Bond Characteristics of Strengthened and Retrofitted Steel by Smart CFRP Technique

Usage of new smart materials in retrofitting of structures has become popular within last decade. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) has been widely used in retrofitting and strengthening of concrete structures and its usage in metallic structures is still in the developing stage. The variation of mechanical properties of CFRP and the consequent effects on strengthening and retrofitting CFRP systems are yet to be investigated under different loading and environmental conditions. This paper presents the results of CFRP strengthened and retrofitted corroded steel plate double strap joints under tension. An accelerated corrosion cell has been developed to accelerate the corrosion of the steel samples and CFRP strengthened samples. The results show a direct comparison of bond characteristics of CFRP strengthened and retrofitted steel double strap joints.

Smart sorbers - value adding spent litter fertiliser. A pilot trial

Currently spent litter is not a balanced fertiliser. This project is a first step in improving the ability to reduce environmental contamination and to more fully realise the full fertilizer and soil amendment value of this material.

Smart technologies for peanut industry

Commercialisation and adoption of remote sensing and GIS technologies for improved production forecasting, productivity, quality and paddock- to- plate tracking within the Australian Peanut Industry.

Methods to improve gene signal: Application to cDNA microarrays

Microarrays are high throughput biological assays that allow the screening of thousands of genes for their expression. The main idea behind microarrays is to compute for each gene a unique signal that is directly proportional to the quantity of mRNA that was hybridized on the chip. A large number of steps and errors associated with each step make the generated expression signal noisy. As a result, microarray data need to be carefully pre-processed before their analysis can be assumed to lead to reliable and biologically relevant conclusions. This thesis focuses on developing methods for improving gene signal and further utilizing this improved signal for higher level analysis. To achieve this, first, approaches for designing microarray experiments using various optimality criteria, considering both biological and technical replicates, are described. A carefully designed experiment leads to signal with low noise, as the effect of unwanted variations is minimized and the precision of the estimates of the parameters of interest are maximized. Second, a system for improving the gene signal by using three scans at varying scanner sensitivities is developed. A novel Bayesian latent intensity model is then applied on these three sets of expression values, corresponding to the three scans, to estimate the suitably calibrated true signal of genes. Third, a novel image segmentation approach that segregates the fluorescent signal from the undesired noise is developed using an additional dye, SYBR green RNA II. This technique helped in identifying signal only with respect to the hybridized DNA, and signal corresponding to dust, scratch, spilling of dye, and other noises, are avoided. Fourth, an integrated statistical model is developed, where signal correction, systematic array effects, dye effects, and differential expression, are modelled jointly as opposed to a sequential application of several methods of analysis. The methods described in here have been tested only for cDNA microarrays, but can also, with some modifications, be applied to other high-throughput technologies. Keywords: High-throughput technology, microarray, cDNA, multiple scans, Bayesian hierarchical models, image analysis, experimental design, MCMC, WinBUGS.

Construction of a cDNA clone for a nuclear-coded subunit of cytochrome c oxidase from rat liver

A cDNA library for 6S–9S poly(A)-containing RNA from rat liver was constructed in Image . Initial screening of the clones was carried out using single stranded 32P-labeled cDNA prepared against poly(A)-containing RNA isolated from immunoadsorbed polyribosomes enriched for the nuclear-coded subunit messenger RNAs of cytochrome c oxidase. One of the clones, pCO89, was found to hybridize with the messenger RNA for subunit VIC. The DNA sequence of the insert in pCO89 was carried out and it has got extensive homology with the C-terminal 33 amino acids of subunit VIC from beef heart cytochrome c oxidase. In addition, the insert contained 146 bp, corresponding to a portion of the 3′-non-coding region. Northern blot analysis of rat liver RNA with the nick-translated insert of pCO89 revealed that the messenger RNA for subunit VI would contain around 510 bases.

From mundane to smart: Exploring interactions with ‘smart' design objects

In addition to functional and technological features, the role of augmented objects should also be seen in terms of how effectively they fit into the everyday practices of users and how they enhance users' experiences. In this article, the authors introduce a low-tech, internet-of-things technology called CAM (Cooperative Artefact Memory) that is used as a collaborative tool in design studio environments. CAM works as an object memory technology and allows industrial and product designers to collaboratively store relevant information onto their physical design objects, such as sketches, collages, storyboards, and physical mock-ups in the form of messages, annotations and external web links. In the context of this study, CAM serves as an important probing device to understand designers' interaction and experiences with augmented design objects, in their natural environment. The authors carried out a small-scale field trial of CAM in an academic design studio, over three student design projects. In this article, they discuss the findings of their field trial and show how CAM was used by the participants, how it was integrated into the design process and how it was appropriated for different purposes. The authors also found that CAM supported coordination and awareness within the design teams, yet its serendipitous and asynchronous nature facilitated creative and playful interactions between team members. In general, the results show how CAM transformed mundane design objects into “smart” objects that made the creative and playful side of cooperative design visible.

