Amphiphilic four-helix bundle peptides designed for light-induced electron transfer across a soft interface

A family of four-helix bundle peptides were designed to be amphiphilic, possessing distinct hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains along the length of the bundle's exterior. This facilitates their vectorial insertion across a soft interface between polar and nonpolar media. Their design also now provides for selective incorporation of electron donor and acceptor cofactors within each domain. This allows translation of the designed intramolecular electron transfer along the bundle axis into a macroscopic charge separation across the interface.     

Symptoms of professional burnout: A review of the empirical evidence.

Reviews empirical literature, 1974–1984, concerning symptoms of burnout among human service professionals. Symptoms of burnout are grouped into 5 categories: physical, emotional, behavioral, interpersonal, and attitudinal. It is concluded that burnout is associated with poor physical health; depression; job turnover and unproductive work behaviors; problematic interpersonal relations; and negative attitudes, especially with regard to job satisfaction. Problems with research include lack of operational definition, defects in instruments, and impressionistic findings. Future needs include further exploration of content, attention to interactive effects, and alternative methodologies. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preharvest internalization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 into lettuce leaves, as affected by insect and physical damage

Environmental pests may serve as reservoirs and vectors of zoonotic pathogens to leafy greens; however, it is unknown whether insect pests feeding on plant tissues could redistribute these pathogens present on the surface of leaves to internal sites. This study sought to differentiate the degree of tissue internalization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 when applied at different populations on the surface of lettuce and spinach leaves, and to ascertain whether lettuce-infesting insects or physical injury could influence the fate of either surface or internalized populations of this enteric pathogen. No internalization of E. coli O157:H7 occurred when lettuce leaves were inoculated with 4.4 log CFU per leaf, but it did occur when inoculated with 6.4 log CFU per leaf. Internalization was statistically greater when spinach leaves were inoculated on the abaxial (underside) than when inoculated on the adaxial (topside) side, and when the enteric pathogen was spread after surface inoculation. Brief exposure (～18 h) of lettuce leaves to insects (5 cabbage loopers, 10 thrips, or 10 aphids) prior to inoculation with E. coli O157:H7 resulted in significantly reduced internalized populations of the pathogen within these leaves after approximately 2 weeks, as compared with leaves not exposed to insects. Surface-contaminated leaves physically injured through file abrasions also had significantly reduced populations of both total and internalized E. coli O157:H7 as compared with nonabraded leaves 2 weeks after pathogen exposure.     

Preparation,alumina-pillaring and oxidation catalytic performances of synthetic Ni-saponite

Synthetic saponite containing Ni²⁺ as octahedral cations has been prepared by a simple hydrothermal procedure, and has been intercalated with Al₁₃-polycations. The catalytic performance of the pillared solids in the epoxidation of (Z)-cyclooctene and the oxidation of cyclohexanone in the presence of benzonitrile, Baeyer–Villiger reaction, using hydrogen peroxide (70%) as a clean oxidant have been studied. For comparison, Mg-saponite was synthesized under the same conditions and tested for the same reaction.     

Clustering‐based scheduling: A new class of scheduling algorithms for single‐hop lightwave networks

In wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) star networks, the construction of the transmission schedule is a key issue, which essentially affects the network performance. Up to now, classic scheduling techniques consider the nodes' requests in a sequential service order. However, these approaches are static and do not take into account the individual traffic pattern of each node. Owing to this major drawback, they suffer from low performance, especially when operating under asymmetric traffic. In this paper, a new class of scheduling algorithms for WDM star networks, which is based on the use of clustering techniques, is introduced. According to the proposed Clustering‐Based Scheduling Algorithm (CBSA), the network's nodes are organized into clusters, based on the number of their requests per channel. Then, their transmission priority is defined beginning from the nodes belonging to clusters with higher demands and ending to the nodes of clusters with fewer requests. The main objective of the proposed scheme is to minimize the length of the schedule by rearranging the nodes' service order. Furthermore, the proposed CBSA scheme adopts a prediction mechanism to minimize the computational complexity of the scheduling algorithm. Extensive simulation results are presented, which clearly indicate that the proposed approach leads to a significantly higher throughput‐delay performance when compared with conventional scheduling algorithms. We believe that the proposed clustering‐based approach can be the base of a new generation of high‐performance scheduling algorithms for WDM star networks. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of the phytohaemagglutinin from red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) purified by different affinity chromatography

