Purification, cloning and expression of an Aspergillus niger lipase for degradation of poly(lactic acid) and poly(ε-caprolactone)

A lipase from Aspergillus niger MTCC 2594 was purified 53.8-fold to homogeneity by hydrophobic interaction chromatography using octyl sepharose and the enzyme showed two protein bands with apparent molecular mass of 35 and 37 kDa respectively. The lipase exhibited maximum activity at pH 7.0 and 37 °C and was stable between pH 4.0 and 10.0 and temperatures up to 50 °C. The values of K_m and V_max were 3.83 mM and 32.21 μmol/min/mg respectively, using olive oil as substrate. Lipase encoding gene, lipA, coded for 297 amino acid residues with conserved pentapeptide sequence, G-H-S-L-G, was cloned and expressed in Pichia pastoris. Although lipA showed high homology with the known Aspergillus lipases, it exhibited differences in putative lid domain. Both native and recombinant lipases have potential for degradation of poly(lactic acid) and poly(ε-caprolactone), and the present study will serve as a baseline of initial studies for its exploitation in polymer degradation.     

Bilevel convex programming models

Bilevel convex models are studied after being cast into a parametric programming form. This form has a lexicographic inner-outer structure where the optimal value of the outer model is optimized on the set of optimal solutions of the inner model. Optimal solutions are characterized using a Lagrangian saddle-point approach and a marginal value formula is given for the outer model. These are used to formulate a general method for finding an optimal solution by input optimization.     

Dynamics of plasma channel in a parallel-plate plasma gun

Lumped parameter models for describing dynamics of the plasma channel in a parallel-plate plasma gun are compared with the experimental results obtained from two plasma guns with different rail geometries. Comparison between the experiments and the numerical calculations reveals that the lumped parameter models can be utilized to describe the dynamic motion of the plasma channel quite well. Parametric study shows that minimizing the line inductance and increasing the charging voltage on a capacitor as well as minimizing the gas injection time for reducing the mass of the plasma channel are the key factors to increase the flow velocity of the plasma jet ejected from the plasma gun.     

改进的pair-copula参数估计方法在经济研究中的应用

对于pair-copula中的参数估计,大多假设copula函数的参数和条件变量独立,将参数简化成一个不依赖于条件变量的常数.本文假设copula函数的参数和条件变量不独立,该参数是以条件变量为自变量的一元函数.应用该方法实证分析了“克强指数”三个指标铁路货运量、工业用电量和贷款发放量的对数增长率之间的关系,研究发现该方法优于简化的pair-copula参数估计,并且得出在固定铁路货运量不变时,工业用电量和银行贷款发放量成负相关关系,且这种负相关性随铁路货运量增加而减弱.     

A cosmological study in massive gravity theory

A detailed study of the various cosmological aspects in massive gravity theory has been presented in the present work. For the homogeneous and isotropic FLRW model, the deceleration parameter has been evaluated, and, it has been examined whether there is any transition from deceleration to acceleration in recent past, or not. With the proper choice of the free parameters, it has been shown that the massive gravity theory is equivalent to Einstein gravity with a modified Newtonian gravitational constant together with a negative cosmological constant. Also, in this context, it has been examined whether the emergent scenario is possible, or not, in massive gravity theory. Finally, we have done a cosmographic analysis in massive gravity theory.     

Orientational order parameter studies on 3.Om and 3O.Om liquid crystals

Orientational order parameter S is evaluated in the nematic phase of six liquid crystal compounds, N-(p-n-propyl benzylidene)-p-n-alkoxy anilines, 3.Om and N-(p-n-propyloxy benzylidene)-p-n-alkoxy anilines, 3O.Om compounds with m = 6, 7 and 8, using different methods. The techniques employed are S from birefringence δn, Haller's approximation from (1?T/T_c) ^β, effective geometry parameter α_g and Vuks’ scaling factor S_C. The values of S obtained using the above methods are compared with one another and with the results on a number of liquid crystals; the liquid crystals favor isotropic Vuks’ method.     

DOT2: Macromolecular docking with improved biophysical models

Computational docking is a useful tool for predicting macromolecular complexes, which are often difficult to determine experimentally. Here, we present the DOT2 software suite, an updated version of the DOT intermolecular docking program. DOT2 provides straightforward, automated construction of improved biophysical models based on molecular coordinates, offering checkpoints that guide the user to include critical features. DOT has been updated to run more quickly, allow flexibility in grid size and spacing, and generate an infinitive complete list of favorable candidate configurations. Output can be filtered by experimental data and rescored by the sum of electrostatic and atomic desolvation energies. We show that this rescoring method improves the ranking of correct complexes for a wide range of macromolecular interactions and demonstrate that biologically relevant models are essential for biologically relevant results. The flexibility and versatility of DOT2 accommodate realistic models of complex biological systems, improving the likelihood of a successful docking outcome. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Interfacial Behavior,Structure, and Thermodynamics of Water in Oil Microemulsion Formation in Relation to the Variation of Surfactant Head Group and Cosurfactant

Interfacial behavior, structural, and thermodynamic parameters in relation to the formation of water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion (μE) with varied surfactant head groups and cosurfactants have been evaluated through dilution technique at different temperature and [water]/[surfactant] mole ratio. Dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS), and polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate (Tween-20) were used as surfactants and n-butanol and n-pentanol were used as cosurfactants. Distribution of cosurfactants between bulk oil and the interface using fixed amount of surfactant at varied [water]/[surfactant] mole ratio and temperature has been studied to evaluate thermodynamic parameters. Associated structural parameters, such as droplet dimension and aggregation number of surfactant and cosurfactant at the droplet interface, have also been evaluated. Spontaneity of the μE formation followed the order DTAB>SDS>Tween-20 for both butanol and pentanol in the studied range of temperature. Correlations of the results in terms of the evaluated physicochemical parameters have been attempted.     

Critical behaviour of the order parameters at the SmC* to SmA phase transition in a ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture

Critical behaviour of the order parameters has been investigated in the ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture ZLI‐3654 in a 7.5 µm thick planar cell. The temperature dependence of the primary (tilt angle) and secondary (spontaneous polarisation) order parameters is considered. The critical exponent (β) has been evaluated from the fitting of the temperature dependence of the experimental data for both tilt angle and spontaneous polarisation. Experimental results are compared with the predictions of the de Gennes and Landau models.