Cubist algebras

We construct algebras from rhombohedral tilings of Euclidean space obtained as projections of certain cubical complexes. We show that these ‘Cubist algebras’ satisfy strong homological properties, such as Koszulity and quasi-heredity, reflecting the combinatorics of the tilings. We construct derived equivalences between Cubist algebras associated to local mutations in tilings. We recover as a special case the Rhombal algebras of Michael Peach and make a precise connection to weight 2 blocks of symmetric groups.     

Compatibility and characteristics of poly(butylene succinate) and propylene-co-ethylene copolymer blend

Propylene-co-ethylene elastomer resin (PER) has been blended into biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) copolymer (PBS) by a melt-blending process to develop a novel semi-biodegradable thermoplastic elastomer. The PBS/PER blends displayed good compatibility in the range 70/30 > PBS/PER > 30/70 according to analyses by DSC, DMA and the Couchman method. Although the PBS/PER blends displayed compatibility, SEM analyses of most of the PBS/PER blends revealed two-phase structures including sea-island and irregular fiber-shaped morphologies, except for PBS/PER (70/30). PBS/PER (60/40) and PBS/PER (50/50) display low tensile strength due to large sea-phase and irregular fiber-shaped morphologies, even though they have good compatibility. PBS/PER (70/30) apparently exhibited a single phase by SEM and showed the best compatibility by DSC and DMA. Furthermore, the tan δ, elongation and initial moduli of the PBS/PER blends were seen to increase with increasing PER content, indicating that the toughness and shock resistance of PBS are improved by incorporating PER into the composition.     

Degradation induced variation of LC transition of poly(n-undecyl isocyanate)

The first-order thermal transitions including side-chain melting, crystal-LC, biphasic chimney-like, and isotropic transitions of poly(n-undecyl isocyanate) (PUDIC) were investigated by varying its thermal history. After annealing at 140 °C for different periods of time, it leads to different degrees of backbiting degradation into n-undecyl isocyanurate trimer which behaves as a solvent for the rest non-degraded/rigid PUDIC to change into a lyotropic LC from thermotropic transition. Based on the degree of degradation, various amounts of trimers are present and the PUDIC demonstrates different types of thermal transitions found in DSC thermograms due to the variation of the non-degraded PUDIC concentration in solvent trimers. Finally, a phase diagram includes all types of crystallines, LC, and isotropic regions can be drawn according to the DSC thermograms.     

Fe-B-Y-Nb bulk metallic glasses in relation to clusters

Bulk metallic glass formations in the Fe-B-Y-Nb quaternary alloy system were investigated by using the cluster line rule in combination with the minor alloying principle. The Fe-B-Y ternary system was selected as the basic system and the intersections of cluster lines were taken as the basic ternary compositions. The basic compositions were further alloyed with minor amounts of Nb. After 3–5 at.% Nb was added, the basic composition Fe_68.6B_25.7Y_5.7, which was developed from the most densely packed cluster Fe₈B₃, formed 3 mm bulk metallic glasses. These quaternary bulk metallic glasses (Fe_68.6B_25.7Y_5.7)_100−x Nb _x (x = 3–5 at.%) are expressed approximately with a unified simple composition formula: (Fe₈B₃)₁(Y, Nb)₁. The (Fe_68.6B_25.7Y_5.7)₉₇Nb₃ bulk metallic glass has the largest glass forming ability with the following characteristic parameters T _g = 907 K, T _x = 1006 K, T _g/T _l = 0.644, γ = 0.434, and longness t = 22 mm. The combination of the cluster line rule and the minor-alloying principle is a promising new route towards the quantitative composition design of multi-component metallic glasses. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 50671018, 50631010 and 50401020) and the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB613902)     

基于多软件融合方法的真核生物基因启动子预测

基于多个软件的预测结果,提出了一种融合方法(ComPromoter)提高真核生物基因启动子的预测精度.ComPromoter以ProKey、FirstEF和Eponine等软件对启动子的预测结果为基础,融合了可用于启动子识别的多个特征(包括ProKey预测结果中真阳性和假阳性的出现频率随投票距离以及预测分值变化的统计特征),并利用支持向量机构建了启动子预测模型.在人类ENCODE区域测试数据集上测试的结果显示,ComPromoter的Pearson相关系数CC值高于所融合的单个启动子预测软件.     

The effect of F substitution on the magnetic properties of Nd−Fe−B based compounds

Various efforts are currently undertaken to raise the relatively low Curie temperature of the otherwise promising Nd?Fe?B type permanent magnet material. The substitution of Fe by several elements was found to increaseT _c, which, on the other hand, can be accompanied by a reduction of the magnetocrystalline anistropy. In the present paper a systematic Mössbauer study was carried out, using Co, Ni, Al, Si and Ga as substituents. The specific influence of each element upon the magnetic properties is attributed to its preference for entering a certain Fe lattice site. Simple atomic size considerations are proved to be insufficient for explaining the preferred occupation observed experimentally. Obviously the local electronic structure has to be studied more carefully. Finally, the interplay between magnetism and metallurgy (particularly the formation of precipitations), is found to be of some importance.     

Flexural behavior of strain-softening solids

The flexural behavior of a beam is investigated in an attempt to establish a correlation between the tensile and bending properties of strain-softening solids. Given the complete uniaxial stress—strain relations, including the post-peak tension-softening portion, it is possible to predict the flexural behavior in moment—curvature and load—deflection relations. The results indicate that strain-softening gives rise to enhanced bending strength in agreement with experimental data. Conversely, given the bending responses together with the softening characteristics the complete tensile behavior can be determined. Since bending experiments are easier to perform than uniaxial tensile tests, this well-defined correlation provides a feasible means to obtain the entire tensile behavior of strain-softening solids such as concrete, rocks and ceramics.     

Textile‐based Electrochemical Sensing: Effect of Fabric Substrate and Detection of Nitroaromatic Explosives

This study examines the influence of textile substrates upon the behavior of wearable screen‐printed electrodes and demonstrates the attractive sensing properties of these sensors towards the detection of nitroaromatic explosives. Compared to electrodes printed on common cotton or polyester substrates, GORE‐TEX‐based electrochemical sensors display reproducible background cyclic voltammograms, reflecting the excellent water‐repellant properties of the GORE‐TEX fabric. The wetting properties of different printed textile electrodes are elucidated using contact angle measurements. The influence of laundry washing and mechanical stress is explored. The GORE‐TEX‐based printed electrodes exhibit favorable detection of 2,4‐dinitrotoluene (DNT) and 2,4,6‐trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosives, including rapid detection of DNT vapor.     

Protein identification from two-dimensional gel electrophoresis by connecting ZipTip with a home-assembled nanoflow system

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful technique for protein identification in proteomic research. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) combined with MS is a significant method for protein separation and identification. For protein identification, peptide sequencing is usually carried out by an effective but expensive nano-flow liquid chromatographic system combined to tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). However, protein identification based on such method is time-consuming, and contamination may occur as a result of column overloading. In this study, we establish an alternative nanoscale system for protein identification using MS/MS. The system consists of several devices that can be purchased from commercial sources and can be connected to an electrospray ionization quadrupole-time of flight (ESI-Q-TOF) MS in order to analyze proteins from 2D gels. This inexpensive strategy provides an attractive alternative method for rapid identification of proteins using a nanospray source. In addition, the device is disposable so that contamination is avoided. It is shown that peptide sequencing based on this device using ESI-Q-TOF MS is accomplished within 10 min.