Correlation of microwave dielectric properties and normal vibration modes of xBaMg1Õ3Ta2Õ3O3– 1ÀxBaMg1Õ3Nb2Õ3O3 ceramics: I. Raman spectroscopy

[[abstract]]Micro-Raman measurements of xBa~Mg1/3Ta2/3)O3–(12x)Ba~Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 perovskite ceramics, with x50, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.0, were taken at room temperature. Raman results clearly show the 1:2 ordered structures of these compounds. Four A1g and five Eg Raman modes were unambiguously assigned. The A1g(O) phonon of the oxygen-octahedron stretch mode, which possesses the largest energy and width of all the observed Raman phonons, significantly influences the microwave dielectric properties of the materials. A higher vibration frequency of A1g(O) mode results in a lower dielectric constant, and a wider width of the mode corresponds to a lower Q3f value.[[notice]]補正完畢[[journaltype]]國外[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙本[[countrycodes]]US

Evaluation of Heterologous Promoter Function in the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica).

The goal of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of using antimicrobial peptide gene transfer to enhance oyster immunity. The specific objectives were to: (1) compare the efficiency of collagenase, pronase, and trypsin to dissociate atrium, ventricle and mantle into individual cells for the initiation of primary cell culture; (2) develop cryopreservation conditions to preserve the dissociated cells; (3) establish a serum-free transfection system; (4) evaluate inducible promoter function using the established serum-free transfection system; (5) evaluate the effects of the transfer of antimicrobial peptide genes on oyster immunity. Pronase was found to be the most effective enzyme for dissociating the atrium, ventricle, and mantle. Thereafter, pronase was used to dissociate atrium and ventricle tissues for development of cryopreservation conditions to preserve cells for culture. Dimethyl sulfoxide, glycerol, and propylene glycol were evaluated for their effectiveness as cryoprotectants. Freezing rates and thawing temperatures were compared to minimize the damage. The optimal conditions were 10% glycerol, freezing at a medium rate (vials containing cells were packed into a 21 x 19 x 7 cm and 0.7 cm thick polystyrene foam box and with 80 g of cotton followed by equilibration at 25°C for 20 min, -80°C for 16 h, and -196°C for storage) and thawing at 45°C for atrial cells, and 10% glycerol, freezing at a medium rate and thawing at 25°C for ventricle cells. A serum-free transfection system for ventricle cells was established. A heat inducible promoter was evaluated in the system. The optimal heat shock conditions for the heat shock protein 70 promoter from snail, Biomphalaria glabrala, was 40°C for 1 h followed by recovery at 25°C for 12 h. The induction of the cecropin B promoter from moth, Hyalophora cecropia, was evaluated in ventricle cells using lipopolysaccharide and IL-1-alpha. In vivo transfer of an antimicrobial peptide gene was conducted. Although not significantly different, oysters receiving the antimicrobial genes controlled by the cecropin B promoter tended to have lower bacteria tissue loading than the controls. The results of this work implied that antimicrobial peptide gene transfer to enhance oyster immunity is feasible

Life-style orientation and contents of websites in personas industry

Electronic commerce challenges personas companies to design electronic system to increase interaction which leads to retain customers and increase sales. This exploratory study examines the correlation between lifestyle and emphasis on contents of website in personas industry. The study finds that market segment of lifestyle can be divided into four groups: ‘opinion leader’, ‘opinion follower’, ‘conservative’ and ‘challenger’. This paper tries to suggest a checklist to a vendor. We conclude that AIO can be a base of market segment in personas industry. We suggest some important factors which are included of the customized services, the safety of use factors, the store information and the menu illustration. Finally, we also conclude that the first three important factors of websites have significant influences on market segments of personas industry except for the store information factor.AIO, market segmentation, personas industry.

VARIABILITY OF BARBELL TRAJECTORY DURING SNATCH FOR AN ELITE YOUNG FEMALE WEIGHTLIFTER

The purpose of this study was to investigate the variability of the barbell trajectory for an elite young female weightlifter. One high speed camera (120Hz) was used to film the barbell trajectories of a female lifter during snatch. The subject was asked to lift different barbell mass from 65 to 80 kg (fourteen lifts in total), and thirteen successful lifts were analyzed. The barbell trajectories and movement pattern of different lifts were similar to the results of previous studies, and the barbell paths almost were overlapping for the heaviest four successful lifts. The coefficients of variation (CV) of four kinematic parameters of barbell trajectory were smaller than the results of previous studies. It can be concluded that this female weightlifter has a stable pattern of barbell trajectory under different barbell mass lifting

An investigation of a deep learning based malware detection system

We investigate a Deep Learning based system for malware detection. In the investigation, we experiment with different combination of Deep Learning architectures including Auto-Encoders, and Deep Neural Networks with varying layers over Malicia malware dataset on which earlier studies have obtained an accuracy of (98%) with an acceptable False Positive Rates (1.07%). But these results were done using extensive man-made custom domain features and investing corresponding feature engineering and design efforts. In our proposed approach, besides improving the previous best results (99.21% accuracy and a False Positive Rate of 0.19%) indicates that Deep Learning based systems could deliver an effective defense against malware. Since it is good in automatically extracting higher conceptual features from the data, Deep Learning based systems could provide an effective, general and scalable mechanism for detection of existing and unknown malware.Comment: 13 Pages, 4 figure

