Draft genome sequence of Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula

We have sequenced the genome of Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula, the causative agent of farmer’s lung disease. The draft genome consists of 182 contigs totaling 3,977,051 bp, with a GC content of 68.9%

Generation and characterization of standardized forms of trehalose dihydrate and their associated solid-state behavior

Trehalose dihydrate is a nonreducing disaccharide which has generated great interest in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, it is well recognized that considerable batch to batch variation exists for supposedly identical samples, particularly in terms of the thermal response. In this investigation, two standardized forms of trehalose dihydrate were generated using two distinct crystallization pathways. The two batches were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and FTIR. The thermal responses of the two forms were then studied using modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry (MTDSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). In particular, we describe the technique of quasi-isothermal MTDSC as a means of studying the change in equilibrium heat capacity as a function of temperature. Finally, variable temperature FTIR was utilized to assess the change in bonding configuration as a function of temperature. SEM revealed significant differences in the continuity and grain structure of the two batches. The TGA, MTDSC, and quasi-isothermal MTDSC studies all indicated significant differences in the thermal response and water loss profile. This was confirmed using variable temperature FTIR which indicated differences in bond reconfiguration as a function of temperature. We ascribe these differences to variations in the route by which water may leave the structure, possibly associated with grain size. The study has therefore demonstrated that chemically identical dihydrate forms may show significant differences in thermal response. We believe that this may assist in interpreting and hence controlling interbatch variation for this material

Traffic Assignment for Risk Averse Drivers in a Stochastic Network

Cheu et al. 2 Abstract: Most traffic assignment tasks in practice are performed by using deterministic network (DN) models, which assume that the link travel time is uniquely determined by a link performance function. In reality, link travel time, at a given link volume, is a random variable. Such stochastic network (SN) models are not widely used because the traffic assignment algorithms are much more computationally complex and difficult to understand by practitioners. In this paper, we derive an equivalent link disutility (ELD) function, for the case of risk averse drivers in a SN, without assuming any distribution of link travel time. We further derive a simpler form of the ELD function in a SN which can be easily implemented in deterministic user equilibrium traffic assignment algorithms like a DN. By comparing our two derived ELD functions, the bound of the coefficient of the simpler ELD functions is obtained, so that drivers will make the same risk averse route choice decisions. A method to estimate the coefficient of the simpler ELD function has been proposed and demonstrated with questionnaire survey data gathered in El Paso, Texas. The results of user equilibrium traffic assignments in a test network using the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) function and the simpler ELD function are the

Calorimetric and spatial characterization of polymorphic transitions in caffeine using quasi-isothermal MTDSC and localized thermomechanical analysis

We describe a novel integrated approach to the study of polymorphic transformation that includes quasi-isothermal modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry (QI-MTDSC) and microthermal analysis (MTA), with a view to studying the thermal, kinetic and spatial characteristics of the process. Form II and I caffeine was prepared and conventional DSC and hot stage microscopy performed. The Form II to I transition at circa 413 K was associated with a change in crystal habit to needle shaped crystals. QI-MTDSC was used to measure the heat capacity of the system as a function of temperature, while MTA was able to spatially differentiate between the two polymorphs in compressed systems. We present a novel extension of the reduced temperature method whereby we apply it for the first time to linear rising temperature data corresponding to the transition; the analysis suggests a close approximation to Arrhenius behavior. We also describe a heat transfer model that allows calculation of the thermal gradients within a hermetically sealed pan for the first time. The combined approach has therefore allowed the characterization of the thermodynamics and kinetics of the transformation process as well as spatial identification of the distribution of the transformation in compressed systems

Development of photothermal FTIR microspectroscopy as a novel means of spatially identifying amorphous and crystalline salbutamol sulfate on composite surfaces

Photothermal Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy (PTMS), involving the combination of FTIR spectroscopy with atomic force microscopy, has been used to examine compacts of amorphous and crystalline salbutamol sulfate in order to assess the ability of the technique to distinguish between different physical forms in a multicomponent material. Samples of amorphous and crystalline material were assessed using modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), atomic force microscopy, microthermal analysis, and conventional FTIR. Mixed compacts were then prepared such that verification of the location of the forms present was possible via topography and localized thermal analysis. PTMS studies were then performed on selected interrogation points, with spectra obtained which were largely intermediate between those corresponding to the two individual forms. Calculation of the thermal diffusivity indicated a resolution for the technique corresponding to a hemisphere of a major diameter in the region of 40 μm, which is large in relation to the particle sizes involved. However, distinction into amorphous, crystalline, and indeterminate categories was possible using chemometric analysis (hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis). Good agreement was found between the identification methods for the mixed systems. The study has therefore shown the potential, as well as identifying the limitations, of using PTMS as a means of spatially identifying components in complex materials