Structures of type IV pilins from Thermus thermophilus demonstrate similarities with type II secretion system pseudopilins

AbstractType IV pilins are proteins which form polymers that extend from the surface of the bacterial cell; they are involved in mediating a wide variety of functions, including adhesion, motility and natural competence. Here we describe the determination of the crystal structures of three type IVa pilins proteins from the thermophile Thermus thermophilus. They form part of a cluster of pilus-like proteins within the genome; our results show that one, Tt1222, is very closely related to the main structural type IV pilin, PilA4. The other two, Tt1218 and Tt1219, also adopt canonical pilin-like folds but, interestingly, are most closely related to the structures of the type II secretion system pseudopilins, EpsI/GspI and XcpW/GspJ. GspI and GspJ have been shown to form a complex with another pseudopilin, GspK, and this heterotrimeric complex is known to play a key role in initiating assembly of a pseudopilus which is thought to drive the secretion process. The structural similarity of Tt1218 and Tt1219 to GspI and GspJ suggests that they might work in a similar way, to deliver functions associated with type IV pili in T. thermophilus, such as natural competence

Desuperheater Temperature Control System Using Distributed Control System (DCS)

The Control System for Desuperheater Temperature of Boiled water is a critical task in industry. In this Paper reviews the study and collection of measurement datas from in TNPL ( Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited) Power Plant , there are three sections namely Deaerator tank, Boiler and Turbine. I have done this work in the turbine section. The steam f rom the Boiler is at very High Temperature. The temperature of this high temperature steam is lowered by spraying the oxygen dissolved water using Desuperheater. The spraying water is controlled by Distributed Control System ( DCS ). The Input to the turbine is at High Temperature and High Pressure steam. The output of the turbine is mentioned in Mega Watts. When the superheated steam is given to the turbine then the Temperature and Pressure output steam condition is Low. The Low level steam is fed to the Desuperheater depends upon requirements in the various units. It is supplied to each section in TNPL

Isolation, Extraction, and Characterization of Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Diarrheal Stool Samples

Background: Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection causes hemorrhagic colitis and is diagnosed based on symptoms such as cramps, stomach pain, and watery diarrhea. Shiga-like toxins (Verotoxin) produced by Escherichia coli O157:H7 damages endothelial cells of both kidney and brain, causing renal dysfunction and neurological problems. Methods: The present study focuses on identifying the prevalence of Verotoxin- producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 among diarrheal inpatients at Erode Government Hospital, India, and its antibiogram. Further, the Verotoxins were characterized by using SDS-PAGE analysis. A total of 123 diarrheal stool samples were collected, and 37 of them (30.08% of the total samples) were found to have the presence of E. coli. The organisms were identified based on their colony morphology on various media, cell morphology, and biochemical tests. The Shiga-like toxin production was identified by non-fermentation of sorbitol on SMAC agar plates. Confirmation of Shiga-like toxin was performed using agglutination assay.Results: In total, 12 isolates showed agglutination and these isolates were confirmed to be E. coli O157:H7. The molecular weight of the Verotoxin was found to be between 20 and 29 kD. The antibiogram profile of the four isolated strains against 10 standard antibiotics was determined.Conclusion: The results of this study show the occurrence of drug resistance on hemorrhagic colitis causing E. coli O157:H7. Keywords: E. coli, Verotoxin, diarrhea, hemorrhagic coliti

Catalytic non-thermal plasma reactor for decomposition of dilute chlorobenzene

Oxidative decomposition of low concentrations of chlorobenzene (CB) in air was carried out in a NTP reactor. Typical results indicated the better performance on addition of metal oxide catalysts in plasma zone. It may be concluded that catalytic plasma approach has promise, especially for the removal of low concentraions of CB, where conventional techniques are not energetically feasible. Among the metal oxides studied, AgOx/MnOx showed the better performance than MnOx and CoOx. During the removal of 50 ppm of CB, AgOx/MnOx under humid conditions showed 100% selectivity to total oxidadtion at 260 J L-1, which may be assigned due to the formation of hydroxyl radical and/or due to in situ ozone decomposition on the catalyst surface that may lead to the formation of a powerful oxidant atomic oxygen. Oxidative decomposition of low concentrations of chlorobenzene in air was carried out in a NTP reactor. Results indicated the improved performance on addition of catalysts in plasma zone. It has been observed that the integration of metal oxides, promoted the total oxidation, whose activity was further enhanced on addition of water vapor. During the abatement of 50 ppm of CB, selectivity to CO2 was 100% at 260 J L-1 with AgOx/MnOx/SMF catalytic electrode

Isolation, Extraction, and Characterization of Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Diarrheal Stool Samples

