A Bacterial Chitinase Acts as Catalyst for Synthesis of the N‐Linked Oligosaccharide Core Trisaccharide by Employing a Sugar Oxazoline Substrate

A chitinolytic enzyme, chitinase A1 from Bacillus circulans WL‐12, was found to catalyze a glycosyl‐transferring reaction to form the N‐linked oligosaccharide core structure, Man(β1‐4)‐GlcNAc(β1‐4)‐GlcNAc, by employing Man(β1‐4)‐GlcNAc‐oxazoline as glycosyl donor. When the reaction was carried out in the presence of 20 v/v% acetone, the trisaccharide was obtained in 32% yield. It has been shown for the first time that a chitinase behaves like an endo‐β‐N‐acetylglucosaminidase in spite of low structural similarity between them.     

Simultaneous determination of traces of impurities in high-purity molybdenum and molybdenum trioxide by coprecipitation and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry

Summary Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) has been developed for a simultaneous determination of traces of non-hydride-forming elements in high-purity Mo and molybdenum trioxide. Coprecipitation of diverse elements with lanthanum hydroxide is used to separate them from the Mo matrix and for concentration. Effects of pH and amount of La on the recoveries of diverse elements are discussed. Ten elements (Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Ti, V, Zn, and Zr) are quantitatively recovered and determined. Matrix-matched calibration solutions are used for the determination.     

Observation of spin-orbit splitting in lambda single-particle states

The spin-orbit splitting of Lambda single-particle states in (13)(Lambda)C was measured. The 13C(K-,pi(-))(13)(Lambda)C reaction was used to excite both the 1/2(-) and 3/2(-) states simultaneously, which have predominantly 12C(0(+)) x p(Lambda) configuration. gamma rays from the states to the ground state were measured in coincidence with the pi(-)'s, by which ls splitting was found to be 152+/-54(stat)+/-36(syst) keV. The value is 20-30 times smaller than exhibited by the ls splitting in the nuclear shell model. This value gives us new insight into the YN interaction.     

Production of (4)(double Lambda)H hypernuclei

An experiment demonstrating the production of double-Lambda hypernuclei in (K(-),K(+)) reactions on (9)Be was carried out at the D6 line in the BNL alternating-gradient synchrotron. The technique was the observation of pions produced in sequential mesonic weak decay, each pion associated with one unit of strangeness change. The results indicate the production of a significant number of the double hypernucleus (4)(double Lambda)H and the twin hypernuclei (4)(Lambda)H and (3)(Lambda)H. The relevant decay chains are discussed and a simple model of the production mechanism is presented. An implication of this experiment is that the existence of an S = -2 dibaryon more than a few MeV below the double Lambda mass is unlikely.     

Preparation of organic/inorganic hybrid and hollow particles by catalytic deposition of silica onto core/shell heterocoagulates modified with poly[2-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate

The organic/inorganic hybrid particles PSt/P(St-CPEM)(θ)-g-PDMAEMA/SiO(2) were prepared by catalytic hydrolysis and subsequent polycondensation of tetraethoxysilane in the poly[2-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDMAEMA) layers grafted on the PSt/P(St-CPEM)(θ) core/shell heterocoagulates. The micron-sized PSt core and the submicron-sized P(St-CPEM) shell particles bearing ATRP initiating groups were synthesized by dispersion polymerization of styrene (St) and emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization of St with 2-chloropropionyloxyethyl methacrylate (CPEM), respectively. The raspberry-shaped PSt/P(St-CPEM)(θ) heterocoagulates with a controlled surface coverage (θ=0.51, 0.81) were prepared by hydrophobic coagulation between the core and the shell particles in an aqueous NaCl solution near the T(g) of P(St-CPEM). Surface modification of heterocoagulates was carried out by ATRP of DMAEMA from the shell particles adsorbed on the core particles. Silica deposition was performed by simply adding tetraethoxysilane to a water/methanol dispersion of PSt/P(St-CPEM)(θ)-g-PDMAEMA. The SEM and TGA revealed that the resulting PSt/P(St-CPEM)(θ)-g-PDMAEMA/SiO(2) composites maintain a raspberry-like morphology after deposition of silica onto the PDMAEMA layer grafted on heterocoagulates. The micron-sized, raspberry-shaped or the submicron-sized, hole-structured silica hollow particles were obtained selectively by thermal decomposition of the PSt/P(St-CPEM)(θ)-g-PDMAEMA/SiO(2). The oriented particle array was fabricated by dropping anisotropically perforated silica particles onto a glass substrate settled at the bottom of a bottle filled with chloroform.     

Spin-density matrix elements for γp→K*0Σ+ at Eγ=1.85-3.0 GeV with evidence for the κ(800) meson exchange

The exclusive reaction γp→K(+)π(-)Σ(+) was measured for the first time using linearly polarized photons at beam energies from 1.85 to 2.96 GeV. Angular distributions in the rest frame of the K(+)π(-) system were fitted to extract spin-density matrix elements of the K(*0) decay. The measured parity spin asymmetry shows that natural-parity exchange is dominant in this reaction. This result clearly indicates the need for t-channel exchange of the κ(800) scalar meson.     

Dipole excitation of alpha clusters in (6)Li and (7)Li

Dipole excitations in highly excited energy regions of (6)He and (7)He nuclei were investigated via the ((7)Li,(7)Be) reaction with an incident energy of 65A MeV at forward scattering angles. The resonances at Q approximately equal to -30 MeV observed commonly for both (6)Li and (7)Li targets were found to be excited via both spin-flip and spin-nonflip transitions with DeltaL = 1. Based on the observed excitation energy, width, and cross section of each resonance, the relevant resonances are inferred to be analogs of the dipole resonances of alpha clusters in the (6)Li and (7)Li nuclei.     

Evidence for a narrow S = +1 baryon resonance in photoproduction from the neutron

The gamman-->K(+)K(-)n reaction on 12C has been studied by measuring both K+ and K- at forward angles. A sharp baryon resonance peak was observed at 1.54+/-0.01 GeV/c(2) with a width smaller than 25 MeV/c(2) and a Gaussian significance of 4.6sigma. The strangeness quantum number (S) of the baryon resonance is +1. It can be interpreted as a molecular meson-baryon resonance or alternatively as an exotic five-quark state (uuddsmacr;) that decays into a K+ and a neutron. The resonance is consistent with the lowest member of an antidecuplet of baryons predicted by the chiral soliton model.