Bigg Boss 13 was one of the most popular and controversial seasons of the reality show. The show gave us popular jodis- Himanshi Khurana-Asim Riaz, Paras Chhabra-Mahira Sharma and Shehnaaz Gill-Siddharth Shukla. Also, Nach Baliye is yet another popular dance reality

With the COVID-19 virus causing a pandemic of an unprecedented level across the world, most countries including India have ordered a complete nationwide lockdown. This involves everyone staying at home, socially distancing themselves from everyone else. The central government of India

Novel Coronavirus is spreading rapidly across India. The country has so far reported 56,409 COVID-19 positive cases. Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the government announced a lockdown to curb the spread of the deadly disease. Amidst all, Simbu's fan has recently

Since the lockdown has been imposed, social distancing and work from home have become a daily ritual for all of us. And along with it, our fitness regimen has taken a backseat due to the erratic routine. But this doesn't apply

On December 2019, Wuhan Municipal Health Commission reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia which was later identified as the novel coronavirus. In May, the advent of COVID-19 is in the sixth month, which has caused 276, 690 deaths globally and

Archives, Room Use Only - TK5745.F55 1914

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D.K. Metcalf says the best advice he received as a rookie was to sit down last at team meetings. Metcalf shared his experience as a first-year wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks with 547 players in the NFL’s first rookie webinar after the draft last month. Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair also were panelists on the discussion moderated by Mo Kelly, a former Seahawks defensive back and the team’s current director of player engagement.

If Patriots fans want to separately watch the Patriots and Bill Belichick and the Buccaneers and Tom Brady (and Rob Gronkowski) this year, they can do so at least 14 times. As noted by Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, the two teams don't play at the same time until late in the 2020 season. It happens [more]

Thomas Aylott has come up with a clever script that allows you to easily create Mac apps from shell scripts. Here’s how it works.

By now, everyone knows how to detect and use localStorage. However, I’ve been using a seemingly unconventional (but slightly more efficient) technique to do so. Since I haven’t seen it documented anywhere else, here goes!

Possibilities in auxiliary technique combinations with small- and wide-angle X ray scattering are described, as well as more complicated sample environments used in X-ray and neutron scattering.

Six new 1-aroyl-4-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)piperazines have been prepared, using coupling reactions between benzoic acids and N-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)piperazine. There are no significant hydrogen bonds in the structure of 1-benzoyl-4-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)piperazine, C18H20N2O2, (I). The mol­ecules of 1-(2-fluoro­benzo­yl)-4-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)piperazine, C18H19FN2O2, (II), are linked by two C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds to form chains of rings, which are linked into sheets by an aromatic π–π stacking inter­action. 1-(2-Chloro­benzo­yl)-4-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)piperazine, C18H19ClN2O2, (III), 1-(2-bromo­benzo­yl)-4-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)piperazine, C18H19BrN2O2, (IV), and 1-(2-iodo­benzo­yl)-4-(4-meth­oxyphen­yl)piperazine, C18H19IN2O2, (V), are isomorphous, but in (III) the aroyl ring is disordered over two sets of atomic sites having occupancies of 0.942 (2) and 0.058 (2). In each of (III)–(V), a combination of two C—H⋯π(arene) hydrogen bonds links the mol­ecules into sheets. A single O—H⋯O hydrogen bond links the mol­ecules of 1-(2-hy­droxy­benzo­yl)-4-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)piperazine, C18H20N2O3, (VI), into simple chains. Comparisons are made with the structures of some related compounds.

The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs mefenamic acid (MFA) and tolfenamic acid (TFA) have a close resemblance in their molecular scaffold, whereby a methyl group in MFA is substituted by a chloro group in TFA. The present study demonstrates the isomorphous nature of these compounds in a series of their multicomponent solids. Furthermore, the unique nature of MFA and TFA has been demonstrated while excavating their alternate solid forms in that, by varying the drug (MFA or TFA) to coformer [4-di­methyl­amino­pyridine (DMAP)] stoichiometric ratio, both drugs have produced three different types of multicomponent crystals, viz. salt (1:1; API to coformer ratio), salt hydrate (1:1:1) and cocrystal salt (2:1). Interestingly, as anticipated from the close similarity of TFA and MFA structures, these multicomponent solids have shown an isomorphous relation. A thorough characterization and structural investigation of the new multicomponent forms of MFA and TFA revealed their similarity in terms of space group and structural packing with isomorphic nature among the pairs. Herein, the experimental results are generalized in a broader perspective for predictably identifying any possible new forms of comparable compounds by mapping their crystal structure landscapes. The utility of such an approach is evident from the identification of polymorph VI of TFA from hetero-seeding with isomorphous MFA form I from acetone–methanol (1:1) solution. That aside, a pseudopolymorph of TFA with di­methyl­formamide (DMF) was obtained, which also has some structural similarity to that of the solvate MFA:DMF. These new isostructural pairs are discussed in the context of solid form screening using structural landscape similarity.

