Crystal structure of an EAL domain in complex with reaction product 5'-pGpG.

Science.gov (United States)

Robert-Paganin, Julien; Nonin-Lecomte, Sylvie; Réty, Stéphane

2012-01-01

FimX is a large multidomain protein containing an EAL domain and involved in twitching motility in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We present here two crystallographic structures of the EAL domain of FimX (residues 438-686): one of the apo form and the other of a complex with 5'-pGpG, the reaction product of the hydrolysis of c-di-GMP. In both crystal forms, the EAL domains form a dimer delimiting a large cavity encompassing the catalytic pockets. The ligand is trapped in this cavity by its sugar phosphate moiety. We confirmed by NMR that the guanine bases are not involved in the interaction in solution. We solved here the first structure of an EAL domain bound to the reaction product 5'-pGpG. Though isolated FimX EAL domain has a very low catalytic activity, which would not be significant compared to other catalytic EAL domains, the structure with the product of the reaction can provides some hints in the mechanism of hydrolysis of the c-di-GMP by EAL domains.

Exact solutions of linear reaction-diffusion processes on a uniformly growing domain: criteria for successful colonization.

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, Matthew J

2015-01-01

Many processes during embryonic development involve transport and reaction of molecules, or transport and proliferation of cells, within growing tissues. Mathematical models of such processes usually take the form of a reaction-diffusion partial differential equation (PDE) on a growing domain. Previous analyses of such models have mainly involved solving the PDEs numerically. Here, we present a framework for calculating the exact solution of a linear reaction-diffusion PDE on a growing domain. We derive an exact solution for a general class of one-dimensional linear reaction-diffusion process on 0exact solutions with numerical approximations confirms the veracity of the method. Furthermore, our examples illustrate a delicate interplay between: (i) the rate at which the domain elongates, (ii) the diffusivity associated with the spreading density profile, (iii) the reaction rate, and (iv) the initial condition. Altering the balance between these four features leads to different outcomes in terms of whether an initial profile, located near x = 0, eventually overcomes the domain growth and colonizes the entire length of the domain by reaching the boundary where x = L(t).

Toward mechanistic classification of enzyme functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Almonacid, Daniel E; Babbitt, Patricia C

2011-06-01

Classification of enzyme function should be quantitative, computationally accessible, and informed by sequences and structures to enable use of genomic information for functional inference and other applications. Large-scale studies have established that divergently evolved enzymes share conserved elements of structure and common mechanistic steps and that convergently evolved enzymes often converge to similar mechanisms too, suggesting that reaction mechanisms could be used to develop finer-grained functional descriptions than provided by the Enzyme Commission (EC) system currently in use. Here we describe how evolution informs these structure-function mappings and review the databases that store mechanisms of enzyme reactions along with recent developments to measure ligand and mechanistic similarities. Together, these provide a foundation for new classifications of enzyme function. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gold-catalyzed tandem hydroamination/formal aza-Diels-Alder reaction of homopropargyl amino esters: a combined computational and experimental mechanistic study.

Science.gov (United States)

Miró, Javier; Sánchez-Roselló, María; González, Javier; del Pozo, Carlos; Fustero, Santos

2015-03-27

A tandem gold-catalyzed hydroamination/formal aza-Diels-Alder reaction is described. This process, which employs quaternary homopropargyl amino ester substrates, leads to the formation of an intrincate tetracyclic framework and involves the generation of four bonds and five stereocenters in a highly diastereoselective manner. Theoretical calculations have allowed us to propose a suitable mechanistic rationalization for the tandem protocol. Additionally, by studying the influence of the ligands on the rate of the gold-catalyzed reactions, it was possible to establish optimum conditions in which to perform the process with a variety of substituents on the amino ester substrates. Notably, the asymmetric version of the tandem reaction was also evaluated. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Explanation and inference: Mechanistic and functional explanations guide property generalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tania eLombrozo

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The ability to generalize from the known to the unknown is central to learning and inference. Two experiments explore the relationship between how a property is explained and how that property is generalized to novel species and artifacts. The experiments contrast the consequences of explaining a property mechanistically, by appeal to parts and processes, with the consequences of explaining the property functionally, by appeal to functions and goals. The findings suggest that properties that are explained functionally are more likely to be generalized on the basis of shared functions, with a weaker relationship between mechanistic explanations and generalization on the basis of shared parts and processes. The influence of explanation type on generalization holds even though all participants are provided with the same mechanistic and functional information, and whether an explanation type is freely generated (Experiment 1, experimentally provided (Experiment 2, or experimentally induced (Experiment 2. The experiments also demonstrate that explanations and generalizations of a particular type (mechanistic or functional can be experimentally induced by providing sample explanations of that type, with a comparable effect when the sample explanations come from the same domain or from a different domains. These results suggest that explanations serve as a guide to generalization, and contribute to a growing body of work supporting the value of distinguishing mechanistic and functional explanations.

Explanation and inference: mechanistic and functional explanations guide property generalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Lombrozo, Tania; Gwynne, Nicholas Z

2014-01-01

The ability to generalize from the known to the unknown is central to learning and inference. Two experiments explore the relationship between how a property is explained and how that property is generalized to novel species and artifacts. The experiments contrast the consequences of explaining a property mechanistically, by appeal to parts and processes, with the consequences of explaining the property functionally, by appeal to functions and goals. The findings suggest that properties that are explained functionally are more likely to be generalized on the basis of shared functions, with a weaker relationship between mechanistic explanations and generalization on the basis of shared parts and processes. The influence of explanation type on generalization holds even though all participants are provided with the same mechanistic and functional information, and whether an explanation type is freely generated (Experiment 1), experimentally provided (Experiment 2), or experimentally induced (Experiment 2). The experiments also demonstrate that explanations and generalizations of a particular type (mechanistic or functional) can be experimentally induced by providing sample explanations of that type, with a comparable effect when the sample explanations come from the same domain or from a different domains. These results suggest that explanations serve as a guide to generalization, and contribute to a growing body of work supporting the value of distinguishing mechanistic and functional explanations.

Stability analysis of non-autonomous reaction-diffusion systems: the effects of growing domains

KAUST Repository

Madzvamuse, Anotida; Gaffney, Eamonn A.; Maini, Philip K.

2009-01-01

By using asymptotic theory, we generalise the Turing diffusively-driven instability conditions for reaction-diffusion systems with slow, isotropic domain growth. There are two fundamental biological differences between the Turing conditions on fixed and growing domains, namely: (i) we need not enforce cross nor pure kinetic conditions and (ii) the restriction to activator-inhibitor kinetics to induce pattern formation on a growing biological system is no longer a requirement. Our theoretical findings are confirmed and reinforced by numerical simulations for the special cases of isotropic linear, exponential and logistic growth profiles. In particular we illustrate an example of a reaction-diffusion system which cannot exhibit a diffusively-driven instability on a fixed domain but is unstable in the presence of slow growth. © Springer-Verlag 2009.

Stability analysis of non-autonomous reaction-diffusion systems: the effects of growing domains

KAUST Repository

Madzvamuse, Anotida

2009-08-29

By using asymptotic theory, we generalise the Turing diffusively-driven instability conditions for reaction-diffusion systems with slow, isotropic domain growth. There are two fundamental biological differences between the Turing conditions on fixed and growing domains, namely: (i) we need not enforce cross nor pure kinetic conditions and (ii) the restriction to activator-inhibitor kinetics to induce pattern formation on a growing biological system is no longer a requirement. Our theoretical findings are confirmed and reinforced by numerical simulations for the special cases of isotropic linear, exponential and logistic growth profiles. In particular we illustrate an example of a reaction-diffusion system which cannot exhibit a diffusively-driven instability on a fixed domain but is unstable in the presence of slow growth. © Springer-Verlag 2009.

Learning to predict chemical reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kayala, Matthew A; Azencott, Chloé-Agathe; Chen, Jonathan H; Baldi, Pierre

2011-09-26

Being able to predict the course of arbitrary chemical reactions is essential to the theory and applications of organic chemistry. Approaches to the reaction prediction problems can be organized around three poles corresponding to: (1) physical laws; (2) rule-based expert systems; and (3) inductive machine learning. Previous approaches at these poles, respectively, are not high throughput, are not generalizable or scalable, and lack sufficient data and structure to be implemented. We propose a new approach to reaction prediction utilizing elements from each pole. Using a physically inspired conceptualization, we describe single mechanistic reactions as interactions between coarse approximations of molecular orbitals (MOs) and use topological and physicochemical attributes as descriptors. Using an existing rule-based system (Reaction Explorer), we derive a restricted chemistry data set consisting of 1630 full multistep reactions with 2358 distinct starting materials and intermediates, associated with 2989 productive mechanistic steps and 6.14 million unproductive mechanistic steps. And from machine learning, we pose identifying productive mechanistic steps as a statistical ranking, information retrieval problem: given a set of reactants and a description of conditions, learn a ranking model over potential filled-to-unfilled MO interactions such that the top-ranked mechanistic steps yield the major products. The machine learning implementation follows a two-stage approach, in which we first train atom level reactivity filters to prune 94.00% of nonproductive reactions with a 0.01% error rate. Then, we train an ensemble of ranking models on pairs of interacting MOs to learn a relative productivity function over mechanistic steps in a given system. Without the use of explicit transformation patterns, the ensemble perfectly ranks the productive mechanism at the top 89.05% of the time, rising to 99.86% of the time when the top four are considered. Furthermore, the system

Learning to Predict Chemical Reactions

Science.gov (United States)

Kayala, Matthew A.; Azencott, Chloé-Agathe; Chen, Jonathan H.

2011-01-01

Being able to predict the course of arbitrary chemical reactions is essential to the theory and applications of organic chemistry. Approaches to the reaction prediction problems can be organized around three poles corresponding to: (1) physical laws; (2) rule-based expert systems; and (3) inductive machine learning. Previous approaches at these poles respectively are not high-throughput, are not generalizable or scalable, or lack sufficient data and structure to be implemented. We propose a new approach to reaction prediction utilizing elements from each pole. Using a physically inspired conceptualization, we describe single mechanistic reactions as interactions between coarse approximations of molecular orbitals (MOs) and use topological and physicochemical attributes as descriptors. Using an existing rule-based system (Reaction Explorer), we derive a restricted chemistry dataset consisting of 1630 full multi-step reactions with 2358 distinct starting materials and intermediates, associated with 2989 productive mechanistic steps and 6.14 million unproductive mechanistic steps. And from machine learning, we pose identifying productive mechanistic steps as a statistical ranking, information retrieval, problem: given a set of reactants and a description of conditions, learn a ranking model over potential filled-to-unfilled MO interactions such that the top ranked mechanistic steps yield the major products. The machine learning implementation follows a two-stage approach, in which we first train atom level reactivity filters to prune 94.00% of non-productive reactions with a 0.01% error rate. Then, we train an ensemble of ranking models on pairs of interacting MOs to learn a relative productivity function over mechanistic steps in a given system. Without the use of explicit transformation patterns, the ensemble perfectly ranks the productive mechanism at the top 89.05% of the time, rising to 99.86% of the time when the top four are considered. Furthermore, the system

Cationic Pd(II-catalyzed C–H activation/cross-coupling reactions at room temperature: synthetic and mechanistic studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takashi Nishikata

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Cationic palladium(II complexes have been found to be highly reactive towards aromatic C–H activation of arylureas at room temperature. A commercially available catalyst [Pd(MeCN4](BF42 or a nitrile-free cationic palladium(II complex generated in situ from the reaction of Pd(OAc2 and HBF4, effectively catalyzes C–H activation/cross-coupling reactions between aryl iodides, arylboronic acids and acrylates under milder conditions than those previously reported. The nature of the directing group was found to be critical for achieving room temperature conditions, with the urea moiety the most effective in promoting facile coupling reactions at an ortho C–H position. This methodology has been utilized in a streamlined and efficient synthesis of boscalid, an agent produced on the kiloton scale annually and used to control a range of plant pathogens in broadacre and horticultural crops. Mechanistic investigations led to a proposed catalytic cycle involving three steps: (1 C–H activation to generate a cationic palladacycle; (2 reaction of the cationic palladacycle with an aryl iodide, arylboronic acid or acrylate, and (3 regeneration of the active cationic palladium catalyst. The reaction between a cationic palladium(II complex and arylurea allowed the formation and isolation of the corresponding palladacycle intermediate, characterized by X-ray analysis. Roles of various additives in the stepwise process have also been studied.

Kinetic and mechanistic studies of reactive intermediates in photochemical and transition metal-assisted oxidation, decarboxylation and alkyl transfer reactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carraher, Jack McCaslin [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2014-01-01

Reactive species like high-valent metal-oxo complexes and carbon and oxygen centered radicals are important intermediates in enzymatic systems, atmospheric chemistry, and industrial processes. Understanding the pathways by which these intermediates form, their relative reactivity, and their fate after reactions is of the utmost importance. Herein are described the mechanistic detail for the generation of several reactive intermediates, synthesis of precursors, characterization of precursors, and methods to direct the chemistry to more desirable outcomes yielding ‘greener’ sources of commodity chemicals and fuels.

Mechanistic insights into the hydrocyanation reaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bini, L.

2009-01-01

The hydrocyanation of an alkene is a catalytic carbon-carbon bond formation reaction and the obtained nitriles can be converted into a variety of valuable products. The investigation of this reaction has mainly focused on the DuPont adiponitrile (AdN) process. This process is so far the only example

DNA damage and radical reactions: Mechanistic aspects, formation in cells and repair studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cadet, J.; Ravanat, J.L.; Carell, T.; Cellai, L.; Chatgilialoglu, Ch.; Gimisis, Th.; Miranda, M.; O'Neill, P.; Robert, M.

2008-01-01

Several examples of oxidative and reductive reactions of DNA components that lead to single and tandem modifications are discussed in this review. These include nucleophilic addition reactions of the one-electron oxidation-mediated guanine radical cation and the one-electron reduced intermediate of 8-bromo-purine 2'-de-oxy-ribo-nucleosides that give rise to either an oxidizing guanine radical or related 5',8-cyclo-purine nucleosides. In addition, mechanistic insights into the reductive pathways involved in the photolyase induced reversal of cyclo-buta-cli-pyrimidine and pyrimidine (6-4) pyrimidone photoproducts are provided. Evidence for the occurrence and validation in cellular DNA of (OH) · radical degradation pathways of guanine that have been established in model systems has been gained from the accurate measurement of degradation products. Relevant information on biochemical aspects of the repair of single and clustered oxidatively generated damage to DNA has been gained from detailed investigations that rely on the synthesis of suitable modified probes. Thus the preparation of stable carbocyclic derivatives of purine nucleoside containing defined sequence oligonucleotides has allowed detailed crystallographic studies of the recognition step of the base damage by enzymes implicated in the base excision repair (BER) pathway. Detailed insights are provided on the BER processing of non-double strand break bi-stranded clustered damage that may consist of base lesions, a single strand break or abasic sites and represent one of the main deleterious classes of radiation-induced DNA damage. (authors)

The epigenetic regulator Smchd1 contains a functional GHKL-type ATPase domain.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kelan; Dobson, Renwick C J; Lucet, Isabelle S; Young, Samuel N; Pearce, F Grant; Blewitt, Marnie E; Murphy, James M

2016-06-15

Structural maintenance of chromosomes flexible hinge domain containing 1 (Smchd1) is an epigenetic regulator that plays critical roles in gene regulation during development. Mutations in SMCHD1 were recently implicated in the pathogenesis of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), although the mechanistic basis remains of outstanding interest. We have previously shown that Smchd1 associates with chromatin via its homodimeric C-terminal hinge domain, yet little is known about the function of the putative GHKL (gyrase, Hsp90, histidine kinase, MutL)-type ATPase domain at its N-terminus. To formally assess the structure and function of Smchd1's ATPase domain, we have generated recombinant proteins encompassing the predicted ATPase domain and the adjacent region. Here, we show that the Smchd1 N-terminal region exists as a monomer and adopts a conformation resembling that of monomeric full-length heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) protein in solution, even though the two proteins share only ∼8% overall sequence identity. Despite being monomeric, the N-terminal region of Smchd1 exhibits ATPase activity, which can be antagonized by the reaction product, ADP, or the Hsp90 inhibitor, radicicol, at a nanomolar concentration. Interestingly, introduction of an analogous mutation to that identified in SMCHD1 of an FSHD patient compromised protein stability, suggesting a possible molecular basis for loss of protein function and pathogenesis. Together, these results reveal important structure-function characteristics of Smchd1 that may underpin its mechanistic action at the chromatin level. © 2016 The Author(s). published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Towards Precision Engineering of Canonical Polyketide Synthase Domains: Recent Advances and Future Prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen L. Bayly

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Modular polyketide synthases (mPKSs build functionalized polymeric chains, some of which have become blockbuster therapeutics. Organized into repeating clusters (modules of independently-folding domains, these assembly-line-like megasynthases can be engineered by introducing non-native components. However, poor introduction points and incompatible domain combinations can cause both unintended products and dramatically reduced activity. This limits the engineering and combinatorial potential of mPKSs, precluding access to further potential therapeutics. Different regions on a given mPKS domain determine how it interacts both with its substrate and with other domains. Within the assembly line, these interactions are crucial to the proper ordering of reactions and efficient polyketide construction. Achieving control over these domain functions, through precision engineering at key regions, would greatly expand our catalogue of accessible polyketide products. Canonical mPKS domains, given that they are among the most well-characterized, are excellent candidates for such fine-tuning. The current minireview summarizes recent advances in the mechanistic understanding and subsequent precision engineering of canonical mPKS domains, focusing largely on developments in the past year.

Computer-assisted mechanistic evaluation of organic reactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gushurst, A.J.

1988-01-01

CAMEO, an interactive computer program which predicts the products of organic reactions given starting materials and conditions, has been refined and extended in the area of base-catalyzed and nucleophilic processes. The present capabilities of the program are outlined including brief discussion on the major segments in CAMEO: graphics, perception, and reaction evaluation. The implementation of general algorithms for predicting the acidities of a vast number of organic compounds to within 2 pK{sub a} units in dimethylsulfoxide and water are then described, followed by a presentation of the reactivity rules used by the program to evaluate nucleophilc reactions. Finally, a treatment of sulfur and phosphorus ylides, iminophosphoranes, and P=X-activated anions is given illuminating the various competitions available for these reagents, such as between proton transfer and addition, 1,2- and 1,4-addition, and the Peterson, Wittig, and Horner-Emmons olefination reactions.

Kinetics of Bio-Reactions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villadsen, John

2015-01-01

his chapter predicts the specific rates of reaction by means of a mathematical expression, the kinetics of the reaction. This expression can be derived through a mechanistic interpretation of an enzymatically catalyzed reaction, but it is essentially of empirical nature for cell reactions. The mo...

Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer in Chemical Reactions: A Mechanistic Tool for NMR Detection and Characterization of Transient Intermediates.

Science.gov (United States)

Lokesh, N; Seegerer, Andreas; Hioe, Johnny; Gschwind, Ruth M

2018-02-07

The low sensitivity of NMR and transient key intermediates below detection limit are the central problems studying reaction mechanisms by NMR. Sensitivity can be enhanced by hyperpolarization techniques such as dynamic nuclear polarization or the incorporation/interaction of special hyperpolarized molecules. However, all of these techniques require special equipment, are restricted to selective reactions, or undesirably influence the reaction pathways. Here, we apply the chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) technique for the first time to NMR detect and characterize previously unobserved transient reaction intermediates in organocatalysis. The higher sensitivity of CEST and chemical equilibria present in the reaction pathway are exploited to access population and kinetics information on low populated intermediates. The potential of the method is demonstrated on the proline-catalyzed enamine formation for unprecedented in situ detection of a DPU stabilized zwitterionic iminium species, the elusive key intermediate between enamine and oxazolidinones. The quantitative analysis of CEST data at 250 K revealed the population ratio of [Z-iminium]/[exo-oxazolidinone] 0.02, relative free energy +8.1 kJ/mol (calculated +7.3 kJ/mol), and free energy barrier of +45.9 kJ/mol (ΔG ⧧ calc. (268 K) = +42.2 kJ/mol) for Z-iminium → exo-oxazolidinone. The findings underpin the iminium ion participation in enamine formation pathway corroborating our earlier theoretical prediction and help in better understanding. The reliability of CEST is validated using 1D EXSY-build-up techniques at low temperature (213 K). The CEST method thus serves as a new tool for mechanistic investigations in organocatalysis to access key information, such as chemical shifts, populations, and reaction kinetics of intermediates below the standard NMR detection limit.

Development of a mechanistic model for prediction of CO2 capture from gas mixtures by amine solutions in porous membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghadiri, Mehdi; Marjani, Azam; Shirazian, Saeed

2017-06-01

A mechanistic model was developed in order to predict capture and removal of CO 2 from air using membrane technology. The considered membrane was a hollow-fiber contactor module in which gas mixture containing CO 2 was assumed as feed while 2-amino-2-metyl-1-propanol (AMP) was used as an absorbent. The mechanistic model was developed according to transport phenomena taking into account mass transfer and chemical reaction between CO 2 and amine in the contactor module. The main aim of modeling was to track the composition and flux of CO 2 and AMP in the membrane module for process optimization. For modeling of the process, the governing equations were computed using finite element approach in which the whole model domain was discretized into small cells. To confirm the simulation findings, model outcomes were compared with experimental data and good consistency was revealed. The results showed that increasing temperature of AMP solution increases CO 2 removal in the hollow-fiber membrane contactor.

Mathematical Description and Mechanistic Reasoning: A Pathway toward STEM Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Weinberg, Paul J.

2017-01-01

Because reasoning about mechanism is critical to disciplined inquiry in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domains, this study focuses on ways to support the development of this form of reasoning. This study attends to how mechanistic reasoning is constituted through mathematical description. This study draws upon Smith's…

Hidden Hydride Transfer as a Decisive Mechanistic Step in the Reactions of the Unligated Gold Carbide [AuC]+ with Methane under Ambient Conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jilai; Zhou, Shaodong; Schlangen, Maria; Weiske, Thomas; Schwarz, Helmut

2016-10-10

The reactivity of the cationic gold carbide [AuC] + (bearing an electrophilic carbon atom) towards methane has been studied using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). The product pairs generated, that is, Au + /C 2 H 4 , [Au(C 2 H 2 )] + /H 2 , and [C 2 H 3 ] + /AuH, point to the breaking and making of C-H, C-C, and H-H bonds under single-collision conditions. The mechanisms of these rather efficient reactions have been elucidated by high-level quantum-chemical calculations. As a major result, based on molecular orbital and NBO-based charge analysis, an unprecedented hydride transfer from methane to the carbon atom of [AuC] + has been identified as a key step. Also, the origin of this novel mechanistic scenario has been addressed. The mechanistic insights derived from this study may provide guidance for the rational design of carbon-based catalysts. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Mechanistic facility safety and source term analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

PLYS, M.G.

1999-01-01

A PC-based computer program was created for facility safety and source term analysis at Hanford The program has been successfully applied to mechanistic prediction of source terms from chemical reactions in underground storage tanks, hydrogen combustion in double contained receiver tanks, and proccss evaluation including the potential for runaway reactions in spent nuclear fuel processing. Model features include user-defined facility room, flow path geometry, and heat conductors, user-defined non-ideal vapor and aerosol species, pressure- and density-driven gas flows, aerosol transport and deposition, and structure to accommodate facility-specific source terms. Example applications are presented here

Comprehensive in Vitro Analysis of Acyltransferase Domain Exchanges in Modular Polyketide Synthases and Its Application for Short-Chain Ketone Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yuzawa, Satoshi [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Deng, Kai [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Wang, George [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Baidoo, Edward E. K. [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Northen, Trent R. [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Adams, Paul D. [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Katz, Leonard [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Synthetic Biology Research Center, Emeryville, CA (United States); Keasling, Jay D. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Synthetic Biology Research Center, Emeryville, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2016-08-22

Type I modular polyketide synthases (PKSs) are polymerases that utilize acyl-CoAs as substrates. Each polyketide elongation reaction is catalyzed by a set of protein domains called a module. Each module usually contains an acyltransferase (AT) domain, which determines the specific acyl-CoA incorporated into each condensation reaction. Although a successful exchange of individual AT domains can lead to the biosynthesis of a large variety of novel compounds, hybrid PKS modules often show significantly decreased activities. Using monomodular PKSs as models, we have systematically analyzed in this paper the segments of AT domains and associated linkers in AT exchanges in vitro and have identified the boundaries within a module that can be used to exchange AT domains while maintaining protein stability and enzyme activity. Importantly, the optimized domain boundary is highly conserved, which facilitates AT domain replacements in most type I PKS modules. To further demonstrate the utility of the optimized AT domain boundary, we have constructed hybrid PKSs to produce industrially important short-chain ketones. Our in vitro and in vivo analysis demonstrated production of predicted ketones without significant loss of activities of the hybrid enzymes. Finally, these results greatly enhance the mechanistic understanding of PKS modules and prove the benefit of using engineered PKSs as a synthetic biology tool for chemical production.

Does Mechanistic Thinking Improve Student Success in Organic Chemistry?

Science.gov (United States)

Grove, Nathaniel P.; Cooper, Melanie M.; Cox, Elizabeth L.

2012-01-01

The use of the curved-arrow notation to depict electron flow during mechanistic processes is one of the most important representational conventions in the organic chemistry curriculum. Our previous research documented a disturbing trend: when asked to predict the products of a series of reactions, many students do not spontaneously engage in…

Mechanistic studies of carbon monoxide reduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Geoffroy, G.L.

1990-06-12

The progress made during the current grant period (1 January 1988--1 April 1990) in three different areas of research is summarized. The research areas are: (1) oxidatively-induced double carbonylation reactions to form {alpha}-ketoacyl complexes and studies of the reactivity of the resulting compounds, (2) mechanistic studies of the carbonylation of nitroaromatics to form isocyanates, carbamates, and ureas, and (3) studies of the formation and reactivity of unusual metallacycles and alkylidene ligands supported on binuclear iron carbonyl fragments. 18 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

Mechanistic insights on the cycloisomerization of polyunsaturated precursors catalyzed by platinum and gold complexes.

Science.gov (United States)

Soriano, Elena; Marco-Contelles, José

2009-08-18

Organometallic chemistry provides powerful tools for the stereocontrolled synthesis of heterocycles and carbocycles. The electrophilic transition metals Pt(II) and Au(I, III) are efficient catalysts in these transitions and promote a variety of organic transformations of unsaturated precursors. These reactions produce functionalized cyclic and acyclic scaffolds for the synthesis of natural and non-natural products efficiently, under mild conditions, and with excellent chemoselectivity. Because these transformations are strongly substrate-dependent, they are versatile and may yield diverse molecular scaffolds. Therefore, synthetic chemists need a mechanistic interpretation to optimize this reaction process and design a new generation of catalysts. However, so far, no intermediate species has been isolated or characterized, so the formulated mechanistic hypotheses have been primarily based on labeling studies or trapping reactions. Recently, theoretical DFT studies have become a useful tool in our research, giving us insights into the key intermediates and into a variety of plausible reaction pathways. In this Account, we present a comprehensive mechanistic overview of transformations promoted by Pt and Au in a non-nucleophilic medium based on quantum-mechanical studies. The calculations are consistent with the experimental observations and provide fundamental insights into the versatility of these reaction processes. The reactivity of these metals results from their peculiar Lewis acid properties: the alkynophilic character of these soft metals and the pi-acid activation of unsaturated groups promotes the intra- or intermolecular attack of a nucleophile. 1,n-Enynes (n = 3-8) are particularly important precursors, and their transformation may yield a variety of cycloadducts depending on the molecular structure. However, the calculations suggest that these different cyclizations would have closely related reaction mechanisms, and we propose a unified mechanistic

The Cycloaddition of the Benzimidazolium Ylides with Alkynes: New Mechanistic Insights.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Costel Moldoveanu

Full Text Available New insights concerning the reaction mechanism in the cycloaddition reaction of benzimidazolium ylides to activated alkynes are presented. The proposed pathway leading both to 2-(1H-pyrrol-1-ylanilines and to pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalin-4(5H-ones involves an opening of the imidazole ring from the cycloaddition product, followed by a nucleophilic attack of the aminic nitrogen to a proximal carbonyl group and the elimination of a leaving group. The mechanistic considerations are fully supported by experimental data, including the XRD resolved structure of the key reaction intermediate.

The Cycloaddition of the Benzimidazolium Ylides with Alkynes: New Mechanistic Insights.

Science.gov (United States)

Moldoveanu, Costel; Zbancioc, Gheorghita; Mantu, Dorina; Maftei, Dan; Mangalagiu, Ionel

2016-01-01

New insights concerning the reaction mechanism in the cycloaddition reaction of benzimidazolium ylides to activated alkynes are presented. The proposed pathway leading both to 2-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl)anilines and to pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalin-4(5H)-ones involves an opening of the imidazole ring from the cycloaddition product, followed by a nucleophilic attack of the aminic nitrogen to a proximal carbonyl group and the elimination of a leaving group. The mechanistic considerations are fully supported by experimental data, including the XRD resolved structure of the key reaction intermediate.

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Transformations of Alcohols: Mechanistic Investigations and Methodology Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Makarov, Ilya; Madsen, Robert; Fristrup, Peter

with dimethoxyisopropylidene and pyridilidene ligands could be more active than RuCl2(IiPr)(p-cymene) used in the mechanistic investigation. Two analogs of the calculated complexes were synthesized but were not isolated in a pure form. The amidation reaction catalyzed by a mixture containing the N-ethyl pyridilidene...

Organophotocatalysis: Insights into the Mechanistic Aspects of Thiourea-Mediated Intermolecular [2+2] Photocycloadditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Vallavoju, Nandini; Selvakumar, Sermadurai; Pemberton, Barry C; Jockusch, Steffen; Sibi, Mukund P; Sivaguru, Jayaraman

2016-04-25

Mechanistic investigations of the intermolecular [2+2] photocycloaddition of coumarin with tetramethylethylene mediated by thiourea catalysts reveal that the reaction is enabled by a combination of minimized aggregation, enhanced intersystem crossing, and altered excited-state lifetime(s). These results clarify how the excited-state reactivity can be manipulated through catalyst-substrate interactions and reveal a third mechanistic pathway for thiourea-mediated organo-photocatalysis. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Mechanistic insights into the dehalogenation reaction of fluoroacetate/fluoroacetic acid

Science.gov (United States)

Miranda-Rojas, Sebastián; Toro-Labbé, Alejandro

2015-05-01

Fluoroacetate is a toxic compound whose environmental accumulation may represent an important contamination problem, its elimination is therefore a challenging issue. Fluoroacetate dehalogenase catalyzes its degradation through a two step process initiated by an SN2 reaction in which the aspartate residue performs a nucleophilic attack on the carbon bonded to the fluorine; the second step is hydrolysis that releases the product as glycolate. In this paper, we present a study based on density functional theory calculations of the SN2 initiation reaction modeled through the interaction between the substrate and the propionate anion as the nucleophile. Results are analyzed within the framework of the reaction force and using the reaction electronic flux to identify and characterize the electronic activity that drives the reaction. Our results reveal that the selective protonation of the substrate catalyzes the reaction by decreasing the resistance of the structural and electronic reorganization needed to reach the transition state. Finally, the reaction energy is modulated by the degree of stabilization of the fluoride anion formed after the SN2 reaction. In this way, a site-induced partial protonation acts as a chemical switch in a key process that determines the output of the reaction.

Domain-Specific and Unspecific Reaction Times in Experienced Team Handball Goalkeepers and Novices.

Science.gov (United States)

Helm, Fabian; Reiser, Mathias; Munzert, Jörn

2016-01-01

In our everyday environments, we are constantly having to adapt our behavior to changing conditions. Hence, processing information is a fundamental cognitive activity, especially the linking together of perceptual and action processes. In this context, expertise research in the sport domain has concentrated on arguing that superior processing performance is driven by an advantage to be found in anticipatory processes (see Williams et al., 2011, for a review). This has resulted in less attention being paid to the benefits coming from basic internal perceptual-motor processing. In general, research on reaction time (RT) indicates that practicing a RT task leads to an increase in processing speed (Mowbray and Rhoades, 1959; Rabbitt and Banerji, 1989). Against this background, the present study examined whether the speed of internal processing is dependent on or independent from domain-specific motor expertise in unpredictable stimulus-response tasks and in a double stimulus-response paradigm. Thirty male participants (15 team handball goalkeepers and 15 novices) performed domain-unspecific simple or choice stimulus-response (CSR) tasks as well as CSR tasks that were domain-specific only for goalkeepers. As expected, results showed significantly faster RTs for goalkeepers on domain-specific tasks, whereas novices' RTs were more frequently excessively long. However, differences between groups in the double stimulus-response paradigm were not significant. It is concluded that the reported expertise advantage might be due to recalling stored perceptual-motor representations for the domain-specific tasks, implying that experience with (practice of) a motor task explicitly enhances the internal processing of other related domain-specific tasks.

Mechanistic insights into the dehalogenation reaction of fluoroacetate/fluoroacetic acid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miranda-Rojas, Sebastián; Toro-Labbé, Alejandro

2015-01-01

Fluoroacetate is a toxic compound whose environmental accumulation may represent an important contamination problem, its elimination is therefore a challenging issue. Fluoroacetate dehalogenase catalyzes its degradation through a two step process initiated by an S N 2 reaction in which the aspartate residue performs a nucleophilic attack on the carbon bonded to the fluorine; the second step is hydrolysis that releases the product as glycolate. In this paper, we present a study based on density functional theory calculations of the S N 2 initiation reaction modeled through the interaction between the substrate and the propionate anion as the nucleophile. Results are analyzed within the framework of the reaction force and using the reaction electronic flux to identify and characterize the electronic activity that drives the reaction. Our results reveal that the selective protonation of the substrate catalyzes the reaction by decreasing the resistance of the structural and electronic reorganization needed to reach the transition state. Finally, the reaction energy is modulated by the degree of stabilization of the fluoride anion formed after the S N 2 reaction. In this way, a site-induced partial protonation acts as a chemical switch in a key process that determines the output of the reaction

Mechanistic insights into the dehalogenation reaction of fluoroacetate/fluoroacetic acid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miranda-Rojas, Sebastián, E-mail: sebastian.miranda@unab.cl [Chemical Processes and Catalysis (CPC), Departamento de Ciencias Químicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Andres Bello, Avenida República 275, Santiago (Chile); Toro-Labbé, Alejandro [Laboratorio de Química Teórica Computacional (QTC), Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Avenida Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago (Chile)

2015-05-21

Fluoroacetate is a toxic compound whose environmental accumulation may represent an important contamination problem, its elimination is therefore a challenging issue. Fluoroacetate dehalogenase catalyzes its degradation through a two step process initiated by an S{sub N}2 reaction in which the aspartate residue performs a nucleophilic attack on the carbon bonded to the fluorine; the second step is hydrolysis that releases the product as glycolate. In this paper, we present a study based on density functional theory calculations of the S{sub N}2 initiation reaction modeled through the interaction between the substrate and the propionate anion as the nucleophile. Results are analyzed within the framework of the reaction force and using the reaction electronic flux to identify and characterize the electronic activity that drives the reaction. Our results reveal that the selective protonation of the substrate catalyzes the reaction by decreasing the resistance of the structural and electronic reorganization needed to reach the transition state. Finally, the reaction energy is modulated by the degree of stabilization of the fluoride anion formed after the S{sub N}2 reaction. In this way, a site-induced partial protonation acts as a chemical switch in a key process that determines the output of the reaction.

Kinetic and Mechanistic Study of the pH-Dependent Activation (Epoxidation) of Prodrug Treosulfan Including the Reaction Inhibition in a Borate Buffer.

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Romański, Michał; Ratajczak, Whitney; Główka, Franciszek

2017-07-01

A prodrug treosulfan (T) undergoes a pH-dependent activation to epoxide derivatives. The process seems to involve an intramolecular Williamson reaction (IWR) but clear kinetic evidence is lacking. Moreover, a cis-diol system present in the T structure is expected to promote complexation with boric acid. As a result, the prodrug epoxidation would be inhibited; however, this phenomenon has not been investigated. In this article, the effect of pH on the kinetics of T conversion to its monoepoxide was studied from a mechanistic point of view. Also, the influence of boric acid on the reaction kinetics was examined. The rate constants observed for the activation of T (k obs ) in acetate, phosphate, and carbonate buffers satisfied the equation logk obs  = -7.48 + 0.96 pH. The reaction was inhibited in the excess of boric acid over T, and the k obs decreased with increasing borate buffer concentration. The experimental results were consistent with the inhibition model that included the formation of a tetrahedral, anionic T-boric acid monoester. To conclude, in nonborate buffers, the T activation to (2S,3S)-1,2-epoxybutane-3,4-diol 4-methanesulfonate follows IWR mechanism. A borate buffer changes the reaction kinetics and complicates kinetic analysis. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bridging Mechanistic and Phenomenological Models of Complex Biological Systems.

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Transtrum, Mark K; Qiu, Peng

2016-05-01

The inherent complexity of biological systems gives rise to complicated mechanistic models with a large number of parameters. On the other hand, the collective behavior of these systems can often be characterized by a relatively small number of phenomenological parameters. We use the Manifold Boundary Approximation Method (MBAM) as a tool for deriving simple phenomenological models from complicated mechanistic models. The resulting models are not black boxes, but remain expressed in terms of the microscopic parameters. In this way, we explicitly connect the macroscopic and microscopic descriptions, characterize the equivalence class of distinct systems exhibiting the same range of collective behavior, and identify the combinations of components that function as tunable control knobs for the behavior. We demonstrate the procedure for adaptation behavior exhibited by the EGFR pathway. From a 48 parameter mechanistic model, the system can be effectively described by a single adaptation parameter τ characterizing the ratio of time scales for the initial response and recovery time of the system which can in turn be expressed as a combination of microscopic reaction rates, Michaelis-Menten constants, and biochemical concentrations. The situation is not unlike modeling in physics in which microscopically complex processes can often be renormalized into simple phenomenological models with only a few effective parameters. The proposed method additionally provides a mechanistic explanation for non-universal features of the behavior.

Mechanisms of inorganic and organometallic reactions

CERN Document Server

The purpose of this series is to provide a continuing critical review of the literature concerned with mechanistic aspects of inorganic and organo­ metallic reactions in solution, with coverage being complete in each volume. The papers discussed are selected on the basis of relevance to the elucidation of reaction mechanisms and many include results of a nonkinetic nature when useful mechanistic information can be deduced. The period of literature covered by this volume is July 1982 through December 1983, and in some instances papers not available for inclusion in the previous volume are also included. Numerical results are usually reported in the units used by the original authors, except where data from different papers are com­ pared and conversion to common units is necessary. As in previous volumes material included covers the major areas of redox processes, reactions of the nonmetallic elements, reaction of inert and labile metal complexes and the reactions of organometallic compounds. While m...

Insights into the carboxyltransferase reaction of pyruvate carboxylase from the structures of bound product and intermediate analogues

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Lietzan, Adam D.; St. Maurice, Martin

2014-01-01

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) is a biotin-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the MgATP- and bicarbonate-dependent carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate, an important anaplerotic reaction in central metabolism. The carboxyltransferase (CT) domain of PC catalyzes the transfer of a carboxyl group from carboxybiotin to the accepting substrate, pyruvate. It has been hypothesized that the reactive enolpyruvate intermediate is stabilized through a bidentate interaction with the metal ion in the CT domain active site. Whereas bidentate ligands are commonly observed in enzymes catalyzing reactions proceeding through an enolpyruvate intermediate, no bidentate interaction has yet been observed in the CT domain of PC. Here, we report three X-ray crystal structures of the Rhizobium etli PC CT domain with the bound inhibitors oxalate, 3-hydroxypyruvate, and 3-bromopyruvate. Oxalate, a stereoelectronic mimic of the enolpyruvate intermediate, does not interact directly with the metal ion. Instead, oxalate is buried in a pocket formed by several positively charged amino acid residues and the metal ion. Furthermore, both 3-hydroxypyruvate and 3-bromopyruvate, analogs of the reaction product oxaloacetate, bind in an identical manner to oxalate suggesting that the substrate maintains its orientation in the active site throughout catalysis. Together, these structures indicate that the substrates, products and intermediates in the PC-catalyzed reaction are not oriented in the active site as previously assumed. The absence of a bidentate interaction with the active site metal appears to be a unique mechanistic feature among the small group of biotin-dependent enzymes that act on α-keto acid substrates. PMID:24157795

Mechanistic aspects of the metal catalyzed alternating copolymerization of epoxides and carbon monoxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Allmendinger, Markus; Molnar, Ferenc; Zintl, Manuela; Luinstra, Gerrit A; Preishuber-Pflügl, Peter; Rieger, Bernhard

2005-09-05

The cobalt-catalyzed alternating copolymerization of epoxides and CO is a novel, direct approach to aliphatic polyesters, such as poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). This reaction was found to be catalyzed by Ph3Si[Co(CO)4] (4) and pyridine affording in a first step the stable mono-insertion product Ph3Si-O-CH(CH3)-CH2-CO-Co(CO)4 (5). However, a profound mechanistic understanding, especially of the role of pyridine as the key component for the polymerization reaction was missing. ATR-IR online monitoring under catalytic conditions and DFT calculations were used to show that an acylpyridinium cation is formed by cleavage of the cobalt-acyl bond of 5 in the presence of pyridine. The Lewis acid thus generated activates the next incoming epoxide monomer for ring opening through [Co(CO)4]-. The catalytic cycle is completed by a subsequent CO insertion in the new cobalt-alkyl bond. The calculations are used to explore the energetic hypersurface of the polymerization reaction and are complemented by extended experimental investigations that also support the mechanistic hypotheses.

Reaction mechanisms in zeolite catalysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rozanska, X.; Santen, van R.A.; Auerbach, S.C.; Carrado, K.A.; Dutta, P.D.

2003-01-01

A review; described are the most basic mechanistic reaction steps that are induced by zeolite catalysts. Details on the zeolitic properties that are relevant to mol. reactivity are also provided. The theor. methods and models at hand to allow the investigation of these reaction steps and that have

Divalent metal ion differentially regulates the sequential nicking reactions of the GIY-YIG homing endonuclease I-BmoI.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin P Kleinstiver

Full Text Available Homing endonucleases are site-specific DNA endonucleases that function as mobile genetic elements by introducing double-strand breaks or nicks at defined locations. Of the major families of homing endonucleases, the modular GIY-YIG endonucleases are least understood in terms of mechanism. The GIY-YIG homing endonuclease I-BmoI generates a double-strand break by sequential nicking reactions during which the single active site of the GIY-YIG nuclease domain must undergo a substantial reorganization. Here, we show that divalent metal ion plays a significant role in regulating the two independent nicking reactions by I-BmoI. Rate constant determination for each nicking reaction revealed that limiting divalent metal ion has a greater impact on the second strand than the first strand nicking reaction. We also show that substrate mutations within the I-BmoI cleavage site can modulate the first strand nicking reaction over a 314-fold range. Additionally, in-gel DNA footprinting with mutant substrates and modeling of an I-BmoI-substrate complex suggest that amino acid contacts to a critical GC-2 base pair are required to induce a bottom-strand distortion that likely directs conformational changes for reaction progress. Collectively, our data implies mechanistic roles for divalent metal ion and substrate bases, suggesting that divalent metal ion facilitates the re-positioning of the GIY-YIG nuclease domain between sequential nicking reactions.

Mechanistic and kinetic insights into the thermally induced rearrangement of alpha-pinene.

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Stolle, Achim; Ondruschka, Bernd; Findeisen, Matthias

2008-11-07

The thermal rearrangement of alpha-pinene (1) is interesting from mechanistic as well as kinetic point of view. Carrier gas pyrolyses with 1 and its acyclic isomers ocimene (2) and alloocimene (3) were performed to investigate the thermal network of these hydrocarbons. Kinetic analysis of the major reaction steps allows for a deeper insight in the reaction mechanism. Thus it was possible to explain the racemization of 1, the formation of racemic limonene (4), and the absence of the primary pyrolysis product 2 in the reaction mixture resulting from thermal rearrangement of 1. Results supported the conclusion that the reactions starting with 1 involve biradical transition states.

A reaction time advantage for calculating beliefs over public representations signals domain specificity for 'theory of mind'.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Adam S; German, Tamsin C

2010-06-01

In a task where participants' overt task was to track the location of an object across a sequence of events, reaction times to unpredictable probes requiring an inference about a social agent's beliefs about the location of that object were obtained. Reaction times to false belief situations were faster than responses about the (false) contents of a map showing the location of the object (Experiment 1) and about the (false) direction of an arrow signaling the location of the object (Experiment 2). These results are consistent with developmental, neuro-imaging and neuropsychological evidence that there exist domain specific mechanisms within human cognition for encoding and reasoning about mental states. Specialization of these mechanisms may arise from either core cognitive architecture or via the accumulation of expertise in the social domain.

From Source to Sink: Mechanistic Reasoning Using the Electron-Pushing Formalism

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharyya, Gautam

2013-01-01

Since the introduction of Morrison and Boyd's textbook in organic chemistry over 50 years ago, reaction mechanisms and mechanistic reasoning using the electron-pushing formalism (EPF) have become a mainstay of organic chemistry courses. In recent years there have even been several papers in this Journal and others detailing research on how…

Quantitative comparison of catalytic mechanisms and overall reactions in convergently evolved enzymes: implications for classification of enzyme function.

Science.gov (United States)

Almonacid, Daniel E; Yera, Emmanuel R; Mitchell, John B O; Babbitt, Patricia C

2010-03-12

Functionally analogous enzymes are those that catalyze similar reactions on similar substrates but do not share common ancestry, providing a window on the different structural strategies nature has used to evolve required catalysts. Identification and use of this information to improve reaction classification and computational annotation of enzymes newly discovered in the genome projects would benefit from systematic determination of reaction similarities. Here, we quantified similarity in bond changes for overall reactions and catalytic mechanisms for 95 pairs of functionally analogous enzymes (non-homologous enzymes with identical first three numbers of their EC codes) from the MACiE database. Similarity of overall reactions was computed by comparing the sets of bond changes in the transformations from substrates to products. For similarity of mechanisms, sets of bond changes occurring in each mechanistic step were compared; these similarities were then used to guide global and local alignments of mechanistic steps. Using this metric, only 44% of pairs of functionally analogous enzymes in the dataset had significantly similar overall reactions. For these enzymes, convergence to the same mechanism occurred in 33% of cases, with most pairs having at least one identical mechanistic step. Using our metric, overall reaction similarity serves as an upper bound for mechanistic similarity in functional analogs. For example, the four carbon-oxygen lyases acting on phosphates (EC 4.2.3) show neither significant overall reaction similarity nor significant mechanistic similarity. By contrast, the three carboxylic-ester hydrolases (EC 3.1.1) catalyze overall reactions with identical bond changes and have converged to almost identical mechanisms. The large proportion of enzyme pairs that do not show significant overall reaction similarity (56%) suggests that at least for the functionally analogous enzymes studied here, more stringent criteria could be used to refine

Quantitative comparison of catalytic mechanisms and overall reactions in convergently evolved enzymes: implications for classification of enzyme function.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel E Almonacid

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Functionally analogous enzymes are those that catalyze similar reactions on similar substrates but do not share common ancestry, providing a window on the different structural strategies nature has used to evolve required catalysts. Identification and use of this information to improve reaction classification and computational annotation of enzymes newly discovered in the genome projects would benefit from systematic determination of reaction similarities. Here, we quantified similarity in bond changes for overall reactions and catalytic mechanisms for 95 pairs of functionally analogous enzymes (non-homologous enzymes with identical first three numbers of their EC codes from the MACiE database. Similarity of overall reactions was computed by comparing the sets of bond changes in the transformations from substrates to products. For similarity of mechanisms, sets of bond changes occurring in each mechanistic step were compared; these similarities were then used to guide global and local alignments of mechanistic steps. Using this metric, only 44% of pairs of functionally analogous enzymes in the dataset had significantly similar overall reactions. For these enzymes, convergence to the same mechanism occurred in 33% of cases, with most pairs having at least one identical mechanistic step. Using our metric, overall reaction similarity serves as an upper bound for mechanistic similarity in functional analogs. For example, the four carbon-oxygen lyases acting on phosphates (EC 4.2.3 show neither significant overall reaction similarity nor significant mechanistic similarity. By contrast, the three carboxylic-ester hydrolases (EC 3.1.1 catalyze overall reactions with identical bond changes and have converged to almost identical mechanisms. The large proportion of enzyme pairs that do not show significant overall reaction similarity (56% suggests that at least for the functionally analogous enzymes studied here, more stringent criteria could be used to

Improved theory of time domain reflectometry with variable coaxial cable length for electrical conductivity measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Although empirical models have been developed previously, a mechanistic model is needed for estimating electrical conductivity (EC) using time domain reflectometry (TDR) with variable lengths of coaxial cable. The goals of this study are to: (1) derive a mechanistic model based on multisection tra...

Disentangling the Role of Domain-Specific Knowledge in Student Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Ruppert, John; Duncan, Ravit Golan; Chinn, Clark A.

2017-08-01

This study explores the role of domain-specific knowledge in students' modeling practice and how this knowledge interacts with two domain-general modeling strategies: use of evidence and developing a causal mechanism. We analyzed models made by middle school students who had a year of intensive model-based instruction. These models were made to explain a familiar but unstudied biological phenomenon: late onset muscle pain. Students were provided with three pieces of evidence related to this phenomenon and asked to construct a model to account for this evidence. Findings indicate that domain-specific resources play a significant role in the extent to which the models accounted for provided evidence. On the other hand, familiarity with the situation appeared to contribute to the mechanistic character of models. Our results indicate that modeling strategies alone are insufficient for the development of a mechanistic model that accounts for provided evidence and that, while learners can develop a tentative model with a basic familiarity of the situation, scaffolding certain domain-specific knowledge is necessary to assist students with incorporating evidence in modeling tasks.

Rational Design in Catalysis: A Mechanistic Study of β-Hydride Eliminations in Gold(I) and Gold(III) Complexes Based on Features of the Reaction Valley.

Science.gov (United States)

Castiñeira Reis, Marta; López, Carlos Silva; Kraka, Elfi; Cremer, Dieter; Faza, Olalla Nieto

2016-09-06

β-Hydride eliminations for ethylgold(III) dichloride complexes are identified as reactions with an unusually long prechemical stage corresponding to the conformational preparation of the reaction complex and spanning six phases. The prechemical process is characterized by a geared rotation of the L-Au-L group (L = Cl) driving methyl group rotation and causing a repositioning of the ligands. This requires more than 28 kcal/mol of the total barrier of 34.0 kcal/mol, according to the unified reaction valley approach, which also determines that the energy requirements of the actual chemical process leading to the β-elimination product are only about 5.5 kcal/mol. A detailed mechanistic analysis was used as a basis for a rational design of substrates (via substituents on the ethyl group) and/or ligands, which can significantly reduce the reaction barrier. This strategy takes advantage of either a higher trans activity of the ligands or a tuned electronic demand of the ethyl group. The β-hydride elimination of gold(I) was found to suffer from strong Coulomb and exchange repulsion when a positively charged hydrogen atom enforces a coordination position in a d(10)-configured gold atom, thus triggering an unassisted σ-π Au(I)-C conversion.

Detailed Mechanistic Studies on Palladium-Catalyzed Selective C-H Olefination with Aliphatic Alkenes: A Significant Influence of Proton Shuttling.

Science.gov (United States)

Deb, Arghya; Hazra, Avijit; Peng, Qian; Paton, Robert S; Maiti, Debabrata

2017-01-18

Directing group-assisted regioselective C-H olefination with electronically biased olefins is well studied. However, the incorporation of unactivated olefins has remained largely unsuccessful. A proper mechanistic understanding of olefination involving unactivated alkenes is therefore essential for enhancing their usage in future. In this Article, detailed experimental and computational mechanistic studies on palladium catalyzed C-H olefination with unactivated, aliphatic alkenes are described. The isolation of Pd(II) intermediates is shown to be effective for elucidating the elementary steps involved in catalytic olefination. Reaction rate and order determination, control experiments, isotopic labeling studies, and Hammett analysis have been used to understand the reaction mechanism. The results from these experimental studies implicate β-hydride elimination as the rate-determining step and that a mechanistic switch occurs between cationic and neutral pathway. Computational studies support this interpretation of the experimental evidence and are used to uncover the origins of selectivity.

Mechanistic interpretation of glass reaction: Input to kinetic model development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bates, J.K.; Ebert, W.L.; Bradley, J.P.; Bourcier, W.L.

1991-05-01

Actinide-doped SRL 165 type glass was reacted in J-13 groundwater at 90 degree C for times up to 278 days. The reaction was characterized by both solution and solid analyses. The glass was seen to react nonstoichiometrically with preferred leaching of alkali metals and boron. High resolution electron microscopy revealed the formation of a complex layer structure which became separated from the underlying glass as the reaction progressed. The formation of the layer and its effect on continued glass reaction are discussed with respect to the current model for glass reaction used in the EQ3/6 computer simulation. It is concluded that the layer formed after 278 days is not protective and may eventually become fractured and generate particulates that may be transported by liquid water. 5 refs., 5 figs. , 3 tabs

Synthetic and mechanistic aspects of titanium-mediated carbonyl olefinations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petasis, N.A.; Staszewski, J.P.; Hu, Yong-Han; Lu, Shao-Po [Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

1995-12-31

A new method for the olefination of carbonyl compounds with dimethyl titanocene, and other related bishydrocarbyl titanocene derivatives has been recently developed in the author`s laboratories. This process is experimentally convenient and works with various types of carbonyl compounds, including aldehydes, ketones, esters, lactones, carbonates, anhydrides, amides, imides, lactams, thioesters, selenoesters, and acylsilanes. More recent studies have focused on the scope and utility of this reaction, including mechanistic studies and synthetic applications. In addition to varying the reaction conditions, the authors have examined several mixed titanocene derivatives and have found ways for carrying out this type of olefination at room temperature, such as the use of tris(trimethylsilyl) titanacyclobutene. The authors have also employed this reaction in the modification of carbohydrates and cyclobutenediones. This olefination was also followed-up with subsequent transformations to produce carbocycles and heterocycles, including tetrahydrofurans and tetrahydropyrans.

Sodium-concrete reaction model development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, D.H.; Muhlestein, L.D.; Postma, A.K.

1982-07-01

Major observations have been formulated after reviewing test results for over 100 sodium-concrete reaction tests. The observations form the basis for developing a mechanistic model to predict the transient behavior of sodium-concrete reactions. The major observations are listed. Mechanisms associated with sodium and water transport to the reaction zone are identified, and represented by appropriate mathematical expressions. The model attempts to explain large-scale, long-term (100 h) test results were sodium-concrete reactions terminated even in the presence of unreacted sodium and concrete

High-throughput identification of off-targets for the mechanistic study of severe adverse drug reactions induced by analgesics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pan, Jian-Bo [Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China); Ji, Nan; Pan, Wen; Hong, Ru [State Key Laboratory of Stress Cell Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102 (China); Wang, Hao [Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China); Ji, Zhi-Liang, E-mail: appo@xmu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Stress Cell Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102 (China); Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China)

2014-01-01

Drugs may induce adverse drug reactions (ADRs) when they unexpectedly bind to proteins other than their therapeutic targets. Identification of these undesired protein binding partners, called off-targets, can facilitate toxicity assessment in the early stages of drug development. In this study, a computational framework was introduced for the exploration of idiosyncratic mechanisms underlying analgesic-induced severe adverse drug reactions (SADRs). The putative analgesic-target interactions were predicted by performing reverse docking of analgesics or their active metabolites against human/mammal protein structures in a high-throughput manner. Subsequently, bioinformatics analyses were undertaken to identify ADR-associated proteins (ADRAPs) and pathways. Using the pathways and ADRAPs that this analysis identified, the mechanisms of SADRs such as cardiac disorders were explored. For instance, 53 putative ADRAPs and 24 pathways were linked with cardiac disorders, of which 10 ADRAPs were confirmed by previous experiments. Moreover, it was inferred that pathways such as base excision repair, glycolysis/glyconeogenesis, ErbB signaling, calcium signaling, and phosphatidyl inositol signaling likely play pivotal roles in drug-induced cardiac disorders. In conclusion, our framework offers an opportunity to globally understand SADRs at the molecular level, which has been difficult to realize through experiments. It also provides some valuable clues for drug repurposing. - Highlights: • A novel computational framework was developed for mechanistic study of SADRs. • Off-targets of drugs were identified in large scale and in a high-throughput manner. • SADRs like cardiac disorders were systematically explored in molecular networks. • A number of ADR-associated proteins were identified.

High-throughput identification of off-targets for the mechanistic study of severe adverse drug reactions induced by analgesics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan, Jian-Bo; Ji, Nan; Pan, Wen; Hong, Ru; Wang, Hao; Ji, Zhi-Liang

2014-01-01

Drugs may induce adverse drug reactions (ADRs) when they unexpectedly bind to proteins other than their therapeutic targets. Identification of these undesired protein binding partners, called off-targets, can facilitate toxicity assessment in the early stages of drug development. In this study, a computational framework was introduced for the exploration of idiosyncratic mechanisms underlying analgesic-induced severe adverse drug reactions (SADRs). The putative analgesic-target interactions were predicted by performing reverse docking of analgesics or their active metabolites against human/mammal protein structures in a high-throughput manner. Subsequently, bioinformatics analyses were undertaken to identify ADR-associated proteins (ADRAPs) and pathways. Using the pathways and ADRAPs that this analysis identified, the mechanisms of SADRs such as cardiac disorders were explored. For instance, 53 putative ADRAPs and 24 pathways were linked with cardiac disorders, of which 10 ADRAPs were confirmed by previous experiments. Moreover, it was inferred that pathways such as base excision repair, glycolysis/glyconeogenesis, ErbB signaling, calcium signaling, and phosphatidyl inositol signaling likely play pivotal roles in drug-induced cardiac disorders. In conclusion, our framework offers an opportunity to globally understand SADRs at the molecular level, which has been difficult to realize through experiments. It also provides some valuable clues for drug repurposing. - Highlights: • A novel computational framework was developed for mechanistic study of SADRs. • Off-targets of drugs were identified in large scale and in a high-throughput manner. • SADRs like cardiac disorders were systematically explored in molecular networks. • A number of ADR-associated proteins were identified

Site-specific chemical conjugation of human Fas ligand extracellular domain using trans-cyclooctene - methyltetrazine reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Muraki, Michiro; Hirota, Kiyonori

2017-07-03

Fas ligand plays a key role in the human immune system as a major cell death inducing protein. The extracellular domain of human Fas ligand (hFasLECD) triggers apoptosis of malignant cells, and therefore is expected to have substantial potentials in medical biotechnology. However, the current application of this protein to clinical medicine is hampered by a shortage of the benefits relative to the drawbacks including the side-effects in systemic administration. Effective procedures for the engineering of the protein by attaching useful additional functions are required to overcome the problem. A procedure for the site-specific chemical conjugation of hFasLECD with a fluorochrome and functional proteins was devised using an inverse-electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction between trans-cyclooctene group and methyltetrazine group. The conjugations in the present study were attained by using much less molar excess amounts of the compounds to be attached as compared with the conventional chemical modification reactions using maleimide derivatives in the previous study. The isolated conjugates of hFasLECD with sulfo-Cy3, avidin and rabbit IgG Fab' domain presented the functional and the structural integrities of the attached molecules without impairing the specific binding activity toward human Fas receptor extracellular domain. The present study provided a new fundamental strategy for the production of the engineered hFasLECDs with additional beneficial functions, which will lead to the developments of the improved diagnostic systems and the effective treatment methods of serious diseases by using this protein as a component of novel molecular tools.

Matrix isolation as a tool for studying interstellar chemical reactions

Science.gov (United States)

Ball, David W.; Ortman, Bryan J.; Hauge, Robert H.; Margrave, John L.

1989-01-01

Since the identification of the OH radical as an interstellar species, over 50 molecular species were identified as interstellar denizens. While identification of new species appears straightforward, an explanation for their mechanisms of formation is not. Most astronomers concede that large bodies like interstellar dust grains are necessary for adsorption of molecules and their energies of reactions, but many of the mechanistic steps are unknown and speculative. It is proposed that data from matrix isolation experiments involving the reactions of refractory materials (especially C, Si, and Fe atoms and clusters) with small molecules (mainly H2, H2O, CO, CO2) are particularly applicable to explaining mechanistic details of likely interstellar chemical reactions. In many cases, matrix isolation techniques are the sole method of studying such reactions; also in many cases, complexations and bond rearrangements yield molecules never before observed. The study of these reactions thus provides a logical basis for the mechanisms of interstellar reactions. A list of reactions is presented that would simulate interstellar chemical reactions. These reactions were studied using FTIR-matrix isolation techniques.

