1,555 research outputs found
Structural design with Accoya wood
The benefits from acetylation of wood to enhance resistance against fungal decay and dimensional stability have been known for many years. Since 2007 Accsys Technologies has been commercially producing Accoya wood that is based on acetylation of Radiata pine. Accoya has shown its potential for many applications, even for structural use. However, due to limited engineering data each project had to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Based on research at various universities and institutes, Accsys Technologies has in combination with TimberSolve and ARUP, developed a handbook to assist designers and structural engineers produce reliable, durable and consistent designs utilising Accoya wood in structural applications
Gene Combination Transfer to Block Autoimmune Damage in Transplanted Islets of Langerhans
Islet transplantation therapy would be applicable to a
wider range of diabetic patients if donor islet acceptance
and protection were possible without systemic immunosuppression
of the recipient. To this aim, gene transfer
to isolated donor islets ex vivo is one method that has
shown promise. This study examines the combined effect of
selected immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory genes
known to extend the functional viability of pancreatic islet
grafts in an autoimmune system. These genes, indoleamine
2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), manganese superoxide dismutase
(MnSOD), and interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist protein
(IRAP), were transferred to isolated NOD donor islets
ex vivo then transplanted to NODscid recipients and evaluated
in vivo after diabetogenic T-cell challenge. The length
of time the recipient remained euglycemic was used to measure
the ability of the transgenes to protect the graft from
autoimmune destruction. Although the results of these cotransfections
gave little evidence of a synergistic relationship,
they were useful to show that gene combinations can be used to more efficiently protect islet grafts from diabetogenic
T cells
Zebrafish Bioassay-guided Microfractionation for the Rapid in vivo Identification of Pharmacologically Active Natural Products
The rapid acquisition of structural and bioactivity information on natural products (NPs) at the sub- milligram scale is key for performing efficient bioactivity-guided isolations. Zebrafish offer the possibility of rapid in vivo bioactivity analysis of small molecules at the microgram
scale â an attractive feature when combined with high-resolution fractionation technologies and analytical methods such as UHPLC-TOF-MS and microflow NMR. Numerous biomedically relevant assays are now available in zebrafish, encompassing most indication areas. Zebrafish also provide
the possibility to screen bioactive compounds for potential hepato-, cardio-, and neurotoxicities at a very early stage in the drug discovery process. Here we describe two strategies using zebrafish bioassays for the high-resolution in vivo bioactivity profiling of medicinal plants, using
either a one-step or a two-step procedure for active compound isolation directly into 96-well plates. The analysis of the microfractions by microflow NMR in combination with UHPLC-TOF-MS of the extract enables the rapid dereplication of compounds and an estimation of their microgram quantities
for zebrafish bioassays. Both the one-step and the two-step isolation procedures enable a rapid estimation of the bioactive potential of NPs directly from crude extracts. In summary, we present an in vivo , microgram-scale NP discovery platform combining zebrafish bioassays with microscale
analytics to identify, isolate and evaluate pharmacologically active NPs
CaSiAn: a Calcium Signaling Analyzer tool
Ca2+ is a central second messenger in eukaryotic cells that regulates many cellular processes. Recently, we have indicated that typical Ca2+ signals are not purely oscillatory as widely assumed, but exhibit stochastic spiking with cell type and pathway specific characteristics. Here, we present the Calcium Signaling Analyzer (CaSiAn), an open source software tool that allows for quantifying these signal characteristics including individual spike properties and time course statistics in a semi-automated manner. CaSiAn provides an intuitive graphical user interface allowing experimentalists to easily process a large amount of Ca2+ signals, interactively tune peak detection, revise statistical measures and access the quantified signal properties as excel or text files
The planetary system host HR\,8799: On its Bootis nature
HR\,8799 is a Bootis, Doradus star hosting a planetary
system and a debris disk with two rings. This makes this system a very
interesting target for asteroseismic studies. This work is devoted to the
determination of the internal metallicity of this star, linked with its
Bootis nature (i.e., solar surface abundances of light elements, and
subsolar surface abundances of heavy elements), taking advantage of its
Doradus pulsations. This is the most accurate way to obtain this
information, and this is the first time such a study is performed for a
planetary-system-host star. We have used the equilibrium code CESAM and the
non-adiabatic pulsational code GraCo. We have applied the Frequency Ratio
Method (FRM) and the Time Dependent Convection theory (TDC) to estimate the
mode identification, the Brunt-Va\"is\"al\"a frequency integral and the mode
instability, making the selection of the possible models. When the
non-seismological constraints (i.e its position in the HR diagram) are used,
the solar abundance models are discarded. This result contradicts one of the
main hypothesis for explaining the Bootis nature, namely the
accretion/diffusion of gas by a star with solar abundance. Therefore, according
to these results, a revision of this hypothesis is needed. The inclusion of
accurate internal chemical mixing processes seems to be necessary to explain
the peculiar abundances observed in the surface of stars with internal subsolar
metallicities. The use of the asteroseismological constraints, like those
provided by the FRM or the instability analysis, provides a very accurate
determination of the physical characteristics of HR 8799. However, a dependence
of the results on the inclination angle still remains. The determination of
this angle, more accurate multicolour photometric observations, and high
resolution spectroscopy can definitively fix the mass and metallicity of this
star.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Investigating the properties of AGN feedback in hot atmospheres triggered by cooling-induced gravitational collapse
Radiative cooling may plausibly cause hot gas in the centre of a massive
galaxy, or galaxy cluster, to become gravitationally unstable. The subsequent
collapse of this gas on a dynamical timescale can provide an abundant source of
fuel for AGN heating and star formation. Thus, this mechanism provides a way to
link the AGN accretion rate to the global properties of an ambient cooling
flow, but without the implicit assumption that the accreted material must have
flowed onto the black hole from 10s of kiloparsecs away. It is shown that a
fuelling mechanism of this sort naturally leads to a close balance between AGN
heating and the radiative cooling rate of the hot, X-ray emitting halo.
