The Influence of Periodic Excitation on a Turbulent Separation Bubble

Turbulent separation limits the performance in many engineering applications, for example creating pressure losses in diffuser like flows or stall on aircraft wings. In the present study the turbulent boundary layer flow over a flat plate separating due to an adverse pressure gradient is studied as a model problem and the effect of periodic excitation in both time and space is investigated through direct numerical simulations. Linear stability analysis is used to analyse the sensitivity of the flow with respect to time-periodic excitations. The dependence on position, amplitude and frequency of the forcing is investigated. For a certain frequency range at sufficiently high amplitudes, it is possible to eliminate the separated region. Furthermore, three-dimensional effects are studied by applying a steady spanwise forcing as well as a both time-dependent and spanwise varying forcing. A forcing varying in spanwise direction is shown to be the most effective in eliminating the separated region, whereas two-dimensional time-periodic excitation was not as efficient as it was expected.     

It''s a dusty Universe: surface science in space

We live in a dusty Universe! Dust is not only found in our solar system among the planets but is found in a wide variety of objects throughout the Universe, mainly in those regions between the stars known as interstellar clouds. Interstellar dust particles, which consist of cores of silicates and carbonaceous material often surrounded by icy mantles, are most probably highly irregular in shape with a size distribution from micro- to nanometers. Interstellar dust is important for many reasons, including the template it provides for surface chemical reactions that form, among other species, the most important interstellar molecule––H₂. In this article, we discuss the evidence for interstellar dust, its physical and chemical properties, its role in interstellar surface chemistry, and what remains to be learned.     

Investigation of hydrogen absorption in Li7VN4 and Li7MnN4

The hydrogen storage properties of Li(7)VN(4) and Li(7)MnN(4) were investigated both by experiment and by density functional theory calculations. Li(7)VN(4) did not sorb hydrogen under our experimental conditions. Li(7)MnN(4) was observed to sorb 7 hydrogen atoms through the formation of LiH, Mn(4)N, and ammonia gas. An applied pressurized mixture of H(2)/Ar and H(2)/N(2) gases was helpful to mitigate the release of NH(3) but could not prevent its formation. The introduction of N(2) also caused weight gain of the sample by re-nitriding the absorbed products LiH and Mn(4)N, which correlated with the presence of Li(2)NH, LiNH(2), and Mn(2)N detected by X-ray diffraction. While our observed results for Li(7)VN(4) and Li(7)MnN(4) differ in detail, they are in overall qualitative agreement with our theoretical work, which strongly suggests that both compounds are unlikely to form quaternary hydrides.     

Luminescent kinase activity biosensors based on a versatile bimolecular switch

Real-time tracking of kinase activity in living systems has revealed new modes of encoding signaling information into spatiotemporal activity patterns and opened new avenues for screening kinase modulators. However, the sensitivity of kinase activity detection, which is commonly coupled to a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based readout, has often been a limiting factor. Here we show that a kinase-inducible bimolecular switch consisting of a substrate for the kinase of interest and a phosphoamino acid binding domain can be designed to sense different kinase activities and coupled to various readouts, thereby allowing for examination of dynamic kinase activity with increased sensitivity and versatility. Specifically, we demonstrate that bimolecular switches designed to sense protein kinase A (PKA) or protein kinase C (PKC) activities can turn on FRET as well as bioluminescence signals. Notably, the FRET-based sensors gain larger dynamic ranges in comparison with their unimolecular counterparts; the novel bioluminescence-based reporters for PKA and PKC show high sensitivity and a unique capability to detect basal kinase activities and should enable new applications in in vivo imaging of kinase activity and high-throughput compound screening. Thus, this generalizable design advances the molecular toolkit of kinase activity detection and provides a means for versatile and sensitive detection of kinase activity in various biological systems.     

Designing representations of trigonometry instruction to study the rationality of community college teaching

We describe the process followed to design representations of mathematics teaching in a community college. The end product sought are animated videos to be used in investigating the practical rationality that community college instructors use to justify norms of the didactical contract or possible departures from those norms. We have chosen to work within the trigonometry course, in the context of an instructional situation, ??finding the values of trigonometric functions,?? and specifically on a case of this situation that occurs as instructors and students are working on examples on the board. We describe the design of the material needed to produce the animations: (1) identifying an instructional situation, (2) identifying norms of the contract that are key in that situation, (3) selecting or creating a scenario that illustrates those norms, (4) proposing alternative scenarios that instantiate breaches of those norms, and (5) anticipating justifications or rebuttals for the breaches that could be found in instructors?? reactions. We illustrate the interplay of contextual and theoretical elements as we make decisions and state hypothesis about the situation that will be prototyped.     

