Mining electron density for functionally relevant protein polysterism in crystal structures.

This review focuses on conceptual and methodological advances in our understanding and characterization of the conformational heterogeneity of proteins. Focusing on X-ray crystallography, we describe how polysterism, the interconversion of pre-existing conformational substates, has traditionally been analyzed by comparing independent crystal structures or multiple chains within a single crystal asymmetric unit. In contrast, recent studies have focused on mining electron density maps to reveal previously 'hidden' minor conformational substates. Functional tests of the importance of minor states suggest that evolutionary selection shapes the entire conformational landscape, including uniquely configured conformational substates, the relative distribution of these substates, and the speed at which the protein can interconvert between them. An increased focus on polysterism may shape the way protein structure and function is studied in the coming years

Earth-atmosphere system and surface reflectivities in arid regions from LANDSAT multispectral scanner measurements

Programs for computing atmospheric transmission and scattering solar radiation were used to compute the ratios of the Earth-atmosphere system (space) directional reflectivities in the vertical direction to the surface reflectivity, for the four bands of the LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS). These ratios are presented as graphs for two water vapor levels, as a function of the surface reflectivity, for various sun elevation angles. Space directional reflectivities in the vertical direction are reported for selected arid regions in Asia, Africa and Central America from the spectral radiance levels measured by the LANDSAT MSS. From these space reflectivities, surface vertical reflectivities were computed applying the pertinent graphs. These surface reflectivities were used to estimate the surface albedo for the entire solar spectrum. The estimated albedos are in the range 0.34-0.52, higher than the values reported by most previous researchers from space measurements, but are consistent with laboratory measurements

The effect of finite field size on classification and atmospheric correction

The atmospheric effect on the upward radiance of sunlight scattered from the Earth-atmosphere system is strongly influenced by the contrasts between fields and their sizes. For a given atmospheric turbidity, the atmospheric effect on classification of surface features is much stronger for nonuniform surfaces than for uniform surfaces. Therefore, the classification accuracy of agricultural fields and urban areas is dependent not only on the optical characteristics of the atmosphere, but also on the size of the surface do not account for the nonuniformity of the surface have only a slight effect on the classification accuracy; in other cases the classification accuracy descreases. The radiances above finite fields were computed to simulate radiances measured by a satellite. A simulation case including 11 agricultural fields and four natural fields (water, soil, savanah, and forest) was used to test the effect of the size of the background reflectance and the optical thickness of the atmosphere on classification accuracy. It is concluded that new atmospheric correction methods, which take into account the finite size of the fields, have to be developed to improve significantly the classification accuracy

Infrared spectra of van de Waals complexes of importance in planetary atmospheres

It has been suggested that (CO2)2 and Ar-CO2 are important constituents of the planetary atmospheres of Venus and Mars. Recent results on the laboratory spectroscopy of CO2 containing van der Waals complexes which may be of use in the modeling of the spectra of planetary atmospheres are presented. Sub-Doppler infrared spectra were obtained for (CO2)2, (CO2)3, and rare-gas-CO2 complexes in the vicinity of the CO2 Fermi diad at 2.7 micrometers using a color-center-laser optothermal spectrometer. From the spectroscopic constants the geometries of the complexes have been determined and van der Waals vibrational frequencies have been estimated. The equilibrium configurations are C2h, C3h, and C2v, for (CO2)2, (CO2)3, and the rare-gas-CO2 complexes, respectively. Most of the homogeneous linewidths for the revibrational transitions range from 0.5 to 22 MHz, indicating that predissociation is as much as four orders of magnitude faster than radiative processes for vibrational relaxation in these complexes

Water system virus detection

The performance of a waste water reclamation system is monitored by introducing a non-pathogenic marker virus, bacteriophage F2, into the waste-water prior to treatment and, thereafter, testing the reclaimed water for the presence of the marker virus. A test sample is first concentrated by absorbing any marker virus onto a cellulose acetate filter in the presence of a trivalent cation at low pH and then flushing the filter with a limited quantity of a glycine buffer solution to desorb any marker virus present on the filter. Photo-optical detection of indirect passive immune agglutination by polystyrene beads indicates the performance of the water reclamation system in removing the marker virus. A closed system provides for concentrating any marker virus, initiating and monitoring the passive immune agglutination reaction, and then flushing the system to prepare for another sample

Aerosol scattering of ultraviolet sunlight in the tropical maritime atmosphere

The effects of atmospheric aerosol scattering on the vertical profile of solar ultraviolet radiation are investigated. Measurements of diffuse and total ultraviolet radiation were made using a rocketborne optical sonde in the marine atmosphere of Antigua. During observations, the sun was at zenith. Vertical profiles of directly transmitted solar radiation were calculated by subtraction of the diffuse component from the total radiance. Using these values of direct downward solar UV-flux, the optical thickness of the atmosphere was derived as a function of altitude. Absorption by ozone was also considered. In the troposphere the values of observed optical thickness were in general equal to or lower than those expected theoretically from Rayleigh scattering alone. The measured radiation profiles were compared with those computed for a multiple scattering model atmosphere. Some computations regarding the interaction of UV-sunlight with maritime aerosols are presented