29 results match your criteria: "EDGE Institute[Affiliation]"

What Is the "Hydrogen Bond"? A QFT-QED Perspective.

Int J Mol Sci

March 2024

Prototyping Unit, Edge-Institute, ER-System Mechatronics, A-5440 Golling, Austria.

In this paper we would like to highlight the problems of conceiving the "Hydrogen Bond" (HB) as a real short-range, directional, electrostatic, attractive interaction and to reframe its nature through the non-approximated view of condensed matter offered by a Quantum Electro-Dynamic (QED) perspective. We focus our attention on water, as the paramount case to show the effectiveness of this 40-year-old theoretical background, which represents water as a two-fluid system (where one of the two phases is coherent). The HB turns out to be the result of the electromagnetic field gradient in the coherent phase of water, whose vacuum level is lower than in the non-coherent (gas-like) fraction.

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Quantum Electrodynamics Coherence and Hormesis: Foundations of Quantum Biology.

Int J Mol Sci

September 2023

Prototyping Unit, Edge-Institute, ER-System Mechatronics, A-5440 Golling, Austria.

"Quantum biology" (QB) is a promising theoretical approach addressing questions about how living systems are able to unfold dynamics that cannot be solved on a chemical basis or seem to violate some fundamental laws (e.g., thermodynamic yield, morphogenesis, adaptation, autopoiesis, memory, teleology, biosemiotics).

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Molecular exploration of fossil eggshell uncovers hidden lineage of giant extinct bird.

Nat Commun

February 2023

Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia.

The systematics of Madagascar's extinct elephant birds remains controversial due to large gaps in the fossil record and poor biomolecular preservation of skeletal specimens. Here, a molecular analysis of 1000-year-old fossil eggshells provides the first description of elephant bird phylogeography and offers insight into the ecology and evolution of these flightless giants. Mitochondrial genomes from across Madagascar reveal genetic variation that is correlated with eggshell morphology, stable isotope composition, and geographic distribution.

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Effects of Ultra-Weak Fractal Electromagnetic Signals on .

Int J Mol Sci

February 2023

Laboratory of Environmental Biophysics, Department of Chemistry and Physics of Materials, University of Salzburg, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria.

spp. are dimorphic, lipophilic fungi that are part of the normal human cutaneous commensal microbiome. However, under adverse conditions, these fungi can be involved in various cutaneous diseases.

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Introduction: Continental hydrothermal systems (CHSs) are geochemically complex, and they support microbial communities that vary across substrates. However, our understanding of these variations across the complete range of substrates in CHS is limited because many previous studies have focused predominantly on aqueous settings.

Methods: Here we used metagenomes in the context of their environmental geochemistry to investigate the ecology of different substrates (i.

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We used compound-specific isotope analysis of carbon isotopes in amino acids (AAs) to determine the biosynthetic source of AAs in fish from major tributaries to California's Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta (i.e., the Sacramento, Cosumnes and Mokelumne rivers).

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Compound specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) of amino acids from bacterial biomass is a newly emerging powerful tool for exploring central carbon metabolism pathways and fluxes. By comparing isotopic values and fractionations relative to water and growth substrate, the impact of variable flow path for metabolites through different central metabolic pathways, perturbations of these paths, and their resultant consequences on intracellular pools and resultant biomass may be elucidated. Here, we explore the effects that central carbon metabolism and growth rate can have on stable hydrogen (δH) and carbon (δC) compound specific isotopic values of amino acids, and whether diagnostic isotopic fingerprints are revealed by these paired analyses.

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Skin aging is primarily associated with the alterations in dermal extracellular matrix, in particular a decrease in collagen type-1 content. Recent studies have shown that collagen-degrading matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-1) is produced by fibroblasts in response to chronoaging, which in human dermal fibroblasts leads to the release of proinflammatory cytokines. Past studies showed that anti-inflammatory capabilities could be induced via non-chemical means.

