Whole-Cell Photoenzymatic Cascades to Synthesize Long-Chain Aliphatic Amines and Esters from Renewable Fatty Acids

Long-chain aliphatic amines such as (S,Z)-heptadec-9-en-7-amine and 9-aminoheptadecane were synthesized from ricinoleic acid and oleic acid, respectively, by whole-cell cascade reactions using the combination of an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) from Micrococcus luteus, an engineered amine transaminase from Vibrio fluvialis (Vf-ATA), and a photoactivated decarboxylase from Chlorella variabilis NC64A (Cv-FAP) in a one-pot process. In addition, long chain aliphatic esters such as 10-(heptanoyloxy)dec-8-ene and octylnonanoate were prepared from ricinoleic acid and oleic acid, respectively, by using the combination of the ADH, a Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenase variant from Pseudomonas putida KT2440, and the Cv-FAP. The target compounds were produced at rates of up to 37 U g⁻¹ dry cells with conversions up to 90 %. Therefore, this study contributes to the preparation of industrially relevant long-chain aliphatic chiral amines and esters from renewable fatty acid resources.     

A Highly Efficient All‐Solid‐State Lithium/Electrolyte Interface Induced by an Energetic Reaction

The energetic chemical reaction between Zn(NO₃)₂ and Li is used to create a solid‐state interface between Li metal and Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂ (LLZTO) electrolyte. This interlayer, composed of Zn, ZnLi_x alloy, Li₃N, Li₂O, and other species, possesses strong affinities with both Li metal and LLZTO and affords highly efficient conductive pathways for Li⁺ transport through the interface. The unique structure and properties of the interlayer lead to Li metal anodes with longer cycle life, higher efficiency, and better safety compared to the current best Li metal electrodes operating in liquid electrolytes while retaining comparable capacity, rate, and overpotential. All‐solid‐state Li||Li cells can operate at very demanding current–capacity conditions of 4 mA cm^?2–8 mAh cm^?2. Thousands of hours of continuous cycling are achieved at Coulombic efficiency >99.5 % without dendrite formation or side reactions with the electrolyte.     

Trace determination of beta-lactam antibiotics in surface water and urban wastewater using liquid chromatography combined with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive and reliable method using liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry has been developed and validated for the trace determination of beta-lactam antibiotics in natural and wastewater matrices. Water samples were enriched by solid-phase extraction. The analytes included amoxicillin (AMOX), ampicillin (AMP), oxacillin (OXA), cloxacillin (CLOX) and cephapirin (CEP). Average recoveries of beta-lactams (BLs) in fortified samples were generally above 75% (except amoxicillin) with the standard deviations lower than 10% in water matrices. Amoxicillin was not quantified due to poor recovery (less than 40%) in the investigated water matrices. Matrix effects were found to be minimal when measuring these compounds in water matrices. The accuracy, within- and between-run precision of the assay fell within acceptable ranges of 15% absolute. The method detection limit (MDL) was estimated to range between 8 and 10 ng/L in surface water, 13 and 18 ng/L in the influent and 8 and 15 ng/L in the effluent from a wastewater treatment plant. A large number of actual water samples were analyzed using this method in order to evaluate the occurrence of the beta-lactams in a river and a wastewater treatment plant in northern Colorado. Most of the samples were negative for all analytes. These compounds were found at 15-17 ng/L in the three influent samples and at 9-11 ng/L in three surface water samples out of a total of 200 samples. This indicates that contamination by beta-lactam antibiotics is of minor importance to the small mixed-watershed.     

巯基化合物自组装单分子层的研究进展

超薄层有机材料的制备与研究￣［１］受到人们的广泛关注，有关研究结果和进展正在不断丰富着人类对表面结构与性质关系的理解和认识。与其它制备单分子层的技术相比，自组装技术是一种较新的制备方法，在８０年代后期，迅速成为有关学科的研究焦点。采用此技术制备的超薄层体系主要有两类：一类是巯基化合物在金、银、铜、铂表面吸附形成的单层￣［２，３］，一类是在硅、玻璃、金属氧化物表面通过硅烷化反应形成的单层￣［４］。其中，硫醇类分子自组装单层（ｓｅｌｆ－ａｓｓｅｍｂｌｅｄｍｏｎｏｌａｙｅｒ，３ＡＭ）是被研究得最为广泛和深入的体系。本文主要综述十年来巯基化合物ＳＡＭ的研究进展。     

Indium trichloride mediated intramolecular Prins-type cyclization

[reaction: see text] Intramolecular Prins-type reactions of compounds having both functionalities of homoallyl alcohol and acetal moiety are described. The intramolecular Prins cyclizations were performed using indium trichloride in chloroform or 25% aqueous THF. Both 9-oxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane and 3,9-dioxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane compounds were successfully obtained in moderate yields.     

Low tropospheric wind measurement with Mie Doppler Lidar

A double edge Mie Doppler lidar at 1064 nm was developed in Hefei, China in 2005 for low tropospheric wind measurement. Intercomparison experiments with a wind profiler and a wiresonde were held. Intercomparisons of concurrent lidar and other instrument observations show good agreement with expected measurement accuracy. The examples of validated lidar wind profiles obtained during these experiments as well as an example of continuous wind observations are presented. The instrument has demonstrated the capability of atmospheric wind field measurement from 0.2 to 5 km altitude, achieving below 2 m/s accuracy with 1 min averaging and 21.2 m vertical resolution.     

Comparison of nonlinear effects in amplitude and phase holograms recorded in photographic materials

Beam amplitudes of successive orders diffracted on holographic gratings are calculated and thus nonlinear effects in amplitude, bleached phase and reversal bleached phase holograms are compared. Then values of intermodulation noise are compared for the above three types of Fourier hologram of two circular holes.     

Rotational Raman lidar for obtaining aerosol scattering coefficients

Two-channel lidar signals that are composed of total rotational scattering and elastic signals provide good information about aerosol scattering coefficients. We can calculate the aerosol backscattering coefficient and extinction coefficient directly, without making any assumption or calibration. Generally, a high-spectral-resolution lidar is used for aerosol monitoring, but we have designed a new low-spectral-resolution lidar system that contains both kinds of scattering information simultaneously, and we have retrieved the aerosol scattering coefficient. The results show that there is no need to assume any relation between aerosol backscattering and extinction or to consider any wavelength calibration to determine the aerosol scattering coefficient.     

Knot signature functions are independent

A Seifert matrix is a square integral matrix satisfying

To such a matrix and unit complex number there corresponds a signature,

Let denote the set of unit complex numbers with positive imaginary part. We show that is linearly independent, viewed as a set of functions on the set of all Seifert matrices.

If is metabolic, then unless is a root of the Alexander polynomial, . Let denote the set of all unit roots of all Alexander polynomials with positive imaginary part. We show that is linearly independent when viewed as a set of functions on the set of all metabolic Seifert matrices.

To each knot one can associate a Seifert matrix , and induces a knot invariant. Topological applications of our results include a proof that the set of functions is linearly independent on the set of all knots and that the set of two-sided averaged signature functions, , forms a linearly independent set of homomorphisms on the knot concordance group. Also, if is the root of some Alexander polynomial, then there is a slice knot whose signature function is nontrivial only at and . We demonstrate that the results extend to the higher-dimensional setting.