Of the total three patients discharged on Saturday, a 18-month-old child was also discharged after defeating Covid-19.The total patients discharged in the city stands at 24.

'Despite expanded testing the incidence remains low.'

Compact X-ray sources based on inverse Compton scattering provide brilliant and partially coherent X-rays in a laboratory environment. The cross section for inverse Compton scattering is very small, requiring high-power laser systems as well as small laser and electron beam sizes at the interaction point to generate sufficient flux. Therefore, these systems are very sensitive to distortions which change the overlap between the two beams. In order to monitor X-ray source position, size and flux in parallel to experiments, the beam-position monitor proposed here comprises a small knife edge whose image is acquired with an X-ray camera specifically designed to intercept only a very small fraction of the X-ray beam. Based on the source position drift recorded with the monitor, a closed-loop feedback stabilizes the X-ray source position by adjusting the laser beam trajectory. A decrease of long-term source position drifts by more than one order of magnitude is demonstrated with this device. Consequently, such a closed-loop feedback system which enables stabilization of source position drifts and flux of inverse Compton sources in parallel to experiments has a significant impact on the performance of these sources.

A new method based on time-resolved X-ray diffraction is proposed in order to measure the elastic strain and stress during ultrasonic fatigue loading experiments. Pure Cu was chosen as an example material for the experiments using a 20 kHz ultrasonic fatigue machine mounted on the six-circle diffractometer available at the DiffAbs beamline on the SOLEIL synchrotron facility in France. A two-dimensional hybrid pixel X-ray detector (XPAD3.2) was triggered by the strain gage signal in a synchronous data acquisition scheme (pump–probe-like). The method enables studying loading cycles with a period of 50 µs, achieving a temporal resolution of 1 µs. This allows a precise reconstruction of the diffraction patterns during the loading cycles. From the diffraction patterns, the position of the peaks, their shifts and their respective broadening can be deduced. The diffraction peak shift allows the elastic lattice strain to be estimated with a resolution of ∼10−5. Stress is calculated by the self-consistent scale-transition model through which the elastic response of the material is estimated. The amplitudes of the cyclic stresses range from 40 to 120 MPa and vary linearly with respect to the displacement applied by the ultrasonic machine. Moreover, the experimental results highlight an increase of the diffraction peak broadening with the number of applied cycles.

A new diamond-anvil cell apparatus for in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements of liquids and glasses, at pressures from ambient to 5 GPa and temperatures from ambient to 1300 K, is reported. This portable setup enables in situ monitoring of the melting of complex compounds and the determination of the structure and properties of melts under moderately high pressure and high temperature conditions relevant to industrial processes and magmatic processes in the Earth's crust and shallow mantle. The device was constructed according to a modified Bassett-type hydro­thermal diamond-anvil cell design with a large angular opening (θ = 95°). This paper reports the successful application of this device to record in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction of liquid Ga and synthetic PbSiO3 glass to 1100 K and 3 GPa.

Possibilities in auxiliary technique combinations with small- and wide-angle X ray scattering are described, as well as more complicated sample environments used in X-ray and neutron scattering.

Melting of the semicrystalline structure of native tapioca starch granules is correlated to solution viscosity for elucidating gelatinization and gelation processes.

The X-ray structures of viruses and viral proteins currently available are providing high-resolution snapshots of viral molecular machineries, expanding our vision of the virus world and giving crucial information on potential targets for future antiviral therapies.

This topical review highlights progress made recently in the development and application of precession electron diffraction (PED) and its scanning variant for the determination of unknown crystal structures and the mapping of orientations at the nanoscale.

