27,095 research outputs found
Honoring Don Whitley, pioneer of innovative scientific instruments for Anaerobic Microbiology (1929-2019)
Don Whitley Scientific Limited announced the sad news of the death of its founder and chairman, Don Whitley on February 28, 2019. We mourn the loss of this great scientific entrepreneur who was born in London in June 1929. With his family’s relocation to Leeds in 1940, Don attended Leeds’s prestigious Morley Grammar School where he envisioned a career as a medical doctor. Family’s opposition led him to medical technology, working for a decade at Leeds Maternity Hospital and Killingbeck Hospital before moving to industry
Gas phase hydrogen permeation in alpha titanium and carbon steels
Commercially pure titanium and heats of Armco ingot iron and steels containing from 0.008-1.23 w/oC were annealed or normalized and machined into hollow cylinders. Coefficients of diffusion for alpha-Ti and alpha-Fe were determined by the lag-time technique. Steady state permeation experiments yield first power pressure dependence for alpha-Ti and Sievert's law square root dependence for Armco iron and carbon steels. As in the case of diffusion, permeation data confirm that alpha-titanium is subject to at least partial phase boundary reaction control while the steels are purely diffusion controlled. The permeation rate in steels also decreases as the carbon content increases. As a consequence of Sievert's law, the computed hydrogen solubility decreases as the carbon content increases. This decreases in explained in terms of hydrogen trapping at carbide interfaces. Oxidizing and nitriding the surfaces of alpha-titanium membranes result in a decrease in the permeation rate for such treatment on the gas inlet surfaces but resulted in a slight increase in the rate for such treatment on the gas outlet surfaces. This is explained in terms of a discontinuous TiH2 layer
Phylogenomic and comparative genomic studies robustly demarcate two distinct clades of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains: proposal to transfer the strains from an outlier clade to a novel species Pseudomonas paraeruginosa sp. nov
The strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibit considerable differences in their genotypic and pathogenic properties. To clarify their evolutionary/taxonomic relationships, comprehensive phylogenomic and comparative genomic studies were conducted on the genome sequences of 212 P. aeruginosa strains covering their genetic diversity. In a phylogenomic tree based on 118 conserved proteins, the analysed strains formed two distinct clades. One of these clades, Clade- 1, encompassing >70 % of the strains including the type strain DSM 50071T, represents the species P. aeruginosa sensu stricto. Clade- 2, referred to in earlier work as the outlier group, with NCTC 13628T as its type strain, constitutes a novel species level lineage. The average nucleotide identity, average amino acid identity and digital DNA–DNA hybridization values between the strains from Clade- 1 and Clade- 2 are in the range of 93.4–93.7, 95.1–95.3 and 52–53 %, respectively. The 16S rRNA gene of P. aeruginosa DSM 50071T also shows 98.3 % similarity to that of NCTC13628T. These values are lower than the suggested cut- off values for species distinction, indicating that the Clade- 2 strains (NCTC 13628T) constitute a new species. We also report the identification of 12 conserved signature indels in different proteins and 24 conserved signature proteins that are exclusively found in either Clade- 1 or Clade- 2, providing a reliable means for distinguishing these clades. Additionally, in contrast to swimming motility, twitching motility is only present in Clade- 1 strains. Based on earlier work, the strains from these two clades also differ in their pathogenic mechanisms (presence/absence of Type III secretion system), production of biosurfactants, phenazines and siderophores, and several other genomic characteristics. Based on the evidence from different studies, we propose that the Clade- 2 strains constitute a novel species for which the name Pseudomonas paraeruginosa is proposed. The type strain is NCTC 13628T (=PA7T=ATCC 9027T). The description of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is also emended to include information for different molecular markers specific for this species
Dynamics of a nanowire superlattice in an ac electric field
With a one-band envelope function theory, we investigate the dynamics of a
finite nanowire superlattice driven by an ac electric field by solving
numerically the time-dependent Schroedinger equation. We find that for an ac
electric field resonant with two energy levels located in two different
minibands, the coherent dynamics in nanowire superlattices is much more complex
as compared to the standard two-level description. Depending on the energy
levels involved in the transitions, the coherent oscillations exhibit different
patterns. A signature of barrier-well inversion phenomenon in nanowire
superlattices is also obtained.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
Design of Subsurface Geodrain for Automated Industrial Unit – Case Study
This paper describes the pre-construction modeling for design and post-construction evaluation of subsurface drainage systems for an industrial plant. Rajshree Polyfil Ltd has a polyester filament manufacturing plant spread over 50 hectare area in Bharuch district of Gujarat State, India. The plant is fully automatic and robotics operated. The cable duct for control system was laid below formation level. The seepage water was observed in the cable trench and nearby vicinity. This seriously affects the functioning of computer controlled production system. Preliminary investigation revealed that the ground water level was around 1.0m depth below formation level, which was more than 15m depth during the construction of unit. Detailed subsurface investigations and field permeability tests are carried out. Subsurface drainage system was designed and its performance was estimated prior to construction of drain with the help of computer modeling using software MODFLOW. The model area was divided in three to five layers having different permeability values obtained from field test. After construction of subsurface geodrain, discharge was measured and water level was also measured at few piezometers installed near the drain. It is found that the performance of the drain is well in accordance with the design
Automatic classification of eutrophication of inland lakes from spacecraft data
The author has identified the following significant results. Spacecraft data and computer techniques can be used to rapidly map and store onto digital tapes watershed land use information. Software is now available by which this land use information can be rapidly and economically extracted from the tapes and related to coliform counts and other lake contaminants (e.g. phosphorus). These tools are basic elements for determining those land use factors and sources of nutrients that accelerate eutrophication in lakes and reservoirs
MALDI TOF MS and currently related proteomic technologies in reconciling bacterial systematics
The chapter is on development and application of matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) to identification and and classification of bacteria
Crystalline phases in chiral ferromagnets: Destabilization of helical order
In chiral ferromagnets, weak spin-orbit interactions twist the ferromagnetic
order into spirals, leading to helical order. We investigate an extended
Ginzburg-Landau theory of such systems where the helical order is destabilized
in favor of crystalline phases. These crystalline phases are based on periodic
arrangements of double-twist cylinders and are strongly reminiscent of blue
phases in liquid crystals. We discuss the relevance of such blue phases for the
phase diagram of the chiral ferromagnet MnSi.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures (published version
Scaling and Formulary cross sections for ion-atom impact ionization
The values of ion-atom ionization cross sections are frequently needed for
many applications that utilize the propagation of fast ions through matter.
When experimental data and theoretical calculations are not available,
approximate formulas are frequently used. This paper briefly summarizes the
most important theoretical results and approaches to cross section calculations
in order to place the discussion in historical perspective and offer a concise
introduction to the topic. Based on experimental data and theoretical
predictions, a new fit for ionization cross sections is proposed. The range of
validity and accuracy of several frequently used approximations (classical
trajectory, the Born approximation, and so forth) are discussed using, as
examples, the ionization cross sections of hydrogen and helium atoms by various
fully stripped ions.Comment: 46 pages, 8 figure
- …