Polyhedron geometry of skeletons of Mesozoic radiolarian Pantanellium

We considered the geometrical properties of skeletons of the genus Pantanellium, a type of Mesozoic radiolarian. We constructed four 3D models of fossil specimens of Pantanellium, using X-ray Micro-CT and layered manufacturing technology. Focusing on cortical shells, we approximated the skeletal structures with convex polyhedrons and investigated their geometrical properties. We summarized these properties using planar graphs. The geometrical properties differ for fossils that are believed to belong to the same species. The results of numerical simulations based on a mathematical model for spherical radiolarians were partially consistent with the skeletal structures of the specimens. We conclude that the skeletal structure of the genus Pantanellium is not fixed and is not completely optimized from the viewpoint of symmetry.     

On the signaling mechanism and the absence of photoreversibility in the AppA BLUF domain

The flavoprotein AppA from Rhodobacter sphaeroides contains an N-terminal, FAD-binding BLUF photoreceptor domain. Upon illumination, the AppA BLUF domain forms a signaling state that is characterized by red-shifted absorbance by 10 nm, a state known as AppA_RED. We have applied ultrafast spectroscopy on the photoaccumulated AppA_RED state to investigate the photoreversible properties of the AppA BLUF domain. On light absorption by AppA_RED, the FAD singlet excited state decays monoexponentially in 7 ps to form the neutral semiquinone radical FADH^•, which subsequently decays to the original AppA_RED molecular ground state in 60 ps. Thus, is deactivated rapidly via electron and proton transfer, probably from the conserved tyrosine Tyr-21 to FAD, followed by radical-pair recombination. We conclude that, in contrast to many other photoreceptors, the AppA BLUF domain is not photoreversible and does not enter alternative reaction pathways upon absorption of a second photon. To explain these properties, we propose that a molecular configuration is formed upon excitation of AppA_RED that corresponds to a forward reaction intermediate previously identified for the dark-state BLUF photoreaction. Upon excitation of AppA_RED, the BLUF domain therefore enters its forward reaction coordinate, readily re-forming the AppA_RED ground state and suppressing reverse or side reactions. The monoexponential decay of FAD* indicates that the FAD-binding pocket in AppA_RED is significantly more rigid than in dark-state AppA. Steady-state fluorescence experiments on wild-type, W104F, and W64F mutant BLUF domains show tryptophan fluorescence maxima that correspond with a buried conformation of Trp-104 in dark and light states. We conclude that Trp-104 does not become exposed to solvent during the BLUF photocycle.     

Réflexions sur l’Acheuléen d’Anatolie

The Anatolia occupies one of the main routes for the dispersal of Homo erectus into the Eurasia. The Acheulean bifaces found on each region of Anatolia are the most important evidences of this situation. This vast distribution of the Acheulean bifaces in Anatolia indicates that all of the Anatolia should stay in the Movius Line. This means that the Movius Line should be reexaminate. Recently, the fossil remains of Homo erectus found in Dmanisi (Georgia) and their very old dates around 1.8 million years put forward the importance of Anatolia one more time. Homo erectus who came in Anatolia by following the Levant Corridor might used the Anatolian bridge for passing to the Transcaucasia. If the well-preserved cave site on the line that expands from Hatay to Kars in Anatolia founds and excavates, it will prove additional information some problems about the Homo erectus movements and distribution of Acheulean Industrial Tradition in West Asia. This paper reviews the evidence for the Acheulean in Anatolia and discusses the distribution of Acheulean bifaces in Anatolia, generally found in open air site.     

L’exploitation non alimentaire des ressources animales pendant le Magdalénien au Nord-Est de la Peninsule Ibérique. L’exemple de la grotte du Parco (Alòs de Balaguer, Lleida, Espagne)

Parco cave, discovered in 1974, has yielded more than 50 objects fashioned of hard animal parts from levels dating to later phases of the Magdalenian. In the work described here, we have undertaken a technotypological analysis of this previously unstudied bone and antler assemblage. The osseous series from Parco are homogeneous and very similar to those from nearby sites of roughly the same time period; that is to say of the late Upper Magdalenian of the peninsular Mediterranean. The latter are composed primarily of hunting weapons dominated by antler projectile points, as well as eyed bone needles and a few shell ornaments. Technological analysis shows production in which there is a tight relationship between morphological type and raw material employed. The production schema saw the removal of blanks by means of groove and splinter technique, followed by shaping of pieces by scraping and finishing of them - in some cases by abrasion.     

The impact of the 2003 summer heat wave and the 2005 late cold wave on the phytoplankton in the north-eastern English Channel

The phytoplankton composition was investigated at two fixed stations in the north-eastern English Channel from November 1997 to December 2005. The warmest temperatures in European historical records were recorded in August 2003. This event was associated with an exceptional abundance peak of the dinoflagellates Akashiwo sanguinea (9600 cells L(-1)) and Ceratium fusus. The lowest February temperatures for the 1998-2005 period were recorded in 2005, coinciding with the absence, for the first time in recent decades, of the spring bloom of Phaeocystis globosa. The 'de-eutrophication', mainly the reduction of river nutrient loads, is progressively reducing the magnitude of the Phaeocystis blooms. Exceptionally in 2005, the colder temperatures increased water column mixing, favouring the dominance of tychoplanktonic diatoms until early March (pre-bloom period). The delay in spring stratification, lower light availability due to turbidity (resuspended sediment) and organic matter, and competition with tychoplanktonic diatoms contributed to retard the timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom and disadvantage the development of Phaeocystis. The summer 2003 European heat wave is expected to have had little influence on total annual primary production, because it occurred at mid-summer, the period of lowest annual phytoplankton abundance. However, the anomalous weather in the second half of winter 2005 did affect the annual primary production.     

