Frequent Nucleation Research Articles

A deformation twin mediated sliding-opening zig-zag fracture mechanism in multi-principal element alloys

Multi-principal element alloys (MPEA) have emerged as a class of high-performance materials. Of particular interest is the excellent fracture toughness in face-centered cubic MPEAs with low stacking fault energy, where abundant deformation twins are commonly observed. To understand the fracture mechanism in such MPEAs, here we perform in situ nanomechanical testing inside transmission electron microscope, atomistic simulation, and theoretical analysis to investigate the mechanism of interaction between a propagating crack and a coherent twin boundary (TB) in CoCrFeNi MPEA. We unveil a hitherto unknown microscopic mechanism of crack-TB interaction in MPEAs, where sliding along secondary nanotwins (NTs) nucleated from the primary TB followed by sub-crack nucleation some distance ahead of the main crack constitute a consecutive sliding-opening crack propagation mechanism, leading to zig-zag fracture around the primary TB. The origin of this mechanism lies in the frequent nucleation of NTs from steps on the primary TB, which can effectively blunt and deflect a propagating crack. Quantitative analysis indicates nearly doubled fracture resistance associated with this unique mechanism of crack-TB interaction in MPEAs. These findings bring about a missing aspect in TB-modulated fracture in MPEAs and enrich our understanding of the enhanced damage tolerance of alloys with low stacking fault energy.

Orographic Cirrus and Its Radiative Forcing in NCAR CAM6

AbstractCirrus clouds play an important role in the Earth's radiative energy budget, thereby affecting the climate state and climate change. Orographic gravity wave (OGW)‐induced sub‐grid scale vertical velocity (i.e., cooling rate) is not resolved by large‐scale models and its impact on ice formation in cirrus clouds is not well quantified. In this study, one sub‐grid scale OGW scheme (e.g., McFarlane) is used in the Community Atmosphere Model version 6 (CAM6) to generate vertical velocity variance (σw) for cirrus formation. Results from the default model and simulations with the OGW‐induced σw are evaluated against the DOE ARM Small Particles in Cirrus (SPARTICUS) campaign observations. The OGW based on the McFarlane scheme increases the sub‐grid scale σw over mountains compared to the default model and improves the model agreement with the SPARTICUS observations. Larger σw due to OGWs can trigger more frequent homogeneous nucleation in orographic cirrus and generates a higher number concentration of ice crystals observed during the SPARTICUS campaign. Moreover, our evaluation of the model simulations against satellite observations indicates that the McFarlane scheme generates high in‐cloud ice number concentrations (>200 L−1) in the upper troposphere over mountains and high plateaus at mid‐ and high‐latitudes of the winter hemisphere as shown in the observations. More ice crystals with smaller sizes absorb more infrared radiation (+0.523 ± 0.125 W m−2). The net radiative cloud forcing change at the top of the atmosphere is +0.330 W m−2 due to the orographic cirrus.

The histone chaperone FACT facilitates heterochromatin spreading by regulating histone turnover and H3K9 methylation states.

SUMMARYHeterochromatin formation requires three distinct steps: nucleation, self-propagation (spreading) along the chromosome, and faithful maintenance after each replication cycle. Impeding any of those steps induces heterochromatin defects and improper gene expression. The essential histone chaperone FACT (facilitates chromatin transcription) has been implicated in heterochromatin silencing, but the mechanisms by which FACT engages in this process remain opaque. Here, we pinpoint its function to the heterochromatin spreading process in fission yeast. FACT impairment reduces nucleation-distal H3K9me3 and HP1/Swi6 accumulation at subtelomeres and derepresses genes in the vicinity of heterochromatin boundaries. FACT promotes spreading by repressing heterochromatic histone turnover, which is crucial for the H3K9me2 to me3 transition that enables spreading. FACT mutant spreading defects are suppressed by removal of the H3K9 methylation antagonist Epe1. Together, our study identifies FACT as a histone chaperone that promotes heterochromatin spreading and lends support to the model that regulated histone turnover controls the propagation of repressive methylation marks.

