Reconstruction subgrid models for nonpremixed combustion

Large-eddy simulation of combustion problems involves highly nonlinear terms that, when filtered, result in a contribution from subgrid fluctuations of scalars, Z, to the dynamics of the filtered value. This subgrid contribution requires modeling. Reconstruction models try to recover as much information as possible from the resolved field Z, based on a deconvolution procedure to obtain an intermediate field ZM. The approximate reconstruction using moments (ARM) method combines approximate reconstruction, a purely mathematical procedure, with additional physics-based information required to match specific scalar moments, in the simplest case, the Reynolds-averaged value of the subgrid variance. Here, results from the analysis of the ARM model in the case of a spatially evolving turbulent plane jet are presented. A priori and a posteriori evaluations using data from direct numerical simulation are carried out. The nonlinearities considered are representative of reacting flows: power functions, the dependence of the density on the mixture fraction (relevant for conserved scalar approaches) and the Arrhenius nonlinearity (very localized in Z space). Comparisons are made against the more popular beta probability density function (PDF) approach in the a priori analysis, trying to define ranges of validity for each approach. The results show that the ARM model is able to capture the subgrid part of the variance accurately over a wide range of filter sizes and performs well for the different nonlinearities, giving uniformly better predictions than the beta PDF for the polynomial case. In the case of the density and Arrhenius nonlinearities, the relative performance of the ARM and traditional PDF approaches depends on the size of the subgrid variance with respect to a characteristic scale of each function. Furthermore, the sources of error associated with the ARM method are considered and analytical bounds on that error are obtained

Influence of a Streptomyces lividans SecG functional analogue on protein secretion

The membrane protein complex translocase mediates the translocation of bacterial proteins. In this complex, the SecY, SecE, and SecG proteins constitute an integral membrane domain. Sequence comparison revealed a potential secGlike gene in the gram-positive soil bacterium Streptomyces lividans. Chromosomal deletion of this gene resulted in a sporulation defect and an overall deficiency in secretion. The SecG-depleted strain was able to overproduce and secrete α-amylase, but the appearance of the oversynthesized protein outside the cell was delayed compared to the protein produced by the wildtype strain. SecG deficiency was found to result in more pronounced effects in S. lividans than in Bacillus subtilis or Escherichia coli. [Int Microbiol 2008; 11(1):25-31

Isolation of a strong suppressor of nonsense mutations in Bacillus subtilis

By treatment of Bacillus subtilis MO-101-P spoA− met thr− su− with ethyl methanesulfonate, a strong suppressor strain of nonsense mutations, B. subtilis MO-101-P spoA− [met−]+ thr− su+44 was isolated. This strain does not suppress phage φ 29 mutant susB47, selected on a B. subtilis strain containing the su+3 suppressor isolated by Georgopoulos. A revertant from this mutant, susB610, was isolated, being suppressed by both the su+3 and su+44 suppressor strains. The efficiency of suppression by strain su+44 is about 50%. The experiments shown in this paper suggest that strain su+44 contains an amber and strain su+3 an ochre suppressor.This investigation has been aided by grants from Comisión Asesora para el Drsarrollo de la Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnica, Comision del Descuenio Complr- rnentario (I.N.P.) and Dirección General de Sanidad. R. P .M. is a Fellow of Fondo Nacional para la Formación de Personal Investigador.Peer reviewe

A Novel Two-Component System Involved in the Transition to Secondary Metabolism in Streptomyces coelicolor

BACKGROUND: Bacterial two-component signal transduction regulatory systems are the major set of signalling proteins frequently mediating responses to changes in the environment. They typically consist of a sensor, a membrane-associated histidine kinase and a cytoplasmic response regulator. The membrane-associated sensor detects the environmental signal or stress, whereas the cytoplasmic regulatory protein controls the cellular response usually by gene transcription modulation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPALFINDINGS: The Streptomyces coelicolor two genes operon SCO5784-SCO5785 encodes a two-component system, where SCO5784 encodes a histidine-kinase sensor and SCO5785 encodes a response regulator protein. When the expression level of the regulator gene decreases, the antibiotic synthesis and sporulation is delayed temporarily in addition to some ribosomal genes became up regulated, whereas the propagation of the regulatory gene in high copy number results in the earlier synthesis of antibiotics and sporulation, as well as the down regulation of some ribosomal genes and, moreover, in the overproduction of several extracellular proteins. Therefore, this two-component system in S. coelicolor seems to influence various processes characterised by the transition from primary to secondary metabolism, as determined by proteomic and transcriptomic analyses. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Propagation of SCO5785 in multicopy enhances the production of antibiotics as well as secretory proteins. In particular, the increase in the expression level of secretory protein encoding genes, either as an artefactual or real effect of the regulator, could be of potential usefulness when using Streptomyces strains as hosts for homologous or heterologous extracellular protein production

A comparative study of the electrochemical properties of vitamin B-6 related compounds at physiological pH

A comparative study of vitamin B6 group and related compounds in buffered solutions using electrochemical techniques has been performed at neutral pH. Irreversible bi- or tetra-electronic processes are observed for these substances, and the electron transfer coefficient (αn) calculated. It was concluded that either the first or second electron transfer were the rate determining step of the electrode process. The diffusion coefficient of these substances was calculated and the values given follow an inverse tendency to the molecular size. For aldehydes the values obtained were corrected of the hydration reaction. It is important to remark that catalytic waves were reported for the first time for these compounds. Using a model involving the nitrogen of the basic structure the kinetic constants were calculated for most of them

