A density functional theory study of hydrogen adsorption on Be-, Mg-, and Ca-exchanged LTL zeolite clusters

Hydrogen molecule adsorption on frameworks consisting of alkaline earth metal atoms (Be, Mg, or Ca) in LTL zeolite was investigated via density functional theory. A 24T zeolite cluster model was used in this study. HOMO and LUMO energy, chemical potential, chemical hardness, electronegativity, adsorption energy, and adsorption enthalpy values were calculated. The Mg-LTL and Ca-LTL clusters were found to have much lower chemical potentials and adsorption energies than those of the Be-LTL cluster. Additionally, the calculations indicated that the Mg-LTL and Ca-LTL clusters are softer (considering their lower chemical hardness values) and more chemically reactive than the Be-LTL cluster. The calculated hydrogen adsorption enthalpies were ?14.7 and ?9.4 kJ/mol for the Mg-LTL and Ca-LTL clusters, respectively, which are significantly larger than the enthalpy of liquefaction for the hydrogen molecule. These results imply that the Mg-LTL and Ca-LTL zeolite structures are promising cryoadsorbents for hydrogen storage.

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Graphical abstract Hydrogen adsorption was theoretically investigated on Be-, Ca- and Mg-LTL clusters. Ca- and Mg-LTL zeolites are potential cryoadsorbent materials for hydrogen storage.

     

Single-channel gating and regulation of human L-type calcium channels in cardiomyocytes of transgenic mice

Overexpression of human cardiac L-type Ca(2+) channel pores (hCa(v)1.2) in mice causes heart failure. Earlier studies showed Ca(v)1.2-mRNA increase by 2.8-fold, but whole-cell current density enhancement by 相似文献   

Unraveling the genetic complexity of Drosophila stardust during photoreceptor morphogenesis and prevention of light-induced degeneration

Drosophila Stardust, a membrane-associated guanylate kinase (MAGUK), recruits the transmembrane protein Crumbs and the cytoplasmic proteins DPATJ and DLin-7 into an apically localized protein scaffold. This evolutionarily conserved complex is required for epithelial cell polarity in Drosophila embryos and mammalian cells in culture. In addition, mutations in Drosophila crumbs and DPATJ impair morphogenesis of photoreceptor cells (PRCs) and result in light-dependent retinal degeneration. Here we show that stardust is a genetically complex locus. While all alleles tested perturb epithelial cell polarity in the embryo, only a subset of them affects morphogenesis of PRCs or induces light-dependent retinal degeneration. Alleles retaining particular postembryonic functions still express some Stardust protein in pupal and/or adult eyes. The phenotypic complexity is reflected by the expression of distinct splice variants at different developmental stages. All proteins expressed in the retina contain the PSD95, Discs Large, ZO-1 (PDZ), Src homology 3 (SH3), and guanylate kinase (GUK) domain, but lack a large region in the N terminus encoded by one exon. These results suggest that Stardust-based protein scaffolds are dynamic, which is not only mediated by multiple interaction partners, but in addition by various forms of the Stardust protein itself.     

In vitro mature embryo culture protocol of einkorn (Triticum monococcum ssp. monococcum) and bread (Triticum aestivum L.) wheat under boron stress

Mature embryos of einkorn (Triticum monococcum ssp. monococcum) and bread (Triticum aestivum L.) wheat were used for callus induction on media containing four different doses (0, 1, 2 and 4 mg L^?1) of 2,4-D and dicamba supplemented with five different boron concentrations (0, 6.2, 12.4, 24.8, and 37.2 mg L^?1). The obtained callus was transferred to culture media with three (0, 0.5, and 2 mg L^?1) different BAP doses with five boron concentrations for further regeneration. The maximum callus weight in einkorn wheat was in culture media with 1 mg L^?1 dicamba and 6.2 mg L^?1 (3.71?±?0.13 g). Bread wheat had the maximum callus weight on culture media with 4 mg L^?1 dicamba and 12.4 mg L^?1 (3.46?±?0.40 g). The highest plantlet numbers were in only 2 mg L^?1 BAP (2.92?±?0.88) for einkorn wheat and 0.5 mg L^?1 BAP supplemented with 6.2 mg L^?1 boron (3.71?±?1.12) for bread wheat. This indirect regeneration protocol using mature embryos of einkorn and bread wheat under boron stresses expected to be useful for future wheat breeding studies.

     

Assessment of PLSDA cross validation

Classifying groups of individuals based on their metabolic profile is one of the main topics in metabolomics research. Due to the low number of individuals compared to the large number of variables, this is not an easy task. PLSDA is one of the data analysis methods used for the classification. Unfortunately this method eagerly overfits the data and rigorous validation is necessary. The validation however is far from straightforward. Is this paper we will discuss a strategy based on cross model validation and permutation testing to validate the classification models. It is also shown that too optimistic results are obtained when the validation is not done properly. Furthermore, we advocate against the use of PLSDA score plots for inference of class differences.     

