Correlating Pit Initiation in Aluminum with Passive Oxide Defect Structure

Defect induced asymmetric pit formation on hydroxyapatite.

Defect sites on bone minerals play a critical role in bone remodeling processes. We investigated single crystal hydroxyapatite (100) surfaces bearing crystal defects under acidic dissolution conditions using real-time in situ atomic force microscopy. At defect sites, surface structure-dependent asymmetric hexagonal etch pits were formed, which dominated the overall dissolution rate. Meanwhile, ...

Acfm above a Hemispherical Pit in an Aluminum Block

Much of the recent research at the NDE Centre at UCL has revolved round the study of the scattering of thin skin electromagnetic fields by a fatigue crack. The early work concentrated on the perturbations to the surface electric field (ACPD), while the more recent work involved the scattered magnetic field (ACFM). The Centre has recently become involved in a collaborative project, a part of whi...

Improving dielectric performance in anodic aluminum oxide via detection and passivation of defect states

Correlating IgE reactivity with three-dimensional structure.

This Commentary discusses the work of Neudecker et al. in this issue of the Biochemical Journal in which site-directed mutagenesis and NMR spectroscopy have been used to analyse in detail the IgE-binding capacity of two cross-reactive allergens: Apg1.0101 from celery ( Apium graveolens ) and Pru av 1 from cherry ( Prunus avium ), which are both members of the pathogenesis-related allergen famil...

CLC chloride channels: correlating structure with function.

CLC chloride channels form a large gene family that is found in bacteria, archae and eukaryotes. Previous mutagenesis studies on CLC chloride channels, combined with electrophysiology, strongly supported the theory that these channels form a homodimeric structure with one pore per subunit (a'double-barrelled' channel), and also provided clues about gating and permeation. Recently, the crystal s...