Structural basis of HutP-mediated anti-termination and roles of the Mg2+ ion and L-histidine ligand

HutP regulates the expression of the hut structural genes of Bacillus subtilis by an anti-termination mechanism and requires two components, Mg2+ ions and L-histidine. HutP recognizes three UAG triplet units, separated by four non-conserved nucleotides on the terminator region. Here we report the 1.60-A resolution crystal structure of the quaternary complex (HutP-L-histidine-Mg2+-21-base single-stranded RNA). In the complex, the RNA adopts a novel triangular fold on the hexameric surface of HutP, without any base-pairing, and binds to the protein mostly by specific protein-base interactions. The structure explains how the HutP and RNA interactions are regulated critically by the l-histidine and Mg2+ ion through the structural rearrangement. To gain insights into these structural rearrangements, we solved two additional crystal structures (uncomplexed HutP and HutP-L-histidine-Mg2+) that revealed the intermediate structures of HutP (before forming an active structure) and the importance of the Mg2+ ion interactions in the complexes.     

Interruption of acoustic communication and mating in a leafhopper and a planthopper by aerial sound vibrations picked up by plants

Summary Each sex of the cotton leafhopper and the rice brown planthopper communicates with the opposite sex by certain specific sound vibrations which travel through the plant surface and lead to mating. External sounds of certain frequencies, viz., 200 c/sec, generated by a harmonium or an audio-oscillator are picked up from the air by the plants and interrupt the acoustic communication as well as mating of the insects. Notes with harmonics are effective whereas pure notes are ineffective.The authors gratefully acknowledge P.L. 480 grant No. FG-IN-551 from the US Department of Agriculture for project No. IN-ARS-90, under which this work was carried out.     

Differential implantation of twin blastocysts inMegaderma (Microchiroptera)

Zusammenfassung Ungleichgeschlechtige Zwillinge von verschiedener Grösse vonMegaderma lyra lyra (Microchiroptera) wurden im April letzten Jahres in einem trächtigen Weibchen gefunden. Um die Grössendifferenz der Zwillinge zu erklären, wird angenommen, dass in diesem Falle zwei Eier befruchtet worden waren, dass die linke Zygote einen Vorsprung über die rechte gewann und dass deshalb dic Implantation der rechten Blastocyste verzögert wurde.     

Performance evaluation for selectivity of the flocculant on hematite in selective flocculation

Increased demand for iron ore necessitates the utilization of low-grade iron ore fines, slimes, and existing tailings. Selective flocculation can be an alternative physico-chemical process for utilizing these low-grade fines, slimes, and tailings. In selective flocculation, the most critical objective is the selection of proper reagents that will make floc of desired minerals. In present study, selective flocculation was applied to ultra-fine synthetic mixtures of hematite and kaolinite, and the Fe value was upgraded up to 65.78% with the reduction of Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ values to 2.65% and 3.66%, respectively. Here, degraded wheat starch was used as a flocculant.In this process, separation occurs on the basis of the selectivity of the flocculant. The selectivity of the flocculant can be quantified in terms of separation efficiency. Here, an attempt was also made to develop a correlation between separation efficiency and major operating parameters such as flocculent dose, pH value, and solid concentration to predict the separation performance.     

Dolochar as a reductant in the reduction roasting of iron ore slimes

The present investigation examines the viability of dolochar, a sponge iron industry waste material, as a reductant in the reduction roasting of iron ore slimes, which are another waste generated by iron ore beneficiation plants. Under statistically determined optimum conditions, which include a temperature of 900℃, a reductant-to-feed mass ratio of 0.35, and a reduction time of 30-45 min, the roasted mass, after being subjected to low-intensity magnetic separation, yielded an iron ore concentrate of approximately 64wt% Fe at a mass recovery of approximately 71% from the feed iron ore slime assaying 56.2wt% Fe. X-ray diffraction analyses indicated that the magnetic products contain magnetite and hematite as the major phases, whereas the nonmagnetic fractions contain quartz and hematite.     

Microstructure studies of air-plasma-spray-deposited CoNiCrAlY coatings before and after thermal cyclic loading for high-temperature application

In the present study, bond-coats for thermal barrier coatings were deposited via air plasma spraying (APS) techniques onto Inconel 800 and Hastelloy C-276 alloy substrates. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to investigate the phases and microstructure of the as-sprayed, APS-deposited CoNiCrAlY bond-coatings. The aim of this work was to study the suitability of the bond-coat materials for high temperature applications. Confirmation of nanoscale grains of the γ/γ′-phase was obtained by TEM, high-resolution TEM, and AFM. We concluded that these changes result from the plastic deformation of the bond-coat during the deposition, resulting in CoNiCrAlY bond-coatings with excellent thermal cyclic resistance suitable for use in high-temperature applications. Cyclic oxidative stability was observed to also depend on the underlying metallic alloy substrate.     

中国公路沥青路面水损害气候影响分区方案

为了了解中国气候条件对沥青路面水损害的影响情况,对沥青路面水损害研究成果进行了回顾与分析,认为影响沥青路面水损害的主要气候因素为:降水、高温以及冻融循环过程.降水与高温过程组合以及降水与冻融循环过程组合是影响沥青路面水损害的两个主要气候过程.针对这两个主要气候过程,构建了降水气温指数和降水冰冻指数,用于评价上述气候过程对沥青路面水损害的影响.分析结果表明:利用降水气温指数和降水冰冻指数划分中国公路沥青路面水损害气候影响分区是合理可行的;根据各个气候指数的工程意义和等概率原则,确定了分区界限,拟定了包含14个区的分区方案.     

Biology-inspired synthesis of compound libraries

Biologically active small molecules represent the basis for chemical biology applications in which small molecules are used as chemical tools to probe biological processes. In this report, we review two approaches to design and synthesize compound libraries for biological screenings, i.e., diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) and biology-oriented synthesis (BIOS). Received 23 October 2007; received after revision 26 November 2007; accepted 28 November 2007