Fluxes through cytosolic and mitochondrial creatine kinase, measured by P-31 NMR

The kinetic properties of the cytoplasmic and the mitochondrial iso-enzymes of creatine kinase from striated muscle were studied in vitro and in vivo. The creatine kinase (CK) iso-enzyme family has a multi-faceted role in cellular energy metabolism and is characterized by a complex pattern of tissue-specific expression and subcellular distribution. In mammalian tissues, there is always co-expression of at least two different CK isoforms. As a result, previous studies into the role of CK in energy metabolism have not been able to directly differentiate between the individual CK species. Here, we describe experiments which were directed at achieving this goal. First, we studied the kinetic properties of the muscle-specific cytoplasmic and mitochondrial CK isoforms in purified form under in vitro conditions, using a combination of P-31 NMR and spectrophotometry. Secondly, P-31 NMR measurements of the flux through the CK reaction were carried out on intact skeletal and heart muscle from wild-type mice and from transgenic mice, homozygous for a complete deficiency of the muscle-type cytoplasmic CK isoform. Skeletal muscle and heart were compared because they differ strongly in the relative abundance of the CK isoforms. The present data indicate that the kinetic properties of cytoplasmic and mitochondrial CK are substantially different, both in vitro and in vivo. This finding particularly has implications for the interpretation of in vivo studies with P-31 NMR. (Mol Cell Biochem 174: 33–42, 1997)     

A Novel Approach for Dynamic Testing of Total Hip Dislocation under Physiological Conditions

Constant high rates of dislocation-related complications of total hip replacements (THRs) show that contributing factors like implant position and design, soft tissue condition and dynamics of physiological motions have not yet been fully understood. As in vivo measurements of excessive motions are not possible due to ethical objections, a comprehensive approach is proposed which is capable of testing THR stability under dynamic, reproducible and physiological conditions. The approach is based on a hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) simulation where a robotic physical setup interacts with a computational musculoskeletal model based on inverse dynamics. A major objective of this work was the validation of the HiL test system against in vivo data derived from patients with instrumented THRs. Moreover, the impact of certain test conditions, such as joint lubrication, implant position, load level in terms of body mass and removal of muscle structures, was evaluated within several HiL simulations. The outcomes for a normal sitting down and standing up maneuver revealed good agreement in trend and magnitude compared with in vivo measured hip joint forces. For a deep maneuver with femoral adduction, lubrication was shown to cause less friction torques than under dry conditions. Similarly, it could be demonstrated that less cup anteversion and inclination lead to earlier impingement in flexion motion including pelvic tilt for selected combinations of cup and stem positions. Reducing body mass did not influence impingement-free range of motion and dislocation behavior; however, higher resisting torques were observed under higher loads. Muscle removal emulating a posterior surgical approach indicated alterations in THR loading and the instability process in contrast to a reference case with intact musculature. Based on the presented data, it can be concluded that the HiL test system is able to reproduce comparable joint dynamics as present in THR patients.     

In situ measurements of creatine kinase flux by NMR. The lessons from bioengineered mice

P-31 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is uniquely suited to measure the kinetics of the phosphoryl-exchange reaction catalyzed by creatine kinase in intact mammalian tissue, especially striated muscle. Recently developed transgenic mouse models of the creatine kinase iso-enzyme system open novel opportunities to assess the functional importance of the individual iso-enzymes and their relative contribution to the total in situ flux through the CK reaction. This chapter reviews the most recent findings from NMR flux measurements on such genetic models of CK function. Findings in intact mouse skeletal and cardiac muscle in vivo are compared to data from purified mitochondrial and cytosolic creatine kinase in vitro. The relevance of findings in transgenic animals for the function of CK in wild-type tissue is described and the perspectives of transgenic techniques in future quantitative studies on the creatine kinase iso-enzyme system are indicated.     

Production and characterization of pyrolysis liquids from sunflower-pressed bagasse

Pyrolysis experiments on sunflower (Helianthus annus L.)-pressed bagasse were performed in a fixed-bed tubular reactor. The effects of nitrogen flow rate and final pyrolysis temperature on the pyrolysis product yields and chemical compositions were investigated. The maximum bio-oil yield of 52.10 wt.% was obtained in a nitrogen atmosphere with flow rate of 50 ml min(-1) and at a pyrolysis temperature of 550 degrees C with a heating rate of 5 degrees C s(-1). The chemical characterization results showed that the oil obtained from sunflower-pressed bagasse may be a potentially valuable source as fuel or chemical feedstocks.     

Microscale patchiness leads to large and important intraspecific internal nutrient heterogeneity in phytoplankton

Phytoplankton stoichiometry or nutrient content has been shown to vary in a number of dimensions (species, condition, time, space), but the heterogeneity within a species at a given time and location, and the underlying mechanisms and importance have not been explored. There are a number of mechanisms that can create intraspecific heterogeneity, and theory suggests it can affect the population growth rate. We studied heterogeneity in P content of the freshwater diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana in the Charles River in Boston. Single-cell observations using synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence show that the nutrient status varies from P-starved to P-replete. We simulate individual cells using an agent-based model that accounts for a number of mechanisms that can create heterogeneity, including surface area–based uptake, mortality differentiation, stochastic biological variability in states and behavior, macroscale mixing, and microscale nutrient patch encounter. By performing a number of simulations with various mechanisms turned on/off and comparing to data, we conclude that the heterogeneity is mostly due to microscale patchiness (85%). We explore the importance of accounting for heterogeneity in models by performing a simulation with the growth rate based on the population-average internal nutrient, as is done in conventional population-level models. This shows that ignoring heterogeneity increases the population growth rate by a factor of 1.47. To account for different heterogeneity in the laboratory and field, population-level ecosystem models should reduce maximum growth rates. The magnitude of this correction depends on local conditions, and in our case, it is a factor of 0.72.