Rolling of Al-SiC_p Composites

Aluminum based metal matrix composites are offering o utstanding properties in a number of automotive and aircraft components and body structures. The major advantages of these composite materials are their high st rength to weight ratio, high stiffness, high hardness, wear resistance, low coef ficient of thermal expansion, superior dimensional stability and versatility to designer. In addition to these their isotropic properties, good forming characte ristics, easy availability of cheaper reinforcements...     

Identification of renal Cd36 as a determinant of blood pressure and risk for hypertension

To identify renally expressed genes that influence risk for hypertension, we integrated expression quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of the kidney with genome-wide correlation analysis of renal expression profiles and blood pressure in recombinant inbred strains derived from the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). This strategy, together with renal transplantation studies in SHR progenitor, transgenic and congenic strains, identified deficient renal expression of Cd36 encoding fatty acid translocase as a genetically determined risk factor for spontaneous hypertension.     

Transgenic anopheline mosquitoes impaired in transmission of a malaria parasite

Malaria is estimated to cause 0.7 to 2.7 million deaths per year, but the actual figures could be substantially higher owing to under-reporting and difficulties in diagnosis. If no new control measures are developed, the malaria death toll is projected to double in the next 20 years. Efforts to control the disease are hampered by drug resistance in the Plasmodium parasites, insecticide resistance in mosquitoes, and the lack of an effective vaccine. Because mosquitoes are obligatory vectors for malaria transmission, the spread of malaria could be curtailed by rendering them incapable of transmitting parasites. Many of the tools required for the genetic manipulation of mosquito competence for malaria transmission have been developed. Foreign genes can now be introduced into the germ line of both culicine and anopheline mosquitoes, and these transgenes can be expressed in a tissue-specific manner. Here we report on the use of such tools to generate transgenic mosquitoes that express antiparasitic genes in their midgut epithelium, thus rendering them inefficient vectors for the disease. These findings have significant implications for the development of new strategies for malaria control.     

Corneal avascularity is due to soluble VEGF receptor-1

Corneal avascularity-the absence of blood vessels in the cornea-is required for optical clarity and optimal vision, and has led to the cornea being widely used for validating pro- and anti-angiogenic therapeutic strategies for many disorders. But the molecular underpinnings of the avascular phenotype have until now remained obscure and are all the more remarkable given the presence in the cornea of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, a potent stimulator of angiogenesis, and the proximity of the cornea to vascularized tissues. Here we show that the cornea expresses soluble VEGF receptor-1 (sVEGFR-1; also known as sflt-1) and that suppression of this endogenous VEGF-A trap by neutralizing antibodies, RNA interference or Cre-lox-mediated gene disruption abolishes corneal avascularity in mice. The spontaneously vascularized corneas of corn1 and Pax6+/- mice and Pax6+/- patients with aniridia are deficient in sflt-1, and recombinant sflt-1 administration restores corneal avascularity in corn1 and Pax6+/- mice. Manatees, the only known creatures uniformly to have vascularized corneas, do not express sflt-1, whereas the avascular corneas of dugongs, also members of the order Sirenia, elephants, the closest extant terrestrial phylogenetic relatives of manatees, and other marine mammals (dolphins and whales) contain sflt-1, indicating that it has a crucial, evolutionarily conserved role. The recognition that sflt-1 is essential for preserving the avascular ambit of the cornea can rationally guide its use as a platform for angiogenic modulators, supports its use in treating neovascular diseases, and might provide insight into the immunological privilege of the cornea.     

A modified CANDECOMP method for fitting the extended INDSCAL model

A modified CANDECOMP algorithm is presented for fitting the metric version of the Extended INDSCAL model to three-way proximity data. The Extended INDSCAL model assumes, in addition to the common dimensions, a unique dimension for each object. The modified CANDECOMP algorithm fits the Extended INDSCAL model in a dimension-wise fashion and ensures that the subject weights for the common and the unique dimensions are nonnegative. A Monte Carlo study is reported to illustrate that the method is fairly insensitive to the choice of the initial parameter estimates. A second Monte Carlo study shows that the method is able to recover an underlying Extended INDSCAL structure if present in the data. Finally, the method is applied for illustrative purposes to some empirical data on pain relievers. In the final section, some other possible uses of the new method are discussed. Geert De Soete is supported as “Bevoegdverklaard Navorser” of the Belgian “Nationaal Fonds voor Wetenschappelijik Onderzoek”.     

