Identification of a Clade-Specific HLA-C*03:02 CTL Epitope GY9 Derived from the HIV-1 p17 Matrix Protein.

Efforts towards an effective HIV-1 vaccine have remained mainly unsuccessful. There is increasing evidence for a potential role of HLA-C-restricted CD8 T cell responses in HIV-1 control, including our recent report of HLA-C*03:02 among African children. However, there are no documented optimal HIV-1 CD8 T cell epitopes restricted by HLA-C*03:02; additionally, the structural influence of HLA-C*03:02 on epitope binding is undetermined.

BEDT-TTF radical-cation salts with tris(oxalato)chromate and guest additives.

The family of radical-cation salts β''-(BEDT-TTF)[(A)M(CO)]·guest (M = Fe, Cr, Ga, Al, Co, Mn, Rh, Ru; A = K, HO, NH ) has produced superconductors, metals, semiconductors, and metal-insulators through introduction of different guest molecules into the structure. We present three new additions to the family β''-(BEDT-TTF)[(A)Cr(CO)]·guest with the guest molecules toluene, phenol, or salicylaldehyde. These new guests are liquid or solid additives within the electrocrystallisation medium.

Tidying up the conformational ensemble of a disordered peptide by computational prediction of spectroscopic fingerprints.

The most advanced structure prediction methods are powerless in exploring the conformational ensemble of disordered peptides and proteins and for this reason the "protein folding problem" remains unsolved. We present a novel methodology that enables the accurate prediction of spectroscopic fingerprints (circular dichroism, infrared, Raman, and Raman optical activity), and by this allows for "tidying up" the conformational ensembles of disordered peptides and disordered regions in proteins. This concept is elaborated for and applied to a dodecapeptide, whose spectroscopic fingerprint is measured and theoretically predicted by means of enhanced-sampling molecular dynamics coupled with quantum mechanical calculations.

How similar is the antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles coated with different capping agents?

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) represent one of the most commercialised metal nanomaterials, with an extensive number of applications that span from antimicrobial products to electronics. Bare AgNPs are very susceptible to aggregation, and capping agents are required for their protection and stabilisation. The capping agents can endow new characteristics which can either improve or deteriorate AgNPs (bio)activity.

Upregulation of Cyclin B2 () in breast cancer contributes to the development of lymphovascular invasion.

Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) is a key step in breast cancer (BC) metastasis. Targeting the molecular drivers of LVI can improve BC patients' management. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of LVI are complex and interconnected with various carcinogenesis pathways.

Control of Crystallinity of Vinylene-Linked Two-Dimensional Conjugated Polymers by Rational Monomer Design.

The interest in two-dimensional conjugated polymers (2D CPs) has increased significantly in recent years. In particular, vinylene-linked 2D CPs with fully in-plane sp -carbon-conjugated structures, high thermal and chemical stability, have become the focus of attention. Although the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) reaction has been recently demonstrated in synthesizing vinylene-linked 2D CPs, it remains largely unexplored due to the challenge in synthesis.

Mapping blood biochemistry by Raman spectroscopy at the cellular level.

We report how Raman difference imaging provides insight on cellular biochemistry as a function of sub-cellular dimensions and the cellular environment. We show that this approach offers a sensitive diagnostic to address blood biochemistry at the cellular level. We examine Raman microscopic images of the distribution of the different hemoglobins in both healthy (discocyte) and unhealthy (echinocyte) blood cells and interpret these images using pre-calculated, accurate pre-resonant Raman tensors for scattering intensities specific to hemoglobins.

The visual categorization of production automotive seats on descriptors of comfort.

Background: The role of appearance of automotive seats on perceived comfort and comfort expectancy has been acknowledged in previous research but it has not been investigated in depth.

Objective: To identify the effects of the appearance of production automotive seats, based on the hypothesis that visual design differentiations are affective in creating comfort expectations. The significance of the descriptors Sporty, Luxurious and Comfortable and the associated visual design attributes was of interest.

Plasmonic-enhanced photocatalysis reactions using gold nanostructured films.

This work shows the enhancement of the visible photocatalytic activity of TiO NPs film using the localized surface plasmonic resonance of Au nanostructures. We adopted a simple yet effective surface treatment to tune the size distribution, and plasmonic resonance spectrum of Au nanostructured films on glass substrates, by hot plate annealing in air at low temperatures. A hybrid photocatalytic film of TiO:Au is utilized to catalyse a selective photodegradation reaction of Methylene Blue in solution.

Catalytic Activity Towards Hydrogen Evolution Dependent of the Degree of Conjugation and Absorption of Six Organic Chromophores.

Conjugated materials can, in many cases, absorb visible light because of their delocalized π electron system. Such materials have been widely used as a photoactive layers in organic photovoltaic devices and as photosensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells. Additionally, these materials have been reported for applications in solar fuel production, working as photocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).

The Distribution of Standard Deviations Applied to High Throughput Screening.

High throughput screening (HTS) assesses compound libraries for "activity" using target assays. A subset of HTS data contains a large number of sample measurements replicated a small number of times providing an opportunity to introduce the distribution of standard deviations (DSD). Applying the DSD to some HTS data sets revealed signs of bias in some of the data and discovered a sub-population of compounds exhibiting high variability which may be difficult to screen.

Weak attractive interactions between methylthio groups and electron-deficient alkenes in peri-naphthalenes: a competition with conjugative effects.

The solid-state conformations of five peri-disubstituted naphthalenes bearing a methylthio group and an electron-deficient alkene indicate a weak attractive interaction between the functional groups in four cases in which out-of-plane displacements lead to a common orientation of the MeSsp(2)-C vector to the alkene bond. In some cases the interaction is not strong enough to outweigh the tendency of the alkene to conjugate with the aromatic ring, and in one case this optimisation of conjugation alone controls the molecular conformation. The methylthio group lies close to the aromatic plane in all but one example for which the plane of the sulfide group is presented to the alkene.