Charge-Mediated Recognition of N-Terminal Tryptophan in Aqueous Solution by a Synthetic Host

The molecular recognition of peptides and proteins in aqueous solution by designed molecules remains an elusive goal with broad implications for basic biochemical research and for sensors and separations technologies. This paper describes the recognition of N-terminal tryptophan in aqueous solution by the synthetic host cucurbit[8]uril (Q8). Q8 is known to form 1:1:1 heteroternary complexes with methyl viologen (MV) and a second aromatic guest. Here, the complexes of Q8·MV with (i) the four natural aromatic α-amino acids, (ii) four singly charged tryptophan derivatives, and (iii) four tryptophan-containing tripeptides were characterized by isothermal titration calorimetry, mass spectrometry, and UV−visible, fluorescence, and 1H NMR spectroscopy. We find that Q8·MV binds Trp−Gly−Gly with high affinity (Ka = 1.3 × 105 M-1), with 6-fold specificity over Gly−Trp−Gly, and with 40-fold specificity over Gly−Gly−Trp. Analysis of the nine indole-containing compounds suggests that peptide recognition is mediated by the electrostatic charge(s) proximal to the indole, and that the mode of binding is consistent for these compounds. Complex formation is accompanied by the growth of a visible charge-transfer band and the quenching of indole fluorescence. These optical properties, combined with the stability and selectivity of this system, are promising for applications in sensing and separating specific peptides

Extensive infrared spectroscopic study of CuO: signatures of strong spin-phonon interaction and structural distortion

Optical properties of single-crystal monoclinic CuO in the range 70 - 6000 \cm were studied at temperatures from 7 to 300 K. Normal reflection spectra were obtained from the (001) and (010) crystal faces thus giving for the first time separate data for the $A_{u}$ and $B_{u}$ phonon modes excited in the purely transverse way (TO modes). Mode parameters, including polarizations of the $B_{u}$ modes not determined by the crystal symmetry, were extracted by the dispersion analysis of reflectivity curves as a function of temperature. Spectra of all the components of the optical conductivity tensor were obtained using the Kramers-Kronig method recently extended to the case of the low-symmetry crystals. The number of strong phonon modes is in agreement with the factor-group analysis for the crystal structure, currently accepted for the CuO. However, several "extra" modes of minor intensity are detected. Comparison of frequencies of "extra" modes with the available phonon dispersion curves points to possible "diagonal" doubling of the unit cell \{{\bf a}, {\bf b}, {\bf c}\} $\to$ \{{\bf a}+{\bf c}, {\bf b}, {\bf a}-{\bf c}\} and formation of the superlattice. The previously reported softening of the $A^{3}_{u}$ mode ($\sim$ 400 \cm) with cooling at $T_{N}$ is found to be $\sim$ 10 % for the TO mode. The mode is very broad at high temperatures and strongly narrows in the AFM phase. We attribute this effect to strong resonance coupling of this mode to optical or acoustic bi-magnons and reconstruction of the magnetic excitations spectrum at the N\'eel point. A significant anisotropy of $\epsilon^{\infty}$ is observed: it was found to be 5.9 along the {\bf b}-axis, 6.2 along the {[}101{]} chains and 7.8 the {[}10$\bar{1}${]} chains. The "transverse" effective charge is value is about 2 electrons.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, REVTeX, submitted to PR

Five New Species of Guimaraesiella (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera) from Broadbills (Aves: Passeriformes: Calyptomenidae: Eurylaimidae)

Under embargo until: 2020-11-15Five new species of Guimaraesiella Eichler, 1949 are described and illustrated from hosts in the Eurylaimidae and Calyptomenidae. They are Guimaraesiella corydoni n. sp. from Corydon sumatranus laoensisMeyer de Schauensee, 1929; Guimaraesiella latirostris n. sp. from Eurylaimus ochromalusRaffles, 1822; Guimaraesiella cyanophoba n. sp. from Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchus malaccensisSalvadori, 1874 and C. m. siamensisMeyer de Schauensee and Ripley, 1940; Guimaraesiella altunai n. sp. from Calyptomena viridis caudacutaSwainson, 1838; and Guimaraesiella forcipata n. sp. from Eurylaimus steerii steeriiSharpe, 1876. These represent the first species of Guimaraesiella described from the Calyptomenidae and Eurylaimidae, as well as the first species of this genus described from the Old World suboscines.acceptedVersio

A robust automated method to analyze rodent motion during fear conditioning

A central question in the study of LTP has been to determine what role it plays in memory formation and storage. One valuable form of learning for addressing this issue is associative fear conditioning. In this paradigm an animal learns to associate a tone and shock, such that subsequent presentation of a tone evokes a fear response (freezing behavior). Recent studies indicate that overlapping cellular processes underlie fear conditioning and LTP. The fear response has generally been scored manually which is both labor-intensive and subject to potential artifacts such as inconsistent or biased results. Here we describe a simple automated method that provides unbiased and rapid analysis of animal motion. We show that measured motion, in units termed significant motion pixels (SMPs), is both linear and robust over a wide range of animal speeds and detection thresholds and scores freezing in a quantitatively similar manner to trained human observers. By comparing the frequency distribution of motion during baseline periods and to the response to fox urine (which causes unconditioned fear), we suggest that freezing and non-freezing are distinct behaviors. Finally, we show how this algorithm can be applied to a fear conditioning paradigm yielding information on long and short-term associative memory as well as habituation. This automated analysis of fear conditioning will permit a more rapid and accurate assessment of the role of LTP in memory

The biological embedding of early-life socioeconomic status and family adversity in children's genome-wide DNA methylation.

