Water slowing down drives the occurrence of the low temperature dynamical transition in microgels.

The protein dynamical transition marks an increase in atomic mobility and the onset of anharmonic motions at a critical temperature ( ), which is considered relevant for protein functionality. This phenomenon is ubiquitous, regardless of protein composition, structure and biological function and typically occurs at large protein content, to avoid water crystallization. Recently, a dynamical transition has also been reported in non-biological macromolecules, such as poly(-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgels, bearing many similarities to proteins.

Panchromatic light harvesting and record power conversion efficiency for carboxylic/cyanoacrylic Fe(ii) NHC co-sensitized FeSSCs.

Fe(ii) pyridyl-NHC sensitizers bearing thienylcyanoacrylic (ThCA) anchoring groups have been designed and characterized with the aim of enhancing the metal to surface charge separation and the light harvesting window in iron-sensitized DSSCs (FeSSCs). In these new Fe(ii) dyes, the introduction of the ThCA moiety remarkably extended the spectral response and the photocurrent, in comparison with their carboxylic analogues. The co-sensitization based on a mixture of a carboxylic and a ThCA-iron complex produced a panchromatic absorption, up to 800 nm and the best photocurrent and efficiency ( : 9 mA cm and PCE: 2%) ever reported for an FeSSC.

Petrographic and Physical-Mechanical Investigation of Natural Aggregates for Concrete Mixtures.

The availability of different lithology with which concrete can be packaged could create substantial questions on the differences that they can provide to the same mixture. Different kinds of aggregates were analyzed individually to investigate their main characteristics, which allowed us to package five types of concrete mixtures. These five mixtures were compared to each other through compressive strength values.

Crystal structure, spectroscopic measurement, optical properties, thermal studies and biological activities of a new hybrid material containing iodide anions of bismuth(iii).

As part of our interest in halogenobismuthate(iii) organic-inorganic hybrid materials, a novel compound named bis(4,4'-diammoniumdiphenylsulfone) hexadecaiodotetrabismuthate(III) tetrahydrate with the chemical formula (CHNOS)[BiI]·4HO, abbreviated as (HDDS)[BiI], has been prepared by a slow evaporation method at room temperature. This compound was characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD), spectroscopic measurements, thermal study and antimicrobial activity. The examination of the molecular arrangement shows that the crystal packing can be described as made of layers of organic [CHNOS] entities and HO molecules, between which tetranuclear [BiI] units, isolated from each other, are inserted.

Enzymatic synthesis of biobased aliphatic-aromatic oligoesters using 5,5'-bis(hydroxymethyl)furoin as a building block.

5,5'-Dihydroxymethyl furoin (DHMF) is a novel biobased difuranic polyol scaffold, achievable from the benzoin condensation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which has recently been employed as a monomer for the preparation of cross-linked polyesters and polyurethane. Its upgrading by means of enzymatic reactions has not yet been reported. Here we demonstrated that lipase B (CALB) is a suitable biocatalyst for the selective esterification of the primary hydroxyl groups of DHMF.

4P: fast computing of population genetics statistics from large DNA polymorphism panels.

Massive DNA sequencing has significantly increased the amount of data available for population genetics and molecular ecology studies. However, the parallel computation of simple statistics within and between populations from large panels of polymorphic sites is not yet available, making the exploratory analyses of a set or subset of data a very laborious task. Here, we present 4P (parallel processing of polymorphism panels), a stand-alone software program for the rapid computation of genetic variation statistics (including the joint frequency spectrum) from millions of DNA variants in multiple individuals and multiple populations.

Instrumental method for automated on-line fraction analysis and peak deconvolution in multicomponent-overloaded high-performance liquid chromatography.

A bi-dimensional (non-orthogonal) chromatographic system made of two columns of different length (longer along the first direction and shorter on the second) but packed with identical (or similar) materials has been employed to perform automated on-line fraction analysis and peak deconvolution of multicomponent overloaded band profiles. Multicomponent overloaded peaks, eluted from the first column, are sampled through a remotely-controlled switching valve and fractions are injected, under analytical conditions, directly into the second direction. This set-up serves a twofold purpose.

Modeling of overloaded gradient elution of nociceptin/orphanin FQ in reversed-phase liquid chromatography.

The Reversed-phase (RP) gradient elution chromatography of nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ), a neuropeptide with many biological effects, has been modeled under linear and non-linear conditions. In order to do this, the chromatographic behavior has been studied under both linear and nonliner conditions under isocratic mode at different mobile phase compositions--ranging from 16 to 19% (v/v) acetonitrile (ACN) in aqueous trifluoracetic acid (TFA) 0.1% (v/v)-on a C-8 column.