Structure of the O-Specific Polysaccharide of Hafnia Alvei 23 Having an Oligosaccharide-Phosphate Repeating Unit

ABSTRACT

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Hafnia alvei 23 has an acid-labile O-specific polysaccharide (OPS) with a pentasaccharide-phosphate repeating unit containing D-Glc1P, D-GlcNAc, L-Fuc, 6-deoxy-D-talose (D-6dTal), 4-acetamido-4,6-dideoxy-D-glucose (D-Qui4NAc), and an O-acetyl group. A partially degraded OPS was obtained by hydrolysis of LPS with 0.25 M sodium acetate in aqueous 0.5% acetic acid. Fractionation of LPS on Sephadex G-200 in DOC buffer allowed isolation of long-chain LPS species which, together with OPS, were studied by methylation analysis, chemical degradations (O-deacetylation, dephosphorylation with 48% hydrofluoric acid, Smith degradation), and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, including 2D COSY, TOCSY, NOESY, and H-detected ¹H,¹³C heteronuclear single-quantum coherence (HSQC) experiments. The following structure of the repeating unit of OPS was established:     

The speed of biased random walk on percolation clusters

 We consider biased random walk on supercritical percolation clusters in ℤ². We show that the random walk is transient and that there are two speed regimes: If the bias is large enough, the random walk has speed zero, while if the bias is small enough, the speed of the random walk is positive. Received: 20 November 2002 / Revised version: 17 January 2003 Published online: 15 April 2003 Research supported by Microsoft Research graduate fellowship. Research partially supported by the DFG under grant SPP 1033. Research partially supported by NSF grant #DMS-0104073 and by a Miller Professorship at UC Berkeley. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 60K37; 60K35; 60G50 Key words or phrases: Percolation – Random walk     

nvolutorial Płonka sums

The construction of the sum of a direct (semilattice ordered) system of algebras introduced by J. Plonka – later known as the Plonka sum – is one of the most important methods of composition in universal algebra, having a number of applications in different algebraic theories, such as semigroup theory, semiring theory, etc. In this paper we present a more general way for constructing algebras with involution, that is, algebraic systems equipped with a unary involutorial operation which is at the same time an antiautomorphism of the underlying algebra. It is the sum – involutorial Plonka sum, as we call it – of an involution semilattice ordered system of algebras. We investigate its basic properties, as well as the problem of its subdirect decomposition.     

1-Homogeneous Graphs with Cocktail Party μ-Graphs

Let be a graph with diameter d 2. Recall is 1-homogeneous (in the sense of Nomura) whenever for every edge xy of the distance partition{{z V() | (z, y) = i, (x, z) = j} | 0 i, j d}is equitable and its parameters do not depend on the edge xy. Let be 1-homogeneous. Then is distance-regular and also locally strongly regular with parameters (v,k,,), where v = k, k = a ₁, (v – k – 1) = k(k – 1 – ) and c ₂ + 1, since a -graph is a regular graph with valency . If c ₂ = + 1 and c ₂ 1, then is a Terwilliger graph, i.e., all the -graphs of are complete. In [11] we classified the Terwilliger 1-homogeneous graphs with c ₂ 2 and obtained that there are only three such examples. In this article we consider the case c ₂ = + 2 3, i.e., the case when the -graphs of are the Cocktail Party graphs, and obtain that either = 0, = 2 or is one of the following graphs: (i) a Johnson graph J(2m, m) with m 2, (ii) a folded Johnson graph J¯(4m, 2m) with m 3, (iii) a halved m-cube with m 4, (iv) a folded halved (2m)-cube with m 5, (v) a Cocktail Party graph K _{m × 2} with m 3, (vi) the Schläfli graph, (vii) the Gosset graph.     

Hamiltonian Gromov-Witten invariants

In this paper we introduce invariants of semi-free Hamiltonian actions of S¹ on compact symplectic manifolds using the space of solutions to certain gauge theoretical equations. These equations generalise both the vortex equations and the holomorphicity equation used in Gromov-Witten theory. In the definition of the invariants we combine ideas coming from gauge theory and the ideas underlying the construction of Gromov-Witten invariants.     

