762 research outputs found
Three-dimensional in situ observations of compressive damage mechanisms in syntactic foam using X-ray microcomputed tomography
Royal Society Grant number RG140680 Lloyd's Register Foundation (GB) Oil and Gas Academy of Scotland Open access via Springer Compact AgreementPeer reviewedPublisher PD
Synthesis of empty bacterial microcompartments, directed organelle protein incorporation, and evidence of filament-associated organelle movement
Compartmentalization is an important process, since it allows the segregation of metabolic activities and, in the era of synthetic biology, represents an important tool by which defined microenvironments can be created for specific metabolic functions. Indeed, some bacteria make specialized proteinaceous metabolic compartments called bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) or metabolosomes. Here we demonstrate that the shell of the metabolosome (representing an empty BMC) can be produced within E. coil cells by the coordinated expression of genes encoding structural proteins. A plethora of diverse structures can be generated by changing the expression profile of these genes, including the formation of large axial filaments that interfere with septation. Fusing GFP to PduC, PduD, or PduV, none of which are shell proteins, allows regiospecific targeting of the reporter group to the empty BMC. Live cell imaging provides unexpected evidence of filament-associated BMC movement within the cell in the presence of Pdu
Symmetry of high-piezoelectric Pb-based complex perovskites at the morphotropic phase boundary I. Neutron diffraction study on Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 -9%PbTiO3
The symmetry was examined using neutron diffraction method on
Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 -9%PbTiO3 (PZN/9PT) which has a composition at the
morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) between Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 and PbTiO3. The
results were compared with those of other specimens with same composition but
with different prehistory. The equilibrium state of all examined specimens is
not the mixture of rhombohedral and tetragonal phases of the end members but
exists in a new polarization rotation line Mc# (orthorhombic-monoclinic line).
Among examined specimens, one exhibited tetragonal symmetry at room temperature
but recovered monoclinic phase after a cooling and heating cycle
Exact solution of a linear molecular motor model driven by two-step fluctuations and subject to protein friction
We investigate by analytical means the stochastic equations of motion of a
linear molecular motor model based on the concept of protein friction. Solving
the coupled Langevin equations originally proposed by Mogilner et al. (A.
Mogilner et al., Phys. Lett. {\bf 237}, 297 (1998)), and averaging over both
the two-step internal conformational fluctuations and the thermal noise, we
present explicit, analytical expressions for the average motion and the
velocity-force relationship. Our results allow for a direct interpretation of
details of this motor model which are not readily accessible from numerical
solutions. In particular, we find that the model is able to predict
physiologically reasonable values for the load-free motor velocity and the
motor mobility.Comment: 12 pages revtex, 6 eps-figure
Neutron Diffraction Study of Field Cooling Effects on Relaxor Ferroelectrics Pb[(Zn_{1/3} Nb_{2/3})_{0.92} Ti_{0.08}] O_{3}
High-temperature (T) and high-electric-field (E) effects on Pb[(Zn_{1/3}
Nb_{2/3})_{0.92} Ti_{0.08}]O_3 (PZN-8%PT) were studied comprehensively by
neutron diffraction in the ranges 300 <= T <= 550 K and 0 <= E <= 15 kV/cm. We
have focused on how phase transitions depend on preceding thermal and
electrical sequences. In the field cooling process (FC, E parallel [001] >= 0.5
kV/cm), a successive cubic (C) --> tetragonal (T) --> monoclinic (M_C)
transition was observed. In the zero field cooling process (ZFC), however, we
have found that the system does not transform to the rhombohedral (R) phase as
widely believed, but to a new, unidentified phase, which we call X. X gives a
Bragg peak profile similar to that expected for R, but the c-axis is always
slightly shorter than the a-axis. As for field effects on the X phase, we found
an irreversible X --> M_C transition via another monoclinic phase (M_A) as
expected from a previous report [Noheda et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3891
(2001)]. At a higher electric field, we confirmed a c-axis jump associated with
the field-induced M_C --> T transition, which was observed by strain and x-ray
diffraction measurements.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, revise
Diffuse Neutron Scattering Study of a Disordered Complex Perovskite Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 Crystal
Diffuse scattering around the (110) reciprocal lattice point has been
investigated by elastic neutron scattering in the paraelectric and the relaxor
phases of the disordered complex perovskite crystal-Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3(PZN). The
appearance of a diffuse intensity peak indicates the formation of polar
nanoregions at temperature T*, approximately 40K above Tc=413K. The analysis of
this diffuse scattering indicates that these regions are in the shape of
ellipsoids, more extended in the direction than in the direction.
The quantitative analysis provides an estimate of the correlation length, \xi,
or size of the regions and shows that \xi ~1.2\xi , consistent with
the primary or dominant displacement of Pb leading to the low temperature
rhombohedral phase. Both the appearance of the polar regions at T*and the
structural transition at Tc are marked by kinks in the \xi curve but not
in the \xi one, also indicating that the primary changes take place in a
direction at both temperatures.Comment: REVTeX file. 4 pages, 3 figures embedded, New version after referee
cond-mat/010605
Detection and characterisation of visual field defects using Saccadic Vector Optokinetic Perimetry in children with brain tumours
Regional mechanical and biochemical properties of the porcine cortical meninges
peer-reviewedThe meninges are pivotal in protecting the brain against traumatic brain injury (TBI), an ongoing issue in most mainstream sports. Improved understanding of TBI biomechanics and pathophysiology is desirable to improve preventative measures, such as protective helmets, and advance our TBI diagnostic/prognostic capabilities. This study mechanically characterised the porcine meninges by performing uniaxial tensile testing on the dura mater (DM) tissue adjacent to the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes of the cerebellum and superior sagittal sinus region of the DM. Mechanical characterisation revealed a significantly higher elastic modulus for the superior sagittal sinus region when compared to other regions in the DM. The superior sagittal sinus and parietal regions of the DM also displayed local mechanical anisotropy. Further, fatigue was noted in the DM following ten preconditioning cycles, which could have important implications in the context of repetitive TBI. To further understand differences in regional mechanical properties, regional variations in protein content (collagen I, collagen III, fibronectin and elastin) were examined by immunoblot analysis. The superior sagittal sinus was found to have significantly higher collagen I, elastin, and fibronectin content. The frontal region was also identified to have significantly higher collagen I and fibronectin content while the temporal region had increased elastin and fibronectin content. Regional differences in the mechanical and biochemical properties along with regional tissue thickness differences within the DM reveal that the tissue is a non-homogeneous structure. In particular, the potentially influential role of the superior sagittal sinus in TBI biomechanics warrants further investigation
A Comparison of Contact Stiffness Measurements Obtained by the Digital Image Correlation and Ultrasound Techniques
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