• Title/Summary/Keyword: molecular processes

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Cyanobacterial Taxonomy: Current Problems and Prospects for the Integration of Traditional and Molecular Approaches

  • Komarek, Jiri
    • ALGAE
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    • v.21 no.4
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    • pp.349-375
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    • 2006
  • The application of modern ecological, ultrastructural and molecular methods, aided by the cultivation of numerous cyanobacterial morphotypes, has substantially changed our knowledge of these organisms. It has led to major advances in cyanobacterial taxonomy and criteria for their phylogenetic classification. Molecular data provide basic criteria for cyanobacterial taxonomy; however, a correct phylogenetic system cannot be constructed without combining genetic data with knowledge from the previous 150 years research of cyanobacterial diversity. Thus, studies of morphological variation in nature, and modern morphological, ultrastructural, ecophysiological and biochemical characters need to be combined in a “polyphasic” approach. Taxonomic concepts for generic and infrageneric ranks are re-evaluated in light of combined phenotypic and molecular criteria. Despite their usefulness in experimental studies, the limitations of using strains from culture collections for systematic and nomenclatural purposes is highlighted. The need for a continual revision of strain identification and proper nomenclatural practice associated with either the bacteriological or botanical codes is emphasized. Recent advances in taxonomy are highlighted in the context of prospects for understanding cyanobacterial diversity from natural habitats, and the evolutionary and adaptational processes that cyanobacteria undergo.

Two-dimensional Supramolecular Ordering via Hydrogen and Halogen Bondings

  • Yoon, Jong-Keon;Kim, Ho-Won;Jeon, Jeong-Heum;Kahng, Se-Jong
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 2010.02a
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    • pp.11-11
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    • 2010
  • Supramolecualr ordering has been actively studied due to it's possible applications to the fabrication processes of nano-electronic devices. Van der Waals interaction and hydrogen bonding are frequently studied mechanisms for various molecular structures based on non-uniform charge distributions. Halogen atoms in molecules can have electrostatic interactions with similar strength. Big halogen atoms have strong non-uniform charge distributions. To study molecular orderings formed by hydrogen and halogen interactions, we chose a molecular system containing oxygen, hydrogen, and bromine atoms, a bromo-quinone. A two-dimensional molecular network was studied on Au(111) using a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. Bromo-quinonemolecules form self-assembled square grids having windmill structures. Their molecular orderings, chiral structures, and defects are explained in terms of hydrogen and halogen interactions.

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Two-dimensional Supramolecular Structures by Hydrogen and Halogen Interactions

  • Yoon, Jong-Keon;Kim, Ho-Won;Chung, Kyung-Hoon;Kahng, Se-Jong
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 2010.02a
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    • pp.354-354
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    • 2010
  • Supramolecualr ordering has been actively studied due to it's possible applications to the fabrication processes of nano-electronic devices. Van der Waals interaction and hydrogen bonding are frequently studied mechanisms for various molecular structures based on non-uniform charge distributions. Halogen atoms in molecules can have electrostatic interactions with similar strength. Big halogen atoms have strong non-uniform charge distributions. To study molecular orderings formed by hydrogen and halogen interactions, we chose a molecular system containing oxygen, hydrogen, and bromine atoms, a bromo-quinone. A two-dimensional molecular network was studied on Au(111) using a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. Bromo-quinone molecules form self-assembled square grids having windmill structures. Their molecular orderings, chiral structures, and defects are explained in terms of hydrogen and halogen interactions.

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Recent Developments in Radiationless Transitions

  • Hayashi, M.;Liang, K.K.;Chang, C.H.;Mebel, A.;Lin, S.H.
    • Journal of Photoscience
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    • v.6 no.3
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    • pp.97-102
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    • 1999
  • In this paper, the historicla development of radiationless transitions will be briefly reviewed. The paper will then focus on the ab inition calculations of internal conversion rate constants with emphasis on the case of small polyatomic molecules where the Duschinsky effect is important . As an example, we have chosen the new expressions for singlevibronic level rate constants of radiationless transitions. This type of rate constants is important in femto-second processes.

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Atomic Scale Modeling of Chemical Mechanical Polishing Process (Chemical Mechanical Polishing 공정에 관한 원자단위 반응 모델링)

  • Byun, Ki-Ryang;Kang, Jeong-Won;Song, Ki-Oh;Hwang, Ho-Jung
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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    • v.18 no.5
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    • pp.414-422
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    • 2005
  • This paper shows the results of atomistic modeling for the Interaction between spherical nano abrasive and substrate In chemical mechanical polishing processes. Atomistic modeling was achieved from 2-dimensional molecular dynamics simulations using the Lennard-jones 12-6 potentials. We proposed and investigated three mechanical models: (1) Constant Force Model; (2) Constant Depth Model, (3) Variable Force Model, and three chemical models, such as (1) Chemically Reactive Surface Model, (2) Chemically Passivating Surface Model, and (3) Chemically Passivating-reactive Surface Model. From the results obtained from classical molecular dynamics simulations for these models, we concluded that atomistic chemical mechanical polishing model based on both Variable Force Model and Chemically Passivating-reactive Surface Model were the most suitable for realistic simulation of chemical mechanical polishing in the atomic scale. The proposed model can be extended to investigate the 3-dimensional chemical mechanical polishing processes in the atomic scale.

