Ordinally equivalent data: A measurement-theoretic look at formal concept analysis of fuzzy attributes

We show that if two fuzzy relations, representing data tables with graded attributes, are ordinally equivalent then their concept lattices with respect to the Gödel operations on chains are (almost) isomorphic and that the assumption of Gödel operations is essential. We argue that measurement-theoretic results like this one are important for pragmatic reasons in relational data modeling and outline issues for future research.     

Purification and Characterization of Two Extracellular Xylanases from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Penicillium sclerotiorum</Emphasis>: A Novel Acidophilic Xylanase

Two xylanases from the crude culture filtrate of Penicillium sclerotiorum were purified to homogeneity by a rapid and efficient procedure, using ion-exchange and molecular exclusion chromatography. Molecular masses estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were 23.9 and 33.1 kDa for xylanase I and II, respectively. The native enzymes’ molecular masses of 23.8 and 30.8 kDa were estimated for xylanase I and II, respectively, by molecular exclusion chromatography. Both enzymes are glycoproteins with optimum temperature and pH of 50 °C and pH 2.5 for xylanase I and 55 °C and pH 4.5 for xylanase II. The reducing agents β-mercaptoethanol and dithio-treitol enhanced xylanase activities, while the ions Hg²⁺ and Cu²⁺ as well the detergent SDS were strong inhibitors of both enzymes, but xylanase II was stimulated when incubated with Mn²⁺. The K _m value of xylanase I for birchwood xylan and for oat spelt xylan were 6.5 and 2.6 mg mL⁻¹, respectively, whereas the K _m values of xylanase II for these substrates were 26.61 and 23.45 mg mL⁻¹. The hydrolysis of oat spelt xylan by xylanase I released xylobiose and larger xylooligosaccharides while xylooligosaccharides with a decreasing polymerization degree up to xylotriose were observed by the action of xylanase II. The present study is among the first works to examine and describe an extracellular, highly acidophilic xylanase, with an unusual optimum pH at 2.5. Previously, only one work described a xylanase with optimum pH 2.0. This novel xylanase showed interesting characteristics for biotechnological process such as feed and food industries.     

Columns in analytical-scale supercritical fluid chromatography: From traditional to unconventional chemistries

Within this review, we thoroughly explored supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) columns used across > 3000 papers published from the first study carried out under SFC conditions in 1962 to the end of 2022. We focused on the open tubular capillary, packed capillary, and packed columns, their chemistries, dimensions, and trends in used stationary phases with correlation to their specific interactions, advantages, drawbacks, used instrumentation, and application field. Since the 1990s, packed columns with liquid chromatography and SFC-dedicated stationary phases for chiral and achiral separation are predominantly used. These stationary phases are based on silica support modified with a wide range of chemical moieties. Moreover, numerous unconventional stationary phases were evaluated, including porous graphitic carbon, titania, zirconia, alumina, liquid crystals, and ionic liquids. The applications of unconventional stationary phases are described in detail as they bring essential findings required for further development of the supercritical fluid chromatography technique.     

A nonradioactive electrophoretic mobility shift assay for measurement of pregnane X receptor binding activity to CYP3A4 response element

The electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) is a method for the study of specific DNA–protein interactions in vitro. The pregnane X receptor (PRX) is a key xenobiotic sensor that regulates the expression of drug‐metabolizing enzymes and many other genes. Radiolabeled ³²P‐DNA‐probes had been used in studies of PXR‐DNA interactions. There is an increasing need for nonradioactive assays, due to the health, safety and environmental issues. In the current study, we present a protocol for the nonradioactive electrophoretic mobility shift assay, allowing studying interactions between human PXR with promoter DNA sequences.     

RP-ZrO2 Stationary Phase as an Alternative to Separate of Doxazosin Impurities

Degradation products and related compounds occurring in drugs as impurities have often very similar properties as the parent substance. Therefore new analytical separation methods which show appropriate selectivity are required. Apart from improvements on silica-based reversed phases the attention has also been focused on other materials such as modified inorganic supports. In this study a polystyrene-coated zirconia was examined as an alternative in analysis of parent drug (doxazosin) and its impurities. Doxazosin and its five pharmacopoeial impurities were separated within 16 min. The suitability of the developed method was verified and confirmed by means of linearity, precision, inter-day precision, robustness and determination of LOD as well as LOQ. The results proved the potential of zirconia-based stationary phases to be useful alternatives in the field of drug analysis.     

Local computations in Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence

When applying any technique of multidimensional models to problems of practice, one always has to cope with two problems: the necessity to represent the models with a ”reasonable” number of parameters and to have sufficiently efficient computational procedures at one’s disposal. When considering graphical Markov models in probability theory, both of these conditions are fulfilled; various computational procedures for decomposable models are based on the ideas of local computations, whose theoretical foundations were laid by Lauritzen and Spiegelhalter.The presented contribution studies a possibility of transferring these ideas from probability theory into Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence. The paper recalls decomposable models, discusses connection of the model structure with the corresponding system of conditional independence relations, and shows that under special additional conditions, one can locally compute specific basic assignments which can be considered to be conditional.