ALBERT

Notes: Gold nanoclusters dispersed in single crystal TiO2, MgO, and SrTiO3 have been prepared by ion implantation at 300–975 K and subsequent annealing at 1275 K for 10 h. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and high-angle annular dark field (HAADF) imaging in aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) have been used to characterize the microstructure of the gold nanoclusters dispersed materials. STEM-HAADF imaging with atomic resolution has directly revealed for all three materials that Au atoms partially occupy cation lattice positions. Cavities up to several tens of nanometers were observed in MgO and SrTiO3. The cavities and gold clusters are spatially associated in MgO and SrTiO3, indicating a strong interaction between the Au cluster and cavities. For MgO and SrTiO3, the faceting planes appear to be the same for both nanometer-sized cavity and the Au cluster, demonstrating that both the surface energy and the interfacial energy between Au cluster and the matrix are lowest on these planes.

Notes: Arginine was hypothesized to be a model compound in the present study on molecular forms of indispensable amino acid (IAA) dietary supplementation. Juvenile South American pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) were fed diets containing arginine in a protein base (casein-wheat gluten or casein-gelatin), or the casein-wheat gluten base supplemented with dipeptide or free arginine at two levels (5 and 10 g kg−1). Growth and protein efficiency ratios were significantly affected by diets, but not by arginine molecular form. Three free dispensable amino acids (DAA) and four IAA in plasma were affected by diet, but plasma arginine concentrations did not differ. Plasma urea concentrations, being very low in the pacu, and hepatic arginase activities, were not affected by diet (P = 0.10–0.11), but together with plasma ornithine, mirrored the growth data. Molecular form of arginine supplementation, free or dipeptide, significantly changed several free IAA (Phe, Leu, Ile, His) and urea, with a higher mean plasma concentration in dipeptide fed fish. The dietary treatments, or molecular form of the arginine supplementation, did not change proximate composition, except that calcium levels decreased with higher dietary arginine supplementation level. The present study indicates that dipeptides can provide IAA to pacu, and that arginine supplemented in this form is utilized as efficiently as in free form.

Notes: Stylosanthes guianensis, belonging to the genus Stylosanthes, is one of the most important tropical forage legumes and is native to South and Central America and Africa. Anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Sacc., is a major constraint to the extensive use of Stylosanthes as tropical forage. Forty-two accessions of S. guianensis were assessed with amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) for genetic diversity and for resistance to anthracnose. In AFLP analysis, four selective primer combinations screened from 96 primer combinations were used to analyse these accessions, and a total of 225 clear bands were used for genetic similarity (GS) analysis, showing a 95.5% level of polymorphism on average. GS from 31.0% to 95.0% among the accessions was calculated with ntsys-pc software. The dendrogram was constructed with unweighted pair group method of averages (UPGMA) based on the AFLP data, and five clusters were defined at 48% GS. Two typical strains of C. gloeosporioides from Stylosanthes in China were used for anthracnose resistance screening. Most of the plant accessions showed variation in the reaction to two strains, and the correlation of resistance had a value of 0.904 (P 〈 0.01), suggesting common resistance to the two strains. The resistance accessions were randomly distributed in different groups of UPGMA clustering. These results demonstrate that AFLP analysis is an efficient method for evaluating the genetic diversity among S. guianensis accessions.

Notes: Vibrio anguillarum is an important bacterial fish pathogen responsible for epizootics in both marine and freshwater fish worldwide. Studies on pathogenic V. anguillarum has shown that its virulence is mediated by a 65 kb endogenous pJM1-like plasmid, which encodes an efficient iron uptake system. The plasmid-free derivative of wild V. anguillarum was found to be greatly attenuated and elicited a good protection against wild V. anguillarum in fish. In this study, a plasmid-free derivative MVAV6201, an effective live vaccine candidate, was used as a carrier strain to achieve the secretory delivery of recombinant proteins in V. anguillarum. The secretion mechanism was based on the Escherichia coliα-haemolysin (HlyA) transport system. The recombinant proteins were fused with the α-haemolysin secretion signal (HlyAs) and expressed from the commonly used HlyA secretion vector pMOhly1. Two HlyAs-tagged recombinant proteins, GFP-HlyAs and AngE-HlyAs, were constructed and their secretion characters in V. anguillarum investigated. In the case of GFP-HlyAs, nearly 70% of the total fusion protein was efficiently secreted into culture supernatant, and in the case of AngE-HlyAs, the secretion efficiency was determined to be about 300 μg L−1 by Western blotting.

Notes: Purpose - To make a derivation of the load-carrying capacity of elastohydrodynamic lubrication for special operating conditions, i.e. extremely heavy loads or extremely low rolling speeds based on the Newtonian fluid model by taking the Grubin-type EHL inlet zone analysis, justify the load-carrying capacity of elastohydrodynamic lubrication film in these operating conditions, and propose future trends of the research in EHL and mixed EHL based on the obtained results in the present paper. Design/methodology/approach - A Grubin-type EHL inlet zone analysis is carried out for the isothermal EHL of line contacts in special operating conditions, i.e. extremely heavy loads or extremely low rolling speeds based on the Newtonian fluid model. Comparison is made between the central EHL film thickness in line contacts, respectively, predicted by conventional EHL theories and accurately predicted from the present analysis for these operating conditions. An interpretation is made for the EHL film thickness in these operating conditions by taking the approach of the transportation and flow of the fluid through elastohydrodynamic contact when the EHL film is, respectively, thick and molecularly thin in the Hertzian zone. Conclusions are drawn on the load-carrying capacity of EHL, EHL contact regimes and mixed EHL regimes in these operating conditions. Findings - The present EHL inlet zone analysis shows that the EHL film thickness in the Hertzian zone is on the nanometer scale and the lubricant is non-continuum across the film thickness in the Hertzian zone at relatively heavy loads in line contact EHL when the dimensionless rolling speed is lower than the dimensionless characteristic rolling speed Uch=0.0372W1.50/G. In this case, the central EHL film thickness in line contact EHL predicted by the conventional EHL theory may be several orders of magnitudes higher than that accurately predicted. This difference may be greater for heavier loads.The present results for line contact EHL based on the Newtonian fluid model show that in line contact EHL, for relatively heavy loads and the dimensionless rolling speed lower than the dimensionless characteristic rolling speed Uch=0.0372W1.50/G, the EHL analysis needs to further incorporate the lubricant non-continuum effect across the film thickness in part of the lubricated area to investigate the EHL film thickness and the EHL film pressure in the contact in this very low film thickness condition; only the results based on such an analysis are believable for the EHL stage where the lubricant film thickness in the Hertzian zone approaches to zero and then vanishes; the results for EHL based on the Newtonian fluid model is unable to conclude that the EHL film thickness in the Hertzian zone is zero and dry contact occurs between the contact surfaces in EHL in any operating condition for ignoring the lubricant non-continuum regime governing the EHL stage preceding the occurrence of the zero lubricant film thickness in EHL. Practical implications - A very useful source of information for academic scientists, engineers and tribologists who are engaged in the study and application of the theory of elastohydrodynamic lubrication. Originality/value - A derivation is first carried out for the isothermal EHL of line contacts in extremely heavy loads or extremely low rolling speeds by taking the Grubin-type EHL inlet zone analysis by the present paper. Results and conclusions on the load-carrying capacity of EHL in these operating conditions are first strict and thus convincing. These results are also original in clarifying the future trends of the researches in EHL and mixed EHL.

Notes: Purpose - To form and develop a new mode of mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication (mixed EHL) which is more realistic and of more application values to a practical elastohydrodynamic contact on gears, cams and roller bearings than the previous and current existing mixed EHL models. Design/methodology/approach - The representative theoretical and experimental studies on elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) and mixed EHL carried out in the previous and recent time, including those of the author, are reviewed. The obtained results on EHL and mixed EHL in those studies and the viewpoints on the mode of mixed EHL based on those results developed in those studies are compared and evaluated. Strong proves are formed on the new mode of mixed EHL proposed in the present paper based on these comparisons and evaluations. Findings - Strong viewpoints are formed on the mode of the occurrence of dry contact in EHL in a practical concentrated contact. A new mode of mixed EHL is proposed by incorporating this mode of the occurrence of dry contact in EHL. Also, comments and evaluations on the previous researches on mixed EHL are made. Practical implications - A very useful material for the engineers who are engaged in the design of EHL on gears, cams and roller bearings, and for the tribology scientists who thrust efforts in studying EHL and mixed EHL both by theoretical modeling and by experiments. Originality/value - A new mode of mixed EHL is originally proposed by incorporating the finding of a more realistic mode of the occurrence of dry contact in EHL. This new mode of mixed EHL should become the direction of the theoretical research of mixed EHL in the future time. It provides a clearer way to this research.

Notes: In order to allow optical signals to reach the workpiece surface to realize in-process opticalmeasurement through an opaque coolant, a locally transparent region generated by use of an air beamis examined to allow better understanding of the fluid assisted in-process optical measurementapproach. With the air beam used, the problems associated with the diluting effect on coolantconcentration and the measurement error due to the optical transmittance through multiple media canbe avoided. The working principle and the experimental results for testing the proposed method arepresented and discussed

Notes: As an importantly functional and safe part of automobile, gasoline tank is gradually madeby plastic instead of metal. To shorten the production cycle time and increase the output of plasticautomobile gasoline tank, its cooling and solidification can be put on special fixture by wind orwater after being taken from mold. An automatic plastic gasoline tank water-cooling equipment wasdesigned with Solidworks software. The operation procedure was automatically controlled byprogram instead of manual work. By using PLC as control center and touch-screen as man-machineinterface, the control system can be carried out to solve the difficulty of setting the technicalparameters, such as water temperature and cooling timeless. The results show that the productionoutput was increased and production quality was improved effectively

Notes: Bi3.5Nd0.5Ti3O12 (BNT) ferroelectrics modified with different concentrations of Nb are prepared by a hot-pressing method. XRD diffraction shows that all samples have only a layeredstructured pervoskite phase. Raman spectra confirm that the crystal symmetry change locally when increasing Nb concentration. It is found that the introduction of a suitable amount of Nb can enhance the remnant polarization of BNT. The temperature dependence of dielectric constant is also investigated in BNT ceramics. All samples have high Curie temperature above 530°C