The Berezin transform and radial operators

We analyze the connection between compactness of operators on the Bergman space and the boundary behaviour of the corresponding Berezin transform. We prove that for a special class of operators that we call radial operators, an oscilation criterion is a sufficient condition under which the compactness of an operator is equivalent to the vanishing of the Berezin transform on the unit circle. We further study a special class of radial operators, i.e., Toeplitz operators with a radial symbol.

     

Unfolding Features of Bovine Testicular Hyaluronidase Studied by Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy

Chemical unfolding of bovine testicular hyaluronidase (HAase) has been studied by fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Thermodynamic parameters were determined for unfolding HAase from changes in the intrinsic fluorescence emission intensity and the formations of several possible unfolding intermediates have been identified. This was further confirmed by representation of fluorescence data in terms of ‘phase diagram’. The secondary structures of HAase have been assigned and semiquantitatively estimated from the FTIR. The occurrence of conformational change during chemical unfolding as judged by fluorescence and FTIR spectroscopy indicated that the unfolding of HAase may not follow the typical two-state model.     

Probing of the shallow donor and acceptor wave functions in silicon carbide and silicon through an EPR study of crystals with a modified isotopic composition

The spatial distributions of the unpaired-electron wave functions of shallow N donors in SiC crystals and of shallow P and As donors in silicon crystals were determined by studying crystals with a modified content of the ²⁹Si and ¹³C isotopes having a nonzero nuclear magnetic moment. As follows from the present EPR and available ENDOR data, the distribution of donor electrons in SiC depends substantially on the polytype and position in the lattice; indeed, in 4H-SiC, the unpaired electrons occupy primarily the Si s and p orbitals, whereas in 6H-SiC these electrons reside primarily in the s orbitals of C. The electron distributions for the N donor in the hexagonal position, which has a shallow level close to that obtained for this material in the effective-mass approximation, and for the donor occupying the quasi-cubic position differ substantially. The EPR spectrum of N in quasi-cubic positions was observed to have a hyperfine structure originating from a comparatively strong coupling with the first two coordination shells of Si and C, which were unambiguously identified. The effective-mass approximation breaks down close to the N donor occupying the quasi-cubic position, and the donor structure and the donor electron distribution become less symmetric. In silicon, reduction of the ²⁹Si content brought about a substantial narrowing of the EPR line of the shallow P and As donors and an increase in the EPR signal intensity, as well as a noticeable increase in the spin-lattice relaxation time T₁. This offers the possibility of selectively studying these spectra by optically exciting a region of the crystal in order to shorten T₁ and thereby precluding EPR signal saturation only in the illuminated part of the material. This method may be used to advantage in developing materials for quantum computers based on donors in silicon and SiC.     

Dynamic responses of orthotropic plates under moving masses

Summary The problem considered is that of heavy masses moving on lightweight rectangular plates of orthotropic materials, slated for use in space structures. The dynamic equation of motion for orthotropic plates which contains singularities in both space and time variables is first presented. The response is expressed as a summation of double series of eigenfunctions. The equation of motion is transformed into an integro-differential equation for modal amplitudes using the Green's function. The Green's function is chosen to satisfy the initial conditions, the boundary conditions, and the transient conditions due to the moving masses. The solution series exhibits a good convergence. The effect of orthotropicity on natural frequencies and dynamic responses is demonstrated.

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Dynamische Antwort orthotroper Platten auf bewegte Massenpunkte

übersicht Behandelt wird die Bewegung von Massenpunkten auf rechteckigen Leichtbau-Platten aus orthotropem Werkstoff, die für Raumfahrtkonstruktionen vorgesehen sind. ZunÄchst wird die Bewegungsgleichung orthotroper Platten mit singulÄren Ausdrücken in den Raum- und Zeitkoordinaten angegeben. Die Antwort wird als Doppelsumme einer zweifachen Reihenentwicklung dargestellt und die Bewegungsgleichung mit Hilfe der Greenschen Funktion in eine Integro-Differentialgleichung für die Modalamplituden transformiert. Die Greensche Funktion ist so gewÄhlt, da\ sie die Anfangs- und Randbedingungen sowie die übergangsbedingungen unter der bewegten Masse erfüllt. Die Lösung durch Reihenentwicklung zeigt gute Konvergenz. Der Einflu\ der Orthotropie auf die Eigenfrequenzen und die dynamischen Antworten wird veranschaulicht.