CSMIA gears up to welcome Indians stranded in foreign countries; four flights to land today

Want services to resume only after at least three major airports in the country become functional

While arrivals of vegetables remained resilient with a fewer number of trucks enter into evening also, the biggest surge was seen in fruit supply.

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Centre plans to raise the total borrowings to ₹12 lakh crore this fiscal

Coronavirus: the week explained - 10 April  The Guardian

Did the earth move for you? British Geological Survey has asked if Cumbrians felt an earth tremor last week  News & Star

Death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) was found to form a complex with purpurin and the crystal structure of the complex was determined. Purpurin may be a good lead compound for for the discovery of inhibitors of DAPK1.

The crystal and mol­ecular structures of the title 1:2 co-crystal, C14H14N4O2·2C7H6O2, are described. The oxalamide mol­ecule has a (+)-anti­periplanar conformation with the 4-pyridyl residues lying to either side of the central, almost planar C2N2O2 chromophore (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0555 Å). The benzoic acid mol­ecules have equivalent, close to planar conformations [C6/CO2 dihedral angle = 6.33 (14) and 3.43 (10)°]. The formation of hy­droxy-O—H⋯N(pyrid­yl) hydrogen bonds between the benzoic acid mol­ecules and the pyridyl residues of the di­amide leads to a three-mol­ecule aggregate. Centrosymmetrically related aggregates assemble into a six-mol­ecule aggregate via amide-N—H⋯O(amide) hydrogen bonds through a 10-membered {⋯HNC2O}2 synthon. These are linked into a supra­molecular tape via amide-N—H⋯O(carbon­yl) hydrogen bonds and 22-membered {⋯HOCO⋯NC4NH}2 synthons. The contacts between tapes to consolidate the three-dimensional architecture are of the type methyl­ene-C—H⋯O(amide) and pyridyl-C—H⋯O(carbon­yl). These inter­actions are largely electrostatic in nature. Additional non-covalent contacts are identified from an analysis of the calculated Hirshfeld surfaces.

The asymmetric unit of the title 1:2 co-crystal, C14H14N4O2·2C7H5ClO2, comprises two half mol­ecules of oxalamide (4LH2), as each is disposed about a centre of inversion, and two mol­ecules of 4-chloro­benzoic acid (CBA), each in general positions. Each 4LH2 mol­ecule has a (+)anti­periplanar conformation with the pyridin-4-yl residues lying to either side of the central, planar C2N2O2 chromophore with the dihedral angles between the respective central core and the pyridyl rings being 68.65 (3) and 86.25 (3)°, respectively, representing the major difference between the independent 4LH2 mol­ecules. The anti conformation of the carbonyl groups enables the formation of intra­molecular amide-N—H⋯O(amide) hydrogen bonds, each completing an S(5) loop. The two independent CBA mol­ecules are similar and exhibit C6/CO2 dihedral angles of 8.06 (10) and 17.24 (8)°, indicating twisted conformations. In the crystal, two independent, three-mol­ecule aggregates are formed via carb­oxy­lic acid-O—H⋯N(pyrid­yl) hydrogen bonding. These are connected into a supra­molecular tape propagating parallel to [100] through amide-N—H⋯O(amide) hydrogen bonding between the independent aggregates and ten-membered {⋯HNC2O}2 synthons. The tapes assemble into a three-dimensional architecture through pyridyl- and methyl­ene-C—H⋯O(carbon­yl) and CBA-C—H⋯O(amide) inter­actions. As revealed by a more detailed analysis of the mol­ecular packing by calculating the Hirshfeld surfaces and computational chemistry, are the presence of attractive and dispersive Cl⋯C=O inter­actions which provide inter­action energies approximately one-quarter of those provided by the amide-N—H⋯O(amide) hydrogen bonding sustaining the supra­molecular tape.

The structural dimension of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is of great importance in defining their properties and thus applications. In particular, 2D layered MOFs are of considerable interest because of their useful applications, which are facilitated by unique structural features of 2D materials, such as a large number of open active sites and high surface areas. Herein, this work demonstrates a methodology for the selective synthesis of a 2D layered MOF in the presence of the competitive formation of a 3D MOF. The ratio of the reactants, metal ions and organic building blocks used during the reaction is found to be critical for the selective formation of a 2D MOF, and is associated with its chemical composition. In addition, the well defined and uniform micro-sized 2D MOF particles are successfully synthesized in the presence of an ultrasonic dispersion. Moreover, the laminated 2D MOF layers are directly synthesized via a modified bottom-up lamination method, a combination of chemical and physical stimuli, in the presence of surfactant and ultrasonication.

