Omnino nanocomposite crosslinked networks

Disclosed are bulk, crosslinked nanocomposite networks that do not require a host polymer in the matrix. Bulk nanocomposites can be formed via derivatization of nanoparticles with functional ligands that directly or indirectly crosslink with one another or with nanostructures of the network to form a highly crosslinked network. Disclosed bulk nanocomposites can contain nanoscale materials at extremely high loading levels. Nanostructures incorporated in the networks can include optically active materials such as inorganic nanostructures doped with optically active rare earth ions

Plasmon-photon coupled optical devices

The present invention is directed to optical devices. More specifically, the disclosed devices include a film defining a periodic array of surface elements so as to give rise to surface plasmon polaritons. The film also includes at least a single aperture having a diameter less than the wavelength of light. In one embodiment, the surface elements can be an array of anisotropic apertures and the films can act as a polarizer. The disclosed devices can also include a material having a variable refractive index substantially adjacent to the metal film. For example, the refractive index of the adjacent material can vary according to some characteristic of the light incident to the device, for instance, the intensity or the angle of incidence of the light. In this embodiment, resonant coupling of incident light with the SPP, and hence transmittivity of the device, can depend upon the nature of incident light. The disclosed devices can be useful in, for example, remote polarizers, polarization mode dispersion, isolators, multi-color displays, switches, such as can be controlled according to incident sunlight, or optical filters, such as for eye protection devices, filtering out possibly harmful light

Plasmon-photon coupled optical devices

The present invention is directed to optical devices. More specifically, the disclosed devices include a film defining a periodic array of surface elements so as to give rise to surface plasmon polaritons. The film also includes at least a single aperture having a diameter less than the wavelength of light. In one embodiment, the surface elements can be an array of anisotropic apertures and the films can act as a polarizer. The disclosed devices can also include a material having a variable refractive index substantially adjacent to the metal film. For example, the refractive index of the adjacent material can vary according to some characteristic of the light incident to the device, for instance, the intensity or the angle of incidence of the light. In this embodiment, resonant coupling of incident light with the SPP, and hence transmittivity of the device, can depend upon the nature of incident light. The disclosed devices can be useful in, for example, remote polarizers, polarization mode dispersion, isolators, multi-color displays, switches, such as can be controlled according to incident sunlight, or optical filters, such as for eye protection devices, filtering out possibly harmful light

Federating structural models and data:Outcomes from a workshop on archiving integrative structures

Structures of biomolecular systems are increasingly computed by integrative modeling. In this approach, a structural model is constructed by combining information from multiple sources, including varied experimental methods and prior models. In 2019, a Workshop was held as a Biophysical Society Satellite Meeting to assess progress and discuss further requirements for archiving integrative structures. The primary goal of the Workshop was to build consensus for addressing the challenges involved in creating common data standards, building methods for federated data exchange, and developing mechanisms for validating integrative structures. The summary of the Workshop and the recommendations that emerged are presented here

Preparation and Characterization of Rare Earth Doped Fluoride Nanoparticles

This paper reviews the synthesis, structure and applications of metal fluoride nanoparticles, with particular focus on rare earth (RE) doped fluoride nanoparticles obtained by our research group. Nanoparticles were produced by precipitation methods using the ligand ammonium di-n-octadecyldithiophosphate (ADDP) that allows the growth of shells around a core particle while simultaneously avoiding particle aggregation. Nanoparticles were characterized on their structure, morphology, and luminescent properties. We discuss the synthesis, properties, and application of heavy metal fluorides; specifically LaF3:RE and PbF2, and group IIA fluorides. Particular attention is given to the synthesis of core/shell nanoparticles, including selectively RE-doped LaF3/LaF3, and CaF2/CaF2 core/(multi-)shell nanoparticles, and the CaF2-LaF3 system

A Structural Model of the Endogenous Human BAF Complex Informs Disease Mechanisms.

Mammalian SWI/SNF complexes are ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes that regulate genomic architecture. Here, we present a structural model of the endogenously purified human canonical BAF complex bound to the nucleosome, generated using cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM), cross-linking mass spectrometry, and homology modeling. BAF complexes bilaterally engage the nucleosome H2A/H2B acidic patch regions through the SMARCB1 C-terminal α-helix and the SMARCA4/2 C-terminal SnAc/post-SnAc regions, with disease-associated mutations in either causing attenuated chromatin remodeling activities. Further, we define changes in BAF complex architecture upon nucleosome engagement and compare the structural model of endogenous BAF to those of related SWI/SNF-family complexes. Finally, we assign and experimentally interrogate cancer-associated hot-spot mutations localizing within the endogenous human BAF complex, identifying those that disrupt BAF subunit-subunit and subunit-nucleosome interfaces in the nucleosome-bound conformation. Taken together, this integrative structural approach provides important biophysical foundations for understanding the mechanisms of BAF complex function in normal and disease states

Federating Structural Models and Data: Outcomes from A Workshop on Archiving Integrative Structures

Structures of biomolecular systems are increasingly computed by integrative modeling. In this approach, a structural model is constructed by combining information from multiple sources, including varied experimental methods and prior models. In 2019, a Workshop was held as a Biophysical Society Satellite Meeting to assess progress and discuss further requirements for archiving integrative structures. The primary goal of the Workshop was to build consensus for addressing the challenges involved in creating common data standards , building methods for federated data exchange, and developing mechanisms for validating integrative structures. The summary of the Workshop and the recommendations that emerged are presented here. Introduction When the Protein Data Bank (PDB) (Protein Data Bank, 1971) was first established in 1971, X-ray crystallography was the only method for determining three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules at sufficient resolution to build atomic models. A decade later, structures of biomolecules in solution could also be determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (Williamson et al., 1985). Recently, three-dimensional cryoelectron microscopy (3DEM) (Henderson et al., 1990) began to achieve unprecedented near-atomic resolution for large complex assemblies. Increasingly, investigators are also modeling structures based on data from more than one method (Rout and Sali, 2019). These integrative/hybrid approaches to structure determination consist of collecting information about a system using multiple experimental and computational methods, followed by integrative/hybrid modeling that converts this information into integrative/hybrid structure models. For succinctness, we will use the term integra-tive hereafter to refer to integrative/hybrid approaches, modeling, and models