Classical Topological Order in Kagome Ice

We examine the onset of classical topological order in a nearest-neighbor kagome ice model. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we characterize the topological sectors of the groundstate using a non-local cut measure which circumscribes the toroidal geometry of the simulation cell. We demonstrate that simulations which employ global loop updates that are allowed to wind around the periodic boundaries cause the topological sector to fluctuate, while restricted local loop updates freeze the simulation into one topological sector. The freezing into one topological sector can also be observed in the susceptibility of the real magnetic spin vectors projected onto the kagome plane. The ability of the susceptibility to distinguish between fluctuating and non-fluctuating topological sectors should motivate its use as a local probe of topological order in a variety of related model and experimental systems.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure

Wrinkling of a bilayer membrane

The buckling of elastic bodies is a common phenomenon in the mechanics of solids. Wrinkling of membranes can often be interpreted as buckling under constraints that prohibit large amplitude deformation. We present a combination of analytic calculations, experiments, and simulations to understand wrinkling patterns generated in a bilayer membrane. The model membrane is composed of a flexible spherical shell that is under tension and that is circumscribed by a stiff, essentially incompressible strip with bending modulus B. When the tension is reduced sufficiently to a value \sigma, the strip forms wrinkles with a uniform wavelength found theoretically and experimentally to be \lambda = 2\pi(B/\sigma)^{1/3}. Defects in this pattern appear for rapid changes in tension. Comparison between experiment and simulation further shows that, with larger reduction of tension, a second generation of wrinkles with longer wavelength appears only when B is sufficiently small.Comment: 9 pages, 5 color figure

Potential Accumulative Effect of the Herbicide Glyphosate on Glyphosate-Tolerant Maize Rhizobacterial Communities over a Three-Year Cultivation Period

BACKGROUND: Glyphosate is a herbicide that is liable to be used in the extensive cultivation of glyphosate-tolerant cultivars. The potential accumulation of the relative effect of glyphosate on the rhizobacterial communities of glyphosate-tolerant maize has been monitored over a period of three years. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The composition of rhizobacterial communities is known to vary with soil texture, hence, the analyses have been performed in two agricultural fields with a different soil texture. The accumulative effects of glyphosate have been monitored by means of high throughput DNA pyrosequencing of the bacterial DNA coding for the 16S rRNA hypervariable V6 region from rhizobacterial communities. The relative composition of the rhizobacterial communities does vary in each field over the three-year period. The overall distribution of the bacterial phyla seems to change from one year to the next similarly in the untreated and glyphosate-treated soils in both fields. The two methods used to estimate bacterial diversity offered consistent results and are equally suitable for diversity assessment. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The glyphosate treatment during the three-year period of seasonal cultivation in two different fields did not seem to significantly change the maize rhizobacterial communities when compared to those of the untreated soil. This may be particularly relevant with respect to a potential authorisation to cultivate glyphosate-tolerant maize in the European Union

Edad, crecimiento y reproducción de Gobio gobio L. (Pisces, Cyprinidae) en un tramo regulado del río Segura (SE de España)

The age, growth and reproduction of Gobio gobio, were studied during a period of two years in a section of the Segura River regulated by the effect of a small upstream hydroelectric power station. A total of 254 specimens were caught monthly by electrofishing. The studied population showed a maximum of six age classes in females (0+–5+) and five in males (1+–5+). All females were mature at 2+ age class, whereas only 62.5% 2+ males showed mature gonads. During the studied period, both sexes showed maximum values of Gonadosomatic Index in May and spawn was different between the two studied periods. Compared with other populations, the studied population from a regulated locality is characterized by a non–seasonal body condition cycle and low captures of juvenile fish (0+, 1+) probably due to the effect of washing produced by drastic and unpredictable flow changes.La edad, crecimiento y reproducción de Gobio gobio, ha sido estudiada a lo largo de dos años en un tramo del río Segura regulado por una pequeña central hidroeléctrica. Mediante pesca eléctrica fueron capturados, mensualmente, un total de 254 ejemplares. Las hembras presentaron seis clases de edad (0+–5+) mientras que los machos presentaron cinco clases (1+–5+). Todas las hembras de clase de edad 2+ resultaron maduras mientras que los machos 2+ resultaron maduros en un 62,5% de los casos. Durante el periodo de estudio, ambos sexos presentaron los máximos valores del Índice Gonadosomático durante los meses de mayo aunque el desove resultó diferente entre los dos periodos estudiados. En comparación con otras poblaciones, la población estudiada en un tramo regulado del río se caracteriza por no presentar un ciclo estacional en la condición somática y bajas capturas de ejemplares juveniles (0+, 1+) debido, probablemente, al efecto de lavado provocado por los drásticos e impredecibles cambios en el caudal

UDP: an integral management system of embedded scripts implemented into the IMaX instrument of the Sunrise mission

The UDP (User Defined Program) system is a scripting framework for controlling and extending instrumentation software. It has been specially designed for air- and space-borne instruments with flexibility, error control, reuse, automation, traceability and ease of development as its main objectives. All the system applications are connected through a database containing the valid script commands including descriptive information and source code. The system can be adapted to different projects without changes in the framework tools, thus achieving great level of flexibility and reusability. The UDP system comprises: an embedded system for the execution of scripts by the instrument software; automatic tools for aiding in the creation, modification, documentation and tracing of new scripting language commands; and interfaces for the creation of scripts and execution control.Comment: This paper has been presented in the SPIE 2008, Marselle, Franc