Response of particle number concentrations to the clean air action plan: lessons from the first long-term aerosol measurements in a typical urban valley in western China

Abstract. The strictest ever clean air action (CAA) plan has been implemented by the Chinese government since 2013 to alleviate the severe haze pollution. The PM2.5 mass concentration was found to largely be reduced in response to emission mitigation policies, but the response of particle number concentrations (PNCs) to CAA was less evaluated in the previous studies, which may be significantly different from PM2.5 mass due to newly formed particle impacts. In this work, the first in situ observation of particle number size distributions (PNSDs) during 2012–2019 in urban Lanzhou was used to analyze long-term PNC variations and CAA impacts. The average number of particles in nucleation (N13−25, particle number in the size range of 13–25 nm), Aitken (N25−100, particle number in the size range of 25–100 nm) and accumulation (N100−800, particle number in the size range of 100–800 nm) modes were respectively 2514.0, 10 768.7 and 3258.4 cm−3, and N25−100 accounted for about 65.1 % of total PNCs during the campaign. The k-means clustering technique was used to classify the hourly mean PNSDs into six clusters, and each cluster corresponded to a specific source and influencing factor. The polluted clusters governed the winter PNCs before 2016, and their occurrence was less and less frequent after 2016, which was largely dominated by reduction in primary emissions. However, the contribution of new particle formation (NPF) events to summer N13−25 decreased from 50 % to about 10 % during 2013 to 2015 and then increased to reach around 60 % in 2019. The trends of size-resolved PNCs for each cluster were quantified by Theil–Sen regression. The size-segregated PNCs exhibited downward trends for all clusters during 2012–2015, especially in spring. The annual relative slopes of spring PNCs varied from −54.7 % to −17.2 %, −42.6 % to −14.1 %, and −40.7 % to −17.5 % per year for 13–25, 25–100, and 100–800 nm size ranges, and the reduction in the polluted clusters was much larger than NPF clusters. The ultrafine particle number was increased, and the amplitude was much greater during 2016–2019. The annual relative slopes of N13−25 varied between 8.0 % in fall and 135.5 % in spring for the NPF cluster. In response to CAA, the increased daytime net radiation, higher ambient temperature and lower relative humidity at noon for NPF events also could partly explain the higher N13−25 induced by the more frequent nucleation events after 2016, especially in spring. The air masses were mainly from the adjacent regions of urban Lanzhou and less affected by long-range transport for NPF events, and thus the particles were not easily grown by coagulation during transport processes, which was helpful for the occurrence of NPF events. Therefore, some effective measures to cooperatively control particle number concentration and mass should be taken for the Chinese megacities.

Origin of the Superior Electrochemical Performance of Amorphous-Phase Conversion-Reaction-Based Electrode Materials for Na-Ion Batteries: Formation of a Bicontinuous Metal Network

The realization of conversion type electrode materials in Na-ion batteries (NIBs) has been hindered due to the nucleation property of the active material. During the sodiation, the transition metal (TM) cations reduce to the metallic state, and the respective anions react with the sodium ions. As a result, the metal particles are surrounded by the matrix of the insulating sodium compound, resulting in loss of electrical contact among the TM particles. Here, an amorphous molybdenum sulfide (a-MoSx) electrode is made highly reversible by suppressing TM particle growth via elongating the cation diffusion pathway. Because of the long distance among Mo atoms in a-MoSx, the growth of Mo nuclei is limited. This leads to more frequent nucleation and formation of smaller particles (3-5 nm in diameter). Since the smaller particles have a larger surface area than the bigger particles, the electrical contacts among Mo particles are clearly retained. The a-MoSx anode for NIBs demonstrates a high capacity and excellent cycling retention. This work establishes that the amorphous structure enhances the reversibility and cycling stability of conversion-reaction-based electrodes by elongating the diffusion pathway of the metal ions.

