171 research outputs found

    Genomic organization, annotation, and ligand-receptor inferences of chicken chemokines and chemokine receptor genes based on comparative genomics

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    BACKGROUND: Chemokines and their receptors play important roles in host defense, organogenesis, hematopoiesis, and neuronal communication. Forty-two chemokines and 19 cognate receptors have been found in the human genome. Prior to this report, only 11 chicken chemokines and 7 receptors had been reported. The objectives of this study were to systematically identify chicken chemokines and their cognate receptor genes in the chicken genome and to annotate these genes and ligand-receptor binding by a comparative genomics approach. RESULTS: Twenty-three chemokine and 14 chemokine receptor genes were identified in the chicken genome. All of the chicken chemokines contained a conserved CC, CXC, CX(3)C, or XC motif, whereas all the chemokine receptors had seven conserved transmembrane helices, four extracellular domains with a conserved cysteine, and a conserved DRYLAIV sequence in the second intracellular domain. The number of coding exons in these genes and the syntenies are highly conserved between human, mouse, and chicken although the amino acid sequence homologies are generally low between mammalian and chicken chemokines. Chicken genes were named with the systematic nomenclature used in humans and mice based on phylogeny, synteny, and sequence homology. CONCLUSION: The independent nomenclature of chicken chemokines and chemokine receptors suggests that the chicken may have ligand-receptor pairings similar to mammals. All identified chicken chemokines and their cognate receptors were identified in the chicken genome except CCR9, whose ligand was not identified in this study. The organization of these genes suggests that there were a substantial number of these genes present before divergence between aves and mammals and more gene duplications of CC, CXC, CCR, and CXCR subfamilies in mammals than in aves after the divergence

    Special Libraries, January 1925

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    Volume 16, Issue 1https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1925/1000/thumbnail.jp

    Computational insights into charge storage mechanisms of supercapacitors

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    Computational modeling methods, including molecular dynamics (MD) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, and density functional theory (DFT), are receiving booming interests for exploring charge storage mechanisms of electrochemical energy storage devices. These methods can effectively be used to obtain molecular scale local information or provide clear explanations for novel experimental findings that cannot be directly interpreted through experimental investigations. This short review is dedicated to emphasizing recent advances in computational simulation methods for exploring the charge storage mechanisms in typical nanoscale materials, such as nanoporous carbon materials, 2D MXene materials, and metal-organic framework electrodes. Beyond a better understanding of charge storage mechanisms and experimental observations, fast and accurate enough models would be helpful to provide theoretical guidance and experimental basis for the design of new high-performance electrochemical energy storage devices

    Liquid-liquid biopolymers aqueous solution segregative phase separation in food: From fundamentals to applications - A review

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    As a result of the spontaneous movement of molecules, liquid-liquid biopolymer segregative phase separation takes place in an aqueous solution. The efficacy of this type of separation can be optimized under conditions where variables such as pH, temperature, and molecular concentrations have minimal impact on its dynamics. Recently, interest in the applications of biopolymers and their segregative phase separation-associated molecular stratification has increased, particularly in the food industry, where these methods permit the purification of specific particles and the embedding of microcapsules. The present review offers a comprehensive examination of the theoretical mechanisms that regulate the liquid−liquid biopolymers aqueous solution segregative phase separation, the factors that may exert an impact on this procedure, and the importance of this particular separation method in the context of food science. These discussion points also address existing difficulties and future possibilities related to the use of segregative phase separation in food applications. This highlights the potential for the design of novel functional foods and the enhancement of food properties

    Formation, influencing factors, and applications of internal channels in starch: A review

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    Starch, a natural polymer, has a complex internal structure. Some starches, such as corn and wheat starches, have well-developed surface pores and internal channels. These channel structures are considered crucial in connecting surface stomata and internal cavities and have adequate space for loading guest molecules. After processing or modification, the starch-containing channel structures can be used for food and drug encapsulation and delivery. This article reviews the formation and determination of starch internal channels, and the influence of different factors (such as starch species and processing conditions) on the channel structure. It also discusses relevant starch preparation methods (physical, chemical, enzymatic, and synergistic), and the encapsulation effect of starch containing internal channels on different substances. In addition, the role of internal channels in regulating the starch digestion rate and other aspects is also discussed here. This review highlights the significant multifunctional applications of starch with a channel structure

    Effects of functional groups and anion size on the charging mechanisms in layered electrode materials

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    Highlights : We have conducted molecular simulations on 20 model supercapacitors systems based on graphene or MXene electrodes, with different functional groups, and 5 neat ionic liquids, with different anions.When charging negatively, the electrodes expand and no major dependence on the anion type is observed. When charging positively, the volume changes are more complex.Volume changes are generally very well correlated with the quantities of adsorbed ions, except for the largest anions for which ion reorientations affect the interlayer spacing.We demonstrate that the charging mechanisms are largely correlated with the anion sizes and the surface charge of the electrode material in the uncharged state

    Unraveling the Charge Storage Mechanism of Ti3C2Tx MXene Electrode in Acidic Electrolyte

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    Two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx MXenes have been extensively studied as pseudocapacitive electrode materials. This Letter aims at providing further insights into the charge storage mechanism of the Ti3C2Tx MXene electrode in the acidic electrolyte by combining experimental and simulation approaches. Our results show that the presence of H2O molecules between the MXene layers plays a critical role in the pseudocapacitive behavior, providing a pathway for proton transport to activate the redox reaction of the Ti atoms. Also, thermal annealing of the samples at different temperatures suggests that the presence of the confined H2O molecules is mainly controlled by the surface termination groups. These findings pave the way for alternative strategies to enhance the high-rate performance of MXenes electrodes by optimizing their surface termination groups
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