Computational gibberellin‐binding channel discovery unraveling the unexpected perception mechanism of hormone signal by gibberellin receptor

Gibberellins (GAs) are phytohormones essential for many developmental processes in plants. In this work, fundamental mechanism of hormone perception by receptor GID1 has been studied by performing computational simulations, revealing a new GA‐binding channel of GID1 and a novel hormone perception mechanism involving only one conformational state of GID1. The novel hormone perception mechanism demonstrated here is remarkably different from the previously proposed/speculated mechanism [Murase et al., Nature 2008 , 456, 459] involving two conformational states (“OPEN” and “CLOSED”) of GID1. According to the new perception mechanism, GA acts as a “conformational stabilizer,” rather than the previously speculated “allosteric inducer,” to induce the recognition of protein DELLA by GID1. The novel mechanistic insights obtained in this study provide a new starting point for further studies on the detailed molecular mechanisms of GID1 interacting with DELLA and various hormones and for mechanism‐based rational design of novel, potent growth regulators that target crops and ornamental plants. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Multiscale geometric modeling of macromolecules II: Lagrangian representation

Geometric modeling of biomolecules plays an essential role in the conceptualization of biolmolecular structure, function, dynamics, and transport. Qualitatively, geometric modeling offers a basis for molecular visualization, which is crucial for the understanding of molecular structure and interactions. Quantitatively, geometric modeling bridges the gap between molecular information, such as that from X‐ray, NMR, and cryo‐electron microscopy, and theoretical/mathematical models, such as molecular dynamics, the Poisson–Boltzmann equation, and the Nernst–Planck equation. In this work, we present a family of variational multiscale geometric models for macromolecular systems. Our models are able to combine multiresolution geometric modeling with multiscale electrostatic modeling in a unified variational framework. We discuss a suite of techniques for molecular surface generation, molecular surface meshing, molecular volumetric meshing, and the estimation of Hadwiger's functionals. Emphasis is given to the multiresolution representations of biomolecules and the associated multiscale electrostatic analyses as well as multiresolution curvature characterizations. The resulting fine resolution representations of a biomolecular system enable the detailed analysis of solvent–solute interaction, and ion channel dynamics, whereas our coarse resolution representations highlight the compatibility of protein‐ligand bindings and possibility of protein–protein interactions. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The study of the stability of aqueous three-phase fire-resistant foam in typical liquidus hydrocarbons

The utilization of solid particles in aqueous foam has a great potential in improving fire fighting efficiency. In this study, aqueous foam supported by micro fly-ash (FA) was prepared and its stability in a specific type of oil was characterized. Firstly, different amount of FA was added to study the influence of FA concentration on foamability. It showed that within a specific extent, foam expansion ratio increased with the increasing of FA concentration. And compared with conventional foams, oil resistance of FA stabilized foams, which was investigated by analyzing drainage rate and evolution process with a self-made apparatus, was remarkably improved when FA concentration exceed 4.8wt.%. Secondly, SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ particles with different median sizes were used to study the effect of particle size on stability. However, the smaller hydrophilic particles didn’t behave better as expected. Moreover, the foam stability in three hydrocarbons was evaluated in the same way. The results indicated that the short chain hydrocarbons had much stronger detrimental effect to both two-phase foam and three-phase foam. But overall, the three-phase foam stabilized by FA exhibited much better oil resistance, so it can be used as a promising material for pool fire extinguishing and prevention.GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT     

Noncovalent Functionalization of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes by Anionic Polymer Poly(Sodium 4‐Styrenesulfonate) in Water

We have found that polymer poly (sodium 4‐styrenesulfonate) (PSS) is a facile and effective polymer to assist in the dispersion of MWCNTs in aqueous solutions. With the increase of the concentration of PSS solutions, the dispersibility of MWCNTs in PSS solution increases. Cast films of MWCNTs/PSS (2 wt.%) on GC electrode show a typical redox couple at scan rate of 1 V/s in phosphate buffer solution, indicating good electrical conductivity.     

