Remodeling of skeletal muscle myosin metabolic states in hibernating mammals.

Hibernation is a period of metabolic suppression utilized by many small and large mammal species to survive during winter periods. As the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood, our study aimed to determine whether skeletal muscle myosin and its metabolic efficiency undergo alterations during hibernation to optimize energy utilization. We isolated muscle fibers from small hibernators, and and larger hibernators, and .

Tracking nuclear motion in single-molecule magnets using femtosecond X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

The development of new data storage solutions is crucial for emerging digital technologies. Recently, all-optical magnetic switching has been achieved in dielectrics, proving to be faster than traditional methods. Despite this, single-molecule magnets (SMMs), which are an important class of magnetic materials due to their nanometre size, remain underexplored for ultrafast photomagnetic switching.

Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) Measurements on Alkali Metal Superatoms of Ta-Atom-Encapsulated Si Cage.

The silicon cage nanoclusters encapsulating a tantalum atom, termed Ta@Si, exhibit characteristics of alkali metal "superatoms (SAs)". Despite this conceptual framework, the precise structures of Ta@Si and Ta@Si remain unclear in quantum calculations due to three energetically close structural isomers: , , and structures. To identify the geometrical structure of Ta@Si SAs, structural analysis was conducted using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) with a high-intensity monochromatic X-ray source, keeping anaerobic conditions.

Atomically dispersed hexavalent iridium oxide from MnO reduction for oxygen evolution catalysis.

Hexavalent iridium (Ir) oxide is predicted to be more active and stable than any other iridium oxide for the oxygen evolution reaction in acid; however, its experimental realization remains challenging. In this work, we report the synthesis, characterization, and application of atomically dispersed Ir oxide (Ir-) for proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis. The Ir- was synthesized by oxidatively substituting the ligands of potassium hexachloroiridate(IV) (KIrCl) with manganese oxide (MnO).

Collective dynamics of liquid sulphur across the polymerisation transition temperature probed by inelastic x-ray scattering.

Inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS) experiments on liquid sulphur were carried out below (140 C) and above (180 C) the polymerisation temperatureof about 159 C to investigate changes in the collective dynamics of this unique liquid, that exhibits a liquid-liquid transition. As reported earlier, broad longitudinal acoustic excitation signals were observed at both temperatures, and only the width of the quasielastic peaks slightly decreased when the temperature crossed the transition temperature. A model analysis was performed using a generalised Langevin formalism with a memory function having one thermal and two viscoelastic decay channels with the help of simple sparse modelling, and large positive deviations from the hydrodynamic sound velocity by 51%-54% were observed.

The Role of Momentum Partitioning in Covariance Ion Imaging Analysis.

We present results from a covariance ion imaging study, which employs extensive filtering, on the relationship between fragment momenta to gain deeper insight into photofragmentation dynamics. A new data analysis approach is introduced that considers the momentum partitioning between the fragments of the breakup of a molecular polycation to disentangle concurrent fragmentation channels, which yield the same ion species. We exploit this approach to examine the momentum exchange relationship between the products, which provides direct insight into the dynamics of molecular fragmentation.

Difference in reaction mechanism between ZnZrO and InZrO for CO hydrogenation.

Oxide solid-solution catalysts, such as Zn-doped ZrO (ZnZrO) and In-doped ZrO (InZrO), exhibit distinctive catalytic capabilities for CHOH synthesis CO hydrogenation. We investigated the active site structures of these catalysts and their associated reaction mechanisms using both experimental and computational approaches. Electron microscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy reveal that the primary active sites are isolated cations, such as Zn and In, dissolved in tetragonal ZrO.

The structure of the rat vitamin B transporter TC and its complex with glutathionylcobalamin.

Vitamin B (cobalamin or Cbl) functions as a cofactor in two important enzymatic processes in human cells, and life is not sustainable without it. B is obtained from food and travels from the stomach, through the intestine, and into the bloodstream by three B-transporting proteins: salivary haptocorrin (HC), gastric intrinsic factor, and transcobalamin (TC), which all bind B with high affinity and require proteolytic degradation to liberate Cbl. After intracellular delivery of dietary B, Cbl in the aquo/hydroxocobalamin form can coordinate various nucleophiles, for example, GSH, giving rise to glutathionylcobalamin (GSCbl), a naturally occurring form of vitamin B.

