Effect of salicin on induction and carbon catabolite repression of endoxylanase synthesis in Penicillium janthinellum MTCC 10889

Amongst various carbon sources, xylan was found to be the sole inducer of endoxylanase production by Penicillium janthinellum MTCC 10889 in submerged cultivation. Endoxylanase synthesis by a xylan induced culture was initially repressed after a simultaneous addition of xylose, probably by the inducer exclusion mechanism, but it was resumed and achieved its highest level at a much later stage of growth (at 120 h). Xylose added after 30 h of growth cannot exert its full repressive effect. Although glucose was proved to be a more potent repressor than xylose, supplementation of salicin, an alcoholic β-glycoside containing d-glucose, with pure xylan resulted in an about 3.22 fold increase in the enzyme synthesis at 72 h followed by constant high production of the enzyme at least until the 144th h of growth. Inducing capacity of salicin in a xylan induced culture was significantly reduced when it was added after 30 h of growth. Addition of salicin and xylan help to partially overcome the repressive effect of xylose and glucose. Failure of salicin in recovering the endoxylanase synthesis in actinomycin D and cyclohexamide inhibited the xylan induced culture indicating that salicin cannot initiate the de novo synthesis of the enzyme.     

Recent advances of lead-free metal halide perovskite single crystals and nanocrystals: synthesis,crystal structure,optical properties,and their diverse applications

Lead halide hybrid perovskites have received massive research attention because of their unique inherent photophysical properties that driven them for potential application in the fields of photovoltaics, light-emitting devices, lasing, X-ray detector, and so on. Perovskite single crystals and nanocrystals are generally synthesized via various low-cost solution-processed techniques. The emergence of simple growth approaches of perovskite structures enable to fabricate low-cost and highly efficient devices. However, toxicity of Pb atoms and instability of perovskite structures obstruct further commercialization of these technologies. Recent efforts have been shifted to discover novel, eco-friendly, and stable lead-free metal halide perovskite (LFHP) materials and exploring their different growth processes for various device applications. This review aims to provide an up-to-date analysis of recent progress report on LFHPs and will mainly focus on their growth processes in the single crystalline and nanocrystalline forms. This review also tries to understand how the perovskite crystal structure impacts on their fundamental properties. In addition, we discuss the current progress in various field of applications and their future aspects.     

A New Method for Olive Oil Screening Using Multivariate Analysis of Proton NMR Spectra

A new NMR-based method for the discrimination of olive oils of any grade from seed oils and mixtures thereof was developed with the aim of allowing the verification of olive oil authenticity. Ten seed oils and seven monovarietal and blended extra virgin olive oils were utilized to develop a principal component analysis (PCA) based analysis of ¹H NMR spectra to rapidly and accurately determine the authenticity of olive oils. Another twenty-eight olive oils were utilized to test the principal component analysis (PCA) based analysis. Detection of seed oil adulteration levels as low as 5% v/v has been shown using simple one-dimensional proton spectra obtained using a 400 MHz NMR spectrometer equipped with a room temperature inverse probe. The combination of simple sample preparation, rapid sample analysis, novel processing parameters, and easily interpreted results, makes this method an easily accessible tool for olive oil fraud detection by substitution or dilution compared to other methods already published.     

A new [Ni4] distorted cubane assembly on four solvent derived μ3-OMe corners: Solvent dependent formation and cleavage of exogenous bridges

A new Ni₄ distorted cubane complex [Ni₄(μ₃-OMe)₄Q₄(MeOH)₄] (1) (where Q⁻ is the anion of 8-quinolinol) is obtained from the reaction of NaQ with Ni(OAc)₂ · 4H₂O in refluxing MeOH via solvent derived μ₃-OMe assisted self-assembly of four nickel(II) centres. The periphery of [Ni₄(OMe)₄] cubane is covered by four Q⁻ and four MeOH molecules. This methanol specific reaction is not supported in solvent glycinol (Hgl; NH₂(CH₂)₂OH), an amine substituted ethanol, producing monomeric [NiQ₂(Hgl)₂] · 2H₂O (2 · 2H₂O) instead and is able to cleave 1 to yield 2 · 2H₂O. The cryomagnetic susceptibility data of powdered 1 can be modeled by a two J equation yielding J₁ = −1.8(1) cm⁻¹, J₂ = 3.9(1) cm⁻¹ and g = 2.24.     