The Gerbera cDNA Microarray: A Tool for Large-Scale Identification of Genes Involved in Flower Development

During the past ten years, large-scale transcript analysis using microarrays has become a powerful tool to identify and predict functions for new genes. It allows simultaneous monitoring of the expression of thousands of genes and has become a routinely used tool in laboratories worldwide. Microarray analysis will, together with other functional genomics tools, take us closer to understanding the functions of all genes in genomes of living organisms. Flower development is a genetically regulated process which has mostly been studied in the traditional model species Arabidopsis thaliana, Antirrhinum majus and Petunia hybrida. The molecular mechanisms behind flower development in them are partly applicable in other plant systems. However, not all biological phenomena can be approached with just a few model systems. In order to understand and apply the knowledge to ecologically and economically important plants, other species also need to be studied. Sequencing of 17 000 ESTs from nine different cDNA libraries of the ornamental plant Gerbera hybrida made it possible to construct a cDNA microarray with 9000 probes. The probes of the microarray represent all different ESTs in the database. From the gerbera ESTs 20% were unique to gerbera while 373 were specific to the Asteraceae family of flowering plants. Gerbera has composite inflorescences with three different types of flowers that vary from each other morphologically. The marginal ray flowers are large, often pigmented and female, while the central disc flowers are smaller and more radially symmetrical perfect flowers. Intermediate trans flowers are similar to ray flowers but smaller in size. This feature together with the molecular tools applied to gerbera, make gerbera a unique system in comparison to the common model plants with only a single kind of flowers in their inflorescence. In the first part of this thesis, conditions for gerbera microarray analysis were optimised including experimental design, sample preparation and hybridization, as well as data analysis and verification. Moreover, in the first study, the flower and flower organ-specific genes were identified. After the reliability and reproducibility of the method were confirmed, the microarrays were utilized to investigate transcriptional differences between ray and disc flowers. This study revealed novel information about the morphological development as well as the transcriptional regulation of early stages of development in various flower types of gerbera. The most interesting finding was differential expression of MADS-box genes, suggesting the existence of flower type-specific regulatory complexes in the specification of different types of flowers. The gerbera microarray was further used to profile changes in expression during petal development. Gerbera ray flower petals are large, which makes them an ideal model to study organogenesis. Six different stages were compared and specifically analysed. Expression profiles of genes related to cell structure and growth implied that during stage two, cells divide, a process which is marked by expression of histones, cyclins and tubulins. Stage 4 was found to be a transition stage between cell division and expansion and by stage 6 cells had stopped division and instead underwent expansion. Interestingly, at the last analysed stage, stage 9, when cells did not grow any more, the highest number of upregulated genes was detected. The gerbera microarray is a fully-functioning tool for large-scale studies of flower development and correlation with real-time RT-PCR results show that it is also highly sensitive and reliable. Gene expression data presented here will be a source for gene expression mining or marker gene discovery in the future studies that will be performed in the Gerbera Laboratory. The publicly available data will also serve the plant research community world-wide.

Why we should design smart cities for getting lost

If smart cities run on big data and algorithms that channel only 'relevant' information and opinions to us, how do we maintain the diversity of ideas and possibilities that drives truly smart cities?

Differentiation of rinderpest and peste des petits ruminants viruses using specific cDNA clones

The morbilliviruses which infect ruminants, rinderpest (RPV) and peste des petits ruminants (PPRV), are difficult to distinguish serologically. They can be distinguished by differential neutralisation tests and by the migration of the major virus structural protein, the nucleocapsid protein, on polyacrylamide gels. Both these methods are time consuming and require the isolation of live virus for identification; they are not suitable for analysis of material directly from post-mortem specimens. We describe a rapid method for differential diagnosis of infections caused by RPV or PPRV, which uses specific cDNA probes, derived from the mRNAs for the nucleocapsid protein of each virus, which can be used to distinguish unequivocally the two virus types rapidly.