Investigation of nucleon-induced reactions in the Fermi energy domain within the microscopic DYWAN model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sebille, F.; Bonilla, C. [SUBATECH, Universite de Nantes, CNRS/IN2P3, 44 - Nantes (France); Blideanu, V.; Lecolley, J.F. [Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire, ENSICAEN, Universite de Caen, IN2P3-CNRS, 14 - Caen (France)

2004-06-01

A microscopic investigation of nucleon-induced reactions is addressed within the DYWAN model, which is based on the projection methods of out of equilibrium statistical physics and on the mathematical theory of wavelets. Due to a strongly compressed representation of the fermionic wave-functions, the numerical simulations of the nucleon transport in target are therefore able to preserve the quantum nature of the colliding system, as well as a least biased many-body information needed to keep track of the cluster formation. A special attention is devoted to the fingerprints of the phase space topology induced by the fluctuations of the self-consistent mean-field. Comparisons be ween theoretical results and experimental data point out that ETDHF type approaches are well suited to describe reaction mechanisms in the Fermi energy domain. The observed sensitivity to physical effects shows that the nucleon-induced reactions provide a valuable probe of the nuclear interaction in this range of energy. (authors)

Mechanistic and kinetic aspects of pentose dehydration towards furfural in aqueous media employing homogeneous catalysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Danon, B.; Marcotullio, G.; De Jong, W.

2013-01-01

In this paper both the mechanistic and kinetic aspects of furfural formation from pentoses in aqueous acidic media have been reviewed. Based on the reviewed literature, a comprehensive reaction mechanism has been proposed consisting of more than one route, all starting from acyclic xylose, and

Kissing G domains of MnmE monitored by X-ray crystallography and pulse electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Meyer

2009-10-01

Full Text Available MnmE, which is involved in the modification of the wobble position of certain tRNAs, belongs to the expanding class of G proteins activated by nucleotide-dependent dimerization (GADs. Previous models suggested the protein to be a multidomain protein whose G domains contact each other in a nucleotide dependent manner. Here we employ a combined approach of X-ray crystallography and pulse electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR spectroscopy to show that large domain movements are coupled to the G protein cycle of MnmE. The X-ray structures show MnmE to be a constitutive homodimer where the highly mobile G domains face each other in various orientations but are not in close contact as suggested by the GDP-AlF(x structure of the isolated domains. Distance measurements by pulse double electron-electron resonance (DEER spectroscopy show that the G domains adopt an open conformation in the nucleotide free/GDP-bound and an open/closed two-state equilibrium in the GTP-bound state, with maximal distance variations of 18 A. With GDP and AlF(x, which mimic the transition state of the phosphoryl transfer reaction, only the closed conformation is observed. Dimerization of the active sites with GDP-AlF(x requires the presence of specific monovalent cations, thus reflecting the requirements for the GTPase reaction of MnmE. Our results directly demonstrate the nature of the conformational changes MnmE was previously suggested to undergo during its GTPase cycle. They show the nucleotide-dependent dynamic movements of the G domains around two swivel positions relative to the rest of the protein, and they are of crucial importance for understanding the mechanistic principles of this GAD.

Filtering reaction dynamics using nearside-farside theory and local angular momentum theory: application to the angular scattering of the H + D2(v(i) = 0, j(i) = 0) --> HD(v(f) = 3, j(f) = 0) + D reaction in the energy and time domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Monks, P D D; Connor, J N L; Bouakline, F

2009-04-23

We investigate methods for filtering reaction mechanisms in the angular scattering of the state-to-state reaction, H + D(2)(v(i) = 0, j(i) = 0, m(i) = 0) --> HD(v(f) = 3, j(f) = 0, m(f) = 0) + D, where v(i), j(i), and m(i) and v(f), j(f), and m(f) are initial and final vibrational, rotational, and helicity quantum numbers, respectively. The input to our filtrations is a new set of accurate quantum scattering matrix elements for total energies in the range 1.52-2.50 eV (in steps of 0.01 eV) and for total angular momentum quantum numbers in the range, 0-40, in steps of unity. We filter reaction mechanisms in both the energy domain and the time domain. The time-domain calculations employ the plane wave packet formulation of time-dependent scattering. The theoretical tools used are nearside-farside (NF) analysis of partial wave series for scattering amplitudes, together with NF local angular momentum (LAM) theory. An energy-domain LAM analysis reveals the existence of an important dynamical feature in the N scattering, a "trench" which bisects the (energy, angle) plane. We use the location of this trench to approximately filter two reaction mechanisms. Transformation to the time domain demonstrates that the two reaction mechanisms correspond to direct and delayed (by about 25 fs) scattering. Further analysis, including filtration in the time domain, shows that the pronounced LAM trench arises from the interference of the energy-domain analogues of the time-direct and time-delayed scattering. Our theory and results provide the first successful demonstration of reaction mechanism filtering carried out directly in the (energy, angle) domain. The calculations and results in this paper extend and complement earlier research reported by Monks, Connor, and Althorpe (Monks, P. D. D.; Connor, J. N. L.; Althorpe, S. C. J. Phys. Chem. A 2006, 110, 741; J. Phys. Chem. A 2007, 111, 10302).

Mechanistic approach for the kinetics of the decomposition of nitrous oxide over calcined hydrotalcites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dandl, H.; Emig, G. [Lehrstuhl fuer Technische Chemie I, Erlangen (Germany)

1998-03-27

A highly active catalyst for the decomposition of N{sub 2}O was prepared by the thermal treatment of CoLaAl-hydrotalcite. For this catalyst the reaction rate was determined at various partial pressures of N{sub 2}O, O{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O in a temperature range from 573K to 823K. The kinetic simulation resulted in a mechanistic model. The energies of activation and rate coefficients are estimated for the main steps of the reaction

Mechanistic Studies at the Interface Between Organometallic Chemistry and Homogeneous Catalysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casey, Charles P

2012-11-14

Mechanistic Studies at the Interface Between Organometallic Chemistry and Homogeneous Catalysis Charles P. Casey, Principal Investigator Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 Phone 608-262-0584 FAX: 608-262-7144 Email: casey@chem.wisc.edu http://www.chem.wisc.edu/main/people/faculty/casey.html Executive Summary. Our goal was to learn the intimate mechanistic details of reactions involved in homogeneous catalysis and to use the insight we gain to develop new and improved catalysts. Our work centered on the hydrogenation of polar functional groups such as aldehydes and ketones and on hydroformylation. Specifically, we concentrated on catalysts capable of simultaneously transferring hydride from a metal center and a proton from an acidic oxygen or nitrogen center to an aldehyde or ketone. An economical iron based catalyst was developed and patented. Better understanding of fundamental organometallic reactions and catalytic processes enabled design of energy and material efficient chemical processes. Our work contributed to the development of catalysts for the selective and mild hydrogenation of ketones and aldehydes; this will provide a modern green alternative to reductions by LiAlH4 and NaBH4, which require extensive work-up procedures and produce waste streams. (C5R4OH)Ru(CO)2H Hydrogenation Catalysts. Youval Shvo described a remarkable catalytic system in which the key intermediate (C5R4OH)Ru(CO)2H (1) has an electronically coupled acidic OH unit and a hydridic RuH unit. Our efforts centered on understanding and improving upon this important catalyst for reduction of aldehydes and ketones. Our mechanistic studies established that the reduction of aldehydes by 1 to produce alcohols and a diruthenium bridging hydride species occurs much more rapidly than regeneration of the ruthenium hydride from the diruthenium bridging hydride species. Our mechanistic studies require simultaneous transfer of hydride from ruthenium to

Mechanistic modelling of cancer: some reflections from software engineering and philosophy of science.

Science.gov (United States)

Cañete-Valdeón, José M; Wieringa, Roel; Smallbone, Kieran

2012-12-01

There is a growing interest in mathematical mechanistic modelling as a promising strategy for understanding tumour progression. This approach is accompanied by a methodological change of making research, in which models help to actively generate hypotheses instead of waiting for general principles to become apparent once sufficient data are accumulated. This paper applies recent research from philosophy of science to uncover three important problems of mechanistic modelling which may compromise its mainstream application, namely: the dilemma of formal and informal descriptions, the need to express degrees of confidence and the need of an argumentation framework. We report experience and research on similar problems from software engineering and provide evidence that the solutions adopted there can be transferred to the biological domain. We hope this paper can provoke new opportunities for further and profitable interdisciplinary research in the field.

Can ligand addition to soil enhance Cd phytoextraction? A mechanistic model study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Zhongbing; Schneider, André; Nguyen, Christophe; Sterckeman, Thibault

2014-11-01

Phytoextraction is a potential method for cleaning Cd-polluted soils. Ligand addition to soil is expected to enhance Cd phytoextraction. However, experimental results show that this addition has contradictory effects on plant Cd uptake. A mechanistic model simulating the reaction kinetics (adsorption on solid phase, complexation in solution), transport (convection, diffusion) and root absorption (symplastic, apoplastic) of Cd and its complexes in soil was developed. This was used to calculate plant Cd uptake with and without ligand addition in a great number of combinations of soil, ligand and plant characteristics, varying the parameters within defined domains. Ligand addition generally strongly reduced hydrated Cd (Cd(2+)) concentration in soil solution through Cd complexation. Dissociation of Cd complex ([Formula: see text]) could not compensate for this reduction, which greatly lowered Cd(2+) symplastic uptake by roots. The apoplastic uptake of [Formula: see text] was not sufficient to compensate for the decrease in symplastic uptake. This explained why in the majority of the cases, ligand addition resulted in the reduction of the simulated Cd phytoextraction. A few results showed an enhanced phytoextraction in very particular conditions (strong plant transpiration with high apoplastic Cd uptake capacity), but this enhancement was very limited, making chelant-enhanced phytoextraction poorly efficient for Cd.

Mechanistic Studies on the Copper-Catalyzed N-Arylation of Amides

Science.gov (United States)

Strieter, Eric R.; Bhayana, Brijesh; Buchwald, Stephen L.

2009-01-01

The copper-catalyzed N-arylation of amides, i.e., the Goldberg reaction, is an efficient method for the construction of products relevant to both industry and academic settings. Herein, we present mechanistic details concerning the catalytic and stoichiometric N-arylation of amides. In the context of the catalytic reaction, our findings reveal the importance of chelating diamine ligands in controlling the concentration of the active catalytic species. The consistency between the catalytic and stoichiometric results suggest that the activation of aryl halides occurs through a 1,2-diamine-ligated copper(I) amidate complex. Kinetic studies on the stoichiometric N-arylation of aryl iodides using 1,2-diamine ligated Cu(I) amidates also provide insights into the mechanism of aryl halide activation. PMID:19072233

Noncanonical Reactions of Flavoenzymes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo Sobrado

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Enzymes containing flavin cofactors are predominantly involved in redox reactions in numerous cellular processes where the protein environment modulates the chemical reactivity of the flavin to either transfer one or two electrons. Some flavoenzymes catalyze reactions with no net redox change. In these reactions, the protein environment modulates the reactivity of the flavin to perform novel chemistries. Recent mechanistic and structural data supporting novel flavin functionalities in reactions catalyzed by chorismate synthase, type II isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase, UDP-galactopyranose mutase, and alkyl-dihydroxyacetonephosphate synthase are presented in this review. In these enzymes, the flavin plays either a direct role in acid/base reactions or as a nucleophile or electrophile. In addition, the flavin cofactor is proposed to function as a “molecular scaffold” in the formation of UDP-galactofuranose and alkyl-dihydroxyacetonephosphate by forming a covalent adduct with reaction intermediates.

Enantioselective Decarboxylative Alkylation Reactions: Catalyst Development, Substrate Scope, and Mechanistic Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Behenna, Douglas C.; Mohr, Justin T.; Sherden, Nathaniel H.; Marinescu, Smaranda C.; Harned, Andrew M.; Tani, Kousuke; Seto, Masaki; Ma, Sandy; Novák, Zoltán; Krout, Michael R.; McFadden, Ryan M.; Roizen, Jennifer L.; Enquist, John A.; White, David E.; Levine, Samantha R.; Petrova, Krastina V.; Iwashita, Akihiko; Virgil, Scott C.; Stoltz, Brian M.

2012-01-01

α-Quaternary ketones are accessed through novel enantioselective alkylations of allyl and propargyl electrophiles by unstabilized prochiral enolate nucleophiles in the presence of palladium complexes with various phosphinooxazoline (PHOX) ligands. Excellent yields and high enantiomeric excesses are obtained from three classes of enolate precursors: enol carbonates, enol silanes, and racemic β-ketoesters. Each of these substrate classes functions with nearly identical efficiency in terms of yield and enantioselectivity. Catalyst discovery and development, the optimization of reaction conditions, the exploration of reaction scope, and applications in target-directed synthesis are reported. Experimental observations suggest that these alkylation reactions occur through an unusual inner-sphere mechanism involving binding of the prochiral enolate nucleophile directly to the palladium center. PMID:22083969

Enantioselective Decarboxylative Alkylation Reactions: Catalyst Development, Substrate Scope, and Mechanistic Studies

KAUST Repository

Behenna, Douglas C.; Mohr, Justin T.; Sherden, Nathaniel H.; Marinescu, Smaranda C.; Harned, Andrew M.; Tani, Kousuke; Seto, Masaki; Ma, Sandy; Nová k, Zoltá n; Krout, Michael R.; McFadden, Ryan M.; Roizen, Jennifer L.; Enquist, John A.; White, David E.; Levine, Samantha R.; Petrova, Krastina V.; Iwashita, Akihiko; Virgil, Scott C.; Stoltz, Brian M.

2011-01-01

α-Quaternary ketones are accessed through novel enantioselective alkylations of allyl and propargyl electrophiles by unstabilized prochiral enolate nucleophiles in the presence of palladium complexes with various phosphinooxazoline (PHOX) ligands. Excellent yields and high enantiomeric excesses are obtained from three classes of enolate precursor: enol carbonates, enol silanes, and racemic β-ketoesters. Each of these substrate classes functions with nearly identical efficiency in terms of yield and enantioselectivity. Catalyst discovery and development, the optimization of reaction conditions, the exploration of reaction scope, and applications in target-directed synthesis are reported. Experimental observations suggest that these alkylation reactions occur through an unusual inner-sphere mechanism involving binding of the prochiral enolate nucleophile directly to the palladium center.

Enantioselective Decarboxylative Alkylation Reactions: Catalyst Development, Substrate Scope, and Mechanistic Studies

KAUST Repository

Behenna, Douglas C.

2011-11-14

α-Quaternary ketones are accessed through novel enantioselective alkylations of allyl and propargyl electrophiles by unstabilized prochiral enolate nucleophiles in the presence of palladium complexes with various phosphinooxazoline (PHOX) ligands. Excellent yields and high enantiomeric excesses are obtained from three classes of enolate precursor: enol carbonates, enol silanes, and racemic β-ketoesters. Each of these substrate classes functions with nearly identical efficiency in terms of yield and enantioselectivity. Catalyst discovery and development, the optimization of reaction conditions, the exploration of reaction scope, and applications in target-directed synthesis are reported. Experimental observations suggest that these alkylation reactions occur through an unusual inner-sphere mechanism involving binding of the prochiral enolate nucleophile directly to the palladium center.

Organometallic Reactions Development, Mechanistic Studies and Synthetic Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dam, Johan Hygum

of the successful total synthesis of the cyclophane cavicularin, which contains a bent aromatic moiety. The pivotal step in the synthesis embodied a pyrone-alkyne Diels-Alder cycloaddition with CO2-extrusion to deliver the bent aromatic residue. The fourth project involved further development of the conditions...... previously discovered in the Madsen group for the direct coupling of alcohols and amines to amides under dihydrogen liberation. The goal was to synthesize isolatable ruthenium catalysts and two 18-electron complexes capable of performing the reaction in excellent yields were prepared and characterized...

N-Alkylation by Hydrogen Autotransfer Reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xiantao; Su, Chenliang; Xu, Qing

2016-06-01

Owing to the importance of amine/amide derivatives in all fields of chemistry, and also the green and environmentally benign features of using alcohols as alkylating reagents, the relatively high atom economic dehydrative N-alkylation reactions of amines/amides with alcohols through hydrogen autotransfer processes have received much attention and have developed rapidly in recent decades. Various efficient homogeneous and heterogeneous transition metal catalysts, nano materials, electrochemical methods, biomimetic methods, asymmetric N-alkylation reactions, aerobic oxidative methods, and even certain transition metal-free, catalyst-free, or autocatalyzed methods, have also been developed in recent years. With a brief introduction to the background and developments in this area of research, this chapter focuses mainly on recent progress and technical and conceptual advances contributing to the development of this research in the last decade. In addition to mainstream research on homogeneous and heterogeneous transition metal-catalyzed reactions, possible mechanistic routes for hydrogen transfer and alcohol activation, which are key processes in N-alkylation reactions but seldom discussed in the past, the recent reports on computational mechanistic studies of the N-alkylation reactions, and the newly emerged N-alkylation methods based on novel alcohol activation protocols such as air-promoted reactions and transition metal-free methods, are also reviewed in this chapter. Problems and bottlenecks that remained to be solved in the field, and promising new research that deserves greater future attention and effort, are also reviewed and discussed.

Stochastic lattice model of synaptic membrane protein domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yiwei; Kahraman, Osman; Haselwandter, Christoph A

2017-05-01

Neurotransmitter receptor molecules, concentrated in synaptic membrane domains along with scaffolds and other kinds of proteins, are crucial for signal transmission across chemical synapses. In common with other membrane protein domains, synaptic domains are characterized by low protein copy numbers and protein crowding, with rapid stochastic turnover of individual molecules. We study here in detail a stochastic lattice model of the receptor-scaffold reaction-diffusion dynamics at synaptic domains that was found previously to capture, at the mean-field level, the self-assembly, stability, and characteristic size of synaptic domains observed in experiments. We show that our stochastic lattice model yields quantitative agreement with mean-field models of nonlinear diffusion in crowded membranes. Through a combination of analytic and numerical solutions of the master equation governing the reaction dynamics at synaptic domains, together with kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, we find substantial discrepancies between mean-field and stochastic models for the reaction dynamics at synaptic domains. Based on the reaction and diffusion properties of synaptic receptors and scaffolds suggested by previous experiments and mean-field calculations, we show that the stochastic reaction-diffusion dynamics of synaptic receptors and scaffolds provide a simple physical mechanism for collective fluctuations in synaptic domains, the molecular turnover observed at synaptic domains, key features of the observed single-molecule trajectories, and spatial heterogeneity in the effective rates at which receptors and scaffolds are recycled at the cell membrane. Our work sheds light on the physical mechanisms and principles linking the collective properties of membrane protein domains to the stochastic dynamics that rule their molecular components.

Fuel swelling importance in PCI mechanistic modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arimescu, V.I.

2005-01-01

Under certain conditions, fuel pellet swelling is the most important factor in determining the intensity of the pellet-to-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI). This is especially true during power ramps, which lead to a temperature increase to a higher terminal plateau that is maintained for hours. The time-dependent gaseous swelling is proportional to temperature and is also enhanced by the increased gas atom migration to the grain boundary during the power ramp. On the other hand, gaseous swelling is inhibited by a compressive hydrostatic stress in the pellet. Therefore, PCMI is the net result of combining gaseous swelling and pellet thermal expansion with the opposing feedback from the cladding mechanical reaction. The coupling of the thermal and mechanical processes, mentioned above, with various feedback loops is best simulated by a mechanistic fuel code. This paper discusses a mechanistic swelling model that is coupled with a fission gas release model as well as a mechanical model of the fuel pellet. The role of fuel swelling is demonstrated for typical power ramps at different burn-ups. Also, fuel swelling plays a significant role in avoiding the thermal instability for larger gap fuel rods, by limiting the potentially exponentially increasing gap due to the positive feedback loop effect of increasing fission gas release and the associated over-pressure inside the cladding. (author)

Polymerization kinetics of wheat gluten upon thermosetting. A mechanistic model.

Science.gov (United States)

Domenek, Sandra; Morel, Marie-Hélène; Bonicel, Joëlle; Guilbert, Stéphane

2002-10-09

Size exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography analysis was carried out on wheat gluten-glycerol blends subjected to different heat treatments. The elution profiles were analyzed in order to follow the solubility loss of protein fractions with specific molecular size. Owing to the known biochemical changes involved during the heat denaturation of gluten, a mechanistic mathematical model was developed, which divided the protein denaturation into two distinct reaction steps: (i) reversible change in protein conformation and (ii) protein precipitation through disulfide bonding between initially SDS-soluble and SDS-insoluble reaction partners. Activation energies of gluten unfolding, refolding, and precipitation were calculated with the Arrhenius law to 53.9 kJ x mol(-1), 29.5 kJ x mol(-1), and 172 kJ x mol(-1), respectively. The rate of protein solubility loss decreased as the cross-linking reaction proceeded, which may be attributed to the formation of a three-dimensional network progressively hindering the reaction. The enhanced susceptibility to aggregation of large molecules was assigned to a risen reaction probability due to their higher number of cysteine residues and to the increased percentage of unfolded and thereby activated proteins as complete protein refolding seemed to be an anticooperative process.

Asymmetric Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons Reactions with meso-Dialdehydes: Scope, Mechanism, and Synthetic Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rein, Tobias; Vares, Lauri; Kawasaki, Ikuo

1999-01-01

Asymmetric Homer-Wadsworth-Emmons reactions between chiral phosphonate reagents and various meso-dialdehydes have been investigated. A mechanistic model useful for rationalizing the experimentally observed stereoselectivities is presented. Furthermore; strategies for applying these reactions...

Assessing uncertainty in mechanistic models

Science.gov (United States)

Edwin J. Green; David W. MacFarlane; Harry T. Valentine

2000-01-01

Concern over potential global change has led to increased interest in the use of mechanistic models for predicting forest growth. The rationale for this interest is that empirical models may be of limited usefulness if environmental conditions change. Intuitively, we expect that mechanistic models, grounded as far as possible in an understanding of the biology of tree...

A Study of Electrocyclic Reactions in a Molecular Junction: Mechanistic and Energetic Requirements for Switching in the Coulomb Blockade Regime.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Stine T; Brøndsted Nielsen, Mogens; Hansen, Thorsten; Ratner, Mark A; Mikkelsen, Kurt V

2017-06-20

Molecular photoswitches incorporated in molecular junctions yield the possibility of light-controlled switching of conductance due to the electronic difference of the photoisomers. Another isomerization mechanism, dark photoswitching, promoted by a voltage stimulus rather than by light, can be operative in the Coulomb blockade regime for a specific charge state of the molecule. Here we elucidate theoretically the mechanistic and thermodynamic restrictions for this dark photoswitching for donor-acceptor substituted 4n and 4n+2 π-electron open-chain oligoenes (1,3-butadiene and 1,3,5-hexatriene) by considering the molecular energies and orbitals of the molecules placed in a junction. For an electrocyclic ring closure reaction to occur for these compounds, we put forward two requirements: a) the closed stereoisomer (cis or trans form) must be of lower energy than the open form, and b) the reaction pathway must be in accordance to the orbital symmetry rules expressed by the Woodward-Hoffmann rules (when the electrodes do not significantly alter the molecular orbital appearances). We find these two requirements to be valid for the dianion of (1E,3Z,5E)-hexa-1,3,5-triene-1,6-diamine, and the Coulomb blockade diamonds were therefore modeled for this compound to elucidate how a dark photoswitching event would manifest itself in the stability plot. From this modeling of conductance as a function of gate and bias potentials, we predict a collapse in Coulomb diamond size, that is, a decrease in the height of the island of zero conductance. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A stepwise approach for defining the applicability domain of SAR and QSAR models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dimitrov, Sabcho; Dimitrova, Gergana; Pavlov, Todor

2005-01-01

A stepwise approach for determining the model applicability domain is proposed. Four stages are applied to account for the diversity and complexity of the current SAR/QSAR models, reflecting their mechanistic rationality (including metabolic activation of chemicals) and transparency. General para...

Isotope effects for base-promoted, gas-phase proton transfer reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grabowski, J.J.; Cheng, Xueheng

1991-01-01

Proton transfer reactions are among the most basic, the most common and the most important of chemical transformations; despite their apparent simplicity, much is unknown about this most fundamental of all chemical processes. Active interest in understanding the underlying principles of organic proton transfer reactions continues because of efforts being made to develop the theory of elementary chemical processes, because of the resurgence of interest in mechanistic organic chemistry and because of the resurgence of interest in mechanistic organic chemistry processes, because of the resurgence of interest in mechanistic organic chemistry and because of the dynamic role played by proton transfers in biochemical transformations. As organic chemists, the authors have used the flowing afterglow technique to gain an appreciation of the fundamental issues involved in reaction mechanisms by examining such processes in a solvent-free environment under thermally-equilibrated (300 K) conditions. Recent characterization of the facile production of both acetate and the monoenolate anion from the interaction of hydroxide or fluoride with acetic acid reinforces the idea that much yet must be learned about proton transfers/proton abstractions in general. Earlier work by Riveros and co-workers on competitive H vs D abstraction from α-d 1 -toluenes and by Noest and Nibbering on competitive H vs D abstraction from α,α,α-d 3 -acetone, in combination with the acetic acid results, challenged the author's to assemble a comprehensive picture of the competitive nature of proton transfer reactions for anionic base-promoted processes

Computational organic chemistry: bridging theory and experiment in establishing the mechanisms of chemical reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Gui-Juan; Zhang, Xinhao; Chung, Lung Wa; Xu, Liping; Wu, Yun-Dong

2015-02-11

Understanding the mechanisms of chemical reactions, especially catalysis, has been an important and active area of computational organic chemistry, and close collaborations between experimentalists and theorists represent a growing trend. This Perspective provides examples of such productive collaborations. The understanding of various reaction mechanisms and the insight gained from these studies are emphasized. The applications of various experimental techniques in elucidation of reaction details as well as the development of various computational techniques to meet the demand of emerging synthetic methods, e.g., C-H activation, organocatalysis, and single electron transfer, are presented along with some conventional developments of mechanistic aspects. Examples of applications are selected to demonstrate the advantages and limitations of these techniques. Some challenges in the mechanistic studies and predictions of reactions are also analyzed.

Mechanistic kinetic models of enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis-A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeoh, Tina; Cardona, Maria J; Karuna, Nardrapee; Mudinoor, Akshata R; Nill, Jennifer

2017-07-01

Bioconversion of lignocellulose forms the basis for renewable, advanced biofuels, and bioproducts. Mechanisms of hydrolysis of cellulose by cellulases have been actively studied for nearly 70 years with significant gains in understanding of the cellulolytic enzymes. Yet, a full mechanistic understanding of the hydrolysis reaction has been elusive. We present a review to highlight new insights gained since the most recent comprehensive review of cellulose hydrolysis kinetic models by Bansal et al. (2009) Biotechnol Adv 27:833-848. Recent models have taken a two-pronged approach to tackle the challenge of modeling the complex heterogeneous reaction-an enzyme-centric modeling approach centered on the molecularity of the cellulase-cellulose interactions to examine rate limiting elementary steps and a substrate-centric modeling approach aimed at capturing the limiting property of the insoluble cellulose substrate. Collectively, modeling results suggest that at the molecular-scale, how rapidly cellulases can bind productively (complexation) and release from cellulose (decomplexation) is limiting, while the overall hydrolysis rate is largely insensitive to the catalytic rate constant. The surface area of the insoluble substrate and the degrees of polymerization of the cellulose molecules in the reaction both limit initial hydrolysis rates only. Neither enzyme-centric models nor substrate-centric models can consistently capture hydrolysis time course at extended reaction times. Thus, questions of the true reaction limiting factors at extended reaction times and the role of complexation and decomplexation in rate limitation remain unresolved. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 1369-1385. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Empirical Force Fields for Mechanistic Studies of Chemical Reactions in Proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Das, A K; Meuwly, M

2016-01-01

Following chemical reactions in atomistic detail is one of the most challenging aspects of current computational approaches to chemistry. In this chapter the application of adiabatic reactive MD (ARMD) and its multistate version (MS-ARMD) are discussed. Both methods allow to study bond-breaking and bond-forming processes in chemical and biological processes. Particular emphasis is put on practical aspects for applying the methods to investigate the dynamics of chemical reactions. The chapter closes with an outlook of possible generalizations of the methods discussed. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Microsecond time-scale kinetics of transient biochemical reactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mitic, S.; Strampraad, M.J.F.; Hagen, W.R.; de Vries, S.

2017-01-01

To afford mechanistic studies in enzyme kinetics and protein folding in the microsecond time domain we have developed a continuous-flow microsecond time-scale mixing instrument with an unprecedented dead-time of 3.8 ± 0.3 μs. The instrument employs a micro-mixer with a mixing time of 2.7 μs

Appropriateness of mechanistic and non-mechanistic models for the application of ultrafiltration to mixed waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foust, Henry; Ghosehajra, Malay

2007-01-01

This study asks two questions: (1) How appropriate is the use of a basic filtration equation to the application of ultrafiltration of mixed waste, and (2) How appropriate are non-parametric models for permeate rates (volumes)? To answer these questions, mechanistic and non-mechanistic approaches are developed for permeate rates and volumes associated with an ultrafiltration/mixed waste system in dia-filtration mode. The mechanistic approach is based on a filtration equation which states that t/V vs. V is a linear relationship. The coefficients associated with this linear regression are composed of physical/chemical parameters of the system and based the mass balance equation associated with the membrane and associated developing cake layer. For several sets of data, a high correlation is shown that supports the assertion that t/V vs. V is a linear relationship. It is also shown that non-mechanistic approaches, i.e., the use of regression models to are not appropriate. One models considered is Q(p) = a*ln(Cb)+b. Regression models are inappropriate because the scale-up from a bench scale (pilot scale) study to full-scale for permeate rates (volumes) is not simply the ratio of the two membrane surface areas. (authors)

The kinetic and mechanistic aspects of the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane over Li/Na/MgO catalysts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Swaan, H.M.; Swaan, H.M.; Toebes, A.; Toebes, A.; van Ommen, J.G.; Seshan, Kulathuiyer; Ross, J.R.H.; Ross, J.R.H.

1992-01-01

Kinetic and mechanistic aspects of the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane catalysed by Li/MgO and Li/Na/MgO have been investigated. Initial rate measurements at 600°C; revealed that the Li/MgO catalyst produced C2H4, CO2, CO and H2 by parallel reactions whereas the sodium-promoted catalyst produced

Caging in high energy reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ache, H.J.

1977-01-01

The concept of caging high energy reactions is considered. It is noted that there is no easy and unambiguous way, short of a complete and very tedious product and mechanistic analysis, which is feasible only for very few systems, to determine the contribution made by caging. It is emphasized that some products resulting from the hot reaction with a certain substrate may be formed via caging while others are not. In research on the mechanism of caging the results of Roots work on the reactions of hot 18 F with the CF 3 CH 3 system seem to provide evidence for caging, with 18 F being the caged moiety, thus proceeding via a radical--radical recombination mechanism. Their work with H 2 S additive also seems to indicate that scavenging via hydrogen abstraction from H 2 S to form does not interfere with the radical--radical recombination consistent with Bunkers molecular approach to explain the cage effects. In other research a series of observations resulting from stereochemical and combined stereochemical density variation techniques seem to favor a caged-complex. It is clear that a more conclusive answer can only be reached by more systematic studies, utilizing the whole range of nuclear reactions such as (n,2n), (n,γ) and E.C. processes in mechanistically well defined systems to elucidate the effect of variations in the recoil energies, by carrying out studies in different solvents or host substances to assess the effect of the physical parameters, such as molecule size and intermolecular interactions on the escape probability or caging efficiencies

Mechanistic Study of the Oxidative Coupling of Styrene with 2-Phenylpyridine Derivatives Catalyzed by Cationic Rhodium( III) via C–H Activation

Science.gov (United States)

Brasse, Mikaël; Cámpora, Juan; Ellman, Jonathan A.; Bergman, Robert G.

2013-01-01

The Rh(III) catalyzed oxidative coupling of alkenes with arenes provides a greener alternative to the classical Heck reaction for the synthesis of arene-functionalized alkenes. The present mechanistic study gives insights for the rational development of this key transformation. The catalyst resting states and the rate law of the reaction have been identified. The reaction rate is solely dependent on catalyst and alkene concentrations and the rate determining step is the migratory insertion of alkene into a Rh–C(aryl) bond. PMID:23590843

Room-temperature and temperature-dependent QSRR modelling for predicting the nitrate radical reaction rate constants of organic chemicals using ensemble learning methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, S; Basant, N; Mohan, D; Singh, K P

2016-07-01

Experimental determinations of the rate constants of the reaction of NO3 with a large number of organic chemicals are tedious, and time and resource intensive; and the development of computational methods has widely been advocated. In this study, we have developed room-temperature (298 K) and temperature-dependent quantitative structure-reactivity relationship (QSRR) models based on the ensemble learning approaches (decision tree forest (DTF) and decision treeboost (DTB)) for predicting the rate constant of the reaction of NO3 radicals with diverse organic chemicals, under OECD guidelines. Predictive powers of the developed models were established in terms of statistical coefficients. In the test phase, the QSRR models yielded a correlation (r(2)) of >0.94 between experimental and predicted rate constants. The applicability domains of the constructed models were determined. An attempt has been made to provide the mechanistic interpretation of the selected features for QSRR development. The proposed QSRR models outperformed the previous reports, and the temperature-dependent models offered a much wider applicability domain. This is the first report presenting a temperature-dependent QSRR model for predicting the nitrate radical reaction rate constant at different temperatures. The proposed models can be useful tools in predicting the reactivities of chemicals towards NO3 radicals in the atmosphere, hence, their persistence and exposure risk assessment.

A metabonomic approach for mechanistic exploration of pre-clinical toxicology.

Science.gov (United States)

Coen, Muireann

2010-12-30

Metabonomics involves the application of advanced analytical tools to profile the diverse metabolic complement of a given biofluid or tissue. Subsequent statistical modelling of the complex multivariate spectral profiles enables discrimination between phenotypes of interest and identifies panels of discriminatory metabolites that represent candidate biomarkers. This review article presents an overview of recent developments in the field of metabonomics with a focus on application to pre-clinical toxicology studies. Recent research investigations carried out as part of the international COMET 2 consortium project on the hepatotoxic action of the aminosugar, galactosamine (galN) are presented. The application of advanced, high-field NMR spectroscopy is demonstrated, together with complementary application of a targeted mass spectrometry platform coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography. Much novel mechanistic information has been gleaned on both the mechanism of galN hepatotoxicity in multiple biofluids and tissues, and on the protection afforded by co-administration of glycine and uridine. The simultaneous identification of both the metabolic fate of galN and its associated endogenous consequences in spectral profiles is demonstrated. Furthermore, metabonomic assessment of inter-animal variability in response to galN presents enhanced mechanistic insight on variable response phentoypes and is relevant to understanding wider aspects of individual variability in drug response. This exemplar highlights the analytical and statistical tools commonly applied in metabonomic studies and notably, the approach is applicable to the study of any toxin/drug or intervention of interest. The metabonomic approach holds considerable promise and potential to significantly advance our understanding of the mechanistic bases for adverse drug reactions. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phenomenological description of selected elementary chemical reaction mechanisms: An information-theoretic study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esquivel, R.O.; Flores-Gallegos, N.; Iuga, C.; Carrera, E.M.; Angulo, J.C.; Antolin, J.

2010-01-01

The information-theoretic description of the course of two elementary chemical reactions allows a phenomenological description of the chemical course of the hydrogenic abstraction and the S N 2 identity reactions by use of Shannon entropic measures in position and momentum spaces. The analyses reveal their synchronous/asynchronous mechanistic behavior.

Kinetic and Structural Insights into the Mechanism of AMPylation by VopS Fic Domain*

Science.gov (United States)

Luong, Phi; Kinch, Lisa N.; Brautigam, Chad A.; Grishin, Nick V.; Tomchick, Diana R.; Orth, Kim

2010-01-01

The bacterial pathogen Vibrio parahemeolyticus manipulates host signaling pathways during infections by injecting type III effectors into the cytoplasm of the target cell. One of these effectors, VopS, blocks actin assembly by AMPylation of a conserved threonine residue in the switch 1 region of Rho GTPases. The modified GTPases are no longer able to interact with downstream effectors due to steric hindrance by the covalently linked AMP moiety. Herein we analyze the structure of VopS and its evolutionarily conserved catalytic residues. Steady-state analysis of VopS mutants provides kinetic understanding on the functional role of each residue for AMPylation activity by the Fic domain. Further mechanistic analysis of VopS with its two substrates, ATP and Cdc42, demonstrates that VopS utilizes a sequential mechanism to AMPylate Rho GTPases. Discovery of a ternary reaction mechanism along with structural insight provides critical groundwork for future studies for the family of AMPylators that modify hydroxyl-containing residues with AMP. PMID:20410310

Kinetic and Structural Insights into the Mechanism of AMPylation by VopS Fic Domain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luong, Phi; Kinch, Lisa N.; Brautigam, Chad A.; Grishin, Nick V.; Tomchick, Diana R.; Orth, Kim (UTSMC)

2010-07-19

The bacterial pathogen Vibrio parahemeolyticus manipulates host signaling pathways during infections by injecting type III effectors into the cytoplasm of the target cell. One of these effectors, VopS, blocks actin assembly by AMPylation of a conserved threonine residue in the switch 1 region of Rho GTPases. The modified GTPases are no longer able to interact with downstream effectors due to steric hindrance by the covalently linked AMP moiety. Herein we analyze the structure of VopS and its evolutionarily conserved catalytic residues. Steady-state analysis of VopS mutants provides kinetic understanding on the functional role of each residue for AMPylation activity by the Fic domain. Further mechanistic analysis of VopS with its two substrates, ATP and Cdc42, demonstrates that VopS utilizes a sequential mechanism to AMPylate Rho GTPases. Discovery of a ternary reaction mechanism along with structural insight provides critical groundwork for future studies for the family of AMPylators that modify hydroxyl-containing residues with AMP.

Mechanistic studies on the reaction of 0-phthaladehyde

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maliha, B.; Siddiqui, H.L.; Hussain, I.; Ilyas, M.

2009-01-01

Urea and its N-alkyl/aryl derivatives react with o-phthalaldehyde (OPT A) to yield blue to purple coloration along-with isoindoline compounds (VII a,b,c) in acidic media. The color is unstable and changes into various shades with the passage of the time. The assay of urea which entirely depends upon this color does not suggest its determination with OPTA present in biological and non-biological fluids. Moreover, it is found that compounds which enhance color stability have nothing to do with determination of urea. The structures of isoindolines (VII a,b,c) have been confirmed by IH-, 13C-NMR and mass spectrometry techniques. The absolute authenticity comes from their (VII a,b,c) X-ray crystallography. The colors resulting from the said reactions fall in between 585-595 nm in UV/VIS spectra. As the use of OPTA for urea determination is known, hence, in this study, we are presenting chemistry for urea determination with OPTA. (author)

Rational and Mechanistic Perspectives on Reinforcement Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Chater, Nick

2009-01-01

This special issue describes important recent developments in applying reinforcement learning models to capture neural and cognitive function. But reinforcement learning, as a theoretical framework, can apply at two very different levels of description: "mechanistic" and "rational." Reinforcement learning is often viewed in mechanistic terms--as…

Stoichiometric Representation of Gene–Protein–Reaction Associations Leverages Constraint-Based Analysis from Reaction to Gene-Level Phenotype Prediction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Machado, Daniel; Herrgard, Markus; Rocha, Isabel

2016-01-01

only describe the metabolic phenotype at the reaction level, understanding the mechanistic link between genotype and phenotype is still hampered by the complexity of gene-protein-reaction associations. We implement a model transformation that enables constraint-based methods to be applied at the gene...... design methods are not actually feasible, and show how our approach allows using the same methods to obtain feasible gene-based designs. We also show, by extensive comparison with experimental 13C-flux data, how simple reformulations of different simulation methods with gene-wise objective functions...

Mechanistic studies of copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-halogen migration.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Hoveln, Ryan; Hudson, Brandi M; Wedler, Henry B; Bates, Desiree M; Le Gros, Gabriel; Tantillo, Dean J; Schomaker, Jennifer M

2015-04-29

An ongoing challenge in modern catalysis is to identify and understand new modes of reactivity promoted by earth-abundant and inexpensive first-row transition metals. Herein, we report a mechanistic study of an unusual copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-migration of 2-bromostyrenes that reincorporates the bromine activating group into the final product with concomitant borylation of the aryl halide bond. A combination of experimental and computational studies indicated this reaction does not involve any oxidation state changes at copper; rather, migration occurs through a series of formal sigmatropic shifts. Insight provided from these studies will be used to expand the utility of aryl copper species in synthesis and develop new ligands for enantioselective copper-catalyzed halogenation.

Reaction time for trimolecular reactions in compartment-based reaction-diffusion models

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fei; Chen, Minghan; Erban, Radek; Cao, Yang

2018-05-01

Trimolecular reaction models are investigated in the compartment-based (lattice-based) framework for stochastic reaction-diffusion modeling. The formulae for the first collision time and the mean reaction time are derived for the case where three molecules are present in the solution under periodic boundary conditions. For the case of reflecting boundary conditions, similar formulae are obtained using a computer-assisted approach. The accuracy of these formulae is further verified through comparison with numerical results. The presented derivation is based on the first passage time analysis of Montroll [J. Math. Phys. 10, 753 (1969)]. Montroll's results for two-dimensional lattice-based random walks are adapted and applied to compartment-based models of trimolecular reactions, which are studied in one-dimensional or pseudo one-dimensional domains.

The reductive decyanation reaction: an overview and recent developments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Marc R. Mattalia

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This review presents an overview of the reductive decyanation reaction with a special interest for recent developments. This transformation allows synthetic chemists to take advantages of the nitrile functional group before its removal. Mechanistic details and applications to organic synthesis are provided.

Major mechanistic differences between the reactions of hydroxylamine with phosphate di- and tri-esters.

Science.gov (United States)

Medeiros, Michelle; Wanderlind, Eduardo H; Mora, José R; Moreira, Raphaell; Kirby, Anthony J; Nome, Faruk

2013-10-07

Hydroxylamine reacts as an oxygen nucleophile, most likely via its ammonia oxide tautomer, towards both phosphate di- and triesters of 2-hydroxypyridine. But the reactions are very different. The product of the two-step reaction with the triester TPP is trapped by the NH2OH present in solution to generate diimide, identified from its expected disproportionation and trapping products. The reaction with H3N(+)-O(-) shows general base catalysis, which calculations show is involved in the breakdown of the phosphorane addition-intermediate of a two-step reaction. The reactivity of the diester anion DPP(-) is controlled by its more basic pyridyl N. Hydroxylamine reacts preferentially with the substrate zwitterion DPP(±) to displace first one then a second 2-pyridone, in concerted S(N)2(P) reactions, forming O-phosphorylated products which are readily hydrolysed to inorganic phosphate. The suggested mechanisms are tested and supported by extensive theoretical calculations.

The E3 ubiquitin ligase protein associated with Myc (Pam) regulates mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling in vivo through N- and C-terminal domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Sangyeul; Kim, Sun; Bahl, Samira; Li, Lin; Burande, Clara F; Smith, Nicole; James, Marianne; Beauchamp, Roberta L; Bhide, Pradeep; DiAntonio, Aaron; Ramesh, Vijaya

2012-08-31

Pam and its homologs (the PHR protein family) are large E3 ubiquitin ligases that function to regulate synapse formation and growth in mammals, zebrafish, Drosophila, and Caenorhabditis elegans. Phr1-deficient mouse models (Phr1(Δ8,9) and Phr1(Magellan), with deletions in the N-terminal putative guanine exchange factor region and the C-terminal ubiquitin ligase region, respectively) exhibit axon guidance/outgrowth defects and striking defects of major axon tracts in the CNS. Our earlier studies identified Pam to be associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) proteins, ubiquitinating TSC2 and regulating mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. Here, we examine the potential involvement of the TSC/mTOR complex 1(mTORC1) signaling pathway in Phr1-deficient mouse models. We observed attenuation of mTORC1 signaling in the brains of both Phr1(Δ8,9) and Phr1(Magellan) mouse models. Our results establish that Pam regulates TSC/mTOR signaling in vitro and in vivo through two distinct domains. To further address whether Pam regulates mTORC1 through two functionally independent domains, we undertook heterozygous mutant crossing between Phr1(Δ8,9) and Phr1(Magellan) mice to generate a compound heterozygous model to determine whether these two domains can complement each other. mTORC1 signaling was not attenuated in the brains of double mutants (Phr1(Δ8,9/Mag)), confirming that Pam displays dual regulation of the mTORC1 pathway through two functional domains. Our results also suggest that although dysregulation of mTORC1 signaling may be responsible for the corpus callosum defects, other neurodevelopmental defects observed with Phr1 deficiency are independent of mTORC1 signaling. The ubiquitin ligase complex containing Pam-Fbxo45 likely targets additional synaptic and axonal proteins, which may explain the overlapping neurodevelopmental defects observed in Phr1 and Fbxo45 deficiency.

Fe(II)/Fe(III)-Catalyzed Intramolecular Didehydro-Diels-Alder Reaction of Styrene-ynes.

Science.gov (United States)

Mun, Hyeon Jin; Seong, Eun Young; Ahn, Kwang-Hyun; Kang, Eun Joo

2018-02-02

The intramolecular didehydro-Diels-Alder reaction of styrene-ynes was catalyzed by Fe(II) and Fe(III) to produce various naphthalene derivatives under microwave heating conditions. Mechanistic calculations found that the Fe(II) catalyst activates the styrenyl diene in an inverse-electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction, and the consecutive dehydrogenation reaction can be promoted by either Fe(II)-catalyzed direct dehydrogenation or an Fe(III)-catalyzed rearomatization/dehydrogenation pathway.

Aberrant Behaviours of Reaction Diffusion Self-organisation Models on Growing Domains in the Presence of Gene Expression Time Delays

KAUST Repository

Seirin Lee, S.

2010-03-23

Turing\\'s pattern formation mechanism exhibits sensitivity to the details of the initial conditions suggesting that, in isolation, it cannot robustly generate pattern within noisy biological environments. Nonetheless, secondary aspects of developmental self-organisation, such as a growing domain, have been shown to ameliorate this aberrant model behaviour. Furthermore, while in-situ hybridisation reveals the presence of gene expression in developmental processes, the influence of such dynamics on Turing\\'s model has received limited attention. Here, we novelly focus on the Gierer-Meinhardt reaction diffusion system considering delays due the time taken for gene expression, while incorporating a number of different domain growth profiles to further explore the influence and interplay of domain growth and gene expression on Turing\\'s mechanism. We find extensive pathological model behaviour, exhibiting one or more of the following: temporal oscillations with no spatial structure, a failure of the Turing instability and an extreme sensitivity to the initial conditions, the growth profile and the duration of gene expression. This deviant behaviour is even more severe than observed in previous studies of Schnakenberg kinetics on exponentially growing domains in the presence of gene expression (Gaffney and Monk in Bull. Math. Biol. 68:99-130, 2006). Our results emphasise that gene expression dynamics induce unrealistic behaviour in Turing\\'s model for multiple choices of kinetics and thus such aberrant modelling predictions are likely to be generic. They also highlight that domain growth can no longer ameliorate the excessive sensitivity of Turing\\'s mechanism in the presence of gene expression time delays. The above, extensive, pathologies suggest that, in the presence of gene expression, Turing\\'s mechanism would generally require a novel and extensive secondary mechanism to control reaction diffusion patterning. © 2010 Society for Mathematical Biology.

Structure and Reaction Mechanism of Pyrrolysine Synthase (PylD)

KAUST Repository

Quitterer, Felix; Beck, Philipp; Bacher, Adelbert; Groll, Michael

2013-01-01

The final step in the biosynthesis of the 22nd genetically encoded amino acid, pyrrolysine, is catalyzed by PylD, a structurally and mechanistically unique dehydrogenase. This catalyzed reaction includes an induced-fit mechanism achieved by major structural rearrangements of the N-terminal helix upon substrate binding. Different steps of the reaction trajectory are visualized by complex structures of PylD with substrate and product. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Structure and Reaction Mechanism of Pyrrolysine Synthase (PylD)

KAUST Repository

Quitterer, Felix

2013-05-29

The final step in the biosynthesis of the 22nd genetically encoded amino acid, pyrrolysine, is catalyzed by PylD, a structurally and mechanistically unique dehydrogenase. This catalyzed reaction includes an induced-fit mechanism achieved by major structural rearrangements of the N-terminal helix upon substrate binding. Different steps of the reaction trajectory are visualized by complex structures of PylD with substrate and product. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Reaction of Aldehydes/Ketones with Electron-Deficient 1,3,5-Triazines Leading to Functionalized Pyrimidines as Diels-Alder/Retro-Diels-Alder Reaction Products: Reaction Development and Mechanistic Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Kai; Dang, Qun; Cai, Pei-Jun; Gao, Yang; Yu, Zhi-Xiang; Bai, Xu

2017-03-03

Catalytic inverse electron demand Diels-Alder (IEDDA) reactions of heterocyclic aza-dienes are rarely reported since highly reactive and electron-rich dienophiles are often found not compatible with strong acids such as Lewis acids. Herein, we disclose that TFA-catalyzed reactions of electron-deficient 1,3,5-triazines and electron-deficient aldehydes/ketones can take place. These reactions led to highly functionalized pyrimidines as products in fair to good yields. The reaction mechanism was carefully studied by the combination of experimental and computational studies. The reactions involve a cascade of stepwise inverse electron demand hetero-Diels-Alder (ihDA) reactions, followed by retro-Diels-Alder (rDA) reactions and elimination of water. An acid was required for both ihDA and rDA reactions. This mechanism was further verified by comparing the relative reactivity of aldehydes/ketones and their corresponding vinyl ethers in the current reaction system.

Mechanistic curiosity will not kill the Bayesian cat

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borsboom, D.; Wagenmakers, E.-J.; Romeijn, J.-W.

2011-01-01

Jones & Love (J&L) suggest that Bayesian approaches to the explanation of human behavior should be constrained by mechanistic theories. We argue that their proposal misconstrues the relation between process models, such as the Bayesian model, and mechanisms. While mechanistic theories can answer

Mechanistic curiosity will not kill the Bayesian cat

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borsboom, Denny; Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan; Romeijn, Jan-Willem

Jones & Love (J&L) suggest that Bayesian approaches to the explanation of human behavior should be constrained by mechanistic theories. We argue that their proposal misconstrues the relation between process models, such as the Bayesian model, and mechanisms. While mechanistic theories can answer

SN2 fluorination reactions in ionic liquids: a mechanistic study towards solvent engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Young-Ho; Jang, Hyeong Bin; Im, Suk; Song, Myoung Jong; Kim, So-Yeon; Park, Sung-Woo; Chi, Dae Yoon; Song, Choong Eui; Lee, Sungyul

2011-01-21

In the catalysis of S(N)2 fluorination reactions, the ionic liquid anion plays a key role as a Lewis base by binding to the counterion Cs(+) and thereby reducing the retarding Coulombic influence of Cs(+) on the nucleophile F(-). The reaction rates also depend critically on the structures of ionic liquid cation, for example, n-butyl imidazolium gives no S(N)2 products, whereas n-butylmethyl imidazolium works well. The origin of the observed phenomenal synergetic effects by the ionic liquid [mim-(t)OH][OMs], in which t-butanol is bonded covalently to the cation [mim], is that the t-butanol moiety binds to the leaving group of the substrate, moderating the retarding interactions between the acidic hydrogen and F(-). This work is a significant step toward designing and engineering solvents for promoting specific chemical reactions.

On the mechanism of photocatalytic reactions with eosin Y

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michal Majek

2014-04-01

Full Text Available A combined spectroscopic, synthetic, and apparative study has allowed a more detailed mechanistic rationalization of several recently reported eosin Y-catalyzed aromatic substitutions at arenediazonium salts. The operation of rapid acid–base equilibria, direct photolysis pathways, and radical chain reactions has been discussed on the basis of pH, solvent polarity, lamp type, absorption properties, and quantum yields. Determination of the latter proved to be an especially valuable tool for the distinction between radical chain and photocatalytic reactions.

Diversity-Oriented Syntheses by Combining CuAAC and Stereoselective INCIC Reactions with Peptides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Yuanyuan; Madsen, Anders; Diness, Frederik

2017-01-01

Cascade reactions proceeding through peptide-derived N-carbamoyl iminium ions are reported. Two new reactions of N-carbamoyl iminium ions are described, including a stereoselective double cyclization generating N,N′-aminals and an acid-promoted auto-oxidation. Mechanistic investigations revealed...... that the N,N′-aminal formation is reversible under strongly acidic conditions. Both of these new reactions proved to be completely orthogonal to subsequent CuAAC chemistry. The reactions were performed in solution and on solid support. The robustness and high stereoselectivity of the methodology holds great...

Preparative and mechanistic studies toward the rational development of catalytic, enantioselective selenoetherification reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Denmark, Scott E; Kalyani, Dipannita; Collins, William R

2010-11-10

A systematic investigation into the Lewis base catalyzed, asymmetric, intramolecular selenoetherification of olefins is described. A critical challenge for the development of this process was the identification and suppression of racemization pathways available to arylseleniranium ion intermediates. This report details a thorough study of the influences of the steric and electronic modulation of the arylselenenyl group on the configurational stability of enantioenriched seleniranium ions. These studies show that the 2-nitrophenyl group attached to the selenium atom significantly attenuates the racemization of seleniranium ions. A variety of achiral Lewis bases catalyze the intramolecular selenoetherification of alkenes using N-(2-nitrophenylselenenyl)succinimide as the electrophile along with a Brønsted acid. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest the intermediacy of ionic Lewis base-selenium(II) adducts. Most importantly, a broad survey of chiral Lewis bases revealed that 1,1'-binaphthalene-2,2'-diamine (BINAM)-derived thiophosphoramides catalyze the cyclization of unsaturated alcohols in the presence of N-(2-nitrophenylselenenyl)succinimide and methanesulfonic acid. A variety of cyclic seleno ethers were produced in good chemical yields and in moderate to good enantioselectivities, which constitutes the first catalytic, enantioselective selenofunctionalization of unactivated olefins.

The direct oxidative diene cyclization and related reactions in natural product synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliane Adrian

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The direct oxidative cyclization of 1,5-dienes is a valuable synthetic method for the (diastereoselective preparation of substituted tetrahydrofurans. Closely related reactions start from 5,6-dihydroxy or 5-hydroxyalkenes to generate similar products in a mechanistically analogous manner. After a brief overview on the history of this group of transformations and a survey on mechanistic and stereochemical aspects, this review article provides a summary on applications in natural product synthesis. Moreover, current limitations and future directions in this area of chemistry are discussed.

Constructing New Bioorthogonal Reagents and Reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Row, R David; Prescher, Jennifer A

2018-05-15

reactivities and stabilities remains an important goal. We have used both computational analyses and mechanistic studies to guide the optimization of various cyclopropene and triazine probes. Along the way, we identified reagents that are chemoselective but best suited for in vitro work. Others are selective and robust enough for use in living organisms. The last section of this Account highlights the need for the continued pursuit of new reagents and reactions. Challenges exist when bioorthogonal chemistries must be used in concert, given that many exploit similar mechanisms and cannot be used simultaneously. Such limitations have precluded certain multicomponent labeling studies and other biological applications. We have relied on mechanistic and computational insights to identify mutually orthogonal sets of reactions, in addition to exploring unique genres of reactivity. The continued development of mechanistically distinct, biocompatible reactions will further diversify the bioorthogonal reaction portfolio for examining biomolecules.

Towards a Mechanistic Understanding of Anaerobic Nitrate Dependent Iron Oxidation: Balancing Electron Uptake and Detoxification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans Karl Carlson

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The anaerobic oxidation of Fe(II by subsurface microorganisms is an important part of biogeochemical cycling in the environment, but the biochemical mechanisms used to couple iron oxidation to nitrate respiration are not well understood. Based on our own work and the evidence available in the literature, we propose a mechanistic model for anaerobic nitrate dependent iron oxidation. We suggest that anaerobic iron oxidizing microorganisms likely exist along a continuum including: 1 bacteria that inadvertently oxidize Fe(II by abiotic or biotic reactions with enzymes or chemical intermediates in their metabolic pathways (e.g. denitrification and suffer from toxicity or energetic penalty, 2 Fe(II tolerant bacteria that gain little or no growth benefit from iron oxidation but can manage the toxic reactions, and 3 bacteria that efficiently accept electrons from Fe(II to gain a growth advantage while preventing or mitigating the toxic reactions. Predictions of the proposed model are highlighted and experimental approaches are discussed.

Mechanistic study of the isotopic-exchange reaction between gaseous hydrogen and palladium hydride powder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Outka, D.A.; Foltz, G.W.

1991-01-01

A detailed mechanism for the isotopic-exchange reaction between gaseous hydrogen and solid palladium hydride is developed which extends previous model for this reaction by specifically including surface reactions. The modeling indicates that there are two surface-related processes that contribute to the overall rate of exchange: the desorption of hydrogen from the surface and the exchange between surface hydrogen and bulk hydrogen. This conclusion is based upon measurements examining the effect of small concentrations of carbon monoxide were helpful in elucidating the mechanism. Carbon monoxide reversibly inhibits certain steps in the exchange; this slows the overall rate of exchange and changes the distribution of products from the reactor

Testing mechanistic models of growth in insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Maino, James L; Kearney, Michael R

2015-11-22

Insects are typified by their small size, large numbers, impressive reproductive output and rapid growth. However, insect growth is not simply rapid; rather, insects follow a qualitatively distinct trajectory to many other animals. Here we present a mechanistic growth model for insects and show that increasing specific assimilation during the growth phase can explain the near-exponential growth trajectory of insects. The presented model is tested against growth data on 50 insects, and compared against other mechanistic growth models. Unlike the other mechanistic models, our growth model predicts energy reserves per biomass to increase with age, which implies a higher production efficiency and energy density of biomass in later instars. These predictions are tested against data compiled from the literature whereby it is confirmed that insects increase their production efficiency (by 24 percentage points) and energy density (by 4 J mg(-1)) between hatching and the attainment of full size. The model suggests that insects achieve greater production efficiencies and enhanced growth rates by increasing specific assimilation and increasing energy reserves per biomass, which are less costly to maintain than structural biomass. Our findings illustrate how the explanatory and predictive power of mechanistic growth models comes from their grounding in underlying biological processes. © 2015 The Author(s).

Domain swapping reveals that the N-terminal domain of the sensor kinase KdpD in Escherichia coli is important for signaling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lippert Marie-Luise

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The KdpD/KdpE two-component system of Escherichia coli regulates expression of the kdpFABC operon encoding the high affinity K+ transport system KdpFABC. The input domain of KdpD comprises a domain that belongs to the family of universal stress proteins (Usp. It has been previously demonstrated that UspC binds to this domain, resulting in KdpD/KdpE scaffolding under salt stress. However the mechanistic significance of this domain for signaling remains unclear. Here, we employed a "domain swapping" approach to replace the KdpD-Usp domain with four homologous domains or with the six soluble Usp proteins of E. coli. Results Full response to salt stress was only achieved with a chimera that contains UspC, probably due to unaffected scaffolding of the KdpD/KdpE signaling cascade by soluble UspC. Unexpectedly, chimeras containing either UspF or UspG not only prevented kdpFABC expression under salt stress but also under K+ limiting conditions, although these hybrid proteins exhibited kinase and phosphotransferase activities in vitro. These are the first KdpD derivatives that do not respond to K+ limitation due to alterations in the N-terminal domain. Analysis of the KdpD-Usp tertiary structure revealed that this domain has a net positively charged surface, while UspF and UspG are characterized by net negative surface charges. Conclusion The Usp domain within KdpD not only functions as a binding surface for the scaffold UspC, but it is also important for KdpD signaling. We propose that KdpD sensing/signaling involves alterations of electrostatic interactions between the large N- and C-terminal cytoplasmic domains.

Reactions of phenols and alcohols over thoria: mechanism of ether formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karuppannasamy, S.; Narayanan, K.; Pillai, C.N.

1980-01-01

The dehydration of phenols and alkylation of phenols by alcohols over thoria were studied at 400 to 500 0 C and atmospheric pressure. Phenol and cresols, when dehydrated gave diaryl ethers as main products. With para-substituted phenols such as p-methoxy, p-t-butyl, p-chloro, and p-nitrophenol no ether formation was noticed. All the reactions were accompanied by considerable amount of coke formation. Alkylation of phenols by alcohols gave a mixture of O- and C-alkylated products under the same reaction conditions. O-alkylation and C-alkylation are parallel reactions. The mechanistic aspects of the reactions are discussed. 3 figures, 3 tables

Causation at Different Levels: Tracking the Commitments of Mechanistic Explanations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fazekas, Peter; Kertész, Gergely

2011-01-01

connections transparent. These general commitments get confronted with two claims made by certain proponents of the mechanistic approach: William Bechtel often argues that within the mechanistic framework it is possible to balance between reducing higher levels and maintaining their autonomy at the same time...... their autonomy at the same time than standard reductive accounts are, and that what mechanistic explanations are able to do at best is showing that downward causation does not exist....

