K. Chung

A new arabidopsis gene, FLK, encodes an RNA binding protein with K homology motifs and regulates flowering time via FLOWERING LOCUS C

Posttranscriptional RNA metabolism plays versatile roles in the regulation of gene expression during eukaryotic growth and development. It is mediated by a group of RNA binding proteins with distinct conserved motifs. In this study, an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) gene, designated FLK, was identified and shown to encode a putative RNA binding protein with K homology motifs. A mutant in which FLK was inactivated by T-DNA insertion exhibited a severe late flowering phenotype both in long and short days. The late flowering phenotype was reversed by gibberellin and vernalization treatments. The FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) transcription was greatly upregulated, whereas those of FLOWERING LOCUS T and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 decreased in the mutant. These observations demonstrate that FLK regulates the autonomous flowering pathway via FLC. It is now evident that a battery of different RNA binding proteins are involved in the posttranscriptional regulation of flowering time in Arabidopsis.

A Phytochrome-Associated Protein Phosphatase 2A Modulates Light Signals in Flowering Time Control in Arabidopsis

Reversible protein phosphorylation, which is catalyzed by functionally coupled protein kinases and protein phosphatases, is a major signaling mechanism in eukaryotic cellular functions. The red and far-red light–absorbing phytochrome photoreceptors are light-regulated Ser/Thr-specific protein kinases that regulate diverse photomorphogenic processes in plants. Here, we demonstrate that the phytochromes functionally interact with the catalytic subunit of a Ser/Thr-specific protein phosphatase 2A designated FyPP. The interactions were influenced by phosphorylation status and spectral conformation of the phytochromes. Recombinant FyPP efficiently dephosphorylated oat phytochrome A in the presence of Fe2+ or Zn2+ in a spectral form–dependent manner. FyPP was expressed predominantly in floral organs. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants with overexpressed or suppressed FyPP levels exhibited delayed or accelerated flowering, respectively, indicating that FyPP modulates phytochrome-mediated light signals in the timing of flowering. Accordingly, expression patterns of the clock genes in the long-day flowering pathway were altered greatly. These results indicate that a self-regulatory phytochrome kinase-phosphatase coupling is a key signaling component in the photoperiodic control of flowering.

Combined isotropic-kinematic hardening laws with anisotropic back-stress evolution for orthotropic fiber-reinforced composites

In order to describe the Bauschinger and transient behavior of orthotropic fiber-reinforced composite solids, a combined isotropic-kinematic hardening law based on the non-linear kinematic hardening rule was considered here, in particular, based on the Chaboche type law. In this modified constitutive law, the anisotropic evolution of the back-stress was properly accounted for. Also, to represent the orthotropy of composite materials, Hills 1948 quadratic yield function and the orthotropic elasticity constitutive equations were utilized. Furthermore, the numerical formulation to update the stresses was also developed based on the incremental deformation theory for the boundary value problems. Numerical examples confirmed that the new law based on the anisotropic evolution of the back-stress complies well with the constitutive behavior of highly anisotropic materials such as fiber-reinforced composites.

Numerical Prediction of Permeability Tensor for Three Dimensional Circular Braided Preform, by Considering Intra-tow Flow

Resin transfer moulding is characterized by the permeability tensor, which is a measure of the resistance to resin flow through the preform. Complete prediction of the second order permeability tensor for three dimensional circular braided preforms is critical to an understanding of the resin transfer moulding process. The permeability can be predicted by considering resin flow through the multi-axial fibre structure. In this study, the permeability tensor for a 3-D circular braided preform was calculated by solving a boundary problem of a periodic unit cell. The flow field through the unit cell was obtained by using a 3-D control volume finite element method (CVFEM) and Darcys law was utilized to obtain the permeability tensor. The flow analyses were carried out for two cases, one in which the fibre tow was regarded as a permeable porous medium, and one in which it was regarded as an impermeable solid. It was found that the flow within the intra-tow region of the braided preform was negligible if the inter-tow porosity was relatively high, but flow through the tow, especially flow in the thickness direction must be considered when the porosity is low. The permeability of the braided preform was measured by a radial flow experiment and compared with the predicted permeability.

The viscoelastic bending stiffness of fiber-reinforced composite ilizarov C-rings

Abstract In order to optimize the design of unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite (Ilizarov) C-rings, the viscoelastic load relaxation behavior was analyzed under a point load. Initially, the deflection and bending stiffness were calculated from the Castigliano theorem and the Euler–Bernoulli bending theory for the elastic solution. The viscoelastic relaxation and creep behavior were then derived from the elastic solution by using the correspondence theorem. Besides the orthotropic mechanical properties of the composite, the asymmetric mechanical properties due to different tensile and compressive properties were also considered. With the exception of the deviation, which was affected by a relatively large thickness ratio to the radius of the C-ring, the calculated relaxation showed good agreement with the experimental result.

Prediction of the Ultimate Strength of Composite Laminates under In-Plane Loading Using a Probabilistic Approach

A numerical approach to predicting the ultimate strength of composite laminates is presented. In order to take into account the wide scatter in ply strengths, the basic strength distribution functions for the longitudinal, transverse and in-plane shear strengths were obtained using a two-parameter Weibull distribution. These functions, in conjunction with the Tsai-Hill failure criterion, were then used to predict the ultimate strength of the composites. Reasonable agreement was obtained between the predicted and experimental results, not only in respect of the ultimate strength, but also in relation to the stress-strain curves for the various composites.

Constitutive Modeling of Magnesium Alloy Sheets

Magnesium alloy sheets have unique mechanical properties: high in‐plane anisotropy/asymmetry of yield stress and hardening response, which have not been thoroughly studied. The unusual mechanical behavior of magnesium alloys has been understood by the limited symmetry crystal structure of h.c.p metals and thus by deformation twinning. In this paper, the phenomenological continuum plasticity models considering the unusual plastic behavior of magnesium alloy sheet were developed for a finite element analysis. A new hardening law based on two‐surface model was developed to consider the general stress‐strain response of metal sheets such as Bauschinger effect, transient behavior and the unusual asymmetry. Three deformation modes observed during the continuous tension/compression tests were mathematically formulated with simplified relations between the state of deformation and their histories. In terms of the anisotropy and asymmetry of the initial yield stress, the Drucker‐Prager’s pressure dependent yield s...

Pulsed VUV synchrotron radiation source

The conceptual design of the pulsed VUV synchrotron radiation (SR) source is reported. This machine has a modified racetrack shape (diamond shape) and consists of two superconducting bending magnets, two normal conducting bending magnets, iron yokes, quadrupole magnets and an injection system. The maximum magnetic flux density is 7 T. The injector is a 100 MeV racetrack microtron and a 100 MeV, 10 pps electron beam is directly injected to this SR source. The bending radius is 4.8 cm and critical wavelength is 27 nm.