Buckling Analysis of Non-orthotropic Laminates by Means of B-Spline Functions

Whereas the buckling of rectangular laminate plates with symmetrical layup and an effectively orthotropic behaviour is well understood, the situation gets more complicated when an arbitrary symmetrical layup is admitted. Then twist coupling has to be taken into account. This can be accomplished in a consistent way by an energetic variational approach. In doing so, the use of B-spline functions turns out to be very appropriate for the deflection representation in connection with various kinds of boundary conditions. Validating finite element analyses show the good efiiciency of B-spline functions for the buckling analysis. The eflect of twist coupling on the resultant buckling loads turns out to be considerable. It can be both conservative and non-conservative and should always be taken into account carefully

Model Calculations for the Two-Fragment Electro-Disintegration of 4^4He

Differential cross sections for the electro-disintegration process $e + {^4He} \longrightarrow {^3H}+ p + e'$ are calculated, using a model in which the final state interaction is included by means of a nucleon-nucleus (3+1) potential constructed via Marchenko inversion. The required bound-state wave functions are calculated within the integrodifferential equation approach (IDEA). In our model the important condition that the initial bound state and the final scattering state are orthogonal is fulfilled. The sensitivity of the cross section to the input $p{^3H}$ interaction in certain kinematical regions is investigated. The approach adopted could be useful in reactions involving few cluster systems where effective interactions are not well known and exact methods are presently unavailable. Although, our Plane-Wave Impulse Approximation results exhibit, similarly to other calculations, a dip in the five-fold differential cross-section around a missing momentum of $\sim 450 MeV/c$, it is argued that this is an artifact of the omission of re-scattering four-nucleon processes.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication by Phys.Rev.

BRIGEP—the BRIDGE-based genome–transcriptome–proteome browser

The growing amount of information resulting from the increasing number of publicly available genomes and experimental results thereof necessitates the development of comprehensive systems for data processing and analysis. In this paper, we describe the current state and latest developments of our BRIGEP bioinformatics software system consisting of three web-based applications: GenDB, EMMA and ProDB. These applications facilitate the processing and analysis of bacterial genome, transcriptome and proteome data and are actively used by numerous international groups. We are currently in the process of extensively interconnecting these applications. BRIGEP was developed in the Bioinformatics Resource Facility of the Center for Biotechnology at Bielefeld University and is freely available. A demo project with sample data and access to all three tools is available at . Code bundles for these and other tools developed in our group are accessible on our FTP server at

Complete results for five years of GNO solar neutrino observations

We report the complete GNO solar neutrino results for the measuring periods GNO III, GNO II, and GNO I. The result for GNO III (last 15 solar runs) is [54.3 + 9.9 - 9.3 (stat.)+- 2.3 (syst.)] SNU (1 sigma) or [54.3 + 10.2 - 9.6 (incl. syst.)] SNU (1 sigma) with errors combined. The GNO experiment is now terminated after altogether 58 solar exposure runs that were performed between May 20, 1998 and April 9, 2003. The combined result for GNO (I+II+III) is [62.9 + 5.5 - 5.3 (stat.) +- 2.5 (syst.)] SNU (1 sigma) or [62.9 + 6.0 - 5.9] SNU (1 sigma) with errors combined in quadrature. Overall, gallium based solar observations at LNGS (first in GALLEX, later in GNO) lasted from May 14, 1991 through April 9, 2003. The joint result from 123 runs in GNO and GALLEX is [69.3 +- 5.5 (incl. syst.)] SNU (1 sigma). The distribution of the individual run results is consistent with the hypothesis of a neutrino flux that is constant in time. Implications from the data in particle- and astrophysics are reiterated.Comment: 22 pages incl. 9 Figures and 8 Tables. to appear in: Physics Letters B (accepted April 13, 2005) PACS: 26.65.+t ; 14.60.P

Four-Body Bound State Calculations in Three-Dimensional Approach

The four-body bound state with two-body interactions is formulated in Three-Dimensional approach, a recently developed momentum space representation which greatly simplifies the numerical calculations of few-body systems without performing the partial wave decomposition. The obtained three-dimensional Faddeev-Yakubovsky integral equations are solved with two-body potentials. Results for four-body binding energies are in good agreement with achievements of the other methods.Comment: 29 pages, 2 eps figures, 8 tables, REVTeX

Environmental factors modulating the stability and enzymatic activity of the Petrotoga mobilis Esterase (PmEst)

