The conjecture concerning time variations in the solar neutrino flux

The results of the Fourier transformation of the unequally-spaced time series of the recorded Ar-37 production rate of the solar neutrino experiment (runs 18 to 80, 1970 to 1983) are reviewed. Significance criteria for every period discovered by the harmonic analysis are determined. A Fourier synthesis of certain discovered harmonics are performed. It seems that the solar neutrino flux increases shock-like with a period of approximately 8.3 years and after that breaks down. Possible connections between the periods found by the harmonic analysis and several observed phenomena on the solar surface are indicated

A minimum cost tolerance allocation method for rocket engines and robust rocket engine design

Rocket engine design follows three phases: systems design, parameter design, and tolerance design. Systems design and parameter design are most effectively conducted in a concurrent engineering (CE) environment that utilize methods such as Quality Function Deployment and Taguchi methods. However, tolerance allocation remains an art driven by experience, handbooks, and rules of thumb. It was desirable to develop and optimization approach to tolerancing. The case study engine was the STME gas generator cycle. The design of the major components had been completed and the functional relationship between the component tolerances and system performance had been computed using the Generic Power Balance model. The system performance nominals (thrust, MR, and Isp) and tolerances were already specified, as were an initial set of component tolerances. However, the question was whether there existed an optimal combination of tolerances that would result in the minimum cost without any degradation in system performance

Data driven propulsion system weight prediction model

The objective of the research was to develop a method to predict the weight of paper engines, i.e., engines that are in the early stages of development. The impetus for the project was the Single Stage To Orbit (SSTO) project, where engineers need to evaluate alternative engine designs. Since the SSTO is a performance driven project the performance models for alternative designs were well understood. The next tradeoff is weight. Since it is known that engine weight varies with thrust levels, a model is required that would allow discrimination between engines that produce the same thrust. Above all, the model had to be rooted in data with assumptions that could be justified based on the data. The general approach was to collect data on as many existing engines as possible and build a statistical model of the engines weight as a function of various component performance parameters. This was considered a reasonable level to begin the project because the data would be readily available, and it would be at the level of most paper engines, prior to detailed component design

Survey of damage mechanisms on PVD coated HSS hobs used in Swedish gear manufacturing industry

Gear hobbing is widely used for production of cylindrical gears in the Swedish transmission industry. The hob, usually consisting of a homogenous HSS (High Speed Steel) body coated with a ceramic PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) coating, is designed for regrinding and recoating several times without affecting its cutting geometries. Efficient usage of the tool, considering production costs and gear quality, requires reconditioning before wear starts to affect the gear quality negatively and certainly before tool wear renders reconditioning impossible. Hobs of today generally lack in reliability, making it difficult to judge when they have to be taken out for reconditioning. This work presents a survey of wear as observed on today’s state of the art hobs used by Swedish gear manufactures. It aims to identify damage mechanisms and the common problems in order to enable future production of more reliable hobs. The tools were temporarily borrowed from the production and the analyses were made non-destructively using optical microscopes. This was complemented by destructive cross- sectional analysis on two of the hobs.  Wear was most commonly located on the rake faces and the cutting edges of the cutting teeth. It mainly propagates by discrete fractures which appear to originate at local defects in the coating or at the interface. High intrinsic stress in the coating likely promotes coating spallation and accelerates the wear of the cutting edge

Start to end simulations of the ERL prototype at Daresbury Laboratory

Daresbury Laboratory is currently building an Energy Recovery Linac Prototype (ERLP) that will serve as a research and development facility for the study of beam dynamics and accelerator technology important to the design and construction of the proposed 4th Generation Light Source (4GLS) project. Two major objectives of the ERLP are the demonstration of energy recovery and of energy recovery from a beam disrupted by an FEL interaction as supplied by an infrared oscillator system. In this paper we present start-to-end simulations of the ERLP including such an FEL interaction. The beam dynamics in the highbrightness injector, which consists of a DC photocathode Gun and a superconducting booster, have been modelled using the particle tracking code ASTRA. After the booster the particles have been tracked with the code elegant. The 3D code GENESIS 1.3 was used to model the FEL interaction with the electron beam at 35 MeV. A brief summary of impedance and wakefield calculations for the whole machine is also given

Active Inhibition of Plasma Cell Development in Resting B Cells by Microphthalmia-associated Transcription Factor

B cell terminal differentiation involves development into an antibody-secreting plasma cell, reflecting the concerted activation of proplasma cell transcriptional regulators, such as Blimp-1, IRF-4, and Xbp-1. Here, we show that the microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf) is highly expressed in naive B cells, where it antagonizes the process of terminal differentiation through the repression of IRF-4. Defective Mitf activity results in spontaneous B cell activation, antibody secretion, and autoantibody production. Conversely, ectopic Mitf expression suppresses the expression of IRF-4, the plasma cell marker CD138, and antibody secretion. Thus, Mitf regulates B cell homeostasis by suppressing the antibody-secreting fate

Discordant Supramolecular Fibres Reversibly Depolymerised by Temperature and Light

