Spin Effects in Collisions of Electrons with Atoms and Molecules

IntroductionThedynamicsofelectron-atomandelectron-moleculecollisionshasbeenthefocusofmuchinterestinthepastbecauseofitsrelevanceingasdischargesandplasmas,includinggaslasers,orastrophysicalproblemsofpracticalinterest.Avarietyofinvestigationshavebeenperformedtostudysuchprocessesinsomedetail.Moresophisticatedexperimentalmethodsincludepolarization-correlationmeasurementstoobtaingeneralizedSTUparameters,spinasymmetrieswithpolarizedtargets(alsosuperelasticscatteringfromlaserexcitedtarget),opticalpar…     

Neuere Anschauungen über die Meteorologie und Klimatologie des Föhns

Summary The results of new researches about the föhn in the Swiss Alps in connection with the theory ofH. von Ficker show that the energy of the cyclonic föhn has two sources: the pressure gradient and the baroclinic field. This is caused by the isobaric differences of temperature between the Alps and the free atmosphere in the lee. The result is a current with a descending component in the lee. At the beginning, the descent of the föhn is due to the outstreaming of the cold air on the ground. In its further development the energy of the föhn increases so much as to sweep the cold air off the valleys.The development of föhn in an anticyclonic system ist also explained. Furthermore the two kinds of föhn are discussed in regard to their climatological influences.

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Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos.     

An unusually large multifunctional polypeptide in the erythromycin-producing polyketide synthase of Saccharopolyspora erythraea

Erythromycin A, a clinically important polyketide antibiotic, is produced by the Gram-positive bacterium Saccharopolyspora erythraea. In an arrangement that seems to be generally true of antibiotic biosynthetic genes in Streptomyces and related bacteria like S. erythraea, the ery genes encoding the biosynthetic pathway to erythromycin are clustered around the gene (ermE) that confers self-resistance on S. erythraea. The aglycone core of erythromycin A is derived from one propionyl-CoA and six methylmalonyl-CoA units, which are incorporated head-to-tail into the growing polyketide chain, in a process similar to that of fatty-acid biosynthesis, to generate a macrolide intermediate, 6-deoxyerythronolide B. 6-Deoxyerythronolide B is converted into erythromycin A through the action of specific hydroxylases, glycosyltransferases and a methyltransferase. We report here the analysis of about 10 kilobases of DNA from S. erythraea, cloned by chromosome 'walking' outwards from the erythromycin-resistance determinant ermE, and previously shown to be essential for erythromycin biosynthesis. Partial sequencing of this region indicates that it encodes the synthase. Our results confirm this, and reveal a novel organization of the erythromycin-producing polyketide synthase, which provides further insight into the mechanism of chain assembly.     

Epicatechin can cause the seedling growth inhibitor,nagilactone E,to induce growth stimulation

Summary A possible new role for the flavonoid (–)-epicatechin (II) is described. It has no growth effects on its own, but when it is added to lettuce and rice seeds together with the known seedling growth inhibitor nagilactone E (I), the growth inhibitor activity ofI can cease and growth stimulation can be observed.