Formation and characterization of fluid lipid bilayers on alumina

Fluid lipid bilayers were deposited on alumina substrates with the use of bubble collapse deposition (BCD). Previous studies using vesicle rupture have required the use of charged lipids or surface functionalization to induce bilayer formation on alumina, but these modifications are not necessary with BCD. Photobleaching experiments reveal that the diffusion coefficient of POPC on alumina is 0.6 microm (2)/s, which is much lower than the 1.4-2.0 microm (2)/s reported on silica. Systematically accounting for roughness, immobile regions and membrane viscosity shows that pinning sites account for about half of this drop in diffusivity. The remainder of the difference is attributed to a more tightly bound water state on the alumina surface, which induces a larger drag on the bilayer.     

Approximation of Analytic Functions with an Arbitrary Order by Generalized Baskakov–Faber Operators in Compact Sets

By using a sequence \(\lambda _{n}>0\), \(n\in \mathbb {N}\) with the property that \(\lambda _{n}\rightarrow 0\) as fast we want, in this paper we obtain the approximation order \(O(\lambda _{n})\) for a generalized Baskakov–Faber operator attached to analytic functions of exponential growth in a continuum \(G\subset \mathbb {C}\). Several concrete examples of continuums G are given for which this operator can explicitly be constructed.     

A unique decomposition result for HT factors with torsion free core

We prove that II₁ factors M have a unique (up to unitary conjugacy) cross-product type decomposition around “core subfactors” N⊂M satisfying the property HT of [S. Popa, On a class of type II₁ factors with Betti numbers invariants, Ann. of Math. (2) 163 (2006) 809-899] and a certain “torsion freeness” condition. In particular, this shows that isomorphism of factors of the form Lαi(Z²)?Fni, i=1,2, for Fni⊂SL(2,Z) free groups of rank ni and αj=e2πitj, tj∉Q, implies n₁=n₂.     

Plasma-mediated grafting of poly(ethylene glycol) on polyamide and polyester surfaces and evaluation of antifouling ability of modified substrates

A simple cold plasma technique was developed to functionalize the surfaces of polyamide (PA) and polyester (PET) for the grafting of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with the aim of reducing biofilm formation. The surfaces of PA and PET were treated with silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) plasma, and PEG was grafted onto plasma-functionalized substrates (PA-PEG, PET-PEG). Different molecular weights of PEG and grafting times were tested to obtain optimal surface coverage by PEG as monitored by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). The presence of a predominant C-O peak on the PEG-modified substrates indicated that the grafting was successful. Data from hydroxyl group derivatization and water contact angle measurement also indicated the presence of PEG after grafting. The PEG-grafted PA and PET under optimal conditions had similar chemical composition and hydrophilicity; however, different morphology changes were observed after grafting. Both PA-PEG and PET-PEG surfaces developed under optimal plasma conditions showed about 96% reduction in biofilm formation by Listeria monocytogenes compared with that of the corresponding unmodified substrates. This plasma functionalization method provided an efficient way to graft PEG onto PA and PET surfaces. Because of the high reactivity of Si-Cl species, this method could potentially be applied to other polymeric materials.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of amino-functionalized polysaccharides

A variety of carbohydrates, in particular polysaccharides can be subjected to chemical modification to obtain derivatives with amphiphilic properties, which enable biochemical or biological reactions at the polymer surface. In the present work, a polydisperse maltodextrin mixture of average molecular weight 3000 was coupled with 1,6-hexamethylenediamine (HMD) via reductive amination reaction. Resulting products were characterized by thermal analysis and positive nanoelectrospray quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Both thermal analysis and MS screening confirmed the formation of the HMD-polysaccharide coupling products. Moreover, HMD-linked polysaccharide chains containing 2 to 26 glucose building blocks were identified by nanoESI Q-TOF MS. MS/MS fragmentation using collision-induced dissociation (CID) at low ion acceleration energies provided strong evidence for HMD-maltodextrin linkage formation and the set of sequence ions diagnostic for the composition and structure of a HMD-linked chain containing 18 glucose residues.      

Blood oxygenation monitoring using hyperspectral imaging after flap surgery

In this paper, we present a new method for the assessment of skin flap perfusion based on the non-invasive monitoring of skin blood oxygenation using hyperspectral imaging. This method consists of generation of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin maps in skin flap from hyperspectral image using an analytic model based on Beer–Lambert law. The results obtained on a fasciocutaneous sural flap have revealed that the oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin maps facilitate the visualization of some differences between different areas of the flap, an aspect that clinical examination fails to do. In conclusion, the proposed method could provide a new option for a more accurate assessment of flap survival.     

Explicit Semi-invariants and Integrals of the Full Symmetric {\mathfrak{sl}_n} Toda Lattice

We show how to construct semi-invariants and integrals of the full symmetric \({\mathfrak{sl}_n}\) Toda lattice for all n. Using the Toda equations for the Lax eigenvector matrix we prove the existence of semi-invariants which are homogeneous coordinates in the corresponding projective spaces. Then we use these semi-invariants to construct the integrals. The existence of additional integrals which constitute a full set of independent non-involutive integrals was known but the chopping and Kostant procedures have crucial computational complexities already for low-rank Lax matrices and are practically not applicable for higher ranks. Our new approach solves this problem and results in simple explicit formulae for the full set of independent semi-invariants and integrals expressed in terms of the Lax matrix and its eigenvectors, and of eigenvalue matrices for the full symmetric \({\mathfrak{sl}_n}\) Toda lattice.     

M2 Proton Channel Structural Validation from Full-Length Protein Samples in Synthetic Bilayers and E. coli Membranes

Validation: Membrane protein structures are sensitive to the environment used for structural characterization. NMR spectra of the full-length M2 proton channel from influenza?A were measured directly in E.?coli membranes and compared to spectra of the protein in synthetic lipid bilayers. The results demonstrate that these bilayers provide a native-like membrane environment.