pH-Dependent peroxidase activity of yeast cytochrome c and its triple mutant adsorbed on kaolinite

The peroxidase activity of wild-type yeast cytochrome c and its triple mutant K72AK73AK79A adsorbed onto kaolinite was investigated as a function of pH and temperature. Both adsorbed proteins displayed an appreciable catalytic activity, which remained constant from pH 7 to pH 10, decreased below pH 7, and showed a remarkable increase at pH values lower than 4. In the whole pH range investigated the catalytic activity of the adsorbed wild-type cytochrome c was higher than that of the mutant. Both diffuse-reflectance UV-vis and resonance Raman spectroscopies applied on solid samples were used to probe the structural features responsible for the catalytic activity of the immobilized proteins. At neutral and alkaline pH values a six-coordinate low-spin form of cytochrome c was observed, while at pH < 7 the formation of a high-spin species occurred whose population increased at decreasing pH. The orientation and exposure of the heme to the substrate-strictly dependent on adsorption-was found to affect the peroxidase activity.     

Self-assembled chitin nanofibers and applications

Self-assembled natural biomaterials offer a variety of ready-made nanostructures available for basic science research and technological applications. Most natural structural materials are made of self-assembled nanofibers with diameters in the nanometer range. Among these materials, chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide after cellulose and is part of the exoskeleton or arthropods and mollusk shells. Chitin has several desirable properties as a biomaterial including mechanical strength, chemical and thermal stability, and biocompatibility. However, chitin insolubility in most organic solvents has somewhat limited its use. In this research highlight, we describe recent developments in producing biogenic chitin nanofibers using self-assembly from a solution of squid pen β-chitin in hexafluoroisopropanol. With this solution based assembly, we have demonstrated chitin-silk composite self-assembly, chitin nanofiber fabrication across length-scales, and manufacturing of chitin nanofiber substrates for tissue engineering.     

Two dimensional patterning of fluorescent proteins in hydrogels

This work describes the successful micropatterning of hybrid systems consisting of hydrogel-dispersed optically active and controllable proteins on solid surfaces without degradation of the photophysical properties of the light-emitting biomolecules. It demonstrates the preservation of the luminescence properties of proteins entrapped into isolated microstructures of poly(acrylamide) gel. This way we can exploit both the structural and function-preserving properties of the hydrogels and the functionality of light-emitting proteins. We believe that this approach can open the way to the realization of nanopatterned optical memories based on photochromic biomolecules.     

Study of color centers produced in thulium doped YLF crystals irradiated by electron beam and femtosecond laser pulses

In this work, we report the influence of the presence of photochromic and color centers in the photobleaching of thulium ions blue emission in YLF (YLiF₄) crystals doped with 1 mol% Tm (3+). The samples were irradiated at room temperature both with electron beam and high intensity ultrashort pulses from a Ti:Sapphire CPA laser system. In both irradiations the production of photochromic and color centers was observed via the absorption bands in the UV and visible ranges. Pure LiF and pure and oxygen doped YLF crystals were used to identify the color centers produced and their optical properties. From a phenomenological model it was possible to study the interaction between color centers and thulium ions, and their effect in photobleaching and photodarkening behaviors. Finally, the blue up laser level population was computed using a rate equation analysis.     

A total energy trigger at large angles used in a calorimetric study of 150 GeV and 300 GeV pion and proton interactions on hydrogen

Hard hadronic scattering was studied by selecting 150 GeV and 300 GeV π^?p and pp events with large energy in a 240 cell calorimeter covering 452 to 1352 in the c.m.s. polar angle and the full 2π azimuth. A downstream calorimeter measured the remaining energy flow at smaller angles. For large energy deposited in the segmented calorimeter the proton induced cross section drops below the pion induced cross section, as expected in a constituent scattering picture. However, neither a simple energy scaling of the cross section nor a dominant jet structure of the events is observed. No evidence was found for recently proposed higher-twist mechanisms leading to events     

Annihilation and topological cross sections forpp and\bar p p interactions at 200 GeV/c

The results of an analysis of streamer chamber data from the NA5 experiment are presented. Topological cross sections forpp and \(\bar p\) p interactions and strange neutral particle production at 200 GeV/c have been measured and ( \(\bar p\) p?pp) difference cross sections have been determined. Multiplicity moments were calculated.     

Effects of high electrolyte concentration on DPPC-multilayers: an ESR and DSC investigation

The effects of salinity on the lateral headgroup interactions of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) molecules in fully hydrated multilayers have been investigated by spin label electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).By increasing the NaCl concentration from 0 to 3 M in the multilayers' dispersion medium, the ESR measurements performed with the 5-stearic acid spin label and di-tert-butyl-nitroxide show an increase in the orientational degree of order of the lipid molecules, mainly in the gel phase, and a decrease of the membrane permeability. An upward shift from 31.5° to 36.5°C and from 40.5° to 41.9°C of the pre- and main DPPC phase transition temperatures, respectively, is observed with 5-SASL, while slightly higher values are detected with DTBN. Small effects are evident on the properties of the liquid crystalline phase of the DPPC multilayers.The DSC measurements also reveal an upward shift of the pre- and main transition temperatures. The shifts, however, are more marked if compared to the ones observed with the ESR technique.The findings suggest an increase in the packing density of the DPPC molecules in the multilayers in presence of high salt concentration. Dehydration of the DPPC interfacial region with a variation of the lateral electrostatic interactions between phospholipid polar heads trigger the phenomena observed.     

Ultrahigh vacuum deposition of L-cysteine on Au(110) studied by high-resolution X-ray photoemission: from early stages of adsorption to molecular organization

We report on a high-resolution X-ray photoemission spectroscopy study on molecular-thick layers of L-cysteine deposited under ultrahigh vacuum conditions on Au(110). The analysis of core level shifts allowed us to distinguish unambiguously the states of the first-layer molecules from those of molecules belonging to the second layer. The first-layer molecules strongly interact with the metal through their sulfur headgroup. The multipeaked structure of the N 1s, O 1s, and C 1s core levels is interpreted in terms of different molecular moieties. The neutral acidic fraction (HSCH2CH(NH2)COOH) is abundant at low coverage likely associated with isolated molecules or dimers. The zwitterionic phase (HSCH2CH(NH3+)COO-) is largely dominant as the coverage approaches the monolayer limit and is related to the formation of ordered self-assembled molecular structures indicated by electron diffraction patterns. The occurrence of a small amount of cationic molecules (HSCH2CH(NH3+)COOH) is also discussed. The second-layer molecules mainly display zwitterionic character and are weakly adsorbed. Mild annealing up to 100 degrees C leads to the desorption of the second-layer molecules leaving electronic states of the first layer unaltered.     

Générateurs de l'anneau des entiers d'une extension cyclotomique

Let p be an odd prime and q=pm, where m is a positive integer. Let ζq be a qth primitive root of 1 and Oq be the ring of integers in Q(ζq). In [I. Gaál, L. Robertson, Power integral bases in prime-power cyclotomic fields, J. Number Theory 120 (2006) 372-384] I. Gaál and L. Robertson show that if , where is the class number of , then if α∈Oq is a generator of Oq (in other words Z[α]=Oq) either α is equals to a conjugate of an integer translate of ζq or is an odd integer. In this paper we show that we can remove the hypothesis over . In other words we show that if α∈Oq is a generator of Oq then either α is a conjugate of an integer translate of ζq or is an odd integer.