GENERATION AND PARTICIPATION OF O-2 IN 2-NITROPROPANE DIOXYGENASE REACTION

Abstract— 2-Nitropropane dioxygenase (EC 1. 13. 11) of the yeast Hansenula mrakii catalyzes the oxygenative denitrification of 2-nitropropane as follows:

The enzyme is significantly inhibited by superoxide dismutase and various scavengers for superoxide such as cytochrome c , epinephrine, thiols and polyhydric phenols. The scavengers added to the reaction mixture were oxidized or reduced. The addition of superoxide dismutase and the omission of 2-nitropropane or oxygen prevented the oxidation and the reduction of the scavengers. The enzyme catalyzes the formation of nitrite from 2-nitropropane by KO₂ added anaerobically.
One mole of NADH is bound per mole of the enzyme and predominantly the pro-R hydrogen of bound NADH is transferred to superoxide formed enzymatically or provided externally. The enzyme shows incomplete stereospecificity for hydrogen transfer from NADH.     

Effect of oral pretreatment with antibiotics on the hydrolysis of salicylic acid-tyrosine and salicylic acid-methionine prodrugs in rabbit intestinal microorganisms.

We examined the hydrolysis mechanism of salicylic acid-tyrosine (salicyl-tyrosine) and salicylic acid-methionine conjugate (salicyl-methionine) in rabbits by exploring their behavior following intraduodenal and intracecal administration (72 and 36 mumol/kg, respectively: salicylic acid equivalent). A large amount of salicyl-methionine was absorbed following intraduodenal administration of salicyl-methionine, without being metabolized to salicylic acid in the small intestinal mucosa. On the contrary, salicylic acid was detected in the blood following intraduodenal administration of salicyl-tyrosine, suggesting that salicyl-tyrosine was metabolized in the small intestinal mucosa. After oral pretreatment of rabbits with kanamycin sulfate (6 x 400 mg) or tinidazole (6 x 160 mg), the hydrolysis of salicyl-tyrosine and salicyl-methionine following intracecal administration was inhibited significantly, indicating that the intestinal microorganisms were responsible for the biotransformation of these prodrugs. Furthermore, in rabbits orally pretreated with both kanamycin sulfate and tinidazole, a significant inhibition of salicylic acid formation from salicyl-tyrosine and salicyl-methionine following intracecal administration was observed.     

Tunneling conductance of a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8-SnO2 junction along the c-axis

fine structure was observed in the conductance curve of a tunneling junction composed of a single crystalline Bi2212 and an evaporated SnO₂ film. It is similar to those of Bi2212-GaAs mechanical junctions and there is a certain correspondence between the structure and the phonon density of states. Thus the previous conclusion that the structure is due to phonons has been complemented by this work. The energy gap 2 was 57 meV at 13 K and T _c was 78 K. 2(0)/k _B T _c is then 8.3. (T) showed the BCS-like temperature dependence.     

Frequency dependent Shubnikov-De Haas oscillations in Si-MOS-FET under high magnetic fields

The quantum oscillations in the AC magnetoconductance was studied for inversion layers in Si-MOS-FETs under high magnetic fields at 1.5 K. Each peak in the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation was found to be remarkably sharpened with increasing frequency up to 50 MHz. It was also found that the width of the gate voltage for non-conductive region (σ_xx=0) increases with increasing frequency.     

Infrared cyclotron resonance in InSb,GaAs and Ge in very high magnetic fields

Infrared cyclotron resonance was observed in n-type InSb, GaAs and Ge in very high magnetic fields up to 1.3 MOe at room temperature using a CO₂ laser. A large shift of the cyclotron mass due to the non-parabolicity of the energy band was found in each material. The band edge masses of electrons at room temperature were evaluated to be $\text{m}{}^1\text{= 0.0127 m}$ for InSb, $\text{m}{}^1\text{= 0.065}$m for GaAs and $\text{m}{}^1{}_{\mathrm{t}}\text{= 0.086}$m for Ge. The linewidth was measured in GaAs and Ge in the high fields.     

