Propagation of acoustic waves in a fibrous fluid-filled material

The homogenization method is used for the analysis of acoustic wave propagation in a unidirectional fibrous material for the acoustic control of the fiber arrangement in manufacturing composites. Acoustic equations for a rigid periodic structure filled by a nonviscous fluid are obtained by two-dimensional asymptotic expansions. A regular square and triangular arrangement of the fibers with a round cross-section are considered. The analysis reveals that the velocity of acoustic waves is significantly affected by both the volume content and the fiber arrangement.Moscow State Academy of Chemical Engineering, Russia. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 33, No. 5, pp. 651–655 September–October, 1997.     

Spectroscopic factors of9Be,10B and13C from (d,t) reactions

The differential cross sections of tritons from the (d, t) reaction on⁹Be,¹⁰B and¹³C targets have been measured in the angular range of 5° _LAB110° with relatively small errors, 5%. The experimental data were analysed in terms of the standard DWBA using both zero-range and exact finite-range approaches.     

Study of diffusion creep accompanying superplastic deformation of the alloy ZhS6KP

The development of diffusion creep (DC) accompanying superplastic deformation (SPD) of the highly doped nickel alloy ZhS6KP is studied based on an investigation of the redistribution of dispersed intragrain deposits of the phase of Ni₃(Al, Ti). Deposit-free zones (DFZ) are formed in the alloy, held at the temperature of SPD and accompanying deformation at the grain boundaries. The contribution of DC to the deformation was determined from a comparative analysis of the width of the DFZ in the deformed and undeformed parts of the samples for different grain sizes and rates of DC taking into account diffusion accommodation. It was established that for the optimum rate of SPD the upper limit of the contribution of DC to deformation for 2-m grains does not exceed 11%. It is concluded, based on the distribution of DFZ, that the effect of DC accompanying SPD is determined by diffusion fluxes, associated with the local concentration of stress accompanying the development of grain-boundary slipping.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 6, pp. 40–45, June, 1986.In conclusion, we thank Yu. M. Mishin for a useful discussion of the results.     

The role of the putative catalytic base in the phosphoryl transfer reaction in a protein kinase: first-principles calculations

Protein kinases are important enzymes controlling the majority of cellular signaling events via a transfer of the gamma-phosphate of ATP to a target protein. Even after many years of study, the mechanism of this reaction is still poorly understood. Among many factors that may be responsible for the 1011-fold rate enhancement due to this enzyme, the role of the conserved aspartate (Asp166) has been given special consideration. While the essential presence of Asp166 has been established by mutational studies, its function is still debated. The general base catalyst role assigned to Asp166 on the basis of its position in the active site has been brought into question by the pH dependence of the reaction rate, isotope measurements, and pre-steady-state kinetics. Recent semiempirical calculations have added to the controversy surrounding the role of Asp166 in the catalytic mechanism. No major role for Asp166 has been found in these calculations, which have predicted the reaction process consisting of an early transfer of a substrate proton onto the phosphate group. These conclusions were inconsistent with experimental observations. To address these differences between experimental results and theory with a more reliable computational approach and to provide a theoretical platform for understanding catalysis in this important enzyme family, we have carried out first-principles structural and dynamical calculations of the reaction process in cAPK kinase. To preserve the essential features of the reaction, representations of all of the key conserved residues (82 atoms) were included in the calculation. The structural calculations were performed using the local basis density functional (DFT) approach with both hybrid B3LYP and PBE96 generalized gradient approximations. This kind of calculation has been shown to yield highly accurate structural information for a large number of systems. The optimized reactant state structure is in good agreement with X-ray data. In contrast to semiempirical methods, the lowest energy product state places the substrate proton on Asp166. First-principles molecular dynamics simulations provide additional support for the stability of this product state. The latter also demonstrate that the proton transfer to Asp166 occurs at a point in the reaction where bond cleavage at the PO bridging position is already advanced. This mechanism is further supported by the calculated structure of the transition state in which the substrate hydroxyl group is largely intact. A metaphoshate-like structure is present in the transition state, which is consistent with the X-ray structures of transition state mimics. On the basis of the calculated structure of the transition state, it is estimated to be 85% dissociative. Our analysis also indicates an increase in the hydrogen bond strength between Asp166 and substrate hydroxyl and a small decrease in the bond strength of the latter in the transition state. In summary, our calculations demonstrate the importance of Asp166 in the enzymatic mechanism as a proton acceptor. However, the proton abstraction from the substrate occurs late in the reaction process. Thus, in the catalytic mechanism of cAPK protein kinase, Asp166 plays a role of a "proton trap" that locks the transferred phosphoryl group to the substrate. These results resolve prior inconsistencies between theory and experiment and bring new understanding of the role of Asp166 in the protein kinase catalytic mechanism.     

