Assembly induced delaminations in composite structures

Experimental and analytical studies of the development of delaminations around fastener holes in composite structures are presented. This type of delamination is known to occur in composite skins that are mechanically fastened to a poorly mating substructure. Results of an experimental study to determine the resistance of laminates to the initiation of assembly induced delaminations and the residual strength of assembly damaged coupons are presented for AS4/3501-6, IM7/8551-7A, and AS4/PEEK material systems. A survey of existing analytical models for predicting the residual strength and stability of delaminations is presented, and the development of a new model for predicting the initiation of delaminations around a fastener hole is outlined. The fastener hole damage initiation model utilizes a finite element based Fourier series solution, and is validated through comparisons of analytical and experimental results

Moisture Absorption of Graphite-Epoxy Composites Immersed in Liquids and in Humid Air

Moisture absorption of graphite-epoxy composites immersed in liquids and in himid air were investigated. The moisture content as a function of time and temperature was measured for three materials: Fiberite T300/1034, Hercules AS/3501-5 and Narmco T300/5208. Tests were per formed a) with the materials immersed in No. 2 diesel fuel, in jet A fuel, in aviation oil, in saturated salt water, and in distilled water (in the range of 300 to 322 K) and b)with the materials exposed to humid air (in the range 322 to 366 K). The results obtained were compared to available composite and neat resin data.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68153/2/10.1177_002199837901300205.pd

Fragile entanglement statistics

If X and Y are independent, Y and Z are independent, and so are X and Z, one might be tempted to conclude that X, Y, and Z are independent. But it has long been known in classical probability theory that, intuitive as it may seem, this is not true in general. In quantum mechanics one can ask whether analogous statistics can emerge for configurations of particles in certain types of entan- gled states. The explicit construction of such states, along with the specifi- cation of suitable sets of observables that have the purported statistical properties, is not entirely straightforward. We show that an example of such a configuration arises in the case of an N-particle GHZ state, and we are able to identify a family of observables with the property that the associated mea- surement outcomes are independent for any choice of 2, 3, 1⁄4, N - 1 of the particles, even though the measurement outcomes for all N particles are not independent. Although such states are highly entangled, the entanglement turns out to be ‘fragile’, i.e. the associated density matrix has the property that if one traces out the freedom associated with even a single particle, the resulting reduced density matrix is separable

Thiarubrine A, a bioactive constituent of Aspilia (Asteraceae) consumed by wild chimpanzees

Two African species of Aspilia (Asteraceae), which are used medicinally by man and which are eaten by wild chimpanzees in an unusual manner, were found to contain the potent antibiotic thiarubrine A as a major leaf phytochemical. Its presence in leaf material strengthens the view that the feeding behavior of wild chimpanzees is related to special physiological or pharmacological effects on the animals.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42789/1/18_2005_Article_BF02004537.pd

RNA-seq discovery, functional characterization, and comparison of sesquiterpene synthases from Solanum lycopersicum and Solanum habrochaites trichomes

Solanum lycopersicum and Solanum habrochaites (f. typicum) accession PI127826 emit a variety of sesquiterpenes. To identify terpene synthases involved in the production of these volatile sesquiterpenes, we used massive parallel pyrosequencing (RNA-seq) to obtain the transcriptome of the stem trichomes from these plants. This approach resulted initially in the discovery of six sesquiterpene synthase cDNAs from S. lycopersicum and five from S. habrochaites. Searches of other databases and the S. lycopersicum genome resulted in the discovery of two additional sesquiterpene synthases expressed in trichomes. The sesquiterpene synthases from S. lycopersicum and S. habrochaites have high levels of protein identity. Several of them appeared to encode for non-functional proteins. Functional recombinant proteins produced germacrenes, β-caryophyllene/α-humulene, viridiflorene and valencene from (E,E)-farnesyl diphosphate. However, the activities of these enzymes do not completely explain the differences in sesquiterpene production between the two tomato plants. RT-qPCR confirmed high levels of expression of most of the S. lycopersicum sesquiterpene synthases in stem trichomes. In addition, one sesquiterpene synthase was induced by jasmonic acid, while another appeared to be slightly repressed by the treatment. Our data provide a foundation to study the evolution of terpene synthases in cultivated and wild tomato