Malaria is a devastating disease caused by a protozoan parasite. It affects over 300 million individuals and results in over 400 000 deaths annually, most of whom are young children under the age of five. Hexokinase, the first enzyme in glucose metabolism, plays an important role in the infection process and represents a promising target for therapeutic intervention. Here, cryo-EM structures of two conformational states of Plasmodium vivax hexokinase (PvHK) are reported at resolutions of ∼3 Å. It is shown that unlike other known hexokinase structures, PvHK displays a unique tetrameric organization (∼220 kDa) that can exist in either open or closed quaternary conformational states. Despite the resemblance of the active site of PvHK to its mammalian counterparts, this tetrameric organization is distinct from that of human hexokinases, providing a foundation for the structure-guided design of parasite-selective antimalarial drugs.

Although microscopes and image-analysis software for electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) have improved dramatically in recent years, specimen-preparation methods have lagged behind. Most strategies still rely on blotting microscope grids with paper to produce a thin film of solution suitable for vitrification. This approach loses more than 99.9% of the applied sample and requires several seconds, leading to problematic air–water interface interactions for macromolecules in the resulting thin film of solution and complicating time-resolved studies. Recently developed self-wicking EM grids allow the use of small volumes of sample, with nanowires on the grid bars removing excess solution to produce a thin film within tens of milliseconds from sample application to freezing. Here, a simple cryo-EM specimen-preparation device that uses components from an ultrasonic humidifier to transfer protein solution onto a self-wicking EM grid is presented. The device is controlled by a Raspberry Pi single-board computer and all components are either widely available or can be manufactured by online services, allowing the device to be constructed in laboratories that specialize in cryo-EM rather than instrument design. The simple open-source design permits the straightforward customization of the instrument for specialized experiments.

The conventional approach to search-model identification in molecular replacement (MR) is to screen a database of known structures using the target sequence. However, this strategy is not always effective, for example when the relationship between sequence and structural similarity fails or when the crystal contents are not those expected. An alternative approach is to identify suitable search models directly from the experimental data. SIMBAD is a sequence-independent MR pipeline that uses either a crystal lattice search or MR functions to directly locate suitable search models from databases. The previous version of SIMBAD used the fast AMoRe rotation-function search. Here, a new version of SIMBAD which makes use of Phaser and its likelihood scoring to improve the sensitivity of the pipeline is presented. It is shown that the additional compute time potentially required by the more sophisticated scoring is counterbalanced by the greater sensitivity, allowing more cases to trigger early-termination criteria, rather than running to completion. Using Phaser solved 17 out of 25 test cases in comparison to the ten solved with AMoRe, and it is shown that use of ensemble search models produces additional performance benefits.

The performance of automated protein model building usually decreases with resolution, mainly owing to the lower information content of the experimental data. This calls for a more elaborate use of the available structural information about macromolecules. Here, a new method is presented that uses structural homologues to improve the quality of protein models automatically constructed using ARP/wARP. The method uses local structural similarity between deposited models and the model being built, and results in longer main-chain fragments that in turn can be more reliably docked to the protein sequence. The application of the homology-based model extension method to the example of a CFA synthase at 2.7 Å resolution resulted in a more complete model with almost all of the residues correctly built and docked to the sequence. The method was also evaluated on 1493 molecular-replacement solutions at a resolution of 4.0 Å and better that were submitted to the ARP/wARP web service for model building. A significant improvement in the completeness and sequence coverage of the built models has been observed.

