High-absorptance high-emittance anodic coating

A colored anodic coating for use on surfaces of substrates, e.g. aluminum substrates in which it is desirable to maintain a high solar absorptance (a) and a high infrared emittance (e), particularly in low earth orbit space environments. This anodic coating is preferably a dark colored coating, and even more preferably a black coating. This coating allows a touch temperature within an acceptable design range to preclude burning of an astronaut in case of contact, but also allows a solar radiation absorption in an amount such that an a/e ratio of unity is achieved. The coating of the invention comprises a first layer in the form of an acid anodized colored anodic layer for achieving a high solar absorptance and a second or high emittance layer in the form of a clear acid anodized layer for achieving a high emittance. The entire coating is quite thin, e.g. 1-2 mils and is quite stable in a hostile space environment of the type encountered in a low earth orbit. The coating is obtained by first creating the high emittance clear anodized coating on the metal surface followed by anodizing using a colored anodizing process

N,N′-Dicyclo­hexyl­naphthalene-1,8;4:5-dicarboximide

The title compound, C26H26N2O4, synthesized by the reaction of naphthalene-1,4,5,8-tetra­carboxylic acid anhydride and cyclo­hexyl­amine, exhibits good n-type semiconducting properties. Accordingly, thin-film transistor devices comprising this compound show n-type behavior with high field-effect electron moblity ca 6 cm2/Vs [Shukla, Nelson, Freeman, Rajeswaran, Ahearn, Meyer & Carey(2008 ▶). Chem. Mater. Submitted]. The asymmetric unit comprises one-quarter of the centrosymmetric mol­ecule in which all but two methyl­ene C atoms of the cyclo­hexane ring lie on a mirror plane; the point-group symmetry is 2/m. The naphthalene­diimide unit is strictly planar, and the cyclo­hexane rings adopt chair conformations with the diimide unit in an equatorial position on each ring

Where Philosophy, Morality & Pragmatics Collide: The Meaning & Role of the Functional-Organic Distinction to Clinicians in Practice

Aims The functional-organic distinction attempts to separate disorders with diagnosable biological aetiology from those without. It has mostly been researched from a theoretical standpoint with a lack of research on how it is deployed. This study thus aimed to explore how clinicians understand and utilise the distinction in neuropsychiatric healthcare, with a focus on what is most pertinent to their practice. Method Twenty clinicians working in (neuro)psychiatry, neurology and clinical (neuro)psychology participated in in-depth semi-structured individual interviews, which were analysed qualitatively using components of constructivist grounded theory. Results The category ‘Recognising Contextual Influences’ sets the context for the four main categories identified: ‘Conceptualising Causal Explanations’, ‘Grappling with Complexity & Limitations’, ‘Prioritising Pragmatism’ and ‘Navigating Moral Issues’. Conclusions ‘Organic’ acts as the clear, objective and default mode of disease with ‘functional’ accounting for its absence and/or a multiplicity of subjective meanings in the realm of the psychosocial. Distinguishing between the two does not fit with how clinicians conceptualise patients’ problems in holistic ways. They struggle to apply these in practice given their complexity and various limitations, and so prioritise getting the job done, utilising the distinction as a simplifying method of communication. Moral issues surround the distinction with functional problems attracting the stigma associated with the psychological

The Old Laywer said: I Look Out For My Paying Clients. The Young Lawyer Responded: But Good Lawyers Must Also Do Some Free Public Service.

Does an ethical lawyer have an obligation to give some portion of professional time for free public service

A synthetic biology toolbox for examining and engineering strigolactone biosynthesis

