Star occultation measurements as an aid to navigation in cis-lunar space

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1962.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 85).by Roy Vincent Keenan, John Donald Regenhardt.M.S

Hydrolysis of lactose from cheese whey using a reactor with beta-galactosidase enzyme immobilized on a commercial UF membrane

In this study, ß-galactosidase enzyme from Kluyveromyces fragilis was immobilised on a commercial polyethersulfone membrane surface, 10 kDa cut-off. An integrated process, concerning the simultaneous hydrolysis–ultrafiltration of whey lactose was studied and working conditions have been fixed at 55°C and pH 6.9, the same conditions that are used for the industrial process of protein concentration. For the immobilisation, best results were obtained using 5% (v/v) of glutaraldehyde solution and 0.03 M galactose; the total activity recovery coefficient (TARC) was 44.2%. The amount of immobilised enzyme was 12.49 mg with a total activity of 86.3 LAU at 37°C, using 5% (w/v) lactose solution in phosphate buffer (100 mM pH 6.9). The stability of the immobilised enzyme was approximately 585 fold higher in comparison with the stability of free enzyme. Multipoint covalent immobilisation improves the stability of the enzyme, thereby enhancing the decision to use the membrane as a filtering element and support for the enzyme immobilisation.Fil: Regenhardt, Silvina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico Para la Industria Química (i); ArgentinaFil: Mammarella, Enrique José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico Para la Industria Química (i); ArgentinaFil: Rubiolo, Amelia Catalina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico Para la Industria Química (i); Argentin

Integriertes Markenmanagement im B2B-Bereich: Am Beispiel der Holger Clasen GmbH & Co. KG

Seit mehr als 50 Jahren entwickelt und vertreibt das Hamburger Familienunternehmen Holger Clasen hochwertige, industrielle Werkzeuglösungen in den Sparten Druckluft, Hydraulik und Elektrotechnik. Der funktionale Grundnutzen der qualitativ hochwertigen Produkte reicht im heutigen B2B-Umfeld nicht mehr aus, um sich in einem verschärften Wettbewerbsumfeld zu differenzieren und damit langfristig zu behaupten. Um sich am Markt erfolgreich zu positionieren, wächst im Unternehmen die Notwendigkeit, ein Markenmanagement zu integrieren. Dieses Arbeitspapier zeigt am Beispiel von Holger Clasen, wie kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen in ein - aus heutiger Sicht auch im B2B-Umfeld zunehmend wichtiger werdendes - Markenmanagement einsteigen können

Funktionale Genomanalyse von Pseudomonas putida KT2440

Pseudomonas putida KT2440 ist ein metabolisch vielseitiges, Gram-negatives Bodenbakterium, das als effizienter Besiedler von Pflanzenwurzeln gilt. Gene und Genprodukte, die für das Überleben des Organismus in der Rhizosphäre von Weizenkeimlingen bedeutsam sind, wurden identifiziert. Das methodische Vorgehen gliederte sich in folgende Teilbereiche: Zunächst erfolgte der Aufbau einer P. putida KT2440-Mutantenbibliothek unter Verwendung eines neuartigen Transposonsystems. Dadurch war die schnelle Bestimmung der Transposonintegrationsstelle im Genom durch direkte DNA-Sequenzierung möglich. Durch die weitergehende geno- und phänotypische Analyse (Adhäsion, Siderophorbildung, oxidative Stressantwort, Beweglichkeit) der Mutanten konnten die für die Besiedlung relevanten Gene und Genprodukte identifiziert werden. So hatte z.B. die Transposonintegration in dem flagellar motor switch protein fliG für die Mutante neben der Unbeweglichkeit auch eine signifikant herabgesetzte Fähigkeit zur Besiedlung der Weizenkeimlingswurzeln in Konkurrenz zum Wildtyp zur Folge. Proteomanalytische Untersuchungen des Wachstums von KT2440 in der Rhizosphäre im Vergleich zu Kontrollen (in Pflanzennährlösung) sowie mit Weizenwurzelexudaten und im Vollmedium zeigten unterschiedliche Proteinexpressionsmuster. Hierbei wurden vor allem Proteine des Energie- und Aminosäurestoffwechsels sowie Transport- und Bindeproteine differentiell exprimiert.Pseudomonas putida strain KT2440 is a metabolically versatile plant root-colonising Gram-negative soil bacterium. Gene and gene products which are important for the organism´s lifestyle in the rhizosphere of wheat seedlings were identified. The experimental design was devided into different approaches. First a P. putida KT2440 mutant library was constructed using a new transposon mutagenesis technique that allows the direct sequencing of DNA sequence flanking the transposon in the genome. The identification of genes and gene products that are relevant for the colonisation was done by phenotypical (adhesion, siderophore production, oxidative stress response, flagellar mediated movement) and genotypical analysis of the transposon mutants. A transposon integration in the flagellar motor switch protein fliG resulted e.g. in a mutant impaired in the flagellar mediated movement, that additionally showed a significantly decreased ability to colonise the roots of wheat seedlings in competition to the wild type. Different protein patterns were obtained when the strain was grown in the rhizosphere in comparison to controls (in plant nutrient solution) as well as incubated with root exudates and in complex medium. Here proteins belonging to the energy and amino acid metabolism as well as transport and binding proteins were differently expressed

