The bovine basic pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (Kunitz inhibitor): a milestone protein

The pancreatic Kunitz inhibitor, also known as aprotinin, bovine basic pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI), and trypsin-kallikrein inhibitor, is one of the most extensively studied globular proteins. It has proved to be a particularly attractive and powerful tool for studying protein conformation as well as molecular bases of protein/protein interaction(s) and (macro)molecular recognition. BPTI has a relatively broad specificity, inhibiting trypsin- as well as chymotrypsin- and elastase-like serine (pro)enzymes endowed with very different primary specificity. BPTI reacts rapidly with serine proteases to form stable complexes, but the enzyme: inhibitor complex formation may involve several intermediates corresponding to discrete reaction steps. Moreover, BPTI inhibits the nitric oxide synthase type-I and -II action and impairs K+ transport by Ca2+-activated K+ channels. Clinically, the use of BPTI in selected surgical interventions, such as cardiopulmonary surgery and orthotopic liver transplantation, is advised, as it significantly reduces hemorrhagic complications and thus blood-transfusion requirements. Here, the structural, inhibition, and bio-medical aspects of BPTI are reported.     

An Algorithmic Approach to Discrete Time Non-homogeneous Backward Semi-Markov Reward Processes with an Application to Disability Insurance

In this paper semi-Markov reward models are presented. Higher moments of the reward process is presented for the first time applied to in time non-homogeneous semi-Markov insurance problems. Also an example is presented based on real disability data. Different algorithmic approaches to solve the problem is described. This work is partly supported by the Knowledge Foundation and Sparbankens Stiftelse Nya. The authors would like to thank the anonymous referee.     

Ab initio study of β-lactam antibiotics. I. Potential energy surface for the amidic CN bond breaking in the β-lactam + OH− reaction

The potential energy surface of the β-lactam + OH^? reaction, related to the mode of action of β-lactam antibiotics, was investigated using the ab initio Hartree—Fock method with the STO-3G basis set. Three possible reaction paths for the B_AC2 breaking of the amidic CN bond were obtained and discussed. The minimum-energy reaction path is characterized by the following processes: (1) the formation of a tetrahedral intermediate, ≈ 121 kcal mol^?1 more stable than the reagents; (2) a barrier, ≈ 15 kcal mol^?1 above the intermediate, which is mainly due to the partial breaking of the amidic bond; (3) the complete breaking of the amidic bond concerted with a proton transfer till the formation of the final product, ≈ 34 kcal mol^?1 more stable than the intermediate. The evolution of some molecular orbitals and of the electron population along the reaction path was also discussed.     

Optical Communication among Oscillatory Reactions and Photo-Excitable Systems: UV and Visible Radiation Can Synchronize Artificial Neuron Models

Neuromorphic engineering promises to have a revolutionary impact in our societies. A strategy to develop artificial neurons (ANs) is to use oscillatory and excitable chemical systems. Herein, we use UV and visible radiation as both excitatory and inhibitory signals for the communication among oscillatory reactions, such as the Belousov–Zhabotinsky and the chemiluminescent Orban transformations, and photo-excitable photochromic and fluorescent species. We present the experimental results and the simulations regarding pairs of ANs communicating by either one or two optical signals, and triads of ANs arranged in both feed-forward and recurrent networks. We find that the ANs, powered chemically and/or by the energy of electromagnetic radiation, can give rise to the emergent properties of in-phase, out-of-phase, anti-phase synchronizations and phase-locking, dynamically mimicking the communication among real neurons.     

Structural and morphological changes during UV irradiation of the trans-planar form of syndiotactic polypropylene

Syndiotactic polypropylene films, obtained in the trans-planar mesophase, were exposed to accelerated weathering in a UV device at 45 °C for increasing times. A different series of films, characterized by the same structural organization, was annealed at 45 °C for the same times, to discern the thermal effects from those due to UV irradiation. The influence of UV irradiation and thermal treatments on the structural changes in terms of phase composition, crystallite sizes, and chain conformations was studied. Diffractometric and thermal analyses show that UV radiation causes a strong increase of helical crystallinity (189% with respect to the initial value), leaving the trans-planar mesophase unchanged. The mesophase domains have a higher rigidity and hinder the oxygen diffusion slowing down the photooxidative degradation.The chain scission in the amorphous phase produces a higher mobility, allowing crystallization. The crystallinity also increases in the thermally treated samples, but the increase is limited to the first 48 h and reaches about 89% of the initial value. Both in the thermally treated and UV irradiated samples the crystallite coherence length perpendicular to the 200 planes increases with time. The amorphous chains do crystallize at the beginning near the already formed crystals, thus increasing their dimensions. The carbonyl index shows an induction period of 48 h, before a rapid increase which apparently is inversely proportional to the percentage of mesomorphic and crystalline phases of the irradiated samples, indicating that the photooxidative reactions took place mainly in the amorphous region. A comparison with data already published on the photooxidative behavior of samples crystallized in form I shows that the presence of compact domains in trans-planar mesophase led to an increase in the induction period and to a greater stability of the material in the first 150 h of UV treatment.     

Dielectric tensor of tetracene single crystals: the effect of anisotropy on polarized absorption and emission spectra

The full UV-visible dielectric tensor and the corresponding directions of the principal axes of triclinic tetracene crystals are reported as deduced either by polarized absorption and ellipsometry measurements or by calculations based on the molecular and crystallographic data. The results allow the attribution of the polarized bands observed in both absorption and photoluminescence emission spectra. In particular, the spectral line shape and polarization of the emission are found to depend on the sample thickness, and the effect is attributed to the modification of the state of polarization of the emitted light during its propagation inside the crystal. Indeed, the directions of polarization of the lowest optical transitions and the directions of the principal axes of the dielectric tensor are demonstrated not to coincide, in contrast to the assumptions typically made in the literature, thus causing the mixed transverse/longitudinal character of light propagation.     

Reward Algorithms for Semi-Markov Processes

New algorithms for computing power moments of hitting times and accumulated rewards of hitting type for semi-Markov processes are developed. The algorithms are based on special techniques of sequential phase space reduction and recurrence relations connecting moments of rewards. Applications are discussed as well as possible generalizations of presented results and examples.     

A Simple Synthesis of Triangular All‐Metal Aromatics Allowing Access to Isolobal All‐Metal Heteroaromatics

A simple synthetic method allows the one‐pot assembly of C₃‐symmetric, 44‐core‐valence‐electron, triangular Pd or Pt clusters and their heterobimetallic mixed Pd/Pt analogues. These mixed metal complexes are the first examples of stable triangular all‐metal heteroaromatics. In contrast to traditional heteroaromatic molecules formed combining main‐group elements, they actually retain structural and electronic features of their homonuclear analogues.     

Chemical Composition of Essential Oil from Italian Populations of <em>Artemisia alba</em> Turra (Asteraceae)

The use of essential oils as chemotaxonomic markers could be useful for the classification of Artemisia species and to caracterize biodiversity in the different populations. An analysis of the chemical composition of four essential oils from Italian populations of Artemisia alba Turra (collected in Sicily, Marche and Abruzzo) was investigated. In this paper an in depth study of the significant differences observed in the composition of these oils is reported.