Temperature Profiles of Railroad Tapered Roller Bearings With Defective Inner and Outer Rings

In the railroad industry, monitoring the condition of key components such as bearings and wheels is vital to ensure the safe transport of goods and commodities. Bearing seizures are amongst the most dangerous types of failures experienced by trains because they occur unexpectedly and may lead to costly derailments. Current bearing health monitoring techniques include tracking the temperature and acoustic emissions given by the bearings. Although temperature histories of railroad tapered roller bearings are readily available, the literature does not provide information relating the temperature profiles to the severity of the bearing defect. The study presented here investigates the correlation between temperature profiles and bearing defect severity measured by the size of spalls present on bearing outer (cup) and inner (cone) rings. The temperature data used for this study was acquired from defective and healthy bearings that were run at various operating load and speed conditions. The data presented here provides the railroad industry with a greater understanding of the thermal behavior of defective bearings, which can be used to assess the future needs of bearing condition monitoring systems

Enabling technologies for manipulating multiple genes on complex pathways

Many complex biochemical pathways in plants have now been manipulated genetically, usually by suppression or over-expression of single genes. Further exploitation of the potential for plant genetic manipulation, both as a research tool and as a vehicle for plant biotechnology, will require the co-ordinate manipulation of multiple genes on a pathway. This goal is currently very difficult to achieve. A number of approaches have been taken to combine or 'pyramid' transgenes in one plant and have met with varying degrees of success. These approaches include sexual crossing, re-transformation, co-transformation and the use of linked transgenes. Novel, alternative 'enabling' technologies are also being developed that aim to use single transgenes to manipulate the expression of multiple genes. A chimeric transgene with linked partial gene sequences placed under the control of a single promoter can be used to co-ordinately suppress numerous plant endogenous genes. Constructs modelled on viral polyproteins can be used to simultaneously introduce multiple protein-coding genes into plant cells. In the course of our work on the lignin biosynthetic pathway, we have tested both conventional and novel methods for achieving co-ordinate suppression or over-expression of up to three plant lignin genes. In this article we review the literature concerning the manipulation of multiple genes in plants. We also report on our own experiences and results using different methods to perform directed manipulation of lignin biosynthesis in tobacco.</p

CD98hc is a target for brain delivery of biotherapeutics

Abstract Brain exposure of systemically administered biotherapeutics is highly restricted by the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Here, we report the engineering and characterization of a BBB transport vehicle targeting the CD98 heavy chain (CD98hc or SLC3A2) of heterodimeric amino acid transporters (TVCD98hc). The pharmacokinetic and biodistribution properties of a CD98hc antibody transport vehicle (ATVCD98hc) are assessed in humanized CD98hc knock-in mice and cynomolgus monkeys. Compared to most existing BBB platforms targeting the transferrin receptor, peripherally administered ATVCD98hc demonstrates differentiated brain delivery with markedly slower and more prolonged kinetic properties. Specific biodistribution profiles within the brain parenchyma can be modulated by introducing Fc mutations on ATVCD98hc that impact FcγR engagement, changing the valency of CD98hc binding, and by altering the extent of target engagement with Fabs. Our study establishes TVCD98hc as a modular brain delivery platform with favorable kinetic, biodistribution, and safety properties distinct from previously reported BBB platforms