Influence of the aggregation state in solution on the supramolecular organization of adsorbed type I collagen layers

In the last years, adsorbed collagen was shown to form layers with a supramolecular organization depending on the substrate surface properties and on the preparation procedure. If the concentration of collagen and the duration of adsorption are sufficient, fibrillar collagen structures are formed, corresponding to assemblies of a few molecules. This occurs more readily on hydrophobic compared to hydrophilic surfaces. This study aims at understanding the origin of such fibrillar structures and in particular at determining whether they result from the deposition of fibrils formed in solution or from the building of assemblies at the interface. Therefore, type I collagen solutions with an increasing degree of aggregation were prepared, using the “neutral-start” approach, by ageing pH 5.8 solutions at 37 °C for 15 min, 2 or 7 days. The obtained solutions were used to investigate the influence of collagen aggregation in solution on the supramolecular organization of adsorbed collagen layers, which was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Polystyrene and plasma-oxidized polystyrene were chosen as substrates for the adsorption. The size and the density of collagen fibrils at the interface decreased upon increasing the degree of aggregation of collagen in solution. This is explained by a competitive adsorption process between monomers and aggregates of the solution, turning at the advantage of the monomers. More aggregated solutions, which are thus depleted in free monomers, behave like less concentrated solutions, i.e. lead to a lower adsorbed amount and less fibril formation at the interface. This study shows that the supramolecular fibrils observed in adsorbed collagen layers, especially on hydrophobic substrates, are not formed in the solution, prior to adsorption, but are built at the interface, through the assembly of free segments of adsorbed molecules.     

Separation of fatty acid methyl esters by comprehensive two-dimensional supercritical fluid chromatography with packed columns and programming of sampling duration

Fatty acid methyl esters from various fats and oils were separated by comprehensive two-dimensional supercritical fluid chromatography with conventional packed columns and FID detection. The first dimension was a silica gel column and the second dimension was an ODS column. This combination was largely orthogonal for the separation of fatty acid methyl esters. The first dimension separations were primarily based on the number of double bonds while the second dimension separations were based on the chain length. The highly-ordered chromatograms and improved resolution allowed the easy detection and identification of minor components. Although the first dimension separations were performed under isobaric conditions where the peak width increased in proportion to the retention, the programming of the sampling duration allowed us to maintain the optimum re-injection frequency (3–4 times) per peak into the second dimension and so to minimize the total analysis time without deteriorating the resolution.     

Protein identification by peptide mass fingerprinting and peptide sequence tagging with alternating scans of nano-liquid chromatography/infrared multiphoton dissociation Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

We have developed a method for protein identification with peptide mass fingerprinting and sequence tagging using nano liquid chromatography (LC)/Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS). To achieve greater sensitivity, a nanoelectrospray (nano-ES) needle packed with reversed-phase medium was used and connected to the nano-ES ion source of the FTICR mass spectrometer. To obtain peptide sequence tag information, infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) was carried out in nano-LC/FTICR-MS analysis. The analysis involves alternating nano-ES/FTICR-MS and nano-ES/IRMPD-FTICR-MS scans during a single LC run, which provides sets of parent and fragment ion masses of the proteolytic digest. The utility of this alternating-scan nano-LC/IRMPD-FTICR-MS approach was evaluated by using bovine serum albumin as a standard protein. We applied this approach to the protein identification of rat liver diacetyl-reducing enzyme. It was demonstrated that this enzyme was correctly identified as 3-alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase by the alternating-scan nano-LC/IRMPD-FTICR-MS approach with accurate peptide mass fingerprinting and peptide sequence tagging.     

Surface Complexation Modeling of K(+), NO(3)(-), SO(4)(2-), Ca(2+), F(-), Co(2+), and Cr(3+) Ion Adsorption on Silica Gel

Surface complex formation of K(+), NO(3)(-), SO(4)(2-), Ca(2+), F(-), Co(2+), and Cr(3+) ions was determined on the surface of silica gel. Experimental data obtained by acid-base titration of suspensions were interpreted in terms of the triple-layer model. The value of the deprotonation constant of surface OH could be determined precisely but the protonation constant was rather uncertain. The logarithms of ion pair formation constants for K(+), NO(3)(-), Ca(2+), and SO(4)(2-) adsorbed in the beta-plane are log K(ipM,X) approximately 0, therefore these species can be considered inert ions in the investigated pH range. F(-), Co(2+), and Cr(3+) ions were found to be strongly sorbed in the o-plane. In order to provide a good fit and to obtain parameters independent of their initial values, all possible equilibrium must be accounted for in the models. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as a tool for estimating odour concentrations of biofilter effluents at aerobic composting and rendering plants

The relationship between chemical concentrations (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis) and odour concentrations (olfactometry) was studied for biofilter emissions from four aerobic vegetable, fruit and garden waste (VFG) composting plants and one animal rendering plant. For the VFG composting plants, the study revealed a good linear relationship of the odour concentration with the total volatile organic compounds (VOC) concentration (R²=0.97, n=16) as well as with the concentration of esters and ketones (R²=0.9, n=19). For biofilter emissions of the animal rendering plant, the total VOC concentration was a poor estimator for odour concentration. However, for this type of odour, concentrations of organic sulphur containing compounds correlated well with odour concentrations (R²=0.94, n=8). The results of the study also showed that the relationship between chemical and odour concentrations is specific for each type of odour and cannot be generalized.     

