Final Report: Vibrational Dynamics in Photoinduced Electron Transfer

The objective of this grant was to understand how molecular vibrational states (geometry distortions) are involved in photoinduced electron transfer rates of molecules. This subject is an important component of understanding how molecular absorbers of light convert that energy into charge separation. This is important because the absorption usually excites molecular vibrations in a new electronic state prior to electron transfer to other molecules or semiconductor nanoparticles, as in some types of solar cells. The speeds of charge separation and charge recombination are key parameters that require experiments such as those in this work to test the rules governing electron transfer rates. Major progress was made on this goal. Some of the molecular structures selected for developing experimental data were bimolecular charge transfer complexes that contained metals of cobalt or vanadium. The experiments used the absorption of an ultrafast pulse of light to directly separate charges onto the two different molecular parts of the complex. The charge recombination then proceeds naturally, and one goal was to measure the speed of this recombination for different types of molecular vibrations. We used picosecond and femtosecond duration pulses with tunable colors at infrared wavelengths to directly observe vibrational states and their different rates of charge recombination (also called electron transfer). We discovered that different contact geometries in the complexes had very different electron transfer rates, and that one geometry had a significant dependence on the amount of vibration in the complex. This is the first and only measurement of such rates, and it allowed us to confirm our interpretation with a number of molecular models and test the sensitivity of electron transfer to vibrational states. This led us to develop a general theory, where we point out how molecular distortions can change the electron transfer rates to be much faster than prior theories predict. This provides a new method to predict electron transfer rates for particular conditions, and it will be important in designing new types of solar cells. A related set of studies were also done to understand how much the environment around the active charge transfer molecules can control the speed of charge transfer. We studied different complexes with femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy to show that solvent or components of a matrix environment can directly control ultrafast electron transfer when the environmental relaxation time response is on a similar time-scale as the natural electron transfer. Understanding such processes in both liquids and in a matrix is essential for designing new types of solar cells

Extracting Information from Adaptive Control Experiments

Optical control of chemical reactivity is achieved through the use of photonic reagents, that is, “shaped” ultrafast optical pulses created using a pulse shaper. It has been demonstrated in a number of molecular systems that these pulses can effectively guide the system into a desired final state. Effective pulses are often found through an experimental search involving thousands of individual measurements. An examination of the pulses tested in these experiments can reveal the pulse features responsible for control and also the underlying molecular dynamics. In this article we review attempts to extract information from optical control experiments using adaptive learning algorithms to search the available parameter space, and we discuss how these kinds of experiments can be used to achieve and understand multiphoton optical control.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91361/1/397_ftp.pd

Ultrafast electrocyclic ring opening of 7-dehydrocholesterol in solution: The influence of solvent on excited state dynamics

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98648/1/JChemPhys_134_104503.pd

DIE AREALE DER IKAVISCHEN, EKAVISCHEN UND IJEKAVISCHEN MUNDARTEN IM SLAVONISCHEN DIALEKT

Der Author hat in diesem Artikel die Areale aller Mundarten des slavonisehen Dialekts in Detail dargestellt und auch eine Karte hinzugefügt wo man die Grenzen der besprechenden Mundarten sehen kann

Repetitive N-WASP–Binding Elements of the Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli Effector EspFU Synergistically Activate Actin Assembly

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) generate F-actin–rich adhesion pedestals by delivering effector proteins into mammalian cells. These effectors include the translocated receptor Tir, along with EspFU, a protein that associates indirectly with Tir and contains multiple peptide repeats that stimulate actin polymerization. In vitro, the EspFU repeat region is capable of binding and activating recombinant derivatives of N-WASP, a host actin nucleation-promoting factor. In spite of the identification of these important bacterial and host factors, the underlying mechanisms of how EHEC so potently exploits the native actin assembly machinery have not been clearly defined. Here we show that Tir and EspFU are sufficient for actin pedestal formation in cultured cells. Experimental clustering of Tir-EspFU fusion proteins indicates that the central role of the cytoplasmic portion of Tir is to promote clustering of the repeat region of EspFU. Whereas clustering of a single EspFU repeat is sufficient to bind N-WASP and generate pedestals on cultured cells, multi-repeat EspFU derivatives promote actin assembly more efficiently. Moreover, the EspFU repeats activate a protein complex containing N-WASP and the actin-binding protein WIP in a synergistic fashion in vitro, further suggesting that the repeats cooperate to stimulate actin polymerization in vivo. One explanation for repeat synergy is that simultaneous engagement of multiple N-WASP molecules can enhance its ability to interact with the actin nucleating Arp2/3 complex. These findings define the minimal set of bacterial effectors required for pedestal formation and the elements within those effectors that contribute to actin assembly via N-WASP-Arp2/3–mediated signaling pathways

