeated from these mixed vapor feeds. The separation factor was over 10. The separation mechanism of the process mainly depends on the relative salability of the vapors between aromatics and other hydrocarbons in dimethylsulfoxide. 14 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab.

  5. Does the concept of Clar's aromatic sextet work for dicationic forms of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons?--testing the model against charged systems in singlet and triplet states.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dominikowska, Justyna; Palusiak, Marcin

    2011-07-07

    The concept of Clar's π-electron aromatic sextet was tested against a set of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in neutral and doubly charged forms. Systems containing different types of rings (in the context of Clar's concept) were chosen, including benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene and triphenylene. In the case of dicationic structures both singlet and triplet states were considered. It was found that for singlet state dicationic structures the concept of aromatic sextet could be applied and the local aromaticity could be discussed in the context of that model, whereas in the case of triplet state dicationic structures Clar's model rather failed. Different aromaticity indices based on various properties of molecular systems were applied for the purpose of the studies. The discussion about the interdependence between the values of different aromaticity indices applied to neutral and charged systems in singlet and triplet states is also included. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2011

  6. 6-Oxocyclohex-1-ene-1-carbonyl-coenzyme A hydrolases from obligately anaerobic bacteria: characterization and identification of its gene as a functional marker for aromatic compounds degrading anaerobes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuntze, Kevin; Shinoda, Yoshifumi; Moutakki, Housna; McInerney, Michael J; Vogt, Carsten; Richnow, Hans-Hermann; Boll, Matthias

    2008-06-01

    In anaerobic bacteria, most aromatic growth substrates are channelled into the benzoyl-coenzyme A (CoA) degradation pathway where the aromatic ring is dearomatized and cleaved into an aliphatic thiol ester. The initial step of this pathway is catalysed by dearomatizing benzoyl-CoA reductases yielding the two electron-reduction product, cyclohexa-1,5-diene-1-carbonyl-CoA, to which water is subsequently added by a hydratase. The next two steps have so far only been studied in facultative anaerobes and comprise the oxidation of the 6-hydroxyl-group to 6-oxocyclohex-1-ene-1-carbonyl-CoA (6-OCH-CoA), the addition of water and hydrolytic ring cleavage yielding 3-hydroxypimelyl-CoA. In this work, two benzoate-induced genes from the obligately anaerobic bacteria, Geobacter metallireducens (bamA(Geo)) and Syntrophus aciditrophicus (bamA(Syn)), were heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and characterized as 6-OCH-CoA hydrolases. Both enzymes consisted of a single 43 kDa subunit. Some properties of the enzymes are presented and compared with homologues from facultative anaerobes. An alignment of the nucleotide sequences of bamA(Geo) and bamA(Syn) with the corresponding genes from facultative anaerobes identified highly conserved DNA regions, which enabled the discrimination of genes coding for 6-OCH-CoA hydrolases from those coding for related enzymes. A degenerate oligonucleotide primer pair was deduced from conserved regions and applied in polymerase chain reaction reactions. Using these primers, the expected DNA fragment of the 6-OCH-CoA hydrolase genes was specifically amplified from the DNA of nearly all known facultative and obligate anaerobes that use aromatic growth substrates. The only exception was the aromatic compound-degrading Rhodopseudomonas palustris, which uniquely uses a modified benzoyl-CoA degradation pathway. Using the oligonucleotide primers, the expected DNA fragment was also amplified in a toluene-degrading and a m

  7. Deuteration of benzen derivatives and condensed aromatics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ichikawa, Masaru.

    1970-01-01

    A process for the deuteration of aromatic compounds (benzene derivatives having one or more cyano, halogeno, nitro or other electron attractive groups, and condensed ring aromatics) is provided. The process comprises reducing said aromatic compound with an alkali metal (preferably K, Rb or Cs) in a solvent (dimethoxyethane, tetrahydrofuran, etc.) to provide an electron-acceptor-donor complex, which is followed by introducing gaseous deuterium into the solution. The deuteration takes place selectively at the position of highest electron density in accordance with nature of the substituent, regardless of steric hindrance. The process is applicable to a wide variety of aromatics to give deuterated compounds in high yields. In one example, 5x10 -3 mole of anthracene (An) was reacted with 2g of metallic potassium in 80cc of dimethoxyethane in a N 2 atmosphere. Into the resulting solution of An=2K + was introduced D 2 gas (30 cmHg) at 25 0 C. After decomposition with air and washing with alcohol, the precipitate was recrystallized from benzene. Yield of recovered AN: more than 90%. Yield of deuteration: 100%. Position of deuteration: 9 and 10 (revealed by NMR and mass spectroscopy). (Kaichi, S.)

  8. Synthesis and bioelectrochemical behavior of aromatic amines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shabbir, Muhammad; Akhter, Zareen; Ahmad, Iqbal; Ahmed, Safeer; Bolte, Michael; McKee, Vickie

    2017-12-01

    Four aromatic amines 1-amino-4-phenoxybenzene (A 1 ), 4-(4-aminophenyloxy) biphenyl (A 2 ), 1-(4-aminophenoxy) naphthalene (A 3 ) and 2-(4-aminophenoxy) naphthalene (A 4 ) were synthesized and characterized by elemental, spectroscopic (FTIR, NMR), mass spectrometric and single crystal X-ray diffraction methods. The compounds crystallized in monoclinic crystal system with space group P2 1 . Intermolecular hydrogen bonds were observed between the amine group and amine/ether acceptors of neighboring molecules. Electrochemical investigations were done using cyclic voltammetry (CV), square wave voltammetry (SWV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). CV studies showed that oxidation of aromatic amines takes place at about 0.9 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and the electron transfer (ET) process has irreversible nature. After first scan reactive intermediate were generated electrochemically and some other cathodic and anodic peaks also appeared in the succeeding scans. DPV study revealed that ET process is accompanied by one electron. DNA binding study of aromatic amines was performed by CV and UV-visible spectroscopy. These investigations revealed groove binding mode of interaction of aromatic amines with DNA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Oxidative decomposition of aromatic hydrocarbons by electron beam irradiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Do-Hung; Stuchinskaya, Tatiana; Won, Yang-Soo; Park, Wan-Sik; Lim, Jae-Kyong

    2003-05-01

    Decomposition of aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under electron beam irradiation was studied in order to examine the kinetics of the process, to characterize the reaction product distribution and to develop a process of waste gas control technology. Toluene, ethylbenzene, o-, m-, p-xylenes and chlorobenzene were used as target materials. The experiments were carried out at doses ranging from 0.5 to 10 kGy, using a flow reactor utilized under electron beam irradiation. Maximum degrees of decomposition carried out at 10 kGy in air environment were 55-65% for “non-chlorinated” aromatic VOC and 85% for chlorobenzene. It was found that a combination of aromatic pollutants with chlorobenzene would considerably increase the degradation value up to nearly 50% compared to the same compounds in the absence of chlorine groups. Based on our experimental observation, the degradation mechanism of the aromatic compounds combined with chloro-compound suggests that a chlorine radical, formed from EB irradiation, induces a chain reaction, resulting in an accelerating oxidative destruction of aromatic VOCs.

  10. Phosphate Tether-Mediated Ring-Closing Metathesis for the Generation of P-Stereogenic, Z-Configured Bicyclo[7.3.1]- and Bicyclo[8.3.1]phosphates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markley, Jana L; Maitra, Soma; Hanson, Paul R

    2016-02-05

    A phosphate tether-mediated ring-closing metathesis (RCM) study to the synthesis of Z-configured, P-stereogenic bicyclo[7.3.1]- and bicyclo[8.3.1]phosphates is reported. Investigations suggest that C3-substitution, olefin substitution, and proximity of the forming olefin to the bridgehead carbon of the bicyclic affect the efficiency and stereochemical outcome of the RCM event. This study demonstrates the utility of phosphate tether-mediated desymmetrization of C2-symmetric, 1,3-anti-diol-containing dienes in the generation of macrocyclic phosphates with potential synthetic and biological utility.

  11. ARM Tethered Balloon System & AALCO Activities at AMF3 Site at Oliktok Point, AK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardesty, J.; Dexheimer, D.; Mei, F.; Roesler, E. L.; Longbottom, C.; Hillman, B. R.

    2017-12-01

    Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has operated the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program's (ARM) third ARM Mobile Facility (AMF3) and the restricted airspace associated with it at Oliktok Point, Alaska, since October 2013. The site hosts ground-based instrumentation which collects a variety of continuous atmospheric measurements as well as user-conducted unmanned aircraft and tethered balloon campaigns. SNL has operated ARM's tethered balloon system (TBS) as part of the Inaugural Campaigns for ARM Research using Unmanned Systems (ICARUS) since 2016. AALCO (Aerial Assessment of Liquid in Clouds at Oliktok), is an ARM Intensive Operations Period conducted by SNL at the AMF3 since 2016. The operation of the TBS during ICARUS and AALCO to altitudes above 4,000' AGL in a variety of seasons and conditions is addressed. A Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) system and supercooled liquid water content (SLWC) sensors have been deployed under both campaigns. The performance of these sensors is discussed and results are presented. DTS measurements and their relationship to concurrent temperature measurements from unmanned aircraft and radiosondes are shown. SLWC sensor in situ measurements are compared with microwave radiometer and radiosonde-derived measurements. Preliminary analysis of using Large Eddy Simulations to compare with the SLWC measurements reveals three-dimensional properties of the observed clouds.

  12. Microbial degradation of aliphatic and aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Aamer Ali; Kato, Satoshi; Shintani, Noboru; Kamini, Numbi Ramudu; Nakajima-Kambe, Toshiaki

    2014-04-01

    Biodegradable plastics (BPs) have attracted much attention since more than a decade because they can easily be degraded by microorganisms in the environment. The development of aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters has combined excellent mechanical properties with biodegradability and an ideal replacement for the conventional nondegradable thermoplastics. The microorganisms degrading these polyesters are widely distributed in various environments. Although various aliphatic, aromatic, and aliphatic-aromatic co-polyester-degrading microorganisms and their enzymes have been studied and characterized, there are still many groups of microorganisms and enzymes with varying properties awaiting various applications. In this review, we have reported some new microorganisms and their enzymes which could degrade various aliphatic, aromatic, as well as aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters like poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), poly(butylene succinate)-co-(butylene adipate) (PBSA), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), poly(ethylene succinate) (PES), poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(3-hydoxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalterate) (PHB/PHBV), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT), poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT), poly(butylene succinate-co-terephthalate) (PBST), and poly(butylene succinate/terephthalate/isophthalate)-co-(lactate) (PBSTIL). The mechanism of degradation of aliphatic as well as aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters has also been discussed. The degradation ability of microorganisms against various polyesters might be useful for the treatment and recycling of biodegradable wastes or bioremediation of the polyester-contaminated environments.

