Effects of Environmental Factors on Decay Rates of Selected White- and Brown-Rot Fungi

Assessing the impact of fungal decay in wood structures poses a major challenge for building inspectors. Although models have been developed to predict degradation rate of building components in varying climatic conditions, most are hampered by the lack of fundamental data on effects of fungal attack on engineering properties. Developing data on degradation rates in differing conditions would help enhance these models. The ability of two brown-rot and one white-rot fungus to degrade wood of three species was assessed in varying temperature and moisture conditions. Modulus of elasticity (MOE) was the most sensitive measure of fungal attack, whereas modulus of rupture (MOR) was affected more slowly. Wood species had no effect on MOR losses, but wood durability did influence fungal effects on MOR. The white-rot fungus caused comparable MOE losses to the brown-rot fungi but had a much decreased effect on MOR. Moisture content, within the range tested, had little influence on decay rates. Fungal effects tended to be slower at the lowest temperature tested (15°C) but differed little between 25 and 35°C. Results suggested that removal of wood that has been wet for some time is advisable if dynamic properties are critical. Results also supported incorporating temperature and time of wetting factors into building models

A genome-based approach to create a minimally mutated, Corynebacterium glutamicm strain for efficient L-lysine production

The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.ArticleJournal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology. 33(7): 610-615 (2006)journal articl

A novel gnd mutation leading to increased L-lysine production in Corynebacterium glutamicum

ArticleFems Microbiology Letters. 242(2): 265-274 (2005)journal articl

Whiteboard Cleaning Task Realization with HOAP-2

The controller has a motion feedback control loop for the four arm joints and a force feedback control loop for the ankle joint. The desired motion/force trajectories are obtained via kinesthetic teaching by a human, followed by a learning phase. During skill demonstration, the arm joints are made compliant while the robot balances using ankle/hip strategies. Experimental data demonstrate the feasibility of the method

A leuC mutation leading to increased L-lysine production and rel-independent global expression changes in Corynebacterium glutamicum

The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.ArticleApplied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 72(4): 783-789 (2006)journal articl

Hubbard band or oxygen vacancy states in the correlated electron metal SrVO3_3?

We study the effect of oxygen vacancies on the electronic structure of the model strongly correlated metal SrVO$_3$. By means of angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) synchrotron experiments, we investigate the systematic effect of the UV dose on the measured spectra. We observe the onset of a spurious dose-dependent prominent peak at an energy range were the lower Hubbard band has been previously reported in this compound, raising questions on its previous interpretation. By a careful analysis of the dose dependent effects we succeed in disentangling the contributions coming from the oxygen vacancy states and from the lower Hubbard band. We obtain the intrinsic ARPES spectrum for the zero-vacancy limit, where a clear signal of a lower Hubbard band remains. We support our study by means of state-of-the-art ab initio calculations that include correlation effects and the presence of oxygen vacancies. Our results underscore the relevance of potential spurious states affecting ARPES experiments in correlated metals, which are associated to the ubiquitous oxygen vacancies as extensively reported in the context of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the surface of insulating $d^0$ transition metal oxides.Comment: Manuscript + Supplemental Material, 12 pages, 9 figure

The rate of X-ray-induced DNA double-strand break repair in the embryonic mouse brain is unaff ected by exposure to 50 Hz magnetic fi elds

Following in utero exposure to low dose radiation (10 – 200 mGy), we recently observed a linear induction of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) and activation of apoptosis in the embryonic neuronal stem/progenitor cell compartment. No signifi cant induction of DSB or apoptosis was observed following exposure to magnetic fi elds (MF). In the present study, we exploited this in vivo system to examine whether exposure to MF before and after exposure to 100 mGy X-rays impacts upon DSB repair rates. Materials and methods : 53BP1 foci were quantifi ed following combined exposure to radiation and MF in the embryonic neuronal stem/progenitor cell compartment. Embryos were exposed in utero to 50 Hz MF at 300 m T for 3 h before and up to 9 h after exposure to 100 mGy X-rays. Controls included embryos exposed to MF or X-rays alone plus sham exposures. Results : Exposure to MF before and after 100 mGy X-rays did not impact upon the rate of DSB repair in the embryonic neuronal stem cell compartment compared to repair rates following radiation exposure alone. Conclusions : We conclude that in this sensitive system MF do not exert any signifi cant level of DNA damage and do not impede the repair of X-ray induced damage