On the effect of high-pressure treatment on the surface activity of β-casein

High-pressure treatment (up to 800 MPa) of the milk protein β-casein has an insignificant effect on the time-dependent surface tension of a dilute solution of this disordered protein at pH 7. This is in contrast to a solution of globular protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), which is substantially affected at 200 MPa and above.     

Heuristic circuit simulation using PROLOG

Through the use of the logic programming language PROLOG, digital logic circuitry can be conveniently represented in predicate calculus in a manner amenable to various forms of computation. Axioms define the behavior of primitive gates in a given technology, and implications hierarchically characterize the behavior of non-primitive modules.Simulation of circuitry proceeds by theorem proving, viewed as constraint satisfaction. A PROLOG-based simulator is presented for the investigation of heuristics to efficiently solve problems of ‘backward’ simulation which arise in a number of areas, such as reasoning about fault isolation. The heuristic simulator can also serve as the basis for an elegant implementation of Roth's D-algorithm.     

Electricity System Reliability Issues During Energy System Transformation

Energy system transformation in the electric energy industry encompasses a broad range of changes in how primary energy is produced, transported, converted, priced, and delivered to consumers. Minnesota Power (ALLETE) is responding to these changes by implementing strategies like our EnergyForward resource strategy. EnergyForward describes the transition to a diverse and balanced generation portfolio that meets customers' desires for clean, safe, flexible, and affordable electricity.     

Functional Chromatography Reveals Three Natural Products that Target the Same Protein with Distinct Mechanisms of Action

Access to lead compounds with defined molecular targets continues to be a barrier to the translation of natural product resources. As a solution, we developed a system that uses discrete, recombinant proteins as the vehicles for natural product isolation. Here, we describe the use of this functional chromatographic method to identify natural products that bind to the AAA+ chaperone, p97, a promising cancer target. Application of this method to a panel of fungal and plant extracts identified rheoemodin, 1‐hydroxydehydroherbarin, and phomapyrrolidone A as distinct p97 modulators. Excitingly, each of these molecules displayed a unique mechanism of p97 modulation. This discovery provides strong support for the application of functional chromatography to the discovery of protein modulators that would likely escape traditional high‐throughput or phenotypic screening platforms.     

Syntheses and Structures of Octamethylmetallocenes of Osmium

The reaction of sodium hexachloroosmate(IV) hydrate with five equivalents of tetramethylcyclopentadiene (C₅Me₄H₂) in refluxing ethanol yielded the novel coordination compound bis(tetramethylcyclopentadienyl)chloroosmocinium(IV) hexachloroosmate, [(η ⁵-C₅Me₄H)₂OsCl]₂[OsCl₆] (1). Compound 1 has been characterized by NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The cationic complex of 1 [(η ⁵-C₅Me₄H)₂OsCl]⁺, adopts a bent geometry with a ring centroid-osmium-ring centroid angle of 146.2° and an eclipsed conformation of its two tetramethylcyclopentadienyl rings. The addition of zinc powder to sodium hexachloroosmate(IV) hydrate and five equivalents of tetramethylcyclopentadiene in refluxing ethanol produced the known compound, bis(tetramethylcyclopentadienyl)osmium, (η ⁵-C₅Me₄H)₂Os (2). The crystal structure of 2 has been determined and it reveals an eclipsed arrangement of the tetramethylcyclopentadienyl rings in the solid state. The average Os–C_ring bond length in octamethylosmocene 2 (2.187 Å) is in accordance with corresponding bond lengths in osmocene, (η ⁵-C₅H₅)₂Os (2.19 Å) and decamethylosmocene, (η ⁵-C₅Me₅)₂Os (2.18 Å).     

Microwave fabrication of Cu2ZnSnS4 nanoparticle and its visible light photocatalytic properties

Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanoparticle with an average diameter of approximately 31 nm has been successfully synthesized by a time effective microwave fabrication method. The crystal structure, surface morphology, and microstructure of the Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanoparticle were characterized. Moreover, the visible light photocatalytic ability of the Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanoparticle toward degradation of methylene blue (MB) was also studied. About 30% of MB was degraded after 240 min irradiation when employing Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanoparticle as a photocatalyst. However, almost all MB was decomposed after 90 min irradiation when introducing a small amount of H₂O₂ as a co-photocatalyst. The enhancement of the photocatalytic performance was attributed to the synergetic effect between the Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanoparticle and H₂O₂. The detailed photocatalytic degradation mechanism of MB by the Cu₂ZnSnS₄ was further proposed.