  13. SYNTHESIS OF MULTI-LAYER SUBSTRATE FOR OBSERVING OF HYDROXYBENZOIC ACIDS MOLECULES BY SERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. A. Yasenko

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Subject of study. The paper deals with the results of the multilayer substrate synthesis having an effect of SERS from hydroxybenzoic acid molecules which are adsorbed on its surface. Methods. To produce SERS substrate we have applied colloid chemistry methods: washing of colloids using a laboratory centrifuge OPn-8, carrying out serial chemical reactions for modifying the surface of semiconductor particles of SiO2 in the solution, determining the maximum of the absorption spectrum of the substrate obtained (in the range from 400 to 1000 nm. To observe hydroxybenzoic acids molecules the method of Raman scattering on OPTEC-785 Video-M spectrometer has been used. Main results. A new method of the substrate chemical synthesis is proposed, which has the effect of SERS by radiationexcitation wavelength of 785 nm, based on micron silica particles with immobilized surface of gold and silver. Raman spectra of hydroxybenzoic acids (Gallic and p-hydroxybenzoic in free and adsorbed state have been experimentally obtained and interpreted. It was shown that both acids in a crystalline state are in the form of dimers. Also, the presence of a certain group of characteristic bands indicates that the hydroxybenzoic acid is chemically bonded to the substrate surface through an oxygen bridge of deprotonated hydroxyl groups. However, unlike Gallic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid passes into the monomer form. Practical significance. This technique for enhancing substrate preparation is usable in the laboratory without sophisticated technical equipment. Experimental data on the method of securing the hydroxybenzoic acids and form of their existence on the surface of the substrate will be useful in the design of sensor systems based on them. Characteristic bands of undistorted aromatic ring of hydroxybenzoic acids may also be used in developing

  14. Distributions of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Aromatic Ketones, Carboxylic Acids, and Trace Metals in Arctic Aerosols: Long-Range Atmospheric Transport, Photochemical Degradation/Production at Polar Sunrise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Dharmendra Kumar; Kawamura, Kimitaka; Yanase, Ayako; Barrie, Leonard A

    2017-08-15

    The distributions, correlations, and source apportionment of aromatic acids, aromatic ketones, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and trace metals were studied in Canadian high Arctic aerosols. Nineteen PAHs including minor sulfur-containing heterocyclic PAH (dibenzothiophene) and major 6 carcinogenic PAHs were detected with a high proportion of fluoranthene followed by benzo[k]fluoranthene, pyrene, and chrysene. However, in the sunlit period of spring, their concentrations significantly declined likely due to photochemical decomposition. During the polar sunrise from mid-March to mid-April, benzo[a]pyrene to benzo[e]pyrene ratios significantly dropped, and the ratios diminished further from late April to May onward. These results suggest that PAHs transported over the Arctic are subjected to strong photochemical degradation at polar sunrise. Although aromatic ketones decreased in spring, concentrations of some aromatic acids such as benzoic and phthalic acids increased during the course of polar sunrise, suggesting that aromatic hydrocarbons are oxidized to result in aromatic acids. However, PAHs do not act as the major source for low molecular weight (LMW) diacids such as oxalic acid that are largely formed at polar sunrise in the arctic atmosphere because PAHs are 1 to 2 orders of magnitude less abundant than LMW diacids. Correlations of trace metals with organics, their sources, and the possible role of trace transition metals are explained.

  15. Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by Trichoderma species: a mini review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zafra, German; Cortés-Espinosa, Diana V

    2015-12-01

    Fungi belonging to Trichoderma genus are ascomycetes found in soils worldwide. Trichoderma has been studied in relation to diverse biotechnological applications and are known as successful colonizers of their common habitats. Members of this genus have been well described as effective biocontrol organisms through the production of secondary metabolites with potential applications as new antibiotics. Even though members of Trichoderma are commonly used for the commercial production of lytic enzymes, as a biological control agent, and also in the food industry, their use in xenobiotic biodegradation is limited. Trichoderma stands out as a genus with a great range of substrate utilization, a high production of antimicrobial compounds, and its ability for environmental opportunism. In this review, we focused on the recent advances in the research of Trichoderma species as potent and efficient aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading organisms, as well as aimed to provide insight into its potential role in the bioremediation of soils contaminated with heavy hydrocarbons. Several Trichoderma species are associated with the ability to metabolize a variety of both high and low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as naphthalene, phenanthrene, chrysene, pyrene, and benzo[a]pyrene. PAH-degrading species include Trichoderma hamatum, Trichoderma harzianum, Trichoderma reesei, Trichoderma koningii, Trichoderma viride, Trichoderma virens, and Trichoderma asperellum using alternate enzyme systems commonly seen in other organisms, such as multicooper laccases, peroxidases, and ring-cleavage dioxygenases. Within these species, T. asperellum stands out as a versatile organism with remarkable degrading abilities, high tolerance, and a remarkable potential to be used as a remediation agent in polluted soils.

  16. Aromatic graphene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Das, D. K., E-mail: gour.netai@gmail.com [Department of Metallurgical and Material Science Engineering, National Institute of Technology Durgapur-713209, West Bengal (India); Sahoo, S., E-mail: sukadevsahoo@yahoo.com [Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Durgapur-713209, West Bengal (India)

    2016-04-13

    In recent years graphene attracts the scientific and engineering communities due to its outstanding electronic, thermal, mechanical and optical properties and many potential applications. Recently, Popov et al. [1] have studied the properties of graphene and proved that it is aromatic but without fragrance. In this paper, we present a theory to prepare graphene with fragrance. This can be used as scented pencils, perfumes, room and car fresheners, cosmetics and many other useful household substances.

  17. Aromatic graphene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, D. K.; Sahoo, S.

    2016-01-01

    In recent years graphene attracts the scientific and engineering communities due to its outstanding electronic, thermal, mechanical and optical properties and many potential applications. Recently, Popov et al. [1] have studied the properties of graphene and proved that it is aromatic but without fragrance. In this paper, we present a theory to prepare graphene with fragrance. This can be used as scented pencils, perfumes, room and car fresheners, cosmetics and many other useful household substances.

  18. Secretory vesicles in live cells are not free-floating but tethered to filamentous structures: A study using photonic force microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abu-Hamdah, Rania; Cho, Won Jin; Hoerber, J.K.H.; Jena, Bhanu P.

    2006-01-01

    It is well established that actin and microtubule cytoskeletal systems are involved in organelle transport and membrane trafficking in cells. This is also true for the transport of secretory vesicles in neuroendocrine cells and neurons. It was however unclear whether secretory vesicles remain free-floating, only to associate with such cytoskeletal systems when needing transport. This hypothesis was tested using live pancreatic acinar cells in physiological buffer solutions, using the photonic force microscope (PFM). When membrane-bound secretory vesicles (0.2-1.2 μm in diameter) in live pancreatic acinar cells were trapped at the laser focus of the PFM and pulled, they were all found tethered to filamentous structures. Mild exposure of cells to nocodazole and cytochalasin B, disrupts the tether. Immunoblot analysis of isolated secretory vesicles, further demonstrated the association of actin, myosin V, and kinesin. These studies demonstrate for the first time that secretory vesicles in live pancreatic acinar cells are tethered and not free-floating, suggesting that following vesicle biogenesis, they are placed on their own railroad track, ready to be transported to their final destination within the cell when required. This makes sense, since precision and regulation are the hallmarks of all cellular process, and therefore would hold true for the transport and localization of subcellular organelles such as secretory vesicles

  19. Secretory vesicles in live cells are not free-floating but tethered to filamentous structures: A study using photonic force microscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abu-Hamdah, Rania [Department of Physiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 5245 Scott Hall, 540 E. Canfield, Detroit, MI 48201 (United States); Cho, Won Jin [Department of Physiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 5245 Scott Hall, 540 E. Canfield, Detroit, MI 48201 (United States); Hoerber, J.K.H. [Department of Physics, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD (United Kingdom); Jena, Bhanu P. [Department of Physiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 5245 Scott Hall, 540 E. Canfield, Detroit, MI 48201 (United States)]. E-mail: bjena@med.wayne.edu

    2006-06-15

    It is well established that actin and microtubule cytoskeletal systems are involved in organelle transport and membrane trafficking in cells. This is also true for the transport of secretory vesicles in neuroendocrine cells and neurons. It was however unclear whether secretory vesicles remain free-floating, only to associate with such cytoskeletal systems when needing transport. This hypothesis was tested using live pancreatic acinar cells in physiological buffer solutions, using the photonic force microscope (PFM). When membrane-bound secretory vesicles (0.2-1.2 {mu}m in diameter) in live pancreatic acinar cells were trapped at the laser focus of the PFM and pulled, they were all found tethered to filamentous structures. Mild exposure of cells to nocodazole and cytochalasin B, disrupts the tether. Immunoblot analysis of isolated secretory vesicles, further demonstrated the association of actin, myosin V, and kinesin. These studies demonstrate for the first time that secretory vesicles in live pancreatic acinar cells are tethered and not free-floating, suggesting that following vesicle biogenesis, they are placed on their own railroad track, ready to be transported to their final destination within the cell when required. This makes sense, since precision and regulation are the hallmarks of all cellular process, and therefore would hold true for the transport and localization of subcellular organelles such as secretory vesicles.

  20. Turbulence fluxes and variances measured with a sonic anemometer mounted on a tethered balloon

    OpenAIRE

    Canut, Guylaine; Couvreux, Fleur; Lothon, Marie; Legain, Dominique; Piguet, Bruno; Lampert, Astrid; Maurel, William; Moulin, Eric

    2016-01-01

    This study presents the first deployment in field campaigns of a balloon-borne turbulence probe, developed with a sonic anemometer and an inertial motion sensor suspended below a tethered balloon. This system measures temperature and horizontal and vertical wind at high frequency and allows the estimation of heat and momentum fluxes as well as turbulent kinetic energy in the lower part of the boundary layer. The system was validated during three field experiments with differ...

  1. Ozone profiles from tethered balloon measurements in an urban plume experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youngbluth, O., Jr.; Storey, R. W.; Clendenin, C. G.; Jones, S.; Leighty, B.

    1981-01-01

    NASA Langley Research Center used two tethered balloon systems to measure ozone in the general area of Norfolk, Va. The large balloon system which has an altitude range of 1,500 meters was located at Wallops Island, Va., and the smaller balloon which has an altitude range of 900 meters was located at Chesapeake, Va. Each balloon system measured ozone, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction from ground to its maximum altitude. From these measurements and from the location of the balloon sites, areas of ozone generation and ozone transport may be inferred. The measurements which were taken during August 1979 are discussed as well as the measurement techniques.

  2. Observer enhanced control for spin-stabilized tethered formation in earth orbit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guang, Zhai; Yuyang, Li; Liang, Bin

    2018-04-01

    This paper addresses the issues relevant to control of spin-stabilized tethered formation in circular orbit. Due to the dynamic complexities and nonlinear perturbations, it is challenging to promote the control precision for the formation deployment and maintenance. In this work, the formation dynamics are derived with considering the spinning rate of the central body, then major attention is dedicated to develop the nonlinear disturbance observer. To achieve better control performance, the observer-enhanced controller is designed by incorporating the disturbance observer into the control loop, benefits from the disturbance compensation are demonstrated, and also, the dependences of the disturbance observer performance on some important parameters are theoretically and numerically analyzed.

