Tuning the Product Spectrum of a Glycoside Hydrolase Enzyme by a Combination of Site-Directed Mutagenesis and Tyrosine-Specific Chemical Modification

Selective chemical modification of proteins plays a pivotal role for the rational design of enzymes with novel and specific functionalities. In this study, a strategic combination of genetic and chemical engineering paves the way for systematic construction of biocatalysts by tuning the product spectrum of a levansucrase from Bacillus megaterium (Bm-LS), which typically produces small levan-like oligosaccharides. The implementation of site-directed mutagenesis followed by a tyrosine-specific modification enabled control of the product synthesis: depending on the position, the modification provoked either enrichment of short oligosaccharides (up to 800 % in some cases) or triggered the formation of high molecular weight polymer. The chemical modification can recover polymerization ability in variants with defective oligosaccharide binding motifs. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulations provided insights into the effect of modifying non-native tyrosine residues on product specificity.     

Mechanistic Insights into a Sustainable Mechanochemical Synthesis of Ettringite

Mechanochemistry offers an environmentally benign and facile synthesis method for a variety of cement paste constituents. In addition, these methods can be used to selectively tune the properties of cement components. The mineral ettringite is an important component of cementitious materials and has additional technological potential due to its ion exchange properties. Synthesis of ettringite via mechanochemistry is an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional wet-chemical synthesis established in industry. This contribution explores the mechanism of a two-step mechanochemical synthesis of ettringite, which was previously found to greatly improve the reaction conversion as compared with one-pot synthesis. The crystallinity of Al(OH)₃ was found to decrease during the first stage of this mechanochemical synthesis. This was correlated to a significant decrease in the particle size of Al(OH)₃ in this stage. No other significant changes were found for the other components, suggesting that mechanochemical activation of Al(OH)₃ is responsible for the enhanced formation of ettringite by the two-step approach. The environmentally friendly approach developed for ettringite synthesis offers a versatile synthetic strategy, which can be applied to synthesise further cementitious materials.     

L-argininato copper(II) complexes in solution exert significant selective anticancer and antimicrobial activities

A search for new drugs that overcome the multidrug resistance of microorganisms or are effective against cancer cells prompted us to investigate the binary and ternary Cu(II) complexes containing L-arginine, [CuCl(L-Arg)(phen)]Cl·2H₂O (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) ( 1 ) and [Cu(L-Arg)₂(H₂O)]C₂O₄·6H₂O ( 2 ), for which crystal and molecular structures were characterized previously. In order to discuss the biological function, the complexes have been screened for their antitumor activity against A549 (human lung cancer cells), HepG2 (human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cells) and antimicrobial activity. To identify the complexes forms existing in the solutions of 1 and 2 crystals, the results obtained from EPR, NIR–Vis–UV and MS (mass spectrometry) measurements were correlated with those from analysis of potentiometric titration of Cu(II)―L-Arg and Cu(II)―L-Arg―phen systems. This comprehensive study indicated that the [Cu(L-Arg)(phen)]²⁺ and [Cu(L-Arg)₂]²⁺ species are dominant in the solution. Complexes 1 and 2 were found to present specific ligand-dependent cytotoxic and antiproliferative potential against cancer cells. They also show antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as display antifungal properties.     

Improving the approximation of the probability density function of random nonautonomous logistic‐type differential equations

In this paper, we address the problem of approximating the probability density function of the following random logistic differential equation: P^′(t,ω)=A(t,ω)(1?P(t,ω))P(t,ω), t∈[t₀,T], P(t₀,ω)=P₀(ω), where ω is any outcome in the sample space Ω. In the recent contribution [Cortés, JC, et al. Commun Nonlinear Sci Numer Simulat 2019; 72: 121–138], the authors imposed conditions on the diffusion coefficient A(t) and on the initial condition P₀ to approximate the density function f₁(p,t) of P(t): A(t) is expressed as a Karhunen–Loève expansion with absolutely continuous random coefficients that have certain growth and are independent of the absolutely continuous random variable P₀, and the density of P₀, , is Lipschitz on (0,1). In this article, we tackle the problem in a different manner, by using probability tools that allow the hypotheses to be less restrictive. We only suppose that A(t) is expanded on L²([t₀,T]×Ω), so that we include other expansions such as random power series. We only require absolute continuity for P₀, so that A(t) may be discrete or singular, due to a modified version of the random variable transformation technique. For , only almost everywhere continuity and boundedness on (0,1) are needed. We construct an approximating sequence of density functions in terms of expectations that tends to f₁(p,t) pointwise. Numerical examples illustrate our theoretical results.     

