Photosystem II, the water oxidizing enzyme, altered the course of evolution by filling the atmosphere with oxygen. Here, we reconstruct the origin and evolution of water oxidation at an unprecedented level of detail by studying the phylogeny of all D1 subunits, the main protein coordinating the water oxidizing cluster (Mn4CaO5) of Photosystem II. We show that D1 exists in several forms making w...

Long-chain fatty acids (FAs) with low water solubility require fatty-acid-binding proteins (FABPs) to transport them from cytoplasm to the mitochondria for energy production. However, the precise mechanism by which these proteins recognize the various lengths of simple alkyl chains of FAs with similar high affinity remains unknown. To address this question, we employed a newly developed calorim...

Low-energy electron-impact hydrogen loss due to dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to the uracil and thymine molecules in a water cluster environment is investigated theoretically. Only the A(')-resonance contribution, describing the near-threshold behavior of DEA, is incorporated. Calculations are based on the nonlocal complex potential theory and the multiple scattering theory, and are pe...

The study of clustering processes is fundamentally significant in hydraulic engineering to comprehend the interactions between turbulence and particles. Previous studies on bubble clustering were carried out in plunging jets, hydraulic jumps and dropshafts. The present paper focuses on the bubble clustering process in a large-size dropshaft, and three criteria for cluster identification were ap...

We present a novel method for investigating a nanometric cluster of water molecules, which includes the formation and manipulation of nanometric water, and the measurement of its mechanical properties. The atomic force microscope based on the quartz tuning-fork sensor is employed to form and manipulate the nanometric water, and the theoretical tool of amplitude-modulation atomic force microscop...

Quantum cluster and embedded cluster approaches were used to investigate the proton transfer reaction for a series of model clusters of zeolite/(H2O)n ; n = 1, 2, 3, and 4, using the B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) level of theory. For both calculations, without promoted water, the hydrogen-bonded dimer of the zeolite/water system exists as a simple hydrogen-bonded complex, ZOH(H2O)2, and no proton transfer ...

Sequential water molecule binding enthalpies, ΔHn,n-1, are important for a detailed understanding of competitive interactions between ions, water and solute molecules, and how these interactions affect physical properties of ion-containing nanodrops that are important in aerosol chemistry. Water molecule binding enthalpies have been measured for small clusters of many different ions, but these ...

We have studied the medium effects on the frequency-dependent polarizability of water by separating the total polarizability of water clusters into polarizabilities of the individual water molecules. A classical frequency-dependent dipole–dipole interaction model based on classical electrostatics and an Unsöld dispersion formula has been used. It is shown that the model reproduces the polarizab...

The study of bubble clustering processes may provide a significant insight into turbulent air–water flows. Previous studies investigated these processes in plunging jets, dropshafts and hydraulic jumps. This research investigates the bubble clustering process in hydraulic jumps using experimental data collected in a rectangular horizontal flume with partially developed inflow conditions for inf...