Characterization and immune response of a protein produced by a cDNA clone of foot and mouth disease virus, type Asia 1 63/72

A 0.9 kb double stranded cDNA of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) Type Asia 1, 63/72 was cloned in an expression vector, pUR222. A protein of 38 kd was produced by the clone which reacted with the antibodies raised against the virus. A 20 kd protein which may be derived from the 38 kd protein contained the antigenic epitopes of the protein VP1 of the virus. Injection of 10-20 micrograms of the partially purified 38 and 20 kd proteins or a lysate of cells containing 240 micrograms of the proteins elicited high titers of FMDV specific antibodies in guinea pigs and cattle respectively. Also, at these concentrations, the proteins protected 5 of 8 guinea pigs and 3 of 8 cattle when challenged with a virulent virus.

Cloning and sequence of a cDNA encoding a novel hybrid prolme-rich protein associated with cytokinin-induced haustoria formation in Cuscuta reflexa

A complete cDNA encoding a novel hybrid Pro-rich protein (HyPRP) was identified by differentially screening 3x10(4) recombinant plaques of a Cuscuta reflexa cytokinin-induced haustorial cDNA library constructed in lambda gt10. The nucleotide (nt) sequence consists of: (i) a 424-bp 5'-non coding region having five start codons (ATGs) and three upstream open reading frames (uORFs); (ii) an ORF of 987 bp with coding potential for a 329-amino-acid (aa) protein of M(r), 35203 with a hydrophobic N-terminal region including a stretch of nine consecutive Phe followed by a Pro-rich sequence and a Cys-rich hydrophobic C terminus; and (iii) a 178-bp 3'-UTR (untranslated region). Comparison of the predicted aa sequence with the NBRF and SWISSPROT databases and with a recent report of an embryo-specific protein of maize [Jose-Estanyol et al., Plant Cell 4 (1992) 413-423] showed it to be similar to the class of HyPRPs encoded by genes preferentially expressed in young tomato fruits, maize embryos and in vitro-cultured carrot embryos. Northern analysis revealed an approx. 1.8-kb mRNA of this gene expressed in the subapical region of the C. reflexa vine which exhibited maximum sensitivity to cytokinin in haustorial induction.

Intracellular free calcium level and its response to cAMP stimulation in developing Dictyostelium cells transformed with jellyfish apoaequorin CDNA

A new method is described for measuring intracellular free calcium concentrations, [(Ca2+)(i)], in the cells of Dictyostelium discoideum transformed with apoaequorin cDNA of the jellyfish, Aequorea victoria. Aequorin, a calcium-specific indicator, was regenerated in vivo from apoaequorin produced in the cells by incubation with coelenterazine. The results showed that [(Ca2+)(i)] in developing cells markedly increases at the aggregation stage and again at the culmination stage after a temporary drop at the migration stage. Except for the vegetative stage, the cells al all stages of development exhibit a sharp transient increase in [(Ca2+)(i)] upon stimulation with a cAMP (50 nM) pulse, high responses being observed at the migration and culmination stages. Separated prestalk cells of migrating slugs contain more than twice as much [(Ca2+)(i)] and show three times as large a response to cAMP stimulation as prespore cells.

The cDNA sequence of cytochrome b5 associated with cytokinin-induced haustoria formation in Cuscuta reflexa

A cDNA clone isolated by differentially screening a cytokinin-induced haustorial cDNA library of Cuscuta reflexa was sequenced and identified as the gene coding for cytochrome b(5), based on the similarity of the deduced amino-acid sequence with that of the cauliflower (60% identity) and tobacco (78% identity) proteins. The 5'-UTR is unusually long (720 bp) and contains 14 potential start codons (ATG) and 10 short ORFs.

CDNA Cloning, Overexpression in Escherichia coli, Purification and Characterization of Sheep Liver Cytosolic Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase

A sheep liver cDNA clone for the cytosolic serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) was isolated and its nucleotide sequence determined. The full-length cDNA of SHMT was placed under the control of T7 promoter in pET-3C plasmid and expressed in Escherichia coli. The overexpressed enzyme, present predominantly in the soluble fraction, was catalytically active. The recombinant SHMT was purified to homogeneity with a yield of 10 mg/l bacterial culture. The recombinant enzyme was capable of carrying out tetrahydrofolate-dependent and tetrahydrofolate-independent reactions as effectively as the native enzyme. The K-m values for serine (1 mM) and tetrahydrofolate (0.82 mM) were similar to those of the native enzyme. The recombinant enzyme had a characteristic visible spectrum indicative of the presence of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate as an internal aldimine. The apoenzyme obtained upon removal of the cofactor was inactive and could be reconstituted by the addition of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate demonstrating that the recombinant SHMT was functionally very similar to the native SHMT. This overexpression of eukaryotic tetrameric SHMT in E. coli and the purification and characterization of the recombinant enzyme should thus allow studies on the role of specific amino acids and domains in the activity of the enzyme.