In Silico Analysis of P450s and Their Role in Secondary Metabolism in the Bacterial Class Gammaproteobacteria

The impact of lifestyle on shaping the genome content of an organism is a well-known phenomenon and cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs/P450s), heme-thiolate proteins that are ubiquitously present in organisms, are no exception. Recent studies focusing on a few bacterial species such as Streptomyces, Mycobacterium, Cyanobacteria and Firmicutes revealed that the impact of lifestyle affected the P450 repertoire in these species. However, this phenomenon needs to be understood in other bacterial species. We therefore performed genome data mining, annotation, phylogenetic analysis of P450s and their role in secondary metabolism in the bacterial class Gammaproteobacteria. Genome-wide data mining for P450s in 1261 Gammaproteobacterial species belonging to 161 genera revealed that only 169 species belonging to 41 genera have P450s. A total of 277 P450s found in 169 species grouped into 84 P450 families and 105 P450 subfamilies, where 38 new P450 families were found. Only 18% of P450s were found to be involved in secondary metabolism in Gammaproteobacterial species, as observed in Firmicutes as well. The pathogenic or commensal lifestyle of Gammaproteobacterial species influences them to such an extent that they have the lowest number of P450s compared to other bacterial species, indicating the impact of lifestyle on shaping the P450 repertoire. This study is the first report on comprehensive analysis of P450s in Gammaproteobacteria.     

Indium-doped ZnOas efficient photosensitive material for sunlight driven hydrogen generation and DSSC applications: integrated experimental and computational approach

Electricity generation using simple and cheap dye-sensitized solar cells and photocatalytic water splitting to produce future fuel, hydrogen, directly under natural sunlight fascinated the researchers worldwide. Herein, synthesis of indium-doped wurtzite ZnO nanostructures with varying molar percentage of indium from 0.25 to 3.0% with concomitant characterization indicating wurtzite structure is reported. The shift of (002) reflection plane to higher 2θ degree with increase in indium-doping thus is a clear evidence of doping of indium in zinc oxide nanoparticles. Surface morphological as well as microstructural studies of In@ZnO exhibited generation of ZnO nanoparticles and nanoplates of diameter 10–30 nm. The structures have been correlated well using computational density functional (DFT) studies. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy depicted the extended absorbance of these materials in the visible region. Hence, the photocatalytic activity towards hydrogen generation from water under natural sunlight as well as efficient DSSC fabrication of these newly synthesized materials has been demonstrated. In-doped ZnO exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity towards hydrogen evolution (2465 μmol/h/g) via water splitting under natural sunlight. DSSC fabricated using 2% In-doped ZnO exhibited an efficiency of 3.46% which is higher than other reported In-doped ZnO based DSSCs.

     

Growth under Visible Light Increases Conidia and Mucilage Production and Tolerance to UV‐B Radiation in the Plant Pathogenic Fungus Colletotrichum acutatum

Light conditions can influence fungal development. Some spectral wavebands can induce conidial production, whereas others can kill the conidia, reducing the population size and limiting dispersal. The plant pathogenic fungus Colletotrichum acutatum causes anthracnose in several crops. During the asexual stage on the host plant, Colletototrichum produces acervuli with abundant mucilage‐embedded conidia. These conidia are responsible for fungal dispersal and host infection. This study examined the effect of visible light during C. acutatum growth on the production of conidia and mucilage and also on the UV tolerance of these conidia. Conidial tolerance to an environmentally realistic UV irradiance was determined both in conidia surrounded by mucilage on sporulating colonies and in conidial suspension. Exposures to visible light during fungal growth increased production of conidia and mucilage as well as conidial tolerance to UV. Colonies exposed to light produced 1.7 times more conidia than colonies grown in continuous darkness. The UV tolerances of conidia produced under light were at least two times higher than conidia produced in the dark. Conidia embedded in the mucilage on sporulating colonies were more tolerant of UV than conidia in suspension that were washed free of mucilage. Conidial tolerance to UV radiation varied among five selected isolates.     

An Efficient Halogen‐Free Electrolyte for Use in Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries

Unlocking the full potential of rechargeable magnesium batteries has been partially hindered by the reliance on chloride‐based complex systems. Despite the high anodic stability of these electrolytes, they are corrosive toward metallic battery components, which reduce their practical electrochemical window. Following on our new design concept involving boron cluster anions, monocarborane CB₁₁H₁₂^? produced the first halogen‐free, simple‐type Mg salt that is compatible with Mg metal and displays an oxidative stability surpassing that of ether solvents. Owing to its inertness and non‐corrosive nature, the Mg(CB₁₁H₁₂)₂/tetraglyme (MMC/G4) electrolyte system permits standardized methods of high‐voltage cathode testing that uses a typical coin cell. This achievement is a turning point in the research and development of Mg electrolytes that has deep implications on realizing practical rechargeable Mg batteries.     

