X-band EPR spectroscopy has been employed to study the dynamic properties of magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers (bicelles) utilizing a variety of phosphocholine spin labels (n-PCSL) as a function of cholesterol content. The utilization of both perpendicular and parallel aligned bicelles in EPR spectroscopy provides a more detailed structural and orientational picture of the phospholipid...

In this work, we deal with distributed model predictive control (DMPC) of nonlinear systems with communication disruptions between the distributed controllers. Specifically, we focus on the design of DMPC systems that take into account communication channel noise and data losses between the distributed controllers explicitly. In contrast to most of the existing DMPC methods which assume flawles...

We study the distributed control of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in buildings. We present and compare two control design techniques. In the first part, a one-step distributed model predictive controller (DMPC) is introduced. We compute the explicit state-feedback solution and show how to implement it on existing networked buildings control platforms. In the second part, we...

Phospholipid bilayers have been intensively studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in recent years. The properties of bilayer edges are important in determining the structure and stability of pores formed in vesicles and biomembranes. In this work, we use molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the structure, dynamics, and line tension of the edges of bilayer ribbons composed of pur...

Distributed Model Predictive Control (DMPC) algorithms reported in the literature had often assumed that state measurements are available to all subsystems at all time instants. However, this assumption is not valid in the presence of loss of communication or data. Then designing for such losses within DMPC becomes critical to overall performance and stability of the system. In this work commun...

The interaction of melittin, the major protein component of bee venom, with dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine ( DMPC ) liposomes was investigated by Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectroscopy using high resolution amphiphilic spin probe perdeutero-di-t-butyl nitroxide (PDDTBN). For pure DMPC liposomes, ESR signal due to the probe dissolved in the fluid hydrophobic environment provided by the inte...

In cells, one of the main roles of ceramide-enriched membrane domains is to recruit or exclude intracellular signaling molecules and receptors, thereby facilitating signal transduction cascades. Accordingly, in model membranes, even low contents of ceramide segregate into lateral domains. The impact of the N-acyl chain on this segregation and on the morphology of the domains remains to be explo...

To describe the action mechanisms of Bacteriochlorin a (BCA), a second generation photosensitizer, in phosphate buffer (PB) and in dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) liposomes we carried out oxygen consumption and ESR measurements. In PB, where BCA was in a monomer-dimer equilibrium, our results suggested that the oxygen consumption was related to the BCA monomers concentration in solution....

Aristotelia chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz (A. chilensis), also known as maqui, is a plant of the Elaeocarpaceae family that grows in central and southern Chile as well as southwestern Argentina. Infusions of its leaves have long been used in the traditional native herbal medicine to treat different ailments. Phytochemical studies of the plant's chemical composition of the plant indicate the presence ...

To determine phospholipase D (PLD) activity, an infrared spectroscopy assay was developed, based on the phosphate vibrational mode of phospholipids such as dimyristoylphophatidylcholine (DMPC), lysophosphatidylglycerol (lysoPG), dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE), and lysophosphatidylserine (lysoPS). The phosphate bands served to monitor the hydrolysis rates of phospholipids with PLD. T...