  3. Physisorbed Polymer-Tethered Lipid Bilayer with Lipopolymer Gradient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph A. Naumann

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Physisorbed polymer-tethered lipid bilayers consisting of phospholipids and lipopolymers represent an attractive planar model membrane platform, in which bilayer fluidity and membrane elastic properties can be regulated through lipopolymer molar concentration. Herein we report a method for the fabrication of such a planar model membrane system with a lateral gradient of lipopolymer density. In addition, a procedure is described, which leads to a sharp boundary between regions of low and high lipopolymer molar concentrations. Resulting gradients and sharp boundaries are visualized on the basis of membrane buckling structures at elevated lipopolymer concentrations using epifluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Furthermore, results from spot photobleaching experiments are presented, which provide insight into the lipid lateral fluidity in these model membrane architectures. The presented experimental data highlight a planar, solid-supported membrane characterized by fascinating length scale-dependent dynamics and elastic properties with remarkable parallels to those observed in cellular membranes.

  4. Development of Tethered Hsp90 Inhibitors Carrying Radioiodinated Probes to Specifically Discriminate and Kill Malignant Breast Tumor Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-05-01

    ligand localization . These molecules will be tested as imaging agents in mouse models of breast cancer. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Radiodination, tethered...annually leading to the diagnosis and surgical resection of breast cancer or breast carcinoma in situ in over 250,000 women respectively. Unfortunately

  5. Global simulation of aromatic volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabrera Perez, David; Taraborrelli, Domenico; Pozzer, Andrea

    2015-04-01

    Among the large number of chemical compounds in the atmosphere, the organic group plays a key role in the tropospheric chemistry. Specifically the subgroup called aromatics is of great interest. Aromatics are the predominant trace gases in urban areas due to high emissions, primarily by vehicle exhausts and fuel evaporation. They are also present in areas where biofuel is used (i.e residential wood burning). Emissions of aromatic compounds are a substantial fraction of the total emissions of the volatile organic compounds (VOC). Impact of aromatics on human health is very important, as they do not only contribute to the ozone formation in the urban environment, but they are also highly toxic themselves, especially in the case of benzene which is able to trigger a range of illness under long exposure, and of nitro-phenols which cause detrimental for humans and vegetation even at very low concentrations. The aim of this work is to assess the atmospheric impacts of aromatic compounds on the global scale. The main goals are: lifetime and budget estimation, mixing ratios distribution, net effect on ozone production and OH loss for the most emitted aromatic compounds (benzene, toluene, xylenes, ethylbenzene, styrene and trimethylbenzenes). For this purpose, we use the numerical chemistry and climate simulation ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model to build the global atmospheric budget for the most emitted and predominant aromatic compounds in the atmosphere. A set of emissions was prepared in order to include biomass burning, vegetation and anthropogenic sources of aromatics into the model. A chemical mechanism based on the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) was developed to describe the chemical oxidation in the gas phase of these aromatic compounds. MCM have been reduced in terms of number of chemical equation and species in order to make it affordable in a 3D model. Additionally other features have been added, for instance the production of HONO via ortho

  6. Boron nitride nanosheets as improved and reusable substrates for gold nanoparticles enabled surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

    KAUST Repository

    Cai, Qiran

    2015-01-01

    Atomically thin boron nitride (BN) nanosheets have been found to be excellent substrates for noble metal particles enabled surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), thanks to their good adsorption of aromatic molecules, high thermal stability and weak Raman scattering. Faceted gold (Au) nanoparticles have been synthesized on BN nanosheets using a simple but controllable and reproducible sputtering and annealing method. The size and density of the Au particles can be controlled by sputtering time, current and annealing temperature etc. Under the same sputtering and annealing conditions, the Au particles on BN of different thicknesses show various sizes because the surface diffusion coefficients of Au depend on the thickness of BN. Intriguingly, decorated with similar morphology and distribution of Au particles, BN nanosheets exhibit better Raman enhancements than silicon substrates as well as bulk BN crystals. Additionally, BN nanosheets show no noticeable SERS signal and hence cause no interference to the Raman signal of the analyte. The Au/BN substrates can be reused by heating in air to remove the adsorbed analyte without loss of SERS enhancement. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2015.

  7. Global aromatics supply. Today and tomorrow

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bender, M. [BASF SE, Ludwigshafen (Germany)

    2013-11-01

    Aromatics are the essential building blocks for some of the largest petrochemical products in today's use. To the vast majority they are consumed to produce intermediates for polymer products and, hence, contribute to our modern lifestyle. Their growth rates are expected to be in line with GDP growth in future. This contrasts the significantly lower growth rates of the primary sources for aromatics - fuel processing and steam cracking of naphtha fractions. A supply gap can be expected to open up in future for which creative solutions will be required. (orig.)

  8. Silicone elastomers with aromatic voltage stabilizers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    A Razak, Aliff Hisyam; Skov, Anne Ladegaard

    of electron-trapping by aromatic compounds grafted to silicone backbones in a crosslinked PDMS is illustrated in Fig. 1. The electrical breakdown strength, the storage modulus and the loss modulus of the elastomer were investigated, as well as the excitation energy from the collision between electron carriers...... and benzene rings in PDMS-PPMS copolymer was measured by UV-vis spectroscopy. The developed elastomers were inherently soft with enhanced electrical breakdown strength due to delocalized pi-electrons of aromatic rings attached to the silicone backbone. The dielectric relative permittivity of PDMS...

  9. Diagnosis and surgical treatment of terminal syringomyelia within spinal cord combined with tethered cord syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing-cheng XIE

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective To summarize the clinical manifestations, imaging characteristics and experience of surgical treatment of spinal cord terminal syringomyelia with tethered cord syndrome (TCS.  Methods and Results Clinical data of 10 patients with spinal cord syringomyelia combined with TCS surgically treated under microscope from January 1999 to March 2014 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. There were 3 males and 7 females with average age of 15.06 years old (ranged from 2 to 35 years old. The course of disease ranged from 3 months to 20 years (average 42.17 months. Among those patients, one patient presented hydromyelia, 8 patients suffered from meningeal cyst within the sacral canal, and one patient were concurrent with sacral dermal sinus. The weakness of lower extremities, especially distal limbs, was the main clinical manifestation. Five patients were accompanied with bowel and bladder dysfunction and 5 patients with sensory disturbance below the level of syringomyelia, especially hypesthesia. Preoperative MRI showed conus medullaris disappeared at the end of spinal cord, and there was fluid signal in the lower spinal cord with hypo-intensity signal in T1WI and hyper-intensity signal in T2WI without enhancement. All patients underwent surgical procedures. Under microscope, filum terminale was cut off, drainage was performed, meningeal cyst within the sacral canal was removed, and tethered cord was released. The success rate of operations was 100%. The duration of surgery ranged from 1.52 to 3.07 h (average 2.15 h, with average intraoperative blood loss 220 ml (ranged from 100 to 410 ml. The tethering filum had been totally resected and histological examination showed typical filum tissue in all cases. No operative complication was found. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS score was decreased, and the lower limbs weakness as well as bowel and bladder dysfunction was gradually relieved after operation. The period of follow-up was ranged from 6

  10. Tethered and Polymer Supported Bilayer Lipid Membranes: Structure and Function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jakob Andersson

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Solid supported bilayer lipid membranes are model systems to mimic natural cell membranes in order to understand structural and functional properties of such systems. The use of a model system allows for the use of a wide variety of analytical tools including atomic force microscopy, impedance spectroscopy, neutron reflectometry, and surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. Among the large number of different types of model membranes polymer-supported and tethered lipid bilayers have been shown to be versatile and useful systems. Both systems consist of a lipid bilayer, which is de-coupled from an underlying support by a spacer cushion. Both systems will be reviewed, with an emphasis on the effect that the spacer moiety has on the bilayer properties.

  11. Equilibrium studies of the adsorption of aromatic disulfonates by Mg-Al oxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kameda, Tomohito; Umetsu, Mami; Kumagai, Shogo; Yoshioka, Toshiaki

    2018-03-01

    The removal of m-benzenedisulfonate (BDS2-) and 2,6-naphthalenedisulfonate (NDS2-) anions by Mg-Al oxide was investigated. Langmuir model best describes the adsorption of both aromatic disulfonate anions, with the maximum amount of uptake higher for BDS2-. Mg-Al oxide reacts easier with the aromatic disulfonate anion with higher charge density, a trend that is the opposite of that observed in aromatic sulfonate anions. After increasing the charge from -1 to -2, the removal of aromatic disulfonates by Mg-Al oxide is controlled by electrostatic interactions, instead of hydrophobic interactions that are dominant for aromatic sulfonate anions.

  12. International survey on the management of skin stigmata and suspected tethered cord.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponger, Penina; Ben-Sira, Liat; Beni-Adani, Liana; Steinbok, Paul; Constantini, Shlomi

    2010-12-01

    We designed a survey to investigate current international management trends of neonates with lumbar midline skin stigmata suspicious of tethered cord, among pediatric neurosurgeons, focusing on the lower risk stigmata, simple dimples, deviated gluteal folds, and discolorations. Our findings will enable physicians to assess their current diagnosis routine and aid in clarifying management controversies. A questionnaire on the proposed diagnostic evaluation of seven case reports, each accompanied by relevant imaging, was distributed by e-mail to members of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery, the European Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery, and via the PEDS server list between March and August 2008. Sixty-two questionnaires, completed by experienced professionals with a rather uniform distribution of experience levels, were analyzed. Forty-eight percent do not recommend any imaging of simple dimples, 30% recommend US screening and 22% recommend MR. Seventy-nine percent recommend imaging of deviated gluteal fold with 30% recommending MR. Ninety-two percent recommend imaging infants with hemangiomas with 74% recommending MR. MR for sinus tracts is recommended by 90% if sacral and by 98% if lumber. Eighty-four percent recommend MR for filar cyst. Our survey demonstrates that management of low-risk skin stigmata, simple dimple, deviated gluteal fold, and discolorations lacks consensus. In addition, a significant sector of the professional community proposes a work-up of simple dimples, sacral tracts, and filar cysts that contradicts established recommendations. A simple classification system is needed to attain a better approach, enabling correct diagnosis of tethered cord without exposing neonates to unnecessary examinations.

  13. Ion beam irradiation effects on aromatic polymers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shukushima, Satoshi; Ueno, Keiji

    1995-01-01

    We studied the optical and thermal properties of aromatic polymer films which had been irradiated with 1 MeV H + , H 2 + and He + ions. The examined aromatic polymers were polyetherether ketone(PEEK), polyetherimide(PEI), polyether sulfon(PES), polysulfon(PSF), and polyphenylene sulfide(PPS). The optical densities at 300nm of PES and PSF greatly increased after the irradiation. The optical densities at 400nm of all the examined polymer lineally increased with the irradiation dose. The PEEK film which had been irradiated with 1 MeV H + was not deformed above melting point. This demonstrates that cross-linking occurs in PEEK films by ion beam irradiation. As for the effects, depending on the mass of the irradiated ions, it was found that the ions with a high mass induced larger effects on the aromatic polymers for the same absorption energy. (author)

  14. Determination of aromatic and PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) content of oily wastewaters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lysyj, I.; Russell, E.C.

