174 research outputs found
Structural insights into Clostridium perfringens delta toxin pore formation
No full textClostridium perfringens Delta toxin is one of the three hemolysin-like proteins produced by C. perfringens type C and possibly type B strains. One of the others, NetB, has been shown to be the major cause of Avian Nectrotic Enteritis, which following the reduction in use of antibiotics as growth promoters, has become an emerging disease of industrial poultry. Delta toxin itself is cytotoxic to the wide range of human and animal macrophages and platelets that present GM2 ganglioside on their membranes. It has sequence similarity with Staphylococcus aureus β-pore forming toxins and is expected to heptamerize and form pores in the lipid bilayer of host cell membranes. Nevertheless, its exact mode of action remains undetermined. Here we report the 2.4 Å crystal structure of monomeric Delta toxin. The superposition of this structure with the structure of the phospholipid-bound F component of S. aureus leucocidin (LukF) revealed that the glycerol molecules bound to Delta toxin and the phospholipids in LukF are accommodated in the same hydrophobic clefts, corresponding to where the toxin is expected to latch onto the membrane, though the binding sites show significant differences. From structure-based sequence alignment with the known structure of staphylococcal α-hemolysin, a model of the Delta toxin pore form has been built. Using electron microscopy, we have validated our model and characterized the Delta toxin pore on liposomes. These results highlight both similarities and differences in the mechanism of Delta toxin (and by extension NetB) cytotoxicity from that of the staphylococcal pore-forming toxins
A multiphase phase-field study of three-dimensional martensitic twinned microstructures at large strains
No full textA thermodynamically consistent multiphase phase-field approach for stress and temperature-induced martensitic phase transformation at the nanoscale and under large strains is developed. A total of N independent order parameters are considered for materials with N variants, where one of the order parameters describes A M transformations and the remaining N-1 independent order parameters describe the transformations between the variants. A non-contradictory gradient energy is used within the free energy of the system to account for the energies of the interfaces. In addition, a non-contradictory kinetic relationships for the rate of the order parameters versus thermodynamic driving forces is suggested. As a result, a system of consistent coupled Ginzburg-Landau equations for the order parameters are derived. The crystallographic solution for twins within twins is presented for the cubic to tetragonal transformations. A 3D complex twins within twins microstructure is simulated using the developed phase-field approach and a large-strain-based nonlinear finite element method. A comparative study between the crystallographic solution and the simulation result is presented.This is a pre-print of the article Basak, Anup, and Valery I. Levitas. "A multiphase phase-field study of three-dimensional martensitic twinned microstructures at large strains." arXiv preprint arXiv:2206.12576 (2022).
DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2206.12576.
Copyright 2022 The Author(s).
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
Posted with permission
Failure mechanisms in lithium silicon batteries
No full textLithium silicon (Li-Si) batteries offer more than ten times the theoretical specific capacity compared to current lithium ion battery technologies, by using a silicon anode. In practice however, the cycle life of Li-Si batteries is very limited. The large volume change of the silicon anode is known to be the main reason for this. Research on the volume changes during varying cell cycles and voltages is presented in this thesis and an experimental set up for a quasi in situ study of the SEI layer is suggested. Cycling tests with an amorphous silicon thin film of 220 nm deposited using magnetron sputtering on a copper foil current collector confirmed that the major cause of capacity loss is swelling of the silicon during lithiation, causing the silicon to detach from the current collector and resulting in significant capacity loss. Increasing the lower cut off voltage from 0 V to 0.2 V resulted in a slight improvement of cycle life. Silicon detachment also decreased as determined by SEM images. EFTEM and EDX mapping showed a clear split between a partially lithiated silicon layer on the surface and a pure silicon layer on the current collector side. It can be concluded that discharging Li-Si batteries to 0.2 V instead of 0 V is a promising method to reduce the swelling of silicon during lithiation.HREMQuantum NanoscienceApplied Science
Gamma-D crystallin gene (CRYGD) mutation causes autosomal dominant congenital cerulean cataracts
No full textCongenital cataracts are a major cause of bilateral visual impairment in childhood. We mapped the gene responsible for autosomal congenital cerulean cataracts to chromosome 2q33-35 in a four generation family of Moroccan descent. The maximum lod score (7.19 at recombination fraction theta=0) was obtained for marker D2S2208 near the g-crystallin gene (CRYG) cluster. Sequencing of the coding regions of the CRYGA, B, C, and D genes showed the presence of a heterozygous C>A transversion in exon 2 of CRYGD that is associated with cataracts in this family. This mutation resulted in a proline to threonine substitution at amino acid 23 of the protein in the first of the four Greek key motifs that characterise this protein. We show that although the x ray crystallography modelling does not indicate any change of the backbone conformation, the mutation affects a region of the Greek key motif that is important for determining the topology of this protein fold. Our data suggest strongly that the proline to threonine substitution may alter the protein folding or decrease the thermodynamic stability or solubility of the protein. Furthermore, this is the first report of a mutation in this gene resulting in autosomal dominant congenital cerulean cataracts
Making Better Batteries: Following Electrochemistry at the Nano Scale with Electron Microscopy
No full textWith the focus in automobile industry to switch from petroleum-based vehicles to all electric vehicles, the increasing demand on harvesting energy from renewable sources for a safer and greener future and the ever-increasing demand of the portable electronics systems, the need for better batteries is eminent. The ultimate aim of battery research is to develop a low cost, light and small battery that can deliver high-capacity and/or high power. Lithium and sodium batteries are the frontrunners in achieving this ultimate battery. A macro battery is composed of thousands of millions of nanoparticles. Thus, to prepare a better battery we must determine the respective effects of electrode nanoparticle size, shape, structure, grain–grain boundary, defects and doping on the battery performance. To do so electrode nanoparticles need to be probed at the nano-scale to find out the correlation between their morphology, structure and chemical properties and their evolution due to the battery charging-discharging with battery performance. In this thesis we have utilized the unique capability of electron microscope to resolve the microstructural and chemical information at the (sub)nanometer scale to probe the electrode nanoparticles for making better batteries
Reflections on methodology for assessing campus sustainability from a Turkish perspective
No full textAim: The author provides a critical reflection of the questionnaire discussed at the workshop “Methodology for assessing the campus sustainability from the perspective of multi-level antifragility” held on Friday 13 May at the WSB University in Wrocław. The author reflects from the background of his experience in Turkey. Design / Research methods: The author provides his own reflections and opinions, based on the discussions at the workshop. Conclusions / findings: It is very difficult to create a set of indicators making campus sustainability internationally comparable, as well as finding proper sources of information. A starting point in creating such indicators may be mistakes threatening organizational viability and external sustainability Originality / value of the article: The article provides critical feedback on an innovative approach towards research on campus sustainability. </jats:p
Effects of surface capping with Poly-vinyl butyral (PVB) on the ultraviolet photosensing properties of ZnO nanorods
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