Sc2(mu2-O) trapped in a fullerene cage: the isolation and structural characterization of Sc2(mu2-O)@C(s)6-C82 and the relevance of the thermal and entropic effects in fullerene isomer selection.

The new endohedral fullerene, Sc(2)(mu(2)-O)@C(s)(6)-C(82), has been isolated from the carbon soot obtained by electric arc generation of fullerenes utilizing graphite rods doped with 90% Sc(2)O(3) and 10% Cu (w/w). Sc(2)(mu(2)-O)@C(s)(6)-C(82) has been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, mass spectrometry, and UV/vis spectroscopy. Computational studies have shown that, among the nine isomers that follow the isolated pentagon rule (IPR) for C(82), cage 6 with C(s) symmetry is the most favorable to encapsulate the cluster at T > 1200 K.

Selective complexation and reactivity of metallic nitride and oxometallic fullerenes with Lewis acids and use as an effective purification method.

Metallic nitride fullerenes (MNFs) and oxometallic fullerenes (OMFs) react quickly with an array of Lewis acids. Empty-cage fullerenes are largely unreactive under conditions used in this study. The reactivity order is Sc(4)O(2)@I(h)-C(80) > Sc(3)N@C(78) > Sc(3)N@C(68) > Sc(3)N@D(5h)-C(80) > Sc(3)N@I(h)-C(80).

Infection of Melanoplus sanguinipes grasshoppers following ingestion of rangeland plant species harboring vesicular stomatitis virus.

Knowledge of the many mechanisms of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) transmission is critical for understanding of the epidemiology of sporadic disease outbreaks in the western United States. Migratory grasshoppers [Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fabricius)] have been implicated as reservoirs and mechanical vectors of VSV. The grasshopper-cattle-grasshopper transmission cycle is based on the assumptions that (i) virus shed from clinically infected animals would contaminate pasture plants and remain infectious on plant surfaces and (ii) grasshoppers would become infected by eating the virus-contaminated plants.

Blood-feeding behavior of vesicular stomatitis virus infected Culicoides sonorensis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

To determine whether vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection of Culicoides sonorensis Wirth & Jones (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) affects subsequent blood-feeding behavior, midges injected with either virus-infected or virus-free cell lysates were allowed to blood feed for short (10-min) or long (60-min) periods on 2, 3, and 4 d postinoculation (DPI). Generalized linear mixed models were fit to test the effects of infection status, duration of feeding period, and DPI on the percentage of females that blood fed. VSV-infection significantly reduced the percentage of females that blood fed on 2 DPI, the day of peak virus titer.

A distorted tetrahedral metal oxide cluster inside an icosahedral carbon cage. Synthesis, isolation, and structural characterization of Sc4(mu3-O)2@Ih-C80.

The remarkably large cluster Sc4(mu3-O)2 has been obtained trapped inside an Ih-C80 cage by conducting the vaporization of graphite rods doped with copper(II) nitrate and scandium(III) oxide in an electric arc under a low pressure helium atmosphere with an added flow of air. The product has been isolated by chromatography and identified by high-resolution mass spectrometry. The structure of Sc4(mu3-O)2@Ih-C80 has been determined by X-ray crystallography on a crystal of Sc4(mu3-O)2@Ih-C80.

Vector competence of Culicoides sonorensis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) for vesicular stomatitis virus.

To determine the vector competence of Culicoides sonorensis Wirth & Jones midges for vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-New Jersey, insects were experimentally infected per os and sampled over time. Viral replication, as determined by in situ hybridization, was seen in epithelial, neural, and hemolymph cell types throughout the insect. Spatial and temporal distribution of virus was determined by immunohistochemical examination of sequentially sampled insects.