Explaining the atypical reaction profiles of heme enzymes with a novel mechanistic hypothesis and kinetic treatment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelath Murali Manoj

Full Text Available Many heme enzymes show remarkable versatility and atypical kinetics. The fungal extracellular enzyme chloroperoxidase (CPO characterizes a variety of one and two electron redox reactions in the presence of hydroperoxides. A structural counterpart, found in mammalian microsomal cytochrome P450 (CYP, uses molecular oxygen plus NADPH for the oxidative metabolism (predominantly hydroxylation of substrate in conjunction with a redox partner enzyme, cytochrome P450 reductase. In this study, we employ the two above-mentioned heme-thiolate proteins to probe the reaction kinetics and mechanism of heme enzymes. Hitherto, a substrate inhibition model based upon non-productive binding of substrate (two-site model was used to account for the inhibition of reaction at higher substrate concentrations for the CYP reaction systems. Herein, the observation of substrate inhibition is shown for both peroxide and final substrate in CPO catalyzed peroxidations. Further, analogy is drawn in the "steady state kinetics" of CPO and CYP reaction systems. New experimental observations and analyses indicate that a scheme of competing reactions (involving primary product with enzyme or other reaction components/intermediates is relevant in such complex reaction mixtures. The presence of non-selective reactive intermediate(s affords alternate reaction routes at various substrate/product concentrations, thereby leading to a lowered detectable concentration of "the product of interest" in the reaction milieu. Occam's razor favors the new hypothesis. With the new hypothesis as foundation, a new biphasic treatment to analyze the kinetics is put forth. We also introduce a key concept of "substrate concentration at maximum observed rate". The new treatment affords a more acceptable fit for observable experimental kinetic data of heme redox enzymes.

Mechanistic features of isomerizing alkoxycarbonylation of methyl oleate

KAUST Repository

Roesle, Philipp

2012-10-24

The weakly coordinated triflate complex [(P̂P)Pd(OTf)] +(OTf)- (1) (P̂P = 1,3-bis(di-tert- butylphosphino)propane) is a suitable reactive precursor for mechanistic studies of the isomerizing alkoxcarbonylation of methyl oleate. Addition of CH 3OH or CD3OD to 1 forms the hydride species [(P ̂P)PdH(CH3OH)]+(OTf)- (2-CH3OH) or the deuteride [(P̂P)PdD(CD 3OD)]+(OTf)- (2D-CD3OD), respectively. Further reaction with pyridine cleanly affords the stable and isolable hydride [(P̂P)PdH(pyridine)]+(OTf) - (2-pyr). This complex yields the hydride fragment free of methanol by abstraction of pyridine with BF3OEt2, and thus provides an entry to mechanistic observations including intermediates reactive toward methanol. Exposure of methyl oleate (100 equiv) to 2D-CD 3OD resulted in rapid isomerization to the thermodynamic isomer distribution, 94.3% of internal olefins, 5.5% of α,β-unsaturated ester and <0.2% of terminal olefin. Reaction of 2-pyr/BF3OEt 2 with a stoichiometric amount of 1-13C-labeled 1-octene at -80 °C yields a 50:50 mixture of the linear alkyls [(P ̂P)Pd13CH2(CH2) 6CH3]+ and [(P̂P)PdCH 2(CH2)6 13CH3] + (4a and 4b). Further reaction with 13CO yields the linear acyls [(P̂P)Pd13C(=O)12/13CH 2(CH2)6 12/13CH3(L)] + (5-L; L = solvent or 13CO). Reaction of 2-pyr/BF 3·OEt2 with a stoichiometric amount of methyl oleate at -80 °C also resulted in fast isomerization to form a linear alkyl species [(P̂P)PdCH2(CH2) 16C(=O)OCH3]+ (6) and a branched alkyl stabilized by coordination of the ester carbonyl group as a four membered chelate [(P̂P)PdCH{(CH2)15CH 3}C(=O)OCH3]+ (7). Addition of carbon monoxide (2.5 equiv) at -80 °C resulted in insertion to form the linear acyl carbonyl [(P̂P)PdC(=O)(CH2)17C(=O)OCH 3(CO)]+ (8-CO) and the five-membered chelate [(P ̂P)PdC(=O)CH{(CH2)15CH3}C(=O) OCH3]+ (9). Exposure of 8-CO and 9 to 13CO at -50 °C results in gradual incorporation of the 13C label. Reversibility of 7 + CO ⇄ 9 is also evidenced by ΔG = -2.9 kcal mol-1 and

(4+2) Cycloaddition reactions with inverse electron demand of nitrogen bearing, heteroaromatic cations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritzberger-Baumgartner, W.

1996-06-01

Three cationic, heteroaromatic diene-systems (1, 2, 3, 4-tetramethoxycarbonyl-quinolizinium-tetrafluoroborate (M), 8, 9, 10, 11-tetrarnethoxycarbonylpyrido[2,1-a]-isoquinolinium-TFB and triazolo[1,5-b]isoquinolinium-TFBs) and a cationic, non-aromatic diene (2,5,5-trimethyl-3-oxo-1, 2, 4-triazolium-TFB) were synthesized. The dienes were employed successfully in cycloaddition reactions with a number ofconjugated dienophiles (including norbornene). The mechanism underlying these cycloaddition reactions was discussed in the theoretical section. At first quantumchemical calculations of the frontier orbital energies provided the proof, that the reactions followed the pattern of reactions with inverse electron demand. Calculation of the charge distribution and of the orbital coefficients led to the conclusion, that these reactions are mainly orbital controlled. Two mechanistic variants were in discussion. Either the reactions proceed in a concerted manner resembling the Diels-Alder reaction with inverse electron demand or in two distinct steps with the formation of a cationic intermediate following the attack of the heterodienes acting as weak electrophiles at the dienophiles being weak nucleophiles. Calculations of a possible transition state of these cycloaddition reactions revealed a pronounced preference for the formation of the bond between the logical reaction centers in the first step of a two-step reaction. However, experimental and theoretical findings led to the conviction, that cationic polar cycloaddition reactions proceed exactly along the crossroad between a concerted and a two-step mechanism and depending on the electrophilic strength of the diene and the nucleophilic strength of the dienophile these reactions show more characteristics of one of the two mechanistic possibilities. The high regioselectivity as well as the high stereoselectivity could be explained satisfactory with the help of the calculated orbital coefficients. (author)

Domain-Specific Modelling Languages in Bigraphs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Perrone, Gian David

" of models, in order to improve the utility of the models we build, and to ease the process of model construction by moving the languages we use to express such models closer to their respective domains. This thesis is concerned with the study of bigraphical reactive systems as a host for domain...... for deciding reaction rule causation. Finally, we provide a mechanism for the modular construction of domain-specic modelling languages as bigraphical reactive systems, exploring the relationship between vertical renement and language specialisation in this setting. The thesis is composed of several...

Application of mechanistic models to fermentation and biocatalysis for next-generation processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gernaey, Krist; Eliasson Lantz, Anna; Tufvesson, Pär

2010-01-01

of variables required for measurement, control and process design. In the near future, mechanistic models with a higher degree of detail will play key roles in the development of efficient next-generation fermentation and biocatalytic processes. Moreover, mechanistic models will be used increasingly......Mechanistic models are based on deterministic principles, and recently, interest in them has grown substantially. Herein we present an overview of mechanistic models and their applications in biotechnology, including future perspectives. Model utility is highlighted with respect to selection...

Kinetics and Mechanistic Chemistry of Oxidation of Butacaine Sulfate by Chloramine-B in Acid Medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shubha, Jayachamarajapura Pranesh; Kotabagi, Vinutha; Puttaswamy

2012-01-01

Butacaine sulfate is an ester of p-aminobenzoic acid which has been widely used as a local anaesthetic and it is a long standing agent particularly for spinal anaesthesia. For this reason, a kinetic study of oxidation of butacaine sulfate by sodium N-chlorobenzenesulfonamide (chloramine-B or CAB) has been carried out in HClO 4 medium at 303 K in order to explore this redox system mechanistic chemistry. The rate shows a first-order dependence on both [CAB] o , and [substrate] o , and a fractional-order dependence on acid concentration. Decrease of dielectric constant of the medium, by adding methanol, increases the rate of the reaction. Variation of ionic strength and addition of benzenesulfonamide or NaCl have no significant effect on the rate. The reaction was studied at different temperatures and the activation parameters have been evaluated. The stoichiometry of the reaction has been found to be 1:2 and the oxidation products have been identified by spectral analysis. The observed results have been explained by plausible mechanism and the related rate law has been deduced

A kinetic mechanistic study of acid-catalyzed alkylation of isobutane with C4-olefins at low temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doshi, B.M.

1978-01-01

A kinetic and mechanistic study of sulfuric acid-catalyzed alkylation of isobutane with C/sub 4/-Olefins at Low Temperatures(-20/sup 0/ to 0/sup 0/C) was based on a new two-step reaction sequence in which the desired first-step reactions are between acid and olefin to form sulfates and the desired second-step reactions are between sulfates and isobutane to form mostly trimethylpentanes. Linear butenes formed stable sulfates that formed alkylates of exceptionally high quality, up to 100 Research octane, whereas isobutylene and trimethylpentene mainly polymerized during the first step, and the alkylate produced had only 90 Research octane. Trimethylpentanes and dimethylhexanes, when contacted with concentrated sulfuric acid at -10/sup 0/ to +25/sup 0/C, degraded and isomerized to form C/sub 4/-C/sub 9/ and higher isoparaffins and acid-soluble hydrocarbons (conjunct polymers). For the two-step process and the degradation and isomerization reactions, kinetic models based on reaction at the interface were developed; but for isoolefins, a polymerization-cracking sequence (via C/sub 12/- and even C/sub 16/-olefins) is the preferred route. Commercial applications of the results are proposed.

Time- and Frequency-domain Comparisons of the Wavepiston Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Read, Robert; Bingham, Harry

Analysis of wave-energy converters is most frequently undertaken in the time-domain. This formulation allows the direct inclusion of nonlinear time-varying loads such as power take-off (PTO) reactions, mooring forces, and viscous drag. However, integrating the governing equations of motion...... forces arising from both the PTO reactions and the non-negligible viscous drag acting on the plate. Equivalent linear damping coeffcients are used to model these forces in the frequency domain, while they are included explicitly in the time domain. The main idea of this paper is to quantify...

Reaction mechanisms for the synthesis of the heaviest elements from heavy ion reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaeggeler, H.W.

1988-10-01

This review paper concerns fusion reactions with light heavy-ions, cold fusion, transfer reactions using light heavy-ions or heavy ions. In two appendices, methods for the separation and detection of nuclides in the domain of heaviest elements are described and a comment on the discovery of the element 104 is given. 51 figs., 10 tabs., 335 refs

The olefin metathesis reaction: reorganization and cyclization of organic compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frederico, Daniel; Brocksom, Ursula; Brocksom, Timothy John

2005-01-01

The olefin metathesis reaction allows the exchange of complex alkyl units between two olefins, with the formation of a new olefinic link and a sub-product olefin usually ethylene. This reaction has found extensive application in the last ten years with the development of the Grubbs and Schrock catalysts, in total synthesis of complex organic molecules, as opposed to the very important use in the petrochemical industry with relatively simple molecules. This review intends to trace a historical and mechanistic pathway from industry to academy, before illustrating the more recent advances. (author)

Mechanistic species distribution modelling as a link between physiology and conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Tyler G; Diamond, Sarah E; Kelly, Morgan W

2015-01-01

Climate change conservation planning relies heavily on correlative species distribution models that estimate future areas of occupancy based on environmental conditions encountered in present-day ranges. The approach benefits from rapid assessment of vulnerability over a large number of organisms, but can have poor predictive power when transposed to novel environments and reveals little in the way of causal mechanisms that define changes in species distribution or abundance. Having conservation planning rely largely on this single approach also increases the risk of policy failure. Mechanistic models that are parameterized with physiological information are expected to be more robust when extrapolating distributions to future environmental conditions and can identify physiological processes that set range boundaries. Implementation of mechanistic species distribution models requires knowledge of how environmental change influences physiological performance, and because this information is currently restricted to a comparatively small number of well-studied organisms, use of mechanistic modelling in the context of climate change conservation is limited. In this review, we propose that the need to develop mechanistic models that incorporate physiological data presents an opportunity for physiologists to contribute more directly to climate change conservation and advance the field of conservation physiology. We begin by describing the prevalence of species distribution modelling in climate change conservation, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of both mechanistic and correlative approaches. Next, we emphasize the need to expand mechanistic models and discuss potential metrics of physiological performance suitable for integration into mechanistic models. We conclude by summarizing other factors, such as the need to consider demography, limiting broader application of mechanistic models in climate change conservation. Ideally, modellers, physiologists and

Extrapolation of Inter Domain Communications and Substrate Binding Cavity of Camel HSP70 1A: A Molecular Modeling and Dynamics Simulation Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saurabh Gupta

Full Text Available Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70 is an important chaperone, involved in protein folding, refolding, translocation and complex remodeling reactions under normal as well as stress conditions. However, expression of HSPA1A gene in heat and cold stress conditions associates with other chaperons and perform its function. Experimental structure for Camel HSP70 protein (cHSP70 has not been reported so far. Hence, we constructed 3D models of cHSP70 through multi- template comparative modeling with HSP110 protein of S. cerevisiae (open state and with HSP70 protein of E. coli 70kDa DnaK (close state and relaxed them for 100 nanoseconds (ns using all-atom Molecular Dynamics (MD Simulation. Two stable conformations of cHSP70 with Substrate Binding Domain (SBD in open and close states were obtained. The collective mode analysis of different transitions of open state to close state and vice versa was examined via Principal Component Analysis (PCA and Minimum Distance Matrix (MDM. The results provide mechanistic representation of the communication between Nucleotide Binding Domain (NBD and SBD to identify the role of sub domains in conformational change mechanism, which leads the chaperone cycle of cHSP70. Further, residues present in the chaperon functioning site were also identified through protein-peptide docking. This study provides an overall insight into the inter domain communication mechanism and identification of the chaperon binding cavity, which explains the underlying mechanism involved during heat and cold stress conditions in camel.

Understanding organometallic reaction mechanisms and catalysis experimental and computational tools computational and experimental tools

CERN Document Server

Ananikov, Valentin P

2014-01-01

Exploring and highlighting the new horizons in the studies of reaction mechanisms that open joint application of experimental studies and theoretical calculations is the goal of this book. The latest insights and developments in the mechanistic studies of organometallic reactions and catalytic processes are presented and reviewed. The book adopts a unique approach, exemplifying how to use experiments, spectroscopy measurements, and computational methods to reveal reaction pathways and molecular structures of catalysts, rather than concentrating solely on one discipline. The result is a deeper

MECHANISTIC STUDY OF COLCHICINE’s ELECTROCHEMICAL OXIDATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bodoki, Ede; Chira, Ruxandra; Zaharia, Valentin; Săndulescu, Robert

2015-01-01

Colchicine, as one of the most ancient drugs of human kind, is still in the focal point of the current research due to its multimodal mechanism of action. The elucidation of colchicine’s still unknown redox properties may play an important role in deciphering its beneficial and harmful implications over the human body. Therefore, a systematic mechanistic study of colchicine’s oxidation has been undertaken by electrochemistry coupled to mass spectrometry using two different types of electrolytic cells, in order to clarify the existing inconsistencies with respect to this topic. At around 1 V vs. Pd/H 2 , initiated by a one-electron transfer, the oxidation of colchicine sets off leading to a cation radical, whose further oxidation may evolve on several different pathways. The main product of the anodic electrochemical reaction, regardless of the carrier solution’s pH is represented by a 7-hydroxy derivative of colchicine. At more anodic potentials (above 1.4 V vs. Pd/H 2 ) compounds arising from epoxidation and/or multiple hydroxylation occur. No di- or tridemethylated quinone structures, as previously suggested in the literature for the electrolytic oxidation of colchicine, has been detected in the mass spectra.

Mechanistic understanding of monosaccharide-air flow battery electrochemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Daniel M.; Tsang, Tsz Ho; Chetty, Leticia; Aloi, Sekotilani; Liaw, Bor Yann

Recently, an inexpensive monosaccharide-air flow battery configuration has been demonstrated to utilize a strong base and a mediator redox dye to harness electrical power from the partial oxidation of glucose. Here the mechanistic understanding of glucose oxidation in this unique glucose-air power source is further explored by acid-base titration experiments, 13C NMR, and comparison of results from chemically different redox mediators (indigo carmine vs. methyl viologen) and sugars (fructose vs. glucose) via studies using electrochemical techniques. Titration results indicate that gluconic acid is the main product of the cell reaction, as supported by evidence in the 13C NMR spectra. Using indigo carmine as the mediator dye and fructose as the energy source, an abiotic cell configuration generates a power density of 1.66 mW cm -2, which is greater than that produced from glucose under similar conditions (ca. 1.28 mW cm -2). A faster transition from fructose into the ene-diol intermediate than from glucose likely contributed to this difference in power density.

Mechanistic Framework for Establishment, Maintenance, and Alteration of Cell Polarity in Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pankaj Dhonukshe

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Cell polarity establishment, maintenance, and alteration are central to the developmental and response programs of nearly all organisms and are often implicated in abnormalities ranging from patterning defects to cancer. By residing at the distinct plasma membrane domains polar cargoes mark the identities of those domains, and execute localized functions. Polar cargoes are recruited to the specialized membrane domains by directional secretion and/or directional endocytic recycling. In plants, auxin efflux carrier PIN proteins display polar localizations in various cell types and play major roles in directional cell-to-cell transport of signaling molecule auxin that is vital for plant patterning and response programs. Recent advanced microscopy studies applied to single cells in intact plants reveal subcellular PIN dynamics. They uncover the PIN polarity generation mechanism and identified important roles of AGC kinases for polar PIN localization. AGC kinase family members PINOID, WAG1, and WAG2, belonging to the AGC-3 subclass predominantly influence the polar localization of PINs. The emerging mechanism for AGC-3 kinases action suggests that kinases phosphorylate PINs mainly at the plasma membrane after initial symmetric PIN secretion for eventual PIN internalization and PIN sorting into distinct ARF-GEF-regulated polar recycling pathways. Thus phosphorylation status directs PIN translocation to different cell sides. Based on these findings a mechanistic framework evolves that suggests existence of cell side-specific recycling pathways in plants and implicates AGC3 kinases for differential PIN recruitment among them for eventual PIN polarity establishment, maintenance, and alteration.

Generative mechanistic explanation building in undergraduate molecular and cellular biology

Science.gov (United States)

Southard, Katelyn M.; Espindola, Melissa R.; Zaepfel, Samantha D.; Bolger, Molly S.

2017-09-01

When conducting scientific research, experts in molecular and cellular biology (MCB) use specific reasoning strategies to construct mechanistic explanations for the underlying causal features of molecular phenomena. We explored how undergraduate students applied this scientific practice in MCB. Drawing from studies of explanation building among scientists, we created and applied a theoretical framework to explore the strategies students use to construct explanations for 'novel' biological phenomena. Specifically, we explored how students navigated the multi-level nature of complex biological systems using generative mechanistic reasoning. Interviews were conducted with introductory and upper-division biology students at a large public university in the United States. Results of qualitative coding revealed key features of students' explanation building. Students used modular thinking to consider the functional subdivisions of the system, which they 'filled in' to varying degrees with mechanistic elements. They also hypothesised the involvement of mechanistic entities and instantiated abstract schema to adapt their explanations to unfamiliar biological contexts. Finally, we explored the flexible thinking that students used to hypothesise the impact of mutations on multi-leveled biological systems. Results revealed a number of ways that students drew mechanistic connections between molecules, functional modules (sets of molecules with an emergent function), cells, tissues, organisms and populations.

Reaction-induced fracturing during olivine serpentinization: A mechanistic investigation at the interface scale

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Plümper, O.; Røyne, A.; Malthe-Sørenssen, A.; King, H. E.; Jamtveit, B.

Serpentinization of the Earth's impermeable upper mantle is one of the most fundamental metamorphic hydration reactions. It governs lithospheric weakening, geochemical subduction zone input and possibly even the formation of life-essential building blocks. Serpentinization relies on fluid pathway

The reaction of nitromethane with hydrogen and deuterium atoms in the gas phase. A mechanistic study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund Thomsen, E.; Nielsen, O.J.; Egsgaard, H.

1993-01-01

The mechanism of the reaction between H and CH3NO2, has been studied in a discharge flow system using electron paramagnetic resonance and modulated molecular beam mass spectrometry for the detection of reactants and products. Deuterium atoms have, in addition to CD3NO2, been used to support...... the proposed reaction mechanism. The reaction was studied with the atomic reactant in slight excess at 298 K and a total pressure of 2 Torr. Two concurrent reaction channels: (1a) H+CH3NO2-->HONO+.CH3 and (1b) H+CH3NO2-->CH3NO+.OH were observed. The branching ratio, k1a/(k1a+k1b), is 0.7+/-0.2....

Mechanistic investigations of the hydrolysis of amides, oxoesters and thioesters via kinetic isotope effects and positional isotope exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

Robins, Lori I; Fogle, Emily J; Marlier, John F

2015-11-01

The hydrolysis of amides, oxoesters and thioesters is an important reaction in both organic chemistry and biochemistry. Kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) are one of the most important physical organic methods for determining the most likely transition state structure and rate-determining step of these reaction mechanisms. This method induces a very small change in reaction rates, which, in turn, results in a minimum disturbance of the natural mechanism. KIE studies were carried out on both the non-enzymatic and the enzyme-catalyzed reactions in an effort to compare both types of mechanisms. In these studies the amides and esters of formic acid were chosen because this molecular structure allowed development of methodology to determine heavy-atom solvent (nucleophile) KIEs. This type of isotope effect is difficult to measure, but is rich in mechanistic information. Results of these investigations point to transition states with varying degrees of tetrahedral character that fit a classical stepwise mechanism. This article is part of a special issue entitled: Enzyme Transition States from Theory and Experiment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reaction of Elemol with Acetic acid –Perchloric acid: Characterization of a novel oxide and (+)-β-cyperone

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Wahidullah, S.; Govenkar, M.B.; Paknikar, S.K.

from elemol 1.(+)-b-cyperone (3), a known sesquiterpene, has also been identified as a minor product of the reaction. Plausible mechanistic explanation for the formation of elemoxide (2) and (+)-b-cyperone (3) presented....

"Ratio via Machina": Three Standards of Mechanistic Explanation in Sociology

Science.gov (United States)

Aviles, Natalie B.; Reed, Isaac Ariail

2017-01-01

Recently, sociologists have expended much effort in attempts to define social mechanisms. We intervene in these debates by proposing that sociologists in fact have a choice to make between three standards of what constitutes a good mechanistic explanation: substantial, formal, and metaphorical mechanistic explanation. All three standards are…

Mechanistic Switching by Hydronium Ion Activity for Hydrogen Evolution and Oxidation over Polycrystalline Platinum Disk and Platinum/Carbon Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Shinagawa, Tatsuya

2014-07-22

Fundamental electrochemical reactions, namely the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR), are re-evaluated under various pH conditions over polycrystalline Pt disk electrodes and Pt/C electrodes to investigate the overpotential and Tafel relations. Kinetic trends are observed and can be classified into three pH regions: acidic (1-5), neutral (5-9), and alkaline (9-13). Under neutral conditions, in which H2O becomes the primary reactant, substantial overpotential, which is not affected by pH and the supporting electrolyte type, is required for electrocatalysis in both directions. This ion independence, including pH, suggests that HER/HOR performance under neutral conditions solely reflects the intrinsic electrocatalytic activity of Pt in the rate determining steps, which involve electron transfer with water molecules. A global picture of the HER/HOR, resulting from mechanistic switching accompanied by change in pH, is detailed.

Improving the International Agency for Research on Cancer's consideration of mechanistic evidence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodman, Julie; Lynch, Heather

2017-01-01

Background: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently developed a framework for evaluating mechanistic evidence that includes a list of 10 key characteristics of carcinogens. This framework is useful for identifying and organizing large bodies of literature on carcinogenic mechanisms, but it lacks sufficient guidance for conducting evaluations that fully integrate mechanistic evidence into hazard assessments. Objectives: We summarize the framework, and suggest approaches to strengthen the evaluation of mechanistic evidence using this framework. Discussion: While the framework is useful for organizing mechanistic evidence, its lack of guidance for implementation limits its utility for understanding human carcinogenic potential. Specifically, it does not include explicit guidance for evaluating the biological significance of mechanistic endpoints, inter- and intra-individual variability, or study quality and relevance. It also does not explicitly address how mechanistic evidence should be integrated with other realms of evidence. Because mechanistic evidence is critical to understanding human cancer hazards, we recommend that IARC develop transparent and systematic guidelines for the use of this framework so that mechanistic evidence will be evaluated and integrated in a robust manner, and concurrently with other realms of evidence, to reach a final human cancer hazard conclusion. Conclusions: IARC does not currently provide a standardized approach to evaluating mechanistic evidence. Incorporating the recommendations discussed here will make IARC analyses of mechanistic evidence more transparent, and lead to assessments of cancer hazards that reflect the weight of the scientific evidence and allow for scientifically defensible decision-making. - Highlights: • IARC has a revised framework for evaluating literature on carcinogenic mechanisms. • The framework is based on 10 key characteristics of carcinogens. • IARC should develop transparent

Improving the International Agency for Research on Cancer's consideration of mechanistic evidence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goodman, Julie, E-mail: jgoodman@gradientcorp.com; Lynch, Heather

2017-03-15

Background: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently developed a framework for evaluating mechanistic evidence that includes a list of 10 key characteristics of carcinogens. This framework is useful for identifying and organizing large bodies of literature on carcinogenic mechanisms, but it lacks sufficient guidance for conducting evaluations that fully integrate mechanistic evidence into hazard assessments. Objectives: We summarize the framework, and suggest approaches to strengthen the evaluation of mechanistic evidence using this framework. Discussion: While the framework is useful for organizing mechanistic evidence, its lack of guidance for implementation limits its utility for understanding human carcinogenic potential. Specifically, it does not include explicit guidance for evaluating the biological significance of mechanistic endpoints, inter- and intra-individual variability, or study quality and relevance. It also does not explicitly address how mechanistic evidence should be integrated with other realms of evidence. Because mechanistic evidence is critical to understanding human cancer hazards, we recommend that IARC develop transparent and systematic guidelines for the use of this framework so that mechanistic evidence will be evaluated and integrated in a robust manner, and concurrently with other realms of evidence, to reach a final human cancer hazard conclusion. Conclusions: IARC does not currently provide a standardized approach to evaluating mechanistic evidence. Incorporating the recommendations discussed here will make IARC analyses of mechanistic evidence more transparent, and lead to assessments of cancer hazards that reflect the weight of the scientific evidence and allow for scientifically defensible decision-making. - Highlights: • IARC has a revised framework for evaluating literature on carcinogenic mechanisms. • The framework is based on 10 key characteristics of carcinogens. • IARC should develop transparent

Macrocyclic bis-thioureas catalyze stereospecific glycosylation reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Yongho; Harper, Kaid C; Kuhl, Nadine; Kwan, Eugene E; Liu, Richard Y; Jacobsen, Eric N

2017-01-13

Carbohydrates are involved in nearly all aspects of biochemistry, but their complex chemical structures present long-standing practical challenges to their synthesis. In particular, stereochemical outcomes in glycosylation reactions are highly dependent on the steric and electronic properties of coupling partners; thus, carbohydrate synthesis is not easily predictable. Here we report the discovery of a macrocyclic bis-thiourea derivative that catalyzes stereospecific invertive substitution pathways of glycosyl chlorides. The utility of the catalyst is demonstrated in the synthesis of trans-1,2-, cis-1,2-, and 2-deoxy-β-glycosides. Mechanistic studies are consistent with a cooperative mechanism in which an electrophile and a nucleophile are simultaneously activated to effect a stereospecific substitution reaction. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Predicting interactions from mechanistic information: Can omic data validate theories?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borgert, Christopher J.

2007-01-01

To address the most pressing and relevant issues for improving mixture risk assessment, researchers must first recognize that risk assessment is driven by both regulatory requirements and scientific research, and that regulatory concerns may expand beyond the purely scientific interests of researchers. Concepts of 'mode of action' and 'mechanism of action' are used in particular ways within the regulatory arena, depending on the specific assessment goals. The data requirements for delineating a mode of action and predicting interactive toxicity in mixtures are not well defined from a scientific standpoint due largely to inherent difficulties in testing certain underlying assumptions. Understanding the regulatory perspective on mechanistic concepts will be important for designing experiments that can be interpreted clearly and applied in risk assessments without undue reliance on extrapolation and assumption. In like fashion, regulators and risk assessors can be better equipped to apply mechanistic data if the concepts underlying mechanistic research and the limitations that must be placed on interpretation of mechanistic data are understood. This will be critically important for applying new technologies to risk assessment, such as functional genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. It will be essential not only for risk assessors to become conversant with the language and concepts of mechanistic research, including new omic technologies, but also, for researchers to become more intimately familiar with the challenges and needs of risk assessment

On the mechanism of photocatalytic reactions with eosin Y

OpenAIRE

Majek, Michal; Filace, Fabiana; von Wangelin, Axel Jacobi

2014-01-01

Summary A combined spectroscopic, synthetic, and apparative study has allowed a more detailed mechanistic rationalization of several recently reported eosin Y-catalyzed aromatic substitutions at arenediazonium salts. The operation of rapid acid–base equilibria, direct photolysis pathways, and radical chain reactions has been discussed on the basis of pH, solvent polarity, lamp type, absorption properties, and quantum yields. Determination of the latter proved to be an especially valuable tool...

Conformational regulation of charge recombination reactions in a photosynthetic bacterial reaction center

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Katona, Gergely; Snijder, Arjan; Gourdon, Pontus Emanuel

2005-01-01

In bright light the photosynthetic reaction center (RC) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides stabilizes the P(+)(870).Q(-)(A) charge-separated state and thereby minimizes the potentially harmful effects of light saturation. Using X-ray diffraction we report a conformational change that occurs within the cy...... the cytoplasmic domain of this RC in response to prolonged illumination with bright light. Our observations suggest a novel structural mechanism for the regulation of electron transfer reactions in photosynthesis....

Reaction rate oscillations during catalytic CO oxidation: A brief overview

Science.gov (United States)

Tsotsis, T. T.; Sane, R. C.

1987-01-01

It is not the intent here to present a comprehensive review of the dynamic behavior of the catalytic oxidation of CO. This reaction is one of the most widely studied in the field of catalysis. A review paper by Engel and Ertl has examined the basic kinetic and mechanistic aspects, and a comprehensive paper by Razon and Schmitz was recently devoted to its dynamic behavior. Those interested in further study of the subject should consult these reviews and a number of general review papers on catalytic reaction dynamics. The goal is to present a brief overview of certain interesting aspects of the dynamic behavior of this reaction and to discuss a few questions and issues, which are still the subject of study and debate.

Medium-Ring Effects on the Endo/Exo Selectivity of the Organocatalytic Intramolecular Diels-Alder Reaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Hooper, Joel F; James, Natalie C; Bozkurt, Esra; Aviyente, Viktorya; White, Jonathan M; Holland, Mareike C; Gilmour, Ryan; Holmes, Andrew B; Houk, K N

2015-12-18

The intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction has been used as a powerful method to access the tricyclic core of the eunicellin natural products from a number of 9-membered-ring precursors. The endo/exo selectivity of this reaction can be controlled through a remarkable organocatalytic approach, employing MacMillan's imidazolidinone catalysts, although the mechanistic origin of this selectivity remains unclear. We present a combined experimental and density functional theory investigation, providing insight into the effects of medium-ring constraints on the organocatalyzed intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction to form the isobenzofuran core of the eunicellins.

Hexacationic Dendriphos ligands in the Pd-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction: scope and mechanistic studies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Snelders, D.J.M.; van Koten, G.; Klein Gebbink, R.J.M.

2009-01-01

The combination of Pd2dba3·CHCl3and hexacationic triarylphosphine-based Dendriphos ligands (1-3) leads to a highly active catalytic system in the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction. Under relatively mild reaction conditions, nonactivated aryl bromides and activated aryl chlorides can be coupled

Catalytic Upgrading of Biomass-Derived Compounds via C-C Coupling Reactions. Computational and Experimental Studies of Acetaldehyde and Furan Reactions in HZSM-5

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Cong [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Evans, Tabitha J. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cheng, Lei [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Nimlos, Mark R. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mukarakate, Calvin [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Robichaud, David J. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Assary, Rajeev S. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Curtiss, Larry A. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2015-10-02

These catalytic C–C coupling and deoxygenation reactions are essential for upgrading of biomass-derived oxygenates to fuel-range hydrocarbons. Detailed understanding of mechanistic and energetic aspects of these reactions is crucial to enabling and improving the catalytic upgrading of small oxygenates to useful chemicals and fuels. Using periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have investigated the reactions of furan and acetaldehyde in an HZSM-5 zeolite catalyst, a representative system associated with the catalytic upgrading of pyrolysis vapors. Comprehensive energy profiles were computed for self-reactions (i.e., acetaldehyde coupling and furan coupling) and cross-reactions (i.e., acetaldehyde + furan) of this representative mixture. Major products proposed from the computations are further confirmed using temperature controlled mass spectra measurements. Moreover, the computational results show that furan interacts with acetaldehyde in HZSM-5 via an alkylation mechanism, which is more favorable than the self-reactions, indicating that mixing furans with aldehydes could be a promising approach to maximize effective C–C coupling and dehydration while reducing the catalyst deactivation (e.g., coke formation) from aldehyde condensation.

Oxidation of alginate and pectate biopolymers by cerium(IV) in perchloric and sulfuric acid solutions: A comparative kinetic and mechanistic study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fawzy, Ahmed

2016-03-15

The kinetics of oxidation of alginate (Alg) and pectate (Pec) carbohydrate biopolymers was studied by spectrophotometry in aqueous perchloric and sulfuric acid solutions at fixed ionic strengths and temperature. In both acids, the reactions showed a first order dependence on [Ce(IV)], whereas the orders with respect to biopolymer concentrations are less than unity. In perchloric acid, the reactions exhibited less than unit orders with respect to [H(+)] whereas those proceeded in sulfuric acid showed negative fractional-first order dependences on [H(+)]. The effect of ionic strength and dielectric constant was studied. Probable mechanistic schemes for oxidation reactions were proposed. In both acids, the final oxidation products were characterized as mono-keto derivatives of both biopolymers. The activation parameters with respect to the slow step of the mechanisms were computed and discussed. The rate laws were derived and the reaction constants involved in the different steps of the mechanisms were calculated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Secondary isotope effects on alpha-cleavage reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ingemann, S.; Hammerum, S.

1980-01-01

Kinetic deuterium isotope effects on mass spectral reactions have in several instances been utilized to provide structural information and to answer mechanistic questions. Typically, the influence of the deuterium label on the rate of one of a number of competing reactions has been studied. Secondary isotope effects have usually been assumed to be relatively insignificant in comparison with the observed kinetic effects, even though various workers have shown that secondary isotope effects may indeed exert a considerable influence on the rates of competing simple cleavages. Recent studies have provided quantitative data to show that the mere presence of deuterium atoms up to six bonds away may influence the rate of a simple cleavage reaction. In relation to an investigation of rearrangements accompanying simple cleavage reactions, a semi-quantitative measure was needed of the variation of the secondary isotope effect with the number of bonds between the deuterium label and the point of rupture. The influence has therefore been examined of the presence of remote deuterium atoms on a typical simple cleavage reaction, the α-cleavage of aliphatic amines. As a model compound, N-methyldipentylamine was chosen, systematically labelled with deuterium. (author)

A barrier-free atomic radical-molecule reaction: N (2D) NO2 (2A1) mechanistic study

Science.gov (United States)

Zuo, Ming-Hui; Liu, Hui-Ling; Huang, Xu-Ri; Zhan, Jin-Hui; Sun, Chia-Chung

The reaction of N (2D) radical with NO2 molecule has been studied theoretically using density functional theory and ab initio quantum chemistry method. Singlet electronic state [N2O2] potential energy surfaces (PES) are calculated at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/6-311+G(d) + ZPE and G3B3 levels of theory. All the involved transition states for generation of (2NO) and (O2 + N2) lie much lower than the reactants. Thus, the novel reaction N + NO2 can proceed effectively even at low temperatures and it is expected to play a role in both combustion and interstellar processes. On the basis of the analysis of the kinetics of all pathways through which the reactions proceed, we expect that the competitive power of reaction pathways may vary with experimental conditions for the title reaction.

Slicing-independent RISC activation requires the argonaute PAZ domain.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Shuo; Jin, Lan; Huang, Yong; Zhang, Feijie; Kay, Mark A

2012-08-21

Small RNAs regulate genetic networks through a ribonucleoprotein complex called the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), which, in mammals, contains at its center one of four Argonaute proteins (Ago1-Ago4). A key regulatory event in the RNA interference (RNAi) and microRNA (miRNA) pathways is Ago loading, wherein double-stranded small-RNA duplexes are incorporated into RISC (pre-RISC) and then become single-stranded (mature RISC), a process that is not well understood. The Agos contain an evolutionarily conserved PAZ (Piwi/Argonaute/Zwille) domain whose primary function is to bind the 3' end of small RNAs. We created multiple PAZ-domain-disrupted mutant Ago proteins and studied their biochemical properties and biological functionality in cells. We found that the PAZ domain is dispensable for Ago loading of slicing-competent RISC. In contrast, in the absence of slicer activity or slicer-substrate duplex RNAs, PAZ-disrupted Agos bound duplex small interfering RNAs, but were unable to unwind or eject the passenger strand and form functional RISC complexes. We have discovered that the highly conserved PAZ domain plays an important role in RISC activation, providing new mechanistic insights into how miRNAs regulate genes, as well as new insights for future design of miRNA- and RNAi-based therapeutics. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Studies of complex fragment emission in heavy ion reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charity, R.J.; Sobotka, L.G.

1993-01-01

The study of intermediate-energy heavy-ion nuclear reactions is reported. This work has two foci: the properties of nuclear matter under abnormal conditions, in this energy domain, predominately low densities and the study of the relevant reaction mechanisms. Nuclear matter properties, such as phase transitions, are reflected in the dynamics of the reactions. The process leads to an understanding of the reaction mechanism themselves and therefore to the response characteristics of finite, perhaps non-equilibrium, strongly interacting systems. The program has the following objectives: to study energy, mass, and angular momentum deposition by studying incomplete fusion reactions; to gain confidence in the understanding of how highly excited systems decompose by studying all emissions from the highly excited systems; to push these kinds of studies into the intermediate energy domain (where intermediate mass fragment emission is not improbable) with excitation function studies; and to learn about the dynamics of the decays using particle-particle correlations. The last effort focuses on simple systems, where definitive statements are possible. These avenues of research share a common theme, large complex fragment production. It is this feature, more than any other, which distinguishes the intermediate energy domain

CO oxidation on PtSn nanoparticle catalysts occurs at the interface of Pt and Sn oxide domains formed under reaction conditions

KAUST Repository

Michalak, William D.

2014-04-01

The barrier to CO oxidation on Pt catalysts is the strongly bound adsorbed CO, which inhibits O2 adsorption and hinders CO2 formation. Using reaction studies and in situ X-ray spectroscopy with colloidally prepared, monodisperse ∼2 nm Pt and PtSn nanoparticle catalysts, we show that the addition of Sn to Pt provides distinctly different reaction sites and a more efficient reaction mechanism for CO oxidation compared to pure Pt catalysts. To probe the influence of Sn, we intentionally poisoned the Pt component of the nanoparticle catalysts using a CO-rich atmosphere. With a reaction environment comprised of 100 Torr CO and 40 Torr O2 and a temperature range between 200 and 300 C, Pt and PtSn catalysts exhibited activation barriers for CO2 formation of 133 kJ/mol and 35 kJ/mol, respectively. While pure Sn is readily oxidized and is not active for CO oxidation, the addition of Sn to Pt provides an active site for O2 adsorption that is important when Pt is covered with CO. Sn oxide was identified as the active Sn species under reaction conditions by in situ ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. While chemical signatures of Pt and Sn indicated intermixed metallic components under reducing conditions, Pt and Sn were found to reversibly separate into isolated domains of Pt and oxidic Sn on the nanoparticle surface under reaction conditions of 100 mTorr CO and 40 mTorr O2 between temperatures of 200-275 C. Under these conditions, PtSn catalysts exhibited apparent reaction orders in O2 for CO 2 production that were 0.5 and lower with increasing partial pressures. These reaction orders contrast the first-order dependence in O 2 known for pure Pt. The differences in activation barriers, non-first-order dependence in O2, and the presence of a partially oxidized Sn indicate that the enhanced activity is due to a reaction mechanism that occurs at a Pt/Sn oxide interface present at the nanoparticle surface. © 2014 Published by Elsevier Inc.

Interaction between the C-terminal domains of measles virus nucleoprotein and phosphoprotein: a tight complex implying one binding site.

Science.gov (United States)

Blocquel, David; Habchi, Johnny; Costanzo, Stéphanie; Doizy, Anthony; Oglesbee, Michael; Longhi, Sonia

2012-10-01

The intrinsically disordered C-terminal domain (N(TAIL) ) of the measles virus (MeV) nucleoprotein undergoes α-helical folding upon binding to the C-terminal X domain (XD) of the phosphoprotein. The N(TAIL) region involved in binding coupled to folding has been mapped to a conserved region (Box2) encompassing residues 489-506. In the previous studies published in this journal, we obtained experimental evidence supporting a K(D) for the N(TAIL) -XD binding reaction in the nM range and also showed that an additional N(TAIL) region (Box3, aa 517-525) plays a role in binding to XD. In striking contrast with these data, studies published in this journal by Kingston and coworkers pointed out a much less stable complex (K(D) in the μM range) and supported lack of involvement of Box3 in complex formation. The objective of this study was to critically re-evaluate the role of Box3 in N(TAIL) -XD binding. Since our previous studies relied on N(TAIL) -truncated forms possessing an irrelevant Flag sequence appended at their C-terminus, we, herein, generated an N(TAIL) devoid of Box3 and any additional C-terminal residues, as well as a form encompassing only residues 482-525. We then used isothermal titration calorimetry to characterize the binding reactions between XD and these N(TAIL) forms. Results effectively argue for the presence of a single XD-binding site located within Box2, in agreement with the results by Kingston et al., while providing clear experimental support for a high-affinity complex. Altogether, the present data provide mechanistic insights into the replicative machinery of MeV and clarify a hitherto highly debated point. Copyright © 2012 The Protein Society.

Mechanistic studies related to the safety of Li/SOCl2 cells

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, B. J.; Williams, R. M.; Tsay, F. D.; Rodriguez, A.; Kim, S.; Evans, M. M.; Frank, H.

1985-01-01

Mechanistic studies of the reactions in Li-SOCl2 cells have been undertaken to improve understanding of the safety problems of these cells. The electrochemical reduction of 1.5M LiAlCl4/SOCl2 has been investigated using gas chromatography, electron spin resonance spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy. Cl2 and S2Cl2 have been identified as intermediates in the reduction of SOCl2, along with a radical species (g/xx/ = 2.004, g/yy/ = 2.016, g/zz/ = 2.008) and the proposed triplet ground-state dimer of this radical. SO2 and sulfur have been identified as products. Based upon these findings, a mechanism for the electrochemical reduction of 1.5M LiAlCl4/SOCl2 has been proposed, and its implications for safety of Li-SOCl2 cells during discharge to +0.5V at 25-30 C are discussed.

Chemical reactions on platinum-group metal surfaces studied by synchrotron-radiation-based spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kondoh, Hiroshi; Nakai, Ikuyo; Nagasaka, Masanari; Amemiya, Kenta; Ohta, Toshiaki

2009-01-01

A new version of synchrotron-radiation-based x-ray spectroscopy, wave-length-dispersive near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (dispersive-NEXAFS), and fast x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have been applied to mechanistic studies on several surface catalytic reactions on platinum-group-metal surfaces. In this review, our approach using above techniques to understand the reaction mechanism and actual application studies on three well-known catalytic surface reactions, CO oxidation on Pt(111) and Pd(111), NO reduction on Rh(111), and H 2 O formation on Pt(111), are introduced. Spectroscopic monitoring of the progress of the surface reactions enabled us to detect reaction intermediates and analyze the reaction kinetics quantitatively which provides information on reaction order, rate constant, pre-exponential factor, activation energy and etc. Such quantitative analyses combined with scanning tunneling microscopy and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations revealed significant contribution of the adsorbate configurations and their dynamic changes to the reaction mechanisms of the above fundamental catalytic surface reactions. (author)

Managing mechanistic and organic structure in health care organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Olden, Peter C

2012-01-01

Managers at all levels in a health care organization must organize work to achieve the organization's mission and goals. This requires managers to decide the organization structure, which involves dividing the work among jobs and departments and then coordinating them all toward the common purpose. Organization structure, which is reflected in an organization chart, may range on a continuum from very mechanistic to very organic. Managers must decide how mechanistic versus how organic to make the entire organization and each of its departments. To do this, managers should carefully consider 5 factors for the organization and for each individual department: external environment, goals, work production, size, and culture. Some factors may push toward more mechanistic structure, whereas others may push in the opposite direction toward more organic structure. Practical advice can help managers at all levels design appropriate structure for their departments and organization.

Cognitive science as an interface between rational and mechanistic explanation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chater, Nick

2014-04-01

Cognitive science views thought as computation; and computation, by its very nature, can be understood in both rational and mechanistic terms. In rational terms, a computation solves some information processing problem (e.g., mapping sensory information into a description of the external world; parsing a sentence; selecting among a set of possible actions). In mechanistic terms, a computation corresponds to causal chain of events in a physical device (in engineering context, a silicon chip; in biological context, the nervous system). The discipline is thus at the interface between two very different styles of explanation--as the papers in the current special issue well illustrate, it explores the interplay of rational and mechanistic forces. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

TIMES-SS - A mechanistic evaluation of an external validation study using reaction chemistry principles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roberts, David W.; Patlewicz, Grace; Dimitrov, Sabcho D.

2007-01-01

The TImes MEtabolism Simulator platform used for predicting skin sensitization (TIMES-SS) is a hybrid expert system that was developed at Bourgas University using funding and data from a consortium comprised of industry and regulators. TIMES-SS encodes structure-toxicity and structure...... chemicals in the murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) and then compared with predictions made by TIMES-SS. The results were promising with an overall good concordance (83%) between experimental and predicted values. The LLNA results were evaluated with respect to reaction chemistry principles...... for sensitization. Additional testing on a further four chemicals was carried out to explore some of the specific reaction chemistry findings in more detail. Improvements for TIMES-SS, where appropriate, were put forward together with proposals for further research work. TIMES-SS is a promising tool to aid...

Mechanistic Insights from the Crystal Structure of Bacillus subtilis o-Succinylbenzoyl-CoA Synthetase Complexed with the Adenylate Intermediate.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yaozong; Jiang, Yiping; Guo, Zhihong

2016-12-06

o-Succinylbenzoyl-CoA (OSB-CoA) synthetase, or MenE, catalyzes an essential step in vitamin K biosynthesis and is a valuable drug target. Like many other adenylating enzymes, it changes its structure to accommodate substrate binding, catalysis, and product release along the path of a domain alternation catalytic mechanism. We have determined the crystal structure of its complex with the adenylation product, o-succinylbenzoyl-adenosine monophosphate (OSB-AMP), and captured a new postadenylation state. This structure presents unique features such as a strained conformation for the bound adenylate intermediate to indicate that it represents the enzyme state after completion of the adenylation reaction but before release of the C domain in its transition to the thioesterification conformation. By comparison to the ATP-bound preadenylation conformation, structural changes are identified in both the reactants and the active site to allow inference about how these changes accommodate and facilitate the adenylation reaction and to directly support an in-line backside attack nucleophilic substitution mechanism for the first half-reaction. Mutational analysis suggests that the conserved His196 plays an important role in desolvation of the active site rather than stabilizing the transition state of the adenylation reaction. In addition, comparison of the new structure with a previously determined OSB-AMP-bound structure of the same enzyme allows us to propose a release mechanism of the C domain in its alteration to form the thioesterification conformation. These findings allow us to better understand the domain alternation catalytic mechanism of MenE as well as many other adenylating enzymes.

One-electron oxidation reactions of purine and pyrimidine bases in cellular DNA.

Science.gov (United States)

Cadet, Jean; Wagner, J Richard; Shafirovich, Vladimir; Geacintov, Nicholas E

2014-06-01

The aim of this survey is to critically review the available information on one-electron oxidation reactions of nucleobases in cellular DNA with emphasis on damage induced through the transient generation of purine and pyrimidine radical cations. Since the indirect effect of ionizing radiation mediated by hydroxyl radical is predominant in cells, efforts have been made to selectively ionize bases using suitable one-electron oxidants that consist among others of high intensity UVC laser pulses. Thus, the main oxidation product in cellular DNA was found to be 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine as a result of direct bi-photonic ionization of guanine bases and indirect formation of guanine radical cations through hole transfer reactions from other base radical cations. The formation of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine and other purine and pyrimidine degradation products was rationalized in terms of the initial generation of related radical cations followed by either hydration or deprotonation reactions in agreement with mechanistic pathways inferred from detailed mechanistic studies. The guanine radical cation has been shown to be implicated in three other nucleophilic additions that give rise to DNA-protein and DNA-DNA cross-links in model systems. Evidence was recently provided for the occurrence of these three reactions in cellular DNA. There is growing evidence that one-electron oxidation reactions of nucleobases whose mechanisms have been characterized in model studies involving aqueous solutions take place in a similar way in cells. It may also be pointed out that the above cross-linked lesions are only produced from the guanine radical cation and may be considered as diagnostic products of the direct effect of ionizing radiation.

Gas phase ion/molecule reactions as studied by Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joergensen, S.I.

1985-01-01

The subject of this thesis is gas phase ion/molecule reactions as studied by Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry (chapter 2 contains a short description of this method). Three chapters are mainly concerned with mechanistic aspects of gas phase ion/molecule reactions. An equally important aspect of the thesis is the stability and reactivity of α-thio carbanions, dipole stabilized carbanions and homoenolate anions, dealt with in the other four chapters. (Auth.)

Review of heavy ion reaction mechanisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngo, C.

1986-04-01

We review some of the many aspects of heavy-ion reaction mechanisms observed at bombarding energies smaller than approximately 50 MeV/u that is to say in what is called the low bombarding energy domain and the intermediate bombarding energy domain. We emphasize the results concerning the use of very heavy projectiles which has led to the observation of new mechanisms

Mechanistic Links Between PARP, NAD, and Brain Inflammation After TBI

Science.gov (United States)

2015-10-01

1 AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-13-2-0091 TITLE: Mechanistic Links Between PARP, NAD , and Brain Inflammation After TBI PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR...COVERED 25 Sep 2014 - 24 Sep 2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Mechanistic Links Between PARP, NAD , and Brain Inflammation After TBI 5b. GRANT...efficacy of veliparib and NAD as agents for suppressing inflammation and improving outcomes after traumatic brain injury. The animal models include

SOCON: a computer model for analyzing the behavior of sodium-concrete reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, D.G.; Muhlestein, L.D.

1985-03-01

Guided by experimental evidence available to date, ranging from basic laboratory studies to large scale tests, a mechanistic computer model (the SOCON model) has been developed to analyze the behavior of SOdium-CONcrete reactions. The model accounts for the thermal, chemical and mechanical phenomena which interact to determine the consequences of the reactions. Reaction limiting mechanisms could be any process which reduces water release and sodium transport to fresh concrete; the buildup of the inert reaction product layer would increase the resistance to sodium transport; water dry-out would decrease the bubble agitation transport mechanism. However, stress-induced failure of concrete, such as spalling, crushing and cracking, and a massive release of gaseous products (hydrogen, water vapor and CO 2 ) would increase the transport of sodium to the reaction zone. The results of SOCON calculations are in excellent agreement with measurements obtained from large-scale sodium-limestone concrete reaction tests of duration up to 100 hours conducted at the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory. 8 refs., 7 figs

Conformational switching in the coiled-coil domains of a proteasomal ATPase regulates substrate processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Snoberger, Aaron; Brettrager, Evan J; Smith, David M

2018-06-18

Protein degradation in all domains of life requires ATPases that unfold and inject proteins into compartmentalized proteolytic chambers. Proteasomal ATPases in eukaryotes and archaea contain poorly understood N-terminally conserved coiled-coil domains. In this study, we engineer disulfide crosslinks in the coiled-coils of the archaeal proteasomal ATPase (PAN) and report that its three identical coiled-coil domains can adopt three different conformations: (1) in-register and zipped, (2) in-register and partially unzipped, and (3) out-of-register. This conformational heterogeneity conflicts with PAN's symmetrical OB-coiled-coil crystal structure but resembles the conformational heterogeneity of the 26S proteasomal ATPases' coiled-coils. Furthermore, we find that one coiled-coil can be conformationally constrained even while unfolding substrates, and conformational changes in two of the coiled-coils regulate PAN switching between resting and active states. This switching functionally mimics similar states proposed for the 26S proteasome from cryo-EM. These findings thus build a mechanistic framework to understand regulation of proteasome activity.

Desaturation reactions catalyzed by soluble methane monooxygenase.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Y; Lipscomb, J D

2001-09-01

Soluble methane monooxygenase (MMO) is shown to be capable of catalyzing desaturation reactions in addition to the usual hydroxylation and epoxidation reactions. Dehydrogenated products are generated from MMO-catalyzed oxidation of certain substrates including ethylbenzene and cyclohexadienes. In the reaction of ethylbenzene, desaturation of ethyl C-H occurred along with the conventional hydroxvlations of ethyl and phenyl C-Hs. As a result, styrene is formed together with ethylphenols and phenylethanols. Similarly, when 1,3- and 1,4-cyclohexadienes were used as substrates, benzene was detected as a product in addition to the corresponding alcohols and epoxides. In all cases, reaction conditions were found to significantly affect the distribution among the different products. This new activity of MMO is postulated to be associated with the chemical properties of the substrates rather than fundamental changes in the nature of the oxygen and C-H activation chemistries. The formation of the desaturated products is rationalized by formation of a substrate cationic intermediate, possibly via a radical precursor. The cationic species is then proposed to partition between recombination (alcohol formation) and elimination (alkene production) pathways. This novel function of MMO indicates close mechanistic kinship between the hydroxylation and desaturation reactions catalyzed by the nonheme diiron clusters.

Unexpected Reaction Pathway for butyrylcholinesterase-catalyzed inactivation of “hunger hormone” ghrelin

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Jianzhuang; Yuan, Yaxia; Zheng, Fang; Zhan, Chang-Guo

2016-02-01

Extensive computational modeling and simulations have been carried out, in the present study, to uncover the fundamental reaction pathway for butyrylcholinesterase (BChE)-catalyzed hydrolysis of ghrelin, demonstrating that the acylation process of BChE-catalyzed hydrolysis of ghrelin follows an unprecedented single-step reaction pathway and the single-step acylation process is rate-determining. The free energy barrier (18.8 kcal/mol) calculated for the rate-determining step is reasonably close to the experimentally-derived free energy barrier (~19.4 kcal/mol), suggesting that the obtained mechanistic insights are reasonable. The single-step reaction pathway for the acylation is remarkably different from the well-known two-step acylation reaction pathway for numerous ester hydrolysis reactions catalyzed by a serine esterase. This is the first time demonstrating that a single-step reaction pathway is possible for an ester hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by a serine esterase and, therefore, one no longer can simply assume that the acylation process must follow the well-known two-step reaction pathway.

Schmidt Reaction of E-3-Benzylidenechromanones and E-3-Benzylidenethiochromanones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tapas K. Mandal

2013-01-01

Full Text Available On treatment with NaN3/c. H2SO4-HOAc or NaN3/TFA, E-3-benzylidenechromanones are mostly converted to E-β-aminobenzylidenechromanones while E-3-benzylidenethiochromanones are converted to 3-benzoylthiochromones. A structurally new type of product has been isolated for the reaction of E-3-benzylidene-4′-methoxychromanone with NaN3/TFA. Mechanistic paths have been suggested for formation of the products.

Proceedings of the international workshop on mechanistic understanding of radionuclide migration in compacted/intact systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tachi, Yukio; Yui, Mikazu

2010-03-01

The international workshop on mechanistic understanding of radionuclide migration in compacted / intact systems was held at ENTRY, JAEA, Tokai on 21st - 23rd January, 2009. This workshop was hosted by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) as part of the project on the mechanistic model/database development for radionuclide sorption and diffusion behavior in compacted / intact systems. The overall goal of the project is to develop the mechanistic model / database for a consistent understanding and prediction of migration parameters and its uncertainties for performance assessment of geological disposal of radioactive waste. The objective of the workshop is to integrate the state-of-the-art of mechanistic sorption and diffusion model in compacted / intact systems, especially in bentonite / clay systems, and discuss the JAEA's mechanistic approaches and future challenges, especially the following discussions points; 1) What's the status and difficulties for mechanistic model/database development? 2) What's the status and difficulties for applicability of mechanistic model to the compacted/intact system? 3) What's the status and difficulties for obtaining evidences for mechanistic model? 4) What's the status and difficulties for standardization of experimental methodology for batch sorption and diffusion? 5) What's the uncertainties of transport parameters in radionuclides migration analysis due to a lack of understanding/experimental methodologies, and how do we derive them? This report includes workshop program, overview and materials of each presentation, summary of discussions. (author)

Optimization of Hybrid Power Trains by Mechanistic System Simulations Optimisation de groupes motopropulseurs électriques hybrides par simulation du système mécanique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katrašnik T.

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a mechanistic system level simulation model for mode/big hybrid and conventional vehicle topologies. The paper addresses the Dynamic interaction between different domains: internal combustion engine. exhaust after treatment devices, electric components. mechanical drive train. cooling circuit system and corresponding control units. To achieve a good ratio between accuracy. predictability and computational speed of the model an innovative time domain decoupling is presented, which is based on applying domain specific integration steps to ditferent domains and subsequent consistent cross-domain coupling ol’thefluxes. In addition, a computationally efficient frunieveork for transporting active and passive gaseous species is introduced to combine computational efficiency with the need for modeling pollutant transport in the gas path. The applicability and versatility of the mechanistic system level simulations model is presented through analyses of transient phenomena caused by the high interdependency of the sub-systems, i.e. domains. Results of a hyt’hrid vehicle are compared to results of a conventional vehicle to highlight differences in operating regimes of partiular components that are inherent to particular poster train topology. L’article présente un modèle de simulation au niveau mécanique destiné à la modélisation de topologies de véhicules hydrides et conventionnels. L’article décrit l’interaction dynamique entre différents domaines : moteur à combustion interne, dispositifs de post-traitement d’échappement, composants électriques, chaîne cinématique mécanique, circuit de refroidissement et les unités de contrôle correspondantes. Afin d’obtenir un rapport correct entre précision, prévisibilité et vitesse de calculs du modèle, un découplage innovant du domaine temporel est présenté, lequel est basé sur l’application à différents domaines, d’étapes d’intégration sp

Mechanisms before Reactions: A Mechanistic Approach to the Organic Chemistry Curriculum Based on Patterns of Electron Flow

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Flynn, Alison B.; Ogilvie, William W.

2015-01-01

A significant redesign of the introductory organic chemistry curriculum at the authors' institution is described. There are two aspects that differ greatly from a typical functional group approach. First, organic reaction mechanisms and the electron-pushing formalism are taught before students have learned a single reaction. The conservation of…

Lattice gas simulations of replicating domains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dawson, S.P.; Hasslacher, B.; Pearson, J.E.

1993-01-01

We use the lattice gas cellular automation (LGCA) developed to simulate a process of pattern-formation recently observed in reaction-diffusion systems. We study the reaction mechanism, which is an extension of the Selkov model for glycolytic oscillations. We are able to reproduce the self-replicating domains observed in this work. We use the LGCA simulation to estimate the smallest length-scale on which this process can occur under conditions encountered in the cell. These estimates are similar to those obtained for Turing patterns in the same setting

Lattice gas simulations of replicating domains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dawson, S.P.; Hasslacher, B.; Pearson, J.E.

1993-12-31

We use the lattice gas cellular automation (LGCA) developed to simulate a process of pattern-formation recently observed in reaction-diffusion systems. We study the reaction mechanism, which is an extension of the Selkov model for glycolytic oscillations. We are able to reproduce the self-replicating domains observed in this work. We use the LGCA simulation to estimate the smallest length-scale on which this process can occur under conditions encountered in the cell. These estimates are similar to those obtained for Turing patterns in the same setting.

Specialists without spirit: limitations of the mechanistic biomedical model.

Science.gov (United States)

Hewa, S; Hetherington, R W

1995-06-01

This paper examines the origin and the development of the mechanistic model of the human body and health in terms of Max Weber's theory of rationalization. It is argued that the development of Western scientific medicine is a part of the broad process of rationalization that began in sixteenth century Europe as a result of the Reformation. The development of the mechanistic view of the human body in Western medicine is consistent with the ideas of calculability, predictability, and control-the major tenets of the process of rationalization as described by Weber. In recent years, however, the limitations of the mechanistic model have been the topic of many discussions. George Engel, a leading advocate of general systems theory, is one of the leading proponents of a new medical model which includes the general quality of life, clean environment, and psychological, or spiritual stability of life. The paper concludes with consideration of the potential of Engel's proposed new model in the context of the current state of rationalization in modern industrialized society.

Conceptual models for waste tank mechanistic analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allemann, R.T.; Antoniak, Z.I.; Eyler, L.L.; Liljegren, L.M.; Roberts, J.S.

