Size of supramolecular SNARE complex: membrane-directed self-assembly

Full length v-SNARE protein in lipid vesicles when exposed to t-SNARE-reconstituted lipid membrane results in the self-assembly of a t-/v-SNARE complex in a ring pattern, forming pores, and establishing continuity between the opposing bilayers. It is known that smaller vesicles fuse more efficiently than larger ones, and hence the curvature of secretory vesicles may dictate the potency and efficacy of their fusion at the cell plasma membrane. The diameter of t- and v-SNARE vesicles may, therefore, reflect the size of the t-/v-SNARE complex formed. In the present study, this hypothesis was tested, and results from the study demonstrate that the size of the t-/v-SNARE complex is directly proportional to the vesicle diameter (R2 = 0.9725).     

Cyanoisocyanoacetylene,N≡C−C≡C−N≡C

Vacuum pyrolysis of the precursor complex [(CO)₅Cr(CN−CCl=CF−CN)] resulted in the isolation and structure elucidation by molecular spectroscopy of isomer 1 . According to ab initio calculations 1 is 109 kJ mol⁻¹ less stable than NC−C≡C−CN, which has been known for some time. An accurate equilibrium structure for 1 has been determined with mixed experimental and theoretical methods.     

Inherent hydrostatic tensile strength of tungsten nanocrystals

Abstract

Experimental value of strength of nano-sized crystal under uniform triaxial (hydrostatic) tension was obtained for the first time. Strength was measured by in situ high-field mechanical testing of tungsten defect-free nano-sized specimen carried out inside a field-ion microscope. At temperature 77 K, this strength is 28 ± 3 GPa. Based on the MD simulation findings, it is ascertained that under these conditions the instability of an entire nano-sized specimen (global instability) is initiated by the Bain transition within a local region of the specimen. The model of ‘fluctuation-induced Bain transition’ is offered. Within the framework of the model proposed, it is exhibited that possibility of realisation of such local Bain transition under global hydrostatic tension is due to the fluctuation of local tensile stresses. In general, it is shown that fluctuation-induced Bain transition governs the level of the strength of nano-sized bcc crystals under hydrostatic tension.     

13C discriminations of Pinus sylvestris vs. Pinus ponderosa at a dry site in Brandenburg (eastern Germany): 100-year growth comparison

The carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C, ‰) and discrimination (Δ, ‰) of old grown North American Pinus ponderosa Dougl. Ex P. et C. Laws. and European Pinus sylvestris L. were determined using trees grown under almost identical growing conditions in a mixed stand in Bralitz, Northeast Germany. Single-tree δ¹³C analyses of tree-ring cellulose of both species were carried out at a yearly resolution for the period 1901–2001 and the results compared with growth (basal area increment). Annual mean δ¹³C values for P. ponderosa ranged from?21.6 ‰ to?25.2 ‰ and for P. sylvestris from?21.4 ‰ to?24.4 ‰. Accordingly, ¹³C discrimination (Δ) showed higher values for P. ponderosa throughout the investigation period. Five characteristic periods of Δ were identified for both the tree species, reflecting positive and negative influences of environmental factors. Good growing conditions such as after-thinning events had a positive effect on Δ, reflecting higher values, while poor conditions like aridity and air pollution had a negative influence, reflecting lower values. The dynamics of Δ were likewise reflected in the growth (basal area increment, BAI). Higher ¹³C discrimination values of P. ponderosa led to higher BAIs of P. ponderosa in comparison with P. sylvestris. Correlation function analyses confirmed that P. sylvestris was more dependent on precipitation than P. ponderosa, which showed a closer relationship with temperature. The results confirm that under predominantly dry growing conditions, P. ponderosa showed better growth performance than P. sylvestris, indicating better common intrinsic water-use efficiency and, therefore, higher rates of net photosynthesis at a given transpiration. In view of the prospect of climate change, the results are very significant for assessing both trees’ physiological properties and, hence, their potential for coping with future growing conditions.     

Effects of thermo-hygro-mechanical densification on the surface characteristics of trembling aspen and hybrid poplar wood veneers

The effect of thermo-hygro-mechanical (THM) densification temperature on the surface color, roughness, wettability, and chemical composition of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and hybrid poplar (Populus maximowiczii × P. balsamifera) veneers was investigated. Veneers were subjected to four THM densification temperatures (160 °C, 180 °C, 200 °C, and 220 °C). Veneer color darkened with increasing THM densification temperature. Surface roughness decreased between 160 °C and 200 °C. Wettability decreased after THM densification, but no significant difference was found between treated specimens. ATR-FTIR and XPS results confirmed that THM densification caused major chemical changes in veneer surfaces, and more pronounced at temperatures higher than 160 °C.     

On the inverse of certain patterned sums of matrices with Kronecker product structures

In this article, we derive explicit expressions for the entries of the inverse of a patterned matrix that is a sum of Kronecker products. This matrix keeps the Kronecker structure under matrix inversion, and it is used, for example, in statistics, in particular in the linear mixed model analysis. The obtained results present new and extended existing algorithms for the inversion of the considered patterned matrices. We also obtain a closed-form inverse in terms of block matrices.     

Convex additively slowly varying functions

We study the problem of subtraction of slowly varying functions. It is well-known that the difference of two slowly varying functions need not be slowly varying and we look for some additional conditions which guarantee the slow variation of the difference. To this end we consider all possible decompositions L=F+G of a given increasing convex additively slowly varying function L into a sum of two increasing convex functions F and G. We characterize the class of functions L for which in every such decomposition the summands are necessarily additively slowly varying. The class OΠ₂⁺ we obtain is related to the well-known class OΠ_g where, instead of first order differences as in OΠ_g, we have second order differences.