Effects of temperature-gradient-induced damage of zirconia metering nozzles

The effects of temperature-gradient-induced damage of zirconia metering nozzles were investigated through analysis of the phase composition and microstructure of nozzle samples. The analysis was carried out using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy after the samples were subjected to a heat treatment based on the temperatures of the affected, transition, and original layers of zirconia metering nozzles during the continuous casting of steel. The results showed that, after heat treatment at 1540, 1410, or 1300℃ for a dwell time of 5 h, the monoclinic zirconia phase was gradually stabilized with increasing heat-treatment temperature. Moreover, a transformation to the cubic zirconia phase occurred, accompanied by grain growth, which illustrates that the temperature gradient in zirconia metering nozzles affects the mineral composition and microstructure of the nozzles and accelerates damage, thereby deteriorating the quality and service life of the nozzles.     

Effects of damage of Hatschek’s pit of amphioxus on its structure and function

It is found for the first time that, after the structure and endocrine function of Hatschek’s pit ofBranchiostoma belcheri are damaged by monosodium glutamate (MSG) treatment in breeding season, the ovulation of mature ovary, as well as the development of both ovary and testis of large-growth stage are obstructed and stagnated; and in non-breeding season, the process of gonadal development is delayed. The disturbed ovulation and gonadal development can definitely be restored with exogenous gonadotropic hormone as the therapeutical substitute. These results may provide new proof for the complete understanding of the evolutional process of pituitary function in vertebrates and playing an important role in the reproductive endocrine control system of Hatschek’s pit of amphioxus.     

Relative damage stress and its application in the case of temperature cycling load

Void damage is the main failure characteristics of constrained ductile metal foil. In order to evaluate the mechanical response of ductile metal under different temperatures, the concept of equivalent damage stress proposed by Lemaitre is modified by temperature normalization. A new concept of relative damage stress is advanced, and in the light of this concept, a reasonable explanation is given to the thermal fatigue life data of solder joints under temperature cycling.     

Moment tensor analysis of the acoustic emission source in the rock damage process

To further investigate the mechanism of acoustic emission (AE) in the rock fracture experiment, moment tensor analysis was carried out. The AE sources characterized by crack sizes, orientations and fracture modes, are represented by a time-dependent moment tensor. Since the waveforms recorded by AE monitors correlate to the moment tensors, we prefer to select the P wave amplitude from the full-space Green's function of homogeneous and isotropic materials to determine the six independent components of the moment tensor. The moment tensor analysis was used to investigate the AE sources recorded in the experiment, and three types of micro-cracks were found, which are tensile mode, shear mode and mixture of the tensile and shear mode. In addition, the motion of micro-cracks was decided by eigenvectors of moment tensor. Results indicate that the moment tensor analysis may be used as a measurement to reflect the damage evolution of rock specimen.     

Construction of DNA damage response gene pprI functiondeficient and function-complementary mutants in Deinococcus radiodurans

PprI, a DNA damage response factor from the extraordinary radioresistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans, plays a central regulatory role in multiple DNA damage repair. In this study, a fusion DNA fragment carrying kanamycin resistance gene with the D. radiodurans groEL promoter was cloned by PCR amplification and reversely inserted into the pprl locus in the genome of the wild-type strain R1. The resultingpprl-deficient strain, designated YR1,was very sensitive to ionizing radiation. Meanwhile, the recombinant DNA fragment was cloned into the shuttle vector pRADZ3, and resulted in plasmid pRADK with kanamycin resistance in D. radiodurans. The fragments containing complete pprl gene and 3‘-terminal deletion pprIΔ were cloned into plasmid pRADK. The resulted plasmids designated pRADKpprI and pRADKpprIΔ were then transformed to YR1. Results show that YR1 carrying pRADKpprI was able to fully restore the extreme radioresistance to the same level as the wild-type D. raiodurans R1, whereas YR1 pRADKpprIΔ failed to do so. Construction of DNA repair switch PprI function-deficient and function-complementary mutants in D. radiodurans is not only useful to elucidating the relationship between domains and functions of PprI protein, but also opens the door to the further studies of the biological functions of PprI protein in vivo.     

