BACKGROUND The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) protein export system enables the transport of fully folded proteins across a membrane. This system is composed of two integral membrane proteins belonging to TatA and TatC protein families and in some systems a third component, TatB, a homolog of TatA. TatC participates in substrate protein recognition through its interaction with a twin arginin...

Despite many computer based codes like CHEETAH, TIGER, RUBY, BKW, etc. the velocity of detonation (VOD) for explosive molecules and explosive mixtures (formulations) is estimated by several empirical formulations. This article discusses various approaches for the estimation of the velocity of detonation by empirical mathematical equations. The formulation proposed by Kamlet in 1968 is the oldes...

The practical levels of density functional theory (DFT) for solids (LDA, PBE, PW91, B3LYP) are well-known not to account adequately for the London dispersion (van der Waals attraction) so important in molecular solids, leading to equilibrium volumes for molecular crystals ~10-15% too high. The ReaxFF reactive force field is based on fitting such DFT calculations and suffers from the same proble...

Gas phase hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) is a relatively stable molecule which releases a large amount of energy upon decomposition. Although gas-phase unimolecular decomposition experiments suggest at least two major pathways, there is no mechanistic understanding of the reactions involving RDX or other energetic molecules (such as HMX and TATB), used in applications ranging fro...

The rational design of effective polymeric binders for the formulation plastic-bonded explosives (PBX) is challenging due to their inherent compositional complexity. composites comprise irregularly shaped energetic material (EM) powders coated with low weight fractions polymer via non-equilibrium processes such as slurry coating. Defects can deleteriously affect PBX stability and performance: n...

The general secretory pathway (Sec) and twin-arginine translocase (Tat) operate in parallel to export proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane of prokaryotes and the thylakoid membrane of plant chloroplasts. Substrates are targeted to their respective machineries by N-terminal signal peptides that share a tripartite organization; however, Tat signal peptides harbor a conserved and almost invari...