Diversification of EPR signatures in site directed spin labeling using a beta-phosphorylated nitroxide

Site Directed Spin Labeling (SDSL) combined with EPR spectroscopy is a very powerful approach to investigate structural transitions in proteins in particular flexible or even disordered ones. Conventional spin labels are based on nitroxide derivatives leading to classical 3-line spectra whose spectral shapes are indicative of the environment of the labels and thus constitute good reporters of structural modifications. However, the similarity of these spectral shapes precludes probing two regions of a protein or two partner proteins simultaneously. To overcome the limitation due to the weak diversity of nitroxide label EPR spectral shapes, we designed a new spin label based on a β-phosphorylated nitroxide giving 6-line spectra. This paper describes the synthesis of this new spin label, its grafting at four different positions of a model disordered protein able to undergo an induced α-helical folding and its characterization by EPR spectroscopy. For comparative purposes, a classical nitroxide has been grafted at the same positions of the model protein. The ability of the new label to report on structural transitions was evaluated by analyzing the spectral shape modifications induced either by the presence of a secondary structure stabilizer (trifluoroethanol) or by the presence of a partner protein. Taken together the results demonstrate that the new phosphorylated label gives a very distinguishable signature which is able to report from subtle to larger structural transitions, as efficiently as the classical spin label. As a complementary approach, molecular dynamics (MD) calculations were performed to gain further insights into the binding process between the labeled NTAIL and PXD. MD calculations revealed that the new label does not disturb the interaction between the two partner proteins and reinforced the conclusion on its ability to probe different local environments in a protein. Taken together this study represents an important step forward in the extension of the panoply of SDSL-EPR approaches. This journal is © 2014 the Owner Societies

Early psychological care of the French victims of the Costa Concordia shipwreck

Most of the French passengers who survived the shipwreck of the cruise ship Costa Concordia were repatriatedfrom Italy to Marseille, one of the stopovers of the cruise. The shipwreck happened during the nightof 13th–14th January 2012 and entailed the forced evacuation of 4195 passengers and crewmembers.Thirty-two persons died and 2 others are still reported missing. The massive and unexpected inflow of402 French citizens in the port of Marseille required the quick setting up of welcome facilities, not only tosolve logistical problems, but also to address psychological and sometimes even medical problems. ThePrehospital Psychological Emergency Service (CUMP) and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Service(SAMU) of Marseille examined 196 persons in total, and were able to avoid a great number of emergencyadmissions deemed necessary because of difficult psychological situations (death, missing or lost persons,acute stress). The objective of this report is to rapidly present the emergency committee as a whole andto describe in more detail the work that the CUMP accomplished during the 36 hours necessary to takecharge of the majority of the French passengers of the Costa Concordia.Most of the French passengers who survived the shipwreck of the cruise ship Costa Concordia were repatriatedfrom Italy to Marseille, one of the stopovers of the cruise. The shipwreck happened during the nightof 13th–14th January 2012 and entailed the forced evacuation of 4195 passengers and crewmembers.Thirty-two persons died and 2 others are still reported missing. The massive and unexpected inflow of402 French citizens in the port of Marseille required the quick setting up of welcome facilities, not only tosolve logistical problems, but also to address psychological and sometimes even medical problems. ThePrehospital Psychological Emergency Service (CUMP) and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Service(SAMU) of Marseille examined 196 persons in total, and were able to avoid a great number of emergencyadmissions deemed necessary because of difficult psychological situations (death, missing or lost persons,acute stress). The objective of this report is to rapidly present the emergency committee as a whole andto describe in more detail the work that the CUMP accomplished during the 36 hours necessary to takecharge of the majority of the French passengers of the Costa Concordia

Novel LecA ligand identified from glycan array inhibits host cell invasion by <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>

International audienc

Using the HELIOS facility for assessment of bundle-jacket thermal coupling in a CICC

