Methane production from synthesis gas using a mixed culture ofR. rubrum M. barkeri,and M. formicicum

The components of synthesis gas, CO, H₂, and CO₂, may be converted into CH₄ biologically through either acetate or H₂/CO₂ as intermediates. Of these two routes, conversion through H₂/CO₂ is preferred. This paper presents results of mixed-culture studies employing the photosynthetic bacteriumR. rubrum for converting CO to CO₂ and H₂ by the water gas shift reaction and two methanogens,M. formicicum andM. barkeri, for converting CO₂ and H₂ into CH₄. Results are presented for triculture operation in two types of reactors, the packed bubble column and the trickle-bed reactor.     

Crystal engineering: Supramolecular structures by cocrystallization ofMeso-1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethanediol and bisimines,simple cases of molecular recognition

The crystal structures of molecular complexes betweenmeso- 1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethanediol and two bisimines (N,N-(dibenzylidene)-ethylenediamine and glyoxylidene-bis(2,4-dimethyl-3-pentyl-amine) are reported at different temperatures. The structure-determining motif of the cocrystalline arrangement is one single O-H . N hydrogen bond resulting in infinite ladderlike polymers. The supramolecular structure is formed by recognition of fitting species: Thed- orl-isomers do not arrange in such structures.¹H NMR experiments show that no prearrangements take place by forming complexes in solution.     

Production of exocellular polysaccharide by azotobacter chroococcwn

Environmental conditions affect the production of extracellular polysaccharide by Azotobacter chroococcum ATCC 4412. Production of exocellular polymer from a variety of carbon sources depended on the air flow rate. A high sucrose concentration in medium (8%) markedly favored expopolysaccharide production, which reached 14 g/L in about 72 h. In cell suspensions incubated in the presence of 8% sucrose in a nitrogen-free medium, biopolymer final concentration of 9 g/L corresponds to 68 g/g biomass. Maximum efficiency of sucrose conversion into exopolysaccharide peaked at 70% for initial disaccharide concentration of 6%. High performance liquid chromatography and gas liquid chromatography of acid hydrolysates of the exopolymer revealed the presence of mannuronosyl, guluronosyl, and acetyl residues, but not neutral sugars. The infrared spectrum corroborated the presence of carboxylate anions and O-acetyl groups in the exopolymer. Though the presence of more than one kind of polysaccharide cannot be ruled out, these data suggest that, under the experimental conditions used in this work, only a type of alginate-like exopolysaccharide is produced by A. chroococcum ATCC 4412.     

The Forwarding Indices of Random Graphs

A routing R of a graph G is a set of n(n ? 1) elementary paths R(u, v) specified for all ordered pairs (u, v) of vertices of G. The vertex-forwarding index ξ(G) of G, is defined by Where ξ(G, R) is the maximum number of paths of the routing R passing through any vertex of G and the minimum is taken over all the routings of G. Let G_p denote the random graph on n vertices with edge probability p and let m = np. It is proved among other things that, under natural growth conditions on the function p = p(n), the ratio Tends to 1 in probability as n tends to infinity.     

Rose Bengal‐Sensitized Photooxidation of the Dipeptides l‐Tryptophyl‐l‐Phenylalanine,l‐Tryptophyl‐l‐Tyrosine and l‐Tryptophyl‐l‐Tryptophan: Kinetics,Mechanism and Photoproducts¶

The Rose Bengal‐sensitized photooxidations of the dipeptides l ‐tryptophyl‐l ‐phenylalanine (Trp‐Phe), l ‐tryptophyl‐l ‐tyrosine (Trp‐Tyr) and l ‐tryptophyl‐l ‐tryptophan (Trp‐Trp) have been studied in pH 7 water solution using static photolysis and time‐resolved methods. Kinetic results indicate that the tryptophan (Trp) moiety interacts with singlet molecular oxygen (O₂(¹Δ_g)) both through chemical reaction and through physical quenching, and that the photooxidations can be compared with those of equimolecular mixtures of the corresponding free amino acids, with minimum, if any, influence of the peptide bond on the chemical reaction. This is not a common behavior in other di‐ and polypeptides of photooxidizable amino acids. The ratio between chemical (k_r) and overall (k_t) rate constants for the interaction O₂(¹Δ_g)‐dipeptide indicates that Trp‐Phe and Trp‐Trp are good candidates to suffer photodynamic action, with k_rlk_t values of 0.72 and 0.60, respectively (0.65 for free Trp). In the case of Trp‐Tyr, a lower k_rlk_t value (0.18) has been found, likely as a result of the high component of physical deactivation of O₂(¹Δ_g) by the tyrosine moiety. The analysis of the photooxidation products shows that the main target for O₂(¹Δ_g) attack is the Trp group and suggests a much lower accumulation of kynurenine‐type products, as compared with free Trp. This is possibly because of the occurrence of another accepted alternative pathway of oxidation that gives rise to 3a‐oxidized hydrogenated pyrrolo[2,3‐b]indoles.     

