Pneumolysin and proaerolysin are bacterial toxins that form pores in host
cells by oligomerization. We propose that they may have similar structures
despite a poor sequence identity. The crystal structure of proaerolysin
reveals a protein composed of four domains, arranged in the shape of an
elongated comma. Electron microscopy of the pneumolysin monomer shows a
similar arrangement of domains. The sequence of pneumolysin recognizes the
template of proaerolysin from a library of protein folds. A
three-dimensional model of pneumolysin has been constructed by the
comparative approach using the structure of proaerolysin. This model,
together with results on the activity of site- specific mutants and the
positions of antigenic sites, has been used to propose functional roles of
individual domains.
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The inhibitory effect of plant sterols, fatty acids and lecithin on cholesterol intestnal absorption was studied in the unanesthetized
rat using a single pass perfusion technique. Bile was excluded from the perfused intestine. Cholesterol absorption did not
change following the additions of cholestanol, cholestanone, lanosterol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol. A 3-fold increase
in the molarity of cholestanol and β-sitosterol or the separate additions of the saturated short and medium chain fatty acids,
butyric and octanoic, also did not change cholesterol absorption. The unsaturated long chain fatty acids, oleic, linoleic,
linolenic and arachidonic, inhibited cholesterol absorption. Lecithin additions at concentrations of 0.1–1.5 mM caused a progressive,
dose-related inhibition of cholesterol absorption. The inhibitory effect of these agents on cholesterol absorption is likely
to have been caused by changes in cholesterol solubility in the micelle and shifts in the partition coefficient of cholesterol
away from the cell membrane to the micelle. 相似文献
Uniformly porous composites with 3-D network structure (UPC-3D) have been recently developed via a pyrolytic reactive sintering process, which takes advantage of the evolved CO2 gas from a decomposing carbonate source (e.g., dolomite, CaMg(CO3)2) and does not require any additional pore-forming agent nor long-time burning-out process. Through liquid formation via LiF doping, strong necks are formed between constituent particles before completion of the pyrolysis of carbonate, resulting in the formation of a strong 3-D network structure. The pore size distribution is very narrow (with typical pore size: ∼1 μm), and the porosity was controllable (∼30–60%) by changing the sintering temperature. This article presents the development details of UPC-3D, and reports the recent findings in CaZrO3/MgAl2O4 system, which will be one of the more promising systems for practical applications. 相似文献
Solvent free oxidation of benzyl alcohol was investigated in the absence of a base using Au catalysts prepared by sol immobilization on titania and carbon supports. Comparison between the Au supported catalysts revealed that activity and distribution of products was dependent on the nature of support and heat treatment. Specifically, heat pre-treatment of the Au catalysts has a beneficial effect in terms of activity, but is detrimental in terms of selectivity to the benzaldehyde. We conclude that sol immobilization is a suitable technique for preparing gold catalysts with small particle size and narrow particle size distributions and very high activity and selectivity for benzyl alcohol oxidation. 相似文献
Several polymer‐layered silicate (clay) nanocomposites (PLSNs) were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (XRD) in an effort to characterize the nanoscale dispersion of the layered silicate. The PLSNs investigated included thermoset (cyanate esters) and thermoplastic polymers (polystyrene, nylon 6, and polypropylene‐g‐maleic anhydride). The results of this study reveal that the overall nanoscale dispersion of the clay in the polymer is best described by TEM, especially when mixed morphologies are present. XRD is useful for the measurement of d‐spacings in intercalated systems but cannot always observe low clay loadings (<5%) or be used as a method to identify an exfoliated nanocomposite where no XRD peaks are present (constituting a negative result). Most importantly, the study showed that XRD is not a stand‐alone technique, and it should be used in conjunction with TEM. Our studies suggest that new definitions, or a clarification of existing definitions, are needed to properly describe the diversity of PLSN nanostructures seen in various materials. Published 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 1329–1338, 2003 相似文献
In response to herbivory, plants emit volatile compounds that play important roles in plant defense. Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) can deter herbivores, recruit natural enemies, and warn other plants of possible herbivore attack. Following HIPV detection, neighboring plants often respond by enhancing their anti-herbivore defenses, but a recent study found that herbivores can manipulate HIPV-interplant communication for their own benefit and suppress defenses in neighboring plants. Herbivores induce species-specific blends of HIPVs and how these different blends affect the specificity of plant defense responses remains unclear. Here we assessed how HIPVs from zucchini plants (Cucurbita pepo) challenged with different herbivore species affect resistance in neighboring plants. Volatile “emitter” plants were damaged by one of three herbivore species: saltmarsh caterpillars (Estigmene acrea), squash bugs (Anasa tristis), or striped cucumber beetles (Acalymma vittatum), or were left as undamaged controls. Neighboring “receiver” plants were exposed to HIPVs or control volatiles and then challenged by the associated herbivore species. As measures of plant resistance, we quantified herbivore feeding damage and defense-related phytohormones in receivers. We found that the three herbivore species induced different HIPV blends from squash plants. HIPVs induced by saltmarsh caterpillars suppressed defenses in receivers, leading to greater herbivory and lower defense induction compared to controls. In contrast, HIPVs induced by cucumber beetles and squash bugs did not affect plant resistance to subsequent herbivory in receivers. Our study shows that herbivore species identity affects volatile-mediated interplant communication in zucchini, revealing a new example of herbivore defense suppression through volatile cues.
X-ray detectors based on straight-channel microchannel plates (MCPs) are a powerful diagnostic tool for two-dimensional, time-resolved imaging and time-resolved x-ray spectroscopy in the fields of laser-driven inertial confinement fusion and fast Z-pinch experiments. Understanding the behavior of microchannel plates as used in such detectors is critical to understanding the data obtained. The subject of this paper is a Monte Carlo computer code we have developed to simulate the electron cascade in a MCP under a static applied voltage. Also included in the simulation is elastic reflection of low-energy electrons from the channel wall, which is important at lower voltages. When model results were compared to measured MCP sensitivities, good agreement was found. Spatial resolution simulations of MCP-based detectors were also presented and found to agree with experimental measurements. 相似文献
基本风险分析技术能帮助您从整个电力行业分布的角度了解工业控制系统和SCADA(数据采集与监控)系统中的网络威胁。这一步骤将帮助您规划一个防御性的策略。2006年8月19号,Brown' s Ferry核电站因为过程控制网络流量过大而堵塞,导致了再循环泵的损坏。操作员按照操作手册要求将其关闭,并将系统调整到安全状态。一份后续的美国核管理委员会(NRC)报告确定其根源为未确定来源的车间计算机网络通信量过大。由此采取了运 相似文献
A dielectric hemisphere of refractive index N can act as an N(2) concentrator of isotropic diffuse radiation under appropriate conditions. We give an analytic expression for the gain of a concentrator of arbitrary radius, neglecting surface reflections, and numerical methods for calculating the gain when the surface transmissivity is an arbitrary function of incidence angle. The theory is applied to the design of multilayer spectral filters for hemispherical concentrators. When an appropriate wavelength shift is incorporated into the design process, an 11-layer, coupled-cavity spectral filter on the surface of a hemisphere of index 1.5 shows excellent bandpass performance with a concentrator radius as small as 3 times the sensor radius. This concentrator-filter combination shows a peak response of 97% of the ideal N(2) response at 950 nm, together with a FWHM of 55 nm. 相似文献