scholarly journals Characterization of Orientation Correlation Kinetics: Chiral-mesophase Domains in Suspensions Charged DNA-rods

Author(s):  
Kyongok Kang

Abstract Bacteriophage DNA fd-rods are long and stiff rod-like particles which are known to exhibit a rich equilibrium phase behavior. Due to their helical molecular structure, they form the stable chiral nematic (N*) mesophases. Very little is known about the kinetics of forming various phases with orientations. The present study addresses the kinetics of chiral-mesophases and N*-phase, by using a novel image-time correlation technique. Instead of correlating time-lapsed real-space microscopy images, the corresponding Fourier images are shown for time-correlated averaged orientations. This allows to unambiguously distinguish to detect the temporal evolution of orientations on different length scales, such as domain sizes (depending on their relative orientations), and the chiral pitch within the domains. Kinetic features are qualitatively interpreted in terms of replica symmetry breaking of elastic deformations in the orthogonal directional axes of chiral-mesophase domains, as well by the average twist angle and the order parameter. This work can be interesting for characterizing other types of charged rods, mimicking super-cooled liquids and orientation glasses.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyongok Kang

Abstract Many biological systems exhibit natural regulation mechanisms as necessary functions. Proteins, peptides, charged receptors, RNAs, and DNAs clearly demonstrate such varieties of structural dynamics in their biocomplexity. To understand the proper structural functionality of biomolecules, this requires integrated information from initiation, regulation, transfer and transport to desirable sustainable processes. Here, we demonstrate the orientation kinetics of stable chiral-nematic (N*) domains that are consistently formed in the suspensions of charged DNA rods at low ionic strengths. This is enhanced by large access of released dissociated condensed ions and the mobile diffusive ions of DNA rods, acting onto the perpendicular motions of the DNA rods in bulk. The quantification of collective orientations for these interacting charged DNA rods is extracted by image-time correlation (ITC) performed in Fourier transforms (FTs) for overall spectral density distributions. Three distinguishable length scales are clearly shown corresponding to the relevant motion of the N* domain in parallel, perpendicular and the optical pitch within the domains as well as the kinetics of local distributions in FTs. Particularly strong concentration transitions are confirmed by replica symmetry breaking of elastic deformations in N* domains in terms of the average twist angle and the order parameter. This work can be interesting for sufficient cooling of the given concentration of charged DNA rods, at low ionic strengths (below the critical value), mimicking super-cooled liquid and orientation glass in other biomacromolecules.


Author(s):  
R. J. Lauf

Fuel particles for the High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) contain a layer of pyrolytic silicon carbide to act as a miniature pressure vessel and primary fission product barrier. Optimization of the SiC with respect to fuel performance involves four areas of study: (a) characterization of as-deposited SiC coatings; (b) thermodynamics and kinetics of chemical reactions between SiC and fission products; (c) irradiation behavior of SiC in the absence of fission products; and (d) combined effects of irradiation and fission products. This paper reports the behavior of SiC deposited on inert microspheres and irradiated to fast neutron fluences typical of HTGR fuel at end-of-life.


Author(s):  
N. V. Larcher ◽  
I. G. Solorzano

It is currently well established that, for an Al-Ag alloy quenched from the α phase and aged within the metastable solvus, the aging sequence is: supersaturated α → GP zones → γ’ → γ (Ag2Al). While GP zones and plate-shaped γ’ are metastable phases, continuously distributed in the matrix, formation of the equilibrium phase γ takes place at grain boundaries by discontinuous precipitation (DP). The crystal structure of both γ’ and γ is hep with the following orientation relationship with respect to the fee α matrix: {0001}γ′,γ // {111}α, <1120>γ′,γ, // <110>α.The mechanisms and kinetics of continuous matrix precipitation (CMP) in dilute Al-Ag alloys have been studied in considerable detail. The quantitative description of DP kinetics, however, has received less attention. The present contribution reports the microstructural evolution resulting from aging an Al-Ag alloy with Ag content higher than those previously reported in the literature, focusing the observations of γ' plate-shaped metastable precipitates.


2010 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 46-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Royer ◽  
Stéphane Mathieu ◽  
Christophe Liebaut ◽  
Pierre Steinmetz

For energy production and also for the glass industry, finding new refractory alloys which could permit to increase the process temperatures to 1200°C or more is a permanent challenge. Chromium base alloys can be good candidates, considering the melting point of Cr itself, and also its low corrosion rate in molten glass. Two families of alloys have been studied for this purpose, Cr-Mo-W and Cr-Ta-X alloys (X= Mo, Si..). A finer selection of compositions has been done, to optimize their chemical and mechanical properties. Kinetics of HT oxidation by air, of corrosion by molten glass and also creep properties of several alloys have been measured up to 1250°C. The results obtained with the best alloys (Cr-Ta base) give positive indications as regards the possibility of their industrial use.


Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 709
Author(s):  
Marta Jorba ◽  
Marina Pedrola ◽  
Ouldouz Ghashghaei ◽  
Rocío Herráez ◽  
Lluis Campos-Vicens ◽  
...  

This work reports a detailed characterization of the antimicrobial profile of two trimethoprim-like molecules (compounds 1a and 1b) identified in previous studies. Both molecules displayed remarkable antimicrobial activity, particularly when combined with sulfamethoxazole. In disk diffusion assays on Petri dishes, compounds 1a and 1b showed synergistic effects with colistin. Specifically, in combinations with low concentrations of colistin, very large increases in the activities of compounds 1a and 1b were determined, as demonstrated by alterations in the kinetics of bacterial growth despite only slight changes in the fractional inhibitory concentration index. The effect of colistin may be to increase the rate of antibiotic entry while reducing efflux pump activity. Compounds 1a and 1b were susceptible to extrusion by efflux pumps, whereas the inhibitor phenylalanine arginyl β-naphthylamide (PAβN) exerted effects similar to those of colistin. The interactions between the target enzyme (dihydrofolate reductase), the coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), and the studied molecules were explored using enzymology tools and computational chemistry. A model based on docking results is reported.


Author(s):  
Zheyong Li ◽  
Yajun Yuan ◽  
Lin Ma ◽  
Yihui Zhang ◽  
Hongwei Jiang ◽  
...  

Selenium (Se) is an essential and crucial micronutrient for humans and animals, but excessive Se brings negativity and toxicity. The adsorption and oxidation of Se(IV) on Mn-oxide surfaces are important processes for understanding the geochemical fate of Se and developing engineered remediation strategies. In this study, the characterization of simultaneous adsorption, oxidation, and desorption of Se(IV) on δ-MnO2 mineral was carried out using stirred-flow reactors. About 9.5% to 25.3% of Se(IV) was oxidized to Se(VI) in the stirred-flow system in a continuous and slow process, with the kinetic rate constant k of 0.032 h−1, which was significantly higher than the apparent rate constant of 0.0014 h−1 obtained by the quasi-level kinetic fit of the batch method. The oxidation reaction was driven by proton concentration, and its rate also depended on the Se(IV) influent concentration, flow rate, and δ-MnO2 dosage. During the reaction of Se(IV) and δ-MnO2, Mn(II) was produced and adsorbed strongly on Mn oxide surfaces, which was evidenced by the total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) results. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data indicated that the reaction of Se(VI) on δ-MnO2 produced Mn(III) as the main product. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the interface chemical process of Se(IV) with δ-MnO2 in the environment.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1686
Author(s):  
Andrey Galukhin ◽  
Roman Nosov ◽  
Ilya Nikolaev ◽  
Elena Melnikova ◽  
Daut Islamov ◽  
...  

