Alteration of the Route to Menaquinone towards Isochorismate-Derived Metabolites

Chorismate and isochorismate constitute branch-point intermediates in the biosynthesis of many aromatic metabolites in microorganisms and plants. To obtain unnatural compounds, we modified the route to menaquinone in Escherichia coli. We propose a model for the binding of isochorismate to the active site of MenD ((1R,2S, 5S,6S)-2-succinyl-5-enolpyruvyl-6-hydroxycyclohex-3-ene-1-carboxylate (SEPHCHC) synthase) that explains the outcome of the native reaction with α-ketoglutarate. We have rationally designed variants of MenD for the conversion of several isochorismate analogues. The double-variant Asn117Arg–Leu478Thr preferentially converts (5S,6S)-5,6-dihydroxycyclohexa-1,3-diene-1-carboxylate (2,3-trans-CHD), the hydrolysis product of isochorismate, with a >70-fold higher ratio than that for the wild type. The single-variant Arg107Ile uses (5S,6S)-6-amino-5-hydroxycyclohexa-1,3-diene-1-carboxylate (2,3-trans-CHA) as substrate with >6-fold conversion compared to wild-type MenD. The novel compounds have been made accessible in vivo (up to 5.3 g L⁻¹). Unexpectedly, as the identified residues such as Arg107 are highly conserved (>94 %), some of the designed variations can be found in wild-type SEPHCHC synthases from other bacteria (Arg107Lys, 0.3 %). This raises the question for the possible natural occurrence of as yet unexplored branches of the shikimate pathway.     

Semirigid inclusions in elastic bodies: Mechanical interplay and optimal control

The paper concerns an analysis of an equilibrium problem for 2D elastic body with two semirigid inclusions. It is assumed that inclusions have a joint point, and we investigate a junction problem for these inclusions. The existence of solutions is proved, and different equivalent formulations of the problem are proposed. We investigate a convergence to infinity of a rigidity parameter of the semirigid inclusion. It is proved that in the limit, we obtain an equilibrium problem for the elastic body with a rigid inclusion and a semirigid one. A parameter identification problem is investigated. In particular, the existence of a solution to a suitable optimal control problem is proved.     

On one boundary problem for nonlinear stationary controlled system

The object of study is nonlinear stationary controlled system of ordinary differential equations with constant disturbance in the right part. The problem of constructing the synthesising control function providing the transfer of this system from the initial state to the origin is considered. The sufficiently simple for numerical implementation algorithm of solution of the above-mentioned problem is obtained. It is shown that for local null controllability of the considered system, it is sufficient that the conditions of the Kalman's type were satisfied. In addition, the estimates restricting the choice of initial conditions and external disturbances under which the transfer is guaranteed are obtained. The main idea of the method of construction of the desired control function consists in reducing the original problem to stabilisation of a special kind linear non-stationary system and solving the Cauchy problem for an auxiliary system of ordinary differential equations closed by stabilising control. The simplicity of the realisation of this algorithm is determined by the construction of the auxiliary system and its stabilisation that could be obtained by analytical methods. The effectiveness of the method is illustrated by solving the problem of crane control and its numerical simulation.     

Optimization of Pathogen Capture in Flowing Fluids with Magnetic Nanoparticles

Magnetic nanoparticles have been employed to capture pathogens for many biological applications; however, optimal particle sizes have been determined empirically in specific capturing protocols. Here, a theoretical model that simulates capture of bacteria is described and used to calculate bacterial collision frequencies and magnetophoretic properties for a range of particle sizes. The model predicts that particles with a diameter of 460 nm should produce optimal separation of bacteria in buffer flowing at 1 L h⁻¹. Validating the predictive power of the model, Staphylococcus aureus is separated from buffer and blood flowing through magnetic capture devices using six different sizes of magnetic particles. Experimental magnetic separation in buffer conditions confirms that particles with a diameter closest to the predicted optimal particle size provide the most effective capture. Modeling the capturing process in plasma and blood by introducing empirical constants (c_e), which integrate the interfering effects of biological components on the binding kinetics of magnetic beads to bacteria, smaller beads with 50 nm diameters are predicted that exhibit maximum magnetic separation of bacteria from blood and experimentally validated this trend. The predictive power of the model suggests its utility for the future design of magnetic separation for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.     

Applying reticular synthesis to the design of Cu-based MOFs with mechanically interlocked linkers

The concept of“robust dynamics”describes the incorporation of mechanically interlocked molecules(MIMs)into metal-organic framework(MOF)materials such that large amplitude motions(e.g.,rotation or translation of a macrocycle)can occur inside the free volume pore of the MOF.To aid in the preparation of such materials,reticular synthesis was used herein to design rigid molecular building blocks with predetermined ordered structures starting from the well-known MOF NOTT-101.New linkers were synthesized that have a T-shape,based on a triphenylene tetra-carboxylate strut,and their incorporation into Cu(II)-based MOFs was investigated.The single-crystal structures of three new MOFs,UWCM-12(fof),β-UWCM-13(loz),UWCM-14(lil),with naked T-shaped linkers were determined;β-UWCM-13 is the first reported example of the loz topology.A fourth MOF,UWDM-14(lil)is analogous to UWCM-14(lil)but contains a[2]rotaxane linker.Variable-temperature,²H solid-state NMR was used to probe the dynamics of a 24-membered macrocycle threaded onto the MOF skeleton.     

Differences between oculomotor and perceptual artifacts for temporally limited head mounted displays

We used perceptual and oculomotor measures to understand the negative impacts of low (phantom array) and high (motion blur) duty cycles with a high‐speed, AR‐likehead‐mounted display prototype. We observed large intersubject variability for the detection of phantom array artifacts but a highly consistent and systematic effect on saccadic eye movement targeting during low duty cycle presentations. This adverse effect on saccade endpoints was also related to an increased error rate in a perceptual discrimination task, showing a direct effect of display duty cycle on the perceptual quality. For high duty cycles, the probability of detecting motion blur increased during head movements, and this effect was elevated at lower refresh rates. We did not find an impact of the temporal display characteristics on compensatory eye movements during head motion (e.g., VOR). Together, our results allow us to quantify the tradeoff of different negative spatiotemporal impacts of user movements and make subsequent recommendations for optimized temporal HMD parameters.     

On keys' meanings and modes: the impact of different key solutions on children's efficiency using a mobile phone

The present study investigates the impact of different key solutions of mobile phones on users' effectiveness and efficiency using the devices. In the first experiment, 36 children (9 - 14 years) and in the second experiment 45 young adults (19 - 33 years) completed four common phone tasks twice consecutively on three simulated phones that had identical menus, but different key solutions. An approach was undertaken to quantify the complexity of keys in three models, incorporating different factors contributing to the keys' complexity (number of key options, number of modes and number of modes with a semantically dissimilar meaning), in order to predict users' performance decrements. As a further main factor, the degree of the users' locus of control (LOC) was measured and interactions with performance outcomes were studied. As dependent measures, the number of inefficient keystrokes, the number of tasks solved and the processing time were determined. Results showed a significant effect of control key solutions on users' efficiency and effectiveness for both children and young adults. Moreover, children's LOC values significantly interacted with performance: children with low LOC values showed the lowest performance and no learnability, especially when using keys with a high complexity. From the three factors contributing to the complexity of keys, keys exerting different functions with semantically inconsistent meanings had the worst effect on performance. It is concluded that in mobile user interface design keys with semantically inconsistent meanings should be generally avoided.