Brazos River bar; a study in the significance of grain size parameters

A bar on the Brazos River near Calvert, Texas, has been analyzed in order to determine the geologic meaning of certain grain size parameters and to study the behavior of the size fractions with transport. The bar consists of a strongly bimodal mixture of pebble gravel and medium to fine sand; there is a lack of material in the range of 0.5 to 2 mm, because the source does not supply particles of this size. The size distributions of the two modes, which were established in the parent deposits, are nearly invariant over the bar because the present environment of deposition only affects the relative proportions of the two modes, not the grain size properties of the modes themselves. Two proportions are most common; the sediment either contains no gravel or else contains about 60% gravel. Three sediment types with characteristic bedding features occur on the bar in constant stratigraphic order, with the coarsest at the base. Statistical analysis of the data is based on a series of grain size parameters modified from those of Inman (1952) to provide a more detailed coverage of non-normal size curves. Unimodal sediments have nearly normal curves as defined by their skewness and kurtosis. Non-normal kurtosis and skewness values are held to be the identifying characteristics of bimodal sediments even where such modes are not evident in frequency curves. The relative proportions of each mode define a systematic series of changes in numerical properties; mean size, standard deviation and skewness are shown to be linked in a helical trend, which is believed to be applicable to many other sedimentary suites. The equations of the helix may be characteristic of certain environments. Kurtosis values show rhythmic pulsations along the helix and are diagnostic of two-generation sediments.

Roundness parameters in barrier-lagoon systems in northeastern Shandong Peninsula, China: limitations to environmental discrimination

Twenty-five samples from six subenvironments in the barrier-lagoon systems in northeastern Shandong province, China, are examined. A statistical method is used to study the roundness variation of grains of different sizes. Roundness of very fine pebble and very coarse sand varies significantly in different subenvironments. It is possible to discriminate among aqueous depositional environments using the roundness of grains of these sizes. Roundness of grains finer than 0.84 φ is not distinguishable in different subenvironments.

Investigation of some critical parameters of buffer conditions for the development of quantum dots-based optical sensors

The unique surface-sensitive properties make quantum dots (QDs) great potential in the development of sensors for various analytes. However, quantum dots are not only sensitive to a certain analyte, but also to the surrounding conditions. The controlled response to analyte may be the first step in the designing of functional quantum dots sensors. In this study, taking the quenching effect of benzoquinone (BQ) on CdTe QDs as model, several critical parameters of buffer solution conditions with potential effect on the sensors were investigated. The pH value and the concentration of sodium citrate in the buffer solution critically influenced the quenching effects of BQ.

Biophysical characterization of the interaction of p21 with calmodulin: A mechanistic study

p21 is a protein with important roles in cell proliferation, cell cycle regulation and apoptosis. Several studies have demonstrated that its intracellular localization plays an important role in the functional regulation and binding of calmodulin favors its nuclear translocation. However, the detail mechanism of the interaction with p21 and calmodulin is not well understood. In this report, peptides derived from the C-terminal of p21 that cover the binding domain of calmodulin were used to investigate the association of p21 with calmodulin.

Biophysical studies on the full-length human cyclin A(2): Protein stability and folding/unfolding thermodynamics

Human cyclin A(2) participates in cell cycle regulation, DNA replication, and transcription. Its overexpression has been implicated in the development and progression of a variety of human cancers. However, cyclin A(2) or its truncated form is very unstable in the absence of binding partner, which makes it difficult to get a deep insight of structural basis of the interactions. Therefore, biophysical studies of the full-length human cyclin A, would provide important information regarding protein stability and folding/unfolding process.

Affinity and Specificity of Levamlodipine-Human Serum Albumin Interactions: Insights into Its Carrier Function

The affinity and specificity of drugs with human serum albumin (HSA) are crucial factors influencing the bioactivity of drugs. To gain insight into the carrier function of HSA, the binding of levamlodipine with HSA has been investigated as a model system by a combined experimental and theoretical/computational approach. The fluorescence properties of HSA and the binding parameters of levamlodipine indicate that the binding is characterized by one binding site with static quenching mechanism, which is related to the energy transfer. As indicated by the thermodynamic analysis, hydrophobic interaction is the predominant force in levamiodipine-HSA complex, which is in agreement with the computational results. And the hydrogen bonds can be confirmed by computational approach between levamlodipine and HSA. Compared to predicted binding energies and binding energy spectra at seven sites on HSA, levamlodipine binding HSA at site I has a high affinity regime and the highest specificity characterized by the largest intrinsic specificity ratio (ISR). The binding characteristics at site I guarantee that drugs can be carried and released from HSA to carry out their specific bioactivity.

Calculating the equation of state parameters and predicting the spinodal curve of isotactic polypropylene/poly(ethylene-co-octene) blend by molecular dynamics simulations combined with Sanchez-Lacombe lattice fluid theory

Molecular dynamics simulations are adopted to calculate the equation of state characteristic parameters P*, rho*, and T* of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and poly(ethylene-co-octene) (PEOC), which can be further used in the Sanchez-Lacombe lattice fluid theory (SLLFT) to describe the respective physical properties. The calculated T* is a function of the temperature, which was also found in the literature. To solve this problem, we propose a Boltzmann fitting of the data and obtain T* at the high-temperature limit. With these characteristic parameters, the pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) data of iPP and PEOC are predicted by the SLLFT equation of state. To justify the correctness of our results, we also obtain the PVT data for iPP and PEOC by experiments. Good agreement is found between the two sets of data. By integrating the Euler-Lagrange equation and the Cahn-Hilliard relation, we predict the density profiles and the surface tensions for iPP and PEOC, respectively. Furthermore, a recursive method is proposed to obtain the characteristic interaction energy parameter between iPP and PEOC. This method, which does not require fitting to the experimental phase equilibrium data, suggests an alternative way to predict the phase diagrams that are not easily obtained in experiments.

