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Human serum albumin binding to silica nanoparticles - effect of protein fatty acid ligand.
No full textNeutron reflectivity shows that fatted (F-HSA) and defatted (DF-HSA) versions of human serum albumin behave differently in their interaction with silica nanoparticles premixed in buffer solutions although these proteins have close to the same surface excess when the silica is absent. In both cases a silica containing film is quickly established at the air-water interface. This film is stable for F-HSA at all relative protein-silica concentrations measured. This behaviour has been verified for two small silica nanoparticle radii (42 Å and 48 Å). Contrast variation and co-refinement have been used to find the film composition for the F-HSA-silica system. The film structure changes with protein concentration only for the DF-HSA-silica system. The different behaviour of the two proteins is interpreted as a combination of three factors: increased structural stability of F-HSA induced by the fatty acid ligand, differences in the electrostatic interactions, and the higher propensity of defatted albumin to self-aggregate. The interfacial structures of the proteins alone in buffer are also reported and discussed. © 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry
Using 14C and 3H to understand groundwater flow and recharge in an aquifer window
Get PDFKnowledge of groundwater residence times and recharge locations is vital to the sustainable management of groundwater resources. Here we investigate groundwater residence times and patterns of recharge in the Gellibrand Valley, southeast Australia, where outcropping aquifer sediments of the Eastern View Formation form an "aquifer window" that may receive diffuse recharge from rainfall and recharge from the Gellibrand River. To determine recharge patterns and groundwater flow paths, environmental isotopes (3H, 14C, δ13C, δ18O, δ2H) are used in conjunction with groundwater geochemistry and continuous monitoring of groundwater elevation and electrical conductivity. The water table fluctuates by 0.9 to 3.7 m annually, implying recharge rates of 90 and 372 mm yr−1. However, residence times of shallow (11 to 29 m) groundwater determined by 14C are between 100 and 10 000 years, 3H activities are negligible in most of the groundwater, and groundwater electrical conductivity remains constant over the period of study. Deeper groundwater with older 14C ages has lower δ18O values than younger, shallower groundwater, which is consistent with it being derived from greater altitudes. The combined geochemistry data indicate that local recharge from precipitation within the valley occurs through the aquifer window, however much of the groundwater in the Gellibrand Valley predominantly originates from the regional recharge zone, the Barongarook High. The Gellibrand Valley is a regional discharge zone with upward head gradients that limits local recharge to the upper 10 m of the aquifer. Additionally, the groundwater head gradients adjacent to the Gellibrand River are generally upwards, implying that it does not recharge the surrounding groundwater and has limited bank storage. 14C ages and Cl concentrations are well correlated and Cl concentrations may be used to provide a first-order estimate of groundwater residence times. Progressively lower chloride concentrations from 10 000 years BP to the present day are interpreted to indicate an increase in recharge rates on the Barongarook High. © Author(s) 2014
Bardoxolone methyl prevents high-fat diet-induced alterations in prefrontal cortex signalling molecules involved in recognition memory
No full textHigh fat (HF) diets are known to induce changes in synaptic plasticity in the forebrain leading to learning and memory impairments. Previous studies of oleanolic acid derivatives have found that these compounds can cross the blood–brain barrier to prevent neuronal cell death. We examined the hypothesis that the oleanolic acid derivative, bardoxolone methyl (BM) would prevent diet-induced cognitive deficits in mice fed a HF diet. C57BL/6J male mice were fed a lab chow (LC) (5% of energy as fat), a HF (40% of energy as fat), or a HF diet supplemented with 10 mg/kg/day BM orally for 21 weeks. Recognition memory was assessed by performing a novel object recognition test on the treated mice. Downstream brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signalling molecules were examined in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus of mice via Western blotting and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor binding. BM treatment prevented HF diet-induced impairment in recognition memory (p 0.05). In the PFC and hippocampus of the HF diet fed mice, BM administration improved downstream BDNF signalling as indicated by increased protein levels of BDNF, phosphorylated tropomyosin related kinase B (pTrkB) and phosphorylated protein kinase B (pAkt), and increased phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase (pAMPK) (p < 0.05). BM administration also prevented the HF diet-induced increase in the protein levels of inflammatory molecules, phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (pJNK) in the PFC, and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) in both the PFC and hippocampus. In summary, these findings suggest that BM prevents HF diet-induced impairments in recognition memory by improving downstream BDNF signal transduction, increasing pAMPK, and reducing inflammation in the PFC and hippocampus.© 2015, Elsevier Inc
Copper(II) coordination polymers of imdc− (H2imdc+ = the 1,3-bis(carboxymethyl)imidazolium cation): unusual sheet interpenetration and an unexpected single crystal-to-single crystal transformation
No full textThe monoanion of 1,3-bis(carboxymethyl)imidazolium (H2imdc+) combines with Cu(II) to produce an undulating 2D coordination polymer of composition [Cu2(imdc)2(CH3OH)2](BF4)2·(CH3OH)(H2O) (1) in which copper acetate-like dimers, linked by imdc− ligands, act as 4-connecting centres. Cationic sheets stack on top of each other in an A, B, A, B… fashion and produce a structure that contains channels running parallel to the plane of network.
