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Abstract: Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation results are presented to support our hypothesis that the conformation and the oligomeric state of the HIV-1 gp41 fusion domain or fusion peptide (gp41-FP) are determined by the membrane surface area per lipid (APL), which is affected by the membrane curvature. FTIR of the gp41-FP in the Aerosol-OT (AOT) reversed micellar system showed that as APL decreases from ∼50 to 35 Å2 by varying the AOT/water ratio, the FP changes from the monomeric α-helical to the oligomeric β-sheet structure. MD simulations in POPE lipid bilayer systems showed that as the APL decreases by applying a negative surface tension, helical monomers start to unfold into turn-like structures. Furthermore, an increase in the applied lateral pressure during nonequilibrium MD simulations favored the formation of β-sheet structure. These results provide better insight into the relationship between the structures of the gp41-FP and the membrane, which is essential in understanding the membrane fusion process. The implication of the results of this work on what is the fusogenic structure of the HIV-1 FP is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of the interaction of three mutants, G3V, G5V and G10V, of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) gp41 16-residue fusion peptide (FP) with an explicit palmitoyloleoylphosphatidyl-ethanolamine (POPE) lipid bilayer was performed. The goals of this work are to study the correlation of the fusogenic activity of the FPs with the mode of their interaction with the bilayer and to examine the roles of the many glycine residues in the FP in the fusion process. The results of this work corroborate the main conclusion of our earlier MD work of the WT FP and several mutants with polar substitution. These two studies provide correlation between the mode of insertion and the fusogenic activity of these peptides and support the hypothesis that an oblique insertion of the fusion domain of the viral protein is required for fusogenic activity. Inactive mutants interact with the bilayer by a surface-binding mode. The results of this work, combined with the results of our earlier work, show that, while the secondary structures of the wild-type FP and its mutants do not affect the fusogenic activities, the conformational flexibility appears to be an important factor. The active WT FP and its partially active mutants, G3V and G5V, all have significant conformational transitions at one of the glycine sites. They occur at Gly5 in FP-wt, at Gly10 in FP-G5V and at Gly13 in FP-G3V. Thus, a glycine site in each of these active (or partially active) FPs provides conformational flexibility. On the other hand, the inactive mutants FP-G10V, FP-L9R and FP-V2E do not have any conformational transitions except at either terminus and thus possess no conformational flexibility. Thus, the results of this work support the suggestion that the role of glycine residues in the fusion domain is to provide the necessary conformational flexibility for fusion activity.The glycines also form a “glycine strip” in the FP that locates on one (the less hydrophobic) face of the helix (the “sided helix”). However, whether this “glycine strip” is disrupted or not does not seem to correlate with the retention of fusogenic activities. Finally, although the FLGFL (8–12) motif is absolutely conserved in the HIV fusion domain, a well-structured motif stabilized by hydrogen bonding does not appear to be required for activity. In fact, hydrogen bonding in this motif was found to be missing in FP-G3V and FP-G5V. Both of these mutants are partially active. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Additive manufacturing (AM) has the potential to disrupt the ceramic industry by offering new opportunities to manufacture advanced ceramic components without the need for expensive tooling, thereby reducing production costs and lead times and increasing design freedom. Whilst the development and implementation of AM technologies in the ceramic industry has been slower than in the polymer and metal industries, there is now considerable interest in developing AM processes capable of producing defect-free, fully dense ceramic components. A large variety of AM technologies can be used to shape ceramics, but variable results have been obtained so far. Selecting the correct AM process for a given application not only depends on the requirements in terms of density, surface finish, size and geometrical complexity of the part, but also on the nature of the particular ceramic to be processed. This paper provides a detailed review of the current state-of-the-art in AM of advanced ceramics through a systematic evaluation of the capabilities of each AM technology, with an emphasis on reported results in terms of final density, surface finish and mechanical properties. An in-depth analysis of the opportunities, issues, advantages and limitations arising when processing advanced ceramics with each AM technology is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wild-type (wt) N-terminal 23-residue fusion peptide (FP) of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) fusion protein gp41 and its V2E mutant have been studied by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles as membrane mimics. A number of NMR techniques have been used. Pulsed field-gradient diffusion measurements in DPC and in 4:1 DPC/sodium dodecylsulfate mixed micelles showed that there is no major difference between the partition coefficients of the fusogenic wt peptide and the V2E mutant in these micelles, indicating that there is no correlation between the activity of the fusion peptides and their membrane affinities. The nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) patterns and the chemical shift index for these two peptides indicated that both FP are in an α helical conformation between the Ile4 to Leu12 or to Ala15 region. Simulated annealing showed that the helical region extends from Ile4 to Met19. The two FPs share similar conformational characteristics, indicating that the conformation of the FP is not an important factor determining its activity. The spin-label studies, utilizing spin labels 5- and 16-doxystearic acids in the DPC micelles, provided clear indication that the