Enzymes isolated from thermophilic organisms found in oil reservoirs can find applications in many fields, including the oleochemical, pharmaceutical, bioenergy, and food/dairy industries. In this study, in silico identification and recombinant production of an esterase from the extremophile bacteria Petrotoga mobilis (designated PmEst) were performed. Then biochemical, bioinformatics and structural characterizations were undertaken using a combination of synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) and fluorescence spectroscopies to correlate PmEst stability and hydrolytic activity on different substrates. The enzyme presented a high Michaelis-Menten constant (KM 0.16 mM) and optimum activity at ~55°C for p-nitrophenyl butyrate. The secondary structure of PmEst was preserved at acid pH, but not under alkaline conditions. PmEst was unfolded at high concentrations of urea or guanidine through apparently different mechanisms. The esterase activity of PmEst was preserved in the presence of ethanol or propanol and its melting temperature increased ~8°C in the presence of these organic solvents. PmEst is a mesophilic esterase with substrate preference towards short-to medium-length acyl chains. The SRCD data of PmEst is in agreement with the prediction of an α/β protein, which leads us to assume that it displays a typical fold of esterases from this family. The increased enzyme stability in organic solvents may enable novel applications for its use in synthetic biology. Taken together, our results demonstrate features of the PmEst enzyme that indicate it may be suitable for applications in industrial processes, particularly, when the use of polar organic solvents is required

Does fixed-angle plate osteosynthesis solve the problems of a fractured proximal humerus?: A prospective series of 87 patients

Background and purpose There is considerable controversy about the treatment of complex, displaced proximal humeral fractures. Various types of head-preserving osteosynthesis have been suggested. This prospective case series was designed to evaluate the perioperative and early postoperative complications associated with fixed-angle implants and to record outcome after bone healing

Apoptosis induction in Jurkat cells and sCD95 levels in women's sera are related with the risk of developing cervical cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Currently, there is clear evidence that apoptosis plays an important role in the development and progression of tumors. One of the best characterized apoptosis triggering systems is the CD95/Fas/APO-1 pathway; previous reports have demonstrated high levels of soluble CD95 (sCD95) in serum of patients with some types of cancer. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women worldwide. As a first step in an attempt to design a minimally invasive test to predict the risk of developing cervical cancer in patients with precancerous lesions, we used a simple assay based on the capacity of human serum to induce apoptosis in Jurkat cells. We evaluated the relationship between sCD95 levels and the ability to induce apoptosis in Jurkat cells in cervical cancer patients and controls.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Jurkat cells were exposed to serum from 63 women (20 healthy volunteers, 21 with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade I [CIN 1] and 22 with cervical-uterine carcinoma). The apoptotic rate was measured by flow cytometry using Annexin-V-Fluos and Propidium Iodide as markers. Serum levels of sCD95 and soluble CD95 ligand (sCD95L) were measured by ELISA kits.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that serum from almost all healthy women induced apoptosis in Jurkat cells, while only fifty percent of the sera from women with CIN 1 induced cell death in Jurkat cells. Interestingly, only one serum sample from a patient with cervical-uterine cancer was able to induce apoptosis, the rest of the sera protected Jurkat cells from this killing. We were able to demonstrate that elimination of Jurkat cells was mediated by the CD95/Fas/Apo-1 apoptotic pathway. Furthermore, the serum levels of sCD95 measured by ELISA were significantly higher in women with cervical cancer.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results demonstrate that there is a strong correlation between low levels of sCD95 in serum of normal women and higher apoptosis induction in Jurkat cells. We suggest that an analysis of the apoptotic rate induced by serum in Jurkat cells and the levels of sCD95 in serum could be helpful during the prognosis and treatment of women detected with precancerous lesions or cervical cancer.</p

Modulation of the CD95-Induced Apoptosis: The Role of CD95 N-Glycosylation

Protein modifications of death receptor pathways play a central role in the regulation of apoptosis. It has been demonstrated that O-glycosylation of TRAIL-receptor (R) is essential for sensitivity and resistance towards TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. In this study we ask whether and how glycosylation of CD95 (Fas/APO-1), another death receptor, influences DISC formation and procaspase-8 activation at the CD95 DISC and thereby the onset of apoptosis. We concentrated on N-glycostructure since O-glycosylation of CD95 was not found. We applied different approaches to analyze the role of CD95 N-glycosylation on the signal transduction: in silico modeling of CD95 DISC, generation of CD95 glycosylation mutants (at N136 and N118), modulation of N-glycosylation by deoxymannojirimycin (DMM) and sialidase from Vibrio cholerae (VCN). We demonstrate that N-deglycosylation of CD95 does not block DISC formation and results only in the reduction of the procaspase-8 activation at the DISC. These findings are important for the better understanding of CD95 apoptosis regulation and reveal differences between apoptotic signaling pathways of the TRAIL and CD95 systems