Coronavirus shock: Pandemic lockdowns have changed how the planet SOUNDS and vibrates  Express.co.uk

Shift in Earth’s magnetic north throws navigators off course  Financial Times

Interview: Michael Stephenson, British Geological Survey head of science & technology  The Engineer

Viewpoint: UK government should pump money into computers for science  Science Business

Improving Britain’s geological mapping  The Guardian

Fracking: UK shale gas reserves 'significantly lower than previous estimates'  Energy Live News - Energy Made Easy

Coronavirus: Is lockdown an opportunity for scientific research?  sciencefocus.com

Lockdown has cut Britain's vibrations, seismologists find  The Guardian

Coronavirus: the week explained - 10 April  The Guardian

British Geological Survey welcomes visit from Rushcliffe MP  Agg-Net

Explained: How coronavirus lockdown reduced Earth’s seismic noise levels  The Indian Express

Why the UK's streets have turned silent during coronavirus lockdown  Express.co.uk

European lockdown a boon to seismologists checking Earth's vibrations  E&T Magazine

UK sees notable reduction in seismic noise caused by human activity – experts  Aberdeen Evening Express

Protein–protein and protein–ligand interactions often involve conformational changes or structural rearrangements that can be quantified by solution small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). These scattering intensity measurements reveal structural details of the bound complex, the number of species involved and, additionally, the strength of interactions if carried out as a titration. Although a core part of structural biology workflows, SAXS-based titrations are not commonly used in drug discovery contexts. This is because prior knowledge of expected sample requirements, throughput and prediction accuracy is needed to develop reliable ligand screens. This study presents the use of the histidine-binding protein (26 kDa) and other periplasmic binding proteins to benchmark ligand screen performance. Sample concentrations and exposure times were varied across multiple screening trials at four beamlines to investigate the accuracy and precision of affinity prediction. The volatility ratio between titrated scattering curves and a common apo reference is found to most reliably capture the extent of structural and population changes. This obviates the need to explicitly model scattering intensities of bound complexes, which can be strongly ligand-dependent. Where the dissociation constant is within 102 of the protein concentration and the total exposure times exceed 20 s, the titration protocol presented at 0.5 mg ml−1 yields affinities comparable to isothermal titration calorimetry measurements. Estimated throughput ranges between 20 and 100 ligand titrations per day at current synchrotron beamlines, with the limiting step imposed by sample handling and cleaning procedures.

This article presents an overview of the development of two basic software libraries for image manipulation and data visualization in cryo-EM: emcore and emvis.

The solvated centrosymmmtric title compound, [Li2(C24H34O4P)2(C10H8N2)2]·2C7H8, was formed in the reaction between {Li[(2,6-iPr2C6H3-O)2POO](MeOH)3}(MeOH) and 2,2'-bi­pyridine (bipy) in toluene. The structure has monoclinic (P21/n) symmetry at 120 K and the asymmetric unit consists of half a complex mol­ecule and one mol­ecule of toluene solvent. The diaryl phosphate ligand demonstrates a μ-κO:κO'-bridging coordination mode and the 2,2'-bi­pyridine ligand is chelating to the Li+ cation, generating a distorted tetra­hedral LiN2O2 coordination polyhedron. The complex exhibits a unique dimeric Li2O4P2 core. One isopropyl group is disordered over two orientations in a 0.621 (4):0.379 (4) ratio. In the crystal, weak C—H⋯O and C—H⋯π inter­actions help to consolidate the packing. Catalytic systems based on the title complex and on the closely related complex {Li[(2,6-iPr2C6H3-O)2POO](MeOH)3}(MeOH) display activity in the ring-opening polymerization of ∊-caprolactone and l-dilactide.