The interoperability of chemical and biological crystallographic data is a key challenge to research and its application to pharmaceutical design. Research attempting to combine data from the two disciplines, small-molecule or chemical crystallography (CX) and macromolecular crystallography (MX), will face unique challenges including variations in terminology, software development, file format and databases which differ significantly from CX to MX. This perspective overview spans the two disciplines and originated from the investigation of protein binding to model radiopharmaceuticals. The opportunities of interlinked research while utilizing the two databases of the CSD (Cambridge Structural Database) and the PDB (Protein Data Bank) will be highlighted. The advantages of software that can handle multiple file formats and the circuitous route to convert organometallic small-molecule structural data for use in protein refinement software will be discussed. In addition some pointers to avoid being shipwrecked will be shared, such as the care which must be taken when interpreting data precision involving small molecules versus proteins.

Transforming growth factor β-1 (TGFβ-1) is a secreted signalling protein that directs many cellular processes and is an attractive target for the treatment of several diseases. The primary endogenous activity regulatory mechanism for TGFβ-1 is sequestration by its pro-peptide, latency-associated peptide (LAP), which sterically prohibits receptor binding by caging TGFβ-1. As such, recombinant LAP is promising as a protein-based therapeutic for modulating TGFβ-1 activity; however, the mechanism of binding is incompletely understood. Comparison of the crystal structure of unbound LAP (solved here to 3.5 Å resolution) with that of the bound complex shows that LAP is in a more open and extended conformation when unbound to TGFβ-1. Analysis suggests a mechanism of binding TGFβ-1 through a large-scale conformational change that includes contraction of the inter-monomer interface and caging by the `straight-jacket' domain that may occur in partnership through a loop-to-helix transition in the core jelly-roll fold. This conformational change does not appear to include a repositioning of the integrin-binding motif as previously proposed. X-ray scattering-based modelling supports this mechanism and reveals possible orientations and ensembles in solution. Although native LAP is heavily glycosylated, solution scattering experiments show that the overall folding and flexibility of unbound LAP are not influenced by glycan modification. The combination of crystallography, solution scattering and biochemical experiments reported here provide insight into the mechanism of LAP sequestration of TGFβ-1 that is of fundamental importance for therapeutic development.

The open-source Python program PDB2INS is designed to prepare a .ins file for refinement with SHELXL [Sheldrick (2015). Acta Cryst. C71, 3–8], taking atom coordinates and other information from a Protein Data Bank (PDB)-format file. If PDB2INS is provided with a four-character PDB code, both the PDB file and the accompanying mmCIF-format reflection data file (if available) are accessed via the internet from the PDB public archive [Read et al. (2011). Structure, 19, 1395–1412] or optionally from the PDB_REDO server [Joosten, Long, Murshudov & Perrakis (2014). IUCrJ, 1, 213–220]. The SHELX-format .ins (refinement instructions and atomic coordinates) and .hkl (reflection data) files can then be generated without further user intervention, appropriate restraints etc. being added automatically. PDB2INS was tested on the 23 974 X-ray structures deposited in the PDB between 2008 and 2018 that included reflection data to 1.7 Å or better resolution in a recognizable format. After creating the two input files for SHELXL without user intervention, ten cycles of conjugate-gradient least-squares refinement were performed. For 96% of these structures PDB2INS and SHELXL completed successfully without error messages.

Because researchers do not understand the formation mechanism of cocrystals, the preparation of cocrystals is mostly done by trial and error. This study focuses on the cocrystal formation mechanism to improve the efficiency of cocrystal preparation.

The sin2ψ and cosα methods are compared via diffracting-grain identification from electron backscatter diffraction maps. Artificial textures created by the X-ray diffraction measurements are plotted and X-ray elastic constants of the diffracting-grain sets are computed.

A roundup of recent articles featuring spiders, bats and rats....

The post A Halloween roundup featuring recent articles on spiders, bats and rats appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In recent research on Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Southern California, isotope readings of carbon and nitrogen found in the bones of Chumash Indians and domestic dogs excavated from archaeological sites show that both humans and dogs have nearly identical signatures of stable isotopes.

The post Ancient bond between humans and dogs revealed in isotopic signatures of their bones appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Imagine a gas giant planet spanning three times more sky than the Moon looming over the molten landscape of a lava world. This alien vista exists in the newly discovered two-planet system of Kepler-36.

