How to float a wind turbine

Far-offshore wind turbines are attractive in view of harnessing high-speed winds and reducing impact on population. When the sea is hundreds of metres deep, drilling wind turbines down to the seabed is too expensive. Today??s bottom-mounted foundations could be replaced by floating platforms, which can minimise the lateral wave-loads acting on the wind turbine and reduce the foundation cost in deep water. Computer models capable of calculating the motion of a full floating wind turbine are at an early stage of development. An efficient strategy to minimise the computational cost is also lacking. This contribution highlights how the motion of a floating wind turbine, and its interaction with the ocean, can be predicted by means of computer-model simulations.     

Gas-liquid dispersion with dual Rushton turbine impellers

Aerated and unaerated power consumption and flow patterns in a 0.56 m diameter agitated vessel containing water with dual Rushton turbines have been studied. Under unaerated conditions with a liquid height-to-diameter ratio of 2, an impeller spacing of 2 to 3 times the impeller is required for each to draw an amount of power equal to a single impeller. For aerated conditions, if a similar spacing is used, equations for the flooding-loading transition and for power consumption for a single Rushton impeller can be extended relatively easily to dual systems. All results for this spacing are explained by reference to bulk flow patterns and gassed-filled cavity structures and the proportion of sparged gas flowing through the upper impeller is also estimated. Such a spacing is generally recommended since it maximizes the power draw and hence the potential for oxygen mass transfer. Data are presented for other spacings but the results do not fit in easily with single agitator studies because strong impeller-impeller flow pattern interactions occur.     

Suspension of solid particles in turbine agitated contactors

In this present study in liquid-solid contactors using 6-blade (flat) turbine agitators, an attempt has been made to correlate the system parameters useful for scale-up under turbulent agitation conditions, where the power number is constant. A new correlation involving modified Froude number along with the agitation characteristics, is proposed for the estimation of minimum speed required to maintain complete suspension.     

Effect of additives on mass transfer in turbine aeration

Mass transfer coefficients and interfacial areas were determined for the aeration of aqueous solutions in a turbine agitated vessel. The mass transfer coefficients measured for water without additive and for sodium chloride solutions matched very well to measurements in the literature for air bubbles of the same diameter in free rise. Thus the only effect of agitation was to determine the bubble size which then in turn set the coefficient. Two surface active agents were studied: sodium dodecyl sulfate and Dow Corning Antifoam C. The rate of mass transfer increased with the former additive but decreased with the latter; however, the mass transfer coefficient was the exact same function of bubble diameter in both cases and the different rates are attributed to the quite different effects on interfacial area.     

Protein scaffold-based molecular probes for cancer molecular imaging

Protein scaffold molecules are powerful reagents for targeting various cell signal receptors, enzymes, cytokines and other cancer-related molecules. They belong to the peptide and small protein platform with distinct properties. For the purpose of development of new generation molecular probes, various protein scaffold molecules have been labeled with imaging moieties and evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. Among the evaluated probes Affibody molecules and analogs, cystine knot peptides, and nanobodies have shown especially good characteristics as protein scaffold platforms for development of in vivo molecular probes. Quantitative data obtained from positron emission tomography, single photon emission computed tomography/CT, and optical imaging together with biodistribution studies have shown high tumor uptakes and high tumor-to-blood ratios for these probes. High tumor contrast imaging has been obtained within 1 h after injection. The success of those molecular probes demonstrates the adequacy of protein scaffold strategy as a general approach in molecular probe development.     