Characterization of aerosol growth events over Ellesmere Island during the summers of 2015 and 2016

Abstract. The occurrence of frequent aerosol nucleation and growth events in the Arctic during summertime may impact the region's climate through increasing the number of cloud condensation nuclei in the Arctic atmosphere. Measurements of aerosol size distributions and aerosol composition were taken during the summers of 2015 and 2016 at Eureka and Alert on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada. These results provide a better understanding of the frequency and spatial extent of elevated Aitken mode aerosol concentrations as well as of the composition and sources of aerosol mass during particle growth. Frequent appearances of small particles followed by growth occurred throughout the summer. These particle growth events were observed beginning in June with the melting of the sea ice rather than with the polar sunrise, which strongly suggests that influence from the marine boundary layer was the primary cause of the events. Correlated particle growth events at the two sites, separated by 480 km, indicate conditions existing over large scales play a key role in determining the timing and the characteristics of the events. In addition, aerosol mass spectrometry measurements were used to analyze the size-resolved chemical composition of aerosols during two selected growth events. It was found that particles with diameters between 50 and 80 nm (physical diameter) during these growth events were predominately organic with only a small sulfate contribution. The oxidation of the organics also changed with particle size, with the fraction of organic acids increasing with diameter from 80 to 400 nm. The growth events at Eureka were observed most often when the temperature inversion between the sea and the measurement site (at 610 m a.s.l.) was non-existent or weak, presumably creating conditions with low aerosol condensation sink and allowing fresh marine emissions to be mixed upward to the observatory's altitude. While the nature of the gaseous precursors responsible for the growth events is still poorly understood, oxidation of dimethyl sulfide alone to produce particle-phase sulfate or methanesulfonic acid was inconsistent with the measured aerosol composition, suggesting the importance of other gas-phase organic compounds condensing for particle growth.

Mechanostress resistance involving formin homology proteins: G- and F-actin homeostasis-driven filament nucleation and helical polymerization-mediated actin polymer stabilization

The actin cytoskeleton has two faces. One side provides the relatively stable scaffold to maintain the shape of cell cortex fit to the organs. The other side rapidly changes morphology in response to extracellular stimuli including chemical signal and physical strain. Our series of studies employing single-molecule speckle analysis of actin have revealed diverse F-actin lifetimes spanning a range of seconds to minutes in live cells. The dynamic part of the actin turnover is tightly coupled with actin nucleation activities of formin homology proteins (formins), which serve as rapid and efficient F-actin restoration mechanisms in cells under physical stress. More recently, our two studies revealed stabilization of F-actin either by actomyosin contractile force or by helical rotation of processively-actin polymerizing diaphanous-related formin mDia1. These findings quantitatively explain our proposed anti-mechanostress cascade in that G-actin released from F-actin upon loss of tension triggers frequent nucleation and subsequent fast elongation of F-actin by formins. This formin-restored F-actin may become specifically stabilized over long distance by helical polymerization-mediated filament untwisting. In this review, we discuss how and to what extent formins-mediated F-actin restoration might confer mechanostress resistance to the cell. We also give thought to the possible involvement of helical polymerization-mediated filament untwisting in the formation of diverse actin architectures including chirality control.

Regions of open water and melting sea ice drive new particle formation in North East Greenland

Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) and growth significantly influences the indirect aerosol-cloud effect within the polar climate system. In this work, the aerosol population is categorised via cluster analysis of aerosol number size distributions (9–915 nm, 65 bins) taken at Villum Research Station, Station Nord (VRS) in North Greenland during a 7 year record (2010–2016). Data are clustered at daily averaged resolution; in total, we classified six categories, five of which clearly describe the ultrafine aerosol population, one of which is linked to nucleation events (up to 39% during summer). Air mass trajectory analyses tie these frequent nucleation events to biogenic precursors released by open water and melting sea ice regions. NPF events in the studied regions seem not to be related to bird colonies from coastal zones. Our results show a negative correlation (r = −0.89) between NPF events and sea ice extent, suggesting the impact of ultrafine Arctic aerosols is likely to increase in the future, given the likely increased sea ice melting. Understanding the composition and the sources of Arctic aerosols requires further integrated studies with joint multi-component ocean-atmosphere observation and modelling.