Synthesis of Al–Cr decagonal quasicrystal nanoparticles and their temperature of phase transformation to stable crystal phase

The synthesis of Al–Cr single quasicrystal (QC) nanoparticles of the decagonal phase was achieved by introducing an advanced gas flow evaporation method. By obtaining successive electron diffraction patterns for single-QC nanoparticles, the phase transformation temperature of a single-QC nanoparticle was determined to be 700 °C. It was also determined that part of the QC nanoparticle decomposed into hex-Al₈Cr₅ and Al during the phase transformation. Since the grain growth did not occur during the phase transformation in the present experiment, the inherent phase transformation temperature could be measured.     

Visualization of Magnetization Transfer Effect in Polyethylene Glycol Impregnated Waterlogged Wood

To visualize the condition of impregnation of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in waterlogged wood, we demonstrated magnetic transfer (MT) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) through a series of process of PEG impregnation. Three different samples were examined; reference wood, 10 cm cut wood, and 5 cm cut wood. During this study, the upper section sample was kept immersed in water, for the middle and lower sections the concentration of PEG solution was changed at 20 wt% intervals from 20 to 100 wt%. The impregnated periods of each PEG solution concentration were 14 days. Then, MR imaging were performed with/without MT pulse. The MTR value for both 10 cm- and 5 cm-samples were shown to decrease at 20 wt% PEG at peak concentration. When the sample volume was large, e.g., 10 cm-sample, the MTR value decreased to 100 wt% PEG concentration. In contrast, when a sample volume was small, e.g., 5 cm-sample, MTR value decreased to 60 wt% PEG concentration. In conclusion, MTR analysis makes it possible to nondestructively visualize and evaluate the inner condition concerning the PEG impregnation method for waterlogged wood.     

Electronic properties of Au nano-particles supported on stoichiometric and reduced TiO2(1 1 0) substrates

Growth modes and electronic properties were analyzed for Au nano-particles grown on stoichiometric and reduced TiO₂(1 1 0) substrates by medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) and photoelectron spectroscopy(PES) using synchrotron-radiation-light. Initially, two-dimensional islands (2D) with a height of one and two atomic layers grow and higher coverage increases the islands height to form three-dimensional (3D) islands for the stoichiometric TiO₂(1 1 0) substrate. In contrast, 3D islands start to grow from initial stage with a small Au coverage (?0.1 ML, 1 ML = 1.39 × 10¹⁵  atoms/cm²: Au(1 1 1)) probably due to O-vacancies acting as a nucleation site. Above 0.7 ML, all the islands become 3D ones taking a shape of a partial sphere and the Au clusters change to metal for both substrates. We observed the Au 4f and Ti 3p core level shifts together with the valence band spectra. The Ti 3p peak for the O-deficient surface shifts to higher binding energy by 0.25 ± 0.05 eV compared to that for the stoichiometric surface, indicating downward band bending by an electron charge transfer from an O-vacancy induced surface state band to n-type TiO₂ substrate. Higher binding energy shifts of Au 4f peaks observed for both substrates reveal an electron charge transfer from Au to TiO₂ substrates. The work functions of Au nano-particles supported on the stoichiometric and reduced TiO₂ substrates were also determined as a function of Au coverage and explained clearly by the above surface and interface dipoles.     

Secondary ion yields produced by keV atomic and polyatomic ion impacts on a self-assembled monolayer surface

A suite of keV polyatomic or 'cluster' projectiles was used to bombard unoxidized and oxidized self-assembled monolayer surfaces. Negative secondary ion yields, collected at the limit of single ion impacts, were measured and compared for both molecular and fragment ions. In contrast to targets that are orders of magnitude thicker than the penetration range of the primary ions, secondary ion yields from polyatomic projectile impacts on self-assembled monolayers show little to no enhancement when compared with monatomic projectiles at the same velocity. This unusual trend is most likely due to the structural arrangement and bonding characteristics of the monolayer molecules with the Au(111). Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.