Low molecular weight oligo-β-hydroxybutyric acids and 3-hydroxy-N-phenethyl-butyramide – new products from microorganisms

Summary A new group of low-molecular weight channel-forming oligo(hydroxybutyric acids) (cPHBs, 1 with n = 8–30; main component MW ≈ 1300 dalton) was isolated from microorganisms of different origin. Inclusion bodies were electron-microscopically visible in cells in the state of autolysis, not in cells in the exponential phase of growth. cPHB and high-molecular poly(l3-hydroxybutyric acid) (sPHB) is cleaved by phenylethylamine and forms the corresponding monomeric hydroxybutyramide and – under drastic conditions, the crotylamide. One of these compounds, the 3-hydroxy-N-phenethyl-butyramide (5), was isolated as a new natural product now. Received: 28 March 2002/Revised version: 26 July 2002/ Accepted: 26 July 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Marine Bakterien, XVII. XVI: R.P. Maskey, R.N. Asolkar, E. Helmke, and H. Laatsch, Chalcomycin B, a new antibiotic from a marine Streptomyces sp. B7064. J. Antibiot., submitted 2002 Correspondence to Hartmut Laatsch, e-mail: hlaatsc@gwdg.de, Fax: +49-551-399660     

Synthesis of Cyclic Carbonates from Olefins and CO2 over Zeolite-Based Catalysts

Metal phthalocyanine complexes (MPc; M = Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Al³⁺) encapsulated in zeolite-Y exhibit high catalytic activity for the cycloaddition of CO₂ to epichlorohydrin and propylene oxide yielding the corresponding cyclic carbonates. The catalysts could be separated easily from the reaction mixture and reused with little loss in activity. These environmentally benign catalysts are also more efficient than either the neat complexes or those obtained by supporting them on solids like silica.     

Effect of tin diffusion on the optical behavior of float glass in the soft-x-ray region

The optical responses of two sides of float glass in the soft-x-ray region were studied at the Indus-1 synchrotron facility. To the best of our knowledge these are the first experimentally obtained optical data for both sides of float glass in the soft-x-ray region. Optical constants delta and beta were determined by use of angle-dependent reflectance techniques in the wavelength range 80-200 A. On the side of the glass that was tin indiffused, a significant difference in delta value from that of the non-tin-side surface was observed. The measured data were compared with Henke's tabulated value of SiO2. The surface roughness of float glass was separately determined by hard-x-ray reflectivity to minimize the number of fitting variables. The effect of a contamination layer on the determination of optical constants was avoided by an appropriate sample-cleaning method.     

The mechanism of adhesion and printability of plasma processed PET films

Of the several techniques available for the surface modification, plasma processing has proved to be very appropriate. The low temperature plasma is a soft radiation source and it affects the material only over a few hundred Å deep, the bulk properties remaining unaffected. Plasma surface treatment also offers the advantage of greater chemical flexibility. PET films are widely used for packaging and electrical insulation. The studies of adhesion and printability properties are important. In the present study PET films are treated in air plasma for different time of treatment. The improvement in adhesion is studied by measuring T-peel and Lap shear strength. In addition, printability of plasma treated PET films is studied by cross test method. It has been found that printability increases considerably for plasma treatment of short duration. Therefore it is interesting to study the surface composition and morphology by contact angle measurement, ESCA and AFM. Surface energy and surface roughness can be directly correlated to the improvement in above-mentioned surface related properties. It has been found that the surface oxidation occurs containing polar functional groups such as C-O, COO. A correlation of all such observations from different techniques gives a comprehensive picture of the structure and surface composition of plasma treated PET films.     

A Case‐Based Reasoning system for complex medical diagnosis

A Case‐Based Reasoning (CBR) system for medical diagnosis mimics the way doctors make a diagnosis. Given a new case, its accuracy in practice depends on successful retrieval of similar cases. CBR systems have had some success in dealing with simple diseases because of the robustness of their case base. However, their diagnostic accuracy suffers when dealing with complex diseases particularly those that involve multiple domains in medicine. An example of such a condition is Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) as it falls under both gynaecology and psychiatry. To address this issue, the paper proposes a CBR‐based expert system that uses the K‐nearest neighbour (KNN) algorithm to search k similar cases based on the Euclidean distance measure. The novelty of the system is in the design of a flexible auto‐set tolerance (T), which serves as a threshold to extract cases for which similarities are greater than the assigned value of T. A prototype software tool with a menu‐driven Graphical User Interface (GUI) has been developed for case input, analysis of results, and case adaptation within the system. Finally, the performance of the tool has been checked on a set of real‐world PMS cases.     