Affinity chromatography (AC) on Affi-Gel blue gel column and thyroglobulin (Tg)-Sepharose 4B column, respectively, were compared for their efficiency in purifying phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) from red kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Considering the purity and haemagglutinating activity of the obtained samples, Affi-Gel blue gel exhibited less affinity for PHA than Tg-Sepharose matrix. Affi-Gel blue purified sample showed multiple bands in SDS-PAGE gel, which further confirmed that Affi-Gel blue bound non-PHA proteins as well as PHA. PHA purified by one-step Tg-Sepharose column gave significantly (p < 0.05) higher purity (0.75 ± 0.13 mg PHA/mg lyophilized powder) than the sample purified by two-step (Affi-Gel blue first and then Tg-Sepharose) purification (0.62 ± 0.20 mg PHA/mg lyophilized powder). Circular dichroism (CD) spectra showed that the sample purified by one-step Tg-Sepharose column had similar secondary structures with the sample purified by two-step purification. Thus, one-step Tg-Sepharose purification was effective and time-saving for the preparation of PHA and a promising substitute for the two-step purification method.     

Optimization of antioxidant peptide production from grass carp sarcoplasmic protein using response surface methodology

The sarcoplasmic protein was extracted from the muscle of grass carp, a Chinese freshwater carp, and was hydrolyzed with five proteases to produce antioxidant peptides. Papain hydrolysate was found to have the greatest activity against lipid peroxidation. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the hydrolysis conditions (including enzyme to substrate ratio, time and temperature). The minimum EC₅₀ value (317.25 μg/mL) which signified the maximum antioxidant activity was obtained at an enzyme to substrate ratio of 0.79%, an incubation time of 5.69 h and an incubation temperature of 52.15 °C, which was in agreement with the predicted value (313.99 μg/mL) estimated by RSM within a 95% confidence interval. Also, it was found that moderate denaturation of the sarcoplasmic protein and a modest increase in the degree of hydrolysis promoted the antioxidant activities of the hydrolysates. Oligopeptides (< 3 kDa) contributed more to the antioxidant activity than polypeptides.     

Essential oil extracted from peach (Prunus persica) kernel and its physicochemical and antioxidant properties

Peach kernel oil was extracted using Soxhlet extraction with different solvents (petroleum ether, ethyl ether, chloroform and hexane). The physicochemical properties (acid value, iodine value, peroxide value and saponification value), the fatty acid composition, phenolic constituents and contents, and antioxidant activities of peach kernel oil were examined. As per our results, oil extracted with hexane has better overall quality. Its acid, peroxide, iodine and saponification values were 0.895 mg KOH/g oil, 0.916 mg/g oil, 36.328 mg/100 g oil and 101.836 mg KOH/g oil, respectively. Large proportions of unsaturated fatty acid (91.27%) and high content of phenolic compounds (4.1593 mg GAE/g), which contribute to considerably strong antioxidant activity, were found in oil. The main fatty acids found in the peach kernel oil were oleic acid (61.87 g/100 g oil) and linoleic acid (29.07 g/100 g oil). The HPLC analysis of phenolic compounds showed that rutin, (-)-epicatechin gallate, hydrocinnamic acid, sinopinic acid, dithiothreitol and caffeic acid were major constituents. The results suggested that peach kernel oil is a good source of the unsaturated fatty acid, phenolic compounds with strong antioxidant activity, and has the potential to be used as nutrient rich food oil. The results also verified that peach kernel meals contained higher amounts of total phenolic and stronger antioxidant activities than oils, enabling their application as ingredients for functional or enriched foods.     

Great cities look small

Great cities connect people; failed cities isolate people. Despite the fundamental importance of physical, face-to-face social ties in the functioning of cities, these connectivity networks are not explicitly observed in their entirety. Attempts at estimating them often rely on unrealistic over-simplifications such as the assumption of spatial homogeneity. Here we propose a mathematical model of human interactions in terms of a local strategy of maximizing the number of beneficial connections attainable under the constraint of limited individual travelling-time budgets. By incorporating census and openly available online multi-modal transport data, we are able to characterize the connectivity of geometrically and topologically complex cities. Beyond providing a candidate measure of greatness, this model allows one to quantify and assess the impact of transport developments, population growth, and other infrastructure and demographic changes on a city. Supported by validations of gross domestic product and human immunodeficiency virus infection rates across US metropolitan areas, we illustrate the effect of changes in local and city-wide connectivities by considering the economic impact of two contemporary inter- and intra-city transport developments in the UK: High Speed 2 and London Crossrail. This derivation of the model suggests that the scaling of different urban indicators with population size has an explicitly mechanistic origin.