Gravity gradient boom stabilization system for the Applications Technology Satellite /ATS-E/, volume 1 Final report

Gravity gradient boom stabilization system for ATS

Picosecond laser welding of similar and dissimilar materials

We report picosecond laser welding of similar and dissimilar materials based on plasma formation induced by a tightly focused beam from a 1030 nm, 10 ps, 400 kHz laser system. Specifically, we demonstrate the welding of fused silica, borosilicate, and sapphire to a range of materials including borosilicate, fused silica, silicon, copper, aluminum, and stainless steel. Dissimilar material welding of glass to aluminum and stainless steel has not been previously reported. Analysis of the borosilicate-to-borosilicate weld strength compares well to those obtained using similar welding systems based on femtosecond lasers. There is, however, a strong requirement to prepare surfaces to a high (10–60 nm Ra) flatness to ensure a successful weld

Flexible delivery of Er:YAG radiation at 2.94 µm with negative curvature silica glass fibers:a new solution for minimally invasive surgical procedures

We present the delivery of high energy microsecond pulses through a hollow-core negative-curvature fiber at 2.94 µm. The energy densities delivered far exceed those required for biological tissue manipulation and are of the order of 2300 J/cm(2). Tissue ablation was demonstrated on hard and soft tissue in dry and aqueous conditions with no detrimental effects to the fiber or catastrophic damage to the end facets. The energy is guided in a well confined single mode allowing for a small and controllable focused spot delivered flexibly to the point of operation. Hence, a mechanically and chemically robust alternative to the existing Er:YAG delivery systems is proposed which paves the way for new routes for minimally invasive surgical laser procedures

Trimethylamine and trimethylamine N-oxide, a flavin-containing monooxygenase 3 (FMO3)-mediated host-microbiome metabolic axis implicated in health and disease

Flavin-containing monooxygenase 3 (FMO3) is known primarily as an enzyme involved in the metabolism of therapeutic drugs. However, on a daily basis we are exposed to one of the most abundant substrates of the enzyme, trimethylamine, which is released from various dietary components by the action of gut bacteria. FMO3 converts the odorous trimethylamine to non-odorous trimethylamine N-oxide, which is excreted in urine. Impaired FMO3 activity gives rise to the inherited disorder primary trimethylaminuria. Affected individuals cannot produce trimethylamine N-oxide and, consequently, excrete large amounts of trimethylamine. A dysbiosis in gut bacteria can give rise to secondary trimethylaminuria. Recently, there has been much interest in FMO3 and its catalytic product trimethylamine N-oxide. This is because trimethylamine N-oxide has been implicated in various conditions affecting health, including cardiovascular disease, reverse cholesterol transport and glucose and lipid homeostasis. In this review, we consider the dietary components that can give rise to trimethylamine, the gut bacteria involved in the production of trimethylamine from dietary precursors, the metabolic reactions by which bacteria produce and utilize trimethylamine and the enzymes that catalyze the reactions. Also included is information on bacteria that produce trimethylamine in the oral cavity and vagina, two key microbiome niches that can influence health. Finally, we discuss the importance of the trimethylamine/trimethylamine N-oxide microbiome-host axis in health and disease, considering factors that affect bacterial production and host metabolism of trimethylamine, the involvement of trimethylamine N-oxide and FMO3 in disease and the implications of the host-microbiome axis for management of trimethylaminuria

Elliptic curve configurations on Fano surfaces

The elliptic curves on a surface of general type constitute an obstruction for the cotangent sheaf to be ample. In this paper, we give the classification of the configurations of the elliptic curves on the Fano surface of a smooth cubic threefold. That means that we give the number of such curves, their intersections and a plane model. This classification is linked to the classification of the automorphism groups of theses surfaces.Comment: 17 pages, accepted and shortened version, the rest will appear in "Fano surfaces with 12 or 30 elliptic curves