Synthesis of Metal-Nitrogen-Carbon Electrocatalysts with Atomically Regulated Nitrogen-Doped Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.

Tuning the active site structure of metal-nitrogen-carbon electrocatalysts has recently attracted increasing interest. Herein, we report a bottom-up synthesis strategy in which atomically regulated N-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (N-PAHs) of NC ( = 1, 2, 3, 4) were used as ligands to allow tuning of the active site's structures of M-N and establish correlations between the structures and electrocatalytic properties. Based on the synthesis process, detailed characterization, and DFT calculation results, active structures of N-Fe-N in Fe-N/RGO catalysts were constructed.

Chiral Transfer of Linear Polysiloxane with Preferred-Handed Helical Conformation.

We report the preparation of chiral silica using a linear polysiloxane main chain with a preferred-handed helical structure as the template. Poly(methylvinyl siloxane) (PMVS) with a cysteine derivative side chain designated as PMVS-Cys was prepared using anionic polymerization and an ene-thiol reaction. PMVS-Cys forms a helical conformation in both solution and film via hydrogen bonding between amide groups at side chains.

Epitopes of an antibody that neutralizes a wide range of SARS-CoV-2 variants in a conserved subdomain 1 of the spike protein.

The evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has continued, enabling the virus to escape from host immunity by changing its spike antigen, while biased toward the receptor-binding domain and N-terminal domain. Here, we isolated a novel pan-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody (which we named MO11) for even the recent dominators XBB.1.

Exploring the ultrafast and isomer-dependent photodissociation of iodothiophenes site-selective ionization.

C-I bond extension and fission following ultraviolet (UV, 262 nm) photoexcitation of 2- and 3-iodothiophene is studied using ultrafast time-resolved extreme ultraviolet (XUV) ionization in conjunction with velocity map ion imaging. The photoexcited molecules and eventual I atom products are probed by site-selective ionization at the I 4d edge using intense XUV pulses, which induce multiple charges initially localized to the iodine atom. At C-I separations below the critical distance for charge transfer (CT), charge can redistribute around the molecule leading to Coulomb explosion and charged fragments with high kinetic energy.

Broken Screw Rotational Symmetry in the Near-Surface Electronic Structure of AB-Stacked Crystals.

We investigate the electronic structure of 2H-NbS_{2} and h-BN by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and photoemission intensity calculations. Although in bulk form, these materials are expected to exhibit band degeneracy in the k_{z}=π/c plane due to screw rotation and time-reversal symmetries, we observe gapped band dispersion near the surface. We extract from first-principles calculations the near-surface electronic structure probed by ARPES and find that the calculated photoemission spectra from the near-surface region reproduce the gapped ARPES spectra.

A correlated ferromagnetic polar metal by design.

Polar metals have recently garnered increasing interest because of their promising functionalities. Here we report the experimental realization of an intrinsic coexisting ferromagnetism, polar distortion and metallicity in quasi-two-dimensional CaCoO. This material crystallizes with alternating stacking of oxygen tetrahedral CoO monolayers and octahedral CoO bilayers.

Application of transition-edge sensors for micro-X-ray fluorescence measurements and micro-X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy: a case study of uranium speciation in biotite obtained from a uranium mine.

In this study, we successfully applied a transition-edge sensor (TES) spectrometer as a detector for microbeam X-ray measurements from a synchrotron X-ray light source in the hard X-ray region to determine uranium (U) distribution at the micro-scale and its chemical species in biotite obtained from a U mine. It is difficult to separate the fluorescent X-ray of the U Lα line at 13.615 keV from that of the Rb Kα line at 13.

Excellent capture of NO functioning at RT and lower pressure by utilizing an NaCaA-85 zeolite.

