Polishable and robust modified graphite epoxy electrodes.

Pectobacterium brasiliense 1692 (Pbr1692) is a necrotrophic pathogen that infects many crops such as potatoes and ornamental plants and derives nutrients from degraded plant tissue. Previous studies have identified Pbr1692 genes required for ecological fitness and virulence, however there is a lack of information on nutrient utilization in Pbr1692. Carbon source utilization profiling in Pbr1692 could provide a platform to decipher its metabolic flexibility and adaptation. This study assessed the nutrient utilization of Pbr1692 in different carbon sources, using Biolog Phenotypic Microarray (PM). An array of carbon sources utilized by Pbr1692 were identified, 32 carbohydrates and 8 carboxylic acids were among the preferred carbon nutrients utilized by Pbr1692. The PM results also revealed that the citric acid cycle, amino acid metabolism, and pentose phosphate metabolic pathways might be used to produce energy for Pbr1692. In addition, growth of Pbr1692 cells in minimal medium supplemented with citric acid, glucose, and aspartic acid retained the typical rod shape, suggesting that nutrient variation did not influence Pbr1692 cell morphology adaptation. This study provides an understanding on the adaptation of Pbr1692 and lays a foundation for understanding carbon metabolism of Pbr1692.

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PubMed2002

Observations of comet 19P/Borrelly by the miniature integrated camera and spectrometer aboard Deep Space 1.

The nucleus of the Jupiter-family comet 19P/Borrelly was closely observed by the Miniature Integrated Camera and Spectrometer aboard the Deep Space 1 spacecraft on 22 September 2001. The 8-kilometer-long body is highly variegated on a scale of 200 meters, exhibiting large albedo variations (0.01 to 0.03) and complex geologic relationships. Short-wavelength infrared spectra (1.3 to 2.6 micrometers) show a slope toward the red and a hot, dry surface (</=345 kelvin, with no trace of water ice or hydrated minerals), consistent with approximately 10% or less of the surface actively sublimating. Borrelly's coma exhibits two types of dust features: fans and highly collimated jets. At encounter, the near-nucleus coma was dominated by a prominent dust jet that resolved into at least three smaller jets emanating from a broad basin in the middle of the nucleus. Because the major dust jet remained fixed in orientation, it is evidently aligned near the rotation axis of the nucleus.

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PubMed2002

Structure and electrochemistry of self-organized fullerene-lipid bilayer films.

The unique properties of C(60)-bearing artificial lipids with three C(16) (lipid 1), C(14) (lipid 2), or C(12) (lipid 3) alkyl chains have been characterized by a variety of techniques, including (13)C NMR, UV/Vis, and FT-IR spectroscopies, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction, and electrochemistry. The (13)C NMR and UV/Vis spectra show that the lipids 1-3 have a closed aziridine structure at a 6/6-ring junction of C(60). The DSC data reveal that cast films of 1 exhibit two endothermic peaks at temperature ranges of 35-40 degrees C (main transition) and 47-49 degrees C (subtransition) in air, water, and 0.5 M aqueous tetraethylammonium chloride solution, while cast films of 2 and 3 each display one endothermic peak at 50-57 degrees C. The results of temperature-dependent FT-IR and UV/Vis studies of cast films of 1-3, together with the above data, reveal that the main peak in the DSC thermogram of a film of 1 can be attributed to a typical phase transition as seen in lipid bilayer membranes, while the sub-endothermic peak seen with 1 and the peaks for 2 and 3 stem from a change in the orientation of the C(60) moieties. X-ray diffraction patterns of each of the cast films of 1-3 show a diffraction peak corresponding to the (001) plane, suggesting the formation of molecular bilayer membrane structures. Cyclic voltammograms and Osteryoung square-wave voltammograms obtained from cast films of 1-3 on basal plane pyrolytic graphite (BPG) electrodes show strong temperature dependences. Finally, the thermodynamics of the binding of nine different alkylammonium ions and two alkylphosphonium ions to the electrogenerated radical monoanions and dianions of 1-3 cast on electrodes is described.

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