Long-time behavior of solutions for quasilinear hyperbolic hemivariational inequalities with application to piezoelectricity problem

We consider quasilinear autonomous inclusions of hyperbolic type. The dynamics of all weak solutions defined on the positive semi-axis of time is studied. We prove the existence of trajectory and global attractors and investigate their structure. The classes of mathematical models for piezoelectric fields containing the multidimensional law are studied. The conditions of the output of each weak solution for this problem at stationary states are given. We consider as a particular case the piezoelectric model for PZT-4 piezoceramics as one of the possible applications.     

Base-free aerobic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid over Pt/C catalysts synthesized by pulse alternating current technique

The Pt/C catalysts with various Pt content (5-30 wt%) synthesized via electrochemical pulse alternating current technique have been evaluated for the base-free aerobic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid. The higher Pt content in the catalyst (30 wt%) provides the product yield up to 65% upon performing the process in concentrated (～0.1 M) aqueous solutions of the substrate.     

Structure of the O-Specific Polysaccharide of Hafnia Alvei 23 Having an Oligosaccharide-Phosphate Repeating Unit

ABSTRACT

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Hafnia alvei 23 has an acid-labile O-specific polysaccharide (OPS) with a pentasaccharide-phosphate repeating unit containing D-Glc1P, D-GlcNAc, L-Fuc, 6-deoxy-D-talose (D-6dTal), 4-acetamido-4,6-dideoxy-D-glucose (D-Qui4NAc), and an O-acetyl group. A partially degraded OPS was obtained by hydrolysis of LPS with 0.25 M sodium acetate in aqueous 0.5% acetic acid. Fractionation of LPS on Sephadex G-200 in DOC buffer allowed isolation of long-chain LPS species which, together with OPS, were studied by methylation analysis, chemical degradations (O-deacetylation, dephosphorylation with 48% hydrofluoric acid, Smith degradation), and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, including 2D COSY, TOCSY, NOESY, and H-detected ¹H,¹³C heteronuclear single-quantum coherence (HSQC) experiments. The following structure of the repeating unit of OPS was established:     

Biodegradation of tobacco waste by composting: Genetic identification of nicotine-degrading bacteria and kinetic analysis of transformations in leachate

The tobacco industry produces large quantities of solid and liquid waste. This waste poses a significant environmental problem, as some major components are harmful and toxic. The aim of this work is to isolate and identify the nicotine-degrading microorganisms in the composting of tobacco waste. The bioremediation process for the detoxification of waste was carried out in a column reactor at an airflow-rate of 0.4 L min^?1 kg^?1. The concentrations of nicotine and number of CFU in the samples taken from reactor were monitored over nineteen days. After nineteen days, 89.8 % of nicotine conversion was obtained. A nicotine-degrading bacterium, strain FN, was isolated from the composting mass and identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the basis of morphology, 16S rDNA sequence, and the phylogenetic characteristics. To confirm that the isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa FN is the actual nicotine degrader, batch experiments were performed using tobacco leachate. It was confirmed that the strain FN possesses a considerable capacity to degrade nicotine with simultaneous COD removal. The Monod kinetic model for single substrate was applied to obtain the substrate degradation rate and half saturation constant.     

Covalent Attachment of Cyclic TAT Peptides to GFP Results in Protein Delivery into Live Cells with Immediate Bioavailability

The delivery of free molecules into the cytoplasm and nucleus by using arginine‐rich cell‐penetrating peptides (CPPs) has been limited to small cargoes, while large cargoes such as proteins are taken up and trapped in endocytic vesicles. Based on recent work, in which we showed that the transduction efficiency of arginine‐rich CPPs can be greatly enhanced by cyclization, the aim was to use cyclic CPPs to transport full‐length proteins, in this study green fluorescent protein (GFP), into the cytosol of living cells. Cyclic and linear CPP–GFP conjugates were obtained by using azido‐functionalized CPPs and an alkyne‐functionalized GFP. Our findings reveal that the cyclic‐CPP–GFP conjugates are internalized into live cells with immediate bioavailability in the cytosol and the nucleus, whereas linear CPP analogues do not confer GFP transduction. This technology expands the application of cyclic CPPs to the efficient transport of functional full‐length proteins into live cells.     