We have found an efficient adsorption feature provided by an NaCaA-85 zeolite for NO even at 298 K and at lower pressures: NO adsorption capacities of 1.33 mmol g and 4.69 mmol g under respective pressures of 0.

Polymorphism of Two-Dimensional Semiconducting Coordination Polymers: Impact of a Lead-Sulfur Network on Photoconductivity.

Sulfur-coordinated coordination polymers (S-CPs) have unique optoelectrical properties that originate from infinite M-S bond networks. In this study, we synthesized and characterized two polymorphs of a two-dimensional (2D) Pb(II) S-CP with a formula of [Pb(tzdt)(OAc)] (Htzdt=1,3-thiazolidine-2-thione, OAc=acetate). Our findings revealed that the thermodynamic product (KGF-26) possesses quasi-2D (-Pb-S-) layers with weak nonbonded Pb-S bonds, whereas the kinetic product (KGF-27) has intrinsic 2D (-Pb-S-) layers with Pb-S bonds.

Water Adsorption on π-Surfaces of Open-Fullerenes.

Understanding the water adsorptive behavior of fullerenes is of particular importance for their material application in aqueous media. The conventional fullerenols usually provide complex physical pictures of water adsorption due to their uncontrollable hydroxylation degree and substitution pattern. Herein, we focus on poorly hydroxylated fullerenes with well-defined structures.

Cyclic Ion Mobility for Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange-Mass Spectrometry Applications.

Hydrogen/deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) has emerged as a powerful tool to probe protein dynamics. As a bottom-up technique, HDX-MS provides information at peptide-level resolution, allowing structural localization of dynamic changes. Consequently, the HDX-MS data quality is largely determined by the number of peptides that are identified and monitored after deuteration.

Polyelectrolyte-protein synergism: pH-responsive polyelectrolyte/insulin complexes as versatile carriers for targeted protein and drug delivery.

The co-assembly of polyelectrolytes (PE) with proteins offers a promising approach for designing complex structures with customizable morphologies, charge distribution, and stability for targeted cargo delivery. However, the complexity of protein structure limits our ability to predict the properties of the formed nanoparticles, and our goal is to identify the key triggers of the morphological transition in protein/PE complexes and evaluate their ability to encapsulate multivalent ionic drugs. A positively charged PE can assemble with a protein at pH above isoelectric point due to the electrostatic attraction and disassemble at pH below isoelectric point due to the repulsion.

Subnanometric Osmium Clusters Confined on Palladium Metallenes for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution and Oxygen Reduction Catalysis.

Highly efficient, cost-effective, and durable electrocatalysts, capable of accelerating sluggish reaction kinetics and attaining high performance, are essential for developing sustainable energy technologies but remain a great challenge. Here, we leverage a facile heterostructure design strategy to construct atomically thin Os@Pd metallenes, with atomic-scale Os nanoclusters of varying geometries confined on the surface layer of the Pd lattice, which exhibit excellent bifunctional properties for catalyzing both hydrogen evolution (HER) and oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). Importantly, Os@Pd metallenes manifest a low η overpotential of only 11 mV in 1.

Correction: Water-dispersible donor-acceptor-donor π-conjugated bolaamphiphiles enabling a humidity-responsive luminescence color change.

Correction for 'Water-dispersible donor-acceptor-donor π-conjugated bolaamphiphiles enabling a humidity-responsive luminescence color change' by Tomoya Enjou , , 2024, https://doi.org/10.1039/d3cc05749f.

Novel Route for Enhancing Piezoelectricity of Ferroelectric Films: Controlling Nontrivial Polarization States in Pb(Zr, Ti)O Monodomain Superlattice Structure.

Artificial superlattice films made of Pb(ZrTi)O and Pb(ZrTi)O were investigated for their polarization states and piezoelectric properties theoretically and experimentally in this study. The developed theory predicts nontrivial polarization along neither [001] nor [111] directions in (111)-epitaxial monodomain superlattice films with uniform compressive strain. Such films were achieved via pulsed laser deposition.