Mechanical robustness of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms

Biofilms grow on various surfaces and in many different environments, a phenomenon that constitutes major problems in industry and medicine. Despite their importance little is known about the viscoelastic properties of biofilms and how these depend on the chemical microenvironment. Here, we find that the mechanical properties of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P.a.) biofilms are highly robust towards chemical perturbations. Specifically, we observe that P.a. biofilms are able to fully regain their initial stiffness after yielding is enforced, even in the presence of chemicals. Moreover, only trivalent ions and citric acid significantly affect the biofilm elasticity, the first of which also alters the texture of the material. Finally, our results indicate that biofilm mechanics and bacteria viability inside the biofilm are not necessarily linked which suggests that targeting bacteria alone might not be sufficient for biofilm removal strategies.National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.) (P50-GM068763)National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.) (P30-ES002109)German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD

The Psychology of Democracy: Psychological Concepts in American Culture, 1940-1965

This dissertation examines some of the ways that mid-century American culture represented mental health and employed psychology to understand and describe America and Americans during and after World War II. I argue that Americans used psychology both to describe and define the ideal to which Americans should aspire. This ideal differed widely among authors, but almost always included an embrace of a "free" society, which among other things meant free of neuroses. Neurotic people were seen, in this literature, as not having rational free choice in their actions, and such unfree people created unfree forms of government. Psychological health was therefore not only necessary for individuals, it was also an issue of public concern. This meant, for example, that the ability of a woman to achieve sexual satisfaction was not just a question of her own physical contentment, but also of the very survival of American democracy. Mid-century authors feared that the mental health of Americans was especially vulnerable in the modern era, and that this vulnerability might plunge America into authoritarianism. These authors were most concerned that Americans were too often tormented by feelings of inferiority. This dissertation demonstrates the connections between psychology and political ideals, shining new light on both the views of postwar liberals and on the rising "new Right." In addition, it shows how the anxiety that Americans felt over modernity affected discussions of democratic social structures. It also demonstrates the vital ways in which these discourses were connected. This work relies largely on mass-culture sources, including magazines, films, popular books, and television programs. These sources are supplemented by the papers of the American Psychological Association, the works of publicly influential intellectuals, and by government documents. The chapters of the dissertation deal specifically with the supposed effects of child discipline on the formation of political beliefs, the role of masculine autonomy in a democracy, the effects of women's sexuality on American society, the effects of racial prejudice on both the prejudiced themselves and on the victims of prejudice, and the place of juvenile delinquency in a democracy

Arbeitsforschung in Deutschland im 20. Jahrhundert - zwischen Kapital und Arbeit, Volk und Klasse

