Binuclear ion containing nitrogen as a bridging group

A binuclear ion ([NH(3))5RuN(2)Ru(NH(3))(5)](5)+ is formed by the direct reaction of N(2) with an aqueous solution of (NH(3))(5)RuOH(2)(2+) at room temperature. The binuclear ion is also formed by the reversible reaction of (NH(3))5RuOH(2)(2+) with (NH(3))(5)RuN(2)(2+). Solid [(NH(3))(5)RuN(2)Ru(NH(3))(5)] (BF(4))(4) has been prepared, and its ultraviolet and infrared spectra are reported.     

A host-targeting signal in virulence proteins reveals a secretome in malarial infection

Malaria parasites secrete proteins across the vacuolar membrane into the erythrocyte, inducing modifications linked to disease and parasite survival. We identified an 11-amino acid signal required for the secretion of proteins from the Plasmodium falciparum vacuole to the human erythrocyte. Bioinformatics predicted a secretome of >320 proteins and conservation of the signal across parasite species. Functional studies indicated the predictive value of the signal and its role in targeting virulence proteins to the erythrocyte and implicated its recognition by a receptor/transporter. Erythrocyte modification by the parasite may involve plasmodial heat shock proteins and be vastly more complex than hitherto realized.     

Crustal plates in the central atlantic

Various people have proposed that North and South America are a part of a gigantic crustal plate within which little differential movement is taking place. Considerations of the size of this postulated plate and the pattern of seismicity around the Caribbean indicate that it is in fact two plates, separated in the region between the Lesser Antilles and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Many of the offsets of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge opposite the Caribbean are the result of differential spreading rates and the westward continuations of the fracture zones extending from these offsets are active left-lateral faults.     

Stratospheric ozone with added water vapor: influence of high-altitude aircraft

Simple, steady-state models for ozone photochemistry, radiative heat balance, and eddy-diffusive mass transport can be combined to estimate water-induced changes in the stratospheric ozone concentrations and temperatures, the integrated ozone column, the solar power transmitted to the earth's surface, and the surface temperature. These changes have been computed parametrically for mixing fractions of water vapor between 3 x 10(-6) and 6.5 x 10(-6). With added water from the exhausts of projected fleets of stratospheric aircraft, the ozone column may diminish by 3.8 percent, the transmitted solar power increase by 0.07 percent, and the surface temperature rise by 0.04 degrees K in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to a cancellation of terms, temperatures in the lower stratosphere remain essentially unchanged. These results are sensitive to the form of the water profile and emphasize the potential role of convective transients near 30 kilometers.     

Evaporation of Ice in Space: Saturn's Rings

The photosputtering erosion velocity of ice in space is estimated to be 400 centimeters per billion years at 1 astronomical unit.     

The nature of pristine noble gases in mantle plumes

High-precision noble gas data show that the Hawaiian and Icelandic mantle plume sources contain uniquely primitive neon that is composed of moderately nucleogenic neon-21 and a primordial component indistinguishable from the meteoritic occurrence of solar neon. This suggests that Earth's solar-type rare gas inventory was acquired during accretion from small planetesimals previously irradiated by solar wind from the early sun. However, nonradiogenic argon, krypton, and xenon isotopes derived from the mantle display nonsolar compositions and indicate an atmosphere-like fingerprint that is not due to recent subduction.     

The effect of changing land use on soil radiocarbon

Most carbon budgets require greening of the terrestrial biosphere as a sink for some of the excess carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuel burning and deforestation. Much of this storage is thought to occur in soils, but running counter to this conclusion is the observation that cultivation has reduced the agricultural reservoir of soil humus. Radiocarbon measurements in agricultural soils lend support to this browning of agricultural lands. Moreover, the loss is from the fast cycling portion of the humus.