Influence Exerted by Cross-Linking Effect on Properties of Sorbents Produced from Aspen and Larch Bark

Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry - Method is suggested for obtaining biochar materials by treatment of a finely dispersed (≤0.1 mm) bark of aspen and(or) larch with a 40% formaldehyde...     

Influence of Reynolds Number on the Distribution of a Vortex Velocity Pulsed Component through the Cross-Section of a Flat Channel

Technical Physics - Based on the analysis of results from different authors using direct numerical simulations of the liquid flow in a flat channel, the effect of Reynolds number on the...     

Effect of the modification of nanocrystalline MgO aerogels with vanadium and carbon on the destructive sorption of CF2Cl2 and CFCl3

The effect of the promotion of nanocrystalline MgO aerogels with small amounts of vanadium and carbon on the destructive sorption of the Freons CF₂Cl₂ and CFCl₃ was studied. It was found that the introduction of the promoters considerably shortened the induction period of the reaction. The pretreatment of samples modified with vanadium in an oxidizing or reducing atmosphere did not significantly affect the duration of the induction period. It was established that the acceleration of the reaction by fine-particle carbon did not depend on the mutual arrangement of carbon and MgO: on the surface of MgO nanoparticles, in the form of their mechanical mixture, or at separate positions in a reactor. It was concluded that the modifiers catalytically affect the interaction of MgO aerogels with Freons to accelerate the formation of active centers on the surface of their nanoparticles.     

Definitive Structural Assessment of Enterococcal Diheteroglycan

Enterococcus faecalis is one of most important nosocomial and often multi‐antibiotic resistant pathogens responsible for infections that are difficult to treat. Previously, a cell‐wall polysaccharide termed diheteroglycan (DHG) was isolated and characterized as a promising vaccine candidate. However, the configuration of its lactic acid (LA) residue attached to the galactofuranoside unit was not assessed, although it influences conformation of DHG chain in terms of biological recognition and immune evasion. This study proves the R configuration of the LA residue by means of chemical analysis, investigation of intramolecular NMR nuclear Overhauser effects and molecular dynamics simulations of native DHG and corresponding R and S models, which were obtained by using pyranoside‐into‐furanoside rearrangement. As alternative treatment and prevention strategies for E. faecalis are desperately needed, this discovery may offer the prospect of a synthetic vaccine to actively immunize patients at risk.     

Prospects of Observing Ionic Coulomb Blockade in Artificial Ion Confinements

Nanofluidics encompasses a wide range of advanced approaches to study charge and mass transport at the nanoscale. Modern technologies allow us to develop and improve artificial nanofluidic platforms that confine ions in a way similar to single-ion channels in living cells. Therefore, nanofluidic platforms show great potential to act as a test field for theoretical models. This review aims to highlight ionic Coulomb blockade (ICB)—an effect that is proposed to be the key player of ion channel selectivity, which is based upon electrostatic exclusion limiting ion transport. Thus, in this perspective, we focus on the most promising approaches that have been reported on the subject. We consider ion confinements of various dimensionalities and highlight the most recent advancements in the field. Furthermore, we concentrate on the most critical obstacles associated with these studies and suggest possible solutions to advance the field further.     

Protein–ligand docking using FFT based sampling: D3R case study

Fast Fourier transform (FFT) based approaches have been successful in application to modeling of relatively rigid protein–protein complexes. Recently, we have been able to adapt the FFT methodology to treatment of flexible protein–peptide interactions. Here, we report our latest attempt to expand the capabilities of the FFT approach to treatment of flexible protein–ligand interactions in application to the D3R PL-2016-1 challenge. Based on the D3R assessment, our FFT approach in conjunction with Monte Carlo minimization off-grid refinement was among the top performing methods in the challenge. The potential advantage of our method is its ability to globally sample the protein–ligand interaction landscape, which will be explored in further applications.     

Interpretation of transport measurements in ZnO-thin films

In order to interpret results of temperature dependent Hall measurements in heteroepitaxial ZnO-thin films, we adopted a multilayer conductivity model considering carrier-transport through the interfacial layer with degenerate electron gas as well as the upper part of ZnO layers with lower conductivity. This model was applied to the temperature dependence of the carrier concentration and mobility measured by Hall effect in a ZnO-layer grown on c-sapphire with conventional high-temperature MgO and low-temperature ZnO buffer. We also compared our results with the results of maximum entropy mobility-spectrum analysis (MEMSA). The formation of the highly conductive interfacial layer was explained by analysis of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images taken from similar layers.