scholarly journals Size, shape and secondary structure of calponin.

2000 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 791-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
E A Czurylo ◽  
W Eimer ◽  
N Kulikova ◽  
T Hellweg

The overall size and shape of the chicken gizzard calponin (CaP) h1 molecule was investigated by dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. From the DLS experiments, a z-averaged translational diffusion coefficient is derived (5.75 +/- 0.3) x 10(-7) cm(2) s(-1), which corresponds to a hydrodynamic radius of 3.72 nm for calponin. The frictional ratio (1.8 for the unhydrated molecule and 1.5 for the hydrated one) suggests a pronounced anisotropic structure for the molecule. An ellipsoidal model in length 19.4 nm and with a diameter of 2.6 nm used for hydrodynamic calculations was found to reproduce the DLS experimental data. The evaluation of the secondary structure of CaP h1 from the CD spectra by two independent methods has revealed that it contains, on average, 23% helix, 19% beta-strand, 18% beta-turns and loops, and 40% of remainder structures. These values are in good agreement with those predicted from the amino-acid sequence. Predictions used for CaP h1 were applied to other isoforms of known sequences and revealed that all calponins share a common secondary structure. Moreover, the predicted structure of the calponin CH domain is identical to that found by X-ray studies of the spectrin, fimbrin and utrophin CH domains.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Younghee Lee ◽  
Daniela M. Piper ◽  
Andrew S. Cavanagh ◽  
Matthias J. Young ◽  
Se-Hee Lee ◽  
...  

<div>Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of LiF and lithium ion conducting (AlF<sub>3</sub>)(LiF)<sub>x</sub> alloys was developed using trimethylaluminum, lithium hexamethyldisilazide (LiHMDS) and hydrogen fluoride derived from HF-pyridine solution. ALD of LiF was studied using in situ quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and in situ quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) at reaction temperatures between 125°C and 250°C. A mass gain per cycle of 12 ng/(cm<sup>2</sup> cycle) was obtained from QCM measurements at 150°C and decreased at higher temperatures. QMS detected FSi(CH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub> as a reaction byproduct instead of HMDS at 150°C. LiF ALD showed self-limiting behavior. Ex situ measurements using X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) showed a growth rate of 0.5-0.6 Å/cycle, in good agreement with the in situ QCM measurements.</div><div>ALD of lithium ion conducting (AlF3)(LiF)x alloys was also demonstrated using in situ QCM and in situ QMS at reaction temperatures at 150°C A mass gain per sequence of 22 ng/(cm<sup>2</sup> cycle) was obtained from QCM measurements at 150°C. Ex situ measurements using XRR and SE showed a linear growth rate of 0.9 Å/sequence, in good agreement with the in situ QCM measurements. Stoichiometry between AlF<sub>3</sub> and LiF by QCM experiment was calculated to 1:2.8. XPS showed LiF film consist of lithium and fluorine. XPS also showed (AlF<sub>3</sub>)(LiF)x alloy consists of aluminum, lithium and fluorine. Carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen impurities were both below the detection limit of XPS. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) observed that LiF and (AlF<sub>3</sub>)(LiF)<sub>x</sub> alloy film have crystalline structures. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and ionic chromatography revealed atomic ratio of Li:F=1:1.1 and Al:Li:F=1:2.7: 5.4 for (AlF<sub>3</sub>)(LiF)<sub>x</sub> alloy film. These atomic ratios were consistent with the calculation from QCM experiments. Finally, lithium ion conductivity (AlF<sub>3</sub>)(LiF)<sub>x</sub> alloy film was measured as σ = 7.5 × 10<sup>-6</sup> S/cm.</div>


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Umar Shah ◽  
Deepak Dwivedi ◽  
Mark Hackett ◽  
Hani Al-Salami ◽  
Ranjeet P. Utikar ◽  
...  

AbstractKafirin, the hydrophobic prolamin storage protein in sorghum grain is enriched when the grain is used for bioethanol production to give dried distillers grain with solubles (DGGS) as a by-product. There is great interest in DDGS kafirin as a new source for biomaterials. There is however a lack of fundamental understanding of how the physicochemical properties of DDGS kafirin having been exposed to the high temperature conditions during ethanol production, compare to kafirin made directly from the grain. An understanding of these properties is required to catalyse the utilisation of DDGS kafirin for biomaterial applications. The aim of this study was to extract kafirin directly from sorghum grain and from DDGS derived from the same grain and, then perform a comparative investigation of the physicochemical properties of these kafirins in terms of: polypeptide profile by sodium-dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; secondary structure by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction, self-assembly behaviour by small-angle x-ray scattering, surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy and surface chemical properties by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. DDGS kafirin was found to have very similar polypeptide profile as grain kafirin but contained altered secondary structure with increased levels of β-sheets. The structure morphology showed surface fractals and surface elemental composition suggesting enhanced reactivity with possibility to endow interfacial wettability. These properties of DDGS kafirin may provide it with unique functionality and thus open up opportunities for it to be used as a novel food grade biomaterial.


2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (8) ◽  
pp. 1045-1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabaan AK Elroby ◽  
Kyu Hwan Lee ◽  
Seung Joo Cho ◽  
Alan Hinchliffe

Although anisyl units are basically poor ligands for metal ions, the rigid placements of their oxygens during synthesis rather than during complexation are undoubtedly responsible for the enhanced binding and selectivity of the spherand. We used standard B3LYP/6-31G** (5d) density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the complexation between spherands containing five anisyl groups, with CH2–O–CH2 (2) and CH2–S–CH2 (3) units in an 18-membered macrocyclic ring, and the cationic guests (Li+, Na+, and K+). Our geometric structure results for spherands 1, 2, and 3 are in good agreement with the previously reported X-ray diffraction data. The absolute values of the binding energy of all the spherands are inversely proportional to the ionic radius of the guests. The results, taken as a whole, show that replacement of one anisyl group by CH2–O–CH2 (2) and CH2–S–CH2 (3) makes the cavity bigger and less preorganized. In addition, both the binding and specificity decrease for small ions. The spherands 2 and 3 appear beautifully preorganized to bind all guests, so it is not surprising that their binding energies are close to the parent spherand 1. Interestingly, there is a clear linear relation between the radius of the cavity and the binding energy (R2 = 0.999).Key words: spherands, preorganization, density functional theory, binding energy, cavity size.


Author(s):  
Christopher Antony Ramsden ◽  
Wojciech Piotr Oziminski

AbstractBased on structures determined by X-ray crystallography, ab initio MP2 calculations on type A mesoionic rings give geometries in good agreement with observed values. A study of four mesoionic ring systems, each with exocyclic oxygen, nitrogen or carbon groups, shows that the presence and configuration of exocyclic lone pairs significantly influences the geometry and configurational preference. Using a localised bond model and NBO analysis, these effects are rationalised in terms of an anomeric interaction of lone pairs with the antibonding orbitals of adjacent σ bonds. In agreement with experiment, similar effects are calculated for pyran-2-imines.


2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leandro M. Acuña ◽  
Diego G. Lamas ◽  
Rodolfo O. Fuentes ◽  
Ismael O. Fábregas ◽  
Márcia C. A. Fantini ◽  
...  

The local atomic structures around the Zr atom of pure (undoped) ZrO2nanopowders with different average crystallite sizes, ranging from 7 to 40 nm, have been investigated. The nanopowders were synthesized by different wet-chemical routes, but all exhibit the high-temperature tetragonal phase stabilized at room temperature, as established by synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction. The extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) technique was applied to analyze the local structure around the Zr atoms. Several authors have studied this system using the EXAFS technique without obtaining a good agreement between crystallographic and EXAFS data. In this work, it is shown that the local structure of ZrO2nanopowders can be described by a model consisting of two oxygen subshells (4 + 4 atoms) with different Zr—O distances, in agreement with those independently determined by X-ray diffraction. However, the EXAFS study shows that the second oxygen subshell exhibits a Debye–Waller (DW) parameter much higher than that of the first oxygen subshell, a result that cannot be explained by the crystallographic model accepted for the tetragonal phase of zirconia-based materials. However, as proposed by other authors, the difference in the DW parameters between the two oxygen subshells around the Zr atoms can be explained by the existence of oxygen displacements perpendicular to thezdirection; these mainly affect the second oxygen subshell because of the directional character of the EXAFS DW parameter, in contradiction to the crystallographic value. It is also established that this model is similar to another model having three oxygen subshells, with a 4 + 2 + 2 distribution of atoms, with only one DW parameter for all oxygen subshells. Both models are in good agreement with the crystal structure determined by X-ray diffraction experiments.


2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (2) ◽  
pp. 1797-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca G Martin ◽  
Alessia Franchini

ABSTRACT Giant outbursts of Be/X-ray binaries may occur when a Be-star disc undergoes strong eccentricity growth due to the Kozai–Lidov (KL) mechanism. The KL effect acts on a disc that is highly inclined to the binary orbital plane provided that the disc aspect ratio is sufficiently small. The eccentric disc overflows its Roche lobe and material flows from the Be star disc over to the companion neutron star causing X-ray activity. With N-body simulations and steady state decretion disc models we explore system parameters for which a disc in the Be/X-ray binary 4U 0115+634 is KL unstable and the resulting time-scale for the oscillations. We find good agreement between predictions of the model and the observed giant outburst time-scale provided that the disc is not completely destroyed by the outburst. This allows the outer disc to be replenished between outbursts and a sufficiently short KL oscillation time-scale. An initially eccentric disc has a shorter KL oscillation time-scale compared to an initially circular orbit disc. We suggest that the chaotic nature of the outbursts is caused by the sensitivity of the mechanism to the distribution of material within the disc. The outbursts continue provided that the Be star supplies material that is sufficiently misaligned to the binary orbital plane. We generalize our results to Be/X-ray binaries with varying orbital period and find that if the Be star disc is flared, it is more likely to be unstable to KL oscillations in a smaller orbital period binary, in agreement with observations.


1994 ◽  
Vol 376 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Vrána ◽  
P. Klimanek ◽  
T. Kschidock ◽  
P. Lukáš ◽  
P. Mikula

ABSTRACTInvestigation of strongly distorted crystal structures caused by dislocations, stacking-faults etc. in both plastically deformed f.c.c. and b.c.c. metallic materials was performed by the analysis of the neutron diffraction line broadening. Measurements were realized by means of the high resolution triple-axis neutron diffractometer equipped by bent Si perfect crystals as monochromator and analyzer at the NPI Řež. The substructure parameters obtained in this manner are in good agreement with the results of X-ray diffraction analysis.


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