Studies on alkaline protease produced by Bacillus sp. NG312

An alkalophilic hyperproducer of alkaline protease, Bacillus sp. NG312, was isolated, and the enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 11.0 and 60°C. The temperature optimum was increased by 10°C in presence of Ca²⁺. The crudeenzyme was found to have half-life of 11 d at 37°C and maximum stability at pH 9.0–10.0. It also exhibited very good stability in presence of detergent components and some locally available commericial detergent powders.     

The certification of SRM 1546 – Meat Homogenate, a new reference material for nutrients in a high protein, high fat matrix

In response to reference material needs expressed by the food industry and government regulators, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a new Standard Reference Material (SRM) consisting of a canned meat product with certified and reference values for a large number of constituents. SRM 1546 Meat Homogenate consists of a mixture of finely ground pork and chicken prepared and canned by a commercial process. NIST determined the concentration levels of cholesterol, sodium, calcium, iron, and seven fatty acids in this SRM using well defined methods and procedures. These analytes as well as 34 other constituents or properties were determined in an interlaboratory comparison exercise involving 21 laboratories, most of which are associated with the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) Food Industry Analytical Chemists Subcommittee (FIACS). From statistical analysis of the data, NIST assigned certified concentrations for the eleven analytes measured at NIST and reference concentrations for the proximates, six additional fatty acids, seven minerals, and seven water-soluble vitamins. Information values without uncertainties are provided for the concentrations of six additional constituents for which the uncertainties could not adequately be assessed. SRM 1546 will provide laboratories with a means to evaluate the accuracy of the methods they use to assign nutrient levels to processed meats and similar products. Received: 11 October 2000 / Revised: 15 December 2000 / Accepted: 21 December 2000     

Computer-aided multichannel detection in high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary The development of a computer-aided rapid-scanning detector for HPLC based on the linear photodiode array UV-visible spectrophotometer is described. Chomatograms monitored at up to three wavelengths, with automatic capture of spectra for eluted peaks and post-run processing of spectral data to generate log₁₀ (A) spectra, second derivative and fourth derivative spectra, are described. Methods are reported for the analysis of forensic samples of diacetylmorphine (heroin) in the presence of the degradation products and potential contaminants caffeine, papaverine, 6-acetylcodeine, thebaine, 6-acetyl-morphine, procaine and morphine separated by HPLC. The novel use of second and higher derivative spectra for the qualitative characterisation of drugs and contaminants separated by HPLC is described.Presented at the 14th International Symposium on Chromatography London, September, 1982     

Synthesis of some heterocyclic systems from nucleophilic substitution reactions with η6-o-dichlorobenzene-η5-cyclopentadienyliron hexafluorophosphate

A method for the synthesis of heterocylic systems related to 9,10-dihydroanthracene with two hetero-atoms at the 9,10-positions is described. It involves the nucleophilic substitution reaction of η⁶-o-dichlorobenzene-η⁵-cyclopentadienyliron hexafluorophosphate with two nucleophilic groups (OH, SH and/or NH₂) located in the 1,2-positions of a benzene ring to give a cyclopentadienyliron complexed heterocycle. Upon pyrolytic sublimation of the complex, the free heterocyclic compound is then obtained.     

Measurement of B --> K*gamma branching fractions and charge asymmetries

The branching fractions of the exclusive decays B0-->K(*0)gamma and B+-->K(*+)gamma are measured from a sample of (22.74+/-0.36)x10(6) BB decays collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric e(+)e(-) collider. We find B (B0-->K(*0)gamma) = [4.23+/-0.40(stat)+/-0.22(syst)]x10(-5), B(B+-->K(*+)gamma) = [3.83+/-0.62(stat)+/-0.22(syst)]x10(-5) and constrain the CP-violating charge asymmetry to be -0.170K(*)gamma)<0.082 at 90% C.L.     