Arctic sea ice melt leads to atmospheric new particle formation

Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) and growth significantly influences climate by supplying new seeds for cloud condensation and brightness. Currently, there is a lack of understanding of whether and how marine biota emissions affect aerosol-cloud-climate interactions in the Arctic. Here, the aerosol population was categorised via cluster analysis of aerosol size distributions taken at Mt Zeppelin (Svalbard) during a 11 year record. The daily temporal occurrence of NPF events likely caused by nucleation in the polar marine boundary layer was quantified annually as 18%, with a peak of 51% during summer months. Air mass trajectory analysis and atmospheric nitrogen and sulphur tracers link these frequent nucleation events to biogenic precursors released by open water and melting sea ice regions. The occurrence of such events across a full decade was anti-correlated with sea ice extent. New particles originating from open water and open pack ice increased the cloud condensation nuclei concentration background by at least ca. 20%, supporting a marine biosphere-climate link through sea ice melt and low altitude clouds that may have contributed to accelerate Arctic warming. Our results prompt a better representation of biogenic aerosol sources in Arctic climate models.

Ozonolysis of <i>α</i>-phellandrene – Part 1: Gas- and particle-phase characterisation

Abstract. The ozonolysis of α-phellandrene, a highly reactive conjugated monoterpene largely emitted by Eucalypt species, is characterised in detail for the first time using a smog chamber at the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Gas-phase species were monitored by a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-TOF), with yields from a large number of products obtained, including formaldehyde (5–9 %), acetaldehyde (0.2–8 %), glyoxal (6–23 %), methyl glyoxal (2–9 %), formic acid (22–37 %) and acetic acid (9–22 %). Higher m∕z second-generation oxidation products were also observed, with products tentatively identified according to a constructed degradation mechanism. OH yields from α-phellandrene and its first-generation products were found to be 35 ± 12 and 15 ± 7 %, respectively, indicative of prominent hydroperoxide channels. An average first-generation rate coefficient was determined as 1.0 ± 0.7 × 10−16 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 at 298 K, showing ozonolysis as a dominant loss process for both α-phellandrene and its first-generation products in the atmosphere. Endocyclic conjugation in α-phellandrene was also found to be conducive to the formation of highly condensible products with a large fraction of the carbon mass partitioning into the aerosol phase, which was monitored with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS). Nucleation was observed almost instantaneously upon ozonolysis, indicating the rapid formation of extremely low-volatility compounds. Particle nucleation was found to be suppressed by the addition of either NO2 or a Criegee scavenger, with it being proposed that stabilised Criegee intermediates are important for new particle formation in the system. Aerosol yields ranged from 25 to 174 % depending on mass loadings, with both first- and second-generation products identified as large contributors to the aerosol mass. In short, with a high chemical reactivity and aerosol-forming propensity, α-phellandrene is expected to have an immediate impact on the local environment to which it is emitted, with ozonolysis likely to be an important contributor to the significant blue haze and frequent nocturnal nucleation events observed over Eucalypt forests.

