An investigation of the pH-activity relationships of Cex, a family 10 xylanase from Cellulomonas fimi: xylan inhibition and the influence of nitro-substituted aryl-beta-D-xylobiosides on xylanase activity

The kinetic parameters of Cex, a family 10 xylanase from Cellulomonas fimi, were determined at various pH levels using soluble birchwood xylan (BWX) as a natural polymeric substrate along with three other synthetic aryl-beta-D-xylobioside substrates. Using BWX, a high level of substrate inhibition was observed which increased with decreasing pH. In contrast, typical Michaelis-Menten-type profiles were obtained using the three aryl-beta-D-xylobiosides as substrates. The k(cat) values determined using o-nitrophenyl-beta-D-xylobioside did not change as the pH increased, whereas the k(cat) values obtained with BWX, phenyl-beta-D-xylobioside and p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-xylobioside decreased, suggesting that the presence of an ortho nitro group affects the activity displayed by Cex. These differences were not observed with XynB from Clostridium stercorarium F9, a member of the same family of xylanases as Cex. These results indicate that a careful evaluation is required when employing substituted aryl-beta-D-xylobiosides in the characterization of xylanases.     

Purification and some properties of a chitinase from Xanthomonas sp. strain AK

Chitinase B (ChiB) was purified from the culture supernatant of Xanthomonas sp. strain AK by Phenyl-Toyopearl 650M and DEAE-Toyopearl 650M column chromatographies. The purified enzyme preparation gave a single band on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the molecular weight of ChiB was estimated to be 48,000. The enzyme was optimally active at pH 6.0 and 60 degrees C. N-Terminal amino acid sequence analysis suggested that ChiB is a member of glycosyl hydrolase family 18 and that it is genetically different from ChiA recently reported (Sakka et al., J. Ferment. Bioeng., 86, 527-533, 1998). Immunological analysis suggested that ChiB was the major chitinase species in the culture supernatant of Xanthomonas sp. strain AK and that production of the enzyme was induced by the presence of chitin.     

Finite strip analysis of curved composite girders with incomplete interaction

This paper presents a finite strip analysis of curved composite girders with incomplete interaction. In the present analysis curved composite girder bridges are modelled by curved strip elements for the concrete slab and steel girder and spring elements for the shear connectors. The shear connectors are assumed as a two-dimensional spring element along the nodal line. The proposed method is applied to the analysis of curved box girders, curved plates and curved composite girder bridges with complete and incomplete interaction. Some analytical results obtained by this method are compared with the test results and theoretical values obtained by other methods, and they are in good agreement. Slip behavior of curved composite box girders is also discussed based on the results by the proposed method.     

Performance Comparison of a SSVEP BCI Task by Individual Stereoscopic 3D Susceptibility

This study aimed at investigating the differences in brain–computer interface (BCI) task performance between 2D and 3D displays depending on their individual susceptibility to stereoscopic 3D. Eleven female and 10 male participants attempted a steady-state visually evoked potential BCI navigation task in a virtual home environment with and without 3D views. Participants were categorized into fatigued and unfatigued groups, depending on their individual susceptibility to 3D, which was characterized using a subjective evaluation method for 3D visual fatigue. The task completion time for the fatigued group under the 3D conditions was significantly delayed relative to the 2D mode. In contrast, a significantly decreased completion time was observed in the 3D view relative to the 2D view for the unfatigued group. The averaged positive predictive value significantly increased in the 3D mode relative to the 2D one for the unfatigued group only. These results are expected to provide a practical implication for enhancing BCI task performance in light of individual vulnerability to 3D.     

Weighted Homo-Lumo Energy Separations for the Polyene References of Fullerenes with Up to 100 Carbon Atoms

The T value represents the HOMO-LUMO energy separation of a ε-electronic system weighted with the number of conjugated atoms. We found that this value is kept almost constant for the polyene references defined graph-theoretically for isolated-pentagon isomers of fullerenes with up to 100 carbon atoms. on this numerical basis, the T value can safely be considered as a realistic index of kinetic stability or chemical inertness for all fullerenes without abutting pentagons.     

