Synthesis, Crystal Structures and Magnetic Properties of Trinuclear {Ni2Ln} (LnIII = Dy, Ho) and {Ni2Y} Complexes with Schiff Base Ligands

The reaction of the Schiff base ligand o-OH-C6H4-CH=N-C(CH2OH)3, H4L, with Ni(O2CMe)2∙4H2O and lanthanide nitrate salts in a 4:2:1 ratio lead to the formation of the trinuclear complexes [Ni2Ln(H3L)4(O2CMe)2](NO3) (Ln = Dy (1), Ho (2), and Y (3)) which crystallize in the non-centrosymmetric space group Pna21. The complex cation consists of the three metal ions in an almost linear arrangement. The {Ni2Ln} moieties are bridged through two deprotonated Ophenolato groups from two different ligands. Each terminal NiII ion is bound to two ligands through their Ophenolato, the Nimino atoms and one of the protonated Oalkoxo groups in a distorted octahedral. The central lanthanide ion is coordinated to four Ophenolato oxygen from the four ligands, and four Ocarboxylato atoms from two acetates which are bound in the bidentate chelate mode, and the coordination polyhedron is biaugmented trigonal prism, which probably results in a non-centrosymmetric arrangement of the complexes in the lattice. The magnetic properties of 1–3 were studied and showed that 1 exhibits field induced slow magnetic relaxation.

Localized bank collapse or regional event?

This study presents a detailed synopsis of the sedimentological and structural features displayed within an underdescribed enigmatic facies observed in the basal Lower Jurassic Kayenta Formation of the Colorado Plateau. The facies comprises pebble to cobble-sized clasts of fine to medium-grained crossbedded sandstone with mud-draped and deformed foresets, as well as clasts of parallel-laminated but highly contorted siltstone and mudstone, supported in a silty to sandy matrix. The deposits are internally deformed and show both ductile and brittle structures in close spatial proximity, with a consistent and pervasive westdirected sense of shear. The facies occurs consistently within the same approximate stratigraphic interval, at or near the base of the Kayenta Formation. It is, however, observed only at four localities, distributed in a crudely linear arrangement parallel to the Utah-Idaho trough, despite extensive studies of outcrops of the same stratigraphic interval widely distributed across both Utah and Arizona. This study interprets the depositional processes as that of a partially subaerial debris flow with depositional events perhaps taking place during the waning period after ephemeral stream activity. The clast morphology and composition suggests a local source for the sediment entrained within the flow, and a limited transport distance. All of these observations are difficult to reconcile with the consistency of the stratigraphic interval in which the facies occur, or with the regional distribution of preserved examples. Consequently, this study discusses the potential for a common and time-equivalent triggering mechanism across all examples, which may have regional significance in the Jurassic evolution of the region.

Vehicular Visible Light Positioning Using Receiver Diversity with Machine Learning

This paper proposes a 2-D vehicular visible light positioning (VLP) system using existing streetlights and diversity receivers. Due to the linear arrangement of streetlights, traditional positioning techniques based on triangulation or similar algorithms fail. Thus, in this work, we propose a spatial and angular diversity receiver with machine learning (ML) techniques for VLP. It is shown that a multi-layer neural network (NN) with the proposed receiver scheme outperforms other ML algorithms and can offer high accuracy with root mean square (RMS) error of 0.22 m and 0.14 m during the day and night time, respectively. Furthermore, the NN shows robustness in VLP across different weather conditions and road scenarios. The results show that only dense fog deteriorates the performance of the system due to reduced visibility across the road.

MG2C: a user-friendly online tool for drawing genetic maps

Genetic map is a linear arrangement of the relative positions of sites in the chromosome or genome based on the recombination frequency between genetic markers. It is the important basis for genetic analysis. Several kinds of software have been designed for genetic mapping, but all these tools require users to write or edit code, making it time-costing and difficult for researchers without programming skills to handle with. Here, MG2C, a new online tool was designed, based on PERL and SVG languages.Users can get a standard genetic map, only by providing the location of genes (or quantitative trait loci) and the length of the chromosome, without writing additional code. The operation interface of MG2C contains three sections: data input, data output and parameters. There are 33 attribute parameters in MG2C, which are further divided into 8 modules. Values of the parameters can be changed according to the users’ requirements. The information submitted by users will be transformed into the genetic map in SVG file, which can be further modified by other image processing tools.MG2C is a user-friendly and time-saving online tool for drawing genetic maps, especially for those without programming skills. The tool has been running smoothly since 2015, and updated to version 2.1. It significantly lowers the technical barriers for the users, and provides great convenience for the researchers.

Oral Peptide Vaccine against Hookworm Infection: Correlation of Antibody Titers with Protective Efficacy

Approximately 0.4 billion individuals worldwide are infected with hookworm. An effective vaccine is needed to not only improve the health of those affected and at high risk, but also to improve economic growth in disease-endemic areas. An ideal anti-hookworm therapeutic strategy for mass administration is a stable and orally administered vaccine. Oral vaccines are advantageous as they negate the need for trained medical staff for administration and do not require strict sterility conditions. Vaccination, therefore, can be carried out at a significantly reduced cost. One of the most promising current antigenic targets for hookworm vaccine development is the aspartic protease digestive enzyme (APR-1). Antibody-mediated neutralization of APR-1 deprives the worm of nourishment, leading to reduced worm burdens in vaccinated hosts. Previously, we demonstrated that, when incorporated into vaccine delivery systems, the APR-1-derived p3 epitope (TSLIAGPKAQVEAIQKYIGAEL) was able to greatly reduce worm burdens (≥90%) in BALB/c mice; however, multiple, large doses of the vaccine were required. Here, we investigated a variety of p3-antigen conjugates to optimize antigen delivery and establish immune response/protective efficacy relationships. We synthesized, purified, and characterized four p3 peptide-based vaccine candidates with: (a) lipidic (lipid core peptide (LCP)); (b) classical polymeric (polymethylacrylate (PMA)); and (c) novel polymeric (polyleucine in a branched or linear arrangement, BL10 or LL10, respectively) groups as self-adjuvanting moieties. BL10 and LL10 induced the highest serum anti-p3 and anti-APR-1 IgG titers. Upon challenge with rodent hookworms, the highest significant reduction in worm burden was observed in mice immunized with LL10. APR-1-specific serum IgG titers correlated with worm burden reduction. Thus, we provide the first vaccine-triggered immune response-protection relationship for hookworm infection.

