Dinuclear ruthenium(ii) complexes with flexible bridges as non-duplex DNA binding agents

The stereoisomers of a series of dinuclear ruthenium(ii) complexes [{Ru(phen)(2)}(2)(micro-BL)](4+) (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) with flexible bridging ligands (BL) bb2 {1,2-bis[4(4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridyl)]ethane}, bb5 {1,5-bis[4(4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridyl)]pentane}, bb7 {1,7-bis[4(4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridyl)]heptane}, and bb10 {1,10-bis[4(4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridyl)]decane} have been synthesised. Their binding to a control dodecanucleotide, d(CCGGAATTCCGG)(2), and a tridecanucleotide, d(CCGAGAATTCCGG)(2), which contains a single adenine bulge have been studied using fluorescence displacement assays involving intercalating and groove-binding dyes, equilibrium dialysis and binding affinity chromatography. The fluorescence intercalator displacement (FID) assay indicated that LambdaLambda-[{Ru(phen)(2)}(2)(micro-bb7)](4+) had the greatest binding affinity with all the oligonucleotides, whereas an analogous fluorescence technique using a minor-groove binding dye, equilibrium dialysis and affinity binding chromatography showed that DeltaDelta-[{Ru(phen)(2)}(2)(micro-bb7)](4+) had the strongest binding. An (1)H NMR study of the binding of the DeltaDelta-enantiomer of [{Ru(phen)(2)}(2)(micro-bb7)](4+) to d(CCGAGAATTCCGG)(2) confirmed the selectivity of the metal complex for the bulge site and provided the basis for an energy-minimised binding model of the dinuclear ruthenium complex with the single adenine bulge containing trinucleotide. The binding model demonstrated the ability of the flexibly-linked complex to follow the curvature of the DNA minor groove.     

New electrochemical and optical sensing techniques for the liquid phase

Three topics are summarized: advances in potentiometric sensors, in optical sensors, and in enzyme-based and enzyme-sensing biosensors. Received: 30 September 1998 / Accepted: 9 January 1999     

Refinement of the primary hydration shell model for molecular dynamics simulations of large proteins

A realistic representation of water molecules is important in molecular dynamics simulation of proteins. However, the standard method of solvating biomolecules, that is, immersing them in a box of water with periodic boundary conditions, is computationally expensive. The primary hydration shell (PHS) method, developed more than a decade ago and implemented in CHARMM, uses only a thin shell of water around the system of interest, and so greatly reduces the computational cost of simulations. Applying the PHS method, especially to larger proteins, revealed that further optimization and a partial reworking was required and here we present several improvements to its performance. The model is applied to systems with different sizes, and both water and protein behaviors are compared with those observed in standard simulations with periodic boundary conditions and, in some cases, with experimental data. The advantages of the modified PHS method over its original implementation are clearly apparent when it is applied to simulating the 82 kDa protein Malate Synthase G. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2009     

Diruthenium(I,I) saccharinate complexes: Synthesis, molecular structure, and evaluation as catalysts for carbenoid reactions of diazoacetates

The dinuclear ruthenium complexes [Ru₂(μ-sac)₂(CO)₆] (1), [Ru₂(μ-sac)₂(CH₃CN)₂(CO)₄] (3), [Ru₂(μ-sac)₂(CO)₅(PPh₃)] (4) and [Ru₂(μ-sac)₂(CO)₄(PPh₃)₂] (5) as well as the tetranuclear ruthenium complex [Ru₂(μ-sac)₂(CO)₅]₂ (2) (sac = saccharinate, C₇H₄NO₃S⁻) were synthesized starting from Ru₃(CO)₁₂ and saccharin. X-ray crystal structure analysis of 1, 3A × p-xylene, 4 × CH₂Cl₂ and 5 × 3CH₂Cl₂ showed that the core is bridged through the amidate moieties of the two saccharinate ligands, with a head-tail arrangement in complexes 1, 3A and 5, and a head-head arrangement in 4. For complex 3, an equilibrium mixture of the head-head regioisomer 3A and a second species 3b exists in solution. Complexes 1 and 2 are suitable catalysts for the cyclopropanation of nucleophilic alkenes (styrene, cyclohexene and 2-methyl-2-butene) with methyl diazoacetate.     

Quantitative modeling of laser speckle imaging

We have analyzed the image formation and dynamic properties in laser speckle imaging (LSI) both experimentally and with Monte Carlo simulation. We show for the case of a liquid inclusion that the spatial resolution and the signal itself are both significantly affected by scattering from the turbid environment. Multiple scattering leads to blurring of the dynamic inhomogeneity as detected by LSI. The presence of a nonfluctuating component of scattered light results in the significant increase in the measured image contrast and complicates the estimation of the relaxation time. We present a refined processing scheme that allows a correct estimation of the relaxation time from LSI data.     