The structure of zymonic acid (systematic name: 4-hy­droxy-2-methyl-5-oxo-2,5-di­hydro­furan-2-carb­oxy­lic acid), C6H6O5, which had previously eluded crystallographic determination, is presented here for the first time. It forms by intra­molecular condensation of parapyruvic acid, which is the product of aldol condensation of pyruvic acid. A redetermination of the crystal structure of pyruvic acid (systematic name: 2-oxo­propanoic acid), C3H4O3, at low temperature (90 K) and with increased precision, is also presented [for the previous structure, see: Harata et al. (1977). Acta Cryst. B33, 210–212]. In zymonic acid, the hy­droxy­lactone ring is close to planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0108 Å) and the dihedral angle between the ring and the plane formed by the bonds of the methyl and carb­oxy­lic acid carbon atoms to the ring is 88.68 (7)°. The torsion angle of the carb­oxy­lic acid group relative to the ring is 12.04 (16)°. The pyruvic acid mol­ecule is almost planar, having a dihedral angle between the carb­oxy­lic acid and methyl-ketone groups of 3.95 (6)°. Inter­molecular inter­actions in both crystal structures are dominated by hydrogen bonding. The common R22(8) hydrogen-bonding motif links carb­oxy­lic acid groups on adjacent mol­ecules in both structures. In zymonic acid, this results in dimers about a crystallographic twofold of space group C2/c, which forces the carb­oxy­lic acid group to be disordered exactly 50:50, which scrambles the carbonyl and hydroxyl groups and gives an apparent equalization of the C—O bond lengths [1.2568 (16) and 1.2602 (16) Å]. The other hydrogen bonds in zymonic acid (O—H⋯O and weak C—H⋯O), link mol­ecules across a 21-screw axis, and generate an R22(9) motif. These hydrogen-bonding inter­actions propagate to form extended pleated sheets in the ab plane. Stacking of these zigzag sheets along c involves only van der Waals contacts. In pyruvic acid, inversion-related mol­ecules are linked into R22(8) dimers, with van der Waals inter­actions between dimers as the only other inter­molecular contacts.

In the title compound, the asymmetric unit comprises an N,N,N-trimethyl-1-(4-vinyl­phen­yl)methanaminium cation and a 4-vinyl­benzene­sulfonate anion, C12H18N+·C8H7O3S−. The salt has a polymerizable vinyl group attached to both the cation and the anion. The methanaminium and vinyl substituents on the benzene ring of the cation subtend angles of 86.6 (3) and 10.5 (9)° to the ring plane, while the anion is planar excluding the sulfonate O atoms. The vinyl substituent on the benzene ring of the cation is disordered over two sites with a refined occupancy ratio of 0.542 (11):0.458 (11). In the crystal, C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds dominate the packing and combine with a C—H⋯π(ring) contact to stack the cations and anions along the a-axis direction. Hirshfeld surface analysis of the salt and of the individual cation and anion components is also reported.

The title hydrated salt, tris­[hexa­amminecobalt(III)] tetraoxidorhenate(VII) tetra­kis­[hexa­fluorido­rhenate(IV)] hexa­hydrate, arose unexpectedly due to possible contamination of the K2ReF6 starting material with KReO4. It consists of octa­hedral [Co(NH3)6]3+ cation (Co1 site symmetry 1), tetra­hedral [ReVIIO4]− anions (Re site symmetry 1) and octa­hedral [ReIVF6]2− anions (Re site symmetries 1and overline{3}). The [ReF6]2− octa­hedral anions (mean Re—F = 1.834 Å), [Co(NH3)6]3+ octa­hedral cations (mean Co—N = 1.962 Å), and the [ReO4]− tetra­hedral anion (mean Re—O = 1.719 Å) are slightly distorted. A network of N—H⋯F hydrogen bonds consolidates the structure. The crystal studied was refined as a two-component twin.

The title compound, C15H22N4O5S, was prepared via alkyl­ation of 3-(chloro­meth­yl)-5-(pentan-3-yl)-1,2,4-oxa­diazole in anhydrous dioxane in the presence of tri­ethyl­amine. The thia­diazine ring has an envelope conformation with the S atom displaced by 0.4883 (6) Å from the mean plane through the other five atoms. The planar 1,2,4-oxa­diazole ring is inclined to the mean plane of the thia­diazine ring by 77.45 (11)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming chains propagating along the b-axis direction. Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots have been used to analyse the inter­molecular contacts present in the crystal. Mol­ecular docking studies were use to evaluate the title compound as a potential system that inter­acts effectively with the capsid of the Hepatitis B virus (HBV), supported by an experimental in vitro HBV replication model.

