The electrochemistry of proteins and related substances part III. Bovine serum albumin

The electroreduction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in pH 7.4 solution was studied at the hanging mercury drop electrode by double potential step chronocoulometry and cyclic voltammetry, and at a mercury pool electrode by controlled potential coulometry. The proposed mechanism involves reduction of an adsorbed monolayer of BSA (maximum coverage 3.3 μC^?2); at short times 3 or 4 disulfide bonds are reduced, the product remains adsorbed and may be reoxidized. On the coulometric time scale (hours) 8 or 9 of the total 17 disulfide bonds are broken and an insoluble product which cannot be oxidized is formed.     

A theoretical study of the vibronic structure in the electronic spectrum of HNO+

The results of an ab initio study of the vibronic and rotational structure in the ²Π state of HNO⁺ are presented. It is shown that the absorption spectrum at 7200 Å observed by Herzberg could be caused by the transition from the ground to the first excited electronic state of HNO⁺     

A proof of the indeterminary relation of lifetime and energy

A new proof of the indeterminacy relation of the standard energy deviation and lifetime of a pure quantum state is given by means of the Mandelstam-Tamm inequality.     

Comovements in government bond markets: A minimum spanning tree analysis

The concept of a minimum spanning tree (MST) is used to study patterns of comovements for a set of twenty government bond market indices for developed North American, European, and Asian countries. We show how the MST and its related hierarchical tree evolve over time and describe the dynamic development of market linkages. Over the sample period, 1993-2008, linkages between markets have decreased somewhat. However, a subset of European Union (EU) bond markets does show increasing levels of comovements. The evolution of distinct groups within the Eurozone is also examined. The implications of our findings for portfolio diversification benefits are outlined.     

Hill Four-Body Problem with Oblate Bodies: An Application to the Sun–Jupiter–Hektor–Skamandrios System

We consider a restricted four-body problem, with a precise hierarchy between the bodies: two larger bodies and a smaller one, all three of oblate shape, and a fourth, infinitesimal body, in the neighborhood of the smaller of the three bodies. The three heavy bodies are assumed to move in a plane under their mutual gravity, and the fourth body to move in the three-dimensional space under the gravitational influence of the three heavy bodies, but without affecting them. We first find that the triangular central configuration of the three heavy oblate bodies is a scalene triangle (rather than an equilateral triangle as in the point mass case). Then, assuming that these three bodies are in such a central configuration, we perform a Hill approximation of the equations of motion describing the dynamics of the infinitesimal body in a neighborhood of the smaller body. Through the use of Hill’s variables and a limiting procedure, this approximation amounts to sending the two larger bodies to infinity. Finally, for the Hill approximation, we find the equilibrium points for the motion of the infinitesimal body and determine their stability. As a motivating example, we identify the three heavy bodies with the Sun, Jupiter, and the Jupiter’s Trojan asteroid Hektor, which are assumed to move in a triangular central configuration. Then, we consider the dynamics of Hektor’s moonlet Skamandrios.

     

Bochner representable operators on Banach function spaces

Let \((E,\Vert \cdot \Vert _E)\) be a Banach function space, \(E'\) the Köthe dual of E and \((X,\Vert \cdot \Vert _X)\) be a Banach space. It is shown that every Bochner representable operator \(T:E\rightarrow X\) maps relatively \(\sigma (E,E')\)-compact sets in E onto relatively norm compact sets in X. If, in particular, the associated norm \(\Vert \cdot \Vert _{E'}\) on \(E'\) is order continuous, then every Bochner representable operator \(T:E\rightarrow X\) is \((\gamma _E,\Vert \cdot \Vert _X)\)-compact, where \(\gamma _E\) stands for the natural mixed topology on E. Applications to Bochner representable operators on Orlicz spaces are given.     

Leaf allocation patterns and 13C and 15N natural abundances of tropical lianas (Passiflora sp.) as dependent on external climbing support

The transformation from self-supporting lianas to host-supported climbing lianas is related to re-allocation of biomass and nutrients among plant organs. Therefore, first, variations in leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf carbon and nitrogen allocation and ¹³C and ¹⁵N natural abundances were analysed among three tropical Passiflora species (P. edulis, P. ligularis, and P. tripartita) in a greenhouse study. Second, the influence of a climbing support was considered for each species and parameter. P. ligularis leaves were most enriched in ¹³C in both treatments when compared with the other two species. This enrichment was caused by a high LMA, which is related to a high internal resistance to CO₂ diffusion. For P. edulis and P. tripartita, δ¹³C was additionally increasing with nitrogen content per area. Generally, there were no differences when considering carbon and nitrogen allocation to leaves of host-supported and self-supporting lianas. The only hints towards increased investment into leaves after the transition from self-supporting to host-supported stages could be seen by a trend to increased leaf areas and masses. δ¹³C values of supported P. edulis or P. tripartita plants were significantly increasing faster than those of non-supported plants once the interactions of leaf mass or nitrogen content per area were accounted for. Hence, the offer of a climbing support had only a minor impact on δ¹³C or δ¹⁵N values in vitro, but this could be different with increasing age of lianas in vivo.