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| 2. |
- Asami, Jinta, et al.
(författare)
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Structural basis of hepatitis B virus receptor binding
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. - 1545-9993 .- 1545-9985. ; 31, s. 447-454
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hepatitis B virus (HBV), a leading cause of developing hepatocellular carcinoma affecting more than 290 million people worldwide, is an enveloped DNA virus specifically infecting hepatocytes. Myristoylated preS1 domain of the HBV large surface protein binds to the host receptor sodium-taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP), a hepatocellular bile acid transporter, to initiate viral entry. Here, we report the cryogenic-electron microscopy structure of the myristoylated preS1 (residues 2–48) peptide bound to human NTCP. The unexpectedly folded N-terminal half of the peptide embeds deeply into the outward-facing tunnel of NTCP, whereas the C-terminal half formed extensive contacts on the extracellular surface. Our findings reveal an unprecedented induced-fit mechanism for establishing high-affinity virus–host attachment and provide a blueprint for the rational design of anti-HBV drugs targeting virus entry.
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| 3. |
- Cheon, Jae Yeong, et al.
(författare)
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Ordered mesoporous porphyrinic carbons with very high electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction
- 2013
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 3, s. 2715-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The high cost of the platinum-based cathode catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has impeded the widespread application of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. We report on a new family of non-precious metal catalysts based on ordered mesoporous porphyrinic carbons (M-OMPC; M = Fe, Co, or FeCo) with high surface areas and tunable pore structures, which were prepared by nanocasting mesoporous silica templates with metalloporphyrin precursors. The FeCo-OMPC catalyst exhibited an excellent ORR activity in an acidic medium, higher than other non-precious metal catalysts. It showed higher kinetic current at 0.9 V than Pt/C catalysts, as well as superior long-term durability and MeOH-tolerance. Density functional theory calculations in combination with extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis revealed a weakening of the interaction between oxygen atom and FeCo-OMPC compared to Pt/C. This effect and high surface area of FeCo-OMPC appear responsible for its significantly high ORR activity.
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| 4. |
- Fan, Yongzhen, et al.
(författare)
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OC-SMART : A machine learning based data analysis platform for satellite ocean color sensors
- 2021
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Ingår i: Remote Sensing of Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0034-4257 .- 1879-0704. ; 253
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We introduce a new platform, Ocean Color - Simultaneous Marine and Aerosol Retrieval Tool (OC-SMART), for analysis of data obtained by satellite ocean color sensors. OC-SMART is a multi-sensor data analysis platform which supports heritage, current, and possible future multi-spectral and hyper-spectral sensors from US, EU, Korea, Japan, and China, including SeaWiFS, Aqua/MODIS, SNPP/VIIRS, ISS/HICO, Landsat8/OLI, DSCOVR/EPIC, Sentinel-2/MSI, Sentinel-3/OLCI, COMS/GOCI, GCOM-C/SGLI and FengYun-3D/MERSI2. The products provided by OC-SMART include spectral normalized remote sensing reflectances (R-rs values), chlorophyll_a (CHL) concentrations, and spectral in-water inherent optical properties (IOPs) including absorption coefficients due to phytoplankton (a(ph)), absorption coefficients due to detritus and Gelbstoff (a(dg)) and backscattering coefficients due to particulates (b(bp)). Spectral aerosol optical depths (AODs) and cloud mask results are also provided by OC-SMART. The goal of OC-SMART is to improve the quality of global ocean color products retrieved from satellite sensors, especially under complex environmental conditions, such as coastal/inland turbid water areas and heavy aerosol loadings. Therefore, the atmospheric correction (AC) and ocean IOP algorithms in OC-SMART are driven by extensive radiative transfer (RT) simulations in conjunction with powerful machine learning techniques. To simulate top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiances, we solve the radiative transfer equation pertinent for the coupled atmosphere-ocean system. For each sensor, we have created about 13 million RT simulations and comprehensive training datasets to support the development of the machine learning AC and in-water IOP algorithms. The results, as demonstrated in this paper, are very promising. Not only does OC-SMART improve the quality of the retrieved water products, it also resolves the negative water-leaving radiance problem that has plagued heritage AC algorithms. The comprehensive training datasets created using multiple atmosphere, aerosol, and ocean IOP models ensure global and generic applicability of OC-SMART. The use of machine learning algorithms makes OC-SMART roughly 10 times faster than NASA's SeaDAS platform. OC-SMART also includes an advanced cloud screening algorithm and is resilient to the contamination by weak to moderate sunglint and cloud edges. It is therefore capable of recovering large amounts of data that are discarded by other algorithms (such as those implemented in NASA's SeaDAS package), especially in coastal areas. OC-SMART is currently available as a standalone Python package or as a plugin that can be installed in ESA's Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP).
