Impact of carbamylation on type I collagen conformational structure and its ability to activate human polymorphonuclear neutrophils

Carbamylation by urea-derived cyanate is a posttranslational modification of proteins increasing during chronic renal insufficiency, which alters structural and functional properties of proteins and modifies their interactions with cells. We report here the major structural alterations of type I collagen induced by carbamylation. Biophysical methods revealed that carbamylated collagen retained its triple-helical structure, but that slight changes destabilized some regions within the triple helix and decreased its ability to polymerize into normal fibrils. These changes were associated with the incapacity of carbamylated collagen to stimulate polymorphonuclear neutrophil oxidative functions. This process involved their interaction with LFA-1 integrin, but no subsequent p(125)FAK phosphorylation. Carbamylation of collagen might alter interactions between collagen and inflammatory cells in vivo and interfere with the normal remodeling of extracellular matrix, thus participating in the pathophysiological processes occurring during renal insufficiency.     

Large Deborah number flows around confined microfluidic cylinders

Viscoelastic flow around a confined cylinder at high Deborah numbers is studied using microfluidic channels. By varying fluid properties and flow rates, a systematic study of the roles of elasticity and inertia is accomplished. Two new elastic flow instabilities that occur at high Deborah numbers are identified. A downstream instability of disordered and temporally varying streamlines is observed at a Deborah number above 10. This instability is a precursor to an unsteady vortex that develops upstream of the cylinder at higher Deborah numbers. Both instabilities occur at moderate Reynolds numbers but are fundamentally elastic. The size and steadiness of the upstream vortex are primarily controlled by the Deborah and the elasticity number.     

Parametric studies and correlations for combined conduction-mixed convection–radiation from a non-identically and discretely heated vertical plate

The present paper reports the parametric studies and correlations for the problem of combined conduction-mixed convection–radiation from a non-identically and discretely heated vertical plate. Three discrete heat sources of non-identical heights but with identical volumetric rate of heat generation are assumed to be flush-mounted in a thin vertical plate. The longest and the shortest heaters are provided at the leading and trailing edges of the plate, while the remaining heater is located centrally. The governing fluid flow and heat transfer equations are considered in their full strength without the boundary layer approximations and are solved using the finite volume method. A computer code is written to solve the problem and various parametric studies have been performed. The relative roles of free convection, forced convection and radiation in various fluid flow and heat transfer results have been elucidated. In conclusion, based on a large set of data generated from the code, correlations for maximum non-dimensional plate temperature, average non-dimensional plate temperature and mean friction coefficient have been evolved.     

Wind turbine noise measurement using a compact microphone array with advanced deconvolution algorithms

This paper experimentally investigates the noise from a large wind turbine (GE 1.5 MW) with a compact microphone array (OptiNav 24) using advanced deconvolution based beamforming methods, such as DAMAS and CLEAN-SC beamforming algorithms, for data reduction. Our study focuses on the ability of a compact microphone array to successfully locate both mechanical and aerodynamic noise sources on the wind turbine. Several interesting results have emerged from this study: (i) A compact microphone array is sufficient to perform a detailed study on wind turbine noise if advanced deconvolution methods are applied. (ii) Noise sources on the blade and on the nacelle can clearly be separated. (iii) Noise of the blades is dominated by trailing edge noise which is frequency dependent and is distributed along the length of the blade with the dominant noise source closer to the tip of the blade. (iv) The LP and DAMAS algorithms represent the distributed trailing edge noise source better than CLEAN-SC and classical beamforming. (v) Additional tonal noise produced during yawing operation is believed to be radiating from the tower of the wind turbine that acts like a resonator. (vi) Ground reflection is not believed to have a significant effect on noise source location estimates in this study.     

