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Kinesins are molecular motors that require a divalent metal ion (for example, Mg2+) to convert the energy of ATP hydrolysis into directed force production along microtubules. Here we present the crystal structure of a recombinant kinesin motor domain bound to Mn2+ and ADP and report on a serine-to-cysteine substitution in the switch 1 motif of kinesin that allows its ATP hydrolysis activity to be controlled by adjusting the ratio of Mn2+ to Mg2+. This mutant kinesin binds ATP similarly in the presence of either metal ion, but its ATP hydrolysis activity is greatly diminished in the presence of Mg2+. In human kinesin-1 and kinesin-5 as well as Drosophila melanogaster kinesin-10 and kinesin-14, this defect is rescued by Mn2+, providing a way to control both the enzymatic activity and force-generating ability of these nanomachines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Silica-coated ultrafine diamond (UFD/SiO2) composites were prepared, which were core/shell structures with amorphous silica shell of approximately 5nm thickness. Contrasting to the pristine UFDs, the dispersion stability of the UFD/SiO2 composites was improved greatly in the multi-component inorganic salts aqueous solution, and the chemical compositions of the ceramic matrix were introduced by multi-component inorganic salts. Meanwhile, the oxidation resistance temperature of the coated UFDs was also increased by around 101.0°C. Furthermore, by using the polyacrylamide gel method and hot-press sintering process, ceramic composites were fabricated with the UFD/SiO2 aqueous suspension containing multi-component inorganic salts. The results indicated that the UFDs coated with silica could be dispersed uniformly in ceramic matrix, where no obvious UFD agglomerates were observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]