Variation of Organic Pore Structure With Maceral Types in the Longmaxi Shale, Sichuan Basin

Organic matter (OM), composed of various macerals, has a strong influence on the enrichment of shale gas. Nevertheless, the connection between OM-hosted pore structure and maceral type is not yet fully understood because of the difficulty to identify the maceral types by traditional scanning electron microscope (SEM). Using a combination of the reflected light microscopy, focused ion beam SEM (FIB-SEM), and Raman spectrum, three maceral types, including alginite, graptolite, and solid bitumen, are identified in the Longmaxi Shale of the Sichuan Basin. The alginate is characterized by the linear arrangement of OM-hosted pores due to the inherited biological structure of benthic algae. Pores in the structureless solid bitumen are randomly distributed with the highest abundance. The graptolite containing pore rarely is unfavorable for the pore generation but can be a good proxy for thermal maturity. Variation in thermal maturity levels accounts for the change of total pore volume in a given marcel type in the Longmaxi Shale obtained from different shale gas fields.

Collective Mechanical Responses of Cadherin-Based Adhesive Junctions as Predicted by Simulations

Cadherin-based adherens junctions and desmosomes help stabilize cell-cell contacts with additional function in mechano-signaling, while clustered protocadherin junctions are responsible for directing neuronal circuits assembly. Structural models for adherens junctions formed by epithelial cadherin (CDH1) proteins indicate that their long, curved ectodomains arrange to form a periodic, two-dimensional lattice stabilized by tip-to-tip trans interactions (across junction) and lateral cis contacts. Less is known about the exact architecture of desmosomes, but desmoglein (DSG) and desmocollin (DSC) cadherin proteins are also thought to form ordered junctions. In contrast, clustered protocadherin (PCDH) based cell-cell contacts in neuronal tissues are thought to be responsible for self-recognition and avoidance, and structural models for clustered PCDH junctions show a linear arrangement in which their long and straight ectodomains form antiparallel overlapped trans complexes. Here we report all-atom molecular dynamics simulations testing the mechanics of minimalistic adhesive junctions formed by CDH1, DSG2 coupled to DSC1, and PCDHγB4, with systems encompassing up to 3.7 million atoms. Simulations generally predict a favored shearing pathway for the adherens junction model and a two-phased elastic response to tensile forces for the adhesive adherens junction and the desmosome models. Complexes within these junctions first unbend at low tensile force and then become stiff to unbind without unfolding. However, cis interactions in both the CDH1 and DSG2-DSC1 systems dictate varied mechanical responses of individual dimers within the junctions. Conversely, the clustered protocadherin PCDHγB4 junction lacks a distinct two-phased elastic response. Instead, applied tensile force strains trans interactions directly as there is little unbending of monomers within the junction. Transient intermediates, influenced by new cis interactions, are observed after the main rupture event. We suggest that these collective, complex mechanical responses mediated by cis contacts facilitate distinct functions in robust cell-cell adhesion for classical cadherins and in self-avoidance signaling for clustered PCDHs.

Dioxazine pigments

This chapter provides an overview of the structural and synthetic chemistry, and the industrial applications, of dioxazine pigments, a small group of high performance organic pigments. The color violet (or purple) has frequently assumed a prominent position in history, on account of its rarity and cost. The natural colorant Tyrian purple and the first synthetic textile dye, Mauveine, are prime examples of this unique historical feature. CI Pigment Violet 23, also referred to as Dioxazine Violet or Carbazole Violet, is one of the most universally used organic pigments, by far the most important industrial pigment in the violet shade area. Dioxazine Violet is also unique as the dominant industrial violet pigment providing a brilliant, intense violet color and an excellent all-round set of fastness properties. The pigment has a polycyclic molecular structure, originally described wrongly as a linear arrangement, and later shown to adopt an S-shaped arrangement on the basis of X-ray structural analysis. Two other dioxazine pigments are of rather lesser importance. The synthesis and manufacturing route to CI Pigment Violet 23 is described in the review. Finally, a survey of the principal current applications of the individual dioxazine pigments is presented.

Teaching Recording and Sampling with Audio Projects

This chapter presents a first set of project plans, which deal mainly with the mechanics of working with recorded sound, with basic editing techniques, and with the concept of the multitrack timeline. As projects progress, they introduce successively more complex techniques. The projects include making a song from pre-existing audio clips, making a radio advertisement, creating a simple remix using acapella tracks, analyzing a professional multitrack recording, creating custom cover songs, and using a variety of editing techniques to create a fully formed soundtrack for a movie clip. The chapter also discusses the specific affordances of Ableton Live for arranging and performing audio clips, compares the traditionally linear Arrangement View with the innovative nonlinear Session View, and explains rationales for using each one depending on musical context.