Bromine content and Br/Cl molar ratio of halite in a core from Laos: implications for origin and environmental changes

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 1107-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shurui Sun ◽  
Minghui Li ◽  
Maodu Yan ◽  
Xiaomin Fang ◽  
Gengxin Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Molar Ratio ◽  
Bromine Content

Lipid Polymorphism and Virus-Membrane Fusion as Observed in Vitrified Thin Films by Cryo-Electron Microscopy

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 492-493
Author(s):  
P.M. Frederik ◽  
K.N.J. Burger ◽  
M.C.A. Stuart ◽  
A.J. Verkleij
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Film Formation ◽  
Molar Ratio ◽  
Influenza B ◽  
Complex Structures ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Suspended Material ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy

Cellular membranes are often composed of phospholipid mixtures in which one or more components have a tendency to adopt a type II non-bilayer lipid structure such as the inverted hexagonal (H||) phase. The formation of a type II non-bilayer intermediate, the inverted lipid micel is proposed as the initial step in membrane fusion (Verkleij 1984, Siegel, 1986). In the various forms of cellular transport mediated by carrier vesicles (e.g. exocytosis, endocytosis) the regulation of membrane fusion, and hence of inverted lipid micel formation, is of vital importance.We studied the phase behaviour of simple and complex lipid mixtures by cryo-electron microscopy to gain more insight in the ultrastructure of different lipid phases (e.g. Pβ’, Lα, H||) and in the complex membrane structures arising after Lα < - > H|| phase changes (e.g. isotropic, cubic). To prepare hydrated thin films a 700 mesh hexagonal grid (without supporting film) was dipped into and withdrawn from a liposome suspension. The excess fluid was blotted against filter paper and the thin films that form between the bars of the specimen grid were immediately (within 1 second) vitrified by plunging of the carrier grids into ethane cooled to its melting point by liquid nitrogen (Dubochet et al., 1982). Surface active molecules such as phospholipids play an important role in the formation and thinning of these aqueous thin films (Frederik et al., 1989). The formation of two interfacial layers at the air-water interfaces requires transport of surface molecules from the suspension as well as the orientation of these molecules at the interfaces. During the spontaneous thinning of the film the interfaces approach each other, initially driven by capillary forces later by Van der Waals attraction. The process of thinning results in the sorting by size of the suspended material and is also accompanied by a loss of water from the thinner parts of the film. This loss of water may result in the concentration and eventually in partial dehydration of suspended material even if thin films are vitrified within 1 sec after their formation. Film formation and vitrification were initiated at temperatures between 20-60°C by placing die equipment in an incubator provided widi port holes for the necessary manipulations. Unilamellar vesicles were made from dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline (DPPC) by an extrusion method and showed a smooth (Lα) or a rippled (PB’.) structure depending on the temperature of the suspensions and the temperature of film formation (50°C resp. 39°C) prior to vitrification. The thermotropic phases of hydrated phospholipids are thus faithfully preserved in vitrified thin films (fig. a,b). Complex structures arose when mixtures of dioleoylphosphatidylethanol-amine (DOPE), dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) and cholesterol (molar ratio 3/1/2) are heated and used for thin film formation. The tendency of DOPE to adopt the H|| phase is responsible for the formation of complex structures in this lipid mixture. Isotropic and cubic areas (fig. c,d) having a bilayer structure are found in coexistence with H|| cylinders (fig. e). The formation of interlamellar attachments (ILA’s) as observed in isotropic and cubic structures is also thought to be of importance in biological fusion events. Therefore the study of the fusion activity of influenza B virus with liposomes (DOPE/DOPC/cholesterol/ganglioside in a molar ratio 1/1/2/0.2) was initiated. At neutral pH only adsorption of virus to liposomes was observed whereas 2 minutes after a drop in pH (7.4 - > 5.4) fusion between virus and liposome membranes was demonstrated (fig. f). The micrographs illustrate the exciting potential of cryo-electron microscopy to study lipid-lipid and lipid-protein interactions in hydrated specimens.

Linking transcription, RNA polymerase II elongation and alternative splicing

2020 ◽  
Vol 477 (16) ◽  
pp. 3091-3104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana E. Giono ◽  
Alberto R. Kornblihtt
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Alternative Splicing ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Transcription Elongation ◽  
Single Gene ◽  
Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽  
Regulation Of Transcription ◽  
Stepping Stones ◽  
Eukaryotic Transcription

Gene expression is an intricately regulated process that is at the basis of cell differentiation, the maintenance of cell identity and the cellular responses to environmental changes. Alternative splicing, the process by which multiple functionally distinct transcripts are generated from a single gene, is one of the main mechanisms that contribute to expand the coding capacity of genomes and help explain the level of complexity achieved by higher organisms. Eukaryotic transcription is subject to multiple layers of regulation both intrinsic — such as promoter structure — and dynamic, allowing the cell to respond to internal and external signals. Similarly, alternative splicing choices are affected by all of these aspects, mainly through the regulation of transcription elongation, making it a regulatory knob on a par with the regulation of gene expression levels. This review aims to recapitulate some of the history and stepping-stones that led to the paradigms held today about transcription and splicing regulation, with major focus on transcription elongation and its effect on alternative splicing.

Seeking to uncover biology's chemical roots

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 435-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Addy Pross
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Significant Development ◽  
The Road ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Systems Chemistry ◽  
Biological World ◽  
Inanimate Matter ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Opening Up

Despite the considerable advances in molecular biology over the past several decades, the nature of the physical–chemical process by which inanimate matter become transformed into simplest life remains elusive. In this review, we describe recent advances in a relatively new area of chemistry, systems chemistry, which attempts to uncover the physical–chemical principles underlying that remarkable transformation. A significant development has been the discovery that within the space of chemical potentiality there exists a largely unexplored kinetic domain which could be termed dynamic kinetic chemistry. Our analysis suggests that all biological systems and associated sub-systems belong to this distinct domain, thereby facilitating the placement of biological systems within a coherent physical/chemical framework. That discovery offers new insights into the origin of life process, as well as opening the door toward the preparation of active materials able to self-heal, adapt to environmental changes, even communicate, mimicking what transpires routinely in the biological world. The road to simplest proto-life appears to be opening up.

A New Method for Plasminogen Standardization

1968 ◽  
Vol 20 (03/04) ◽  
pp. 548-554
Author(s):  
J Gajewski ◽  
G Markus
Keyword(s):  
Proteolytic Activity ◽  
Specific Activity ◽  
Molar Ratio ◽  
Sharp Transition ◽  
Equivalence Point ◽  
Constant Amount ◽  
Residual Level ◽  
Activity Measurements ◽  
Complete Saturation ◽  
Human Plasminogen

SummaryA method for the standardization of human plasminogen is proposed, based on the stoichiometric interaction between plasminogen and streptokinase, resulting in inhibition of proteolytic activity. Activation of a constant amount of plasminogen with increasing amounts of streptokinase yields linearly decreasing activities, as a function of streptokinase, with a sharp transition to a constant residual level. The point of transition corresponds to complete saturation of plasmin with streptokinase in a 1:1 molar ratio, and is therefore a measure of the amount of plasminogen present initially, in terms of streptokinase equivalents. The equivalence point is independent of the kind of protein substrate used, buffer, pH, length of digestion and, within limits, temperature. The method, therefore, is not subject to the variations commonly encountered in the usual determination based on specific activity measurements.

Diatoms in the Amur Bay sediments (Sea of Japan) and the impact of typhoons on their accumulation over the last 2000 years

2019 ◽  
pp. 252-256
Author(s):  
Irina A. Prushkovskaya ◽  
Ira B. Tsoy
Keyword(s):  
Sea Of Japan ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Catastrophic Events ◽  
Bromine Content ◽  
Amur Bay ◽  
The Impact

The study of diatoms in the sediments of the Amur Bay (Sea of Japan), formed over the last 2000 years, showed that the sharp short-term drops in the concentration of diatoms coincide with the minima of bromine content, which can be explained by the influence of typhoons or other catastrophic events leading to floods and used later in paleoreconstructions.

Holocene diatom assemblages from Dunderbukhta sediments, West Svalbard

2019 ◽  
pp. 242-245
Author(s):  
Ksenya V. Poleshchuk ◽  
Zinaida V. Pushina ◽  
Sergey R. Verkulich
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ecological Groups ◽  
Diatom Assemblages ◽  
Diatom Analysis ◽  
Diatom Flora ◽  
Sediment Samples ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
Temperature Trends

The diatom analysis results of sediment samples from Dunderbukta area (Wedel Jarlsberg Land, West Svalbard) are presented in this paper. The diatom flora consists of four ecological groups, which ratio indicates three ecological zones. These zones show environmental changes of the area in early–middle Holocene that is demonstrating periods of regression and temperature trends.

Fungicidal and Bactericidal Activity of the Alkyl-Substituted Guanidine-Containing Oligomers

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 54-63
Author(s):  
M.Ya. Vortman ◽  
◽  
Yu.B. Pysmenna ◽  
A.I. Chuenko ◽  
D.R. Abdulina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heterotrophic Bacteria ◽  
Trichoderma Viride ◽  
Rhodococcus Erythropolis ◽  
Biological Action ◽  
Molar Ratio ◽  
Diffusion Method ◽  
Klebsiella Pneumonia ◽  
Alkyl Bromides ◽  
Base Form ◽  
Two Stages