    1978-08-01

    An analytical scheme was developed for determining the total organic content and hydrocarbon concentration from a one-liter portion of a wastewater sample, and determining the volatile, suspended, and water-soluble fractions from a second, two-liter portion. Analyses of untreated and treated bilge wastewater from the U.S. Army Fort Eustis, Va., facility showed 10-300 ppm suspended organics and 10-300 ppm dissolved organics in the untreated bilge, and no suspended matter, but 700-2000 ppm dissolved organics, in the treated bilge wastewaters. Of the dissolved organics in untreated and treated wastewater, 70 and 10%, respectively, were extracted with chloroform; the organics in the treated water were probably biologically derived from petroleum degradation. Gas chromatographic/mass spectroscopic and high-pressure liquid chromatographic analyses of the chloroform extracts showed about equal parts of phenolic compounds and aromatic hydrocarbons, small amounts of heterocyclics, and traces of polycyclic aromatics in the untreated wastewater, and mainly phenolics in the treated water.

  15. Infrared Spectroscopy of Matrix-Isolated Polycyclic Aromatic Nitrogen Heterocycles (PANHs)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattioda, A. L.; Hudgins, D. M.; Bauschlicher, C. W.; Allamandola, L. J.; Biemesderfer, C. D.; Rosi, M.

    2002-01-01

    The mid-infrared spectra of the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic polycyclic aromatic compounds 1-azabenz[a]-anthracene; 2-azabenz[a]anthracene; 1-azachrysene; 2-azachrysene; 4-azachrysene; 2-azapyrene, and 7,8 benzoquinoline in their neutral and cation forms were investigated. The spectra of these species isolated in an argon matrix have been measured. Band frequencies and intensities were tabulated and these data compared with spectra computed using density functional theory at the B3LYP level. The overall agreement between experiment and theory is quite good, in keeping with earlier results on homonuclear polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The differences between the spectral properties of nitrogen bearing aromatics and non-substituted, neutral polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons will be discussed.

  16. SEDIMENT-ASSOCIATED REACTIONS OF AROMATIC AMINES. 2. QSAR DEVELOPMENT

    Science.gov (United States)

    The fate of aromatic amines in soils and sediments is dominated by irreversible binding through nucleophilic addition and oxidative radical coupling. Despite the common occurrence of the aromatic amine functional group in organic chemicals, the molecular properties useful for pr...

  17. Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons with Curved Surfaces: Buckyballs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sygula, Andrzej [Mississippi State Univ., Mississippi State, MS (United States)

    2016-08-15

    The discovery of a new allotropic form of elemental carbon – the fullerenes – and subsequently other novel forms of elemental carbon with pyramidalized surfaces, most notably single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes, introduced a novel structural motif to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with nonplanar surfaces. Our research program supported by BES DOE grant DE-FG02-04ER15514 has dealt with the synthesis, structural studies, and chemistry of the novel curved-surface PAHs with carbon frameworks structurally related to fullerenes. They are referred to as “buckybowls”. We prepared several new buckybowls and, even more importantly, developed the efficient, gram-scale synthetic methodologies for the preparation of small buckybowls, most notably corannulene (C20H10) and its derivatives. In addition, the employment of the corannulene-based synthons previously developed in our laboratory led to a number of highly nonplanar molecular architectures with two or more corannulene subunits with a potential for the applications as novel materials in separation sciences, nanoelectronics, photovoltaics and catalysis. In collaboration with Professor Angelici (Iowa State) we prepared and characterized several transition metal complexes of corannulene, providing the first structural characterization of η6 metal complexes of buckybowls by a single crystal X-ray diffraction. In addition to the definitive structural characterization of the complexes we demonstrated that the (η6-C6Me6)Ru2+ unit in some relatively stable complexes activate the corannulene ligand to react with proper nucleophiles suggesting that such complexex may be used in catalysis. (Section C). We have explored the efficiency of the dispersion-based interactions of curved-surface conjugated carbon networks by high-level computational models. We showed that the curvature of such networks does not reduce the van der Waals attractions as compared to the planar systems of similar size. We than

  18. Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons : model simulation for bioavailability and biodegradation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Owabor, C.N.; Ogbeide, S.E. [Benin Univ. (Nigeria). Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Susu, A.A. [Lagos Univ. (Nigeria). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

    2010-04-15

    Research has indicated that the biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is influenced by the molecular size of the PAHs as well as by soil properties. This study presented a model for a 1-D convective-dispersive solute transport in a soil matrix. The model was designed to consider the gas-liquid interface film and the biofilm between the liquid and solid interface as well as to account for interparticle; intraparticle, and interphase mass transport. A soil microcosm reactor was used to evaluate substrate bioavailability and biodegradation in a contaminated aqueous solids system. The numerical model involved the discretization of depth, radial distance, and time into mesh or grid points with constant intervals. Dimensionless variables were defined using a backward finite difference (BFD) method. Results of the study suggested that PAH occlusion occurred in the micropores of the soil particle. The non-steady state model adequately predicted the concentration profiles of PAHs within the soil matrix. 26 refs., 5 tabs., 7 figs.

  19. Aromatic products from reaction of lignin model compounds with UV-alkaline peroxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Y.P.; Wallis, A.F.A.; Nguyen, K.L.

    1997-01-01

    A series of guaiacyl and syringyl lignin model compounds and their methylated analogues were reacted with alkaline hydrogen peroxide while irradiating with UV light at 254 nm. The aromatic products obtained were investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Guaiacol, syringol and veratrol gave no detectable aromatic products. However, syringol methyl ether gave small amounts of aromatic products, resulting from ring substitution and methoxyl displacement by hydroxyl radicals. Reaction of vanillin and syringaldehyde gave the Dakin reaction products, methoxy-1,4-hydroquinones, while reaction of their methyl ethers yielded benzoic acids. Acetoguaiacone, acetosyringone and their methyl ethers afforded several hydroxylated aromatic products, but no aromatic products were identified in the reaction mixtures from guaiacylpropane and syringylpropane. In contrast, veratrylpropane gave a mixture from which 17 aromatic hydroxylated compounds were identified. It is concluded that for phenolic lignin model compounds, particularly those possessing electrondonating aromatic ring substituents, ring-cleavage reactions involving superoxide radical anions are dominant, whereas for non-phenolic lignin models, hydroxylation reactions through attack of hydroxyl radicals prevail

  20. A Review of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Heavy Metal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A Review of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Heavy Metal Contamination of Fish from Fish Farms. ... Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management ... Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals contribute to pollutants in aquaculture facilities and thus need to be further investigated.

  1. Metal Triflates for the Production of Aromatics from Lignin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Deuss, Peter J.; Lahive, Ciaran W.; Lancefield, Christopher S.; Westwood, Nicholas J.; Kamer, Paul C. J.; Barta, Katalin; de Vries, Johannes G.

    2016-01-01

    The depolymerization of lignin into valuable aromatic chemicals is one of the key goals towards establishing economically viable biorefineries. In this contribution we present a simple approach for converting lignin to aromatic monomers in high yields under mild reaction conditions. The methodology

  2. Reduction of Aromatic and Heterocyclic Aromatic N-Hydroxylamines by Human Cytochrome P450 2S1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Kai; Guengerich, F. Peter

    2013-01-01

    Many aromatic amines and heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are known carcinogens for animals and there is also strong evidence for some in human cancer. The activation of these compounds, including some arylamine drugs, involves N-hydroxylation, usually by cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450) in Family 1 (1A2, 1A1, and 1B1). We previously demonstrated that the bioactivation product of the anti-cancer agent 2-(4-amino-3-methylphenyl)-5-fluorobenzothiazole (5F 203), an N-hydroxylamine, can be reduced by P450 2S1 to its amine precursor under anaerobic conditions and, to a lesser extent, under aerobic conditions (Wang, K., and Guengerich, F. P. (2012) Chem. Res. Toxicol. 25, 1740–1751). In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that P450 2S1 is involved in the reductive biotransformation of known carcinogenic aromatic amines and HAAs. The N-hydroxylamines of 4-aminobiphenyl (4-ABP), 2-naphthylamine (2-NA), and 2-aminofluorene (2-AF) were synthesized and found to be reduced by P450 2S1 under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. The formation of amines due to P450 2S1 reduction also occurred under aerobic conditions but was less apparent because the competitive disproportionation reactions (of the N-hydroxylamines) also yielded amines. Further, some nitroso and nitro derivatives of the arylamines could also be reduced by P450 2S1. None of the amines tested were oxidized by P450 2S1. These results suggest that P450 2S1 may be involved in the reductive detoxication of several of the activated products of carcinogenic aromatic amines and HAAs. PMID:23682735

  3. Global atmospheric budget of simple monocyclic aromatic compounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Cabrera-Perez

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The global atmospheric budget and distribution of monocyclic aromatic compounds is estimated, using an atmospheric chemistry general circulation model. Simulation results are evaluated with an ensemble of surface and aircraft observations with the goal of understanding emission, production and removal of these compounds.Anthropogenic emissions provided by the RCP database represent the largest source of aromatics in the model (≃ 23 TgC year−1 and biomass burning from the GFAS inventory the second largest (≃ 5 TgC year−1. The simulated chemical production of aromatics accounts for  ≃ 5 TgC year−1. The atmospheric burden of aromatics sums up to 0.3 TgC. The main removal process of aromatics is photochemical decomposition (≃ 27 TgC  year−1, while wet and dry deposition are responsible for a removal of  ≃ 4 TgC year−1.Simulated mixing ratios at the surface and elsewhere in the troposphere show good spatial and temporal agreement with the observations for benzene, although the model generally underestimates mixing ratios. Toluene is generally well reproduced by the model at the surface, but mixing ratios in the free troposphere are underestimated. Finally, larger discrepancies are found for xylenes: surface mixing ratios are not only overestimated but also a low temporal correlation is found with respect to in situ observations.

  4. Facile fabrication of Ag dendrite-integrated anodic aluminum oxide membrane as effective three-dimensional SERS substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Cong-yun; Lu, Ya; Zhao, Bin; Hao, Yao-wu; Liu, Ya-qing

    2016-07-01

    A novel surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active substrate has been successfully developed, where Ag-dendrites are assembled on the surface and embedded in the channels of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane, via electrodeposition in AgNO3/PVP aqueous system. Reaction conditions were systematically investigated to attain the best Raman enhancement. The growth mechanism of Ag dendritic nanostructures has been proposed. The Ag dendrite-integrated AAO membrane with unique hierarchical structures exhibits high SERS activity for detecting rhodamine 6G with a detection limit as low as 1 × 10-11 M. Furthermore, the three-dimensional (3D) substrates display a good reproducibility with the average intensity variations at the major Raman peak less than 12%. Most importantly, the 3D SERS substrates without any surface modification show an outstanding SERS response for the molecules with weak affinity for noble metal surfaces. The potential application for the detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was evaluated with fluoranthene as Raman target molecule and a sensitive SERS detection with a limit down to 10-8 M was reached. The 3D SERS-active substrate shows promising potential for rapid detection of trace organic pollutants even weak affinity molecules in the environment.

  5. Real-time profiling of organic trace gases in the planetary boundary layer by PTR-MS using a tethered balloon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Schnitzhofer

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available A method for real-time profiling of volatile organic compounds (VOCs was developed combining the advantages of a tethered balloon as a research platform and of proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS as an analytical technique for fast and highly sensitive VOC measurements. A 200 m Teflon tube was used to draw sampling air from a tethered aerodynamic balloon to the PTR-MS instrument. Positive and negative artefacts (i.e. formation and loss of VOCs in the tube were characterised in the laboratory and in the field by a set of 11 atmospherically relevant VOCs including both pure and oxygenated hydrocarbons. The only two compounds that increased or decreased when sampled through the tube were acetone (+7% and xylene (-6%. The method was successfully deployed during a winter field campaign to determine the small scale spatial and temporal patterns of air pollutants under winter inversion conditions.

