Properties of structure and function of cadmium-binding proteins/peptides from Euglena gracilis

Euglena gracilis makes two small Cd-binding proteins/peptides (Cd-BP I and Cd-BP II) in response to exposure to Cd²⁺. These proteins migrate slower than mammalian Cd-metallothionein (Cd-Mt) through Sephadex G-75, but like Cd-Mt also contain Zn and are separated into two species when chromatographed over a DEAE column. Both BPs are much less stable than Cd-Mt under acidic conditions. One source of this instability is that at least Cd-BP II contains acid-labile sulfide co-ordinated to the metals. It has been quantitated in Cd-BP II and shown to have a value of 1·25 ± 0·10 S²⁻/Cd. The reactivity of the Cd-binding sites in ligand substitution and thioldisulfide exchange reactions has been assessed. The reactions of Cd-BP I and II with pyridylazoresorcinol (PAR) were slow and displayed complex kinetic behavior. Similarly, both Cd-BPs react slowly and with complicated kinetics with 5,5′-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoate).     

Alfvén instabilities in streaming plasmas with anisotropic pressures and their relevance for the solar wind

Low frequency or Alfvén waves in streaming plasmas can become unstable when the square of the Alfvén velocity is smaller than the mean square of the bulk motion in a co-moving reference frame, (u –u )², whereu stands for the bulk velocity of each species and u is the average bulk velocity of the plasma as a whole. For these new Alfvén instabilities the streaming effects can be enhanced by a suitable pressure anisotropy. Perpendicular pressure effects are stabilizing, parallel pressure effects are destabilizing, as in the usual firehose instability. The observed velocity differences between helium and the main (hydrogen) flow in the solar wind plasma are such that the Alfvén waves are getting close to marginal instability. These new Alfvén instabilities limit the velocity differences between helium and hydrogen and thus provide a possible mechanism for accelerating the helium particles up to the order of the main flow velocity.     

An improved Ewing heat probe frame

The standard Ewing heat probe frame has been improved through the design of a new takedown model whose parts are held together by lynch pins. When a 600 lb (272 kg) unit of this type is taken apart, the heaviest single piece of the dismantled unit weighs only 75 lb (34 kg).This makes it feasible for one person to handle, transport, and assemble the new unit. A central, main support member of a heat probe using this frame can be suspended over the side of a research vessel while the heavier temperature recorder and ballast weights are attached by means of the quickaction lynch pins. This makes it possible to use this device on relatively small vessels which are not designed for coring work, having a minimum of free deck space and without launching platforms or hydraulic A-frame booms.     

History and sand budgets of the barrier island system in the Panama City,Florida, region

Shell Island and Crooked Island peninsulas comprise the Holocene barrier system in the Panama City, Florida, region. Both of these peninsulas have experienced a history of integration-fragmentation-integration superimposed on a net shoreward migration since 1779. Catastrophic events such as hurricanes are most probably responsible for the pass cutting which has fragmented these barriers. Both barrier peninsulas have very nearly segmented St. Andrew Sound into an eastern and western portion. This segmentation has been achieved through natural causes in the eastern or Crooked Island region, but an alternation in the tidal return pattern, effected by the cutting of a canal across Shell Island, is probably responsible for the ongoing segmentation of the western portion.Rates of erosion/deposition, determined by comparing bathymetries charted in 1877, 1930, and 1946, demand that these two peninsulas receive material by eastward transport. Furthermore, the long shore drift of both peninsulas is bidirectional, northwesterly and southeasterly. These two drift components are very nearly equal in magnitude immediately west of Shell Island; net easterly drift occurs on Shell Island peninsula. Crooked Island experiences net westerly and easterly drift; the easterly drift terminates in the Bell Shoal area and does not reach the adjacent St. Joe Spit.     

Dissociation constants of protonated cysteine species in seawater media

The dissociation constants (pK₁, pK₂ and pK₃) for cysteine have been measured in seawater as a function of temperature (5 to 45 °C) and salinity (S = 5 to 35). The seawater values were lower than the values in NaCl at the same ionic strength. In an attempt to understand these differences, we have made measurements of the constants in Na–Mg–Cl solutions at 25 °C. The measured values have been compared to those calculated from the Pitzer ionic interaction model. The lower values of pK₃ in the Na–Mg–Cl solutions have been attributed to the formation of Mg²⁺ complexes with Cys²⁻ anions

Mg²⁺ + Cys²⁻ = MgCys

The stability constants have been fitted to

after corrections are made for the interaction of Mg²⁺ with H⁺.The pK₁ seawater measurements indicate that H₃Cys⁺ interacts with SO₄²⁻. The Pitzer parameters β⁰(H₃CysSO₄), β¹(H₃CysSO₄) and C(H₃CysSO₄) have been determined for this interaction. The formation of CaCys as well as MgCys are needed to account for the values of pK₂ and pK₃ in seawater.The consideration of the formation of MgCys and CaCys in seawater yields model calculated values of pK₁, pK₂ and pK₃ that agree with the measured values to within the experimental error of the measurements. This study shows that it is important to consider all of the ionic interactions in natural waters when examining the dissociation of organic acids.     

