Isolation of phospholipase A2 from the venom of the green toadBufo viridis

Phospholipase A₂ has been isolated fromthe venom of he Central Asian green toad Bufo viridis in the electroophoretically homogeneous state for the first time by biospecific absorption chromatography. The affinity sorbent used was Affi-Gel 10 with covalently bound phosphatidylserine (PDS). The chemical inertness of the bound PDS to the hydrolytic action of phospholipase A2 and its high tendency to form biospecific complexes have been shown. Some biochemical characteristics of the enzyme isolated have been studied: influence of the pH and of the Ca²⁺ concentration and dependence of activity on substrate concentration.A. S. Sadykov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, fax 627071. Tashkent State University, fax 462472. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 105–109, January–February, 1994.     

Beryllium coordination chemistry

The coordination chemistry of beryllium with particular emphasis on chelates under physiological or near physiological conditions is surveyed. Hard donors such as oxygen are emphasized; equilibrium data and formation constants are reported as an indication of the strength of the complex.     

Effect of absorbed pump power on the quality of output beam from monolithic microchip lasers

The dependence of the beam propagation factor (M ² parameter) with the absorbed pump power in the case of monolithic microchip laser under face-cooled configuration is extensively studied. Our investigations show that the M ₂ parameter is related to the absorbed pump power through two parameters (α and β) whose values depend on the laser material properties and laser configuration. We have shown that one parameter arises due to the oscillation of higher order modes in the microchip cavity and the other parameter accounts for the spherical aberration associated with the thermal lens induced by the pump beam. Such dependency of M ² parameter with the absorbed pump power is experimentally verified for a face-cooled monolithic microchip laser based on Nd³⁺ -doped GdVO₄ crystal and the values of α and β parameters were estimated from the experimentally measured data points.     

Forecasting call frequency at a financial services call centre

A forecasting model is developed for the number of daily applications for loans at a financial services telephone call centre. The purpose of the forecasts and the associated prediction intervals is to provide effective staffing policies within the call centre. The model building process is constrained by the availability of only 2 years and 7 months of data. The distinctive feature of the data is that demand is driven in the main by advertising. The analysis given focuses on applications stimulated by press advertising. Unlike previous analyses of broadly similar data, where ARIMA models were used, a model with a dynamic level, multiplicative calendar effects and a multiplicative advertising response is developed and shown to be effective.     

Quantum-well states and resonances in thin single-crystal layers of noble metals on W(110) substrates

This paper reports on the first experimental observation of quantum-well states and sp-type resonances in thin single-crystal gold, silver, and copper layers formed on single-crystal W(110) surfaces, which result from spatial localization of Bloch-type electronic wave functions in a quantum well with potential barriers at the vacuum/metal and metal/W(110) interfaces. The quantization of the valence-band electronic structure in Au/W(110), Ag/W(110), and Cu/W(110) systems was studied experimentally using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy.     

Study of the charge-exchange reactions\pi ^ - p \to (\pi ^0 ,\eta ,\eta \prime )n at 63 GeV

Muon electron pairs were detected in an Al multiplate spark chamber, exposed to a neutrino beam from the CERN PS. The leptons were not accompanied by other particles, except occasionally by protons. The background came mainly from muon associated π⁰ production, with one decay gamma lost. It was determined empirically, together with the small contribution from υ _e reactions. For electron energies above 2 GeV the background is 5.7±1.5 events, whereas 18 (μe)-candidates have been observed. Hence the effect is established, with a rate of about 10^?4 as compared to the muonic reactions above 3 GeV. Charm creation as the origin of this (μe)-production process is excluded; heavy neutral lepton production does not fit the kinematics observed. Instead the events are compatible with the two-body decay of an object with variable invariant mass of order 1 GeV, possibly resulting from axion interactions.     

Synthesis of lanosterol derivatives with a functional group at C-32, including an antineoplastic sterol, 3 beta-hydroxylanost-7-en-32-oic acid

Lanosterol derivatives with a functional group at C-32 have been synthesized from 3 beta-acetoxylanostan-7 alpha-ol. The key reaction of the synthesis is the hypoiodite reaction of 3 beta-acetoxylanostan-7 alpha-ol. In vitro antitumor activity testing of the lanosterol derivatives revealed that 3 beta-hydroxylanost-7-en-32-oic acid has antineoplastic activity.