Our works shows that the americium pyrochlore (241)Am(2)Zr(2)O(7) undergoes a phase transition to a defect-fluorite structure along with an unusual volume contraction when subjected to internal radiation from alpha-emitting actinides. Disorder relaxation proceeds through the simultaneous formation of cation antisites and oxygen Frenkel pairs. X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Am-L(II) and the Zr-K edges reveals that Am-O polyhedra show an increasing disorder with increasing exposure. In contrast, the Zr-O polyhedral units remain highly ordered, while rotating along edges and corners, thereby reducing the structural strain imposed by the growing disorder around americium. We believe it is this particular property of the compound that provides the remarkable resistance to radiation (>9.4 x 10(18) alpha-decay events g(-1) or 0.80 dpa).
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ic900369b | DOI Listing |
Arch Microbiol
January 2025
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, 43400, Malaysia.
Bacteriophages produce endolysins at the end of the lytic cycle, which are crucial for lysing the host cells and releasing virion progeny. This lytic feature allows endolysins to act as effective antimicrobial alternatives when applied exogenously. Staphylococcal endolysins typically possess a modular structure with one or two enzymatically active N-terminal domains (EADs) and a C-terminal cell wall binding domain (CBD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMar Biotechnol (NY)
January 2025
Marine Ecology Research Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, First Institute of Oceanography, Qingdao, 266061, China.
Planiliza haematocheilus, a teleostan species noted for its ecological adaptability and economic significance, thrives in both freshwater and marine environments. This study presents a novel chromosome-level genome assembly through Hi-C, PacBio CCS, and Illumina sequencing methods. The assembled genome has a final size of 651.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInorg Chem
January 2025
NUPOM Lab, Chemistry, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, U.K.
An understanding of proton transfer and migration at the surfaces of solid metal oxides and related molecular polyoxometalates (POMs) and metal alkoxides is crucial for the development of reactivity involving protonation or the absorption/binding of water. In this work, the hydrolysis of alkoxido Ti- and Sn-substituted Lindqvist [(MeO)MWO] (M = Ti, ; M = Sn, ) and Keggin [(MeO)MPWO] (M = Ti, ; M = Sn, ) type polyoxometalates (POMs) to hydroxido derivatives and subsequent condensation to μ-oxido species has been investigated in detail to provide insight into proton transfer reactions in these molecular metal oxide systems. Solution NMR studies revealed the dependence of reactions not only on the nature of the heteroatom (Ti or Sn) but also on the type of lacunary (W or PW) POM and also on the solvent (MeCN or DMSO).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Sci Instrum
January 2025
Bennu Climate, Inc. and Symbolic Systems Program, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is the world's first x-ray free electron laser. It is a scientific user facility operated by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, at Stanford, for the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChem Soc Rev
January 2025
Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK.
DNA is not only a centrally important molecule in biology: the specificity of bonding that allows it to be the primary information storage medium for life has also allowed it to become one of the most promising materials for designing intricate, self-assembling structures at the nanoscale. While the applications of these structures are both broad and highly promising, the self-assembly process itself has attracted interest not only for the practical applications of designing structures with more efficient assembly pathways, but also due to a desire to understand the principles underlying self-assembling systems more generally, of which DNA-based systems provide intriguing and unique examples. Here, we review the fundamental physical principles that underpin the self-assembly process in the field of DNA nanotechnology, with a specific focus on simulation and modelling and what we can learn from them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!