Fracture theory based on the concept of characteristic fracture length of materials

Fracture theory is a classic, but not a well-dealt with, difficulty in solid mechanics. This paper has proposed the concept of characteristic fracture length of materials from the fact that fracture happens with area failure rather than point failure in materials. A unified theory is then proposed, which can be applied both to smooth and defected materials (whether with micro or macro defects). Brittle fracture tests with specimens of different sizes of holes are carried out to examine the fracture theory. It is found that the fracture stresses obtained by experiments agree well with those predicated by the presented fracture theory. Though the brittle fracture is the focus of the paper, the concept of characteristic length can be easily extended to fatigue or other failure problems.     

Finding any given 2‐factor in sparse pseudorandom graphs efficiently

Given an $n$‐vertex pseudorandom graph $G$ and an $n$‐vertex graph $H$ with maximum degree at most two, we wish to find a copy of $H$ in $G$, that is, an embedding $\phi :V\left(H\right)\to V\left(G\right)$ so that $\phi \left(u\right)\phi \left(v\right)\in E\left(G\right)$ for all $uv\in E\left(H\right)$. Particular instances of this problem include finding a triangle‐factor and finding a Hamilton cycle in $G$. Here, we provide a deterministic polynomial time algorithm that finds a given $H$ in any suitably pseudorandom graph $G$. The pseudorandom graphs we consider are $\left(p,\lambda \right)$‐bijumbled graphs of minimum degree which is a constant proportion of the average degree, that is, $\mathrm{\Omega }\left(pn\right)$. A $\left(p,\lambda \right)$‐bijumbled graph is characterised through the discrepancy property: $|e\left(A,B\right)?p|A||B||<\lambda \sqrt{|A||B|}$ for any two sets of vertices $A$ and $B$. Our condition $\lambda =O(p^{2}n/\log n)$ on bijumbledness is within a log factor from being tight and provides a positive answer to a recent question of Nenadov. We combine novel variants of the absorption‐reservoir method, a powerful tool from extremal graph theory and random graphs. Our approach builds on our previous work, incorporating the work of Nenadov, together with additional ideas and simplifications.     

Selective preconcentration of copper from aqueous solution by using kerateine gel

Summary A selective preconcentration technique for copper using the kerateine gel is described. The gel is prepared by partial oxidation of kerateine which is obtained by reducing the disulphide bonds of wool fiber. Copper is selectively adsorbed on the gel at pH 3.5. It is eluted with 3 M hydrochloric acid and is determined by atomic-absorption spectrometry. This method has been applied to the determination of copper in river water.

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Selektive Anreicherung von Kupfer aus wäßriger Lösung mit Hilfe von Keratein-Gel

Zusammenfassung Ein selektives Anreicherungsverfahren für Kupfer mit Hilfe von Keratein-Gel wurde ausgearbeitet. Das Gel wird durch teilweise Oxidation von Keratein hergestellt, das aus Wollfaser durch Reduktion der Disulfidbindungen gewonnen wird. Kupfer wird bei pH 3,5 selektiv an diesem Gel adsorbiert und kann mit 3 M Salzsäure eluiert werden. Die Bestimmung erfolgt mit Hilfe der AAS. Das Verfahren kann zur Kupferbestimmung in Flußwasser angewendet werden.

     

Mechanism of Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Poly(butylene succinate) and Poly(butylene succinate‐co‐L‐lactate) with a Lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia

Enzymatic hydrolysis of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(butylene succinate‐co‐L ‐lactate) (PBSL) has been studied by using a lipase originated from Pseudomonas cepacia. It has been found that the drawn fibers of PBSL are readily hydrolyzed by the action of the lipase, while those of PBS undergo little enzymatic hydrolysis. Since the polymer films of PBS and PBSL are readily hydrolyzed under the same conditions, the enzymatic hydrolysis should depend not only on the crystallinity but also on the molecular orientation. The molecular weight of the samples gradually decreases with incubation time, because nonspecific hydrolysis occurs on the main chains of both PBS and PBSL even in the absence of lipase. The enzymatic hydrolysis of PBS and PBSL gives 4‐hydroxybutyl succinate (HBS) as the main product with traces of succinic acid and butane‐1,4‐diol together with L ‐lactic acid in the case of PBSL. In addition, the hydrolysis rate of the carboxyl end‐capped PBS is much slower than that of the original or hydroxyl end‐capped PBS. These results imply a hydrolysis mechanism involving the preferential exo‐type chain scission from the carboxyl terminals.

