Differential viability response of prokaryotes and eukaryotes to high strength pulsed magnetic stimuli

The present study examines the efficacy of a high strength pulsed magnetic field (PMF) towards bacterial inactivation in vitro, without compromising eukaryotic cell viability. The differential response of prokaryotes Staphylococcus aureus (MESA), Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Escherichia coli], and eukaryotes C2C12 mouse myoblasts and human mesenchymal stem cells, hMSCs] upon exposure to varying PMF stimuli (1-4 T, 30 pulses, 40 ms pulse duration) is investigated. Among the prokaryotes, similar to 60% and similar to 70% reduction was recorded in the survival of staphylococcal species and E. coli, respectively at 4 T PMF as evaluated by colony forming unit (CPU) analysis and flow cytometry. A 2-5 fold increase in intracellular ROS (reactive oxygen species) levels suggests oxidative stress as the key mediator in PMF induced bacterial death/injury. The 4 T PMF treated staphylococci also exhibited longer doubling times. Both TEM and fluorescence microscopy revealed compromised membranes of PMF exposed bacteria. Under similar PMF exposure conditions, no immediate cytotoxicity was recorded in C2C12 mouse myoblasts and hMSCs, which can be attributed to the robust resistance towards oxidative stress. The ion interference of iron containing bacterial proteins is invoked to analytically explain the PMF induced ROS accumulation in prokaryotes. Overall, this study establishes the potential of PMF as a bactericidal method without affecting eukaryotic viability. This non-invasive stimulation protocol coupled with antimicrobial agents can be integrated as a potential methodology for the localized treatment of prosthetic infections. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A FRAMEWORK FOR THE ERROR ANALYSIS OF DISCONTINUOUS FINITE ELEMENT METHODS FOR ELLIPTIC OPTIMAL CONTROL PROBLEMS AND APPLICATIONS TO C-0 IP METHODS

In this article, an abstract framework for the error analysis of discontinuous Galerkin methods for control constrained optimal control problems is developed. The analysis establishes the best approximation result from a priori analysis point of view and delivers a reliable and efficient a posteriori error estimator. The results are applicable to a variety of problems just under the minimal regularity possessed by the well-posedness of the problem. Subsequently, the applications of C-0 interior penalty methods for a boundary control problem as well as a distributed control problem governed by the biharmonic equation subject to simply supported boundary conditions are discussed through the abstract analysis. Numerical experiments illustrate the theoretical findings.

Differential binding of ppGpp and pppGpp to E-coli RNA polymerase: photo-labeling and mass spectral studies

(p) ppGpp, a secondary messenger, is induced under stress and shows pleiotropic response. It binds to RNA polymerase and regulates transcription in Escherichia coli. More than 25 years have passed since the first discovery was made on the direct interaction of ppGpp with E. coli RNA polymerase. Several lines of evidence suggest different modes of ppGpp binding to the enzyme. Earlier cross-linking experiments suggested that the beta-subunit of RNA polymerase is the preferred site for ppGpp, whereas recent crystallographic studies pinpoint the interface of beta'/omega-subunits as the site of action. With an aim to validate the binding domain and to follow whether tetra-and pentaphosphate guanosines have different location on RNA polymerase, this work was initiated. RNA polymerase was photo-labeled with 8-azido-ppGpp/8-azido-pppGpp, and the product was digested with trypsin and subjected to mass spectrometry analysis. We observed three new peptides in the trypsin digest of the RNA polymerase labeled with 8-azido-ppGpp, of which two peptides correspond to the same pocket on beta'-subunit as predicted by X-ray structural analysis, whereas the third peptide was mapped on the beta-subunit. In the case of 8-azido-pppGpp-labeled RNA polymerase, we have found only one cross-linked peptide from the beta'-subunit. However, we were unable to identify any binding site of pppGpp on the beta-subunit. Interestingly, we observed that pppGpp at high concentration competes out ppGpp bound to RNA polymerase more efficiently, whereas ppGpp cannot titrate out pppGpp. The competition between tetraphosphate guanosine and pentaphosphate guanosine for E. coli RNA polymerase was followed by gel-based assay as well as by a new method known as DRaCALA assay.

A New Finite Element Method for Strain Gradient Theories and Applications to Fracture Analyses

A new compatible finite element method for strain gradient theories is presented. In the new finite element method, pure displacement derivatives are taken as the fundamental variables. The new numerical method is successfully used to analyze the simple strain gradient problems – the fundamental fracture problems. Through comparing the numerical solutions with the existed exact solutions, the effectiveness of the new finite element method is tested and confirmed. Additionally, an application of the Zienkiewicz–Taylor C1 finite element method to the strain gradient problem is discussed. By using the new finite element method, plane-strain mode I and mode II crack tip fields are calculated based on a constitutive law which is a simple generalization of the conventional J2 deformation plasticity theory to include strain gradient effects. Three new constitutive parameters enter to characterize the scale over which strain gradient effects become important. During the analysis the general compressible version of Fleck–Hutchinson strain gradient plasticity is adopted. Crack tip solutions, the traction distributions along the plane ahead of the crack tip are calculated. The solutions display the considerable elevation of traction within the zone near the crack tip.

Analysis of super compact finite difference method and application to simulation of vortex-shock interaction

Turbulence and aeroacoustic noise high-order accurate schemes are required, and preferred, for solving complex flow fields with multi-scale structures. In this paper a super compact finite difference method (SCFDM) is presented, the accuracy is analysed and the method is compared with a sixth-order traditional and compact finite difference approximation. The comparison shows that the sixth-order accurate super compact method has higher resolving efficiency. The sixth-order super compact method, with a three-stage Runge-Kutta method for approximation of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations, is used to solve the complex flow structures induced by vortex-shock interactions. The basic nature of the near-field sound generated by interaction is studied.

Instability from steady and axisymmetric to steady and asymmetric floating half zone convection in a fat liquid bridge of larger Prandtl number

The linear instability analysis of the present paper shows that the thermocapillary convection in a half floating zone of larger Prandtl number has a steady instability mode w(i) = 0 and m = 1 for a fat liquid bridge V = 1.2 with small geometrical aspect ratio A = 0.6. This conclusion is different from the usual idea of hydrothermal instability, and implies that the instability of the system may excite a steady and axial asymmetric state before the onset of oscillation in the ease of large Prandtl number.

X-Ray Observation on Flow and Failure of Saturated

介绍脉冲X光机和医用X光机的特性,应用这两种设备进行一系列饱和砂土的冲击加载实验。利用医用X光机拍摄到了饱和砂土在冲击载荷作用下产生的横断裂缝、纵向排水通道以及密实沉降的照片,得到了横断裂缝和纵向排水通道的出现规律,从而为研究饱和砂土冲击液化后结构破坏与密实沉降的机理提供了一种实验观测手段。

Validation of component assembly model and extension to plasticity

Material potential energy is well approximated by '' pair-functional '' potentials. During calculating potential energy, the orientational and volumetric components have been derived from pair potentials and embedding energy, respectively. Slip results in plastic deformation, and slip component has been proposed accordingly. Material is treated as a component assembly, and its elastic, plastic and damage properties are reflected by different components respectively. Material constitutive relations are formed by means of assembling these three kinds of components. Anisotropy has been incorporated intrinsically via the concept of component. Theoretical and numerical results indicate that this method has the capacity of reproducing some results satisfactorily, with the advantages of physical explicitness, etc. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.