Die Dissertation untersucht in nationaler Perspektive am Beispiel Deutschlands im 20. Jahrhundert Voraussetzungen und Entwicklungen einer Verwissenschaftlichung der industriellen Arbeit. Gefragt wird nach Zusammenhängen zwischen politischen Systembrüchen und Arbeitsforschung von der Weimarer Republik, über das NS-Regime, zur Deutschen Demokratischen Republik und der Bundesrepublik Deutschland bis 1990. Es werden personelle und institutionelle Brüche und Kontinuitäten untersucht und in einem Exkurs mit der Arbeitsforschung in der Schweiz verglichen. Erörtert wird die Frage, in welchem Maße sich die Arbeitsforschung in Deutschland in einer permanenten „Dilemma-Situation“ befand - zwischen Kapital und Arbeit, Volk und Klasse, Wissenschaft und Politik, Führung und Freiheit, Leistung und Ausbeutung, männlicher Dominanz und weiblicher Chancensuche. Inwieweit kann von ideologischer und politischer Instrumentalisierung der Arbeitsforschung oder auch von gewollter Bereitstellung ihrer Ressourcen für die jeweils politisch Herrschenden gesprochen werden?Using the example of Germany in the 20th century, the doctoral thesis examines the conditions and developments in the scientification of industrial labour from a national perspective. Questions are asked about the connections between political system discontinuities and labour research from the Weimar Republic, through the Nazi regime, to the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany until 1990. Personal and institutional breaks and continuities are examined and compared in an excursus with labour research in Switzerland. The question discussed is to which extent labour research in Germany was in a permanent "dilemma situation" - between capital and labour, people and class, science and politics, leadership and freedom, performance and exploitation, male dominance and female search for opportunities. To what extent can one speak of ideological and political instrumentalization of labour research or also of the deliberate provision of its resources for the respective political rulers

Freeing Pseudomonas putida KT2440 of its proviral load strengthens endurance to environmental stresses

2.6% of the genome of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440 encodes phage-related functions, but the burden of such opportunistic DNA on the host physiology is unknown. Each of the four apparently complete prophages borne by this strain was tested for stability, spontaneous excision and ability to cause lysis under various stressing conditions. While prophages P3 (PP2266-PP2297) and P4 (PP1532-1584) were discharged from the genome at a detectable rate, their induction failed otherwise to yield infective viruses. Isogenic P. putida KT2440 derivatives bearing single and multiple deletions of each of the prophages were then subjected to thorough phenotypic analyses, which generally associated the loss of proviral DNA with an increase of physiological vigour. The most conspicuous benefit acquired by prophage-less cells was a remarkable improvement in tolerance to UV light and other insults to DNA. This was not accompanied, however, with an upgrade of recA-mediated homologous recombination. The range of tolerance to DNA damage gained by the prophage-free strain was equivalent to the UV resistance endowed by the TOL plasmid pWW0 to the wild-type bacterium. While the P. putida's prophages are therefore genuinely parasitic, their detrimental effects can be offset by acquisition of compensatory traits through horizontal gene transfer.This study was supported by the BIO Program of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the ST-FLOW and ARYSIS Contracts of the EU, the ERANET-IB Program and the PROMT Project of the CAM. The work in MK Laboratory is supported by Estonian Science Foundation, grant number 9114 to MK, by Estonian Ministry of Research Targeted Financing Project SF0180031s08.Peer reviewe

A Novel Application of System Survival Signature in Reliability Assessment of Offshore Structures

© 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Offshore platforms are large structures consisting of a large number of components of various types. Thus a variety of methods are usually necessary to assess the structural reliability of these structures, ranging from Finite-Elements-methods to Monte-Carlo-Simulations. However, often reliability information is only available for the members and not for the overall, complex, system. The recently introduced survival signature provides a way to separate the structural analysis from the behaviour of the individual members. Thus it is then possible to use structural reliability methods to obtain information about how the failure of several constituent members of the offshore platform leads to overall system failure. This way it is possible to separate the structural from time-dependent information, allowing flexible and computationally efficient computation of reliability predictions