Glycosyl azide—a novel substrate for enzymatic transglycosylations

Glycosyl azides are new efficient donors for glycosidases. Their high water solubility facilitates transglycosylations with comparable or better yields than common O-glycosides. The azido group totally changes the β-GalNAc-ase/β-GlcNAc-ase ratio in β-N-acetylhexosaminidases (from the usual 0.3-1.0 to <0.01), contrary to all known aglycons.     

HPLC study of starch hydrolysis products obtained with α-amylase from bacillus amyloliquefaciens and bacillus licheniformis

Two bacterial α-amylases from new industrial strains were studied: α-amylase fromBacillus amyloliquefaciens CCM 3502 (Czechoslovak) and thermostable α-amylase fromBacillus licheniformis 44MB82 (Bulgarian). The thermostable enzyme hydrolyzed starch mainly to dextrins, and after 1 h, 30% of the products were oligosaccharides. TheB. amyloliquefaciens enzyme produced more maltooligosaccharides than the first enzyme (B. licheniformis). Within 1 h, up to 80% of the substrate were hydrolyzed, giving different spectrum of oligosaccharides in comparison with the thermostable one.     

A multivalued version of Sharkovskiĭ’s theorem holds with at most two exceptions

A multivalued version of Sharkovskiĭ’s theorem is formulated for M-maps on linear continua and, more generally, for triangular M-maps on a Cartesian product of linear continua. This improves the main result of [AP1] in the sense that our multivalued analogue holds with at most two exceptions. A further specification requires some additional restrictions. For instance, 3- orbits of m-maps imply the existence of k-orbits for all k ? \mathbbNk \in {\mathbb{N}} , except possibly for k ?k \in {4, 6}. It is also shown that, on every connected linearly ordered topological space, an M-map with orbits of all periods can always be constructed. This demonstrates that Baldwin’s classification of linear continua in terms of admissible periods [Ba] is useless for multivalued maps.     

Cyclic deformation of aluminium and its alloys

The formation of slip bands is the main mechanism of cyclic deformation in pure Al. Their density, orientation and heights in polycrystalline Al were investigated during cycling. Types, sizes and densities of precipitates are responsible for the mode of cyclic deformation in AlCu4 pure alloy. In technical Al alloys intermetallic phases have detrimental effects on deformation homogeneity and largely govern the fatigue mechanism of the material and especially microcrack initiation.     

160Tb nuclear orientation in yttrium single crystal

First experimental results of¹⁶⁰Tb nuclear orientation in yttrium single crystal matrix are described. The influence of external magnetic field in combination with the crystal field interaction is discussed.     

56,57,60CoFe NMR/ON,hyperfine anomalies and γ-factors of cobalt isotopes

The results of NMR/ON measurements on^56'57'60Co isotopes in iron are presented. To avoid the uncertainties caused by local demagnetizing field inhomogenities the measurements on two cobalt isotopes in one sample have been carried out. The values of nuclear-factor ratios ⁵⁷/ ⁶⁰ = 1.805 (20), ⁶⁰/ ⁵⁶ = 0.761 (20), ⁵⁶/ ⁵⁷ = 0.726 (20) and hyperfine anomalies⁵⁶⁶⁰ = -0.036 (10),^{60 57} = 0.017 (10) and⁵⁷⁵⁶ = 0.018 (10) have been calculated from the experimental results.     

Hyperfine anomalies and nuclear γ-factors of56Co,57Co and60Co isotopes studied by NMR/ON

The results of NMR/ON measurements on^56,57,60Co isotopes in iron are presented in the paper. To avoid the uncertainties caused by local demagnetizing field inhomogeneities the measurements on two cobalt isotopes in one sample have been carried out. The values of nuclear-factors ratios ⁵⁷/ ⁶⁰=1·805(20), ⁶⁰/ ⁵⁶ = 0·761(20), ⁵⁶/ ⁵⁷ = 0·726(20) and hyperfme anomalies^{56 60} = –0·036(10),^{60 57} = 0·017(10) and^{57 56} = 0·018(10) have been calculated from the experimental results.Dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.     

Study of isotope exchange reactions by double labelling

This paper presents the method of double labelling in the study of the kinetics of homogeneous isotope exchange reactions. This method was tested by the determination of the Sn(II)−Sn(IV) exchange rate in hydrochloric acid medium. The system was labelled by the tracer^119mSn [initially in the Sn(IV) state]; when the isotope equilibrium was established, Sn(IV) was again labelled by tracer¹¹³Sn. The separation of Sn(II) and Sn(IV) in the given time of exchange was performed by the extraction of Sn(IV)-hydroxyquinolate into chloroform. The specific activities of the separated components were determined from the ratio of¹¹³Sn and^119mSn activities. The exchange rate was calculated from the time dependence of specific activities. The advantage and possibilities of the method of double labelling in the study of isotope exchange are discussed.     

Square-wave voltammetric determination of cefoperazone in a bacterial culture,pharmaceutical drug,milk, and urine

Use of square-wave voltammetry (SWV) for determination of cefoperazone (CFPZ) in some buffers, bacterial culture, urine, and milk is described. CFPZ provides a specific voltammetric signal which is affected by pH and solution components. Determination of CFPZ in Britton–Robinson buffer, pH 4.4, is sensitive with a low detection limit (about 0.5 nmol L^–1). In a more complex medium (bacterial 2YT medium, pH 7.2) the detection limit was approximately 1.5 mol L^–1. We provide evidence that SWV is a suitable and quick method for CFPZ determination in a culture of living bacteria without separation of biomass. We have found big differences between methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) in cultivation in the presence of CFPZ, depending on time. When CFPZ is cleaved by penicillinase, a new SWV peak b appears at more positive potentials. This peak rises both with increasing concentration of enzyme and with cleavage time while the original CFPZ peak is simultaneously decreasing. We determined the concentration of CFPZ in the drug Pathozone by the standard addition method and achieved good agreement with the declared value of CFPZ in the drug. With a simple pretreatment procedure it is possible to determine CFPZ in milk; for urine no pretreatment was required. Using SWV we could detect CFPZ concentrations as low as 500 nmol L^–1 in bovine milk and human urine.     

The inhomogeneity of plastic deformation

Considerable local strain differences occur in single crystals as a consequence of slip bands. A significant contribution to this phenomenon is the effect of the deformation rate on the inhomogeneity of its distribution. In polycrystalline materials the plastic deformation is affected by grain boundaries and their vicinity as well as by various orientations of single grains in onephase metals and alloys, and by various component properties in multiphase materials. In some cases it has been possible to describe these phenomena by means of micromechanics. Valuable information has also been acquired by means of three-dimensional stereology.