Quantifying denitrification and its effect on ozone recovery

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite observations indicate that extensive denitrification without significant dehydration currently occurs only in the Antarctic during mid to late June. The fact that denitrification occurs in a relatively warm month in the Antarctic raises concern about the likelihood of its occurrence and associated effects on ozone recovery in a colder and possibly more humid future Arctic lower stratosphere. Polar stratospheric cloud lifetimes required for Arctic denitrification to occur in the future are presented and contrasted against the current Antarctic cloud lifetimes. Model calculations show that widespread severe denitrification could enhance future Arctic ozone loss by up to 30%.     

Fluorescence decay times: proteins, coenzymes, and other compounds in water

The fluorescence decay time (tau) was 2 to 5 nanoseconds for proteins and 4 to 5 nanoseconds for flavin, pyridine nucleotide, and vitamin B(6)coenzymes; tau varied widely in 48 compounds measured in water. Altholugh reported values of tau for a few of the soluttions studied were in excellenlt agreement. previously "calculated" lifetimes, in severall instances, are apparently erroneous. Nonexponential decay was detectable with our "nanosecond-flash" apparatus, a modification of the first commercially aavilable unit for determination of tau.     

Dissipation of marine stratiform clouds and collapse of the marine boundary layer due to the depletion of cloud condensation nuclei by clouds

When the production of cloud condensation nuclei in the stratocumulus-topped marine boundary layer is low enough, droplet collisions can reduce concentrations of cloud droplet numbers to extremely low values. At low droplet concentrations a cloud layer can become so optically thin that cloud-top radiative cooling cannot drive vertical mixing. Under these conditions, model simulations indicate that the stratocumulus-topped marine boundary layer collapses to a shallow fog layer. Through this mechanism, marine stratiform clouds may limit their own lifetimes.     

Energy gaps and Kohn anomalies in elemental superconductors

The momentum and temperature dependence of the lifetimes of acoustic phonons in the elemental superconductors lead and niobium were determined by resonant spin-echo spectroscopy with neutrons. In both elements, the superconducting energy gap extracted from these measurements was found to converge with sharp anomalies originating from Fermi-surface nesting (Kohn anomalies) at low temperatures. The results indicate electron many-body correlations beyond the standard theoretical framework for conventional superconductivity. A possible mechanism is the interplay between superconductivity and spin- or charge-density-wave fluctuations, which may induce dynamical nesting of the Fermi surface.     

Atmospheric Trends and Lifetime of CH3CCI3 and Global OH Concentrations

Determination of the atmospheric concentrations and lifetime of trichloroethane (CH(3)CCI(3)) is very important in the context of global change. This halocarbon is involved in depletion of ozone, and the hydroxyl radical (OH) concentrations determined from its lifetime provide estimates of the lifetimes of most other hydrogen-containing gases involved in the ozone layer and climate. Global measurements of trichloroethane indicate rising concentrations before and declining concentrations after late 1991. The lifetime of CH(3)CCI(3) in the total atmosphere is 4.8 +/- 0.3 years, which is substantially lower than previously estimated. The deduced hydroxyl radical concentration, which measures the atmosphere's oxidizing capability, shows little change from 1978 to 1994.     

"Dead quasars" in nearby galaxies?

The nuclei of some galaxies undergo violent activity, quasars being the most extreme instances of this phenomenon. Such activity is probably short-lived compared to galactic lifetimes, and was most prevalent when the universe was only about one-fifth of its present age. A massive black hole seems the inevitable end point of such activity, and dead quasars should greatly outnumber active ones. In recent years, studies of stellar motions in the cores of several nearby galaxies indicate the presence of central dark masses which could be black holes. This article discusses how such evidence might be corroborated, and the potential implications for our understanding of active galaxies and black holes.     

Identifying kinetic barriers to mechanical unfolding of the T. thermophila ribozyme

Mechanical unfolding trajectories for single molecules of the Tetrahymena thermophila ribozyme display eight intermediates corresponding to discrete kinetic barriers that oppose mechanical unfolding with lifetimes of seconds and rupture forces between 10 and 30 piconewtons. Barriers are magnesium dependent and correspond to known intra- and interdomain interactions. Several barrier structures are "brittle," breakage requiring high forces but small (1 to 3 nanometers) deformations. Barrier crossing is stochastic, leading to variable unfolding paths. The response of complex RNA structures to locally applied mechanical forces may be analogous to the responses of RNA during translation, messenger RNA export from the nucleus, and viral replication.     