AimTo examine variation in child DNA methylation to assess its potential as a pathway for effects of childhood social adversity on health across the life course.Materials & methodsIn a diverse, prospective community sample of 178 kindergarten children, associations between three types of social experience and DNA methylation within buccal epithelial cells later in childhood were examined.ResultsFamily income, parental education and family psychosocial adversity each associated with increased or decreased DNA methylation (488, 354 and 102 sites, respectively) within a unique set of genomic CpG sites. Gene ontology analyses pointed to genes serving immune and developmental regulation functions.ConclusionFindings provided support for DNA methylation as a biomarker linking early-life social experiences with later life health in humans

Mitigation of Ergot Vasoconstriction by Clover Isoflavones in Goats (\u3cem\u3eCapra hircus\u3c/em\u3e)

Ergot alkaloids produced by a fungal endophyte (Epichloë coenophiala; formerly Neotyphodium coenophialum) that infects tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) can induce persistent constriction of the vasculature in ruminants, hindering their capability to thermo-regulate core body temperature. There is evidence that isoflavones produced by legumes can relax the vasculature, which suggests that they could relieve ergot alkaloid-induced vasoconstriction and mitigate the vulnerability to severe heat stress in ruminants that graze tall fescue. To test if isoflavones can relieve alkaloid-induced vasoconstriction, two pen experiments were conducted with rumen-fistulated goats (Capra hircus) to determine with ultrasonograpy if isoflavones can (1) promote vascular compliance by countering alkaloid-induced vasoconstriction and (2) relieve already imposed alkaloid-induced vasoconstriction. Goats were fed ad libitum chopped orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata)–timothy (Phleum pratense) hay prior to conducting the experiments. Measures of carotid and interosseous luminal areas were obtained pre- (baseline) and post-ruminal infusions in both experiments with goats being fed the hay, and for blood flow rate in the carotid artery in Experiment 2. Responses to infusion treatments were evaluated as proportionate differences from baseline measures. Peak systolic velocity, pulsatility index, and heart rate were measured on the last day on treatment (DOT) in Experiment 1, and on all imaging sessions during Experiment 2. For Experiment 1, rumens were infused with ground toxic fescue seed and isoflavones in Phase A and with only the toxic seed in Phase B. The infusion treatments were switched between phases in Experiment 2, which employed a fescue seed extract having an ergot alkaloid composition equivalent to that of the ground seed used in Experiment 1. During Experiment 1, luminal areas of carotid and interosseous arteries in Phase A did not deviate (P \u3e 0.1) from baselines over 1, 2, 3, and 4 DOT, but the areas of both declined linearly from baselines over 1, 2, 3, and 4 DOT in Phase B. By 6, 7, and 8 DOT in Experiment 2, luminal areas of the arteries and flow rate declined from baselines with infusions with the only seed extract in Phase A, but luminal areas and flow rate increased over 4, 5, and 6 DOT with the additional infusion of isoflavones. Peak systolic velocity and heart rate were not affected by treatment in either experiment, but were highest when infused with only ergot alkaloids in both experiments. Treatment with isoflavones was demonstrated to relax the carotid and interosseous arteries and reduce resistance to blood flow. Results indicate that isoflavones can relax persistent vasoconstriction in goats caused by consumption of ergot alkaloids, and mitigate the adverse effect that ergot alkaloids have on dry matter intake

Images of the Dark Soliton in a Depleted Condensate

The dark soliton created in a Bose-Einstein condensate becomes grey in course of time evolution because its notch fills up with depleted atoms. This is the result of quantum mechanical calculations which describes output of many experimental repetitions of creation of the stationary soliton, and its time evolution terminated by a destructive density measurement. However, such a description is not suitable to predict the outcome of a single realization of the experiment were two extreme scenarios and many combinations thereof are possible: one will see (1) a displaced dark soliton without any atoms in the notch, but with a randomly displaced position, or (2) a grey soliton with a fixed position, but a random number of atoms filling its notch. In either case the average over many realizations will reproduce the mentioned quantum mechanical result. In this paper we use N-particle wavefunctions, which follow from the number-conserving Bogoliubov theory, to settle this issue.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, references added in version accepted for publication in J. Phys.

Deployable-erectable trade study for space station truss structures

The results of a trade study on truss structures for constructing the space station are presented. Although this study was conducted for the reference gravity gradient space station, the results are generally applicable to other configurations. The four truss approaches for constructing the space station considered in this paper were the 9 foot single fold deployable, the 15 foot erectable, the 10 foot double fold tetrahedral, and the 15 foot PACTRUSS. The primary rational for considering a 9 foot single-fold deployable truss (9 foot is the largest uncollapsed cross-section that will fit in the Shuttle cargo bay) is that of ease of initial on-orbit construction and preintegration of utility lines and subsystems. The primary rational for considering the 15 foot erectable truss is that the truss bay size will accommodate Shuttle size payloads and growth of the initial station in any dimension is a simple extension of the initial construction process. The primary rational for considering the double-fold 10 foot tetrahedral truss is that a relatively large amount of truss structure can be deployed from a single Shuttle flight to provide a large number of nodal attachments which present a pegboard for attaching a wide variety of payloads. The 15 foot double-fold PACTRUSS was developed to incorporate the best features of the erectable truss and the tetrahedral truss