CHATS on Applied Superconductivity Workshop (CHAT-AS), Dept Elect, Elect & Informat Engn, Bologna, ITALY, SEP 14-16, 2015International audienceIn a Cable In Conduit Conductor (CICC) cooled by forced circulation of supercritical helium, the heat exchange in the bundle region can play a significant role for conductor safe operation, while remaining a quite uncertain parameter. Heat exchange between bundle and jacket depends on the relative contributions of convective heat transfer due to the helium flow inside the bundle and of thermal resistance due to the wrappings between the cable and the conduit. In order to qualify this thermal coupling at realistic operating conditions, a dedicated experiment on a 1.2 m sample of ITER Toroidal Field (TF) dummy conductor was designed and performed in the HELIOS test facility at CEA Grenoble. Several methods were envisaged, and the choice was made to assess bundle jacket heat transfer coefficient by measuring the temperature of a solid copper cylinder inserted over the conductor jacket and submitted to heat deposition on its outer surface. The mock-up was manufactured and tested in spring 2015. Bundle jacket heat transfer coefficient was found in the range 300-500 W m(-2) K-1. Results analysis suggests that the order of magnitude of convective heat transfer coefficient inside bundle is closer to Colburn-Reynolds analogy than to Dittus-Boelter correlation, and that bundle jacket thermal coupling is mainly limited by thermal resistance due to wrappings. A model based on an equivalent layer of stagnant helium between wraps and jacket was proposed and showed a good consistency with the experiment, with relevant values for the helium layer thickness. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A micromechanics based model for cemented granular materials

Cemented Granular Materials (CGMs) consist of a particle skeleton and a solid matrix partially filling the interstitial space. In this broad class we encounter a number of typical geotechnical materials such as sedimentary rocks (Sandstones, Conglomerates and Breccia) as well as naturally and artificially cemented sands. These materials, while showing a brittle behavior under shearing at low confining pressures, are ductile at high confinements. The micro mechanisms involved, that are cement disaggregation, grain crushing and fragment rearrangement, are known to be different in these two cases. Several constitutive models based on the elasto-plastic framework have been developed to describe the behavior of CGMs. However lack of correlations between the underlying failure mechanisms and the only internal variable (plastic strain), results in the use of parameters that are hard to physically identify, let alone to calibrate. In this paper, we tackle the constitutive modeling of CGMs from a more physical angle, which starts from a micro mechanical observation of grain and cement failure, to a statistical homogenization of grain scale quantities for the constitution of their continuum counterparts. In particular, while the established Continuum Breakage Mechanics approach lends itself to the description of grain crushing process, a novel definition of damage for the cement phase is introduced and shown to be measurable. The whole formulation of the new constitutive model is confined in a thermo-mechanical framework, with explicit links between the internal variables (breakage, damage and plastic strain) and the evolving microstructure of the material. As a consequence, the model possesses only a few physically identifiable and experimentally measurable parameters. The behavior of the model is assessed against experimental observations and its novel features are highlighted.Arghya Das, Alessandro Tengattini, Giang Nguyen, and Itai Eina

Somatic Practices: How Motion Analysis and Mind Images Work Hand in Hand in Dance

Somatic Practices are body-based movement practices that foreground self-awareness and a first person experience of moving. Increasingly, somatic practices are informing how dance is taught, created, and performed with many dancers turning towards somatics to ensure a healthy and holistic approach to dance. Several somatic practices draw on imagery as a source for moving, for stimulating a more sensorial engagement with movement and to encourage a sense of moving “naturally” and with respect for the “natural environment.” When somatic practices and the imagery that is important for many of these practices are coupled with motion analysis tools, the necessary processing of movement often requires an intervention that can disrupt the “natural” sense of moving somatically. This processing can thus appear to be at odds with a somatic approach to dance. However, there are many examples where motion analysis and mind images do work hand in hand in dance and can generate exciting new insights to the production, teaching, and making of dance. It is this intersection between somatic principles, imagery, and motion analysis tools that is the focus for this essay, which discusses projects that have explored and exploited the intersection between motion analysis, imagery, and somatic practices.The uploaded document is the pre-print final manuscript of the published article