Introducing Highly Redox‐Active Atomic Centers into Insertion‐Type Electrodes for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

The development of alternative anode materials with higher volumetric and gravimetric capacity allowing for fast delithiation and, even more important, lithiation is crucial for next‐generation lithium‐ion batteries. Herein, the development of a completely new active material is reported, which follows an insertion‐type lithiation mechanism, metal‐doped CeO₂. Remarkably, the introduction of carefully selected dopants, herein exemplified for iron, results in an increase of the achievable capacity by more than 200%, originating from the reduction of the dopant to the metallic state and additional space for the lithium ion insertion due to a significant off‐centering of the dopant atoms in the crystal structure, away from the original Ce site. In addition to the outstanding performance of such materials in high‐power lithium‐ion full‐cells, the selective reduction of the iron dopant under preservation of the crystal structure of the host material is expected to open up a new field of research.     

Kurztag-Einflüsse auf arktische Pflanzen während der arktischen Langtage

Zusammenfassung Kurztagbehandlung im sommerlichen 24 Std-Langtag führt bei arktischen Pflanzen am natürlichen Standort schon nach 10 Tagen zu einer Erhöhung der Hitzeresistenz um 2–8° C. Betula nana zeigt zudem unter Kurztagbedingungen eine um l1/2 Monate verfrüht eintretende herbstliche Rotfärbung der Blätter. Es wird daraus geschlossen, daß die gegen Herbst und Winter zu eintretenden physiologischen Veränderungen bei Pflanzen der kalten und gemäßigten Zone primär auf die Verkürzung der Tageslänge und erst in zweiter Linie auf die abnehmende Temperatur zurückzuführen sind.

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Influence of short-days on arctic plants during the arctic long-days

Summary In Godhavn (Disko Island, West Greenland) Salix glauca ssp. callicarpaea, Betula nana, Vaccinium uliginosum and Empetrum hermaphroditum in their natural habitat were darkened from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. daily. The experiment started July 2. At this time the plants were already flowering. After 10 days of this 8-hour short-day treatment the plants showed significant physiological changes compared with the plants in the normal 24-hour long-day: the leaflets of Betula nana showed an autumnal red coloring and the heat resistance (1/2 hours heating, observation 3 days later) of all 4 plants increased by 2–8° C. The frost resistance (24 hours freezing, observation 3 days later) increased significantly in the case of Betula nana. —These experiments seem to indicate that towards the fall the seasonal increase of temperature resistance and other physiological changes in plants are due primarily to the shortening of the day length and only secondarily to the decrease of temperature.

     

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Wirkung der UV-Strahlen auf die Plasmapermeabilität

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Wirkung der UV-Strahlung auf Allium-Zellen

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Zellwandpermeabilität einiger Moose

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Subcellular fractionation enhances proteome coverage of pancreatic duct cells

ObjectivesSubcellular fractionation of whole cell lysates offers a means of simplifying protein mixtures, potentially permitting greater depth of proteomic analysis. Here we compare proteins identified from pancreatic duct cells (PaDC) following organelle enrichment to those identified from PaDC whole cell lysates to determine if the additional procedures of subcellular fractionation increase proteome coverage.MethodsWe used differential centrifugation to enrich for nuclear, mitochondrial, membrane, and cytosolic proteins. We then compared – via mass spectrometry-based analysis – the number of proteins identified from these four fractions with four biological replicates of PaDC whole cell lysates.ResultsWe identified similar numbers of proteins among all samples investigated. In total, 1658 non-redundant proteins were identified in the replicate samples, while 2196 were identified in the subcellular fractionation samples, corresponding to a 30% increase. Additionally, we noted that each organelle fraction was in fact enriched with proteins specific to the targeted organelle.ConclusionsSubcellular fractionation of PaDC resulted in greater proteome coverage compared to PaDC whole cell lysate analysis. Although more labor intensive and time consuming, subcellular fractionation provides greater proteome coverage, and enriches for compartmentalized sub-populations of proteins. Application of this subcellular fractionation strategy allows for a greater depth of proteomic analysis and thus a better understanding of the cellular mechanisms of pancreatic disease.     

Growth of sulfate-reducing bacteria with sulfur as electron acceptor

In addition to three new isolates, six strains of representative species of sulfate-reducing bacteria were tested for their capacity to use elemental sulfur as an electron acceptor for growth. There was good growth and sulfide production by strain Norway 4 and the three isolates, two of which had been enriched with sulfur flower and one isolated from a culture with green sulfur bacteria. Slow but definite growth was observed with Desuflovibrio gigas. The type strains of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, D. vulgaris, and Desulfotomaculum nigrificans as well as Desulfomonas pigra did not grow with sulfur. The four strains that grew well with sulfur flower were straight, nonsporulating rods and did not contain desulfoviridin.     

Direct interactions between subunits of CPSF and the U2 snRNP contribute to the coupling of pre-mRNA 3' end processing and splicing

Eukaryotic pre-mRNAs are capped at their 5' ends, polyadenylated at their 3' ends, and spliced before being exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Although the three processing reactions can be studied separately in vitro, they are coupled in vivo. We identified subunits of the U2 snRNP in highly purified CPSF and showed that the two complexes physically interact. We therefore tested whether this interaction contributes to the coupling of 3' end processing and splicing. We found that CPSF is necessary for efficient splicing activity in coupled assays and that mutations in the pre-mRNA binding site of the U2 snRNP resulted in impaired splicing and in much reduced cleavage efficiency. Moreover, we showed that efficient cleavage required the presence of the U2 snRNA in coupled assays. We therefore propose that the interaction between CPSF and the U2 snRNP contributes to the coupling of splicing and 3' end formation.