Production of Crude Cellulase and Xylanase From Trichoderma harzianum PPDDN10 NFCCI-2925 and Its Application in Photocopier Waste Paper Recycling

This paper implies production of cellulase and xylanase enzyme using a potent strain of Trichoderma harzianum for the efficient deinking of photocopier waste papers. Different nutritional and environmental factors were optimized for higher production of cellulase along with xylanase. After fermentation, maximum enzyme extraction was achieved from fermented matter using a three-step extraction process with increased efficiency by 26.6–29.3 % over single-step extraction. Static solid state was found as the best fermentation type using wheat bran (WB) as carbon source and ammonium ferrous sulfate (0.02 M) as nitrogen source. Subsequently, inoculum size (8?×?10⁶ CFU/gds), incubation days (4 days), temperature (34 °C), initial pH (6.0), and moisture ratio (1:3) significantly affected the enzyme production. Cellulase and xylanase activities were found to be maximum at pH 5.5 and temperature 55–60 °C with good stability (even up to 6 h). Furthermore, this crude enzyme was evaluated for the deinking of photocopier waste papers without affecting the strength properties with improved drainage as an additional advantage. The crude enzyme-deinked pulp showed 23.6 % higher deinking efficiency and 3.2 % higher brightness than chemically deinked pulp. Strength properties like tensile, burst indices, and folding endurance were also observed to improve by 6.7, 13.4, and 10.3 %, respectively, for enzyme-deinked pulp. However, the tear index was decreased by 10.5 %. The freeness of the pulp was also increased by 21.6 % with reduced drainage time by 13.9 %.     

Structural and magnetic studies on mechanosynthesized BaFe12−xMnxO19

Barium hexaferrite powders with manganese substitution were prepared by mechanosynthesis. The structural and magnetic properties were characterized by X-ray diffractometer and vibration sample magnetometer, respectively. XRD patterns were refined by Rietveld method. Preferential site occupation of manganese ion was investigated by room temperature (RT) Mössbauer measurements. XRD results showed a single-phase barium hexaferrite with some residual hematite. Crystallite size was observed to decrease with substitution amount. Lower saturation magnetization and increased coercivity is observed in substituted samples. RT Mössbauer measurements showed that manganese ions preferentially occupy 12k, 4f₂, and 2a sites.     

Ni-catalyzed ketene cycloaddition: a system that resists the formation of decarbonylation side products

Ni-phosphine complexes were used as catalysts for the cycloaddition of various ketenes and diynes. In general, 2,4-cyclohexadienones were formed instead of products arising from decarbonylation of the ketenes.     

Adsorption, diffusion, dewetting, and entrapment of acetone on Ni(111), surface-modified silicon, and amorphous solid water studied by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and temperature programmed desorption

Interactions of acetone with the silicon surfaces terminated with hydrogen, hydroxyl, and perfluorocarbon are investigated; results are compared to those on amorphous solid water (ASW) to gain insights into the roles of hydrogen bonds in surface diffusion and hydration of acetone adspecies. The surface mobility of acetone occurs at ～60 K irrespective of the surface functional groups. Cooperative diffusion of adspecies results in a 2D liquid phase on the H- and perfluorocarbon-terminated surfaces, whereas cooperativity tends to be quenched via hydrogen bonding on the OH-terminated surface, thereby forming residues that diffuse slowly on the surface after evaporation of the physisorbed species (i.e., 2D liquid). The interaction of acetone adspecies on the non-porous ASW surface resembles that on the OH-terminated Si surface, but the acetone molecules tend to be hydrated on the porous ASW film, as evidenced by their desorption during the glass-liquid transition and crystallization of water. The roles of micropores in hydration of acetone molecules are discussed from comparison with the results using mesoporous Si substrates.     

Macroscopic superconducting current through a silicon surface reconstruction with indium adatoms: Si(111)-(√7 × √3)-In

Macroscopic and robust supercurrents are observed by direct electron transport measurements on a silicon surface reconstruction with In adatoms [Si(111)-(√7 × √3)-In]. The superconducting transition manifests itself as an emergence of the zero resistance state below 2.8 K. I-V characteristics exhibit sharp and hysteretic switching between superconducting and normal states with well-defined critical and retrapping currents. The two-dimensional (2D) critical current density J(2D,c) is estimated to be as high as 1.8 A/m at 1.8 K. The temperature dependence of J(2D,c) indicates that the surface atomic steps play the role of strongly coupled Josephson junctions.     