Background: Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection causes hemorrhagic colitis and is diagnosed based on symptoms such as cramps, stomach pain, and watery diarrhea. Shiga-like toxins (Verotoxin) produced by Escherichia coli O157:H7 damages endothelial cells of both kidney and brain, causing renal dysfunction and neurological problems. Methods: The present study focuses on identifying the prevalence of Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 among diarrheal inpatients at Erode Government Hospital, India, and its antibiogram. Further, the Verotoxins were characterized by using SDS-PAGE analysis. A total of 123 samples were collected both from diarrheal stools, and strains from 37 samples (43.02 %) were found to have the presence of E. coli.  The organisms were identified based on their colony morphology on various media, cell morphology, and biochemical tests. The Shiga-like toxin production was identified by non-fermentation of sorbitol on SMAC agar plates. Confirmation of Shiga-like toxin was performed using agglutination assay.  Results: In total, 12 isolates showed agglutination and these isolates were confirmed to be E. coli O157:H7. The molecular weight of the Verotoxin was found to be between 20 and 29 kD. The antibiogram profile of the four isolated strains against 10 standard antibiotics was determined. Conclusion: The results of this study show the occurrence of drug resistance on hemorrhagic colitis causing E. coli O157:H7

人の集団に関する新たな評価方法の考察

九州大学応用力学研究所研究集会報告 No.20ME-S7 「非線形波動の数理と物理」RIAM Symposium No.20ME-S7 Mathematics and Physics in Nonlinear waves本研究では、金融工学の手法を用いて人の混雑を評価する理論の構築を試みた。我々は、人の混雑を表すダイナミクスは確率項を含むLogistic 方程式に従うと仮定し、この動きを正味現在価値やリアルオプション法によって評価した。また、金融工学では、割引率を用いることによってタイミングによる価値の違いが表現されるが今回のモデルでは、割引率を人の効用を割り引くために導入し、実データに基づく推定・考察もあわせて行った

Treatment of wastewater from synthetic textile industry by electrocoagulation and electrooxidation

Treatment of wastewater from a textile industry that produces synthetic polyester cloths was studied employing electrochemical techniques. The sample was initially subjected to electrocoagulation to remove suspended solids. Mild steel and aluminum electrodes were tried as anodes; and aluminum was found to be effective for the removal of suspended solids. Using aluminum as anode, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration of the effluent which was initially at the level of 1316 mg L−1 could be reduced to 429 mg L−1 by electrocoagulation. After electrocoagulation, the effluent was further subjected to electrooxidation using graphite and RuO2/IrO2/TaO2 coated titanium as anodes. During the electrooxidation tests, both COD and chloride ion were simultaneously estimated; and the effect of Cl− ion is discussed. The measurements have revealed the depletion of Cl− ion concentration implying the generation of free chlorine during electrooxidation. The depletion of Cl− ion concentration and the COD removal were observed to be comparatively high in the presence of graphite electrode. The effects of electrode materials and current density on COD removal are discussed. The instantaneous current efficiency (ICE), mass transfer coefficient and energy consumption were estimated

Grey Relational Analysis and Anova to Determine the Optimum Process Parameters for Friction Stir Welding of Ti and Mg Alloys

The welding of Magnesium and Titanium and its alloys has continuously depicted a good challenge for designers and technologists. Ti and Mg alloys, particularly heat-treatable alloys, are difficult to join by fusion fastening techniques. The welding of dissimilar alloy such as Ti (Grade 2) and Mg (AZ91D) Alloy is an important problem during Friction Stir Welding (FSW). In this paper, the influence of Rotation speed (Rpm), Travel Speed (mm/min), Bottom Diameter Tool Pins (mm) and Tool Profiles of Ti and Mg alloy during FSW was investigated by Grey Relational Analysis and Anova was used to work out the foremost important Travel speed and feed rate affecting the Response. The primary and cooperation impact of the information factors on the normal reactions are examined. The expected values and measured values are genuinely close

Catalytic non-thermal plasma reactor for the decomposition of a mixture of volatile organic compounds

The decomposition of mixture of selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been studied in a catalytic non-thermal plasma dielectric barrier discharge reactor. The VOCs mixture consisting n-hexane, cyclo-hexane and p-xylene was chosen for the present study. The decomposition characteristics of mixture of VOCs by the DBD reactor with inner electrode modified with metal oxides of Mn and Co was studied. The results indicated that the order of the removal efficiency of VOCs followed as p-xylene > cyclo-hexane > n-hexane. Among the catalytic study, MnOx/SMF (manganese oxide on sintered metal fibres electrode) shows better performance, probably due to the formation of active oxygen species by in situ decomposition of ozone on the catalyst surface. Water vapour further enhanced the performance due to the in situ formation of OH radicals. [Figure not available: see fulltext.