The title compound, di­aqua­[tris­(2-amino­eth­yl)amine]­nickel(II) hexa­aqua­nickel(II) bis­(sulfate), [Ni(C6H18N4)(H2O)2][Ni(H2O)6](SO4)2 or [Ni(tren)(H2O)2][Ni(H2O)6](SO4)2, consists of two octa­hedral nickel complexes within the same unit cell. These metal complexes are formed from the reaction of [Ni(H2O)6](SO4) and the ligand tris­(2-amino­eth­yl)amine (tren). The crystals of the title compound are purple, different from those of the starting complex [Ni(H2O)6](SO4), which are turquoise. The reaction was performed both in a 1:1 and 1:2 metal–ligand molar ratio, always yielding the co-precipitation of the two types of crystals. The asymmetric unit of the title compound, which crystallizes in the space group Pnma, consists of two half NiII complexes and a sulfate counter-anion. The mononuclear cationic complex [Ni(tren)(H2O)2]2+ comprises an Ni ion, the tren ligand and two water mol­ecules, while the mononuclear complex [Ni(H2O)6]2+ consists of another Ni ion surrounded by six coordinated water mol­ecules. The [Ni(tren)(H2O)2] and [Ni(H2O)6] subunits are connected to the SO42− counter-anions through hydrogen bonding, thus consolidating the crystal structure.

The crystal structure of title compound, (C14H36N4)[CrO3Cl]2Cl2, has been determined by synchrotron radiation X-ray crystallography at 220 K. The macrocyclic cation lies across a crystallographic inversion center and hence the asymmetric unit contains one half of the organic cation, one chloro­chromate anion and one chloride anion. Both the Cl− anion and chloro­chromate Cl atom are involved in hydrogen bonding. In the crystal, hydrogen bonds involving the 1,4,8,11-tetra­methyl-1,4,8,11-tetra­azonia­cyclo­tetra­decane (TMC) N—H groups and C—H groups as donor groups and three O atoms of the chloro­chromate and the chloride anion as acceptor groups link the components, giving rise to a three-dimensional network.

The title compound, C19H16ClNO3S, consists of chloro­phenyl methyl­idene and di­hydro­benzo­thia­zine units linked to an acetate moiety, where the thia­zine ring adopts a screw-boat conformation. In the crystal, two sets of weak C—HPh⋯ODbt (Ph = phenyl and Dbt = di­hydro­benzo­thia­zine) hydrogen bonds form layers of mol­ecules parallel to the bc plane. The layers stack along the a-axis direction with inter­calation of the ester chains. The crystal studied was a two component twin with a refined BASF of 0.34961 (5). The Hirshfeld surface analysis of the crystal structure indicates that the most important contributions to the crystal packing are from H⋯H (37.5%), H⋯C/C⋯H (24.6%) and H⋯O/O⋯H (16.7%) inter­actions. Hydrogen-bonding and van der Waals inter­actions are the dominant inter­actions in the crystal packing. Computational chemistry indicates that in the crystal, C—HPh⋯ODbt hydrogen bond energies are 38.3 and 30.3 kJ mol−1. Density functional theory (DFT) optimized structures at the B3LYP/ 6–311 G(d,p) level are compared with the experimentally determined mol­ecular structure in the solid state. The HOMO–LUMO behaviour was elucidated to determine the energy gap. Moreover, the anti­bacterial activity of the title compound has been evaluated against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

SVAT4 is a computer program for interactive visualization of three-dimensional crystal structures, including chemical bonds and magnetic moments. A wide range of functions, e.g. revealing atomic layers and polyhedral clusters, are available for further structural analysis. Atomic sizes, colors, appearance, view directions and view modes (orthographic or perspective views) are adjustable. Customized work for the visualization and analysis can be saved and then reloaded. SVAT4 provides a template to simplify the process of preparation of a new data file. SVAT4 can generate high-quality images for publication and animations for presentations. The usability of SVAT4 is broadened by a software suite for simulation and analysis of electron diffraction patterns.