Selenadiazolopyridine: a synthon for supramolecular assembly and complexes with metallophilic interactions

The synthesis and characterization of the complexes of Cu(I), Ag(I), Cu(II), and Co(II) ions with 1,2,5-selenadiazolopyridine (psd) is reported. The following complexes have been prepared: [Cu(2)(psd)(3)(CH(3)CN)(2)](2+)2(PF(6)(-)); [(CuCl)(2)(psd)(3)]; [Cu(2)(psd)(6)](2+)2(ClO(4))(-); [Ag(2)(psd)(2)](2+)2(NO(3))(-); [Ag(2)(psd)(2)](2+)2(CF(3)COO)(-); [Cu(psd)(2)(H(2)O)(3)](2+)2(ClO(4))(-)·(psd)(2); [Cu(psd)(4)(H(2)O)](2+)2(ClO(4))(-)·(CHCl(3)); [Cu(psd)(2)(H(2)O)(3)](2+)2(NO(3))(-)·(H(2)O)·(psd)(2), and [Co(psd)(2)(H(2)O)(4)](2+)2(ClO(4))(-)·(psd)(2). The electronic structure of ligand psd, in particular the bond order of Se-N bonds, has been probed by X-ray diffraction, (77)Se NMR, and computational studies. A detailed analysis of the crystal structures of the ligand and the complexes revealed interesting supramolecular assembly. The assembly was further facilitated by the presence of neutral ligands for some complexes (Cu(II) and Co(II)). The molecular structure of the ligand showed that it was present as a dimer in the solid state where the monomers were linked by strong secondary bonding Se···N interactions. The crystal structures of Cu(I) and Ag(I) complexes revealed the dinuclear nature with characteristic metallophilic interactions [M···M] (M = Cu, Ag), while the Cu(II) and Co(II) complexes were mononuclear. The presence of M···M interactions has been further probed by Atoms in Molecules (AIM) calculations. The paramagnetic Cu(II) and Co(II) complexes have been characterized by UV-vis, ESI spectroscopy, and room temperature magnetic measurements.     

Visible-Light Switching of Metallosupramolecular Assemblies**

A photoswitchable ligand and palladium(II) ions form a dynamic mixture of self-assembled metallosupramolecular structures. The photoswitching ligand is an ortho-fluoroazobenzene with appended pyridyl groups. Combining the E-isomer with palladium(II) salts affords a double-walled triangle with composition [Pd₃L₆]⁶⁺ and a distorted tetrahedron [Pd₄L₈]⁸⁺ (1 : 2 ratio at 298 K). Irradiation with 410 nm light generates a photostationary state with approximately 80 % of the E-isomer of the ligand and results in the selective disassembly of the tetrahedron, the more thermodynamically stable structure, and the formation of the triangle, the more kinetically inert product. The triangle is then slowly transformed back into the tetrahedron over 2 days at 333 K. The Z-isomer of the ligand does not form any well-defined structures and has a thermal half-life of 25 days at 298 K. This approach shows how a thermodynamically preferred self-assembled structure can be reversibly pumped to a kinetic trap by small perturbations of the isomer distribution using non-destructive visible light.     

Automated leukocyte recognition using fuzzy divergence

This paper aims at introducing an automated approach to leukocyte recognition using fuzzy divergence and modified thresholding techniques. The recognition is done through the segmentation of nuclei where Gamma, Gaussian and Cauchy type of fuzzy membership functions are studied for the image pixels. It is in fact found that Cauchy leads better segmentation as compared to others. In addition, image thresholding is modified for better recognition. Results are studied and discussed.     

High contrast electromagnetically induced transparency in a nitrogen filled Rb vapour cell

We observe the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) spectra inside a nitrogen filled Rb vapour cell (Rb-N₂) in a five-level Λ-type system of D₂ transition of Rb atom. The high contrast EIT resonance in buffer gas filled Rb cell is obtained under our experimental conditions. The effect of velocity changing coherence preserving collisions to obtain the contrast resonance in buffer gas cell has been discussed. We measured the dependence of EIT width and height on pump intensity and find that the EIT width (FWHM) and peak height have a linear dependence on pump intensity. Our experimental results show that the presence of N2 buffer gas reduces the power broadening of the observed resonances.     

Rapid screening and confirmation of drugs and toxic compounds in biological specimens using liquid chromatography/ion trap tandem mass spectrometry and automated library search

Recent advances in liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) technology have provided an opportunity for the development of more specific approaches to achieve the ‘screen’ and ‘confirmation’ goals in a single analytical step. For this purpose, this study adapts the electrospray ionization ion trap LC/MS/MS instrumentation (LC/ESI‐MS/MS) for the screening and confirmation of over 800 drugs and toxic compounds in biological specimens. Liquid‐liquid and solid‐phase extraction protocols were coupled to LC/ESI‐MS/MS using a 1.8‐µm particle size analytical column operated at 50°C. Gradient elution of the analytes was conducted using a solvent system composed of methanol and water containing 0.1% formic acid. Positive‐ion ESI‐MS/MS spectra and retention times for each of the 800 drugs and toxic compounds were first established using 1–10 µg/mL standard solutions. This spectra and retention time information was then transferred to the library and searched by the identification algorithm for the confirmation of compounds found in test specimens – based on retention time matches and scores of fit, reverse fit, and purity resulting from the searching process. The established method was found highly effective when applied to the analyses of postmortem specimens (blood, urine, and hair) and external proficiency test samples provided by the College of American Pathology (CAP). The development of this approach has significantly improved the efficiency of our routine laboratory operation that was based on a two‐step (immunoassay and GC/MS) approach in the past. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.