Combinatorial temperature resistance sensors for the analysis of phase transformations demonstrated for metallic glasses
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Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Xiang, Yong.
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Among all solid electrolytes, composite solid polymer electrolytes, comprised of polymer matrix and ceramic fillers, garner great interest due to the enhancement of ionic conductivity and mechanical properties derived from ceramic–polymer interactions. Here, we report a composite electrolyte with densely packed, vertically aligned, and continuous nanoscale ceramic–polymer interfaces, using surface-modified anodized aluminum oxide as the ceramic scaffold and poly(ethylene oxide) as the polymer matrix. The fast Li + transport along the ceramic–polymer interfaces was proven experimentally for the first time, and an interfacial ionic conductivity higher than 10 –3 S/cm at 0 °C was predicted. The presented composite solid electrolyte achieved an ionic conductivity as high as 5.82 × 10 –4 S/cm at the electrode level. In conclusion, the vertically aligned interfacial structure in the composite electrolytes enables the viable application of the composite solid electrolyte with superior ionic conductivity and high hardness, allowing Li–Li cells to be cycled at a small polarization without Li dendrite penetration.
Maturation of Asn-linked oligosaccharides in the eukaryotic secretory pathway requires the trimming of nascent glycan chains to remove all glucose and several mannose residues before extension into complex-type structures on the cell surface and secreted glycoproteins. Multiple glycoside hydrolase family 47 (GH47) α-mannosidases, including endoplasmic reticulum (ER) α-mannosidase I (ERManI) and Golgi α-mannosidase IA (GMIA), are responsible for cleavage of terminal α1,2-linked mannose residues to produce uniquely trimmed oligomannose isomers that are necessary for ER glycoprotein quality control and glycan maturation. ERManI and GMIA have similar catalytic domain structures, but each enzyme cleaves distinct residues from tribranched oligomannose glycan substrates. The structural basis for branch-specific cleavage by ERManI and GMIA was explored by replacing an essential enzyme-bound Ca 2+ ion with a lanthanum (La 3+ ) ion. This ion swap led to enzyme inactivation while retaining high-affinity substrate interactions. Cocrystallization of La 3+ -bound enzymes with Man9GlcNAc 2 substrate analogs revealed enzyme–substrate complexes with distinct modes of glycan branch insertion into the respective enzyme active-site clefts. Both enzymes had glycan interactions that extended across the entire glycan structure, but each enzyme engaged a different glycan branch and used different sets of glycan interactions. Additional mutagenesis and time-course studies of glycan cleavage probed the structural basis of enzyme specificity. Here, the results provide insights into the enzyme catalytic mechanisms and reveal structural snapshots of the sequential glycan cleavage events. The data also indicate that full steric access to glycan substrates determines the efficiency of mannose-trimming reactions that control the conversion to complex-type structures in mammalian cells.