Design Of Novel High-Performance Materials For Sliding Applications

Break down of a material due to mechanical usage, otherwise known as wear, is a common issue that affects almost every industry as well as many commonly used goods. Components, such as bearings, can have major damage over time, especially if they are not protected by a lubricant. This thesis investigates the friction and wear behavior of high-performance materials lubricated by fuel-based lubricants. This work is divided into two parts; The first focuses on polymer matrix composites, and the second focuses on advanced ceramics. Polymers are of interest due to the ease of production and the polymer of choice for this study was polyether ether ketone (PEEK) due to its high strength and stability at high temperatures relative to other polymers. MAX and MAB phase powders were used as additives in PEEK matrix composites. The addition of the phases improved the wear performance of PEEK-based composites during dry sliding. Ethanol lubricated composites showed lower wear than dry sliding. Advanced ceramics like SiC and Si3N4 are widely applicable and play a major role in water-based lubricated systems. SiC and Si3N4 showed lower wear rate during ethanol and DI water lubrication due to formation of stable tribofilms which resisted the formation of third bodies

Die Straßen Adolf Hitlers

Der Mythos von den Reichsautobahnen als „Straßen Adolf Hitlers“ wurde vom NS-Regime mit allen verfügbaren Propagandamitteln inszeniert. Tatsächlich war Hitler weder Erfinder noch erster Erbauer der deutschen Autobahnen. Deren Errichtung wurde aber als Prestigeprojekt deutscher Technik ab 1933 massiv forciert. Bis Ende 1941 entstand ein Reichsautobahn-Netz von 3.870 Kilometern. Mangels fortgeschrittener Motorisierung blieb die verkehrspolitische Bedeutung der Reichsautobahn während der NS-Zeit gering. Auch als militärischer Transportweg wurde sie von der Wehrmacht nie akzeptiert. Umso größer war der Ewigkeitsanspruch, den Hitler mit der Errichtung der Reichsautobahnen erhob. Speziell Autobahnbrücken sollten die scheinbare Größe des Nationalsozialismus symbolisieren. Der Linienverlauf der Fahrbahnen musste hohe landschaftsästhetische Kriterien erfüllen. Kunst und Medien wurden gezielt eingesetzt, um den Mythos von den Reichsautobahnen zu festigen

Whole mitochondrial genome sequencing of domestic horses reveals incorporation of extensive wild horse diversity during domestication

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>DNA target enrichment by micro-array capture combined with high throughput sequencing technologies provides the possibility to obtain large amounts of sequence data (e.g. whole mitochondrial DNA genomes) from multiple individuals at relatively low costs. Previously, whole mitochondrial genome data for domestic horses (<it>Equus caballus</it>) were limited to only a few specimens and only short parts of the mtDNA genome (especially the hypervariable region) were investigated for larger sample sets.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we investigated whole mitochondrial genomes of 59 domestic horses from 44 breeds and a single Przewalski horse (<it>Equus przewalski</it>) using a recently described multiplex micro-array capture approach. We found 473 variable positions within the domestic horses, 292 of which are parsimony-informative, providing a well resolved phylogenetic tree. Our divergence time estimate suggests that the mitochondrial genomes of modern horse breeds shared a common ancestor around 93,000 years ago and no later than 38,000 years ago. A Bayesian skyline plot (BSP) reveals a significant population expansion beginning 6,000-8,000 years ago with an ongoing exponential growth until the present, similar to other domestic animal species. Our data further suggest that a large sample of wild horse diversity was incorporated into the domestic population; specifically, at least 46 of the mtDNA lineages observed in domestic horses (73%) already existed before the beginning of domestication about 5,000 years ago.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study provides a window into the maternal origins of extant domestic horses and confirms that modern domestic breeds present a wide sample of the mtDNA diversity found in ancestral, now extinct, wild horse populations. The data obtained allow us to detect a population expansion event coinciding with the beginning of domestication and to estimate both the minimum number of female horses incorporated into the domestic gene pool and the time depth of the domestic horse mtDNA gene pool.</p

Schriftenschau

In der Schriftenschau zum Kochia-Band 1 werden 14 für die Flora von Deutschland relevante Neuerscheinungen aus den Jahren 2005 bis 2006 besprochen

ENMTools 1.0: an R package for comparative ecological biogeography

The ENMTools software package was introduced in 2008 as a platform for making measurements on environmental niche models (ENMs, frequently referred to as species distribution models or SDMs), and for using those measurements in the context of newly developed Monte Carlo tests to evaluate hypotheses regarding niche evolution. Additional functionality was later added for model selection and simulation from ENMs, and the software package has been quite widely used. ENMTools was initially implemented as a Perl script, which was also compiled into an executable file for various platforms. However, the package had a number of significant limitations; it was only designed to fit models using Maxent, it relied on a specific Perl distribution to function, and its internal structure made it difficult to maintain and expand. Subsequently, the R programming language became the platform of choice for most ENM studies, making ENMTools less usable for many practitioners. Here we introduce a new R version of ENMTools that implements much of the functionality of its predecessor as well as numerous additions that simplify the construction, comparison and evaluation of niche models. These additions include new metrics for model fit, methods of measuring ENM overlap, and methods for testing evolutionary hypotheses. The new version of ENMTools is also designed to work within the expanding universe of R tools for ecological biogeography, and as such includes greatly simplified interfaces for analyses from several other R packages