LiCoO2 Hollow Nanofibers by Co‐Electrospinning Sol‐Gel Precursor

LiCoO₂ xerogel hollow nanofibers were first prepared by co‐electrospinning the sol precursor, and the polycrystalline LiCoO₂ hollow nanofibers were obtained after calcination of the xerogel fibers. The obtained hollow nanofibers made up of 20～30 nm nanocrystals were about 100 nm to several micrometers in outer diameter. The hollow nanofibers were detected by means of SEM, TEM, TG, DSC, FTIR, and XRD techniques.     

Sol-Gel Co-Electrospun LiNiO2 Hollow Nanofibers

Using a coaxial capillary spinneret electrospinning technique combined with the sol-gel method, the nickelic xerogel hollow nanofibers first were prepared and the polycrystalline LiNiO₂ hollow nanofibers were obtained after sintering. The obtained hollow nanofibers were about 500 nm to 4 µm in outer diameter, and were made up of 20 ～ 30 nm nanocrystals. The xerogel hollow nanofibers and those calcined at different temperatures were characterized by thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum, x-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).     

微米及纳米丝光沸石分子筛上二甲醚羰基化反应的积碳分析

对比研究了在传统微米尺寸和新结构纳米丝光沸石催化剂上二甲醚羰基化合成乙酸甲酯的反应行为.结果表明,通过减小分子筛的尺寸到纳米水平,可以有效提高反应物和产物到达或者脱离反应活性位的效率,从而提高了二甲醚的转化率;更重要的是,抑制了硬积碳的生成,使催化剂保持了更高的稳定性.     

Nonisothermal crystallization and morphology of poly(butylene succinate)/layered double hydroxide nanocomposites

Biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites were prepared via melt blending in a twin-screw extruder. The morphology and dispersion of LDH nanoparticles within PBS matrix were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which showed that LDH nanoparticles were found to be well distributed at the nanometer level. The nonisothermal crystallization behavior of nanocomposites was extensively studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique at various cooling rates. The crystallization rate of PBS was accelerated by the addition of LDH due to its heterogeneous nucleation effect; however, the crystallization mechanism and crystal structure of PBS remained almost unchanged. In kinetics analysis of nonisothermal crystallization, the Ozawa approach failed to describe the crystallization behavior of PBS/LDH nanocomposites, whereas both the modified Avrami model and the Mo method well represented the crystallization behavior of nanocomposites. The effective activation energy was estimated as a function of the relative degree of crystallinity using the isoconversional analysis. The subsequent melting behavior of PBS and PBS/LDH nanocomposites was observed to be dependent on the cooling rate. The POM showed that the small and less perfect crystals were formed in nanocomposites.     

化学感觉及其转导机制

化学感觉包括了红辣椒产生的灼烧感、椒样薄荷产生的清凉感、碳酸饮料产生的麻刺感和葡萄酒产生的涩感,是化学物质刺激到感受冷、热、疼痛等神经系统而产生的敏感性反应。化学感觉是一个相对较新的术语,最早称为共同化学感觉,后来又称为三叉神经反应。化学感觉与嗅觉、味觉相互结合形成一种独特的食品香味,尽管其他感官输入(例如质地、色泽和温度等)也参与整个香味形成过程。本文对化学感觉的基本特征、它与嗅觉、味觉的相互作用及其转导机制进行了概括介绍。     

Fully Synthetic Self‐Adjuvanting Thioether‐Conjugated Glycopeptide?Lipopeptide Antitumor Vaccines for the Induction of Complement‐Dependent Cytotoxicity against Tumor Cells

Glycopeptides of tumor‐associated mucin MUC1 are promising target structures for the development of antitumor vaccines. Because these endogenous structures were weakly immunogenic, they were coupled to immune‐response‐stimulating T‐cell epitopes and the Pam₃Cys lipopeptide to induce strong immune responses in mice. A new thioether‐ligation method for the synthesis of two‐ and three‐component vaccines that contain MUC1 glycopeptides as the B‐cell epitopes, a T‐cell epitope peptide, and the Pam₃CSK₄ lipopeptide is described. The resulting fully synthetic vaccines were used for the vaccination of mice, either in a liposome with Freund′s adjuvant or in aqueous PBS buffer. The three‐component vaccines that contained the Tetanus Toxoid P2 T‐cell epitope peptide induced strong immune responses, even when administered just in PBS. By activation of the complement‐dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) complex, the antisera induced the killing of tumor cells.