A Separation‐Integrated Cascade Reaction to Overcome Thermodynamic Limitations in Rare‐Sugar Synthesis

Enzyme cascades combining epimerization and isomerization steps offer an attractive route for the generic production of rare sugars starting from accessible bulk sugars but suffer from the unfavorable position of the thermodynamic equilibrium, thus reducing the yield and requiring complex work‐up procedures to separate pure product from the reaction mixture. Presented herein is the integration of a multienzyme cascade reaction with continuous chromatography, realized as simulated moving bed chromatography, to overcome the intrinsic yield limitation. Efficient production of D ‐psicose from sucrose in a three‐step cascade reaction using invertase, D ‐xylose isomerase, and D ‐tagatose epimerase, via the intermediates D ‐glucose and D ‐fructose, is described. This set‐up allowed the production of pure psicose (99.9 %) with very high yields (89 %) and high enzyme efficiency (300 g of D ‐psicose per g of enzyme).     

Mind the correct basis set: A case study for predicting gas phase acidities of small compounds using calculations from first principles

Some of the most popular computational methods have been utilized to determine a dependency of the acidity trend of the first‐row hydrides on a choice of basis set. For about three decades, methyl anion ( ) was known as the strongest base but after Tian et al. were able to produce the gas phase lithium monoxide anion (LiO–) they discovered it was a stronger base than (Tian et al., Proc Natl Acad Soc USA 2008, 105, 7647). Furthermore, the authors confirmed their experimental results using high‐level ab initio methods, namely W1 and W2C composite methods, as well as complete active space‐averaged quadratic coupled cluster and Brueckner Doubles with triple excitation contribution (BD(T)) within the aug‐cc‐pVQZ basis set. These methods are highly demanding in terms of the computational effort as well as a level of expertise needed from the user to correctly conduct such calculations. We have shown that the proper acidity trend, that is, , can be obtained with less expensive, ”black‐box” type methods if only the basis set is properly chosen. Our results prove that the diffuse augmented basis sets are absolutely necessary for appropriate predictions of acidities. Our calculations show that the correct order of is achieved by augmenting relatively small cc‐pVXZ (X = D,T) basis sets. A similar effect is observed for the family of Pople's basis sets. Our estimate for with CCSD(T)/aug‐cc‐pVTZ was 423.8 kcal/mol, which agrees very well with the experimental value 425.7 ± 6.1 kcal/mol. An important finding is that the proper acidity trend may be reversed if the basis sets are not correctly selected. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Structural and Functional Implications of the Interaction between Macrolide Antibiotics and Bile Acids

Macrolide antibiotics, such as azithromycin and erythromycin, are in widespread use for the treatment of bacterial infections. Macrolides are taken up and excreted mainly by bile. Additionally, they have been implicated in biliary system diseases and to modify the excretion of other drugs through bile. Despite mounting evidence for the interplay between macrolide antibiotics and bile acids, the molecular details of this interaction remain unknown. Herein, we show by NMR measurements that macrolides directly bind to bile acid micelles. The topology of this interaction has been determined by solvent paramagnetic relaxation enhancements (solvent PREs). The macrolides were found to be bound close to the surface of the micelle. Increasing hydrophobicity of both the macrolide and the bile acid strengthen this interaction. Both bile acid and macrolide molecules show similar solvent PREs across their whole structures, indicating that there are no preferred orientations of them in the bile micelle aggregates. The binding to bile aggregates does not impede macrolide antibiotics from targeting bacteria. In fact, the toxicity of azithromycin towards enterotoxic E. coli (ETEC) is even slightly increased in the presence of bile, as was shown by effective concentration (EC₅₀) values.