DISCUSSION: AGRI INDUSTRIES

Agribusiness,

IDENTIFYING AN EFFICIENT FEED DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IN THE MIDWEST

Livestock Production/Industries,

Fuel-injector/air-swirl characterization

The objectives of this program are to establish an experimental data base documenting the behavior of gas turbine engine fuel injector sprays as the spray interacts with the swirling gas flow existing in the combustor dome, and to conduct an assessment of the validity of current analytical techniques for predicting fuel spray behavior. Emphasis is placed on the acquisition of data using injector/swirler components which closely resemble components currently in use in advanced aircraft gas turbine engines, conducting tests under conditions that closely simulate or closely approximate those developed in actual combustors, and conducting a well-controlled experimental effort which will comprise using a combination of low-risk experiments and experiments requiring the use of state-of-the-art diagnostic instrumentation. Analysis of the data is to be conducted using an existing, TEACH-type code which employs a stochastic analysis of the motion of the dispersed phase in the turbulent continuum flow field

Malleability of Neural Activity in Response to Treatment: fMRI Biomarkers Across Intervention for Autistic Adolescents

Autistic adolescents frequently experience clinical levels of anxiety which exacerbate social difficulties. Those that receive a well-validated social skills intervention, the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®), have shown improvements in both social behavior and anxiety. Prior literature has demonstrated neural changes in response to this intervention using EEG, and recent literature highlights the importance of using neural markers to assess for intervention response in autism. No study to date, however, has examined changes in neural activity via fMRI and links with social behavior and anxiety across the PEERS® intervention for autistic adolescents. Thus, the present study employed a randomized clinical trial to examine these effects. As expected, results from the primary ANOVA analyses showed no effects of intervention on amygdala activity when anxiety was not considered. Unexpectedly, no effect was observed when anxiety was held constant. When anxiety was examined as a predictor of change in amygdala activity, however, results showed that parent reported fear of negative evaluation predicted change in amygdala activity across the intervention. These findings point to the importance of considering anxiety in the examination of amygdala activity in autism, including as a biomarker of intervention response

Combustion of coal gas fuels in a staged combustor

Gaseous fuels produced from coal resources generally have heating values much lower than natural gas; the low heating value could result in unstable or inefficient combustion. Coal gas fuels may contain ammonia which if oxidized in an uncontrolled manner could result in unacceptable nitrogen oxide exhaust emission levels. Previous investigations indicate that staged, rich-lean combustion represents a desirable approach to achieve stable, efficient, low nitrogen oxide emission operation for coal-derived liquid fuels contaning up to 0.8-wt pct nitrogen. An experimental program was conducted to determine whether this fuel tolerance can be extended to include coal-derived gaseous fuels. The results of tests with three nitrogen-free fuels having heating values of 100, 250, and 350 Btu/scf and a 250 Btu/scf heating value doped to contain 0.7 pct ammonia are presented

A Replication and Extension of the PEERS for Young Adults Social Skills Intervention

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is on the rise. Due to a lack of efficacious treatments, the number of young adults with ASD is also increasing. Young adults with ASD experience difficulties with empathy, loneliness, and anxiety. Few efficacious social skills intervention for young adults with ASD exist. However, a social skills intervention called PEERS® for Young Adults was recently developed and has shown to be effective for improving the experiences of young adults with ASD. The original study has not yet been independently replicated outside of the site of development and has several limitations. The present study sought to replicate and extend the original study by recruiting a larger sample of participants, utilizing a gold standard ASD assessment tool, and examining the effect of the intervention on social anxiety.Results indicated that young adults with ASD benefit from participating in the PEERS® for Young Adults intervention. In particular, we found improvements in social responsiveness, PEERS® knowledge, empathy, direct social interaction, and social anxiety. Unlike the developers, we did not find an improvement in loneliness among our sample.These findings provide additional support for the PEERS® for Young Adults intervention to improve the lives of individuals with ASD. Young adulthood can be a very challenging time for individuals with ASD, resulting in increases in psychological difficulties, challenges obtaining or maintaining employment, and social isolation. Young adults who participate in the PEERS® for Young Adults intervention are better able to navigate the social world, and thus, are likely to experience improved outcomes over individuals who do not receive the intervention

Domains of invasion organelle proteins from apicomplexan parasites are homologous with the Apple domains of blood coagulation factor XI and plasma pre-kallikrein and are members of the PAN module superfamily

