Low temperature crystallographic data on Kevlar 49 fibres

Using X-ray diffraction data, the behaviour of Kevlar 49 fibres at low temperatures, up to –100°C, has been analysed. During cooling, the basal plane of the monoclinic unit cell shrinks whereas the c- (unique, chain axis) length is not significantly affected. In contrast, in the return heating cycle to ambient temperature, the basal plane expands and contraction occurs along the chain direction. The unit cell registers a reduction in volume in both the cooling and heating cycles. Conspicuously, after a cycle of cooling and heating, the unit cell does not return to its initial volume.     

Delaminations at the free edge of a composite laminate

The concept of a fracture process zone where damage takes place is used to analyse the delaminations at the free edges of angle ply laminates under uniaxial tension. The use of a fracture process zone removes the singularity in the interlaminar stresses and enables the initiation and growth of delaminations to be modelled for a perfect laminate without any assumed prior defects. Two different models for the stress displacement relationship in the fracture process zone are examined: a constant stress up to critical displacement and a linear relationship. Finite element analysis shows that there is little difference in the predictions obtained from the two models. An approximate analysis is presented for the constant stress stress-displacement model which is shown to agree with a finite element solution and experimental data. Hence it is argued that the approximate method using a constant stress model for the fracture process zone is sufficient for accurate prediction of delaminations.     

Amyloidogenic Properties of Peptides Derived from the VHL Tumor Suppressor Protein

The von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein (pVHL) is involved in maintaining cellular oxygen homeostasis through the regulated degradation of HIF-α. The intrinsically disordered nature of pVHL makes it prone to aggregation that impairs its function, and this is further aggravated in mutant versions of the protein, thus promoting tumor development. By using in silico analysis, we predicted six peptide fragments from pVHL to be amyloidogenic. This was verified for two of the peptides by biophysical approaches, which demonstrated self-assembly and formation of β-sheet-rich aggregates, which, under transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction, displayed typical fibrillar amyloid characteristics. These motifs may serve as proxies for exploring the nature of pVHL aggregation.     

Bismuth oxycarbonate grafted NiFe-LDH supported on g-C3N4 as bifunctional catalyst for photoelectrochemical water splitting

In the present study, we report the synthesis of photoactive bismuth oxycarbonate (BOC, Bi₂O₂CO₃) grafted NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) supported on g-C₃N₄ (15 wt% of g-C₃N₄) by coprecipitation method. The band gap of this photoactive material is determined to be 1.7 eV. The Bi₂O₂CO₃ agglomerates are anchored on NiFe-LDH plates and g-C₃N₄ nanosheets intercalated between the LDH plates. This architecture helps in expediting electron transfer for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. The pristine NiFe-LDH photoanode acquires bifunctional character because of Bi₂O₂CO₃ agglomerates and g-C₃N₄ embedded in the architecture of BOC/NiFe-LDH@g-C₃N₄. This is found to be an efficient photoanode for oxygen evolution and photocathode for hydrogen evolution reactions. The water splitting process occurs along the heterojunction formed between g-C₃N₄ nanosheets and Bi₂O₂CO₃ grafted NiFe-LDH. Further, an additional interfacial charge transfer aided by Bi₂O₂CO₃ results in S-scheme mechanism, which enhances the rate of photoelectrochemical hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions.     

Synthesis of CuTi-LDH supported on g-C3N4 for electrochemical and photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution reactions

A nanocomposite CuTi layered double hydroxide (LDH) supported on g-C₃N₄ (15 wt% of g-C₃N₄) is facilely synthesized by hydrothermal method. There are electrostatic interactions between positive layers of CuTi-LDH and negatively charged inner g-C₃N₄ sheets. The nanocomposite and its precursors are characterized through various analytical techniques, which affirmed the presence of both g-C₃N₄ and CuTi-LDH characteristic features. The pore-enriched hybrid geometry of CuTi-LDH@g-C₃N₄ with high specific surface area (146 m²/g), and suitable band gap of 2.46 eV enables the nanocomposite to act as both an electrocatalyst and photoelectrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Both the electrochemical and photoelectrochemical studies are done using 1 M KOH (pH = 13.6) with applied potential of ?0.2 V to 1.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The onset potential of CuTi-LDH@g-C₃N₄ for OER appears at η = 0.36 V in dark and η = 0.32 V under visible light illumination of 30 min. Also, Mott-Schottky analysis shows n-type semiconductor behaviour for CuTi-LDH@g-C₃N₄ and its precursors. The photoelectrochemical water oxidation proceeds by charge transfer across a Type II heterojunction formed between the CuTi-LDH and g-C₃N₄ materials.     