Evaluating environmental risk assessment models for nanomaterials according to requirements along the product innovation Stage-Gate process

Nanomaterial risk governance requires models to estimate the material flow, fate and transport as well as uptake/bioavailability, hazard and risk in the environment. This study assesses the fit of such available models to different stages during the innovation of nano-enabled products. Through stakeholder consultations, criteria were identified for each innovation stage from idea conception to market launch and monitoring. In total, 38 models were scored against 41 criteria concerning model features, applicability, resource demands and outcome parameters. A scoring scheme was developed to determine how the models fit the criteria of each innovation stage. For each model, the individual criteria scores were added, yielding an overall fit score to each innovation stage. Three criteria were critical to stakeholders and incorporated as multipliers in the scoring scheme; the required time/costs and level of expertise needed to use the model, and for risk assessment models only, the option to compare PEC and PNEC. Regulatory compliance was also identified as critical, but could not be incorporated, as a nanomaterial risk assessment framework has yet to be developed and adopted by legislators. In conclusion, the scoring approach underlined similar scoring profiles across stages within model categories. As most models are research tools designed for use by experts, their score generally increased for later stages where most resources and expertise are committed. In contrast, stakeholders need relatively simple models to identify potential hazards and risk management measures at early product development stages to ensure safe use of nanomaterials without costs and resource needs hindering innovation

AGO6 Functions in RNA-Mediated Transcriptional Gene Silencing in Shoot and Root Meristems in Arabidopsis thaliana

RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) is a small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated epigenetic modification that contributes to transposon silencing in plants. RdDM requires a complex transcriptional machinery that includes specialized RNA polymerases, named Pol IV and Pol V, as well as chromatin remodelling proteins, transcription factors, RNA binding proteins, and other plant-specific proteins whose functions are not yet clarified. In Arabidopsis thaliana, DICER-LIKE3 and members of the ARGONAUTE4 group of ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins are involved, respectively, in generating and using 24-nt siRNAs that trigger methylation and transcriptional gene silencing of homologous promoter sequences. AGO4 is the main AGO protein implicated in the RdDM pathway. Here we report the identification of the related AGO6 in a forward genetic screen for mutants defective in RdDM and transcriptional gene silencing in shoot and root apical meristems in Arabidopsis thaliana. The identification of AGO6, and not AGO4, in our screen is consistent with the primary expression of AGO6 in shoot and root growing points

Mechanisms of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-Induced Acute Lung Injury

ABSTRACT Systems biology offers considerable promise in uncovering novel pathways by which viruses and other microbial pathogens interact with host signaling and expression networks to mediate disease severity. In this study, we have developed an unbiased modeling approach to identify new pathways and network connections mediating acute lung injury, using severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) as a model pathogen. We utilized a time course of matched virologic, pathological, and transcriptomic data within a novel methodological framework that can detect pathway enrichment among key highly connected network genes. This unbiased approach produced a high-priority list of 4 genes in one pathway out of over 3,500 genes that were differentially expressed following SARS-CoV infection. With these data, we predicted that the urokinase and other wound repair pathways would regulate lethal versus sublethal disease following SARS-CoV infection in mice. We validated the importance of the urokinase pathway for SARS-CoV disease severity using genetically defined knockout mice, proteomic correlates of pathway activation, and pathological disease severity. The results of these studies demonstrate that a fine balance exists between host coagulation and fibrinolysin pathways regulating pathological disease outcomes, including diffuse alveolar damage and acute lung injury, following infection with highly pathogenic respiratory viruses, such as SARS-CoV.IMPORTANCESevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) emerged in 2002 and 2003, and infected patients developed an atypical pneumonia, acute lung injury (ALI), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) leading to pulmonary fibrosis and death. We identified sets of differentially expressed genes that contribute to ALI and ARDS using lethal and sublethal SARS-CoV infection models. Mathematical prioritization of our gene sets identified the urokinase and extracellular matrix remodeling pathways as the most enriched pathways. By infecting Serpine1-knockout mice, we showed that the urokinase pathway had a significant effect on both lung pathology and overall SARS-CoV pathogenesis. These results demonstrate the effective use of unbiased modeling techniques for identification of high-priority host targets that regulate disease outcomes. Similar transcriptional signatures were noted in 1918 and 2009 H1N1 influenza virus-infected mice, suggesting a common, potentially treatable mechanism in development of virus-induced ALI