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This paper presents a study on behavior of vertical stress profiles in head-enlarged (PF) and conventional CDM columns obtained from field static load test (SLT) and numerical analyses. Results from the numerical SLT on PF and CDM columns installed in ideally elastoplastic soil show that, due to the configuration of the column head, plastic failure points happen around the CDM column at lower load levels than that for the case of the PF column, and the load on PF column is showed to transfer to the soil more pronouncedly than that on the CDM column. The stress distribution and load – settlement curves obtained from the numerical analyses on the instrumented PF columns in general agree well with that obtained from the field tests. The induced stress profiles obtained from both numerical analyses and measured data show that there exists a major peak point of concentrated stress at the bottom of the cone section. This concentrated stress point may make the columns severely cracked and failed and this must be well aware in the design of bearing capacity of the PF columns.

Graphite is a versatile material used in various fields, particularly in the power source manufacturing industry. Nowadays, graphite holds a unique position in materials for anode electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. With a carbon content of over 99% being a requirement for graphite to serve as an electrode material, the graphite refinement process plays a pivotal role in the research and development of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. This study used three different processes to purify spherical graphite through wet chemical methods. The spherical graphite after the purification processes was analysed for carbon content by using energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and was evaluated for structural and morphological characteristics through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyses. The analyses results indicate that the three-step process via H2SO4–NaOH–HCl cleaning can elevate the carbon content from 90% to above 99.9% while still maintaining the graphite structure and spherical morphology, thus enhancing the surface area of the material for anode application. Furthermore, the spherical graphite was studied for electrochemical properties when used as an anode for Li-ion batteries using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD) measurements. The results demonstrated that the purification process significantly improves the material’s capacity with a specific capacity of 350 mAh/g compared to the 280 mAh/g capacity of the anode made of spherical graphite without purification.

During replication stress, the RPA protein complex coats single-stranded DNA to preclude RAD51 loading. Here, the authors show how RPA and CST crosstalk to regulate RAD51 activity.

A combination of a submerged membrane filtration system and powdered activated carbon (PAC) was investigated for nonylphenol ethoxylates removal. Both filtration flux and initial powdered activated carbon dosage had significant effects on the micropollutants removal efficiency. The best performance was achieved under the filtration flux of 20 L/m2.h and the initial powdered activated carbon of 50 mg/L. The removal efficiencies of nonylphenol ethoxylates was obtained at 75±5% in the first 60 hours, and then decreased at 55±7% and 23±11% in the following hours, respectively. As observed, over 65% of dissolved organic carbon mass adsorbed into powdered activated carbon that was suspended in the bulk phase, and the remainder was adsorbed into powdered activated carbon that deposited on the membrane surface. It reveals that the combination between submerged membrane filtration and PAC could be an effective solution for enhancing removal of micropollutants from water. HIGHLIGHTS Continuous microfiltration coupled with PAC effectively removed nonylphenol ethoxylate.; 75±5% of nonylphenol ethoxylate was rejected after 60 hours of operation.; Removal efficiencies of dissolved organic carbon could reach 53±4%.; Over 65% of dissolved organic carbon mass adsorbed into powder activated carbon.;

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of chrysoeriol from Cardiospermum halicacabum in streptozotocin induced Wistar rats. Thirty rats were categorized as control, diabetic control supplemented with 0, 20 mg/kg chrysoeriol and 600 μg/kg BW of glibenclamide for 45-day trial period. Our results indicated that the inclusion of chrysoeriol (20 mg/kg), showed a significant reduction in plasma glucose, hemoglobin and glycosylated hemoglobin level with a rising of plasma insulin sensitivity. Further, downregulated enzymes including glucose 6-phosphatase, fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, and glycogen phosphorylase as well upregulated enzymes such as hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase, and hepatic glycogen content. There was a diminish action found in liver glycogen synthase of tested rat with a rise in gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, towards normal levels upon treatment with chrysoeriol. The histopathological study confirmed that renewal of the beta cells of pancreatic of chrysoeriol and glibenclamide treated rats. In addition, the molecular docking of chrysoeriol against glycolytic enzymes including hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase, using Argus software shows chrysoeriol had greatest ligand binding energy as equivalent to glibenclamide, as a standard drug. Thus, chrysoeriol found to be non-toxic with potential regulation on glycemic control and upregulation of the carbohydrate metabolic enzymes.