Strigolactones (SLs) are plant hormones and rhizosphere-signalling molecules that control plant architecture and environmental adaption, promote symbioses with soil organisms, and mediate root parasitism. These diverse activities give SLs great promise as agrochemicals, with potential applications in optimising plant architecture, controlling parasitic weeds, enhancing nutrient uptake, and improving tolerance to drought and salinity. However, agricultural use is currently unfeasible as there are no economically viable sources of SLs or SL analogues. Microbes engineered for SL biosynthesis could provide a cheap, renewable, and scalable production method that could overcome current supply challenges, and enable SLs to be deployed as agrochemicals.Synthetic biology – characterised by modularity, standardisation, interoperability of biological parts, and engineering principals such as the design-build-test-learn cycle – offers an approach to transform microbial engineering into an engineering discipline. This thesis describes the development of a synthetic biology toolbox for studying and engineering SL biosynthesis, comprising a SL production module, a detection module, and characterisation of one of the least understood enzymes in the pathway.\ua0Saccharomyces cerevisiae was selected as the initial host organism due to its favourable industrial properties, and previous work demonstrating that it is a suitable host for multiple elements in the SL biosynthetic pathway. However, conversion of β-carotene to CL was achieved at very low titres, with CL produced at approximately 1,000,000-fold lower concentration than b-carotene. This was at least in part due to poor conversion of all-trans-β-carotene to 9-cis-β-carotene through DWARF27 (D27), prompting further investigation into this enzyme.Characterization of enzymes increases the reliability of their deployment as a biological part in an engineered system, and provides background information for enzyme engineering. As little is known about the D27 structure-function relationship, the localization and activity of rice (Oryza sativa) D27 (OsD27) were investigated, and efforts were made to elucidate its three-dimensional structure. In a transient Nicotiana benthamiana system, OsD27 was found in stromal and thylakoid membrane-bound forms, demonstrating the sub-organellar localisation of this enzyme for the first time. A maltose binding protein (MBP) fusion of OsD27 had activity in E. coli, and the purified fusion of OsD27 catalysed the reversible isomerisation of β-carotene around the C9-C10 double bond in vitro, with Km = 3.3­ ± 1.2 mM for all-trans-β-carotene and Km = 5.4 ± 1.4 mM for 9-cis-β-carotene. Extensive efforts to crystallise OsD27 for structural characterization did not yield results. Purified MBP fusions of OsD27 aggregated into soluble oligomers ranging from 10-150 nm in hydrodynamic radius. The aggregates were not compatible with crystal formation, and could not be completely dissociated using detergents. A non-aggregating D27 homologue from Ziziphus jujuba was identified, and future crystallization trials using this protein may provide insight into the structure-function relationship of D27.As D27 showed activity in Escherichia coli, E. coli was investigated as an alternative production host for SL. Introduction of rice (Oryza sativa) OsD27ΔTP, pea (Pisum sativum) PsCCD7 and PsCCD8 resulted in production of the SL precursor, CL. A combinatorial screen of enzyme fusion partners identified thioredoxin (Trx)-OsD27ΔTP, Trx-PsCCD7 and MBP-PsCCD8 produced 147 ± 17 µg/L (mean ± standard deviation) CL in shake flask cultures after 72 hours. Enhancing precursor supply by introduction of a lower mevalonate pathway supplemented with mevalonate as a substrate increased production to 221 ± 22 µg/L (mean ± standard deviation). The CL-production strain provides a valuable source of CL for research, will act as a chassis for investigating downstream SL diversification pathways, and serves as a starting strain for engineering production of SLs.High-throughput strain construction is rapidly becoming available through automation, and dedicated software and machine-learning approaches are accelerating design and learn phases of metabolic engineering. These developments leave the test phase as a rate-limiting step in many design-build-test-learn cycles. To debottleneck the test phase for SL strain engineering, genetically encoded fluorescent SL biosensors were developed as a detection method compatible with high throughput analysis. The biosensors used domain insertion of circularly permuted GFP into the SL receptors DAD2 from Petunia hybrida, and HTL7 from Striga hermonthica, such that binding of SLs resulted in loss of fluorescence in vitro or in an in vivo protoplast system. In addition to applications in high-throughput screening, these biosensors may have utility for studying SL biology.This toolkit is expected to enable investigations into SL diversification, and expedite future strain engineering for production of SLs, ultimately supporting the development of SLs as agrochemicals to address current and future challenges in agriculture

Annual reports of the town officers of Chesterfield, N.H. for the year ending January 31, 1923.

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire