The gene encoding human glutathione synthetase (GSS) maps to the long arm of chromosome 20 at band 11.2

Two forms of glutathione synthetase deficiency have been described. While one form is mild, causing hemolytic anemia, the other more severe form causes 5-oxo-prolinuria with secondary neurological involvement. Despite the existence of two deficiency phenotypes, Southern blots hybridized with a glutathione synthetase cDNA suggest that there is a single glutathione synthetase gene in the human genome. Analysis of somatic cell hybrids showed the human glutathione synthetase gene (GSS) to be located on chromosome 20, and this assignment has been refined to subband 20q11.2 using in situ hybridization.     

In search of a reliable marker of tissue injury during heart surgery

We report on a new patient with d-transposition of the great arteries who was found to have deletion of 22q11.2. He had minor facial anomalies, normal T- and B-cell subsets, and transient hypocalcemia. Similar to rare previous reports, our patient's extracardiac manifestations were relatively mild.     

Enhanced anti-biofilm activity of facile synthesized silver oxide nanoparticles against K. pneumoniae

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - The silver oxide nanoparticle was successfully synthesized using floral waste by simple one pot, cost effective method. The complete...     

Synthesis and characterization of liquid crystalline polymers containing aromatic ester mesogen and a nonmesogenic ferrocene unit in the spacer

A new series of liquid crystalline polymers containing aromatic triad ester mesogen and 1,1′‐disubstituted ferrocene as a nonmesogenic unit along with polymethylene spacer was synthesized. The polymer was synthesized by a room temperature polycondensation reaction between bis(4‐chloroformyl phenyloxy alkyl ferrocene dicarboxylate) and quinol. The alkyl groups have been varied by an even number of methylene groups with a range from two to ten groups. All the polymers were found to possess liquid crystalline properties. The identification of the mesophase is more transparent with an increase in the spacer. The thermal characteristics were studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results reveal that the thermal stability of the polymers was decreased with increasing spacer length. The T_g, T_m, and T_i of the polymers decreased with increasing methylene groups. The incorporation of the ferrocene moiety also has a considerable effect on the glass transition temperature. The char yield of the polymer decreases with an increasing methylene chain length. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 3494–3501, 2002     

Fuzzy logic based assignable cause diagnosis using control chart patterns

Control chart patterns, besides determining the presence of assignable causes, also provide hints on the nature of assignable cause(s) present. Relating the patterns exhibited on the control chart to assignable causes is an ambiguous and vague task especially when multiple patterns co-exist. In this work, a rule based fuzzy inference system is developed for control chart to prioritize the control chart causes based on the accumulated evidence. When a process goes out of control, search for assignable causes can be assisted by the priorities assigned to the causes. For an in-control process, developing patterns can be tracked and preventive action can be taken to prevent the process from going out of control.     

Robust tracking control for uncertain fuzzy systems with time delay and external disturbances

In this article, robust tracking and disturbance rejection problem for Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy systems with time delay and external disturbances are discussed. Specifically, proportional-integral controller with an enhanced equivalent-input-disturbance technique is constructed to force the output trajectories to track the bounded reference input signal even in the presence of external disturbances. Further, the resulting fuzzy control system can be represented as an augmented system with state delay and uncertainties and the output tracking problem is transformed into stabilization problem of the augmented system. In the stabilization analysis, the considered fuzzy system does not share the same membership functions with the proposed control. Moreover, the delay-dependent stabilization criteria for the addressed fuzzy system are presented in the form of linear matrix inequalities by the virtue of augmented Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional. To be specific, the symmetric matrices involved in the Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional need not be positive definite. Ultimately, three numerical examples are offered to support the validity of the established theoretical results.     

Nonlinear radiation on Maxwell fluid in a convective heat transfer with viscous dissipation and activation energy

The present analysis addresses linear and nonlinear radiation effects in hydrodynamic viscous Maxwell fluid flow on a unidirectional stretching surface through viscous dissipation. The relaxation effect is considered in the mathematical model, which elucidates mass transport mechanisms under binary chemical reaction and activation energy. Mathematical modeling contains nonlinear partial differential equations using boundary conditions. Appropriate transformations convert the partial differential equations into ordinary differential equations. Numerical solutions for regular differential equations are brought by Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg numerical quadrature and a shooting method with a tolerance level of 10⁻⁹. The influence of physical variables, such as Deborah relaxation number, rotation parameter, Biot number, activation energy parameter, reaction rate parameter, Eckert number, and Prandtl number are investigated. Increasing the Biot number improves the temperature region in the boundary layer. With high rotation, the increasing Deborah number enhances the fluid temperature substantially throughout the boundary layer.     

Preparation and characterization of poly(ethylene/tetramethylene terephthalate) copolyesters

Random copolyesters were prepared from dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), ethylene glycol (EG) and butane 1,4-diol (BD) by melt-polycondensation techniques, using varying amounts of EG and BD. Compositions have been established by ¹H n.m.r. spectroscopy. Intrinsic viscosity and number average molecular weight ($\text{M}\text{?}{}_{\mathrm{n}}$) were measured. Thermal properties have been studied by differential thermal analysis. Melting and crystallization temperatures and thermodynamic parameters are discussed in terms of structural differences, particularly the effect of composition and chain flexibility. The degree of crystallinity from differential thermal analysis, i.r. and wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) are discussed.     

Ionic liquids as electrolytes

Salts having a low melting point are liquid at room temperature, or even below, and form a new class of liquids usually called room temperature ionic liquids (RTIL). Information about RTILs can be found in the literature with such key words as: room temperature molten salt, low-temperature molten salt, ambient-temperature molten salt, liquid organic salt or simply ionic liquid. Their physicochemical properties are the same as high temperature ionic liquids, but the practical aspects of their maintenance or handling are different enough to merit a distinction. The class of ionic liquids, based on tetraalkylammonium cation and chloroaluminate anion, has been extensively studied since late 1970s of the XX century, following the works of Osteryoung. Systematic research on the application of chloroaluminate ionic liquids as solvents was performed in 1980s. However, ionic liquids based on aluminium halides are moisture sensitive. During the last decade an increasing number of new ionic liquids have been prepared and used as solvents. The general aim of this paper was to review the physical and chemical properties of RTILs from the point of view of their possible application as electrolytes in electrochemical processes and devices. The following points are discussed: melting and freezing, conductivity, viscosity, temperature dependence of conductivity, transport and transference numbers, electrochemical stability, possible application in aluminium electroplating, lithium batteries and in electrochemical capacitors.