The post Close encounters between planetary systems of Kepler-36 stun astrophysicists appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers are constantly on the hunt for ever-colder star-like bodies, and two years ago a new class of objects was discovered by researchers using NASA’s […]

The post Coldest brown dwarfs blur lines between stars and planets appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The majestic feathers of the greater bird of paradise (Paradisaea apoda) have inspired people for thousands of years. Like many birds on the isolated island […]

The post Feathers of seduction – the connection between birds and people of New Guinea appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New research by a team of archaeologists has revealed a curious connection between our traditional Thanksgiving dinner and the taste buds of prehistoric mammoths and […]

The post Study reveals ancient link between mammoth dung and pumpkin pie appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Food is scarce in the deep, dark regions of the ocean where barbeled dragonfishes and their relatives dwell. Known as the Stomiidae, some of these […]

The post Odd anatomy: flexible joint between skull and spine allow dragonfish to open wide appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) is a serine/threonine protein kinase that regulates apoptosis and autophagy. DAPK1 is considered to be a therapeutic target for amyloid-β deposition, endometrial adenocarcinomas and acute ischemic stroke. Here, the potent inhibitory activity of the natural anthraquinone purpurin against DAPK1 phosphorylation is shown. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that while the binding affinity of purpurin is similar to that of CPR005231, which is a DAPK1 inhibitor with an imidazopyridazine moiety, the binding of purpurin was more enthalpically favorable. In addition, the inhibition potencies were correlated with the enthalpic changes but not with the binding affinities. Crystallographic analysis of the DAPK1–purpurin complex revealed that the formation of a hydrogen-bond network is likely to contribute to the favorable enthalpic changes and that stabilization of the glycine-rich loop may cause less favorable entropic changes. The present findings indicate that purpurin may be a good lead compound for the discovery of inhibitors of DAPK1, and the observation of enthalpic changes could provide important clues for drug development.

Warner’s narrative covers the major natural sweeteners, including sugar, molasses from cane, beet sugar, corn syrup, honey and maple, as well as artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame and sucralose.

The post New Book: “Sweet Stuff: An American History of Sweeteners from Sugar to Sucralose” appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The humble salamander may provide evidence to support a controversial claim that North and South America were joined together much earlier than previously thought. The […]

The post Salamander DNA reveals evidence of older land connection between Central and South America appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists from the Smithsonian and the University of Rhode Island have found unsuspected linkages between the oxidation state of iron in volcanic rocks and variations […]

The post Scientists uncover relationship between lavas erupting on sea floor and deep-carbon cycle appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The gates at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo re-opened to the public Friday, October 18! The live animal cams that were turned off during the government […]

The post National Zoo’s giant panda cub @ 8 weeks old appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

As the world prepares to celebrate Global Tiger Day this Saturday, July 29, Great Cats keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo have some big news […]

The post 2-week-old Sumatran tiger cub at National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Police say TSA agent Gerardo Hernandez was shot and killed last Friday at the base of the escalators of LAX Terminal 3, and not at the checkpoint gates.  Paul Ciancia is accused of killing Hernandez and wounding several others.  Ciancia remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, how did the airlines respond to shooting and its aftermath?

Mark Lacter: Generally pretty well, Steve, considering that the airport was effectively closed for several hours on Friday, and most of Terminal 3 was out of commission until Saturday afternoon.  You know, there's always this precarious balance in operating airlines and airports, even in the best of circumstances.  Just so many flights coming in and going out, and so many thousands people using the facility at any given time - and it really doesn't take much to upset the balance.  So, when you have something horrific take place and you see all those travelers stranded outside the terminals, the ripple effects are enormous - not just at LAX but all over the country.

Julian: More than a thousand flights were either canceled or delayed on Friday.

Lacter: And, there was a further complication because the airlines flying out of Terminal 3 are not the legacy carriers like United, American, and Delta that have all kinds of resources, but smaller operations with less flexibility.  It's not like there's an empty aircraft just sitting in a hangar waiting to take passengers wherever they want to go.  Actually, the airlines have gotten better at arranging re-bookings when there's a snowstorm or some other emergency that gives them advance warning.  But obviously, there was no advance warning last Friday, so the carriers needed to improvise in handling passengers whose flights were cancelled.

Julian: What did they do?

Lacter: One step was waiving the fees normally charged to re-book flights (and that's gotten to be a pretty penny).  Another was waiving the difference in the price of the original ticket and the re-booked ticket.  But, the policies varied according to the airline, and we heard about travelers not receiving hotel or food vouchers, or having to buy a brand new ticket on another airline if they wanted to avoid the wait - and that can be expensive.  Which raises another issue: planes tend to be completely full these days because airlines have been cutting back on the number of flights.  And that can be a problem if you're taking a route that doesn't have too many flights in the first place.  So, it gets really complicated.

Julian: Why do you think we haven't we heard more horror stories from passengers?