This study relates to the INFN project SYRMA-3D for in vivo phase-contrast breast computed tomography using the SYRMEP synchrotron radiation beamline at the ELETTRA facility in Trieste, Italy. This peculiar imaging technique uses a novel dosimetric approach with respect to the standard clinical procedure. In this study, optimization of the acquisition procedure was evaluated in terms of dose delivered to the breast. An offline dose monitoring method was also investigated using radiochromic film dosimetry. Various irradiation geometries have been investigated for scanning the prone patient's pendant breast, simulated by a 14 cm-diameter polymethylmethacrylate cylindrical phantom containing pieces of calibrated radiochromic film type XR-QA2. Films were inserted mid-plane in the phantom, as well as wrapped around its external surface, and irradiated at 38 keV, with an air kerma value that would produce an estimated mean glandular dose of 5 mGy for a 14 cm-diameter 50% glandular breast. Axial scans were performed over a full rotation or over 180°. The results point out that a scheme adopting a stepped rotation irradiation represents the best geometry to optimize the dose distribution to the breast. The feasibility of using a piece of calibrated radiochromic film wrapped around a suitable holder around the breast to monitor the scan dose offline is demonstrated.

Strain tensor measurements are important for understanding elastic and plastic deformation, but full bulk strain tensor measurement techniques are still lacking, in particular for dynamic loading. Here, such a methodology is reported, combining imaging-based strain field mapping and simultaneous X-ray diffraction for four typical loading modes: one-dimensional strain/stress compression/tension. Strain field mapping resolves two in-plane principal strains, and X-ray diffraction analysis yields volumetric strain, and thus the out-of-plane principal strain. This methodology is validated against direct molecular dynamics simulations on nanocrystalline tantalum. This methodology can be implemented with simultaneous X-ray diffraction and digital image correlation in synchrotron radiation or free-electron laser experiments.

BornAgain is a free and open-source multi-platform software framework for simulating and fitting X-ray and neutron reflectometry, off-specular scattering, and grazing-incidence small-angle scattering (GISAS). This paper concentrates on GISAS. Support for reflectometry and off-specular scattering has been added more recently, is still under intense development and will be described in a later publication. BornAgain supports neutron polarization and magnetic scattering. Users can define sample and instrument models through Python scripting. A large subset of the functionality is also available through a graphical user interface. This paper describes the software in terms of the realized non-functional and functional requirements. The web site https://www.bornagainproject.org/ provides further documentation.

This article presents IMSIM, an application to simulate two-dimensional small-angle X-ray scattering patterns and, further, one-dimensional profiles from biological macromolecules in solution. IMSIM implements a statistical approach yielding two-dimensional images in TIFF, CBF or EDF format, which may be readily processed by existing data-analysis pipelines. Intensities and error estimates of one-dimensional patterns obtained from the radial average of the two-dimensional images exhibit the same statistical properties as observed with actual experimental data. With initial input on an absolute scale, [cm−1]/c[mg ml−1], the simulated data frames may also be scaled to absolute scale such that the forward scattering after subtraction of the background is proportional to the molecular weight of the solute. The effects of changes of concentration, exposure time, flux, wavelength, sample–detector distance, detector dimensions, pixel size, and the mask as well as incident beam position can be considered for the simulation. The simulated data may be used in method development, for educational purposes, and also to determine the most suitable beamline setup for a project prior to the application and use of the actual beamtime. IMSIM is available as part of the ATSAS software package (3.0.0) and is freely available for academic use (http://www.embl-hamburg.de/biosaxs/download.html).

A method of simulating the neutron scattering by a textured polycrystal is presented. It is based on an expansion of the scattering cross sections in terms of the spherical harmonics of the incident and scattering directions, which is derived from the generalized Fourier expansion of the polycrystal orientation distribution function. The method has been implemented in a Monte Carlo code as a component of the McStas software package, and it has been validated by computing some pole figures of a Zircaloy-4 plate and a Zr–2.5Nb pressure tube, and by simulating an ideal transmission experiment. The code can be used to estimate the background generated by components of neutron instruments such as pressure cells, whose walls are made of alloys with significant crystallographic texture. As a first application, the effect of texture on the signal-to-noise ratio was studied in a simple model of a diffraction experiment, in which a sample is placed inside a pressure cell made of a zirconium alloy. With this setting, the results of two simulations were compared: one in which the pressure-cell wall has a uniform distribution of grain orientations, and another in which the pressure cell has the texture of a Zr–2.5Nb pressure tube. The results showed that the effect of the texture of the pressure cell on the noise of a diffractogram is very important. Thus, the signal-to-noise ratio can be controlled by appropriate choice of the texture of the pressure-cell walls.

A portable small-angle X-ray scattering instrument with geometrical dimensions suitable for installation at the D22 instrument was designed and constructed for simultaneous small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering experiments at ILL.

Dynamical X-ray diffraction simulations of very asymmetric diffraction from single crystals of silicon were made to accompany an experimental rocking-curve topography study reported in a seperate paper. Effects on rocking curves were found and are reported. The development of Uragami [(1969), J. Phys. Soc. Jpn, 27, 147–154] for Takagi–Taupin simulations was followed and applied to the case of both convex and concave surface undulations.

