Search results for "FORCES"
showing 10 items of 141 documents
Are compliance constants ill-defined descriptors for weak interactions?
2013
Just as the potential energy can be written as a quadratic form in internal coordinates, so it can also be expanded in terms of generalized forces. The resulting coefficients are termed compliance constants. In this article, the suitability of compliance constants as non-covalent bond strength descriptors is studied (a) for a series of weakly bound hydrogen halide–rare gas complexes applying a configuration interaction theory, (b) for a double stranded DNA 4-mer using approximate density functional methods and finally (c) for a double stranded DNA 20-mer using empirical force fields. Our results challenge earlier studies, which concluded the inappropriateness of compliance constants as soft…
La lunga marcia verso la libertà sindacale del “comparto sicurezza”
2020
Il saggio analizza l’evoluzione dei diritti sindacali nel “comparto sicurezza” (forze armate e di polizia) all’insegna di una prospettiva multilivello: dopo una disamina delle fonti sovranazionali (convenzioni OIL, Cedu e Carta Sociale Europea) e del dettato costituzionale, la ricerca si sofferma sulla libertà sindacale di militari e poliziotti alla luce del quadro normativo e giurisprudenziale di riferimento. Nonostante dal finire degli anni ’70 l’ordinamento militare e quello della Polizia di Stato si siano progressivamente aperti ai diritti collettivi, permangono numerosi profili di criticità, come il regime di separatezza sindacale, il divieto di sciopero e la mancata emanazione di una …
Electoral opportunism and water pricing with incomplete transfer of control rights
2020
One of the forms of intervention in public services that lie beyond market forces is price control. While such regulation is justified by the need to achieve social goals, empirical evidence has sh...
Casimir-Polder forces, boundary conditions and fluctuations
2008
We review different aspects of the atom-atom and atom-wall Casimir-Polder forces. We first discuss the role of a boundary condition on the interatomic Casimir-Polder potential between two ground-state atoms, and give a physically transparent interpretation of the results in terms of vacuum fluctuations and image atomic dipoles. We then discuss the known atom-wall Casimir-Polder force for ground- and excited-state atoms, using a different method which is also suited for extension to time-dependent situations. Finally, we consider the fluctuation of the Casimir-Polder force between a ground-state atom and a conducting wall, and discuss possible observation of this force fluctuation.
Molecular Mechanisms Controlling the Self-Assembly Process of Polyelectrolyte Multilayers
1998
The distance dependent interaction between polyelectrolyte-covered mica surfaces in aqueous solution was investigated with the surface forces apparatus. We find the following: (i) The surface charge changes sign, when an oppositely charged polyelectrolyte from a concentrated polyelectrolyte solution is adsorbed. (ii) Tails and loops of the adsorbed polyions dangle into the bulk phase, inducing a small steric force. If polycations and poyanions are adsorbed on top of each other, a strong short range attractive force is seen due to ion-pair formation after crossing a large repulsive electrostatic/steric barrier. (iii) Obviously, after polyelectrolyte adsorption, there are still nonoccupied b…
4-4-20 anti-fluorescyl IgG Fab' recognition of membrane bound hapten: direct evidence for the role of protein and interfacial structure.
1995
The surface forces apparatus was used to identify the molecular forces that control the interactions of monoclonal 4-4-20 antifluorescyl IgG Fab' fragments with fluorescein-presenting supported planar bilayers. At long range, the electrostatic force between oriented Fab' and fluorescein monolayers was controlled by the composition of the protein exterior surrounding the antigen-combining site rather than by the overall protein charge. The measured positive electrostatic potential of the Fab' monolayer at pH > pI(Fab') was consistent with the structure of the exposed Fab' surface in which a ring of positive charge at the mouth of the antigen-combining site dominates the local electrostatic s…
Molecular mechanisms determining the strength of receptor-mediated intermembrane adhesion
1995
The strength of receptor-mediated cell adhesion is directly controlled by the mechanism of cohesive failure between the cell surface and underlying substrate. Unbinding can occur either at the locus of the specific bond or within the bilayer, which results in tearing the hydrophobic anchors from the membrane interior. In this work, the surface force apparatus has been used to investigate the relationship between the receptor-ligand bond affinities and the dominant mechanism of receptor-coupled membrane detachment. The receptors and ligands used in this study were membrane-bound streptavidin and biotin analogs, respectively, with solution affinities ranging over 10 orders of magnitude. With …
Specific Protein Binding to Functionalized Interfaces
1992
We report on the characterization of specific binding reactions between streptavidin and biotinylated model membrane surfaces. Self-assembly techniques as well as the Langmuir-Blodgett-Kuhn method were employed to prepare reactive, functionalized surfaces on various solid supports in contact with the aqueous protein solution. Plasmon surface polaritons optical measurements as well as atomic force microscopy and studies with the surface forces apparatus give rather detailed information as to the streptavidin monolayer formation, the kinetics of this process (either binding site- or diffusion limited), the selectivity of the reaction at laterally heterogeneous membranes, and the involved inte…
Ligand-receptor interactions directly measured with the surface forces apparatus
1991
Ligand-receptor interactions give rise to very strong bonds due to perfect geometrical fit. Using the Surface Forces Apparatus we have studied the interactions between membrane-bound biotin ligands and streptavidin receptors. We find an unusually strong short-range binding force associated with equally specific molecular rearrangements-both qualitatively and quantitatively unlike anything previously measured.
Temperature dependence of the magnetic Casimir-Polder interaction
2009
We analyze the magnetic dipole contribution to atom-surface dispersion forces. Unlike its electrical counterpart, it involves small transition frequencies that are comparable to thermal energy scales. A significant temperature dependence is found near surfaces with a nonzero DC conductivity, leading to a strong suppression of the dispersion force at T > 0. We use thermal response theory for the surface material and discuss both normal metals and superconductors. The asymptotes of the free energy of interaction and of the entropy are calculated analytically over a large range of distances. Near a superconductor, the onset of dissipation at the phase transition strongly changes the interac…