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Abstract: Though diacritics are a central feature of Arabic reading, their cognitive and neural effects remain less well understood. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate differences between brain activation patterns associated with real words with versus without diacritics in adult Arabic readers using a lexical decision task. We found no significant difference in accuracy between real words with and without diacritics. However, real words with no diacritics yielded shorter response times and stronger activation in the hippocampus and middle temporal gyrus, possibly reflecting a search among multiple lexical entries that may be associated with these words. In contrast, real words with diacritics yielded longer response times and activated the insula and inferior frontal areas, suggesting an engagement of phonological and semantic processes in recognizing words with diacritics. Taken together, the results support a linguistic role for diacritics in isolated word recognition even in experienced Arabic readers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Routinely applied at both preparative and analytical scales, chiral ligand-exchange chromatography (CLEC) separates enantiomers capable of chelating a divalent transition-metal-ion through a pair of coordinating electronegative atoms. CLEC separation efficiencies are strongly dependent on column operating conditions, including temperature and mobile-phase solvent composition. Although previous empirical studies provide some useful guidelines for optimizing column operating conditions, the fundamental mechanisms underlying the unusually high sensitivity of CLEC performance to operating temperature and solvent composition remain poorly understood, limiting efforts to develop a comprehensive model for the technology. To address this problem, we report transport and chemical equilibria data for the separation of α-amino acids on a Nucleosil chiral-1 column presenting l-hydroxyproline as the immobilized ligand. Solute transport is found to be limited by pore diffusion at all column operating temperatures and solvent compositions, validating the existence of local equilibria throughout the column. Changes in separation performance are found to correlate with changes in chemical equilibria, emphasizing the need to carefully account for all speciation within the column when modeling CLEC and providing important fundamental data to achieve this goal. Each enantiomer participates in a large number of solution-phase complexes. As a result, the thermodynamic driving force for separation is unusually complex, allowing subtle changes in column operating conditions to mediate significant changes in speciation profiles and separation efficiency. A reaction-equilibria model accounting for all speciation within the CLEC column is proposed and used to estimate enantiomer partition coefficients and retention times. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Rigorous, mechanistic CFD modeling of membrane chromatography capsules at different scales. [•] Prediction of experimental data with a minimal number of regressed parameters. [•] Separate quantification of the impacts of non-ideal flow and non-ideal binding on the resulting chromatograms. [•] Model-based scale-up by transferring binding related parameters across capsule geometries. [•] Validation of the previously published zonal rate model (ZRM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Surface induced thrombus generation is a major clinical concern associated with vascular medical devices and implants. Here, we show that high graft density hydrophilic non-charged poly (N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) brushes prevent the initiation of blood coagulation on synthetic surfaces. Using a multi-faceted analysis approach, we have identified that PDMA brushes greater than 0.27 chains/nm2 graft density showed this highly desired property. Non-specific protein adsorption is greatly reduced on high density brushes compared to bare surface as evident from isothermal titration calorimetry, gel electrophoresis, and proteomic analyses. We have identified approximately 129 proteins of various types on bare and PDMA brush coated surfaces at a range of surface concentrations. Thromboelastography, platelet activation, and aggregation analyses show that only high graft density brushes are neutral to blood coagulation. Since the polymer brush synthesis can be adapted to most currently used biomedical materials, these results have significant impact in the design of highly hemocompatible surfaces. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Bis(maltolato)oxovanadium(IV) (BMOV), and its ethylmaltol analog, bis(ethylmaltolato)oxovanadium(IV) (BEOV), are candidate insulin-enhancing agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus; in mid-2008, BEOV advanced to phase II clinical testing. The interactions of BMOV and its inorganic congener, vanadyl sulfate (VOSO4), with human serum apo-transferrin (hTf) were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Addition of BMOV or VOSO4 to apo-hTf resulted in an increase in thermal stability of both the C- and N-lobes of transferrin as a result of binding to either vanadyl compound. A series of DSC thermograms of hTf solutions containing different molar ratios of BMOV and VOSO4 were used to determine binding constants; at 25°C the binding constants of BMOV to the C- and N-lobes of apo-hTf were found to be 3 (±1)×105 and 1.8 (±0.7)×105 M−1, respectively. The corresponding values for VOSO4 were 1.7 (±0.3)×105 and 7 (±2)×104 M−1. The results show that the vanadium species initially presented as either BMOV or VOSO4 had similar affinities for human serum transferrin due to oxidation of solvated vanadyl(IV) prior to complexation to transferrin. Binding of metavanadate () was confirmed by DSC and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments of the interaction between sodium metavanadate (NaVO3) and hTf. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Assembly of the type-III secretion apparatus, which translocates proteins through both membranes of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens into host cells, requires the formation of an integral outer-membrane secretin ring. Typically, a small lipidated pilot protein is necessary for the stabilization and localization of this ring. Using NMR spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the C-terminal residues 553–570 of the Shigella flexneri secretin MxiD encompass the minimal binding domain for its cognate pilot MxiM. Although unstructured in isolation, upon complex formation with MxiM, these residues fold into an amphipathic turn-helix motif that caps the elongated hydrophobic cavity of the cracked β-barrel pilot. Along with a rearrangement of core aromatic residues, this prevents the binding of lipids within the cavity. The mutually exclusive association of lipids and MxiD with MxiM establishes a framework for understanding the role of a pilot in the outer-membrane insertion and multimerization of the secretin ring. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The mammalian molecule melanotransferrin (mTf), also called p97, is a member of the transferrin family of molecules. It exists in both secreted and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored forms and is thought to play a role in angiogenesis and in transporting iron across the blood brain barrier. The binding affinity of iron to this molecule has not been formally established. Here, the binding of ferric ion (chelated with a 2-fold molar ratio of nitrilotriacetate) to mTf has been studied using isothermal titration calorimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. One iron-binding site was determined for mTf with similar binding characteristics to other transferrins. In the absence of bicarbonate, binding occurs quickly with an apparent association constant of 2.6 × 107 M-1 at 25 °C. The presence of bicarbonate introduces-kinetic effects that prevent direct determination of the apparent binding constant by isothermal titration calorimetry. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms of mTf unfolding in the presence and absence of iron were therefore used to determine the apparent binding constant in the bicarbonate-containing system; at pH 7.5 and 25 °C, iron binding occurs in a 1:1 ratio with a Kapp of 4.4 × 1017 M-1. This affinity is intermediate between the high and low affinity lobes of transferrin and suggests that mTf is likely to play a significant role in iron transport where the high affinity lobe of transferrin is occupied or where transferrin is in proportionally low concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]