A dynamic study of earthworm feeding ecology -using stable isotopes

Changes in the specific diet of earthworms with time in relation to landuse changes and two different climates were studied by analysing (13)C and (15)N natural abundance in soils and animals. Soil samples from three depths (0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm) and earthworms were collected from two sites: Santiago (Northwest Spain) and North Wyke (Southwest England) both consisting of replicated long-term grasslands and recently converted to maize plots. Earthworms were hand-sorted in the field at the peak of the maize growth and after harvesting at both sites. In the Spanish plots, nine and eight earthworm species, all belonging to the three ecological categories (epigeic, anecic and endogeic), were found under maize and permanent pasture, whereas at the English site five and seven different species were, respectively, identified. At both sites (13)C isotopic values of the earthworm tissues reflected changes in diet from C(3) to C(4) with epigeic and epi/anecic worms in the maize plots showing one delta unit difference in relation to the ones found in the grassland plots. Anecic worms seemed to be less responsive to landuse changes. The higher (13)C values of the Spanish soils were also reflected in the earthworm tissues when compared with the English samples. (15)N values showed no clear relationship with the cropping treatments but were clearly related to the ecological grouping, with endogeic worms reaching the highest values whereas for the epigeic and epi/anecic species the lowest values were obtained. This finding was also previously recorded by other authors1 and suggests that, in the future, stable isotope techniques could also be a useful tool in taxonomic studies. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Secondary ion yields produced by keV atomic and polyatomic ion impacts on a self-assembled monolayer surface

A suite of keV polyatomic or 'cluster' projectiles was used to bombard unoxidized and oxidized self-assembled monolayer surfaces. Negative secondary ion yields, collected at the limit of single ion impacts, were measured and compared for both molecular and fragment ions. In contrast to targets that are orders of magnitude thicker than the penetration range of the primary ions, secondary ion yields from polyatomic projectile impacts on self-assembled monolayers show little to no enhancement when compared with monatomic projectiles at the same velocity. This unusual trend is most likely due to the structural arrangement and bonding characteristics of the monolayer molecules with the Au(111). Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiple ionization of argon in coincidence with projectile ions in 60–120 MeV Si q+-Ar collisions

A projectile ion-recoil ion coincidence technique has been employed to study the multiple ionization and the charge transfer processes in collisions of 60–120 MeV Si ^q+ (q = 4−14) ions with neutral argon atoms. The relative contribution of different ionization channels, namely; direct ionization, electron capture and electron loss leading to the production of slow moving multiply charged argon recoil ions have been investigated. The data reported on the present collision system result from a direct measurement in the considered impact energy for the first time. The total ionization cross-sections for the recoil ions are shown to scale as q ^1.7/E _p ^0.5 , where E _p is the energy in MeV of the projectile and q its charge state. The recoil fractions for the cases of total- and direct ionizations are found to decrease with increasing recoil charge state j. The total ionization fractions of the recoils are seen to depend on q and to show the presence of a ‘shell-effect’ of the target. Further, the fractions are found to vary as 1/j ² upto j = 8+. The average recoil charge state 〈j〉 increases slowly with q and with the number of lost or captured electrons from or into the projectile respectively. The projectile charge changing cross-sections σ _qq′ are found to decrease with increasing q for loss ionization and to increase with q for direct-and capture ionization processes respectively. The physics behind various scaling rules that are found to follow our data for different ionization processes is reviewed and discussed.     

