Polymorphism of Alpha-Synuclein Amyloid Fibrils Depends on Ionic Strength and Protein Concentration

Protein aggregate formation is linked with multiple amyloidoses, including Alzheimer‘s and Parkinson‘s diseases. Currently, the understanding of such fibrillar structure formation and propagation is still not sufficient, the outcome of which is a lack of potent, anti-amyloid drugs. The environmental conditions used during in vitro protein aggregation assays play an important role in determining both the aggregation kinetic parameters, as well as resulting fibril structure. In the case of alpha-synuclein, ionic strength has been shown as a crucial factor in its amyloid aggregation. In this work, we examine a large sample size of alpha-synuclein aggregation reactions under thirty different ionic strength and protein concentration combinations and determine the resulting fibril structural variations using their dye-binding properties, secondary structure and morphology. We show that both ionic strength and protein concentration determine the structural variability of alpha-synuclein amyloid fibrils and that sometimes even identical conditions can result in up to four distinct types of aggregates.     

Feasibility of CHP-plants with thermal stores in the German spot market

The European Energy Exchange (EEX) day ahead spot market for electricity in Germany shows significant variations in prices between peak and off-peak hours. Being able to shift electricity production from off-peak hours to peak hours improves the profit from CHP-plant operation significantly. Installing a big thermal store at a CHP-plant makes it possible to shift production of electricity and heat to hours where electricity prices are highest especially on days with low heat demand. Consequently, these conditions will have to influence the design of new CHP-plants. In this paper, the optimal size of a CHP-plant with thermal store under German spot market conditions is analyzed. As an example the possibility to install small size CHP-plant instead of only boilers at a Stadtwerke delivering 30,000 MW h-heat for district heating per year is examined using the software energyPRO. It is shown that, given the economic and technical assumptions made, a CHP-plant of 4 MW-el with a thermal store participating in the spot market will be the most feasible plant to build. A sensitivity analysis shows to which extent the optimal solution will vary by changing the key economic assumptions.     

Kalviai湖滨别墅

该工程位于立陶宛Kalviai村Kalviai湖畔,其周边大部分地区湖面和混合林。Kalviai每年一月份的平均气温在0℃左右,七月份在18℃左右,相对温和的气候确保了充足的降雨量和降雪量,这些自然因素直接促成了该地区的传统建筑形式的形成——斜坡瓦屋顶、厚重的原木墙壁。但是随着新时代以及立陶宛独立之后新的社会形势的到来,出现了关于如何诠释并发展传统住宅的讨论。以往的实验作品或是西方现代风格的大胆复制,或是沿袭传统住宅模式而缺少创造性。但Kalviai湖滨别墅于2001年落成,立刻赢得建筑专业人士和国内外新闻媒体的广泛赞誉,获得立陶宛建…     

Computer networking: Academic development and education

This paper identifies the importance of academic networking in Lithuania and traces the development of educational resources together with the introduction of new curricula for a Computer Science modular degree programme at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania under support from the EC TEMPUS programme. During the three year programme, a purpose‐built computer network teaching laboratory was created to support new teaching modules which, through a modular structure, would enable students to develop a range of networking skills within existing undergraduate and postgraduate computing schemes. The project was primarily aimed at curricula development which would provide students with a basic level of knowledge sufficient to develop distributed applications software and to design and maintain data network infrastructures. A curriculum model was developed to embody both software development and technological development themes and out of this both teaching material and practical exercises have been devised. The paper reviews how this new curriculum has been integrated into the existing Computer Science scheme in Kaunas and considers the impact it has had within the institution and its importance as a pioneering initiative for Lithuania.     

Synthesis of new hole-transporting molecular glass with pendant carbazolyl moieties

The synthesis and properties of amorphous hole-transporting 4,4′-bis[11-carbazol-9-yl)-6,8,10-tri(carbazol-9-methyl)-3-hydroxy-5,7,9-trioxa-1-thia]thiobisbenzene with two end and six pendant carbazolyl moieties, separated from the main chain by CH₂ spacers, is reported. It was prepared by a multistep synthesis route from 1,6-di(carbazol-9-yl)-5-(carbazol-9-methyl)-4-oxa-2-hexanol glycidyl ether. Glass transition temperatures of intermediate and final products established by differential scanning calorimetry are reported. The hole drift mobility, measured by the time of flight technique, in this well defined molecular glass depends little on the strength of the electric field and exceeds 10⁻⁵ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. The ionization potentials measured by electron photoemission method, light absorption and fluorescence spectra are closed to those reported for the other organic photoconductors containing electronically isolated carbazole moieties.     

Synthesis and cross-linking of bifunctional monomers containing carbazole moieties

New bifunctional carbazolyl-containing monomers were synthesized and their cationic photo-initiated polymerization investigated. The monomers containing two reactive groups such as epoxy, oxetanyl and vinyloxyethyl, were prepared from commercially available 9-(2,3-epoxypropyl)carbazole. The kinetics of UV curing of the monomers was monitored by real-time FT-IR technique. The type of functionality was found to have a considerable influence on the photo-curing rate, but has not an evident effect on the final reactive group conversion. The cross-linked systems were found to have low glass transition temperatures ranging from 7 to 10 °C. Electron photoemission spectroscopy revealed ionization potentials of 5.75–5.8 eV for the thin cross-linked layers of the monomers.     

Mental health care in the USSR.

The author received a scientist exchange grant from the National Institutes of Health and visited the USSR as a health-science representative in 1976. He reports that mental health services in the USSR are provided primarily by the medical profession through state mental hospitals and psychiatric sections in general hospitals and clinics. Drug therapy is the main treatment method, but psychotherapy is beginning to make some inroads. Family therapy settings are the newest additions to preventive mental health care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Synthesis of the hole-transporting molecular glasses possessing pendant 3,6-dibromocarbazolyl moieties

Synthesis and properties of the well-defined 3,6-dibromocarbazolyl-containing molecular glasses are reported. They were prepared by the nucleophilic opening of the oxirane ring of 1,3-di(3,6-dibromocarbazol-9-yl)-2-propanol glycidyl ether with aniline, 4-fluoro-, 4-bromoanilines, 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole or glycidyl ether of 1,3-di(carbazol-9-yl)-2-propanol with 4,4′-thiobisbenzenethiol and 1,9-nonanedithiol followed by bromination. The obtained materials were examined by various techniques including differential scanning calorimetry, NMR, MS, UV, PL spectrometry. The electrophotographic parameters of the molecular glasses doped with difluoroboron-1,3-bis(4-metoxyphenyl)-1,3-propanedionate have been studied. The electrochemical properties and ionization potentials, measured by electron photoemission method in air, were investigated.