Application of constant current pulse to suppress bubble incorporation and control deposit morphology during aqueous electrophoretic deposition (EPD)

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) from aqueous suspension generally forms deposits containing enormous pores because of evolution of hydrogen gas at cathode and oxygen at anode due to electrolysis of water on application of DC electric field. We have demonstrated through this investigation on aqueous EPD of alumina suspension as an example that application of pulsed DC instead of the conventionally used continuous DC is a convenient and effective way to control and suppress the amount of bubble incorporation in the deposit. Bubble-free deposits of reasonable yield were obtained at suitable pulse widths and/or duty cycle. The deposit yield and bubble incorporation decreased progressively with decrease in the pulse width and duty cycle of the applied pulse current. A characteristic deposition window was found in the current vs. pulse width plot within which smooth and bubble-free deposits are obtained. The window is wider at low-applied currents compared to that at higher currents implying that it is easier to control the pulsed EPD at lower applied currents. No deposition occurred below the window whereas deposits with incorporated bubbles formed above the window. Possible mechanisms involved in pulsed EPD have been advocated on the basis of amount of hydrogen evolved/pulse due to the electrolysis of water. The discrete amount of H₂ evolved/pulse was higher for larger pulse widths leading to incorporation of more bubbles and vice versa. This was verified by monitoring the gain in weight of palladium (Pd) electrode used as cathode for electrolysis experiment since it is known to absorb hydrogen.     

Effect of Silica Doping on the Electrical Conductivity of 3 mol % Yttria-Stabilized Tetragonal Zirconia Prepared by Colloidal Processing

Silica-doped (SiO₂ = 0 - 1.0 wt%) 3Y-TZP (3 mol % yttria-doped tetragonal zirconia polycrystal) ceramics are prepared from hetero-coagulated aqueous suspension by colloidal processing. Consolidation of the suspension was carried out by pressure filtration at 10 MPa followed by cold isostatic pressing (CIP) at 400 MPa. Consolidated compacts are densified to a relative density over 99% by sintering at 1573 K for 2 h. The formation of glass pockets at grain boundary multiple junctions was observed by SEM for ≥0.5 wt % silica-doped samples. Electrical conductivity measurements were performed to evaluate the modification of grain-boundaries by silica. The apparent grain boundary conductivity decreased with an increase in silica content and became nearly constant above 0.3 wt % of silica, while the bulk conductivity was constant with silica content.     

Sonochemical Preparation and Properties of Pt–3Y-TZP Nano-Composites

A uniformly aggregated 3 mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia nano-powder (3Y-TZP) was prepared using thermal hydrolysis and the ultrasonic deagglomeration technique. The possibility of nano-engineering of Pt–3Y-TZP composite aggregates was studied. The as-synthesized Pt nano-particles (∼2 nm) were impregnated into zirconia nano-aggregates (20–45 nm). The morphology manipulation technique allowed production of the composite zirconia-based aggregates in which a significant fraction of the Pt particles was embedded into the densified zirconia aggregates. Using the colloidal technique and low-temperature (1150°C) sintering, we prepared the Pt-zirconia (0.5–1.5 wt% of platinum) nano-composites with average 3Y-TZP grain sizes of 120 nm, and with the platinum grains size in the range of 20–60 nm. The catalytic properties of composite Pt–3Y-TZP nano-composites were studied and described.     

Chemical durability of a superconducting oxide YBa2Cu3Ox in aqueous solutions of varying pH values

The chemical durability of a superconducting oxide YBa₂Cu₃O _x in the aqueous solution was investigated as a function of pH value by measuring the amount of leaching of the cations in the solution by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis. The chemical durability of YBa₂Cu₃O _x was very low in highly acidic solutions of pH ca, 1, where the cations were dissolved in the same cation ratio as that of the compound. In an ion-exchanged water and NaOH solution, barium ions were leached out preferentially and almost no yttrium and copper ions were leached out. When NH₄OH was used as a basic reagent, the amounts of barium ions leached out were higher than in the NaOH solution of the same pH value and the dissolution of copper ions was observed, unlike in the NaOH solution of the same pH value. These observations were explained in terms of the chemical stability of individual oxide components.     

Initial stages of electrodeposition of metal nanowires in nanoporous templates

This paper describes the initial stages of electrochemical growth of Cu and Ni nanowires in polycarbonate (PC) track-etched membranes as the template. The diameters of the wires ranged from 50 to 200 nm. A thin Pt-Pd layer (∼30 nm thick) was sputter-deposited onto one side of the membrane and used as the cathode. The layer was not thick enough to seal the pore mouths. Cathodic current in the early stages of both Cu and Ni electrodeposition abruptly decreased after a period proportional to the pore diameter. Growing Cu grains plugged the pore openings causing the current to decrease, while the Ni deposition initially yielded a hollow tube in each pore resulting in a nanostructure transition of the tube to the wire at the growth front and a decrease in the current.