Immobilization of enzymes has many advantages for their application in biotechnological processes. In particular, the cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) allow the production of solid biocatalysts with a high enzymatic loading and the advantage of obtaining derivatives with high stability at low cost. The purpose of this study was to produce cross-linked enzymatic aggregates (CLEAs) of LipMatCCR11, a 43 kDa recombinant solvent-tolerant thermoalkaliphilic lipase from Geobacillus thermoleovorans CCR11. LipMatCCR11-CLEAs were prepared using (NH4)2SO4 (40% w/v) as precipitant agent and glutaraldehyde (40 mM) as cross-linker, at pH 9, 20 °C. A U10(56) uniform design was used to optimize CLEA production, varying protein concentration, ammonium sulfate %, pH, glutaraldehyde concentration, temperature, and incubation time. The synthesized CLEAs were also analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that showed individual particles of

The solubilization potential of biological pre-treatment for waste activated sludge (WAS) is limited due to the floc structure of the WAS. Extra polymeric substances (EPS) are responsible for floc formation. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to disturb the floc structure of WAS by removing EPS with a disperser. In the first stage, the disperser treatment released 242 mg/L of soluble EPS when operated at 3,000 rpm for a duration of 50 s and caused deflocculation of WAS. In the second stage, deflocculated sludge was subjected to bacterial pre-treatment to assess the effect of floc disruption. During bacterial pre-treatment, it was found that deflocculated sludge produced higher organic solubilization of 23.9% and a reduction in suspended solids of 19.1% when compared to control (10.2 and 8.7%, respectively). Biogas yields were recorded of 220 mL/g COD in deflocculated sludge and 93 mL/g COD in flocculated sludge. From the above, it is evident that deflocculation effectively enhanced bacterial pre-treatment, leading to more solubilization and biogas production.

Manganese-oxidizing bacteria have been widely investigated for bioremediation of Mn-contaminated water sources and for production of biogenic Mn oxides that have extensive applications in environmental remediation. In this study, a total of 5 Mn-resistant bacteria were isolated from river water and investigated for Mn removal. Among them, Ochrobactrum sp. NDMn-6 exhibited the highest Mn removal efficiency (99.1%). The final precipitates produced by this strain were defined as a mixture of Mn2O3, MnO2, and MnCO3. Optimal Mn-removal performance by strain NDMn-6 was obtained at a temperature range of 25–30 °C and the salinity of 0.1–0.5%. More interestingly, strain NDMn-6 could be resistant to salinities of up to 5%, revealing that this strain could be possibly applied for Mn remediation of high salinity regions or industrial saline wastewaters. This study also revealed the potential of self-detoxification mechanisms, wherein river water contaminated with Mn could be cleaned by indigenous bacteria through an appropriate biostimulation scheme.

The article presents a study which identified STN1 knockout mouse deficiency as a risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC) and implicated the previously unknown STN1-base excision repair (BER) axis in protecting colon tissues from oxidative damage. Topics discussed include analysis of CTC1 and STN1 genetic alterations, association between mutational signatures and STN1-deficient CRC tumors, and generation of STN1 conditional knockout (cko) mice and genotyping.