Designing nonuniform linear arrays to maximize mutual information for bearing estimation

Estimating the bearing of a narrowband sound source using a towed horizontal array is a common array processing problem. This paper designs nonuniform linear symmetric arrays of fixed apertures for estimating the bearing of a sound source. Specifically, the hydrophone spacings for a symmetric linear array are chosen to maximize the upper bound on the mutual information between the true bearing and the estimated bearing in spatially white noise. The arrays maximizing the mutual information while nulling the forward endfire direction look significantly different from the uniform arrays commonly used in towed systems. Arrays maximizing mutual information are helpful when bearing estimation is considered as a quantization problem to assign the source to the correct partition. The optimal partitions for the array are designed using the Lloyd algorithm with an inner product distortion metric based on maximizing the likelihood function of the observations. In these approaches, increasing the mutual information and optimizing the partitions should reduce the probability of error (P(e)) in choosing the partition containing an unknown source. Simulation results with MAP and ML estimators demonstrate that the optimum arrays and partitions proposed here have a much lower P(e) than the uniform array and uniform partitions.     

Influence of anabolic steroid treatment associated to physical exercise in the ultrasonic vocalization of rats

Unlike humans, who communicate in frequency bands between 250 Hz and 6 kHz, rats can communicate in frequencies above 18 kHz. Their vocalization types depend on the context and are normally associated to subjective or emotional states. It was reported significant vocal changes due to administration of replacement testosterone in a trained tenor singer with hypogonadism. Speech-Language Pathology clinical practices are being sought by singers who sporadically use anabolic steroids associated with physical exercise. They report difficulties in reaching and keeping high notes, "breakage" in the passage of musical notes and post singing vocal fatigue. Those abnormalities could be raised by the association of anabolic steroids and physical exercise. Thus, in order to verify if this association could promote vocal changes, maximum, minimum and fundamental frequencies and call duration in rats treated with anabolic steroids and physically trained (10 weeks duration) were evaluated. The vocalizations were obtained by handling the animals. At the end of that period, rats treated and trained showed significant decrease in call duration, but not in other parameters. The decrease in call duration could be associated to functional alterations in the vocal folds of treated and trained animals due to a synergism between anabolic steroids and physical training.     

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy of anomalous plutonium behavior in nuclear waste materials

Plutonium-enriched layer has been observed in corroded spent uranium oxide fuel (CSNF). These Pu-enriched regions were examined with analytical transmission electron microscopy combined with electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). The enriched region also contained U, Am, Ru, Zr, but only minor enrichment of rare earth elements. The Pu, possibly as Pu(V) according to EELS measurements, was dispersed within re-precipitated uranium oxide (identified as U3O8) nano-crystals between U(VI) secondary phases and the CSNF surface. The U, Pu, and Am enrichment was observed in the corrosion products with tests on different nuclear fuels. This may have implications for the long-term behavior of CSNF under storage in a geologic waste repository. Furthermore, there may be an increased potential for the generation of Pu-bearing colloids from this type of weathered CSNF.     

On the nature and signatures of the solvated electron in water

The hydrated electron is one of the simplest chemical transients and has been the subject of intense investigation and speculation since its discovery in 1962 by Hart and Boag. Although extensive kinetic and spectroscopic research on this species has been reported for many decades, its structure, i.e., the dominant electron-water binding motif, and its binding energy remained uncertain. A recent milestone in the research on the hydrated electron was the determination of its binding energy by liquid-jet photoelectron spectroscopy. It turned out that the assumption of a single electron binding motif in liquid water is an oversimplification. In addition to different isomers in cluster spectroscopy and different transient species of unknown structure in ultrafast experiments, long-lived hydrated electrons near the surface of liquid water have recently been discovered. The present article gives an account of recent work on the topic "solvated electrons" from the perspectives of cluster spectroscopy, condensed-phase spectroscopy, as well as theory. It highlights and critically discusses recent findings and their implications for our understanding of electron solvation in aqueous environments.     

Indication of reactor ν(e) disappearance in the Double Chooz experiment

The Double Chooz experiment presents an indication of reactor electron antineutrino disappearance consistent with neutrino oscillations. An observed-to-predicted ratio of events of 0.944±0.016(stat)±0.040(syst) was obtained in 101 days of running at the Chooz nuclear power plant in France, with two 4.25 GW(th) reactors. The results were obtained from a single 10 m(3) fiducial volume detector located 1050 m from the two reactor cores. The reactor antineutrino flux prediction used the Bugey4 flux measurement after correction for differences in core composition. The deficit can be interpreted as an indication of a nonzero value of the still unmeasured neutrino mixing parameter sin(2)2θ(13). Analyzing both the rate of the prompt positrons and their energy spectrum, we find sin(2)2θ(13)=0.086±0.041(stat)±0.030(syst), or, at 90% C.L., 0.017相似文献