Observation of persistent α‐helical content and discrete types of backbone disorder during a molten globule to ordered peptide transition via deep‐UV resonance Raman spectroscopy

The molten globule (MG) state can aid in the folding of a protein to a functional structure and is loosely defined as an increase in structural disorder with conservation of the ensemble secondary structure content. Simultaneous observation of persistent secondary structure content with increased disorder has remained experimentally problematic. As a consequence, modeling how the MG state remains stable and how it facilitates proper folding remains difficult due to a lack of amenable spectroscopic techniques to characterize this class of partially unfolded proteins. Previously, deep‐UV resonance Raman (dUVRR) spectroscopy has proven useful in the resolution of global and local structural fluctuations in the secondary structure of proteins. In this work, dUVRR was employed to study the MG to ordered transition of a model four‐helix bundle protein, HP7. Both the average ensemble secondary structure and types of local disorder were monitored, without perturbation of the solvent, pH, or temperature. The MG to ordered transition is induced by stepwise coordination of two heme molecules. Persistent dUVRR spectral features in the amide III region at 1295–1301 and 1335–1338 cm⁻¹ confirm previous observations that HP7 remains predominantly helical in the MG versus the fully ordered state. Additionally, these spectra represent the first demonstration of conserved helical content in a MG protein. With successive heme binding, significant losses are observed in the spectral intensity of the amide III₃ and S regions (1230–1260 and 1390 cm⁻¹, respectively), which are known to be sensitive to local disorder. These observations indicate that there is a decrease in the structural populations able to explore various extended conformations with successive heme binding events. DUVRR spectra indicate that the first heme coordination between two helical segments diminishes exploration of more elongated backbone structural conformations in the inter‐helical regions. A second heme coordination by the remaining two helices further restricts protein motion. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

异质结构光子晶体的能带特性研究

运用光学传输矩阵理论,研究了异质结构光子晶体的能带特性。结果表明,与周期结构相比异质结构光子晶体可以显著地拓宽光子晶体的光子带隙;在该文提出的结构中引入缺陷,与(1H1L)m(1H)n(1L1H)m光子晶体相比,产生缺陷模式光子带隙范围明显拓宽,适当调整缺陷层的数目、位置和厚度可得到多通道滤波;并研究了实际操作中随机误差带来的影响,随无序度的增大,其带宽基本不变。     

Mössbauer and X-ray diffraction characterization of Fe60Al40 coatings prepared by thermal spraying

Microstructured (atomized) and nanostructured (milled) Fe₆₀Al₄₀ powders together with their corresponding coatings synthesized by High Velocity Oxy-fuel (HVOF) or Atmospheric Plasma Spray (APS) thermal spraying techniques have been characterized by Mössbauer Spectroscopy (MS) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The evolution of the microstructure and the atomic ordering degree in the powders and coatings are discussed at the light of the various processing conditions. The operational correlation between the parameters of the duplex morphology of coatings and the processing parameters is discussed.     

Fermionic Ising glasses with BCS pairing interaction. Tricritical behaviour

We have examined the role of the BCS pairing mechanism in the formation of the magnetic moment and henceforth a spin glass (SG) phase by studying a fermionic Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model with a local BCS coupling between the fermions. This model is obtained by using perturbation theory to trace out the conduction electrons degrees of freedom in conventional superconducting alloys. The model is formulated in the path integral formalism where the spin operators are represented by bilinear combinations of Grassmann fields and it reduces to a single site problem that can be solved within the static approximation with a replica symmetric ansatz. We argue that this is a valid procedure for values of temperature above the de Almeida-Thouless instability line. The phase diagram in the T-g plane, where g is the strength of the pairing interaction, for fixed variance J ² /N of the random couplings J_ij, exhibits three regions: a normal paramagnetic (NP) phase, a spin glass (SG) phase and a pairing (PAIR) phase where there is formation of local pairs.The NP and PAIR phases are separated by a second order transition line g=g _c (T) that ends at a tricritical point T ₃ =0.9807J, g ₃ =5,8843J, from where it becomes a first order transition line that meets the line of second order transitions at T _c =0.9570J that separates the NP and the SG phases. For T<T _c the SG phase is separated from the PAIR phase by a line of first order transitions. These results agree qualitatively with experimental data in . Received 14 May 1998     

Cassie's Law and Concavity of Wall Tension with Respect to Disorder

For the semiinfinite Ising model with quenched boundary disorder, we prove concavity inequalities for the difference of wall tensions associated with the minus and plus phases. These inequalities generalize phenomenological equalitiesknown as Cassie's law.     

Replica Symmetry Breaking in Short-Range Spin Glasses: Theoretical Foundations and Numerical Evidences

We discuss replica symmetry breaking (RSB) in spin glasses. We update work in this area, from both the analytical and numerical points of view. We give particular attention to the difficulties stressed by Newman and Stein concerning the problem of constructing pure states in spin glass systems. We mainly discuss what happens in finite-dimensional, realistic spin glasses. Together with a detailed review of some of the most important features, facts, data, and phenomena, we present some new theoretical ideas and numerical results. We discuss among others the basic idea of the RSB theory, correlation functions, interfaces, overlaps, pure states, random field, and the dynamical approach. We present new numerical results for the behaviors of coupled replicas and about the numerical verification of sum rules, and we review some of the available numerical results that we consider of larger importance (for example, the determination of the phase transition point, the correlation functions, the window overlaps, and the dynamical behavior of the system).     

Diffuse scattering of modulated structures and quasicrystals

The method of Fourier transforms is applied to the calculation of sharp (coherent) and diffuse (incoherent) scattering of modulated structures and quasicrystals. It is shown that the fundamental difference between both may best be described by introducing different distribution functions of atoms, before applying modulations of the structure.     

A new experimental technique for measuring the local birefringence and molecular orientation in liquid crystals

A new experimental technique is described for the measurement of local birefringence and molecular orientation in liquid crystals. This technique consists in analyzing the local channeled spectra obtained by optical polarising microscopy.     

A high temperature diffraction study of synthetic titanite catiosio4

The results of a high temperature single crystal X-ray diffraction study of synthetic titanite within the stability field of the A2/a (C2/c) paraphase (T > 500 K) are reported. The structure has been refined using a conventional model and one in which the Ca atom is disordered over two positions. A break in thermal expansion near T _c = 825 K correlates with an effective volume contraction of the Ti octahedron. When refined with split Ca position a reorientation of the Ca displacement vector at T _c is found, resulting in a more symmetrical structural arrangement of the disordered Ca cations with respect to the surrounding Ti cations. In the conventional model this reorientation is seen as a break in the thermal elongation of the shortest Ti-Ca distance. The observed temperature of the isosymmetrical structural instability is in agreement with previous observations based on Hard Mode IR and Raman spectroscopic measurements. A possible mechanism causing the observed structural changes and similarities to the thermal behaviour of the iso-structural malayaite, CaSnSiO₅, are discussed.