Toward molecular electronics. Self-screening of molecular wires

One-dimensional polyelectrolytes are proposed as molecular devices based on soliton propagation. The use of such "molecular wires" as delay lines or shift registers raises the problem of their electrical screening, because, when a large number of these wires are densely packed, cross-talking between them might occur. In order to overcome such a drawback, a detailed study of the polyelectrolyte behavior in an ionic solution has been developed, under equilibrium conditions. The results bring into evidence a condensation process, around each molecular wire, of the mobile ions in the solution. The consequent self-screening effect could be relevant in reducing cross-talking.     

mTOR complexes -- molecular spiders in molecular networks

PI3K route is one of the most outstanding signal transduction pathways, which has a key role in the decision-making processes and functions of a cell. In this network mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) is a well-known integrator. mTOR forms two complexes, and their increased activity is present in many human tumors. Therefore, mTOR inhibitors became more and more important in the targeted therapy, first of all in the treatment of renal cancer, neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer and certain astrocytomas, and many trials are going on in other tumor types. The therapeutic results are obvious, but problems also occur, which lead to new strategies and to the development of new drugs in order to create more individualised cancer therapy.     

Critical impeller speed for solid suspension in turbine agitated contactors

The present study in solid-liquid contactors, an attempt has been made to calculate the minimum/critical impeller speed required for complete suspension of solids. A new correlation, involving Reynolds number, modified Froude number, along with the agitation characteristics is proposed. The effect of impeller geometry as well as impeller clearance are clearly established for 6-blade (flat) turbine agitated contactors.List of Symbols B Solid weight fraction (%) - c Clearance of the impeller from the tank bottom (m) - d _P Average particle size(m) - d _R Impeller diameter (m) - d _T Vessel diameter (m) - g Acceleration due to gravity m/sec₂ - N _cs Critical impeller speed (S^–1) Greek Letters Kinematic viscosity m²/sec - _L Density of liquid kg/m³ - _S Density of solid kg/m³ - Density difference between solid and liquid kg/m³     

Performance of industrial scale bioreactors with modified RUSHTON turbine agitators

The data presented here with respect to the behaviour of industrial scale stirred tank bioreactors equipped with modified RUSHTON turbine agitators in the biosynthesis processes of antibiotics are valid for that case that the power consumption is the same as it is in standard RUSHTON turbine agitators. Each modified RUSHTON turbine agitator was obtained through the variation of the blade surface by adding perforations so that the ratio between the perforation surface area and the full surface area (or the surface fraction of the perforations) is 0.36. In the fermentations of Streptomyces aureofaciens, Streptomyces rimosus and Penicillium chrysogenum producing tetracycline, oxytetracyline and penicillin, respectively, in bioreactors equipped with modified RUSHTON turbine agitators, the relative antibiotic production is increased by more than 30% compared to standard bioreactors.     

Shear breakage of nylon membrane microcapsules in a turbine reactor

The breakage of nylon membrane microcapsules is proposed as a new method to study and quantify shear effects in biological systems. A critique of this method shows that a narrower particle size distribution may be an important improvement in the breakage study as well as breakage control in many bioreactor and biotechnological applications. In a turbine reactor, it was shown that the primary process which determines the microcapsule breakage is the shear effect. The breakage kinetics are first order with regard to the microcapsule concentration. The breakage kinetic constant was ob served to be dependent on the temperature and the particle size, and proportional to the average shear rate and the third power of the turbine angular velocity. Decrease of the breakage kinetic constant with temperature can be explained by a decrease of fluid viscosity and a change in nylon membrane properties. An increase in the breakage kinetic constant with the microcapsule diameter can be due to a lowering of internal pressure and a reduction of the membrane resistance with size. Proportionality between the breakage kinetic constant and the shear rate shows that shear is the main process which leads to microcapsule breakage. The additional intervention in the shear rate expression of the turbine angular speed in the form of the turbine and particle velocities, results in the dependence of the breakage kinetic constant on the third power of the angular velocity.     