Understanding the burden of interstitial lung disease post-COVID-19: the UK Interstitial Lung Disease-Long COVID Study (UKILD-Long COVID)

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has led to over 100 million cases worldwide. The UK has had over 4 million cases, 400 000 hospital admissions and 100 000 deaths. Many patients with COVID-19 suffer long-term symptoms, predominantly breathlessness and fatigue whether hospitalised or not. Early data suggest potentially severe long-term consequence of COVID-19 is development of long COVID-19-related interstitial lung disease (LC-ILD). Methods and analysis The UK Interstitial Lung Disease Consortium (UKILD) will undertake longitudinal observational studies of patients with suspected ILD following COVID-19. The primary objective is to determine ILD prevalence at 12 months following infection and whether clinically severe infection correlates with severity of ILD. Secondary objectives will determine the clinical, genetic, epigenetic and biochemical factors that determine the trajectory of recovery or progression of ILD. Data will be obtained through linkage to the Post-Hospitalisation COVID platform study and community studies. Additional substudies will conduct deep phenotyping. The Xenon MRI investigation of Alveolar dysfunction Substudy will conduct longitudinal xenon alveolar gas transfer and proton perfusion MRI. The POST COVID-19 interstitial lung DiseasE substudy will conduct clinically indicated bronchoalveolar lavage with matched whole blood sampling. Assessments include exploratory single cell RNA and lung microbiomics analysis, gene expression and epigenetic assessment. Ethics and dissemination All contributing studies have been granted appropriate ethical approvals. Results from this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals. Conclusion This study will ensure the extent and consequences of LC-ILD are established and enable strategies to mitigate progression of LC-ILD

Physical, cognitive, and mental health impacts of COVID-19 after hospitalisation (PHOSP-COVID): a UK multicentre, prospective cohort study

Background The impact of COVID-19 on physical and mental health and employment after hospitalisation with acute disease is not well understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of COVID-19-related hospitalisation on health and employment, to identify factors associated with recovery, and to describe recovery phenotypes. Methods The Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) is a multicentre, long-term follow-up study of adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital in the UK with a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19, involving an assessment between 2 and 7 months after discharge, including detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical testing. Multivariable logistic regression was done for the primary outcome of patient-perceived recovery, with age, sex, ethnicity, body-mass index, comorbidities, and severity of acute illness as covariates. A post-hoc cluster analysis of outcomes for breathlessness, fatigue, mental health, cognitive impairment, and physical performance was done using the clustering large applications k-medoids approach. The study is registered on the ISRCTN Registry (ISRCTN10980107). Findings We report findings for 1077 patients discharged from hospital between March 5 and Nov 30, 2020, who underwent assessment at a median of 5·9 months (IQR 4·9–6·5) after discharge. Participants had a mean age of 58 years (SD 13); 384 (36%) were female, 710 (69%) were of white ethnicity, 288 (27%) had received mechanical ventilation, and 540 (50%) had at least two comorbidities. At follow-up, only 239 (29%) of 830 participants felt fully recovered, 158 (20%) of 806 had a new disability (assessed by the Washington Group Short Set on Functioning), and 124 (19%) of 641 experienced a health-related change in occupation. Factors associated with not recovering were female sex, middle age (40–59 years), two or more comorbidities, and more severe acute illness. The magnitude of the persistent health burden was substantial but only weakly associated with the severity of acute illness. Four clusters were identified with different severities of mental and physical health impairment (n=767): very severe (131 patients, 17%), severe (159, 21%), moderate along with cognitive impairment (127, 17%), and mild (350, 46%). Of the outcomes used in the cluster analysis, all were closely related except for cognitive impairment. Three (3%) of 113 patients in the very severe cluster, nine (7%) of 129 in the severe cluster, 36 (36%) of 99 in the moderate cluster, and 114 (43%) of 267 in the mild cluster reported feeling fully recovered. Persistently elevated serum C-reactive protein was positively associated with cluster severity. Interpretation We identified factors related to not recovering after hospital admission with COVID-19 at 6 months after discharge (eg, female sex, middle age, two or more comorbidities, and more acute severe illness), and four different recovery phenotypes. The severity of physical and mental health impairments were closely related, whereas cognitive health impairments were independent. In clinical care, a proactive approach is needed across the acute severity spectrum, with interdisciplinary working, wide access to COVID-19 holistic clinical services, and the potential to stratify care. Funding UK Research and Innovation and National Institute for Health Research