Casein gels consist of a fractal organized network of aggregated casein particles. The gel texture thereby depends on the structure, the spatial distribution, and the interaction forces of the network's elementary building blocks. The aim of this study was to explore the technofunctional consequences of a possible specificity of Maillard reaction-induced cross-linking reactions on casein with respect to texture and microstructure of acid gels. Therefore, sodium caseinate glycated with lactose in the dry state (60 °C, aw 0.5) was compared with casein samples cross-linked with methylglyoxal, with glutaraldehyde, or via microbial transglutaminase, respectively, at similar levels of protein cross-linking as confirmed by size-exclusion chromatography under denaturing conditions. Casein gels prepared by acidification with glucono-δ-lactone were characterized concerning pH kinetics during gelation, mechanical texture properties under large deformation, and water-holding capacity, while viscometric properties of casein suspensions were obtained prior to gelation. The gel microstructure was captured by confocal laser scanning microscopy and evaluated by means of image texture analysis. All protein cross-linking reactions studied led to an enhanced gel strength which was accompanied by an increased interconnectivity of the gel network and a decrease in apparent pore sizes. Gels with more densely packed strands, as was the case for enzymatically modified casein, exhibited pronounced mechanical stability. The spontaneous destabilization of the gel network upon prolonged glycation reactions, which was not obviously displayed by microstructural features but connected to an increased viscosity and pronounced pseudoplastic flow of the unacidified suspension, suggests a limitation of particle rearrangements and the weakening of interparticle protein-protein interactions by additional structure attributes formed during the early Maillard reaction (glycoconjugation).Postinfection complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are still unknown, and one of the long-term concerns in infected people are brain pathologies. The question is that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may be an environmental factor in accelerating the sporadic neurodegeneration in the infected population. In this regard, induction of protein aggregation in the brain by SARS-CoV-2 intact structure or a peptide derived from spike protein subunits needs to be considered in futures studies. compound library chemical In this paper, we discuss these possibilities using pieces of evidence from other viruses.The congested nature of quaternary carbons hinders their preparation, most notably when stereocontrol is required. Here we report a biocatalytic method for the creation of quaternary carbon centers with broad substrate scope, leading to different compound classes bearing this structural feature. The key step comprises the aldol addition of 3,3-disubstituted 2-oxoacids to aldehydes catalyzed by metal dependent 3-methyl-2-oxobutanoate hydroxymethyltransferase from E. coli (KPHMT) and variants thereof. The 3,3,3-trisubstituted 2-oxoacids thus produced were converted into 2-oxolactones and 3-hydroxy acids and directly to ulosonic acid derivatives, all bearing gem-dialkyl, gem-cycloalkyl, and spirocyclic quaternary centers. In addition, some of these reactions use a single enantiomer from racemic nucleophiles to afford stereopure quaternary carbons. The notable substrate tolerance and stereocontrol of these enzymes are indicative of their potential for the synthesis of structurally intricate molecules.Nanoclusters add an additional dimension in which to look for promising catalyst candidates, since catalytic activity of materials often changes at the nanoscale. However, the large search space of relevant atomic sites exacerbates the challenge for computational screening methods and requires the development of new techniques for efficient exploration. We present an automated workflow that systematically manages simulations from the generation of nanoclusters through the submission of production jobs, to the prediction of adsorption energies. The presented workflow was designed to screen nanoclusters of arbitrary shapes and size, but in this work the search was restricted to bimetallic icosahedral clusters and the adsorption was exemplified on the hydrogen evolution reaction. We demonstrate the efficient exploration of nanocluster configurations and screening of adsorption energies with the aid of machine learning. The results show that the maximum of the d-band Hilbert-transform ϵ u is correlated strongly with adsorption energies and could be a useful screening property accessible at the nanocluster level.In this study, an efficient procedure for the synthesis of uncommon group 4-lanthanide oxo-alkoxide derivatives was developed. Heterometallic clusters with the structures [La2Ti4(μ4-O)2(μ3-OEt)2(μ-OEt)8(OEt)6(Cl)2(HOEt)2] (1), [La2Zr2(μ3-O)(μ-OEt)5(μ-Cl)(OEt)2(HOEt)4(Cl)4] n (2), [La2Hf2(μ3-O)(μ-OEt)5(μ-Cl)(OEt)2(HOEt)4(Cl)4] n (3), [Nd2Ti4(μ4-O)2(μ3-OEt)2(μ-OEt)8(OEt)6(HOEt)2(Cl)2] (4), [Nd4Zr4(μ3-O)2(μ-OEt)10(μ-Cl)4(OEt)8(HOEt)10(Cl)2] (5), and [Nd4Hf4(μ3-O)2(μ-OEt)10(μ-Cl)4(OEt)8(HOEt)10(Cl)2] (6) were synthesized via the reaction of a metallocene dichloride, Cp2M'Cl2 (where M' = Ti, Zr, and Hf), and metallic lanthanum or neodymium in the presence of excess ethanol. This procedure gave crystalline precursors with molecular stoichiometries suitable for obtaining group 4-lanthanide oxide materials. Compounds 1-6 were examined by analytical and spectroscopic techniques and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The magnetic properties of 5 and 6 were investigated by using direct and alternating current (dc and ac) susceptibility measurements. The results indicated weak antiferromagnetic interactions between NdIII ions and a field-supported slow magnetic relaxation. Lanthanum-titanium compound 1 decomposed at 950 °C to give the perovskite compound La0.66TiO3 and small amounts of rutile TiO2. Under the same conditions, 4 decomposed to give a mixture of Nd4Ti9O24 and Nd0.66TiO3. When 4 was calcined at 1300 °C, decomposition of Nd4Ti9O24 to Nd0.66TiO3 and TiO2 was observed. Calcination of 2, 3, 5, and 6 at 950-1500 °C led to the selective formation of heterometallic La2Zr2O7, La2Hf2O7, Nd2Zr2O7, and Nd2Hf2O7 phases, respectively.