The structure of ferrihydrite, a nanocrystalline material

Despite the ubiquity of ferrihydrite in natural sediments and its importance as an industrial sorbent, the nanocrystallinity of this iron oxyhydroxide has hampered accurate structure determination by traditional methods that rely on long-range order. We uncovered the atomic arrangement by real-space modeling of the pair distribution function (PDF) derived from direct Fourier transformation of the total x-ray scattering. The PDF for ferrihydrite synthesized with the use of different routes is consistent with a single phase (hexagonal space group P6(3)mc; a = approximately 5.95 angstroms, c = approximately 9.06 angstroms). In its ideal form, this structure contains 20% tetrahedrally and 80% octahedrally coordinated iron and has a basic structural motif closely related to the Baker-Figgis delta-Keggin cluster. Real-space fitting indicates structural relaxation with decreasing particle size and also suggests that second-order effects such as internal strain, stacking faults, and particle shape contribute to the PDFs.     

Fossil land mammal from antarctica

A fossil land mammal, apparently the first found in Antarctica, belongs to the extinct marsupial family Polydolopidae. The fossils were recovered from rocks about 40 million years old on Seymour Island, in the northern Antarctic Peninsula. The newly discovered marsupials support theories that predicted their former presence in Antarctica and strengthen proposals that Australian marsupials perhaps originated from South American species that dispersed across Antarctica when Australia still was attached to it, prior to 56 million years ago.     

Do hydrofluorocarbons destroy stratospheric ozone?

Hydrofluorocarbons, many of which contain a CF(3) group, are one of the major substitutes for the chlorofluorocarbons and halons that are being phased out because they contribute to stratospheric ozone depletion. It is critical to ensure that CF(3) groups do not cause significant ozone depletion. The rate coefficients for the key reactions that determine the efficiency of the CF(3) radical as a catalyst for ozone loss in the stratosphere have been measured and used in a model to calculate the possible depletion of ozone. From these results, it is concluded that the ozone depletion potentials related to the presence of the CF(3) group in hydrofluorocarbons are negligibly small.     

Control of early viral and bacterial distribution and disease by natural antibodies

Natural antibodies are often dismissed from immunological analysis as "background," but they may play an important role in conferring immunity against infections. In antibody-free mice infected with various viruses or with Listeria monocytogenes, viral or bacterial titers in peripheral organs, including the kidney and brain, were 10 to 100 times greater than in antibody-competent mice (and enhanced their susceptibility to some infections), and titers in secondary lymphoid organs were 10 to 100 times lower than in antibody-competent mice. Thus, natural antibodies play a crucial role by preventing pathogen dissemination to vital organs and by improving immunogenicity through enhanced antigen-trapping in secondary lymphoid organs.     

不同培养方式对大花蕙兰试管苗生长的影响

以大花蕙兰(Cym bidium)试管苗为试验植物材料,以树脂膜容器(CP)和玻璃培养瓶作为培养容器,比较不同培养方式对大花蕙兰试管苗生长的影响.结果表明,与常规玻璃培养容器相比,以岩棉块作为培养基支持体,并配合CP使用的培养方式(CP.RW)对促进大花蕙兰试管苗生长效果显著.     

Sweet taste of water induced by artichoke (Cynara scolymus)

Exposure of the tongue to artichoke can make water taste sweet. Two major active components of artichoke are the salts of chlorogenic acid and cynarin. The sweetening of substances by temporarily modifying the tongue, rather than by adding a substance sweet in itself, may provide an alternative to currently used nonnutritive sweeteners.     

Identification of the fusion peptide of primate immunodeficiency viruses

Membrane fusion induced by the envelope glycoproteins of human and simian immunodeficiency viruses (HIV and SIVmac) is a necessary step for the infection of CD4 cells and for the formation of syncytia after infection. Identification of the region in these molecules that mediates the fusion events is important for understanding and possibly interfering with HIV/SIVmac infection and pathogenesis. Amino acid substitutions were made in the 15 NH2-terminal residues of the SIVmac gp32 transmembrane glycoprotein, and the mutants were expressed in recombinant vaccinia viruses, which were then used to infect CD4-expressing T cell lines. Mutations that increased the overall hydrophobicity of the gp32 NH2-terminus increased the ability of the viral envelope to induce syncytia formation, whereas introduction of polar or charged amino acids in the same region abolished the fusogenic function of the viral envelope. Hydrophobicity in the NH2-terminal region of gp32 may therefore be an important correlate of viral virulence in vivo and could perhaps be exploited to generate a more effective animal model for the study of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.