Lacter: Well, look at the cities that the airlines in Terminal 3 fly to - New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas.  They're all served by several other carriers.  L.A. to New York, in particular, is one of the busiest routes in the world, which means that it's also one of the most competitive.  So, even if your flight was cancelled, there's a good chance you'd be able to find space by Saturday (which is normally a slower day for air travel).  This is a big reason, in general, why people like LAX.

Julian: Why don't other local airports handle more of the load?

Lacter: You might remember a few years ago local officials were promoting something called "regionalization" - the idea was that as LAX maxed out on the number of passengers it was allowed to handle each year, then other airports would make up the difference - places like Ontario, Bob Hope in Burbank, and John Wayne in Orange County.

Julian: Right, and they talked about easing traffic congestion by spreading around the flights.

Lacter: Well, regionalization never happened because, first of all, passenger levels at L.A. International didn't come close to maxing out.  But, more importantly, because the airlines decided that using LAX was more efficient for everything from handling baggage to arranging international connections.  So, through the first nine months of the year, passenger traffic at LAX is up 4.2 percent from a year earlier, while at Ontario traffic was down 9.3 percent.  And, we've seen that John Wayne, Bob Hope, and Long Beach are all struggling.  Of course, the challenge at a busy place like LAX is making it as safe as possible, and that will no doubt become a priority in the weeks ahead.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Scientific inspiration springs from many sources. In the case of Smithsonian botanist David Kenfack, ant bites were the inspiration for a recent paper he co-authored […]

The post Sweet life: tropical plants attract ants with sugary nectar appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For Smithsonian ornithologist Gary Graves it was a captivating spectacle. At an outdoor café in Kingston, Jamaica, Graves watched three mornings in a row as […]

The post Sweet survival: Some birds have a sugar edge appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Long ago, one great ocean flowed between North and South America. When the narrow Isthmus of Panama joined the continents about 3 million years ago, […]

The post Recent Connection Between North and South America Reaffirmed appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Jerry "The King" Lawler with Jim Ross.; Credit: WWE

Jim Ross is the most famous pro wrestling play-by play commentator of all time. He's a native Californian, but grew up in Oklahoma and took his trademark drawl into doing commentary. He's worked in wrestling for more than 40 years, calling matches on shows seen by millions of people around the world.

This weekend, he's in the Bay Area for Wrestlemania weekend (the first Wrestlemania in Northern California, and the first in California in 10 years). Ross no longer commentates for WWE, but he's still a storyteller, online and in person. He hosts regular live storytelling shows with stories from his decades-long career and a bit of comedy, along with a live guest, and he also has a huge online presence including a podcast that went to number one in sports its first week out.

Ross has been watching wrestling since he was a kid.

"My dad wasn't a big fan of it. He missed the point. The point is not whether it's real or if it's staged. The point is, are you entertained by it, or not? And I was," Ross said.

He's been at ringside for numerous historic matches, helping the wrestlers to tell their stories ever since he got his first job in wrestling out of college at 22.

"The greater the star, the easier it is to tell their story," Ross said. "Those participants make music. They make different kinds of music, and the announcers, the broadcasters, have to be able to provide the adequate lyric to the competitors' music."

Ross's voice is so powerful that it's become a meme online to pair his voice with another dramatic footage, from sports and beyond — you can even find it paired with dramatic moments from shows like "Breaking Bad" and "Game of Thrones." Ross says that the first time he saw someone do that was with a hit by Michigan running back Jadaveon Clowney, a video which went viral and sparked others to do likewise.

The JR Treatment

"I get sent these memes all the time. 'Hey JR, check this one out.' Or people will say, somebody will make a great dunk at an NBA game, and somebody will say 'I can't wait to see this get the JR treatment.' And now there are major sports websites that will send out a tweet, 'Here's a great play from Sunday's 49er-Charger game that's got the JR treatment.' So now it's got a name. 'The JR Treatment.'"

Those viral videos have even helped him land new commentating roles since leaving WWE. He did a call of a fight between NASCAR drivers for the Daytona 500 for a special pre-show video, and it's led to him having opportunities in traditional sports.

"It's been done in boxing, and MMA. Believe it or not, I've gotten feelers that we're entertaining now from a variety of combat sports entities that actually heard what my call would sound like doing their product," Ross said. "It had my tone, had my inflection, had my level of enthusiasm."

Ross also played a huge role behind the scenes, working as WWE's executive vice president of talent and signing future stars like the Rock, Mick Foley and more. He says that Mick Foley's match against the Undertaker in 1998's Hell in a Cell match was his most memorable to call.