This study proposes a novel blade configuration, made with a multicurve profile, to further maximize the advanced benefits and the performance of a Savonius turbine for energy harvesting applications. The advantages of the presently designed blade are proved by a detailed analysis of the flow mechanism and the performance through a sequence of two-dimensional (2D) unsteady computational fluid dynamics simulation. The remarkable finding states that the main blade section with a length ratio of 0.9 combined with an elliptical auxiliary section effectively enhances the positive wind flow phenomena around the blade, especially for the returning position, which either smooths the flow or reduces the pressure on the blade's convex side. As a result, greater torque is obtained by the present configuration, responding to the improvement of the power generation to 0.24 – about 5.5% at the low TSR = 0.8 and up to 0.28 - about 185% at the high TSR = 1.5 over the conventional configurations. The effectiveness of the presently designed blade is further proved with more than 20% improvement in self-staring speed through six degrees of freedom analysis. The results above state a high potential application of the turbine with the presently designed blade for renewable energy applications and for supporting vulnerable communities without access to electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating MED-TVC unit with gas turbine cycle (GTC) and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) can be an effective way to take advantage of the hot exhaust gas of gas turbines. In this study, a multi-product system consisting of GTC, MED-TVC, and ORC is investigated. The energy and exergy analysis is carried out and influences some design variables such as inlet air temperature of air compressor, air compressor pressure ratio, high pressure in ORC, pinch point temperature difference, the pressure of motive steam, and TVC compression ratio on the developed system are examined. Calculation shows that the developed unit can produce 39.6 MW of power and 137.3 kg/s of fresh water with a gain output ratio of 4.41 and energy efficiency of 21.5%. According to the result, precooling the air at the entrance of the air compressor and decreasing the pinch point temperature can lead to enhancement exergy and energy efficiency of GTC and the gain output ratio of MED unit, respectively. In addition, the highest exergy destruction takes place in the combustion chamber and desalination unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because structures made of FG material often operate in high temperature environments, it is critical to understand the mechanical behavior of these structures while taking temperature into consideration. As a result, the phase-field model is employed in this work to investigate the thermal buckling of fractured functionally graded material (FGM) plates. Additionally, this study demonstrates the difference between the plate's static stability response to thermal load in the case of temperature-dependent (TD) material mechanical properties and in the case of temperature-independent (TID) material mechanical properties, illustrating that the calculation for these two cases will appear to be highly skewed. This provides a scientifically valid foundation for scientists to adopt a more realistic computation model. The equations are based on the third-order shear deformation plate theory (TSDT) of Reddy. This work proves that this discrepancy strongly depends on the material, boundary condition, crack length as well as thickness of the crack plate, it has never been explored in published work, the results give very useful and needful information for scientists to choose the best accuracy case to calculate and apply in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Reddy's first-order shear deformation theory, the nonlinear dynamic response and vibration of imperfect functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (FG CNTRC) circular cylindrical shells subjected to an external dynamic load uniformly distributed on the surface of the shell and axial compression in thermal environment are presented. The circular cylindrical shells are surrounded on elastic foundations and reinforced by single-walled carbon nanotubes which vary according to the linear functions of the shell thickness. The shell's effective material properties are assumed to depend on temperature and estimated through the rule of mixture. By applying the stress function, Galerkin method and fourth-order Runge–Kutta method, nonlinear dynamic response and natural frequencies for imperfect FG CNTRC circular cylindrical shells are determined. In numerical results, the influences of geometrical parameters, elastic foundations, initial imperfection, temperature increment, dynamic loads and nanotube volume fraction on the nonlinear vibration of FG CNTRC circular cylindrical shells are investigated. The obtained results are validated by comparing with those of other authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a complete mathematical model, the authors set up a problem of metal plate destruction by contacting explosive charge in highly nonlinear dynamic software AUTODYN and solved in two cases using the Johnson–Cook and von Mises strength models. The numerical simulation results were compared with the experimental results and showed a good fit of numerical calculations versus experiments by using the von Mises strength model. The study also shows that the Johnson–Cook strength model, if applied unreasonably, will lead to large errors, which would help to avoid mistakes in the future high speed impact study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of sponge membrane bioreactor (SMBR) is strongly dependent on operating conditions. Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration is one of the key operating parameters in the SMBR process determining the mixing efficiency, floc generation, anoxic zone formation, and directly relating to pollutant removal efficiency and membrane behavior. This study aims to examine the effect of various DO concentrations on SMBR treating hospital wastewater. The objectives were to investigate the influence of three DO concentrations on (i) sludge characteristic, (ii) COD removal efficiency, (iii) nitrogen removal efficiency and (iv) membrane fouling in the lab scale SMBR. Consequently, the operation with DO1 (7.15 ± 0.40 mg/L) achieved the highest MLSS concentration; however, it could consume excessive energy for aeration. The COD removal efficiencies were similar in three DO levels, ranging from 95% to 99%. The operation with DO3 (1.58 ± 0.42 mg/L) resulted in the highest TN removal efficiency of 76% and TN denitrification percentage of 31%. Herein, sponges conditioned the denitrification process. The TN