Synthetic stimuli responsive supramolecular polymers attract increasing interest for their ability to mimic the unique properties of natural assemblies. Here we focus on the well-studied benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA) motif, and substitute it with two (S)-3,7-dimethyloctyl groups and an azobenzene photoswitch. We demonstrate the UV (λ=365 nm) induced depolymerisation of the helical hydrogen-bonded polymers in methylcyclohexane (MCH) through circular dichroism and UV-vis spectroscopy in dilute solution (15 μm), and NMR and iPAINT super-resolution microscopy in concentrated solution (300 μm). The superstructure can be regenerated after thermal depolymerization, whilst repeated depolymerisation can be reversed without degradation by irradiating at λ=455 nm. Molecular dynamics simulations show that the most energetically favourable configuration for these polymers in MCH is a left-handed helical network of hydrogen-bonds between the BTA cores surrounded by two right-handed helices of azobenzenes. The responsiveness to two orthogonal triggers across a broad concentration range holds promise for use in, for example, photo-responsive gelation

Polysaccharide-based aerogel microspheres for oral drug delivery

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Carbohydrate polymers. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Carbohydrate Polymers Volume 117, 6 March 2015, Pages 797–806, doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.10.045Polysaccharide-based aerogels in the form of microspheres were investigated as carriers of poorly water soluble drugs for oral administration. These bio-based carriers may combine the biocompatibility of polysaccharides and the enhanced drug loading capacity of dry aerogels. Aerogel microspheres from starch, pectin and alginate were loaded with ketoprofen (anti-inflammatory drug) and benzoic acid (used in the management of urea cycle disorders) via supercritical CO2-assisted adsorption. Amount of drug loaded depended on the aerogel matrix structure and composition and reached values up to 1.0 × 10−3 and 1.7 × 10−3 g/m2 for ketoprofen and benzoic acid in starch microspheres. After impregnation, drugs were in the amorphous state in the aerogel microspheres. Release behavior was evaluated in different pH media (pH 1.2 and 6.8). Controlled drug release from pectin and alginate aerogel microspheres fitted Gallagher–Corrigan release model (R2 > 0.99 in both cases), with different relative contribution of erosion and diffusion mechanisms depending on the matrix composition. Release from starch aerogel microspheres was driven by dissolution, fitting the first-order kinetics due to the rigid starch aerogel structure, and showed different release rate constant (k1) depending on the drug (0.075 and 0.160 min−1 for ketoprofen and benzoic acid, respectively). Overall, the results point out the possibilities of tuning drug loading and release by carefully choosing the polysaccharide used to prepare the aerogels.C.A. García-González acknowledges the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN, Spain) for the financial support through the Juan de la Cierva Fellowship Programme (grant no. JCI-2012-12705). The work was partially funded by the Spanish Government (MICINN, Spain, SAF2011-22771) and the European Commission (FEDER funds)

SH2D1A Regulates T-dependent Humoral Autoimmunity

The signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM)/CD150 family includes a family of chromosome 1–encoded cell surface molecules with costimulatory functions mediated in part by the adaptor protein SH2D1A (SLAM-associated protein, SAP). Deficiency in SH2D1A protects mice from an experimental model of lupus, including the development of hypergammaglobulinemia, autoantibodies including anti–double stranded DNA, and renal disease. This protection did not reflect grossly defective T or B cell function per se because SH2D1A-deficient mice were susceptible to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a T cell–dependent disease, and they were capable of mounting normal T-independent antigen-specific immunoglobulin responses. Instead, T-dependent antibody responses were impaired in SH2D1A-deficient mice, reflecting defective germinal center formation. These findings demonstrate a specific role for the SLAM–SH2D1A system in the regulation of T-dependent humoral immune responses, implicating members of the CD150–SH2D1A family as targets in the pathogenesis and therapy of antibody-mediated autoimmune and allergic diseases

Host genotype and genetic diversity shape the evolution of a novel bacterial infection

Pathogens continue to emerge from increased contact with novel host species. Whilst these hosts can represent distinct environments for pathogens, the impacts of host genetic background on how a pathogen evolves post-emergence are unclear. In a novel interaction, we experimentally evolved a pathogen (Staphylococcus aureus) in populations of wild nematodes (Caenorhabditis elegans) to test whether host genotype and genetic diversity affect pathogen evolution. After ten rounds of selection, we found that pathogen virulence evolved to vary across host genotypes, with differences in host metal ion acquisition detected as a possible driver of increased host exploitation. Diverse host populations selected for the highest levels of pathogen virulence, but infectivity was constrained, unlike in host monocultures. We hypothesise that population heterogeneity might pool together individuals that contribute disproportionately to the spread of infection or to enhanced virulence. The genomes of evolved populations were sequenced, and it was revealed that pathogens selected in distantly-related host genotypes diverged more than those in closely-related host genotypes. S. aureus nevertheless maintained a broad host range. Our study provides unique empirical insight into the evolutionary dynamics that could occur in other novel infections of wildlife and humans