Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Li Zhou, Rui He, Peining Fang, Mengqi Li, Haisheng Yu, Qiming Wang, Yi Yu, Fubing Wang, Yi Zhang, Aidong Chen, Nanfang Peng, Yong Lin, Rui Zhang, Mirko Trilling, Ruth Broering, Mengji Lu, Ying Zhu, Shi Liu
Summary: The alpha-toxin LqhIII from the deathstalker scorpion inhibits fast inactivation of cardiac Na(V)1.5 channels. The cryo-EM structure of LqhIII bound to Na(V)1.5 shows that it traps the gating charges of the S4 segment in a unique intermediate-activated state, explaining why LqhIII slows inactivation of Na-V channels but does not open them.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Y. Mazhdi, S. M. Hamidi
Summary: This study investigated the reliability of a two-dimensional plasmonic structure and circular dichroism (CD) in detecting venom concentrations and neurotoxic effects on human neurotransmitters. The results confirmed the dependency of CD signal on venom concentrations' neurotoxic effects and the sensor's sensitivity with achiral plasmonic structure.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Aftab Nadeem, Raghavendra Nagampalli, Eric Toh, Athar Alam, Si Lhyam Myint, Thomas Heidler, Mitesh Dongre, Nikola Zlatkov, Hudson Pace, Fouzia Bano, Anders Sjostedt, Marta Bally, Bernt Eric Uhlin, Sun Nyunt Wai, Karina Persson
Summary: MakA protein is part of a gene cluster in Vibrio cholerae, along with other proteins forming a tripartite cytolytic toxin that is toxic to both red blood cells and human colon carcinoma cells. This previously unrecognized toxin may contribute to fitness and virulence potential in different host environments and organisms.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Juan Zhou, Xue-Jian Du, Ying Liu, Zeng-Qiang Gao, Zhi Geng, Yu-Hui Dong, Heng Zhang
Summary: ParE(SO)-CopA(SO) is a new type II toxin-antitoxin system that plays a crucial role in maintaining circular CP4So in Shewanella oneidensis. The CopA(SO) protein folds and binds to a positively charged and hydrophobic groove of ParE(SO) to neutralize its toxicity. ParE(SO) acts as a de-repressor of the TA operon transcription at a 1:1 toxin:antitoxin level.
Article
Physics, Applied
D. Morikawa, K. Tsuda
Summary: The local crystal symmetry and crystal structure at CaTiO3 twin boundaries were investigated using convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED). Unique mirror symmetry and two types of crystal structures were observed at the boundaries, with quantitative analysis showing atomic shifts and a smaller distortion of oxygen octahedra compared to the bulk form. The refined crystal structure confirmed the presence of a polar structure only at CaTiO3 twin boundaries.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lei Hu, Yubo Luo, Yue-Wen Fang, Feiyu Qin, Xun Cao, Hongyao Xie, Jiawei Liu, Jinfeng Dong, Andrea Sanson, Marco Giarola, Xianyi Tan, Yun Zheng, Ady Suwardi, Yizhong Huang, Kedar Hippalgaonkar, Jiaqing He, Wenqing Zhang, Jianwei Xu, Qingyu Yan, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis
Summary: The study achieved high ZT values by triple doping Cu2SnSe3, which enhances carrier channels and suppresses thermal conductivity. Different dopant elements have different effects on crystal structure and thermoelectric properties.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Martin Lutz
Summary: We provide critical comments on Ivanova & Spiteller's (2022) depiction of the crystal structure of an enantiopure chiral zinc complex, as they erroneously assigned it to a centrosymmetric space group with the metal on an inversion center. The subsequent discussions on thermal motion, octahedral distortion, and charge density in their article are highly flawed.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Luis Felipe Santos Menezes, Mariza Mendanha Maranha, Diogo Vieira Tibery, Adolfo Carlos Barros de Souza, Daniel Oliveira da Mata, Leandro Ambrosio Campos, Amanda Araujo Souza, Sonia Maria de Freitas, Elisabeth Ferroni Schwartz
Summary: Ts17, purified from the venom of Tityus serrulatus, showed beta-toxin activity by altering the kinetics of Nav1.1-Nav1.7 channels. Nav1.2 and Nav1.5 were the most affected subtypes. Circular dichroism spectra revealed a predominance of beta-sheet and unordered structures in Ts17 at all pHs, with the highest alpha-helix content observed at pH 4.0 (13.3%).
