Does iron inhibit cryptoendolithic microbial communities?

Photosynthetic activity of three cryptoendolithic microbial communities was studied under controlled conditions in the laboratory. In two of these communities, the dominant organisms were lichens, collected from Linnaeus Terrace and from Battleship Promontory. The third community, dominated by cyanobacteria, was collected from Battleship Promontory. Both sites are in the ice-free valleys of southern Victoria Land. Previous efforts have shown how physical conditions can influence metabolic activity in endolithic communities (Kappen and Friedmann 1983; Kappen, Friedmann, and Garty 1981; Vestal, Federle, and Friedmann 1984). Biological activity can also be strongly influenced by the chemical environment. Inorganic nutrients such as nitrate, ammonia, and phosphate are often limiting factors, so their effects on photosynthetic carbon-14 bicarbonate incorporation were investigated. Iron and manganese are two metals present in Linnaeus Terrace and Battleship Promontory sandstones, and their effects on photosynthesis were also studied. The results may add to our understanding of biogeochemical interactions within this unique microbial community.     

Orthonormal wavelets and shift invariant generalized multiresolution analyses

All wavelets can be associated to a multiresolution-like structure, i.e. an increasing sequence of subspaces of . We consider the interaction of a wavelet and the shift operator in terms of which of the subspaces in this multiresolution-like structure are invariant under the shift operator. This action defines the notion of the shift invariance property of order . In this paper we show that wavelets of all levels of shift invariance exist, first for the classic case of dilation by 2, and then for arbitrary integral dilation factors.

     

Copper and iron interactions with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. A study by fast-atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry

Fast atom bombardment, combined with high-energy collision-induced tandem mass spectrometry, has been used to investigate gas-phase metal-ion interactions with captopril, enalaprilat and lisinopril, all angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.Suggestions for the location of metal-binding sites are presented. For captopril, metal binding occurs most likely at both the sulphur and the nitrogen atom. For enalaprilat and lisinopril, binding preferably occurs at the amine nitrogen. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ESI‐MS/MS of expanded porphyrins: a look into their structure and aromaticity

Electrospray mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry was used to investigate the gas‐phase properties of protonated expanded porphyrins, in order to correlate those with their structure and conformation. We have selected five expanded meso‐pentafluorophenyl porphyrins, respectively, a pair of oxidized/reduced fused pentaphyrins (22 and 24 π electrons), a pair of oxidized/reduced regular hexaphyrins (26 and 28 π electrons) and a regular doubly N‐fused hexaphyrin (28 π electrons). The gas‐phase behavior of the protonated species of oxidized and reduced expanded porphyrins is different. The oxidized species (aromatic Hückel systems) fragment more extensively, mainly by the loss of two HF molecules. The reduced species (Möbius aromatic or Möbius‐like aromatic systems) fragment less than their oxidized counterparts because of their increased flexibility. The protonated regular doubly fused hexaphyrin (non‐aromatic Hückel system) shows the least fragmentation even at higher collision energies. In general, cyclization through losses of HF molecules decreases from the aromatic Hückel systems to Möbius aromatic or Möbius‐like aromatic systems to non‐aromatic Hückel systems and is related to an increase in conformational distortion. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lactic acid production from cheese whey by immobilized bacteria

The performance of immobilized Bifidobacterium longum in sodium alginate beads and on a spiral-sheet bioreactor for the production of lactic acid from cheese whey was evaluated. Lactose utilization and lactic acid yield of B. longum were compared with those of Lactobacillus helveticus. B. longum immobilized in sodium alginate beads showed better performance in lactose utilization and lactic acid yield than L. helveticus. In the spiral-sheet bioreactor, a lactose conversion ratio of 79% and lactic acid yield of 0.84 g of lactic acid/g of lactose utilized were obtained during the first run with the immobilized L. helveticus. A lactose conversion ratio of 69% and lactic acid yield of 0.51 g of lactic acid/g of lactose utilized were obtained during the first run with immobilized B. longum in the spiral-sheet bioreactor. In producing lactic acid L. helveticus performed better when using the Spiral Sheet Bioreactor and B. longum showed better performance with gel bead immobilization. Because B. longum is a very promising new bacterium for lactic acid production from cheese whey, its optimum fermentation conditions such as pH and metabolic pathway need to be studied further. The ultrafiltration tests have shown that 94% of the cell and cheese whey proteins were retained by membranes with a mol wt cutoff of 5 and 20 KDa.     

Unique thermospray mass spectrometry of 1,4-benzoquinone and analogs in ammonium acetate solutions

In general, ions corresponding to [M + H]⁺ and/or [M + NH₄]⁺ are observed in thermospray mass spectrometry (TSMS) when using ammonium acetate in the liquid carrier. For several quinones investigated, unique thermospray mass spectra were detected with a mass spectral peak corresponding to an [M + 16]⁺ ion being observed in aqueous ammonium acetate solutions. Investigation of l,4-benzoquinone (BQU) and structurally analogous quinones indicated that amine conjugate formation with BQU and similar quinones was the origin of the unique [M + 16]⁺ ion in TSMS. When methanol was added to the liquid carrier, ions corresponding to methoxy conjugation were detected. High-performance liquid chromatography followed by TSMS or electrochemical detection gave evidence that this amine and methoxy conjugate formation was occurring in the thermospray source area.     

Effects of surface coordination chemistry on the magnetic properties of MnFe(2)O(4) spinel ferrite nanoparticles

To understand the influence of surface interactions upon the magnetic properties of magnetic nanoparticles, the surface of manganese ferrite, MnFe(2)O(4), nanoparticles have been systematically modified with a series of para-substituted benzoic acid ligands (HOOC-C(6)H(4)-R; R = H, CH(3), Cl, NO(2), OH) and substituted benzene ligands (Y-C(6)H(5), Y = COOH, SH, NH(2), OH, SO(3)H). The coercivity of magnetic nanoparticles decreases up to almost 50% upon the coordination of the ligands on the nanoparticle surface, whereas the saturation magnetization has increased. The percentage coercivity decrease of the modified nanoparticles with respect to the native nanoparticles strongly correlates with the crystal field splitting energy (CFSE) Delta evoked by the coordination ligands. The ligand inducing largest CFSE results in the strongest effect on the coercivity of magnetic nanoparticles. The change in magnetic properties of nanoparticles also correlates with the specific coordinating functional group bound onto the nanoparticle surface. The correlations suggest the decrease in spin-orbital couplings and surface anisotropy of magnetic nanoparticles due to the surface coordination. Such surface effects clearly show the dependence on the size of nanoparticles.     

Resolution and mass accuracy in matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight

A mathematical model of time-of-flight mass analyzers employing uniform electric fields is presented that allows “exact” calculations of flight times as functions of mass-to-charge ratio, initial velocity and position, applied voltages, and instrument geometry. An “approximate” equation based on a series expansion of the “exact” result is derived which allows focusing conditions and limits on resolution to be determined for different instrument geometries and operating conditions. The fundamental theory is applied to predicting resolution and mass accuracy in matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight. In this case higher order velocity focusing can provide excellent correction for the initial velocity distribution of a selected mass-to-charge ratio, but the focusing is mass-to-charge ratio dependent. There is generally a trade-off between ultimate resolution at a particular mass-to-charge ratio and resolution and mass accuracy over a broad mass range. In most practical applications the latter is more important. Calculations are compared with experimental results for a particular analyzer geometry, both at theoretical optimum velocity focus and at operating conditions where ultimate resolution is sacrificed for a broader range of relatively high resolution and better mass accuracy.