Functional improvement of dystrophic muscle by myostatin blockade

Mice and cattle with mutations in the myostatin (GDF8) gene show a marked increase in body weight and muscle mass, indicating that this new member of the TGF-beta superfamily is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. Inhibition of the myostatin gene product is predicted to increase muscle mass and improve the disease phenotype in a variety of primary and secondary myopathies. We tested the ability of inhibition of myostatin in vivo to ameliorate the dystrophic phenotype in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Blockade of endogenous myostatin by using intraperitoneal injections of blocking antibodies for three months resulted in an increase in body weight, muscle mass, muscle size and absolute muscle strength in mdx mouse muscle along with a significant decrease in muscle degeneration and concentrations of serum creatine kinase. The functional improvement of dystrophic muscle by myostatin blockade provides a novel, pharmacological strategy for treatment of diseases associated with muscle wasting such as DMD, and circumvents the major problems associated with conventional gene therapy in these disorders.     

MD simulation of asymmetric nucleation and motion of 〈011〉 superdislocations in TiAI

The nucleation and propagation of （011] su- perdislocations in intermetallic TiA1 were investigated using molecular dynamics simulations and static energetics calculation, as part of our systematic effort to understand the twining and dislocation behavior of alloys based on y-TiAl. It was found that compared to ordinary dislocations in disordered crystals, superdislocations in ordered TiA1 lattice behave differently when sheared in the two opposite senses along [01-1] direction. This difference is due to the lower Llo lattice symmetry compared with the face-cen- tered cubic （fcc） lattice that it based on, with different yield stress and strain, and dislocation core dissociation and motion. Superdislocations nucleated in the form of loops dissociated in a planar manner into four Shockley partials separated by three kinds of faults： superlattice intrinsic stacking fault （SISF）, anti-phase domain boundary （APB） and complex stacking fault （CSF）, with partial separations depending on the sense of shearing and dislocation char- acter. During loop expansion, the dislocation core changes both in width and dissociation manner depending on the character of the segment in the loop. The core contains four partials close to edge orientation, gradually changing to three fold near 60°, and finally into twofold dissociation around 30° character. Superdislocations may have multiple critical resolved shear stresses （CRSS） for motion depending on dissociation and shearing sense even for the same slip system, with lower critical stress for the motion when SISF is in leading position.     

MD simulation of asymmetric nucleation and motion of h011] superdislocations in TiAl

The nucleation and propagation of h011]superdislocations in intermetallic TiAl were investigated using molecular dynamics simulations and static energetics calculation,as part of our systematic effort to understand the twining and dislocation behavior of alloys based on c-TiAl.It was found that compared to ordinary dislocations in disordered crystals,superdislocations in ordered TiAl lattice behave differently when sheared in the two opposite senses along[0"11]direction.This difference is due to the lower L10lattice symmetry compared with the face-centered cubic(fcc)lattice that it based on,with different yield stress and strain,and dislocation core dissociation and motion.Superdislocations nucleated in the form of loops dissociated in a planar manner into four Shockley partials separated by three kinds of faults:superlattice intrinsic stacking fault(SISF),anti-phase domain boundary(APB)and complex stacking fault(CSF),with partial separations depending on the sense of shearing and dislocation character.During loop expansion,the dislocation core changes both in width and dissociation manner depending on the character of the segment in the loop.The core contains four partials close to edge orientation,gradually changing to three fold near 60°,and finally into twofold dissociationaround 30°character.Superdislocations may have multiple critical resolved shear stresses(CRSS)for motion depending on dissociation and shearing sense even for the same slip system,with lower critical stress for the motion when SISF is in leading position.     

Anti-planetward auroral electron beams at Saturn

Strong discrete aurorae on Earth are excited by electrons, which are accelerated along magnetic field lines towards the planet. Surprisingly, electrons accelerated in the opposite direction have been recently observed. The mechanisms and significance of this anti-earthward acceleration are highly uncertain because only earthward acceleration was traditionally considered, and observations remain limited. It is also unclear whether upward acceleration of the electrons is a necessary part of the auroral process or simply a special feature of Earth's complex space environment. Here we report anti-planetward acceleration of electron beams in Saturn's magnetosphere along field lines that statistically map into regions of aurora. The energy spectrum of these beams is qualitatively similar to the ones observed at Earth, and the energy fluxes in the observed beams are comparable with the energies required to excite Saturn's aurora. These beams, along with the observations at Earth and the barely understood electron beams in Jupiter's magnetosphere, demonstrate that anti-planetward acceleration is a universal feature of aurorae. The energy contained in the beams shows that upward acceleration is an essential part of the overall auroral process.