AbstractMicronemes are specialised organelles, found in all apicomplexan parasites, which secrete molecules that are essential for parasite attachment to and invasion of host cells. Regions of several microneme proteins have sequence similarity to the Apple domains (A-domains) of blood coagulation factor XI (FXI) and plasma pre-kallikrein (PK). We have used mass spectrometry on a recombinant-expressed, putative A-domain from the microneme protein EtMIC5 from Eimeria tenella, to demonstrate that three intramolecular disulphide bridges are formed. These bridges are analogous to those that stabilise A-domains in FXI and PK. The data confirm that the apicomplexan domains are structural homologues of A-domains and are therefore novel members of the PAN module superfamily, which also includes the N-terminal domains of members of the plasminogen/hepatocyte growth factor family. The role of A-domains/PAN modules in apicomplexan parasites is not known, but their presence in the microneme suggests that they may be important for mediating protein–protein or protein–carbohydrate interactions during parasite attachment and host cell invasion

Mutations of penicillin acylase residue B71 extend substrate specificity by decreasing steric constraints for substrate binding

Two mutant forms of penicillin acylase from Escherichia coli strains, selected using directed evolution for the ability to use glutaryl-L-leucine for growth [Forney, Wong and Ferber (1989) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 55, 2550-2555], are changed within one codon, replacing the B-chain residue Phe(B71) with either Cys or Leu. Increases of up to a factor of ten in k(cat)/K-m values for substrates possessing a phenylacetyl leaving group are consistent with a decrease in K-s. Values of k(cat/)K(m) for glutaryl-L-leucine are increased at least 100-fold. A decrease in k(cat)/K-m for the CySB71 mutant with increased pH is consistent with binding of the uncharged glutaryl group. The mutant proteins are more resistant to urea denaturation monitored by protein fluorescence, to inactivation in the presence of substrate either in the presence of urea or at high pH, and to heat inactivation. The crystal structure of the Leu(B71) mutant protein, solved to 2 X resolution, shows a flip of the side chain of Phe(B256) into the periphery of the catalytic centre, associated with loss of the pi-stacking interactions between Phe(B256) and Phe(B71). Molecular modelling demonstrates that glutaryl-L-leucine may bind with the uncharged glutaryl group in the S-1 subsite of either the wild-type or the Leu(B71) mutant but with greater potential freedom of rotation of the substrate leucine moiety in the complex with the mutant protein. This implies a smaller decrease in the conformational entropy of the substrate on binding to the mutant proteins and consequently greater catalytic activity

Conceptualising the impact of information asymmetry on through-life cost: case study of machine tools sector

Information asymmetry (IA) in terms of contextual variety and importance is one of the most challenging aspects of through-life costing in product-service systems (PSS). IA is an imbalance in the information, data and knowledge shared among the parties involved in a contractual agreement. In manufacturing systems under PSS, interaction and effective communication among several parties who are involved in a contractual agreement, rely on the continuity and accuracy of information and context. In such systems, contextual variety exhibits complexity and uncertainty in through-life costing and subsequently in PSS cost assessment. Although the economic aspect of PSS has been studied previously, the impact of IA on through-life cost and for different PSS solutions has not been detailed. Considering manufacturing value chains, this paper introduces a new concept of PSS-hierarchy to perform through-life costing in the presence of IA for various PSS solutions. Moreover, this paper proposes a generic life-cycle model for different PSS solutions to assess the total cost of ownership (TCO). The proposed model has been developed to support decisions on contract design in manufacturing systems. This study considers the manufacturer, service provider and customer perspectives to develop the TCO model using a machine tool manufacturing case study

Modeling of premixing-prevaporizing fuel-air mixing passages

The development of a computer program for the analytical prediction of the distribution of liquid and vapor fuel in the premixing-prevaporizing passage by the direct injection method is described. The technical approach adopted for this program is to separate the problem into three parts each with its own computer code. These three parts are: calculation of the two-dimensional or axisymmetric air flow; calculation of the three-dimensional fuel droplet evaporation; and calculation of the fuel vapor diffusion. This method of approach is justified because premixing passages operate at lean equivalence ratios. Hence, a weak interaction assumption can be made wherein the airflow can affect the fuel droplet behavior but the fuel droplet behavior does not affect the airflow