Large-Scale Regularities of Lattice Embeddings of Posets

Let N denote the set of natural numbers and let P =(N ^k , ) be a countably infinite poset on the k-dimensional lattice N ^k . Given x N ^k , we write max(x) (min(x)) for the maximum (minimum) coordinate of x. Let be the directed-incomparability graph of P which is defined to be the graph with vertex set equal to N ^k and edge set equal to the set of all (x, y) such that max(x) max(y) and x and y not comparable in P. For any subset D N ^k , we let P _D and _D denote the restrictions of P and to D. Points x N ^k with min(x) = 0 will be called boundary points. We define a geometrically natural notion of when a point is interior to P or relative to the lattice N ^k , and an analogous notion of monotone interior with respect to or _D . We wish to identify situations where most of these interior points are exposed to the boundary of the lattice or, in the case of monotone interior points, not concealed very much from the boundary. All of these ideas restrict to finite sublattices F ^k and/or infinite sublattices E ^k of N ^k . Our main result shows that for any poset P and any arbitarily large integer M > 0, there is an F E with F = M where, relative to the sublattices F ^k E ^k , the ideal situation of total exposure of interior points and very little concealment of monotone interior points must occur. Precisely, we prove that for any P =(N ^k , ) and any integer M > 0, there is an infinite E N and a finite D F ^k with F E and F = M such that (1) every interior vertex of P _{E k} or _{E k} is exposed and (2) there is a fixed set C E, C k ^k , such that every monotone-interior point of _D belonging to F ^k has its monotone concealment in the set C. In addition, we show that if P ¹ =(N ^k , ₁),..., P ^r =(N ^k , _r ) is any sequence of posets, then we can find E,D, and F so that the properties (1) and (2) described above hold simultaneously for each P ⁱ . We note that the main point of (2) is that the bound k ^k depends only on the dimension of the lattice and not on the poset P. Statement (1) is derived from classical Ramsey theory while (2) is derived from a recent powerful extension of Ramsey theory due to H. Friedman and shown by Friedman to be independent of ZFC, the usual axioms of set theory. The fact that our result is proved as a corollary to a combinatorial theorem that is known to be independent of the usual axioms of mathematics does not, of course, mean that it cannot be proved using ZFC (we just couldn"t find such a proof). This puts our geometrically natural combinatorial result in a somewhat unusual position with regard to the axioms of mathematics.     

Fermilab top mass and modified Fritzsch mass matrices

Fritzsch like mass matrices with non-zero 22-elements both in U sector and D sector have been investigated in the context of latest data regardingm _t ^phys , |V _ub|, |V _cb|, |V _td| and |V _ts|. Unlike several other phenomenological models, the present model not only accommodates the value ofm _t ^phys in the range 150–240 GeV, encompassing the CDF and D0 values, but is also able to reproduce |V _cb| ≊0.040 and |V _ub/V_cb| = 0.08±0.02 and |V _td| is predicted to lie in the range 0.005–0.014. Further, the angles of the unitarity triangle, related to the CP-violating asymmetries, are calculated to be in the ranges −1.0⩽sin2α⩽−0.1, 0.6 ⩽sin2α⩽1.0 and 0.48⩽sin2β⩽0.56, which are in agreement with other recent calculations.     

Studies in metal sulphite chemistry—III

Manganese(II) iodide, iron(II) iodide and copper(I) iodide each react with tetramethylammonium disulphite to form anhydrous manganese(II) sulphite, iron(II) sulphite and copper(I) disulphite respectively. Iron(II) sulphite and copper(I) disulphite react with dimethylsulphoxide-sulphur dioxide to form iron(II) disulphate and copper(II) disulphate respectively. Hydrated sulphites of manganese(II), iron(II), magnesium(II) and calcium(II) were also prepared. The properties of the sulphites were investigated using thermogravimetric and IR measurements.     

Measurement of mass and lifetime of hadronically produced charmed F mesons

We have observed three unique decays of F mesons into KKπ and five unique decays of D mesons into KKπ using the NA11 spectrometer together with a telescope of high-resolution silicon microstrip detectors. The mass value obtained for the F meson is (1975 ± 4) MeV, the lifetime (3.2±_1.3^3..0)×10^?13 s.     

Improved Measurement of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa angle alpha using B0(B) --> rho+rho- decays

We present results from an analysis of B(0)B(0)--> rho(+)rho(-) using 232 x 10(6) Gamma (4S) --> BB decays collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory at SLAC. We measure the longitudinal polarization fraction f(L) = 0.978 +/- 0.014(stat) + 0.021 / -0.029(syst) and the CP-violating parameters S(L)= -0.33 +/- 0.24(stat) + 0.08 / -0.14(syst) and C(L)= -0.03 +/- 0.18(stat) +/- 0.09(syst). Using an isospin analysis of B --> rhorho decays, we determine the unitarity triangle parameter alpha. The solution compatible with the standard model is alpha = (100 +/- 13) degrees.