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| 5. |
- Hirao, Yuki, et al.
(författare)
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OGLE-2017-BLG-0406 : Spitzer Microlens Parallax Reveals Saturn-mass Planet Orbiting M-dwarf Host in the Inner Galactic Disk
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-6256 .- 1538-3881. ; 160:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the discovery and analysis of the planetary microlensing event OGLE-2017-BLG-0406, which was observed both from the ground and by the Spitzer satellite in a solar orbit. At high magnification, the anomaly in the light curve was densely observed by ground-based-survey and follow-up groups, and it was found to be explained by a planetary lens with a planet/host mass ratio of q = 7.0 x 10(-4) from the light-curve modeling. The ground-only and Spitzer-only data each provide very strong one-dimensional (1D) constraints on the 2D microlens parallax vector pi(E). When combined, these yield a precise measurement of pi(E) and of the masses of the host M-host = 0.56 +/- 0.07 M-circle dot and planet M-planet = 0.41 +/- 0.05 M-Jup. The system lies at a distance D-L = 5.2 +/- 0.5 kpc from the Sun toward the Galactic bulge, and the host is more likely to be a disk population star according to the kinematics of the lens. The projected separation of the planet from the host is a(perpendicular to) = 3.5 +/- 0.3 au (i.e., just over twice the snow line). The Galactic-disk kinematics are established in part from a precise measurement of the source proper motion based on OGLE-IV data. By contrast, the Gaia proper-motion measurement of the source suffers from a catastrophic 10 sigma error.
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| 6. |
- Jang, Sehyun, et al.
(författare)
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Large seasonal and interannual variations of biogenic sulfur compounds in the Arctic atmosphere (Svalbard; 78.9° N, 11.9° E)
- 2021
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 21:12, s. 9761-9777
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Seasonal to interannual variations in the concentrations of sulfur aerosols (< 2.5 µm in diameter; non sea-salt sulfate: NSS-SO2−4; anthropogenic sulfate: Anth-SO2−4; biogenic sulfate: Bio-SO2−4; methanesulfonic acid: MSA) in the Arctic atmosphere were investigated using measurements of the chemical composition of aerosols collected at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (78.9∘ N, 11.9∘ E) from 2015 to 2019. In all measurement years the concentration of NSS-SO2−4 was highest during the pre-bloom period and rapidly decreased towards summer. During the pre-bloom period we found a strong correlation between NSS-SO2−4 (sum of Anth-SO2−4 and Bio-SO2−4) and Anth-SO2−4. This was because more than 50 % of the NSS-SO2−4 measured during this period was Anth-SO2−4, which originated in northern Europe and was subsequently transported to the Arctic in Arctic haze. Unexpected increases in the concentration of Bio-SO2−4 aerosols (an oxidation product of dimethylsulfide: DMS) were occasionally found during the pre-bloom period. These probably originated in regions to the south (the North Atlantic Ocean and the Norwegian Sea) rather than in ocean areas in the proximity of Ny-Ålesund. Another oxidation product of DMS is MSA, and the ratio of MSA to Bio-SO2−4 is extensively used to estimate the total amount of DMS-derived aerosol particles in remote marine environments. The concentration of MSA during the pre-bloom period remained low, primarily because of the greater loss of MSA relative to Bio-SO2−4 and the suppression of condensation of gaseous MSA onto particles already present in air masses being transported northwards from distant ocean source regions (existing particles). In addition, the low light intensity during the pre-bloom period resulted in a low concentration of photochemically activated oxidant species including OH radicals and BrO; these conditions favored the oxidation pathway of DMS to Bio-SO2−4 rather than to MSA, which acted to lower the MSA concentration at Ny-Ålesund. The concentration of MSA peaked in May or June and was positively correlated with phytoplankton biomass in the Greenland and Barents seas around Svalbard. As a result, the mean ratio of MSA to the DMS-derived aerosols was low (0.09 ± 0.07) in the pre-bloom period but high (0.32 ± 0.15) in the bloom and post-bloom periods. There was large interannual variability in the ratio of MSA to Bio-SO2−4 (i.e., 0.24 ± 0.11 in 2017, 0.40 ± 0.14 in 2018, and 0.36 ± 0.14 in 2019) during the bloom and post-bloom periods. This was probably associated with changes in the chemical properties of existing particles, biological activities surrounding the observation site, and air mass transport patterns. Our results indicate that MSA is not a conservative tracer for predicting DMS-derived particles, and the contribution of MSA to the growth of newly formed particles may be much larger during the bloom and post-bloom periods than during the pre-bloom period.
