Preparation of Pb-Ca-Na master alloy using molten chloride salt electrolysis

An electrolysis technique for co-deposition of Ca2+ and Na+ at the liquid lead cathode was put forward. The experiment was carried out at an electrolysis temperature below 650 degrees C and had a current efficiency of 98%, which are respectively 100 similar to 300 degrees C lower and 15% similar to 30% higher than those reported both at home and abroad.

Comparative study on the doping effect of 3d elements in Bi(1.5)Pb(0.2)Sr(2)Ca(2)Cu(2.8)M(0.2)O(y) (M=Sc,Ti,V,Cr,Mn,Fe,Co,Ni, or Zn)

With XRD, R-T, and ac chi measurements a comparative study on the doping effects of 3d elements in Bi(1.5)Pb(0.2)Sr(2)Ca(2)Cu(2.8)M(0.2)O(y) (M = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, or Zn) has been carried out. The effects of the former five members are significantly different, both on phase formed and on T-c, from the latter four. It seems that the effect on phase stabilization correlates with the valency of the doped cation. In connection with the instability of the 2223 phase, the correlation has been discussed.

Magnetic and electric properties of Bi(La)Sr(Ca)Mn2O6

Bi1-xLaxSrMn2O6 and BiSr1-xCaxMn2O6 are prepared by solid state reaction. They are n-type semiconductors with ferromagnetism at room temperture. When Bi is substituted partly by rare earth, a negative magnetoresistance effect is observed in the pellet of Bi1-xLaxSrMn2O6. There are semiconductor-metal transitions at 820 K in BiSrMn2O6. The transitions are attributed to the magnetic transition at high temperature. The substitution of Ca for Sr makes the transition temperature increase. However, when Bi is partly substituted by La, the solid solution does not change into metal. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.

A STUDY OF SURFACE OXYGEN SPECIES FROM LA-ME-O (ME=MG, CA, SR, BA) CATALYSTS FOR METHANE OXIDATIVE COUPLING

CO2-TPD was used to study the surface basicity of La-Me-O mixed oxides and O-2-TPD, CH4-TPD were employed to study the surface active oxygen species. Comparing the CO2-TPD with O-2-TPD, we can see that the basicity of catalyst is in parallel with the catalystic activity. The stronger basicity is more profitable for the catalyst to adsorb oxygen to form active oxygen species and to activate CH4 by breaking a C-H bond, By comparing the catalytic activity, the results showed that La-Ba-O(La/Ba=7/3) catalyst had the strongest basicity, and it gave the highest CH4 conversion and C-2 selectivity, The results from the pulse reaction showed that the lattice oxygen participated in the OCM reaction without gas oxygen, and it was the selective oxygen species.

REDOX THERMODYNAMICS OF CYTOCHROME-C AT THE BARE GLASSY-CARBON ELECTRODE

Investigation of the redox thermodynamics of horse heart cytochrome c at bare glassy carbon electrodes has been performed using cyclic voltammetry with a nonisothermal electrochemical cell. The thermodynamic parameters of the electron-transfer reaction of cytochrome c have been estimated in different component buffer solutions. The change DELTAS(re)-degrees in reaction center entropy and the formal potential E-degrees' (at 25-degrees-C, vs. standard hydrogen electrode (SHE)) for cytochrome c are found to be -64.1 J K-1 mol-1 and 0.251 V in phosphate buffer, -64.8 J K-1 mol-1 and 0.257 V in Tris + HCl buffer, -65.6 J K-1 mol-1 and 0.261 V in Tris+CH3COOH buffer (pH 7.0, ionic strength 100 mM). The temperature dependence of the formal potential obtained in phosphate buffer with or without NaCl in the range 5-55-degrees-C shows biphase characteristics in an alkaline solution with an intersection point at ca. 44-degrees-C or 42-degrees-C, which should be due to a structural change in the protein moiety of cytochrome c. However, in acidic and neutral solutions only a monotonic relationship between E-degrees' and temperature is observed. The effect of the buffer component on E-degrees' for cytochrome c is also discussed.

THE COMPOSITIONS AND STRUCTURES OF SOME COMPOUNDS IN THE SYSTEM CA-SR-CU-O

The system of Ca-Sr-Cu-O have been investigated. Two new compounds with compositions Sr3Cu5O8+alpha and CaSrCu3O5+alpha have been discovered. Both are orthorhombic with a = 6.489, b = 11.280, c = 12.240 angstrom for CaSrCu3O5+alpha and a = 3.950, b = 11.479, c = 13.420 angstrom for Sr3Cu5O8+alpha. The X-ray powder data for CaSrCu3O5+alpha, Sr3Cu5O8+alpha, Sr2CuO3 and SrCuO2 are presented. The oxidation state of Cu ion and oxygen contents are analyzed by iodometric titration. Sr0.5Ca0.5CuO2 that has a similar structure with SrCuO2 has been found and its X-ray data are presented also.