An analytical approach to dynamic crosstalk in coupled interconnects

This paper deals with waveform analysis, crosstalk peak and delay estimation of CMOS gate driven capacitively and inductively coupled interconnects. Simultaneously switching inputs for the coupled interconnects are considered. A transmission line-based coupled model of interconnect is used for analysis. Alpha-power Law model of MOS transistor is used to represent the transistors in CMOS driver. Peaks and delays at far-end of victim line are estimated for conditions when the inputs to the two coupled interconnects are switching in-phase and out-of-phase. The comparison of analytically obtained results with SPICE simulations show that the proposed model captures noise peak and their timing; 90% propagation delay; transition time delay and waveform shape with good accuracy, such as not more than 5% error in crosstalk peak estimation.     

Influence of phase segregation on the mechanical properties of binary blends of polyethylenes that differ considerably in molecular weight

Phase segregation in melt-extruded blends of polyethylenes that differ considerably in molecular weight was found to exert diverse degrees of influence on various measured mechanical properties. The development of phase segregated morphology was found to depend on blend component viscosity in conjunction with blend composition. The instantaneous tensile deformation properties were insensitive to phase segregation while the high-strain tensile deformation behavior was strongly and adversely influenced by phase segregation. In certain instances, phase segregation was found to favor plane stress fracture resistance. Finally, the bulk crystallization kinetics of such blends also revealed signatures of phase segregation in the form of incomplete co-crystallization of the blend components.     

Nanogold based electrochemical sensor for determination of norepinephrine in biological fluids

A stable layer of gold nano particles (AuNPs) was deposited on the surface of indium tin oxide (ITO) and was used as an electrode for the detection of norepinephrine (NE) by square wave voltammetry (SWV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). This modified electrode exhibits potent and persistent electron-mediating behavior and a well-defined oxidation peak towards NE was observed. The peak potential of NE was observed at less positive potential with increase in peak current as compared to bare ITO and bare gold electrodes. NE exhibited two quasi-reversible couples at AuNPs modified ITO over the potential range from −0.6 to 0.8 V in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) (pH 7.2). At optimal experimental condition, the catalytic oxidative peak current was responsive with the NE concentrations ranging from 100 nM to 25 μM. The detection limit was found to be 87 nM. Also, the effect of pH revealed that the oxidation of NE at the AuNPs modified ITO involved the transfer of equal number of protons and electrons. The interfering effect of common coexisting metabolites in blood and urine has also been reported. The modified electrode exhibited high stability and reproducibility. A comparison of results with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) signalizes a good agreement.     

Kinetics of adsorption of sulfur mustard on Al2O3 nanoparticles with and without impregnants

BACKGROUND: Chemical warfare (CW) agents are highly toxic compounds and have been used in war to produce physical immobilization, so safe and effective ways to detoxify them without endangering human life or the environment is of great concern. One of the important ways to achieve protection against CW agents contaminating air is to utilize suitable adsorbent materials, e.g. activated carbon, nanoparticles, etc. In the present study nanoparticles, synthesized through sol–gel processes and loaded with reactive compounds have been used for the degradation of CW agents and to understand their adsorption kinetics using Fickian and linear driving force models. RESULTS: Nanoparticles of AP‐Al₂O₃ (aerogel‐produced alumina) in the size range 2–30 nm with high surface area (375 m² g^?1) were produced by an alkoxide‐based synthesis, and then characterized using N₂‐Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. Thereafter, these were impregnated, and finally tested for kinetics of adsorption of sulfur mustard (HD) under static conditions. The kinetics was studied using linear driving force and Fickian diffusion models and the kinetics parameters determined. CONCLUSION: AP‐Al₂O₃ with 10% impregnation of 9‐molybdo‐3‐vanadophosphoric acid (10%, w/w) showed the maximum uptake (640 mg g^?1) of HD. The highest adsorption potential indicated that the adsorption was due not only to physisorption but also involved chemisorption. Values of the diffusional exponent indicated the mechanism to be Fickian and anomalous. Hydrolysis, dehydrochlorination and oxidation reactions (identified using gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC/MS)) were found to be the route of degradation of HD over the prepared nanoparticle based adsorbents. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry