Reversible binding of the HPLC6 isoform of type I antifreeze proteins to ice surfaces and the antifreeze mechanism studied by multiple quantum filtering-spin exchange NMR experiment

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) protect organisms from freezing damage by inhibiting the growth of seed-ice crystals. It has long been hypothesized that irreversible binding of AFPs to ice surfaces is responsible for inhibiting the growth of seed-ice crystals as such a mechanism supports the popularly accepted Kelvin effect for the explanation of local freezing-point depression. However, whether the binding is reversible or irreversible is still under debate due to the lack of direct experimental evidence. Here, we report the first direct experimental result, by using the newly developed multiple quantum (MQ) filtering-spin exchange NMR experiment, that shows that the binding of HPLC6 peptides to ice surfaces is reversible. It was found that the reversible process can be explained by the model of monolayer adsorption. These results suggest that the Kelvin effect is not suitable for explaining the antifreeze mechanism, and direct interactions between the peptides and the ice-surface binding sites are the driving forces for the binding of AFPs to ice surfaces. We propose that there exists a concentration gradient of AFP from an ice-binding surface to the solution due to the affinity of ice surfaces to AFPs. This concentration gradient creates a dense layer of AFP in contact with the ice-binding surface, which depresses the local freezing point because of the colligative property, but not the Kelvin effect.     

A Comparative Study on the Failure Criteria for Predicting the Damage Initiation in Fiber-Reinforced Composites

Mechanics of Composite Materials - In this research, the maximum stress, Hashin, Puck, LaRC03, and Northwestern University (NU) criteria are analyzed based literature data, analytical results...     

On hyper-Zagreb index conditions for hamiltonicity of graphs

Czechoslovak Mathematical Journal - During the last decade, several research groups have published results on sufficient conditions for the hamiltonicity of graphs by using some topological...     

Residual analysis and parameter estimation of uncertain differential equations

Fuzzy Optimization and Decision Making - All existing methods to estimate unknown parameters in uncertain differential equations are based on difference scheme, and do not work when the time...     

Structure,trend and prospect of operational research: a scientific analysis for publications from 1952 to 2020 included in Web of Science database

As an important research direction, operational research (OR) has always attracted scholars worldwide. We study the structure, trend and prospect in the OR field by conducting a bibliometric analysis of publications in the period of 1952–2020, which are included in the Web of Science (WoS) database. Using three effective bibliometric tools, namely, VOS viewer, CiteSpace, and Bibliometrix, a total of 5,353 publications were retrieved to show clear visual results using a series of scientific analyses. First, a performance analysis revealed the basic characteristics of publications considering the type distribution, annual trend, quantity and quality. Then, a cooperation analysis presented the influential countries/regions and showed the relationships among countries/regions, institutions and authors during different periods based on bibliometric indicators and co-authorship networks. Moreover, a keyword analysis was conducted to investigate the hot topics and development of the OR field, using co-occurrence analysis, timeline view analysis and evolution analysis. Finally, we discussed the implications and limitations, and summarized the main findings. This study hopes to provide important and valuable references for future research on the OR field.