Production and Characterization of Extracellular α-Amylase Produced by Wickerhamia sp. X-Fep

A yeast isolate able to produce high levels of extracellular ??-amylase was selected from a collection of 385 yeasts and identified as Wickerhamia sp. by the sequence of the D1/D2 domain of the 26?S rDNA gene. Part of the nucleotide sequence of the amy1-W gene was cloned, and a sequence of 191 amino acids deduced from this gene was analyzed. The peptide contains three characteristic well-conserved regions in the active sites of ??-amylases (EC 3.2.1.1). The enzyme was purified and in situ activity showed only one band with amylolytic activity. The molecular mass of the ??-amylase was estimated at 54?kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Enzymatic activity on soluble starch as substrate was optimal at pH 5?C6 and 50 °C. This thermostable enzyme was inhibited by EDTA?CNa₂ and 1,10-phenanthroline; the activity of the dialyzed enzyme was reactivated with Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ cations, which indicates that the ??-amylase is a metalloenzyme. ??-Amylase production was induced by starch and maltose and repressed by glucose. The high yield and productivity found in this work makes this Wickerhamia sp. strain a promising candidate for the biotechnological production of ??-amylase.     

Astatine Facing Janus: Halogen Bonding vs. Charge-Shift Bonding

The nature of halogen-bond interactions was scrutinized from the perspective of astatine, potentially the strongest halogen-bond donor atom. In addition to its remarkable electronic properties (e.g., its higher aromaticity compared to benzene), C₆At₆ can be involved as a halogen-bond donor and acceptor. Two-component relativistic calculations and quantum chemical topology analyses were performed on C₆At₆ and its complexes as well as on their iodinated analogues for comparative purposes. The relativistic spin–orbit interaction was used as a tool to disclose the bonding patterns and the mechanisms that contribute to halogen-bond interactions. Despite the stronger polarizability of astatine, halogen bonds formed by C₆At₆ can be comparable or weaker than those of C₆I₆. This unexpected finding comes from the charge-shift bonding character of the C–At bonds. Because charge-shift bonding is connected to the Pauli repulsion between the bonding σ electrons and the σ lone-pair of astatine, it weakens the astatine electrophilicity at its σ-hole (reducing the charge transfer contribution to halogen bonding). These two antinomic characters, charge-shift bonding and halogen bonding, can result in weaker At-mediated interactions than their iodinated counterparts.     

Photodegradation of 2,4-D over PdO/Al2O3-Nd2O3 photocatalysts prepared by the sol-gel method

The photocatalytic activity of 1.0 wt% PdO supported on Al₂O₃-Nd₂O₃ binary oxides prepared by the sol-gel method was studied in the photodegradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). The photocatalysts were characterized by N₂ physisorption, XRD and UV-vis spectroscopy. PdO supported on γ-Al₂O₃ photo-degrades the 2,4-D, however the addition of Nd₂O₃ to γ-Al₂O₃ notably improves the photocatalytic activity. As the concentration of Nd₂O₃ in the binary oxide increases from 2 to 10 wt%, the photodegradation of 2,4-D is highly enhanced. The catalytic test for PdO supported on pure Nd₂O₃ showed scarce photocatalytic activity. Total organic carbon (TOC) analysis showed that the 2,4-D has been completely destroyed on the PdO/Al₂O₃-Nd₂O₃ photocatalysts after 6 h under irradiation.     

Multiplexing of encrypted data using fractal masks

In this Letter, we present to the best of our knowledge a new all-optical technique for multiple-image encryption and multiplexing, based on fractal encrypting masks. The optical architecture is a joint transform correlator. The multiplexed encrypted data are stored in a photorefractive crystal. The fractal parameters of the key can be easily tuned to lead to a multiplexing operation without cross talk effects. Experimental results that support the potential of the method are presented.     

Gas‐phase detection of the HBCC (X1Σ) molecule: a combined crossed beam and computational study of the B(2P)+C2H2(1Σg+) reaction

A novel supersonic beam of ground‐state boron atoms [B(²P)] was employed to investigate the reaction of B(²P) with acetylene [C₂H₂(¹Σ_g⁺)] at an average collision energy of 16.3±0.4 kJ mol^?1 at the most fundamental microscopic level. The crossed molecular beam technique was used to record time of flight spectra at mass to charge ratios of 36 (¹¹BC₂H⁺), 35 (¹⁰BC₂H⁺/¹¹BC₂⁺), and 34 (¹⁰BC₂⁺) at different laboratory angles. Forward‐convolution fitting of the laboratory data showed that only a product with the gross formula BC₂H was formed via a boron versus hydrogen exchange. By combining experimental results with electronic structure calculations, the conclusion was that the reaction proceeded via the initial addition of B(²P) to the two carbon atoms of acetylene, leading to the formation of a first intermediate, the borirene radical (c‐BC₂H₂). This intermediate underwent various isomerization processes on the BC₂H₂ potential energy surface before decomposing into the linear HBCC(X¹Σ) isomer via a hydrogen atom elimination. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 1359–1365, 2001     

Electroanalytical performance of a Bismuth/Antimony composite glassy carbon electrode in detecting lead and cadmium

This work reports on the electroanalytical performance of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with antimony and bismuth (Sb/Bi-GCE) in detecting heavy metal ions using lead and cadmium as model analytes. The electroanalytical performance of the Sb/Bi-GCE surface was compared to the bismuth modified glassy carbon electrode (Bi-GCE) as well as the antimony modified glassy carbon electrode (Sb-GCE). The Sb/Bi-GCE exhibited excellent figures of merit compared to Bi-GCE and Sb-GCE surfaces. For example, the limit of detection for lead was 0.01 ppb using Sb/Bi-GCE and 0.1 and 1 ppb on Bi-GCE and Sb-GCE, respectively.     

Spline quasi-interpolation in the Bernstein basis and its application to digital elevation models

A nonstandard low-cost spline approximation method for approximating bivariate functions is constructed. It is applied for Digital Elevation approximation and then its accuracy in the downscaling process is studied.