Effect of SO<Subscript>4</Subscript> <Superscript>2-</Superscript>, Cl<Superscript>–</Superscript> and NO<Subscript>3</Subscript> <Superscript>-</Superscript> anions on the formation of iron oxide nanoparticles via microwave synthesis

In the present work iron oxide nanoparticles have been prepared by microwave assisted synthesis with the influence of different precursor salts and synthesis of magnetite, hematite, Iron oxide hydroxide and maghemite nanoparticles. Synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles were characterized with Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), and Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). XRD measurements show that the peaks of diffractogram are in agreement with the theoretical data of magnetite, hematite, FeO(OH) (Iron oxide hydroxide) and maghemite. Crystallite size of the particles was found to be 33, 45, 36 and 43.5 nm for Fe₃O₄, α-Fe₂O₃, FeO(OH) and γ-Fe₂O₃. FESEM studies indicated that size of the particles is observed in the range of about 19.4 to 46.7 nm (Fig. 2a, average 32 nm), 29.1 to 67.6 nm (Fig. 2b average 45 nm), 29.1 to 40.8 (Fig. 2c average 36.6 nm), 29.1 to 80 nm (Fig. 2d average 43.5) for Fe₃O₄, α-Fe₂O₃, FeO(OH) and γ-Fe₂O₃ respectively. EDX spectral analysis reveals the presence of carbon, oxygen, iron in the synthesized nanoparticles. The FTIR graphs indicated absorption bands due to O–H stretching, C–O bending, C–H stretching and Fe–O stretching vibrations.     

Menin, the product of the MEN1 gene, is a nuclear protein

The MEN1 gene, mutations in which are responsible for multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), encodes a 610-amino acid protein, denoted menin. The amino acid sequence of this putative tumor suppressor offers no clue to the function or subcellular location of the protein. We report herein, based on immunofluorescence, Western blotting of subcellular fractions, and epitope tagging with enhanced green fluorescent protein, that menin is located primarily in the nucleus. Enhanced green fluorescent protein-tagged menin deletion constructs identify at least two independent nuclear localization signals (NLS), both located in the C-terminal fourth of the protein. Among the 68 known independent disease-associated mutations, none of the 22 missense and 3 in-frame deletions affect either of the putative NLS sequences. However, if expressed, none of the truncated menin proteins resulting from the 43 known frameshift/nonsense mutations would retain both the NLSs. The precise role(s) of menin in the nucleus remain to be understood.     

Comparative delivery of Diltiazem hydrochloride through synthesized polymer: Hydrogel and hydrogel microspheres

In this study, interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogel based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) networking with polyacrylic acid (PAA) were prepared by a non‐conventional emulsion method without any added crosslinker, using benzoyl peroxide as initiator and sodium chloride (NaCl) as additive. The IPN hydrogel was characterized by using Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry, Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). (PVA‐co‐PAA)/NaCl normal IPN hydrogel (H) were fabricated into hydrogel microspheres (HM) by modified emulsion crosslinking method using glutaraldehyde‐saturated toluene as crosslinker and were loaded with Diltiazem hydrochloride (DL). The IPN hydrogel showed more swelling in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). (PVA‐co‐PAA)/NaCl HM formulation A1 showed comparatively higher DL entrapment (79%) and better control over DL release up to 24 h. By comparing antihypertensive activity of DL loaded two formulations in normotensive rats, HM formulation A1 found more effective in reducing blood pressure to 40.1%. The experimental results demonstrated that (PVA‐co‐PAA)/NaCl HM had the greater potential than normal hydrogel to be used as a drug carrier. A single use of the prepared hydrogel microsphere system of DL can effectively control hypertension in rats. The system holds promise for clinical studies. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Impact of laser linewidth on optical channel spacing requirements for multichannel FSK and ASK systems

The sensitivity penalty is evaluated for amplitude-shift-keyed and frequency-shift-keyed multichannel coherent systems that use lasers with linewidths which are a significant fraction of the bit rate. The study was conducted for both ASK and FSK systems using a single-filter receiver with nonsynchronous detection. For FSK systems, both NRZ (nonreturn-to-zero) and alternate mark inversion (AMI) signal formats were studied. The optical channel spacing is strongly determined by the laser linewidth. For example, with the FSK-NRZ data rate of 150 Mb/s, the optical channel spacing which gives 1-dB crosstalk penalty is 4 GHz when the intermediate frequency linewidth is 50 MHz (laser linewidth is 25 MHz), as opposed to 1.8 GHz when the linewidth is negligible.<>     

Influence of inherent strain on the curie temperature of rare earth ion-doped bismuth vanadate

X-ray line broadening is found to be an effective parameter to estimate the strain associated with rare earth ion (Gd³⁺)-doped polycrystalline bismuth vanadate(Bi₂VO_5·5). The strain increases with increasing Gd³⁺ concentration. It is anisotropic and found to be maximum in (111) plane. The Curie temperature which is known to decrease with increase in the rare earth ion concentration in these compounds is correlated with increase in strain.