GUH-1型水基金属清洗剂中表面活性剂的生物降解性研究

主要模拟在水体环境中表面活性剂的自然生物降解,对4种水基金属清洗剂的生物降解性进行了试验.其最佳清洗温度为65 ℃左右,2 d后清洗废液中的生化降解度为36.09%,结果表明,自制的GUH-1型水基金属清洗剂为一种综合性能指标优良的绿色水基金属清洗剂.     

新工科背景下“机械设计课程设计”教学改革

针对机械设计课程设计很难适应和支撑新产业和新技术发展需求的问题,以产品"构思、设计、实现、运行"的全生命周期为载体,基于产教融合、科教结合、校企合作和各种竞赛,改革机械设计课程设计题目、内容、手段,加强师资队伍建设,建立从理论学习、设计训练、动手实践再到工程探究的课程设计教学链条,实现理论教学与实践教学的交叉螺旋进行,扩充学生的知识结构,培养能够适应和支撑产业发展的创新型工程人才和具有国际竞争力的技术人才。     

Dirac states from p_(x,y) orbitals in the buckled honeycomb structures:A tight-binding model and first-principles combined study

Dirac states composed of p_(x,y) orbitals have been reported in many two-dimensional(2 D) systems with honeycomb lattices recently. Their potential importance has aroused strong interest in a comprehensive understanding of such states.Here, we construct a four-band tight-binding model for the p_(x,y)-orbital Dirac states considering both the nearest neighbor hopping interactions and the lattice-buckling effect. We find that p_(x,y)-orbital Dirac states are accompanied with two additional narrow bands that are flat in the limit of vanishing π bonding, which is in agreement with previous studies. Most importantly, we analytically obtain the linear dispersion relationship between energy and momentum vector near the Dirac cone. We find that the Fermi velocity is determined not only by the hopping through π bonding but also by the hopping through σ bonding of p_(x,y) orbitals, which is in contrast to the case of p_z-orbital Dirac states. Consequently, p_(x,y)-orbital Dirac states offer more flexible engineering, with the Fermi velocity being more sensitive to the changes of lattice constants and buckling angles, if strain is exerted. We further validate our tight-binding scheme by direct first-principles calculations of model-materials including hydrogenated monolayer Bi and Sb honeycomb lattices. Our work provides a more in-depth understanding of p_(x,y)-orbital Dirac states in honeycomb lattices, which is useful for the applications of this family of materials in nanoelectronics.     

Design, parametrization, and pole placement of stabilizing output feedback compensators via injective cogenerator quotient signal modules

Control design belongs to the most important and difficult tasks of control engineering and has therefore been treated by many prominent researchers and in many textbooks, the systems being generally described by their transfer matrices or by Rosenbrock equations and more recently also as behaviors. Our approach to controller design uses, in addition to the ideas of our predecessors on coprime factorizations of transfer matrices and on the parametrization of stabilizing compensators, a new mathematical technique which enables simpler design and also new theorems in spite of the many outstanding results of the literature: (1) We use an injective cogenerator signal module ? over the polynomial algebra [Formula: see text] (F an infinite field), a saturated multiplicatively closed set T of stable polynomials and its quotient ring [Formula: see text] of stable rational functions. This enables the simultaneous treatment of continuous and discrete systems and of all notions of stability, called T-stability. We investigate stabilizing control design by output feedback of input/output (IO) behaviors and study the full feedback IO behavior, especially its autonomous part and not only its transfer matrix. (2) The new technique is characterized by the permanent application of the injective cogenerator quotient signal module [Formula: see text] and of quotient behaviors [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text]-behaviors B. (3) For the control tasks of tracking, disturbance rejection, model matching, and decoupling and not necessarily proper plants we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of proper stabilizing compensators with proper and stable closed loop behaviors, parametrize all such compensators as IO behaviors and not only their transfer matrices and give new algorithms for their construction. Moreover we solve the problem of pole placement or spectral assignability for the complete feedback behavior. The properness of the full feedback behavior ensures the absence of impulsive solutions in the continuous case, and that of the compensator enables its realization by Kalman state space equations or elementary building blocks. We note that every behavior admits an IO decomposition with proper transfer matrix, but that most of these decompositions do not have this property, and therefore we do not assume the properness of the plant. (4) The new technique can also be applied to more general control interconnections according to Willems, in particular to two-parameter feedback compensators and to the recent tracking framework of Fiaz/Takaba/Trentelman. In contrast to these authors, however, we pay special attention to the properness of all constructed transfer matrices which requires more subtle algorithms.     

Effect of retained austenite and nonmetallic inclusions on the thermal/electrical properties and resistance spot welding nuggets of Si-containing TRIP steels

Five advanced high-strength transformation-induced plasticity(TRIP) steels with different chemical compositions were studied to correlate the retained austenite and nonmetallic inclusion content with their physical properties and the characteristics of the resistance spot welding nuggets. Electrical and thermal properties and equilibrium phases of TRIP steels were predicted using the JMatPro? software. Retained austenite and nonmetallic inclusions were quantified by X-ray diffraction and saturation magnetization techniques. The nonmetallic inclusions were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the contents of Si, C, Al, and Mn in TRIP steels increase both the retained austenite and the nonmetallic inclusion contents. We found that nonmetallic inclusions affect the thermal and electrical properties of the TRIP steels and that the differences between these properties tend to result in different cooling rates during the welding process. The results are discussed in terms of the electrical and thermal properties determined from the chemical composition and their impact on the resistance spot welding nuggets.