removal efficiency in SMBR was two times higher than the membrane bioreactor process. In addition, fouling was significantly improved at higher dissolved oxygen during operation period without any membrane cleaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Used the Reddy's higher-order shear deformation plate theory, the nonlinear dynamic analysis and vibration of imperfect functionally graded sandwich plates in thermal environment with piezoelectric actuators (PFGM) on elastic foundations subjected to a combination of electrical, damping loadings and temperature are investigated in this article. One of the salient features of this work is the consideration of temperature on the piezoelectric layer, and the material properties of the PFGM sandwich plates are assumed to be temperature-dependent. The governing equations are established based on the stress function, the Galerkin method, and the Runge–Kutta method. In the numerical results, the effects of geometrical parameters; material properties; imperfections; elastic foundations; electrical, thermal, and damping loads on the vibration and nonlinear dynamic response of the PFGM sandwich plates are discussed. The obtained natural frequencies are verified with the known results in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a pilot-scale integrated constructed wetland with vertical flow (VF) and horizontal flow (HF) in series was designed and investigated to evaluate sewage wastewater treatment capacity. The VF unit was planted with Canna indica and was 1.2 m long, 1.2 m wide, and 1.2 m high; whereas the HF unit contained Colocasia esculenta and was 3.0 m long, 1.0 m wide, and 1.0 m high. The system was operated under different hydraulic loading rates (HLRs) of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.15 m/d. The effluent concentrations differed as HLR changed, and the means were total suspended solids (TSS): 87 mg/L; biological oxygen demand (BOD5): 31 mg/L; chemical oxygen demand (CODCr): 59 mg/L; ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N): 5.3 mg/L; nitrate nitrogen NO3-N: 8.4 mg/L; total nitrogen (TN): 7.1 mg/L; phosphate (PO4-P): 0.9 mg/L; and total coliforms (TCol): 1,485 most probable number (MPN)/100 mL. The average removal efficiencies for TSS, BOD5, TN, NH4-N, PO4-P, and TCol were 28.3, 74.9, 79, 76.2, 3.6, and 82%, respectively. There were significant differences in the effluent concentrations among the three HLRs (P < 0.05), except for PO4-P. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear dynamics of an eccentrically stiffened functionally graded material (ES-FGM) plates resting on the elastic Pasternak foundations subjected to mechanical and thermal loads is considered in this article. The plates are reinforced by outside stiffeners with temperature-dependent material properties in two cases: uniform temperature rise and through the thickness temperature gradient. Both stiffeners and plate are deformed under temperature. Using Reddy’s third-order shear deformation plate theory, stress function, Galerkin and fourth-order Runge–Kutta methods, the effects of material and geometrical properties, temperature-dependent material properties, elastic foundations, and stiffeners on the nonlinear dynamic response of the ES-FGM plate in thermal environments are studied and discussed. Some obtained results are validated by comparing with those in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Based on Reddy's higher-order shear deformation plate theory, this article presents an analysis of the nonlinear dynamic response and vibration of imperfect functionally graded material (FGM) thick plates subjected to blast and thermal loads resting on elastic foundations. The material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent and graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. Numerical results for the dynamic response and vibration of the FGM plates with two cases of boundary conditions are obtained by the Galerkin method and fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. The results show the effects of geometrical parameters, material properties, imperfections, temperature increment, elastic foundations, and boundary conditions on the nonlinear dynamic response and vibration of FGM plates. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents analytical solutions for the nonlinear static and dynamic stability of imperfect eccentrically stiffened functionally graded material (FGM) higher order shear deformable double curved shallow shell on elastic foundations in thermal environments. It is assumed that the shell’s properties depend on temperature and change according to the power functions of the shell thickness. The shell is reinforced by the eccentrically longitudinal and transversal stiffeners made of full metal. Equilibrium, motion, and compatibility equations are derived using Reddy’s higher order shear deformation shell theory and taking into account the effects of initial geometric imperfection and the thermal stress in both the shells and stiffeners. The Galerkin method is applied to determine load–deflection and deflection–time curves. For the dynamical response, motion equations are numerically solved using Runge–Kutta method. The nonlinear dynamic critical buckling loads are found according to the criterion suggested by Budiansky–Roth. The influences of inhomogeneous parameters, dimensional parameters, stiffeners, elastic foundations, initial imperfection, and temperature increment on the nonlinear static and dynamic stability of thick FGM double curved shallow shells are discussed in detail. Results for various problems are included to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of this article investigate the nonlinear stability of axisymmetric functionally graded annular spherical shells with temperature-dependent material properties subjected to thermo-mechanical loads and resting on elastic foundations. Equilibrium and compatibility equations are derived by using the classical thin shell theory in terms of the shell deflection and the stress function. Approximate analytical solutions are assumed to satisfy simply supported boundary conditions and Galerkin method is applied to obtain the closed-form of load–deflection paths. An analysis is carried out to show the effects of material and geometrical properties and combination of loads on the stability of the shells. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The study deals with the formulation of governing equations of eccentrically stiffened functionally graded materials annular spherical shells resting on elastic foundations and based upon the classical shell theory and the smeared stiffeners technique taking into account geometrical nonlinearity in Von Karman-Donnell sense. The annular spherical shells are reinforced by eccentrically longitudinal and transversal stiffeners made of full metal or full ceramic depending on situation of stiffeners at metal-rich side or ceramic-rich side of the shell respectively. Approximate solutions are assumed to satisfy the simply supported boundary condition and Galerkin method is applied to obtain closed-form relations of bifurcation type of buckling loads. Numerical results are given to evaluate effects of inhomogeneous, dimensional parameters, outside stiffeners and elastic foundations to the buckling of structures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents an analytical approach to investigate the nonlinear stability of thick, functionally graded material (FGM) shallow spherical shells resting on elastic foundations, subjected to uniform external pressure and exposed to thermal environments. Material properties are assumed to be temperature dependent and graded in the thickness direction according to a Sigmoid power law distribution (S-FGM) in terms of the volume fractions of constituents. Using the first-order shear deformation theory and the Galerkin method, the effects of materials, geometry, elastic foundation parameters, and temperature on the nonlinear response of the thick S-FGM shells are analyzed and discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, nonlinear vibration and dynamic response of imperfect functionally graded materials (FGM) thick double-curved shallow shells resting on elastic foundations are investigated using Reddy's third-order shear deformation shell theory in thermal environments. Material properties are assumed to be temperature dependent and graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The FGM shells are subjected to mechanical, damping, and thermal loads. The Galerkin method and fourth-order \hboxRunge–Kutta method are used to calculate natural frequencies, nonlinear frequency–amplitude relation, and dynamic response of the shells. In numerical results, the effects of geometrical parameters, material properties, imperfections, shear deformation, the elastic foundations, mechanical, thermal and damping loads on the nonlinear dynamic response, and nonlinear vibration of FGM double-curved shallow shells are investigated. Accuracy of the present formulation is shown by comparing the results of numerical examples with the ones available in literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article researches nonlinear response of imperfect eccentrically stiffened symmetric FGM thin circular cylindrical shells with ceramic-metal-ceramic layers, which are symmetric through the middle surface by Sigmoid-law distribution (S-FGM) and have stiffeners surrounded on elastic foundations under uniform radial load. The Donnell classical shell theory, stress function, and Galerkin method are used for investigation of the nonlinear stability of the S-FGM shell. The obtained results show the effects of the stiffeners, elastic foundations, mechanical load, and material parameters on the nonlinear buckling response of symmetric S-FGM circular cylindrical shells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analytical approach to investigate the nonlinear dynamic response and vibration of thick functionally graded material (FGM) plates using both of the first-order shear deformation plate theory and stress function with full motion equations (not using Volmir's assumptions). The FGM plate is assumed to rest on elastic foundation and subjected to mechanical, thermal, and damping loads. Numerical results for dynamic response of the FGM plate are obtained by Runge-Kutta method. The results show the material properties, the elastic foundations, mechanical and thermal loads on the nonlinear dynamic response of functionally graded plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of experiments were performed in a study designed to investigate the retrofit ability of removing total soluble phosphorus (sTP) and soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCODMn) from wastewater through electrocoagulation technology utilizing cylindrical aluminum electrodes in batch-operating modes (BOMs) and continuous operating modes (COMs). By varying the operating conditions and the effects of various experimental parameters such as pH, NaCl concentration, hydraulic retention times (HRT), initial phosphorus concentration, and temperature, etc, the applied electric potentials (AEPs) range between 3, 4, and 5 volts (V), with current densities from 7.04 to 16.08 A/m2 in BOM and from 7.48 to 21.69 A/m2 in COM. Electrolysis times in the limits of 1 to 20 min were tried for different types of wastewater, including synthetic wastewater and municipal wastewater. According to experimental results, it was demonstrated that superior performance in removing phosphorus from wastewater can be achieved, with experimental data indicated that more than 99% (<0.2 mgTP/L) of phosphorus, and 75% (<10mgCOD/L) of sCODMn can be removed using this method. Additionally, it was also found that TP and sCODMn removal efficiencies were also increased with the addition of more NaCl to the wastewater. It has also been determined from the data that with optimum operating conditions and electrolysis time, this method can be used in existing municipal wastewater treatment plants to enhance treatment efficiencies of phosphorus and sCODMn when properly retrofitted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents an analytical approach to investigate nonlinear response of functionally graded cylindrical panels under uniform lateral pressure with temperature effects are incorporated. Material properties are assumed to be temperature-independent, and graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of constituents. Equilibrium and compatibility equations for cylindrical panels are derived by using the classical shell theory with both geometrical nonlinearity in von Karman–Donnell sense and initial geometrical imperfection are taken into consideration. The resulting equations are solved by Galerkin method to determine explicit expressions of nonlinear load-deflection curves. Stability analysis for a simply supported panel shows the effects of material and geometric parameters, in-plane restraint and temperature conditions, and imperfection on the nonlinear response of the panel. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses research on the crystallization and X-ray crystallographic analysis of XometB or the cystathionine γ-synthase (CGS) derived from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). Topics explored include the use of polymerase chain reaction in the amplification of the XometB gene, the preparation of the XometB stock solution for crystallization trials, and the enzymatic mechanism data gathered which may be utilized in the development of an antibacterial drug against Xoo.

