Temperature dependence of Mott transition in VO_2 and programmable critical temperature sensor

The temperature dependence of the Mott metal-insulator transition (MIT) is studied with a VO_2-based two-terminal device. When a constant voltage is applied to the device, an abrupt current jump is observed with temperature. With increasing applied voltages, the transition temperature of the MIT current jump decreases. We find a monoclinic and electronically correlated metal (MCM) phase between the abrupt current jump and the structural phase transition (SPT). After the transition from insulator to metal, a linear increase in current (or conductivity) is shown with temperature until the current becomes a constant maximum value above T_{SPT}=68^oC. The SPT is confirmed by micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements. Optical microscopy analysis reveals the absence of the local current path in micro scale in the VO_2 device. The current uniformly flows throughout the surface of the VO_2 film when the MIT occurs. This device can be used as a programmable critical temperature sensor.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Characterization of GDP-mannose Pyrophosphorylase from Escherichia Coli O157:H7 EDL933 and Its Broad Substrate Specificity

GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase gene (ManC) of Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157 was cloned and expressed as a highly soluble protein in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The enzyme was subsequently purified using hydrophobic and ion exchange chromatographies. ManC showed very broad substrate specificities for four nucleotides and various hexose-1-phosphates, yielding ADP-mannose, CDP-mannose, UDP-mannose, GDP-mannose, GDP-glucose and GDP-2-deoxy-glucose

Inheritance of Resistance to Bacterial Spot (Xanthomonas Campestris Pv. Visicatoria (Doidge) Dye) in Peppers (Capsicum Spp.)

From 201 lines of pepper tested for resistance to bacterial spot, 17 P.I. lines which were introduced from India and 3 which were introduced from Central or South America showed resistance. Seven isolates of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria collected from various locations in Hawaii showed no differences in virulence. Pepper line 23-1-7 which has been reported by A. A. Cook to have resistance to race 2 of the pepper strain of X. campestris pv. Vesicatoria in Florida was susceptible to all the isolates, which indicates that the strain that occurs in Hawaii is pepper strain race 1 and not race 2. The inoculation method generally used was infiltration with an inoculum level of 10 cells/ml. Infiltration was accomplished by forcing the inoculum into the underside of leaves of 1 month old seedlings with a DeVilbiss air brush connected to a compressor set at 20 psi until an area about 5 mm in diameter appeared water-soaked. Disease was graded 1 week after inoculation on a scale of 1 (low disease) to 4 (high disease). The results obtained from this inoculation method were highly correlated with the field performance of lines with varying degrees of resistance and of individual plants of an F2 population of the cross Keystone x line 112 (P.I. 308787). Twelve resistant lines were crossed to the susceptible cultivar Keystone to study the inheritance of resistance. A hypersensitive reaction found in line 79 (P.I. 271322) was controlled by a single dominant gene. An "immune" response found in line 177 (P.I. 163192) was controlled by a single recessive gene. Both lines 79 and 177 also showed quantitatively inherited resistance as well. Lines 47 (P.I. 244670), 127 (P.I. 369994), 112 (P.I. 308787), 110 (P.I. 297495), 4 (P.I. 163192), 34 (P.I. 224451), 43 (P.I. 241670), 119 (P.I. 322719), 137 (P.I. 377688), and 131 (P.I. 369998) had only quantitatively inherited resistance. Lines 79, 177, 47, 127, and 112 were the most effective in transmitting resistance. Crosses were made between line 79 (hypersensitivity), line 177 (immunity), and line 43 (quantitative factors). When line 79 and 177 were crossed, the hypersensitivity gene was masked by the immunity gene to give an F2 ratio of 9 hypersensitive ; 4 immune : 3 neither. The hypersensitive character segregated normally in the cross of lines 79 and 43, but the segregation of the immunity character was altered in the cross of lines 177 and 43. The correlation coefficient between pungency and disease in the greenhouse of the F2 population of the cross of Keystone (low pungency) x line 112 (P.I. 308787) (high pungency) was not significant, but in the field it was significant (-0.216), suggesting that high pungency may contribute some field resistance to bacterial snot

Successful treatment with interferon of chicken pox in children with acute leukemia.

Childhood leukemia, especially acute lymphocytic leukemia, can now be completely cured by a multimodality approach in one out of every two patients. Since prolonged maintenance therapy with anti-cancer agents for three years is required for complete cure, a significant problem during this course of treatment is death due to secondary infection. Those with childhood leukemia receiving anti-cancer chemotherapy who became secondarily injected with chicken pox can now be treated successfully with interferon in the four cases reported here. Chicken pox was cured even while one of them was in relapse. Therefore, it can be said that a bright prospect, namely interferon, is on the horizon in the treatment of secondary viral diseases associated with acute leukemia.</p

Dynamic Slotting and Cartonization Problem in Zone-based Carton Picking Systems

Due to the popularity of internet ordering and intelligent logistic and supply chain management systems, customers tend to order more frequently, in smaller quantities, and they require more customized service. As a result, the turn-over rate of SKUs in many warehouses is significantly increasing. The distribution center in this study is zone-based carton picking system and it is dynamically replenished with specific SKUs for next pick wave after pickers complete the picking for the current pick wave. In other words, the picking area is completely reslotted between each pick wave. In this distribution center environment, the long-term demand is of limited value in determining the appropriate assignment of SKUs to slots and items to cartons for the specific pick wave. Thus, the distribution center has two NP-hard assignment problems: slotting –assigning SKUs to slots in the picking area; and cartonization – assigning individual items to cartons. The two primary assignment problems are interrelated and are simultaneously solved at the beginning of the pick wave. The primary objective in this dissertation is to develop an efficient iterative heuristic methodology for systematically solving two interrelating complex decision problems based on simulated annealing slotting heuristic using correlated SKUs and cartonization heuristic using bin-packing heuristic considering slotting. The proposed heuristic improves the performance of makespan of pickers assigned in each zone compared to two independent heuristics being given does not guarantee a good solution

The ancient phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling system is a master regulator of energy and carbon metabolism in algae

Algae undergo a complete metabolic transformation under stress by arresting cell growth, inducing autophagy and hyperaccumulating biofuel precursors such as triacylglycerols and starch. However, the regulatory mechanisms behind this stress-induced transformation are still unclear. Here, we use biochemical, mutational, and “omics” approaches to demonstrate that PI3K signaling mediates the homeostasis of energy molecules and influences carbon metabolism in algae. In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the inhibition and knockdown (KD) of algal class III PI3K led to significantly decreased cell growth, altered cell morphology, and higher lipid and starch contents. Lipid profiling of wild-type and PI3K KD lines showed significantly reduced membrane lipid breakdown under nitrogen starvation (-N) in the KD. RNA-seq and network analyses showed that under -N conditions, the KD line carried out lipogenesis rather than lipid hydrolysis by initiating de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, which was supported by tricarboxylic acid cycle down-regulation and via acetyl-CoA synthesis from glycolysis. Remarkably, autophagic responses did not have primacy over inositide signaling in algae, unlike in mammals and vascular plants. The mutant displayed a fundamental shift in intracellular energy flux, analogous to that in tumor cells. The high free fatty acid levels and reduced mitochondrial ATP generation led to decreased cell viability. These results indicate that the PI3K signal transduction pathway is the metabolic gatekeeper restraining biofuel yields, thus maintaining fitness and viability under stress in algae. This study demonstrates the existence of homeostasis between starch and lipid synthesis controlled by lipid signaling in algae and expands our understanding of such processes, with biotechnological and evolutionary implications.Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning 2015M3A6A2065697Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries 2015018