  6. Aromatics saturation, opening and cleavage technology for middle distillates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oballa, M.C.; Simanzhenkov, V.; Kim, G. [NOVA Chemicals Corp., Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2009-07-01

    In order to address environmental concerns, there is a need to develop technologies to reformulate or adjust the quality of transportation fuels. The purpose is to reduce the concentration of the compounds which negatively affect the air that people breathe. One of those targeted is the aromatics content of diesel, because high aromatics content results in low cetane number of diesel, as well as higher emission of particulate matter. Less conventional sources of hydrocarbon feedstock such as oil from oil sands and/or shale oil are being exploited in Alberta. These feeds contain multiple fused aromatic ring compounds. NOVA Chemicals would like to use these potentially abundant liquids as feed, but they must first be transformed into a more user friendly state. This paper discussed the development of a process technology that could saturate the aromatic rings, open up the saturated rings and cleave them to get smaller paraffinic molecules. The products then comprised of lower paraffins are suitable as feed to steam crackers for the production of ethylene and propylene, higher paraffins suitable for blending into gasoline and mono aromatic ring compounds which may be further treated through alkylation of benzene to ethylbenzene and dealkylation to styrene. The paper discussed the process steps and highlighted the catalysts. Research results were also shown. It was concluded that the critical technology gaps, as well as solutions, which would enable overcoming the challenges related to handling of aromatic bitumen feedstock, entail the development of two different catalysts, which are on two different technology platforms. 7 refs., 3 tabs., 5 figs.

  7. Application of aromatization catalyst in synthesis of carbon nanotubes

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    In a typical chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process for synthesizing carbon nanotubes (CNTs), it was found that the aromatization catalysts could promote effectively the formation of CNT. The essence of this phenomenon was attributed to the fact that the aromatization catalyst can accelerate the ...

  8. Alkylation of organic aromatic compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Jr., Lawrence A.

    1989-01-01

    Aromatic compounds are alkylated in a catalytic distillation, wherein the catalyst structure also serves as a distillation component by contacting the aromatic compound with a C.sub.2 to C.sub.10 olefin in the catalyst bed under 0.25 to 50 atmospheres of pressure and at temperatures in the range of 80.degree. C. to 500.degree. C., using as the catalyst a mole sieve characterized as acidic or an acidic cation exchange resin. For example, ethyl benzene is produced by feeding ethylene below the catalyst bed while benzene is conveniently added through the reflux in molar excess to that required to react with ethylene, thereby reacting substantially all of the ethylene and recovering benzene as the principal overhead and ethyl benzene in the bottoms.

  9. Alkylation of organic aromatic compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, L.A. Jr.

    1989-07-18

    Aromatic compounds are alkylated in a catalytic distillation, wherein the catalyst structure also serves as a distillation component by contacting the aromatic compound with a C[sub 2] to C[sub 10] olefin in the catalyst bed under 0.25 to 50 atmospheres of pressure and at temperatures in the range of 80 C to 500 C, using as the catalyst a mole sieve characterized as acidic or an acidic cation exchange resin. For example, ethyl benzene is produced by feeding ethylene below the catalyst bed while benzene is conveniently added through the reflux in molar excess to that required to react with ethylene, thereby reacting substantially all of the ethylene and recovering benzene as the principal overhead and ethyl benzene in the bottoms. 1 fig.

  10. Substituted Phthalic Anhydrides from Biobased Furanics : A New Approach to Renewable Aromatics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thiyagarajan, Shanmugam; Genuino, Homer C.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/371571685; Sliwa, Michal; van der Waal, Jan C.; de Jong, Ed; van Haveren, Jacco; Weckhuysen, Bert M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/285484397; Bruijnincx, Pieter C. A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/33799529X; van Es, Daan S.

    2015-01-01

    A novel route for the production of renewable aromatic chemicals, particularly substituted phthalic acid anhydrides, is presented. The classical two-step approach to furanics-derived aromatics via Diels-Alder (DA) aromatization has been modified into a three-step procedure to address the general

  11. Quantitative SERS detection of low-concentration aromatic polychlorinated biphenyl-77 and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bao, Zhi Yong; Liu, Xin; Chen, Y; Wu, Yucheng; Chan, Helen L W; Dai, Jiyan; Lei, Dang Yuan

    2014-09-15

    This paper reports a simple label-free high-sensitive method for detecting low-concentration persistent organic pollutants and explosive materials. The proposed method combines surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and magnetomotive enrichment of the target molecules on the surface of Ag nanoparticles (NPs). This structure can be achieved through self-assembling integration of Ag NPs with ferromagnetic Fe3O4 microspheres, forming a hybrid SERS nanoprobe with both optical and magnetic properties. Moreover, the magnetic response of ferromagnetic Fe3O4 microspheres can be used to dynamically modulate the optical property of Ag NPs through controlling their geometric arrangement on the substrate by applying an external magnetic field. It is also demonstrated from the full-wave numerical simulation results that the maximum electromagnetic field enhancement can be greatly increased by shortening the distance of neighboring Ag NPs and therefore resulting in an improved SERS detecting limit. More importantly, by using the prepared substrate, the SERS signals from organic pollution substances, i.e. aromatic polychlorinated biphenyl-77 and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, were quantitatively analyzed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Low work-function thermionic emission and orbital-motion-limited ion collection at bare-tether cathodic contact

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Xin, E-mail: xin.chen@upm.es; Sanmartín, J. R., E-mail: juanr.sanmartin@upm.es [Departamento de Física Aplicada, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Aeronáutica y del Espacio, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Plaza Cardenal Cisneros, 3, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

    2015-05-15

    With a thin coating of low-work-function material, thermionic emission in the cathodic segment of bare tethers might be much greater than orbital-motion-limited (OML) ion collection current. The space charge of the emitted electrons decreases the electric field that accelerates them outwards, and could even reverse it for high enough emission, producing a potential hollow. In this work, at the conditions of high bias and relatively low emission that make the potential monotonic, an asymptotic analysis is carried out, extending the OML ion-collection analysis to investigate the probe response due to electrons emitted by the negatively biased cylindrical probe. At given emission, the space charge effect from emitted electrons increases with decreasing magnitude of negative probe bias. Although emitted electrons present negligible space charge far away from the probe, their effect cannot be neglected in the global analysis for the sheath structure and two thin layers in between sheath and the quasineutral region. The space-charge-limited condition is located. It is found that thermionic emission increases the range of probe radius for OML validity and is greatly more effective than ion collection for cathodic contact of tethers.

  13. Polyacrylic acid polymer brushes as substrates for the incorporation of anthraquinone derivatives. Unprecedented application of decorated polymer brushes on organocatalysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz-Muelle, Ana Belén; Contreras-Cáceres, Rafael; Oña-Burgos, Pascual; Rodríguez-Dieguez, Antonio; López-Romero, Juan Manuel; Fernández, Ignacio

    2018-01-01

    The synthesis of amino-terminated anthraquinone derivatives and their incorporation onto polymer brushes for the fabrication of silicon-based nanometric functional coatings are described for the first time. The general process involves the covalent grafting of anthraquinone 1 onto two different polymer-brushes by amidation reactions. They are composed by amino- and carboxy-terminated poly(acrylic acid) chains (PAA-NH2- and PAA-COOH, respectively) tethered by one end to an underlying silicon oxide (SiO2) substrate in a polymer brush configuration. A third substrate is fabricated by UV induced hydrosilylation reaction using undecenoic acid as adsorbate on hydrogen-terminated Si(111) surfaces. One- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), FT-IR, MS and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize anthraquinone 1. Ellipsometric and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements demonstrated the presence of the polymer brushes on the silicon wafers, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to study its surface morphology. The covalent linkage between anthraquinone and polymer brushes was proven by XPS and confocal fluorescence microscopy. The resulting surfaces were assayed in the heterogenous organocatalytic transformation of (1H)-indole into 3-benzyl indole with moderate yields but with high recyclability.

  14. Circular Orbit Target Capture Using Space Tether-Net System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guang Zhai

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The space tether-net system for on-orbit capture is proposed in this paper. In order to research the dynamic behaviors during system deployment, both free and nonfree deployment dynamics in circular orbit are developed; the system motion with respect to Local Vertical and Local Horizontal frame is also researched with analysis and simulation. The results show that in the case of free deployment, the capture net follows curve trajectories due to the relative orbit dynamic perturbation, and the initial deployment velocities are planned by state transformation equations for static and floating target captures; in the case of non-free deployment, the system undergoes an altitude libration along the Local Vertical, and the analytical solutions that describe the attitude libration are obtained by using variable separation and integration. Finally, the dynamics of postdeployment system is also proved marginally stable if the critical initial conditions are satisfied.

  15. DOE Geothermal Data Repository - Tethering Data to Information: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weers, J.; Anderson, A.

    2014-02-01

    Data are not inherently information. Without context, data are just numbers, figures, names, or points on a line. By assigning context to data, we can validate ideas, form opinions, and generate knowledge. This is an important distinction to information scientists, as we recognize that the context in which we keep our data plays a big part in generating its value. The mechanisms used to assign this context often include their own data, supplemental to the data being described and defining semantic relationships, commonly referred to as metadata. This paper provides the status of the DOE Geothermal Data Repository (DOE GDR), including recent efforts to tether data submissions to information, discusses the important distinction between data and information, outlines a path to generate useful knowledge from raw data, and details the steps taken in order to become a node on the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS).

  16. Extraction of Aromatics from Heavy Naphtha Using Different Solvents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    EI-Bassuoni, A.A.; Esmael, K.K.

    2004-01-01

    Aromatic hydrocarbons are very important to the petrochemical industry. Among these are benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX), which are basic raw materials for the production of a number of important petrochemicals. There are many processes used to separate aromatic from non aromatic such as fractionation, azeotropic distillation and liquid I liquid extraction, etc. Liquid - liquid extraction is unique, efficiently used for heat sensitive, close boiling components and for separation of components not possible by other unit operations and it could be done at ambient temperature makes it more energy efficient. The choice of solvent depends on the properties and boiling range of the feedstock. Through the years, a lot of selective solvents has been proposed and selected for the physical separation of aromatics in liquid liquid extraction. Among the selection criteria are the stability,. chemical compatibility, availability, environmental hazards and price of the solvent. But the basic solvent properties that make it efficient are selectivity and capacity

  17. Transformations of Aromatic Compounds by Nitrosomonas europaea

    OpenAIRE

    Keener, William K.; Arp, Daniel J.

    1994-01-01

    Benzene and a variety of substituted benzenes inhibited ammonia oxidation by intact cells of Nitrosomonas europaea. In most cases, the inhibition was accompanied by transformation of the aromatic compound to a more oxidized product or products. All products detected were aromatic, and substituents were often oxidized but were not separated from the benzene ring. Most transformations were enhanced by (NH4)2SO4 (12.5 mM) and were prevented by C2H2, a mechanism-based inactivator of ammonia monoo...