Crystallographic structure of the turbine C-ring from spinach chloroplast F-ATP synthase

In eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, F-ATP synthases provide energy through the synthesis of ATP. The chloroplast F-ATP synthase (CF₁F_O-ATP synthase) of plants is integrated into the thylakoid membrane via its F_O-domain subunits a, b, b’ and c. Subunit c with a stoichiometry of 14 and subunit a form the gate for H⁺-pumping, enabling the coupling of electrochemical energy with ATP synthesis in the F₁ sector.Here we report the crystallization and structure determination of the c14-ring of subunit c of the CF₁F_O-ATP synthase from spinach chloroplasts. The crystals belonged to space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a=144.420, b=99.295, c=123.51 Å, and β=104.34° and diffracted to 4.5 Å resolution. Each c-ring contains 14 monomers in the asymmetric unit. The length of the c-ring is 60.32 Å, with an outer ring diameter 52.30 Å and an inner ring width of 40 Å.     

Computer assisted simulations and molecular graphics methods in molecular design

A survey is presented of computer-assisted statistical mechanical methods. The general theoretical background is described and special methods are discussed in detail. Practical procedures allowing for the calculation of binding energies are examined. A recent perturbation-relaxation procedure is summarized.     

Contributions of plant molecular systematics to studies of molecular evolution

Dobzhansky stated that nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. A close corollary, and the central theme of this paper, is that everything makes a lot more sense in the light of phylogeny. Systematics is in the midst of a renaissance, heralded by the widespread application of new analytical approaches and the introduction of molecular techniques. Molecular phylogenetic analyses are now commonplace, and they have provided unparalleled insights into relationships at all levels of plant phylogeny. At deep levels, molecular studies have revealed that charophyte green algae are the closest relatives of the land plants and suggested that liverworts are sister to all other extant land plants. Other studies have suggested that lycopods are sister to all other vascular plants and clarified relationships among the ferns. The impact of molecular phylogenetics on the angiosperms has been particularly dramatic – some of the largest phylogenetic analyses yet conducted have involved the angiosperms. Inferences from three genes (rbcL, atpB, 18S rDNA) agree in the major features of angiosperm phylogeny and have resulted in a reclassification of the angiosperms. This ordinal-level reclassification is perhaps the most dramatic and important change in higher-level angiosperm taxonomy in the past 200 years. At lower taxonomic levels, phylogenetic analyses have revealed the closest relatives of many crops and model organisms for studies of molecular genetics, concomitantly pointing to possible relatives for use in comparative studies and plant breeding. Furthermore, phylogenetic information has contributed to new perspectives on the evolution of polyploid genomes. The phylogenetic trees now available at all levels of the taxonomic hierarchy for angiosperms and other green plants should play a pivotal role in comparative studies in diverse fields from ecology to molecular evolution and comparative genetics.     

Seven-helix bundles: molecular modeling via restrained molecular dynamics.

Simulated annealing via restrained molecular dynamics (SA/MD) has been used to model compact bundles of seven approximately (anti)parallel alpha-helices. Seven such helix bundles occur, e.g., in bacteriorhodopsin, in rhodopsin, and in the channel-forming N-terminal domain of Bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxin. Two classes of model are considered: (a) those consisting of seven Ala20 peptide chains; and (b) those containing a single polypeptide chain, made up of seven Ala20 helices linked by GlyN interhelix loops (where N = 5 or 10). Three different starting C alpha templates for SA/MD are used, in which the seven helices are arranged (a) on a left-handed circular template, (b) on a bacteriorhodopsin-like template, or (c) on a zig-zag template. The ensembles of models generated by SA/MD are analyzed in terms of their geometry and energetics, and the most stable structures from each ensemble are examined in greater detail. Structures resembling bacteriorhodopsin and structures resembling delta-endotoxin are both represented among the most stable structures. delta-Endotoxin-like structures arise from both circular and bacteriorhodopsin-like C alpha templates. A third helix-packing mode occurs several times among the stable structures, regardless of the C alpha template and of the presence or absence of interhelix loops. It is characterized by a "4 + 1" core, in which four helices form a distorted left-handed supercoil around a central, buried helix. The remaining two helices pack onto the outside of the core. This packing mode is comparable with that proposed for rhodopsin on the basis of two-dimensional electron crystallographic and sequence analysis studies.