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Die Anwendung calcinierter Tone als Zementsubstitut ist seit einigen Jahren Gegenstand intensiver Forschung. Dennoch steht, insbesondere in Deutschland, die Anwendung dieser Materialien erst am Anfang. Mit dem prognostizierten Einbruch der Hüttensand‐ und Flugascheproduktion werden calcinierte Tone auch in Deutschland mittelfristig einen wichtigen Stellenwert einnehmen. Aus Gründen der Wirtschaftlichkeit und Verfügbarkeit kommt insbesondere den „unreinen" Tonen mit geringen Kaolingehalten eine besondere Bedeutung zu. Im Rahmen dieser Studie wurde die Eignung eines vorwiegend illitischen Tones mit vielen Nebenbestandteilen für die Anwendung im Zement untersucht. Trotz des geringen Tonmineralgehaltes wurde nach der Calcination ein guter Festigkeitsbeitrag erreicht, bei gleichzeig nur geringfügig verringerter Verarbeitbarkeit. „Unreine" kaolinarme lokale Tone können demnach das Potential dafür bieten, Hüttensand und Flugasche in der Zementproduktion in Deutschland adäquat zu ersetzen. In einem weiterführenden Forschungsprojekt soll die Voraussetzung dafür geschaffen werden, eine industrielle Nutzung des untersuchten Tonvorkommens durch die Herstellung calcinierter Tone zu ermöglichen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Lewin's Field Theory, Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Systems Theory and social network analysis, the authors collected data from 405 Chinese adolescents about their peer relations, chronic self-concept levels and learning condition variables through questionnaire distributing, and from their teachers about their annual average academic achievement. It is proposed that the impacts of peer relations should be studied from a psycho-ecological perspective by considering the direct and joint effects of peer relations and student bio-psychological environment (as for instance chronic self-concept) on student outcomes. With hierarchical multiple regression analysis, hypothesis formulated on the research purpose was tested to be almost true. Finally, theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

The global outbreak of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 provided the stage to accumulate an enormous biomedical data set and an opportunity as well as a challenge to test new concepts and strategies to combat the pandemic. New research and molecular medical protocols may be deployed in different scientific fields, e.g., glycobiology, nanopharmacology, or nanomedicine. We correlated clinical biomedical data derived from patients in intensive care units with structural biology and biophysical data from NMR and/or CAMM (computer-aided molecular modeling). Consequently, new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches against SARS-CoV-2 were evaluated. Specifically, we tested the suitability of incretin mimetics with one or two pH-sensitive amino acid residues as potential drugs to prevent or cure long-COVID symptoms. Blood pH values in correlation with temperature alterations in patient bodies were of clinical importance. The effects of biophysical parameters such as temperature and pH value variation in relation to physical-chemical membrane properties (e.g., glycosylation state, affinity of certain amino acid sequences to sialic acids as well as other carbohydrate residues and lipid structures) provided helpful hints in identifying a potential Achilles heel against long COVID. In silico CAMM methods and in vitro NMR experiments (including 31P NMR measurements) were applied to analyze the structural behavior of incretin mimetics and SARS-CoV fusion peptides interacting with dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles. These supramolecular complexes were analyzed under physiological conditions by 1H and 31P NMR techniques. We were able to observe characteristic interaction states of incretin mimetics, SARS-CoV fusion peptides and DPC membranes. Novel interaction profiles (indicated, e.g., by 31P NMR signal splitting) were detected. Furthermore, we evaluated GM1 gangliosides and sialic acid-coated silica nanoparticles in complex with DPC micelles in order to create a simple virus host cell membrane model. This is a first step in exploring the structure–function relationship between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and incretin mimetics with conserved pH-sensitive histidine residues in their carbohydrate recognition domains as found in galectins. The applied methods were effective in identifying peptide sequences as well as certain carbohydrate moieties with the potential to protect the blood–brain barrier (BBB). These clinically relevant observations on low blood pH values in fatal COVID-19 cases open routes for new therapeutic approaches, especially against long-COVID symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The colloidal phase behavior, structure factors, short-time collective diffusion coefficients, and hydrodynamic interactions of concentrated poly(N-isopropylacryamide) (PNiPAM) microgels in dimethylformamide suspensions were measured with simultaneous static and dynamic three-dimensional cross-correlated light scattering. The data are interpreted through comparison with hard sphere theory. The fluid-crystal transition and the static structure factors can be described consistently by the hard sphere approximation. On the other hand, collective diffusion and hydrodynamic interaction cannot be described satisfactorily by the hard sphere model. The microgel structure is different from hard spheres, as the cross-link density decreases with the distance from the particle center leading to a “fuzzy” particle surface with dangling polymer chains. These seem to affect the hydrodynamic interaction much more as compared to direct thermodynamic interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of the different cyclic peptides to act as the mimics of the HNK-1 carbohydrate antigen is discussed. The significance of these peptides in analyzing the different hydrophobic and hydrophilic patterns is also demonstrated.

Copyright of Angewandte Chemie is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Substitution of selected CC units in π-conjugated organic frameworks by their isoelectronic and isosteric BN units (BN/CC isosterism) has proven to be a successful concept for the development of BN-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with intriguing properties and functions. The first examples have just demonstrated the applicability of this approach to polymer chemistry. Herein, we present the synthesis and comprehensive characterization of the first poly(p-phenylene iminoborane). This novel inorganic-organic hybrid polymer can be regarded as a BN analogue of the well-known poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV). Photophysical investigations on the polymer and a series of model oligomers provide clear evidence of some π-conjugation across the B=N bonds and extension of the conjugation path with increasing chain length. TD-DFT calculations provide deeper insight into the electronic structure of the new materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions between human lysozyme (HL) and the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Klebsiella pneumoniae O1, a causative agent of lung infection, were identified by surface plasmon resonance. To characterize the molecular mechanism of this interaction, HL binding to synthetic disaccharides and tetrasaccharides representing one and two repeating units, respectively, of the O-chain of this LPS were studied. pH-dependent structural rearrangements of HL after interaction with the disaccharide were observed through nuclear magnetic resonance. The crystal structure of the HL-tetrasaccharide complex revealed carbohydrate chain packing into the A, B, C, and D binding sites of HL, which primarily occurred through residue-specific, direct or water-mediated hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic contacts. Overall, these results support a crucial role of the Glu35/Asp53/Trp63/Asp102 residues in HL binding to the tetrasaccharide. These observations suggest an unknown glycan-guided mechanism that underlies recognition of the bacterial cell wall by lysozyme and may complement the HL immune defense function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]