1992-02-01

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is conducting a study for Westinghouse Hanford Company (Westinghouse Hanford), a contractor for the US Department of Energy (DOE). The purpose of the work is to study possible mechanisms and fluid dynamics contributing to the periodic release of gases from double-shell waste storage tanks at the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington. This interim report emphasizing the modeling work follows two other interim reports, Mechanistic Analysis of Double-Shell Tank Gas Release Progress Report -- November 1990 and Collection and Analysis of Existing Data for Waste Tank Mechanistic Analysis Progress Report -- December 1990, that emphasized data correlation and mechanisms. The approach in this study has been to assemble and compile data that are pertinent to the mechanisms, analyze the data, evaluate physical properties and parameters, evaluate hypothetical mechanisms, and develop mathematical models of mechanisms

Recent Trends in Quantum Chemical Modeling of Enzymatic Reactions.

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Himo, Fahmi

2017-05-24

The quantum chemical cluster approach is a powerful method for investigating enzymatic reactions. Over the past two decades, a large number of highly diverse systems have been studied and a great wealth of mechanistic insight has been developed using this technique. This Perspective reviews the current status of the methodology. The latest technical developments are highlighted, and challenges are discussed. Some recent applications are presented to illustrate the capabilities and progress of this approach, and likely future directions are outlined.

Why did Jacques Monod make the choice of mechanistic determinism?

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Loison, Laurent

2015-06-01

The development of molecular biology placed in the foreground a mechanistic and deterministic conception of the functioning of macromolecules. In this article, I show that this conception was neither obvious, nor necessary. Taking Jacques Monod as a case study, I detail the way he gradually came loose from a statistical understanding of determinism to finally support a mechanistic understanding. The reasons of the choice made by Monod at the beginning of the 1950s can be understood only in the light of the general theoretical schema supported by the concept of mechanistic determinism. This schema articulates three fundamental notions for Monod, namely that of the rigidity of the sequence of the genetic program, that of the intrinsic stability of macromolecules (DNA and proteins), and that of the specificity of molecular interactions. Copyright © 2015 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Mechanistic Basis for Regioselection and Regiodivergence in Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Couplings

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Jackson, Evan P.; Malik, Hasnain A.; Sormunen, Grant J.; Baxter, Ryan D.; Liu, Peng; Wang, Hengbin; Shareef, Abdur-Rafay; Montgomery, John

2015-01-01

CONSPECTUS The control of regiochemistry is a considerable challenge in the development of a wide array of catalytic processes. Simple π-components such as alkenes, alkynes, 1,3-dienes, and allenes are among the many classes of substrates that present complexities in regioselective catalysis. Considering an internal alkyne as a representative example, when steric and electronic differences between the two substituents are minimal, differentiating among the two termini of the alkyne presents a great challenge. In cases where the differences between the alkyne substituents are substantial, overcoming those biases to access the regioisomer opposite that favored by substrate biases often presents an even greater challenge. Nickel-catalyzed reductive couplings of unsymmetrical π-components make up a group of reactions where control of regiochemistry presents a challenging but important objective. In the course of our studies of aldehyde-alkyne reductive couplings, complementary solutions to challenges in regiocontrol have been developed. Through careful selection of the ligand and reductant, as well as the more subtle reaction variables such as temperature and concentration, effective protocols have been established that allow highly selective access to either regiosiomer of the the allylic alcohol products using a wide range of unsymmetrical alkynes. Computational studies and an evaluation of reaction kinetics have provided an understanding of the origin of the regioselectivity control. Throughout the various procedures described, the development of ligand-substrate interactions play a key role, and the overall kinetic descriptions were found to differ between protocols. Rational alteration of the rate-determining step plays a key role in the regiochemistry reversal strategy, and in one instance, the two possible regioisomeric outcomes in a single reaction were found to operate by different kinetic descriptions. With this mechanistic information in hand, the

Polarization of concave domains by traveling wave pinning.

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Slawomir Bialecki

Full Text Available Pattern formation is one of the most fundamental yet puzzling phenomena in physics and biology. We propose that traveling front pinning into concave portions of the boundary of 3-dimensional domains can serve as a generic gradient-maintaining mechanism. Such a mechanism of domain polarization arises even for scalar bistable reaction-diffusion equations, and, depending on geometry, a number of stationary fronts may be formed leading to complex spatial patterns. The main advantage of the pinning mechanism, with respect to the Turing bifurcation, is that it allows for maintaining gradients in the specific regions of the domain. By linking the instant domain shape with the spatial pattern, the mechanism can be responsible for cellular polarization and differentiation.

Mechanistic Indicators of Childhood Asthma (MICA) Study

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The Mechanistic Indicators of Childhood Asthma (MICA) Study has been designed to incorporate state-of-the-art technologies to examine the physiological and environmental factors that interact to increase the risk of asthmatic responses. MICA is primarily a clinically-bases obser...

A mechanistic study on the reaction pathways leading to benzene and naphthalene in cellulose vapor phase cracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norinaga, Koyo; Yang, Huamei; Tanaka, Ryota; Appari, Srinivas; Iwanaga, Keita; Takashima, Yuka; Kudo, Shinji; Shoji, Tetsuya; Hayashi, Jun-ichiro

2014-01-01

The reaction pathways leading to aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene and naphthalene in gas-phase reactions of multi-component mixtures derived from cellulose fast pyrolysis were studied both experimentally and numerically. A two-stage tubular reactor was used for evaluating the reaction kinetics of secondary vapor phase cracking of the nascent pyrolysates at temperature ranging from 400 to 900 °C, residence time from 0.2 to 4.3 s, and at 241 kPa. The products of alkyne and diene were identified from the primary pyrolysis of cellulose even at low temperature range 500–600 °C. These products include acetylene, propyne, propadiene, vinylacetylene, and cyclopentadiene. Experiments were also numerically validated by a detailed chemical kinetic model consisting of more than 8000 elementary step-like reactions with over 500 chemical species. Acceptable capabilities of the kinetic model in predicting concentration profiles of the products enabled us to assess reaction pathways leading to benzene and naphthalene via the alkyne and diene from primary pyrolysates of cellulose. C 3 alkyne and diene are primary precursors of benzene at 650 °C, while combination of ethylene and vinylacetylene produces benzene dominantly at 850 °C. Cyclopentadiene is a prominent precursor of naphthalene. Combination of acetylene with propyne or allyl radical leads to the formation of cyclopentadiene. Furan and acrolein are likely important alkyne precursors in cellulose pyrolysis at low temperature, whereas dehydrogenations of olefins are major route to alkyne at high temperatures. - Highlights: • Analytical pyrolysis experiments provided data for kinetic modeling. • Detailed chemical kinetic model was used and evaluated. • Alkyne and diene were important intermediates for aromatic hydrocarbon formation. • Reaction pathways leading to aromatic hydrocarbons were proposed

The role of phosphate in a multistep enzymatic reaction: reactions of the substrate and intermediate in pieces.

Science.gov (United States)

Kholodar, Svetlana A; Allen, C Leigh; Gulick, Andrew M; Murkin, Andrew S

2015-02-25

Several mechanistically unrelated enzymes utilize the binding energy of their substrate's nonreacting phosphoryl group to accelerate catalysis. Evidence for the involvement of the phosphodianion in transition state formation has come from reactions of the substrate in pieces, in which reaction of a truncated substrate lacking its phosphorylmethyl group is activated by inorganic phosphite. What has remained unknown until now is how the phosphodianion group influences the reaction energetics at different points along the reaction coordinate. 1-Deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate (DXP) reductoisomerase (DXR), which catalyzes the isomerization of DXP to 2-C-methyl-D-erythrose 4-phosphate (MEsP) and subsequent NADPH-dependent reduction, presents a unique opportunity to address this concern. Previously, we have reported the effect of covalently linked phosphate on the energetics of DXP turnover. Through the use of chemically synthesized MEsP and its phosphate-truncated analogue, 2-C-methyl-D-glyceraldehyde, the current study revealed a loss of 6.1 kcal/mol of kinetic barrier stabilization upon truncation, of which 4.4 kcal/mol was regained in the presence of phosphite dianion. The activating effect of phosphite was accompanied by apparent tightening of its interactions within the active site at the intermediate stage of the reaction, suggesting a role of the phosphodianion in disfavoring intermediate release and in modulation of the on-enzyme isomerization equilibrium. The results of kinetic isotope effect and structural studies indicate rate limitation by physical steps when the covalent linkage is severed. These striking differences in the energetics of the natural reaction and the reactions in pieces provide a deeper insight into the contribution of enzyme-phosphodianion interactions to the reaction coordinate.

Computing molecular fluctuations in biochemical reaction systems based on a mechanistic, statistical theory of irreversible processes.

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Kulasiri, Don

2011-01-01

We discuss the quantification of molecular fluctuations in the biochemical reaction systems within the context of intracellular processes associated with gene expression. We take the molecular reactions pertaining to circadian rhythms to develop models of molecular fluctuations in this chapter. There are a significant number of studies on stochastic fluctuations in intracellular genetic regulatory networks based on single cell-level experiments. In order to understand the fluctuations associated with the gene expression in circadian rhythm networks, it is important to model the interactions of transcriptional factors with the E-boxes in the promoter regions of some of the genes. The pertinent aspects of a near-equilibrium theory that would integrate the thermodynamical and particle dynamic characteristics of intracellular molecular fluctuations would be discussed, and the theory is extended by using the theory of stochastic differential equations. We then model the fluctuations associated with the promoter regions using general mathematical settings. We implemented ubiquitous Gillespie's algorithms, which are used to simulate stochasticity in biochemical networks, for each of the motifs. Both the theory and the Gillespie's algorithms gave the same results in terms of the time evolution of means and variances of molecular numbers. As biochemical reactions occur far away from equilibrium-hence the use of the Gillespie algorithm-these results suggest that the near-equilibrium theory should be a good approximation for some of the biochemical reactions. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Kinetics and mechanistic study of n-alkane hydroisomerization reaction on Pt-doped γ-alumina catalyst

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abhishek Dhar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The catalysts γ-alumina (GA, the reference catalyst and Pt doped γ-alumina (PGA-s were synthesized using a simple sol-gel technique, in which at first preparation of porous base (GA, then impregnation of platinum salt over the base and finally reduction of platinum in the surface of the support were done. These catalysts prepared in different mole ratios of Pt:Al as 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 are named as PGA-1, PGA-2 and PGA-3 respectively. The isomerization of n-alkanes (n-hexane, n-heptane and n-octane were investigated over the synthesized catalysts. The 2-methyl pentane (2-MP, 2,2-dimethyl pentane (2,2-DMP and 2,3-dimethyl hexane (2,3-DMH are the major products of respective isomerization of n-hexane, n-heptane and n-octane, besides a small amount of other branched isomers are also produced. The product distribution is comparable to that reported for Pt based other catalysts. The optimal mole ratios of Pt:Al is 1:1 (PGA-2 gives quite good catalytic activity for isomerization of n-alkane. Even through in reusability study, PGA-2 gives better performance than others. We have mainly focused on kinetic study, reaction mechanism behind isomerization and calculated the order of reactions and activation energies of the isomerization reactions in the present work. Keywords: Isomerization, n-alkanes, Catalyst, Reaction mechanism, Kinetics study, Activation energy

Chemical degradation of proteins in the solid state with a focus on photochemical reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mozziconacci, Olivier; Schöneich, Christian

2015-10-01

Protein pharmaceuticals comprise an increasing fraction of marketed products but the limited solution stability of proteins requires considerable research effort to prepare stable formulations. An alternative is solid formulation, as proteins in the solid state are thermodynamically less susceptible to degradation. Nevertheless, within the time of storage a large panel of kinetically controlled degradation reactions can occur such as, e.g., hydrolysis reactions, the formation of diketopiperazine, condensation and aggregation reactions. These mechanisms of degradation in protein solids are relatively well covered by the literature. Considerably less is known about oxidative and photochemical reactions of solid proteins. This review will provide an overview over photolytic and non-photolytic degradation reactions, and specially emphasize mechanistic details on how solid structure may affect the interaction of protein solids with light. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Secondary Interactions Arrest the Hemiaminal Intermediate To Invert the Modus Operandi of Schiff Base Reaction: A Route to Benzoxazinones.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Ketan; Deshmukh, Satej S; Bodkhe, Dnyaneshwar; Mane, Manoj; Vanka, Kumar; Shinde, Dinesh; Rajamohanan, Pattuparambil R; Nandi, Shyamapada; Vaidhyanathan, Ramanathan; Chikkali, Samir H

2017-04-21

Discovered by Hugo Schiff, condensation between amine and aldehyde represents one of the most ubiquitous reactions in chemistry. This classical reaction is widely used to manufacture pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. However, the rapid and reversible formation of Schiff base prohibits formation of alternative products, of which benzoxazinones are an important class. Therefore, manipulating the reactivity of two partners to invert the course of this reaction is an elusive target. Presented here is a synthetic strategy that regulates the sequence of Schiff base reaction via weak secondary interactions. Guided by the computational models, reaction between 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluoro-benzaldehyde with 2-amino-6-methylbenzoic acid revealed quantitative (99%) formation of 5-methyl-2-(perfluorophenyl)-1,2-dihydro-4H-benzo[d][1,3]oxazin-4-one (15). Electron donating and electron withdrawing ortho-substituents on 2-aminobenzoic acid resulted in the production of benzoxazinones 9-36. The mode of action was tracked using low temperature NMR, UV-vis spectroscopy, and isotopic ( 18 O) labeling experiments. These spectroscopic mechanistic investigations revealed that the hemiaminal intermediate is arrested by the hydrogen-bonding motif to yield benzoxazinone. Thus, the mechanistic investigations and DFT calculations categorically rule out the possibility of in situ imine formation followed by ring-closing, but support instead hydrogen-bond assisted ring-closing to prodrugs. This unprecedented reaction represents an interesting and competitive alternative to metal catalyzed and classical methods of preparing benzoxazinone.

Mechanistic analysis of cavitation assisted transesterification on biodiesel characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sajjadi, Baharak; Abdul Aziz, A R; Ibrahim, Shaliza

2015-01-01

The influence of sonoluminescence transesterification on biodiesel physicochemical properties was investigated and the results were compared to those of traditional mechanical stirring. This study was conducted to identify the mechanistic features of ultrasonication by coupling statistical analysis of the experiments into the simulation of cavitation bubble. Different combinations of operational variables were employed for alkali-catalysis transesterification of palm oil. The experimental results showed that transesterification with ultrasound irradiation could change the biodiesel density by about 0.3kg/m(3); the viscosity by 0.12mm(2)/s; the pour point by about 1-2°C and the flash point by 5°C compared to the traditional method. Furthermore, 93.84% of yield with alcohol to oil molar ratio of 6:1 could be achieved through ultrasound assisted transesterification within only 20min. However, only 89.09% of reaction yield was obtained by traditional macro mixing/heating under the same condition. Based on the simulated oscillation velocity value, the cavitation phenomenon significantly contributed to generation of fine micro emulsion and was able to overcome mass transfer restriction. It was found that the sonoluminescence bubbles reached the temperature of 758-713K, pressure of 235.5-159.55bar, oscillation velocity of 3.5-6.5cm/s, and equilibrium radius of 17.9-13.7 times greater than its initial size under the ambient temperature of 50-64°C at the moment of collapse. This showed that the sonoluminescence bubbles were in the condition in which the decomposition phenomena were activated and the reaction rate was accelerated together with a change in the biodiesel properties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mechanistic Insight into the Degradation of Nitrosamines via Aqueous-Phase UV Photolysis or a UV-Based Advanced Oxidation Process: Quantum Mechanical Calculations.

Science.gov (United States)

Minakata, Daisuke; Coscarelli, Erica

2018-02-28

Nitrosamines are a group of carcinogenic chemicals that are present in aquatic environments that result from byproducts of industrial processes and disinfection products. As indirect and direct potable reuse increase, the presence of trace nitrosamines presents challenges to water infrastructures that incorporate effluent from wastewater treatment. Ultraviolet (UV) photolysis or UV-based advanced oxidation processes that produce highly reactive hydroxyl radicals are promising technologies to remove nitrosamines from water. However, complex reaction mechanisms involving radicals limit our understandings of the elementary reaction pathways embedded in the overall reactions identified experimentally. In this study, we perform quantum mechanical calculations to identify the hydroxyl radical-induced initial elementary reactions with N -nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N -nitrosomethylethylamine, and N -nitrosomethylbutylamine. We also investigate the UV-induced NDMA degradation mechanisms. Our calculations reveal that the alkyl side chains of nitrosamine affect the reaction mechanism of hydroxyl radicals with each nitrosamine investigated in this study. Nitrosamines with one- or two-carbon alkyl chains caused the delocalization of the electron density, leading to slower subsequent degradation. Additionally, three major initial elementary reactions and the subsequent radical-involved reaction pathways are identified in the UV-induced NDMA degradation process. This study provides mechanistic insight into the elementary reaction pathways, and a future study will combine these results with the kinetic information to predict the time-dependent concentration profiles of nitrosamines and their transformation products.

Mechanistic Insight into the Degradation of Nitrosamines via Aqueous-Phase UV Photolysis or a UV-Based Advanced Oxidation Process: Quantum Mechanical Calculations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daisuke Minakata

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Nitrosamines are a group of carcinogenic chemicals that are present in aquatic environments that result from byproducts of industrial processes and disinfection products. As indirect and direct potable reuse increase, the presence of trace nitrosamines presents challenges to water infrastructures that incorporate effluent from wastewater treatment. Ultraviolet (UV photolysis or UV-based advanced oxidation processes that produce highly reactive hydroxyl radicals are promising technologies to remove nitrosamines from water. However, complex reaction mechanisms involving radicals limit our understandings of the elementary reaction pathways embedded in the overall reactions identified experimentally. In this study, we perform quantum mechanical calculations to identify the hydroxyl radical-induced initial elementary reactions with N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA, N-nitrosomethylethylamine, and N-nitrosomethylbutylamine. We also investigate the UV-induced NDMA degradation mechanisms. Our calculations reveal that the alkyl side chains of nitrosamine affect the reaction mechanism of hydroxyl radicals with each nitrosamine investigated in this study. Nitrosamines with one- or two-carbon alkyl chains caused the delocalization of the electron density, leading to slower subsequent degradation. Additionally, three major initial elementary reactions and the subsequent radical-involved reaction pathways are identified in the UV-induced NDMA degradation process. This study provides mechanistic insight into the elementary reaction pathways, and a future study will combine these results with the kinetic information to predict the time-dependent concentration profiles of nitrosamines and their transformation products.

Optical network control plane for multi-domain networking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manolova, Anna Vasileva

This thesis focuses on multi-domain routing for traffice engineering and survivability support in optical transport networks under the Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) control framework. First, different extensions to the Border Gateway Protocol for multi-domain Traffic...... process are not enough for efficient TE in mesh multi-domain networks. Enhancing the protocol with multi-path dissemination capability, combined with the employment of an end-to-end TE metric proves to be a highly efficient solution. Simulation results show good performance characteristics of the proposed...... is not as essential for improved network performance as the length of the provided paths. Second, the issue of multi-domain survivability support is analyzed. An AS-disjoint paths is beneficial not only for resilience support, but also for facilitating adequate network reactions to changes in the network, which...

A preliminary study of mechanistic approach in pavement design to accommodate climate change effects

Science.gov (United States)

Harnaeni, S. R.; Pramesti, F. P.; Budiarto, A.; Setyawan, A.

2018-03-01

Road damage is caused by some factors, including climate changes, overload, and inappropriate procedure for material and development process. Meanwhile, climate change is a phenomenon which cannot be avoided. The effects observed include air temperature rise, sea level rise, rainfall changes, and the intensity of extreme weather phenomena. Previous studies had shown the impacts of climate changes on road damage. Therefore, several measures to anticipate the damage should be considered during the planning and construction in order to reduce the cost of road maintenance. There are three approaches generally applied in the design of flexible pavement thickness, namely mechanistic approach, mechanistic-empirical (ME) approach and empirical approach. The advantages of applying mechanistic approach or mechanistic-empirical (ME) approaches are its efficiency and reliability in the design of flexible pavement thickness as well as its capacity to accommodate climate changes in compared to empirical approach. However, generally, the design of flexible pavement thickness in Indonesia still applies empirical approach. This preliminary study aimed to emphasize the importance of the shifting towards a mechanistic approach in the design of flexible pavement thickness.

Pathways of the Maillard reaction under physiological conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Henning, Christian; Glomb, Marcus A

2016-08-01

Initially investigated as a color formation process in thermally treated foods, nowadays, the relevance of the Maillard reaction in vivo is generally accepted. Many chronic and age-related diseases such as diabetes, uremia, atherosclerosis, cataractogenesis and Alzheimer's disease are associated with Maillard derived advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) and α-dicarbonyl compounds as their most important precursors in terms of reactivity and abundance. However, the situation in vivo is very challenging, because Maillard chemistry is paralleled by enzymatic reactions which can lead to both, increases and decreases in certain AGEs. In addition, mechanistic findings established under the harsh conditions of food processing might not be valid under physiological conditions. The present review critically discusses the relevant α-dicarbonyl compounds as central intermediates of AGE formation in vivo with a special focus on fragmentation pathways leading to formation of amide-AGEs.

Mechanistic Effects of Water on the Fe-Catalyzed Hydrodeoxygenation of Phenol. The Role of Brønsted Acid Sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hensley, Alyssa J. R. [The; amp, Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, ∥Department of Physics; Institute for Integrated Catalysis and §Fundamental and; Wang, Yong [The; amp, Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, ∥Department of Physics; Institute for Integrated Catalysis and §Fundamental and; Mei, Donghai [The; amp, Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, ∥Department of Physics; Institute for Integrated Catalysis and §Fundamental and; McEwen, Jean-Sabin [The; amp, Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, ∥Department of Physics; Institute for Integrated Catalysis and §Fundamental and

2018-01-30

A mechanistic understanding of the roles of water is essential for developing highly active and selective catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) reactions since water is ubiquitous in such reaction systems. Here, we present a study for phenol HDO on Fe catalysts using density functional theory which examines the effect of water on three elementary pathways for phenol HDO using an explicit solvation model. The presence of water is found to significantly decrease activation barriers required by hydrogenation reactions via two pathways. First, the proton transfer in the hydrogen bonding network of the liquid water phase is nearly barrierless, which significantly promotes the direct through space tautomerization of phenol. Second, due to the high degree of oxophilicity on Fe, liquid water molecules are found to be easily dissociated into surface hydroxyl groups that can act as Brønsted acid sites. These sites dramatically promote hydrogenation reactions on the Fe surface. As a result, the hydrogen assisted dehydroxylation becomes the dominant phenol HDO pathway. This work provides new fundamental insights into aqueous phase HDO of biomass-derived oxygenates over Fe-based catalysts; e.g., the activity of Fe-based catalysts can be optimized by tuning the surface coverage of Brønsted acid sites via surface doping.

Studies of heavy-ion reactions and transuranic nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeder, W.U.; Huizenga, J.R.

1991-08-01

The development of the ''cold-fusion'' episode is reviewed. Ongoing studies of compound-nucleus formation and decay via the neutron multiplicity distribution confirm the validity of conventional statistical theory. The excitation energy partition in near-barrier damped 58 Ni + 208 Pb collisions is found to be largely independent of the direction of net mass transfer, supporting a diffusion-like nucleon-exchange mechanism. Exclusive experiments on the heavy reaction systems 197 Au + 208 Pb and 209 Bi + 136 Xe in the Fermi-energy domain have revealed important new insights into the reaction mechanism, which is found to be dominated by damped, binary processes. The effectiveness of the neutron multiplicity as an impact-parameter filter is demonstrated. It is shown that very-heavy-ion reactions lead to transient nuclear systems with temperatures in excess of τ = 6 MeV and transfer of large, aligned spins to reaction fragments. The first measurements of neutrons in coincidence with kinematically identified reaction fragments provide evidence for the binary, sequential character of dissipative collisions in the Fermi-energy domain. Also for the first time, a full event characterization was achieved for nuclear reactions in terms of neutrons and charged particles. Technical information on this experiment is provided. First results yield strong evidence for dominantly binary primary reaction dynamics of even highly dissipative 209 Bi + (28MeV/u) 136 Xe collisions, associated with several intermediate-mass fragments

The natural history of biocatalytic mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Nath, Neetika; Mitchell, John B O; Caetano-Anollés, Gustavo

2014-05-01

Phylogenomic analysis of the occurrence and abundance of protein domains in proteomes has recently showed that the α/β architecture is probably the oldest fold design. This holds important implications for the origins of biochemistry. Here we explore structure-function relationships addressing the use of chemical mechanisms by ancestral enzymes. We test the hypothesis that the oldest folds used the most mechanisms. We start by tracing biocatalytic mechanisms operating in metabolic enzymes along a phylogenetic timeline of the first appearance of homologous superfamilies of protein domain structures from CATH. A total of 335 enzyme reactions were retrieved from MACiE and were mapped over fold age. We define a mechanistic step type as one of the 51 mechanistic annotations given in MACiE, and each step of each of the 335 mechanisms was described using one or more of these annotations. We find that the first two folds, the P-loop containing nucleotide triphosphate hydrolase and the NAD(P)-binding Rossmann-like homologous superfamilies, were α/β architectures responsible for introducing 35% (18/51) of the known mechanistic step types. We find that these two oldest structures in the phylogenomic analysis of protein domains introduced many mechanistic step types that were later combinatorially spread in catalytic history. The most common mechanistic step types included fundamental building blocks of enzyme chemistry: "Proton transfer," "Bimolecular nucleophilic addition," "Bimolecular nucleophilic substitution," and "Unimolecular elimination by the conjugate base." They were associated with the most ancestral fold structure typical of P-loop containing nucleotide triphosphate hydrolases. Over half of the mechanistic step types were introduced in the evolutionary timeline before the appearance of structures specific to diversified organisms, during a period of architectural diversification. The other half unfolded gradually after organismal diversification and during a

Wong-Zakai approximations and attractors for stochastic reaction-diffusion equations on unbounded domains

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaohu; Lu, Kening; Wang, Bixiang

2018-01-01

In this paper, we study the Wong-Zakai approximations given by a stationary process via the Wiener shift and their associated long term behavior of the stochastic reaction-diffusion equation driven by a white noise. We first prove the existence and uniqueness of tempered pullback attractors for the Wong-Zakai approximations of stochastic reaction-diffusion equation. Then, we show that the attractors of Wong-Zakai approximations converges to the attractor of the stochastic reaction-diffusion equation for both additive and multiplicative noise.

Simple boron removal from seawater by using polyols as complexing agents: A computational mechanistic study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Min-Kyung; Eom, Ki Heon; Lim, Jun-Heok; Lee, Jea-Keun; Lee, Ju Dong; Won, Yong Sun [Pukyong National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2015-11-15

The complexation of boric acid (B(OH){sub 3}), the primary form of aqueous boron at moderate pH, with polyols is proposed and mechanistically studied as an efficient way to improve membrane processes such as reverse osmosis (RO) for removing boron in seawater by increasing the size of aqueous boron compounds. Computational chemistry based on the density functional theory (DFT) was used to manifest the reaction pathways of the complexation of B(OH){sub 3} with various polyols such as glycerol, xylitol, and mannitol. The reaction energies were calculated as −80.6, −98.1, and −87.2 kcal/mol for glycerol, xylitol, and mannitol, respectively, indicating that xylitol is the most thermodynamically favorable for the complexation with B(OH){sub 3}. Moreover, the 1 : 2 molar ratio of B(OH)3 to polyol was found to be more favorable than the ratio of 1 : 1 for the complexation. Meanwhile, latest lab-scale actual RO experiments successfully supported our computational prediction that 2 moles of xylitol are the most effective as the complexing agent for 1 mole of B(OH){sub 3} in aqueous solution.

Providing care to relatives with mental illness: reactions and distress among primary informal caregivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Sherilyn; Zhang, Yunjue; Jeyagurunathan, Anitha; Lau, Ying Wen; Sagayadevan, Vathsala; Chong, Siow Ann; Subramaniam, Mythily

2016-03-25

The responsibility of caring for relatives with mental illness often falls on the family members. It has been reported that the reactions to or consequences of providing care are what rendered the role of a caregiver challenging and hence a source of distress. This present study thus aimed to identify socio-demographic correlates of caregiving experiences using the Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA) and to examine the associations between reactions to caregiving and psychological distress. A total of 350 caregivers with relatives seeking outpatient care at a tertiary psychiatric hospital were recruited for this study. Distress among caregivers was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The CRA was administered to measure reactions from caregiving in four domains including impact on schedule and health (ISH), impact on finance (IF), lack of family support (LFS) and caregiver esteem (CE). Participants also completed a questionnaire that asked for their socio-demographic information. Multivariable linear regression analysis was first used with domains of CRA as outcome variables and socio-demographic variables as predictors in the models. The next set of multivariable linear regression analysis tested for the association between CRA domains and distress with CRA domain scores as outcome variables and PHQ-9 score as predictor, controlling for socio-demographic variables. Socio-demographic correlates of CRA domains identified were age, education, employment, income and ethnicity. Domain scores of CRA were significantly associated with PHQ-9 score even after controlling for socio-demographic variables. A higher distress score was associated with greater impact felt in the domain of ISH (β = 0.080, P social care support in these domains may help to address caregiver distress.

Evaluation of mechanistic DNB models using HCLWR CHF data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwamura, Takamichi; Watanabe, Hironori; Okubo, Tsutomu; Araya, Fumimasa; Murao, Yoshio.

1992-03-01

An onset of departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) in light water reactor (LWR) has been generally predicted with empirical correlations. Since these correlations have less physical bases and contain adjustable empirical constants determined by best fitting of test data, applicable geometries and flow conditions are limited within the original experiment ranges. In order to obtain more universal prediction method, several mechanistic DNB models based on physical approaches have been proposed in recent years. However, the predictive capabilities of mechanistic DNB models have not been verified successfully especially for advanced LWR design purposes. In this report, typical DNB mechanistic models are reviewed and compared with critical heat flux (CHF) data for high conversion light water reactor (HCLWR). The experiments were performed using triangular 7-rods array with non-uniform axial heat flux distribution. Test pressure was 16 MPa, mass velocities ranged from 800 t0 3100 kg/s·m 2 and exit qualities from -0.07 to 0.19. The evaluated models are: 1) Wisman-Pei, 2) Chang-Lee, 3) Lee-Mudawwar, 4) Lin-Lee-Pei, and 5) Katto. The first two models are based on near-wall bubble crowding model and the other three models on sublayer dryout model. The comparison with experimental data indicated that the Weisman-Pei model agreed relatively well with the CHF data. Effects of empirical constants in each model on CHF calculation were clarified by sensitivity studies. It was also found that the magnitudes of physical quantities obtained in the course of calculation were significantly different for each model. Therefore, microscopic observation of the onset of DNB on heated surface is essential to clarify the DNB mechanism and establish a general DNB mechanistic model based on physical phenomenon. (author)

The pentadehydro-Diels-Alder reaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Teng; Naredla, Rajasekhar Reddy; Thompson, Severin K; Hoye, Thomas R

2016-04-28

In the classic Diels-Alder [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction, the overall degree of unsaturation (or oxidation state) of the 4π (diene) and 2π (dienophile) pairs of reactants dictates the oxidation state of the newly formed six-membered carbocycle. For example, in the classic Diels-Alder reaction, butadiene and ethylene combine to produce cyclohexene. More recent developments include variants in which the number of hydrogen atoms in the reactant pair and in the resulting product is reduced by, for example, four in the tetradehydro-Diels-Alder (TDDA) and by six in the hexadehydro-Diels-Alder (HDDA) reactions. Any oxidation state higher than tetradehydro (that is, lacking more than four hydrogens) leads to the production of a reactive intermediate that is more highly oxidized than benzene. This increases the power of the overall process substantially, because trapping of the reactive intermediate can be used to increase the structural complexity of the final product in a controllable and versatile manner. Here we report an unprecedented overall 4π + 2π cycloaddition reaction that generates a different, highly reactive intermediate known as an α,3-dehydrotoluene. This species is in the same oxidation state as a benzyne. Like benzynes, α,3-dehydrotoluenes can be captured by various trapping agents to produce structurally diverse products that are complementary to those arising from the HDDA process. We call this new cycloisomerization process a pentadehydro-Diels-Alder (PDDA) reaction-a nomenclature chosen for chemical taxonomic reasons rather than mechanistic ones. In addition to alkynes, nitriles (RC≡N), although non-participants in aza-HDDA reactions, readily function as the 2π component in PDDA cyclizations to produce, via trapping of the α,3-(5-aza)dehydrotoluene intermediates, pyridine-containing products.

Mechanistic Fermentation Models for Process Design, Monitoring, and Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mears, Lisa; Stocks, Stuart M.; Albæk, Mads Orla

2017-01-01

Mechanistic models require a significant investment of time and resources, but their application to multiple stages of fermentation process development and operation can make this investment highly valuable. This Opinion article discusses how an established fermentation model may be adapted...... for application to different stages of fermentation process development: planning, process design, monitoring, and control. Although a longer development time is required for such modeling methods in comparison to purely data-based model techniques, the wide range of applications makes them a highly valuable tool...... for fermentation research and development. In addition, in a research environment, where collaboration is important, developing mechanistic models provides a platform for knowledge sharing and consolidation of existing process understanding....

Analytical techniques for mechanistic characterization of EUV photoresists

Science.gov (United States)

Grzeskowiak, Steven; Narasimhan, Amrit; Murphy, Michael; Ackerman, Christian; Kaminsky, Jake; Brainard, Robert L.; Denbeaux, Greg

2017-03-01

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV, 13.5 nm) lithography is the prospective technology for high volume manufacturing by the microelectronics industry. Significant strides towards achieving adequate EUV source power and availability have been made recently, but a limited rate of improvement in photoresist performance still delays the implementation of EUV. Many fundamental questions remain to be answered about the exposure mechanisms of even the relatively well understood chemically amplified EUV photoresists. Moreover, several groups around the world are developing revolutionary metal-based resists whose EUV exposure mechanisms are even less understood. Here, we describe several evaluation techniques to help elucidate mechanistic details of EUV exposure mechanisms of chemically amplified and metal-based resists. EUV absorption coefficients are determined experimentally by measuring the transmission through a resist coated on a silicon nitride membrane. Photochemistry can be evaluated by monitoring small outgassing reaction products to provide insight into photoacid generator or metal-based resist reactivity. Spectroscopic techniques such as thin-film Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy can measure the chemical state of a photoresist system pre- and post-EUV exposure. Additionally, electrolysis can be used to study the interaction between photoresist components and low energy electrons. Collectively, these techniques improve our current understanding of photomechanisms for several EUV photoresist systems, which is needed to develop new, better performing materials needed for high volume manufacturing.

Ruthenium nanocatalysis on redox reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Veerakumar, Pitchaimani; Ramdass, Arumugam; Rajagopal, Seenivasan

2013-07-01

Nanoparticles have generated intense interest over the past 20 years due to their high potential applications in different areas such as catalysis, sensors, nanoscale electronics, fuel and solar cells and optoelectronics. As the large fractions of metal atoms are exposed to the surface, the use of metal nanoparticles as nanocatalysts allows mild reaction conditions and high catalytic efficiency in a large number of chemical transformations. They have emerged as sustainable heterogeneous catalysts and catalyst supports alternative to conventional materials. This review focuses on the synthesis, characterization and catalytic role of ruthenium nanoparticles (RuNPs) on the redox reactions of heteroatom containing organic compounds with the green reagent H2O2, a field that has attracted immense interest among the chemical, materials and industrial communities. We intend to present a broad overview of Ru nanocatalysts for redox reactions with an emphasis on their performance, stability and reusability. The growth in the chemistry of organic sulfoxides and N-oxides during last decade was due to their importance as synthetic intermediates for the production of a wide range of chemically and biologically active molecules. Thus design of efficient methods for the synthesis of sulfoxides and N-oxides becomes important. This review concentrates on the catalysis of RuNPs on the H2O2 oxidation of organic sulfides to sulfoxides and amines to N-oxides. The deoxygenation reactions of sulfoxides to sulfides and reduction of nitro compounds to amines are fundamental reactions in both chemistry and biology. Here, we also highlight the catalysis of metal nanoparticles on the deoxygenation of sulfoxides and sulfones and reduction of nitro compounds with particular emphasis on the mechanistic aspects.

Regulatory Technology Development Plan - Sodium Fast Reactor: Mechanistic Source Term - Trial Calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grabaskas, David

2016-01-01

The potential release of radioactive material during a plant incident, referred to as the source term, is a vital design metric and will be a major focus of advanced reactor licensing. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has stated an expectation for advanced reactor vendors to present a mechanistic assessment of the potential source term in their license applications. The mechanistic source term presents an opportunity for vendors to realistically assess the radiological consequences of an incident, and may allow reduced emergency planning zones and smaller plant sites. However, the development of a mechanistic source term for advanced reactors is not without challenges, as there are often numerous phenomena impacting the transportation and retention of radionuclides. This project sought to evaluate U.S. capabilities regarding the mechanistic assessment of radionuclide release from core damage incidents at metal fueled, pool-type sodium fast reactors (SFRs). The purpose of the analysis was to identify, and prioritize, any gaps regarding computational tools or data necessary for the modeling of radionuclide transport and retention phenomena. To accomplish this task, a parallel-path analysis approach was utilized. One path, led by Argonne and Sandia National Laboratories, sought to perform a mechanistic source term assessment using available codes, data, and models, with the goal to identify gaps in the current knowledge base. The second path, performed by an independent contractor, performed sensitivity analyses to determine the importance of particular radionuclides and transport phenomena in regards to offsite consequences. The results of the two pathways were combined to prioritize gaps in current capabilities.

An experimental and theoretical study of reaction mechanisms between nitriles and hydroxylamine.

Science.gov (United States)

Vörös, Attila; Mucsi, Zoltán; Baán, Zoltán; Timári, Géza; Hermecz, István; Mizsey, Péter; Finta, Zoltán

2014-10-28

The industrially relevant reaction between nitriles and hydroxylamine yielding amidoximes was studied in different molecular solvents and in ionic liquids. In industry, this procedure is carried out on the ton scale in alcohol solutions and the above transformation produces a significant amount of unexpected amide by-product, depending on the nature of the nitrile, which can cause further analytical and purification issues. Although there were earlier attempts to propose mechanisms for this transformation, the real reaction pathway is still under discussion. A new detailed reaction mechanistic explanation, based on theoretical and experimental proof, is given to augment the former mechanisms, which allowed us to find a more efficient, side-product free procedure. Interpreting the theoretical results obtained, it was shown that the application of specific imidazolium, phosphonium and quaternary ammonium based ionic liquids could decrease simultaneously the reaction time while eliminating the amide side-product, leading to the targeted product selectively. This robust and economic procedure now affords a fast, selective amide free synthesis of amidoximes.

Diels-Alder reactions for the rational design of benzo[b]thiophenes: DFT-based guidelines for synthetic chemists

Science.gov (United States)

Brasca, Romina; Kneeteman, María N.; Mancini, Pedro M. E.; Fabian, Walter M. F.

2012-02-01

In this work we studied the capability of several diene/dienophile pairs to undergo Diels-Alder (DA) reactions leading to benzo[b]thiophenes. A variety of synthetically and commercially available nitrothiophenes were chosen as dienophiles. Methyl 5-nitro-3-thiophenecarboxylate was selected as a potential strong electrophilic candidate based on some DFT-based properties and the substitution pattern of the expected product. The mechanistic details concerning the participation of this dienophile in polar DA reactions were investigated through a theoretical point of view. The results were compared with the experimental outcomes. This methodology should allow synthetic chemists to analyze DA reactions in detail in a stage prior to the synthetic job.

Interaction Between the Biotin Carboxyl Carrier Domain and the Biotin Carboxylase Domain in Pyruvate Carboxylase from Rhizobium etli†

Science.gov (United States)

Lietzan, Adam D.; Menefee, Ann L.; Zeczycki, Tonya N.; Kumar, Sudhanshu; Attwood, Paul V.; Wallace, John C.; Cleland, W. Wallace; Maurice, Martin St.

2011-01-01

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) catalyzes the ATP-dependent carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate, an important anaplerotic reaction in mammalian tissues. To effect catalysis, the tethered biotin of PC must gain access to active sites in both the biotin carboxylase domain and the carboxyl transferase domain. Previous studies have demonstrated that a mutation of threonine 882 to alanine in PC from Rhizobium etli renders the carboxyl transferase domain inactive and favors the positioning of biotin in the biotin carboxylase domain. We report the 2.4 Å resolution X-ray crystal structure of the Rhizobium etli PC T882A mutant which reveals the first high-resolution description of the domain interaction between the biotin carboxyl carrier protein domain and the biotin carboxylase domain. The overall quaternary arrangement of Rhizobium etli PC remains highly asymmetrical and is independent of the presence of allosteric activator. While biotin is observed in the biotin carboxylase domain, its access to the active site is precluded by the interaction between Arg353 and Glu248, revealing a mechanism for regulating carboxybiotin access to the BC domain active site. The binding location for the biotin carboxyl carrier protein domain demonstrates that tethered biotin cannot bind in the biotin carboxylase domain active site in the same orientation as free biotin, helping to explain the difference in catalysis observed between tethered biotin and free biotin substrates in biotin carboxylase enzymes. Electron density located in the biotin carboxylase domain active site is assigned to phosphonoacetate, offering a probable location for the putative carboxyphosphate intermediate formed during biotin carboxylation. The insights gained from the T882A Rhizobium etli PC crystal structure provide a new series of catalytic snapshots in PC and offer a revised perspective on catalysis in the biotin-dependent enzyme family. PMID:21958016

Novel error propagation approach for reducing H2S/O2 reaction mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selim, H.; Gupta, A.K.; Sassi, M.

2012-01-01

A reduction strategy of hydrogen sulfide/oxygen reaction mechanism is conducted to simplify the detailed mechanism. Direct relation graph and error propagation methodology (DRGEP) has been used. A novel approach of direct elementary reaction error (DERE) has been developed in this study. The developed approach allowed for further reduction of the reaction mechanism. The reduced mechanism has been compared with the detailed mechanism under different conditions to emphasize its validity. The results obtained from the resulting reduced mechanism showed good agreement with that from the detailed mechanism. However, some discrepancies have been found for some species. Hydrogen and oxygen mole fractions showed the largest discrepancy of all combustion products. The reduced mechanism was also found to be capable of tracking the changes that occur in chemical kinetics through the change in reaction conditions. A comparison on the ignition delay time obtained from the reduced mechanism and previous experimental data showed good agreement. The reduced mechanism was used to track changes in mechanistic pathways of Claus reactions with the reaction progress.

Direct Measurements of Half-Cycle Reaction Heats during Atomic Layer Deposition by Calorimetry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lownsbury, James M. [Department; Gladden, James A. [Department; Campbell, Charles T. [Department; Department; Kim, In Soo [Materials; Martinson, Alex B. F. [Materials

2017-10-05

We introduce a new high-temperature adsorption calorimeter that approaches the ideal limit of a heat detector whereby the signal at any time is proportional to the heat power being delivered to the sample and prove its sensitivity for measuring pulse-to-pulse heats of half-reactions during atomic layer deposition (ALD) at 400 K. The heat dynamics of amorphous Al2O3 growth via sequential self-limiting surface reaction of trimethylaluminum (TMA) and H2O is clearly resolved. Calibration enables quantitation of the exothermic TMA and H2O half-reactions with high precision, -343 kJ/mol TMA and -251 kJ/mol H2O, respectively. A time resolution better than 1 ms is demonstrated, allowing for the deconvolution of at least two distinct surface reactions during TMA microdosing. It is further demonstrated that this method can provide the heat of reaction versus extent of reaction during each precursors half-reaction, thus providing even richer mechanistic information on the surface processes involved. The broad applicability of this novel calorimeter is demonstrated through excellent signal-to-noise ratios of less exothermic ALD half-reactions to produce TiO2 and MnO.

Ontology aided modeling of organic reaction mechanisms with flexible and fragment based XML markup procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Sankar, Punnaivanam; Aghila, Gnanasekaran

2007-01-01

The mechanism models for primary organic reactions encoding the structural fragments undergoing substitution, addition, elimination, and rearrangements are developed. In the proposed models, each and every structural component of mechanistic pathways is represented with flexible and fragment based markup technique in XML syntax. A significant feature of the system is the encoding of the electron movements along with the other components like charges, partial charges, half bonded species, lone pair electrons, free radicals, reaction arrows, etc. needed for a complete representation of reaction mechanism. The rendering of reaction schemes described with the proposed methodology is achieved with a concise XML extension language interoperating with the structure markup. The reaction scheme is visualized as 2D graphics in a browser by converting them into SVG documents enabling the desired layouts normally perceived by the chemists conventionally. An automatic representation of the complex patterns of the reaction mechanism is achieved by reusing the knowledge in chemical ontologies and developing artificial intelligence components in terms of axioms.

HTP kinetics studies on isolated elementary combustion reactions over wide temperature ranges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fontijn, A.; Adusei, G.Y.; Hranisavlevic, J.; Bajaj, P.N. [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY (United States)

1993-12-01

The goals of this project are to provide accurate data on the temperature dependence of the kinetics of elementary combustion reactions, (i) for use by combustion modelers, and (ii) to gain a better fundamental understanding of, and hence predictive ability for, the chemistry involved. Experimental measurements are made mainly by using the pseudo-static HTP (high-temperature photochemistry) technique. While continuing rate coefficient measurements, further aspects of kinetics research are being explored. Thus, starting from the data obtained, a method for predicting the temperature dependence of rate coefficients of oxygen-atom olefin experiment and confirms the underlying mechanistic assumptions. Mechanistic information of another sort, i.e. by product analysis, has recently become accessible with the inauguration of our heated flow tube mass spectrometer facility; early results are reported here. HTP experiments designed to lead to measurements of product channels by resonance fluorescence have started.

Recent Advances on Electro-Oxidation of Ethanol on Pt- and Pd-Based Catalysts: From Reaction Mechanisms to Catalytic Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ye Wang

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR has drawn increasing interest in electrocatalysis and fuel cells by considering that ethanol as a biomass fuel has advantages of low toxicity, renewability, and a high theoretical energy density compared to methanol. Since EOR is a complex multiple-electron process involving various intermediates and products, the mechanistic investigation as well as the rational design of electrocatalysts are challenging yet essential for the desired complete oxidation to CO2. This mini review is aimed at presenting an overview of the advances in the study of reaction mechanisms and electrocatalytic materials for EOR over the past two decades with a focus on Pt- and Pd-based catalysts. We start with discussion on the mechanistic understanding of EOR on Pt and Pd surfaces using selected publications as examples. Consensuses from the mechanistic studies are that sufficient active surface sites to facilitate the cleavage of the C–C bond and the adsorption of water or its residue are critical for obtaining a higher electro-oxidation activity. We then show how this understanding has been applied to achieve improved performance on various Pt- and Pd-based catalysts through optimizing electronic and bifunctional effects, as well as by tuning their surface composition and structure. Finally we point out the remaining key problems in the development of anode electrocatalysts for EOR.

Descriptive and mechanistic models of crop–weed competition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bastiaans, L.; Storkey, J.

2017-01-01

Crop-weed competitive relations are an important element of agroecosystems. Quantifying and understanding them helps to design appropriate weed management at operational, tactical and strategic level. This chapter presents and discusses simple descriptive and more mechanistic models for crop-weed

Stochastic modeling and simulation of reaction-diffusion system with Hill function dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Minghan; Li, Fei; Wang, Shuo; Cao, Young

2017-03-14

Stochastic simulation of reaction-diffusion systems presents great challenges for spatiotemporal biological modeling and simulation. One widely used framework for stochastic simulation of reaction-diffusion systems is reaction diffusion master equation (RDME). Previous studies have discovered that for the RDME, when discretization size approaches zero, reaction time for bimolecular reactions in high dimensional domains tends to infinity. In this paper, we demonstrate that in the 1D domain, highly nonlinear reaction dynamics given by Hill function may also have dramatic change when discretization size is smaller than a critical value. Moreover, we discuss methods to avoid this problem: smoothing over space, fixed length smoothing over space and a hybrid method. Our analysis reveals that the switch-like Hill dynamics reduces to a linear function of discretization size when the discretization size is small enough. The three proposed methods could correctly (under certain precision) simulate Hill function dynamics in the microscopic RDME system.

Quantal concept of T-cell activation: adhesion domains as immunological synapses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sackmann, Erich

2011-01-01

Adhesion micro-domains (ADs) formed during encounters of lymphocytes with antigen-presenting cells (APC) mediate the genetic expression of quanta of cytokines interleukin-2 (IL-2). The IL-2-induced activation of IL-2 receptors promotes the stepwise progression of the T-cells through the cell cycle, hence their name, immunological synapses. The ADs form short-lived reaction centres controlling the recruitment of activators of the biochemical pathway (the kinases Lck and ZAP) while preventing the access of inhibitors (phosphatase CD45) through steric repulsion forces. CD45 acts as the generator of adhesion domains and, through its role as a spacer protein, also as the promoter of the reaction. In a second phase of T-cell-APC encounters, long-lived global reaction spaces (called supramolecular activation complexes (SMAC)) form by talin-mediated binding of the T-cell integrin (LFA-1) to the counter-receptor ICAM-1, resulting in the formation of ring-like tight adhesion zones (peripheral SMAC). The ADs move to the centre of the intercellular adhesion zone forming the central SMAC, which serve in the recycling of the AD. We propose that cell stimulation is triggered by integrating the effect evoked by the short-lived adhesion domains. Similar global reaction platforms are formed by killer cells to destruct APC. We present a testable mechanical model showing that global reaction spaces (SMAC or dome-like contacts between cytotoxic cells and APC) form by self-organization through delayed activation of the integrin-binding affinity and stabilization of the adhesion zones by F-actin recruitment. The mechanical stability and the polarization of the adhering T-cells are mediated by microtubule-actin cross-talk.

The pH-sensitive structure of the C-terminal domain of voltage-gated proton channel and the thermodynamic characteristics of Zn{sup 2+} binding to this domain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Qing; Li, Chuanyong; Li, Shu Jie, E-mail: shujieli@nankai.edu.cn

2015-01-02

Highlights: • The α-helical content of the C-terminus is decreased with a pH increase. • The thermostability of the C-terminus is decreased with a pH increase. • Zn{sup 2+} binds to His{sup 244} and His{sup 266} residues within the C-terminal domain. • The binding of Zn{sup 2+} to His{sup 244} residue is an endothermic heat reaction. • The binding of Zn{sup 2+} to His{sup 266} residue is an exothermic heat reaction. - Abstract: The voltage-gated proton channel Hv1 is strongly sensitive to Zn{sup 2+}. The H{sup +} conduction is decreased at a high concentration of Zn{sup 2+} and Hv1 channel closing is slowed by the internal application of Zn{sup 2+}. Although the recent studies demonstrated that Zn{sup 2+} interacts with the intracellular C-terminal domain, the binding sites and details of the interaction remain unknown. Here, we studied the pH-dependent structural stability of the intracellular C-terminal domain of human Hv1 and showed that Zn{sup 2+} binds to His{sup 244} and His{sup 266} residues. The thermodynamics signature of Zn{sup 2+} binding to the two sites was investigated by isothermal titration calorimetry. The binding of Zn{sup 2+} to His{sup 244} (mutant H266A) and His{sup 266} (mutant H244A) were an endothermic heat reaction and an exothermic heat reaction, respectively.

THE LATEST ADVANCEMENTS IN THE ACYLATION REACTIONS VIA CROSS-DEHYDROGENATIVE COUPLING AND/OR METAL CATALYSTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soykan Ağar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available There are quite many examples in the scientific literature regarding the acylation reactions, especially the metal-catalyzed acylation reactions, metal-free acylation reactions, metal-catalyzed acylation via cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC reactions and metal-free acylation via cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC reactions. In this review paper, the most important examples of these domains were brought together and their mechanisms were exhibited in a clear, chronological format. Following these, the best example study towards green chemistry with a metal-free and high-yielding route was mentioned and discussed to demonstrate what has achieved in this field regarding the new acylation reaction mechanisms using the advantages of cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC reactions. The most prominent studies regarding these domains have been examined thoroughly and the latest progress in this field was explained in detail.

The voltage-sensing domain of a phosphatase gates the pore of a potassium channel.

Science.gov (United States)

Arrigoni, Cristina; Schroeder, Indra; Romani, Giulia; Van Etten, James L; Thiel, Gerhard; Moroni, Anna

2013-03-01

The modular architecture of voltage-gated K(+) (Kv) channels suggests that they resulted from the fusion of a voltage-sensing domain (VSD) to a pore module. Here, we show that the VSD of Ciona intestinalis phosphatase (Ci-VSP) fused to the viral channel Kcv creates Kv(Synth1), a functional voltage-gated, outwardly rectifying K(+) channel. Kv(Synth1) displays the summed features of its individual components: pore properties of Kcv (selectivity and filter gating) and voltage dependence of Ci-VSP (V(1/2) = +56 mV; z of ~1), including the depolarization-induced mode shift. The degree of outward rectification of the channel is critically dependent on the length of the linker more than on its amino acid composition. This highlights a mechanistic role of the linker in transmitting the movement of the sensor to the pore and shows that electromechanical coupling can occur without coevolution of the two domains.

The value of mechanistic biophysical information for systems-level understanding of complex biological processes such as cytokinesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollard, Thomas D

2014-12-02

This review illustrates the value of quantitative information including concentrations, kinetic constants and equilibrium constants in modeling and simulating complex biological processes. Although much has been learned about some biological systems without these parameter values, they greatly strengthen mechanistic accounts of dynamical systems. The analysis of muscle contraction is a classic example of the value of combining an inventory of the molecules, atomic structures of the molecules, kinetic constants for the reactions, reconstitutions with purified proteins and theoretical modeling to account for the contraction of whole muscles. A similar strategy is now being used to understand the mechanism of cytokinesis using fission yeast as a favorable model system. Copyright © 2014 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Precision and accuracy of mechanistic-empirical pavement design

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Theyse, HL

2006-09-01

Full Text Available are discussed in general. The effects of variability and error on the design accuracy and design risk are lastly illustrated at the hand of a simple mechanistic-empirical design problem, showing that the engineering models alone determine the accuracy...

Combined In Situ Illumination-NMR-UV/Vis Spectroscopy: A New Mechanistic Tool in Photochemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Seegerer, Andreas; Nitschke, Philipp; Gschwind, Ruth M

2018-06-18

Synthetic applications in photochemistry are booming. Despite great progress in the development of new reactions, mechanistic investigations are still challenging. Therefore, we present a fully automated in situ combination of NMR spectroscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and illumination to allow simultaneous and time-resolved detection of paramagnetic and diamagnetic species. This optical fiber-based setup enables the first acquisition of combined UV/Vis and NMR spectra in photocatalysis, as demonstrated on a conPET process. Furthermore, the broad applicability of combined UVNMR spectroscopy for light-induced processes is demonstrated on a structural and quantitative analysis of a photoswitch, including rate modulation and stabilization of transient species by temperature variation. Owing to the flexibility regarding the NMR hardware, temperature, and light sources, we expect wide-ranging applications of this setup in various research fields. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Cascade olefin isomerization/intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction catalyzed by N-heterocyclic carbenes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kowalczyk, Marcin; Lupton, David W

2014-05-19

The addition of an N-heterocyclic carbene to the carbonyl group of an α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated enol ester affords a hemiacetal azolium intermediate that enables a cascade olefin isomerization/Diels-Alder reaction, for which mechanistic studies implicate Lewis base catalysis. Preliminary studies into the utility of the products have been undertaken with reductive and oxidative cleavage, giving materials for potential use in complex-target synthesis. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Exponential Decay Metrics of Topical Tetracaine Hydrochloride Administration Describe Corneal Anesthesia Properties Mechanistically.

Science.gov (United States)

Ethington, Jason; Goldmeier, David; Gaynes, Bruce I

2017-03-01

To identify pharmacodynamic (PD) and pharmacokinetic (PK) metrics that aid in mechanistic understanding of dosage considerations for prolonged corneal anesthesia. A rabbit model using 0.5% tetracaine hydrochloride was used to induce corneal anesthesia in conjunction with Cochet-Bonnet anesthesiometry. Metrics were derived describing PD-PK parameters of the time-dependent domain of recovery in corneal sensitivity. Curve fitting used a 1-phase exponential dissociation paradigm assuming a 1-compartment PK model. Derivation of metrics including half-life and mean ligand residence time, tau (τ), was predicted by nonlinear regression. Bioavailability was determined by area under the curve of the dose-response relationship with varying drop volumes. Maximal corneal anesthesia maintained a plateau with a recovery inflection at the approximate time of predicted corneal drug half-life. PDs of recovery of corneal anesthesia were consistent with a first-order drug elimination rate. The mean ligand residence time (tau, τ) was 41.7 minutes, and half-life was 28.89 minutes. The mean estimated corneal elimination rate constant (ke) was 0.02402 minute. Duration of corneal anesthesia ranged from 55 to 58 minutes. There was no difference in time domain PD area under the curve between drop volumes. Use of a small drop volume of a topical anesthetic (as low as 11 μL) is bioequivalent to conventional drop size and seems to optimize dosing regiments with a little effect on ke. Prolongation of corneal anesthesia may therefore be best achieved with administration of small drop volumes at time intervals corresponding to the half-life of drug decay from the corneal compartment.

Activation of PI3K/Akt signaling by n-terminal SH2 domain mutants of the p85α regulatory subunit of PI3K is enhanced by deletion of its c-terminal SH2 domain.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmann, Bianca T; Jücker, Manfred

2012-10-01

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) is frequently activated in human cancer cells due to gain of function mutations in the catalytic (p110) and the regulatory (p85) subunits. The regulatory subunit consists of an SH3 domain and two SH2 domains. An oncogenic form of p85α named p65 lacking the c-terminal SH2 domain (cSH2) has been cloned from an irradiation-induced murine thymic lymphoma and transgenic mice expressing p65 in T lymphocytes develop a lymphoproliferative disorder. We have recently detected a c-terminal truncated form of p85α named p76α in a human lymphoma cell line lacking most of the cSH2 domain due to a frame shift mutation. Here, we report that the deletion of the cSH2 domain enhances the activating effects of the n-terminal SH2 domain (nSH2) mutants K379E and R340E on the PI3K/Akt pathway and micro tumor formation in a focus assay. Further analysis revealed that this transforming effect is mediated by activation of the catalytic PI3K isoform p110α and downstream signaling through mTOR. Our data further support a mechanistic model in which mutations of the cSH2 domain of p85α can abrogate its negative regulatory function on PI3K activity via the nSH2 domain of p85α. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mechanistic Models for Process Development and Optimization of Fed-batch Fermentation Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mears, Lisa; Stocks, Stuart M.; Albæk, Mads O.

2016-01-01

This work discusses the application of mechanistic models to pilot scale filamentous fungal fermentation systems operated at Novozymes A/S. For on-line applications, a state estimator model is developed based on a stoichiometric balance in order to predict the biomass and product concentration....... This is based on on-line gas measurements and ammonia addition flow rate measurements. Additionally, a mechanistic model is applied offline as a tool for batch planning, based on definition of the process back pressure, aeration rate and stirrer speed. This allows the batch starting fill to be planned, taking...... into account the oxygen transfer conditions, as well as the evaporation rates of the system. Mechanistic models are valuable tools which are applicable for both process development and optimization. The state estimator described will be a valuable tool for future work as part of control strategy development...

Reaction of active uranium and thorium with aromatic carbonyls and pinacols in hydrocarbon solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kahn, B.E.; Rieke, R.D.

1988-01-01

Highly reactive uranium and thorium metal powders have been prepared by reduction of the anhydrous metal(IV) chlorides in hydrocarbon solvents. The reduction employs the crystalline hydrocarbon-soluble reducing agent [(TMEDA)Li] 2 [Nap] (TMEDA = N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine, Nap = naphthalene). The resulting active metal powders have been shown to be extremely reactive with oxygen-containing compounds and have been used in the reductive coupling of aromatic ketones giving tetra-arylethylenes. Reactions with pinacols have given some mechanistic insight into the ketone coupling reaction. These finely divided metal powders activate very weakly acidic C-H bonds forming metal hydrides, which can be transferred to organic substrates

Activation of the plasma membrane Na/H antiporter salt-overly-sensitive 1 (SOS1) by phosphorylation of an auto-inhibitory C-terminal domain

KAUST Repository

Quintero, Francisco J.; Martí nez-Atienza, Juliana; Villalta, Irene; Jiang, Xingyu; Kim, Woeyeon; Ali, Zhair; Fujii, Hiroaki; Mendoza, Imelda; Yun, Daejin; Zhu, Jian-Kang; Pardo, José Manuel

2011-01-01

The plasma membrane sodium/proton exchanger Salt-Overly-Sensitive 1 (SOS1) is a critical salt tolerance determinant in plants. The SOS2-SOS3 calcium-dependent protein kinase complex upregulates SOS1 activity, but the mechanistic details of this crucial event remain unresolved. Here we show that SOS1 is maintained in a resting state by a C-terminal auto-inhibitory domain that is the target of SOS2-SOS3. The auto-inhibitory domain interacts intramolecularly with an adjacent domain of SOS1 that is essential for activity. SOS1 is relieved from auto-inhibition upon phosphorylation of the auto-inhibitory domain by SOS2-SOS3. Mutation of the SOS2 phosphorylation and recognition site impeded the activation of SOS1 in vivo and in vitro. Additional amino acid residues critically important for SOS1 activity and regulation were identified in a genetic screen for hypermorphic alleles.

Activation of the plasma membrane Na/H antiporter salt-overly-sensitive 1 (SOS1) by phosphorylation of an auto-inhibitory C-terminal domain

KAUST Repository

Quintero, Francisco J.

