Functionalised inherently conducting polymers as low biofouling materials

Diatoms are a major component of microbial biofouling layers that develop on man-made surfaces placed in aquatic environments, resulting in significant economic and environmental impacts. This paper describes surface functionalisation of the inherently conducting polymers (ICPs) polypyrrole (PPy) and polyaniline (PANI) with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and their efficacy as fouling resistant materials. Their ability to resist interactions with the model protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) was tested using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). The capacity of the ICP-PEG materials to prevent settlement and colonisation of the fouling diatom Amphora coffeaeformis (Cleve) was also assayed. Variations were demonstrated in the dopants used during ICP polymerisation, along with the PEG molecular weight, and the ICP-PEG reaction conditions, all playing a role in guiding the eventual fouling resistant properties of the materials. Optimised ICP-PEG materials resulted in a significant reduction in BSA adsorption, and > 98% reduction in diatom adhesion.     

Folic acid and pteroylpolyglutamate contents of archaebacteria.

Cell extracts of methanogens and the thermoacidophile Sulfolobus solfataricus contained little or no folic acid (pteroylglutamate) or pteroylpolyglutamate activity (less than 0.1 nmol/g [dry weight]). However, the halophile Halobacterium salinarum contained pteroylmono- or pteroyldiglutamates, and Halobacterium volcanii and Halobacterium halobium contained pteroyltriglutamates at levels equivalent to those in eubacteria (greater than 1 nmol/g [dry weight]).     

Area/lipid of bilayers from NMR.

Values of area per lipid A ranging from 56 to 72 A 2 have been reported from essentially the same SCD data from DPPC in the L alpha phase. The differences are due primarily to three separate binary choices in interpretation. It is argued that one particular combination is best; this yields A = 62 +/- 2 A 2 for DPPC at 50 degrees C. Each preceding interpretation agrees with at least one of the three present choices and disagrees with at least one.     

Sensitization of cultured Chinese hamster cells to 42 degrees C hyperthermia by pentalenolactone, an inhibitor of glycolytic ATP synthesis

The antibiotic pentalenolactone, a specific inhibitor of glyceraldehydephosphate dehydrogenase, was used to investigate the effect of glycolytic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis on the survival response of aerobic and hypoxic Chinese hamster cells treated with 42 degrees C hyperthermia. Data obtained with aerobic cells, incubated in balanced salt solutions supplemented with different substrates for ATP production, showed that 50 microM pentalenolactone blocked ATP synthesis via glycolysis but not by oxidative phosphorylation. The glycolytic inhibition was reversed upon transfer of the cells to antibiotic-free medium, and minimal cytotoxicity (less than 20 per cent) was observed. Hypoxic cultures were obtained by incubating dense cell suspensions (2 X 10(6)/ml) to produce metabolic oxygen depletion. Concomitant with the development of hypoxia, pentalenolactone-treated cells became ATP-depleted; cellular ATP levels were reduced by about 70-fold as compared to hypoxic cells in the antibiotic-free medium. The ATP-depleted cells were more sensitive to killing by hyperthermia. Comparison of the 42 degrees C survival curves for control and the antibiotic-treated hypoxic cells yielded a dose-modifying factor of 4 (5 per cent survival level). The results indicate that inhibition of glycolytic ATP synthesis, for example by pentalenolactone, can selectively sensitize hypoxic cells to the lethal effects of mild hyperthermia.     

Beyond ethnic entrenchment and amelioration: an analysis of non-sectarian social movements and Lebanon’s consociationalism

Research on consociational power-sharing divides on whether it provides a successful model for peacebuilding or instead exacerbates antagonistic ethnic divisions. In these debates, non-sectarian movements are either invisible or rendered as actors marginalized, co-opted, stripped of agency and disempowered by power-sharing. This article moves the focus away from “either” “or” analyses of consociationalism measuring its capacity to entrench or weaken ethnic divisions. Alternatively, it examines the different ways power-sharing effects a range of issues and groups and the varying modes of engagement generated by non-ethnic social movements in response. Power-sharing creates various dynamics that can result in either hegemonic compliance, constructive engagement, or active resistance by social movement actors that cross-cut ethnic cleavages. Using Lebanon as a case study, the paper examines movements that deal with sexuality, privatization, and public goods, issues that are shaped by consociational institutions but rarely incorporated in power-sharing research.