Mass remaining of various PBS and PBSL samples as a function of time.     

Asymmetric synthesis of alanine by hydrogenolytic asymmetric transamination

Hydrogenolytic asymmetric transamination between alkyl (R)-phenylglycinate and ethyl pyruvate was studied. The effect of the asymmetric moieties and of the solvents used in the asymmetric synthesis were explained by the substrate-catalyst complex.     

Crystal structure and hydrogen-bonding system in cellulose Ibeta from synchrotron X-ray and neutron fiber diffraction

The crystal and molecular structure together with the hydrogen-bonding system in cellulose Ibeta has been determined using synchrotron and neutron diffraction data recorded from oriented fibrous samples prepared by aligning cellulose microcrystals from tunicin. These samples diffracted both synchrotron X-rays and neutrons to better than 1A resolution (>300 unique reflections; P2(1)). The X-ray data were used to determine the C and O atom positions. The resulting structure consisted of two parallel chains having slightly different conformations and organized in sheets packed in a "parallel-up" fashion, with all hydroxymethyl groups adopting the tg conformation. The positions of hydrogen atoms involved in hydrogen-bonding were determined from a Fourier-difference analysis using neutron diffraction data collected from hydrogenated and deuterated samples. The hydrogen atoms involved in the intramolecular O3...O5 hydrogen bonds have well-defined positions, whereas those corresponding to O2 and O6 covered a wider volume, indicative of multiple geometry with partial occupation. The observation of this disorder substantiates a recent infrared analysis and indicates that, despite their high crystallinity, crystals of cellulose Ibeta have an inherent disorganization of the intermolecular H-bond network that maintains the cellulose chains in sheets.     

Immobilized cells of a unicellular green alga and a photosynthetic bacterium for use in a biophotolysis system

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - Immobilization of algal and bacterial cells was investigated, and found applicable to our hydrogen production system. Both a unicellular green alga,...     

Enzymatic hydrolysis of alpha- and beta-oligo(L-aspartic acid)s by poly(aspartic acid) hydrolases-1 and 2 from Sphingomonas sp. KT-1

The enzymatic hydrolysis of alpha- and beta-oligo(L-aspartic acid)s by PAA hydrolase-1 and PAA hydrolase-2 (purified from Sphingomonas sp. KT-1) was performed to elucidate the mechanism of the microbial degradation by Sphingomonas sp. KT-1 of the thermally synthesized alpha,beta-poly(D,L-aspartic acid) (tPAA). GPC analysis of the hydrolyzed products of alpha- and beta-tetra(L-aspartic acid)s by PAA hydrolase-1 has showed that PAA hydrolase-1 is capable of hydrolyzing only the specific amide bonds between beta-aspartic acid units. The RP-HPLC analysis of the enzymatic hydrolysis of beta-oligo(L-aspartic acid)s (4 and 5 mers) by PAA hydrolase-1 has suggested that the enzymatic hydrolysis of beta-oligo(L-aspartic acid)s occurs via an endo-mode cleavage. In contrast, PAA hydrolase-2 hydrolyzed both alpha- and beta-oligo(L-aspartic acid)s via an exo-mode cleavage to yield L-aspartic acid as a final product. A kinetic study on the enzymatic hydrolysis of alpha-oligo(L-aspartic acid)s (3 to 7 mers) by PAA hydrolase-2 has indicated that Km values are almost independent of the number of monomer units in oligomers of 4 to 7 mers, while that Vmax values are markedly dependent on the chain length and show a maximum value at 5 mer.