Surface roughness and removal rate in magnetorheological finishing of a subsurface damage free surface

Asphericalopticalcomponentsareimportantin modernopticalsystems[1].Thereexistmanytypesof aspheres.Thecommonlyusedonesincludeparabola,ellipsoid,etc.[2]Recently,increasingrequirements forasphericalopticalcomponents(e.g.forlithogra phy)togetherwithgrowingfieldsoftheirapplication(e.g.conformalandfreeformoptics)resultina strongneedforopticalfinishingmethodsthatcanbe appliedlocallytopolishcomplexshapedaspheresin brittlematerials(e.g.glass)[3].However,making high precisionaspheresisstillprimarilyanard…     

Surface roughness and removal rate in magnetorheological finishing of a subsurface damage free surface

Based on computer-controlled optical surfacing, a new technique called magnetorheological finishing (MRF), is presented. The new technique combines the features of conventional loose abrasive machining with a wheel shaped polishing tool. The tool incorporates a host of features and has unprecedented fabricating versatility. The pre-polishing and fine polishing processes can be performed only by adjusting different parameters. The material removal function is studied theoretically and the results of simulation present a Gaussian distribution feature. Based on the established theoretical model, material removal rate experiments involving a parabolic mirror are designed and carried out to determine the effect of controllable parameters on size of the gap between the workpiece and the polishing wheel, rotating speed of the polishing wheel, concentration of volume fraction of non-magnetic particles and polishing time. Further experiments are carried out on the surface microstructure of the workpiece, the final surface roughness with an initial value of 10.98 nm reaches 1.22 nm root mean square (RMS) after 20 min of polishing. The subsurface damage experiment and the atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurement on the polished surface can also verify the feasibility of the MRF technique.     

RadA： A protein involved in DNA damage repair processes of Deinococcus radiodurans R1

RadA is highly conserved in bacteria and belongs to the RecA/RadA/Rad51 protein su-perfamily found in bacteria,archaea and eukarya. In Archaea,it plays a critical role in homologous re-combination process due to its RecA-like function. In Escherichia coli,it takes part in conjugational recom-bination and DNA repair but is not as important as that of archaea. Using PSI-BLAST searches,we found that Deinococcus radiodurans RadA had a higher similarity to that of bacteria than archaea and eukarya. Disruption of radA gene in D. radiodurans resulted in a modestly decreased resistance to gamma radiation and ultraviolet,but had no effect on the resistance to hydrogen peroxide. Complementa-tion of the radA disruptant by both E. coli radA and D. radiodurans radA could fully restore its resistance to gamma radiation and ultraviolet irradiation. Further domain function analyses of D. radiodurans RadA showed that the absence of the zinc finger domain resulted in a slightly more sensitive phenotype to gamma and UV radiation than that of the radA mutant,while the absence of the Lon protease domain exhib-ited a slightly increased resistance to gamma and UV radiation. These data suggest that D. radiodurans RadA does play an important role in the DNA damage repair processes and its three different domains have different functions.     

p53-dependent upregulation of PIG3 transcription by γ-ray irradiation and its interaction with KAP1 in responding to DNA damage

PIG3 (p53-inducible gene 3), originally identified as one of a set of genes induced by p53 before the onset of apoptosis, was assumed to contribute to early cellular response to DNA damage. Here, we studied the relation between p53 status and the increased expression of PIG3 by ionizing radiation (IR), and the related clues regarding the involvement of PIG3 in the cellular response to IR-induced DNA damage signaling. We demonstrated that the pentanucleotide microsatellite sequence was responsible for the p5...     

A stress response pathway regulates DNA damage through β2-adrenoreceptors and β-arrestin-1

The human mind and body respond to stress, a state of perceived threat to homeostasis, by activating the sympathetic nervous system and secreting the catecholamines adrenaline and noradrenaline in the 'fight-or-flight' response. The stress response is generally transient because its accompanying effects (for example, immunosuppression, growth inhibition and enhanced catabolism) can be harmful in the long term. When chronic, the stress response can be associated with disease symptoms such as peptic ulcers or cardiovascular disorders, and epidemiological studies strongly indicate that chronic stress leads to DNA damage. This stress-induced DNA damage may promote ageing, tumorigenesis, neuropsychiatric conditions and miscarriages. However, the mechanisms by which these DNA-damage events occur in response to stress are unknown. The stress hormone adrenaline stimulates β(2)-adrenoreceptors that are expressed throughout the body, including in germline cells and zygotic embryos. Activated β(2)-adrenoreceptors promote Gs-protein-dependent activation of protein kinase A (PKA), followed by the recruitment of β-arrestins, which desensitize G-protein signalling and function as signal transducers in their own right. Here we elucidate a molecular mechanism by which β-adrenergic catecholamines, acting through both Gs-PKA and β-arrestin-mediated signalling pathways, trigger DNA damage and suppress p53 levels respectively, thus synergistically leading to the accumulation of DNA damage. In mice and in human cell lines, β-arrestin-1 (ARRB1), activated via β(2)-adrenoreceptors, facilitates AKT-mediated activation of MDM2 and also promotes MDM2 binding to, and degradation of, p53, by acting as a molecular scaffold. Catecholamine-induced DNA damage is abrogated in Arrb1-knockout (Arrb1(-/-)) mice, which show preserved p53 levels in both the thymus, an organ that responds prominently to acute or chronic stress, and in the testes, in which paternal stress may affect the offspring's genome. Our results highlight the emerging role of ARRB1 as an E3-ligase adaptor in the nucleus, and reveal how DNA damage may accumulate in response to chronic stress.     

