Effect of polarization on the opsin shift in rhodopsins. 1. A combined QM/QM/MM model for bacteriorhodopsin and pharaonis sensory rhodopsin II

The optical and IR-spectroscopic properties of the protonated Schiff base of retinal are highly sensitive to the electrostatic environment. This feature makes retinal a useful probe to study structural differences and changes in rhodopsins. It also raises an interest to theoretically predict the spectroscopic response to mutation and structural evolution. Computational models appropriate for this purpose usually combine sophisticated quantum mechanical (QM) methods with molecular mechanics (MM) force fields. In an effort to test and improve the accuracy of these QM/MM models, we consider in this article the effects of polarization and inter-residual charge transfer within the binding pocket of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) and pharaonis sensory rhodopsin II (psRII, also called pharaonis phoborhodopsin, ppR) on the excitation energy using an ab initio QM/QM/MM approach. The results will serve as reference for assessing empirical polarization models in a consecutive article.     

Discovering novel targets for autoantibodies in dilated cardiomyopathy

There is increasing evidence that a large proportion of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) cases are mediated by autoimmune processes. Since DCM is a fatal disorder with rapid aggravation and is the leading cause of heart transplantation, further insights into disease pathogenesis are needed. Recent studies have separated the pathogenic capacity of autoantibodies and initial clinical trials removing such autoantibodies via immunoadsorption have been promising. In order to elucidate the full autoantibody repertoire involved in DCM, we applied an autoantibody screening test using ventricular and atrial proteomes as autoantigenic sources and subsequently tested the autoantibody-binding patterns of sera from dogs with spontaneous DCM. With this method, we detected five potentially DCM-related autoantigens which were identified by MS as being: myosin heavy chain cardiac muscle alpha isoform, alpha cardiac actin, mitochondrial aconitate hydratase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and brain glycogen phosphorylase (GPBB). The recovery of two known DCM autoantigens (myosin heavy chain and alpha cardiac actin) and the discovery of three novel autoantigens (mitochondrial aconitate hydratase, GADPH, and GPBB) underscore the efficacy of this experimental method and the significance of the spontaneous canine DCM model.     

Polylactide compositions. The influence of ageing on the structure, thermal and viscoelastic properties of PLA/calcium sulfate composites

High-performance composites prepared by melt-blending polylactide (PLA, l/d isomer ratio of 96/4) with various amounts of β-anhydrite II (AII), the dehydrated form of calcium sulfate hemihydrate obtained by a specific thermal treatment at 500 °C, have been aged to study the evolution of their physical and mechanical properties with time. The effect of 1-year ageing under ambient conditions (below T_g of PLA) for selected composites, i.e., filled with 20 and 40 wt% AII, was determined and compared to unfilled PLA with the same processing and ageing history. Samples with an initial amorphous PLA matrix, obtained by fast quenching from the melt, were characterized before and during ageing. The changes in physical parameters have been studied using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and density measurements. Surprisingly, for all the samples, an increase of the storage modulus (E′) was recorded, as a result of ageing. This improvement was ascribed to the reorganization of the PLA structure induced by ageing. The structural reorganization was also reflected by a slight increase of PLA density and changes in thermal behaviour. The X-ray investigations showed unchanged crystallographic structure of AII both during blending with molten PLA and in the composite systems after ageing. The surprising stability of the thermo-mechanical properties of PLA and PLA/AII composites is in agreement with the results of size exclusion chromatography analysis (SEC) which did not show significant changes of PLA molecular weights brought out by ageing.     

Wacker Oxidation of Methylenecyclobutanes: Scope and Selectivity in an Unusual Setting

Methylenecyclobutanes are found to undergo Wacker oxidation via a semi-pinacol-type rearrangement. Key to a successful process is the use of tert-butyl nitrite as oxidant, which not only enables efficient catalyst turn-over but also ensures high Markovnikov-selectivity under mild conditions. Thus, cyclopentanones (26 examples) can be accessed in an overall good yield and excellent selectivity (up to 97 % yield, generally >99 : 1 ketone:aldehyde ratio). Stereochemical analysis of the reaction sequence reveals migration aptitudes in line with related 1,2-shifts. By introducing a pyox ligand to palladium, prochiral methylenecyclobutanes can be desymmetrized, thus realizing the first enantioselective Wacker oxidation.     

Polylactide (PLA)-CaSO4 composites toughened with low molecular weight and polymeric ester-like plasticizers and related performances

Large amounts of stable β-anhydrite II (AII), a specific type of dehydrated gypsum and a by-product of lactic acid production process, can be melt-blended with bio-sourced and biodegradable polylactide (PLA) to produce economically interesting novel composites with high tensile strength and thermal stability.To enhance their toughness, while preserving an optimal stiffness, selected low molecular weight plasticizers (bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate and glyceryl triacetate) and polymeric adipates with different molecular weights have been mixed with a specific PLA (l/d isomer ratio of 96/4) and 40 wt% of AII using an internal kneader. Addition of up to 10 wt% plasticizer into these highly filled compositions can trigger a fourfold increase of the impact strength with respect to the compositions without any modifier, cold crystallization properties and a significant decrease of their glass transition temperature. Moreover, these ternary compositions (PLA-AII-plasticizer) are clearly characterized by easier processing, notable thermo-mechanical performances and good filler dispersion. This study represents a new approach in formulating novel melt-processable polyester grades with improved characteristic features using PLA as biodegradable polymer matrix.     

