Probing amyloid fibril formation of the NFGAIL peptide by computer simulations

Amyloid fibril formation, as observed in Alzheimer's disease and type II diabetes, is currently described by a nucleation-condensation mechanism, but the details of the process preceding the formation of the nucleus are still lacking. In this study, using an activation-relaxation technique coupled to a generic energy model, we explore the aggregation pathways of 12 chains of the hexapeptide NFGAIL. The simulations show, starting from a preformed parallel dimer and ten disordered chains, that the peptides form essentially amorphous oligomers or more rarely ordered beta-sheet structures where the peptides adopt a parallel orientation within the sheets. Comparison between the simulations indicates that a dimer is not a sufficient seed for avoiding amorphous aggregates and that there is a critical threshold in the number of connections between the chains above which exploration of amorphous aggregates is preferred.     

Structure of a 4:1:4 supramolecular assembly of neutral TiiiiPO cavitands and tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium)porphyrin iodide

Four tetraphosphorylated TiiiiPO cavitands 1 encapsulate the pyridinium heads of a tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium)porphyrin iodide to form a 4:1:4 (host)4/guest4+/4I- complex. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis shows the arrangement of the four cavities bound to the CH3N+ groups of the porphyrin moiety and the four iodide anions nested between the phenethyl substituents of the hosts. 1H NMR investigations show that the structure is preserved in chloroform solution and underscore the effect of the counteranions.     

Self-assembled nanocages for hydrophilic guest molecules

Reverse polymeric micelles are obtained following the association of polymeric amphiphiles in apolar media. To this date, reports of pharmaceutical applications for such micelles have been scarce, mainly because these systems have been studied in solvents that are not suitable for medical use. Here, alkylated star-shaped poly(glycerol methacrylate) polymers have been proposed in the design of oil-soluble reverse polymeric micelles. Micellar behavior was studied in various apolar solvents, including ethyl oleate, a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle. The polymers were shown to assemble into spherical nanostructures (<40 nm) as determined by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy studies. Interestingly, the reverse micelles were able to encapsulate various peptides/proteins (vasopressin, myoglobin, and albumin) in substantial amounts and facilitate their solubilization in oil. The nature of both the polymer used in micelle formation and the guest molecules was found to influence the ability of the micelle to interact with hydrophilic compounds.     

Numerical discrimination of intrachannel cross-phase modulation and intrachannel four-wave mixing and their respective effect on 40 Gbit/s transmissions

We propose a numerical method to accurately discriminate the influence of the different intrachannel nonlinear effects occurring in 40 Gbit/s optical transmissions, following an analogy with methods used to discriminate WDM interchannel effects. In contrast to other studies showing the predominance of intrachannel cross-phase modulation when low-dispersion fibers are used, in our study intrachannel four-wave mixing is the most penalizing effect in all investigated cases.     

Reference map technique for finite-strain elasticity and fluid–solid interaction

The reference map, defined as the inverse motion function, is utilized in an Eulerian-frame representation of continuum solid mechanics, leading to a simple, explicit finite-difference method for solids undergoing finite deformations. We investigate the accuracy and applicability of the technique for a range of finite-strain elasticity laws under various geometries and loadings. Capacity to model dynamic, static, and quasi-static conditions is shown. Specifications of the approach are demonstrated for handling irregularly shaped and/or moving boundaries, as well as shock solutions. The technique is also integrated within a fluid–solid framework using a level-set to discern phases and using a standard explicit fluid solver for the fluid phases. We employ a sharp-interface method to institute the interfacial conditions, and the resulting scheme is shown to efficiently capture fluid–solid interaction solutions in several examples.     

Rayleigh–Schrödinger series and Birkhoff decomposition

We derive new expressions for the Rayleigh–Schrödinger series describing the perturbation of eigenvalues of quantum Hamiltonians. The method, somehow close to the so-called dimensional renormalization in quantum field theory, involves the Birkhoff decomposition of some Laurent series built up out of explicit fully non-resonant terms present in the usual expression of the Rayleigh–Schrödinger series. Our results provide new combinatorial formulae and a new way of deriving perturbation series in quantum mechanics. More generally we prove that such a decomposition provides solutions of general normal form problems in Lie algebras.     

Correction of intensity nonuniformity in spin-echo T(1)-weighted images

This paper presents a method to correct intensity nonuniformity in spin-echo T(1)-weighted images and particularly the inhomogeneities due to RF transmission imperfections which have tissue-dependent effects through the T(1) relaxation times. This method is based on the use of a uniform phantom, first for classic normalization by division by the phantom images, and second for T(1)-correction using the RF transmitted cartography. We present experimental results from a bi-phasic (oil/water) phantom and from a salmon with a 0.2 T imager. The results demonstrate the efficiency of the method in the two cases and its ability to cope with partial volume effect.     

Targeting bacterial toxins

Protein toxins constitute the main virulence factors of several species of bacteria and have proven to be attractive targets for drug development. Lead candidates that target bacterial toxins range from small molecules to polymeric binders, and act at each of the multiple steps in the process of toxin-mediated pathogenicity. Despite recent and significant advances in the field, a rationally designed drug that targets toxins has yet to reach the market. This Review presents the state of the art in bacterial toxin targeted drug development with a critical consideration of achieved breakthroughs and withstanding challenges. The discussion focuses on A-B-type protein toxins secreted by four species of bacteria, namely Clostridium difficile (toxins A and B), Vibrio cholerae (cholera toxin), enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (Shiga toxin), and Bacillus anthracis (anthrax toxin), which are the causative agents of diseases for which treatments need to be improved.     

Dynamics of fluorescence depolarisation in star-shaped oligofluorene-truxene molecules

Star-shaped molecules are of growing interest as organic optoelectronic materials. Here a detailed study of their photophysics using fluorescence depolarisation is reported. Fluorescence depolarisation dynamics are studied in branched oligofluorene-truxene molecules with a truxene core and well-defined three-fold symmetry, and are compared with linear fluorene oligomers. An initial anisotropy value of 0.4 is observed which shows a two-exponential decay with time constants of 500 fs and 3-8 ps in addition to a long-lived component. The femtosecond component is attributed to exciton localisation on one branch of the molecule and its amplitude reduces when the excitation is tuned to the low energy tail of the absorption spectrum. The picosecond component shows a weak dependence on the excitation wavelength and is similar to the calculated rate of the resonant energy transfer of the localised exciton between the branches. These assignments are supported by density-functional theory calculations which show a disorder-induced splitting of the two degenerate excited states. Exciton localisation is much slower than previously reported in other branched molecules which suggests that efficient light-harvesting systems can be designed using oligofluorenes and truxenes as building blocks.