The effect of (Ti + Al): V ratio on the structure and oxidation behaviour of TiAlN/VN nano-scale multilayer coatings

Nano-scaled multilayered TiAlN/VN coatings have been grown on stainless steel and M2 high speed steel substrates at U-B = - 85 V in an industrial, four target, Hauzer HTC 1000 coater using combined cathodic steered arc etching/unbalanced magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been used to investigate the effects of process parameters (Target Power) on texture evolution (using texture parameter T*), development of residual stress (sin(2) psi method) and nano-scale multilayer period. The composition of the coating was determined using energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The thermal behaviour of the coatings in air was studied using thermo-gravimetric analysis, XRD and scanning electron microscopy. The bi-layer period varied between 2.8 and 3.1 nm and in all cases a {1 1 0} texture developed with a maximum value T* = 4.9. The residual stress varied between -5.2 and -7.4 GPa. The onset of rapid oxidation occurred between 628 and 645 degreesC depending on the (Ti+Al):V ratio. After oxidation in air at 550 degreesC AlVO4, TiO2 and V2O5 Phases were identified by XRD with the AlVO4, TiO2 being the major phases. The formation of AlVO4 appears to disrupt the formation of Al2O3 which imparts oxidation resistance to TiAlN based coatings. Increasing the temperature to 600 and 640 degreesC led to a dramatic increase in the formation of V2O5 which was highly oriented (0 0 1) with a plate-like morphology. At 640 degreesC there was no evidence of the coating on XRD. Increasing the temperature to 670 degreesC led to further formation of AlVO4 and a dramatic reduction in V2O5. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Proba: ESA\u27s Autonomy and Technology Demonstration Mission

Proba is an ESA mlSSlOn conceived for the purpose of demonstrating the opportunities and benefits of on-board autonomy. To this end, it offers a flight opportunity centered around the validation of the associated technological capabilities. The Proba spacecraft is equipped with a selected set of technologies providing advanced on-board functions for performing a number of mission operations functions with minimum ground involvement. The autonomy is exercised in realistic scenarios through the accommodation of four payload instruments

Safety of tattoos in persons undergoing MRI

In 330 persons who had one to seven tattoos, only one mild tattoo-related adverse reaction was detected during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These results suggest a low risk among persons with tattoos when MRI is performed under these specific study conditions

The effect of right temporal lobe gliomas on left and right hemisphere neural processing during speech perception and production tasks

Using fMRI, we investigated how right temporal lobe gliomas affecting the posterior superior temporal sulcus alter neural processing observed during speech perception and production tasks. Behavioural language testing showed that three pre-operative neurosurgical patients with grade 2, grade 3 or grade 4 tumours had the same pattern of mild language impairment in the domains of object naming and written word comprehension. When matching heard words for semantic relatedness (a speech perception task), these patients showed under-activation in the tumour infiltrated right superior temporal lobe compared to 61 neurotypical participants and 16 patients with tumours that preserved the right postero-superior temporal lobe, with enhanced activation within the (tumour-free) contralateral left superior temporal lobe. In contrast, when correctly naming objects (a speech production task), the patients with right postero-superior temporal lobe tumours showed higher activation than both control groups in the same right postero-superior temporal lobe region that was under-activated during auditory semantic matching. The task dependent pattern of under-activation during the auditory speech task and over-activation during object naming was also observed in eight stroke patients with right hemisphere infarcts that affected the right postero-superior temporal lobe compared to eight stroke patients with right hemisphere infarcts that spared it. These task-specific and site-specific cross-pathology effects highlight the importance of the right temporal lobe for language processing and motivate further study of how right temporal lobe tumours affect language performance and neural reorganisation. These findings may have important implications for surgical management of these patients, as knowledge of the regions showing functional reorganisation may help to avoid their inadvertent damage during neurosurgery

Observational Diagnostics of Gas Flows: Insights from Cosmological Simulations

Galactic accretion interacts in complex ways with gaseous halos, including galactic winds. As a result, observational diagnostics typically probe a range of intertwined physical phenomena. Because of this complexity, cosmological hydrodynamic simulations have played a key role in developing observational diagnostics of galactic accretion. In this chapter, we review the status of different observational diagnostics of circumgalactic gas flows, in both absorption (galaxy pair and down-the-barrel observations in neutral hydrogen and metals; kinematic and azimuthal angle diagnostics; the cosmological column density distribution; and metallicity) and emission (Lya; UV metal lines; and diffuse X-rays). We conclude that there is no simple and robust way to identify galactic accretion in individual measurements. Rather, progress in testing galactic accretion models is likely to come from systematic, statistical comparisons of simulation predictions with observations. We discuss specific areas where progress is likely to be particularly fruitful over the next few years.Comment: Invited review to appear in Gas Accretion onto Galaxies, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, eds. A. J. Fox & R. Dave, to be published by Springer. Typos correcte