Inducing sensitivity on hyperspaces

Let (X,d) be a compact metric space and (K(X),dH) be the space of all non-empty compact subsets of X equipped with the Hausdorff metric dH. The dynamical system (X,f) induces another dynamical system . We study the relations between the various forms of sensitivity of the systems (X,f) and . We prove that all forms of sensitivity of partly imply the same for (X,f), and the converse holds in some cases.     

Glass transition and intermixing of amorphous water and methanol

The diffusion of molecules in amorphous water and methanol films has been investigated on the basis of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry as a function of temperature. The glass-liquid transition of the amorphous water film occurs at 130-145 K as confirmed from the surface segregation of embedded methanol molecules. The morphology of the pure amorphous water film changes drastically at 160 K as a consequence of dewetting induced by the surface tension and the strongly decreased viscosity of the film. The morphology of the amorphous methanol film changes at 115 K following the self-diffusion onset at 80 K. The binary films of water and heavy methanol are intermixed completely at 136 K as evidenced by the occurrence of the H/D exchange.     

Epoxide as an aldehyde equivalent in allyl-transfer reaction with γ-adduct of homoallylic alcohol (allyl donor) giving α-adduct of homoallylic alcohol

Acid-catalyzed reactions of epoxides 2 with homoallylic alcohol γ-adducts, 1 [Me₂C(OH)CHRCHCH₂], afford homoallylic alcohol α-adducts 3-5 via allyl-transfer reaction, sometimes being more effective than those using the corresponding aldehydes.     

Multi-way partial least squares modeling of water quality data

A 10 years surface water quality data set pertaining to a polluted river was analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) regression models. Both the unfold-PLS and N-PLS (tri-PLS and quadri-PLS) models were calibrated through leave-one out cross-validation method. These were applied to the multivariate, multi-way data array with a view to assess and compare their predictive capabilities for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of river water in terms of their relative mean squares error of cross-validation, prediction and variance captured. The sum of squares of residuals and leverages were computed and analyzed to identify the sites, variables, years and months which may have influence on the constructed model. Both the tri- and quadri-PLS models yielded relatively low validation error as compared to unfold-PLS and captured high variance in model. Moreover, both of these methods produced acceptable model precision and accuracy. In case of tri-PLS the root mean squares errors were 1.65 and 2.17 for calibration and prediction, respectively; whereas these were 2.58 and 1.09 for quadri-PLS. At a preliminary level it seems that BOD can be predicted but a different data arrangement is needed. Moreover, analysis of the scores and loadings plots of the N-PLS models could provide information on time evolution of the river water quality.     

Sputtering of C(60) fullerenes physisorbed on Ar, Xe, H(2)O, O(2), and C(8)F(18) matrix films studied with time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry

The ionization and fragmentation of C(60) fullerenes were investigated using matrix films covered with C(60) molecules and bombarded with 1.5-KeV He(+) ions. C(+), C(60)(+), and C(60)(++) ions were sputtered from the C(60) molecules that were physisorbed on Ar and Xe matrix films, whereas the sputtering of C(60) on the O(2) and C(8)F(18) matrix films induced an additional emission of ion adducts, such as (OC(60))(+) and (FC(60))(+), as well as the fragment ions, C(60-2n)(+) (n = 1-10). Very few ions were sputtered from the C(60) molecules that were adsorbed on the H(2)O matrix film and the Ni(111) substrate. The ions are thought to be created at the surface when C (C(60)) collides with the Ar, Xe, O, and F species via the electron-promotion mechanism, and the formation of quasi-molecules is manifested from the emission of the ion adducts. The fragmentation occurs during the interaction with the reactive species at the surface, and the delayed ionization/fragmentation of the internally excited C(60) molecules in the gas phase has negligible contribution in the present experiment. The matrix effect arises from the suppressed neutralization of the C(60)(+) ion because of the localization of a valence hole. The C(60)(+) ion undergoes neutralization on the H(2)O film because the hydrogen bond has some covalent character.