Furthermore, AGN powered by cooling-induced gravitational instability would
exhibit characteristic duty cycles (delta) which are redolent of recent
observational findings: delta is proportional to L_X/sigma_{*}^{3}, where L_X
is the X-ray luminosity of the hot atmosphere, and sigma_{*} is the central
stellar velocity dispersion of the host galaxy. Combining this result with
well-known scaling relations, we deduce a duty cycle for radio AGN in
elliptical galaxies that is approximately proportional to M_{BH}^{1.5}, where
M_{BH} is the central black hole mass. Outburst durations and Eddington ratios
are also given. Based on the results of this study, we conclude that
gravitational instability could provide an important mechanism for supplying
fuel to AGN in massive galaxies and clusters, and warrants further
investigation.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 8 page
Implications of primordial black holes on the first stars and the origin of the super--massive black holes
If the cosmological dark matter has a component made of small primordial
black holes, they may have a significant impact on the physics of the first
stars and on the subsequent formation of massive black holes. Primordial black
holes would be adiabatically contracted into these stars and then would sink to
the stellar center by dynamical friction, creating a larger black hole which
may quickly swallow the whole star. If these primordial black holes are heavier
than , the first stars would likely live only for a very
short time and would not contribute much to the reionization of the universe.
They would instead become black holes which (depending on
subsequent accretion) could serve as seeds for the super--massive black holes
seen at high redshifts as well as those inside galaxies today.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures. v2: refereed versio
Competing Ground States in Triple-layered Sr4Ru3O10: Verging on Itinerant Ferromagnetism with Critical Fluctuations
Sr4Ru3O10 is characterized by a sharp metamagnetic transition and
ferromagnetic behavior occurring within the basal plane and along the c-axis,
respectively. Resistivity at magnetic field, B, exhibits low-frequency quantum
oscillations when B||c-axis and large magnetoresistivity accompanied by
critical fluctuations driven by the metamagnetism when B^c-axis. The complex
behavior evidenced in resistivity, magnetization and specific heat presented is
not characteristic of any obvious ground states, and points to an exotic state
that shows a delicate balance between fluctuations and order.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure
Phenotypic Variation in FAM83H- associated Amelogenesis Imperfecta
FAM83H gene mutations are associated with autosomal-dominant hypocalcified amelogenesis imperfecta (ADHCAI), which is typically characterized by enamel having normal thickness and a markedly decreased mineral content. This study tested the hypothesis that there are phenotype and genotype associations in families with FAM83H-associated ADHCAI. Seven families segregating ADHCAI (147 individuals) were evaluated. Phenotyping included clinical, radiographic, histological, and biochemical studies, and genotyping was by mutational analysis. Multiple novel FAM83H mutations were identified, including two 2-bp-deletion mutations, the first non-nonsense mutations identified. Craniofacial deviation from normal was more prevalent in the affected individuals. Affected individuals having truncating FAMH3H mutations of 677 or fewer amino acids presented a generalized ADHCAI phenotype, while those having mutations capable of producing a protein of at least 694 amino acids had a unique and previously unreported phenotype affecting primarily the cervical enamel. This investigation shows that unique phenotypes are associated with specific FAM83H mutations
Detectability of Strange Matter in Heavy Ion Experiments
We discuss the properties of two distinct forms of hypothetical strange
matter, small lumps of strange quark matter (strangelets) and of hyperon matter
(metastable exotic multihypernuclear objects: MEMOs), with special emphasis on
their relevance for present and future heavy ion experiments. The masses of
small strangelets up to A = 40 are calculated using the MIT bag model with
shell mode filling for various bag parameters. The strangelets are checked for
possible strong and weak hadronic decays, also taking into account multiple
hadron decays. It is found that strangelets which are stable against strong
decay are most likely highly negative charged, contrary to previous findings.
Strangelets can be stable against weak hadronic decay but their masses and
charges are still rather high. This has serious impact on the present high
sensitivity searches in heavy ion experiments at the AGS and CERN facilities.
On the other hand, highly charged MEMOs are predicted on the basis of an
extended relativistic mean-field model. Those objects could be detected in
future experiments searching for short-lived, rare composites. It is
demonstrated that future experiments can be sensitive to a much wider variety
of strangelets.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures, uses RevTeX and epsf.st
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