Monte carlo calculations of the conformal charge

The conformal charge is an important quantity which characterizes the nature of the two-dimensional phase transition. We report a first attempt to use a new numerical method to calculate the conformal charge. In this paper, we apply our method to the 2-dimensional, ⁴, continuous-spin Ising model. By varying the parameters in the Hamiltonian, one can change continuously from the known Gaussian limit to the Ising limit. It is well known that the critical points for these two systems are not in the same universality class. We study this behavior for the Gaussian model, the single-well ⁴ model, the border model, and the double-well ⁴ model for a large lattice. Our results, while giving a good general picture, are not so far sufficient to differentiate whether the non-Gaussian cases studied belong to the Ising model universality class or not. Further studies of other lattice sizes should serve to improve greatly our conclusions.     

The effect of alcoholic mobile phase modifiers on retention and stereoselectivity on a commercially available cellulose-based HPLC chiral stationary phase: An unexpected reversal in enantiometric elution order

Summary High pressure liquid chromatographic methods for the determination of diphenylmethane-4,4-diisocyanate (MDI) and toluene diisocyanate (TDI) in chemical products are described. The MDI- and TDI monomers were determined as their urea derivative formed by the reaction with 9-(methyl aminomethyl)-anthracene. Using these methods MDI- and TDI monomer concentrations have been determined in 55 chemical products: sealing waxes, insulating- and adhesive foam, hardener, primer, adhesives and surface coatings. The recovery of both MDI and TDI monomers from various types of chemical product was found to be 92–97%, and the relative standard deviations of the methods was <5% for all types of products.     

Structural analysis of metal interactions with the dinucleotide duplex, dCG x dCG, using ion mobility mass spectrometry

The metal binding properties of the dinucleotide duplex, dCG x dCG, were analyzed in the gas phase with ion mobility mass spectrometry. Both MALDI and ESI were used to generate [M(dCG x dCG)]+ complexes. The collision cross section of each complex was measured in helium using ion mobility based methods and compared to calculated cross sections of theoretical structures. When metal cations classified as hard acids were combined with dCG x dCG, the [M(dCG x dCG)]+ complex organized into a globular structure. However, when soft acid metal cations were examined, a structure was observed where the two C-G base pairs were Watson-Crick bound.     

Evidence of Shear Rate Dependence on Restructuring and Breakup of Latex Aggregates

Small-angle static light scattering has been used to probe the evolution of aggregate size and structure in the shear-induced aggregation of latex particles. The size of aggregates obtained from the particle-sizing instrument (Coulter LS230) was compared with the size of those obtained with another approach utilizing the Guinier equation on the scattering data. Comparison of the two methods for studying the effects of mixing on the evolution of the aggregate size with time revealed similar trends. The aggregate structures were quantified in terms of their fractal dimensions on the grounds of the validity of Rayleigh-Gans-Debye scattering theory for the fractal aggregates. Analysis of the scattering patterns of aggregates verified that restructuring of the aggregates occurred as the aggregates were exposed to certain shear environments, resulting in a scale-dependent structure that could not be quantified by a fractal dimension. The effect of restructuring on aggregate size was particularly noticeable when the aggregates were exposed to average shear rates of 40 to 80 s(-1), whereas no significant restructuring occurred at lower shear rates. At 100 s(-1), the fragmentation of aggregates appeared to be more significant than aggregate compac-tion. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

The RHIM of the Immune Adaptor Protein TRIF Forms Hybrid Amyloids with Other Necroptosis-Associated Proteins

TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-β (TRIF) is an innate immune protein that serves as an adaptor for multiple cellular signalling outcomes in the context of infection. TRIF is activated via ligation of Toll-like receptors 3 and 4. One outcome of TRIF-directed signalling is the activation of the programmed cell death pathway necroptosis, which is governed by interactions between proteins that contain a RIP Homotypic Interaction Motif (RHIM). TRIF contains a RHIM sequence and can interact with receptor interacting protein kinases 1 (RIPK1) and 3 (RIPK3) to initiate necroptosis. Here, we demonstrate that the RHIM of TRIF is amyloidogenic and supports the formation of homomeric TRIF-containing fibrils. We show that the core tetrad sequence within the RHIM governs the supramolecular organisation of TRIF amyloid assemblies, although the stable amyloid core of TRIF amyloid fibrils comprises a much larger region than the conserved RHIM only. We provide evidence that RHIMs of TRIF, RIPK1 and RIPK3 interact directly to form heteromeric structures and that these TRIF-containing hetero-assemblies display altered and emergent properties that likely underlie necroptosis signalling in response to Toll-like receptor activation.     

A 1H MRS study of probable Alzheimer's disease and normal aging: implications for longitudinal monitoring of dementia progression

In order to evaluate the capability of 1H MRS to monitor longitudinal changes in subjects with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), the temporal stability of the metabolite measures N-acetylaspartate and N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NA), total Creatine (Cr), myo-Inositol (mI), total Choline (Chol), NA/Cr, mI/Cr, Chol/Cr and NA/mI were investigated in a cohort of normal older adults. Only the metabolite measures NA, mI, Cr, NA/Cr, mI/Cr, and NA/mI were found to be stable after a mean interval of 260 days. Relative and absolute metabolite measures from a cohort of patients with probable AD were subsequently compared with data from a sample of normal older adult control subjects, and correlated with mental status and the degree of atrophy in the localized voxel. Concentrations of NA, NA/Cr, and NA/mI were significantly reduced in the AD group with concomitant significant increases in mI and mI/Cr. There were no differences between the two groups in measures of Cr, Chol, or Chol/Cr. Significant correlations between mental status as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination and NA/mI, mI/Cr and NA were found. These metabolite measures were also significantly correlated with the extent of atrophy (as measured by CSF and GM composition) in the spectroscopy voxel.     

Mixed-Isotope Labeling with LC-IMS-MS for Characterization of Protein–Protein Interactions by Chemical Cross-Linking

Chemical cross-linking of proteins followed by proteolysis and mass spectrometric analysis of the resulting cross-linked peptides provides powerful insight into the quaternary structure of protein complexes. Mixed-isotope cross-linking (a method for distinguishing intermolecular cross-links) was coupled with liquid chromatography, ion mobility spectrometry and mass spectrometry (LC-IMS-MS) to provide an additional separation dimension to the traditional cross-linking approach. This method produced multiplet m/z peaks that are aligned in the IMS drift time dimension and serve as signatures of intermolecular cross-linked peptides. We developed an informatics tool to use the amino acid sequence information inherent in the multiplet spacing for accurate identification of the cross-linked peptides. Because of the separation of cross-linked and non-cross-linked peptides in drift time, our LC-IMS-MS approach was able to confidently detect more intermolecular cross-linked peptides than LC-MS alone.      

Effects of oxidation pretreatment temperature on Kovar used as CO_2 reforming catalyst

The effect of oxidation pretreatment temperature(500 ~ 1 000 ℃) on the catalytic activity of Kovar applied on hydrocarbon CO2reforming was examined. Catalytic performance evaluation using tetradecane at 800 ℃ with 70 μmol/s CO2revealed 700 and 1 000 ℃ as the best pre-oxidation temperature in producing CO and H2,respectively. XRD and SEM-EDX analyses showed that a separate metal oxide layer composed of iron oxide(Fe2O3and F3O4),nickel,cobalt,and possibly their respective oxides started to form when oxidation was conducted at 700 ℃ or higher.The presence of iron enhanced the stability of nickel in the structure while the compact structure of Fe3O4resulted into the formation of a thick and rigid metal oxide layer on the surface of the Kovar tube. The strong physical bond between the metal oxide layer and Kovar tube provided the catalyst good mechanical strength and consequently good catalytic activity.