2011-01-24

The plasma membrane sodium/proton exchanger Salt-Overly-Sensitive 1 (SOS1) is a critical salt tolerance determinant in plants. The SOS2-SOS3 calcium-dependent protein kinase complex upregulates SOS1 activity, but the mechanistic details of this crucial event remain unresolved. Here we show that SOS1 is maintained in a resting state by a C-terminal auto-inhibitory domain that is the target of SOS2-SOS3. The auto-inhibitory domain interacts intramolecularly with an adjacent domain of SOS1 that is essential for activity. SOS1 is relieved from auto-inhibition upon phosphorylation of the auto-inhibitory domain by SOS2-SOS3. Mutation of the SOS2 phosphorylation and recognition site impeded the activation of SOS1 in vivo and in vitro. Additional amino acid residues critically important for SOS1 activity and regulation were identified in a genetic screen for hypermorphic alleles.

An experimental and theoretical study of reaction steps relevant to the methanol-to-hydrocarbons reaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Svelle, Stian

2004-07-01

The primary objective of the present work is to obtain new insight into the reaction mechanism of the zeolite catalyzed methanol-to-hydrocarbons (MTH) reaction. It was decided to use both experimental and computational techniques to reach this goal. An investigation of the n-butene + methanol system was therefore initiated. Over time, it became apparent that it was possible to determine the rate for the methylation of n-butene by methanol. The ethene and propene systems were therefore reexamined in order to collect kinetic information also for those cases. With the development of user-friendly quantum chemistry programs such as the Gaussian suite of programs, the possibility of applying quantum chemical methods to many types of problems has become readily available even for non-experts. When performing mechanistic studies, there is quite often a considerable synergy effect when combining experimental and computational approaches. The methylation reactions mentioned above turned out to be an issue well suited for quantum chemical investigations. The incentive for examining the halomethane reactivity was the clear analogy to the MTH reaction system. Alkene dimerization was also a reaction readily examined with quantum chemistry. As discussed in the introduction of this thesis, polymethylbenzenes, or their cationic counterparts, are suspected to be key intermediates in the MTH reaction. It was therefore decided to investigate the intrinsic reactivity of these species in the gas-phase by employing sophisticated mass spectrometric (MS) techniques in collaboration with the MS group at the Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo The data thus obtained will also be compared with results from an ongoing computational study on gas phase polymethylbenzenium reactivity. 6 papers presenting various studies are included. The titles are: 1) A Theoretical Investigation of the Methylation of Alkenes with Methanol over Acidic Zeolites. 2) A Theoretical Investigation of the

Light particle emission in light heavy-ion induced reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozek, E.; Cassagnou, Y.; Dayras, R.

1982-01-01

A detailed study was made of the different processes which may compete with fusion in the energy domain where the cross section for fusion deviates from the reaction cross section. Both reactions 14 N + 12 C and 16 O + 10 B were used to form the compound nucleus 26 Al at the same excitation energy of 44 MeV

Conformational control of the binding of the transactivation domain of the MLL protein and c-Myb to the KIX domain of CREB.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elif Nihal Korkmaz

Full Text Available The KIX domain of CBP is a transcriptional coactivator. Concomitant binding to the activation domain of proto-oncogene protein c-Myb and the transactivation domain of the trithorax group protein mixed lineage leukemia (MLL transcription factor lead to the biologically active ternary MLL∶KIX∶c-Myb complex which plays a role in Pol II-mediated transcription. The binding of the activation domain of MLL to KIX enhances c-Myb binding. Here we carried out molecular dynamics (MD simulations for the MLL∶KIX∶c-Myb ternary complex, its binary components and KIX with the goal of providing a mechanistic explanation for the experimental observations. The dynamic behavior revealed that the MLL binding site is allosterically coupled to the c-Myb binding site. MLL binding redistributes the conformational ensemble of KIX, leading to higher populations of states which favor c-Myb binding. The key element in the allosteric communication pathways is the KIX loop, which acts as a control mechanism to enhance subsequent binding events. We tested this conclusion by in silico mutations of loop residues in the KIX∶MLL complex and by comparing wild type and mutant dynamics through MD simulations. The loop assumed MLL binding conformation similar to that observed in the KIX∶c-Myb state which disfavors the allosteric network. The coupling with c-Myb binding site faded, abolishing the positive cooperativity observed in the presence of MLL. Our major conclusion is that by eliciting a loop-mediated allosteric switch between the different states following the binding events, transcriptional activation can be regulated. The KIX system presents an example how nature makes use of conformational control in higher level regulation of transcriptional activity and thus cellular events.

Existence and Asymptotic Stability of Periodic Solutions of the Reaction-Diffusion Equations in the Case of a Rapid Reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Nefedov, N. N.; Nikulin, E. I.

2018-01-01

A singularly perturbed periodic in time problem for a parabolic reaction-diffusion equation in a two-dimensional domain is studied. The case of existence of an internal transition layer under the conditions of balanced and unbalanced rapid reaction is considered. An asymptotic expansion of a solution is constructed. To justify the asymptotic expansion thus constructed, the asymptotic method of differential inequalities is used. The Lyapunov asymptotic stability of a periodic solution is investigated.

Requirements on mechanistic NPP models used in CSS for diagnostics and predictions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juslin, K.

1996-01-01

Mechanistic models have for several years with good experience been used for operators' support in electric power dispatching centres. Some models of limited scope have already been in use at nuclear power plants. It is considered that also advanced mechanistic models in combination with present computer technology with preference could be used in Computerized Support Systems (CSS) for the assistance of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) operators. Requirements with respect to accuracy, validity range, speed flexibility and level of detail on the models used for such purposes are discussed. Quality Assurance, Verification and Validation efforts are considered. A long term commitment in the field of mechanistic modelling and real time simulation is considered as the key to successful implementations. The Advanced PROcess Simulation (APROS) code system and simulation environment developed at the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) is intended also for CSS applications in NPP control rooms. (author). 4 refs

Mechanistic model for microbial growth on hydrocarbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mallee, F M; Blanch, H W

1977-12-01

Based on available information describing the transport and consumption of insoluble alkanes, a mechanistic model is proposed for microbial growth on hydrocarbons. The model describes the atypical growth kinetics observed, and has implications in the design of large scale equipment for single cell protein (SCP) manufacture from hydrocarbons. The model presents a framework for comparison of the previously published experimental kinetic data.

Modeling of uncertainties in biochemical reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mišković, Ljubiša; Hatzimanikatis, Vassily

2011-02-01

Mathematical modeling is an indispensable tool for research and development in biotechnology and bioengineering. The formulation of kinetic models of biochemical networks depends on knowledge of the kinetic properties of the enzymes of the individual reactions. However, kinetic data acquired from experimental observations bring along uncertainties due to various experimental conditions and measurement methods. In this contribution, we propose a novel way to model the uncertainty in the enzyme kinetics and to predict quantitatively the responses of metabolic reactions to the changes in enzyme activities under uncertainty. The proposed methodology accounts explicitly for mechanistic properties of enzymes and physico-chemical and thermodynamic constraints, and is based on formalism from systems theory and metabolic control analysis. We achieve this by observing that kinetic responses of metabolic reactions depend: (i) on the distribution of the enzymes among their free form and all reactive states; (ii) on the equilibrium displacements of the overall reaction and that of the individual enzymatic steps; and (iii) on the net fluxes through the enzyme. Relying on this observation, we develop a novel, efficient Monte Carlo sampling procedure to generate all states within a metabolic reaction that satisfy imposed constrains. Thus, we derive the statistics of the expected responses of the metabolic reactions to changes in enzyme levels and activities, in the levels of metabolites, and in the values of the kinetic parameters. We present aspects of the proposed framework through an example of the fundamental three-step reversible enzymatic reaction mechanism. We demonstrate that the equilibrium displacements of the individual enzymatic steps have an important influence on kinetic responses of the enzyme. Furthermore, we derive the conditions that must be satisfied by a reversible three-step enzymatic reaction operating far away from the equilibrium in order to respond to

Regulatory Technology Development Plan - Sodium Fast Reactor: Mechanistic Source Term – Trial Calculation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grabaskas, David [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Bucknor, Matthew [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Jerden, James [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Brunett, Acacia J. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Denman, Matthew [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Clark, Andrew [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Denning, Richard S. [Consultant, Columbus, OH (United States)

2016-10-01

The potential release of radioactive material during a plant incident, referred to as the source term, is a vital design metric and will be a major focus of advanced reactor licensing. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has stated an expectation for advanced reactor vendors to present a mechanistic assessment of the potential source term in their license applications. The mechanistic source term presents an opportunity for vendors to realistically assess the radiological consequences of an incident, and may allow reduced emergency planning zones and smaller plant sites. However, the development of a mechanistic source term for advanced reactors is not without challenges, as there are often numerous phenomena impacting the transportation and retention of radionuclides. This project sought to evaluate U.S. capabilities regarding the mechanistic assessment of radionuclide release from core damage incidents at metal fueled, pool-type sodium fast reactors (SFRs). The purpose of the analysis was to identify, and prioritize, any gaps regarding computational tools or data necessary for the modeling of radionuclide transport and retention phenomena. To accomplish this task, a parallel-path analysis approach was utilized. One path, led by Argonne and Sandia National Laboratories, sought to perform a mechanistic source term assessment using available codes, data, and models, with the goal to identify gaps in the current knowledge base. The second path, performed by an independent contractor, performed sensitivity analyses to determine the importance of particular radionuclides and transport phenomena in regards to offsite consequences. The results of the two pathways were combined to prioritize gaps in current capabilities.

Position-specific isotope modeling of organic micropollutants transformation through different reaction pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Biao; Rolle, Massimo

2016-01-01

The degradation of organic micropollutants occurs via different reaction pathways. Compound specific isotope analysis is a valuable tool to identify such degradation pathways in different environmental systems. We propose a mechanism-based modeling approach that provides a quantitative framework to simultaneously evaluate concentration as well as bulk and position-specific multi-element isotope evolution during the transformation of organic micropollutants. The model explicitly simulates position-specific isotopologues for those atoms that experience isotope effects and, thereby, provides a mechanistic description of isotope fractionation occurring at different molecular positions. To demonstrate specific features of the modeling approach, we simulated the degradation of three selected organic micropollutants: dichlorobenzamide (BAM), isoproturon (IPU) and diclofenac (DCF). The model accurately reproduces the multi-element isotope data observed in previous experimental studies. Furthermore, it precisely captures the dual element isotope trends characteristic of different reaction pathways as well as their range of variation consistent with observed bulk isotope fractionation. It was also possible to directly validate the model capability to predict the evolution of position-specific isotope ratios with available experimental data. Therefore, the approach is useful both for a mechanism-based evaluation of experimental results and as a tool to explore transformation pathways in scenarios for which position-specific isotope data are not yet available. - Highlights: • Mechanism-based, position-specific isotope modeling of micropollutants degradation. • Simultaneous description of concentration and primary and secondary isotope effects. • Key features of the model are demonstrated with three illustrative examples. • Model as a tool to explore reaction mechanisms and to design experiments. - We propose a modeling approach incorporating mechanistic information and

A dynamic, mechanistic model of metabolism in adipose tissue of lactating dairy cattle.

Science.gov (United States)

McNamara, J P; Huber, K; Kenéz, A

2016-07-01

Research in dairy cattle biology has resulted in a large body of knowledge on nutrition and metabolism in support of milk production and efficiency. This quantitative knowledge has been compiled in several model systems to balance and evaluate rations and predict requirements. There are also systems models for metabolism and reproduction in the cow that can be used to support research programs. Adipose tissue plays a significant role in the success and efficiency of lactation, and recent research has resulted in several data sets on genomic differences and changes in gene transcription of adipose tissue in dairy cattle. To fully use this knowledge, we need to build and expand mechanistic, dynamic models that integrate control of metabolism and production. Therefore, we constructed a second-generation dynamic, mechanistic model of adipose tissue metabolism of dairy cattle. The model describes the biochemical interconversions of glucose, acetate, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), glycerol, C16 fatty acids, and triacylglycerols. Data gathered from our own research and published references were used to set equation forms and parameter values. Acetate, glucose, BHB, and fatty acids are taken up from blood. The fatty acids are activated to the acyl coenzyme A moieties. Enzymatically catalyzed reactions are explicitly described with parameters including maximal velocity and substrate sensitivity. The control of enzyme activity is partially carried out by insulin and norepinephrine, portraying control in the cow. Model behavior was adequate, with sensitive responses to changing substrates and hormones. Increased nutrient uptake and increased insulin stimulate triacylglycerol synthesis, whereas a reduction in nutrient availability or increase in norepinephrine increases triacylglycerol hydrolysis and free fatty acid release to blood. This model can form a basis for more sophisticated integration of existing knowledge and future studies on metabolic efficiency of dairy cattle

The Robo4 cytoplasmic domain is dispensable for vascular permeability and neovascularization.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Feng; Prahst, Claudia; Mathivet, Thomas; Pibouin-Fragner, Laurence; Zhang, Jiasheng; Genet, Gael; Tong, Raymond; Dubrac, Alexandre; Eichmann, Anne

2016-11-24

Vascular permeability and neovascularization are implicated in many diseases including retinopathies and diabetic wound healing. Robo4 is an endothelial-specific transmembrane receptor that stabilizes the vasculature, as shown in Robo4 -/- mice that develop hyperpermeability, but how Robo4 signals remained unclear. Here we show that Robo4 deletion enhances permeability and revascularization in oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) and accelerates cutaneous wound healing. To determine Robo4 signalling pathways, we generated transgenic mice expressing a truncated Robo4 lacking the cytoplasmic domain (Robo4ΔCD). Robo4ΔCD expression is sufficient to prevent permeability, and inhibits OIR revascularization and wound healing in Robo4 -/- mice. Mechanistically, Robo4 does not affect Slit2 signalling, but Robo4 and Robo4ΔCD counteract Vegfr2-Y949 (Y951 in human VEGFR2) phosphorylation by signalling through the endothelial UNC5B receptor. We conclude that Robo4 inhibits angiogenesis and vessel permeability independently of its cytoplasmic domain, while activating VEGFR2-Y951 via ROBO4 inhibition might accelerate tissue revascularization in retinopathy of prematurity and in diabetic patients.

Numerical simulation in steam injection process by a mechanistic approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Souza, J.C.Jr.; Campos, W.; Lopes, D.; Moura, L.S.S. [Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

2008-10-15

Steam injection is a common thermal recovery method used in very viscous oil reservoirs. The method involves the injection of heat to reduce viscosity and mobilize oil. A steam generation and injection system consists primarily of a steam source, distribution lines, injection wells and a discarding tank. In order to optimize injection and improve the oil recovery factor, one must determine the parameters of steam flow such as pressure, temperature and steam quality. This study focused on developing a unified mathematical model by means of a mechanistic approach for two-phase steam flow in pipelines and wells. The hydrodynamic and heat transfer mechanistic model was implemented in a computer simulator to model the parameters of steam injection while trying to avoid the use of empirical correlations. A marching algorithm was used to determine the distribution of pressure and temperature along the pipelines and wellbores. The mathematical model for steam flow in injection systems, developed by a mechanistic approach (VapMec) performed well when the simulated values of pressures and temperatures were compared with the values measured during field tests. The newly developed VapMec model was incorporated in the LinVap-3 simulator that constitutes an engineering supporting tool for steam injection wells operated by Petrobras. 23 refs., 7 tabs., 6 figs.

Mechanistic approach to the sodium leakage and fire analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaguchi, Akira; Muramatsu, Toshiharu; Ohira, Hiroaki; Ida, Masao

1997-04-01

In December 1995, a thermocouple well was broken and liquid sodium leaked out of the intermediate heat transport system of the prototype fast breeder reactor Monju. In the initiating process of the incident, liquid sodium flowed out through the hollow thermocouple well, nipple and connector. As a result, liquid sodium, following ignition and combustion, was dropping from the connector to colide with the duct and grating placed below. The collision may cause fragmentation and scattering of the sodium droplet that finally was piled up on the floor. This report deals with the development of computer programs for the phenomena based on mechanistics approach. Numerical analyses are also made for fundamental sodium leakage and combustion phenomenon, sodium combustion experiment, and Monju incident condition. The contents of this report is listed below: (1) Analysis of chemical reaction process based on molecular orbital method, (2) Thermalhy draulic analysis of the sodium combustion experiment II performed in 1996 at O-arai Engineering Center, PNC, (3) Thermalhy draulic analysis of room A-446 of Monju reactor when the sodium leakage took place, (4) Direct numerical simulation of sodium droplet, (5) Sodium leakage and scattering analysis using three dimensional particle method, (6) Multi-dimensional combustion analysis and multi-point approximation combustion analysis code. Subsequent to the development work of the programs, they are to be applied to the safety analysis of the Fast Breeder Reactor. (author)

Crystal structure of the pestivirus envelope glycoprotein E(rns) and mechanistic analysis of its ribonuclease activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Krey, Thomas; Bontems, Francois; Vonrhein, Clemens; Vaney, Marie-Christine; Bricogne, Gerard; Rümenapf, Till; Rey, Félix A

2012-05-09

Pestiviruses, which belong to the Flaviviridae family of RNA viruses, are important agents of veterinary diseases causing substantial economical losses in animal farming worldwide. Pestivirus particles display three envelope glycoproteins at their surface: E(rns), E1, and E2. We report here the crystal structure of the catalytic domain of E(rns), the ribonucleolytic activity of which is believed to counteract the innate immunity of the host. The structure reveals a three-dimensional fold corresponding to T2 ribonucleases from plants and fungi. Cocrystallization experiments with mono- and oligonucleotides revealed the structural basis for substrate recognition at two binding sites previously identified for T2 RNases. A detailed analysis of poly-U cleavage products using (31)P-NMR and size exclusion chromatography, together with molecular docking studies, provides a comprehensive mechanistic picture of E(rns) activity on its substrates and reveals the presence of at least one additional nucleotide binding site. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mechanistic Analysis of Cocrystal Dissolution as a Function of pH and Micellar Solubilization.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Fengjuan; Amidon, Gordon L; Rodriguez-Hornedo, Nair; Amidon, Gregory E

2016-03-07

The purpose of this work is to provide a mechanistic understanding of the dissolution behavior of cocrystals under the influence of ionization and micellar solubilization. Mass transport models were developed by applying Fick's law of diffusion to dissolution with simultaneous chemical reactions in the hydrodynamic boundary layer adjacent to the dissolving cocrystal surface to predict the pH at the dissolving solid-liquid interface (i.e., interfacial pH) and the flux of cocrystals. To evaluate the predictive power of these models, dissolution studies of carbamazepine-saccharin (CBZ-SAC) and carbamazepine-salicylic acid (CBZ-SLC) cocrystals were performed at varied pH and surfactant concentrations above the critical stabilization concentration (CSC), where the cocrystals were thermodynamically stable. The findings in this work demonstrate that the pH dependent dissolution behavior of cocrystals with ionizable components is dependent on interfacial pH. This mass transport analysis demonstrates the importance of pH, cocrystal solubility, diffusivity, and micellar solubilization on the dissolution rates of cocrystals.

[Preparation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies against Micrococcus luteus Rpf domain].

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Ai-lin; Shi, Chang-hong; Su, Ming-quan; Ma, Jing; Bai, Yin-lan; Cheng, Xiao-dong; Xu, Zhi-kai; Hao, Xiao-ke

2008-05-01

To express Micrococcus luteus Rpf domain in prokaryotic cells and prepare monoclonal antibodies against Rpf domain. The gene encoding Micrococcus luteus Rpf domain was amplified from genome of Micrococcus luteus by polymerase chain reaction(PCR), and inserted into cloning vector pUC-19. After sequenced, Micrococcus luteus Rpf domain gene was subcloned into the expression vector pPro-EXHT and transfected into E.coli DH5alpha. After induced by IPTG, the bacteria controlled by T7 promoter expressed the fused Micrococcus luteus Rpf domain protein with a hexahistidine tail at its N-terminal and the target protein was purified under denaturing conditions. Using this protein as antigen to immunize the BALB/c mice and prepare monoclonal antibodies against Micrococcus luteus Rpf domain. Then specifities and relative affinities of mAbs were identified by ELISA. The fusion protein was purified by metal chelate affinity chromatography under denaturing condition. Three cloned mAbs were prepared from the mice immunized by Rpf domain. All of them could recognize Rpf domain. specifically. The prepared mAbs against Rpf domain have strong specificity with high titers, which provides useful tools for further study of the function of Rpf domain in TB prevention.

An adaptive algorithm for simulation of stochastic reaction-diffusion processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferm, Lars; Hellander, Andreas; Loetstedt, Per

2010-01-01

We propose an adaptive hybrid method suitable for stochastic simulation of diffusion dominated reaction-diffusion processes. For such systems, simulation of the diffusion requires the predominant part of the computing time. In order to reduce the computational work, the diffusion in parts of the domain is treated macroscopically, in other parts with the tau-leap method and in the remaining parts with Gillespie's stochastic simulation algorithm (SSA) as implemented in the next subvolume method (NSM). The chemical reactions are handled by SSA everywhere in the computational domain. A trajectory of the process is advanced in time by an operator splitting technique and the timesteps are chosen adaptively. The spatial adaptation is based on estimates of the errors in the tau-leap method and the macroscopic diffusion. The accuracy and efficiency of the method are demonstrated in examples from molecular biology where the domain is discretized by unstructured meshes.

Kinetic and mechanistic studies of reactive intermediates in photochemical and transition metal-assisted oxidation, decarboxylation and alkyl transfer reactions

Science.gov (United States)

Carraher, Jack McCaslin

Reactive species like high-valent metal-oxo complexes and carbon and oxygen centered radicals are important intermediates in enzymatic systems, atmospheric chemistry, and industrial processes. Understanding the pathways by which these intermediates form, their relative reactivity, and their fate after reactions is of the utmost importance. Herein are described the mechanistic detail for the generation of several reactive intermediates, synthesis of precursors, characterization of precursors, and methods to direct the chemistry to more desirable outcomes yielding 'greener' sources of commodity chemicals and fuels. High-valent Chromium from Hydroperoxido-Chromium(III). The decomposition of pentaaquahydroperoxido chromium(III) ion (hereafter Cr aqOOH2+) in acidic aqueous solutions is kinetically complex and generates mixtures of products (Craq3+, HCrO 4-, H2O2, and O2). The yield of high-valent chromium products (known carcinogens) increased from a few percent at pH 1 to 70 % at pH 5.5 (near biological pH). Yields of H 2O2 increased with acid concentration. The reproducibility of the kinetic data was poor, but became simplified in the presence of H2O2 or 2,2‧-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) dianion (ABTS2-). Both are capable of scavenging strongly oxidizing intermediates). The observed rate constants (pH 1, [O2] ≤ 0.03 mM) in the presence of these scavengers are independent of [scavenger] and within the error are the same (k,ABTS2- = (4.9 +/- 0.2) x 10-4 s-1 and kH2O2 = (5.3 +/- 0.7) x 10-4 s-1); indicating involvement of the scavengers in post-rate determining steps. In the presence of either scavenger, decomposition of CrOOH2+ obeyed a two-term rate law, k obs / s-1 = (6.7 +/- 0.7) x 10-4 + (7.6 +/- 1.1) x 10-4 [H+]. Effect of [H+] on the kinetics and the product distribution, cleaner kinetics in the presence of scavengers, and independence of kobs on [scavenger] suggest a dual-pathway mechanism for the decay of Craq OOH2+. The H+-catalyzed path

MECHANISTIC KINETIC MODELS FOR STEAM REFORMING OF CONCENTRATED CRUDE ETHANOL ON NI/AL2O3 CATALYST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. A. OLAFADEHAN

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Mechanistic kinetic models were postulated for the catalytic steam reforming of concentrated crude ethanol on a Ni-based commercial catalyst at atmosphere pressure in the temperature range of 673-863 K, and at different catalyst weight to the crude ethanol molar flow rate ratio (in the range 0.9645-9.6451 kg catalyst h/kg mole crude ethanol in a stainless steel packed bed tubular microreactor. The models were based on Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW and Eley-Rideal (ER mechanisms. The optimization routine of Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm was used to estimate the inherent kinetic parameters in the proposed models. The selection of the best kinetic model amongst the rival kinetic models was based on physicochemical, statistical and thermodynamic scrutinies. The rate determining step for the steam reforming of concentrated crude ethanol on Ni/Al2O3 catalyst was found to be surface reaction between chemisorbed CH3O and O when hydrogen and oxygen were adsorbed as monomolecular species on the catalyst surface. Excellent agreement was obtained between the experimental rate of reaction and conversion of crude ethanol, and the simulated results, with ADD% being ±0.46.

Can Dietary Polyphenols Prevent the Formation of Toxic Compounds from Maillard Reaction?

Science.gov (United States)

Del Turco, Serena; Basta, Giuseppina

2016-01-01

Polyphenols are functional compounds in edible vegetable and food such as tea, coffee and red wine and increasing evidence demonstrates a positive link between consumption of polyphenol-rich foods and disease prevention. In this review we have focused on the current knowledge of the potential anti-glycation effects of polyphenols, particularly in regard to their influence on Maillard reaction, a non-enzymatic reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that contributes to the production of toxic compounds, mainly reactive carbonyl species, advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) and other toxicants. The Maillard reaction occurs in the human body during hyperglycemic condition, but it is well known as browning reaction in thermally processed foods and it is responsible for flavor and toxicant formation. Dietary polyphenols can have anti-glycation effects and actively participate in Maillard reaction, mitigating the AGE formation and the heat-induced production of toxic compounds. In a time in which the role of a healthy diet in the prevention of chronic diseases is welcome and the borderline between food and medicine is becoming very thin, an improved mechanistic knowledge of how polyphenols can function to reduce harmful and unhealthy substances is mandatory.

Signatures of pleiotropy, economy and convergent evolution in a domain-resolved map of human-virus protein-protein interaction networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Garamszegi, Sara; Franzosa, Eric A; Xia, Yu

2013-01-01

A central challenge in host-pathogen systems biology is the elucidation of general, systems-level principles that distinguish host-pathogen interactions from within-host interactions. Current analyses of host-pathogen and within-host protein-protein interaction networks are largely limited by their resolution, treating proteins as nodes and interactions as edges. Here, we construct a domain-resolved map of human-virus and within-human protein-protein interaction networks by annotating protein interactions with high-coverage, high-accuracy, domain-centric interaction mechanisms: (1) domain-domain interactions, in which a domain in one protein binds to a domain in a second protein, and (2) domain-motif interactions, in which a domain in one protein binds to a short, linear peptide motif in a second protein. Analysis of these domain-resolved networks reveals, for the first time, significant mechanistic differences between virus-human and within-human interactions at the resolution of single domains. While human proteins tend to compete with each other for domain binding sites by means of sequence similarity, viral proteins tend to compete with human proteins for domain binding sites in the absence of sequence similarity. Independent of their previously established preference for targeting human protein hubs, viral proteins also preferentially target human proteins containing linear motif-binding domains. Compared to human proteins, viral proteins participate in more domain-motif interactions, target more unique linear motif-binding domains per residue, and contain more unique linear motifs per residue. Together, these results suggest that viruses surmount genome size constraints by convergently evolving multiple short linear motifs in order to effectively mimic, hijack, and manipulate complex host processes for their survival. Our domain-resolved analyses reveal unique signatures of pleiotropy, economy, and convergent evolution in viral-host interactions that are

Mechanistic insights into a novel exporter-importer system of Mycobacterium tuberculosis unravel its role in trafficking of iron.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aisha Farhana

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Elucidation of the basic mechanistic and biochemical principles underlying siderophore mediated iron uptake in mycobacteria is crucial for targeting this principal survival strategy vis-à-vis virulence determinants of the pathogen. Although, an understanding of siderophore biosynthesis is known, the mechanism of their secretion and uptake still remains elusive.Here, we demonstrate an interplay among three iron regulated Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb proteins, namely, Rv1348 (IrtA, Rv1349 (IrtB and Rv2895c in export and import of M.tb siderophores across the membrane and the consequent iron uptake. IrtA, interestingly, has a fused N-terminal substrate binding domain (SBD, representing an atypical subset of ABC transporters, unlike IrtB that harbors only the permease and ATPase domain. SBD selectively binds to non-ferrated siderophores whereas Rv2895c exhibits relatively higher affinity towards ferrated siderophores. An interaction between the permease domain of IrtB and Rv2895c is evident from GST pull-down assay. In vitro liposome reconstitution experiments further demonstrate that IrtA is indeed a siderophore exporter and the two-component IrtB-Rv2895c system is an importer of ferrated siderophores. Knockout of msmeg_6554, the irtA homologue in Mycobacterium smegmatis, resulted in an impaired M.tb siderophore export that is restored upon complementation with M.tb irtA.Our data suggest the interplay of three proteins, namely IrtA, IrtB and Rv2895c in synergizing the balance of siderophores and thus iron inside the mycobacterial cell.

Kinetics and Mechanistic Studies on the Reaction between Cytochrome c and Tea Catechins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lihua Wang

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Green tea is characterized by the presence of an abundance of polyphenolic compounds, also known as catechins, including epicatechin (EC, epigallocatechin (EGC, epicatechin gallate (EGC and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG. In addition to being a popular beverage, tea consumption has been suggested as a mean of chemoprevention. However, its mode of action is unclear. It was discovered that tea catechins can react with cytochrome c. When oxidized cytochrome c was mixed with catechins commonly found in green tea under non-steady-state conditions, a reduction of cytochrome c was observed. The reaction rate of the catechins was dependent on the pH and the nature of the catechin. The pseudo-first order rate constant obtained increased in the order of EC < ECG < EGC < EGCG, which is consistent with previously reported superoxide reduction activities and Cu2+ reduction activities of tea catechins.

Bifurcation and stability analysis of rotating chemical spirals in circular domains: Boundary-induced meandering and stabilization

Science.gov (United States)

Bär, Markus; Bangia, Anil K.; Kevrekidis, Ioannis G.

2003-05-01

Recent experimental and model studies have revealed that the domain size may strongly influence the dynamics of rotating spirals in two-dimensional pattern forming chemical reactions. Hartmann et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1384 (1996)], report a frequency increase of spirals in circular domains with diameters substantially smaller than the spiral wavelength in a large domain for the catalytic NO+CO reaction on a microstructured platinum surface. Accompanying simulations with a simple reaction-diffusion system reproduced the behavior. Here, we supplement these studies by a numerical bifurcation and stability analysis of rotating spirals in a simple activator-inhibitor model. The problem is solved in a corotating frame of reference. No-flux conditions are imposed at the boundary of the circular domain. At large domain sizes, eigenvalues and eigenvectors very close to those corresponding to infinite medium translational invariance are observed. Upon decrease of domain size, we observe a simultaneous change in the rotation frequency and a deviation of these eigenvalues from being neutrally stable (zero real part). The latter phenomenon indicates that the translation symmetry of the spiral solution is appreciably broken due to the interaction with the (now nearby) wall. Various dynamical regimes are found: first, the spiral simply tries to avoid the boundary and its tip moves towards the center of the circular domain corresponding to a negative real part of the “translational” eigenvalues. This effect is noticeable at a domain radius of Rdomain size reveals that the meandering instability in large domains becomes suppressed, and the spiral rotation becomes rigid, at a critical radius Rcr,0. Boundary

The JH2 domain and SH2-JH2 linker regulate JAK2 activity: A detailed kinetic analysis of wild type and V617F mutant kinase domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanz Sanz, Arturo; Niranjan, Yashavanthi; Hammarén, Henrik; Ungureanu, Daniela; Ruijtenbeek, Rob; Touw, Ivo P; Silvennoinen, Olli; Hilhorst, Riet

2014-10-01

JAK2 tyrosine kinase regulates many cellular functions. Its activity is controlled by the pseudokinase (JH2) domain by still poorly understood mechanisms. The V617F mutation in the pseudokinase domain activates JAK2 and causes myeloproliferative neoplasms. We conducted a detailed kinetic analysis of recombinant JAK2 tyrosine kinase domain (JH1) and wild-type and V617F tandem kinase (JH1JH2) domains using peptide microarrays to define the functions of the kinase domains. The results show that i) JAK2 follows a random Bi-Bi reaction mechanism ii) JH2 domain restrains the activity of the JH1 domain by reducing the affinity for ATP and ATP competitive inhibitors iii) V617F decreases affinity for ATP but increases catalytic activity compared to wild-type and iv) the SH2-JH2 linker region participates in controlling activity by reducing the affinity for ATP. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The mechanistic bases of the power-time relationship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vanhatalo, Anni; Black, Matthew I; DiMenna, Fred J

2016-01-01

.025) and inversely correlated with muscle type IIx fibre proportion (r = -0.76, P = 0.01). There was no relationship between W' (19.4 ± 6.3 kJ) and muscle fibre type. These data indicate a mechanistic link between the bioenergetic characteristics of different muscle fibre types and the power-duration relationship...

Instability induced by cross-diffusion in reaction-diffusion systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tian, Canrong; Lin, Zhigui; Pedersen, Michael

2010-01-01

In this paper the instability of the uniform equilibrium of a general strongly coupled reaction–diffusion is discussed. In unbounded domain and bounded domain the sufficient conditions for the instability are obtained respectively. The conclusion is applied to the ecosystem, it is shown that cros...... can induce the instability of an equilibrium which is stable for the kinetic system and for the self-diffusion–reaction system.......In this paper the instability of the uniform equilibrium of a general strongly coupled reaction–diffusion is discussed. In unbounded domain and bounded domain the sufficient conditions for the instability are obtained respectively. The conclusion is applied to the ecosystem, it is shown that cross-diffusion...

Structure of the USP15 N-terminal domains: a β-hairpin mediates close association between the DUSP and UBL domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, Stephen; Besong, Tabot M D; Emsley, Jonas; Scott, David J; Dreveny, Ingrid

2011-09-20

Ubiquitin specific protease 15 (USP15) functions in COP9 signalosome mediated regulation of protein degradation and cellular signaling through catalyzing the ubiquitin deconjugation reaction of a discrete number of substrates. It influences the stability of adenomatous polyposis coli, IκBα, caspase-3, and the human papillomavirus type 16 E6. USP15 forms a subfamily with USP4 and USP11 related through a shared presence of N-terminal "domain present in ubiquitin specific proteases" (DUSP) and "ubiquitin-like" (UBL) domains (DU subfamily). Here we report the 1.5 Å resolution crystal structure of the human USP15 N-terminal domains revealing a 80 Å elongated arrangement with the DU domains aligned in tandem. This architecture is generated through formation of a defined interface that is dominated by an intervening β-hairpin structure (DU finger) that engages in an intricate hydrogen-bonding network between the domains. The UBL domain is closely related to ubiquitin among β-grasp folds but is characterized by the presence of longer loop regions and different surface characteristics, indicating that this domain is unlikely to act as ubiquitin mimic. Comparison with the related murine USP4 DUSP-UBL crystal structure reveals that the main DU interdomain contacts are conserved. Analytical ultracentrifugation, small-angle X-ray scattering, and gel filtration experiments revealed that USP15 DU is monomeric in solution. Our data provide a framework to advance study of the structure and function of the DU subfamily. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Advanced reach tool (ART) : Development of the mechanistic model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fransman, W.; Tongeren, M. van; Cherrie, J.W.; Tischer, M.; Schneider, T.; Schinkel, J.; Kromhout, H.; Warren, N.; Goede, H.; Tielemans, E.

2011-01-01

This paper describes the development of the mechanistic model within a collaborative project, referred to as the Advanced REACH Tool (ART) project, to develop a tool to model inhalation exposure for workers sharing similar operational conditions across different industries and locations in Europe.

Density functional computational studies on the glucose and glycine Maillard reaction: Formation of the Amadori rearrangement products

Science.gov (United States)

Jalbout, Abraham F.; Roy, Amlan K.; Shipar, Abul Haider; Ahmed, M. Samsuddin

Theoretical energy changes of various intermediates leading to the formation of the Amadori rearrangement products (ARPs) under different mechanistic assumptions have been calculated, by using open chain glucose (O-Glu)/closed chain glucose (A-Glu and B-Glu) and glycine (Gly) as a model for the Maillard reaction. Density functional theory (DFT) computations have been applied on the proposed mechanisms under different pH conditions. Thus, the possibility of the formation of different compounds and electronic energy changes for different steps in the proposed mechanisms has been evaluated. B-Glu has been found to be more efficient than A-Glu, and A-Glu has been found more efficient than O-Glu in the reaction. The reaction under basic condition is the most favorable for the formation of ARPs. Other reaction pathways have been computed and discussed in this work.0

Influence of Organic Matter - Mineral Interfacial Reactions on Metal(loid) Speciation and Bioaccessibility

Science.gov (United States)

Chorover, J.; Kong, S.; Root, R. A.; Thomas, A.

2015-12-01

Bioaccessibility of contaminant metals in geomedia is often measured on the basis of kinetic release to solution during in vitro reaction with biofluid simulants. We postulate that development of a predictive-mechanistic understanding of bioaccessibility requires knowledge of metal(loid) molecular speciation upon sample introduction, as well as its change over the course of the in vitro reaction. Our results - including data from batch, column, mesocosm and field studies pertaining to arsenic, lead, and zinc contaminated materials - indicate the strong influence of organic matter and associated biological activity on metal(loid) speciation in mine tailings and related model systems. Furthermore, presence/absence of organic matter during bioassays affects the kinetics of metal(loid) release into biofluid simulants through multiple mechanisms.

Position-specific isotope modeling of organic micropollutants transformations through different reaction pathways

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Biao; Rolle, Massimo

2016-04-01

Organic compounds are produced in vast quantities for industrial and agricultural use, as well as for human and animal healthcare [1]. These chemicals and their metabolites are frequently detected at trace levels in fresh water environments where they undergo degradation via different reaction pathways. Compound specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) is a valuable tool to identify such degradation pathways in different environmental systems. Recent advances in analytical techniques have promoted the fast development and implementation of multi-element CSIA. However, quantitative frameworks to evaluate multi-element stable isotope data and incorporating mechanistic information on the degradation processes [2,3] are still lacking. In this study we propose a mechanism-based modeling approach to simultaneously evaluate concentration as well as bulk and position-specific multi-element isotope evolution during the transformation of organic micropollutants. The model explicitly simulates position-specific isotopologues for those atoms that experience isotope effects and, thereby, provides a mechanistic description of isotope fractionation occurring at different molecular positions. We validate the proposed approach with the concentration and multi-element isotope data of three selected organic micropollutants: dichlorobenzamide (BAM), isoproturon (IPU) and diclofenac (DCF). The model precisely captures the dual element isotope trends characteristic of different reaction pathways and their range of variation consistent with observed multi-element (C, N) bulk isotope fractionation. The proposed approach can also be used as a tool to explore transformation pathways in scenarios for which position-specific isotope data are not yet available. [1] Schwarzenbach, R.P., Egli, T., Hofstetter, T.B., von Gunten, U., Wehrli, B., 2010. Global Water Pollution and Human Health. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-100809-125342. [2] Jin, B., Haderlein, S.B., Rolle, M

Hybrid approaches for multiple-species stochastic reaction-diffusion models

Science.gov (United States)

Spill, Fabian; Guerrero, Pilar; Alarcon, Tomas; Maini, Philip K.; Byrne, Helen

2015-10-01

Reaction-diffusion models are used to describe systems in fields as diverse as physics, chemistry, ecology and biology. The fundamental quantities in such models are individual entities such as atoms and molecules, bacteria, cells or animals, which move and/or react in a stochastic manner. If the number of entities is large, accounting for each individual is inefficient, and often partial differential equation (PDE) models are used in which the stochastic behaviour of individuals is replaced by a description of the averaged, or mean behaviour of the system. In some situations the number of individuals is large in certain regions and small in others. In such cases, a stochastic model may be inefficient in one region, and a PDE model inaccurate in another. To overcome this problem, we develop a scheme which couples a stochastic reaction-diffusion system in one part of the domain with its mean field analogue, i.e. a discretised PDE model, in the other part of the domain. The interface in between the two domains occupies exactly one lattice site and is chosen such that the mean field description is still accurate there. In this way errors due to the flux between the domains are small. Our scheme can account for multiple dynamic interfaces separating multiple stochastic and deterministic domains, and the coupling between the domains conserves the total number of particles. The method preserves stochastic features such as extinction not observable in the mean field description, and is significantly faster to simulate on a computer than the pure stochastic model.

Hybrid approaches for multiple-species stochastic reaction-diffusion models.

KAUST Repository

Spill, Fabian; Guerrero, Pilar; Alarcon, Tomas; Maini, Philip K; Byrne, Helen

2015-01-01

Reaction-diffusion models are used to describe systems in fields as diverse as physics, chemistry, ecology and biology. The fundamental quantities in such models are individual entities such as atoms and molecules, bacteria, cells or animals, which move and/or react in a stochastic manner. If the number of entities is large, accounting for each individual is inefficient, and often partial differential equation (PDE) models are used in which the stochastic behaviour of individuals is replaced by a description of the averaged, or mean behaviour of the system. In some situations the number of individuals is large in certain regions and small in others. In such cases, a stochastic model may be inefficient in one region, and a PDE model inaccurate in another. To overcome this problem, we develop a scheme which couples a stochastic reaction-diffusion system in one part of the domain with its mean field analogue, i.e. a discretised PDE model, in the other part of the domain. The interface in between the two domains occupies exactly one lattice site and is chosen such that the mean field description is still accurate there. In this way errors due to the flux between the domains are small. Our scheme can account for multiple dynamic interfaces separating multiple stochastic and deterministic domains, and the coupling between the domains conserves the total number of particles. The method preserves stochastic features such as extinction not observable in the mean field description, and is significantly faster to simulate on a computer than the pure stochastic model.

Hybrid approaches for multiple-species stochastic reaction-diffusion models.

KAUST Repository

Spill, Fabian

2015-10-01

Reaction-diffusion models are used to describe systems in fields as diverse as physics, chemistry, ecology and biology. The fundamental quantities in such models are individual entities such as atoms and molecules, bacteria, cells or animals, which move and/or react in a stochastic manner. If the number of entities is large, accounting for each individual is inefficient, and often partial differential equation (PDE) models are used in which the stochastic behaviour of individuals is replaced by a description of the averaged, or mean behaviour of the system. In some situations the number of individuals is large in certain regions and small in others. In such cases, a stochastic model may be inefficient in one region, and a PDE model inaccurate in another. To overcome this problem, we develop a scheme which couples a stochastic reaction-diffusion system in one part of the domain with its mean field analogue, i.e. a discretised PDE model, in the other part of the domain. The interface in between the two domains occupies exactly one lattice site and is chosen such that the mean field description is still accurate there. In this way errors due to the flux between the domains are small. Our scheme can account for multiple dynamic interfaces separating multiple stochastic and deterministic domains, and the coupling between the domains conserves the total number of particles. The method preserves stochastic features such as extinction not observable in the mean field description, and is significantly faster to simulate on a computer than the pure stochastic model.

Practical approaches to the ESI-MS analysis of catalytic reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Yunker, Lars P E; Stoddard, Rhonda L; McIndoe, J Scott

2014-01-01

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is a soft ionization technique commonly coupled with liquid or gas chromatography for the identification of compounds in a one-time view of a mixture (for example, the resulting mixture generated by a synthesis). Over the past decade, Scott McIndoe and his research group at the University of Victoria have developed various methodologies to enhance the ability of ESI-MS to continuously monitor catalytic reactions as they proceed. The power, sensitivity and large dynamic range of ESI-MS have allowed for the refinement of several homogenous catalytic mechanisms and could potentially be applied to a wide range of reactions (catalytic or otherwise) for the determination of their mechanistic pathways. In this special feature article, some of the key challenges encountered and the adaptations employed to counter them are briefly reviewed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Eliminating the domain error in local explicitly correlated second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, Hans-Joachim

2008-09-14

A new explicitly correlated local MP2-F12 method is proposed in which the error caused by truncating the virtual orbital space to pair-specific local domains is almost entirely removed. This is achieved by a simple modification of the ansatz for the explicitly correlated wave function, which makes it possible that the explicitly correlated terms correct both for the basis set incompleteness error as well as for the domain error in the LMP2. Benchmark calculations are presented for 21 molecules and 16 chemical reactions. The results demonstrate that the local approximations have hardly any effect on the accuracy of the computed correlation energies and reaction energies, and the LMP2-F12 reaction energies agree within 0.1-0.2 kcal/mol with estimated MP2 basis set limits.

An experimental and theoretical study of reaction steps relevant to the methanol-to-hydrocarbons reaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Svelle, Stian

2004-07-01

The primary objective of the present work is to obtain new insight into the reaction mechanism of the zeolite catalyzed methanol-to-hydrocarbons (MTH) reaction. It was decided to use both experimental and computational techniques to reach this goal. An investigation of the n-butene + methanol system was therefore initiated. Over time, it became apparent that it was possible to determine the rate for the methylation of n-butene by methanol. The ethene and propene systems were therefore reexamined in order to collect kinetic information also for those cases. With the development of user-friendly quantum chemistry programs such as the Gaussian suite of programs, the possibility of applying quantum chemical methods to many types of problems has become readily available even for non-experts. When performing mechanistic studies, there is quite often a considerable synergy effect when combining experimental and computational approaches. The methylation reactions mentioned above turned out to be an issue well suited for quantum chemical investigations. The incentive for examining the halomethane reactivity was the clear analogy to the MTH reaction system. Alkene dimerization was also a reaction readily examined with quantum chemistry. As discussed in the introduction of this thesis, polymethylbenzenes, or their cationic counterparts, are suspected to be key intermediates in the MTH reaction. It was therefore decided to investigate the intrinsic reactivity of these species in the gas-phase by employing sophisticated mass spectrometric (MS) techniques in collaboration with the MS group at the Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo The data thus obtained will also be compared with results from an ongoing computational study on gas phase polymethylbenzenium reactivity. 6 papers presenting various studies are included. The titles are: 1) A Theoretical Investigation of the Methylation of Alkenes with Methanol over Acidic Zeolites. 2) A Theoretical Investigation of the

Reaction of iminopropadienones with amines: mechanistic explanations of zwitterionic intermediate, ketene and ketenimine formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Rainer; Finnerty, Justin J; Bruhn, Torsten; Borget, Fabien; Wentrup, Curt

2008-09-25

The complex reaction of thermally generated iminopropadienones with amines in the gas phase and upon matrix deposition and its varying product composition is investigated using density functional theory. In the high energy gas phase addition a single amine molecule reacts readily with iminopropadienone with the decisive step being a 1,3-hydrogen shift and activation barriers of at least 100 kJ/mol. In accordance with the experiment, the formation of ketenes is favored. In the condensed phase of an amine matrix, the utilization of amine dimers both as reagents and as explicit solvents lowers the activation energy required to a feasible 20-30 kJ/mol and predicts ketenimines as the main products, as observed experimentally.

Modeling systems-level dynamics: Understanding without mechanistic explanation in integrative systems biology.

Science.gov (United States)

MacLeod, Miles; Nersessian, Nancy J

2015-02-01

In this paper we draw upon rich ethnographic data of two systems biology labs to explore the roles of explanation and understanding in large-scale systems modeling. We illustrate practices that depart from the goal of dynamic mechanistic explanation for the sake of more limited modeling goals. These processes use abstract mathematical formulations of bio-molecular interactions and data fitting techniques which we call top-down abstraction to trade away accurate mechanistic accounts of large-scale systems for specific information about aspects of those systems. We characterize these practices as pragmatic responses to the constraints many modelers of large-scale systems face, which in turn generate more limited pragmatic non-mechanistic forms of understanding of systems. These forms aim at knowledge of how to predict system responses in order to manipulate and control some aspects of them. We propose that this analysis of understanding provides a way to interpret what many systems biologists are aiming for in practice when they talk about the objective of a "systems-level understanding." Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aprotic solvent systems provide mechanistic windows for biomolecular reactions: nucleic acid proton exchange

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McConnell, B.; Tan, A.

1986-01-01

Detection of general acid-base catalysis of proton transfer reactions in aqueous cytidine (or adenosine) is completely obscured by the highly reactive endocyclic protonated species of the nucleobase, whose amino proton lifetime is much shorter than that of the neutral form. In aqueous solution, protonation of the nucleobase always accompanies protonation of the buffer catalyzing exchange. However, in DMSO/water mixtures this is not the case; aqueous protonated acetate or chloroacetate can be added to cytidine in DMSO solutions without further dissociation of the buffer or significant protonation of cytidine N-3. Under these conditions general acid catalysis is observed, which involves an H-bonded complex between cytidine (N-3) and the buffer acid. Increased amino proton exchange in response to H-bond donation to C(N-3) is further suggested by increased 1 H NMR saturation-recovery rates with the formation of G-C base-pairs in DMSO and by the inverse dependence of amino proton exchange on nucleoside concentration

Perturbative evolution of particle orbits around Kerr black holes: time-domain calculation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopez-Aleman, Ramon [Physical Sciences Department, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, San Juan, PR 00931 (Puerto Rico); Khanna, Gaurav [Natural Science Division, Long Island University, Southampton, NY 11968 (United States); Pullin, Jorge [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, 202 Nicholson Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4001 (United States)

2003-07-21

We consider the problem of the gravitational waves produced by a particle of negligible mass orbiting a Kerr black hole. We treat the Teukolsky perturbation equation in the time domain numerically as a 2 + 1 partial differential equation. We model the particle by smearing the singularities in the source term by the use of narrow Gaussian distributions. We have been able to reproduce earlier results for equatorial circular orbits that were computed using the frequency-domain formalism. The time-domain approach is however geared for a more general evolution, for instance of nearly geodesic orbits under the effects of radiation reaction.

Perturbative evolution of particle orbits around Kerr black holes: time-domain calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez-Aleman, Ramon; Khanna, Gaurav; Pullin, Jorge

2003-01-01

We consider the problem of the gravitational waves produced by a particle of negligible mass orbiting a Kerr black hole. We treat the Teukolsky perturbation equation in the time domain numerically as a 2 + 1 partial differential equation. We model the particle by smearing the singularities in the source term by the use of narrow Gaussian distributions. We have been able to reproduce earlier results for equatorial circular orbits that were computed using the frequency-domain formalism. The time-domain approach is however geared for a more general evolution, for instance of nearly geodesic orbits under the effects of radiation reaction

Elimination Reactions of (E)-2,4,6-Trinitrobenzaldehyde O-benzoyloximes Promoted by R2NH in MeCN. Change of Reaction Mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Bong Rae; Pyun, Sang Yong

2010-01-01

We have studied the nitrile-forming elimination reactions from 1 promoted by R 2 NH in MeCN. The reaction proceeded by (E1cb) irr mechanism. Change of the β-aryl group from 2,4-dinitrophenyl to a more strongly electron-withdrawing 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl increased the reaction rate by 470-fold, shifted the transition state toward more reactant-like, and changed the reaction mechanism from E2 to (E1cb) irr . To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of nitrile-forming elimination reaction that proceeds by the (E1cb) irr mechanism in MeCN. Noteworthy is the carbanion stabilizing ability of the 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl group in aprotic solvent. Nitrile-forming elimination reactions of (E)-benzaldoxime derivatives have been extensively investigated under various conditions. The reactions proceeded by the E2 mechanism in MeCN despite the fact that the reactants have syn stereochemistry, poor leaving, and sp 2 hybridized β-carbon atom, all of which favor E1cb- or E1cb-like transition state. Moreover, the transition state structures were relatively insensitive to the variation of the reactant structures. The results have been attributed to the poor anion solvating ability of MeCN, which favors E2 transition state with maximum charge dispersal. For eliminations from strongly activated (E)-2,4-(NO 2 ) 2 C 6 H 3 CH=NOC(O)C 6 H 4 X, a change in the reaction mechanism from E2 to (E1cb) irr was observed as the base-solvent was changed from R 2 NH in MeCN to R 2 NH/R 2 NH 2 + in 70 mol % MeCN(aq). A combination of a strong electron-withdrawing β-aryl group and anion-solvating protic solvent was required for the mechanistic change

Role of Re in Pt-Re/TiO2 catalyst for water gas shift reaction: A mechanistic and kinetic study.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Azzam, K.G.H.; Babych, Igor V.; Seshan, Kulathuiyer; Lefferts, Leonardus

2008-01-01

Transient kinetic studies and in situ FTIR spectroscopy were used to follow the reaction sequences that occur during water gas shift (WGS) reaction over Pt–Re/TiO2 catalyst. Results pointed to contributions of an associative formate route with redox regeneration and two classical redox routes

Semi-mechanistic Model Applied to the Search for Economically Optimal Conditions and Blending of Gasoline Feedstock for Steam-cracking Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karaba Adam

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Steam-cracking is energetically intensive large-scaled process which transforms a wide range of hydrocarbons feedstock to petrochemical products. The dependence of products yields on feedstock composition and reaction conditions has been successfully described by mathematical models which are very useful tools for the optimization of cracker operation. Remaining problem is to formulate objective function for such an optimization. Quantitative criterion based on the process economy is proposed in this paper. Previously developed and verified industrial steam-cracking semi-mechanistic model is utilized as supporting tool for economic evaluation of selected gasoline feedstock. Economic criterion is established as the difference between value of products obtained by cracking of studied feedstock under given conditions and the value of products obtained by cracking of reference feedstock under reference conditions. As an example of method utilization, optimal reaction conditions were searched for each of selected feedstock. Potential benefit of individual cracking and cracking of grouped feedstocks in the contrast to cracking under the middle of optimums is evaluated and also compared to cracking under usual conditions.

In Situ Environmental TEM in Imaging Gas and Liquid Phase Chemical Reactions for Materials Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jianbo; Shan, Hao; Chen, Wenlong; Gu, Xin; Tao, Peng; Song, Chengyi; Shang, Wen; Deng, Tao

2016-11-01

Gas and liquid phase chemical reactions cover a broad range of research areas in materials science and engineering, including the synthesis of nanomaterials and application of nanomaterials, for example, in the areas of sensing, energy storage and conversion, catalysis, and bio-related applications. Environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM) provides a unique opportunity for monitoring gas and liquid phase reactions because it enables the observation of those reactions at the ultra-high spatial resolution, which is not achievable through other techniques. Here, the fundamental science and technology developments of gas and liquid phase TEM that facilitate the mechanistic study of the gas and liquid phase chemical reactions are discussed. Combined with other characterization tools integrated in TEM, unprecedented material behaviors and reaction mechanisms are observed through the use of the in situ gas and liquid phase TEM. These observations and also the recent applications in this emerging area are described. The current challenges in the imaging process are also discussed, including the imaging speed, imaging resolution, and data management. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling Reactions Between P(O)-H and X-H (X = S, N, O, P) Bonds.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseinian, Akram; Farshbaf, Sepideh; Fekri, Leila Zare; Nikpassand, Mohammad; Vessally, Esmail

2018-05-26

P(O)-X (X = S, N, O, P) bond-containing compounds have extensive application in medicinal chemistry, agrochemistry, and material chemistry. These useful organophosphorus compounds also have many applications in organic synthesis. In light of the importance of titled compounds, there is continuing interest in the development of synthetic methods for P(O)-X bonds construction. In the last 4 years, the direct coupling reaction of P(O)-H compounds with thiols, alcohols, and amines/amides has received much attention because of the atom-economic character. This review aims to give an overview of new developments in cross-dehydrogenative coupling reactions between P(O)-H and X-H (X = S, N, O, P) bonds, with special emphasis on the mechanistic aspects of the reactions.

Photocatalytic reactions: Mechanistic and kinetic implications

OpenAIRE

Montoya Arango, Juan Felipe

2014-01-01

La Fotocatálisis Heterogénea con Dióxido de Titanio (TiO2) ha sido ampliamente estudiada en los últimos 30 años. Como resultado de este esfuerzo de investigación se han obtenido grandes avances en la comprensión de los fenómenos fundamentales involucrados en el proceso y se ha logrado la aplicación exitosa de varios dispositivos con tecnología fotocatalítica en áreas como la remediación medioambiental, la producción de energía renovable, y el diseño de materiales con propiedades de "autolimpi...

Electrochemical processes and mechanistic aspects of field-effect sensors for biomolecules

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Weiguo; Diallo, Abdou Karim; Dailey, Jennifer L.; Besar, Kalpana

2017-01-01

Electronic biosensing is a leading technology for determining concentrations of biomolecules. In some cases, the presence of an analyte molecule induces a measured change in current flow, while in other cases, a new potential difference is established. In the particular case of a field effect biosensor, the potential difference is monitored as a change in conductance elsewhere in the device, such as across a film of an underlying semiconductor. Often, the mechanisms that lead to these responses are not specifically determined. Because improved understanding of these mechanisms will lead to improved performance, it is important to highlight those studies where various mechanistic possibilities are investigated. This review explores a range of possible mechanistic contributions to field-effect biosensor signals. First, we define the field-effect biosensor and the chemical interactions that lead to the field effect, followed by a section on theoretical and mechanistic background. We then discuss materials used in field-effect biosensors and approaches to improving signals from field-effect biosensors. We specifically cover the biomolecule interactions that produce local electric fields, structures and processes at interfaces between bioanalyte solutions and electronic materials, semiconductors used in biochemical sensors, dielectric layers used in top-gated sensors, and mechanisms for converting the surface voltage change to higher signal/noise outputs in circuits. PMID:29238595

A Physics-Inspired Mechanistic Model of Migratory Movement Patterns in Birds.

Science.gov (United States)

Revell, Christopher; Somveille, Marius

2017-08-29

In this paper, we introduce a mechanistic model of migratory movement patterns in birds, inspired by ideas and methods from physics. Previous studies have shed light on the factors influencing bird migration but have mainly relied on statistical correlative analysis of tracking data. Our novel method offers a bottom up explanation of population-level migratory movement patterns. It differs from previous mechanistic models of animal migration and enables predictions of pathways and destinations from a given starting location. We define an environmental potential landscape from environmental data and simulate bird movement within this landscape based on simple decision rules drawn from statistical mechanics. We explore the capacity of the model by qualitatively comparing simulation results to the non-breeding migration patterns of a seabird species, the Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris). This minimal, two-parameter model was able to capture remarkably well the previously documented migration patterns of the Black-browed Albatross, with the best combination of parameter values conserved across multiple geographically separate populations. Our physics-inspired mechanistic model could be applied to other bird and highly-mobile species, improving our understanding of the relative importance of various factors driving migration and making predictions that could be useful for conservation.

Overview of the South African mechanistic pavement design analysis method

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Theyse, HL

1996-01-01

Full Text Available A historical overview of the South African mechanistic pavement design method, from its development in the early 1970s to the present, is presented. Material characterization, structural analysis, and pavement life prediction are discussed...

THE RESPIRATORY SUBSTRATE RHODOQUINOL INDUCES Q-CYCLE BYPASS REACTIONS IN THE YEAST CYTOCHROME bc1 COMPLEX - MECHANISTIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cape, Jonathan L.; Strahan, Jeff R.; Lenaeus, Michael J.; Yuknis, Brook A.; Le, Trieu T.; Shepherd, Jennifer; Bowman, Michael K.; Kramer, David M.

2005-01-01

The mitochondrial cytochrome bc1 complex catalyzes the transfer of electrons from ubiquinol to cyt c, while generating a proton motive force for ATP synthesis, via the ''Qcycle'' mechanism. Under certain conditions, electron flow through the Q-cycle is blocked at the level of a reactive intermediate in the quinol oxidase site of the enzyme, resulting in ''bypass reactions'', some of which lead to superoxide production. Using analogs of the respiratory substrates, ubiquinol-3 and rhodoquinol-3, we show that the relative rates of Q-cycle bypass reactions in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cyt bc1 complex are highly dependent, by a factor of up to one hundred-fold, on the properties of the substrate quinol. Our results suggest that the rate of Q-cycle bypass reactions is dependent on the steady state concentration of reactive intermediates produced at the quinol oxidase site of the enzyme. We conclude that normal operation of the Q-cycle requires a fairly narrow window of redox potentials, with respect to the quinol substrate, to allow normal turnover of the complex while preventing potentially damaging bypass reactions

The ecology and evolution of temperature-dependent reaction norms for sex determination in reptiles: a mechanistic conceptual model.