Development of a saposin A based native-like phospholipid bilayer system for NMR studies

Membrane proteins are important targets that represent more than 50% of current drug targets. However, characterisation of membrane proteins falls behind compared to their soluble counterparts. The most challenging part of membrane protein research is finding a suitable membrane mimetic that stabilises them in solution and maintains their native structure and function. The recently developed saposin-A (SapA) based lipid nanoparticle system seems to be advantageous over existing membrane mimetic system. It provides a native-like lipid bilayer, high incorporation yield and more importantly size adaptability. SapA lipid nanoparticles have been applied to structural studies and two high-resolution structures of membrane proteins were previously obtained using cryo-electron microscopy. This thesis aimed to study small-to-medium sized membrane proteins in SapA lipid nanoparticles using NMR spectroscopy. We first explore the mechanism of SapA lipid nanoparticle formation for the purpose of establishing an incorporation protocol that can be applied to most membrane proteins. The effect of pH and the presence of detergents on the opening of SapA was investigated in Chapter 2. A proposed energy diagram describing the mechanism of SapA opening is reported with which we were able to develop a protocol that can generate different sizes of SapA-1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) nanoparticles. In addition, we also showed that SapA can form lipid nanoparticles with various lipid compositions, showing the versatility of the system. In Chapter 3, we validated the ability of SapA lipid nanoparticles to be used as a membrane mimetic. A -barrel model protein, bacterial outer membrane protein X (OmpX), was incorporated into SapA-DMPC nanoparticles and a 2D 15N-1H correlation NMR spectrum was recorded. Our result was compared to the NMR parameters of the same protein in MSP nanodiscs from the literature, and it was concluded that SapA lipid nanoparticles indeed provide a lipid bilayer environment similar to MSP nanodiscs. Because of high incorporation yield, we were able to incorporate OmpX into different lipid compositions to investigate the effect of lipid head groups and aliphatic chains on the membrane protein’s chemical environment. Next, the applicability of SapA lipid nanoparticles was expanded to -helical transmembrane proteins in Chapter 4. Two microbial rhodopsins, Anabaena sensory rhodopsin (ASR) and Natronomonas pharaonis sensory rhodopsin II (pSRII), were tested. The parameters for expression and purification of ASR were first screened for the optimal yield. Although incorporation of ASR resulted in inhomogeneous particles due to imperfect experimental procedure, pSRII in SapA-DMPC nanoparticles showed high sample quality. The 2D NMR spectrum of pSRII in SapA-DMPC nanoparticles shows distinct differences to pSRII in detergent micelles, suggesting substantial effects from the membrane mimetic on the conformation of the membrane protein. Despite the good NMR spectral quality considering the large particle size, perdeuteration of pSRII and the lipids will be necessary for further investigation. With the SapA lipid nanoparticles established, we aimed to use it for the study of a biologically important G protein-coupled receptor, 1-adrenergic receptor (1AR), discussed in Chapter 5. The possibility of expressing 1AR using a cell-free expression system was explored first. Although a good amount of the protein was obtained, only a fraction of it was functional. Therefore, a conventional baculovirus-insect cell expression system was used to produce selective isotope labelled 1AR for NMR studies. NMR spectra of 1AR in SapA-DMPC nanoparticles with activating ligands and an intracellular binding partner were recorded and compared to the spectra of the same protein in detergents. This revealed a more active-like conformation of ligand-bound 1AR in the lipid bilayer, suggesting that certain parts of the protein are sensitive to the membrane mimetic used. This emphasises the importance of using a native-like membrane mimetic to capture the full properties of membrane proteins. In conclusion, I demonstrate in this thesis that SapA lipid nanoparticles are a versatile membrane mimetic system that can accommodate membrane proteins with different sizes and folds. This system is also compatible with solution NMR spectroscopy enabling structure and dynamics studies of biologically important membrane proteins. We believe SapA lipid nanoparticles will have a significant impact on membrane protein research in the future

Chien, Auo, Shih : evolution of space perception and space making in China

Thesis (M.Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1985.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH.Bibliography: leaves 105-106.The question of "what is the essence of Chinese architecture" has been puzzling Westerners as well as Chinese since the incept i on of Traditional Chinese Architecture Studies five decades ago . This thesis attempts to answer the question by exploring some spatial concepts which have not been clearly documented before. Based on the exploration of those spatial concepts, a new historical perspective will be introduced to show succinctly how Chinese architecture evolved in the last 30 centuries. The theoretical assumptions guiding the thesis are: the emergence of spatial concepts is due to the fact of man-always-having-to-perceive-spatial-phenomena, the characteristics of spatial concepts are .determined by the relationship between man and phenomena , the relationship between man and phenomena may evolve, the evolution of spatial concepts makes up t he hi story of architecture.by Chih-Ta Lai.M.Arc