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Neutral Water (neutral + water)
Selected AbstractsConformational changes of ,-lactoglobulin in sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate reverse micellesFEBS JOURNAL, Issue 4 2004A fluorescence, CD study The effect of ,-lactoglobulin encapsulation in sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate reverse micelles on the environment of protein and on Trp was analysed at different water contents (,0). CD data underlined the distortion of the ,-sheet and a less constrained tertiary structure as the ,0 increased, in agreement with a concomitant red shift and a decrease in the signal intensity obtained in steady-state fluorescence measurements. Fluorescence lifetimes, evaluated by biexponential analysis, were ,1 = 1.28 ns and ,2 = 3.36 ns in neutral water. In reverse micelles, decay-associated spectra indicated the occurrence of important environmental changes associated with ,0. Bimolecular fluorescence quenching by CCl4 and acrylamide was employed to analyse alterations in the accessibility of the two Trp residues in ,-lactoglobulin, induced by changes in ,0. The average bimolecular quenching constant <> was found not to depend on ,0, confirming the insolubility of this quencher in the aqueous interface, while <> increases with ,0. The drastic decrease with ,0 of kq, associated with the longest lifetime, , comparatively to the increase of , emphasizes the location of ,-lactoglobulin in the aqueous interfacial region especially at ,0,,10. The fact that (,0 = 30) , (water) also confirms the important conformational changes of encapsulated ,-lactoglobulin. [source] Growth and population size of crayfish in headwater streams: individual- and higher-level consequences of acidificationFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 7 2004Steven M. Seiler Summary 1. Environmental stress may have indirect positive effects on population size through modification of food-web interactions, despite having negative effects on individuals. Here we evaluate the individual- and population-level effects of acidification on crayfish (Cambarus bartonii) in headwater streams of the Allegheny Plateau (PA, U.S.A.) with field experiments and survey data. Median baseflow pH of 24 study reaches in nine streams varied from 4.4 to 7.4, with substantial variation found both among and within streams. 2. Two bioassays were conducted to evaluate the relationship between stream pH and crayfish growth rates. Growth rates were always higher in circumneutral reaches than in acidic reaches. Crayfish originating in acidic water grew less when transplanted into neutral water than did crayfish originating in neutral water, providing some evidence for a cost of acclimation to acidity. 3. Stream surveys showed that fish were less abundant and crayfish more abundant in acidified streams than in circumneutral streams. Crayfish density was sixfold higher in reaches with the lowest pH relative to circumneutral reaches. Large crayfish made up a higher proportion of crayfish populations at sites with high fish biomass, consistent with the hypothesis that fish predation on small individuals may be limiting crayfish population size at these sites. 4. Although individual crayfish suffered lower growth in acidified streams, increased acidity appeared to cause an increase in crayfish population size and shifts in size structure, possibly by relieving predation pressure by fish. [source] Carry-over effects of embryonic acid conditions on development and growth of Rana temporaria tadpolesFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2002K. RÄsänen 1.,Conditions experienced during the early stages of development may have carry-over effects on performance during later life. The egg laying period and embryonic development of temperate and boreal zone amphibians often coincides with peak acidity resulting from spring snow-melt, but the effects of acid conditions during embryonic stage on subsequent performance are unknown. 2.,We investigated the potential carry-over effects of acidity during the embryonic stage on performance up to metamorphosis in the common frog (Rana temporaria) tadpoles. There were four combinations of acid (4.5) and neutral (7.5) pH treatments applied to the egg and larval stages in a factorial laboratory experiment. In addition, we studied the difference in embryonic and larval tolerance of acidity between two populations originating from circumneutral (pH 6.6) and acidic conditions (pH 4.8). 3.,The effects of acid conditions during the embryonic stage were sublethal, as indicated by delayed development and reduced size. Under acid conditions, tadpoles that had been raised in neutral water as embryos at first grew more slowly than tadpoles raised under acid conditions as embryos. At metamorphosis, no effects of embryonic acidity were detectable indicating that tadpoles were able to compensate fully for the initial reduction in growth. 4.,Acid conditions during the larval period had a strongly negative effect on survival, size and age at metamorphosis. The amount of food consumed was lower under acid conditions, suggesting that reduced food consumption was at least partly responsible for the negative effects. 5.,Although the two populations differed in the length of larval period, there was no indication of a differential response to the treatments in any of the metamorphic traits studied. 6.,These results suggest that, although moderate acid conditions during embryonic development affect growth and development negatively, this influence does not persist after conditions have returned to normal. However, even moderately acid conditions during the larval period may have a strong negative influence on survival and performance of the tadpoles. [source] A comprehensive theoretical study on the hydrolysis of carbonyl sulfide in the neutral waterJOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2008Chao Deng Abstract The detailed hydration mechanism of carbonyl sulfide (COS) in the presence of up to five water molecules has been investigated at the level of HF and MP2 with the basis set of 6-311++G(d, p). The nucleophilic addition of water molecule occurs in a concerted way across the CS bond of COS rather than across the CO bond. This preferential reaction mechanism could be rationalized in terms of Fukui functions for the both nucleophilic and electrophilic attacks. The activation barriers, ,H, for the rate-determining steps of one up to five-water hydrolyses of COS across the CS bond are 199.4, 144.4, 123.0, 115.5, and 107.9 kJ/mol in the gas phase, respectively. The most favorable hydrolysis path of COS involves a sort of eight-membered ring transition structure and other two water molecules near to the nonreactive oxygen atom but not involved in the proton transfer, suggesting that the hydrolysis of COS can be significantly mediated by the water molecule(s) and the cooperative effects of the water molecule(s) in the nonreactive region. The catalytic effect of water molecule(s) due to the alleviation of ring strain in the proton transfer process may result from the synergistic effects of rehybridization and charge reorganization from the precoordination complex to the rate-determining transition state structure induced by water molecule. The studies on the effect of temperature on the hydrolysis of COS show that the higher temperature is unfavorable for the hydrolysis of COS. PCM solvation models almost do not modify the calculated energy barriers in a significant way. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2008 [source] | ||||||||||