Long Flat Continuous Conveyors without Critical Transfer Points

Conventionally, a series of several individual conveyors is necessary to realise long conveyor lines. This segmentation creates critical transfer points for the transport of goods. The number of transfer points and the overall height can be minimised by direct drives based on magnetic toothed belts and carriers attached to the mat chains. For example, a modular belt conveyor with an overall height of 100 mm and a width of 1 m can reach a length of well over 10 m. The friction between the mat chain and the sliding plane can be reduced by using alternative sliding partners such as a textile or a sliding support made of wood-based materials. These measures increase process and work safety and allow the system to be designed to be energy efficient

Kupferwerkstoffe im Sekundärteil eines linearen Asynchronmotors – Betrachtung der mechanischen Eigenschaften

In dem Forschungsprojekt wird ein berührungsloses Direktantriebssystem für hochdynamische Bandförderer entwickelt. Die Förderkraft wird nach dem Prinzip der linearen Asynchronmaschine in den Gurt eingeleitet. Zur Umsetzung des Antriebs­prinzips muss der Gurt flächig eine Kupferstruktur, die den Sekundärteil der Asynchron­maschine darstellt, beinhalten. Die Herausforderungen bei der Auslegung dieser Struktur bestehen in der Berücksichtigung der elektrischen Anforderungen zur Umsetzung des Linearmotors einerseits und anderseits in der Berücksichtigung der mechanischen Anforderungen die während des Betriebs des Förderers auftreten. Im weiteren Projektverlauf wird das Antriebssystem um Condition-Monitoring-Funktionalitäten erweitert: Anhand der Statorströme wird die elektrodynamische Rückwirkung der Kupferstruktur im Gurt ausgewertet. Die gewonnenen Daten ermöglichen einen Rückschluss auf den Zustand der Kupferstruktur und gestatten somit eine Beurteilung des Verschleiß­zustandes des Motors und des Gurts. Ferner lässt sich der Bewegungszustand des Bandförderers bestimmen. Aus wirtschaftlichen Gründen soll sich der resultierende Bandförderer mit neu­artigem Antriebssystem durch kleine Umlenkradien, den Verzicht auf zusätzliche Zugträger sowie die Erreichung eines bestmöglichen motorischen Wirkungsgrades auszeichnen. Für diese Forschungsziele ist die Kupferstruktur, welche in den Gurt integriert wird, von herausragender Bedeutung. In diesem Beitrag wird das Ergebnis der Betrachtung der Kupferwerkstoffe dargestellt

Crystal structures of glycoprotein D of equine alphaherpesviruses reveal potential binding sites to the entry receptor MHC-I

Cell entry of most alphaherpesviruses is mediated by the binding of glycoprotein D (gD) to different cell surface receptors. Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and EHV-4 gDs interact with equine major histocompatibility complex I (MHC-I) to initiate entry into equine cells. We have characterized the gD-MHC-I interaction by solving the crystal structures of EHV-1 and EHV-4 gDs (gD1, gD4), performing protein–protein docking simulations, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis, and biological assays. The structures of gD1 and gD4 revealed the existence of a common V-set immunoglobulin-like (IgV-like) core comparable to those of other gD homologs. Molecular modeling yielded plausible binding hypotheses and identified key residues (F213 and D261) that are important for virus binding. Altering the key residues resulted in impaired virus growth in cells, which highlights the important role of these residues in the gD-MHC-I interaction. Taken together, our results add to our understanding of the initial herpesvirus-cell interactions and will contribute to the targeted design of antiviral drugs and vaccine development

N-Glycosylation engineering of plants for the biosynthesis of glycoproteins with bisected and branched complex N-glycans

Glycoengineering is increasingly being recognized as a powerful tool to generate recombinant glycoproteins with a customized N-glycosylation pattern. Here, we demonstrate the modulation of the plant glycosylation pathway toward the formation of human-type bisected and branched complex N-glycans. Glycoengineered Nicotiana benthamiana lacking plant-specific N-glycosylation (i.e. β1,2-xylose and core α1,3-fucose) was used to transiently express human erythropoietin (hEPO) and human transferrin (hTF) together with modified versions of human β1,4-mannosyl-β1,4-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnTIII), α1,3-mannosyl-β1,4-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnTIV) and α1,6-mannosyl-β1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnTV). hEPO was expressed as a fusion to the IgG-Fc domain (EPO-Fc) and purified via protein A affinity chromatography. Recombinant hTF was isolated from the intracellular fluid of infiltrated plant leaves. Mass spectrometry-based N-glycan analysis of hEPO and hTF revealed the quantitative formation of bisected (GnGnbi) and tri- as well as tetraantennary complex N-glycans (Gn[GnGn], [GnGn]Gn and [GnGn][GnGn]). Co-expression of GnTIII together with GnTIV and GnTV resulted in the efficient generation of bisected tetraantennary complex N-glycans. Our results show the generation of recombinant proteins with human-type N-glycosylation at great uniformity. The strategy described here provides a robust and straightforward method for producing mammalian-type N-linked glycans of defined structures on recombinant glycoproteins, which can advance glycoprotein research and accelerate the development of protein-based therapeutics