  18. The direct aromatization of methane

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marcelin, G.; Oukaci, R.; Migone, R.A.; Kazi, A.M. [Altamira Instruments, Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

    1995-12-31

    The thermal decomposition of methane shows significant potential as a process for the production of higher unsaturated and aromatic hydrocarbons when the extent of the reaction is limited. Thermodynamic calculations have shown that when the reaction is limited to the formation of C{sub 2} to C{sub 10} products, yields of aromatics can exceed 40% at temperatures of 1200{degrees}C. Preliminary experiments have shown that when the reaction is limited to the formation of C{sub 2} to C{sub 10} products, yields of aromatics can exceed 40% at temperatures of 1200{degrees}C. Preliminary experiments have shown that cooling the product and reacting gases as the reaction proceeds can significantly reduce or eliminate the formation of solid carbon and heavier (C{sub 10+}) materials. Much work remains to be done in optimizing the quenching process and this is one of the goals of this program. Means to lower the temperature of the reaction are being studied as this result in a more feasible commercial process due to savings realized in energy and material of construction costs. The use of free-radical generators and catalysts will be investigated as a means of lowering the reaction temperature thus allowing faster quenching. It is highly likely that such studies will lead to a successful direct methane to higher hydrocarbon process.

  19. Fluorosilicone multi-block copolymers tethering quaternary ammonium salt groups for antimicrobial purpose

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Fang; Qin, Xiaoshuai; Li, Yancai; Ren, Lixia; Zhao, Yunhui, E-mail: zhaoyunhui@tju.edu.cn; Yuan, Xiaoyan

    2015-08-30

    Highlights: • QAS-containing fluorosilicone multi-block copolymers were synthesized. • The block length of PHFBMA in the copolymers was tailored via RAFT polymerization. • Surface roughness of the copolymers decreased with the increased PHFBMA content. • A certain length of PHFBMA block enhanced C−N{sup +} percentage on the surface. - Abstract: Symmetrically structured fluorosilicone multi-block copolymers containing poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) and poly(hexafluorobutyl methacrylate) (PHFBMA) were sequentially synthesized via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization, using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chain transfer agent with dithiocarbonate groups at both ends. Then, the CBABC-type block copolymers were quaternized with n-octyliodide to tether quaternary ammonium salt (QAS) groups in the PDMAEMA blocks for the antimicrobial use. The obtained fluorosilicone copolymers showed clear variations in the C-N{sup +} composition and surface morphology on their films depending on the content of the PHFBMA blocks, which were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The results indicated that the symmetrical CBABC structure favored PDMS and QAS tethered blocks migrating to the film surface. With the mass percentage of the PHFBMA increased from 0 to 32.5%, the surface roughness of the copolymer film decreased gradually with a tendency to form a smooth surface. Owing to the surface properties, fluorosilicone multi-block copolymers containing a certain amount of PHFBMA with higher C-N{sup +} content and relatively smooth morphology demonstrated obvious antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli. The functionalized multi-block copolymers based on fluorosilicone and QAS groups would have potential applications in antimicrobial coatings.

  20. Fluorosilicone multi-block copolymers tethering quaternary ammonium salt groups for antimicrobial purpose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Fang; Qin, Xiaoshuai; Li, Yancai; Ren, Lixia; Zhao, Yunhui; Yuan, Xiaoyan

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • QAS-containing fluorosilicone multi-block copolymers were synthesized. • The block length of PHFBMA in the copolymers was tailored via RAFT polymerization. • Surface roughness of the copolymers decreased with the increased PHFBMA content. • A certain length of PHFBMA block enhanced C−N + percentage on the surface. - Abstract: Symmetrically structured fluorosilicone multi-block copolymers containing poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) and poly(hexafluorobutyl methacrylate) (PHFBMA) were sequentially synthesized via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization, using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chain transfer agent with dithiocarbonate groups at both ends. Then, the CBABC-type block copolymers were quaternized with n-octyliodide to tether quaternary ammonium salt (QAS) groups in the PDMAEMA blocks for the antimicrobial use. The obtained fluorosilicone copolymers showed clear variations in the C-N + composition and surface morphology on their films depending on the content of the PHFBMA blocks, which were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The results indicated that the symmetrical CBABC structure favored PDMS and QAS tethered blocks migrating to the film surface. With the mass percentage of the PHFBMA increased from 0 to 32.5%, the surface roughness of the copolymer film decreased gradually with a tendency to form a smooth surface. Owing to the surface properties, fluorosilicone multi-block copolymers containing a certain amount of PHFBMA with higher C-N + content and relatively smooth morphology demonstrated obvious antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli. The functionalized multi-block copolymers based on fluorosilicone and QAS groups would have potential applications in antimicrobial coatings

  1. STUDY OF FACTORS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT OF FOOD AROMATIZATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Н.Ye. Dubova

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The specific understanding of food philosophy according to the facts of development of cooking technologies and growth rate of food range is given. As it has been proven by historical stages of production of flavorings, aroma is one of the important organoleptic ingredients for food developers. A review of food production based on development of nanotechnologies, as well as promising and cautioning publications on nanotechnologies in the food sector is presented. On the basis of the literary analysis, the future impact of nanotechnologies on the evolution of the aromatization process of food products is predicted. It has been determined that the peculiarity of the development mentioned above lies in the use of plant enzymes and / or flavor precursors in the nanoscale range. The example of enzymatic breakdown of polyunsaturated fatty acids of plant cell membranes as one of the ways of creating fresh flavor of many fruits, namely C6-C9 aldehydes and alcohols, is considered. It is noted that green fresh aromatic ingredients are needed to improve the organoleptic profile of foods from heat-treated vegetables, melons and gourds. The following factors affecting the development of food aromatization are defined: the decreased differentiation of principles of healthy nutrition and fast food, repetition of natural processes of aroma formation, application of wild green leafy vegetables, and evolution of medical nutrition. The information on food aromatization by packing with autonomous mixing and their approximate assortment is given. The innovations in food aromatization are aimed at quality nutrition, time saving, recreation and entertainment, meeting specific needs (vegetarian dishes, restrictive diets.

  2. Thermostable Alcohol Dehydrogenase from Thermococcus kodakarensis KOD1 for Enantioselective Bioconversion of Aromatic Secondary Alcohols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Xi; Zhang, Chong; Orita, Izumi; Imanaka, Tadayuki

    2013-01-01

    A novel thermostable alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) showing activity toward aromatic secondary alcohols was identified from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis KOD1 (TkADH). The gene, tk0845, which encodes an aldo-keto reductase, was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The enzyme was found to be a monomer with a molecular mass of 31 kDa. It was highly thermostable with an optimal temperature of 90°C and a half-life of 4.5 h at 95°C. The apparent Km values for the cofactors NAD(P)+ and NADPH were similar within a range of 66 to 127 μM. TkADH preferred secondary alcohols and accepted various ketones and aldehydes as substrates. Interestingly, the enzyme could oxidize 1-phenylethanol and its derivatives having substituents at the meta and para positions with high enantioselectivity, yielding the corresponding (R)-alcohols with optical purities of greater than 99.8% enantiomeric excess (ee). TkADH could also reduce 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone to (R)-2,2,2-trifluoro-1-phenylethanol with high enantioselectivity (>99.6% ee). Furthermore, the enzyme showed high resistance to organic solvents and was particularly highly active in the presence of H2O–20% 2-propanol and H2O–50% n-hexane or n-octane. This ADH is expected to be a useful tool for the production of aromatic chiral alcohols. PMID:23354700

  3. Influence of co-substrate on textile wastewater treatment and microbial community changes in the anaerobic biological sulfate reduction process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rasool, Kashif; Mahmoud, Khaled A.; Lee, Dae Sung

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Textile wastewater treatment performance was investigated with different co-substrates. • Dye biodegradation and biotransformation enhanced with lactate as co-substrate. • Sulfate removal significantly decreased under limited co-substrate concentration. • Changes in microbial community structure were studied using bar-coded pyrosequencing. • Lactate as co-substrate showed the highest relative abundance of sulfate reducing bacteria. - Abstract: This study investigated the anaerobic treatment of sulfate-rich synthetic textile wastewater in three sulfidogenic sequential batch reactors (SBRs). The experimental protocol was designed to examine the effect of three different co-substrates (lactate, glucose, and ethanol) and their concentrations on wastewater treatment performance. Sulfate reduction and dye degradation were improved when lactate and ethanol were used as electron donors, as compared with glucose. Moreover, under co-substrate limited concentrations, color, sulfate, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies were declined. By reducing co-substrate COD gradually from 3000 to 500 mg/L, color removal efficiencies were decreased from 98.23% to 78.46%, 63.37%, and 69.10%, whereas, sulfate removal efficiencies were decreased from 98.42%, 82.35%, and 87.0%, to 30.27%, 21.50%, and 10.13%, for lactate, glucose, and ethanol fed reactors, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and total aromatic amine analysis revealed lactate to be a potential co-substrate for further biodegradation of intermediate metabolites formed after dye degradation. Pyrosequencing analysis showed that microbial community structure was significantly affected by the co-substrate. The reactor with lactate as co-substrate showed the highest relative abundance of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRBs), followed by ethanol, whereas the glucose-fed reactor showed the lowest relative abundance of SRB.

  4. Influence of co-substrate on textile wastewater treatment and microbial community changes in the anaerobic biological sulfate reduction process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rasool, Kashif; Mahmoud, Khaled A. [Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, PO BOX 5825, Doha (Qatar); Lee, Dae Sung, E-mail: daesung@knu.ac.kr [Department of Environmental Engineering, Kyungpook National University, 80 Daehak-ro, Buk-gu, Daegu 702-701 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-12-15

    Highlights: • Textile wastewater treatment performance was investigated with different co-substrates. • Dye biodegradation and biotransformation enhanced with lactate as co-substrate. • Sulfate removal significantly decreased under limited co-substrate concentration. • Changes in microbial community structure were studied using bar-coded pyrosequencing. • Lactate as co-substrate showed the highest relative abundance of sulfate reducing bacteria. - Abstract: This study investigated the anaerobic treatment of sulfate-rich synthetic textile wastewater in three sulfidogenic sequential batch reactors (SBRs). The experimental protocol was designed to examine the effect of three different co-substrates (lactate, glucose, and ethanol) and their concentrations on wastewater treatment performance. Sulfate reduction and dye degradation were improved when lactate and ethanol were used as electron donors, as compared with glucose. Moreover, under co-substrate limited concentrations, color, sulfate, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies were declined. By reducing co-substrate COD gradually from 3000 to 500 mg/L, color removal efficiencies were decreased from 98.23% to 78.46%, 63.37%, and 69.10%, whereas, sulfate removal efficiencies were decreased from 98.42%, 82.35%, and 87.0%, to 30.27%, 21.50%, and 10.13%, for lactate, glucose, and ethanol fed reactors, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and total aromatic amine analysis revealed lactate to be a potential co-substrate for further biodegradation of intermediate metabolites formed after dye degradation. Pyrosequencing analysis showed that microbial community structure was significantly affected by the co-substrate. The reactor with lactate as co-substrate showed the highest relative abundance of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRBs), followed by ethanol, whereas the glucose-fed reactor showed the lowest relative abundance of SRB.