Swing-like pool boiling on nano-textured surfaces for microgravity applications related to cooling of high-power microelectronics

Here, we demonstrate that heat removed in pool boiling from a heater mimicking high-power microelectronics could be used to facilitate a swing-like motion of the heater before being finally dissipated. This swing-like motion could be beneficial for shedding a large vapor bubble that encapsulates high-power heaters in microgravity where buoyancy force is unavailable for vapor bubble removal. The swing-like motion is propelled by vapor bubble recoil, the force which exists irrespective of gravity and buoyancy. We also demonstrate that this force could be significantly enhanced by depositing on the heater surface supersonically blown polymer nanofibers with cross-sectional diameters below 100 nm. These nanofibers provide additional nucleation sites, resulting in much more frequent bubble nucleation and departure, and thus a higher overall vapor recoil force propelling the heater motion. Such nanofibers strongly adhere to the heater surface and withstand prolonged harsh pool boiling. The measured velocity of the model swing-like heater in Novec 7300 fluid is about 1 cm/s.

Affinity Purification and Characterization of Functional Tubulin from Cell Suspension Cultures of Arabidopsis and Tobacco.

Microtubules assemble into several distinct arrays that play important roles in cell division and cell morphogenesis. To decipher the mechanisms that regulate the dynamics and organization of this versatile cytoskeletal component, it is essential to establish in vitro assays that use functional tubulin. Although plant tubulin has been purified previously from protoplasts by reversible taxol-induced polymerization, a simple and efficient purification method has yet to be developed. Here, we used a Tumor Overexpressed Gene (TOG) column, in which the tubulin-binding domains of a yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) TOG homolog are immobilized on resin, to isolate functional plant tubulin. We found that several hundred micrograms of pure tubulin can readily be purified from cell suspension cultures of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The tubulin purified by the TOG column showed high assembly competence, partly because of low levels of polymerization-inhibitory phosphorylation of α-tubulin. Compared with porcine brain tubulin, Arabidopsis tubulin is highly dynamic in vitro at both the plus and minus ends, exhibiting faster shrinkage rates and more frequent catastrophe events, and exhibits frequent spontaneous nucleation. Furthermore, our study shows that an internal histidine tag in α-tubulin can be used to prepare particular isotypes and specifically engineered versions of α-tubulin. In contrast to previous studies of plant tubulin, our mass spectrometry and immunoblot analyses failed to detect posttranslational modification of the isolated Arabidopsis tubulin or detected only low levels of posttranslational modification. This novel technology can be used to prepare assembly-competent, highly dynamic pure tubulin from plant cell cultures.

Microstructural and texture changes during equal channel angular pressing of an Al–Mg–Sc alloy

Evolution of the microstructure and microtexture of an Al–Mg–Sc alloy during equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) at 200 °C was studied. Increasing the ECAP strain of 1 < ε < 4 was accompanied by a rapid hardening followed by a saturation of microhardness at the higher strains. Straining to ε ≤ 4 did not result in any significant structural changes on a mesoscopic level: e.g. the original grains were mainly rotated toward the shearing direction in accordance with the simple shear deformation mode. At that, the texture changes were characterized by creation of a relatively strong duplex texture, typical for conventional high-strain axi-symmetric deformation of fcc metals, i.e. the directions of <100> and <111> were oriented parallel to the pressing direction (PD). At ECAP strains larger than 4, in contrast, significant changes took place in both the microstructure and the texture evolved. Those were mainly related to the frequent formation of microshear bands developed in various directions, that resulted in the local lattice rotations toward <110> and frequent nucleation of new ultrafine grains at high strains. Ultrafine crystallite structures were formed in the alloy characterized by the fraction of high-angle boundaries of about 40–45% and a texture with the near <110> maximum oriented in PD at the highest strain of ε = 12.

