Phosphoinositide-binding interface proteins involved in shaping cell membranes

The mechanism by which cell and cell membrane shapes are created has long been a subject of great interest. Among the phosphoinositide-binding proteins, a group of proteins that can change the shape of membranes, in addition to the phosphoinositide-binding ability, has been found. These proteins, which contain membrane-deforming domains such as the BAR, EFC/F-BAR, and the IMD/I-BAR domains, led to inward-invaginated tubes or outward protrusions of the membrane, resulting in a variety of membrane shapes. Furthermore, these proteins not only bind to phosphoinositide, but also to the N-WASP/WAVE complex and the actin polymerization machinery, which generates a driving force to shape the membranes.     

On the inclusion of collisional correlations in quantum dynamics

We present a formalism to describe collisional correlations responsible for thermalization effects in finite quantum systems. The approach consists in a stochastic extension of time dependent mean field theory. Correlations are treated in time dependent perturbation theory and loss of coherence is assumed at some time intervals allowing a stochastic reduction of the correlated dynamics in terms of a stochastic ensemble of time dependent mean-fields. This theory was formulated long ago in terms of density matrices but never applied in practical cases because of its complexity. We propose here a reformulation of the theory in terms of wave functions and use a simplified 1D model of cluster and molecules allowing to test the theory in a schematic but realistic manner. We illustrate the performance in terms of several observables, in particular global moments of the density matrix and single particle entropy built on occupation numbers. The occupation numbers remain fixed in time dependent mean-field propagation and change when evaluating the correlations, then taking fractional values. They converge asymptotically towards Fermi distributions which is a clear indication of thermalization.     

Semiclassical matrix model for quantum chaotic transport with time-reversal symmetry

We show that the semiclassical approach to chaotic quantum transport in the presence of time-reversal symmetry can be described by a matrix model. In other words, we construct a matrix integral whose perturbative expansion satisfies the semiclassical diagrammatic rules for the calculation of transport statistics. One of the virtues of this approach is that it leads very naturally to the semiclassical derivation of universal predictions from random matrix theory.     

Stability analysis of a class of uncertain switched systems on time scale using Lyapunov functions

This paper deals with the stability analysis of a class of uncertain switched systems on non-uniform time domains. The considered class consists of dynamical systems which commute between an uncertain continuous-time subsystem and an uncertain discrete-time subsystem during a certain period of time. The theory of dynamic equations on time scale is used to study the stability of these systems on non-uniform time domains formed by a union of disjoint intervals with variable length and variable gap. Using the concept of common Lyapunov function, sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee the asymptotic stability of this class of systems on time scale with bounded graininess function. The proposed scheme is used to study the leader–follower consensus problem under intermittent information transmissions.     

Sulfur-Containing Vinyl Monomers. XV. Kinetic Study of Radical Polymerization of Vinyl Mercaptobenzothiazole and Its Copolymerization

A kinetic study of radical polymerization of vinyl mercaptobenzothiazole (VMBT) with α,α′-azobisisobutyonitrile (AIBN) at 60°C was carried out. The rate of polymerization (R_p) was found to be expressed by the rate equation: R_p = k[AIBN]^0.5 [VMBT]^1.0, indicating that the polymerization of this monomer proceeds via an ordinary radical mechanism. The apparent activation energy for overall polymerization was calculated to be 20.9 kcal/mole. Moreover, this monomer was copolymerized with methyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, vinyl acetate, phenyl vinyl sulfide, maleic anhydride, and fumaronitrile at 60°C. From the results obtained, the copolymerization parameters were determined and discussed.     

Rivality index neighbourhood algorithm with density and distances weighted schemes for the building of robust QSAR classification models with high reliable applicability domain

The rivality index (RI) is a normalized distance measurement between a molecule and their first nearest neighbours providing a robust prediction of the activity of a molecule based on the known activity of their nearest neighbours. Negative values of the RI describe molecules that would be correctly classified by a statistic algorithm and, vice versa, positive values of this index describe those molecules detected as outliers by the classification algorithms. In this paper, we have described a classification algorithm based on the RI and we have proposed four weighted schemes (kernels) for its calculation based on the measuring of different characteristics of the neighbourhood of molecules for each molecule of the dataset at established values of the threshold of neighbours. The results obtained have demonstrated that the proposed classification algorithm, based on the RI, generates more reliable and robust classification models than many of the more used and well-known machine learning algorithms. These results have been validated and corroborated by using 20 balanced and unbalanced benchmark datasets of different sizes and modelability. The classification models generated provide valuable information about the molecules of the dataset, the applicability domain of the models and the reliability of the predictions.     

Suppression of Photoinduced BBO Defects Generation on TIO2（110） by Water

We have investigated creation of variable concentrations of defects on TIO2（110）-（1×1） surface by 266 nm laser using temperature programmed desorption technique. Oxygen-vacancy defects can be easily induced by ultraviolet light, the defects concentration has a linear dependence on power density higher than 50 mW/cm2 for 90 s irradiation. No observation of O2 molecule and Ti atom desorption suggests that UV induced defects creation on TiO2（110）-（1×1） is an effective and gentle method. With pre-dosage of thin films of water, the rate of defects creation on TiO2（110）-（1×1） is slower at least by two orders of magnitude than bare TiO2（110）-（1×1） surface. Further investigations show that water can be more easily desorbed by UV light, and thus desorption of bridging oxygen is depressed.     

Copper-containing dendromesogens: the influence of the metal on the mesomorphism

The synthesis and liquid crystalline behaviour of the first and second generations of a dendrimeric structure based on poly(propyleneimine)(DAB-dendr(NH₂)_x) are reported. 4-(4-n-Alkoxybenzoyloxy)salicylaldehydes are used as mesogenic moieties attached at the peripheral amino groups of the dendrimers giving rise to dendromesogens with four and eight mesogenic branches. From these dendromesogens, considered as organic ligands, were prepared six metal-containing dendrimers which incorporate two or four copper atoms in their structures. All the dendrimeric ligands and three of the metal-containing dendrimers exhibit liquid crystalline properties which were studied by optical microscopy, DSC, X-ray diffraction and EPR spectroscopy.     

On Nash approximation of complex analytic sets in Runge domains

We prove that every complex analytic set X in a Runge domain Ω   can be approximated by Nash sets on any relatively compact subdomain _Ω0${\Omega }_0$ of Ω. Moreover, for every Nash subset Y of Ω   with Y⊂X$Y\subset X$, the approximating sets can be chosen so that they contain Y∩_Ω0$Y\cap {\Omega }_0$. As a consequence, we derive a necessary and sufficient condition for a complex analytic set X to admit a Nash approximation which coincides with X along its arbitrary given subset.