Structure of a Ti-Ni alloy produced by annealing of a multilayer Ti/Ni microcomposite

A multilayer microcomposite that consists of alternating nickel and titanium microlayers and corresponds to a near-equiatomic Ti-Ni alloy composition in the volume proportion is studied. The Ti/Ni composite is produced by vacuum rolling of a multilayer stack and subjected to heat treatment in the temperature range from 500 to 1000°C.     

Efficiency of naphthalene biodegradation by Pseudomonas putida G7 in soil

The efficiency of naphthalene degradation by Pseudomonas putida G7 in soil was assessed using a mathematical model. The number of microorganisms and the concentration of naphthalene in soil samples were monitored. The feasibility of a spectrofluorometric method for naphthalene assay in soil samples was compared with high pressure liquid chromatography. A proposed mathematical model described the growth of the naphthalene‐degrading strains and the consumption of substrates (naphthalene, naphthalene degradation intermediates and soil organic substances) in soil. To describe the growth kinetics of microorganisms having high affinity to substrates with low solubility, two differential equations with substrate exponent 2/3 were proposed. These equations were used to describe utilization of soil organic matter. The model parameters characterize the growth rates for different substrates and respective yield coefficients, specific bacterial death and adaptation rates, and also the rates of PAHs degradation and evaporation. These characteristics can be used in choosing the bacterial strains for biopreparations and efficient clean‐up biotechnology of polluted soils. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Aqueous-Solution pH Scales

The parallel existence of two forms of pH scale is considered, which is unique for the international metrological community. The basic advantages and shortcomings are considered for the multireference NIST scale and the single-reference BSI one.     

Uncurved-DNA signals are important for translational positioning of nucleosomes

The cDNA of a T-cluster binding protein (TCBP) has been cloned using the Southwestern method. The cDNA sequence of TCBP reveals that it has 78% homology to that of nucleolysin, a factor involved in apoptosis in cytolytic lymphocyte target cells. In particular, the 0.8kb sequences of the 5'-half of both cDNAs were identical. However, nucleolysin has a lysosome-targeting motif at the carboxy terminus, while TCBP has a hydrophobic sequence instead. Southern blot experiments have revealed that both cDNA sequences existed in the same YAC clone derived from chromosome 10. This strongly suggests that the TCBP cDNA is an alternatively spliced product of the nucleolysin/TCBP gene. The TCBP mRNA is ubiquitously expressed, not only in megakaryocytic cells but also in other hematopoietic cells. However, when HEL cells were induced to differentiate to megakaryocytes by DMSO, TCBP mRNA was reduced, while PF4 gene expression increased simultaneously. Gel mobility shift analysis demonstrated that recombinant TCBP specifically bound to the T-cluster and the proximal T-rich region of the PF4 promoter. Co-transfection experiments showed that TCBP reduced the gene expression from the PF4 promoter. On the other hand, TCBP did not affect expression from the PF4 promoter in which the T-cluster and the T-rich region had been removed. These results indicate that TCBP may participate in the regulation of PF4 gene expression by binding to the T-cluster and the T-rich sequence.     

Application of hydrogenation for the refining and pulverization of metals

Investigations of the hydrogen-saturation zone (H-layers) appearance phenomenon in polymorphous metals have indicated the possibilities of its application for obtaining certain rare and rare-earth metals and their alloys. The conducted experimental work has revealed that the application of the hydrogenation procedure in combination with the thermocycling of the Nd-Fe-B type alloy in a hydrogen atmosphere results in finely dispersed powders of grain size less than 5 μm. This method may also be used to refine the hafnium-iron alloy with a residual iron content of 25–30% until the iron content is not more than 2–3%.     

Evaluation of metrological properties in developing and certifying procedures of arc atomic-emission analysis of nonferrous and rare metals with photodiode recording

The possibilities of improving metrological properties of direct arc atomic-emission analysis of nonferrous and rare metals (Ga, Cd, In, and Zn) with application of photodiode recording are studied. Procedures for arc atomic-emission analysis of nonferrous and rare metals are improved, and their precision is increased considerably.