Quasi-classical trajectory study of the N(2D) + H2(X1ΣG+) → NH(X3Σ-) + H(2S) reaction based on an analytical potential energy surface.

Using the multireference configuration interaction method with the Davidson correction and a large orbital basis set (aug-cc-pV5Z), we obtain an energy grid that includes 17,500 points for the construction of a new analytical potential energy surface (APES) for the N((2)D) + H(2)(X(1)Σ(g)(+)) → NH(X(3)Σ(-)) + H((2)S) reaction. The APES, which contains 145 parameters and is represented with a many-body expansion and a new switch function, is fitted from the ab initio energies using an adaptive nonlinear least-squares algorithm. The geometric characteristics of the reported APES in the literature and those of our APES are also compared.

Quantitative imaging of young's modulus of soft tissues from ultrasound water jet indentation: a finite element study.

Indentation testing is a widely used approach to evaluate mechanical characteristics of soft tissues quantitatively. Young's modulus of soft tissue can be calculated from the force-deformation data with known tissue thickness and Poisson's ratio using Hayes' equation. Our group previously developed a noncontact indentation system using a water jet as a soft indenter as well as the coupling medium for the propagation of high-frequency ultrasound.

High level expression and characterization of a thermostable lysophospholipase from Thermococcus kodakarensis KOD1.

Phospholipases can catalyze the hydrolysis of one or more ester and phosphodiester bonds and have a considerable interest in the food, oil leather and pharmaceutical industries. In this report, a lysophospholipase gene from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis KOD1 (LysoPL-tk) was cloned. The gene of 783 bp encodes a 260-amino acid protein with a molecular mass of 29 kDa.

Stem hydraulic traits and leaf water-stress tolerance are co-ordinated with the leaf phenology of angiosperm trees in an Asian tropical dry karst forest.

Background And Aims: The co-occurring of evergreen and deciduous angiosperm trees in Asian tropical dry forests on karst substrates suggests the existence of different water-use strategies among species. In this study it is hypothesized that the co-occurring evergreen and deciduous trees differ in stem hydraulic traits and leaf water relationships, and there will be correlated evolution in drought tolerance between leaves and stems.

Methods: A comparison was made of stem hydraulic conductivity, vulnerability curves, wood anatomy, leaf life span, leaf pressure-volume characteristics and photosynthetic capacity of six evergreen and six deciduous tree species co-occurring in a tropical dry karst forest in south-west China.

Infrared photodissociation spectroscopy of mononuclear iron carbonyl anions.

The infrared photodissociation spectroscopy of mass-selected mononuclear iron carbonyl anions Fe(CO)(n)(-) (n = 2-8) were studied in the carbonyl stretching frequency region. The FeCO(-) anion does not fragment when excited with infrared light. Only a single IR active band was observed for the Fe(CO)(2)(-) and Fe(CO)(3)(-) anions, consistent with theoretical predictions that these complexes have linear D(∞h) and planar D(3h) symmetry, respectively.

Fungus-mediated green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Aspergillus terreus.

The biosynthesis of nanoparticles has received increasing attention due to the growing need to develop safe, cost-effective and environmentally friendly technologies for nano-materials synthesis. In this report, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using a reduction of aqueous Ag(+) ion with the culture supernatants of Aspergillus terreus. The reaction occurred at ambient temperature and in a few hours.

Role of glutamate 64 in the activation of the prodrug 5-fluorocytosine by yeast cytosine deaminase.

Yeast cytosine deaminase (yCD) catalyzes the hydrolytic deamination of cytosine to uracil as well as the deamination of the prodrug 5-fluorocytosine (5FC) to the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil. In this study, the role of Glu64 in the activation of the prodrug 5FC was investigated by site-directed mutagenesis, biochemical, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and computational studies. Steady-state kinetics studies showed that the mutation of Glu64 causes a dramatic decrease in k(cat) and a dramatic increase in K(m), indicating Glu64 is important for both binding and catalysis in the activation of 5FC.

Molecular typing of Treponema pallidum causing early syphilis in China: a cross-sectional study.

