The opening profile of the cracks produced in the Double Cleavage Drilled Compression (DCDC) specimens for brittle materials is investigated. The study is achieved by combining Finite Element simulations of a DCDC linear elastic medium with experimental measurements by crack opening interferometry on pure silica glass samples. We show that the shape of the crack can be described by a simple exp...

Microbial population growth is typically measured when cells can be directly observed, or when death is rare. However, neither of these conditions hold for the mammalian gut microbiota, and, therefore, standard approaches cannot accurately measure the growth dynamics of this community. Here we introduce a new method (distributed cell division counting, DCDC) that uses the accurate segregation a...

Heterochromatin and associated gene silencing processes play roles in development, genome defense, and chromosome function. In many species, constitutive heterochromatin is decorated with histone H3 tri-methylated at lysine 9 (H3K9me3) and cytosine methylation. In Neurospora crassa, a five-protein complex, DCDC, catalyzes H3K9 methylation, which then directs DNA methylation. Here, we identify a...

Two ruthenium acetylide complexes [Ru]CtC(C5H3RN) (1a, R ) H; 1b, R ) Me; [Ru] ) Cp(PPh3)2Ru) containing 2-pyridyl groups are prepared and their chemical reactivities are explored. Protonation of the ruthenium acetylide complex 1a with HBF4 takes place at both the nitrogen atom and C , giving the dicationic pyridiniumvinylidene complex {[Ru]dCdC(H)(C5H4NH)}(BF4)2 (3a). Addition of BF3 to 1a yie...

Methylation of DNA and of Lysine 9 on histone H3 (H3K9) is associated with gene silencing in many animals, plants, and fungi. In Neurospora crassa, methylation of H3K9 by DIM-5 directs cytosine methylation by recruiting a complex containing Heterochromatin Protein-1 (HP1) and the DIM-2 DNA methyltransferase. We report genetic, proteomic, and biochemical investigations into how DIM-5 is controll...