Purification and characterization of an extracellular α-l-arabinofuranosidase from Fusarium oxysporum

An α-l-arabinofuranosidase from Fusarium oxysporum F3 was purified to homogeneity by a two-step ion exchange intercalated by a gel filtration chromatography. The enzyme had a molecular mass of 66 kDa and was optimally active at pH 6.0 and 60°C. It hydrolyzed aryl α-l-arabinofuranosides and cleaved arabinosyl side chains from arabinoxylan and arabinan. There was a marked synergistic effect between the α-l-arabinofuranosidase and an endo-(1 →4)-β-d-xylanase produced by F. oxysporum in the extensive hydrolysis of arabinoxylan.     

The Hamiltonian constraint in the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity

In the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity the integral form of the Hamiltonian constraint contains explicitly theadm energy in the case of asymptotically flat space-times. We show that such expression of the constraint leads to a natural and straightforward construction of a Schrödinger equation for time-dependent physical states. The quantized Hamiltonian constraint is thus written as an energy eigenvalue equation. We further analyse the constraint equations in the case of a space-time endowed with a spherically symmetric geometry. We find the general functional form of the time-dependent solutions of the quantized Hamiltonian and vector constraints.     

Thermal decomposition of transition metal carboxylates

Thermal solid-phase decomposition of anhydrous copper(ii) formate has been studied at 120–180 ° The rate of gas evolution during the decomposition depends on the depth of conversion and can be presented as the sum of first-order reaction rates and the rate of the autocatalytic process (a second-order reaction). The evolution of the solid phase during thermolysis has been observed by optical microscopy. The decomposition of copper formate is a complex topochemical process, a combination of homogeneous and heterogeneous transformations and dispersion of large crystals.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. l, pp. 72–76, January, 1996.     

ESR spectra of γ-irradiated samples of iron(iii) binuclear complexes

-Irradiation of -oxo-bridged binuclear iron complexes Fe^III ₂OL _n in a glycerol or dimethylformamide matrix at 77 K affords unstable mixed-valence Fe^IIF^III forms resulting from the transfer of a mobile electron generated by the ionizing radiation. These nonequilibrium forms retain the ligand environment of the original complexes, and their ESR spectra at 77–200 K are characterized by an asymmetric signal with an axially anisotropicg-factor, which is in agreement with the spectra of the Fe^IIFe syu forms obtained by chemical reduction.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 869–871, April, 1996.     

Distance-dependent fluorescence quenching ofN-acetyl-l-tryptophanamide by acrylamide

We examined the time-dependent intensity decays ofN-acetyl-l-tryptophanamide (NATA) when collisionally quenched by acrylamide in propylene glycol over a range of temperatures. The intensity decays of NATA became increasingly heterogeneous in the presence of acrylamide. The NATA intensity decays were not consistent with the Collins-Kimball radiation boundary condition (RBC) model for quenching. The steady-state Stern-Volmer plots show significant upward curvature, and quenching of NATA by acrylamide was observed even in vitrified propylene glycol, where translational diffusion cannot occur during the lifetime of the excited state. These frequencydomain and steady-state data indicate a through-space quenching interaction between NATA and acrylamide, and the results are consistent with a rate constant for quenching that depends exponentially on the fluorophore-quencher separation distance. The exponential distance-dependent rate of quenching also explains the upward curvature of the Stern-Volmer plot, and the steady-state data aid in determining the interaction distance between NATA and acrylamide. These results suggest that the distance-dependent quenching rates need to be considered in the interpretation of acrylamide quenching of proteins.     

Electrical and photoelectrical studies of plasma polymerized acrylonitrile

The electrical and photoelectrical properties of plasma polymerized acrylonitrile (PAN) are reported. The polymer films were studied in silver-PAN-silver systems. Electrical conductivity at room temperature was of the order of 10⁻¹¹ ohm⁻¹ cm⁻¹. The space charge limited current (SCLC) studies at room temperature and thermally stimulated current studies (TSC) over a temperature range of 290–500°K led to a clear understanding of carrier concentration, carrier mobility, trapping levels and activation energies. Photoelectric measurements were used to draw a band picture in plasma depositedPAN.     

Three-body interactions,rotational invariance and the elastic consistency of lattice dynamical models for face-centred tetragonal indium

The origin of the elastic inconsistency ofdaf, mas andgtf models for non-cubic solids and the failure of their force constants to comply with all the rotational invariance conditions are analysed by resolving the atomic displacements of face-centred tetragonal indium along three mutually perpendicular directions. It is shown that a lattice dynamical model suffers from these deficiencies as a consequence of its neglect of three-body interactions as well as the mixed neighbour interactions associated with the angular forces, while thecgw model which incorporates both these interactions is elastically consistent and its potential energy rotationally invariant. The degree of equivalence that exists among the force constants ofdaf, mas, gtf andcgw models, the distortions introduced by the elastic inconsistency into the phonon dispersion curves of fct indium as well as the consequences of imposing the rotational invariance conditions on the force constants of a lattice dynamical model are discussed.     

Inner shell structure of heavy atoms

The inner-shell structure of some heavy atoms is examined using a self-consistent relativistic local density method. Ar(K), Kr(K) and Xe (K,L ₁,L ₂ andL ₃) binding energies and {ie863-1} (hyper-satellite) energies of Tl, Hg and Tm are calculated. The results are compared with available experimental data. A part of this work was presented byMPD at the Trieste International Symposium on “Core level excitations in atoms, molecules and solids,” 22–26 June 1981, Extended Abstracts (ed.) E Tosatti, ICTP Report No. 89/81 p. 11.     

The regioselectivity of the formation of 2-pyrazolylthiazoles and their precursors from the reaction of 2-hydrazinothiazoles with 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-hetaryl-1,3-butanediones

Reaction of 2-hydrazinothiazoles 1 with 1-thienyl- and 1-furyl-1,3-butanediones 2a,b in methanol in the presence of hydrochloric acid mainly leads to a mixture of pyrazoles 3 and pyrazolines 4 or pyrazoles 3 and 5 in strong acidic conditions. Isomeric hydrazones 6 and pyrazolines 4 were formed and isolated in these reactions in the absence of hydrochloric acid. It has been shown that the regioselectivity in the reaction of diketones 2 with hydrazine 1 is governed by both the concentration of acid and the nature of substituents in the 1,3-diketones 2. Cyclization of hydrazones 6 is shown to occur under milder conditions than dehydration for pyrazolines 4. The new heterocyclic compounds were prepared and fully characterized by NMR spectra and by X-ray analysis for 3c.