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Intestinal microbiota perform many functions for their host, but among the most important is their role in metabolism, especially the conversion of recalcitrant biomass that the host is unable to digest into bioavailable compounds. Most studies have focused on the assistance gut microbiota provide in the metabolism of carbohydrates, however, their role in host amino acid metabolism is poorly understood. We conducted an experiment on using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and carbon isotope analysis of essential amino acids (AA) to quantify the community composition of gut microbiota and the contribution of carbohydrate carbon used by the gut microbiome to synthesize AA that are assimilated by mice to build skeletal muscle tissue.

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Stable isotope analysis has revolutionized the way ecologists study animal resource use from the individual to the community level. Recent interest has emerged in using hydrogen isotopes (H/H) as ecological tracers, because they integrate information from both abiotic and biotic processes. A better physiological understanding of how animals assimilate hydrogen and use it to synthesize tissues is needed to further refine this tool and broaden its use in animal ecology.

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Kinetics of photon upconversion in ionic liquids: time-resolved analysis of delayed fluorescence.

J Phys Chem B

May 2013

Global Edge Institute, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

Photon upconversion (UC) based on triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) is an emerging wavelength shifting technology, which is applicable to sunlight. Previously we found that the quantum efficiency of TTA-UC (ΦUC) carried out in ionic liquids (ILs) is dependent on the type of IL employed. In this article we investigate the kinetics of the triplet emitter molecules (perylene) that implement TTA to determine the origin of the IL dependence of ΦUC.

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The efficiency of triplet-sensitized photon upconversion in ionic liquids was previously found to be dependent on the type of ionic liquid employed. The properties of the intermolecular energy transfer need to be understood in order to improve the upconversion efficiency. Here, we investigate the kinetics of the triplet energy transfer from the triplet sensitizing molecule to the emitter molecule where the latter is responsible for delayed upconversion fluorescence emission.

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The rapid growth of the click chemistry concept enables the production of a wide variety of functional polymers. Among the new generation of click chemistry reactions, the highly efficient addition reactions between electron-rich alkynes and cyano-based acceptors, referred to as alkyne-acceptor click chemistry, have found promising application possibilities as polymeric chemosensors. The donor-acceptor chromophores, formed by this click chemistry reaction, feature intense charge-transfer (CT) bands in the visible region, but they are hardly fluorescent.

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Adapting semiconducting polymer doping techniques to create new types of click postfunctionalization.

Chem Soc Rev

May 2011

Global Edge Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan.

After the historical development from the insoluble polyacetylene film to soluble and processible aromatic polymers, donor-acceptor-type aromatic polymers have recently emerged as a new class of semiconducting polymers. The polymer energy levels and band gaps can be tuned by the appropriate selection of the donor and acceptor moieties, and some of these polymers showed good optoelectronic or photovoltaic performances. The conventional synthetic method for achieving donor-acceptor-type aromatic polymers is based on the metal-catalyzed polycondensation between donor-type monomers and acceptor-type co-monomers.

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Postfunctionalization of Alkyne-Linked Conjugated Carbazole Polymer by Thermal Addition Reaction of Tetracyanoethylene.

Materials (Basel)

October 2010

Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan.

The postfunctionalization of the main chain alkyne moieties of carbazole containing poly(arylenebutadiynylene)s was attempted by using a high yielding addition reaction between electron rich alkynes and a strong acceptor molecule, tetracyanoethylene (TCNE). After successful postfunctionalization, the polymer band gap decreased due to the intramolecular donor-acceptor interactions. The resulting donor-acceptor alternating polymer showed a very broad charge-transfer band in the visible region as well as redox activities in both anodic and cathodic directions.

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Distributions of sulfur isotopes in geological samples would provide a record of atmospheric composition if the mechanism producing the isotope effects could be described quantitatively. We determined the UV absorption spectra of 32SO2, 33SO2, and 34SO2 and use them to interpret the geological record. The calculated isotopic fractionation factors for SO2 photolysis give mass independent distributions that are highly sensitive to the atmospheric concentrations of O2, O3, CO2, H2O, CS2, NH3, N2O, H2S, OCS, and SO2 itself.

