The Loss of Functional Caspase-12 in Europe Is a Pre-Neolithic Event

6 p.

Las fórmulas epigráficas honore contentus, honore accepto, honore usus en los homenajes hispanos. Estudio preliminar

Homenaje a Ignacio Barandiarán Maestu.

About the Stabilization of a Nonlinear Perturbed Difference Equation

This paper investigates the local asymptotic stabilization of a very general class of instable autonomous nonlinear difference equations which are subject to perturbed dynamics which can have a different order than that of the nominal difference equation. In the general case, the controller consists of two combined parts, namely, the feedback nominal controller which stabilizes the nominal (i.e., perturbation-free) difference equation plus an incremental controller which completes the stabilization in the presence of perturbed or unmodeled dynamics in the uncontrolled difference equation. A stabilization variant consists of using a single controller to stabilize both the nominal difference equation and also the perturbed one under a small-type characterization of the perturbed dynamics. The study is based on Banach fixed point principle, and it is also valid with slight modification for the stabilization of unstable oscillatory solutions.

Wide Screening of Phage-Displayed Libraries Identifies Immune Targets in Planta

Microbe-Associated Molecular Patterns and virulence effectors are recognized by plants as a first step to mount a defence response against potential pathogens. This recognition involves a large family of extracellular membrane receptors and other immune proteins located in different sub-cellular compartments. We have used phage-display technology to express and select for Arabidopsis proteins able to bind bacterial pathogens. To rapidly identify microbe-bound phage, we developed a monitoring method based on microarrays. This combined strategy allowed for a genome-wide screening of plant proteins involved in pathogen perception. Two phage libraries for high-throughput selection were constructed from cDNA of plants infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14, or from combined samples of the virulent isolate DC3000 of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato and its avirulent variant avrRpt2. These three pathosystems represent different degrees in the specificity of plant-microbe interactions. Libraries cover up to 26107 different plant transcripts that can be displayed as functional proteins on the surface of T7 bacteriophage. A number of these were selected in a bio-panning assay for binding to Pseudomonas cells. Among the selected clones we isolated the ethylene response factor ATERF-1, which was able to bind the three bacterial strains in competition assays. ATERF-1 was rapidly exported from the nucleus upon infiltration of either alive or heat-killed Pseudomonas. Moreover, aterf-1 mutants exhibited enhanced susceptibility to infection. These findings suggest that ATERF-1 contains a microbe-recognition domain with a role in plant defence. To identify other putative pathogen-binding proteins on a genome-wide scale, the copy number of selected-vs.-total clones was compared by hybridizing phage cDNAs with Arabidopsis microarrays. Microarray analysis revealed a set of 472 candidates with significant fold change. Within this set defence-related genes, including well-known targets of bacterial effectors, are over-represented. Other genes non-previously related to defence can be associated through this study with general or strain-specific recognition of Pseudomonas.

液氦温区VM型脉冲管制冷机的研究

本文的研究成果是世界上第一台热压缩机驱动的液氮温区脉冲管制冷机．它的主要特点是采用热压缩机来驱动脉冲管制冷机，主要研究目标有以下两个：无阀压缩机驱动的高效率液氦温区制冷机和使用最小容积的氦3得到低于2K的最低温度．热压缩机的设计与VM制冷机类似，利用室温和液氮之间的温差产生压力波，但一个重要的发明是功传递管的引入使得本系统中的热压缩机没有低温下的运动部件．使用这种设计也是一个全新的研究，它的重要性可以与脉冲管的引入取消了制冷机低温下的运动部件比拟．笔者进行了最初原型的调试，提出并完成了两次重要改进；最后在压比小于1.3的情况下成功地获得了3.5K的最低温度；为以后的发展打下了好的基础．