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| 7. |
- Kim, Kyung Hwan, et al.
(författare)
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Maxima in the thermodynamic response and correlation functions of deeply supercooled water
- 2017
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 358:6370, s. 1589-1593
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Femtosecond x-ray laser pulses were used to probe micrometer-sized water droplets that were cooled down to 227 kelvin in vacuum. Isothermal compressibility and correlation length were extracted from x-ray scattering at the low-momentum transfer region. The temperature dependence of these thermodynamic response and correlation functions shows maxima at 229 kelvin for water and 233 kelvin for heavy water. In addition, we observed that the liquids undergo the fastest growth of tetrahedral structures at similar temperatures. These observations point to the existence of a Widom line, defined as the locus of maximum correlation length emanating from a critical point at positive pressures in the deeply supercooled regime. The difference in the maximum value of the isothermal compressibility between the two isotopes shows the importance of nuclear quantum effects.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Lagerwall, Jan P. F., et al.
(författare)
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Cellulose nanocrystal-based materials : from liquid crystal self-assembly and glass formation to multifunctional thin films
- 2014
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Ingår i: NPG Asia materials. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1884-4049 .- 1884-4057. ; 6
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), produced by the acid hydrolysis of wood, cotton or other cellulose-rich sources, constitute a renewable nanosized raw material with a broad range of envisaged uses: for example, in composites, cosmetics and medical devices. The intriguing ability of CNCs to self-organize into a chiral nematic (cholesteric) liquid crystal phase with a helical arrangement has attracted significant interest, resulting in much research effort, as this arrangement gives dried CNC films a photonic band gap. The films thus acquire attractive optical properties, creating possibilities for use in applications such as security papers and mirrorless lasing. In this critical review, we discuss the sensitive balance between glass formation and liquid crystal self-assembly that governs the formation of the desired helical structure. We show that several as yet unclarified observations-some constituting severe obstacles for applications of CNCs-may result from competition between the two phenomena. Moreover, by comparison with the corresponding self-assembly processes of other rod-like nanoparticles, for example, carbon nanotubes and fd virus particles, we outline how further liquid crystal ordering phenomena may be expected from CNCs if the suspension parameters can be better controlled. Alternative interpretations of some unexpected phenomena are provided, and topics for future research are identified, as are new potential application strategies.
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| 10. |
- Park, Ji Hyun, et al.
(författare)
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Macroscopic Control of Helix Orientation in Films Dried from Cholesteric Liquid-Crystalline Cellulose Nanocrystal Suspensions
- 2014
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Ingår i: ChemPhysChem. - : Wiley. - 1439-4235 .- 1439-7641. ; 15:7, s. 1477-1484
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The intrinsic ability of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) to self-organize into films and bulk materials with helical order in a cholesteric liquid crystal is scientifically intriguing and potentially important for the production of renewable multifunctional materials with attractive optical properties. A major obstacle, however, has been the lack of control of helix direction, which results in a defect-rich, mosaic-like domain structure. Herein, a method for guiding the helix during film formation is introduced, which yields dramatically improved uniformity, as confirmed by using polarizing optical and scanning electron microscopy. By raising the CNC concentration in the initial suspension to the fully liquid crystalline range, a vertical helix orientation is promoted, as directed by the macroscopic phase boundaries. Further control of the helix orientation is achieved by subjecting the suspension to a circular shear flow during drying.
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