Biocides are widely used in medicine and various industries to protect against a number of harmful microorganisms. Organic quaternary ammonium and guanidine-containing compounds, the biological action of which is based on membrane-toxic properties, are used as bactericidal preparations. The aim of this work was to study the bactericidal and fungicidal activities of the synthesized oligomeric alkylsubstituted guanidinium bromides with different radicals -C3H7, -C7H15, -C10H21, against different isolates of heterotrophic bacteria and microscopic fungi. Methods. The synthesis of alkyl-substituted guanidiniumcontaining oligomers was performed in two stages. In the first stage, alkyl-substituted guanidine was obtained by the reaction of guanidine, previously converted by alkali from the salt form to the base form by the base and alkyl bromides (Alk=-C3H7 (propyl), -C7H15 (heptyl), -C10H21 (decyl)) in methanol at a temperature of 50°C and a molar ratio of 1:1. The second carried out the reaction between aromatic oligoepoxide DER-331 and alkyl-substituted guanidine in methanol at a temperature of 50°C for 2–3 hours and a molar ratio of 1:2. Bacteria were grown on meat-peptone agar for 48 hours at a temperature of 28±2°С. Test cultures of micromycetes were cultured on agar beer wort (6°B), incubated for 14 days in a thermostat at a temperature of 28±2°C. Antimicrobial activity of newly synthesized alkyl-substituted guanidinium-containing oligomers was determined by standard disco-diffusion method (method of disks on agar) and fungicidal activity was determined by the method of holes in agar. Results. Oligomeric alkylsubstituted guanidinium bromides with different radicals composed -C3H7, -C7H15, -C10H21- synthesized by the reaction of guanidine alkyl bromides with aromatic oligoepoxydes. It was found that alkyl-substituted guanidinium-containing oligomers at a concentration of 1–3% inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli 475, Pseudomonas aeruginosa 465, Klebsiella pneumonia 479, Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes 109, Staphylococcus aureus 451, E. faecalis 422, Rhodococcus erythropolis 102, Bacillus subtilis 138 and most of the studied micromycetes – Aureobasidium pullulans F-41430, Paecilomyces variotii F-41432, Penicillium funiculosum F-41435, Penicillium ochrochloron F-41431, Scopulariopsis brevicaulis F-41434, Trichoderma viride F-41437, Candida albicans F-41441, Aspergillus flavus F-41442, Aspergillus niger F-41448, Penicillium sp. F-41447. Conclusions. Antimicrobial and fungicidal properties significantly depend on the length of the alkyl radical, with increasing of its length the diameter of the zone of bacterial and micromycetes growth retardation increases.10.15407/microbiolj82.06.054

On the Properties of an Ion Conductive System Incorporated in Hybrid Films

2000 ◽  
Vol 628 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. González ◽  
P. J. Retuert ◽  
S. Fuentes
Keyword(s):  
Electrochemical Impedance ◽  
Ternary Phase Diagram ◽  
Lithium Perchlorate ◽  
Molar Ratio ◽  
Ionic Conductors ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Poly Ethylene Oxide ◽  
Ion Conducting ◽  
Poly Ethylene ◽  
High Degree

ABSTRACTBlending the biopolymer chitosan (CHI) with poly (aminopropilsiloxane) oligomers (pAPS), and poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) in the presence of lithium perchlorate lead to ion conducting products whose conductivity depends on the composition of the mixture. A ternary phase diagram for mixtures containing 0.2 M LiClO4 shows a zone in which the physical properties of the products - transparent, flexible, mechanically robust films - indicate a high degree of molecular compatibilization of the components. Comparison of these films with binary CHI-pAPS nanocomposites as well as the microscopic aspect, thermal behavior, and X-ray diffraction pattern of the product with the composition PEO/CHI/pAPS/LiClO4 1:0.5:0.6:0.2 molar ratio indicates that these films may be described as a layered nanocomposite. In this composite, lithium species coordinated by PEO and pAPS should be inserted into chitosan layers. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements indicate the films are pure ionic conductors with a maximal bulk conductivity of 1.7*10-5 Scm-1 at 40 °C and a sample-electrode interface capacitance of about 1.2*10-9 F.

Quantum Dot Bioconjugates as Energy Donors in Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer Assays

2003 ◽  
Vol 773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron R. Clapp ◽  
Igor L. Medintz ◽  
J. Matthew Mauro ◽  
Hedi Mattoussi
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Quantum Dot ◽  
Organic Dyes ◽  
Resonance Energy Transfer ◽  
Resonance Energy ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Molar Ratio ◽  
Binding Assays ◽  
Specific Sequence ◽  
Donor Acceptor

AbstractLuminescent CdSe-ZnS core-shell quantum dot (QD) bioconjugates were used as energy donors in fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET) binding assays. The QDs were coated with saturating amounts of genetically engineered maltose binding protein (MBP) using a noncovalent immobilization process, and Cy3 organic dyes covalently attached at a specific sequence to MBP were used as energy acceptor molecules. Energy transfer efficiency was measured as a function of the MBP-Cy3/QD molar ratio for two different donor fluorescence emissions (different QD core sizes). Apparent donor-acceptor distances were determined from these FRET studies, and the measured distances are consistent with QD-protein conjugate dimensions previously determined from structural studies.

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