Background: There have been limited data on molecular epidemiology of syphilis in China. This study aimed to analyze strain type distribution of Treponema pallidum causing early syphilis across geographic areas in China using an enhanced method.

Methods: Genital samples were collected from patients in East, South, and North China.

Individual chromosome assignment and chromosomal collinearity in Gossypium thurberi, G. trilobum and D subgenome of G. barbadense revealed by BAC-FISH.

The experiment on individual chromosome assignments and chromosomal diversity was conducted using a multi-probe fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) system in D subgenome of tetraploid Gossypium barbadense (D(b)), G. thurberi (D(1)) and G. trilobum (D(8)), which the later two were the possible subgenome donors of tetraploid cottons.

A quantum reaction dynamics study of the translational, vibrational, and rotational motion effects on the HD + H3+ reaction.

Time-dependent, quantum reaction dynamics wavepacket approach is employed to investigate the impacts of the translational, vibrational, and rotational motion on the HD+H(3)(+) → H(2)D(+) + H(2) reaction using the Xie-Braams-Bowman potential energy surface [Z. Xie, B. J.

[Effects of tourism disturbance on plant diversity in Qingshan Lake scenic area of Zhejiang Province].

From May 2007 to June 2008, an investigation was made on the changes of plant community in Qingshan Lake scenic area of Zhejiang Province under the effects of tourism disturbance. With the increase of tourism disturbance, the importance value of the plants was mainly fastened on a few species such as Pinus hwangshanensis, apt to decrease for tree and shrub species and to increase for herb species, and the individuals of the plants increased. The values of richness index (D) and diversity index (H) were in the order of medium disturbance > slight disturbance > severe disturbance, while the evenness index (J) value was in the order of medium disturbance > severe disturbance > slight disturbance.

Neutron reflectometry and QCM-D study of the interaction of cellulases with films of amorphous cellulose.

Improving the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is one of the key technological hurdles to reduce the cost of producing ethanol and other transportation fuels from lignocellulosic material. A better understanding of how soluble enzymes interact with insoluble cellulose will aid in the design of more efficient enzyme systems. We report a study involving neutron reflectometry (NR) and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) of the interaction of a fungal enzyme extract ( T.

A biomimetic membrane device that modulates the excessive inflammatory response to sepsis.

Objective: Septic shock has a clinical mortality rate approaching fifty percent. The major clinical manifestations of sepsis are due to the dysregulation of the host's response to infection rather than the direct consequences of the invading pathogen. Central to this initial immunologic response is the activation of leukocytes and microvascular endothelium resulting in cardiovascular instability, lung injury and renal dysfunction.

Phenology and laboratory rearing procedures of an Asian longicorn beetle, Glenea cantor (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae).

Clenea cantor (F.) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) is an Asian longicorn beetle whose larvae bore under the bark of living trees of at least seven plant families and enter the wood for pupation. Here, we determined the phenology of this beetle on its natural host, kapok [Bombax ceiba L.

A preliminary analysis of the immunoglobulin genes in the African elephant (Loxodonta africana).

The genomic organization of the IgH (Immunoglobulin heavy chain), Igκ (Immunoglobulin kappa chain), and Igλ (Immunoglobulin lambda chain) loci in the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) was annotated using available genome data. The elephant IgH locus on scaffold 57 spans over 2,974 kb, and consists of at least 112 V(H) gene segments, 87 D(H) gene segments (the largest number in mammals examined so far), six J(H) gene segments, a single μ, a δ remnant, and eight γ genes (α and ε genes are missing, most likely due to sequence gaps). The Igκ locus, found on three scaffolds (202, 50 and 86), contains a total of 153 V(κ) gene segments, three J(κ) segments, and a single C(κ) gene.

Efficacy of intra-articular injection of celecoxib in a rabbit model of osteoarthritis.

Introduction: Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It is a slowly progressive joint disease typically seen in middle-age to elderly people. Intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid is a well-documented treatment for knee osteoarthritis.

The structures and magnetic moments of Co-C clusters.

