Nanostructured Functional Thermoplastic Polymeric Materials Based on the Molecular Control of the Blending

1 Results The development of the concepts of nanotechnology has given an important impact on the design of new polymer based materials which are in most cases characterized by a multiphase morphology. When at least one phase has nanometric dimension(s) the system can be considered as a nanocomposite where the interface is not only determining for the adhesion but also may play a role in some bulk properties. Indeed in nanostructured multiphase solids the interface is significant as a bulk component. The...     

The Three-component One-pot Synthesis of 4,6-Diarylpyrimidin-2(1h)-ones and 9-Phenyl-8-oxa-10,12-diaza-tricyclo[7.3.1.0~(2,7)]trideca-2(7),3,5-trien-11-one

1 Results Pyrimidinones (PMs) are a class of important heterocycles which have been well documented throughout the literature due to their biological importance. They exhibit a wide range of pharmaceutical and therapeutic properties[1].A rapid and efficient one-pot method for the synthesis of 4,6-diarylpyrimidin-2(1H)- ones and related heterocycles is described.The condensation of acetophenone derivatives,aldehydes and urea in the presence of sulfamic acid was employed to synthesize a variety of pyrimid...     

Heterostructure in ZnO Nano-Tetrapods

1 Introduction 　　Nanoscale science and technology have attracted greatattention since the novel properties become dominant for well-known materials as their sizes reduced to some critical dimension. These properties frequently originate in lattice distortions, structure transformations etc[1]. The variations of size and structure ofnanocrystals lead to the change of their electronic structures. Very recently, nanoscale materials with different electronic structures were utilized in fabricating nanoscale junctions[2]. 　　……     

Effect of volatile anesthetics on the circular dichroism of bilirubin bound to human serum albumin

The characteristic circular dichroism of bilirubin bound to human serum albumin undergoes a remarkable sign inversion on addition of halothane, chloroform and other volatile anesthetics. This sign inversion, which is completely reversed by removal of the anesthetic, reflects a pronounced conformational change of the bound ligand; probably a complete inversion of chirality. The observation suggests that association of volatile anesthetics with proteins can markedly alter the internal topography of receptor sites and potentially influence the stereoselectivity of ligand binding.     

DNA fingerprinting transforms the art of cell authentication.

The increasing diversity of new cell cultures is seriously stretching the capabilities of traditional methods of identification. DNA fingerprinting is set to play an important role in increasing confidence in the authenticity of cultures in research and industry.     

Prediction of the structure of a receptor-protein complex using a binary docking method.

To validate procedures of rational drug design, it is important to develop computational methods that predict binding sites between a protein and a ligand molecule. Many small molecules have been tested using such programs, but examination of protein-protein and peptide-protein interactions has been sparse. We were able to test such applications once the structures of both the maltose-binding protein (MBP) and the ligand-binding domain of the aspartate receptor, which binds MBP, became available. Here we predict the binding site of MBP to its receptor using a 'binary docking' technique in which two MBP octapeptide sequences containing mutations that eliminate maltose chemotaxis are independently docked to the receptor. The peptides in the docked solutions superimpose on their original positions in the structure of MBP and allow the formation of an MBP-receptor complex. The consistency of the computational and biological results supports this approach for predicting protein-protein and peptide-protein interactions.     

Targeted disruption of the mouse transforming growth factor-beta 1 gene results in multifocal inflammatory disease.

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) is a multifunctional growth factor that has profound regulatory effects on many developmental and physiological processes. Disruption of the TGF-beta 1 gene by homologous recombination in murine embryonic stem cells enables mice to be generated that carry the disrupted allele. Animals homozygous for the mutated TGF-beta 1 allele show no gross developmental abnormalities, but about 20 days after birth they succumb to a wasting syndrome accompanied by a multifocal, mixed inflammatory cell response and tissue necrosis, leading to organ failure and death. TGF-beta 1-deficient mice may be valuable models for human immune and inflammatory disorders, including autoimmune diseases, transplant rejection and graft versus host reactions.