"I have people walk up to me and start quoting my commentary when Undertaker threw Foley off the Hell in a Cell, this massive cage with a roof on it, that was about 17 feet high from the roof to the floor," Ross said. "It looked like no human being, quite honestly, could survive that fall. You don't practice falls like that in wrestling school."

Ross has managed to stay relevant with the help of a popular podcast and 1.3 million followers on Twitter, where he regularly dispenses his thoughts on wrestling and beyond. He started doing that podcast after being lobbied to do it by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and continues to try new things.

"I was very reluctant to engage in social media, and primarily because we sometimes get set in our ways, especially the older we get," Ross said. "But change, for any of us, in any walk of life, whether it's your diet, it's your relationships, the way you approach your job, or any changes that you need to affect, whether it's on doctor's orders, your significant other's suggestions — change is not always a negative thing. So I got on Twitter, and then Twitter connected me to so many people."

While some may feel that pro wrestling, given its predetermined results, doesn't need real athletes, Ross disagrees and says there are plenty of reasons to want real athletes.

"They're competitive. They don't want to be on the second team. They want to be in the game. And they've been in that mindset since some of them were in little league, or Pop Warner football, or elementary school wrestling, or whatever it may be."

He says they also understand how to be coached and how to play well with others, as well as handling the bumps and bruises that come with the territory and the difficult travel schedule.

"I don't know that anybody in any entity, unless you're the most well-traveled comedian or entertainer, has that. Because the thing about pro wrestling is it doesn't have an off-season, so you don't get a chance to really go recharge your batteries. You've got to maintain that competitive edge to survive."

Ross says there's one match he wishes he had another shot at calling: Ric Flair's retirement match against Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 24 in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl. While Ross has traditionally been a play-by-play commentator, that night he was assigned to be a color commentator, which gave him some different challenges.

"I thought I had great stories to tell because of my relationship with Ric — I've known him for 25 years — and I didn't think that I contributed as much to that match from an emotional standpoint as I could. I was obligated to get in soundbites and get in, get out," Ross said. "That's the biggest match at the biggest stage, and I love both those guys, and I really wanted to be extra special that night, and I just don't know in my heart that we got there."

He says California has its own wrestling legacy to be proud of. The California Wrestlemania match that Ross says he'll always remember: Bret Hart versus Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 12 in Anaheim, where two now wrestling legends wrestled for more than an hour.

He also thinks the economics of Wrestlemania make a lot of sense for whichever city hosts it, thanks to the travelers it draws in from around the world. Cities now bid to try to bring in Wrestlemania, Ross says. With Los Angeles gearing up to build a new stadium, Ross has a Wrestlemania prediction for that stadium.

"I will bet you money — I will bet you some of my barbecue sauce — if L.A. builds a stadium, that Wrestlemania will be one of the first non-football events in that stadium. And they will sell it out. They'll fill every seat. And it'll be great for the city, and the businesses of Los Angeles.

Ross says that what made him a great broadcaster is the same thing that can make someone a success in wrestling or anywhere else — most importantly, don't talk down to your audience.

"You have to be a fan of the genre, or a fan of the game, and you have to be willing to prepare and be ready for your broadcast," Ross said. "You have to be willing to tell the story that the average fan — not the hardcore fan, but the average, casual fan can understand and relate to. ... You know, we're storytellers, and some people are just natural-born storytellers."

Ross plans to continue telling stories for the foreseeable future, on stage, online, calling matches in the legit sports world and wherever else his life takes him. He's even gotten into acting — you can see him in the new film "What Now."

"I think retirement is overblown. How many days can you go fishing? How many rounds of golf can you play?" Ross said. "I had the idea when I left WWE after 21 years, I'm going to reinvent myself. I'm not going to become a trivia answer. ... I don't think you're going to read anywhere, anytime soon, that Jim Ross has finally retired — until you read my eulogy."

Listen to the audio for the full hour-long interview with Jim Ross, talking his career past, present and future — along with the origins of his signature barbecue sauce.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A limited body of evidence suggests an association between military service and later development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare but fatal neurodegenerative disorder, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

A new report from the Institute of Medicine finds suggestive but limited evidence that exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War is associated with an increased chance of developing high blood pressure in some veterans.

Short-term exposure to current levels of ozone in many areas is likely to contribute to premature deaths, says a new National Research Council report, which adds that the evidence is strong enough that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should include ozone-related mortality in health-benefit analyses related to future ozone standards.

A new report from the Institute of Medicine finds suggestive but limited evidence that exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War is associated with an increased chance of developing ischemic heart disease and Parkinsons disease for Vietnam veterans.