The geometries, binding energies, and magnetic moments of small CoC(N) (N = 1-8) and CO2C(N) (N = 1-6) clusters are studied systematically using all-electron density functional theory (DFT) with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The results indicate that, for the CoC(N) (N = 1-8) and Co2C(N) (N = 1-6) clusters, the lowest-energy structures are predicted to be linear structures except for CoC2 and CoC7. The ground states of the CoC(N) (N = 1-8) clusters are linear geometries (C(v)) with Co atom at one end.

Communication: Prediction of the rate constant of bimolecular hydrogen exchange in the water dimer using an ab initio potential energy surface.

We report the properties of two novel transition states of the bimolecular hydrogen exchange reaction in the water dimer, based on an ab initio water dimer potential [A. Shank et al., J.

Stroke: working toward a prioritized world agenda.

Background And Purpose: The aim of the Synergium was to devise and prioritize new ways of accelerating progress in reducing the risks, effects, and consequences of stroke.

Methods: Preliminary work was performed by seven working groups of stroke leaders followed by a synergium (a forum for working synergistically together) with approximately 100 additional participants. The resulting draft document had further input from contributors outside the synergium.

A comprehensive analysis of germline and expressed immunoglobulin repertoire in the horse.

Based on the recently released horse genome, we have characterized the genomic organization of the horse Ig gene loci. The horse IgH locus in genomic scaffold Un0011 contains 40 D(H) segments, 8 J(H) segments and 50 V(H) segments. The Igkappa locus contains only a single C(kappa) gene, 5 J(kappa) segments and a 60 V(kappa) segments, whereas the Iglambda locus contains 7 C(lambda) genes each preceded by a J(lambda) gene segment.

Seven-degree-of-freedom, quantum scattering dynamics study of the H2D+ + H2 reaction.

A quantum scattering dynamics, time-dependent wavepacket propagation method is applied to study the reaction of H(2)D(+)+H(2)-->H(3)(+)+HD on the Xie-Braams-Bowman potential energy surface. The reduced-dimensional, seven-degree-of-freedom approach is employed in this calculation by fixing one Jacobi and one torsion angle related to H(2)D(+) at the lowest saddle point geometry of D(2d) on the potential energy surface. Initial state selected reaction probabilities are presented for various initial rovibrational states.

A sensitive electrochemical approach for monitoring the effects of nano-Al2O3 on LDH activity by differential pulse voltammetry.

In this paper, a sensitive electrochemical approach for monitoring the effect of nano-Al(2)O(3) on lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity is established. It is based on the determination of reduction current of NAD(+) involved in enzyme promoting catalytic reaction of "pyruvate + NADH + H+ [see text]L D H lactate + NAD+" by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Various influencing factors including nano-type, nano-size, and adsorbed pollutant organics have been investigated.

Cyclodextrins modify the properties of cationic polyacrylamides.

The hydrodynamic diameter (D(h)) of cationic polyacrylamides (c-PAM) in water can either decrease or increase dramatically in the presence of small amounts of beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD). It is proposed that the CD partially disperses the charge on the polymer thereby promoting associations within or among neighboring polymer strands. Turbidity measurements show that beta-CD enhances the c-PAM induced flocculation of wood pulp fibers, which is in keeping with previous observations on sludge dewatering.

A Burkholderia pseudomallei protein microarray reveals serodiagnostic and cross-reactive antigens.

Understanding the way in which the immune system responds to infection is central to the development of vaccines and many diagnostics. To provide insight into this area, we fabricated a protein microarray containing 1,205 Burkholderia pseudomallei proteins, probed it with 88 melioidosis patient sera, and identified 170 reactive antigens. This subset of antigens was printed on a smaller array and probed with a collection of 747 individual sera derived from 10 patient groups including melioidosis patients from Northeast Thailand and Singapore, patients with different infections, healthy individuals from the USA, and from endemic and nonendemic regions of Thailand.

Diketopiperazine alkaloids from a deep ocean sediment derived fungus Penicillium sp.

Five new diketopiperazine alkaloids, brevicompanines D-H (3-7), together with two known analogs, allo-brevicompanine B (1) and fructigenine B (2), were isolated from a deep ocean sediment derived fungus Penicillium sp. Their structures were established by spectroscopic methods including 2D NMR and chiral HPLC analysis. Compounds 4 and 7 inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide production in BV2 microglial cells.