Conjugated polymers are promising materials for various cutting-edge technologies, especially for organic conducting materials and in the energy field. In this work, we have synthesized a new conjugated polymer and investigated the effect of distance between bond layers, side-chain functional groups (H, Br, OH, OCH3 and OC2H5) on structural characteristics, phase transition temperature (T), and electrical structure of C13H8OS using Density Functional Theory (DFT). The structural characteristics were determined by the shape, network constant (a, b and c), bond length (C–C, C–H, C–O, C–S, C–Br and O–H), phase transition temperatures, and the total energy (Etot) on a base cell. Our finding shows that the increase of layer thickness (h) of C13H8OS–H has a negligible effect on the transition temperature, while the energy bandgap (Eg) increases from 1.646 eV to 1.675 eV. The calculation of bond length with different side chain groups was carried out for which C13H8OS–H has C–H = 1.09 Å; C13H8OS–Br has C–Br = 1.93 Å; C13H8OS–OH has C–O = 1.36 Å, O–H = 0.78 Å; C13H8OS–OCH3 has C–O = 1.44 Å, O–H =1.10 Å; C13H8OS–OC2H5 has C–O = 1.45 Å, C–C = 1.51Å, C–H = 1.10 Å. The transition temperature (T) for C13H8OS–H was 500 K < T < 562 K; C13H8OS–Br was 442 K < T < 512 K; C13H8OS–OH was 487 K < T < 543 K; C13H8OS–OCH3 was 492 K < T < 558 K; and C13H8OS–OC2H5 was 492 K < T < 572 K. The energy bandgap (Eg) of Br is of Eg = 1.621 eV, the doping of side chain groups H, OH, OCH3, and OC2H5, leads to an increase of Eg from 1.621 eV to 1.646, 1.697, 1.920, and 2.04 eV, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper researches the thermal stability of eccentrically stiffened plates made of functionally graded materials (FGM) with metal–ceramic–metal layers subjected to thermal load. The equilibrium and compatibility equations for the plates are derived by using the first-order shear deformation theory of plates, taking into account both the geometrical nonlinearity in the von Karman sense and initial geometrical imperfections with Pasternak type elastic foundations. By applying Galerkin method and using stress function, effects of material and geometrical properties, elastic foundations, temperature-dependent material properties, and stiffeners on the thermal stability of the eccentrically stiffened S-FGM plates in thermal environment are analyzed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Accurate DNA replication is essential for maintaining genome stability. However, this stability becomes vulnerable when replication fork progression is stalled or slowed – a condition known as replication stress. Prolonged fork stalling can cause DNA damage, leading to genome instabilities. Thus, cells have developed several pathways and a complex set of proteins to overcome the challenge at stalled replication forks. Oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide binding (OB)-fold containing proteins are a group of proteins that play a crucial role in fork protection and fork restart. These proteins bind to single-stranded DNA with high affinity and prevent premature annealing and unwanted nuclease digestion. Among these OB-fold containing proteins, the best studied in eukaryotic cells are replication protein A (RPA) and breast cancer susceptibility protein 2 (BRCA2). Recently, another RPA-like protein complex CTC1-STN1-TEN1 (CST) complex has been found to counter replication perturbation. In this review, we discuss the latest findings on how these OB-fold containing proteins (RPA, BRCA2, CST) cooperate to safeguard DNA replication and maintain genome stability.