A novel malaria vaccine candidate antigen expressed in Tetrahymena thermophila

Development of effective malaria vaccines is hampered by the problem of producing correctly folded Plasmodium proteins for use as vaccine components. We have investigated the use of a novel ciliate expression system, Tetrahymena thermophila, as a P. falciparum vaccine antigen platform. A synthetic vaccine antigen composed of N-terminal and C-terminal regions of merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) was expressed in Tetrahymena thermophila. The recombinant antigen was secreted into the culture medium and purified by monoclonal antibody (mAb) affinity chromatography. The vaccine was immunogenic in MF1 mice, eliciting high antibody titers against both N- and C-terminal components. Sera from immunized animals reacted strongly with P. falciparum parasites from three antigenically different strains by immunofluorescence assays, confirming that the antibodies produced are able to recognize parasite antigens in their native form. Epitope mapping of serum reactivity with a peptide library derived from all three MSP-1 Block 2 serotypes confirmed that the MSP-1 Block 2 hybrid component of the vaccine had effectively targeted all three serotypes of this polymorphic region of MSP-1. This study has successfully demonstrated the use of Tetrahymena thermophila as a recombinant protein expression platform for the production of malaria vaccine antigens

High Diversity of the Saliva Microbiome in Batwa Pygmies

We describe the saliva microbiome diversity in Batwa Pygmies, a former hunter-gatherer group from Uganda, using next-generation sequencing of partial 16S rRNA sequences. Microbial community diversity in the Batwa is significantly higher than in agricultural groups from Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We found 40 microbial genera in the Batwa, which have previously not been described in the human oral cavity. The distinctive composition of the salvia microbiome of the Batwa may have been influenced by their recent different lifestyle and diet

Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi malaria parasites can develop stable resistance to atovaquone with a mutation in the cytochrome b gene

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Plasmodium falciparum</it>, has developed resistance to many of the drugs in use. The recommended treatment policy is now to use drug combinations. The atovaquone-proguanil (AP) drug combination, is one of the treatment and prophylaxis options. Atovaquone (ATQ) exerts its action by inhibiting plasmodial mitochondria electron transport at the level of the cytochrome bc1 complex. <it>Plasmodium falciparum in vitro </it>resistance to ATQ has been associated with specific point mutations in the region spanning codons 271-284 of the <it>cytochrome b </it>gene. ATQ -resistant <it>Plasmodium yoelii </it>and <it>Plasmodium berghei </it>lines have been obtained and resistant lines have amino acid mutations in their CYT <it>b </it>protein sequences. <it>Plasmodium chabaudi </it>model for studying drug-responses and drug-resistance selection is a very useful rodent malaria model but no ATQ resistant parasites have been reported so far. The aim of this study was to determine the ATQ sensitivity of the <it>P. chabaudi </it>clones, to select a resistant parasite line and to perform genotypic characterization of the <it>cytb </it>gene of these clones.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To select for ATQ resistance, <it>Plasmodium. chabaudi chabaudi </it>clones were exposed to gradually increasing concentrations of ATQ during several consecutive passages in mice. <it>Plasmodium chabaudi cytb </it>gene was amplified and sequenced.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ATQ resistance was selected from the clone AS-3CQ. In order to confirm whether an heritable genetic mutation underlies the response of AS-ATQ to ATQ, the stability of the drug resistance phenotype in this clone was evaluated by measuring drug responses after (i) multiple blood passages in the absence of the drug, (ii) freeze/thawing of parasites in liquid nitrogen and (iii) transmission through a mosquito host, <it>Anopheles stephensi</it>. ATQ resistance phenotype of the drug-selected parasite clone kept unaltered. Therefore, ATQ resistance in clone AS-ATQ is genetically encoded. The Minimum Curative Dose of AS-ATQ showed a six-fold increase in MCD to ATQ relative to AS-3CQ.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A mutation was found on the <it>P. chabaudi cytb </it>gene from the AS-ATQ sample a substitution at the residue Tyr268 for an Asn, this mutation is homologous to the one found in <it>P. falciparum </it>isolates resistant to ATQ.</p

Inter-laboratory evaluation, development and validation of fungal preservation regimes used in different European biological resources centres (BRCs)

Successful preservation of fungi relies on the application of optimised preservation protocols that do not compromise the genomic integrity of the organism. Most major European BRCs use lyophilisation and cryopreservation as the methods of choice. Although based on generic principals, protocols can vary between institutions and do not always result in successful recovery. In order to evaluate the efficacy of the methods, a range of fungal strains were circulated around partner collections in the EMbaRC project and the organisms preserved using the standard methods used in each collection. The effectiveness of preservation was assessed using a series of techniques including DNA fingerprinting and sequencing, analysis of culture characteristics, viability assessments and the use of MALDI-TOF. The results showed that when viable cultures were obtained after preservation, they appeared to retain their genomic integrity, but there was evidence of delayed growth and attenuation in some cultures. Not all fungi were successfully preserved by all methods. It was found that a cryopreservation protocol used by the MUCL collection in Belgium, that limited manipulation of the fungus before preservation, was particularly effective in preserving some of the more delicate fungi and this method is being evaluated by the project partners. A further investigation was undertaken to assess the integrity of four specific strains of fungi deposited in different collections. They were compared using culture analysis, sequence analysis, DNA fingerprinting and MALDI-TOF. It was found that some limited variation was observed at the phenotypic level from the analysis of culture characteristics, but this could be expected, especially in organisms such as Aspergillus which can be prone to strain drift. More importantly, molecular integrity remained consistent with no significant differences observed between lines of the same strain. Therefore, despite the strains having been maintained by different methods over the intervening years from their initial deposit, the collections had maintained them in a stable manner. This is indicative of the benefits of applying proven regimes, resulting in high quality operations