Dynamics of Bacteriorhodopsin in the Dark-Adapted State from Solution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

To achieve efficient proton pumping in the light-driven proton pump bacteriorhodopsin (bR), the protein must be tightly coupled to the retinal to rapidly convert retinal isomerization into protein structural rearrangements. Methyl group dynamics of bR embedded in lipid nanodiscs were determined in the dark-adapted state, and were found to be mostly well ordered at the cytosolic side. Methyl groups in the M145A mutant of bR, which displays only 10 % residual proton pumping activity, are less well ordered, suggesting a link between side-chain dynamics on the cytosolic side of the bR cavity and proton pumping activity. In addition, slow conformational exchange, attributed to low frequency motions of aromatic rings, was indirectly observed for residues on the extracellular side of the bR cavity. This may be related to reorganization of the water network. These observations provide a detailed picture of previously undescribed equilibrium dynamics on different time scales for ground-state bR.     

Selective Catalytic Isomerization of β-Pinene Oxide to Perillyl Alcohol Enhanced by Protic Tetraimidazolium Nitrate

A series of tetraimidazolium salts with different anions was prepared and applied in the isomerization of β-pinene oxide. After examining the activity of different catalysts, a remarkable enhancement of the selectivity of perillyl alcohol (47 %) was obtained over [PEimi][HNO₃]₄ under mild reaction conditions and using DMSO as the solvent. Furthermore, noncovalent interactions between solvent molecules and the catalyst were found by FT-IR spectroscopy and confirmed by computational chemistry. The homogeneous catalyst showed excellent stability and was reused up to six times without significant loss.     

Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Gold Halide Perovskites: Structural Diversity through Cation Size

Crystal structures of a series of organic–inorganic hybrid gold iodide perovskites, formulated as A₂[Au^II₂][Au^IIII₄] [A=methylammonium (MA) ( 1 ) and formamidinium (FA) ( 2 )], A′₂[I₃]_1−x[Au^II₂]_x[Au^IIII₄] [A′=imidazolium (IMD) ( 3 ), guanidinium (GUA) ( 4 ), dimethylammonium (DMA) ( 5 ), pyridinium (PY) ( 6 ), and piperizinium (PIP) ( 7 )], systematically changed depending on the cation size. In addition, triiodide (I₃⁻) ions were partly incorporated into the AuI₂⁻ sites of 3 – 7 , whereas they were not incorporated into those of 1 and 2 . Such a difference comes from the size of the organic cation. Optical absorption spectra showed characteristic intervalence charge-transfer bands from Au^I to Au^III species, and the optical band gap increased as the size of the cation became larger.     

A Promising MoO_x-based Catalyst for n-Heptane Isomerization

The increasing demand for higher-octane gasoline and the regulations limiting the amount of aromatics in the fuel motivate the interest in catalytic isomerization of n-alkanes. In the last ten years, transition metal oxides or oxycarbides based on molybdenum or tungstate have attracted much attention due to their high activity and isomerization selectivity compared to the conventional bifunctional supported platinum catalyst and high resistance to sulphur and nitrogen catalyst poisons1-5. Ma…     

Dicyclopentadienyl complexes of titanium,niobium, and tungsten in the controlled synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate)

Organometallic compounds Cp₂TiCl₂, (EtC₅H₄)₂NbCl₂, and (PrⁱC₅H₄)₂WCl₂ were assessed as additives that control polymer chain growth in the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. In the presence of compounds mentioned in amounts comparable with that of the initiator, a uniform process with no gel-effect occured and respective linear increase in the molecular weight of the polymer up to high degrees of the monomer conversion was observed.     

Chemiluminescence upon isomerization of dimethyldioxirane in the gas phase and on a sorbent surface

Chemiluminescence (CL) was found upon the isomerization of dimethyldioxirane in the gas phase under argon atmosphere. The intensity of CL increases as temperature increases and decreases with time at constant temperature. If Silipor is placed in a cell containing the dimethyldioxirane vapor in argon, the intensity of CL sharply increases (more than 10 times) and then decreases following the exponential law. In all cases tripletly excited methyl acetate is the emitter of chemiluminescence.[/ p]Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2582–2583, October 1996.     

Synthesis and cyclization of 1-arylalk-1-ene-3,5-diynylamines

An investigation of the reaction of 1-lithio-1,3-diynes, generated in situ, with nitriles has been carried out. In the case of aromatic nitriles 1-arylalk-1-ene-3,5-diynylamines are formed, which undergo dimerization and cyclization on isolation, giving 3-(alka-1,3-diynyl)-4-(alk-2-ynyl)-2,6-diarylpyridines. The effect of the nature of the substituent in the benzonitrile molecule on the selectivity of the reaction and the yield of the products has been determined. A scheme is proposed for the conversions and the structures of the intermediates have been established. __________ Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 701–710, May, 2006.     

Mossbauer investigations of corrosion environment influence on Fe valence states in oxide films of zirconium alloys

Mössbauer investigations about iron atom redistribution in oxide films of zirconium alloys subjected to corrosion at 500°C in pure oxygen and water pair have been analysed. The alloys were also subjected to autoclave conditions at a pressure of 10.0 MPa and autoclave conditions at 350°C and at a pressure of 16.8 MPa, using distilled water and water with additives of lithium and fluorine. It is shown that, depending on the corrosion environment, various compounds of iron, such as α-Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, and FeO, as solid solutions of iron in ZrO₂ are formed in oxide films.     

单粒子势模型下价核子的密度分布

依据实验事实，利用单粒子势模型，计算了一些核态外层价核子的密度分布.计算给出了价核子在核外部分布的概率和贡献，以此作为晕核态的判断标准.通过研究均方根半径随结合能变化的规律，指出了晕核态存在的条件，尤其是质子晕核态存在的条件.这些对判断和寻找晕核态有现实的指导意义. 关键词： 单粒子势模型 价核子 密度分布 中子晕核态 质子晕核态