微重力下固体扩散火焰特征研究

该文利用数值模拟和理论分析的方法,研究了微重力下环境气体中的惰性气体辐射再吸收特性和环境压力等参数对火焰沿薄燃料表面传播的影响,以及微重力下水雾对固体扩散火焰的抑制,并对静止微重力下的驻火焰存在条件进行了分析,得到了如下主要结论:1.惰性气体对火焰传播有重要的影响.当惰性气体为N<,2>时,导热是火焰向燃料表面传热的主要形式.火焰传播存在冷熄控制区,在此区域内,火焰传播速度随着环境气体流速的增大而增大.当惰性气体为CO<,2>时,在小空气流动速度下,火焰向燃料表面的热辐射和热传导在火焰传播机理中几乎具有同等重要的作用,但随着空气流动速度的增大,导热逐渐成为火焰传播的主要驱动力.2.当惰性气体具有不同辐射特性时,环境压力对火焰沿燃料表面传播的影响具有不同的特征.当惰性气体为N<,2>时,在较小的环境压力下,火焰向燃料表面的热传导是火焰传播的主要驱动力.但随着环境压力的增大,火焰传播速度逐渐增大,火焰对燃料表面的热辐射逐渐成为火焰传播的主要驱动力之一.3.在正常重力环境中,自然对流不利于水雾灭火,水雾对燃料表面的冷却降温是水雾灭火的主要机理.而在微重力环境中,自然对流的消失增强了水雾对固体扩散火焰的抑制作用.水雾不仅能通过润湿燃料表面抑制火焰的传播,而且也可通过气相区域的吸热效应、稀释效应和化学反应链终止效应对火焰传播产生较强的抑制作用.4.空气流动强化燃烧,减少水雾在火焰锋面的蒸发量,使水雾对燃烧的抑制作用减弱.5.在微重力下,水务直径越小,水雾对火焰的抑制作用越强.在远离灭火浓度的情况下,可以通过减小水雾直径的方法增强对燃烧的抑制,但效果有限.6.球形物体在静止环境中燃烧时,存在两个使火焰熄灭的极限直径.当直径小于小的极限直径时,火焰由于质量扩散和能量扩散而熄灭;当球体直径大于大的极限直径时,火焰由于辐射损失而熄灭.7.在静止微重力环境中,无论环境气体中的氧浓度有多高,无限长圆柱形燃料燃烧不可能形成稳定的柱面扩散火焰;无限大平板燃料燃烧不可能产生无限大平面扩散火焰.

异形流动腔的数值分析和设计优化

动脉粥样硬化的非随机发生与当地的流体动力环境有关。完全模拟体内血流动力学环境是不可能的。我们的思路是将复杂的血管形态，分解成若干几何因素，尽可能地研究某一几何因素对流场和血管内皮细胞生长的影响。在体外实验中，为了便于在线观测，主要采用流动腔（Flow Chamber）技术。不同于国内外己有的研究，我们主要研究几何因素引起的流型的改变及其对血管内皮细胞生长的影响。本论文主要是用数值方法来研究五种几何因素（扩张、弯曲、驻点、分叉和后向台阶）引起的流型特征。分析各参数的影响，进而优化设计。为在体外进行血管内皮细胞培养实验，研究不同流场条件下由于几何形状改变引起的流场特性改变对内皮细胞生长的影响，提供理论依据。

微尺度压痕实验的数值模拟及相关问题研究

目前国际上占主导地位的纳米压痕技术是由Oliver与Pharr提出并发展,目前的纳米压痕可以给出整个加、卸载过程的载荷—位移曲线以及硬度与弹性模量随压痕深度变化的曲线,从而提供了丰富的、比较精确的信息,为利用它探索材料比较完整的力学特性提供了可能.为达到该目的,就必须对压痕实验的加、卸过程进行较为深入的研究.作为主要的研究工具,有限元方法模拟微压痕过程在探讨通过实验数据得到更多、更准确的材料表层力学性能参数以及解释实验现象等方面发挥着重要作用.基于计算机速度与容量的原因,较早进行微压痕过程有限元模拟的BhattacharyaandNix、LaursenandSino都使用圆锥压头模拟维氏显微硬度标准正四棱锥Vicker压头与纳米压痕仪标准正三棱锥Berkovich压头,因为圆锥压头具有旋转对称性,可用二维旋转对称单元(二维实体单元)进行计算从而降低计算规模.即便如此,以当时大型计算机的水平,对规模为400~2000个四节点矩形单元的有限元模型进行一次完整的加、卸载过程也需要1~2天.到目前为止,微尺度压痕实验的数值模拟沿用二维模型.事实上,由于加工工艺的限制,微尺度压痕仪的压头如Berkovich与Vicker压头均不个旋转对称性;就微观尺度而言,实际的表层材料都是非均匀的.这些特征均不能由二维模拟体现,所以该文首先建立三维有限元模型,模拟带滑动接触的微尺度压痕加、卸载过程.在此基础上重点讨论了压头几何效应的问题,如二维模拟与三维模拟的关系、显微硬度与纳米的压痕硬度的关系、不同压头下材料的应力应变场、压痕间距与压痕边界的效应等,最后针对微尺度压痕实验中出现的压痕硬度随压痕深度减小而升高的现象,讨论了影响不同压痕深度硬度值的因素.