Cold ions in the hot plasma sheet of Earth's magnetotail

Most visible matter in the Universe exists as plasma. How this plasma is heated, and especially how the initial non-equilibrium plasma distributions relax to thermal equilibrium (as predicted by Maxwell-Boltzman statistics), is a fundamental question in studies of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. Astrophysical plasmas are often so tenuous that binary collisions can be ignored, and it is not clear how thermal equilibrium develops for these 'collisionless' plasmas. One example of a collisionless plasma is the Earth's plasma sheet, where thermalized hot plasma with ion temperatures of about 5 x 10(7) K has been observed. Here we report direct observations of a plasma distribution function during a solar eclipse, revealing cold ions in the Earth's plasma sheet in coexistence with thermalized hot ions. This cold component cannot be detected by plasma sensors on satellites that are positively charged in sunlight, but our observations in the Earth's shadow show that the density of the cold ions is comparable to that of hot ions. This high density is difficult to explain within existing theories, as it requires a mechanism that permits half of the source plasma to remain cold upon entry into the hot turbulent plasma sheet.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of the ice nucleation and growth process leading to water freezing

Upon cooling, water freezes to ice. This familiar phase transition occurs widely in nature, yet unlike the freezing of simple liquids, it has never been successfully simulated on a computer. The difficulty lies with the fact that hydrogen bonding between individual water molecules yields a disordered three-dimensional hydrogen-bond network whose rugged and complex global potential energy surface permits a large number of possible network configurations. As a result, it is very challenging to reproduce the freezing of 'real' water into a solid with a unique crystalline structure. For systems with a limited number of possible disordered hydrogen-bond network structures, such as confined water, it is relatively easy to locate a pathway from a liquid state to a crystalline structure. For pure and spatially unconfined water, however, molecular dynamics simulations of freezing are severely hampered by the large number of possible network configurations that exist. Here we present a molecular dynamics trajectory that captures the molecular processes involved in the freezing of pure water. We find that ice nucleation occurs once a sufficient number of relatively long-lived hydrogen bonds develop spontaneously at the same location to form a fairly compact initial nucleus. The initial nucleus then slowly changes shape and size until it reaches a stage that allows rapid expansion, resulting in crystallization of the entire system.     

组合化学技术中的组合合成与群集筛选

本文叙述了组合化学技术的研究与应用，包括诸如同步多重合成（混合固相合成）法、多头合成（多针合成）法、茶袋法、光印（光控合成）法、反应珠法、载体合成法、基因重组法、非肽类岸法、色谱条码法等及其检测方法。它们已成为寻找和发展分子多样性与研究开发新药的策略和途径。     

未澄清酵母均化液中 L-天门冬氨酸酶的分离——疏水膨胀床直接吸附法(英文)

研究了用疏水膨胀床直接从未澄清酵母（Ｓ．ｃｅｒｅｖｉｓｉａｅ）均化液中分离Ｌ－天门冬氨酸酶的过程．吸附和冲洗采用膨胀床模式,而酶的洗提采用沉降床模式．在适当的疏水条件下,膨胀床中的疏水吸附剂（ＴｓｋｇｅｌＰｈｅｎｙｌ＿Ｔｏｙｏｐｅａｒｌ６５０Ｃ）可从未澄清均化液中直接捕集分离Ｌ－天门冬氨酸酶．通过梯度洗提,一次膨胀床吸附过程中,酶活的洗脱率为９５％,均化液中酶的总回收率为６５％,洗脱液纯度为１３倍．本方法将膨胀床和疏水性吸附的特长有机地结合起来,是生物活性蛋白酶分离纯化的一个重要手段．     

A new synthesis ofβ-fluoroaspartic acid

Summary -Fluoroaspartic acid, a new amino acid, was synthesized by a diazotization of diaminosuccinic acid in liquid hydrogen fluoride.Synthesis of Amino Acids and Related Compounds, part 21.—Part 20: Y. Ozaki, S. Maeda, M. Miyoshi and K. Matsumoto, Synthesis, 216 (1979).We would like to acknowledge Dr I. Chibata for his encouragement in this work.     

Oxidation of synephrine by type A and type B monoamine oxidase

Summary Synephrine (SP) was found to be a substrate for monoamine oxidase (MAO) in rat brain mitochondria, showing the K_m and V_max values of 250 M and 32.6 nmoles/mg of protein/30 min respectively. The inhibition studies showed that the SP oxidation was carried out by both type A and type B MAO and a major part of the activity was due to type A MAO.     

A genome-wide association study identifies common variants near LBX1 associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a pediatric spinal deformity affecting 2-3% of school-age children worldwide(1). Genetic factors have been implicated in its etiology(2). Through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and replication study involving a total of 1,376 Japanese females with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and 11,297 female controls, we identified a locus at chromosome 10q24.31 associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis susceptibility. The most significant SNP (rs11190870; combined P = 1.24 × 10(-19); odds ratio (OR) = 1.56) is located near LBX1 (encoding ladybird homeobox 1). The identification of this susceptibility locus provides new insights into the pathogenesis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.