In a new paper, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics astronomer Hagai Perets studies the role of binary planetesimals--clumps that orbit each other and jointly mature via three basic processes.

The post New study examines how planetesimals influence the development of a planetary system appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Looking at more than 200 skulls dating to 20th and 16th century Spain, as well as approximately 50 skulls from 20th century Portugal, the researchers found that craniofacial differences between contemporary men and women are less pronounced than they were in the 16th century.

The post Study finds facial structure of men and women has become more similar over time appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Spiral galaxies are some of the most beautiful and photogenic residents of the universe. Our own Milky Way is a spiral. Our solar system and […]

The post Powerful computer simulations show how spiral galaxies get their arms appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

What crunchy food did Americans spend $5.5 billion on last year—with sales that spiked before snow and ice storms? If you guessed birdseed then you […]

The post Simple tips to keep your backyard birds healthy this winter appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

It is a simple solution to a wildlife water shortage. During the annual dry season [November through April] in a protected forest in eastern Cambodia, […]

The post This simple trick helped fix a wildlife water shortage in Cambodia appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In 2012, under a scientist’s watchful eye, a comb jelly ate some fish, digested it, and excreted the waste out its back end. In doing […]

The post By simply pooping, comb jellies expel long-held scientific misconception appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New species don’t just spring out of thin air. Speciation, the evolutionary process by which new and distinct species arise, usually takes millions of years. […]

The post Simultaneous hermaphrodites: Understanding Speciation in fish called “hamlets” appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Using new numerical simulations and observations, scientists may now be able to explain why the Sun’s magnetic field reverses every eleven years. This significant discovery […]

The post 3D simulations reveals why the Sun flips its magnetic field every 11 years appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The generalized Darwin–Hamilton equations [Wuttke (2014). Acta Cryst. A70, 429–440] describe multiple Bragg reflection from a thick, ideally imperfect crystal. These equations are simplified by making full use of energy conservation, and it is demonstrated that the conventional two-ray Darwin–Hamilton equations are obtained as a first-order approximation. Then an efficient numeric solution method is presented, based on a transfer matrix for discretized directional distribution functions and on spectral collocation in the depth coordinate. Example solutions illustrate the orientational spread of multiply reflected rays and the distortion of rocking curves, especially if the detector only covers a finite solid angle.

Recent analysis using DNA sequencing of ancient Roman pills found aboard a ship that sank in Italy’s Gulf of Baratti between 140 -120 B.C, has revealed that the medicines consist of material from simple garden plants, namely carrot, radish, parsley, celery, wild onion and cabbage.

The post DNA sequencing reveals simple vegetables in ancient Roman medicines appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

How more than 1,000 tree species may occur in a small area of forest in Amazonia or Borneo is an unsolved mystery. Their ability to […]

The post Trees employ similar strategies to outcompete their neighbors appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Profound ideas don’t need to be complicated. A simple cube made of aluminum tubing, a centerpiece of a new exhibit “Life in One Cubic Foot,” […]

The post From Rochester to Polynesia, a simple cube unveils Earth’s dazzling biological diversity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Millions, if not billions, of specimens reside in the world’s natural history collections, but most of these have not been carefully studied, or even looked […]

The post Using digitized Botany specimens, AI excels in simple curatorial tasks appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The development of antiviral strategies requires a clear understanding of the principles that control the protein arrangements in viral shells. Considered here are those capsids that violate the paradigmatic Caspar and Klug (CK) model, and it is shown that the important structural features of such anomalous shells from the Picobirnaviridae, Flaviviridae and Leviviridae families can be revealed by models in the form of spherical icosahedral packings of equivalent rhombic structural units (SUs). These SUs are composed of protein dimers forming the investigated capsids which, as shown here, are based on the rhombic triacontahedron (RT) geometry. How to modify the original CK approach in order to make it compatible with the considered rhombic tessellations of a sphere is also discussed. Analogies between capsids self-assembled from dimers and trimers are demonstrated. This analysis reveals the principles controlling the localization of receptor proteins (which recognize the host cell) on the capsid surface.

In a Model block, if the instance-specific value of a model argument has an anonymous structure type, an update diagram reports an error when there are multiple bus types that match that anonymous structure type.This bug exists in the following release(s):
R2020a

This bug has a workaround

Interested in Upgrading?