Dynamic structures of motor proteins myosin and kinesin, and switch protein troponin as detected by SDSL-ESR

We have studied biological nano-machines, motor and switch proteins operating as supramolecular complexes by electron spin resonance (ESR) and found key features of their molecular movements. In all the systems, the specific movements of elements or domains were detected and quite dynamic at nanometer scale. We have observed two broad but distinct orientations, separated by a 25 degrees axial rotation, of a spin label attached specifically to the light chain (LC) domain of myosin motor in the muscle fibers. The distribution became only narrower upon muscle activation. ESR spectrum from the spin label of the neck-linker of dimeric kinesin motor consisted of immobilized and mobilized components and did not exhibit nucleotide-dependent mobility change. The distance between two labels of kinesin dimer was also measured by spin dipole-dipole interaction, showing a broad distribution and a nucleotide-dependent change on the nanometer scale (>1.5 nm). These results suggest that two LC domains of myosin and two neck linkers of kinesin play a similar role for sliding movement using two conformations. The spin label of the skeletal (Tn)-I regulatory domain (TnIreg) showed a large mobility change by Ca2+ ion suggesting a Ca-induced switch movement of TnIreg. Spin dipole-dipole interaction showed that in reconstituted muscle fibers both skeletal and cardiac TnC undergo Ca2+-induced structural change that is thought to be essential for TnIreg movement. We also succeeded in fixing the newly-synthesized bifunctional spin label rigidly on the TnC molecule in solution, indicating that we can determine the precise coordinate of the spin principal axis of troponin on the oriented filament.     

Localized thermal processing with a laser‐trapped and heated metal nanoparticle

We report localized thermal processing using a laser‐trapped and heated metal nanoparticle. A metal nanoparticle trapped by a focused, continuous wave (CW), near‐infrared laser was heated by photothermal conversion and acted as a remotely controllable nanosized thermal tool for processing a workpiece. We demonstrated the processing of a glass substrate with an optically trapped gold nanoparticle (diameter 200 nm) irradiated by a Nd:YAG laser (λ = 1.064 µm, CW). Laser irradiation caused local melting of the substrate and a crater‐like nanosized imprint on the substrate, demonstrating thermal nanoprocessing of an optically transparent material. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan© 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

States of water absorbed in water-borne urethane/epoxy coatings

The water absorption properties of water-borne urethane/epoxy coatings are studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform IR spectroscopy (ATR FTIR) to estimate the methods of interaction between the water and coating. DSC and ATR FTIR are used to categorize water into states based unique and easily identifiable differences in DSC and ATR FTIR measurements. DSC states (Strong, Weak 1, Weak 2, and Free) and ATR FITR states (S₀, S₁, and S₂) appear to correspond to the relative strength of the interaction and the degree of hydrogen bonding between the water and the polymer network, respectively. The dynamics and relative population of each state are estimated with the most populous states being Strong and S₁ in urethane, and Strong and S₂ in epoxy. Finally six active functional groups within the coating appear to form strong hydrogen bonds with water, and one functional group appears to form weak dipole bonds.     

What is good about PD + HD combined therapy

It is known that β(2) -microglobulin (β(2) -MG) concentration in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients is inversely correlated to the residual renal function (RRF). With decreasing RRF, some PD patients may necessarily be treated with hemodialysis (HD) once a week, not only for removing excess water and small solutes, but also for removing much larger solutes such as β(2) -MG. In this study, a kinetic model allowed us to show what is good about PD + HD combined therapy in long-term PD patients. A mathematical model was established based on a classic compartment theory for clinical use. Model validations were made by comparing calculated results with clinical data in order to specify what was good about PD + HD combined therapy (5-day PD?+?1-HD/week). Time-averaged concentration (TAC) for urea and creatinine decreased by 20% on the average by introducing PD+HD combined therapy no matter which dialyzers were used. TAC for β(2) -MG in PD+HD combined therapy, however, was strongly dependent upon the dialyzer clearance, and when a low flux dialyzer (clearance for β(2) -MG?=?10?mL/min under Q(B) =?200, Q(D) =?500?mL/min) was used, pre-dialysis β(2) -MG concentration may increase. Use of super high-flux dialyzers (clearance for β(2) -MG?=?60?mL/min under the same conditions) should greatly reduce the β(2) -MG concentration from 30 to 8?mg/L in 4-hr treatment. Then, when PD+HD combined therapy is introduced to a PD patient with diminishing RRF, use of super high-flux dialyzers may be strongly recommended in order not to increase concentrations of pre-dialysis β(2) -MG and/or even greater solutes. Use of super high-flux dialyzers is a key to the success of PD+HD combined therapy that could prevent concentrations of large solutes from increasing.     