Increased damage from fires in logged forests during droughts caused by El Niño

In 1997-98, fires associated with an exceptional drought caused by the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) devastated large areas of tropical rain forests worldwide. Evidence suggests that in tropical rainforest environments selective logging may lead to an increased susceptibility of forests to fire. We investigated whether this was true in the Indonesian fires, the largest fire disaster ever observed. We performed a multiscale analysis using coarse- and high-resolution optical and radar satellite imagery assisted by ground and aerial surveys to assess the extent of the fire-damaged area and the effect on vegetation in East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. A total of 5.2 +/- 0.3 million hectares including 2.6 million hectares of forest was burned with varying degrees of damage. Forest fires primarily affected recently logged forests; primary forests or those logged long ago were less affected. These results support the hypothesis of positive feedback between logging and fire occurrence. The fires severely damaged the remaining forests and significantly increased the risk of recurrent fire disasters by leaving huge amounts of dead flammable wood.     

The DNA concentration effect on DNA radiation damage induced by 7Li ions and γ rays

To evaluate the influence of the DNA concentration in the aqueous solution on DNA radiation damage, the plasmid DNA in the presence or absence of Mannitol (scavenger of free radical OH·) was irradiated by 7Li ions and γ rays at various DNA concentrations. Gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that the DNA damage of single and double strand breaks induced by irradiation became more severe at lower DNA concentration. In the condition of γ-ray irradiation, most of double strand breaks (DSB) damage was neutralized and less associated with DNA concentration in the presence of mannitol. However, under 7Li irradiation, DSB damage could not be cleared by mannitol but was gradually aggravated with decreasing DNA concentrations. These findings imply that under low-LET irradiation, most of the DSB damage is generated by free radical OH? diffusion, and thus may be counteracted by scavengers, while at higher-LET irradiation, quite a fraction of DSB induction is caused by direct ionizing energy deposi- tion of heavy ions, which cannot be eliminated. This work also indicates that the proportion between free radical damage and direct ionizing damage is a constant which is independent of DNA concentra- tion when the DNA concentration is under a certain value (50 ng/μL). Our study sheds light on the un- derlying mechanisms in the DNA radiation damage process.     

A novel method for ionizing radiation-induced RNA damage detection by poly（A）-tailing RT-PCR

Ionizing radiation (IR) causes severe cellular damage both directly and indirectly and disrupts RNA integrity. RNA strand breaks are the most frequent type of damage caused by IR. RNA damage is involved in the development of degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. However, the mechanism of mRNA damage and any resulting pathophysiological outcomes are poorly understood. This is partly because there is a lack of sensitive tools to monitor damage randomly occurring in RNA,...     

Effect of Quantum Biology of Benzene

The purpose of the paper is to elucidate the biological effect of benzene on the basis of benzene constitution, quantum chemistry and quantum biology. In addition, we also have examined the toxicological mechanism of benzene in view of action of benzene on energy.     

Molecular Basis of Transfer of Transfer of Induced Resistance in Plants

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Photocatalytic degradation of trace-level of MicrocystinLR by nano-film of titanium dioxide

The occurrence of toxic water bloom of cyanobacte-ria algae, widely reported in eutrophic freshwater, hasbeen a serious pollution problem in recent years[1]. Mi-crocystins (MCs), the most common cyanobacteriatoxin with a cyclic heptapeptide structure (Fig…     

Ultrastructure of Hepatopancreas Cells of Macrobrachium nipponensis

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The orientational preferences of backbones of proteins

The orientation between the backbone residues of proteins is defined based on the local configurations and the corresponding preferences are analyzed by statistics.It is found that all the residue pairs have some specific preferences of orientations.The statistical analysis is mainly concen-trated in the orientational distributions for two kinds of groupings of residues based on the hydrophobicity and secondary structural features.The statistics for such two types of groupings shows different orienta-tional preferences.It is found that for the former grouping the orientational preference is rather weak, while for the later a kind of strong orientational pref-erences.This suggests that the formation of local structures and of secondary structures are highly related to the orientational preferences.