A new rigid tricyanate ester consisting of seven conjugated aromatic units is synthesized, and its structure is confirmed by X-ray analysis. This ester undergoes thermally stimulated polymerization in a liquid state. Conventional and temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry techniques are employed to study the polymerization kinetics. A transition of polymerization from a kinetic- to a diffusion-controlled regime is detected. Kinetic analysis is performed by combining isoconversional and model-based computations. It demonstrates that polymerization in the kinetically controlled regime of the present monomer can be described as a quasi-single-step, auto-catalytic, process. The diffusion contribution is parameterized by the Fournier model. Kinetic analysis is complemented by characterization of thermal properties of the corresponding polymerization product by means of thermogravimetric and thermomechanical analyses. Overall, the obtained experimental results are consistent with our hypothesis about the relation between the rigidity and functionality of the cyanate ester monomer, on the one hand, and its reactivity and glass transition temperature of the corresponding polymer, on the other hand.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaiani B. Fontana ◽  
Giane Gonçalves Lenzi ◽  
Erica R. L. R. Watanabe ◽  
Ervin Kaminski Lenzi ◽  
Juliana A. M. T. Pietrobelli ◽  
...  

The removal of Pb(II) from water by biosorption processes onto malt bagasse was investigated and the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were obtained; additionally a diffusion modeling was proposed. The characterization of malt bagasse was performed by FTIR and SEM/EDS. The experiments were conducted in batch system and an experimental design based response surface methodology was applied for agitation speed and pH optimization. The kinetics of biosorption followed pseudo-second-order model and the temperature of the process affected the biosorption capacity. Isotherm models of Langmuir, Freundlich, and Elovich were applied and the Langmuir model showed better fit and the estimated biosorption capacity was 29.1 mg g−1. The negative values obtained for ΔG° and positive values of ΔH° confirm, respectively, the spontaneous and endothermic nature of the process. The diffusion modeling was performed based on experiments in the absence of agitation to investigate the influence of the biosorbent on the sorption process of Pb(II) ions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty Ha ◽  
Kevin P. Larsen ◽  
Jingji Zhang ◽  
Ziao Fu ◽  
Elizabeth Montabana ◽  
...  

AbstractReverse transcription of the HIV-1 viral RNA genome (vRNA) is an integral step in virus replication. Upon viral entry, HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) initiates from a host tRNALys3 primer bound to the vRNA genome and is the target of key antivirals, such as non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). Initiation proceeds slowly with discrete pausing events along the vRNA template. Despite prior medium-resolution structural characterization of reverse transcriptase initiation complexes (RTICs), higher-resolution structures of the RTIC are needed to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie initiation. Here we report cryo-EM structures of the core RTIC, RTIC–nevirapine, and RTIC–efavirenz complexes at 2.8, 3.1, and 2.9 Å, respectively. In combination with biochemical studies, these data suggest a basis for rapid dissociation kinetics of RT from the vRNA–tRNALys3 initiation complex and reveal a specific structural mechanism of nucleic acid conformational stabilization during initiation. Finally, our results show that NNRTIs inhibit the RTIC and exacerbate discrete pausing during early reverse transcription.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 295
Author(s):  
Marina Moura Morales ◽  
Nicholas Brian Comerford ◽  
Maurel Behling ◽  
Daniel Carneiro de Abreu ◽  
Iraê Amaral Guerrini

The phosphorus (P) chemistry of biochar (BC)-amended soils is poorly understood. This statement is based on the lack of published research attempting a comprehensive characterization of biochar’s influence on P sorption. Therefore, this study addressed the kinetic limitations of these processes. This was accomplished using a fast pyrolysis biochar made from a mix of waste materials applied to a highly weathered Latossolo Vermelho distrofico (Oxisol) from São Paulo, Brazil. Standard method (batch method) was used. The sorption kinetic studies indicated that P sorption in both cases, soil (S) and soil-biochar (SBC), had a relatively fast initial reaction between 0 to 5 min. This may have happened because adding biochar to the soil decreased P sorption capacity compared to the mineral soil alone. Presumably, this is a result of: (i) Inorganic phosphorus desorbed from biochar was resorbed onto the mineral soil; (ii) charcoal particles physically covered P sorption locations on soil; or (iii) the pH increased when BC was added SBC and the soil surface became more negatively charged, thus increasing anion repulsion and decreasing P sorption.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document