445 research outputs found
Truncated Dual-Cap Nucleation Site Development
During heterogeneous nucleation within a metastable mushy-zone, several geometries for nucleation site development must be considered. Traditional spherical dual cap and crevice models are compared to a truncated dual cap to determine the activation energy and critical cluster growth kinetics in ternary Fe-Cr-Ni steel alloys. Results of activation energy results indicate that nucleation is more probable at grain boundaries within the solid than at the solid-liquid interface
Containerless Measurements of Density and Viscosity of Fe-Co Alloys
During the past years, extensive collaborative research has been done to understand phase selection in undercooled metals using novel containerless processing techniques such as electrostatic and electromagnetic levitation. Of major interest is controlling a two-step solidification process, double recalescence, in which the metastable phase forms first and then transforms to the stable phase after a certain delay time. The previous research has shown that the delay time is greatly influenced by the internal convection velocity. In the prediction of internal flow, the fidelity of the results depends on the accuracy of the material properties. This research focuses on the measurements of density and viscosity of Fe-Co alloys which will be used for the fluid simulations whose results will support upcoming International Space Station flight experiments
Development of Biomarkers Based on Diet-Dependent Metabolic Serotypes: Practical Issues in Development of Expert System-Based Classification Models in Metabolomic Studies
This is the publisher's official version, also available electronically from: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/omi.2004.8.197Dietary restriction (DR)-induced changes in the serum metabolome may be biomarkers for
physiological status (e.g., relative risk of developing age-related diseases such as cancer).
Megavariate analysis (unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis IHCAJ; principal components
analysis [PCAJ) of serum metabolites reproducibly distinguish DR from ad libitum fed
rats. Component-based approaches (i.e., PCA) consistently perform as well as or better than
distance-based metrics (i.e., HCA). We therefore tested the following: (A) Do identified subsets
of serum metabolites contain sufficient information to construct mathematical models
of class membership (i.e., expert systems)? (B) Do component-based metrics out-perform
distance-based metrics? Testing was conducted using KNN (k-nearest neighbors, supervised
HCA) and SIMCA (soft independent modeling of class analogy, supervised PCA). Models
were built with single cohorts, combined cohorts or mixed samples from previously studied
cohorts as training sets. Both algorithms over-fit models based on single cohort training sets.
KNN models had >85% accuracy within training/test sets, but were unstable (i.e., values of
k could not be accurately set in advance). SIMCA models had 100% accuracy within all
training sets, 89% accuracy in test sets, did not appear to over-fit mixed cohort training sets,
and did not require post-hoc modeling adjustments. These data indicate that (i) previously
defined metabolites are robust enough to construct classification models (expert systems)
with SIMCA that can predict unknowns by dietary category; (ii) component-based analyses
outperformed distance-based metrics; (iii) use of over-fitting controls is essential; and (iv)
subtle inter-cohort variability may be a critical issue for high data density biomarker studies
that lack state markers
Development of Biomarkers Based on Diet-Dependent Metabolic Serotypes: Characteristics of Component-Based Models of Metabolic Serotypes
This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/omi.2004Our research seeks to identify a scrum profile, or serotype, that reflects the systemic physiologic
modifications resultant from dietary restriction (DR), in part such that this knowledge
can be applied for biomarker studies. Direct comparison suggests that component-based
classification algorithms consistently out-perform distance-based metrics for studies of nutritional
modulation of metabolic serotype, but are subject to over-fitting concerns. Intercohort
differences in the sera metabolome could partially obscure the effects of DR. Further
analysis now shows that implementation of component-based approaches (also called projection
methods) optimized for class separation and controlled for over-fitting have >97%
accuracy for distinguishing sera from control or DR rats. DR's effect on the metabolome is
shown to be robust across cohorts, but differs in males and females (although some metabolites
are affected in both). We demonstrate the utility of projection-based methods for both
sample and variable diagnostics, including identification of critical metabolites and samples
that are atypical with respect to both class and variable models. Inclusion of non-statistically
different variables enhances classification models. Variables that contribute to these
models are sharply dependent on mathematical processing techniques; some variables that
do not contribute under one paradigm arc powerful under alternative mathematical paradigms.