X-ray characterization of precipitates in cerium-doped PbTe and SnTe crystals

The homogeneity, solid solubility, and chemical bonds in the new materials PbTe, SnTe doped with Ce were investigated. Scanning electron microscope observation and electron probe microanalysis carried out on PbTe crystals doped with Ce, revealed three types of Ce-rich precipitates with following compositions: CeTe₂, Ce₃Te₇, Ce₂Te₅ and small admixture of PbTe in precipitates. The solubility of Ce in PbTe matrix was estimated as 0.5±0.1 at. %. The solubility of PbTe in CeTe₂ and Ce₃Te₇ was found to be 3±0.5 at. %, but 7±0.5 at. % in the case of Ce₂Te₅. In SnTe crystal doped with Ce only one kind of precipitate with composition Ce₂SnTe₅ was found. Cerium solubility in SnTe matrix was estimated to be 1±0.25 at. %. According to our knowledge this is the first report of the identification of Ce₂SnTe₅ compound. The similar compounds Ce₂SnS₅ and Ce₂SnSe₅ are known. Received: 9 December 1998 / Accepted: 9 February 1999 / Published online: 28 April 1999     

The Hiyama Cross‐Coupling Reaction at Parts Per Million Levels of Pd: In Situ Formation of Highly Active Spirosilicates in Glycol Solvents

A palladium NNC‐pincer complex at a 5 mol ppm loading efficiently catalyzed the Hiyama coupling reaction of aryl bromides with aryl(trialkoxy)silanes in propylene glycol to give the corresponding biaryls in excellent yields. This method was applied to the syntheses of adapalene and a biaryl‐type liquid‐crystalline compound, as well as to the derivatization of dextromethorphan and norfloxacin. ESI‐MS and NMR analyses of the reaction mixture suggested the formation of pentacoordinate spirosilicate intermediates in situ. Preliminary theoretical studies revealed that the glycol‐derived silicate intermediates formed in situ are quite reactive silicon reagents in the transmetalation step.     

Synthesis of the DFGH ring system of Type B Physalins: Highly Oxygenated,Cage‐Shaped Molecules

Let the dominos fall : Synthesis of the complex DFGH ring system of the title compounds has been accomplished. The approach features simple treatment of the key intermediate with a Brønsted base to afford the tetracyclic cage‐shaped target in one pot through a four‐step domino transformation (see scheme; Mc= monochloromesylate, MOM=methoxymethyl).

     

Phospholipase cleavage of D- and L-chiro-glycosylphosphoinositides asymmetrically incorporated into liposomal membranes

The nature of chiro-inositol-containing inositolphosphoglycans (IPGs), reported to be putative insulin mediators, was studied by examination of the substrate specificities of the phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) and the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase D (GPI-PLD) by using a series of synthetic D- and L-chiro-glycosylphosphoinositides. 3-O-alpha-D-Glucosaminyl- (3) and -galactosaminyl-2-phosphatidyl-L-chiro-inositol (4), which show the maximum stereochemical similarity to the 6-O-alpha-D-glucosaminylphosphatidylinositol pseudodisaccharide motifs of GPI anchors, were synthesized and asymmetrically incorporated into phospholipid bilayers in the form of large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs). Similarly, 2-O-alpha-D-glucosaminyl- (5) and -galactosaminyl-1-phosphatidyl-D-chiro-inositol (6), which differ from the corresponding pseudodisaccharide motif of the GPI anchors only in the axial orientation of the phosphatidyl moiety, were also synthesized and asymmetrically inserted into LUVs. The cleavage of these synthetic molecules in the liposomal constructs by PI-PLC from Bacillus cereus and by GPI-PLD from bovine serum was studied with the use of 6-O-alpha-D-glucosaminylphosphatidylinositol (7) and the conserved GPI anchor structure (8) as positive controls. Although PI-PLC cleaved 3 and 4 with about the same efficiency as 7 and 8, this enzyme did not accept 5 or 6. GPI-PLD accepted both the L-chiro- (3 and 4) and the D-chiro- (5 and 6) glycosylinositolphosphoinositides. Therefore, IPGs containing L-chiro-inositol only are expected to be released from chiro-inositol-containing GPIs if the cleavage is effected by a PI-PLC, whereas GPI-PLD cleavage could result in both L-chiro- and D-chiro-inositol-containing IPGs.