Tetrafluoroborate anions are located in channels between sheets. Upon removal of coordinated and noncoordinated solvent molecules a single crystal-to-single crystal transformation occurs to yield a similar compound but with BF4 − anions now coordinated. CO2 isotherms measured at 258 and 273 K show only modest uptake of
CO2 but provide an indication that the sheets move apart at elevated pressures in order to accommodate the guest molecules. A compound of composition [Cu3(OH)2(imdc)2]·SiF6·2H2O·2MeOH (3), which possesses a 3D network, is formed by the combination of copper(II) acetate, copper(II) hexafluorosilicate and Himdc. In this structure infinite parallel Cu3(OH)2 chains are linked by bridging imdc− ligands to form channels that have an approximately
triangular cross-section. These channels are occupied by SiF6 2− anions in addition to solvent molecules. When copper(II) acetate is combined with Himdc in the appropriate ratio, a 1D coordination polymer of composition Cu(imdc)2 (4) is formed in which pairs of imdc− anions bridge Cu(II) centres. When the reaction is performed in the presence of NaBF4 a minor crystalline product with tetragonal symmetry is isolated in addition to the 1D coordination polymer. This compound of composition Cu2(imdc)4NaBF4·7H2O (5) consists of 2D Cu(imdc)2
networks and features an unusual mode of interpenetration. © 2013, The Royal Society of Chemistry
Study of stresses in texture components using neutron diffraction
No full textIn this work a new method for analysis of neutron diffraction results obtained during “in situ” tensile load is proposed and tested. The methodology is based on the measurements of lattice strains during “in situ” tensile test for several hkl reflections and for different orientations of the sample with respect to the scattering vector. As the result the full stress tensor for preferred texture orientations in function of applied stress can be determined with help of crystallite group method. The experimental data are presented and compared with self-consistent model calculations performed for groups of grains corresponding to the measured hkl reflections. © 2014, Trans Tech Publications
A gamma-ray identification algorithm based on fisher linear discriminant analysis
No full textAn algorithm for gamma-ray identification applications has been developed and evaluated. The algorithm is based on a Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis (FLDA) technique that generates loading coefficients that maximize the separation of a particular radionuclide from all the other radionuclides in a training library. Separate experimental data sets were obtained for the algorithms training data and for the performance evaluation. The algorithm was evaluated against a range of radionuclides and acquisitions times. An inverse square root relationship between the cluster standard deviation and its gross mean counts enabled the production of an adaptable threshold. The inverse square relationship between the Mahalanobis distance metric and the Cs-137 standoff distance demonstrated a means to quantify the measured number of counts. The FLDA identification performance, for a number of threat radionuclides (including special nuclear materials), exceeded that of a commercially available peak search algorithm. The high sensitivity and specificity, of the FLDA algorithm, was maintained in low count situations. The poor performance for some radionuclides was attributed to the measured number of counts being below the minimal detectable limit. The FLDA algorithm has the potential to be used in gamma-ray identification applications and, in particular, count starved situations. © 2012, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Hydrolytic stability of mesoporous zirconium titanate frameworks containing coordinating organic functionalities