Prefracture Instabilities Govern Generation of Self-Affine Surfaces in Tearing of Soft Viscoelastic Elastomeric Sheets

We present an experimental study on fracture behavior of soft viscoelastic network solid films of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and morphology of the fracture-generated surfaces. The most interesting behavior is the generation of fractal patterns when the storage and loss moduli are comparable. We find the formation of isolated defects and cracks ahead of the fracture-front. The observed morphology of the torn surfaces is correlated to the prefracture behavior by studying the crack propagation and coalescence. Tearing of PDMS containing 2% cross-linking agent with a terminal elastic modulus, G′, of 10 kPa, shows distinct crack patterns at different tearing speeds. Slower tearing leads to the formation of dendritic patterns of propagating fingers, whereas at the higher deformation-rates, more frequent nucleation of bubble like defects occurs. The propagating fingers develop undulations along its sides. The effects of tearing speed on the length scale of the undulations and the bubbles are studied. The formation of undulations can be explained as a result of Saffman–Taylor instability with a modified effective surface tension which accounts for the dissipative energy loss. We also study the rate of formation of the defects, which is shown to be an activated process in that they form beyond a threshold value of the local stress.

In Situ Observation of Step Dynamics on Gypsum Crystals

In this work we studied the kinetics of gypsum crystals growing from aqueous solutions as a function of temperature and supersaturation. Laser confocal differential interference contrast microscopy (LCM-DIM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to observe in situ the step advancement and the evolution of the surface morphology of the {010} face. We found that, for the experimental conditions used in this study, 2D nucleation is the main step generation mechanism, even at low supersaturations, and only a few spiral hillocks were observed. Due to the elongated morphology of2D islands along the c-axis and the frequent nucleation of multilayer 2D islands, {010} faces growing from a supersatured solution developed a hill and valley topography. This type of surface topography is observed at all temperatures. The step kinetic coefficient, β s1 , was determined in the temperature range 20—80 °C, and a steep increment in the kinetic coefficient is found with increasing temperature. From these data, the activation barrier for incorporation of building units in the {010} face was determined to be 70.7 ± 5.0 kJ/mol. Analysis of the kinetic data shows that at low temperatures (≤40°C) growth of the {010} face is dominated by a mixed regime and at higher temperatures (>40 °C) growth is controlled solely by diffusion.

Simulation of in situ ultrafine particle formation in the eastern United States using PMCAMx‐UF

A three‐dimensional chemical transport model has been developed incorporating the Dynamic Model for Aerosol Nucleation for the simulation of aerosol dynamics into the regional model PMCAMx. Using a scaled version of the ternary H2SO4‐NH3‐H2O nucleation theory and the Two Moment Aerosol Sectional algorithm, the new model (PMCAMx‐UF) is used to simulate a summertime period in the eastern United States. The model predicts, in agreement with observations, frequent nucleation events that take place over hundreds to thousands of kilometers, especially in the northeastern United States. Detailed comparison with the observations of the Pittsburgh Air Quality Study suggests that the model reproduces reasonably well the details of the events in this sulfur rich area but has a tendency to overpredict the frequency of the events. Regional nucleation is predicted to increase the total number concentrations by roughly a factor of 2.5 over the whole domain. The corresponding increases for particles larger than 10 nm (N10) and 100 nm (N100) were 75% and 15%, respectively. In the Ohio River Valley the increases are as much as a factor of 10 for total particle number and 40% for N100. Contrary to the total particle concentration, increases of N100 take place often in areas different than those of the nucleation events. Nucleation is predicted to decrease the N100 in some areas even if it increases the total number concentration. The sensitivity of the model to the nucleation rate scaling parameter and the ammonia levels is discussed.

The γ -Tubulin Complex Protein GCP4 Is Required for Organizing Functional Microtubule Arrays inArabidopsis thaliana

