Isolation and preliminary characterization of Pichia pinus mutants insensitive to glucose repression

A new method for the isolation of glucose repression-insensitive mutants in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pinus was developed. The method is based on screening of small suspension samples derived from 2-deoxyglucose-resistant colonies for alcohol oxidase activity. Alcohol oxidase activity was evaluated by determination of formaldehyde excreted by cells. Mutants with glucose non-repressible alcohol oxidase and catalase synthesis were obtained. All mutants grew poorly on D -xylose compared to the wild type, whereas growth on L -arabinose was similar to the wild type. Changes in the glucose transport system were suggested to be responsible for altered growth characteristics and defective glucose repression.     

Biomimetic strain hardening in interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels

In this paper, we present the systematic development of mechanically enhanced interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogels with Young's moduli rivaling those of natural load-bearing tissues. The IPNs were formed by synthesis of a crosslinked poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) network within an end-linked poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) macromonomer network. The strain-hardening behavior of these PEG/PAA IPNs was studied through uniaxial tensile testing and swelling measurements. The interaction between the independently crosslinked networks within the IPN was varied by (1) changing the molecular weight of the PEG macromonomer, (2) controlling the degree of PAA ionization by changing pH, and (3) increasing the polymer content in the PAA network. Young's moduli and the maximum stress-at-break of the swollen hydrogels were normalized on the basis of their polymer content. Strain hardening in the IPNs exhibited a strong dependence on the molecular weight of the first network macromonomer, the pH of the swelling buffer, as well as the polymer content of the second network. The results indicate that the mechanical enhancement of these IPNs is mediated by the strain-induced intensity of physical entanglements between the two networks. The strain can be applied either by mechanical deformation or by changing the pH to modulate the swelling of the PAA network. At pHs below the pK_a of PAA (4.7), entanglements between PEG and PAA are reinforced by interpolymer hydrogen bonds, yielding IPNs with high fracture strength. At pHs above 4.7, a “pre-stressed” IPN with dramatically enhanced modulus is formed due to ionization-induced swelling of the PAA network within a static PEG network. The modulus enhancement ranged from two-fold to over 10-fold depending on the synthesis conditions used. Variation of the network parameters and swelling conditions enabled “tuning” of the hydrogels' physical properties, yielding materials with water content between 58% and 90% water, tensile strength between 2.0 MPa and 12.0 MPa, and initial Young's modulus between 1.0 MPa and 19.0 MPa. Under physiologic pH and salt concentration, these materials attain “biomimetic” values for initial Young's modulus in addition to high tensile strength and water content. As such, they are promising new candidates for artificial replacement of natural tissues such as the cornea, cartilage, and other load-bearing structures.     

Use of biofuel ashes for fertilisation of Betula pendula seedlings on nutrient-poor peat soil

Short-term effects of different doses (0.25; 0.5 and 1.0 kg m^?2) of wood ash (WA), peat ash (PA) and their mixture (MA) applied to peat substrate on the mineral composition and growth of seedlings of Betula pendula were investigated. The experiments were conducted with 1-year-old seedlings planted in vegetation pots. The pH of the substrate was increased by 0.4–0.9 units during the vegetation period compared to the control. The peat substrate was poor in nutrients, except N. The substrate treated with WA had higher concentrations of K, Mg, Mn, Fe, P, Zn, Cr and Pb, but a lower N concentration compared to the control. The substrate treated with PA had higher concentrations of Ca, Mg, N and P. The concentrations in the MA treatment were intermediate between WA and PA. The ashes increased K and lowered the concentration of Ca. A decrease in N in seedlings was found under the influence of WA and MA. An increase in K and P was found in all compartments of seedlings, while the concentrations of Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn, Cd and Cr in seedlings were affected irregularly depending on types and doses of ashes used. The uptake of Cd, Cr and Pb did not reach phytotoxic levels; however, increased concentrations of Cd and Pb were found in roots. A positive influence of ash application on growth was found. The heights and root collar diameters of all ash-fertilised treatments exceeded those of the control seedlings in most cases.     

