On the Stability of Clathrate Hydrates Encaging Polar Guest Molecules: Contrast in the Hydrogen Bonds of Methylamine and Methanol Hydrates

Abstract

The stability of clathrate hydrates encaging highly polar guests has been investigated in order to explain the experimental observation that some amines form clathrate hydrates but alcohols act as inhibitor to hydrate formation. We choose methylamine and methanol as guest species and examine the stable structure, at which the total potential energy has a minimum value. At the local minima of those two hydrates, the potential energies of water-water and guest-water, and their hydrogen bonded networks are compared. It is found that methanol does not retain the host lattice structure, while the host-network structure is kept in the presence of methylamine. It is shown that the difference in the magnitude of the partial charge on the hydrogen atom between the hydroxyl and amino groups plays a much more significant role on the stability of both clathrate hydrates than the difference in molecular geometry. This is supported from the result of a methylamine-like model that has the same partial charges on the atoms in the hydrophilic site as methanol.     

Morphometrische Befunde zum submikroskopischen Aufbau des Sehnerven der Ratte

Zusammenfassung An 10 normalen Sehnerven (Länge: 10 mm; Durchmesser: 0,5 mm) erwachsener Albino-Ratten wurden morphometrische licht- und elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen mit der Treffermethode an 3 Stellen durchgeführt: 1 mm vor dem Bulbus oculi (Meßort A); Mitte zwischen Bulbus und Chiasma (Meßort B); 1 mm vor dem Chiasma opticum (Meßort C). Die statistisch signifikanten Ergebnisse der Untersuchung sind: 1. die Gesamtzahl der markhaltigen Fasern im Sehnerven der erwachsenen Ratte beträgt in elektronenmikroskopischen Aufnahmen 107152±6780. 2. Der relative Volumenanteil der Markfasern (Axone und Markscheiden) nimmt von A über B nach C um 13,3 Vol.- % zu, der relative Volumenanteil des Interstitiums (Glia, Gefäßmesenchym und extracellulärer Raum) um den gleichen Betrag ab. 3. Mit der Volumenabnahme des Interstitiums korreliert eine Abnahme der Gliakernzahl pro mm³ von A über B nach C um 46,2% und eine Abnahme der Dichte des Capillarnetzes gemessen an der Zahl der Endothel- und Pericytenkerne. 4. Die Größe der Querschnittsflächen durch den Sehnerven ist am Meßort B (Mittelabschnitt) kleiner als bei A und C. 5. Die Berechnung der absoluten Volumina aus den relativen Volumenwerten und der Querschnittsflächengröße ergibt, daß das Volumen des Interstitiums zwischen A und B um 34,8% abnimmt, während das Markfaservolumen hier fast unverändert bleibt. Dagegen nimmt zwischen B und C das Markfaservolumen um 11,8% zu, während das Volumen des Interstitiums weiter, aber nur geringfügig abnimmt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, daß die Umfang. zunahme des Sehnerven vom Mittelabschnitt (Durchtritt durch den Canalis opticus) gegen beide Endabschnitte durch Volumenvermehrung jeweils verschiedener Gewebskomponenten bedingt ist.

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Stereological study on the submicroscopic structure of the rat optic nerve

Summary The normal optic nerves of ten adult albino rats were studied using stereological methods of cell counting in light microscopic preparations and point-hit counting on electron micrographs. The observations were confined to three locations of the nerve: one mm from the eyeball (point A), one mm from the optic chiasm (point C) and midway between these sites corresponding to the canalis opticus (point B). The statistically significant results are: 1. the total number of myelinated nerve fibres in the optic nerve is 107152±6780. 2. The volume of myelinated nerve fibres (axons plus myelin sheaths) increases by 13.3% from point A to C, whereas the volume of interstitium (glial cells, capillaries and extracellular space) decreases concomitantly. 3. The decrease in interstitial tissue corresponds to a 46.2% decrease in glial cells between A and C and of capillaries indicated by the numbers of endothelial cells and pericytes. 4. The surface area of cross sections of the optic nerve at point B is smaller than at point A and point C. 5. The absolute volume of the two structural components in the optic nerve, calculated from percentage volume and cross section surfaces, showed that the volume of interstitial tissue decreases from the eyeball to the intermediate portion by 34.8% whereas the volume of myelinated fibres remains nearly constant. From the intermediate portion to the optic chiasm the volume of myelinated fibres increases by 11.8% whereas the interstitial volume further decreases slightly. Thus the increasing diameter of the optic nerve from the middle part to both ends is caused by increases in volume of different tissue constituents.

Mit Unterstützung durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.     

Niemann-Pick C1 protein transports copper to the secretory compartment from late endosomes where ATP7B resides

Wilson disease is a genetic disorder characterized by the accumulation of copper in the body by defective biliary copper excretion. Wilson disease gene product (ATP7B) functions in copper incorporation to ceruloplasmin (Cp) and biliary copper excretion. However, copper metabolism in hepatocytes has been still unclear. Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) is a lipid storage disorder and the most commonly mutated gene is NPC1 and its gene product NPC1 is a late endosome protein and regulates intracellular vesicle traffic. In the present study, we induced NPC phenotype and examined the localization of ATP7B and secretion of holo-Cp, a copper-binding mature form of Cp. The vesicle traffic was modulated using U18666A, which induces NPC phenotype, and knock down of NPC1 by RNA interference. ATP7B colocalized with the late endosome markers, but not with the trans-Golgi network markers. U18666A and NPC1 knock down decreased holo-Cp secretion to culture medium, but did not affect the secretion of other secretory proteins. Copper accumulated in the cells after the treatment with U18666A. These findings suggest that ATP7B localizes in the late endosomes and that copper in the late endosomes is transported to the secretory compartment via NPC1-dependent pathway and incorporated into apo-Cp to form holo-Cp.     

Comparing the conservatism of ecological interactions in plant–pollinator and plant–herbivore networks

Conservatism in species interaction, meaning that related species tend to interact with similar partners, is an important feature of ecological interactions. Studies at community scale highlight variations in conservatism strength depending on the characteristics of the ecological interaction studied. However, the heterogeneity of datasets and methods used prevent to compare results between mutualistic and antagonistic networks. Here we perform such a comparison by taking plant–insect communities as a study case, with data on plant–herbivore and plant–pollinator networks. Our analysis reveals that plants acting as resources for herbivores exhibit the strongest conservatism in species interaction among the four interacting groups. Conservatism levels are similar for insect pollinators, insect herbivores and plants as interacting partners of pollinators, although insect pollinators tend to have a slightly higher conservatism than the two others. Our results thus clearly support the current view that within antagonistic networks, conservatism is stronger for species as resources than for species as consumer. Although the pattern tends to be opposite for plant–pollinator networks, our results suggest that asymmetry in conservatism is much less pronounced between the pollinators and the plant they interact with. We discuss these differences in conservatism strength in relation with the processes structuring plant–insect communities.     

应用人工神经网络评价湖泊的富营养化

应用人工神经网络方法,以化学需氧量、总氮、总磷和透明度作为评价参数,经反复尝试,构建了具有４层结构用于评价湖泊富营养化的误差逆传播网络．其输入层有４个神经元,２个隐含层也各有４个神经元,输出层有１个神经元．以太湖富营养化评价标准作为样本模式提供给网络,按照误差逆传播网络的学习规则对网络进行训练,经过３７６８４次学习后,网络达到预先给定的收敛标准．使网络具备了识别湖泊富营养化程度的功能．应用该网络对我国１７个湖泊的富营养化程度进行评价,操作过程简便易行,评价结果切合实际,展示了这种方法的一系列优点．     

proC及putP基因的敲除对钝齿棒杆菌产L-精氨酸生理代谢的影响

为了选育精氨酸高产菌株,基于谷氨酸棒杆菌的基因组尺度代谢网络模型的指导,以钝齿棒杆菌(Corynebacterium crenatum)MT-M4为出发菌株,通过基因敲除技术构建了pro C和put P敲除菌株。摇瓶发酵结果表明,pro C敲除菌株精氨酸产量达到9.94g/L,较出发菌株提高了15.90%,葡萄糖转化率提高了26.02%。由于其生长受到明显抑制,因此在发酵液中外源添加24mmol/L的脯氨酸,结果发现其精氨酸产量达到12.22g/L,且菌株恢复生长。put P敲除菌株精氨酸产量达到12.23g/L,较出发菌株提高了42.70%,葡萄糖转化率提高了49.31%。以上结果显示,put P的敲除比pro C的敲除更有利于精氨酸的合成,put P的敲除对菌株的生理代谢基本无影响且无需外添加脯氨酸。     

An edge-centric perspective on the human connectome: link communities in the brain

Brain function depends on efficient processing and integration of information within a complex network of neural interactions, known as the connectome. An important aspect of connectome architecture is the existence of community structure, providing an anatomical basis for the occurrence of functional specialization. Typically, communities are defined as groups of densely connected network nodes, representing clusters of brain regions. Looking at the connectome from a different perspective, instead focusing on the interconnecting links or edges, we find that the white matter pathways between brain regions also exhibit community structure. Eleven link communities were identified: five spanning through the midline fissure, three through the left hemisphere and three through the right hemisphere. We show that these link communities are consistently identifiable and investigate the network characteristics of their underlying white matter pathways. Furthermore, examination of the relationship between link communities and brain regions revealed that the majority of brain regions participate in multiple link communities. In particular, the highly connected and central hub regions showed a rich level of community participation, supporting the notion that these hubs play a pivotal role as confluence zones in which neural information from different domains merges.