Recovery of thermohaline circulation under CO2 stabilization and overshoot scenarios

In this study we examine the behavior of the thermohaline circulation, as simulated by the Community Climate System Model version 3 (CCSM3), for several centuries following CO₂ stabilization for the SRES B1 and A1B scenarios and for an “overshoot” scenario in which CO₂ levels temporarily reach the same level as in the A1B scenario before declining to an ultimate stabilization level that is identical to the B1 case. While we find no evidence for irreversible changes of the thermohaline circulation in the overshoot experiment, the interplay of the different timescales of the temperature response of the surface and interior ocean does lead to a number of differences in the long-term response of the ocean between it and the B1 stabilization scenario where the same GHG levels are approached by different paths. The stronger initial warming and its slow penetration into the deeper ocean, followed by a transient surface cooling in the overshoot scenario leads to lower static stability, deeper mixing, and a more rapid recovery of the thermohaline circulation than in the B1 stabilization scenario. While the overshoot scenario recovers surface conditions (e.g. SST, sea ice extent) very similar to the B1 scenario shortly after reaching the same GHG levels, the additional accumulation of heat in the interior ocean during the period of higher forcing causes the global mean ocean temperature and steric sea level to remain higher than in the B1 stabilization scenario for at least another several centuries.     

Volatile halocarbons released from Arctic macroalgae

Twenty-two different species of Arctic brown, red and green macroalgae, collected in the Kongsfjord at Ny-Ålesund (Spitsbergen), were incubated under polar conditions and investigated for their release of volatile halogenated organic compounds (VHOC). Bromoform, dibromomethane, dibromochloromethane, bromodichloromethane, 1,2-dibromoethane, diiodomethane and chloroiodomethane have been identified and their net releases during incubations were determined. Generally, brown and green macroalgae showed higher VHOC release, while red macroalage had only low release. Bromoform was released in relatively large quantities from all species studied, with the highest release observed from the brown algae Dictyosyphon foeniculaceus (0.3 μg g⁻¹ wet algal weight day⁻¹) and Laminaria saccharina (0.15 μg g⁻¹ wet algal weight day⁻¹), and from the green algae Monostroma arcticum (0.3 μg g⁻¹ wet algal weight day⁻¹) and Blidingia minima (0.27 μg g⁻¹ wet algal weight day⁻¹). Dibromomethane, diiodomethane, dibromochloromethane and 1,2-dibromoethane showed lower net release during the incubations. The net release of chloroiodomethane and bromodichloromethane was very low for the most algae species investigated. Based on the distribution of these algae in the Arctic environment, Dictyosiphon foeniculaceus and Laminaria saccharina may be important sources for VHOC because of high release and high biomass. Release of VHOC could be detected from all parts of the thallus of the macroalga. This may provide some evidence for a possible role of VHOC production as a chemical protection mechanism in algae.     

Presolar silicate and oxide abundances and compositions in the ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite Adelaide and the K chondrite Kakangari: The effects of secondary processing

Abstract– Although it has been suggested that the ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite Adelaide and the K chondrite Kakangari could be considered highly primitive, our study of their presolar grain abundances shows that both have experienced more secondary processing than other primitive chondrites with high presolar grain abundances. Presolar grains are rare in Kakangari and are present in reduced abundances in Adelaide (approximately 70 ppm for O‐anomalous grains). Thermal annealing has led to widespread crystallization of their fine‐grained matrices, and accounts for the partial to complete destruction of presolar grains. In addition, presolar silicates in Adelaide show elevated Fe abundances and Fe‐rich rims indicative of infiltration of Fe into the grains from the surrounding matrix. This process probably also took place during annealing, most likely in the solar nebula, in a region with an enhanced dust‐to‐gas ratio. The most primitive meteorites, with the highest presolar grain abundances, appear to be those whose matrices contain abundant amorphous material that has escaped any significant thermal or aqueous alteration.     

The angular momentum content of dwarf galaxies: new challenges for the theory of galaxy formation

We compute the specific angular momentum distributions for a sample of low-mass disc galaxies observed by Swaters. We compare these distributions to those of dark matter haloes obtained by Bullock et al. from high-resolution N -body simulations of structure formation in a ΛCDM universe. We find that although the disc mass fractions are significantly smaller than the universal baryon fraction, the total specific angular momenta of the discs are in good agreement with those of dark matter haloes. This suggests that discs form out of only a small fraction of the available baryons, but yet manage to draw most of the available angular momentum. In addition we find that the angular momentum distributions of discs are clearly distinct from those of the dark matter; discs lack predominantly both low and high specific angular momenta. Understanding these findings in terms of a coherent picture for disc formation is challenging. Cooling, feedback and stripping, which are the main mechanisms to explain the small disc mass fractions found, seem unable to simultaneously explain the angular momentum distributions of the discs. In fact, it seems that the baryons that make up the discs must have been born out of angular momentum distributions that are clearly distinct from those of ΛCDM haloes. However, the dark and baryonic mass components experience the same tidal forces, and it is therefore expected that they should have similar angular momentum distributions. Therefore, understanding the angular momentum content of disc galaxies remains an important challenge for our picture of galaxy formation.