Indentation studies on 〈1 0 0〉, 〈0 0 1〉 and 〈1 0 1〉 face of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) single crystals: A novel nonlinear optical material

In the present work, Vickers microhardness measurements were carried out on different faces i.e. (1 0 0), (0 0 1) and (1 0 1) of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) single crystals grown by slow evaporation solution technique at room temperature in the load ranging from 0.2 to 2 N. The obtained results show that the load independent hardness values are 0.8, 0.7 and 0.66 GPa, respectively at different faces of ADP crystal. From the crack length measurements, the fracture toughness values (K_c) was estimated using Evans and Anstis model and the present studies suggest that Evans model is more relevant when compared to Anstis model. The load variation of some mechanical properties viz. brittle index number (B_i) and yield strength (σ_y) for ADP have also been calculated for the first time.     

Finite inflation of a hyperelastic toroidal membrane over a cylindrical rim

The present paper is devoted to the study of finite inflation of a hyperelastic toroidal membrane on a cylindrical rim under uniform internal pressure. Both compliant and rigid frictionless rims have been considered. The compliant cylindrical rim is modeled as a linear distributed stiffness. The initial cross-section of the torus is assumed to be circular, and the membrane material is assumed to be a homogeneous and isotropic Mooney–Rivlin solid. The problem is formulated as a two point boundary value problem and solved using a shooting method by employing the Nelder–Meads search technique. The optimization function is constructed on a two (three) dimensional search space for the compliant cylinder (rigid cylinder). The effect of the inflation pressure, material properties and elastic properties of the rim on the state of stretch and stress, and on the geometry of the inflated torus have been studied, and some interesting results have been obtained. The stability of the inflated configurations in terms of occurrence of the impending wrinkling state in the membrane has also been studied.     

Short wave stability of homogeneous shear flows with variable topography

For the stability problem of homogeneous shear flows in sea straits of arbitrary cross section, a sufficient condition for stability is derived under the condition of inviscid flow. It is shown that there is a critical wave number, and if the wave number of a normal mode is greater than this critical wave number, the mode is stable.     

HPLC-assisted automated oligosaccharide synthesis

A standard HPLC was adapted to polymer supported oligosaccharide synthesis. Solution-based reagents are delivered using a software-controlled solvent delivery system. The reaction progress and completion can be monitored in real time using a standard UV detector. All steps of oligosaccharide assembly including loading, glycosylation, deprotection, and cleavage can be performed using this setup.     

Load balancing via random local search in closed and open systems

In this paper, we analyze the performance of random load resampling and migration strategies in parallel server systems. Clients initially attach themselves to an arbitrary server, but may switch servers independently at random instants of time in an attempt to improve their service rate. This approach to load balancing contrasts with traditional approaches where clients make smart server selections upon arrival (e.g., Join-the-Shortest-Queue policy and variants thereof). Load resampling is particularly relevant in scenarios where clients cannot predict the load of a server before being actually attached to it. An important example is in wireless spectrum sharing where clients try to share a set of frequency bands in a distributed manner. We first analyze the natural Random Local Search (RLS) strategy. Under this strategy, after sampling a new server randomly, clients only switch to it if their service rate is improved. In closed systems, where the client population is fixed, we derive tight estimates of the time it takes under RLS strategy to balance the load across servers. We then study open systems where clients arrive according to a random process and leave the system upon service completion. In this scenario, we analyze how client migrations within the system interact with the system dynamics induced by client arrivals and departures. We compare the load-aware RLS strategy to a load-oblivious strategy in which clients just randomly switch server without accounting for the server loads. Surprisingly, we show that both load-oblivious and load-aware strategies stabilize the system whenever this is at all possible. We use large-system asymptotics to characterize system performance, and augment this with simulations, which suggest that the average client sojourn time under the load-oblivious strategy is not considerably reduced when clients apply smarter load-aware strategies.     

Highly convergent one-pot four-component regioselective synthesis of 4H-benzo[f]chromenes via annulation of β-oxodithioesters

Highly efficient regioselective protocol for the synthesis of hitherto unreported 4H-benzo[f]chromenes has been developed by one-pot four-component coupling of aromatic aldehydes, β-naphthol, β-oxodithioesters, and primary alcohols in the presence of InCl₃. This transformation presumably proceeds via domino Knoevenagel condensation/Michael addition/intramolecular cyclodehydration/transesterification sequence creating four new bonds and one stereocenter in a single operation. Further, alcohol plays dual role as a reactant as well as reaction medium.