Anomalous rolling of spheres down an inclined plane

A sphere in air will roll down a plane that is tilted away from the vertical. The only couple acting about the point of contact between the sphere and the plane is due to the component of the weight of the sphere along the plane, provided that air friction is negligible. If on the other hand the sphere is immersed in a liquid, hydrodynamic forces will enter into the couples that turn the sphere, and the rotation of the sphere can be anomalous, i.e., as if rolling up the plane while it falls. In this paper we shall show that anomalous rolling is a characteristic phenomenon that can be observed in every viscoelastic liquid tested so far. Anomalous rolling is normal for hydrodynamically levitated spheres, both in Newtonian and viscoelastic liquids. Normal and anomalous rolling are different names for dry and hydrodynamic rolling. Spheres dropped at a vertical wall in Newtonian liquids are forced into anomalous rotation and are pushed away from the wall while in viscoelastic liquids, they are forced into anomalous rotation, but are pushed toward the wall. If the wall is inclined and the fluid is Newtonian, the spheres will rotate normally for dry rolling, but the same spheres rotate anomalously in viscoelastic liquids when the angle of inclination from the vertical is less than some critical value. The hydrodynamic mechanisms underway in the settling of circular particles in a Newtonian fluid at a vertical wall are revealed by an exact numerical simulation based on a finite-element solution of the Navier-Stokes equations and Newton's equations of motion for a rigid body.     

The automatic control of boundary-layer transition — Experiments and computation

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the control of boundary-layer transition through the use of wall suction. In the current work suction is provided through one or more suction panels situated close to the leading edge of a plate. Experiments show that boundary-layer pressure fluctuation measurements can be used to identify the position of transition. Transition can be maintained at a desired location with minimum power consumption by employing an automatic adaptive feedback control loop which regulates the suction flow rates of two independent suction panels. This can be expressed as a constrained optimization problem. To allow the suction flow rates to be updated, a modified least mean squares algorithm is used within the control loop. Experimental measurements show that the control algorithm allows fast and stable convergence towards the optimum suction distribution for a double suction panel configuration. Numerical simulations have also been performed. The two-dimensional boundary layer was calculated allowing the viscous boundary layer to interact with the inviscid outer flow. Following linear stability theory the spatial growth rates are calculated by solving an Orr-Sommerfeld type eigenvalue problem, with the streamwise location of transition predicted via thee ^N -method. Applying the same optimization strategy as in the experiments, good qualitative agreement between computations and experiments was found. The optimization algorithm has been applied to computer models where the relation between suction flow rates and transition location is described by an empirical analytical function. This shows that the controller can in principle be applied to systems with more than two suction panels.Nomenclature b transition location with zero suction - d desired transition location - e(k) error signal - k iteration index - p rms pressure - p _ref reference rms pressure - r sum of the reference pressure - u streamwise velocity - u _e external velocity - inviscid external velocity - A wave amplitude - F( ) cost function - I identity matrix - N maximum amplification factor - P projection matrix - R Reynolds number - Re Reynolds number based on the boundary-layer thickness - R matrix of weights - Tu turbulence level - vector of suction flow rates - v normal velocity - v _wall suction velocity at the surface - x streamwise coordinates - x _m microphone location - x _T(k) measured transition location - y normal coordinate - y(k) sum of the measured pressures - w(k) noise - plate length - r +i _i - free stream velocity - * displacement thickness - gradient vector - Lagrange multiplier - controller gain - disturbance stream function - disturbance amplitude - wave frequency = complex wave number     

Measurement of unsteady surface pressure on a slender wing undergoing a self-induced oscillation

Summary The methodology outlined here was shown to be an effective means by which detailed unsteady surface pressure measurements may be obtained on a wing undergoing a self-induced oscillation in a wind tunnel study. Previous methods have relied on forcing the wing through a sinusoidal motion at a fixed amplitude and frequency. The advantage of the technique outlined here is that pressure measurements are obtained for the exact motion time history, including all transient motions. In fact, almost any self-induced or forced motion may be implemented by the system. The method also has the advantage of a significant reduction in the cost of pressure transducers due to the repeatability of the unsteady flowfield.Funds for the support of this study have been allocated by the NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, under Interchange No. NCA2406, and the University of Notre Dame     

Residual Stress Determination Using Hole Drilling and 3D Image Correlation

In recent years, the hole drilling method for determining residual stresses has been implemented with optical methods such as holographic interferometry and ESPI to overcome certain limitations of the strain rosette version of hole drilling. Although offering advantages, the interferometric methods require vibration isolation, a significant drawback to their use outside of the laboratory. In this study, a 3D image correlation approach was used to measure micron-sized surface displacements caused by the localized stress relief associated with hole drilling. Residual stresses were then found from the displacements using non-dimensional relations previously derived by finite element analysis. A major advantage of image correlation is that it does not require interferometric vibration isolation. Experiments were performed to check the ability of this new approach for uniaxial and equi-biaxial states of stress. Stresses determined by the approach were in good agreement with computed values and those determined by hole drilling using holographic interferometry.