Science.gov (United States)

Pezaro, Nadav; Doody, J Sean; Thompson, Michael B

2017-08-01

Sex-determining mechanisms are broadly categorised as being based on either genetic or environmental factors. Vertebrate sex determination exhibits remarkable diversity but displays distinct phylogenetic patterns. While all eutherian mammals possess XY male heterogamety and female heterogamety (ZW) is ubiquitous in birds, poikilothermic vertebrates (fish, amphibians and reptiles) exhibit multiple genetic sex-determination (GSD) systems as well as environmental sex determination (ESD). Temperature is the factor controlling ESD in reptiles and temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) in reptiles has become a focal point in the study of this phenomenon. Current patterns of climate change may cause detrimental skews in the population sex ratios of reptiles exhibiting TSD. Understanding the patterns of variation, both within and among populations and linking such patterns with the selection processes they are associated with, is the central challenge of research aimed at predicting the capacity of populations to adapt to novel conditions. Here we present a conceptual model that innovates by defining an individual reaction norm for sex determination as a range of incubation temperatures. By deconstructing individual reaction norms for TSD and revealing their underlying interacting elements, we offer a conceptual solution that explains how variation among individual reaction norms can be inferred from the pattern of population reaction norms. The model also links environmental variation with the different patterns of TSD and describes the processes from which they may arise. Specific climate scenarios are singled out as eco-evolutionary traps that may lead to demographic extinction or a transition to either male or female heterogametic GSD. We describe how the conceptual principles can be applied to interpret TSD data and to explain the adaptive capacity of TSD to climate change as well as its limits and the potential applications for conservation and management

Highly efficient and diastereoselective gold(I)-catalyzed synthesis of tertiary amines from secondary amines and alkynes: substrate scope and mechanistic insights.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xin-Yuan; Guo, Zhen; Dong, Sijia S; Li, Xiao-Hua; Che, Chi-Ming

2011-11-11

An efficient method for the synthesis of tertiary amines through a gold(I)-catalyzed tandem reaction of alkynes with secondary amines has been developed. In the presence of ethyl Hantzsch ester and [{(tBu)(2)(o-biphenyl)P}AuCl]/AgBF(4) (2 mol %), a variety of secondary amines bearing electron-deficient and electron-rich substituents and a wide range of alkynes, including terminal and internal aryl alkynes, aliphatic alkynes, and electron-deficient alkynes, underwent a tandem reaction to afford the corresponding tertiary amines in up to 99 % yield. For indolines bearing a preexisting chiral center, their reactions with alkynes in the presence of ethyl Hantzsch ester catalyzed by [{(tBu)(2)(o-biphenyl)P}AuCl]/AgBF(4) (2 mol %) afforded tertiary amines in excellent yields and with good to excellent diastereoselectivity. All of these organic transformations can be conducted as a one-pot reaction from simple and readily available starting materials without the need of isolation of air/moisture-sensitive enamine intermediates, and under mild reaction conditions (mostly room temperature and mild reducing agents). Mechanistic studies by NMR spectroscopy, ESI-MS, isotope labeling studies, and DFT calculations on this gold(I)-catalyzed tandem reaction reveal that the first step involving a monomeric cationic gold(I)-alkyne intermediate is more likely than a gold(I)-amine intermediate, a three-coordinate gold(I) intermediate, or a dinuclear gold(I)-alkyne intermediate. These studies also support the proposed reaction pathway, which involves a gold(I)-coordinated enamine complex as a key intermediate for the subsequent transfer hydrogenation with a hydride source, and reveal the intrinsic stereospecific nature of these transformations observed in the experiments. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Extrinsic functions of lectin domains in O-N-acetylgalactosamine glycan biosynthesis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lorenz, Virginia; Ditamo, Yanina; Cejas, Romina B

2016-01-01

during O-GalNAc glycan biosynthesis. The presence of lectin domain T3lec or T4lec during ppGalNAc-T2 and ppGalNAc-T3 catalytic reaction had a clear inhibitory effect on GalNAc-T activity. Interaction of T3lec or T4lec with ppGalNAc-T2 catalytic domain was not mediated by carbohydrate. T3lec, but not T2......Glycan biosynthesis occurs mainly in Golgi. Molecular organization and functional regulation of this process are not well understood. We evaluated the extrinsic effect of lectin domains (β-trefoil fold) of polypeptide GalNAc-transferases (ppGalNAc-Ts) on catalytic activity of glycosyltransferases...

Mechanistic and Economical Characteristics of Asphalt Rubber Mixtures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mena I. Souliman

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Load associated fatigue cracking is one of the major distress types occurring in flexible pavement systems. Flexural bending beam fatigue laboratory test has been used for several decades and is considered to be an integral part of the new superpave advanced characterization procedure. One of the most significant solutions to prolong the fatigue life for an asphaltic mixture is to utilize flexible materials as rubber. A laboratory testing program was performed on a conventional and Asphalt Rubber- (AR- gap-graded mixtures to investigate the impact of added rubber on the mechanical, mechanistic, and economical attributes of asphaltic mixtures. Strain controlled fatigue tests were conducted according to American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO procedures. The results from the beam fatigue tests indicated that the AR-gap-graded mixtures would have much longer fatigue life compared with the reference (conventional mixtures. In addition, a mechanistic analysis using 3D-Move software coupled with a cost analysis study based on the fatigue performance on the two mixtures was performed. Overall, analysis showed that AR modified asphalt mixtures exhibited significantly lower cost of pavement per 1000 cycles of fatigue life per mile compared to conventional HMA mixture.

Expanding the Enzyme Universe: Accessing Non-Natural Reactions by Mechanism-Guided Directed Evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Renata, Hans; Wang, Z. Jane

2015-01-01

High selectivities and exquisite control over reaction outcomes entice chemists to use biocatalysts in organic synthesis. However, many useful reactions are not accessible because they are not in nature’s known repertoire. We will use this review to outline an evolutionary approach to engineering enzymes to catalyze reactions not found in nature. We begin with examples of how nature has discovered new catalytic functions and how such evolutionary progressions have been recapitulated in the laboratory starting from extant enzymes. We then examine non-native enzyme activities that have been discovered and exploited for chemical synthesis, emphasizing reactions that do not have natural counterparts. The new functions have mechanistic parallels to the native reaction mechanisms that often manifest as catalytic promiscuity and the ability to convert from one function to the other with minimal mutation. We present examples of how non-natural activities have been improved by directed evolution, mimicking the process used by nature to create new catalysts. Examples of new enzyme functions include epoxide opening reactions with non-natural nucleophiles catalyzed by a laboratory-evolved halohydrin dehalogenase, cyclopropanation and other carbene transfer reactions catalyzed by cytochrome P450 variants, and non-natural modes of cyclization by a modified terpene synthase. Lastly, we describe discoveries of non-native catalytic functions that may provide future opportunities for expanding the enzyme universe. PMID:25649694

Ruthenium-catalyzed reactions--a treasure trove of atom-economic transformations.

Science.gov (United States)

Trost, Barry M; Frederiksen, Mathias U; Rudd, Michael T

2005-10-21

The demand for new chemicals spanning the fields of health care to materials science combined with the pressure to produce these substances in an environmentally benign fashion pose great challenges to the synthetic chemical community. The maximization of synthetic efficiency by the conversion of simple building blocks into complex targets remains a fundamental goal. In this context, ruthenium complexes catalyze a number of non-metathesis conversions and allow the rapid assembly of complex molecules with high selectivity and atom economy. These complexes often exhibit unusual reactivity. Careful consideration of the mechanistic underpinnings of the transformations can lead to the design of new reactions and the discovery of new reactivity.

Use of deuterium n. m. r. spectroscopy in mechanistic studies of exchange reactions of ethers on supported metal catalysts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Campbell, J.A.; Kemball, Charles; McDougall, G.S.

1987-10-01

Exchange reactions of diethyl ether (DEE) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) with deuterium have been studied over supported nickel, palladium, platinum, and rhodium catalysts. Products from most of the systems were analysed by deuterium n.m.r. spectroscopy (55.28 MHz) which gave quantitative results about the distribution of deuterium in the exchanged ethers. The results confirm earlier conclusions about the mechanism of the exchange of DEE and provide new evidence about the reactions of THF. Some hydrogenolysis occurred simultaneously with exchange of THF over both nickel and platinum.

Photoadduct Formation from the FMN Singlet Excited State in the LOV2 Domain of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Phototropin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhu, J.; Mathes, Tilo; Hontani, Y.; Alexandre, Maxime T A; Toh, K C; Hegemann, Peter; Kennis, John T M

2016-01-01

The two light, oxygen, and voltage domains of phototropin are blue-light photoreceptor domains that control various functions in plants and green algae. The key step of the light-driven reaction is the formation of a photoadduct between its FMN chromophore and a conserved cysteine, where the

Signatures of pleiotropy, economy and convergent evolution in a domain-resolved map of human-virus protein-protein interaction networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Garamszegi

Full Text Available A central challenge in host-pathogen systems biology is the elucidation of general, systems-level principles that distinguish host-pathogen interactions from within-host interactions. Current analyses of host-pathogen and within-host protein-protein interaction networks are largely limited by their resolution, treating proteins as nodes and interactions as edges. Here, we construct a domain-resolved map of human-virus and within-human protein-protein interaction networks by annotating protein interactions with high-coverage, high-accuracy, domain-centric interaction mechanisms: (1 domain-domain interactions, in which a domain in one protein binds to a domain in a second protein, and (2 domain-motif interactions, in which a domain in one protein binds to a short, linear peptide motif in a second protein. Analysis of these domain-resolved networks reveals, for the first time, significant mechanistic differences between virus-human and within-human interactions at the resolution of single domains. While human proteins tend to compete with each other for domain binding sites by means of sequence similarity, viral proteins tend to compete with human proteins for domain binding sites in the absence of sequence similarity. Independent of their previously established preference for targeting human protein hubs, viral proteins also preferentially target human proteins containing linear motif-binding domains. Compared to human proteins, viral proteins participate in more domain-motif interactions, target more unique linear motif-binding domains per residue, and contain more unique linear motifs per residue. Together, these results suggest that viruses surmount genome size constraints by convergently evolving multiple short linear motifs in order to effectively mimic, hijack, and manipulate complex host processes for their survival. Our domain-resolved analyses reveal unique signatures of pleiotropy, economy, and convergent evolution in viral

Intermolecular Dehydrative Coupling Reaction of Arylketones with Cyclic Alkenes Catalyzed by a Well-Defined Cationic Ruthenium-Hydride Complex: A Novel Ketone Olefination Method via Vinyl C–H Bond Activation

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Chae S.; Lee, Do W.

2010-01-01

Summary The cationic ruthenium-hydride complex [(η6-C6H6)(PCy3)(CO)RuH]+BF4− was found to be a highly effective catalyst for the intermolecular olefination reaction of arylketones with cycloalkenes. The preliminary mechanistic analysis revealed that electrophilic ruthenium-vinyl complex is the key species for mediating both vinyl C–H bond activation and the dehydrative olefination steps of the coupling reaction. PMID:20567607

Database of ligand-induced domain movements in enzymes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hayward Steven

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Conformational change induced by the binding of a substrate or coenzyme is a poorly understood stage in the process of enzyme catalysed reactions. For enzymes that exhibit a domain movement, the conformational change can be clearly characterized and therefore the opportunity exists to gain an understanding of the mechanisms involved. The development of the non-redundant database of protein domain movements contains examples of ligand-induced domain movements in enzymes, but this valuable data has remained unexploited. Description The domain movements in the non-redundant database of protein domain movements are those found by applying the DynDom program to pairs of crystallographic structures contained in Protein Data Bank files. For each pair of structures cross-checking ligands in their Protein Data Bank files with the KEGG-LIGAND database and using methods that search for ligands that contact the enzyme in one conformation but not the other, the non-redundant database of protein domain movements was refined down to a set of 203 enzymes where a domain movement is apparently triggered by the binding of a functional ligand. For these cases, ligand binding information, including hydrogen bonds and salt-bridges between the ligand and specific residues on the enzyme is presented in the context of dynamical information such as the regions that form the dynamic domains, the hinge bending residues, and the hinge axes. Conclusion The presentation at a single website of data on interactions between a ligand and specific residues on the enzyme alongside data on the movement that these interactions induce, should lead to new insights into the mechanisms of these enzymes in particular, and help in trying to understand the general process of ligand-induced domain closure in enzymes. The website can be found at: http://www.cmp.uea.ac.uk/dyndom/enzymeList.do

Simulating chemical reactions in ionic liquids using QM/MM methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Acevedo, Orlando

2014-12-18

The use of ionic liquids as a reaction medium for chemical reactions has dramatically increased in recent years due in large part to the numerous reported advances in catalysis and organic synthesis. In some extreme cases, ionic liquids have been shown to induce mechanistic changes relative to conventional solvents. Despite the large interest in the solvents, a clear understanding of the molecular factors behind their chemical impact is largely unknown. This feature article reviews our efforts developing and applying mixed quantum and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) methodology to elucidate the microscopic details of how these solvents operate to enhance rates and alter mechanisms for industrially and academically important reactions, e.g., Diels-Alder, Kemp eliminations, nucleophilic aromatic substitutions, and β-eliminations. Explicit solvent representation provided the medium dependence of the activation barriers and atomic-level characterization of the solute-solvent interactions responsible for the experimentally observed "ionic liquid effects". Technical advances are also discussed, including a linear-scaling pairwise electrostatic interaction alternative to Ewald sums, an efficient polynomial fitting method for modeling proton transfers, and the development of a custom ionic liquid OPLS-AA force field.

Modelling biochemical reaction systems by stochastic differential equations with reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Yuanling; Burrage, Kevin; Chen, Luonan

2016-05-07

In this paper, we gave a new framework for modelling and simulating biochemical reaction systems by stochastic differential equations with reflection not in a heuristic way but in a mathematical way. The model is computationally efficient compared with the discrete-state Markov chain approach, and it ensures that both analytic and numerical solutions remain in a biologically plausible region. Specifically, our model mathematically ensures that species numbers lie in the domain D, which is a physical constraint for biochemical reactions, in contrast to the previous models. The domain D is actually obtained according to the structure of the corresponding chemical Langevin equations, i.e., the boundary is inherent in the biochemical reaction system. A variant of projection method was employed to solve the reflected stochastic differential equation model, and it includes three simple steps, i.e., Euler-Maruyama method was applied to the equations first, and then check whether or not the point lies within the domain D, and if not perform an orthogonal projection. It is found that the projection onto the closure D¯ is the solution to a convex quadratic programming problem. Thus, existing methods for the convex quadratic programming problem can be employed for the orthogonal projection map. Numerical tests on several important problems in biological systems confirmed the efficiency and accuracy of this approach. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reaction progress pathways for glass and spent fuel under unsaturated conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bates, J.; Finn, P.; Bourcier, W.; Stout, R.

1994-10-01

The source term for the release of radionuclides from a nuclear waste repository is the waste form. In order to assess the performance of the repository and the engineered barrier system (EBS) compared to regulations established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency it is necessary (1) to use available data to place bounding limits on release rates from the EBS, and (2) to develop a mechanistic predictive model of the radionuclide release and validate the model against tests done under a variety of different potential reaction conditions. The problem with (1) is that there is little experience to use when evaluating waste form reaction under unsaturated conditions such that errors in applying expert judgment to the problem may be significant. The second approach, to test and model the waste form reaction, is a more defensible means of providing input to the prediction of radionuclide release. In this approach, information related to the source term has a technical basis and provides a starting point to make reasonable assumptions for long-term behavior. Key aspects of this approach are an understanding of the reaction progress mechanism and the ability to model the tests using a geochemical code such as EQ3/6. Current knowledge of glass, UO 2 , and spent fuel reactions under different conditions are described below

Reversible alkyne insertion in the benzannulation reaction of Fischer carbene complexes with alkynes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waters, M.L.; Bos, M.E.; Wulff, W.D. [Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)

1995-12-31

The benzannulation reaction of Fischer carbene complexes with alkynes to give phenols is highly regioselective with terminal alkynes, and reasonably regioselective with internal alkynes. This has been attributed to steric factors in intermediates, where one form is favored due to close contact between the R substituent and a cis-CO ligand. Whether alkyne insertion is kinetically or thermodynamically controlled has not been determined. The authors now have evidence from regioselectivity studies that alkyne insertion into the metal-carbon bond is reversible. Implications of these results and further mechanistic considerations will be presented.

Using terahertz time-domain spectroscopical technique to monitor cocrystal formation between piracetam and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Yong; Xia, Yi; Zhang, Huili; Hong, Zhi

2013-07-01

Far-infrared vibrational absorption of cocrystal formation between 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,5-DHBA) and piracetam compounds under solvent evaporation and grinding methods have been investigated using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) at room temperature. The experimental results show large difference among absorption spectra of the formed cocrystals and the involved individual parent molecules in 0.20-1.50 THz region, which probably originated from the intra-molecular and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds due to the presence of two hydroxyl groups in 2,5-DHBA and amide moieties in piracetam compound. The THz absorption spectra of two formed cocrystals with different methods are almost identical. With grinding method, the reaction process can be monitored directly from both time-domain and frequency-domain spectra using THz-TDS technique. The results indicate that THz-TDS technology can absolutely offer us a high potential method to identify and characterize the formed cocrystals, and also provide the rich information about their reaction dynamic process involving two or more molecular crystals in situ to better know the corresponding reaction mechanism in pharmaceutical fields.

Time-resolved luminescence measurements of the magnetic field effect on paramagnetic photosensitizers in photodynamic reactions

Science.gov (United States)

Mermut, O.; Bouchard, J.-P.; Cormier, J.-F.; Desroches, P.; Diamond, K. R.; Fortin, M.; Gallant, P.; Leclair, S.; Marois, J.-S.; Noiseux, I.; Morin, J.-F.; Patterson, M. S.; Vernon, M.

2008-02-01

The development of multimodal molecular probes and photosensitizing agents for use in photodynamic therapy (PDT) is vital for optimizing and monitoring cytotoxic responses. We propose a combinatorial approach utilizing photosensitizing molecules that are both paramagnetic and luminescent with multimodal functionality to perturb, control, and monitor molecular-scale reaction pathways in PDT. To this end, a time-domain single photon counting lifetime apparatus with a 400 nm excitation source has been developed and integrated with a variable low field magnet (0- 350mT). The luminescence lifetime decay function was measured in the presence of a sweeping magnetic field for a custom designed photosensitizing molecule in which photoinduced electron transfer was studied The photosensitizer studied was a donor-acceptor complex synthesized using a porphyrin linked to a fullerene molecule. The magneto-optic properties were investigated for the free-base photosensitizer complex as well as those containing either diamagnetic (paired electron) or paramagnetic (unpaired electron) metal centers, Zn(II) and Cu(II). The magnetic field was employed to affect and modify the spin states of radical pairs of the photosensitizing agents via magnetically induced hyperfine and Zeeman effects. Since the Type 1 reaction pathway of an excited triplet state photosensitizer involves the production of radical species, lifetime measurements were conducted at low dissolved oxygen concentration (0.01ppm) to elucidate the dependence of the magnetic perturbation on the photosensitization mechanistic pathway. To optimize the magnetic response, a solvent study was performed examining the dependence of the emission properties on the magnetic field in solutions of varying dielectric constants. Lastly, the cytotoxicity in murine tumor cell suspensions was investigated for the novel porphyrin-fullerene complex by inducing photodynamic treatments and determining the associated cell survival.

Biomarkers of adverse drug reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Daniel F; Pirmohamed, Munir

2018-02-01

Adverse drug reactions can be caused by a wide range of therapeutics. Adverse drug reactions affect many bodily organ systems and vary widely in severity. Milder adverse drug reactions often resolve quickly following withdrawal of the casual drug or sometimes after dose reduction. Some adverse drug reactions are severe and lead to significant organ/tissue injury which can be fatal. Adverse drug reactions also represent a financial burden to both healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical industry. Thus, a number of stakeholders would benefit from development of new, robust biomarkers for the prediction, diagnosis, and prognostication of adverse drug reactions. There has been significant recent progress in identifying predictive genomic biomarkers with the potential to be used in clinical settings to reduce the burden of adverse drug reactions. These have included biomarkers that can be used to alter drug dose (for example, Thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) and azathioprine dose) and drug choice. The latter have in particular included human leukocyte antigen (HLA) biomarkers which identify susceptibility to immune-mediated injuries to major organs such as skin, liver, and bone marrow from a variety of drugs. This review covers both the current state of the art with regard to genomic adverse drug reaction biomarkers. We also review circulating biomarkers that have the potential to be used for both diagnosis and prognosis, and have the added advantage of providing mechanistic information. In the future, we will not be relying on single biomarkers (genomic/non-genomic), but on multiple biomarker panels, integrated through the application of different omics technologies, which will provide information on predisposition, early diagnosis, prognosis, and mechanisms. Impact statement • Genetic and circulating biomarkers present significant opportunities to personalize patient therapy to minimize the risk of adverse drug reactions. ADRs are a significant heath issue

Mechanistic, Mutational, and Structural Evaluation of a Taxus Phenylalanine Aminomutase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng, Lei; Wanninayake, Udayanga; Strom, Susan; Geiger, James; Walker, Kevin D. (MSU)

2014-10-02

The structure of a phenylalanine aminomutase (TcPAM) from Taxus canadensis has been determined at 2.4 {angstrom} resolution. The active site of the TcPAM contains the signature 4-methylidene-1H-imidazol-5(4H)-one prosthesis, observed in all catalysts of the class I lyase-like family. This catalyst isomerizes (S)-{alpha}-phenylalanine to the (R)-{beta}-isomer by exchange of the NH{sub 2}/H pair. The stereochemistry of the TcPAM reaction product is opposite of the (S)-{beta}-tyrosine made by the mechanistically related tyrosine aminomutase (SgTAM) from Streptomyces globisporus. Since TcPAM and SgTAM share similar tertiary- and quaternary-structures and have several highly conserved aliphatic residues positioned analogously in their active sites for substrate recognition, the divergent product stereochemistries of these catalysts likely cannot be explained by differences in active site architecture. The active site of the TcPAM structure also is in complex with (E)-cinnamate; the latter functions as both a substrate and an intermediate. To account for the distinct (3R)-{beta}-amino acid stereochemistry catalyzed by TcPAM, the cinnamate skeleton must rotate the C{sub 1}-C{sub {alpha}} and C{sub ipso}-C{sub {beta}} bonds 180{sup o} in the active site prior to exchange and rebinding of the NH{sub 2}/H pair to the cinnamate, an event that is not required for the corresponding acrylate intermediate in the SgTAM reaction. Moreover, the aromatic ring of the intermediate makes only one direct hydrophobic interaction with Leu-104. A L104A mutant of TcPAM demonstrated an 1.5-fold increase in k{sub cat} and a decrease in K{sub M} values for sterically demanding 3'-methyl-{alpha}-phenylalanine and styryl-{alpha}-alanine substrates, compared to the kinetic parameters for TcPAM. These parameters did not change significantly for the mutant with 4'-methyl-{alpha}-phenylalanine compared to those for TcPAM.

Reaction between nitracrine and glutathione: implications for hypoxic cell radiosensitization and cytotoxicity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, W.R.; Anderson, R.F.

1989-01-01

Nitracrine (NC) is an electron affinic DNA intercalating agent and a potent hypoxia-selective cytotoxin and radiosensitizer in cell culture. Although NC is too cytotoxic and too rapidly metabolized to provide hypoxic cell radiosensitization in tumors, it is of mechanistic interest as an example of a DNA affinic radiosensitizer. We have observed a rapid chemical reaction between NC and reduced glutathione (GSH), which suggests that the observed potent in vitro cytotoxicity and radiosensitization might be dependent on thiol depletion by the large extracellular reservoir of drug. However, no GSH depletion was observed under conditions providing radiosensitization or rapid cell killing, and prior depletion of GSH by buthionine sulphoximine had no effect on cytotoxicity or formation of macromolecular adducts. Further, the intracellular reaction of NC with GSH is slower than predicted on the basis of the measured second order rate constant and the total intracellular concentrations of both species. The results are consistent with a role for DNA binding in protecting NC from reaction with GSH, and in improving the efficiency with which reduced electrophilic metabolites react with DNA in preference to GSH

Estimating Reaction Rate Coefficients Within a Travel-Time Modeling Framework

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gong, R [Georgia Institute of Technology; Lu, C [Georgia Institute of Technology; Luo, Jian [Georgia Institute of Technology; Wu, Wei-min [Stanford University; Cheng, H. [Stanford University; Criddle, Craig [Stanford University; Kitanidis, Peter K. [Stanford University; Gu, Baohua [ORNL; Watson, David B [ORNL; Jardine, Philip M [ORNL; Brooks, Scott C [ORNL

2011-03-01

A generalized, efficient, and practical approach based on the travel-time modeling framework is developed to estimate in situ reaction rate coefficients for groundwater remediation in heterogeneous aquifers. The required information for this approach can be obtained by conducting tracer tests with injection of a mixture of conservative and reactive tracers and measurements of both breakthrough curves (BTCs). The conservative BTC is used to infer the travel-time distribution from the injection point to the observation point. For advection-dominant reactive transport with well-mixed reactive species and a constant travel-time distribution, the reactive BTC is obtained by integrating the solutions to advective-reactive transport over the entire travel-time distribution, and then is used in optimization to determine the in situ reaction rate coefficients. By directly working on the conservative and reactive BTCs, this approach avoids costly aquifer characterization and improves the estimation for transport in heterogeneous aquifers which may not be sufficiently described by traditional mechanistic transport models with constant transport parameters. Simplified schemes are proposed for reactive transport with zero-, first-, nth-order, and Michaelis-Menten reactions. The proposed approach is validated by a reactive transport case in a two-dimensional synthetic heterogeneous aquifer and a field-scale bioremediation experiment conducted at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The field application indicates that ethanol degradation for U(VI)-bioremediation is better approximated by zero-order reaction kinetics than first-order reaction kinetics.

Beyond cross-domain learning: Multiple-domain nonnegative matrix factorization

KAUST Repository

Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Gao, Xin

2014-01-01

Traditional cross-domain learning methods transfer learning from a source domain to a target domain. In this paper, we propose the multiple-domain learning problem for several equally treated domains. The multiple-domain learning problem assumes that samples from different domains have different distributions, but share the same feature and class label spaces. Each domain could be a target domain, while also be a source domain for other domains. A novel multiple-domain representation method is proposed for the multiple-domain learning problem. This method is based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), and tries to learn a basis matrix and coding vectors for samples, so that the domain distribution mismatch among different domains will be reduced under an extended variation of the maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) criterion. The novel algorithm - multiple-domain NMF (MDNMF) - was evaluated on two challenging multiple-domain learning problems - multiple user spam email detection and multiple-domain glioma diagnosis. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is experimentally verified. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Beyond cross-domain learning: Multiple-domain nonnegative matrix factorization

KAUST Repository

Wang, Jim Jing-Yan

2014-02-01

Traditional cross-domain learning methods transfer learning from a source domain to a target domain. In this paper, we propose the multiple-domain learning problem for several equally treated domains. The multiple-domain learning problem assumes that samples from different domains have different distributions, but share the same feature and class label spaces. Each domain could be a target domain, while also be a source domain for other domains. A novel multiple-domain representation method is proposed for the multiple-domain learning problem. This method is based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), and tries to learn a basis matrix and coding vectors for samples, so that the domain distribution mismatch among different domains will be reduced under an extended variation of the maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) criterion. The novel algorithm - multiple-domain NMF (MDNMF) - was evaluated on two challenging multiple-domain learning problems - multiple user spam email detection and multiple-domain glioma diagnosis. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is experimentally verified. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Existing pavement input information for the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-02-01

The objective of this study is to systematically evaluate the Iowa Department of Transportations (DOTs) existing Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) with respect to the input information required for Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Des...

Back-reaction and effective acceleration in generic LTB dust models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sussman, Roberto A

2011-01-01

We provide a thorough examination of the conditions for the existence of back-reaction and an 'effective' acceleration (in the context of Buchert's averaging formalism) in regular generic spherically symmetric Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) dust models. By considering arbitrary spherical comoving domains,we verify rigorously the fulfillment of these conditions expressed in terms of suitable scalar variables that are evaluated at the boundary of every domain. Effective deceleration necessarily occurs in all domains in (a) the asymptotic radial range of models converging to a FLRW background (b) the asymptotic time range of non-vacuum hyperbolic models (c) LTB self-similar solutions and (d) near a simultaneous big bang. Accelerating domains are proven to exist in the following scenarios: (i) central vacuum regions(ii) central (non-vacuum) density voids (iii) the intermediate radial range of models converging to a FLRW background (iv) the asymptotic radial range of models converging to a Minkowski vacuum and (v) domains near and or intersecting a non-simultaneous big bang. All these scenarios occur in hyperbolic models with negative averaged and local spatial curvature though scenarios (iv) and (v) are also possible in low density regions of a class of elliptic models in which the local spatial curvature is negative but its average is positive. Rough numerical estimates between -0.003 and -0.5 were found for the effective deceleration parameter. While the existence of accelerating domains cannot be ruled out in models converging to an Einstein-de Sitter background and in domains undergoing gravitational collapse the conditions for this are very restrictive. The results obtained may provide important theoretical clues on the effects of back-reaction and averaging in more general non-spherical models. Communicated by L Andersson (paper)

Modulation and Functional Role of the Orientations of the N- and P-Domains of Cu+ -Transporting ATPase along the Ion Transport Cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Dan; Bruschweiler-Li, Lei; Zhang, Fengli; Brüschweiler, Rafael

2015-08-18

Ion transport of different P-type ATPases is regulated similarly through the interplay of multiple protein domains. In the presence of ATP, binding of a cation to the ion binding site in the transmembrane helices leads to the phosphorylation of the P-domain, allowing ion transfer across the membrane. The details of the mechanism, however, are not clear. Here, we report the modulation of the orientation between the N- and P-domains of Cu(+)-transporting ATPase along the ion transport cycle using high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in solution. On the basis of residual dipolar coupling measurements, it is found that the interdomain orientation (relative openness) of the N- and P-domains is distinctly modulated depending on the specific state of the N- and P-domains along the ion translocation cycle. The two domains' relative position in the apo state is semiopen, whereas it becomes closed upon binding of ATP to the N-domain. After phosphorylation of the P-domain and the release of ADP, the opening, however, becomes the widest among all the states. We reason such wide opening resulting from the departure of ADP prepares the N- and P-domains to accommodate the A-domain for interaction and, hence, promote ion transport and allow dephosphorylation of the P-domain. Such wide interdomain opening is abolished when an Asn to Asp mutation is introduced into the conserved DXXK motif located in the hinge region of the N- and P-domains of Cu(+)-ATPase, suggesting the indispensible role of the N- and P-interdomain orientation during ion transportation. Our results shed new light on the structural and mechanistic details of P-type ATPase function at large.

Mechanistic modeling of reactive soil nitrogen emissions across agricultural management practices

Science.gov (United States)

Rasool, Q. Z.; Miller, D. J.; Bash, J. O.; Venterea, R. T.; Cooter, E. J.; Hastings, M. G.; Cohan, D. S.

2017-12-01

The global reactive nitrogen (N) budget has increased by a factor of 2-3 from pre-industrial levels. This increase is especially pronounced in highly N fertilized agricultural regions in summer. The reactive N emissions from soil to atmosphere can be in reduced (NH3) or oxidized (NO, HONO, N2O) forms, depending on complex biogeochemical transformations of soil N reservoirs. Air quality models like CMAQ typically neglect soil emissions of HONO and N2O. Previously, soil NO emissions estimated by models like CMAQ remained parametric and inconsistent with soil NH3 emissions. Thus, there is a need to more mechanistically and consistently represent the soil N processes that lead to reactive N emissions to the atmosphere. Our updated approach estimates soil NO, HONO and N2O emissions by incorporating detailed agricultural fertilizer inputs from EPIC, and CMAQ-modeled N deposition, into the soil N pool. EPIC addresses the nitrification, denitrification and volatilization rates along with soil N pools for agricultural soils. Suitable updates to account for factors like nitrite (NO2-) accumulation not addressed in EPIC, will also be made. The NO and N2O emissions from nitrification and denitrification are computed mechanistically using the N sub-model of DAYCENT. These mechanistic definitions use soil water content, temperature, NH4+ and NO3- concentrations, gas diffusivity and labile C availability as dependent parameters at various soil layers. Soil HONO emissions found to be most probable under high NO2- availability will be based on observed ratios of HONO to NO emissions under different soil moistures, pH and soil types. The updated scheme will utilize field-specific soil properties and N inputs across differing manure management practices such as tillage. Comparison of the modeled soil NO emission rates from the new mechanistic and existing schemes against field measurements will be discussed. Our updated framework will help to predict the diurnal and daily variability

Epoxide hydrolase-lasalocid a structure provides mechanistic insight into polyether natural product biosynthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Fong T; Hotta, Kinya; Chen, Xi; Fang, Minyi; Watanabe, Kenji; Kim, Chu-Young

2015-01-14

Biosynthesis of some polyether natural products involves a kinetically disfavored epoxide-opening cyclic ether formation, a reaction termed anti-Baldwin cyclization. One such example is the biosynthesis of lasalocid A, an ionophore antibiotic polyether. During lasalocid A biosynthesis, an epoxide hydrolase, Lsd19, converts the bisepoxy polyketide intermediate into the tetrahydrofuranyl-tetrahydropyran product. We report the crystal structure of Lsd19 in complex with lasalocid A. The structure unambiguously shows that the C-terminal domain of Lsd19 catalyzes the intriguing anti-Baldwin cyclization. We propose a general mechanism for epoxide selection by ionophore polyether epoxide hydrolases.

Diverse Reactions of Thiophenes, Selenophenes, and Tellurophenes with Strongly Oxidizing I(III) PhI(L)2 Reagents.

Science.gov (United States)

Egalahewa, Sathsara; Albayer, Mohammad; Aprile, Antonino; Dutton, Jason L

2017-02-06

We report the outcomes of the reactions of aromatic group 16 thiophene, selenophene, and tellurophene rings with the I(III) oxidants PhI(OAc)(OTf) and [PhI(Pyr) 2 ][OTf] 2 (Pyr = pyridine). In all reactions, oxidative processes take place, with generation of PhI as the reduction product. However, with the exception of tellurophene with PhI(OAc)(OTf), +4 oxidation state complexes are not observed, but rather a variety of other processes occur. In general, where a C-H unit is available on the 5-membered ring, an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction of either -IPh or pyridine onto the ring occurs. When all positions are blocked, reactions with PhI(OAc)(OTf) give acetic and triflic anhydride as the identifiable oxidative byproducts, while [PhI(Pyr) 2 ][OTf] 2 gives pyridine electrophilic aromatic substitution onto the peripheral rings. Qualitative mechanistic studies indicate that the presence of the oxidizable heteroatom is required for pyridine to act as an electrophile in a substantial manner.

The Unstructured Paramyxovirus Nucleocapsid Protein Tail Domain Modulates Viral Pathogenesis through Regulation of Transcriptase Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Thakkar, Vidhi D; Cox, Robert M; Sawatsky, Bevan; da Fontoura Budaszewski, Renata; Sourimant, Julien; Wabbel, Katrin; Makhsous, Negar; Greninger, Alexander L; von Messling, Veronika; Plemper, Richard K

2018-04-15

The paramyxovirus replication machinery comprises the viral large (L) protein and phosphoprotein (P-protein) in addition to the nucleocapsid (N) protein, which encapsidates the single-stranded RNA genome. Common to paramyxovirus N proteins is a C-terminal tail (Ntail). The mechanistic role and relevance for virus replication of the structurally disordered central Ntail section are unknown. Focusing initially on members of the Morbillivirus genus, a series of measles virus (MeV) and canine distemper virus (CDV) N proteins were generated with internal deletions in the unstructured tail section. N proteins with large tail truncations remained bioactive in mono- and polycistronic minireplicon assays and supported efficient replication of recombinant viruses. Bioactivity of Ntail mutants extended to N proteins derived from highly pathogenic Nipah virus. To probe an effect of Ntail truncations on viral pathogenesis, recombinant CDVs were analyzed in a lethal CDV/ferret model of morbillivirus disease. The recombinant viruses displayed different stages of attenuation ranging from ameliorated clinical symptoms to complete survival of infected animals, depending on the molecular nature of the Ntail truncation. Reinfection of surviving animals with pathogenic CDV revealed robust protection against a lethal challenge. The highly attenuated virus was genetically stable after ex vivo passaging and recovery from infected animals. Mechanistically, gradual viral attenuation coincided with stepwise altered viral transcriptase activity in infected cells. These results identify the central Ntail section as a determinant for viral pathogenesis and establish a novel platform to engineer gradual virus attenuation for next-generation paramyxovirus vaccine design. IMPORTANCE Investigating the role of the paramyxovirus N protein tail domain (Ntail) in virus replication, we demonstrated in this study that the structurally disordered central Ntail region is a determinant for viral

Profiling the biological activity of oxide nanomaterials with mechanistic models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burello, E.

2013-01-01

In this study we present three mechanistic models for profiling the potential biological and toxicological effects of oxide nanomaterials. The models attempt to describe the reactivity, protein adsorption and membrane adhesion processes of a large range of oxide materials and are based on properties

Generative Mechanistic Explanation Building in Undergraduate Molecular and Cellular Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Southard, Katelyn M.; Espindola, Melissa R.; Zaepfel, Samantha D.; Bolger, Molly S.

2017-01-01

When conducting scientific research, experts in molecular and cellular biology (MCB) use specific reasoning strategies to construct mechanistic explanations for the underlying causal features of molecular phenomena. We explored how undergraduate students applied this scientific practice in MCB. Drawing from studies of explanation building among…

Melanie Klein's metapsychology: phenomenological and mechanistic perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackay, N

1981-01-01

Freud's metapsychology is the subject of an important debate. This is over whether psychoanalysis is best construed as a science of the natural science type or as a special human science. The same debate applies to Melanie Klein's work. In Klein's metapsychology are two different and incompatible models of explanation. One is taken over from Freud's structural theory and appears to be similarly mechanistic. The other is clinically based and phenomenological. These two are discussed with special reference to the concepts of "phantasy" and "internal object".

Quantitative assessment of biological impact using transcriptomic data and mechanistic network models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomson, Ty M.; Sewer, Alain; Martin, Florian; Belcastro, Vincenzo; Frushour, Brian P.; Gebel, Stephan; Park, Jennifer; Schlage, Walter K.; Talikka, Marja; Vasilyev, Dmitry M.; Westra, Jurjen W.; Hoeng, Julia; Peitsch, Manuel C.

2013-01-01

Exposure to biologically active substances such as therapeutic drugs or environmental toxicants can impact biological systems at various levels, affecting individual molecules, signaling pathways, and overall cellular processes. The ability to derive mechanistic insights from the resulting system responses requires the integration of experimental measures with a priori knowledge about the system and the interacting molecules therein. We developed a novel systems biology-based methodology that leverages mechanistic network models and transcriptomic data to quantitatively assess the biological impact of exposures to active substances. Hierarchically organized network models were first constructed to provide a coherent framework for investigating the impact of exposures at the molecular, pathway and process levels. We then validated our methodology using novel and previously published experiments. For both in vitro systems with simple exposure and in vivo systems with complex exposures, our methodology was able to recapitulate known biological responses matching expected or measured phenotypes. In addition, the quantitative results were in agreement with experimental endpoint data for many of the mechanistic effects that were assessed, providing further objective confirmation of the approach. We conclude that our methodology evaluates the biological impact of exposures in an objective, systematic, and quantifiable manner, enabling the computation of a systems-wide and pan-mechanistic biological impact measure for a given active substance or mixture. Our results suggest that various fields of human disease research, from drug development to consumer product testing and environmental impact analysis, could benefit from using this methodology. - Highlights: • The impact of biologically active substances is quantified at multiple levels. • The systems-level impact integrates the perturbations of individual networks. • The networks capture the relationships between

Measurement of Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase Adenylation Domain Activity Using a Continuous Hydroxylamine Release Assay.

Science.gov (United States)

Duckworth, Benjamin P; Wilson, Daniel J; Aldrich, Courtney C

2016-01-01

Adenylation is a crucial enzymatic process in the biosynthesis of nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) derived natural products. Adenylation domains are considered the gatekeepers of NRPSs since they select, activate, and load the carboxylic acid substrate onto a downstream peptidyl carrier protein (PCP) domain of the NRPS. We describe a coupled continuous kinetic assay for NRPS adenylation domains that substitutes the PCP domain with hydroxylamine as the acceptor molecule. The pyrophosphate released from the first-half reaction is then measured using a two-enzyme coupling system, which detects conversion of the chromogenic substrate 7-methylthioguanosine (MesG) to 7-methylthioguanine. From profiling substrate specificity of unknown or engineered adenylation domains to studying chemical inhibition of adenylating enzymes, this robust assay will be of widespread utility in the broad field NRPS enzymology.

Studies of complex fragment emission in heavy ion reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charity, R.J.; Sobotka, L.G.

1992-01-01

Our work involves the study of intermediate energy heavy-ion nuclear reactions. This work has two foci. On the one hand, we desire to learn about the properties of nuclear matter under abnormal conditions, in this energy domain, predominately low densities. This purpose runs abreast of the second, which is the study of the relevant reaction mechanisms. The two objectives are inexorably linked because our experimental laboratory for studying nuclear matter properties is a dynamic one. We are forced to ask how nuclear matter properties, such as phase transitions, are reflected in the dynamics of the reactions. It may be that irrefutable information about nuclear matter will not be extracted from the reaction work. Nevertheless, we are compelled to undertake this effort not only because it is the only game in town and as yet we do not know that information cannot be extracted, but also because of our second objective. The process leads to an understanding of the reaction mechanism themselves and therefore to the response characteristics of finite, perhaps non-equilibrium, strongly interacting systems. Our program has been: To study energy, mass, and angular momentum deposition by studying incomplete fusion reactions. To gain confidence that we understand how highly excited systems decompose by studying all emissions from the highly excited systems. To push these kinds of studies into the intermediate energy domain, with excitation function studies. And attempt to learn about the dynamics of the decays using particle-particle correlations. In the last effort, we have decided to focus on simple systems, where we believe, definitive statements are possible. These avenues of research share a common theme, large complex fragment production

A mechanistic model on methane oxidation in the rice rhizosphere

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bodegom, van P.M.; Leffelaar, P.A.; Goudriaan, J.

2001-01-01

A mechanistic model is presented on the processes leading to methane oxidation in rice rhizosphere. The model is driven by oxygen release from a rice root into anaerobic rice soil. Oxygen is consumed by heterotrophic and methanotrophic respiration, described by double Monod kinetics, and by iron

Mechanistic effect modeling for ecological risk assessment: where to go from here?

Science.gov (United States)

Grimm, Volker; Martin, Benjamin T

2013-07-01

Mechanistic effect models (MEMs) consider the mechanisms of how chemicals affect individuals and ecological systems such as populations and communities. There is an increasing awareness that MEMs have high potential to make risk assessment of chemicals more ecologically relevant than current standard practice. Here we discuss what kinds of MEMs are needed to improve scientific and regulatory aspects of risk assessment. To make valid predictions for a wide range of environmental conditions, MEMs need to include a sufficient amount of emergence, for example, population dynamics emerging from what individual organisms do. We present 1 example where the life cycle of individuals is described using Dynamic Energy Budget theory. The resulting individual-based population model is thus parameterized at the individual level but correctly predicts multiple patterns at the population level. This is the case for both control and treated populations. We conclude that the state-of-the-art in mechanistic effect modeling has reached a level where MEMs are robust and predictive enough to be used in regulatory risk assessment. Mechanistic effect models will thus be used to advance the scientific basis of current standard practice and will, if their development follows Good Modeling Practice, be included in a standardized way in future regulatory risk assessments. Copyright © 2013 SETAC.

Numerical Analysis of Microwave Heating on Saponification Reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Kama; Jia, Kun

2005-01-01

Currently, microwave is widely used in chemical industry to accelerate chemical reactions. Saponification reaction has important applications in industry; some research results have shown that microwave heating can significantly accelerate the reaction [1]. But so far, no efficient method has been reported for the analysis of the heating process and design of an efficient reactor powered by microwave. In this paper, we present a method to study the microwave heating process on saponification reaction, where the reactant in a test tube is considered as a mixture of dilute solution. According to the preliminary measurement results, the effective permittivity of the mixture is approximately the permittivity of water, but the conductivity, which could change with the reaction, is derived from the reaction equation (RE). The electromagnetic field equation and reaction equation are coupled by the conductivity. Following that, the whole heating processes, which is described by Maxwell's equations, the reaction equation and heat transport equation (HTE), is analyzed by finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. The temperature rising in the test tube are measured and compared with the computational results. Good agreement can be seen between the measured and calculated results.

Stochastic reaction-diffusion algorithms for macromolecular crowding

Science.gov (United States)

Sturrock, Marc

2016-06-01

Compartment-based (lattice-based) reaction-diffusion algorithms are often used for studying complex stochastic spatio-temporal processes inside cells. In this paper the influence of macromolecular crowding on stochastic reaction-diffusion simulations is investigated. Reaction-diffusion processes are considered on two different kinds of compartmental lattice, a cubic lattice and a hexagonal close packed lattice, and solved using two different algorithms, the stochastic simulation algorithm and the spatiocyte algorithm (Arjunan and Tomita 2010 Syst. Synth. Biol. 4, 35-53). Obstacles (modelling macromolecular crowding) are shown to have substantial effects on the mean squared displacement and average number of molecules in the domain but the nature of these effects is dependent on the choice of lattice, with the cubic lattice being more susceptible to the effects of the obstacles. Finally, improvements for both algorithms are presented.

Mechanistic reappraisal of early stage photochemistry in the light-driven enzyme protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Derren J Heyes

Full Text Available The light-driven enzyme protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (POR catalyzes the reduction of protochlorophyllide (Pchlide to chlorophyllide (Chlide. This reaction is a key step in the biosynthesis of chlorophyll. Ultrafast photochemical processes within the Pchlide molecule are required for catalysis and previous studies have suggested that a short-lived excited-state species, known as I675*, is the first catalytic intermediate in the reaction and is essential for capturing excitation energy to drive subsequent hydride and proton transfers. The chemical nature of the I675* excited state species and its role in catalysis are not known. Here, we report time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy measurements to study the involvement of the I675* intermediate in POR photochemistry. We show that I675* is not unique to the POR-catalyzed photoreduction of Pchlide as it is also formed in the absence of the POR enzyme. The I675* species is only produced in samples that contain both Pchlide substrate and Chlide product and its formation is dependent on the pump excitation wavelength. The rate of formation and the quantum yield is maximized in 50∶50 mixtures of the two pigments (Pchlide and Chlide and is caused by direct energy transfer between Pchlide and neighboring Chlide molecules, which is inhibited in the polar solvent methanol. Consequently, we have re-evaluated the mechanism for early stage photochemistry in the light-driven reduction of Pchlide and propose that I675* represents an excited state species formed in Pchlide-Chlide dimers, possibly an excimer. Contrary to previous reports, we conclude that this excited state species has no direct mechanistic relevance to the POR-catalyzed reduction of Pchlide.

Time space domain decomposition methods for reactive transport - Application to CO2 geological storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haeberlein, F.

2011-01-01

Reactive transport modelling is a basic tool to model chemical reactions and flow processes in porous media. A totally reduced multi-species reactive transport model including kinetic and equilibrium reactions is presented. A structured numerical formulation is developed and different numerical approaches are proposed. Domain decomposition methods offer the possibility to split large problems into smaller subproblems that can be treated in parallel. The class of Schwarz-type domain decomposition methods that have proved to be high-performing algorithms in many fields of applications is presented with a special emphasis on the geometrical viewpoint. Numerical issues for the realisation of geometrical domain decomposition methods and transmission conditions in the context of finite volumes are discussed. We propose and validate numerically a hybrid finite volume scheme for advection-diffusion processes that is particularly well-suited for the use in a domain decomposition context. Optimised Schwarz waveform relaxation methods are studied in detail on a theoretical and numerical level for a two species coupled reactive transport system with linear and nonlinear coupling terms. Well-posedness and convergence results are developed and the influence of the coupling term on the convergence behaviour of the Schwarz algorithm is studied. Finally, we apply a Schwarz waveform relaxation method on the presented multi-species reactive transport system. (author)

Development of fast reactor containment safety analysis code, CONTAIN-LMR. (3) Improvement of sodium-concrete reaction model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawaguchi, Munemichi; Doi, Daisuke; Seino, Hiroshi; Miyahara, Shinya

2015-01-01

A computer code, CONTAIN-LMR, is an integrated analysis tool to predict the consequence of severe accident in a liquid metal fast reactor. Because a sodium-concrete reaction behavior is one of the most important phenomena in the accident, a Sodium-Limestone Concrete Ablation Model (SLAM) has been developed and installed into the original CONTAIN code at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in the U.S. The SLAM treats chemical reaction kinetics between the sodium and the concrete compositions mechanistically using a three-region model, containing a pool (sodium and reaction debris) region, a dry (boundary layer (B/L) and dehydrated concrete) region, and a wet (hydrated concrete) region, the application is limited to the reaction between sodium and limestone concrete. In order to apply SLAM to the reaction between sodium and siliceous concrete which is an ordinary structural concrete in Japan, the chemical reaction kinetics model has been improved to consider the new chemical reactions between sodium and silicon dioxide. The improved model was validated to analyze a series of sodium-concrete experiments which were conducted in Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). It has been found that relatively good agreement between calculation and experimental results is obtained and the CONTAIN-LMR code has been validated with regard to the sodium-concrete reaction phenomena. (author)

INCORPORATION OF MECHANISTIC INFORMATION IN THE ARSENIC PBPK MODEL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Science.gov (United States)

INCORPORATING MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS IN A PBPK MODEL FOR ARSENICElaina M. Kenyon, Michael F. Hughes, Marina V. Evans, David J. Thomas, U.S. EPA; Miroslav Styblo, University of North Carolina; Michael Easterling, Analytical Sciences, Inc.A physiologically based phar...

Domains and domain loss

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haberland, Hartmut

2005-01-01

politicians and in the media, especially in the discussion whether some languages undergo ‘domain loss’ vis-à-vis powerful international languages like English. An objection that has been raised here is that domains, as originally conceived, are parameters of language choice and not properties of languages...

Improving the performance of DomainDiscovery of protein domain boundary assignment using inter-domain linker index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zomaya Albert Y

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Knowledge of protein domain boundaries is critical for the characterisation and understanding of protein function. The ability to identify domains without the knowledge of the structure – by using sequence information only – is an essential step in many types of protein analyses. In this present study, we demonstrate that the performance of DomainDiscovery is improved significantly by including the inter-domain linker index value for domain identification from sequence-based information. Improved DomainDiscovery uses a Support Vector Machine (SVM approach and a unique training dataset built on the principle of consensus among experts in defining domains in protein structure. The SVM was trained using a PSSM (Position Specific Scoring Matrix, secondary structure, solvent accessibility information and inter-domain linker index to detect possible domain boundaries for a target sequence. Results Improved DomainDiscovery is compared with other methods by benchmarking against a structurally non-redundant dataset and also CASP5 targets. Improved DomainDiscovery achieves 70% accuracy for domain boundary identification in multi-domains proteins. Conclusion Improved DomainDiscovery compares favourably to the performance of other methods and excels in the identification of domain boundaries for multi-domain proteins as a result of introducing support vector machine with benchmark_2 dataset.

A computational method for the coupled solution of reaction-diffusion equations on evolving domains and manifolds: Application to a model of cell migration and chemotaxis.

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, G; Mackenzie, J A; Nolan, M; Insall, R H

2016-03-15

In this paper, we devise a moving mesh finite element method for the approximate solution of coupled bulk-surface reaction-diffusion equations on an evolving two dimensional domain. Fundamental to the success of the method is the robust generation of bulk and surface meshes. For this purpose, we use a novel moving mesh partial differential equation (MMPDE) approach. The developed method is applied to model problems with known analytical solutions; these experiments indicate second-order spatial and temporal accuracy. Coupled bulk-surface problems occur frequently in many areas; in particular, in the modelling of eukaryotic cell migration and chemotaxis. We apply the method to a model of the two-way interaction of a migrating cell in a chemotactic field, where the bulk region corresponds to the extracellular region and the surface to the cell membrane.

Conceptual models for waste tank mechanistic analysis. Status report, January 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allemann, R. T.; Antoniak, Z. I.; Eyler, L. L.; Liljegren, L. M.; Roberts, J. S.

1992-02-01

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is conducting a study for Westinghouse Hanford Company (Westinghouse Hanford), a contractor for the US Department of Energy (DOE). The purpose of the work is to study possible mechanisms and fluid dynamics contributing to the periodic release of gases from double-shell waste storage tanks at the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington. This interim report emphasizing the modeling work follows two other interim reports, Mechanistic Analysis of Double-Shell Tank Gas Release Progress Report -- November 1990 and Collection and Analysis of Existing Data for Waste Tank Mechanistic Analysis Progress Report -- December 1990, that emphasized data correlation and mechanisms. The approach in this study has been to assemble and compile data that are pertinent to the mechanisms, analyze the data, evaluate physical properties and parameters, evaluate hypothetical mechanisms, and develop mathematical models of mechanisms.

Structural Basis of Actin Filament Nucleation by Tandem W Domains

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiaorui; Ni, Fengyun; Tian, Xia; Kondrashkina, Elena; Wang, Qinghua; Ma, Jianpeng

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Spontaneous nucleation of actin is very inefficient in cells. To overcome this barrier, cells have evolved a set of actin filament nucleators to promote rapid nucleation and polymerization in response to specific stimuli. However, the molecular mechanism of actin nucleation remains poorly understood. This is hindered largely by the fact that actin nucleus, once formed, rapidly polymerizes into filament, thus making it impossible to capture stable multisubunit actin nucleus. Here, we report an effective double-mutant strategy to stabilize actin nucleus by preventing further polymerization. Employing this strategy, we solved the crystal structure of AMPPNP-actin in complex with the first two tandem W domains of Cordon-bleu (Cobl), a potent actin filament nucleator. Further sequence comparison and functional studies suggest that the nucleation mechanism of Cobl is probably shared by the p53 cofactor JMY, but not Spire. Moreover, the double-mutant strategy opens the way for atomic mechanistic study of actin nucleation and polymerization. PMID:23727244

Mechanistic investigation on the oxidation of kinetin by Ag(III)

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Chemical Sciences; Volume 122; Issue 6. Mechanistic investigation on the oxidation of kinetin by Ag(III) periodate complex in aqueous alkaline media: A kinetic approach. S D Lamani A M Tatagar S T Nandibewoor. Full Papers Volume 122 Issue 6 November 2010 pp 891-900 ...

Oxidative Dehydrogenation on Nanocarbon: Insights into the Reaction Mechanism and Kinetics via in Situ Experimental Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Wei; Yan, Pengqiang; Su, Dang Sheng

2018-03-20

Sustainable and environmentally benign catalytic processes are vital for the future to supply the world population with clean energy and industrial products. The replacement of conventional metal or metal oxide catalysts with earth abundant and renewable nonmetallic materials has attracted considerable research interests in the field of catalysis and material science. The stable and efficient catalytic performance of nanocarbon materials was discovered at the end of last century, and these materials are considered as potential alternatives for conventional metal-based catalysts. With its rapid development in the past 20 years, the research field of carbon catalysis has been experiencing a smooth transition from the discovery of novel nanocarbon materials or related new reaction systems to the atomistic-level mechanistic understanding on the catalytic process and the subsequent rational design of the practical catalytic reaction systems. In this Account, we summarize the recent progress in the kinetic and mechanistic studies on nanocarbon catalyzed alkane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) reactions. The paper attempts to extract general concepts and basic regularities for carbon catalytic process directing us on the way for rational design of novel efficient metal-free catalysts. The nature of the active sites for ODH reactions has been revealed through microcalorimetric analysis, ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurement, and in situ chemical titration strategies. The detailed kinetic analysis and in situ catalyst structure characterization suggests that carbon catalyzed ODH reactions involve the redox cycles of the ketonic carbonyl-hydroxyl pairs, and the key physicochemical parameters (activation energy, reaction order, and rate/equilibrium constants, etc.) of the carbon catalytic systems are proposed and compared with conventional transition metal oxide catalysts. The proposal of the intrinsic catalytic activity (TOF) provides the

On the chemistry of ethanol on basic oxides: revising mechanisms and intermediates in the Lebedev and Guerbet reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chieregato, Alessandro; Velasquez Ochoa, Juliana; Bandinelli, Claudia; Fornasari, Giuseppe; Cavani, Fabrizio; Mella, Massimo

2015-01-01

A common way to convert ethanol into chemicals is by upgrading it over oxide catalysts with basic features; this method makes it possible to obtain important chemicals such as 1-butanol (Guerbet reaction) and 1,3-butadiene (Lebedev reaction). Despite their long history in chemistry, the details of the close inter-relationship of these reactions have yet to be discussed properly. Our present study focuses on reactivity tests, in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, MS analysis, and theoretical modeling. We used MgO as a reference catalyst with pure basic features to explore ethanol conversion from its very early stages. Based on the obtained results, we formulate a new mechanistic theory able to explain not only our results but also most of the scientific literature on Lebedev and Guerbet chemistry. This provides a rational description of the intermediates shared by the two reaction pathways as well as an innovative perspective on the catalyst requirements to direct the reaction pathway toward 1-butanol or butadiene. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Crystal Structure of the Marburg Virus VP35 Oligomerization Domain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruhn, Jessica F.; Kirchdoerfer, Robert N.; Urata, Sarah M.; Li, Sheng; Tickle, Ian J.; Bricogne, Gérard; Saphire, Erica Ollmann (Scripps); (Globel Phasing); (UCSD)

2016-11-09

Marburg virus (MARV) is a highly pathogenic filovirus that is classified in a genus distinct from that of Ebola virus (EBOV) (generaMarburgvirusandEbolavirus, respectively). Both viruses produce a multifunctional protein termed VP35, which acts as a polymerase cofactor, a viral protein chaperone, and an antagonist of the innate immune response. VP35 contains a central oligomerization domain with a predicted coiled-coil motif. This domain has been shown to be essential for RNA polymerase function. Here we present crystal structures of the MARV VP35 oligomerization domain. These structures and accompanying biophysical characterization suggest that MARV VP35 is a trimer. In contrast, EBOV VP35 is likely a tetramer in solution. Differences in the oligomeric state of this protein may explain mechanistic differences in replication and immune evasion observed for MARV and EBOV.

IMPORTANCEMarburg virus can cause severe disease, with up to 90% human lethality. Its genome is concise, only producing seven proteins. One of the proteins, VP35, is essential for replication of the viral genome and for evasion of host immune responses. VP35 oligomerizes (self-assembles) in order to function, yet the structure by which it assembles has not been visualized. Here we present two crystal structures of this oligomerization domain. In both structures, three copies of VP35 twist about each other to form a coiled coil. This trimeric assembly is in contrast to tetrameric predictions for VP35 of Ebola virus and to known structures of homologous proteins in the measles, mumps, and Nipah viruses. Distinct oligomeric states of the Marburg and Ebola virus VP35 proteins may explain differences between them in polymerase function and immune evasion. These findings may provide a more accurate understanding of the

Structure-reactivity modeling using mixture-based representation of chemical reactions.

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Polishchuk, Pavel; Madzhidov, Timur; Gimadiev, Timur; Bodrov, Andrey; Nugmanov, Ramil; Varnek, Alexandre

2017-09-01

We describe a novel approach of reaction representation as a combination of two mixtures: a mixture of reactants and a mixture of products. In turn, each mixture can be encoded using an earlier reported approach involving simplex descriptors (SiRMS). The feature vector representing these two mixtures results from either concatenated product and reactant descriptors or the difference between descriptors of products and reactants. This reaction representation doesn't need an explicit labeling of a reaction center. The rigorous "product-out" cross-validation (CV) strategy has been suggested. Unlike the naïve "reaction-out" CV approach based on a random selection of items, the proposed one provides with more realistic estimation of prediction accuracy for reactions resulting in novel products. The new methodology has been applied to model rate constants of E2 reactions. It has been demonstrated that the use of the fragment control domain applicability approach significantly increases prediction accuracy of the models. The models obtained with new "mixture" approach performed better than those required either explicit (Condensed Graph of Reaction) or implicit (reaction fingerprints) reaction center labeling.

Structural and functional determinants of conserved lipid interaction domains of inward rectifying Kir6.2 channels.

Science.gov (United States)

Cukras, Catherine A; Jeliazkova, Iana; Nichols, Colin G

2002-06-01

All members of the inward rectifiier K(+) (Kir) channel family are activated by phosphoinositides and other amphiphilic lipids. To further elucidate the mechanistic basis, we examined the membrane association of Kir6.2 fragments of K(ATP) channels, and the effects of site-directed mutations of these fragments and full-length Kir6.2 on membrane association and K(ATP) channel activity, respectively. GFP-tagged Kir6.2 COOH terminus and GFP-tagged pleckstrin homology domain from phospholipase C delta1 both associate with isolated membranes, and association of each is specifically reduced by muscarinic m1 receptor-mediated phospholipid depletion. Kir COOH termini are predicted to contain multiple beta-strands and a conserved alpha-helix (residues approximately 306-311 in Kir6.2). Systematic mutagenesis of D307-F315 reveals a critical role of E308, I309, W311 and F315, consistent with residues lying on one side of a alpha-helix. Together with systematic mutation of conserved charges, the results define critical determinants of a conserved domain that underlies phospholipid interaction in Kir channels.

The use of deuterium n.m.r. spectroscopy in mechanistic studies of exchange reactions of ethers on supported metal catalysts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, J.A.; Kemball, Charles; McDougall, G.S.

1987-01-01

Exchange reactions of diethyl ether (DEE) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) with deuterium have been studied over supported nickel, palladium, platinum, and rhodium catalysts. Products from most of the systems were analysed by deuterium n.m.r. spectroscopy (55.28 MHz) which gave quantitative results about the distribution of deuterium in the exchanged ethers. The results confirm earlier conclusions about the mechanism of the exchange of DEE and provide new evidence about the reactions of THF. Some hydrogenolysis occurred simultaneously with exchange of THF over both nickel and platinum. (author)

Structure-function analysis of the OB and latch domains of chlorella virus DNA ligase.

