Interplay between NS3 protease and human La protein regulates translation-replication switch of Hepatitis C virus

HCV NS3 protein plays a central role in viral polyprotein processing and RNA replication. We demonstrate that the NS3 protease (NS3(pro)) domain alone can specifically bind to HCV-IRES RNA, predominantly in the SLIV region. The cleavage activity of the NS3 protease domain is reduced upon HCV-RNA binding. More importantly, NS3(pro) binding to the SLIV hinders the interaction of La protein, a cellular IRES-trans acting factor required for HCV IRES-mediated translation, resulting in inhibition of HCV-IRES activity. Although overexpression of both NS3(pro) as well as the full length NS3 protein decreased the level of HCV IRES mediated translation, replication of HCV replicon RNA was enhanced significantly. These observations suggest that the NS3(pro) binding to HCV IRES reduces translation in favor of RNA replication. The competition between the host factor (La) and the viral protein (NS3) for binding to HCV IRES might regulate the molecular switch from translation to replication of HCV.

Detection and Evaluation of Impact damage in CFRP Laminates Using Ultrasound C-Scan and IR Thermography

Advanced composite structural components made up of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) used in aerospace structures such as in Fuselage, Leading & Trailing edges of wing and tail, Flaps, Elevator, Rudder and entire wing structures encounter most critical type of damage induced by low velocity impact (<10 m/s) loads. Tool dropped during maintenance & service,and hailstone impacts on runways are common and unavoidable low-velocity impacts. These lowvelocity impacts induce defects such as delaminations, matrix cracking and debonding in the layered material, which are sub-surface in nature and are barely visible on the surface known as Barely Visible Impact Damage (BVID). These damages may grow under service load, leading to catastrophic failure of the structure. Hence detection, evaluation and characterization of these types of damage is of major concern in aerospace industries as the life of the component depends on the size and shape of the damage.In this paper, details of experimental investigations carried out and results obtained from a low-velocity impact of 30 Joules corresponding to the hailstone impact on the wing surface,simulated on the 6 mm CFRP laminates using instrumented drop-weight impact testing machine are presented. The Ultrasound C-scan and Infrared thermography imaging techniques were utilized extensively to detect, evaluate and characterize impact damage across the thickness of the laminates.

The oxygen potential of the systems Fe+FeCr2O4+ Cr2O3 and Fe+FeV2O4+ V2O3 in the temperature range 750 1600o C

From electromotive force (emf) measurements using solid oxide galvanic cells incorporating ZrOz-CaO and ThOz-YO~.s electrolytes, the chemical potentials of oxygen over the systems Fe + FeCrzO 4 + Cr20 ~ and Fe + FeV204 + V203 were calculated. The values may be represented by the equations: 2Fe(s, I) + Oz(g) + 2Cr2Oa(s) -- 2FeCr204 (s)Akto2 = - 151,400 + 34.7T (• cal= -633,400 + 145.5T(• J (750 to 1536~ A~tO2 = -158,000 + 38.4T(• cal= -661,000 + 160.5T(*1250) J (1536 to 1700~2Fe (s, I) + O2 (g) + 2V203 (s) -- 2FeV204 (s) A/~Oz = - 138,000 + 29.8T(+300) cal= - 577,500 + 124.7T (• J (750 to 1536~A/IO2 = -144,600 + 33.45T(-300) cal = -605,100 + 140.0T(~-1250) J (1536 to 1700~At the oxygen potentials corresponding to Fe + FeCrzO a + Cr203 equilibria, the electronic contribution to the conductivity of ZrO2-CaO electrolyte was found to affect the measured emf. Application of a small 60 cycle A.C. voltage with an amplitude of 50 mv across the cell terminals reduced the time required to attain equilibrium at temperatures between 750 to 9500C by approximately a factor of two. The second law entropy of iron chromite obtained in this study is in good agreement with that calculated from thermal data. The entropies of formation of these spinel phases from the component oxides can be correlated to cation distribution and crystal field theory.

Increased glycosidic bond stabilities in 4-C-hydroxymethyl linked disaccharides

Three new hydroxymethyl-linked non-natural disaccharide analogues, containing an additional methylene group in between the glycosidic linkage, were synthesized by utilizing 4-C-hydroxymethyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside as the glycosyl donor. A kinetic study was undertaken to assess the hydrolytic stabilities of these new disaccharide analogues toward acid-catalyzed hydrolysis, at 60 degrees C and 70 degrees C. The studies showed that the disaccharide analogues were stable, by an order of magnitude, than naturally-occurring disaccharides, such as, cellobiose, lactose, and maltose. The first order rate constants were lower than that of methyl glycosides and the trend of hydrolysis rate constants followed that of naturally-occurring disaccharides. alpha-Anomer showed faster hydrolysis than the beta-anomer and the presence of axial hydroxyl group also led to faster hydrolysis among the disaccharide analogues. Energy minimized structures, derived through molecular modeling, showed that dihedral angles around the glycosidic bond in disaccharide analogues were nearly similar to that of naturally-occurring disaccharides. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crystal packing and melting temperatures of small oxalate esters: the role of C-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonding

The simple dialkyl oxalates are generally liquids at room temperature except for dimethyl and di-tert-butyl oxalate which melt at 327 and 343 K. The crystal structures of diethyl, di-iso-propyl, di-n-butyl, di-tert-butyl and methyl ethyl oxalates were determined. The liquid esters were crystallized using the cryocrystallization technique. A comparison of the intermolecular interactions and packing features in these crystal structures was carried out. The crystal structure of dimethyl oxalate was redetermined at various temperatures. The other compounds were also studied at several temperatures in order to assess the attractive nature of the hydrogen bonds therein. A number of moderate to well defined C-H center dot center dot center dot O interactions account for the higher melting points of the two solid esters. Additionally, a diminished entropic contribution Delta S(m) in di-tert-butyl oxalate possibly increases the melting point of this compound further.

Extending the Supramolecular Synthon Based Fragment Approach (SBFA) for Transferability of Multipole Charge Density Parameters to Monofluorobenzoic Acids and their Cocrystals with Isonicotinamide: Importance of C-H center dot center dot center dot O, C-H center dot center dot center dot F, and F center dot center dot center dot F Intermolecular Regions

An extension of the supramolecular synthon-based fragment approach (SBFA) method for transferability of multipole charge density parameters to include weak supramolecular synthons is proposed. In particular, the SBFA method is applied to C-H center dot center dot center dot O, C-H center dot center dot center dot F, and F center dot center dot center dot F containing synthons. A high resolution charge density study has been performed on 4-fluorobenzoic acid to build a synthon library for C-H center dot center dot center dot F infinite chain interactions. Libraries for C-H center dot center dot center dot O and F center dot center dot center dot F synthons were taken from earlier work. The SBFA methodology was applied successfully to 2- and 3-fluorobenzoic acids, data sets for which were collected in a routine manner at 100 K, and the modularity of the synthons was demonstrated. Cocrystals of isonicotinamide with all three fluorobenzoic acids were also studied with the SBFA method. The topological analysis of inter- and intramolecular interaction regions was performed using Bader's AIM approach. This study shows that the SBFA method is generally applicable to generate charge density maps using information from multiple intermolecular regions.

Distributed Simulation Of Flexible Manufacturing Systems

Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS), widely considered as the manufacturing technology of the future, are gaining increasing importance due to the immense advantages they provide in terms of cost, quality and productivity over the conventional manufacturing. An FMS is a complex interconnection of capital intensive resources and high levels of system performance is very crucial for survival in a competing environment.Discrete event simulation is one of the most popular methods for performance evaluation of FMS during planning, design and operation phases. Indeed fast simulators are suggested for selection of optimal strategies for flow control (which part type to enter and at what instant), AGV scheduling (which vehicle to carry which part), routing (which machine to process the part) and part selection (which part for processing next). In this paper we develop a C-net based model for an FMS and use the same for distributed discrete event simulation. We illustrate using examples the efficacy of destributed discrete event simulation for the performance evaluation of FMSs.

Dielectric properties of c-axis oriented Zn1-xMgxO thin films grown by multimagnetron sputtering

Zn1−xMgxO (x = 0.3) thin films have been fabricated on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates using multimagnetron sputtering technique. The films with wurtzite structure showed a (002) preferred orientation. Ferroelectricity in Zn1−xMgxO films was established from the temperature dependent dielectric constant and the polarization hysteresis loop. The temperature dependent study of dielectric constant at different frequencies exhibited a dielectric anomaly at 110 °C. The resistivity versus temperature characteristics showed an anomalous increase in the vicinity of the dielectric transition temperature. The Zn1−xMgxO thin films exhibit well-defined polarization hysteresis loop, with a remanent polarization of 0.2 μC/cm2 and coercive field of 8 kV/cm at room temperature.

Bypass operation in bridge convertors for high-voltage d.c. transmission

Bypass operation with the aid of a special bypass valve is an important part of present-day schemes of protection for h.v. d.c. transmission systems. In this paper, the possibility of using two valves connected to any phase in the bridge convertor for the purpose of bypass operation is studied. The scheme is based on the use of logic circuits in conjunction with modified methods of fault detection. Analysis of the faults in a d.c. transmission system is carried out with the object of determining the requirements of such a logic-circuit control system. An outline of the scheme for the logic-circuit control of the bypass operation for both rectifier and invertor bridges is then given. Finally, conclusions are drawn regarding the advantages of such a system, which include reduction in the number of valves, prevention of severe faults and fast clearance of faults, in addition to the immediate location of the fault and its nature.