No full textThe hydrolytic stability of lanthanide and actinide selective mono- and polyphosphonate-functionalized mesoporous zirconium titanium oxide adsorbents has been investigated in nitric acid solutions. Hydrolytic degradation of the surfaces, as measured through the fractional loss of phosphorus and elements of the oxide framework, increased by more than an order of magnitude as the nitric acid concentration was increased from 0 to 2 mol/L. The unfunctionalized parent oxide suffered considerable dissolution in 2 mol/L acid over a period of 72 h. Under identical conditions, the fractional Zr and Ti release was reduced to 1 × 10–2 for monophosphonate functionalized hybrids and reached as low as 1 × 10–6 for trisphosphonate functionalized variants. The bisphosphonates showed intermediate values. The leaching of P, Zr and Ti was found to be incongruent with the Zr leaching to a lesser extent implying enhanced stability of the Zr–O–P bond. Quantitative analysis of the dissolution kinetics indicated a parabolic dissolution model with a rate constant in the range of 0.5–1.5 mg g–1 min–1/2 for the elemental leaching of P, Ti, and Zr. The leaching of Zr from the mesoporous matrix was relatively more complex than for the other elements with evidence of a leaching mechanism involving two processes. ToF-SIMS and DRIFT analysis demonstrated that after leaching in 2 M HNO3 for 24 h, a significant proportion of grafted ligands remained on the surface. The oxide functionalized with amino trismethylenephosphonic acid, which had previously shown excellent 153Gd3+ selectivity, was demonstrated to have outstanding stability, with low fractional elemental losses and preservation of mesoporous texture even after leaching for 24 h in 2 M HNO3. This suggests this particular hybrid to be worthy of additional study. © 2013, American Chemical Society
Accommodation of excess oxygen in fluorite dioxides
No full textAccommodation of excess oxygen in CeO2, ThO2 and UO2 has been investigated using ab-initio modelling. Calculations indicate that hyperstoichiometry is preferentially accommodated by the formation of peroxide species in CeO2 and ThO2 but not in UO2, where oxygen interstitial defects are dominant. Migration of the excess oxygen defects was also studied; the peroxide ion in CeO2 and ThO2 is transported via a different mechanism, due to the formation of peroxide molecules, to the oxygen interstitial in UO2. Frenkel pair defects were investigated to understand if the interstitial component could assume a peroxide like configuration in the vicinity of the vacancy. While it was already expected that this would not be the case for UO2 since peroxide was not stable, it was also not found to be the case for CeO2 and ThO2 with the peroxide disassociating into a lattice species and a separate interstitial ion. © 2013, Elsevier B.V
Nanofibrillar micelles and entrapped vesicles from biodegradable block copolymer/polyelectrolyte complexes in aqueous media
No full textHere we report a viable route to fibrillar micelles and entrapped vesicles in aqueous solutions. Nanofibrillar micelles and entrapped vesicles were prepared from complexes of a biodegradable block copolymer poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(lactide) (PEO-b-PLA) and a polyelectrolyte poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) in aqueous media and directly visualized using cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). The self-assembly and the morphological changes in the complexes were induced by the addition of PAA/water solution into the PEO-b-PLA in tetrahydrofuran followed by dialysis against water. A variety of morphologies including spherical wormlike and fibrillar micelles, and both unilamellar and entrapped vesicles, were observed, depending on the composition, complementary binding sites of PAA and PEO, and the change in the interfacial energy. Increasing the water content in each [AA]/[EO] ratio led to a morphological transition from spheres to vesicles, displaying both the composition- and dilution-dependent micellar-to-vesicular morphological transitions. © 2013, American Chemical Society
Preferential formation of al self-interstitial defects in gamma-TiAl under irradiation
No full textEmpirical dynamic calculations were used to observe a distinct increase in aluminium interstitial defects compared to titanium interstitial species remaining after a displacement cascade (even though Frenkel formation energies for both species were found to be similar). Thermodynamic data from static ab-initio models support this interesting result. Calculations were then used to determine whether these interstitials are free to move and therefore have the possibility of migrating to a surface where a passive Al2O3 layer can be formed. © 2012, Elsevier Ltd