Identification and analysis of genes from Streptomyces pristinaespiralis encoding enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of the 4-dimethylamino-L-phenylalanine precursor of pristinamycin I

Dextran has been used as a carrier molecule for the synthesis of monofunctional peptide-dextran conjugates. The immunodetection of such carrier immobilized peptides on ELISA plates was compared to that of peptides adsorbed directly to immunoplates. The main features observed with peptide-dextran conjugates were as follows: only small amounts of peptide (1-2 mg) were necessary for coupling via alpha- or epsilon-amino groups to NaIO4-activated dextran (4 mg); the coupling yield was up to 68%; an amino acid analysis of the conjugate enabled the amount of carrier immobilized peptide to be calculated; an estimated 15-17 peptides were bound per dextran molecule (MW 73,500); using a carbohydrate as carrier reduces the possibility of non-specific interactions because no hydrophobic or ionic sites and no protein-like epitopes exist on the carrier apart from the peptide ligand. It can be assumed that some peptide ligands provide the forces for an interaction with the plate surface whereas other remain free for the interaction with the antibody. Thus, the detection with monoclonal anti-peptide antibodies allowed peptide-dextran conjugates to be used at coating concentrations of 1-3 nM peptide, corresponding to 0.6-2.6 ng peptide-dextran per well. In contrast, concentrations of 150-500 nM were required for coating with peptides. The applicability of monofunctional peptide-dextran conjugates was demonstrated by investigating the titer and specificity of a polyclonal anti-peptide serum developed against human gastrointestinal glutathione peroxidase. The introduction of biotin as a second ligand of the dextran conjugate permitted its capture on streptavidin coated plates. This synthesis of bifunctional peptide-biotin-dextran conjugates opens up additional possibilities for applications.     

Development of heat-and impact-resistant coatings for main pipelines

We have developed composite layered temperature-resistant silicon-organic sandwich-type coatings with thin polyurethane silicon-organic interlayers. We used the following materials as binding components: KO 921 silicon-organic lacquer with addition of éD-20 epoxy resin for prime coat, the same lacquer with addition of PZ 1040 S polyurethane elastomer for thin soft interlayers, and only KO 921 lacquer for thick hard layers. The mineral filler represented a mixture of coal ash and omiacarb in proportion 70 / 30 mass %. We have manufactured and tested laboratory specimens with two hard layers and two interlayers as well as with three hard layers and two thin interlayers. We have established that the developed composite layered coatings exceed, in their basic characteristics, the requirements of the State Standard Committee of Ukraine and foreign normative documents for the rust protection of steel main pipelines. Our coatings possess high impact strength, heightened elasticity and adhesion strength and, as to their electrical insulating characteristics, exceed these requirements by an order of magnitude. We note the complexity of the technology of applying layered composite coatings and the necessity of its improvement. __________ Translated from Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 59–65, July–August, 2006.     

Surface leakage currents in SiN/sub x/ passivated AlGaN/GaN HFETs

A novel guarded surface leakage test structure is used to isolate the surface and bulk leakage contributions to gate current in AlGaN/GaN HFETs. Passivation with various recipes of SiN/sub x/ always resulted in the commonly observed increase in gate leakage, which was found to be dominated by bulk leakage through the AlGaN. However, high temperature deposited SiN/sub x/ recipes gave a 1-2 orders reduction in surface leakage, whereas low temperature deposition gave an increase. Gate lag measurements were found to correlate closely with the surface leakage component, giving direct evidence that the key device problem of current slump is associated with current flow at the AlGaN surface.     

Creating advanced functions on network processors: experience and perspectives

In this article we present five case studies of advanced networking functions that detail how a network processor (NP) can provide high performance and also the necessary flexibility compared with ASIC. We first review the basic NP system architectures, and describe the IBM PowerNP architecture from the data plane as well as the control plane point of view. We introduce models for the programmer's views of NP that facilitate a global understanding of NP software programming. Then, for each case study, we present results from prototypes as well as general considerations that apply to a wider range of system architectures. Specifically, we investigate the suitability of NP for QoS (active queue management and traffic engineering), header processing (GPRS tunneling protocol), intelligent forwarding (load balancing without flow disruption), payload processing (code interpretation and just-in-time compilation in active networks), and protocol stack termination (SCTP). Finally, we summarize the key features as revealed by each case study, and conclude with remarks on the future of NP.     

Low RF noise and power loss for ion-implanted Si having an improved implantation process

Very-low-transmission line noise of <0.25 dB at 18 GHz and low power loss /spl les/0.6 dB at 110 GHz have been measured on transmission lines fabricated on proton-implanted Si. In contrast, a standard Si substrate gave much higher noise of 2.5 dB and worse power loss of 5 dB. The good RF integrity of proton-implanted Si results from the high isolation impedance to ground, as analyzed by an equivalent circuit model. The proton implantation is also done after forming the transmission lines at a reduced implantation energy of /spl sim/4 MeV. This enables easier process integration into current VLSI technology.     

High-performance surface-micromachined inchworm actuator

This work demonstrates a polycrystalline silicon surface-micromachined inchworm actuator that exhibits high-performance characteristics such as large force (/spl plusmn/0.5 millinewtons), large velocity range (0 to /spl plusmn/4.4 mm/sec), large displacement range (/spl plusmn/100 microns), small step size (/spl plusmn/10, /spl plusmn/40 or /spl plusmn/100 nanometers), low power consumption (nanojoules per cycle), continuous bidirectional operation and relatively small area (600 /spl times/ 200/spl mu/m/sup 2/). An in situ load spring calibrated on a logarithmic scale from micronewtons to millinewtons, optical microscopy and Michelson interferometry are used to characterize its performance. The actuator consists of a force-amplifying plate that spans two voltage-controlled clamps, and walking is achieved by appropriately sequencing signals to these three components. In the clamps, normal force is borne by equipotential rubbing counterfaces, enabling friction to be measured against load. Using different monolayer coatings, we show that the static coefficient of friction can be changed from 0.14 to 1.04, and that it is load-independent over a broad range. We further find that the static coefficient of friction does not accurately predict the force generated by the actuator and attribute this to nanometer-scale presliding tangential deflections.     

Effect of irradiation with low-energy Ar ions on the characteristics of the working and rear sides of single-crystal GaAs substrate

Contactless methods were used to study the characteristics of the front and rear sides of single-crystal GaAs wafers whose rear side was irradiated with low-energy Ar ions. Variations in the optical and photoelectric properties of irradiated and unirradiated sides were detected. A solitonic mechanism for the penetration of defects into the crystal bulk is suggested.