Effects of molecular memory and bursting on fluctuations in gene expression

Many cellular components are present in such low numbers per cell that random births and deaths of individual molecules can cause substantial "noise" in concentrations. But biochemical events do not necessarily occur in single steps of individual molecules. Some processes are greatly randomized when synthesis or degradation occurs in large bursts of many molecules during a short time interval. Conversely, each birth or death of a macromolecule could involve several small steps, creating a memory between individual events. We present a generalized theory for stochastic gene expression, formulating the variance in protein abundance in terms of the randomness of the individual gene expression events. We show that common types of molecular mechanisms can produce gestation and senescence periods that reduce noise without requiring higher abundances, shorter lifetimes, or any concentration-dependent control loops. We also show that most single-cell experimental methods cannot distinguish between qualitatively different stochastic principles, although this in turn makes such methods better suited for identifying which components introduce fluctuations. Characterizing the random events that give rise to noise in concentrations instead requires dynamic measurements with single-molecule resolution.     

Hydrated electron dynamics: from clusters to bulk

The electronic relaxation dynamics of size-selected (H2O)n-/(D2O)n[25 eaq-(s(dagger)) internal conversion lifetime.     

Dimensionality effects in the lifetime of surface states

A long-standing discrepancy between experimental and theoretical values for the lifetimes of holes in the surface-state electron bands on noble metal surfaces is resolved; previous determinations of both are found to have been in error. The ability of the scanning tunneling microscope to verify surface quality before taking spectroscopic measurements is used to remove the effects of defect scattering on experimental lifetimes, found to have been a significant contribution to prior determinations. A theoretical treatment of inelastic electron-electron scattering is developed that explicitly includes intraband transitions within the surface state band. In our model, two-dimensional decay channels dominate the electron-electron interactions that contribute to the hole decay and are screened by the electron states of the underlying three-dimensional electron system.     

植物光响应修正模型中系数的生物学意义研究

植物光合作用对光响应修正模型被广泛应用于植物光合特性的研究,但该模型中系数的生物学意义不清楚。通过分析,认为植物光响应修正模型中系数分别为光抑制项和光饱和项。通过量纲分析,植物光响应修正模型中光抑制项和光饱和项的生物学意义是光系统II天线色素分子光量子吸收截面与其处于激发态平均寿命的乘积。光系统II天线色素分子处于激发态的平均寿命较长且光量子吸收截面较小,则不利于光量子的吸收;如果光系统II天线色素分子的光量子吸收截面较大且其激发态的平均寿命较短,则有利于光量子的吸收。研究结果表明:如果光饱和项系数大且光抑制项系数也大,则植物越容易受抑制;如果光饱和项系数小且光抑制项系数也小,则植物越不容易发生光抑制。     

Megacity emissions and lifetimes of nitrogen oxides probed from space

Megacities are immense sources of air pollutants, with large impacts on air quality and climate. However, emission inventories in many of them still are highly uncertain, particularly in developing countries. Satellite observations allow top-down estimates of emissions to be made for nitrogen oxides (NO(x) = NO + NO(2)), but require poorly quantified a priori information on the NO(x) lifetime. We present a method for the simultaneous determination of megacity NO(x) emissions and lifetimes from satellite measurements by analyzing the downwind patterns of NO(2) separately for different wind conditions. Daytime lifetimes are ~4 hours at low and mid-latitudes, but ~8 hours in wintertime for Moscow. The derived NO(x) emissions are generally in good agreement with existing emission inventories, but are higher by a factor of 3 for the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.     