Investigation on the High Vacuum Tribological Characteristics of Surface Treated Nuclear Grade Stainless Steel Type AISI 316 LN at 25 to 500 degrees C

Although some researchers have published friction and wear data of Plasma Nitride (PN) coatings, the tribological behavior of PN/PN Pairs in high vacuum environment has not been published so far In order to bridge this knowledge gap, tribological tests under dry conditions have been conducted on PN/PN Pairs for varying temperatures of 25, 200, 400 and 500 degrees C in high vacuum (1.6 x 10(-4) bar) environment. The PN coatings showed good wear resistance layer on the ring surface. The PN coatings were removed only from the pin surface for all the tests since it contacts at a point. The friction and wear were low at lower temperatures and it eliminated adhesion between the contact surfaces until the coating was completely removed from the pin surface. (C) 2011 Journal of Mechanical Engineering. All rights reserved.

Softening and dynamic recrystallization in magnesium single crystals during c-axis compression

Commercial purity (99.8%) magnesium single crystals were subjected to plane strain compression (PSC) along the c-axis at 200 and 370 degrees C and a constant strain rate of 10(-3) s(-1). Extension was confined to the < 1 1 (2) over bar 0 > direction and the specimens were strained up to a logarithmic true strain of -1. The initial rapid increase in flow stress was followed by significant work softening at different stresses and comparable strains of about -0.05 related to macroscopic twinning events. The microstructure of the specimen after PSC at 200 degrees C was characterized by a high density of {1 0 (1) over bar 1} and {1 0 (1) over bar 3} compression twins, some of which were recrystallized. After PSC at 370 degrees C, completely recrystallized twin bands were the major feature of the observed microstructure. All new grains in these bands retained the same c-axis orientation of their compression twin hosts. The basal plane in these grains was randomly rotated around the c-axis, forming a fiber texture component. The obtained results are discussed with respect to the mechanism of recrystallization, the specific character of the boundaries between new grains and the initial matrix, and the importance of the dynamically recrystallized bands for strain accommodation in these deformed magnesium single crystals. (C) 2011 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

C:N ratio of Sediments in a sewage fed Urban Lake

C:N ratio of lake sediments provide valuable information about the source and proportions of terrestrial, phytogenic and phycogenic carbon and nitrogen. This study has been carried out in Varthur lake which is receiving sewage since many decades apart from large scale land cover changes. C:N profile of the surficial sediment layer collected in the rainy and the dry seasons revealed higher C:N values[43] due to the accumulation of autochthonous organic material mostly at the deeper portions of the lake. This also highlights N limitation in the sludge either due to uptake by micro and macro-biota or rapid volatilization, denitrification and possible leaching in water. Organic Carbon was lower towards the inlets and higher near the deeper zones. This pattern of Organic C deposition was aided by gusty winds and high flow conditions together with impacts by the land use land cover changes in the watershed. Spatial variability of C:N in surficial sediments is significant compared to its seasonal variability. This communication provides an insight to the pattern in which nutrients are distributed in the sludge/sediment and its variation across seasons and space impacted by the biotic process accompanied by the hydrodynamic changes in the lake.

Advances in the Mathematical Modelling of Hepatitis C Virus Dynamics

Mathematical models have provided key insights into the pathogenesis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in vivo, suggested predominant mechanism(s) of drug action, explained confounding patterns of viral load changes in HCV infected patients undergoing therapy, and presented a framework for therapy optimization. In this article, I present an overview of the major advances in the mathematical modeling of HCV dynamics.

Stability numbers for an unsupported vertical circular excavation in c-phi soil

By using an axisymmetric lower bound finite element limit analysis formulation, the stability numbers (gamma H/C) for an unsupported vertical circular excavation in a cohesive-frictional soil have been generated. The numerical results are obtained for values of normalized excavation height (H/b) and friction angle (phi) greater than those considered previously in the literature. The results compare well with those available in literature. The stability numbers presented in this note would be beneficial from a design point of view. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ZnFe(2)O(4): Rapid and sub-100 degrees C synthesis and anneal-tuned magnetic properties

Nanocrystalline zinc ferrite (ZFO) has been synthesized from metal acetylacetonates by microwave irradiation for 5 min in the presence of a surfactant. The as-prepared material is ZFO and has been subjected in air to conventional furnace annealing and to rapid annealing at different temperatures. Both annealing protocols lead to well-crystallized ZFO, with crystallite sizes in the range similar to 8-20 nm, which is ferrimagnetic, even at room temperature, with magnetization attaining saturation. While the magnetization M(S) of conventionally annealed ZFO varies with crystallite size in the expected manner, rapid annealing leads to high M(S) even when the crystallite size is relatively large. The coercivity is greater in the conventionally annealed ZFO. Thermal and magnetic measurements suggest that the inhomogeneous site cationic distribution within each crystallite caused by rapid annealing can be used to tailor the magnetic behaviour of nanocrystalline ferrites.