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The mineralocorticoid receptor is involved in the development of several cardiac dysfunctions, including lethal ventricular arrhythmias associated with heart failure or hyperaldosteronism, but the molecular mechanisms responsible for these effects remain to be clarified. Reexpression of low voltage-activated T-type calcium channels in ventricular myocytes together with other fetal genes during cardiac pathologies could confer automaticity to these cells and would represent a pro-arrhythmogenic condition if occurring in vivo. In the present study, we demonstrated that in isolated neonatal rat ventricular myocytes, corticosteroids selectively induced the expression of a particular isoform of T channel, Ca(V)3.

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On the basis of the concept of site isolation in electrochemical reactions, we have successfully demonstrated acceleration of the deprotonation step in anodic methoxylation of fluoroethyl phenyl sulfides using silica gel supported bases.

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Click-type reaction of aromatic polyamines for improvement of thermal and optoelectronic properties.

J Am Chem Soc

October 2008

Global Edge Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan.

A quantitative addition reaction between aromatic amino-substituted alkynes and tetracyanoethylene (TCNE), yielding donor-substituted tetracyanobutadiene chromophores, was for the first time employed as a click-type reaction to improve the thermal and optoelectronic properties of aromatic polyamines. The first reduction potentials or the LUMO levels of the aromatic polyamines were found to linearly decrease by the stepwise TCNE addition.

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Intracellular delivery of a functional gene or a gene-silencing DNA or RNA sequence is expected to be a powerful tool for treating critical human diseases very precisely and effectively. One of the major hurdles to the successful delivery of a nucleic acid with nanoparticles is the transport across the plasma membrane. The existence of various and numerous cell surface receptors with potential capability of being internalized by cells upon ligand binding unveils the ways of overcoming the barrier by targeting the nanoparticles to specific receptor.

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On the basis of the concept of site isolation, we have successfully demonstrated direct oxidative cyanation of various organic compounds, which even have higher oxidation potentials compared to that of cyanide, by using a polystyrene-supported quaternary ammonium cyanide.

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Automated discovery of local search heuristics for satisfiability testing.

Evol Comput

June 2008

Global Edge Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.

The development of successful metaheuristic algorithms such as local search for a difficult problem such as satisfiability testing (SAT) is a challenging task. We investigate an evolutionary approach to automating the discovery of new local search heuristics for SAT. We show that several well-known SAT local search algorithms such as Walksat and Novelty are composite heuristics that are derived from novel combinations of a set of building blocks.

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Protein cages, rings and tubes: useful components of future nanodevices?

Nanotechnol Sci Appl

November 2008

Global Edge Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagatsuda, Midori-ku, Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan.

There is a great deal of interest in the possibility that complex nanoscale devices can be designed and engineered. Such devices will lead to the development of new materials, electronics and smart drugs. Producing complex nanoscale devices, however will present many challenges and the components of such devices will require a number of special features.

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Stem cells have the potential to be differentiated to a specific cell type through genetic manipulation and therefore, represent a new and versatile source of cell replacement in regenerative medicine. However, conventional ways of gene transfer to these progenitor cells, suffer from a number of disadvantages particularly involving safety and efficacy issues. We have recently reported on the development of a bio-functionalized DNA carrier of carbonate apatite by embedding fibronectin and E-cadherin chimera on the carrier, leading to its high-affinity interactions with embryonic stem cell surface and accelerated transgene delivery for subsequent expression.

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Hydrothermal synthesis of pure ZSM-22 under mild conditions.

Chem Commun (Camb)

August 2007

Global Edge Institute, 4259-G1-33 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8502, Japan.

Successful hydrothermal synthesis of pure ZSM-22 devoid of impurities is achieved under mild conditions of 433 K and horizontal stirring at 20 revolutions per minute (rpm) using Teflon-coated bar magnets to enhance gel mixing.

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