Di-μ-benzoato-κ3 O,O′:O;κ3 O:O,O′-bis­[(benzoato-κ2 O,O′)(1,10-phenanthroline-κ2 N,N′)lead(II)]

In the centrosymmetric dinuclear title compound, [Pb2(C7H5O2)4(C12H8N2)2], two Pb2+ ions are connected by two tridentate bridging benzoate anions. The Pb2+ ion is seven-coordinated by five O atoms from three benzoate anions and two N atoms from the 1,10-phenanthroline ligands. The benzoate anions adopt two different coordination modes, one bidentate–chelating and one tridentate bridging–chelating. The three-dimensional supra­molecular framework is achieved by inter­molecular π–π stacking inter­actions, with a shortest centroid–centroid distance of 3.617 (4) Å

Triaqua-1κ3 O-μ-cyanido-1:2κ2 N:C-penta­cyanido-2κ5 C-tetra­kis­(dimethyl­formamide-1κO)-1-holmium(III)-2-iron(III) monohydrate

In the bimetallic cyanide-bridged title complex, [Fe0.98HoRu0.02(CN)6(C3H7NO)4(H2O)3]·H2O, the HoIII ion is in a slightly distorted square-anti­prismatic arrangement formed by seven O atoms from four dimethyl­formamide (DMF) mol­ecules and three water mol­ecules, and one N atom from a bridging cyanide group connected with the FeIII atom which is octa­hedrally coordinated by six cyanide groups. In the crystal, mol­ecules are held together through O—H⋯N and O—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions to form a three-dimensional framework. Elemental analysis of one of the precursors and the crystal shows that there is a slight contamination of Fe by Ru. The Fe site displays, therefore, small substitutional disorder with site-occupancy factors Fe/Ru = 0.98:0.02. The two methyl groups of two dimethyl­formamide ligands are positionally disordered with site-occupancy factors of 0.44 (3):0.56 (3) and 0.44 (3):0.56 (3)

Immune responses of Helicoverpa armigera to different kinds of pathogens

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Insects react against pathogens through innate immunity. The cotton bollworm <it>Helicoverpa armigera </it>(<it>H. armigera</it>) is an important defoliator and an extremely destructive pest insect of many crops. The elucidation of the mechanism of the immune response of <it>H. armigera </it>to various pathogens can provide a theoretical basis for new approaches to biologically control this pest.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Four kinds of pathogens <it>Bacillus thuringiensis</it>, <it>Klebsiella pneumoniae</it>, <it>Candida albicans</it>, and <it>Autographa californica </it>multiple nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus harbored green fluorescence protein and polyhedron (<it>Ac</it>MNPV-GFP) were used to challenge the insect. The cellular and humoral immune responses to the pathogens were analyzed in the challenged <it>H. armigera</it>. The results show that in the five kinds of haemocytes, only granulocytes phagocytized the Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and fungi. All haemocytes can be infected by <it>Ac</it>MNPV. Fourteen immune-related genes including pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as peptidoglycan recognition proteins (<it>HaPGRP </it>and <it>HaPGRP C</it>) and Gram-Negative Bacteria-Binding Protein (<it>HaGNBP</it>), and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) such as <it>cecropin-1, 2 </it>and <it>3 </it>(<it>HaCec-1, 2 </it>and <it>3</it>), <it>lysozyme </it>(<it>HaLys</it>), attacin (<it>HaAtt</it>), <it>gallerimycin-like </it>(<it>HaGall</it>), <it>gloverin-like </it>(<it>HaGlo</it>), <it>moricin-like </it>(<it>HaMor</it>), cobatoxin-like (<it>HaCob</it>), <it>galiomicin-like </it>(<it>HaGali</it>), and <it>immune inducible protein </it>(<it>HaIip</it>) appeared in different expression profiles to different pathogen infections. The transcripts of 13 immune related genes (except <it>HaPGRPC</it>) are obviously up-regulated by Gram-positive bacteria. <it>HaCec-1 and 3, HaMor, HaAtt, HaLys</it>, <it>HaIip</it>, <it>HaPGRP </it>and <it>HaGNBP </it>are greatly up-regulated after fungal infection. <it>HaGNBP, HaCec-2, HaGall, HaGlo, HaMor, HaCob, HaGali </it>obviously increased in Gram-negative bacterial infection. Only five genes, <it>HaGNBP, HaCec-1</it>, <it>HaGali</it>, <it>HaGlo</it>, and <it>HaLys</it>, are weakly up-regulated after viral infection. The AMP transcripts had higher expression levels than the PRR transcripts after the microbial challenge.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These data suggest that the granulocytes are the major phagocytes in <it>H. armigera</it>. All haemocytes can be infected by <it>Ac</it>MNPV. The transcripts of 14 immune related genes have different expression patterns in <it>H. armigera </it>infected by different pathogens, which means that the immune-related genes may have different functions against various kinds of pathogens.</p

Unveiling the solid-like dynamics of liquids at low-frequency via nano-confinement

At frequencies higher than the inverse of the structural relaxation time $\tau$, the dynamics of liquids display several solid-like properties, including propagating collective shear waves and emergent elasticity. However, in classical bulk liquids, where $\tau$ is typically of the order of 1 ps or less, this solid-like behavior cannot be observed in the low-frequency region of the vibrational density of states (VDOS), below a few meV. In this work, we provide compelling evidence for the emergent solid-like nature of liquids at short distances through inelastic neutron scattering measurements of the low-frequency vibrational density of states (VDOS) in liquid water and glycerol confined within graphene oxide membranes. In particular, upon increasing the strength of confinement, we observe a continuous evolution from a liquid-like VDOS (linear in the frequency $\omega$) to a solid-like behavior (Debye law, $\sim\omega^2$) in the range of $1$-$4$ meV. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm these findings and reveal additional solid-like features, including propagating collective shear waves and a reduction in the self-diffusion constant. Finally, we show that the onset of solid-like dynamics is pushed towards low frequency because of the slowing-down of the relaxation processes upon confinement, and that the scale at which solidity emerges is qualitatively compatible with k-gap theory and the concept of gapped momentum states. Our results provide a convincing experimental proof of the continuity between liquids and solids, as originally advocated by Frenkel and Maxwell, and a deeper understanding of the dynamics of liquids across a wide range of length scales.Comment: v1: comments are welcom

The epitope of the VP1 protein of porcine parvovirus

Porcine parvovirus (PPV) is the major causative agent in a syndrome of reproductive failure in swine. Much has been learned about the structure and function of PPV in recent years, but nothing is known about the epitopes of the structural protein VP1, which is an important antigen of PPV. In this study, the monoclonal antibody C4 against VP1 of PPV was prepared and was used to biopan a 12-mer phage peptide library three times. The selected phage clones were identified by ELISA and then sequencing. The amino acid sequences detected by phage display were analyzed, and a mimic immuno-dominant epitope was identified. The epitope of VP1 is located in the N-terminal and contains the role amino acid sequence R-K-R. Immunization of mice indicated that the phage-displayed peptide induces antibodies against PPV. This study shows that peptide mimotopes have potential as alternatives to the complex antigens currently used for diagnosis of PPV infection or for development of vaccines