Excitation Energy Migration in Multiporphyrin Arrays

  • Hwang, In-Wook;Aratani, Naoki;Osuka, Atsuhiro;Kim, Dong-Ho
    • Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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    • v.26 no.1
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    • pp.19-31
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    • 2005
  • During the last decade, the exploration of nanoscale device and circuitry based on molecules has gained increasing interest. In parallel with this, considerable effort is being devoted to the development of molecular photonic/electronic materials based on various porphyrin arrays. This involves light as an input/output signal and excitation energy migration as a mechanism for signal transmission. Absorption of a photon at the light collector end of the porphyrin array yields the excited state, which migrates among the intervening pigments until reaching the emitter, whereupon another photon is emitted. As a consequence, it is relevant to understand the excitation energy transfer (EET) processes occurring in various forms of porphyrin arrays for the applications as artificial light harvesting arrays and molecular photonic/electronic wires. Since the excitonic (dipole) and electronic (conjugation) couplings between the adjacent porphyrin moieties in porphyrin arrays govern the EET processes, we have characterized the EET rates of various forms of multiporphyrin arrays (linear, cyclic, and box) based on various time-resolved spectroscopic measurements. We believe that our observations provide a platform for further development of molecular photonic/electronic materials based on porphyrin arrays.

Diffusion-based determination of protein homodimerization on reconstituted membrane surfaces

  • Jepson, Tyler A.;Chung, Jean K.
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.54 no.3
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    • pp.157-163
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    • 2021
  • The transient interactions between cellular components, particularly on membrane surfaces, are critical in the proper function of many biochemical reactions. For example, many signaling pathways involve dimerization, oligomerization, or other types of clustering of signaling proteins as a key step in the signaling cascade. However, it is often experimentally challenging to directly observe and characterize the molecular mechanisms such interactions-the greatest difficulty lies in the fact that living cells have an unknown number of background processes that may or may not participate in the molecular process of interest, and as a consequence, it is usually impossible to definitively correlate an observation to a well-defined cellular mechanism. One of the experimental methods that can quantitatively capture these interactions is through membrane reconstitution, whereby a lipid bilayer is fabricated to mimic the membrane environment, and the biological components of interest are systematically introduced, without unknown background processes. This configuration allows the extensive use of fluorescence techniques, particularly fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy and single-molecule fluorescence microscopy. In this review, we describe how the equilibrium diffusion of two proteins, K-Ras4B and the PH domain of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk), on fluid lipid membranes can be used to determine the kinetics of homodimerization reactions.

Cryptic variation, molecular data, and the challenge of conserving plant diversity in oceanic archipelagos: the critical role of plant systematics

  • Crawford, Daniel J.;Stuessy, Tod F.
    • Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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    • v.46 no.2
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    • pp.129-148
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    • 2016
  • Plant species on oceanic islands comprise nearly 25% of described vascular plants on only 5% of the Earth's land surface yet are among the most rare and endangered plants. Conservation of plant biodiversity on islands poses particular challenges because many species occur in a few and/or small populations, and their habitats on islands are often disturbed by the activity of humans or by natural processes such as landslides and volcanoes. In addition to described species, evidence is accumulating that there are likely significant numbers of "cryptic" species in oceanic archipelagos. Plant systematists, in collaboration with others in the botanical disciplines, are critical to the discovery of the subtle diversity in oceanic island floras. Molecular data will play an ever increasing role in revealing variation in island lineages. However, the input from plant systematists and other organismal biologists will continue to be important in calling attention to morphological and ecological variation in natural populations and in the discovery of "new" populations that can inform sampling for molecular analyses. Conversely, organismal biologists can provide basic information necessary for understanding the biology of the molecular variants, including diagnostic morphological characters, reproductive biology, habitat, etc. Such basic information is important when describing new species and arguing for their protection. Hybridization presents one of the most challenging problems in the conservation of insular plant diversity, with the process having the potential to decrease diversity in several ways including the merging of species into hybrid swarms or conversely hybridization may generate stable novel recombinants that merit recognition as new species. These processes are often operative in recent radiations in which intrinsic barriers to gene flow have not evolved. The knowledge and continued monitoring of plant populations in the dynamic landscapes on oceanic islands are critical to the preservation of their plant diversity.

Bioactive compounds and their future prospects

  • Kumar, Brajesh;Survay, Nazneen Shaik;Me, Jang;Ko, Eun-Young;Seok, Eom-Hee;Upadhyay, Chandrama Prakash;Awasthi, Satish Kumar;Park, Se-Won
    • Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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    • 2010.10a
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    • pp.12-12
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    • 2010
  • Nature applied flavanoids, glucosinolates and peptides for a great variety of functions. Flavanoids and glucosinolates are rich source of antioxidants, generally present in colored fruits and vegetables. Quercetin and its glucosides areone of the best examples of flavonol used in daily diet. Whereas peptides can act as antimicrobial, chemical messenger, neurotransmitter etc that regulating various life processes. Aspartame, a dipeptide is used as artificial sweetener and oxytocin for medical purposes, gained importance in everyday life. So, flavanoids, glucosinolates, peptides and their derivatives continue to hold the attention of synthetic chemists, agriculturists and biologists. Apart from a variety of naturally occurring bioactive metabolites, we are aiming to extract, separate and synthesize new analogs of promising natural drug candidates.

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New Perspectives on Plant Defense Responses through Modulation of Developmental Pathways

  • Chung, Kwi-Mi;Igari, Kadunari;Uchida, Naoyuk;Tasaka, Masao
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.107-112
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    • 2008
  • Invasion mechanisms of pathogens and counteracting defense mechanisms of plants are highly diverse and perpetually evolving. While most classical studies of plant defense have focused only on defense-specific factor-mediated responses, recent work is beginning to shed light on the involvement of non-stress signal components, especially growth and developmental processes. This shift in focus links plant resistance more closely with growth and development. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of how pathogens manipulate host developmental processes and, conversely, of how plants deploy their developmental processes for self-protection. We conclude by introducing our recent work on UNI, a novel R protein in Arabidopsis which mediates cross-talk between developmental processes and defense responses.