Drug encapsulation within self-assembled microglobules formed by thermoresponsive supramolecules

An 8-(phenyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine derivative self-assembles in aqueous media into discrete hexadecamers that further self-assemble above 32 °C into microglobules that encapsulate the drug doxorubicin.     

Gel growth of α and γ glycine and their characterization

The microbial free single crystals of α and γ glycine were grown from gel at room temperature in a new chemical route. These crystals showed a superior quality than the solution grown crystals. The metastable α-form and the stable γ-form of glycine were crystallized in silica gel by solubility reduction method. The form of crystallization is confirmed by single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses. The crystals of α and γ glycine were found to crystallize in monoclinic and hexagonal crystal systems, respectively. For analyzing the functional group and thermal stability of α and γ glycine crystals, spectroscopic and thermal analyses have been carried out. The dielectric studies were performed to find the dielectric constant of the grown crystals and the results are discussed. Second harmonic generation efficiency of the crystal was measured by Kurtz’s powder method using Nd:YAG laser and it was found to be 2.68 times that of potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystals.     

Strangeness enhancement in Cu-Cu and Au-Au collisions at √S(NN)=200 GeV

We report new STAR measurements of midrapidity yields for the Λ, Λ[over ˉ], K(S)(0), Ξ(-), Ξ[over ˉ](+), Ω(-), Ω[over ˉ](+) particles in Cu+Cu collisions at √S(NN)==200 GeV, and midrapidity yields for the Λ, Λ[over ˉ], K(S)(0) particles in Au+Au at √S(NN)==200 GeV. We show that, at a given number of participating nucleons, the production of strange hadrons is higher in Cu+Cu collisions than in Au+Au collisions at the same center-of-mass energy. We find that aspects of the enhancement factors for all particles can be described by a parametrization based on the fraction of participants that undergo multiple collisions.     

Influence of Ta,Y substitutions on the thermal stability,microhardness and magnetic properties of melt spun Fe–B–Si amorphous alloys

In the present research work, thermal stability, magnetic properties and microhardness of Fe₇₂B_19.2Si_4.8M₄ (M = Ta or Y) amorphous ribbons obtained by chill block melt-spinning technique are reported. The crystallization temperatures resulted as high as 1129 K (for M = Ta) and of 1167 K (for M = Y), which indicate a considerable thermal stability for both alloys. On the other hand, the saturation polarization (μ₀M_s) together with the Curie temperature (T_c) also showed excellent combination of values, with 0.95 ± 0.12 T and 586 ± 8 K, respectively (for the Ta-containing alloy) and of 1.55 ± 0.18 T and 698 ± 6 K, respectively (for the Y-containing alloy). Additionally, the Vickers microhardness exhibited values over 1100 kg/mm² for both alloys.     

Automated interpretation of low-energy collision-induced dissociation spectra by SeqMS, a software aid for de novo sequencing by tandem mass spectrometry

SeqMS, a software aid for de novo sequencing by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), which was initially developed for the automated interpretation of high-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) MS/MS spectra of peptides, has been applied to the interpretation of low-energy CID and post-source decay (PSD) spectra of peptides. Based on peptide backbone fragmented ions and their related ions, which are the dominant ions observed in the latter two techniques, the types of ions and their propensities to be observed have been optimized for efficient interpretation of the spectra. In a typical example, the modified SeqMS allowed the complete sequencing of a 31-amino acid synthetic peptide, except for the isobaric amino acids (Leu or Ile, and Lys or Gln), based on only the low-energy CID-MS/MS spectrum.     

Automated interpretation of mass spectra of complex mixtures by matching of isotope peak distributions

Mass spectrometry is now firmly established as a powerful technique for the identification and characterization of proteins when used in conjunction with sequence databases. Various approaches involving stable-isotope labeling have been developed for quantitative comparisons between paired samples in proteomic expression analysis by mass spectrometry. However, interpretation of such mass spectra is far from being fully automated, mainly due to the difficulty of analyzing complex patterns resulting from the overlap of multiple peaks arising from the assortment of natural isotopes. In order to facilitate the interpretation of a complex mass spectrum of such a mixture, such as an MS spectrum of a stable-isotope-enriched ion species, we report on the development of a software application, 'Matching' (web accessible), that enables the automatic matching of theoretical isotope envelopes to multiple ion peaks in a raw spectrum. It is particularly useful for resolving the relative abundances of narrow-split paired peaks caused by enrichment with a stable isotope, such as 18O, 13C, 2H, or 15N.     

Spectral Properties of the Cauchy Operator and Its Product with Bergman's Projection on a Bounded Domain

In this paper exact asymptotic formulae are found for singularvalues of the Cauchy operator and the logarithmic potentialtype operator (on a bounded domain), as well as their productswith Bergman's projection. It is shown that these spectral characteristicsdetect geometric properties of a domain (area and the lengthof the boundary). The hypothesis "can we hear the shape of adrum", from a paper by J.M. Anderson, D. Khavinson, and V. Lomonosov[‘Spectral properties of some integral operators arisingin potential theory’, Quart. J. Math. Oxford (2) 43 (1992)387-407], is correct in the above sense. 1991 Mathematics SubjectClassification: 47B10.     

Far downstream analysis for the Blasius boundary-layer stability problem

In this paper, we examine the large Reynolds number (Re) asymptoticstructure of the wave number in the Orr–Sommerfeld regionfor the Blasius boundary layer on a semi-infinite flat plategiven by Goldstein (1983, J. Fluid Mech., 127, 59–81).We show that the inclusion of the term which contains the leading-ordernon-parallel effects, at O(Re^{– 1/2}), leads to a non-uniformexpansion. By considering the far downstream form of each termin the asymptotic expansion, we derive a length scale at whichthe non-uniformity appears, and compare this position with theposition seen in plots of the wave number.     

Efficient Monte Carlo trial moves for polypeptide simulations

A new move set for the Monte Carlo simulations of polypeptide chains is introduced. It consists of a rigid rotation along the (C(alpha)) ends of an arbitrary long segment of the backbone in such a way that the atoms outside this segment remain fixed. This fixed end move, or FEM, alters only the backbone dihedral angles phi and psi and the C(alpha) bond angles of the segment ends. Rotations are restricted to those who keep the alpha bond angles within their maximum natural range of approximately +/-10 degrees. The equations for the angular intervals (tau) of the allowed rigid rotations and the equations required for satisfying the detailed balance condition are presented in detail. One appealing property of the FEM is that the required number of calculations is minimal, as it is evident from the simplicity of the equations. In addition, the moving backbone atoms undergo considerable but limited displacements of up to 3 A. These properties, combined with the small number of backbone angles changed, lead to high acceptance rates for the new conformations and make the algorithm very efficient for sampling the conformational space. The FEMs, combined with pivot moves, are used in a test to fold a group of coarse-grained proteins with lengths of up to 200 residues.