  5. Ambient aromatic hydrocarbon measurements at Welgegund, South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaars, K.; Beukes, J. P.; van Zyl, P. G.; Venter, A. D.; Josipovic, M.; Pienaar, J. J.; Vakkari, V.; Aaltonen, H.; Laakso, H.; Kulmala, M.; Tiitta, P.; Guenther, A.; Hellén, H.; Laakso, L.; Hakola, H.

    2014-07-01

    Aromatic hydrocarbons are associated with direct adverse human health effects and can have negative impacts on ecosystems due to their toxicity, as well as indirect negative effects through the formation of tropospheric ozone and secondary organic aerosol, which affect human health, crop production and regional climate. Measurements of aromatic hydrocarbons were conducted at the Welgegund measurement station (South Africa), which is considered to be a regionally representative background site. However, the site is occasionally impacted by plumes from major anthropogenic source regions in the interior of South Africa, which include the western Bushveld Igneous Complex (e.g. platinum, base metal and ferrochrome smelters), the eastern Bushveld Igneous Complex (platinum and ferrochrome smelters), the Johannesburg-Pretoria metropolitan conurbation (> 10 million people), the Vaal Triangle (e.g. petrochemical and pyrometallurgical industries), the Mpumalanga Highveld (e.g. coal-fired power plants and petrochemical industry) and also a region of anticyclonic recirculation of air mass over the interior of South Africa. The aromatic hydrocarbon measurements were conducted with an automated sampler on Tenax-TA and Carbopack-B adsorbent tubes with heated inlet for 1 year. Samples were collected twice a week for 2 h during daytime and 2 h during night-time. A thermal desorption unit, connected to a gas chromatograph and a mass selective detector was used for sample preparation and analysis. Results indicated that the monthly median (mean) total aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations ranged between 0.01 (0.011) and 3.1 (3.2) ppb. Benzene levels did not exceed the local air quality standard limit, i.e. annual mean of 1.6 ppb. Toluene was the most abundant compound, with an annual median (mean) concentration of 0.63 (0.89) ppb. No statistically significant differences in the concentrations measured during daytime and night-time were found, and no distinct seasonal patterns were

  6. Applications of electrochemically-modulated liquid chromatography (EMLC): Separations of aromatic amino acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deng, Li [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

    1998-03-27

    The research in this thesis explores the separation capabilities of a new technique termed electrochemically-modulated liquid chromatography (EMLC). The thesis begins with a general introduction section which provides a literature review of this technique as well as a brief background discussion of the two research projects in each of the next two chapters. The two papers which follow investigate the application of EMLC to the separation of a mixture of aromatic amino acids and of a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The last section presents general conclusions and summarizes the thesis. References are compiled in the reference section of each chapter. The two papers have been removed for separate processing.

  7. Determining inhibition effects of some aromatic compounds on peroxidase enzyme purified from white and red cabbage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Öztekin, Aykut, E-mail: aoztekin@agri.edu.tr [Ataturk University, Science Faculty, Department of Chemistry, 25240-Erzurum (Turkey); Agri Ibrahim Cecen University Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry, 04100-Agri (Turkey); Almaz, Züleyha, E-mail: zturkoglu-2344@hotmail.com [Ataturk University, Science Faculty, Department of Chemistry, 25240-Erzurum (Turkey); Mus Alparslan University Faculty of Sciences, Department of Moleculer Biology, 49250-Mus (Turkey); Özdemir, Hasan, E-mail: hozdemir@atauni.edu.tr [Ataturk University, Science Faculty, Department of Chemistry, 25240-Erzurum (Turkey)

    2016-04-18

    Peroxidases (E.C.1.11.1.7) catalyze the one electron oxidation of wide range of substrates. They are used in synthesis reaction, removal of peroxide from industrial wastes, clinical biochemistry and immunoassays. In this study, the white cabbage (Brassica Oleracea var. capitata f. alba) and red cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata f. rubra) peroxidase enzymes were purified for investigation of inhibitory effect of some aromatic compounds on these enzymes. IC{sub 50} values and Ki constants were calculated for the molecules of 6-Amino nicotinic hydrazide, 6-Amino-5-bromo nicotinic hydrazide, 2-Amino-5-hydroxy benzohydrazide, 4-Amino-3-hydroxy benzohydrazide on purified enzymes and inhibition type of these molecules were determined. (This research was supported by Ataturk University. Project Number: BAP-2015/98).

  8. Determining inhibition effects of some aromatic compounds on peroxidase enzyme purified from white and red cabbage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Öztekin, Aykut; Almaz, Züleyha; Özdemir, Hasan

    2016-04-01

    Peroxidases (E.C.1.11.1.7) catalyze the one electron oxidation of wide range of substrates. They are used in synthesis reaction, removal of peroxide from industrial wastes, clinical biochemistry and immunoassays. In this study, the white cabbage (Brassica Oleracea var. capitata f. alba) and red cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata f. rubra) peroxidase enzymes were purified for investigation of inhibitory effect of some aromatic compounds on these enzymes. IC50 values and Ki constants were calculated for the molecules of 6-Amino nicotinic hydrazide, 6-Amino-5-bromo nicotinic hydrazide, 2-Amino-5-hydroxy benzohydrazide, 4-Amino-3-hydroxy benzohydrazide on purified enzymes and inhibition type of these molecules were determined. (This research was supported by Ataturk University. Project Number: BAP-2015/98).

  9. Determining inhibition effects of some aromatic compounds on peroxidase enzyme purified from white and red cabbage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Öztekin, Aykut; Almaz, Züleyha; Özdemir, Hasan

    2016-01-01

    Peroxidases (E.C.1.11.1.7) catalyze the one electron oxidation of wide range of substrates. They are used in synthesis reaction, removal of peroxide from industrial wastes, clinical biochemistry and immunoassays. In this study, the white cabbage (Brassica Oleracea var. capitata f. alba) and red cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata f. rubra) peroxidase enzymes were purified for investigation of inhibitory effect of some aromatic compounds on these enzymes. IC_5_0 values and Ki constants were calculated for the molecules of 6-Amino nicotinic hydrazide, 6-Amino-5-bromo nicotinic hydrazide, 2-Amino-5-hydroxy benzohydrazide, 4-Amino-3-hydroxy benzohydrazide on purified enzymes and inhibition type of these molecules were determined. (This research was supported by Ataturk University. Project Number: BAP-2015/98).

  10. Towards field detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environment water using a self-assembled SERS sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Xia; Shi, Xiaofeng; Yang, Jie; Zhang, Xu; Jia, Wenjie; Ma, Jun

    2017-10-01

    A self-assembled surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor is reported in this paper. To achieve high sensitivity, a high sensitive SERS substrate and a high efficient self-constructed light path were made. The SERS substrate was composed by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs, pH=13), glycidyl methacrylate-ethylene dimethacrylate (GMA-EDMA) porous material and syringe filter. The substrate had a good repeatability, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the same substrate was less than 5%. The efficiency of the self-constructed light path is about two times better than RPB Y type reflection fiber when the energy density was roughly equal on samples. The size of the SERS sensor is 350×300×180 mm and the weight is 15 kg. Its miniaturization and portable can comply with the requirements of field detection. Besides, it has good sensitivity, stability and selectivity. For lab experiments, strong enhancements of Raman scattering from organic pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) molecules were exhibited. The dependences of SERS intensities on concentrations of PAHs were investigated, and the results indicated that they revealed a satisfactory linear relationship in low concentrations. The limits of detection (LODs) of PAHs phenanthrene and fluorene are 8.3×10-10 mol/L and 7.1×10-10 mol/L respectively [signal to noise ratio (S/N) =3]. Based on this SERS sensor, signals of benzo (a) pyrene and pyrene were found in environmental water and the sensor would be an ideal candidate for field detection of PAHs.

  11. Multiple Hydrogen Bond Tethers for Grazing Formic Acid in Its Complexes with Phenylacetylene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karir, Ginny; Kumar, Gaurav; Kar, Bishnu Prasad; Viswanathan, K S

    2018-03-01

    Complexes of phenylacetylene (PhAc) and formic acid (FA) present an interesting picture, where the two submolecules are tethered, sometimes multiply, by hydrogen bonds. The multiple tentacles adopted by PhAc-FA complexes stem from the fact that both submolecules can, in the same complex, serve as proton acceptors and/or proton donors. The acetylenic and phenyl π systems of PhAc can serve as proton acceptors, while the ≡C-H or -C-H of the phenyl ring can act as a proton donor. Likewise, FA also is amphiprotic. Hence, more than 10 hydrogen-bonded structures, involving O-H···π, C-H···π, and C-H···O contacts, were indicated by our computations, some with multiple tentacles. Interestingly, despite the multiple contacts in the complexes, the barrier between some of the structures is small, and hence, FA grazes around PhAc, even while being tethered to it, with hydrogen bonds. We used matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy to experimentally study the PhAc-FA complexes, with which we located global and a few local minima, involving primarily an O-H···π interaction. Experiments were corroborated by ab initio computations, which were performed using MP2 and M06-2X methods, with 6-311++G (d,p) and aug-cc-pVDZ basis sets. Single-point energy calculations were also done at MP2/CBS and CCSD(T)/CBS levels. The nature, strength, and origin of these noncovalent interactions were studied using AIM, NBO, and LMO-EDA analysis.

  12. Volatile Compounds in Dry Dog Foods and Their Influence on Sensory Aromatic Profile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koushik Adhikari

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine volatile compounds in dry dog foods and their possible influence on sensory aromatic profile. Grain-free dry dog foods were compared to dry dog foods manufactured with grain, but also with different protein sources for their aromatic volatiles. Solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to determine the aromatic compounds present in the headspace of these samples. Partial Least Squares regression was performed to correlate the instrumental aromatic data with the descriptive aroma analysis data. A total of 54 aromatic compounds were tentatively identified in the dry dog food samples, with aldehydes and ketones being the most represented organic volatiles group. Grain-added products were on the average higher in total volatiles than grain-free products. Partial Least Squares regression analysis indicated possible connections with sensory aromatic profile and grain-added samples, such as rancid aroma and aldehydes, especially hexanal. The results of this study showed that dry dog foods are products with complex odor characteristics and that grain-free products are less aromatic.

  13. The Effect of n vs. iso Isomerization on the Thermophysical Properties of Aromatic and Non-aromatic Ionic Liquids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Ana S M C; Almeida, Hugo F D; Freire, Mara G; Lopes-da-Silva, José A; Coutinho, João A P; Santos, Luís M N B F

    2016-09-15

    This work explores the n vs. iso isomerization effects on the physicochemical properties of different families of ionic liquids (ILs) with variable aromaticity and ring size. This study comprises the experimental measurements, in a wide temperature range, of the ILs' thermal behavior, heat capacities, densities, refractive indices, surface tensions, and viscosities. The results here reported show that the presence of the iso -alkyl group leads to an increase of the temperature of the glass transition, T g . The iso- pyrrolidinium (5 atoms ring cation core) and iso -piperidinium (6 atoms ring cation core) ILs present a strong differentiation in the enthalpy and entropy of melting. Non-aromatic ILs have higher molar heat capacities due to the increase of the atomic contribution, whereas it was not found any significant differentiation between the n and iso -alkyl isomers. A small increase of the surface tension was observed for the non-aromatic ILs, which could be related to their higher cohesive energy of the bulk, while the lower surface entropy observed for the iso isomers indicates a structural resemblance between the IL bulk and surface. The significant differentiation between ILs with a 5 and 6 atoms ring cation in the n -alkyl series (where 5 atoms ring cations have higher surface entropy) is an indication of a more efficient arrangement of the non-polar region at the surface in ILs with smaller cation cores. The ILs constituted by non-aromatic piperidinium cation, and iso -alkyl isomers were found to be the most viscous among the studied ILs due to their higher energy barriers for shear stress.