In practical terms, this information may find purpose in other endeavors, such as
mechanistic studies of DR. Application of these approaches confirms the utility of megavariate
data analysis techniques for optimal generation of biomarkers based on nutritional modulation
of physiological processes
Multi-omics responses in tree swallow (\u3ci\u3eTachycineta bicolor\u3c/i\u3e) nestlings from the Maumee Area of Concern, Maumee River, Ohio
A multi-omics approach was utilized to identify altered biological responses and functions, and to prioritize contaminants to assess the risks of chemical mixtures in the Maumee Area of Concern (AOC), Maumee River, OH, USA. The Maumee AOC is designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as having significant beneficial use impairments, including degradation of fish and wildlife populations, bird or animal deformities or reproduction problems, and loss of fish and wildlife habitat. Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nestlings were collected at five sites along the Maumee River, which included wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and industrial land-use sites. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated dibenzo p dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs), and chlorinated pesticide concentrations were elevated in Maumee tree swallows, relative to a remote reference site, Star Lake, WI, USA. Liver tissue was utilized for non-targeted transcriptome and targeted metabolome evaluation. A significantly differentially expressed gene cluster related to a downregulation in cell growth and cell cycle regulation was identified when comparing all Maumee River sites with the reference site. There was an upregulation of lipogenesis genes, such as PPAR signaling (HMGCS2, SLC22A5), biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids (FASN, SCD, ELOVL2, and FADS2), and higher lipogenesis related metabolites, such as docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and arachidonic acid (AA) at two industrial land-use sites, Ironhead and Maumee, relative to WWTP sites (Perrysburg and SideCut), and the reference site. Toledo Water, in the vicinity of the other two industrial sites and also adjacent to a WWTP, showed a mix of signals between industrial land-use and WWTP land-use. PAHs, oxychlordane, and PBDEs were determined to be the most likely causes of the differentiation in biological responses, including de novo lipogenesis and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids
A high-throughput screen to identify inhibitors of SOD1 transcription
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal degenerative motor neuron disease. Approximately 20% of familial ALS cases are caused by mutations in the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) gene. Rodents expressing mutant SOD1 transgenes develop progressive, fatal motor neuron disease and disease onset and progression is dependent on the level of SOD1. We investigated the possibility that a reduction in SOD1 protein may be of therapeutic benefit in ALS and screened 30,000 compounds for inhibition of SOD1 transcription. The most effective inhibitor identified was N-{4-[4-(4-methylbenzoyl)-1-piperazinyl]phenyl}-2-thiophenecarboxamide (Compound ID 7687685), which in PC12 cells showed an EC50 of 10.6 microM for inhibition of SOD1 expression and an LD50 >30 microM. This compound was subsequently shown to reduce endogenous SOD1 levels in HeLa cells and to exhibit a modest reduction of SOD1 protein levels in mouse spinal cord tissue. These data suggest that the efficacy of compound 7687685 as an inhibitor of SOD1 gene expression is not likely to be clinically useful, although the strategy reported could be applied broadly to screening for small molecule inhibitors of gene expression
Custom Integrated Circuits
Contains reports on three research projects.U.S. Air Force (Contract F49620-81-C-0054)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS81-18160
Custom Integrated Circuits
Contains reports on four research projects.U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Contract F49620-81-C-0054)U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Contract F49620-84-C-0004)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS81-18160)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS83-10941
Ultrafast evanescent heat transfer across solid interfaces via hyperbolic phonon polaritons in hexagonal boron nitride
The efficiency of phonon-mediated heat transport is limited by the intrinsic
atomistic properties of materials, seemingly providing an upper limit to heat
transfer in materials and across their interfaces. The typical speeds of
conductive transport, which are inherently limited by the chemical bonds and
atomic masses, dictate how quickly heat will move in solids. Given that
phonon-polaritons, or coupled phonon-photon modes, can propagate at speeds
approaching 1 percent of the speed of light - orders of magnitude faster than
transport within a pure diffusive phonon conductor - we demonstrate that
volume-confined, hyperbolic phonon-polariton(HPhP) modes supported by many
biaxial polar crystals can couple energy across solid-solid interfaces at an
order of magnitude higher rates than phonon-phonon conduction alone. Using
pump-probe thermoreflectance with a mid-infrared, tunable, probe pulse with
sub-picosecond resolution, we demonstrate remote and spectrally selective
excitation of the HPhP modes in hexagonal boron nitride in response to
radiative heating from a thermally emitting gold source. Our work demonstrates
a new avenue for interfacial heat transfer based on broadband radiative
coupling from a hot spot in a gold film to hBN HPhPs, independent of the broad
spectral mismatch between the pump(visible) and probe(mid-IR) pulses employed.
This methodology can be used to bypass the intrinsically limiting phonon-phonon
conductive pathway, thus providing an alternative means of heat transfer across
interfaces. Further, our time-resolved measurements of the temperature changes
of the HPhP modes in hBN show that through polaritonic coupling, a material can
transfer heat across and away from an interface at rates orders of magnitude
faster than diffusive phonon speeds intrinsic to the material, thus
demonstrating a pronounced thermal transport enhancement in hBN via
phonon-polariton coupling
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