Hybrid glass fibre reinforced composites with micro and poly-diallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDA) functionalized nano silica inclusions

This work investigates the effect of using functionalised poly-diallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDA) silica micro and nanoparticles on the apparent density, tensile and flexural strength and modulus of hybrid glass fibre reinforced composites. The work is carried out using a Design of Experiment (DoE) approach on a population of 60 composite specimens produced according the size of the nanoparticles and their weight fraction. A 2% of weight fraction of functionalised silica nanoparticles is shown to reduce the flexural strength and density of the composites, but to maximise significantly both the tensile, flexural modulus and tensile strength of the hybrid glass fibre materials.</p

Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny

Comparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution. Despite remarkable similarities among these Drosophila species, we identified many putatively non-neutral changes in protein-coding genes, non-coding RNA genes, and cis-regulatory regions. These may prove to underlie differences in the ecology and behaviour of these diverse species