Microtubule (MT) nucleation and organization depend on the evolutionarily conserved protein gamma -tubulin, which forms a complex with GCP2-GCP6 (GCP for gamma -Tubulin Complex Protein). To date, it is still unclear how GCP4-GCP6 (the non-core GCPs) may be involved in acentrosomal MT nucleation in plant cells. We found that GCP4 was associated with gamma -tubulin in vivo in Arabidopsis thaliana. When GCP4 expression was repressed by an artificial microRNA, transgenic plants exhibited phenotypes of dwarfism and reduced organ size. In mitotic cells, it was observed that the gamma -tubulin signal associated with the mitotic spindle, and the phragmoplast was depleted when GCP4 was downregulated. Consequently, MTs failed to converge at unified spindle poles, and the bipolar phragmoplast MT array frequently had discrete bundles with extended minus ends, resulting in failed cytokinesis as reflected by cell wall stubs in leaf epidermal cells. In addition, cortical MTs in swollen guard cells and pavement cells of the leaf epidermis became hyperparallel and bundled, which was likely caused by frequent MT nucleation with shallow angles on the wall of extant MTs. Therefore, our results support the notion that GCP4 is an indispensable component for the function of gamma -tubulin in MT nucleation and organization in plant cells.

Real-Time Visualization of Assembly and Disassembly of S. Cerevisiae Rad51 on Duplex DNA

DNA double-strand break (DSB) is a lethal type of DNA damage. Homologous recombination is the most accurate method to repair broken DNA. The process of recombinational DNA repair consists of three phases. First, the ends of broken DNA are processed to generate a 3′-ended single-strand DNA (ssDNA) tail on which the DNA strand exchange protein self-assembles. Second, the protein-DNA complex searches for homology on a donor double-strand DNA (dsDNA), and catalyzes the pairing and exchange of DNA strands. Finally, the heteroduplex DNA product is resolved.In S. cerevisiae, DNA strand exchange is catalyzed by Rad51 protein. Rad51 forms a right-handed helical nucleoprotein filament in an ATP-dependent manner. In the filament, Rad51 occupies 3-4 nucleotides and stretches DNA to ∼150% of its B-form length. Interestingly, Rad51 binds to dsDNA with a similar affinity as for ssDNA, even though the functional form of Rad51 requires assembly on ssDNA. Also, since Rad51 filament formation on dsDNA inhibits DNA strand exchange, the turnover of Rad51 from dsDNA is stimulated by a dsDNA translocase, Rad54.We used single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to visualize both the kinetics of assembly and disassembly of Rad51 nucleoprotein filaments. Visualization was achieved either by directly imaging filament formation using fluorescent Rad51 protein, or by measuring the DNA length change due to Rad51 binding by fluorescently tagging the DNA end. We show that the nucleation of Rad51 on dsDNA requires about 3 monomers; that Rad51 assembly occurs through frequent nucleation; and that the Rad51 filament is stabilized by maintaining ATP-bound state.

Mn based olivine electrode material with high power and energy

We report the Mn based olivine electrode material with high power and energy. Easier and more frequent nucleation by Fe and Co in Mn-based olivines significantly enhanced the rate capability as evidenced by the electrochemical results.

Interplay between α(Ti) nucleation and growth during peritectic solidification investigated by phase-fieldsimulations

The properties of modern TiAl-based alloys with aluminum contents around 45 at.% critically depend on theas solidified α(Ti) grain structure. Commonly, a rather coarse grain structure is obtained ifα(Ti) forms via the peritectic reaction ‘’. Phase-field simulations have been applied to perform a case study of grainstructure formation during the early peritectic growth under unidirectionalgrowth conditions. In the absence of foreign nucleation sites, the peritecticα(Ti) phase nucleates on the dendritic surface of the properitecticβ(Ti) phase. For typical values of the critical nucleation undercooling, coarse structures withlarge elongated grains are reproduced. A delicate interplay between nucleationand growth is predicted for reduced values of the critical undercooling. In thiscase, the alloy composition is found to play an additional role. An effective grainrefinement by frequent nucleation is obtained, if potent nucleants can reducethe critical undercooling below the local growth undercooling. ComplementaryScheil calculations and Bridgman experiments show that in situ precipitation ofTiB2 particles can be controlled by adequate boron addition. Both, numericalpredictions and experiments confirm that these particles can act aseffective nucleation agents and significantly reduce the grain size ofα(Ti).