银杏叶叶绿素荧光特性及其含量测定研究

[目的]研究银杏叶叶绿素的荧光特征及其含量的变化规律。[方法]以新鲜银杏叶为材料,采用混合有机溶剂进行萃取,并用分光光度法对银杏叶叶绿素的含量进行测定,通过比较不同月份银杏叶叶绿素的含量,得到叶绿素含量的变化规律,同时研究银杏叶叶绿素的特征荧光发射峰和磷光寿命。[结果]银杏叶叶绿素有2个特征荧光发射峰,分别位于691和718 nm处,在2个发射峰处的磷光寿命分别为8.61和8.21μs;在不同月份的银杏叶中,叶绿素含量从大到小依次为7月、4月、11月,但叶绿素a/b比值从大到小依次为4月、11月、7月。[结论]该研究为银杏叶叶绿素的进一步研究提供参考。     

The psychological risks of Vietnam for U.S. veterans: a revisit with new data and methods

In 1988, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) of a representative sample of 1200 veterans estimated that 30.9% had developed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during their lifetimes and that 15.2% were currently suffering from PTSD. The study also found a strong dose-response relationship: As retrospective reports of combat exposure increased, PTSD occurrence increased. Skeptics have argued that these results are inflated by recall bias and other flaws. We used military records to construct a new exposure measure and to cross-check exposure reports in diagnoses of 260 NVVRS veterans. We found little evidence of falsification, an even stronger dose-response relationship, and psychological costs that were lower than previously estimated but still substantial. According to our fully adjusted PTSD rates, 18.7% of the veterans had developed war-related PTSD during their lifetimes and 9.1% were currently suffering from PTSD 11 to 12 years after the war; current PTSD was typically associated with moderate impairment.     

Base sequence and higher-order structure induce the complex excited-state dynamics in DNA

The high photostability of DNA is commonly attributed to efficient radiationless electronic relaxation processes. We used femtosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy to reveal that the ensuing dynamics are strongly dependent on base sequence and are also affected by higher-order structure. Excited electronic state lifetimes in dG-doped d(A)20 single-stranded DNA and dG.dC-doped d(A)20.d(T)20 double-stranded DNA decrease sharply with the substitution of only a few bases. In duplexes containing d(AGA).d(TCT) or d(AG).d(TC) repeats, deactivation of the fluorescing states occurs on the subpicosecond time scale, but the excited-state lifetimes increase again in extended d(G) runs. The results point at more complex and molecule-specific photodynamics in native DNA than may be evident in simpler model systems.     

Autoradiography with tritiated methotrexate and the cellular distribution of folate reductase

Bound methotrexate has been revealed by an autoradiographic procedure, presumed to introduce a method for cytochemical study of folate reductase. Preferential localization is seen in kidney proximal tubules, intestinal epithelium, and nuclei of parenchymal liver cells in mice. The extremely firm binding and prolonged retention of this drug should render it suitable as an inert label for the autoradiographic study of cell migrations and lifetimes.     

Effect of the orbital debris environment on the high-energy van allen proton belt

Orbital debris in the near-Earth environment has reached a number density sufficient for a significant collisional interaction with some of the long-lived high-energy protons in the radiation belt. As a result of a continuing buildup of a shell of man-made debris, the lifetimes of high-energy protons whose trajectories remain below 1500 kilometers will decrease to the point where in the next decades we can expect a noticeable reduction in their fluxes.     

Cytochemical localization of lactate dehydrogenase in muscular dystrophy of the mouse

By use of phenazine methosulfate and the "ncubation mixture film method," lactate dehydrogenase activity has been demonstrated in the dystrophic muscle fibers of strain 129 mice. The results indicate that for demonstration of lactate dehydrogenase activity in dystrophic muscle fibers phenazine methosulfate is necessary. This finding is typical for the "white" muscle fibers in the normal muscle and suggests that the dystrophy affects primarily the "white" muscle fibers.     

Atmospheric lifetimes of long-lived halogenated species

The atmospheric lifetimes of the fluorinated gases CF(4), C(2)F(6), c-C(4)F(8), (CF(3))(2)c-C(4)F(6), C(5)F(12), C(6)F(14), C(2)F(5)Cl, C(2)F(4)C(12), CF(3)Cl, and SF(6) are of concern because of the effects that these long-lived compounds acting as greenhouse gases can have on global climate. The possible atmospheric loss processes of these gases were assessed by determining the rate coefficients for the reactions of these gases with O((1)D), H, and OH and the absorption cross sections at 121.6 nanometers in the laboratory and using these data as input to a two-dimensional atmospheric model. The lifetimes of all the studied perfluoro compounds are >2000 years, and those of CF(3)Cl, CF(3)CF(2)Cl, and CF(2)ClCF(2)Cl are >300 years. If released into the atmosphere, these molecules will accumulate and their effects will persist for centuries or millennia.