Universal elastic anisotropy index

Practically all elastic single crystals are anisotropic, which calls for an appropriate universal measure to quantify the extent of anisotropy. A review of the existing anisotropy measures in the literature leads to a conclusion that they lack universality in the sense that they are non-unique and ignore contributions from the bulk part of the elastic stiffness (or compliance) tensor. Proceeding from extremal principles of elasticity, we introduce a new universal anisotropy index that overcomes the above limitations. Furthermore, we establish special relationships between the proposed anisotropy index and the existing anisotropy measures for special cases. A new elastic anisotropy diagram is constructed for over 100 different crystals (from cubic through triclinic), demonstrating that the proposed anisotropy measure is applicable to all types of elastic single crystals, and thus fills an important void in the existing literature.     

On the conformal mapping of a circular disc with a curvilinear polygonal hole

A method of finding a mapping function which maps the doubly-connected region between a circle and a curvilinear polygon onto an annulus is described and numerical results for the ratio of the radii of the annulus given.     

Hydroxylation of 4‐Amino‐5‐hydroxynaphthalene‐2,7‐disulfonic Acid Monosodium Salt Catalysed by Horseradish Peroxidase and Hydrogen Peroxide: Computation of Kinetic Parameters Including Its Application to Crude Plant Extracts

The new spectrophotometric assay method for the quantification of peroxidase activity uses 4‐amino‐5‐hydroxynaphthalene‐2,7‐disulfonicacid monosodium salt (AHNDSA) as chromogenic co‐substrate. The method is based on hydroxylation of AHNDSA in presence of H₂O₂/peroxidase forming quinone, having λ_max = 460 nm in the acetate buffer (pH = 4.0) at 30 °C. The linearity of H₂O₂ by kinetic method was 10–332 µM and for peroxidase by kinetic and fixed time methods were 1.18–18.92 and 1.18–9.46 nM, respectively. Catalytic efficiency and catalytic power for peroxidase assay were 7.965 × 10⁴ M^?1min^?1 and 3.76 × 10^?4 min^?1, respectively. From the plot of d(1/A_o) vs d(1/V_o) and d(1/H_o) vs d(1/V_o), the apparent Michaelis‐Menten constants for H₂O₂ and AHNDSA were K = 68 and K = 275 µM, respectively. The method was tested with some plant extracts and also compared with guaiacol/peroxidase system. Except Boerhavia diffusa, all other tested plant samples showed highest peroxidase activity. The proposed method is a rapid and convenient method to determine peroxidase activity by spectrophotometer. This method for the first time reports peroxidase activity in Lantana camara and Oplismenus compositus plants. Kinetic results showed that AHNDSA/peroxidase system can be better hydrogen donor for peroxidase assay than guaiacol system.     

Convenient Method for the Friedel–Crafts Acylation of Benzene Derivatives Using Silver Nitrate as Catalyst

Friedel–Crafts acylation of benzene derivatives such as anisole, toluene, and xylene has been successively carried out using silver nitrate as the catalyst in the presence of an eco friendly solvent (ethyl alcohol). Both benzoyl chloride and acetyl chloride reacted smoothly under the conditions to afford the corresponding ketones in good yield.

Assessment of Acrylamide Degradation Potential of Pseudomonas aeruginosa BAC-6 Isolated from Industrial Effluent

Acrylamide finds diverse industrial applications but is considered an environmental threat because of its neurotoxic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic effects. Certain bacteria enzymatically degrade acrylamide to acrylic acid and ammonia. The present investigation was carried out to isolate and identify an acrylamide-degrading bacterium from industrial effluent. Bacterial growth and extent of acrylamide degradation in the presence of different acrylamide concentrations, nutrients, varied range of pH, and temperature were analyzed. Among the eight acrylamide-degrading isolates, isolate BAC-6 demonstrated the highest degradation, and based upon the partial 16S rDNA sequencing, it was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. P. aeruginosa BAC-6 grew over a wide range of acrylamide concentrations, but the highest degradation was recorded at 500 mg/L concentration with concomitant cell growth. Among the carbon supplements, mannitol supported the highest growth and degradation. Maximum degradation was reported at neutral pH. A mesophilic temperature range (25–40 °C) facilitated conducive bacterial growth followed by degradation. The highest degradation and bacterial growth were observed at 30 and 35 °C, respectively. Thus, it could be inferred from the present investigation that cultural conditions strongly affected the degradation potential of P. aeruginosa BAC-6 and advocated the utilization of the isolate in bioremediation of sites polluted with acrylamide.     

Computer-aided drug design of falcipain inhibitors: virtual screening, structure-activity relationships, hydration site thermodynamics, and reactivity analysis

Falcipains (FPs) are hemoglobinases of Plasmodium falciparum that are validated targets for the development of antimalarial chemotherapy. A combined ligand- and structure-based virtual screening of commercial databases was performed to identify structural analogs of virtual screening hits previously discovered in our laboratory. A total of 28 low micromolar inhibitors of FP-2 and FP-3 were identified and the structure-activity relationship (SAR) in each series was elaborated. The SAR of the compounds was unusually steep in some cases and could not be explained by a traditional analysis of the ligand-protein interactions (van der Waals, electrostatics, and hydrogen bonds). To gain further insights, a statistical thermodynamic analysis of explicit solvent in the ligand binding domains of FP-2 and FP-3 was carried out to understand the roles played by water molecules in binding of these inhibitors. Indeed, the energetics associated with the displacement of water molecules upon ligand binding explained some of the complex trends in the SAR. Furthermore, low potency of a subset of FP-2 inhibitors that could not be understood by the water energetics was explained in the context of poor chemical reactivity of the reactive centers of these compounds. The present study highlights the importance of considering energetic contributors to binding beyond traditional ligand-protein interactions.     

Viscous flow in pipes whose cross-sections are doubly connected regions

Slow and steady viscous fluid flow in a pipe whose cross-section is bounded by an ellipse and a circle is considered. The method used is in deriving general solutions independently on the two boundaries using one or two conformal mapping functions and an attempt is made to make the complex potentials continuous in the doubly connected region. Numerical results are found and compared with those for the case of concentric circles and the case of concentric ellipses.     

Electron microscopy of bismuth oxychloride crystallites

Investigations on the crystal structure and morphology of bismuth oxychloride crystallites as a function of the growth conditions are described. A decrease in the concentration of the reactant or an increase in the temperatur during the reaction improves the crystallinity of the bismuth oxychloride precipitate. The crystallites are usually platelets with the c-axis normal to the crystallite plane.