Chemical Validation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Phosphopantetheine Adenylyltransferase Using Fragment Linking and CRISPR Interference**

The coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis pathway has attracted attention as a potential target for much-needed novel antimicrobial drugs, including for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), the lethal disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Seeking to identify inhibitors of Mtb phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase (MtbPPAT), the enzyme that catalyses the penultimate step in CoA biosynthesis, we performed a fragment screen. In doing so, we discovered three series of fragments that occupy distinct regions of the MtbPPAT active site, presenting a unique opportunity for fragment linking. Here we show how, guided by X-ray crystal structures, we could link weakly-binding fragments to produce an active site binder with a K_D <20 μM and on-target anti-Mtb activity, as demonstrated using CRISPR interference. This study represents a big step toward validating MtbPPAT as a potential drug target and designing a MtbPPAT-targeting anti-TB drug.     

Controlled crystal-growing procedures in polyethylene involving self-seeding: Some novel twinning habits

The paper demonstrates the potentiality of the self-seeding technique [3] for the growing of single crystals of polyethylene. It is shown that with appropriate measures, uniform single-layer crystals of strictly controlled habit can be obtained. Concrete recipes are given for the growing technique. The habit features are systematized as functions of crystallization temperature and concentration. Novel twin formations with coincident centers arising from this work are described and analyzed. Their origin is correlated with the result suggested by an associated investigation that the nuclei have a multicomponent structure [4]. The advantages of the new crystal-growing technique for other lines of work are pointed out.     

Magnetic phase transitions in transition-metal complexes with triazole derivatives

Three divalent transition-metal (Co, Ni and Cu) complexes with the organic anion, 1,2,4-triazolato (tr), as a ligand molecule were prepared by means of hydrothermal syntheses and their magnetic properties were investigated by SQUID magnetometry. The Co(tr)₂ and Cu(tr)₂ complexes exhibit long range ordering below 8 and 30 K, respectively, while the Ni(tr)₂ complex does not show any magnetic phase transition down to 1.8 K. The magnetization isotherms of Co(tr)₂ and Cu(tr)₂ measured at 2.0 K show hysteresis loops with the coercive fields of 0.5 and 4.7 kOe, respectively. At temperatures higher than about 50 K, the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility of Co(tr)₂, Ni(tr)₂ and Cu(tr)₂ follows the Curie-Weiss law with the Curie constants of 2.95, 0.945 and 0.420 emu K mol⁻¹ and the Weiss temperatures of −62, −74 and −97 K, respectively. These results suggest that the magnetically ordered phases observed in Co(tr)₂ and Cu(tr)₂ at low temperatures come from antiferromagnetic interactions resulting in canted arrangements of magnetic moments of the transition-metal cations. We discuss here the magnetic interactions in these transition-metal complexes by referring the results of the magnetization measurements.     

Net Charge Fluctuation and String Fragmentation

We present the simulation results of the net charge fluctuation in Au Au collisions at √Snn=130 GeV from a dynamic model, JPCIAE, and its revisions. The simulations are done for the quark-gluon matter, the directly produced pions, the pion matter, and the hadron matter. The simulated net charge fluctuation of the quark-gluon matter is close to the thermal model prediction for the quark-gluon gas. However, the discrepancy exists comparing the simulated net charge fluctuation for directly produced pions and the pion matter with the thermal model prediction for pion gas and the resonance pion gas, respectively. The net charge fluctuation of hadron matter from default JPCIAE simulations is nearly 3.5 times larger than quark-gluon matter. A discussion is given for the net charge fluctuation as an evidence of QGP phase transition.     

在RHIC的极限碎裂和Ф介子产生(英文)

利用强子和串级联模型LUCIAE研究了PHOBOS的极限碎裂等以及在PHIC进行的Au +Au碰撞中带电粒子多重性的经验标度规律 .对介子的产生机制也通过与带电粒子多重性的比较进行类似的研究 .结果似乎表明在串级碎裂模型中带电粒子和介子有共同的产生机制 .还讨论了PHOBOS经验标度规律的模型依赖性 .