Zeeman effect and stark splitting of the electronic states of the rare-earth ion in the paramagnetic terbium garnets Tb<Subscript>3</Subscript>Ga<Subscript>5</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript> and Tb<Subscript>3</Subscript>Al<Subscript>5</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript>

The Zeeman effect in the ⁷ F ₆ → ⁵ D ₄ absorption band of the Tb³⁺ ion in the paramagnetic garnets Tb₃Ga₅O₁₂ and Tb₃Al₅O₁₂ was studied. The field dependences of the Zeeman splitting of some absorption lines are found to exhibit unusual behavior: as the magnetic field increases, the band splitting decreases rather than increases. Symmetry analysis relates these lines to 4f → 4f electron transitions of the doublet-quasi-doublet or quasi-doublet-doublet type, for which the field dependences of the splitting differ radically from the well-known field dependences of the Zeeman splitting for quasi-doublet-quasi-doublet or quasi-doublet-singlet transitions in a longitudinal magnetic field.     

Zeeman effect in the luminescence spectra of terbium-yttrium-aluminum garnet

The Zeeman effect is investigated in the green luminescence band corresponding to the 4f→4f radiative transition ⁵D₄ → ⁷F₅ of Tb ³⁺ ions in Tb _0.2 Y _2.8 A _l5 O ₁₂ terbium-yttrium-aluminum garnet at the temperature T = 85 K. It is demonstrated that an external field causes not only the Zeeman shifts of the resonant frequencies of radiative transitions in the luminescence spectra but also changes in the emission line intensities caused by modification of the optical transition probabilities in the σ₋ and σ₊ opposite circular polarization states. Special features of field dependences of the Zeeman effect for the emission lines are qualitatively explained based on the results of numerical energy spectrum calculations for the ⁵D₄ and ⁷F₅ multiplets of the Tb ³⁺ ion in yttrium-aluminum garnet in the geometry of the longitudinal and transverse Zeeman effects. The possibility of nonequilibrium population of sublevels of the (Γ₁, Γ₄) quasi-doublet state of the ⁵D₄ multiplet with energy of ∼20585 cm⁻¹ is demonstrated in an external magnetic field. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 6, pp. 38–45, June, 2008.     

Grain boundary role and behaviour during high-temperature deformation of polycrystals

Data concerning the phenomenology and nature of some grain boundary (GB) processes — dynamic recovery at GB and GB sliding during high temperature deformation of polycrystals are given. On the basis of these data a new model of superplasticity (SP) is discussed. The possibility of realization of SP at relatively low temperatures is shown.     

Deformability of thermoplastics in physiological salt solution

Conclusions 1. The creep of thermoplastics in physiological salt solution is characterized by change in the rate of creep deformation relative to the creep in air. The bending creep deformations of HMWPE and phenylone and the compressive creep deformation of HMWPE are described by a binomial equation [Eq. (5)] and the compressive creep deformation of phenylone is described by Eq. (6).2. The lifetime of the thermoplastics studied under static compression and bending determined relative to limiting deformations is described by Eq. (7). Under the same stresses and limiting deformations, the lifetime of phenylone in physiological salt solution is greater than the lifetime of HMWPE.3. After the simultaneous action of physiological salt solution and static stress over one month, most of the characteristics of short-term strength in phenylone are significantly reduced due to swelling in the model medium.Paper presented at the Third All-Union Conference on Polymer Mechanics, Riga, 1976.N. N. Priorov Central Scientific-Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Moscow. Kazan Construction Engineering Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 325–331, March–April, 1978.