Anisotropic Relaxation Functions and Strength of Oriented Solids Technical Report No. 106

Anisotropic relaxation functions and strength of oriented solid

Zigbee based wireless adjustable speed drive system

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)This thesis proposes a remotely controlled motor drive system which is able to supply a regulated voltage for both DC and AC motors. The proposed system integrates two different technologies, each of which belongs to the field of wireless communications and semiconductor power electronics. The introduction highlights the literature review and technical contributions in these two electrical engineering fields. The pulse width modulated control algorithm for speed control is discussed in detail. Incorporating the zigbee wireless technology into the motor drive system, for the speed control of an AC and a DC motor, by implementing digital pulse width modulation technique is the aim of this thesis. The main characteristics of the proposed system are: 1) its universal feature since it can feed either DC or AC motor without changing the hardware, 2) remotely controlled, which allows the end-user to control the motor speed safely from a remote distance, 3) flexibility in installation of the motor drives in areas that are not easily accessible by end-users, and 4) uninterrupted speed control for distance of up to few 100 feet

On some mixed boundary value problems for spherically isotropic elastic media

Boundary value problems for spherically isotropic elastic media solved in terms of infinite serie

Theoretical Consideration of the Influence of Reforming Processes on the Fracture Strength of Solids Technical Report No. 105

Reformation processes effect on stress time-to- fracture behavior of solid

On Internal Fracture of Solids

Initiation and propagation of internal fracture in solid

Time dependent mechanical strength of oriented media

Time dependent mechanical strength of fully oriented solid

A pharmaceutical model for the molecular evolution of microbial natural products

Abstract Microbes are talented chemists with the ability to generate tremendously complex and diverse natural products which harbor potent biological activities. Natural products are produced using sets of specialized biosynthetic enzymes encoded by secondary metabolism pathways. Here, we present a two-step evolutionary model to explain the diversification of biosynthetic pathways that account for the proliferation of these molecules. We argue that the appearance of natural product families has been a slow and infrequent process. The first step led to the original emergence of bioactive molecules and different classes of natural products. However, much of the chemical diversity observed today has resulted from the endless modification of the ancestral biosynthetic pathways. The second step rapidly modulates the pre-existing biological activities to increase their potency and to adapt to changing environmental conditions. We highlight the importance of enzyme promiscuity in this process, as it facilitates both the incorporation of horizontally transferred genes into secondary metabolic pathways and the functional differentiation of proteins to catalyze novel chemistry. We provide examples where single point mutations or recombination events have been sufficient for new enzymatic activities to emerge. A unique feature in the evolution of microbial secondary metabolism is that gene duplication is not essential but offers opportunities to synthesize more complex metabolites. Microbial natural products are highly important for the pharmaceutical industry due to their unique bioactivities. Therefore, understanding the natural mechanisms leading to the formation of diverse metabolic pathways is vital for future attempts to utilize synthetic biology for the generation of novel molecules.Peer reviewe

Internal fracture caused by focusing of explosive waves

Internal fracture caused by focusing of explosive wave

Large Eddy Simulation of Cylindrical Jet Breakup and Correlation of Simulation Results With Experimental Data

Modern engines with increasing power densities have put additional demands on pistons to perform in incrementally challenging thermal environments. Piston cooling is therefore of paramount importance for engine component manufacturers. The objective of this computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study is to identify the effect of a given piston cooling nozzle (PCN) geometry on the cooling oil jet spreading phenomenon. The scope of this study is to develop a numerical setup using the open-source CFD toolkit OpenFoam V R for measuring the magnitude of oil jet spreading and comparing it to experimental results. Large eddy simulation (LES) turbulence modeling is used to capture the flow physics that affects the inherently unsteady jet breakup phenomenon. The oil jet spreading width is the primary metric used for comparing the numerical and experimental results. The results of simulation are validated for the correct applicability of LES by evaluating the fraction of resolved turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) at various probe locations and also by performing turbulent kinetic energy spectral analysis. CFD results appear promising since they correspond to the experimental data within a tolerance (of 610%) deemed satisfactory for the purpose of this study. Further generalization of the setup is underway toward developing a tool that predicts the aforementioned metric-thereby evaluating the effect of PCN geometry on oil jet spreading and hence on the oil catching efficiency (CE) of the piston cooling gallery. This tool would act as an intermediate step in boundary condition formulation for the simulation determining the filling ratio (FR) and subsequently the heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) in the piston cooling gallery

Inorganic Polyphosphates Are Important for Cell Survival and Motility of Human Skin Keratinocytes and Play a Role in Wound Healing

Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is a simple ancient polymer of linear chains of orthophosphate residues linked by high energy phospho-anhydride bonds ubiquitously found in all organisms. Despite its structural simplicity, it plays diverse functional roles. polyP is involved in myriad of processes including serving as microbial phosphagens, buffer against alkalis, Ca2+ storage, metal-chelating agents, pathogen virulence, cell viability and proliferation, structural component and chemical chaperones, and in the microbial stress response. In mammalian cells, polyP has been implicated in blood coagulation, inflammation, bone differentiation, cell bioenergetics, signal transduction, Ca2+-signaling, neuronal excitability, as a protein-stabilizing scaffold, and in wound healing, among others. This chapter will discuss (1) polyP metabolism and roles of polyP in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, (2) the contribution of polyP to survival, cell proliferation, and motility involved in wound healing in human skin keratinocytes, (3) the use of polyP-containing platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to promote wound healing in acute and chronic wounds, including burns, and (4) the use of polyP-containing PRP in excisional wound models to promote faster healing. While polyP shows promise as a therapeutic agent to accelerate healing for acute and chronic wounds, the molecular mechanisms as a potent modulator of the wound healing process remain to be elucidated