An integrated bioanalytical platform for supporting high-throughput serum protein binding screening

Quantification of small molecules using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer has become a common practice in bioanalytical support of in vitro adsorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) screening. The bioanalysis process involves primarily three indispensable steps: MS/MS optimization for a large number of new chemical compounds undergoing various screening assays in early drug discovery, high-throughput sample analysis with LC/MS/MS for those chemically diverse compounds using the optimized MS/MS conditions, and post-acquisition data review and reporting. To improve overall efficiency of ADME bioanalysis, an integrated system was proposed featuring an automated and unattended MS/MS optimization, a staggered parallel LC/MS/MS for high-throughput sample analysis, and a sophisticated software tool for LC/MS/MS raw data review as well as biological data calculation and reporting. The integrated platform has been used in bioanalytical support of a serum protein binding screening assay with high speed, high capacity, and good robustness. In this new platform, a unique sample dilution scheme was also introduced. With this dilution design, the total number of analytical samples was reduced; therefore, the total operation time was reduced and the overall throughput was further improved. The performance of the protein binding screening assay was monitored with two controls representing high and low binding properties and an acceptable inter-assay consistency was achieved. This platform has been successfully used for the determination of serum protein binding in multiple species for more than 4000 compounds.     

Magnetic properties of CoFe1.9RE0.1O4 nanoparticles (RE=La,Ce, Nd,Sm, Eu,Gd, Tb,Ho) prepared in polyol

Highly crystalline CoFe_1.9RE_0.1O₄ ferrite nanoparticles, where RE=La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, and Ho, have been synthesized by forced hydrolysis in polyol. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectrometry, Co K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetic measurements using a SQUID magnetometer were employed to investigate the effect of the substitution RE³⁺ ions for Fe³⁺ ones on the structure, the microstructure, the chemical homogeneity, and the magnetic properties of the cobalt ferrite system. All the produced particles are superparamagnetic at room temperature. Nevertheless, the substitution causes reduction of the blocking temperature which is mainly ascribed to partial cation exchange among the spinel-like sublattices of CoFe₂O₄ induced by the insertion of the relatively large RE³⁺ ions. The low-temperature saturation magnetization and coercivity appear to be greatly affected by the nature of RE³⁺ ions—maxima values were found for Gd³⁺ and Eu³⁺, respectively.     

Untersuchungen über die Hemmung der Ureaseaktivität durch sulfonierte Polygalacturonsäuren

Zusammenfassung Die Ureaseaktivität wird durch sulfonierte Polygalacturonsäuren kompetitiv gehemmt, während nichtsulfonierte Polygalacturonsäuren wirkungslos sind. Die Hemmung zeigt eine weitgehende Abhängigkeit vom pH des Versuchsansatzes. Auf der sauren Seite des isoelektrischen Punktes der Urease (etwa pH 5,0) ist die Hemmung deutlich ausgeprägt und verschwindet selbst bei hohen Konzentrationen des Inhibitors, wenn das pH des isoelektrischen Punktes überschritten wird. Ein Einfluß des Molekulargewichtes war nicht festzustellen.Mit 2 Abbildungen     

Production of Upsilon(1S) mesons from chi(b) decays in p&pmacr; collisions at sqrt

We have reconstructed the radiative decays chi(b)(1P)-->Upsilon(1S)gamma and chi(b)(2P)-->Upsilon(1S)gamma in p&pmacr; collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.8 TeV, and measured the fraction of Upsilon(1S) mesons that originate from these decays. For Upsilon(1S) mesons with p(Upsilon)(T)>8.0 GeV/c, the fractions that come from chi(b)(1P) and chi(b)(2P) decays are [27.1+/-6.9(stat)+/-4. 4(syst)]% and [10.5+/-4.4(stat)+/-1.4(syst)]%, respectively. We have derived the fraction of directly produced Upsilon(1S) mesons to be [50.9+/-8.2(stat)+/-9.0(syst)]%.     

An electromagnetic calorimeter for the silicon detector concept

A silicon-tungsten calorimeter for silicon detector (SiD) at the International Linear Collider is under development. Recent progress is summarized.