Highly Conjugated π-Systems Arising from Cannibalistic Hexadehydro-Diels–Alder Couplings: Cleavage of C−C Single and Triple Bonds

We have investigated the cannibalistic self-trapping reaction of an ortho-benzyne derivative generated from 1,11-bis(p-tolyl)undeca-1,3,8,10-tetrayne in an HDDA reaction. Without adding any specific trapping agent, the highly reactive benzyne is trapped by another bisdiyne molecule in at least three different modes. We have isolated and characterized the resulting products and performed high-level calculations concerning the reaction mechanism. During the cannibalistic self-trapping process, either a C≡C triple bond or an sp–sp³ C−C single bond is cleaved. Up to seven rings and nine C−C bonds are formed starting from two 1,11-bis(p-tolyl)undeca-1,3,8,10-tetrayne molecules. Our experiments and calculations provide considerable insight into the variety of reaction pathways which the ortho-benzyne derivative, generated from a bisdiyne, can take when reacting with another bisdiyne molecule.     

Controlled Reduction of Carboxamides to Alcohols or Amines by Zinc Hydrides

New protocols for controlled reduction of carboxamides to either alcohols or amines were established using a combination of sodium hydride (NaH) and zinc halides (ZnX₂). Use of a different halide on ZnX₂ dictates the selectivity, wherein the NaH‐ZnI₂ system delivers alcohols and NaH‐ZnCl₂ gives amines. Extensive mechanistic studies by experimental and theoretical approaches imply that polymeric zinc hydride (ZnH₂)_∞ is responsible for alcohol formation, whereas dimeric zinc chloride hydride (H?Zn?Cl)₂ is the key species for the production of amines.     

On a borderline between the NP-hard and polynomial-time solvable cases of the flow shop with job-dependent storage requirements

The paper is concerned with the two-machine flow shop, where each job requires an additional resource (referred to as storage space) from the start of its first operation till the end of its second operation. The storage requirement of a job is determined by the processing time of its first operation. At any point in time, the total consumption of this additional resource cannot exceed a given limit (referred to as the storage capacity). The goal is to minimise the makespan, i.e. to minimise the time needed for the completion of all jobs. This problem is NP-hard in the strong sense. The paper analyses how the parameter - a lower bound on the storage capacity specified in terms of the processing times, affects the computational complexity.

     

Structural distortion,charge modulation and local anisotropies in magnetite below the Verwey transition using resonant X‐ray scattering

The pattern of charge modulations and local anisotropies below the Verwey transition has been determined and quantified in high‐quality Fe₃O₄ single crystals and thin films grown on MgO by using resonant X‐ray scattering at the Fe K‐edge. The energy, polarization and azimuthal angle dependencies of an extensive set of reflections with potential sensitivity to charge or local anisotropy orderings have been analyzed to explore their origins. A charge disproportion on octahedral B sites of 0.20 ± 0.05 e^? with [0 0 1] and cubic periodicities has been confirmed, while no significant charge disproportion has been obtained with [0 0 1/2] cubic periodicity. Additional charge modulations in the monoclinic a–b plane are also present. In addition, the occurrence of new forbidden (1, 1, 0) and (0, 0, 2n + 1/2) cubic reflections that arise from the anisotropy of the local structure around different tetrahedral and octahedral Fe atoms is shown. This complex pattern of weak charge modulations and local anisotropies is fully compatible with the low‐temperature crystal structure refined in the non‐polar C2/c space group and disproves any bimodal charge disproportion of the octahedral Fe atoms.     

A variational approach for a generalized emden-fowler equation

Existence of positive solutions of singular boundary value problems related to Emden-Fowler equation is proved. A general minimization theorem in Sobolev spaces is applied.