Spectroscopic and computational studies of Co2+corrinoids: spectral and electronic properties of the biologically relevant base-on and base-off forms of Co2+cobalamin

Co(2+)cobalmain (Co(2+)Cbl) is implicated in the catalytic cycles of all adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl)-dependent enzymes, as in each case catalysis is initiated through homolytic cleavage of the cofactor's Co-C bond. The rate of Co-C bond homolysis, while slow for the free cofactor, is accelerated by 12 orders of magnitude when AdoCbl is bound to the protein active site, possibly through enzyme-mediated stabilization of the post-homolysis products. As an essential step toward the elucidation of the mechanism of enzymatic Co-C bond activation, we employed electronic absorption (Abs), magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), and resonance Raman spectroscopies to characterize the electronic excited states of Co(2+)Cbl and Co(2+)cobinamide (Co(2+)Cbi(+), a cobalamin derivative that lacks the nucleotide loop and 5,6-dimethylbenzimazole (DMB) base and instead binds a water molecule in the lower axial position). Although relatively modest differences exist between the Abs spectra of these two Co(2+)corrinoid species, MCD data reveal that substitution of the lower axial ligand gives rise to dramatic changes in the low-energy region where Co(2+)-centered ligand field transitions are expected to occur. Our quantitative analysis of these spectral changes within the framework of time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations indicates that corrin-based pi --> pi transitions, which dominate the Co(2+)corrinoid Abs spectra, are essentially insulated from perturbations of the lower ligand environment. Contrastingly, the Co(2+)-centered ligand field transitions, which are observed here for the first time using MCD spectroscopy, are extremely sensitive to alterations in the Co(2+) ligand environment and thus may serve as excellent reporters of enzyme-induced perturbations of the Co(2+) state. The power of this combined spectroscopic/computational methodology for studying Co(2+)corrinoid/enzyme active site interactions is demonstrated by the dramatic changes in the MCD spectrum as Co(2+)Cbi(+) binds to the adenosyltransferase CobA.     

Epidemiological impact of waning immunization on a vaccinated population

This is an epidemiological SIRV model based study that is designed to analyze the impact of vaccination in containing infection spread, in a 4-tiered population compartment comprised of susceptible, infected, recovered and vaccinated agents. While many models assume a lifelong protection through vaccination, we focus on the impact of waning immunization due to conversion of vaccinated and recovered agents back to susceptible ones. Two asymptotic states exist, the “disease-free equilibrium” and the “endemic equilibrium” and we express the transitions between these states as function of the vaccination and conversion rates and using the basic reproduction number. We find that the vaccination of newborns and adults have different consequences on controlling an epidemic. Also, a decaying disease protection within the recovered sub-population is not sufficient to trigger an epidemic at the linear level. We perform simulations for a parameter set mimicking a disease with waning immunization like pertussis. For a diffusively coupled population, a transition to the endemic state can proceed via the propagation of a traveling infection wave, described successfully within a Fisher-Kolmogorov framework.     

膜流动电位测试中Ag-AgCl电极的制备及稳定性研究

膜的动电特性研究中,往往采用流动电位方法。该方法中,Ag-Ag Cl测试电极的质量是影响测试准确性的关键要素。本文采用正交试验设计和方差分析,着重考察电解法制备Ag-Ag Cl电极过程中,电流强度(I)、氯化时间(t)、电解质溶液浓度(CHCl)、电极来源(n)、烘烤温度(T)、活化电极溶液浓度(CKCl)等因素对Ag-Ag Cl电极稳定性的影响。得到Ag-Ag Cl电极的最优制备参数为:电流密度3.0m A/cm2,氯化时间50min,盐酸浓度0.1mol·L-1,烘烤温度120℃,活化电极溶液(KCl)浓度0.001mol·L-1;最显著影响因素为电极来源,显著影响因素为氯化时间和烘烤温度。对最优条件组合下制备的AgAg Cl电极,进行了稳定性实验,结果表明:制备的电极具有较好的稳定性,24h内电极电位漂移量小于0.10mv,7天内电极电位漂移量小于0.2mv;在聚偏氟乙烯中空纤维超滤膜流动电位测试中,流动电位与流动压差具有良好的线性和可重复性,回归曲线R20.99,变化规律符合Helmholtz-Smoluehowski公式,可以较好满足膜的流动电位测试要求。     

镁掺杂氧化铈整体式催化剂催化CO2和CH3OH直接合成碳酸二甲酯

采用共沉淀法成功地合成了不同Mg掺杂量的Ce_1-xMg_xO₂(x=0.05、0.10、0.15、0.20)固溶体催化材料,并运用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、氮气吸附-脱附测试、拉曼光谱、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、CO₂程序升温脱附(CO₂-TPD)等技术对这些材料进行了表征。结果发现,通过调控CeO₂晶格中Mg的含量,可以调控所制备的Ce_1-xMg_xO₂催化材料的粒径、比表面积、表面缺陷等。其中Ce_0.90Mg_0.10O₂展现了最佳的表面性质,具有最小的平均粒径(约5.8 nm),最大的比表面积(约136 m2·g^-1)以及最高的表面氧含量(31.98%)。将Ce_1-xMg_xO₂催化材料涂覆在堇青石蜂窝陶瓷上制成整体催化剂,考察其对CO₂和CH₃OH直接合成碳酸二甲酯的催化性能。在140℃、2.4 MPa、反应2 h的条件下,Ce_0.90Mg_0.10O₂整体催化剂上碳酸二甲酯的收率高达20.21%,催化效果明显优于CeO₂和其余的Ce_1-xMg_xO₂(x=0.05、0.15、0.20)催化材料。     

An integral for nonmeasurable correspondences and the shapley-interval

For a nonmeasurable correspondence there may be no measurable selection and this implies the non-existence of the usual integral of the correspondence. We define an extended integral for correspondences via premeasurable selections and study properties of this new integral.