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Samai, Poulami; Shuman, Stewart

2011-06-24

Chlorella virus DNA ligase (ChVLig) is a minimized eukaryal ATP-dependent DNA sealing enzyme with an intrinsic nick-sensing function. ChVLig consists of three structural domains, nucleotidyltransferase (NTase), OB-fold, and latch, that envelop the nicked DNA as a C-shaped protein clamp. The OB domain engages the DNA minor groove on the face of the duplex behind the nick, and it makes contacts to amino acids in the NTase domain surrounding the ligase active site. The latch module occupies the DNA major groove flanking the nick. Residues at the tip of the latch contact the NTase domain to close the ligase clamp. Here we performed a structure-guided mutational analysis of the OB and latch domains. Alanine scanning defined seven individual amino acids as essential in vivo (Lys-274, Arg-285, Phe-286, and Val-288 in the OB domain; Asn-214, Phe-215, and Tyr-217 in the latch), after which structure-activity relations were clarified by conservative substitutions. Biochemical tests of the composite nick sealing reaction and of each of the three chemical steps of the ligation pathway highlighted the importance of Arg-285 and Phe-286 in the catalysis of the DNA adenylylation and phosphodiester synthesis reactions. Phe-286 interacts with the nick 5'-phosphate nucleotide and the 3'-OH base pair and distorts the DNA helical conformation at the nick. Arg-285 is a key component of the OB-NTase interface, where it forms a salt bridge to the essential Asp-29 side chain, which is imputed to coordinate divalent metal catalysts during the nick sealing steps.

Structure-Function Analysis of the OB and Latch Domains of Chlorella Virus DNA Ligase*

Science.gov (United States)

Samai, Poulami; Shuman, Stewart

2011-01-01

Chlorella virus DNA ligase (ChVLig) is a minimized eukaryal ATP-dependent DNA sealing enzyme with an intrinsic nick-sensing function. ChVLig consists of three structural domains, nucleotidyltransferase (NTase), OB-fold, and latch, that envelop the nicked DNA as a C-shaped protein clamp. The OB domain engages the DNA minor groove on the face of the duplex behind the nick, and it makes contacts to amino acids in the NTase domain surrounding the ligase active site. The latch module occupies the DNA major groove flanking the nick. Residues at the tip of the latch contact the NTase domain to close the ligase clamp. Here we performed a structure-guided mutational analysis of the OB and latch domains. Alanine scanning defined seven individual amino acids as essential in vivo (Lys-274, Arg-285, Phe-286, and Val-288 in the OB domain; Asn-214, Phe-215, and Tyr-217 in the latch), after which structure-activity relations were clarified by conservative substitutions. Biochemical tests of the composite nick sealing reaction and of each of the three chemical steps of the ligation pathway highlighted the importance of Arg-285 and Phe-286 in the catalysis of the DNA adenylylation and phosphodiester synthesis reactions. Phe-286 interacts with the nick 5′-phosphate nucleotide and the 3′-OH base pair and distorts the DNA helical conformation at the nick. Arg-285 is a key component of the OB-NTase interface, where it forms a salt bridge to the essential Asp-29 side chain, which is imputed to coordinate divalent metal catalysts during the nick sealing steps. PMID:21527793

The Palladium-Catalyzed Aerobic Kinetic Resolution of Secondary Alcohols: Reaction Development, Scope, and Applications

KAUST Repository

Ebner, Davidâ C.; Bagdanoff, Jeffreyâ T.; Ferreira, Ericâ M.; McFadden, Ryanâ M.; Caspi, Danielâ D.; Trend, Raissaâ M.; Stoltz, Brianâ M.

2009-01-01

The first palladium-catalyzed enantioselective oxidation of secondary alcohols has been developed, utilizing the readily available diamine (-)-sparteine as a chiral ligand and molecular oxygen as the stoichiometric oxidant. Mechanistic insights regarding the role of the base and hydrogen-bond donors have resulted in several improvements to the original system. Namely, addition of cesium carbonate and tert-butyl alcohol greatly enhances reaction rates, promoting rapid resolutions. The use of chloroform as solvent allows the use of ambient air as the terminal oxidant at 23 degrees C, resulting in enhanced catalyst selectivity. These improved reaction conditions have permitted the successful kinetic resolution of benzylic, allylic, and cyclopropyl secondary alcohols to high enantiomeric excess with good-to-excellent selectivity factors. This catalyst system has also been applied to the desymmetrization of meso-diols, providing high yields of enantioenriched hydroxyketones.

The Palladium-Catalyzed Aerobic Kinetic Resolution of Secondary Alcohols: Reaction Development, Scope, and Applications

KAUST Repository

Ebner, Davidâ C.

2009-12-07

The first palladium-catalyzed enantioselective oxidation of secondary alcohols has been developed, utilizing the readily available diamine (-)-sparteine as a chiral ligand and molecular oxygen as the stoichiometric oxidant. Mechanistic insights regarding the role of the base and hydrogen-bond donors have resulted in several improvements to the original system. Namely, addition of cesium carbonate and tert-butyl alcohol greatly enhances reaction rates, promoting rapid resolutions. The use of chloroform as solvent allows the use of ambient air as the terminal oxidant at 23 degrees C, resulting in enhanced catalyst selectivity. These improved reaction conditions have permitted the successful kinetic resolution of benzylic, allylic, and cyclopropyl secondary alcohols to high enantiomeric excess with good-to-excellent selectivity factors. This catalyst system has also been applied to the desymmetrization of meso-diols, providing high yields of enantioenriched hydroxyketones.

Atmospheric chemistry of HFC-134a. Kinetic and mechanistic study of the CF3CFHO2 + NO2 reaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møgelberg, T.E.; Nielsen, O.J.; Sehested, J.

1994-01-01

A pulse radiolysis system was used to study the kinetics of the reaction of CF3CFHO2 with NO2. By monitoring the rate of the decay of NO2 using its absorption at 400 nm the reaction rate constant was determined to be k = (5.0 +/- 0.5) x 10(-12) cm3 molecule-1 s-1. A long path length Fourier......-transform infrared technique was used to investigate the thermal decomposition of the product CF3CFHO2NO2. At 296 K in the presence of 700 Torr of air, decomposition of CF3CFHO2NO2 was rapid (greater than 90% decomposition within 3 min). The results are discussed in the context of atmospheric chemistry of CF3CFH2...

An improved mechanistic critical heat flux model for subcooled flow boiling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Young Min [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Soon Heung [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1998-12-31

Based on the bubble coalescence adjacent to the heated wall as a flow structure for CHF condition, Chang and Lee developed a mechanistic critical heat flux (CHF) model for subcooled flow boiling. In this paper, improvements of Chang-Lee model are implemented with more solid theoretical bases for subcooled and low-quality flow boiling in tubes. Nedderman-Shearer`s equations for the skin friction factor and universal velocity profile models are employed. Slip effect of movable bubbly layer is implemented to improve the predictability of low mass flow. Also, mechanistic subcooled flow boiling model is used to predict the flow quality and void fraction. The performance of the present model is verified using the KAIST CHF database of water in uniformly heated tubes. It is found that the present model can give a satisfactory agreement with experimental data within less than 9% RMS error. 9 refs., 5 figs. (Author)

An improved mechanistic critical heat flux model for subcooled flow boiling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Young Min [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Soon Heung [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1997-12-31

Based on the bubble coalescence adjacent to the heated wall as a flow structure for CHF condition, Chang and Lee developed a mechanistic critical heat flux (CHF) model for subcooled flow boiling. In this paper, improvements of Chang-Lee model are implemented with more solid theoretical bases for subcooled and low-quality flow boiling in tubes. Nedderman-Shearer`s equations for the skin friction factor and universal velocity profile models are employed. Slip effect of movable bubbly layer is implemented to improve the predictability of low mass flow. Also, mechanistic subcooled flow boiling model is used to predict the flow quality and void fraction. The performance of the present model is verified using the KAIST CHF database of water in uniformly heated tubes. It is found that the present model can give a satisfactory agreement with experimental data within less than 9% RMS error. 9 refs., 5 figs. (Author)

INTEGRATION OF QSAR AND SAR METHODS FOR THE MECHANISTIC INTERPRETATION OF PREDICTIVE MODELS FOR CARCINOGENICITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalja Fjodorova

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The knowledge-based Toxtree expert system (SAR approach was integrated with the statistically based counter propagation artificial neural network (CP ANN model (QSAR approach to contribute to a better mechanistic understanding of a carcinogenicity model for non-congeneric chemicals using Dragon descriptors and carcinogenic potency for rats as a response. The transparency of the CP ANN algorithm was demonstrated using intrinsic mapping technique specifically Kohonen maps. Chemical structures were represented by Dragon descriptors that express the structural and electronic features of molecules such as their shape and electronic surrounding related to reactivity of molecules. It was illustrated how the descriptors are correlated with particular structural alerts (SAs for carcinogenicity with recognized mechanistic link to carcinogenic activity. Moreover, the Kohonen mapping technique enables one to examine the separation of carcinogens and non-carcinogens (for rats within a family of chemicals with a particular SA for carcinogenicity. The mechanistic interpretation of models is important for the evaluation of safety of chemicals.

Cu-catalyzed esterification reaction via aerobic oxygenation and C-C bond cleavage: an approach to α-ketoesters.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chun; Feng, Peng; Jiao, Ning

2013-10-09

The Cu-catalyzed novel aerobic oxidative esterification reaction of 1,3-diones for the synthesis of α-ketoesters has been developed. This method combines C-C σ-bond cleavage, dioxygen activation and oxidative C-H bond functionalization, as well as provides a practical, neutral, and mild synthetic approach to α-ketoesters which are important units in many biologically active compounds and useful precursors in a variety of functional group transformations. A plausible radical process is proposed on the basis of mechanistic studies.

Mechanistic Oral Absorption Modeling and Simulation for Formulation Development and Bioequivalence Evaluation: Report of an FDA Public Workshop.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, X; Duan, J; Kesisoglou, F; Novakovic, J; Amidon, G L; Jamei, M; Lukacova, V; Eissing, T; Tsakalozou, E; Zhao, L; Lionberger, R

2017-08-01

On May 19, 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hosted a public workshop, entitled "Mechanistic Oral Absorption Modeling and Simulation for Formulation Development and Bioequivalence Evaluation." The topic of mechanistic oral absorption modeling, which is one of the major applications of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling and simulation, focuses on predicting oral absorption by mechanistically integrating gastrointestinal transit, dissolution, and permeation processes, incorporating systems, active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), and the drug product information, into a systemic mathematical whole-body framework. © 2017 The Authors CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Scale-up of heterogeneous catalytic reactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heggs, P; Sunderland, P

1979-12-01

This report on the Institution of Chemical Engineers ''Problems in Applied Catalysis'' Meeting (Bath, U.K. 1/4-5/78) covers papers on the nature of the catalyst surface, including the use of IR spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, electron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and modular-beam scattering for investigating solid surfaces and their relevance to catalysis; study of the reaction mechanisms by which catalysis takes place; use of mechanistic models to determine the true chemical kinetics illustrated for the oxidation of benzene to maleic anhydride over a vanadium pentoxide/molybdenum trioxide catalyst; the study with respect to the importance of transport effects in catalyst pellets on scale-up, falsification of true kinetics, and the design of laboratory reactors; full-scale reactor design of packed-bed reactors; and practical scale-up problems illustrated for methanol synthesis over a copper catalyst, ammonia oxidation over a cobalt oxide catalyst, and the steam reforming of naphtha.

Mechanistic species distribution modeling reveals a niche shift during invasion.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Daniel S; Scalone, Romain; Štefanić, Edita; Bullock, James M

2017-06-01

Niche shifts of nonnative plants can occur when they colonize novel climatic conditions. However, the mechanistic basis for niche shifts during invasion is poorly understood and has rarely been captured within species distribution models. We quantified the consequence of between-population variation in phenology for invasion of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) across Europe. Ragweed is of serious concern because of its harmful effects as a crop weed and because of its impact on public health as a major aeroallergen. We developed a forward mechanistic species distribution model based on responses of ragweed development rates to temperature and photoperiod. The model was parameterized and validated from the literature and by reanalyzing data from a reciprocal common garden experiment in which native and invasive populations were grown within and beyond the current invaded range. It could therefore accommodate between-population variation in the physiological requirements for flowering, and predict the potentially invaded ranges of individual populations. Northern-origin populations that were established outside the generally accepted climate envelope of the species had lower thermal requirements for bud development, suggesting local adaptation of phenology had occurred during the invasion. The model predicts that this will extend the potentially invaded range northward and increase the average suitability across Europe by 90% in the current climate and 20% in the future climate. Therefore, trait variation observed at the population scale can trigger a climatic niche shift at the biogeographic scale. For ragweed, earlier flowering phenology in established northern populations could allow the species to spread beyond its current invasive range, substantially increasing its risk to agriculture and public health. Mechanistic species distribution models offer the possibility to represent niche shifts by varying the traits and niche responses of individual

Documentation and localization of force-mediated filamin A domain perturbations in moving cells

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Fumihiko; Song, Mia; Hartwig, John H.; Stossel, Thomas P.

2014-08-01

Endogenously and externally generated mechanical forces influence diverse cellular activities, a phenomenon defined as mechanotransduction. Deformation of protein domains by application of stress, previously documented to alter macromolecular interactions in vitro, could mediate these effects. We engineered a photon-emitting system responsive to unfolding of two repeat domains of the actin filament (F-actin) crosslinker protein filamin A (FLNA) that binds multiple partners involved in cell signalling reactions and validated the system using F-actin networks subjected to myosin-based contraction. Expressed in cultured cells, the sensor-containing FLNA construct reproducibly reported FLNA domain unfolding strikingly localized to dynamic, actively protruding, leading cell edges. The unfolding signal depends upon coherence of F-actin-FLNA networks and is enhanced by stimulating cell contractility. The results establish protein domain distortion as a bona fide mechanism for mechanotransduction in vivo.

Primary processes and ionic reactions in the chemistry of recoiling silicon atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaspar, P.P.; Garmestani, K.; Boo, B.H.; Stewart, G.W.

1993-01-01

Hot atom chemistry has permitted the elucidation of the chemistry of free atoms, and these include the polyvalent atoms of refractory group 14 elements, that is, carbon, silicon and germanium. Since no more than two bonds are formed normally in a single reactive collision of free atoms, the study on the chemistry of atoms like C, Si and Ge that require the formation of more than two bonds to saturate their chemical valence necessarily involves the study of reactive intermediates. By the studies on the chemistry of recoiling 31 Si atoms, the mechanistic conclusions reached are reported. The most important unanswered questions concerning the reaction of recoiling 31 Si atoms in the systems are shown, and progress has been made toward the answering. By using tetramethyl silane as a trapping agent for silicon ions, it has been established that the reaction of 31 Si ions contributes significantly to the formation of products in recoil systems. The studies by various researchers on this theme are reported. (K.I.)

An investigation of oxidation products and SOA yields from OH + pesticide reactions

Science.gov (United States)

Murschell, T.; Friedman, B.; Link, M.; Farmer, D.

2016-12-01

Pesticides are used globally in agricultural and residential areas. After application and/or volatilization from a surface, these compounds can be transported over long distances in the atmosphere. However, their chemical fate, including oxidation and gas-particle partitioning in the atmosphere, is not well understood. We present gas and particle measurements of oxidation products from pesticide + OH reactions using a dynamic solution injection system coupled to an Oxidative Flow Reactor. Products were detected with a High Resolution Time of Flight Iodide Chemical Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-CIMS) and a Size Mobility Particle Scanner (SMPS). The OFR allows pesticides to react with variable OH radical exposures, ranging from the equivalent of one day to a full week of atmospheric oxidative aging. In this work, we explore pesticide oxidation products from reaction with OH and ozone, and compare those products to photolysis reactions. Pesticides of similar chemical structures were explored, including acetochlor / metolachlor and permethrin / cypermethrin, to explore mechanistic differences. We present chemical parameters including average product oxidation state, average oxygen to carbon ratio, and potential secondary organic aerosol formation for each of these compounds.

Domain-swapping of mesophilic xylanase with hyper-thermophilic glucanase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu Liangwei

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Domain fusion is limited at enzyme one terminus. The issue was explored by swapping a mesophilic Aspergillus niger GH11 xylanase (Xyn with a hyper-thermophilic Thermotoga maritima glucanase (Glu to construct two chimeras, Xyn-Glu and Glu-Xyn, with an intention to create thermostable xylanase containing glucanase activity. Results When expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3, the two chimeras exhibited bi-functional activities of xylanase and glucanase. The Xyn-Glu Xyn moiety had optimal reaction temperature (Topt at 50 °C and thermal in-activation half-life (t1/2 at 50 °C for 47.6 min, compared to 47 °C and 17.6 min for the Xyn. The Glu-Xyn Xyn moiety had equivalent Topt to and shorter t1/2 (5.2 min than the Xyn. Both chimera Glu moieties were more thermostable than the Glu, and the three enzyme Topt values were higher than 96 °C. The Glu-Xyn Glu moiety optimal pH was 5.8, compared to 3.8 for the Xyn-Glu Glu moiety and the Glu. Both chimera two moieties cooperated with each other in degrading substrates. Conclusions Domain-swapping created different effects on each moiety properties. Fusing the Glu domain at C-terminus increased the xylanase thermostability, but fusing the Glu domain at N-terminus decreased the xylanase thermostability. Fusing the Xyn domain at either terminus increased the glucanase thermostability, and fusing the Xyn domain at C-terminus shifted the glucanase pH property 2 units higher towards alkaline environments. Fusing a domain at C-terminus contributes more to enzyme catalytic activity; whereas, fusing a bigger domain at N-terminus disturbs enzyme substrate binding affinity.

Lipids, adiposity and tendinopathy : is there a mechanistic link? Critical review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scott, Alex; Zwerver, Johannes; Grewal, Navi; de Sa, Agnetha; Alktebi, Thuraya; Granville, David J.; Hart, David A.

Being overweight or obese is associated with an elevated risk of tendon pathology. However, for sportspeople the epidemiological data linking weight or adiposity on one hand, and risk of tendon pathology on the other, are less consistent. Indeed, the mechanistic links between diet, adiposity and

Mechanistic and "natural" body metaphors and their effects on attitudes to hormonal contraception.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Susan

2012-01-01

A small, self-selected convenience sample of male and female contraceptive users in the United Kingdom (n = 34) were interviewed between 2006 and 2008 concerning their feelings about the body and their contraceptive attitudes and experiences. The interviewees were a sub-sample of respondents (n = 188) who completed a paper-based questionnaire on similar topics, who were recruited through a poster placed in a family planning clinic, web-based advertisements on workplace and university websites, and through direct approaches to social groups. The bodily metaphors used when discussing contraception were analyzed using an interpretative phenomenological analytical approach facilitated by Atlas.ti software. The dominant bodily metaphor was mechanistic (i.e.,"body as machine"). A subordinate but influential bodily metaphor was the "natural" body, which had connotations of connection to nature and a quasi-sacred bodily order. Interviewees drew upon this "natural" metaphorical image in the context of discussing their anxieties about hormonal contraception. Drawing upon a "natural," non-mechanistic body image in the context of contraceptive decision-making contributed to reluctance to use a hormonal form of contraception. This research suggests that clinicians could improve communication and advice about contraception by recognizing that some users may draw upon non-mechanistic body imagery.

The upper and lower limits of the mechanistic stoichiometry of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Stoichiometry of oxidative phosphorylation.

Science.gov (United States)

Beavis, A D; Lehninger, A L

1986-07-15

Determination of the intrinsic or mechanistic P/O ratio of oxidative phosphorylation is difficult because of the unknown magnitude of leak fluxes. Applying a new approach developed to overcome this problem (see our preceding paper in this journal), the relationships between the rate of O2 uptake [( Jo)3], the net rate of phosphorylation (Jp), the P/O ratio, and the respiratory control ratio (RCR) have been determined in rat liver mitochondria when the rate of phosphorylation was systematically varied by three specific means. (a) When phosphorylation is titrated with carboxyatractyloside, linear relationships are observed between Jp and (Jo)3. These data indicate that the upper limit of the mechanistic P/O ratio is 1.80 for succinate and 2.90 for 3-hydroxybutyrate oxidation. (b) Titration with malonate or antimycin yields linear relationships between Jp and (Jo)3. These data give the lower limit of the mechanistic P/O ratio of 1.63 for succinate and 2.66 for 3-hydroxybutyrate oxidation. (c) Titration with a protonophore yields linear relationships between Jp, (Jo)3, and (Jo)4 and between P/O and 1/RCR. Extrapolation of the P/O ratio to 1/RCR = 0 yields P/O ratios of 1.75 for succinate and 2.73 for 3-hydroxybutyrate oxidation which must be equal to or greater than the mechanistic stoichiometry. When published values for the H+/O and H+/ATP ejection ratios are taken into consideration, these measurements suggest that the mechanistic P/O ratio is 1.75 for succinate oxidation and 2.75 for NADH oxidation.

Thermal unimolecular decomposition of bicyclopropyl and deuterated analogues: infrared photoactivation as a diagnostic tool in mechanistic organic chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farneth, W.E.; Thomsen, M.W.

1982-01-01

The infrared photochemistry of bicyclopropyl yields product mixtures that are not easily rationalized on the basis of the mechanistic scheme suggested by previous pyrolysis work. As a result of this inconsistency the thermal chemistry of bicyclopropyl and analogues deuterated specifically on one ring has been reexamined. A significant new reaction channel involving the chemically activated decomposition of cyclohexene to ethylene and butadiene has been demonstrated. Evidence for the involvement of chemically activated cyclohexene is as follows: (1) isotopic labeling studies implying a symmetric intermediate, (2) a pressure-dependent ratio of cyclohexene to butadiene and ethylene, (3) good agreement between experimental and calculated values for the unimolecular rate constant for retro-Diels-Alder decay of ''hot'' cyclohexene. A comprehensive mechanism for the unimolecular decay of bicyclopropyl is proposed. The important elements of this mechanism are a single first-formed 1,3 biradical common to all products and the intervention of chemical activation in the generation of several of the secondary products

Mechanistic and kinetic study of the CH3CO+O2 reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Hua; Li, Aixiao; Hu, Hongyi; Li, Yuzhen; Li, Hui; Wang, Baoshan

2005-06-01

Potential-energy surface of the CH3CO+O2 reaction has been calculated by ab initio quantum chemistry methods. The geometries were optimized using the second-order Moller-Plesset theory (MP2) with the 6-311G(d,p) basis set and the coupled-cluster theory with single and double excitations (CCSD) with the correlation consistent polarized valence double zeta (cc-pVDZ) basis set. The relative energies were calculated using the Gaussian-3 second-order Moller-Plesset theory with the CCSD/cc-pVDZ geometries. Multireference self-consistent-field and MP2 methods were also employed using the 6-311G(d,p) and 6-311++G(3df,2p) basis sets. Both addition/elimination and direct abstraction mechanisms have been investigated. It was revealed that acetylperoxy radical [CH3C(O)OO] is the initial adduct and the formation of OH and α-lactone [CH2CO2(A'1)] is the only energetically accessible decomposition channel. The other channels, e.g., abstraction, HO2+CH2CO, O +CH3CO2, CO +CH3O2, and CO2+CH3O, are negligible. Multichannel Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus theory and transition state theory (E-resolved) were employed to calculate the overall and individual rate coefficients and the temperature and pressure dependences. Fairly good agreement between theory and experiments has been obtained without any adjustable parameters. It was concluded that at pressures below 3 Torr, OH and CH2CO2(A'1) are the major nascent products of the oxidation of acetyl radials, although CH2CO2(A'1) might either undergo unimolecular decomposition to form the final products of CH2O+CO or react with OH and Cl to generate H2O and HCl. The acetylperoxy radicals formed by collisional stabilization are the major products at the elevated pressures. In atmosphere, the yield of acetylperoxy is nearly unity and the contribution of OH is only marginal.

Structural and Functional Insights into Foamy Viral Integrase

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Cha-Gyun Shin

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Successful integration of retroviral DNA into the host chromosome is an essential step for viral replication. The process is mediated by virally encoded integrase (IN and orchestrated by 3'-end processing and the strand transfer reaction. In vitro reaction conditions, such as substrate specificity, cofactor usage, and cellular binding partners for such reactions by the three distinct domains of prototype foamy viral integrase (PFV-IN have been described well in several reports. Recent studies on the three‑dimensional structure of the interacting complexes between PFV-IN and DNA, cofactors, binding partners, or inhibitors have explored the mechanistic details of such interactions and shown its utilization as an important target to develop anti-retroviral drugs. The presence of a potent, non-transferable nuclear localization signal in the PFV C-terminal domain extends its use as a model for investigating cellular trafficking of large molecular complexes through the nuclear pore complex and also to identify novel cellular targets for such trafficking. This review focuses on recent advancements in the structural analysis and in vitro functional aspects of PFV-IN.

Mechanistic-empirical subgrade design model based on heavy vehicle simulator test results

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Theyse, HL

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Although Accelerated Pavement Testing (APT) is often done with specific objectives, valuable pavement performance data is generated over the long-term that may be used to investigate pavement behaviour in general and calibrate mechanistic...

The multidrug resistance IncA/C transferable plasmid encodes a novel domain-swapped dimeric protein-disulfide isomerase.

Science.gov (United States)

Premkumar, Lakshmanane; Kurth, Fabian; Neyer, Simon; Schembri, Mark A; Martin, Jennifer L

2014-01-31

The multidrug resistance-encoding IncA/C conjugative plasmids disseminate antibiotic resistance genes among clinically relevant enteric bacteria. A plasmid-encoded disulfide isomerase is associated with conjugation. Sequence analysis of several IncA/C plasmids and IncA/C-related integrative and conjugative elements (ICE) from commensal and pathogenic bacteria identified a conserved DsbC/DsbG homolog (DsbP). The crystal structure of DsbP reveals an N-terminal domain, a linker region, and a C-terminal catalytic domain. A DsbP homodimer is formed through domain swapping of two DsbP N-terminal domains. The catalytic domain incorporates a thioredoxin-fold with characteristic CXXC and cis-Pro motifs. Overall, the structure and redox properties of DsbP diverge from the Escherichia coli DsbC and DsbG disulfide isomerases. Specifically, the V-shaped dimer of DsbP is inverted compared with EcDsbC and EcDsbG. In addition, the redox potential of DsbP (-161 mV) is more reducing than EcDsbC (-130 mV) and EcDsbG (-126 mV). Other catalytic properties of DsbP more closely resemble those of EcDsbG than EcDsbC. These catalytic differences are in part a consequence of the unusual active site motif of DsbP (CAVC); substitution to the EcDsbC-like (CGYC) motif converts the catalytic properties to those of EcDsbC. Structural comparison of the 12 independent subunit structures of DsbP that we determined revealed that conformational changes in the linker region contribute to mobility of the catalytic domain, providing mechanistic insight into DsbP function. In summary, our data reveal that the conserved plasmid-encoded DsbP protein is a bona fide disulfide isomerase and suggest that a dedicated oxidative folding enzyme is important for conjugative plasmid transfer.

Proposed key characteristics of male reproductive toxicants as a method for organizing and screening mechanistic evidence for non-cancer outcomes.

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The adoption of systematic review practices for risk assessment includes integration of evidence obtained from experimental, epidemiological, and mechanistic studies. Although mechanistic evidence plays an important role in mode of action analysis, the process of sorting and anal...

Cobalt-Catalyzed C(sp(2))-H Borylation: Mechanistic Insights Inspire Catalyst Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Obligacion, Jennifer V; Semproni, Scott P; Pappas, Iraklis; Chirik, Paul J

2016-08-24

A comprehensive study into the mechanism of bis(phosphino)pyridine (PNP) cobalt-catalyzed C-H borylation of 2,6-lutidine using B2Pin2 (Pin = pinacolate) has been conducted. The experimentally observed rate law, deuterium kinetic isotope effects, and identification of the catalyst resting state support turnover limiting C-H activation from a fully characterized cobalt(I) boryl intermediate. Monitoring the catalytic reaction as a function of time revealed that borylation of the 4-position of the pincer in the cobalt catalyst was faster than arene borylation. Cyclic voltammetry established the electron withdrawing influence of 4-BPin, which slows the rate of C-H oxidative addition and hence overall catalytic turnover. This mechanistic insight inspired the next generation of 4-substituted PNP cobalt catalysts with electron donating and sterically blocking methyl and pyrrolidinyl substituents that exhibited increased activity for the C-H borylation of unactivated arenes. The rationally designed catalysts promote effective turnover with stoichiometric quantities of arene substrate and B2Pin2. Kinetic studies on the improved catalyst, 4-(H)2BPin, established a change in turnover limiting step from C-H oxidative addition to C-B reductive elimination. The iridium congener of the optimized cobalt catalyst, 6-(H)2BPin, was prepared and crystallographically characterized and proved inactive for C-H borylation, a result of the high kinetic barrier for reductive elimination from octahedral Ir(III) complexes.

Mechanistic studies of thioxanthone–carbazole as a one-component type II photoinitiator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karaca, Nurcan; Karaca Balta, Demet; Ocal, Nuket; Arsu, Nergis, E-mail: nergisarsu@gmail.com

2014-02-15

A mechanistic study concerning photoinitiated free radical polymerization using Thioxanthone–Carbazole (TX–Cz) as a one-component Type II photoinitiator was performed. TX–Cz presented visible initiator characteristics with absorptions at 434 and 414 nm where the molar absorption coefficients were 2014 and 1754 L mol{sup −1} cm{sup −1}, respectively. Fluorescence and phosphorescence spectroscopy, as well as laser flash photolysis was employed to study the photophysical properties of TX–Cz. In addition, photopolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) showed that TX–Cz is efficient photoinitiator. To explain the initiation mechanism of TX–Cz, fluorescence and phosphorescence emission spectra of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were also taken to see whether the initiator covalently bonded to the polymer. The postulated mechanism is based on inter- molecular reaction of the triplet, {sup 3}(TX–Cz){sup ⁎} with the carbazole moiety at ground state, TX–Cz. The photoinitiation efficiency of TX–Cz during gelation of multifunctional acrylates was also investigated by Photo-Differential Scanning Calorimetry (Photo-DSC) technique and high polymerization rates were obtained. -- Highlights: • Thioxanthone–Carbazole was used as visible light photoinitiator for radical polymerization of meth(acrylates). • The detailed photophysical properties of TX–Cz was reported. • Fluorescence quantum yield, phosphorescence lifetime , triplet energy and triplet lifetime were determined. • Photo-DSC was used to follow photopolymerizatin kinetics of acrylates.

Chemical kinetic mechanistic models to investigate cancer biology and impact cancer medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stites, Edward C

2013-01-01

Traditional experimental biology has provided a mechanistic understanding of cancer in which the malignancy develops through the acquisition of mutations that disrupt cellular processes. Several drugs developed to target such mutations have now demonstrated clinical value. These advances are unequivocal testaments to the value of traditional cellular and molecular biology. However, several features of cancer may limit the pace of progress that can be made with established experimental approaches alone. The mutated genes (and resultant mutant proteins) function within large biochemical networks. Biochemical networks typically have a large number of component molecules and are characterized by a large number of quantitative properties. Responses to a stimulus or perturbation are typically nonlinear and can display qualitative changes that depend upon the specific values of variable system properties. Features such as these can complicate the interpretation of experimental data and the formulation of logical hypotheses that drive further research. Mathematical models based upon the molecular reactions that define these networks combined with computational studies have the potential to deal with these obstacles and to enable currently available information to be more completely utilized. Many of the pressing problems in cancer biology and cancer medicine may benefit from a mathematical treatment. As work in this area advances, one can envision a future where such models may meaningfully contribute to the clinical management of cancer patients. (paper)

Structure-guided mutational analysis of the nucleotidyltransferase domain of Escherichia coli NAD+-dependent DNA ligase (LigA).

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hui; Shuman, Stewart

2005-04-01

NAD+-dependent DNA ligase (LigA) is essential for bacterial growth and a potential target for antimicrobial drug discovery. Here we queried the role of 14 conserved amino acids of Escherichia coli LigA by alanine scanning and thereby identified five new residues within the nucleotidyltransferase domain as being essential for LigA function in vitro and in vivo. Structure activity relationships were determined by conservative mutagenesis for the Glu-173, Arg-200, Arg-208, and Arg-277 side chains, as well as four other essential side chains that had been identified previously (Lys-115, Asp-117, Asp-285, and Lys-314). In addition, we identified Lys-290 as important for LigA activity. Reference to the structure of Enterococcus faecalis LigA allowed us to discriminate three classes of essential/important side chains that: (i) contact NAD+ directly (Lys-115, Glu-173, Lys-290, and Lys-314); (ii) comprise the interface between the NMN-binding domain (domain Ia) and the nucleotidyltransferase domain or comprise part of a nick-binding site on the surface of the nucleotidyltransferase domain (Arg-200 and Arg-208); or (iii) stabilize the active site fold of the nucleotidyltransferase domain (Arg-277). Analysis of mutational effects on the isolated ligase adenylylation and phosphodiester formation reactions revealed different functions for essential side chains at different steps of the DNA ligase pathway, consistent with the proposal that the active site is serially remodeled as the reaction proceeds.

Regulation of Exocytotic Fusion Pores by SNARE Protein Transmembrane Domains

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Zhenyong Wu

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Calcium-triggered exocytotic release of neurotransmitters and hormones from neurons and neuroendocrine cells underlies neuronal communication, motor activity and endocrine functions. The core of the neuronal exocytotic machinery is composed of soluble N-ethyl maleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs. Formation of complexes between vesicle-attached v- and plasma-membrane anchored t-SNAREs in a highly regulated fashion brings the membranes into close apposition. Small, soluble proteins called Complexins (Cpx and calcium-sensing Synaptotagmins cooperate to block fusion at low resting calcium concentrations, but trigger release upon calcium increase. A growing body of evidence suggests that the transmembrane domains (TMDs of SNARE proteins play important roles in regulating the processes of fusion and release, but the mechanisms involved are only starting to be uncovered. Here we review recent evidence that SNARE TMDs exert influence by regulating the dynamics of the fusion pore, the initial aqueous connection between the vesicular lumen and the extracellular space. Even after the fusion pore is established, hormone release by neuroendocrine cells is tightly controlled, and the same may be true of neurotransmitter release by neurons. The dynamics of the fusion pore can regulate the kinetics of cargo release and the net amount released, and can determine the mode of vesicle recycling. Manipulations of SNARE TMDs were found to affect fusion pore properties profoundly, both during exocytosis and in biochemical reconstitutions. To explain these effects, TMD flexibility, and interactions among TMDs or between TMDs and lipids have been invoked. Exocytosis has provided the best setting in which to unravel the underlying mechanisms, being unique among membrane fusion reactions in that single fusion pores can be probed using high-resolution methods. An important role will likely be played by methods that can probe single fusion pores

The Combined Use of Correlative and Mechanistic Species Distribution Models Benefits Low Conservation Status Species.

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Thibaud Rougier

Full Text Available Species can respond to climate change by tracking appropriate environmental conditions in space, resulting in a range shift. Species Distribution Models (SDMs can help forecast such range shift responses. For few species, both correlative and mechanistic SDMs were built, but allis shad (Alosa alosa, an endangered anadromous fish species, is one of them. The main purpose of this study was to provide a framework for joint analyses of correlative and mechanistic SDMs projections in order to strengthen conservation measures for species of conservation concern. Guidelines for joint representation and subsequent interpretation of models outputs were defined and applied. The present joint analysis was based on the novel mechanistic model GR3D (Global Repositioning Dynamics of Diadromous fish Distribution which was parameterized on allis shad and then used to predict its future distribution along the European Atlantic coast under different climate change scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5. We then used a correlative SDM for this species to forecast its distribution across the same geographic area and under the same climate change scenarios. First, projections from correlative and mechanistic models provided congruent trends in probability of habitat suitability and population dynamics. This agreement was preferentially interpreted as referring to the species vulnerability to climate change. Climate change could not be accordingly listed as a major threat for allis shad. The congruence in predicted range limits between SDMs projections was the next point of interest. The difference, when noticed, required to deepen our understanding of the niche modelled by each approach. In this respect, the relative position of the northern range limit between the two methods strongly suggested here that a key biological process related to intraspecific variability was potentially lacking in the mechanistic SDM. Based on our knowledge, we hypothesized that local

Effects of iron-containing minerals on hydrothermal reactions of ketones

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Ziming; Gould, Ian R.; Williams, Lynda B.; Hartnett, Hilairy E.; Shock, Everett L.

2018-02-01

Hydrothermal organic transformations occurring in geochemical processes are influenced by the surrounding environments including rocks and minerals. This work is focused on the effects of five common minerals on reactions of a model ketone substrate, dibenzylketone (DBK), in an experimental hydrothermal system. Ketones play a central role in many hydrothermal organic functional group transformations, such as those converting hydrocarbons to oxygenated compounds; however, how these minerals control the hydrothermal chemistry of ketones is poorly understood. Under the hydrothermal conditions of 300 °C and 70 MPa for up to 168 h, we observed that, while quartz (SiO2) and corundum (Al2O3) had no detectable effect on the hydrothermal reactions of DBK, iron-containing minerals, such as hematite (Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3O4), and troilite (synthetic FeS), accelerated the reaction of DBK by up to an order of magnitude. We observed that fragmentation products, such as toluene and bibenzyl, dominated in the presence of hematite or magnetite, while use of troilite gave primarily the reduction products, e.g., 1, 3-diphenyl-propane and 1, 3-diphenyl-2-propanol. The roles of the three iron minerals in these transformations were further explored by (1) control experiments with various mineral surface areas, (2) measuring H2 in hydrothermal solutions, and (3) determining hydrogen balance among the organic products. These results suggest the reactions catalyzed by iron oxides (hematite and magnetite) are promoted mainly by the mineral surfaces, whereas the sulfide mineral (troilite) facilitated the reduction of ketone in the reaction solution. Therefore, this work not only provides a useful chemical approach to study and uncover complicated hydrothermal organic-mineral interactions, but also fosters a mechanistic understanding of ketone reactions in the deep carbon cycle.

New web-based applications for mechanistic case diagramming

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Fred R. Dee

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The goal of mechanistic case diagraming (MCD is to provide students with more in-depth understanding of cause and effect relationships and basic mechanistic pathways in medicine. This will enable them to better explain how observed clinical findings develop from preceding pathogenic and pathophysiological events. The pedagogic function of MCD is in relating risk factors, disease entities and morphology, signs and symptoms, and test and procedure findings in a specific case scenario with etiologic pathogenic and pathophysiological sequences within a flow diagram. In this paper, we describe the addition of automation and predetermined lists to further develop the original concept of MCD as described by Engelberg in 1992 and Guerrero in 2001. We demonstrate that with these modifications, MCD is effective and efficient in small group case-based teaching for second-year medical students (ratings of ~3.4 on a 4.0 scale. There was also a significant correlation with other measures of competency, with a ‘true’ score correlation of 0.54. A traditional calculation of reliability showed promising results (α =0.47 within a low stakes, ungraded environment. Further, we have demonstrated MCD's potential for use in independent learning and TBL. Future studies are needed to evaluate MCD's potential for use in medium stakes assessment or self-paced independent learning and assessment. MCD may be especially relevant in returning students to the application of basic medical science mechanisms in the clinical years.

pH-dependent electron transfer reaction and direct bioelectrocatalysis of the quinohemoprotein pyranose dehydrogenase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takeda, Kouta [Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588 (Japan); Matsumura, Hirotoshi; Ishida, Takuya [Department of Biomaterial Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657 (Japan); Yoshida, Makoto [Department of Environmental and Natural Resource Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509 (Japan); Igarashi, Kiyohiko; Samejima, Masahiro [Department of Biomaterial Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657 (Japan); Ohno, Hiroyuki [Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588 (Japan); Nakamura, Nobuhumi, E-mail: nobu1@cc.tuat.ac.jp [Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588 (Japan)

2016-08-26

A pyranose dehydrogenase from Coprinopsis cinerea (CcPDH) is an extracellular quinohemoeprotein, which consists a b-type cytochrome domain, a pyrroloquinoline-quinone (PQQ) domain, and a family 1-type carbohydrate-binding module. The electron transfer reaction of CcPDH was studied using some electron acceptors and a carbon electrode at various pH levels. Phenazine methosulfate (PMS) reacted directly at the PQQ domain, whereas cytochrome c (cyt c) reacted via the cytochrome domain of intact CcPDH. Thus, electrons are transferred from reduced PQQ in the catalytic domain of CcPDH to heme b in the N-terminal cytochrome domain, which acts as a built-in mediator and transfers electron to a heterogenous electron transfer protein. The optimal pH values of the PMS reduction (pH 6.5) and the cyt c reduction (pH 8.5) differ. The catalytic currents for the oxidation of L-fucose were observed within a range of pH 4.5 to 11. Bioelectrocatalysis of CcPDH based on direct electron transfer demonstrated that the pH profile of the biocatalytic current was similar to the reduction activity of cyt c characters. - Highlights: • pH dependencies of activity were different for the reduction of cyt c and DCPIP. • DET-based bioelectrocatalysis of CcPDH was observed. • The similar pH-dependent profile was found with cyt c and electrode. • The present results suggested that IET reaction of CcPDH shows pH dependence.

Reaction kinetics of dolomite rim growth

Science.gov (United States)

Helpa, V.; Rybacki, E.; Abart, R.; Morales, L. F. G.; Rhede, D.; Jeřábek, P.; Dresen, G.

2014-04-01

Reaction rims of dolomite (CaMg[CO3]2) were produced by solid-state reactions at the contacts of oriented calcite (CaCO3) and magnesite (MgCO3) single crystals at 400 MPa pressure, 750-850 °C temperature, and 3-146 h annealing time to determine the reaction kinetics. The dolomite reaction rims show two different microstructural domains. Elongated palisades of dolomite grew perpendicular into the MgCO3 interface with length ranging from about 6 to 41 µm. At the same time, a 5-71 µm wide rim of equiaxed granular dolomite grew at the contact with CaCO3. Platinum markers showed that the original interface is located at the boundary between the granular and palisade-forming dolomite. In addition to dolomite, a 12-80 µm thick magnesio-calcite layer formed between the dolomite reaction rims and the calcite single crystals. All reaction products show at least an axiotactic crystallographic relationship with respect to calcite reactant, while full topotaxy to calcite prevails within the granular dolomite and magnesio-calcite. Dolomite grains frequently exhibit growth twins characterized by a rotation of 180° around one of the equivalent axis. From mass balance considerations, it is inferred that the reaction rim of dolomite grew by counter diffusion of MgO and CaO. Assuming an Arrhenius-type temperature dependence, activation energies for diffusion of CaO and MgO are E a (CaO) = 192 ± 54 kJ/mol and E a (MgO) = 198 ± 44 kJ/mol, respectively.

On board catalytic NOx control: mechanistic aspects of the regeneration of Lean NOx Traps with H2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forzatti, Pio; Lietti, Luca; Nova, Isabella

2008-01-01

Mechanistic aspects of the reduction with H 2 of NO x stored on Lean NO x Trap catalysts are critically reviewed. It was shown that, under nearly isothermal conditions nitrogen formation occurs via an in series two-step process involving the participation of ammonia as an intermediate. The first step of this process is ammonia formation through the reaction of H 2 with stored nitrates; ammonia then reacts with the nitrates left on the catalysts surface leading to the formation of nitrogen. Over the investigated Ba-containing catalysts, the first step (i.e. NH 3 formation) is much faster than the second one which, therefore, is rate determining in the formation of nitrogen. Both steps are catalyzed by Pt and, under nearly isothermal conditions, do not involve the occurrence of a thermal decomposition step of the stored nitrates. Due to the fast reaction of the adsorbed nitrates with H 2 to give ammonia and to the integral behaviour of the trap, an H 2 front develops in the trap which travels along the reactor axis. Ammonia formed upon reaction of nitrates with H 2 reacts downstream of the H 2 front with nitrates leading to N 2 formation, if the temperature is high enough. This explains both the observed change in the selectivity of the process with time upon regeneration of the trap (with selectivity changing from N 2 to NH 3 ), and the increase in the N 2 selectivity with temperature as well. The identification of the pathway for the reduction of stored NO x , where ammonia is suggested as the intermediate product in the formation of nitrogen, may favour the improvement of the combined NSR + SCR technology that has been proposed by several car manufacturers to make NO x removal by NSR more effective and to simultaneously limit the ammonia slip (GB)

Manual Choice Reaction Times in the Rate-Domain

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Chris eHarris

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Over the last 150 years, human manual reaction times (RTs have been recorded countless times. Yet, our understanding of them remains remarkably poor. RTs are highly variable with positively skewed frequency distributions, often modelled as an inverse Gaussian distribution reflecting a stochastic rise to threshold (diffusion process. However, latency distribution of saccades are very close to the reciprocal Normal, suggesting that ‘rate’ (reciprocal RT may be the more fundamental variable. We explored whether this phenomenon extends to choice manual RTs. We recorded two-alternative choice RTs from 24 subjects, each with 4 blocks of 200 trials with two task difficulties (easy vs. difficult discrimination and two instruction sets (urgent vs. accurate. We found that rate distributions were, indeed, very close to Normal, shifting to lower rates with increasing difficulty and accuracy, and for some blocks subjects they appeared to become left-truncated, but still close to Normal. Using autoregressive techniques, we found temporal sequential dependencies for lags of at least 3. We identified a transient and steady-state component in each block. Because rates were Normal, we were able to estimate autoregressive weights using the Box-Jenkins technique, and convert to a moving average model using z-transforms to show explicit dependence on stimulus input. We also found a spatial sequential dependence for the previous 3 lags depending on whether the laterality of previous trials was repeated or alternated. This was partially dissociated from temporal dependency as it only occurred in the easy tasks. We conclude that 2-alternative choice manual RT distributions are close to reciprocal Normal and not the inverse Gaussian. This is not consistent with stochastic rise to threshold models, and we propose a simple optimality model in which reward is maximized to yield to an optimal rate, and hence an optimal time to respond. We discuss how it might be

Permanent deformation testing for a new South African mechanistic pavement design method

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Anochie-Boateng, Joseph

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The South Africa National Road Agency Limited together with the CSIR are undertaking a research and development project to support the revision of the South African mechanistic-empirical pavement design method. An important part of this project...

The use of mechanistic descriptions of algal growth and zooplankton grazing in an estuarine eutrophication model

Science.gov (United States)

Baird, M. E.; Walker, S. J.; Wallace, B. B.; Webster, I. T.; Parslow, J. S.

2003-03-01

A simple model of estuarine eutrophication is built on biomechanical (or mechanistic) descriptions of a number of the key ecological processes in estuaries. Mechanistically described processes include the nutrient uptake and light capture of planktonic and benthic autotrophs, and the encounter rates of planktonic predators and prey. Other more complex processes, such as sediment biogeochemistry, detrital processes and phosphate dynamics, are modelled using empirical descriptions from the Port Phillip Bay Environmental Study (PPBES) ecological model. A comparison is made between the mechanistically determined rates of ecological processes and the analogous empirically determined rates in the PPBES ecological model. The rates generally agree, with a few significant exceptions. Model simulations were run at a range of estuarine depths and nutrient loads, with outputs presented as the annually averaged biomass of autotrophs. The simulations followed a simple conceptual model of eutrophication, suggesting a simple biomechanical understanding of estuarine processes can provide a predictive tool for ecological processes in a wide range of estuarine ecosystems.

Reaction F + C2H4: Rate Constant and Yields of the Reaction Products as a Function of Temperature over 298-950 K.

Science.gov (United States)

Bedjanian, Yuri

2018-03-29

The kinetics and products of the reaction of F + C 2 H 4 have been studied in a discharge flow reactor combined with an electron impact ionization mass spectrometer at nearly 2 Torr total pressure of helium in the temperature range 298-950 K. The total rate constant of the reaction, k 1 = (1.78 ± 0.30) × 10 -10 cm 3 molecule -1 s -1 , determined under pseudo-first-order conditions, monitoring the kinetics of F atom consumption in excess of C 2 H 4 , was found to be temperature independent in the temperature range used. H, C 2 H 3 F, and HF were identified as the reaction products. Absolute measurements of the yields of these species allowed to determine the branching ratios, k 1b / k 1 = (0.73 ± 0.07) exp(-(425 ± 45)/ T) and k 1a / k 1 = 1 - (0.73 ± 0.07) exp(-(425 ± 45)/ T) and partial rate constants for addition-elimination (H + C 2 H 3 F) and H atom abstraction (HF + C 2 H 3 ) pathways of the title reaction: k 1a = (0.80 ± 0.07) × 10 -10 exp(189 ± 37/ T) and k 1b = (1.26 ± 0.13) × 10 -10 exp(-414 ± 45/ T) cm 3 molecule -1 s -1 , respectively, at T = 298-950 K and with 2σ quoted uncertainties. The overall reaction rate constant can be adequately described by both the temperature independent value and as a sum of k 1a and k 1b . The kinetic and mechanistic data from the present study are discussed in comparison with previous absolute and relative measurements and theoretical calculations.

Department of Nuclear Reactions: Overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rusek, K.

2002-01-01

Full text: Department of Nuclear Reactions has had a very productive year. We have carried out our work in close collaborations with physicists from many laboratories, home and foreign. The following reports cover three major domains of our activities: nuclear, material and atomic physics. * Nuclear physics: In collaboration with scientists from Ukraine experimental studies of nuclear reaction induced by heavy ions from the Warsaw Cyclotron have been performed. The aim of the experiments is to study nuclear reactions leading to the exotic light nuclei in exit channels and energy dependence of the nucleus - nucleus interactions. Proton induced charge-exchange reactions were investigated theoretically by means of multistep-direct model. Good agreement with the experimental data was achieved. A novel approach to the problem of the nuclear liquid → gas phase transition was proposed, based on synergetics - a domain of science dealing with self-organization in macroscopic systems. Decay properties of the Roper resonance were studied. Final analysis of the analysing powers for the polarized deuterons scattered on protons was accomplished. Experimental programme of the near-threshold meson production in proton - proton scattering has been started in collaboration with Forschungszentrum. Juelich. * Atomic physics: Spectra of the X-rays emitted by energetic sulphur ions scattered off carbon atoms were analysed in order to study the role of the multiple charge states of the inner shells in the dynamics of the collision process. Ionization probabilities in collision of oxygen ions with gold atoms were measured. The observed disagreement of the experimental data with the theoretical predictions suggest a strong effect generated by the sub-shell couplings. * Materials research: Ion channelling method was applied to investigate transformation of the defects in Al x Ga 1-x As crystalline layers. Activities of our colleagues in didactics have grown considerably. Lectures

Stereochemistry of 1,2-elimination and proton-transfer reactions: toward a unified understanding.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohrig, Jerry R

2013-07-16

Many mechanistic and stereochemical studies have focused on the breaking of the C-H bond through base-catalyzed elimination reactions. When we began our research, however, chemists knew almost nothing about the stereospecificity of addition-elimination reactions involving conjugated acyclic carbonyl compounds, even though the carbonyl group is a pivotal functional group in organic chemistry. Over the last 25 years, we have studied the addition-elimination reactions of β-substituted acyclic esters, thioesters, and ketones in order to reach a comprehensive understanding of how electronic effects influence their stereochemistry. This Account brings together our understanding of the stereochemistry of 1,2-elimination and proton-transfer reactions, describing how each study has built upon previous work and contributed to our understanding of this field. When we began, chemists thought that anti stereospecificity in base-catalyzed 1,2-elimination reactions occurred via concerted E2 mechanisms, which provide a smooth path for anti elimination. Unexpectedly, we discovered that some E1cBirrev reactions produce the same anti stereospecificity as E2 reactions even though they proceed through diffusionally equilibrated, "free" enolate-anion intermediates. This result calls into question the conventional wisdom that anti stereochemistry must result from a concerted mechanism. While carrying out our research, we developed insights ranging from the role of historical contingency in the evolution of hydratase-dehydratase enzymes to the influence of buffers on the stereochemistry of H/D exchange in D2O. Negative hyperconjugation is the most important concept for understanding our results. This idea provides a unifying view for the largely anti stereochemistry in E1cBirrev elimination reactions and a basis for understanding the stereoelectronic influence of electron-withdrawing β-substituents on proton-transfer reactions.

The BRCT domain is a phospho-protein binding domain.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xiaochun; Chini, Claudia Christiano Silva; He, Miao; Mer, Georges; Chen, Junjie

2003-10-24

The carboxyl-terminal domain (BRCT) of the Breast Cancer Gene 1 (BRCA1) protein is an evolutionarily conserved module that exists in a large number of proteins from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Although most BRCT domain-containing proteins participate in DNA-damage checkpoint or DNA-repair pathways, or both, the function of the BRCT domain is not fully understood. We show that the BRCA1 BRCT domain directly interacts with phosphorylated BRCA1-Associated Carboxyl-terminal Helicase (BACH1). This specific interaction between BRCA1 and phosphorylated BACH1 is cell cycle regulated and is required for DNA damage-induced checkpoint control during the transition from G2 to M phase of the cell cycle. Further, we show that two other BRCT domains interact with their respective physiological partners in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. Thirteen additional BRCT domains also preferentially bind phospho-peptides rather than nonphosphorylated control peptides. These data imply that the BRCT domain is a phospho-protein binding domain involved in cell cycle control.

Mechanistic model of mass-specific basal metabolic rate: evaluation in healthy young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Z; Bosy-Westphal, A; Schautz, B; Müller, M

2011-12-01

Mass-specific basal metabolic rate (mass-specific BMR), defined as the resting energy expenditure per unit body mass per day, is an important parameter in energy metabolism research. However, a mechanistic explanation for magnitude of mass-specific BMR remains lacking. The objective of the present study was to validate the applicability of a proposed mass-specific BMR model in healthy adults. A mechanistic model was developed at the organ-tissue level, mass-specific BMR = Σ( K i × F i ), where Fi is the fraction of body mass as individual organs and tissues, and K i is the specific resting metabolic rate of major organs and tissues. The Fi values were measured by multiple MRI scans and the K i values were suggested by Elia in 1992. A database of healthy non-elderly non-obese adults (age 20 - 49 yrs, BMI BMR of all subjects was 21.6 ± 1.9 (mean ± SD) and 21.7 ± 1.6 kcal/kg per day, respectively. The measured mass-specific BMR was correlated with the predicted mass-specific BMR (r = 0.82, P BMR, versus the average of measured and predicted mass-specific BMR. In conclusion, the proposed mechanistic model was validated in non-elderly non-obese adults and can help to understand the inherent relationship between mass-specific BMR and body composition.

Exploring conditions for the enhancement of acene semiconductors through the use of the Diels-alder reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Qualizza, Brittni A.

This dissertation demonstrates the application of SAMs to the surface of acene crystals, specifically of tetracene and rubrene, using the Diels-Alder reaction. The second chapter details preliminary reaction results and two analytical methods which were employed to confirm adsorption of the dienophile on the surface of single crystals, tetracene and rubrene. These were mass spectrometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Mass spectrometry experiments distinguish the chemical identity of adduct on the crystals and also it discerned chemi- and physisorbed molecules from one another. XPS was used to prove face selectivity of the reaction by the detection of dichloromaleic anhydride. From a mechanistic standpoint, this system demonstrated unusual steric effects: the reaction of one face of the tetracene crystal was virtually inert, while another face was facile. The dienophiles' steric bulk was also expected to play critical role for these confined systems, however analysis of surface data was hindered by the relative lack of corresponding solution kinetic data. While the rate of anthracene's reaction has been studied extensively with a range of dienophiles and tetracene/pentacene has been studied theoretically (with limited experimental reports), an expansive report was generated to aid in future interpretations of acene systems. These kinetic results constitute chapter three.

Mechanistic studies on the OH-initiated atmospheric oxidation of selected aromatic hydrocarbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nehr, Sascha

2012-07-01

Benzene, toluene, the xylenes, and the trimethylbenzenes are among the most abundant aromatic trace constituents of the atmosphere mainly originating from anthropogenic sources. The OH-initiated atmospheric photo-oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons is the predominant removal process resulting in the formation of O{sub 3} and secondary organic aerosol. Therefore, aromatics are important trace constituents regarding air pollution in urban environments. Our understanding of aromatic photo-oxidation processes is far from being complete. This work presents novel approaches for the investigation of OH-initiated atmospheric degradation mechanisms of aromatic hydrocarbons. Firstly, pulsed kinetic studies were performed to investigate the prompt HO{sub 2} formation from OH+ aromatic hydrocarbon reactions under ambient conditions. For these studies, the existing OH reactivity instrument, based on the flash photolysis/laser-induced fluorescence (FP/LIF) technique, was extended to the detection of HO{sub 2} radicals. The experimental design allows for the determination of HO{sub 2} formation yields and kinetics. Results of the pulsed kinetic experiments complement previous product studies and help to reduce uncertainties regarding the primary oxidation steps. Secondly, experiments with aromatic hydrocarbons were performed under atmospheric conditions in the outdoor atmosphere simulation chamber SAPHIR (Simulation of Atmospheric PHotochemistry In a large Reaction chamber) located at Forschungszentrum Juelich. The experiments were aimed at the evaluation of up-to-date aromatic degradation schemes of the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCMv3.2). The unique combination of analytical instruments operated at SAPHIR allows for a detailed investigation of HO{sub x} and NO{sub x} budgets and for the determination of primary phenolic oxidation product yields. MCMv3.2 deficiencies were identified and most likely originate from shortcomings in the mechanistic representation of ring

The coefficient of restitution of pressurized balls: a mechanistic model

Science.gov (United States)

Georgallas, Alex; Landry, Gaëtan

2016-01-01

Pressurized, inflated balls used in professional sports are regulated so that their behaviour upon impact can be anticipated and allow the game to have its distinctive character. However, the dynamics governing the impacts of such balls, even on stationary hard surfaces, can be extremely complex. The energy transformations, which arise from the compression of the gas within the ball and from the shear forces associated with the deformation of the wall, are examined in this paper. We develop a simple mechanistic model of the dependence of the coefficient of restitution, e, upon both the gauge pressure, P_G, of the gas and the shear modulus, G, of the wall. The model is validated using the results from a simple series of experiments using three different sports balls. The fits to the data are extremely good for P_G > 25 kPa and consistent values are obtained for the value of G for the wall material. As far as the authors can tell, this simple, mechanistic model of the pressure dependence of the coefficient of restitution is the first in the literature. *%K Coefficient of Restitution, Dynamics, Inflated Balls, Pressure, Impact Model

Tri-domain Bifunctional Inhibitor of Metallocarboxypeptidases A and Serine Proteases Isolated from Marine Annelid Sabellastarte magnifica*

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso-del-Rivero, Maday; Trejo, Sebastian A.; Reytor, Mey L.; Rodriguez-de-la-Vega, Monica; Delfin, Julieta; Diaz, Joaquin; González-González, Yamile; Canals, Francesc; Chavez, Maria Angeles; Aviles, Francesc X.

2012-01-01

This study describes a novel bifunctional metallocarboxypeptidase and serine protease inhibitor (SmCI) isolated from the tentacle crown of the annelid Sabellastarte magnifica. SmCI is a 165-residue glycoprotein with a molecular mass of 19.69 kDa (mass spectrometry) and 18 cysteine residues forming nine disulfide bonds. Its cDNA was cloned and sequenced by RT-PCR and nested PCR using degenerated oligonucleotides. Employing this information along with data derived from automatic Edman degradation of peptide fragments, the SmCI sequence was fully characterized, indicating the presence of three bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor/Kunitz domains and its high homology with other Kunitz serine protease inhibitors. Enzyme kinetics and structural analyses revealed SmCI to be an inhibitor of human and bovine pancreatic metallocarboxypeptidases of the A-type (but not B-type), with nanomolar Ki values. SmCI is also capable of inhibiting bovine pancreatic trypsin, chymotrypsin, and porcine pancreatic elastase in varying measures. When the inhibitor and its nonglycosylated form (SmCI N23A mutant) were overproduced recombinantly in a Pichia pastoris system, they displayed the dual inhibitory properties of the natural form. Similarly, two bi-domain forms of the inhibitor (recombinant rSmCI D1-D2 and rSmCI D2-D3) as well as its C-terminal domain (rSmCI-D3) were also overproduced. Of these fragments, only the rSmCI D1-D2 bi-domain retained inhibition of metallocarboxypeptidase A but only partially, indicating that the whole tri-domain structure is required for such capability in full. SmCI is the first proteinaceous inhibitor of metallocarboxypeptidases able to act as well on another mechanistic class of proteases (serine-type) and is the first of this kind identified in nature. PMID:22411994

The attention schema theory: a mechanistic account of subjective awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Graziano, Michael S A; Webb, Taylor W

2015-01-01

We recently proposed the attention schema theory, a novel way to explain the brain basis of subjective awareness in a mechanistic and scientifically testable manner. The theory begins with attention, the process by which signals compete for the brain's limited computing resources. This internal signal competition is partly under a bottom-up influence and partly under top-down control. We propose that the top-down control of attention is improved when the brain has access to a simplified model of attention itself. The brain therefore constructs a schematic model of the process of attention, the 'attention schema,' in much the same way that it constructs a schematic model of the body, the 'body schema.' The content of this internal model leads a brain to conclude that it has a subjective experience. One advantage of this theory is that it explains how awareness and attention can sometimes become dissociated; the brain's internal models are never perfect, and sometimes a model becomes dissociated from the object being modeled. A second advantage of this theory is that it explains how we can be aware of both internal and external events. The brain can apply attention to many types of information including external sensory information and internal information about emotions and cognitive states. If awareness is a model of attention, then this model should pertain to the same domains of information to which attention pertains. A third advantage of this theory is that it provides testable predictions. If awareness is the internal model of attention, used to help control attention, then without awareness, attention should still be possible but should suffer deficits in control. In this article, we review the existing literature on the relationship between attention and awareness, and suggest that at least some of the predictions of the theory are borne out by the evidence.