  14. Classification of Malaysia aromatic rice using multivariate statistical analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdullah, A. H.; Adom, A. H.; Shakaff, A. Y. Md; Masnan, M. J.; Zakaria, A.; Rahim, N. A. [School of Mechatronic Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kampus Pauh Putra, 02600 Arau, Perlis (Malaysia); Omar, O. [Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (MARDI), Persiaran MARDI-UPM, 43400 Serdang, Selangor (Malaysia)

    2015-05-15

    Aromatic rice (Oryza sativa L.) is considered as the best quality premium rice. The varieties are preferred by consumers because of its preference criteria such as shape, colour, distinctive aroma and flavour. The price of aromatic rice is higher than ordinary rice due to its special needed growth condition for instance specific climate and soil. Presently, the aromatic rice quality is identified by using its key elements and isotopic variables. The rice can also be classified via Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) or human sensory panels. However, the uses of human sensory panels have significant drawbacks such as lengthy training time, and prone to fatigue as the number of sample increased and inconsistent. The GC–MS analysis techniques on the other hand, require detailed procedures, lengthy analysis and quite costly. This paper presents the application of in-house developed Electronic Nose (e-nose) to classify new aromatic rice varieties. The e-nose is used to classify the variety of aromatic rice based on the samples odour. The samples were taken from the variety of rice. The instrument utilizes multivariate statistical data analysis, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN) to classify the unknown rice samples. The Leave-One-Out (LOO) validation approach is applied to evaluate the ability of KNN to perform recognition and classification of the unspecified samples. The visual observation of the PCA and LDA plots of the rice proves that the instrument was able to separate the samples into different clusters accordingly. The results of LDA and KNN with low misclassification error support the above findings and we may conclude that the e-nose is successfully applied to the classification of the aromatic rice varieties.

  15. Classification of Malaysia aromatic rice using multivariate statistical analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdullah, A. H.; Adom, A. H.; Shakaff, A. Y. Md; Masnan, M. J.; Zakaria, A.; Rahim, N. A.; Omar, O.

    2015-05-01

    Aromatic rice (Oryza sativa L.) is considered as the best quality premium rice. The varieties are preferred by consumers because of its preference criteria such as shape, colour, distinctive aroma and flavour. The price of aromatic rice is higher than ordinary rice due to its special needed growth condition for instance specific climate and soil. Presently, the aromatic rice quality is identified by using its key elements and isotopic variables. The rice can also be classified via Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) or human sensory panels. However, the uses of human sensory panels have significant drawbacks such as lengthy training time, and prone to fatigue as the number of sample increased and inconsistent. The GC-MS analysis techniques on the other hand, require detailed procedures, lengthy analysis and quite costly. This paper presents the application of in-house developed Electronic Nose (e-nose) to classify new aromatic rice varieties. The e-nose is used to classify the variety of aromatic rice based on the samples odour. The samples were taken from the variety of rice. The instrument utilizes multivariate statistical data analysis, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN) to classify the unknown rice samples. The Leave-One-Out (LOO) validation approach is applied to evaluate the ability of KNN to perform recognition and classification of the unspecified samples. The visual observation of the PCA and LDA plots of the rice proves that the instrument was able to separate the samples into different clusters accordingly. The results of LDA and KNN with low misclassification error support the above findings and we may conclude that the e-nose is successfully applied to the classification of the aromatic rice varieties.

  16. Classification of Malaysia aromatic rice using multivariate statistical analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdullah, A. H.; Adom, A. H.; Shakaff, A. Y. Md; Masnan, M. J.; Zakaria, A.; Rahim, N. A.; Omar, O.

    2015-01-01

    Aromatic rice (Oryza sativa L.) is considered as the best quality premium rice. The varieties are preferred by consumers because of its preference criteria such as shape, colour, distinctive aroma and flavour. The price of aromatic rice is higher than ordinary rice due to its special needed growth condition for instance specific climate and soil. Presently, the aromatic rice quality is identified by using its key elements and isotopic variables. The rice can also be classified via Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) or human sensory panels. However, the uses of human sensory panels have significant drawbacks such as lengthy training time, and prone to fatigue as the number of sample increased and inconsistent. The GC–MS analysis techniques on the other hand, require detailed procedures, lengthy analysis and quite costly. This paper presents the application of in-house developed Electronic Nose (e-nose) to classify new aromatic rice varieties. The e-nose is used to classify the variety of aromatic rice based on the samples odour. The samples were taken from the variety of rice. The instrument utilizes multivariate statistical data analysis, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN) to classify the unknown rice samples. The Leave-One-Out (LOO) validation approach is applied to evaluate the ability of KNN to perform recognition and classification of the unspecified samples. The visual observation of the PCA and LDA plots of the rice proves that the instrument was able to separate the samples into different clusters accordingly. The results of LDA and KNN with low misclassification error support the above findings and we may conclude that the e-nose is successfully applied to the classification of the aromatic rice varieties

  17. The tissue-specific Rep8/UBXD6 tethers p97 to the endoplasmic reticulum membrane for degradation of misfolded proteins.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louise Madsen

    Full Text Available The protein known as p97 or VCP in mammals and Cdc48 in yeast is a versatile ATPase complex involved in several biological functions including membrane fusion, protein folding, and activation of membrane-bound transcription factors. In addition, p97 plays a central role in degradation of misfolded secretory proteins via the ER-associated degradation pathway. This functional diversity of p97 depends on its association with various cofactors, and to further our understanding of p97 function it is important that these cofactors are identified and analyzed. Here, we isolate and characterize the human protein named Rep8 or Ubxd6 as a new cofactor of p97. Mouse Rep8 is highly tissue-specific and abundant in gonads. In testes, Rep8 is expressed in post-meiotic round spermatids, whereas in ovaries Rep8 is expressed in granulosa cells. Rep8 associates directly with p97 via its UBX domain. We show that Rep8 is a transmembrane protein that localizes to the ER membrane with its UBX domain facing the cytoplasm. Knock-down of Rep8 expression in human cells leads to a decreased association of p97 with the ER membrane and concomitantly a retarded degradation of misfolded ER-derived proteasome substrates. Thus, Rep8 tethers p97 to the ER membrane for efficient ER-associated degradation.

  18. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons as Plausible Prebiotic Membrane Components

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groen, Joost; Deamer, David W.; Kros, Alexander; Ehrenfreund, Pascale

    2012-08-01

    Aromatic molecules delivered to the young Earth during the heavy bombardment phase in the early history of our solar system were likely to be among the most abundant and stable organic compounds available. The Aromatic World hypothesis suggests that aromatic molecules might function as container elements, energy transduction elements and templating genetic components for early life forms. To investigate the possible role of aromatic molecules as container elements, we incorporated different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the membranes of fatty acid vesicles. The goal was to determine whether PAH could function as a stabilizing agent, similar to the role that cholesterol plays in membranes today. We studied vesicle size distribution, critical vesicle concentration and permeability of the bilayers using C6-C10 fatty acids mixed with amphiphilic PAH derivatives such as 1-hydroxypyrene, 9-anthracene carboxylic acid and 1,4 chrysene quinone. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) spectroscopy was used to measure the size distribution of vesicles and incorporation of PAH species was established by phase-contrast and epifluorescence microscopy. We employed conductimetric titration to determine the minimal concentration at which fatty acids could form stable vesicles in the presence of PAHs. We found that oxidized PAH derivatives can be incorporated into decanoic acid (DA) vesicle bilayers in mole ratios up to 1:10 (PAH:DA). Vesicle size distribution and critical vesicle concentration were largely unaffected by PAH incorporation, but 1-hydroxypyrene and 9-anthracene carboxylic acid lowered the permeability of fatty acid bilayers to small solutes up to 4-fold. These data represent the first indication of a cholesterol-like stabilizing effect of oxidized PAH derivatives in a simulated prebiotic membrane.

  19. Aromatic claw: A new fold with high aromatic content that evades structural prediction: Aromatic Claw

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sachleben, Joseph R. [Biomolecular NMR Core Facility, University of Chicago, Chicago Illinois; Adhikari, Aashish N. [Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago Illinois; Gawlak, Grzegorz [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago Illinois; Hoey, Robert J. [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago Illinois; Liu, Gaohua [Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium (NESG), Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, School of Arts and Sciences, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway New Jersey; Joachimiak, Andrzej [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago Illinois; Biological Sciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne Illinois; Montelione, Gaetano T. [Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium (NESG), Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, School of Arts and Sciences, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway New Jersey; Sosnick, Tobin R. [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago Illinois; Koide, Shohei [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago Illinois; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and the Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York New York

    2016-11-10

    We determined the NMR structure of a highly aromatic (13%) protein of unknown function, Aq1974 from Aquifex aeolicus (PDB ID: 5SYQ). The unusual sequence of this protein has a tryptophan content five times the normal (six tryptophan residues of 114 or 5.2% while the average tryptophan content is 1.0%) with the tryptophans occurring in a WXW motif. It has no detectable sequence homology with known protein structures. Although its NMR spectrum suggested that the protein was rich in β-sheet, upon resonance assignment and solution structure determination, the protein was found to be primarily α-helical with a small two-stranded β-sheet with a novel fold that we have termed an Aromatic Claw. As this fold was previously unknown and the sequence unique, we submitted the sequence to CASP10 as a target for blind structural prediction. At the end of the competition, the sequence was classified a hard template based model; the structural relationship between the template and the experimental structure was small and the predictions all failed to predict the structure. CSRosetta was found to predict the secondary structure and its packing; however, it was found that there was little correlation between CSRosetta score and the RMSD between the CSRosetta structure and the NMR determined one. This work demonstrates that even in relatively small proteins, we do not yet have the capacity to accurately predict the fold for all primary sequences. The experimental discovery of new folds helps guide the improvement of structural prediction methods.

  20. Metal Triflates for the Production of Aromatics from Lignin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deuss, Peter J; Lahive, Ciaran W; Lancefield, Christopher S; Westwood, Nicholas J; Kamer, Paul C J; Barta, Katalin; de Vries, Johannes G

    2016-10-20

    The depolymerization of lignin into valuable aromatic chemicals is one of the key goals towards establishing economically viable biorefineries. In this contribution we present a simple approach for converting lignin to aromatic monomers in high yields under mild reaction conditions. The methodology relies on the use of catalytic amounts of easy-to-handle metal triflates (M(OTf) x ). Initially, we evaluated the reactivity of a broad range of metal triflates using simple lignin model compounds. More advanced lignin model compounds were also used to study the reactivity of different lignin linkages. The product aromatic monomers were either phenolic C2-acetals obtained by stabilization of the aldehyde cleavage products by reaction with ethylene glycol or methyl aromatics obtained by catalytic decarbonylation. Notably, when the method was ultimately tested on lignin, especially Fe(OTf) 3 proved very effective and the phenolic C2-acetal products were obtained in an excellent, 19.3±3.2 wt % yield. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.