A selective catalytic side chain oxidation of lysine and ornithine derivatives

The fully protected derivatives of the diamino acids lysine and ornithine (n=1, 2) can be oxidized selectively in the side chain using a Mn(OAc)₂/peracetic acid/NaOAc system. The ε or γ carbon, respectively, is converted to the aldehyde oxidation state, protected as the cyclic N,N-acetal.     

All Groups are Outer Automorphism Groups of Simple Groups

It is shown that each group is the outer automorphism groupof a simple group. Surprisingly, the proof is mainly based onthe theory of ordered or relational structures and their symmetrygroups. By a recent result of Droste and Shelah, any group isthe outer automorphism group Out (Aut T) of the automorphismgroup Aut T of a doubly homogeneous chain (T, ). However, AutT is never simple. Following recent investigations on automorphismgroups of circles, it is possible to turn (T, ) into a circleC such that Out (Aut T) Out (Aut C). The unavoidable normalsubgroups in Aut T evaporate in Aut C, which is now simple,and the result follows.     

Uncountable Cofinalities of Permutation Groups

A sufficient criterion is found for certain permutation groupsG to have uncountable strong cofinality, that is, they cannotbe expressed as the union of a countable, ascending chain (H_i)_i     

On the construction of hourly price forward curves for electricity prices

Computational Management Science - There are several approaches in the literature for the derivation of price forward curves (PFCs) which distinguish among each other by the procedure employed for...     

Visibility spectroscopy with electron waves using a Wien filter: higher order corrections

Fourier spectroscopy, one of the most precise spectrometry methods in light optics, has been realized in the past years with electron waves by including a crossed-field analyzer (Wien filter) as a wave packet shifting device into a biprism interferometer. To fully exploit the high precision of this method of determining the energy spectrum, higher order corrections stemming from the Wien filter's focusing action are necessary in the evaluation of the measurement. We show that these can be taken into account by using a transformation variable being proportional to the quotient of electric field strength of the Wien capacitor over fringe spacing. Finally, we make some remarks about the possibility of interference of inelastically scattered electrons.     

Engineering de novo membrane-mediated protein-protein communication networks

Mechanical properties of biological membranes are known to regulate membrane protein function. Despite this, current models of protein communication typically feature only direct protein-protein or protein-small molecule interactions. Here we show for the first time that, by harnessing nanoscale mechanical energy within biological membranes, it is possible to promote controlled communication between proteins. By coupling lipid-protein modules and matching their response to the mechanical properties of the membrane, we have shown that the action of phospholipase A(2) on acyl-based phospholipids triggers the opening of the mechanosensitive channel, MscL, by generating membrane asymmetry. Our findings confirm that the global physical properties of biological membranes can act as information pathways between proteins, a novel mechanism of membrane-mediated protein-protein communication that has important implications for (i) the underlying structure of signaling pathways, (ii) our understanding of in vivo communication networks, and (iii) the generation of building blocks for artificial protein networks.     

High transmission 3D printed flex‐PCB‐based ion funnel

In this study a novel fabrication method for a radio frequency (RF) ion funnel is presented. RF ion funnels are important devices for focusing ion clouds at low vacuum conditions for mass spectrometry or deposition‐related applications. Typically, ion funnels are constructed of stainless steel plate ring electrodes with a decreasing diameter where RF and direct current potentials are applied to the electrodes to focus the ion cloud. The presented novel design is based on a flexible circuit board that serves both as the signal distribution circuit and as the electrodes of the ion funnel. The flexible circuit board is rolled into a 3D printed scaffold to create a funnel shape with ring electrodes formed by the copper electrodes of the flexible circuit board. The design is characterized in direct comparison with a conventional steel‐plate electrode design. The discussed results show that the new funnel has similar performance to the conventionally designed funnel despite much lower manufacturing costs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.