Ni-based intermetallics are promising materials for forming efficient contacts in GeSn-based Si photonic devices. However, the role that Sn might have during the Ni/GeSn solid-state reaction (SSR) is not fully understood. A comprehensive analysis focused on Sn segregation during the Ni/GeSn SSR was carried out. In situ X-ray diffraction and cross-section transmission electron microscopy measurements coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry and electron energy-loss spectroscopy atomic mappings were performed to follow the phase sequence, Sn distribution and segregation. The results showed that, during the SSR, Sn was incorporated into the intermetallic phases. Sn segregation happened first around the grain boundaries (GBs) and then towards the surface. Sn accumulation around GBs hampered atom diffusion, delaying the growth of the Ni(GeSn) phase. Higher thermal budgets will thus be mandatory for formation of contacts in high-Sn-content photonic devices, which could be detrimental for thermal stability.

A three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded network based on a rare mok topology has been constructed using an organic molecule synthesized in the solid state. The molecule is obtained using a supramolecular protecting-group strategy that is applied to a solid-state [2+2] photodimerization. The photodimerization affords a novel head-to-head cyclo­butane product. The cyclo­butane possesses tetrahedrally disposed cis-hydrogen-bond donor (phenolic) and cis-hydrogen-bond acceptor (pyridyl) groups. The product self-assembles in the solid state to form a mok network that exhibits twofold interpenetration. The cyclo­butane adopts different conformations to provide combinations of hydrogen-bond donor and acceptor sites to conform to the structural requirements of the mok net.

Structural biology generally provides static snapshots of protein conformations that can provide information on the functional mechanisms of biological systems. Time-resolved structural biology provides a means to visualize, at near-atomic resolution, the dynamic conformational changes that macromolecules undergo as they function. X-ray free-electron-laser technology has provided a powerful tool to study enzyme mechanisms at atomic resolution, typically in the femtosecond to picosecond timeframe. Complementary to this, recent advances in the resolution obtainable by electron microscopy and the broad range of samples that can be studied make it ideally suited to time-resolved approaches in the microsecond to millisecond timeframe to study large loop and domain motions in biomolecules. Here we describe a cryo-EM grid preparation device that permits rapid mixing, voltage-assisted spraying and vitrification of samples. It is shown that the device produces grids of sufficient ice quality to enable data collection from single grids that results in a sub-4 Å reconstruction. Rapid mixing can be achieved by blot-and-spray or mix-and-spray approaches with a delay of ∼10 ms, providing greater temporal resolution than previously reported mix-and-spray approaches.

For serial femtosecond crystallography at X-ray free-electron lasers, which entails collection of single-pulse diffraction patterns from a constantly refreshed supply of microcrystalline sample, delivery of the sample into the X-ray beam path while maintaining low background remains a technical challenge for some experiments, especially where this methodology is applied to relatively low-ordered samples or those difficult to purify and crystallize in large quantities. This work demonstrates a scheme to encapsulate biological samples using polymer thin films and graphene to maintain sample hydration in vacuum conditions. The encapsulated sample is delivered into the X-ray beam on fixed targets for rapid scanning using the Roadrunner fixed-target system towards a long-term goal of low-background measurements on weakly diffracting samples. As a proof of principle, we used microcrystals of the 24 kDa rapid encystment protein (REP24) to provide a benchmark for polymer/graphene sandwich performance. The REP24 microcrystal unit cell obtained from our sandwiched in-vacuum sample was consistent with previously established unit-cell parameters and with those measured by us without encapsulation in humidified helium, indicating that the platform is robust against evaporative losses. While significant scattering from water was observed because of the sample-deposition method, the polymer/graphene sandwich itself was shown to contribute minimally to background scattering.