wt FP inserts its N-terminus into the micelles while the V2E mutant does not insert into the micelles. The conclusion from the spin-label results is corroborated by deuterium amide proton exchange experiments. The correlation between the oblique insertion of the FP and its fusogenic activity is in excellent agreement with results from our molecular dynamics simulation and from other previous studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights • Water evaporation from porous asphalt is related to the pore space topology. • Stage-1 evaporation is defined by liquid evaporation at the asphalt's surface. • Stage-2 evaporation depends on the porosity and tortuosity of the asphalt. • An analytical model was developed to estimate the evaporation rates from asphalt. Abstract The dynamics of water evaporation from porous asphalt mixture, with porosity ranging from 15% to 29%, have been investigated in this article. In order to test the same samples under different conditions, the pore structure of asphalt was quantified using X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) scans and 3D printed in transparent resin blocks. 3D printed transparent resin samples were tested under controlled laboratory conditions to understand the effect of pore space topology on the water retention and drying dynamics. The macroporosity, pore size distribution, air void tortuosity, water conductivity, and water retention curves of the 3D printed porous asphalt samples were quantified by means of image analysis. Moreover, a model was developed and tested experimentally to estimate the evaporation rates from porous asphalt materials under a wide range of porosities. Within the range of asphalt mixtures studied in the present work, the evaporation rate is related predominantly to the porosity, pore size distribution and tortuosity. It was found that the period over which water evaporation occurs at the surface is relatively short during drying of porous asphalt materials due to their relatively large pores weakening the capillary forces. This results in significantly shortening the so-called stage-1 evaporation (when the drying rate is controlled by liquid vaporisation at the surface) and early onset of the transition period (when both surface water evaporation and vapour diffusion inside porous asphalt play a comparable role in supplying the evaporative demand). The transition period is followed by the stage-2 evaporation when the process is limited by the vapour diffusion inside the porous asphalt. Our results illustrate that the beginning of the stage-2 evaporation depends on the porosity and tortuosity of the porous asphalt material among other parameters. Our results and analysis provide new insights into the dynamics of water evaporation from asphalt materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creep performance of additively manufactured components remains an issue before additive manufacturing can be put fully implemented. In this study, Inconel 718 two-bar specimens are produced by selective laser melting and subjected to a ‘staged’ creep test. Creep test was interrupted at critical junctures and X-ray computed tomography measurements performed at various extensions of the specimen. Periodic X-ray computed tomography measurements allow, for the first time, examination of the specimens during creep testing. Evaluation of specimen performance shows the number and size of pores within the specimen increasing over time as a result of classical creep mechanisms. Location and tracking over time of weak points are performed, allowing early estimation of sample failure points. This information is valuable to selective laser melting practitioners who seek to optimise the build strategy in order to minimise in-built defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Material properties such as hardness can be dependent on the size of the indentation load when that load is small, a phenomenon known as the indentation size effect (ISE). In this work an inverse finite element method (IFEM) is used to investigate the ISE, with reference to experiments with a Berkovich indenter and an aluminium test material. It was found that the yield stress is highly dependent on indentation depth and in order to simulate this, an elastoplastic constitutive relation in which yielding varies with indentation depth/load was developed. It is shown that whereas Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio are not influenced by the length scale over the range tested, the amplitude portion of yield stress, which is independent of hardening and corresponds to the initial stress for a bulk material, changes radically at small indentation depths. Using the proposed material model and material parameters extracted using IFEM, the indentation depth-time and load-depth plots can be predicted at different loads with excellent agreement to experiment; the relative residual achieved between FE modelling displacement and experiment being less than 0.32%. An improved method of determining hardness from nanoindentation test data is also presented, which shows goof agreement with that determined using the IFEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used X-ray computed tomography (CT), microscopy and hardness measurements to study Al–Si10–Mg produced by selective laser melting (SLM). Specimens were subject to a series of heat treatments including annealing and precipitation hardening. The specimen interiors were imaged with X-ray CT, allowing the non-destructive quantification and characterisation of pores, including their spatial distribution. The specimens had porosities less than 0.1%, but included some pores with effective cross-sectional diameters up to 260 μm. The largest pores were highly anisotropic, being flat and lying in the plane normal to the build direction. Annealing cycles caused significant coarsening of the microstructure and a reduction of the hardness from (114 ± 3) HV, in the as-built state, to (45 ± 1) HV, while precipitation hardening increased this to a final hardness of (59 ± 1) HV. The pore size and shape distributions were unaffected by the heat treatments. We demonstrate the applicability of CT measurements and quantitative defect analysis for the purposes of SLM process monitoring and refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]