Contrasting Lubrication Properties of Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids Affected by the Nature of the Surface Under High Vacuum

The lubrication performance of imidazolium-based ionic liquids was evaluated under high vacuum using a ball-on-disk tribometer. A ball and a flat disk made of SUS440C stainless steel were used as specimens. A surface of the as-received flat disk specimen was covered with a thick oxide layer (>40 nm). For an examination of the effect of the surface oxide layer on the tribological performance of the ionic liquids under high vacuum, another specimen with a thin oxide layer (approx. 4 nm thick) was prepared. The ionic liquids with the TFSA anion showed better lubrication performance with the thicker oxide layer specimen, whereas the ionic liquids with the BF4 anion showed superior performance with the thinner oxide layer specimen. These results are discussed based on the HSAB principle. It is shown that the mechanism of the opposite tribological characteristics can be reasonably explained in terms of the chemical hardness by the HSAB principle.     

Experimental Investigation of Signal Sensing with Overlapped FFT Based Energy Detection

Overlapped FFT based energy detection has been proposed as a signal detection scheme in dynamic spectrum access. The overlapped FFT scheme increases the number of FFT frames to reduce the variance of squared noise and improve the detection probability. This paper evaluates the performance of the energy detection with overlapped FFT through experiments. In the experiments, different from the assumption in computer simulation of previous researches, a fixed distortion component caused by a direct current offset is observed. It is shown that the overlapped FFT scheme also works effectively under the existence of the fixed distortion. Numerical results obtained through the experiments show that the overlapped FFT scheme improves the detection probability by up to 0.15 with the noise and the fixed distortion component. The variance of the squared noise also reduces with the overlapped FFT scheme as it is expected in theoretical analysis when the fixed distortion is negligible.     

Electrical properties of evaporated polycrystalline Ge thin-films

Electrical properties of Ge thin films evaporated on Si₃N₄ CVD-coated Si substrate were improved by introducing a heat treatment after the deposition of Ge films. Evaporation conditions were optimized by changing the substrate temperature and deposition rate, and then, heat treatment was performed. At substrate temperatures during the evaporation lower than 300 °C and higher than 400 °C, deposited films were amorphous and polycrystalline, respectively. At substrate temperatures lower than 400 °C, Ge films were evaporated without degrading the surface roughness. The Hall mobility of films evaporated at room temperature increased with increasing the substrate and heating temperature and showed about 400 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ for the hole concentration of 4 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ at the heating temperature of 900 °C. This value was almost comparable to that of p-type Ge single crystal.     

A 3-ns range, 8-ps resolution, timing generator LSI utilizing Sibipolar gate array

A 3-ns-range, 8-ps-resolution timing generator LSI has been realized by using Si bipolar gate arrays. By adopting a redundant weighted delay-unit matrix based on a process-insensitive polynomial formulation, ±2-ps linearity error has been attained at input clock rates of up to 700 MHz. Thermal noise and interconnection crosstalk have been quantitatively investigated as critical factors causing timing error. By adopting the results to the circuit and layout design, thermal jitter and systematic timing error due to crosstalk were successfully suppressed to less than 8 and ±5 ps. respectively     

Site-selective blocking of PCR by a caged nucleotide leading to direct creation of desired sticky ends in the products

In order to terminate the polymerase reaction at a desired position, a caged thymine derivative--4-O-[2-(2-nitrophenyl)propyl]thymine--was incorporated into PCR primers. In the PCR cycles, the elongation of the nascent strand (5'-->3' direction) by polymerase was site-selectively terminated at the 3'-side of T(NPP). Accordingly, predetermined protruding ends were obtained after the removal of the protecting group by short UVA irradiation. Recombinant vectors coding the GFP gene were successfully prepared by direct ligation of these light-assisted cohesive-ending PCR (LACE-PCR) products with scission fragments obtained by use either of restriction enzymes or of artificial restriction DNA cutters and were used for transformation of E. coli.