Molecular Characterization of the Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate Dehydrogenase Gene of Phaffia rhodozyma

The glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD; EC1.2.1.12)-encoding gene (gpd) was isolated from a genomic library of Phaffia rhodozyma CBS 6938. Unlike some other eukaryotic organisms the gpd gene is represented by a single copy in P. rhodozyma. The complete nucleotide sequence of the coding, as well as the flanking non-coding regions was determined. The nucleotide sequence of gpd predicted six introns and a polypeptide chain of 339 amino acids. The codon usage in the gpd gene of P. rhodozyma was highly biased and was significantly different from the codon usage in other yeasts. Phylogenetic analysis of different yeasts and filamentous asco- and basidiomycetes gpd sequences indicated that the gpd gene of P. rhodozyma forms a cluster with the corresponding genes of filamentous basidiomycetes. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Barrel zinc electrodeposition from alkaline solution

This paper discusses the influence of electrochemical parameters on the concentration–time relationship in an electrolytic zinc deposition reactor using a three-dimensional electrode. The dynamic behaviour of a zinc plating unit is obtained from the fundamental material balance. Two stages are considered: (i) the batch electrolytic reactor, and (ii) the electrolyser surrounded by rinses (i.e., contribution of drag-out). This theoretical approach shows that good control of the operating parameters helps stabilise the zinc electrolyte and, therefore, the properties of the zinc deposits. The aim of the experiments is to investigate, in a statistically designed test program, the effects of the composition of the alkaline zinc electrolyte on cathode efficiency and on the morphologies/textures of the deposits.     

价值链上除风险

<正>不确定性和风险存在于企业的方方面面,在企业战略中更具有特殊的意义。不幸的是,企业还是把不确定性当作艺术而不是科学来对待。诚然,定量分析方法可以评估不同活动可能产生的结果以及它们的预期价值,但是这些工具通常只被用来评估一个特     

How does bilingualism improve executive control? A comparison of active and reactive inhibition mechanisms.

It has been claimed that bilingualism enhances inhibitory control, but the available evidence is equivocal. The authors evaluated several possible versions of the inhibition hypothesis by comparing monolinguals and bilinguals with regard to stop signal performance, inhibition of return, and the attentional blink. These three phenomena, it can be argued, tap into different aspects of inhibition. Monolinguals and bilinguals did not differ in stop signal reaction time and thus were comparable in terms of active-inhibitory efficiency. However, bilinguals showed no facilitation from spatial cues, showed a strong inhibition of return effect, and exhibited a more pronounced attentional blink. These results suggest that bilinguals do not differ from monolinguals in terms of active inhibition but have acquired a better ability to maintain action goals and to use them to bias goal-related information. Under some circumstances, this ability may indirectly lead to more pronounced reactive inhibition of irrelevant information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Microbial characteristics of biogas

The microbial diversity of biogas was analyzed in order to examine the aerosolization behavior of microorganisms. Six biogas samples were analyzed: five from mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestors treating different wastes, and one from landfill. Epifluorescent microscopic counts revealed 10(6) prokarya m(-3). To assess the difference occuring in aerosolization, 498 biogas-borne 16S ribosomal DNA were analyzed and compared to published anaerobic digestor microbial diversity. Results show a large microbial diversity and strong discrepancy with digestor microbial diversity. Three different aerosolisation behaviour patterns can be identified: (i) that of non-aerosolized microorganisms, Deltaproteobacteria, Spirochaetes, Thermotogae, Chloroflexi phyla and sulfate-reducing groups, (ii) that of passively aerosolized microorganisms, including Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla and (iii) that of preferentially aerosolized microorganisms, including Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, as well as strictly aerobic and occasionally pathogenic species, presented high levels of aerosolization.     

Dissociating consciousness from inhibitory control: Evidence for unconsciously triggered response inhibition in the stop-signal task.

Theories about the functional relevance of consciousness commonly posit that higher order cognitive control functions, such as response inhibition, require consciousness. To test this assertion, the authors designed a masked stop-signal paradigm to examine whether response inhibition could be triggered and initiated by masked stop signals, which inform participants to stop an action they have begun. In 2 experiments, masked stop signals were observed to occasionally result in full response inhibition as well as to yield a slow down in the speed of responses that were not inhibited. The magnitude of this subliminally triggered response time slowing effect correlated with the efficiency measure (stop signal reaction time) of response inhibition across participants. Thus, response inhibition can be triggered unconsciously—more so in individuals who are good inhibitors and under conditions that are associated with efficient response inhibition. These results indicate that in contradiction to common theorizing, inhibitory control processes can operate outside awareness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Population dynamics of anophelines in a malathion treated village in the intermediate zone of Sri Lanka

As part of research programme on malaria transmission in Sri Lanka, a study was made of man-biting anophelines at Nikawehera, a village on the border of the intermediate and dry rainfall zones. Weekly mosquito collections by night human bait (NHB) were performed inside and outside four fixed stations from October 1992 till March 1993. Houses in the village were treated with malathion by the Anti-Malaria Campaign in October and at the end of January 1993. An. culicifacies and An. tesselatus were the most abundant species. An. culicifacies was probably the only species responsible for malaria transmission. An. culicifacies densities varied between stations and reflected differences in availability of breeding places. An. culicifacies aggressivity is closely related to the rainfall pattern, increasing after the first monsoon rains in November and reaching a peak in late December--early January. Vectorial capacity, however, decreased during the first weeks of the rainy season. The maximum vectorial capacity was found in January. The night biting cycle of An. culicifacies showed a peak between 20.00 and 23.00 h. Since the introduction of electricity in the village, people go to bed later. This might reduce the impact of impregnated bednets on malaria transmission. The results show that malathion spraying as performed now is not very effective. The timing of the spray rounds should be improved. In order to limit malaria transmission, we suggest to advance the malathion spraying campaign of January with one month.     

Application of a factorial design to study a chromate-conversion process

Chromate conversion coatings are commonly deposited on plated zinc to improve the corrosion resistance of the substrates, and to increase the adherence of painted films. The coatings’ properties depend on the composition and the structure of the conversion films as well as on the process parameters. A fractional factorial design was implemented to optimize the experimental conditions of the chromating process (bath composition, rinses composition, draining, treatment time). Surface analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, glow discharge optical spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectrometry were used to characterize the chromate conversion coatings.     

Optimization of mechanical and tribological properties of anodized 5754 aluminium alloy

This paper deals with the optimization of the micro-hardness and the tribological properties of the anodized Al 5754 aluminium alloy. A sulphuric anodizing process was considered. Three anodizing bath parameters, namely: the bath temperature, the current density, and the sulphuric acid concentration, were varied using Doehlert experimental design. The selected responses were: the micro-hardness, the wear rate and the growth rate of the anodic oxide layer. The variance analysis was used to check the adequacy of response models. Additional tests were performed to validate the obtained model. In order to maximize the growth rate and the micro-hardness of the anodic oxide layer and to minimize the wear rate at the same time, a multi-criteria optimization using the desirability function was performed. The main finding of this study indicated that under optimal anodizing conditions (T = 11.1°C, J = 2.1 A/dm², C _sul = 198 g/L), the estimated values responses were 0.64 μm/min, 442 HV, and 4.8% for the growth rate, micro-hardness and wear rate, respectively. The best friction behavior and the lowest wear rate of the optimum anodic layer could be correlated with the surface morphology of the anodic oxide layer revealed by the scanning electron microscopy and optical observations during friction and scratch tests.