Ca-Sr-Cu-O系中若干化合物的组成和结构的研究

研究了Ca-Sr-Cu-O三元金属复合氧化物体系,发现了两个新化合物Sr_3Cu_5O_(8+x)和CaSrCu_3·O_(5+x),两者都属正交晶系,前者a=3.950,b=11479,c=13.420 A.后者a=6.489,b=11.280,c=12.240A.文中给出了这两个化合物和SrCuO_2、Sr_2CuO_3的XRD谱.用碘量法测定了化合物中的氧含量.此外还发现了结构与SrCuO_2相似的固溶体Sr_(0.5)Ca_(0.5)CuO_2,也测定了它的XRD谱.

Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O体系中可能存在一个新的高T_c���导相

最近,Pb能加强BiSrCaCuO超导体中高T_c���(即2223相,其c(?)37,T_c(?)110K)的出现和掺入sb形成BiPbSbSrCaCuO的T_c���以达到132 K已见报道,我们希望通过其它元素的掺杂取代也出现类似的结果。我们做了大量掺Sb、Ba���In的实验,通过改变

Cflec-4, a multidomain C-type lectin involved in immune defense of Zhikong scallop Chlamys farreri

C-type lectins are a superfamily of carbohydrate-recognition proteins which play crucial roles in the innate immunity. In this study, a novel multidomain C-type lectin gene from scallop Chlamys farreri (designated as Cflec-4) was cloned by RACE approach based on EST analysis. The full-length cDNA of Cflec-4 was of 2086 bp. The open reading frame was of 1830 bp and encoded a polypeptide of 609 amino acids, including a signal sequence and four dissimilar carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRDs). The deduced amino acid sequence of CflecA shared high similarities to other C-type lectin family members. The phylogenetic analysis revealed the divergence between the three N-terminal CRDs and the C-terminal one, suggesting that the four CRDs in Cflec-4 originated by repeated duplication of different primordial CRD. The potential tertiary structure of each CRD in Cflec-4 was typical double-loop structure with Ca2+-binding site 2 in the long loop region and two conserved disulfide bridges at the bases of the loops. The tissue distribution of Cflec-4 mRNA was examined by fluorescent quantitative real-time PCR. In the healthy scallops, the Cflec-4 transcripts could be only detected in gonad and hepatopancreas, whereas in the Listonella anguillarum challenged scallops, it could be also detected in hemocytes. These results collectively suggested that CflecA was involved in the immune defense of scallop against pathogen infection and provided new insight into the evolution of C-type lectin superfamily. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cloning and characterization of a novel C-type lectin gene from shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

In invertebrates, C-type lectins play crucial roles in innate immunity responses by mediating the recognition of host cells to pathogens and clearing microinvaders, which interact with carbohydrates and function as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). A novel C-type lectin gene (LvLec) cDNA was cloned from hemocytes of Litopenaeus vannamei by expressed sequence tag (EST) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) PCR. The full-length cDNA of LvLec was of 618 bp, consisting of a 5'-terminal untranslated region (UTR) of 60 bp and a 3'-UTR of 87 bp with a poly (A) tail. The deduced amino acid sequence of LvLec possessed all conserved features critical for the fundamental structure, such as the four cysteine residues (Cys(53), Cys(128), Cys(144), Cys(152)) involved in the formation of disulfides bridges and the potential Ca2+/carbohydrate-binding sites. The high similarity and the close phylogenetic relationship of LvLec shared with C-type lectins from vertebrates and invertebrates. The structural features of LvLec indicated that it was an invertebrate counterpart of the C-type lectin family. The cDNA fragment encoding the mature peptide of LvLec was recombined and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)-pLysS. The recombinant protein (rLvLec) could agglutinate bacteria E. coli JM109 depending on Ca2+, and the agglutination could be inhibited by mannose and EDTA. These results indicated that LvLec was a new member of C-type lectin family and involved in the immune defence response to Gram negative bacteria in Litopenaeus vannamei. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identification of a C-type lectin from the bay scallop Argopecten irradians

C-type lectins are Ca2+ dependent carbohydrate-recognition proteins that play crucial roles in the invertebrate innate immunity, such as nonself recognition, activation of proPO system, antibacterial activity, promotion of phagocytosis and nodule formation. In this study, a novel C-type lectin of bay scallops Argopecten irradians (Ai Lec) was identified using expressed sequence tag (EST) and RACE techniques. The Ai Lec cDNA encoded a polypeptide of 171 amino acids with a putative signal peptide of 21 amino acid residues and a mature protein of 150 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence of Ai Lec was highly similar to those of the C-type lectins from other animals and contained a typical carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) of 131 residues, which has four conserved disulfide-bonded cysteine residues that define the CRD and two additional cysteine residues at the amino terminus. The expression of Ai Lec transcript was dominantly detected in the hepatopancreas and slightly detected in the haemocytes of normal scallops. 6 h after Vibrio anguillarum-challenge and 8 h after Micrococcus luteus-challenge, the temporal expression of Ai Lec mRNA in hemocytes was increased by 4.4- and 3.6-folds, respectively. The results suggested that Ai Lec was a constitutive and inducible acute-phase protein and might be involved in immune response to Gram-negative and Gram-positive microbial infection in bay scallop A. irradians.

Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis of genetic variation of Chondrus crispus populations from North Atlantic

ISSR analysis was used to investigate genetic variations of 184 haploid and diploid samples from nine North Atlantic Chondrus crispus Stackhouse populations and one outgroup Yellow Sea Chondrus ocellatus Holmes population. Twenty-two of 50 primers were selected and 163 loci were scored for genetic diversity analysis. Genetic diversity varied among populations, percentage of polymorphic bands (PPB) ranged from 27.0 to 55.8%, H(Nei's genetic diversity) ranged from 0.11 to 0.20 and I(Shannon's information index) ranged from 0.16 to 0.30. Estimators PPB, H and I had similar values in intra-population genetic diversity, regardless of calculation methods. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) apportioned inter-population and intra-population variations for C crispus, showing more genetic variance (56.5%) occurred in intra-population, and 43.5% variation among nine populations. The Mantel test suggested that genetic differentiation between nine C. crispus populations was closely related with geographic distances (R = 0.78, P = 0.002). Results suggest that, on larger distance scale (ca. > 1000 km), ISSR analysis is useful for determining genetic differentiations of C crispus populations including morphologically inseparable haploid and diploid individuals. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An ancient C-type lectin in Chlamys farreri (CfLec-2) that mediate pathogen recognition and cellular adhesion

C-type lectins are a superfamily of Ca2+ dependent carbohydrate-recognition proteins which play significant diverse roles in nonself-recognition and clearance of invaders. In the present study, a C-type lectin (CfLec-2) from Zhikong scallop Chlamys farreri was selected to investigate its functions in innate immunity. The mRNA expression of CfLec-2 in hemocytes was significantly up-regulated (P < 0.01) after scallops were stimulated by LPS. PGN or beta-glucan, and reached the highest expression level at 12h post-stimulation, which was 72.5-, 23.6- or 43.8-fold compared with blank group, respectively. The recombinant Cflec-2 (designated as rCfLec-2) could bind LPS, PGN, mannan and zymosan in vitro, but it could not bind beta-glucan. Immunofluorescence assay with polyclonal antibody specific for Cflec-2 revealed that CfLec-2 was mainly located in the mantle, kidney and gonad. Furthermore, rCfLec-2 could bind to the surface of scallop hemocytes, and then initiated cellular adhesion and recruited hemocytes to enhance their encapsulation in vitro, and this process could be specifically blocked by anti-rCfLec-2 serum. These results collectively suggested that CfLec-2 from the primitive deuterostome C. farreri could perform two distinct immune functions, pathogen recognition and cellular adhesion synchronously, while these functions were performed by collectins and selectins in vertebrates, respectively. The synchronous functions of pathogen recognition and cellular adhesion performed by CfLec-2 tempted us to suspect that CfLec-2 was an ancient form of C-type lectin, and apparently the differentiation of these two functions mediated by C-type lectins occurred after mollusk in phylogeny. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of the East Asian monsoon: Mineralogical and sedimentologic records in the northern South China Sea since 20 Ma

We here reconstruct the past change of the East Asian monsoon since 20 Ma using samples from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1146 in the northern South China Sea based On a multi-proxy approach including a monomineralic quartz isolation procedure, identification of clay minerals by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and grain-size analysis of isolated terrigenous materials. Terrigenous supply to ODP Site 1146 was dominated by changes in the strength of multiple sources and transport processes. Grain-size data modeled by an end-member modeling algorithm indicate that eolian dust from the and Asian inland and fluvial input have contributed on average 20% and 80% of total terrigenous material to ODP Site 1146, respectively. Specifically, about 40-53% of the total (quartz+feldspar) and only 6-11% of the total clay is related to eolian supply at the study site. Detailed analysis of the sedimentary environment, and clay minerals combined with previous studies shows that smectite originates mainly from Luzon, kaolinite from the Pearl River and illite and chlorite from the Pearl River, Taiwan and/or the Yangtze River. The proportion and mass accumulation rate (MAR) of the coarsest end-member EM1 (interpreted as eolian dust), ratios of (illite+chlorite)/smectite, (quartz+feldspar)% and mean grain-size of terrigenous materials at ODP Site 1146 were adopted as proxies for East Asian monsoon evolution. The consistent variation of these independent proxies since 20 Ma shows three profound shifts in the intensity of East Asian winter monsoon relative to summer monsoon, as well as aridity of the Asian continent, occurred at similar to 15 Ma, similar to 8 Ma and the youngest at about 3 Ma. In comparison, the summer monsoon intensified contemporaneously with the winter monsoon at 3 Ma. The phased uplift of the Himalaya-Tibetan plateau may have played a significant role in strengthening the Asian monsoon at similar to 15 Ma, 8 Ma and 3 Ma. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.