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Takeshi Hayashida, Kenta Kimura, Daisuke Urushihara, Toru Asaka, Tsuyoshi Kimura
Summary: In this study, the researchers proposed a combination of antipolar and antiferroaxial orderings of structural units to achieve a pure ferrochiral transition, which was substantiated through experimental evidence. Visualization of the evolution of chiral domains across the transition temperature was successfully achieved, demonstrating the relationship between chirality and optical rotation.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Izabela Sosnowska, Radoslaw Przenioslo, Piotr Fabrykiewicz
Summary: The structural and magnetic properties of the room-temperature multiferroic bulk alpha-BiFeO(3) can be described using the magnetic superspace group formalism. The need to replace trigonal symmetry with monoclinic symmetry is shown by the disagreement in describing the antiferromagnetic cycloid with trigonal magnetic superspace groups derived from R3c. The proposed monoclinic superspace groups can accurately describe various observed phenomena and behaviors in bulk alpha-BiFeO3.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Leiming Chen, Hangqi Liu, Chunrui Zheng, Yanhong Chen, Zhihui Zhao, Fanghuang Wei, Zhengniu Pan, Xu Yang, Boyu Chen, Canli Dai, Zhang Yan, Yanfeng Guo
Summary: In this study, we investigate the effects of high pressures on the chiral structure of CoSi and reveal the robustness of the multifold chiral fermion in this material. The results show that the chiral structure of CoSi is unaffected by external pressures up to ~ 39 GPa, preserving the threefold degenerate spin-1 chiral fermion and the fourfold degenerate charge-2 Dirac node.
MATERIALS TODAY COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Govindaraj Lingannan, Anupam K. Singh, Boby Joseph, Sanjay Singh, Sonachalam Arumugam
Summary: A systematic synchrotron high-pressure X-ray powder diffraction study of Mn3Sn up to 9 GPa reveals that the crystal symmetry remains in the hexagonal P6(3)/mmc space group with a continuous reduction of lattice parameters. Analysis suggests that the magnetic ground state of the Mn3Sn system may change above 4 GPa due to variations in local atomic interactions.
PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI-RAPID RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mieke Nys, Eleftherios Zarkadas, Marijke Brams, Aujan Mehregan, Kumiko Kambara, Jeroen Kool, Nicholas R. Casewell, Daniel Bertrand, John E. Baenziger, Hugues Nury, Chris Ulens
Summary: This study reveals the structure of the complex formed between muscle-type Torpedo receptor and a recombinant short-chain alpha-neurotoxin, providing insights into the interaction and specific inhibition mechanism of the toxin on the receptor. The findings explain the stronger binding of the toxin to muscle-type receptors compared to neuronal receptors.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Crystallography
Sergey V. Krivovichev, Guenther Engel
Summary: The crystal structure of Pb-10(PO4)(6)O has been reinvestigated, revealing its superstructure induced by the ordering of split sites of additional O atoms, resulting in the doubling of the c parameter. The previously reported structure data may correspond to a member of the solid solution series or the high-temperature polymorph.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yuqing Sun, Hongxiang Wang, Jie Yao, Fahad Mehmood, Chang Tan, Long Wang, Jinze Zhai, Hongchao Wang, Chunlei Wang
Summary: Entropy engineering is used to optimize the electrical-thermal properties of Cu2MnSnSe4 alloys. Various compositions are designed and analyzed using first principles calculations and thermodynamic analysis, leading to the development of Cu2.1Mn0.8Fe0.1SnSe4 sample with excellent electrical and thermal performance.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)