Asymmetry in the Multiprotein Systems of Molecular Biology

Signaling in living systems needs to achieve high specificity, to be reversible, and to achieve high signal to noise. Signaling mediated by multiprotein systems has evolved that avoids the requirement for high-affinity binary complexes that would be difficult to reverse and which, in the overcrowded cell, would lead to excessive noise in the system. Symmetrical structures are only occasionally formed. When they are, it is principally to colocate components, for example, the tyrosyl kinases of growth factors, where dimers form. Symmetry is, however, often broken, presumably to create more sensitivity and specificity in the signaling system by assembling other components, into higher-order multiprotein systems. The binding of a single heparin to two 1:1 FGF:FGFR complexes is an example, as is the binding of a single ligase to the Xrcc4 dimer, perhaps so creating a further DNA-binding site.     

Synthesis and biological activities of analogs of a lipid A biosynthetic precursor: 1-O-phosphonooxyethyl-4'-O-phosphono-disaccharides with (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl or tetradecanoyl groups at positions 2, 3, 2' and 3'.

Two novel analogs of a biosynthetic precursor of lipid A (2) were synthesized. The one analog (3) has acyl groups identical to those of 2, and the other (4) has tetradecanoyl groups in place of the (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl groups of 2. Both 3 and 4 possess an alpha-glycosidically-bound phosphonooxyethyl group in place of the alpha-glycosyl phosphate group of 2. Compounds 3 and 4 exhibited definite antitumor activity against Meth A fibrosarcoma and low toxicity in rabbits, as the original compound 2 does. The replacement of the hydroxytetradecanoyl groups with tetradecanoyl groups barely affected the antitumor activity, but slightly enhanced the toxicity in rabbits.     

Formation of Defect-Spinel Phase in CdSnO3

A spinel-type structure was found in cadmium stannate CdSnO₃ prepared by thermal decomposition of the hydroxostannate CdSn(OH)₆ at 550–800°C. Its occurrence depends strongly on the precipitation conditions of CdSn(OH)₆ from CdCl₂ and Na₂Sn(OH)₆ aqueous solutions. In the (Cd_1–xCa_x)SnO₃ system, the spinel phase appears in the composition range of 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.35. The experimental results suggest the presence of cation vacancies in the spinel octahedral sites.     

Slow positron beam study of corrosion-related defects in pure iron

Corrosion-related defects of pure iron were investigated by measuring Doppler broadening energy spectra (DBES) of positron annihilation and positron annihilation lifetime (PAL). Defect profiles of the S-parameter from DBES as a function of positron incident energy up to 30 keV (i.e. ∼1 μm depth) were analyzed. The DBES data show that S-parameter increases as a function of positron incident energy (mean depth) after corrosion, and the increase in the S-parameter is larger near the surface than in the bulk due to corrosion. Furthermore, information on defect size from PAL data as a function of positron incident energy up to 10 keV (i.e. ∼0.2 μm depth) was analyzed. In the two-state trapping model, the lifetime τ₂ = 500 ps is ascribed to annihilation of positrons in voids with a size of the order of nanometer. τ₁, which decreases with depth from the surface to the bulk, is ascribed to the annihilation of positrons in dislocations and three-dimensional vacancy clusters. The corroded samples show a significant increase in τ₁ and the intensity I₂, and near the surface the corroded iron introduces both voids and large-size three-dimensional vacancy clusters. The size of vacancy clusters decreases with depth.     

Simulation of electron bunch generation by an ultrashort-pulse high-intensity laser-driven wakefield

Electron acceleration due to a wakefield excited by a ultrashort-pulse intense laser propagating through a finite-length underdense plasma layer is studied by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. The electron energy distribution is analyzed for moderate to high intensity. For the electron density, where the pulse length is almost half of the plasma wavelength, dramatic changes of the density structure occur with cavity and bunch formation with an increase in the laser intensity, also leading to the appearance of a fast electron component well confined in phase space. The analytical form of the fast electron energy spectrum is also presented.     

Study on anti-emission materials for non-emitting grid applications in microwave power tubes

Hafnium and platinum were deposited onto molybdenum grids by ion-beam assisted deposition method. Electron-emission characteristics from molybdenum grids with Hf and Pt films, which were contaminated by active electron-emission substances (Ba, BaO) of the cathode, were measured using analogous diode method. The surfaces of grids were analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The results revealed that the reaction between BaO and Hf formed BaHfO₃ compound, which greatly reduced the accumulation of BaO on the surface and accordingly decreased grid emission. In contrast, Ba were formed by the decomposition of BaO on the surface of Pt film under high temperature and re-evaporated from its surface, which reduced the active electron-emission substances on the surface of the grid and effectively restrained grid emission. Their mechanisms for grid-emission suppression are discussed and a good method to develop new grid-coating materials is suggested.     

Cytotoxic activity of marine algae and a cytotoxic principle of the brown alga Sargassum tortile.

Partition fractions of hexane, CCl4 and CHCl3 from methanolic extracts of marine algae were each examined for cytotoxic activities against cultured P-388 lymphocytic leukemia cells. Cytotoxic activities were found for partition fractions of 21 species of seaweed. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the CCl4 partition fraction from Sargassum tortile, exhibiting the most prominent activity, afforded dihydroxysargaquinone (1) and sargatriol (2) previously isolated from this alga. The former was evaluated as a cytotoxic principle, and the latter, showing moderate activity, was suggested to be an artifact derived from 1 during the isolation procedure.     

Numerical study on performance of disk MHD generator using frozen inert gas plasma

In an magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) generator using a frozen inert gas plasma (FIP), the availability of a frozen argon plasma, the influence of plasma uniformity at the generator inlet on the performance, and the feasibility of a large-scale generator are numerically examined by /spl gamma/-/spl theta/ two-dimensional simulation. The FIP is produced by pre-ionizing inert gas without an alkali metal seed at the generator inlet, then the ionization degree of the plasma is kept almost constant in the whole of the channel because of considerable slow recombination of the inert gas just like frozen reaction plasma. It is found that not only helium, but also argon frozen plasma MHD generation is realized, although highly accurate control of inlet ionization degree is necessary for argon. It is important to reduce the nonuniformity of plasma properties at the generator inlet in order to raise the maximum enthalpy extraction ratio. Even for the large-scale generator with 1000-MW thermal input, the ionization degree is kept almost constant in the whole of the channel and the high performance is obtainable. This result is extremely attractive for the FIP MHD generator.     

Optical separation of racemic 5-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-5-phenylhydantoin by reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography using eluents containing beta-cyclodextrin.

Both S-(-)- and R-(+)-enantiomers of 5-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-5-phenylhydantoin (p-HPPH), a main oxidative metabolite of the achiral antiepileptic drug phenytoin, could be determined simply, sensitively and accurately using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography by using a methanol-monopotassium phosphate eluent containing beta-cyclodextrin. Using this assay procedure, it was determined that an S-(-)-enantiomer was formed predominantly by the oxidation of phenytoin in isolated rat hepatocytes.