Diabetes mellitus: induction in mice by encephalomyocarditis virus

Hyperglycemia and lesions of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans developed in some, but not all, adult mice infected with a variant of the encephalomyocarditis virus. Large amounts of virus were recovered from the pancreas during acute stages of infection. At this time blood glucose concentrations were markedly elevated and the islets of Langerhans exhibited focal necrosis and degranulation of beta cells. Evidence of abnormal glucose metabolism persisted for varying periods after recovery from the infection. The islets of Langerhans of chronically hyperglycemic mice were distorted and decreased in size, and the beta cells were degranulated. Encephalomyocarditis virus appears to cause diabetes mellitus by reducing the mass of functional beta cells of the islets of Langerhans.     

Nanoelectromechanical systems

Nanoelectromechanical systems are evolving, with new scientific studies and technical applications emerging. Mechanical devices are shrinking in thickness and width to reduce mass, increase resonant frequency, and lower the force constants of these systems. Advances in the field include improvements in fabrication processes and new methods for actuating and detecting motion at the nanoscale. Lithographic approaches are capable of creating freestanding objects in silicon and other materials, with thickness and lateral dimensions down to about 20 nanometers. Similar processes can make channels or pores of comparable dimensions, approaching the molecular scale. This allows access to a new experimental regime and suggests new applications in sensing and molecular interactions.     

Scale-dependent seasonal habitat selection by jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) in Panama

Landscape Ecology - Few habitat modeling studies consider multiple spatial or temporal scales; less identify the operative scale of an organism's response to predictor variables. Optimizing...     

Electromechanical resonators from graphene sheets

Nanoelectromechanical systems were fabricated from single- and multilayer graphene sheets by mechanically exfoliating thin sheets from graphite over trenches in silicon oxide. Vibrations with fundamental resonant frequencies in the megahertz range are actuated either optically or electrically and detected optically by interferometry. We demonstrate room-temperature charge sensitivities down to 8 x 10(-4) electrons per root hertz. The thinnest resonator consists of a single suspended layer of atoms and represents the ultimate limit of two-dimensional nanoelectromechanical systems.     

Florida submergence curve revised: its relation to coastal sedimentation rates

New data substantiate as well as modify the south Florida submergence curve, which indicates that eustatic sea level has risen continuously, although at a generally decreasing rate, during the last 6500 to 7000 sidereal years (5500 standard radiocarbon years) to reach its present position. Accumulation rates of coastal deposits are similar to the rate of sea-level rise, thus supporting the generalization that submergence rates largely determine as well as limit rates of coastal sedimentation in lagoonal and estuarine areas.     

Powering an inorganic nanodevice with a biomolecular motor

Biomolecular motors such as F1-adenosine triphosphate synthase (F1-ATPase) and myosin are similar in size, and they generate forces compatible with currently producible nanoengineered structures. We have engineered individual biomolecular motors and nanoscale inorganic systems, and we describe their integration in a hybrid nanomechanical device powered by a biomolecular motor. The device consisted of three components: an engineered substrate, an F1-ATPase biomolecular motor, and fabricated nanopropellers. Rotation of the nanopropeller was initiated with 2 mM adenosine triphosphate and inhibited by sodium azide.     

Zero-mode waveguides for single-molecule analysis at high concentrations

Optical approaches for observing the dynamics of single molecules have required pico- to nanomolar concentrations of fluorophore in order to isolate individual molecules. However, many biologically relevant processes occur at micromolar ligand concentrations, necessitating a reduction in the conventional observation volume by three orders of magnitude. We show that arrays of zero-mode waveguides consisting of subwavelength holes in a metal film provide a simple and highly parallel means for studying single-molecule dynamics at micromolar concentrations with microsecond temporal resolution. We present observations of DNA polymerase activity as an example of the effectiveness of zero-mode waveguides for performing single-molecule experiments at high concentrations.