A 2D coordination polymer with canted ferromagnetism constructed from ferromagnetic [Ni(II)Co(II)] nodes

A bimetallic coordination polymer, infinity (2)[{LNi (II)Co (II)}(dca) 2], has been constructed from heterobinuclear [Ni (II)Co (II)] nodes and dicyanamido spacers [L (2-) is the dianion of the Schiff base resulting from the 2:1 condensation of 3-methoxysalicyladehyde with 1,3-propanediamine; L (2-) = N, N'-propylenebis(3-methoxysalycilideneiminato)]. The intranode Co (II)-Ni (II) interaction was found to be ferromagnetic because of the orthogonality of the magnetic orbitals. Below 12 K, the onset of the canted ferromagnetic ordering is observed.     

Heterospin systems constructed from [Cu2Ln]3+ and [Ni(mnt)2]1-,2- Tectons: First 3p-3d-4f complexes (mnt = maleonitriledithiolato)

New heterospin complexes have been obtained by combining the binuclear complexes [{Cu(H(2)O)L(1)}Ln(O(2)NO)(3)] or [{CuL(2)}Ln(O(2)NO)(3)] (L(1) = N,N'-propylene-di(3-methoxysalicylideneiminato); L(2) = N,N'-ethylene-di(3-methoxysalicylideneiminato); Ln = Gd(3+), Sm(3+), Tb(3+)), with the mononuclear [CuL(1)(2)] and the nickel dithiolene complexes [Ni(mnt)(2)](q)- (q = 1, 2; mnt = maleonitriledithiolate), as follows: (1)infinity[{CuL(1)}(2)Ln(O(2)NO){Ni(mnt)(2)}].Solv.CH(3)CN (Ln = Gd(3+), Solv = CH(3)OH (1), Ln = Sm(3+), Solv = CH(3)CN (2)) and [{(CH(3)OH)CuL(2)}(2)Sm(O(2)NO)][Ni(mnt)(2)] (3) with [Ni(mnt)2]2-, [{(CH(3)CN)CuL(1)}(2)Ln(H(2)O)][Ni(mnt)(2)]3.2CH(3)CN (Ln = Gd(3+) (4), Sm(3+) (5), Tb(3+) (6)), and [{(CH(3)OH)CuL(2)}{CuL(2)}Gd(O(2)NO){Ni(mnt)(2)}][Ni(mnt)(2)].CH(2)Cl(2) (7) with [Ni(mnt))(2]*-. Trinuclear, almost linear, [CuLnCu] motifs are found in all the compounds. In the isostructural 1 and 2, two trans cyano groups from a [Ni(mnt)2]2- unit bridge two trimetallic nodes through axial coordination to the Cu centers, thus leading to the establishment of infinite chains. 3 is an ionic compound, containing discrete [{(CH(3)OH)CuL(2)}(2)Sm(O(2)NO)](2+) cations and [Ni(mnt)(2)](2-) anions. Within the series 4-6, layers of discrete [CuLnCu](3+) motifs alternate with stacks of interacting [Ni(mnt)(2)](*-) radical anions, for which two overlap modes, providing two different types of stacks, can be disclosed. The strength of the intermolecular interactions between the open-shell species is estimated through extended Hückel calculations. In compound 7, [Ni(mnt)(2)](*-) radical anions coordinate group one of the Cu centers of a trinuclear [Cu(2)Gd] motif through a CN, while discrete [Ni(mnt)(2)](*-) units are also present, overlapping in between, but also with the coordinated ones. Furthermore, the [Cu(2)Gd] moieties dimerize each other upon linkage by two nitrato groups, both acting as chelate toward the gadolinium ion from one unit and monodentate toward a Cu ion from the other unit. The magnetic properties of the gadolinium-containing complexes have been determined. Ferromagnetic exchange interactions within the trinuclear [Cu(2)Gd] motifs occur. In the compounds 4 and 7, the [Ni(mnt)(2)](*-) radical anions contribution to the magnetization is clearly observed in the high-temperature regime, and most of it vanishes upon temperature decrease, very likely because of the rather strong antiferromagnetic exchange interactions between the open-shell species. The extent of the exchange interaction in the compound 7, which was found to be antiferromagnetic, between the coordinated Cu center and the corresponding [Ni(mnt)(2)](*-) radical anion, bearing mostly a 3p spin type, was estimated through CASSCF/CASPT2 calculations. Compound 6 exhibits a slow relaxation of the magnetization.     

Multi-Component Ginzburg-Landau Theory: Microscopic Derivation and Examples

This paper consists of three parts. In part I, we microscopically derive Ginzburg–Landau (GL) theory from BCS theory for translation-invariant systems in which multiple types of superconductivity may coexist. Our motivation are unconventional superconductors. We allow the ground state of the effective gap operator \({K_{T_c}+V}\) to be n-fold degenerate and the resulting GL theory then couples n order parameters. In part II, we study examples of multi-component GL theories which arise from an isotropic BCS theory. We study the cases of (a) pure d-wave order parameters and (b) mixed (s + d)-wave order parameters, in two and three-dimensions. In part III, we present explicit choices of spherically symmetric interactions V which produce the examples in part II. In fact, we find interactions V which produce ground state sectors of \({K_{T_c}+V}\) of arbitrary angular momentum, for open sets of of parameter values. This is in stark contrast with Schrödinger operators \({-\nabla^2+V}\), for which the ground state is always non-degenerate. Along the way, we prove the following fact about Bessel functions: At its first maximum, a half-integer Bessel function is strictly larger than all other half-integer Bessel functions.