Calcium-induced decrease of the thermal stability and chaperone activity of α-crystallin

α-Crystallin, one of the major proteins in the vertebrate eye lens, acts as a molecular chaperone, like the small heat-shock proteins, by protecting other proteins from denaturing under stress or high temperature conditions. α-Crystallin aggregation is involved in lens opacification, and high [Ca²⁺] has been associated with cataract formation, suggesting a role for this cation in the pathological process. We have investigated the effect of Ca²⁺ on the thermal stability of α-crystallin by UV and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies. In both cases, a Ca²⁺-induced decrease in the midpoint of the thermal transition is detected. The presence of high [Ca²⁺] results also in a marked decrease of its chaperone activity in an insulin-aggregation assay. Furthermore, high Ca²⁺ concentration decreases Cys reactivity towards a sulfhydryl reagent. The results obtained from the spectroscopic analysis, and confirmed by circular dichroism (CD) measurements, indicate that Ca²⁺ decreases both secondary and tertiary–quaternary structure stability of α-crystallin. This process is accompanied by partial unfolding of the protein and a clear decrease in its chaperone activity. It is concluded that Ca²⁺ alters the structural stability of α-crystallin, resulting in impaired chaperone function and a lower protective ability towards other lens proteins. Thus, α-crystallin aggregation facilitated by Ca²⁺ would play a role in the progressive loss of transparency of the eye lens in the cataractogenic process.     

冠果草的花部发育——兼论冠果草与近缘属的亲缘关系

利用扫描电镜首次对冠果草（Ｓａｇｉｔｔａｒｉａｇｕａｙａｎｅｎｓｉｓ,Ｈ．Ｂ．Ｋ．ｓｓｐ．ｌａｐｐｕｌａ（Ｄ．Ｄｏｎ）Ｄｏｇｉｎ）的花器官发生进行了观察,结果显示：萼片原基以螺旋状方式向心发生,花瓣原基以接近轮状方式近同时发生,并与萼片原基因相间交替排列,不存在花瓣－雄蕊复合原基;最外轮６枚雄蕊原基的发生与萼片原基和花瓣原基相交替,并倾向于两两对萼的形式发生,对萼雄蕊对和瓣雄蕊的对仅仅是这种相间交     

Folding myoglobin within a sol-gel glass: protein folding constrained to a small volume

The unfolding and refolding reaction of myoglobin was examined in solution and within a porous silica sol-gel glass. The sol-gel pores constrain the protein to a volume that is the same size and shape as the folded native state accompanied by a few layers of water solvation. Denaturants such as low pH buffers can be diffused through the gel pores to the protein to initiate unfolding and refolding. Acid-induced unfolding was hindered by the steric constraints imposed by the gel pores such that more denaturing conditions were required within the gel than in solution to create the unfolded state. No new folding intermediates were observed. Refolding of myoglobin was not complete in millimolar pH 7 buffer alone. Addition of 25% glycerol to the pH 7 buffer resulted in nearly complete refolding, and the use of 1 M phosphate buffer resulted in complete refolding. The role of this cosolvent and salt in disrupting the ordered water surrounding the protein within the gel is discussed in light of the Hofmeister series and entropic trapping via a diminished hydrophobic effect within the gel. These results are consistent with the premises of folding models in which secondary and tertiary structures are considered to form within a compact conformation of the protein backbone.     

Hyperexpression and Analysis of choB Encoding Cholesterol Oxidase of Brevibacterium sterolicum in Escherichia coli and Streptomyces lividans.

We examined the expression of choB, encoding cholesterol oxidase of Brevibacterium sterolicum ATCC 21387, in Escherichia coli JM105 and Streptomyces lividans TK23 using various deletion DNA fragments within the 5′-flanking region. The enzyme activity could be detected intracellularly in E. coli only when the 5′-flanking region was reduced to less than 256-bp and choB was transcribed by the lac promoter. A large amount of the enzyme were produced as inactive inclusion bodies when ChoB protein was fused with the NH₂-terminal portion of LacZ protein. In contrast, choB with more than 256-bp of the 5′-flanking region was efficiently expressed in S. lividans TK23, and about 85 times as much of the active enzyme (170 U/ml) was secreted into the culture filtrate as with B. sterolicum in flask culture. These results suggest that the promoter of choB exist within 256-bp of the 5′-flanking region and can be efficiently recognized by the RNA polymerase of S. lividans. The characteristics of the enzyme purified from the culture filtrate of the S. lividans transformant and that of B. sterolicum were identical although the NH₂-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme from the S. lividans transformant was 6 amino acids shorter than that from B. sterolicum.