The attention schema theory: a mechanistic account of subjective awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taylor W. Webb

2015-04-01

Full Text Available We recently proposed the attention schema theory, a novel way to explain the brain basis of subjective awareness in a mechanistic and scientifically testable manner. The theory begins with attention, the process by which signals compete for the brain’s limited computing resources. This internal signal competition is partly under a bottom-up influence and partly under top-down control. We propose that the top-down control of attention is improved when the brain has access to a simplified model of attention itself. The brain therefore constructs a schematic model of the process of attention, the ‘attention schema’, in much the same way that it constructs a schematic model of the body, the ‘body schema’. The content of this internal model leads a brain to conclude that it has a subjective experience. One advantage of this theory is that it explains how awareness and attention can sometimes become dissociated; the brain’s internal models are never perfect, and sometimes a model becomes dissociated from the object being modeled. A second advantage of this theory is that it explains how we can be aware of both internal and external events. The brain can apply attention to many types of information including external sensory information and internal information about emotions and cognitive states. If awareness is a model of attention, then this model should pertain to the same domains of information to which attention pertains. A third advantage of this theory is that it provides testable predictions. If awareness is the internal model of attention, used to help control attention, then without awareness, attention should still be possible but should suffer deficits in control. In this article, we review the existing literature on the relationship between attention and awareness, and suggest that at least some of the predictions of the theory are borne out by the evidence.

The ecological impacts of nighttime light pollution: a mechanistic appraisal.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaston, Kevin J; Bennie, Jonathan; Davies, Thomas W; Hopkins, John

2013-11-01

The ecological impacts of nighttime light pollution have been a longstanding source of concern, accentuated by realized and projected growth in electrical lighting. As human communities and lighting technologies develop, artificial light increasingly modifies natural light regimes by encroaching on dark refuges in space, in time, and across wavelengths. A wide variety of ecological implications of artificial light have been identified. However, the primary research to date is largely focused on the disruptive influence of nighttime light on higher vertebrates, and while comprehensive reviews have been compiled along taxonomic lines and within specific research domains, the subject is in need of synthesis within a common mechanistic framework. Here we propose such a framework that focuses on the cross-factoring of the ways in which artificial lighting alters natural light regimes (spatially, temporally, and spectrally), and the ways in which light influences biological systems, particularly the distinction between light as a resource and light as an information source. We review the evidence for each of the combinations of this cross-factoring. As artificial lighting alters natural patterns of light in space, time and across wavelengths, natural patterns of resource use and information flows may be disrupted, with downstream effects to the structure and function of ecosystems. This review highlights: (i) the potential influence of nighttime lighting at all levels of biological organisation (from cell to ecosystem); (ii) the significant impact that even low levels of nighttime light pollution can have; and (iii) the existence of major research gaps, particularly in terms of the impacts of light at population and ecosystem levels, identification of intensity thresholds, and the spatial extent of impacts in the vicinity of artificial lights. © 2013 The Authors. Biological Reviews © 2013 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

A primate specific extra domain in the molecular chaperone Hsp90.

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Vishwadeepak Tripathi

Full Text Available Hsp90 (heat shock protein 90 is an essential molecular chaperone that mediates folding and quality control of client proteins. Many of them such as protein kinases, steroid receptors and transcription factors are involved in cellular signaling processes. Hsp90 undergoes an ATP hydrolysis dependent conformational cycle to assist folding of the client protein. The canonical Hsp90 shows a typical composition of three distinct domains and interacts with individual cochaperone partners such as Hop, Cdc37 and Aha1 (activator of Hsp90 ATPase that regulate the reaction cycle of the molecular chaperone. A bioinformatic survey identified an additional domain of 122 amino acids in front of the canonical Hsp90 sequence. This extra domain (E domain is specific to the Catarrhini or drooping nose monkeys, a subdivision of the higher primates that includes man, the great apes and the old world monkeys but is absent from all other species. Our biochemical analysis reveals that Hsp103 associates with cochaperone proteins such as Hop, Cdc37 and Aha1 similar to Hsp90. However, the extra domain reduces the ATP hydrolysis rate to about half when compared to Hsp90 thereby acting as a negative regulator of the molecular chaperonés intrinsic ATPase activity.

Mechanistic Study of Ni/CeO{sub 2}-catalyzed CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} Reaction Using Flow and Static Methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Jin-Gyu; Roh, Joong-Seok; Kim, Ji-Yeong; Lee, Sung-Han; Choi, Jonng-Gill [Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2016-08-15

Ni/CeO{sub 2} catalysts with different Ni loadings (5, 7, 10, 12, and 14 wt% Ni) were prepared by an impregnation method and examined for the CO{sub 2} reforming of methane using flow and static reactors. Their catalytic activities and selectivities were measured under CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4}/Ar (=5/5/40 cm{sup 3}/min) flow at 450-800 .deg. C using a flow reactor system with an on-line gas chromatography. At flexed temperature, the CO{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} conversions varied only slightly with the Ni wt%, whereas the H{sub 2}/CO ratio increased with increasing Ni wt%. The conversions increased with temperature, reaching 98% at 800 .deg. C. The H{sub 2}/CO ratio varied with temperature in the range of 450-800 .deg. C, from less than 1 below 550 .deg. C to close to 1 at 550-600 .deg. C and then back to less than 1 above 600 .deg. C. The apparent activation energies were determined to be 43.1 kJ/mol for the CO{sub 2} consumption and 50.2 kJ/mol for the CH{sub 4} consumption based on the rates measured for the reforming reaction over 5 wt% Ni/CeO{sub 2} catalyst at 550-750 .deg. C. Additionally, the catalytic reforming reaction at low pressure (40 Torr) was investigated by a static reactor system by using a differential photoacoustic cell, in which the rates were measured from the CO{sub 2} photoacoustic signal data at early reaction times over the temperature range of 460-610 .deg. C. Apparent activation energies of 25.5-30.1 kJ/mol were calculated from the CO{sub 2} disappearance rates. The CO{sub 2} adsorption on the Ni/CeO{sub 2} catalyst was investigated by the CO{sub 2} photoacoustic spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Feasible side reactions during the catalytic CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} reaction were suggested on the basis of the kinetic and spectroscopic results.

Mechanistic phenotypes: an aggregative phenotyping strategy to identify disease mechanisms using GWAS data.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan D Mosley

Full Text Available A single mutation can alter cellular and global homeostatic mechanisms and give rise to multiple clinical diseases. We hypothesized that these disease mechanisms could be identified using low minor allele frequency (MAF<0.1 non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs associated with "mechanistic phenotypes", comprised of collections of related diagnoses. We studied two mechanistic phenotypes: (1 thrombosis, evaluated in a population of 1,655 African Americans; and (2 four groupings of cancer diagnoses, evaluated in 3,009 white European Americans. We tested associations between nsSNPs represented on GWAS platforms and mechanistic phenotypes ascertained from electronic medical records (EMRs, and sought enrichment in functional ontologies across the top-ranked associations. We used a two-step analytic approach whereby nsSNPs were first sorted by the strength of their association with a phenotype. We tested associations using two reverse genetic models and standard additive and recessive models. In the second step, we employed a hypothesis-free ontological enrichment analysis using the sorted nsSNPs to identify functional mechanisms underlying the diagnoses comprising the mechanistic phenotypes. The thrombosis phenotype was solely associated with ontologies related to blood coagulation (Fisher's p = 0.0001, FDR p = 0.03, driven by the F5, P2RY12 and F2RL2 genes. For the cancer phenotypes, the reverse genetics models were enriched in DNA repair functions (p = 2×10-5, FDR p = 0.03 (POLG/FANCI, SLX4/FANCP, XRCC1, BRCA1, FANCA, CHD1L while the additive model showed enrichment related to chromatid segregation (p = 4×10-6, FDR p = 0.005 (KIF25, PINX1. We were able to replicate nsSNP associations for POLG/FANCI, BRCA1, FANCA and CHD1L in independent data sets. Mechanism-oriented phenotyping using collections of EMR-derived diagnoses can elucidate fundamental disease mechanisms.

Inactivation of Mechanically Activated Piezo1 Ion Channels Is Determined by the C-Terminal Extracellular Domain and the Inner Pore Helix

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Jason Wu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Piezo proteins form mechanically activated ion channels that are responsible for our sense of light touch, proprioception, and vascular blood flow. Upon activation by mechanical stimuli, Piezo channels rapidly inactivate in a voltage-dependent manner through an unknown mechanism. Inactivation of Piezo channels is physiologically important, as it modulates overall mechanical sensitivity, gives rise to frequency filtering of repetitive mechanical stimuli, and is itself the target of numerous human disease-related channelopathies that are not well understood mechanistically. Here, we identify the globular C-terminal extracellular domain as a structure that is sufficient to confer the time course of inactivation and a single positively charged lysine residue at the adjacent inner pore helix as being required for its voltage dependence. Our results are consistent with a mechanism for inactivation that is mediated through voltage-dependent conformations of the inner pore helix and allosteric coupling with the C-terminal extracellular domain.

Domain analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjørland, Birger

2017-01-01

The domain-analytic approach to knowledge organization (KO) (and to the broader field of library and information science, LIS) is outlined. The article reviews the discussions and proposals on the definition of domains, and provides an example of a domain-analytic study in the field of art studies....... Varieties of domain analysis as well as criticism and controversies are presented and discussed....

Calibrating mechanistic-empirical pavement performance models with an expert matrix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tighe, S.; AlAssar, R.; Haas, R. [Waterloo Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Civil Engineering; Zhiwei, H. [Stantec Consulting Ltd., Cambridge, ON (Canada)

2001-07-01

Proper management of pavement infrastructure requires pavement performance modelling. For the past 20 years, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation has used the Ontario Pavement Analysis of Costs (OPAC) system for pavement design. Pavement needs, however, have changed substantially during that time. To address this need, a new research contract is underway to enhance the model and verify the predictions, particularly at extreme points such as low and high traffic volume pavement design. This initiative included a complete evaluation of the existing OPAC pavement design method, the construction of a new set of pavement performance prediction models, and the development of the flexible pavement design procedure that incorporates reliability analysis. The design was also expanded to include rigid pavement designs and modification of the existing life cycle cost analysis procedure which includes both the agency cost and road user cost. Performance prediction and life-cycle costs were developed based on several factors, including material properties, traffic loads and climate. Construction and maintenance schedules were also considered. The methodology for the calibration and validation of a mechanistic-empirical flexible pavement performance model was described. Mechanistic-empirical design methods combine theory based design such as calculated stresses, strains or deflections with empirical methods, where a measured response is associated with thickness and pavement performance. Elastic layer analysis was used to determine pavement response to determine the most effective design using cumulative Equivalent Single Axle Loads (ESALs), below grade type and layer thickness.The new mechanistic-empirical model separates the environment and traffic effects on performance. This makes it possible to quantify regional differences between Southern and Northern Ontario. In addition, roughness can be calculated in terms of the International Roughness Index or Riding comfort Index

Inferring domain-domain interactions from protein-protein interactions with formal concept analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan Khor

Full Text Available Identifying reliable domain-domain interactions will increase our ability to predict novel protein-protein interactions, to unravel interactions in protein complexes, and thus gain more information about the function and behavior of genes. One of the challenges of identifying reliable domain-domain interactions is domain promiscuity. Promiscuous domains are domains that can occur in many domain architectures and are therefore found in many proteins. This becomes a problem for a method where the score of a domain-pair is the ratio between observed and expected frequencies because the protein-protein interaction network is sparse. As such, many protein-pairs will be non-interacting and domain-pairs with promiscuous domains will be penalized. This domain promiscuity challenge to the problem of inferring reliable domain-domain interactions from protein-protein interactions has been recognized, and a number of work-arounds have been proposed. This paper reports on an application of Formal Concept Analysis to this problem. It is found that the relationship between formal concepts provides a natural way for rare domains to elevate the rank of promiscuous domain-pairs and enrich highly ranked domain-pairs with reliable domain-domain interactions. This piggybacking of promiscuous domain-pairs onto less promiscuous domain-pairs is possible only with concept lattices whose attribute-labels are not reduced and is enhanced by the presence of proteins that comprise both promiscuous and rare domains.

Inferring Domain-Domain Interactions from Protein-Protein Interactions with Formal Concept Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Khor, Susan

2014-01-01

Identifying reliable domain-domain interactions will increase our ability to predict novel protein-protein interactions, to unravel interactions in protein complexes, and thus gain more information about the function and behavior of genes. One of the challenges of identifying reliable domain-domain interactions is domain promiscuity. Promiscuous domains are domains that can occur in many domain architectures and are therefore found in many proteins. This becomes a problem for a method where the score of a domain-pair is the ratio between observed and expected frequencies because the protein-protein interaction network is sparse. As such, many protein-pairs will be non-interacting and domain-pairs with promiscuous domains will be penalized. This domain promiscuity challenge to the problem of inferring reliable domain-domain interactions from protein-protein interactions has been recognized, and a number of work-arounds have been proposed. This paper reports on an application of Formal Concept Analysis to this problem. It is found that the relationship between formal concepts provides a natural way for rare domains to elevate the rank of promiscuous domain-pairs and enrich highly ranked domain-pairs with reliable domain-domain interactions. This piggybacking of promiscuous domain-pairs onto less promiscuous domain-pairs is possible only with concept lattices whose attribute-labels are not reduced and is enhanced by the presence of proteins that comprise both promiscuous and rare domains. PMID:24586450

Exact model reduction of combinatorial reaction networks

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Fey Dirk

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Receptors and scaffold proteins usually possess a high number of distinct binding domains inducing the formation of large multiprotein signaling complexes. Due to combinatorial reasons the number of distinguishable species grows exponentially with the number of binding domains and can easily reach several millions. Even by including only a limited number of components and binding domains the resulting models are very large and hardly manageable. A novel model reduction technique allows the significant reduction and modularization of these models. Results We introduce methods that extend and complete the already introduced approach. For instance, we provide techniques to handle the formation of multi-scaffold complexes as well as receptor dimerization. Furthermore, we discuss a new modeling approach that allows the direct generation of exactly reduced model structures. The developed methods are used to reduce a model of EGF and insulin receptor crosstalk comprising 5,182 ordinary differential equations (ODEs to a model with 87 ODEs. Conclusion The methods, presented in this contribution, significantly enhance the available methods to exactly reduce models of combinatorial reaction networks.

Atomization of bismuthane in a dielectric barrier discharge: A mechanistic study

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kratzer, Jan; Zelina, Ondřej; Svoboda, Milan; Sturgeon, R. E.; Mester, Z.; Dědina, Jiří

2016-01-01

Roč. 88, č. 3 (2016), s. 1804-1811 ISSN 0003-2700 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA14-23532S Grant - others:GA AV ČR(CZ) M200311202 Institutional support: RVO:68081715 Keywords : dielectric barrier discharge * hydride generation * mechanistic study Subject RIV: CB - Analytical Chemistry, Separation Impact factor: 6.320, year: 2016

Atomization of bismuthane in a dielectric barrier discharge: A mechanistic study

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kratzer, Jan; Zelina, Ondřej; Svoboda, Milan; Sturgeon, R. E.; Mester, Z.; Dědina, Jiří

2016-01-01

Roč. 88, č. 3 (2016), s. 1804-1811 ISSN 0003-2700 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA14-23532S Grant - others:GA AV ČR(CZ) M200311202 Institutional support: RVO:68081715 Keywords : dielectric barrier discharge * hydride generation * mechanistic study Subject RIV: CB - Analytical Chemistry , Separation Impact factor: 6.320, year: 2016

Identification of the kinase that activates a nonmetazoan STAT gives insights into the evolution of phosphotyrosine-SH2 domain signaling.

Science.gov (United States)

Araki, Tsuyoshi; Kawata, Takefumi; Williams, Jeffrey G

2012-07-10

SH2 domains are integral to many animal signaling pathways. By interacting with specific phosphotyrosine residues, they provide regulatable protein-protein interaction domains. Dictyostelium is the only nonmetazoan with functionally characterized SH2 domains, but the cognate tyrosine kinases are unknown. There are no orthologs of the animal tyrosine kinases, but there are very many tyrosine kinase-like kinases (TKLs), a group of kinases which, despite their family name, are classified mainly as serine-threonine kinases. STATs are transcription factors that dimerize via phosphotyrosine-SH2 domain interactions. STATc is activated by phosphorylation on Tyr922 when cells are exposed to the prestalk inducer differentiation inducing factor (DIF-1), a chlorinated hexaphenone. We show that in a null mutant for Pyk2, a tyrosine-specific TKL, exposure to DIF-1 does not activate STATc. Conversely, overexpression of Pyk2 causes constitutive STATc activation. Pyk2 phosphorylates STATc on Tyr922 in vitro and complexes with STATc both in vitro and in vivo. This demonstration that a TKL directly activates a STAT has significant implications for understanding the evolutionary origins of SH2 domain-phosphotyrosine signaling. It also has mechanistic implications. Our previous work suggested that a predicted constitutive STATc tyrosine kinase activity is counterbalanced in vivo by the DIF-1-regulated activity of PTP3, a Tyr922 phosphatase. Here we show that the STATc-Pyk2 complex is formed constitutively by an interaction between the STATc SH2 domain and phosphotyrosine residues on Pyk2 that are generated by autophosphorylation. Also, as predicted, Pyk2 is constitutively active as a STATc kinase. This observation provides further evidence for this highly atypical, possibly ancestral, STAT regulation mechanism.

Internal Domains of Natural Porous Media Revealed: Critical Locations for Transport, Storage, and Chemical Reaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zachara, John M.; Brantley, Susan L.; Chorover, Jon D.; Ewing, Robert P.; Kerisit, Sebastien N.; Liu, Chongxuan; Perfect, E.; Rother, Gernot; Stack, Andrew G.

2016-03-16

Internal pore domains exist within rocks, lithic fragments, subsurface sediments and soil aggregates. These domains, which we term internal domains in porous media (IDPM), contain a significant fraction of their porosity as nanopores, dominate the reactive surface area of diverse porous media types, and are important locations for chemical reactivity and hydrocarbon storage. Traditionally difficult to interrogate, advances in instrumentation and imaging methods are providing new insights on the physical structures and chemical attributes of IDPM. In this review we: discuss analytical methods to characterize IDPM, evaluate what has been learned about their size distributions, connectivity, and extended structures; determine whether they exhibit unique chemical reactivity; and assess potential for their inclusion in reactive transport models. Three key findings are noteworthy. 1) A combination of methods now allows complete characterization of the porosity spectrum of natural materials and its connectivity; while imaging microscopies are providing three dimensional representations of the interconnected pore network. 2) Chemical reactivity in pores <10 nm is expected to be different from micro and macropores, yet research performed to date is inconclusive on the nature, direction, and magnitude of effect. 3) Existing continuum reactive transport models treat IDPM as a sub-grid feature with average, empirical, scale-dependent parameters; and are not formulated to include detailed information on pore networks. Overall we find that IDPM are key features controlling hydrocarbon release from shales in hydrofracking systems, organic matter stabilization and recalcitrance in soil, weathering and soil formation, and long term inorganic and organic contaminant behavior in the vadose zone and groundwater. We conclude with an assessment of impactful research opportunities to advance understanding of IDPM, and to incorporate their important effects in reactive transport models

Dynamic and accurate assessment of acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity by integrated photoacoustic imaging and mechanistic biomarkers in vivo.

Science.gov (United States)

Brillant, Nathalie; Elmasry, Mohamed; Burton, Neal C; Rodriguez, Josep Monne; Sharkey, Jack W; Fenwick, Stephen; Poptani, Harish; Kitteringham, Neil R; Goldring, Christopher E; Kipar, Anja; Park, B Kevin; Antoine, Daniel J

2017-10-01

The prediction and understanding of acetaminophen (APAP)-induced liver injury (APAP-ILI) and the response to therapeutic interventions is complex. This is due in part to sensitivity and specificity limitations of currently used assessment techniques. Here we sought to determine the utility of integrating translational non-invasive photoacoustic imaging of liver function with mechanistic circulating biomarkers of hepatotoxicity with histological assessment to facilitate the more accurate and precise characterization of APAP-ILI and the efficacy of therapeutic intervention. Perturbation of liver function and cellular viability was assessed in C57BL/6J male mice by Indocyanine green (ICG) clearance (Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography (MSOT)) and by measurement of mechanistic (miR-122, HMGB1) and established (ALT, bilirubin) circulating biomarkers in response to the acetaminophen and its treatment with acetylcysteine (NAC) in vivo. We utilised a 60% partial hepatectomy model as a situation of defined hepatic functional mass loss to compared acetaminophen-induced changes to. Integration of these mechanistic markers correlated with histological features of APAP hepatotoxicity in a time-dependent manner. They accurately reflected the onset and recovery from hepatotoxicity compared to traditional biomarkers and also reported the efficacy of NAC with high sensitivity. ICG clearance kinetics correlated with histological scores for acute liver damage for APAP (i.e. 3h timepoint; r=0.90, P<0.0001) and elevations in both of the mechanistic biomarkers, miR-122 (e.g. 6h timepoint; r=0.70, P=0.005) and HMGB1 (e.g. 6h timepoint; r=0.56, P=0.04). For the first time we report the utility of this non-invasive longitudinal imaging approach to provide direct visualisation of the liver function coupled with mechanistic biomarkers, in the same animal, allowing the investigation of the toxicological and pharmacological aspects of APAP-ILI and hepatic regeneration. Copyright © 2017

Elucidation of Mechanisms and Selectivities of Metal-Catalyzed Reactions using Quantum Chemical Methodology.

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Santoro, Stefano; Kalek, Marcin; Huang, Genping; Himo, Fahmi

2016-05-17

Quantum chemical techniques today are indispensable for the detailed mechanistic understanding of catalytic reactions. The development of modern density functional theory approaches combined with the enormous growth in computer power have made it possible to treat quite large systems at a reasonable level of accuracy. Accordingly, quantum chemistry has been applied extensively to a wide variety of catalytic systems. A huge number of problems have been solved successfully, and vast amounts of chemical insights have been gained. In this Account, we summarize some of our recent work in this field. A number of examples concerned with transition metal-catalyzed reactions are selected, with emphasis on reactions with various kinds of selectivities. The discussed cases are (1) copper-catalyzed C-H bond amidation of indoles, (2) iridium-catalyzed C(sp(3))-H borylation of chlorosilanes, (3) vanadium-catalyzed Meyer-Schuster rearrangement and its combination with aldol- and Mannich-type additions, (4) palladium-catalyzed propargylic substitution with phosphorus nucleophiles, (5) rhodium-catalyzed 1:2 coupling of aldehydes and allenes, and finally (6) copper-catalyzed coupling of nitrones and alkynes to produce β-lactams (Kinugasa reaction). First, the methodology adopted in these studies is presented briefly. The electronic structure method in the great majority of these kinds of mechanistic investigations has for the last two decades been based on density functional theory. In the cases discussed here, mainly the B3LYP functional has been employed in conjunction with Grimme's empirical dispersion correction, which has been shown to improve the calculated energies significantly. The effect of the surrounding solvent is described by implicit solvation techniques, and the thermochemical corrections are included using the rigid-rotor harmonic oscillator approximation. The reviewed examples are chosen to illustrate the usefulness and versatility of the adopted methodology in

Building a mechanistic biogeochemical reaction network for upscaling : Characterization of mass transport limitation between regions of hydrolysis and methanogenesis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Turnhout, A.G.; Kleerebezem, R.; Heimovaara, T.J.

2015-01-01

In this study, we aim to validate the reaction network with an idealized experiment. We want to show that 1) rate controlling parameters are identifiable from the measured data by inverse modeling, and 2) that this network is able to predict the measured emissions in the experiment given the initial

Exploiting Synergistic Effects in Organozinc Chemistry for Direct Stereoselective C-Glycosylation Reactions at Room Temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernan-Gomez, Alberto; Orr, Samantha; Uzelac, Marina; Kennedy, Alan; Barroso, Santiago; Jusseau, Xavier; Lemaire, Sebastien; Farina, Vittorio; Hevia, Eva

2018-06-01

Pairing a range of bis(aryl) zinc reagents ZnAr2 with the stronger Lewis acidic [(ZnArF2)] (ArF = C6F5), enables highly stereoselective cross-coupling between glycosyl bromides and ZnAr2 without the use of a transition metal. Reactions occur at room temperature with excellent levels of stereoselectivity, where ZnArF2 acts as a non-coupling partner although its presence is crucial for the execution of the C(sp2)-C(sp3) bond formation process. Mechanistic studies have uncovered a unique synergistic partnership between the two zinc reagents, which circumvents the need for transition-metal catalysis or forcing reaction conditions. Key to the success of the coupling is the avoidance of solvents that act as Lewis bases vs. diarylzinc compounds (e.g. THF. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Heterogeneous reactions of ozone with methoxyphenols, in presence and absence of light

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Net, Sopheak; Alvarez, Elena Gómez; Gligorovski, Sasho; Wortham, Henri

2011-06-01

In this work, we investigated the heterogeneous reactions between gaseous ozone and seven particulate methoxyphenols, biomass tracers. The ozonolysis of silica particles coated with vanillin, vanillic acid, syringaldehyde, syringic acid, acetovanillone, acetonsyringone and coniferyl alcohol was studied successively and was carried out both in total darkness and under illumination with simulated solar light at 297 K. The condensed-phase products which emerged in such heterogeneous reactions were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). No reaction product was detected during the ozonolysis of vanillic acid, syringic acid, acetovanillone and acetosyringone under our experimental conditions. The main tranformation of pathway vanillin and syringaldehyde was the conversion of an aldehyde group to a carboxylic fonction. Thus, syringic acid and vanillic acid were respectively the main oxidation products of syringaldehyde and vanillin. The oxidation of coniferyl alcohol was relatively fast and the total degradation was observed after 16 h of ozone exposure. Five oxidation products: glycolic acid, oxalic acid, vanillin, vanillic acid and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, were identified and confirmed by their corresponding standards. It is interesting to note that 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid was detected only in the experiment performed under combined ozone and light exposure of the particles coated with coniferyl alcohol. Vanillin and vanillic acid also absorb light in the tropospheric actinic window and therefore they can be photochemically active which in turn can induce further modifications of the aerosol particles. A mechanistic pathway was proposed in order to elucidate the ozonolysis reaction of coniferyl alcohol and to explain the identified reaction products.

Evolution of function in the "two dinucleotide binding domains" flavoproteins.

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Sunil Ojha

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Structural and biochemical constraints force some segments of proteins to evolve more slowly than others, often allowing identification of conserved structural or sequence motifs that can be associated with substrate binding properties, chemical mechanisms, and molecular functions. We have assessed the functional and structural constraints imposed by cofactors on the evolution of new functions in a superfamily of flavoproteins characterized by two-dinucleotide binding domains, the "two dinucleotide binding domains" flavoproteins (tDBDF superfamily. Although these enzymes catalyze many different types of oxidation/reduction reactions, each is initiated by a stereospecific hydride transfer reaction between two cofactors, a pyridine nucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD. Sequence and structural analysis of more than 1,600 members of the superfamily reveals new members and identifies details of the evolutionary connections among them. Our analysis shows that in all of the highly divergent families within the superfamily, these cofactors adopt a conserved configuration optimal for stereospecific hydride transfer that is stabilized by specific interactions with amino acids from several motifs distributed among both dinucleotide binding domains. The conservation of cofactor configuration in the active site restricts the pyridine nucleotide to interact with FAD from the re-side, limiting the flow of electrons from the re-side to the si-side. This directionality of electron flow constrains interactions with the different partner proteins of different families to occur on the same face of the cofactor binding domains. As a result, superimposing the structures of tDBDFs aligns not only these interacting proteins, but also their constituent electron acceptors, including heme and iron-sulfur clusters. Thus, not only are specific aspects of the cofactor-directed chemical mechanism conserved across the superfamily, the constraints they impose are

Superdiffusive motion of membrane-targeting C2 domains

Science.gov (United States)

Campagnola, Grace; Nepal, Kanti; Schroder, Bryce W.; Peersen, Olve B.; Krapf, Diego

2015-12-01

Membrane-targeting domains play crucial roles in the recruitment of signalling molecules to the plasma membrane. For most peripheral proteins, the protein-to-membrane interaction is transient. After proteins dissociate from the membrane they have been observed to rebind following brief excursions in the bulk solution. Such membrane hops can have broad implications for the efficiency of reactions on membranes. We study the diffusion of membrane-targeting C2 domains using single-molecule tracking in supported lipid bilayers. The ensemble-averaged mean square displacement (MSD) exhibits superdiffusive behaviour. However, traditional time-averaged MSD analysis of individual trajectories remains linear and does not reveal superdiffusion. Our observations are explained in terms of bulk excursions that introduce jumps with a heavy-tail distribution. These hopping events allow proteins to explore large areas in a short time. The experimental results are shown to be consistent with analytical models of bulk-mediated diffusion and numerical simulations.

THz time domain spectroscopy of biomolecular conformational modes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markelz, Andrea; Whitmire, Scott; Hillebrecht, Jay; Birge, Robert

2002-01-01

We discuss the use of terahertz time domain spectroscopy for studies of conformational flexibility and conformational change in biomolecules. Protein structural dynamics are vital to biological function with protein flexibility affecting enzymatic reaction rates and sensory transduction cycling times. Conformational mode dynamics occur on the picosecond timescale and with the collective vibrational modes associated with these large scale structural motions in the 1-100 cm -1 range. We have performed THz time domain spectroscopy (TTDS) of several biomolecular systems to explore the sensitivity of TTDS to distinguish different molecular species, different mutations within a single species and different conformations of a given biomolecule. We compare the measured absorbances to normal mode calculations and find that the TTDS absorbance reflects the density of normal modes determined by molecular mechanics calculations, and is sensitive to both conformation and mutation. These early studies demonstrate some of the advantages and limitations of using TTDS for the study of biomolecules

DCD – a novel plant specific domain in proteins involved in development and programmed cell death

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Doerks Tobias

2005-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recognition of microbial pathogens by plants triggers the hypersensitive reaction, a common form of programmed cell death in plants. These dying cells generate signals that activate the plant immune system and alarm the neighboring cells as well as the whole plant to activate defense responses to limit the spread of the pathogen. The molecular mechanisms behind the hypersensitive reaction are largely unknown except for the recognition process of pathogens. We delineate the NRP-gene in soybean, which is specifically induced during this programmed cell death and contains a novel protein domain, which is commonly found in different plant proteins. Results The sequence analysis of the protein, encoded by the NRP-gene from soybean, led to the identification of a novel domain, which we named DCD, because it is found in plant proteins involved in development and cell death. The domain is shared by several proteins in the Arabidopsis and the rice genomes, which otherwise show a different protein architecture. Biological studies indicate a role of these proteins in phytohormone response, embryo development and programmed cell by pathogens or ozone. Conclusion It is tempting to speculate, that the DCD domain mediates signaling in plant development and programmed cell death and could thus be used to identify interacting proteins to gain further molecular insights into these processes.

Mechanistic-Empirical (M-E) Design Implementation & Monitoring for Flexible Pavements : 2018 PROJECT SUMMARY

Science.gov (United States)

2018-06-01

This document is a summary of the tasks performed for Project ICT-R27-149-1. Mechanistic-empirical (M-E)based flexible pavement design concepts and procedures were previously developed in Illinois Cooperative Highway Research Program projects IHR-...

Quantum chemical modeling of enzymatic reactions: the case of histone lysine methyltransferase.

Science.gov (United States)

Georgieva, Polina; Himo, Fahmi

2010-06-01

Quantum chemical cluster models of enzyme active sites are today an important and powerful tool in the study of various aspects of enzymatic reactivity. This methodology has been applied to a wide spectrum of reactions and many important mechanistic problems have been solved. Herein, we report a systematic study of the reaction mechanism of the histone lysine methyltransferase (HKMT) SET7/9 enzyme, which catalyzes the methylation of the N-terminal histone tail of the chromatin structure. In this study, HKMT SET7/9 serves as a representative case to examine the modeling approach for the important class of methyl transfer enzymes. Active site models of different sizes are used to evaluate the methodology. In particular, the dependence of the calculated energies on the model size, the influence of the dielectric medium, and the particular choice of the dielectric constant are discussed. In addition, we examine the validity of some technical aspects, such as geometry optimization in solvent or with a large basis set, and the use of different density functional methods. Copyright 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The carcinoembryonic antigen IgV-like N domain plays a critical role in the implantation of metastatic tumor cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdul-Wahid, Aws; Huang, Eric H-B; Cydzik, Marzena; Bolewska-Pedyczak, Eleonora; Gariépy, Jean

2014-03-01

The human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a cell adhesion molecule involved in both homotypic and heterotypic interactions. The aberrant overexpression of CEA on adenocarcinoma cells correlates with their increased metastatic potential. Yet, the mechanism(s) by which its adhesive properties can lead to the implantation of circulating tumor cells and expansion of metastatic foci remains to be established. In this study, we demonstrate that the IgV-like N terminal domain of CEA directly participates in the implantation of cancer cells through its homotypic and heterotypic binding properties. Specifically, we determined that the recombinant N terminal domain of CEA directly binds to fibronectin (Fn) with a dissociation constant in the nanomolar range (K(D) 16 ± 3 nM) and interacts with itself (K(D) 100 ± 17 nM) and more tightly to the IgC-like A(3) domain (K(D) 18 ± 3 nM). Disruption of these molecular associations through the addition of antibodies specific to the CEA N or A(3)B(3) domains, or by adding soluble recombinant forms of the CEA N, A(3) or A(3)B(3) domains or a peptide corresponding to residues 108-115 of CEA resulted in the inhibition of CEA-mediated intercellular aggregation and adherence events in vitro. Finally, pretreating CEA-expressing murine colonic carcinoma cells (MC38.CEA) with rCEA N, A3 or A(3)B(3) modules blocked their implantation and the establishment of tumor foci in vivo. Together, these results suggest a new mechanistic insight into how the CEA IgV-like N domain participates in cellular events that can have a macroscopic impact in terms of cancer progression and metastasis. Copyright © 2013 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In situ loading of well-dispersed silver nanoparticles on nanocrystalline magnesium oxide for real-time monitoring of catalytic reactions by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Kaige; Li, Gongke; Hu, Yuling

2015-10-28

The surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technique is of great importance for insight into the transient reaction intermediates and mechanistic pathways involved in heterogeneously catalyzed chemical reactions under actual reaction conditions, especially in water. Herein, we demonstrate a facile method for in situ synthesis of nanocrystalline magnesium oxide-Ag(0) (nano MgO-Ag(0)) hybrid nanomaterials with dispersed Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on the surface of nanocrystalline magnesium oxide (nano MgO) via Sn(2+) linkage and reduction. As a benefit from the synergy effect of nano MgO and Ag NPs, the nano MgO-Ag(0) exhibited both excellent SERS and catalytic activities for the reduction of 4-nitrothiophenol in the presence of NaBH4. The nano MgO-Ag(0) was used for real-time monitoring of the catalytic reaction process of 4-nitrothiophenol to 4-aminothiophenol in an aqueous medium by observing the SERS signals of the reactant, intermediate and final products. The intrinsic reaction kinetics and reaction mechanism of this reaction were also investigated. This SERS-based synergy technique provides a novel approach for quantitative in situ monitoring of catalytic chemical reaction processes.

Hydroxychloroquine binding to cytoplasmic domain of Band 3 in human erythrocytes: Novel mechanistic insights into drug structure, efficacy and toxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagawa, Mizuki; Sugawara, Kotomi; Goto, Tatsufumi; Wakui, Hideki; Nunomura, Wataru

2016-05-13

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a widely used drug in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. It has also been prescribed for the treatment of malaria owing to its lower toxicity compared to its closely related compound chloroquine (CQ). However, the mechanisms of action of HCQ in erythrocytes (which bind preferentially this drug) have not been documented and the reasons underlying the lower side effects of HCQ compared to CQ remain unclear. Here we show that, although the activity of erythrocyte lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), but not GAPDH, was inhibited by both HCQ and CQ in vitro, LDH activity in erythrocytes incubated with 20 mM HCQ was not significantly reduced within 5 h in contrast to CQ did. Using HCQ coupled Sepharose chromatography (HCQ-Sepharose), we identified Band 3, spectrin, ankyrin, protein 4.1R and protein 4.2 as HCQ binding proteins in human erythrocyte plasma membrane. Recombinant cytoplasmic N-terminal 43 kDa domain of Band 3 bound to HCQ-Sepharose and was eluted with 40 mM (but not 20 mM) HCQ. Band 3 transport activity was reduced by only 23% in the presence of 20 mM HCQ. Taken together, these data demonstrate that HCQ binds to the cytoplasmic N-terminal domain of Band 3 in human erythrocytes but does not inhibit dramatically its transport activity. We hypothesize that the trapping of HCQ on Band 3 contributes to the lower side effects of the drug on energy production in erythrocytes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The YARHG domain: an extracellular domain in search of a function.

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Penny Coggill

Full Text Available We have identified a new bacterial protein domain that we hypothesise binds to peptidoglycan. This domain is called the YARHG domain after the most highly conserved sequence-segment. The domain is found in the extracellular space and is likely to be composed of four alpha-helices. The domain is found associated with protein kinase domains, suggesting it is associated with signalling in some bacteria. The domain is also found associated with three different families of peptidases. The large number of different domains that are found associated with YARHG suggests that it is a useful functional module that nature has recombined multiple times.

Bird Migration Under Climate Change - A Mechanistic Approach Using Remote Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, James A.; Blattner, Tim; Messmer, Peter

2010-01-01

The broad-scale reductions and shifts that may be expected under climate change in the availability and quality of stopover habitat for long-distance migrants is an area of increasing concern for conservation biologists. Researchers generally have taken two broad approaches to the modeling of migration behaviour to understand the impact of these changes on migratory bird populations. These include models based on causal processes and their response to environmental stimulation, "mechanistic models", or models that primarily are based on observed animal distribution patterns and the correlation of these patterns with environmental variables, i.e. "data driven" models. Investigators have applied the latter technique to forecast changes in migration patterns with changes in the environment, for example, as might be expected under climate change, by forecasting how the underlying environmental data layers upon which the relationships are built will change over time. The learned geostatstical correlations are then applied to the modified data layers.. However, this is problematic. Even if the projections of how the underlying data layers will change are correct, it is not evident that the statistical relationships will remain the same, i.e. that the animal organism may not adapt its' behaviour to the changing conditions. Mechanistic models that explicitly take into account the physical, biological, and behaviour responses of an organism as well as the underlying changes in the landscape offer an alternative to address these shortcomings. The availability of satellite remote sensing observations at multiple spatial and temporal scales, coupled with advances in climate modeling and information technologies enable the application of the mechanistic models to predict how continental bird migration patterns may change in response to environmental change. In earlier work, we simulated the impact of effects of wetland loss and inter-annual variability on the fitness of

Mechanistic modeling of heat transfer process governing pressure tube-to-calandria tube contact and fuel channel failure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luxat, J.C.

2002-01-01

Heat transfer behaviour and phenomena associated with ballooning deformation of a pressure tube into contact with a calandria tube have been analyzed and mechanistic models have been developed to describe the heat transfer and thermal-mechanical processes. These mechanistic models are applied to analyze experiments performed in various COG funded Contact Boiling Test series. Particular attention is given in the modeling to characterization of the conditions for which fuel channel failure may occur. Mechanistic models describing the governing heat transfer and thermal-mechanical processes are presented. The technical basis for characterizing parameters of the models from the general heat transfer literature is described. The validity of the models is demonstrated by comparison with experimental data. Fuel channel integrity criteria are proposed which are based upon three necessary and sequential mechanisms: Onset of CHF and local drypatch formation at contact; sustained film boiling in the post-contact period; and creep strain to failure of the calandria tube while in sustained film boiling. (author)

Polyol Synthesis of Silver Nanowires by Heterogeneous Nucleation and Mechanistic Aspects Influencing its Length and Diameter

Science.gov (United States)

Schuette, Waynie Mark

Various additives are employed in the polyol synthesis of silver nanowires (Ag NWs), which are typically halide salts such as NaCl. A variety of mechanistic roles have been suggested for these additives. My research showed that the early addition of NaCl in the polyol synthesis of Ag NWs from AgNO3 in ethylene glycol results in the rapid formation of AgCl nanocubes, which induce the heterogeneous nucleation of metallic Ag upon their surfaces. Ag NWs subsequently grow from these nucleation sites. The conclusions are supported by studies using ex-situ generated AgCl nanocubes. Additionally, the final mean silver nanowire diameter is found to be independent of the size of the heterogeneous nucleant, showing that the diameter is not significantly influenced by the nucleation event. Kinetics studies determine that nanowire diameter, length, and aspect ratio grow in parallel to one another and with the extent of the Ag+ reduction reaction, demonstrating that growth is reduction-rate limited. The results are interpreted to support nanowire growth by a surface-catalyzed reduction process occurring on all nanowire surfaces, and to exclude nanoparticle aggregation or Ostwald ripening as primary components of the growth mechanism.

.Gov Domains API

Data.gov (United States)

General Services Administration — This dataset offers the list of all .gov domains, including state, local, and tribal .gov domains. It does not include .mil domains, or other federal domains outside...

From Microscopic to Macroscopic Descriptions of Cell Migration on Growing Domains

KAUST Repository

Baker, Ruth E.

2009-10-28

Cell migration and growth are essential components of the development of multicellular organisms. The role of various cues in directing cell migration is widespread, in particular, the role of signals in the environment in the control of cell motility and directional guidance. In many cases, especially in developmental biology, growth of the domain also plays a large role in the distribution of cells and, in some cases, cell or signal distribution may actually drive domain growth. There is an almost ubiquitous use of partial differential equations (PDEs) for modelling the time evolution of cellular density and environmental cues. In the last 20 years, a lot of attention has been devoted to connecting macroscopic PDEs with more detailed microscopic models of cellular motility, including models of directional sensing and signal transduction pathways. However, domain growth is largely omitted in the literature. In this paper, individual-based models describing cell movement and domain growth are studied, and correspondence with a macroscopic-level PDE describing the evolution of cell density is demonstrated. The individual-based models are formulated in terms of random walkers on a lattice. Domain growth provides an extra mathematical challenge by making the lattice size variable over time. A reaction-diffusion master equation formalism is generalised to the case of growing lattices and used in the derivation of the macroscopic PDEs. © 2009 Society for Mathematical Biology.

Mechanistic Insight into Bunyavirus-Induced Membrane Fusion from Structure-Function Analyses of the Hantavirus Envelope Glycoprotein Gc.

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Pablo Guardado-Calvo

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses transmitted to humans by persistently infected rodents, giving rise to serious outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS or of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS, depending on the virus, which are associated with high case fatality rates. There is only limited knowledge about the organization of the viral particles and in particular, about the hantavirus membrane fusion glycoprotein Gc, the function of which is essential for virus entry. We describe here the X-ray structures of Gc from Hantaan virus, the type species hantavirus and responsible for HFRS, both in its neutral pH, monomeric pre-fusion conformation, and in its acidic pH, trimeric post-fusion form. The structures confirm the prediction that Gc is a class II fusion protein, containing the characteristic β-sheet rich domains termed I, II and III as initially identified in the fusion proteins of arboviruses such as alpha- and flaviviruses. The structures also show a number of features of Gc that are distinct from arbovirus class II proteins. In particular, hantavirus Gc inserts residues from three different loops into the target membrane to drive fusion, as confirmed functionally by structure-guided mutagenesis on the HPS-inducing Andes virus, instead of having a single "fusion loop". We further show that the membrane interacting region of Gc becomes structured only at acidic pH via a set of polar and electrostatic interactions. Furthermore, the structure reveals that hantavirus Gc has an additional N-terminal "tail" that is crucial in stabilizing the post-fusion trimer, accompanying the swapping of domain III in the quaternary arrangement of the trimer as compared to the standard class II fusion proteins. The mechanistic understandings derived from these data are likely to provide a unique handle for devising treatments against these human pathogens.

Same but not alike: Structure, flexibility and energetics of domains in multi-domain proteins are influenced by the presence of other domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Vishwanath, Sneha; de Brevern, Alexandre G; Srinivasan, Narayanaswamy

2018-02-01

The majority of the proteins encoded in the genomes of eukaryotes contain more than one domain. Reasons for high prevalence of multi-domain proteins in various organisms have been attributed to higher stability and functional and folding advantages over single-domain proteins. Despite these advantages, many proteins are composed of only one domain while their homologous domains are part of multi-domain proteins. In the study presented here, differences in the properties of protein domains in single-domain and multi-domain systems and their influence on functions are discussed. We studied 20 pairs of identical protein domains, which were crystallized in two forms (a) tethered to other proteins domains and (b) tethered to fewer protein domains than (a) or not tethered to any protein domain. Results suggest that tethering of domains in multi-domain proteins influences the structural, dynamic and energetic properties of the constituent protein domains. 50% of the protein domain pairs show significant structural deviations while 90% of the protein domain pairs show differences in dynamics and 12% of the residues show differences in the energetics. To gain further insights on the influence of tethering on the function of the domains, 4 pairs of homologous protein domains, where one of them is a full-length single-domain protein and the other protein domain is a part of a multi-domain protein, were studied. Analyses showed that identical and structurally equivalent functional residues show differential dynamics in homologous protein domains; though comparable dynamics between in-silico generated chimera protein and multi-domain proteins were observed. From these observations, the differences observed in the functions of homologous proteins could be attributed to the presence of tethered domain. Overall, we conclude that tethered domains in multi-domain proteins not only provide stability or folding advantages but also influence pathways resulting in differences in

Structural determinants at the interface of the ARC2 and leucine-rich repeat domains control the activation of the plant immune receptors Rx1 and Gpa2.

Science.gov (United States)

Slootweg, Erik J; Spiridon, Laurentiu N; Roosien, Jan; Butterbach, Patrick; Pomp, Rikus; Westerhof, Lotte; Wilbers, Ruud; Bakker, Erin; Bakker, Jaap; Petrescu, Andrei-José; Smant, Geert; Goverse, Aska

2013-07-01

Many plant and animal immune receptors have a modular nucleotide-binding-leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR) architecture in which a nucleotide-binding switch domain, NB-ARC, is tethered to a LRR sensor domain. The cooperation between the switch and sensor domains, which regulates the activation of these proteins, is poorly understood. Here, we report structural determinants governing the interaction between the NB-ARC and LRR in the highly homologous plant immune receptors Gpa2 and Rx1, which recognize the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida and Potato virus X, respectively. Systematic shuffling of polymorphic sites between Gpa2 and Rx1 showed that a minimal region in the ARC2 and N-terminal repeats of the LRR domain coordinate the activation state of the protein. We identified two closely spaced amino acid residues in this region of the ARC2 (positions 401 and 403) that distinguish between autoactivation and effector-triggered activation. Furthermore, a highly acidic loop region in the ARC2 domain and basic patches in the N-terminal end of the LRR domain were demonstrated to be required for the physical interaction between the ARC2 and LRR. The NB-ARC and LRR domains dissociate upon effector-dependent activation, and the complementary-charged regions are predicted to mediate a fast reassociation, enabling multiple rounds of activation. Finally, we present a mechanistic model showing how the ARC2, NB, and N-terminal half of the LRR form a clamp, which regulates the dissociation and reassociation of the switch and sensor domains in NB-LRR proteins.

Ligand-Controlled Synthesis of Azoles via Ir-Catalyzed Reactions of Sulfoxonium Ylides with 2-Amino Heterocycles.

Science.gov (United States)

Phelps, Alicia M; Chan, Vincent S; Napolitano, José G; Krabbe, Scott W; Schomaker, Jennifer M; Shekhar, Shashank

2016-05-20

An iridium-catalyzed method was developed for the synthesis of imidazo-fused pyrrolopyrazines. The presence or absence of a nitrogenated ligand controlled the outcome of the reaction, leading to simple β-keto amine products in the absence of added ligand and the cyclized 7- and 8-substituted-imidazo[1,2-a]pyrrolo[2,3-e]pyrazine products in the presence of ligand. This catalyst control was conserved across a variety of ylide and amine coupling partners. The substrate was shown to act as a ligand for the iridium catalyst in the absence of other ligands via NMR spectroscopy. Kinetic studies indicated that formation of the Ir-carbene was reversible and the slow step of the reaction. These mechanistic investigations suggest that the β-keto amine products form via an intramolecular carbene N-H insertion, and the imidazopyrrolopyrazines form via an intermolecular carbene N-H insertion.

XIAP BIR domain suppresses miR-200a expression and subsequently promotes EGFR protein translation and anchorage-independent growth of bladder cancer cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chao Huang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP is a well-known potent apoptosis suppressor and also participates in cancer cell biological behaviors, therefore attracting great attentions as a potential antineoplastic therapeutic target for past years. Anti-IAP therapy is reported to be closely related to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR expression level. However, whether and how XIAP modulates EGFR expression remains largely unknown. Methods Human XIAP was knockdown with short-hairpin RNA in two different bladder cancer cell lines, T24T and UMUC3. Two XIAP mutants, XIAP ∆BIR (deletion of N-terminal three BIR domains and XIAP ∆RING (deletion of C-terminal RING domain and keeping the function of BIR domains, were generated to determine which domain is involved in regulating EGFR. Results We found here that lacking of XIAP expression resulted in a remarkable suppression of EGFR expression, consequently leading to the deficiency of anchorage-independent cell growth. Further study demonstrated that BIR domain of XIAP was crucial for regulating the EGFR translation by suppressing the transcription and expression of miR-200a. Mechanistic studies indicated that BIR domain activated the protein phosphatase 2 (PP2A activity by decreasing the phosphorylation of PP2A at Tyr307 in its catalytic subunit, PP2A-C. Such activated PP2A prevented the deviant phosphorylation and activation of MAPK kinases/MAPKs, their downstream effector c-Jun, and in turn inhibiting transcription of c-Jun-regulated the miR-200a. Conclusions Our study uncovered a novel function of BIR domain of XIAP in regulating the EGFR translation, providing significant insight into the understanding of the XIAP overexpression in the cancer development and progression, further offering a new theoretical support for using XIAP BIR domain and EGFR as targets for cancer therapy.

Transformation of meta-stable calcium silicate hydrates to tobermorite: reaction kinetics and molecular structure from XRD and NMR spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

Understanding the integrity of well-bore systems that are lined with Portland-based cements is critical to the successful storage of sequestered CO2 in gas and oil reservoirs. As a first step, we investigate reaction rates and mechanistic pathways for cement mineral growth in the absence of CO2 by coupling water chemistry with XRD and NMR spectroscopic data. We find that semi-crystalline calcium (alumino-)silicate hydrate (Al-CSH) forms as a precursor solid to the cement mineral tobermorite. Rate constants for tobermorite growth were found to be k = 0.6 (± 0.1) × 10-5 s-1 for a solution:solid of 10:1 and 1.6 (± 0.8) × 10-4 s-1 for a solution:solid of 5:1 (batch mode; T = 150°C). This data indicates that reaction rates for tobermorite growth are faster when the solution volume is reduced by half, suggesting that rates are dependent on solution saturation and that the Gibbs free energy is the reaction driver. However, calculated solution saturation indexes for Al-CSH and tobermorite differ by less than one log unit, which is within the measured uncertainty. Based on this data, we consider both heterogeneous nucleation as the thermodynamic driver and internal restructuring as possible mechanistic pathways for growth. We also use NMR spectroscopy to characterize the site symmetry and bonding environment of Al and Si in a reacted tobermorite sample. We find two [4]Al coordination structures at δiso = 59.9 ppm and 66.3 ppm with quadrupolar product parameters (PQ) of 0.21 MHz and 0.10 MHz (± 0.08) from 27Al 3Q-MAS NMR and speculate on the Al occupancy of framework sites by probing the protonation environment of Al metal centers using 27Al{1H}CP-MAS NMR. PMID:19144195

Domain structure and texture in fine grained symplectite from garnet breakdown in peridotite xenoliths (Zinst, Bavaria, Bohemian Massif)

Science.gov (United States)

Habler, G.; Špaček, P.; Abart, R.

2012-04-01

Lherzolite xenoliths entrained in Oligocene basanite at the locality of Zinst (Bavaria, western Bohemian Massif) contain rare fine-grained symplectites forming about 5 millimeter sized patches comprising several microstructurally and chemically distinct concentric zones. The symplectites reflect a complex reaction history of lherzolite during decompression and interaction with melt. Here we focus on ultra-fine grained symplectite with an integrated bulk composition expressed in terms of garnet end-member component percentages as Prp(69-71)Alm(11-13)Grs(2.5-5)And(7.5-10)Uvr(4). According to the composition and the microstructural occurrence in lherzolite the ultra-fine grained symplectite is interpreted as a product of isochemical garnet breakdown, although the precursor phase is not preserved. Under cross polarized light patches with similar extinction show a domain microstructure in symplectite. BSE images reveal an intimate intergrowth of orthopyroxene, spinel and plagioclase. All phases have a shape preferred orientation within distinct domains, whereas discontinuous SPO changes occur at microstructural domain boundaries. Three types of symplectite were microstructurally discerned: The most pristine type A occurs in a 10-30 micrometers wide zone along the symplectite margin. Spinel forms several tens of nanometers wide rods or lamellae within Opx, whereas Pl and Opx represent the symplectite matrix. All phases show a strong SPO with the maximum elongation perpendicular to the symplectite boundary. At edges of this interface, the SPO of the symplectite phases changes accordingly. Discontinuities in SPO may coincide with changes in crystallographic orientation. EBSD data showed that symplectite phases have strict crystallographic orientation relations with Opx(100)//Spl(111) and Opx(010)//Spl(110). Whereas the initial lattice orientation is controlled by adjacent phases at the symplectite boundary, the crystallographic orientation within symplectite domains

Mechanistic modeling of CHF in forced-convection subcooled boiling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Podowski, M.Z.; Alajbegovic, A.; Kurul, N.; Drew, D.A.; Lahey, R.T. Jr.

1997-05-01

Because of the complexity of phenomena governing boiling heat transfer, the approach to solve practical problems has traditionally been based on experimental correlations rather than mechanistic models. The recent progress in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), combined with improved experimental techniques in two-phase flow and heat transfer, makes the use of rigorous physically-based models a realistic alternative to the current simplistic phenomenological approach. The objective of this paper is to present a new CFD model for critical heat flux (CHF) in low quality (in particular, in subcooled boiling) forced-convection flows in heated channels

Development of Improved Mechanistic Deterioration Models for Flexible Pavements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ullidtz, Per; Ertman, Hans Larsen

1998-01-01

The paper describes a pilot study in Denmark with the main objective of developing improved mechanistic deterioration models for flexible pavements based on an accelerated full scale test on an instrumented pavement in the Danish Road Tessting Machine. The study was the first in "International...... Pavement Subgrade Performance Study" sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), USA. The paper describes in detail the data analysis and the resulting models for rutting, roughness, and a model for the plastic strain in the subgrade.The reader will get an understanding of the work needed...

Modular verification of chemical reaction network encodings via serializability analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Lakin, Matthew R.; Stefanovic, Darko; Phillips, Andrew

2015-01-01

Chemical reaction networks are a powerful means of specifying the intended behaviour of synthetic biochemical systems. A high-level formal specification, expressed as a chemical reaction network, may be compiled into a lower-level encoding, which can be directly implemented in wet chemistry and may itself be expressed as a chemical reaction network. Here we present conditions under which a lower-level encoding correctly emulates the sequential dynamics of a high-level chemical reaction network. We require that encodings are transactional, such that their execution is divided by a “commit reaction” that irreversibly separates the reactant-consuming phase of the encoding from the product-generating phase. We also impose restrictions on the sharing of species between reaction encodings, based on a notion of “extra tolerance”, which defines species that may be shared between encodings without enabling unwanted reactions. Our notion of correctness is serializability of interleaved reaction encodings, and if all reaction encodings satisfy our correctness properties then we can infer that the global dynamics of the system are correct. This allows us to infer correctness of any system constructed using verified encodings. As an example, we show how this approach may be used to verify two- and four-domain DNA strand displacement encodings of chemical reaction networks, and we generalize our result to the limit where the populations of helper species are unlimited. PMID:27325906

Reaction pathway towards formation of cobalt single chain magnets and nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balaji, G.; Desilva, Rohini M.; Palshin, V. [Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, Louisiana State University, 6980 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (United States); Desilva, N. [Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (United States); Palmer, G. [Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, MS 140, 6100 Main street, Houston, TX 77251 (United States); Kumar, Challa S.S.R., E-mail: ckumar1@lsu.ed [Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, Louisiana State University, 6980 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (United States)

2010-03-15

With the advent of molecular magnets the quest for suitable high density magnetic storage materials has fuelled further research in this area. Here in this report, we present a detailed mechanistic investigation of thermal decomposition of cyclopentadienyl cobalt [CoCp(CO){sub 2}] precursor where Cp is the cyclopentadienyl moiety. The reaction revealed the formation of cobalt nanoparticles (Co-NPs) through an isolable reaction intermediate characterized as a Single Chain Magnet (SCM), [Co(Cp){sub 2}]{sub 2}CoCl{sub 4} (1). The SQUID magnetic measurements showed the presence of very strong antiferromagnetic interactions between Co{sup 2+} ions. The zero-field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) magnetization curves branch out below 5 K and there is evidence for frequency dependent complex susceptibility along with a maximum observed around 2.5 K. The optical studies indicated that the Co{sup 2+} d-d transition is influenced by the polarity of the solvents. The cobalt nanoparticles (Co-NPs) were obtained, either directly from 1 or from its precursor. They are spherical in shape with a mean size 15 nm, have fcc crystal structure and were found to be ferromagnetic at room temperature.

LASSIM-A network inference toolbox for genome-wide mechanistic modeling.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rasmus Magnusson

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Recent technological advancements have made time-resolved, quantitative, multi-omics data available for many model systems, which could be integrated for systems pharmacokinetic use. Here, we present large-scale simulation modeling (LASSIM, which is a novel mathematical tool for performing large-scale inference using mechanistically defined ordinary differential equations (ODE for gene regulatory networks (GRNs. LASSIM integrates structural knowledge about regulatory interactions and non-linear equations with multiple steady state and dynamic response expression datasets. The rationale behind LASSIM is that biological GRNs can be simplified using a limited subset of core genes that are assumed to regulate all other gene transcription events in the network. The LASSIM method is implemented as a general-purpose toolbox using the PyGMO Python package to make the most of multicore computers and high performance clusters, and is available at https://gitlab.com/Gustafsson-lab/lassim. As a method, LASSIM works in two steps, where it first infers a non-linear ODE system of the pre-specified core gene expression. Second, LASSIM in parallel optimizes the parameters that model the regulation of peripheral genes by core system genes. We showed the usefulness of this method by applying LASSIM to infer a large-scale non-linear model of naïve Th2 cell differentiation, made possible by integrating Th2 specific bindings, time-series together with six public and six novel siRNA-mediated knock-down experiments. ChIP-seq showed significant overlap for all tested transcription factors. Next, we performed novel time-series measurements of total T-cells during differentiation towards Th2 and verified that our LASSIM model could monitor those data significantly better than comparable models that used the same Th2 bindings. In summary, the LASSIM toolbox opens the door to a new type of model-based data analysis that combines the strengths of reliable mechanistic models

Kinetics of the epoxy–thiol click reaction initiated by a tertiary amine: Calorimetric study using monofunctional components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loureiro, Roi Meizoso; Amarelo, Tánia Carballeira; Abuin, Senen Paz; Soulé, Ezequiel R.; Williams, Roberto J.J.

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Reaction kinetics of a monoepoxy and a monothiol was studied by DSC. • Benzyldimethylamine (BDMA) was used as initiator. • Reaction exhibited a long induction period followed by a fast autocatalytic rate. • A mechanistic kinetic model provided a reasonable fitting of the kinetic behavior. • The formulation simulates the behavior of room-temperature-cure commercial epoxies. - Abstract: An analysis of the kinetics of the epoxy–thiol reaction in a model stoichiometric system of monofunctional reagents, 3-mercaptopropionate (BMP) and phenylglycidylether (PGE) is reported. Benzyldimethylamine (BDMA) was employed as initiator in amounts ranging from 0.5 to 2 wt%. These formulations showed a kinetic behavior qualitatively similar to that of commercial adhesives and coatings formulated for a room-temperature cure. Isothermal DSC scans revealed the existence of a relatively long induction period preceding a fast autocatalytic reaction step. Dynamic DSC scans showed that the reaction was shifted to a lower temperature range by increasing the storage period of the initial formulation at 20 °C. This unusual kinetic behavior could be modeled assuming that thiolate anions, slowly generated during the induction period, initiated a fast autocatalytic propagation/proton transfer reaction. The kinetic model included a pseudo-steady state for the initiator concentration and an equilibrium reaction between epoxy and OH groups generated by reaction. A reasonable fitting of isothermal and dynamic DSC runs was achieved in a broad range of temperatures and amine concentrations. In particular, both the length of the induction time and the effect of the storage period were correctly predicted

Kinetics of the epoxy–thiol click reaction initiated by a tertiary amine: Calorimetric study using monofunctional components