Pyrene-adamantane-β-cyclodextrin: An efficient host–guest system for the biofunctionalization of SWCNT electrodes

The design of nanostructured biological architectures based on host–guest interactions between β-cyclodextrin and adamantane was investigated on SWCNT coatings using glucose oxidase (GOX) as biomolecule model. β-Cyclodextrin tagged GOX was immobilized on adamantane functionalized carbon nanotubes, deposited on platinum electrodes. Different functionalization techniques to attach “pyrene adamantane” on nanotubes were studied and compared in terms of the performances of the subsequently constructed glucose biosensors. The best results were obtained by dipping the nanotube deposit into a pyrene-adamantane solution followed by electropolymerization of the adsorbed pyrene monolayer. The constructed biosensor exhibited a good linear response toward glucose concentrations between 2 × 10⁻⁷ M and 1.6 × 10⁻³ M. The maximum current density and glucose sensitivity were 154.9 μA cm⁻² and 14.4 mA M⁻¹ cm⁻², respectively.     

Structural stability of oligomeric proteins: A mean-field theoretical approach

We present a mean-field approach for calculating thermodynamic properties(free energies) of protein–solvent systems. We apply this method to thetumor suppressor protein p53, where we study the stability of itstetramerization domain when subjected to site-directed mutagenesis. Acomparison with experimental results is included.     

Influence of thickness and growth temperature on the properties of zirconium oxide films grown by atomic layer deposition on silicon

ZrO₂ films of thicknesses varied in the range of 3–30 nm were atomic layer deposited from ZrI₄ and H₂O–H₂O₂ on p-Si(100) substrates. The effects of film thickness and deposition temperature on the structure and dielectric properties of ZrO₂ were investigated. At 272 and 325 °C, the growth of ZrO₂ started with the formation of the cubic polymorph and continued with the formation of the tetragonal polymorph. The ratio between the lattice parameters increased with the film thickness and growth temperature. The effective permittivity, determined from the accumulation capacitance of Hg/ZrO₂/Si capacitors, increased with the film thickness, reaching 15–17 in 25-nm-thick films. The permittivity decreased with the increasing growth temperature. The hysteresis of the capacitance–voltage curves was the narrowest for the films deposited at 325 °C, and increased towards both lower and higher deposition temperatures.     

Recent advances in the theory of polymeric alloys

The theory of multicomponent polymeric systems, termed “polymeric alloys”, composed of block copolymers, homopolymers and solvents is discussed. We first review the microscopic interfacial properties of polymeric mixtures, highlighting the interfacial activity of block copolymers as emulsifying agents in incompatible homopolymer blends. We then turn to some interesting features of the phase diagrams, such as homopolymer-induced mesophase formation and the existence of eutectic points, similar to those for metallurgical alloys. Finally, we address problems in polymer dynamics and present some recent new theoretical results based on the tube model.     

Catalytic effects of metals of the iron subgroup on the chlorination of titanium carbide to form nanostructural carbon

The effect of the reaction temperature and the metals of an iron subgroup on the thermo-chemical treatment of titanium carbide with a chlorine gas and their influence on the carbon structure obtained thereby was studied. Different analytical methods such as porosity measurements, X-ray diffraction spectrometry and a high-resolution electron microscopy revealed the catalytic behaviour of the above-mentioned metals, which appeared to support the formation of graphitised carbon at much lower temperatures compared to those needed for the ordinary thermo-chemical chlorination of titanium carbide.     

The effect of graphitization catalyst on the structure and porosity of SiC derived carbons

A number of carbide-derived carbon (CDC) samples were synthesized through the reaction between α-SiC and gaseous chlorine at temperatures 900, 1000 and 1100 °C and by varying the amount of catalyst. The chlorides of Co(II), Ni(II) and Fe(III) were used as catalytic additives in a range of concentration of 0.1–5 wt%. The structural differences of the obtained carbons were studied by low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Results showed that porosity, specific surface area and graphitization degree of the CDC materials is a function of chlorination temperature and catalyst concentration, which agrees with previous results. It was shown that the catalytic graphitization only weakly influences the L_a value of the crystallites, which according to the Raman scattering is 4–5 nm in both the highly disordered SiC derived carbons and in fully graphitic carbons made from SiC containing 15 wt% of surface-contacted Co–Ni–Fe catalyst. The surface area of the CDC materials can be controlled in the range of 300–1350 m² g⁻¹, depending on the amount of catalysts used.