Effect of ionic interactions on the oxidation of Fe(II) with H2O2 in aqueous solutions

The oxidation of Fe(II) with H₂O₂ has been measured in NaCl and NaClO₄ solutions as a function of pH, temperature T (K) and ionic strength (M, mol-L^–1). The rate constants, k (M^–1-sec^–1), d[Fe(II)]/DT=-k[Fe(II)][₂O₂]at pH=6.5 have been fitted to equations of the formlog k = log k₀+ AI ^1/2+BI+CI ^1/2/T Where log k₀=15.53-3425/T in water; A=–2.3, –1.35; B=0.334, 0.180; and C=391, 235, respectively, for NaCl (=0.09) and NaClO₄ ( =0.08). Measurements made in NaCl solutions with added anions yield rates in the order B(OH) ₄ ^– >HCO ₃ ^– >ClO ₄ ^– >Cl^–>NO ₃ ^– >SO ₄ ^2– and are attributed to the relative strength of the interactions of Fe²⁺ or FeOH⁺ with these anions. The FeB(OH) ₄ ⁺ species is more reactive while the FeCO ₃ ⁰ , FeCl⁺, FeNO ₃ ⁺ and FeSO ₄ ⁰ species are less reactive than the FeOH⁺ ion pair. The general trend is similar to our earlier studies of the oxidation of Fe(II) with O₂ except for B(OH) ₄ ^– . The effect of pH on the logk was found to be a quadratic function of the concentration of H⁺ or OH^– from pH=4 to 8. These results have been attributed to the different rate constants for Fe²⁺ (k₀) and FeOH⁺ (k₁) which are related to the measured k by, k=k_0Fe + k_1FeOH, where _i is the molar fraction of species i. The rates increase due to the greater reactivity of FeOH⁺ compared to Fe²⁺. k₀ is independent of composition and ionic strength but k₁ is a function of ionic strength and composition due to the interactions of FeOH⁺ with various anions.     

Effect of the sixth axial ligand in CS-ligated iron(II)octaethylporphyrinates: structural and Mössbauer studies

The effect of a sixth ligand in a series of low-spin thiocarbonyl-ligated iron(II)octaethylporphyrinates has been investigated. Six-coordinate complexes have been synthesized and characterized by M?ssbauer and infrared spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray structure determinations. The results are compared with the five-coordinate parent complex. The crystal structures of [Fe(OEP)(CS)(1-MeIm)] and [Fe(OEP)(CS)(Py)] are reported and discussed. The 1-methylimidazole and pyridine derivatives exhibit Fe-C(CS) bond distances of 1.703(4) and 1.706(2) A that are significantly longer than the 1.662(3) A reported for five-coordinate [Fe(OEP)(CS)] (Scheidt, W. R.; Geiger, D. K. Inorg. Chem. 1982, 21, 1208). The trans Fe-N(ligand) distances of 2.112(3) and 2.1550(15) A observed for the 1-methylimidazole and pyridine complex are approximately 0.13 A longer than those observed for analogous bis-ligated complexes and are consistent with a significant structural trans effect for the CS ligand. M?ssbauer investigations carried out for five- and six-coordinate thiocarbonyl derivatives with several different sixth axial ligands reveal interesting features. All derivatives exhibit very small isomer shift values, consistent with a very strong interaction between iron and CS. The five-coordinate derivative has delta(Fe) = 0.08 mm/s, and the six-coordinate complexes exhibit delta(Fe) = 0.14 to 0.19 mm/s at 4.2 K. The five-coordinate complex shows a large quadrupole splitting (DeltaE(q) = 1.93 mm/s at 4.2 K) which is reduced on coordination of the sixth ligand (DeltaE(q) = 0.42-0.80 mm/s at 4.2 K). Addition of a sixth ligand also leads to a small decrease in the value of nu(CS). Correlations in structural, IR, and M?ssbauer results suggest that the sixth ligand effect is primarily induced by changes in sigma-bonding. The structure of [Fe(OEP)(CS)(CH(3)OH)] is briefly reported. Crystal data: [Fe(OEP)(CS)(1-MeIm)] crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P2(1)/n, Z = 4, a = 9.5906(5) A, b = 16.704(4) A, c = 23.1417(6) A, beta = 100.453(7) degrees. [Fe(OEP)(CS)(Py)] crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group P1, Z = 5, a = 13.9073(6) A, b = 16.2624(7) A, c = 22.0709(9) A, alpha = 70.586(1) degrees, beta = 77.242(1) degrees, gamma = 77.959(1) degrees. [Fe(OEP)(CS)(CH(3)OH)] crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group P1, Z = 1, a = 9.0599(5) A, b = 9.4389(5) A, c = 11.0676(6) A, alpha = 90.261(1) degrees, beta = 100.362(1) degrees, gamma = 114.664(1) degrees.     

Ferromagnetism and chirality in two-dimensional cyanide-bridged bimetallic compounds

The combination of hexacyanoferrate(III) anions, [Fe(CN)(6)](3)(-), with nickel(II) complexes derived from the chiral ligand trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diamine (trans-chxn) affords the enantiopure layered compounds [Ni(trans-(1S,2S)-chxn)(2)](3)[Fe(CN)(6)](2).2H(2)O (1) and [Ni(trans-(1R,2R)-chxn)(2)](3)[Fe(CN)(6)](2).2H(2)O (2). These chiral systems behave as ferromagnets (T(c) = 13.8 K) with a relatively high coercive field (H(c) = 0.17 T) at 2 K. They also exhibit an unusual magnetic behavior at low temperatures that has been attributed to the dynamics of the magnetic domains in the ordered phase.     

A potential model for the study of ices and amorphous water: TIP4P/Ice

The ability of several water models to predict the properties of ices is discussed. The emphasis is put on the results for the densities and the coexistence curves between the different ice forms. It is concluded that none of the most commonly used rigid models is satisfactory. A new model specifically designed to cope with solid-phase properties is proposed. The parameters have been obtained by fitting the equation of state and selected points of the melting lines and of the coexistence lines involving different ice forms. The phase diagram is then calculated for the new potential. The predicted melting temperature of hexagonal ice (Ih) at 1 bar is 272.2 K. This excellent value does not imply a deterioration of the rest of the properties. In fact, the predictions for both the densities and the coexistence curves are better than for TIP4P, which previously yielded the best estimations of the ice properties.