Utilisation of High Energy Propellant Waste in Manufacturing of Fired Clay Bricks to Enhance the Acoustic Properties

The disposal and waste management of solid high energy propellant (HEP) is a considerate conservational problem. HEP waste is currently disposed in open or confined burning which may cause environmental hazards. In this paper, we examined and discussed results on recycling of HEP waste into fired clay bricks baked in different orientation. HEP modified bricks with 1.5%, 3% and 5 wt. % HEP waste content were manufactured and tested, and then compared against virgin clay bricks without HEP content. The effect of directional orientation of bricks baked with varying HEP content on acoustic properties were experimented and discussed. The sound transmission loss decreases with increase in HEP waste due to formation of independently closed directional pores. The transmission loss of horizontally baked during firing of bricks is nearly 5dB lower than vertically baked bricks. Results of the experimental studies indicate that HEP waste can be utilised in fired clay bricks and different orientation baking further enhances the acoustic properties.

Influence of The Expression Vector And of Its Elements On Recombinant hPRL Bacterial Synthesis: The Co-Directional Orientation of Replication And Transcription is Highly Critical

The aim of the present work was to define a bacterial expression system that is particularly efficient for the synthesis of human prolactin (hPRL). In previous work, the synthesis of rec-hPRL by the p1813-hPRL vector in E. coli HB2151 was >500 mg/L, while it was much lower now (2.5-4-fold), in the strains RB791 and RRI. The highest positive influence on rec-hPRL synthesis was due to the transcription-replication co-orientation of hPRL cDNA and the ori/antibiotic resistance gene, responsible for up to a ~5-6-fold higher expression yield. In conclusion, this work confirmed that each bacterial strain of E. coli has a genetic set that can allow a different level of heterologous protein synthesis. The individual study of each element indicated that its action critically depends on the reading orientation in which it is located inside the vector: co-directional orientation of replication and transcription, in fact, greatly increased the level of rec-hPRL expression.

Propagation of F-actin disassembly via Myosin15-Mical interactions

The F-actin cytoskeleton drives cellular form and function. However, how F-actin-based changes occur with spatiotemporal precision and specific directional orientation is poorly understood. Here, we identify that the unconventional class XV myosin [Myosin 15 (Myo15)] physically and functionally interacts with the F-actin disassembly enzyme Mical to spatiotemporally position cellular breakdown and reconstruction. Specifically, while unconventional myosins have been associated with transporting cargo along F-actin to spatially target cytoskeletal assembly, we now find they also target disassembly. Myo15 specifically positions this F-actin disassembly by associating with Mical and using its motor and MyTH4-FERM cargo-transporting functions to broaden Mical’s distribution. Myo15’s broadening of Mical’s distribution also expands and directionally orients Mical-mediated F-actin disassembly and subsequent cellular remodeling, including in response to Semaphorin/Plexin cell surface activation signals. Thus, we identify a mechanism that spatiotemporally propagates F-actin disassembly while also proposing that other F-actin-trafficked-cargo is derailed by this disassembly to directionally orient rebuilding.

Do subterranean mammals use the Earth’s magnetic field as a heading indicator to dig straight tunnels?

Subterranean rodents are able to dig long straight tunnels. Keeping the course of such “runways” is important in the context of optimal foraging strategies and natal or mating dispersal. These tunnels are built in the course of a long time, and in social species, by several animals. Although the ability to keep the course of digging has already been described in the 1950s, its proximate mechanism could still not be satisfactorily explained. Here, we analyzed the directional orientation of 68 burrow systems in five subterranean rodent species (Fukomys anselli, F. mechowii, Heliophobius argenteocinereus, Spalax galili, and Ctenomys talarum) on the base of detailed maps of burrow systems charted within the framework of other studies and provided to us. The directional orientation of the vast majority of all evaluated burrow systems on the individual level (94%) showed a significant deviation from a random distribution. The second order statistics (averaging mean vectors of all the studied burrow systems of a respective species) revealed significant deviations from random distribution with a prevalence of north–south (H. argenteocinereus), NNW–SSE (C. talarum), and NE–SW (Fukomys mole-rats) oriented tunnels. Burrow systems of S. galili were randomly oriented. We suggest that the Earth’s magnetic field acts as a common heading indicator, facilitating to keep the course of digging. This study provides a field test and further evidence for magnetoreception and its biological meaning in subterranean mammals. Furthermore, it lays the foundation for future field experiments.