Quantifying the kinetic paths of flexible biomolecular recognition

Biomolecular recognition often involves large conformational changes, sometimes even local unfolding. The identification of kinetic pathways has become a central issue in understanding the nature of binding. A new approach is proposed here to study the dynamics of this binding-folding process through the establishment of a path-integral framework on the underlying energy landscape. The dominant kinetic paths of binding and folding can be determined and quantified. The significant coupling between the binding and folding of biomolecules often exists in many important cellular processes. In this case, the corresponding kinetic paths of binding are shown to be intimately correlated with those of folding and the dynamics becomes quite cooperative. This implies that binding and folding happen concurrently. When the coupling between binding and folding is weak (strong), the kinetic process usually starts with significant folding (binding) first, with the binding (folding) later proceeding to the end. The kinetic rate can be obtained through the contributions from the dominant paths. The rate is shown to have a bell-shaped dependence on temperature in the concentration-saturated regime consistent with experiment. The changes of the kinetics that occur upon changing the parameters of the underlying binding-folding energy landscape are studied.

Structural electrochemical study of hemoglobin by in situ circular dichroism thin layer spectroelectrochemistry

Secondary and tertiary or quaternary structural changes in hemoglobin (HB) during an electroreduction process were studied by in situ circular dichroism (CD) spectroelectrochemistry with a long optical path thin-layer cell. By means of singular value decomposition least-squares analysis, CD spectra in the far-UV region give two similar a components with different CD intensity, indicating slight denaturation in the secondary structures due to the electric field effect. CD spectra in the Soret band show a R --> T transition of two quaternary structural components induced by electroreduction of the heme, which changes the redox states of the center ion from Fe3+ to Fe2+ and the coordination number from 6 to 5. The double logarithmic analysis shows that electroreduction of hemoglobin follows a chemical reaction with R --> T transition. Some parameters in the electrochemical process were obtained: formal potential, E-0t = -0.167 V; electrochemical kinetic overpotential, DeltaE(0) = -0.32 V; standard electrochemical reaction rate constant, k(0) = 1.79 x 10(-5) cm s(-1); product of electron transfer coefficient and electron number, alphan=0.14; and the equilibrium constant of R --> T transition, K-c = 9.0.

Relationship between chemical bond parameters and superconducting temperature in HgBa2Can-1CunO2n+2+delta (n=1, 2, 3, 4)

Bond covalency and valence of elements in HgBa2Can-1CunO2n+2+delta (n = 1, 2, 3, 4) were calculated and their relationship with T-c was discussed. For both oxygen and argon annealed samples, the results indicated that with the increase of n, the trend of bond covalency of Hg-O and Cu-O was the same or opposite compared with that of superconducting temperature. This may suggest that the magnitudes of Cu-O and Hg-O bond covalency are important in governing the superconducting temperature. For the highest T-c sample, Hg had the lowest valence, implying that lower valence of Hg was preferred in order to produce higher T-c. For fixed n, the valence of Cu in oxygen annealed samples was larger than that in argon annealed samples, indicating that oxygen annealed samples produced more carriers than argon annealed samples.

Crystal structure and variation in unit cell parameters with crystallization temperatures of poly (ether ketone ether ketone ketone)s containing meta-phenyl links (PEKEKmK)

The X-ray diffraction patterns of the crystalline aromatic ketone polymer PEKEKmK (aryl ether ketone ether ketone ketone polymer containing meta-phenyl links) have been investigated (for the chemical structure, see Formula). An orthorhombic unit cell is proposed to contain two chains with a = 0.772 nm, b = 0.604 nm and c = 2.572 nm. According to the orthorhombic system, the 11 reflections of this polymer were indexed. Meanwhile, variation in unit cell parameters with crystallization temperatures of PEKEKmK was also investigated. [GRAPHICS]

Conformational transition of DNA in electroreduction studied by in situ UV and CD thin layer spectroelectrochemistry

Electrochemically induced three conformational transitions of calf thymus DNA from B-10.4 to Z(10.2)-DNA and from B-10.2 to B-10.4 and to C-DNA in 10 mM phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.21) at glassy carbon electrode are found and studied by in situ circular dichroism (CD) thin layer spectroelectrochemistry with singular value decomposition least square (SVDLS) analysis. It indicates that the so-called B-10.2 form and the C-form of DNA may be composed of B-10.4 and left-A DNA and of B-10.4 and right-A DNA, respectively. The irreversible electrochemical reduction of adenine and cytosine groups in the DNA molecule is studied by UV-Vis spectroelectrochemistry. Some electrochemical parameters alphan = 0.17, E-0' = -0.70 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), and the standard heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant, k(0) = 1.8 x 10(-5) cm s(-1) are obtained by double logarithmic analysis and non-linear regression. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical bond parameters in Sr3MRhO6 (M=rare earth)

Chemical bond parameters, that is, bond covalency, bond valence, macroscopic linear susceptibility, and oxidation states of elements in Sr3MRhO6 (M=Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb) have been calculated. The results indicate that the bond covalency of M-O decreases sharply with the decrease of ionic radius of M3+ from Sm to Yb, while no obvious trend has been found for Rh-O and Sr-O bonds. The global instability index indicates that the crystal structures of Sr(3)MrhO(6) (M = Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho) have strained bonds.