18,936 research outputs found
Structural analysis of the GH43 enzyme Xsa43E from Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus
The rumen of dairy cattle can be thought of as a large, stable fermentation vat and as such it houses a large and diverse community of microorganisms. The bacterium Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus is a representative of a significant component of this microbial community. It is a xylan-degrading organism whose genome encodes a large number of open reading frames annotated as fibre-degrading enzymes. This suite of enzymes is essential for the organism to utilize the plant material within the rumen as a fuel source, facilitating its survival in this competitive environment. Xsa43E, a GH43 enzyme from B. proteoclasticus, has been structurally and functionally characterized. Here, the structure of selenomethionine-derived Xsa43E determined to 1.3 Ă
resolution using single-wavelength anomalous diffraction is reported. Xsa43E possesses the characteristic five-bladed β-propeller domain seen in all GH43 enzymes. GH43 enzymes can have a range of functions, and the functional characterization of Xsa43E shows it to be an arabinofuranosidase capable of cleaving arabinose side chains from short segments of xylan. Full functional and structural characterization of xylan-degrading enzymes will aid in creating an enzyme cocktail that can be used to completely degrade plant material into simple sugars. These molecules have a range of applications as starting materials for many industrial processes, including renewable alternatives to fossil fuels
Arkansas Wheat Cultivar Performance Tests 2018-2019
Wheat cultivar performance tests are conducted each year in Ark- ansas by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agricultureâs Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. The tests provide information to companies developing cultivars and marketing seed within the state and aid the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in formulating cultivar recommendations for small-grain producers. The tests are conducted at the Northeast Research and Extension Center at Keiser, the Vegetable Substation near Kibler, the Lon Mann Cotton Research Station near Marianna, the Newport Extension Center near Newport, the Rohwer Research Station near Rohwer, the Pine Tree Research Station near Colt, and the Hope Research and Extension Center. In addition, entries are evaluated in a stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici) inoculated nursery in Fayetteville and a Fusarium head blight (FHB) inoculated nursery in Newport and Fayetteville. Specific location and cultural practice information accompany each table
Arkansas Wheat Cultivar Performance Tests 2016-2017
Wheat cultivar performance tests are conducted each year in Arkansas by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agricultureâs Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. The tests provide information to companies developing cultivars and marketing seed within the state and aid the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in formulating cultivar recommendations for small-grain producers
Quantum Hall Ferromagnets: Induced Topological term and electromagnetic interactions
The quantum Hall ground state in materials like GaAs is well known
to be ferromagnetic in nature. The exchange part of the Coulomb interaction
provides the necessary attractive force to align the electron spins
spontaneously. The gapless Goldstone modes are the angular deviations of the
magnetisation vector from its fixed ground state orientation. Furthermore, the
system is known to support electrically charged spin skyrmion configurations.
It has been claimed in the literature that these skyrmions are fermionic owing
to an induced topological Hopf term in the effective action governing the
Goldstone modes. However, objections have been raised against the method by
which this term has been obtained from the microscopics of the system. In this
article, we use the technique of the derivative expansion to derive, in an
unambiguous manner, the effective action of the angular degrees of freedom,
including the Hopf term. Furthermore, we have coupled perturbative
electromagnetic fields to the microscopic fermionic system in order to study
their effect on the spin excitations. We have obtained an elegant expression
for the electromagnetic coupling of the angular variables describing these spin
excitations.Comment: 23 pages, Plain TeX, no figure
Vegetation dieback as a proxy for temperature within a wet pyroclastic density current: A novel experiment and observations from the 6th of August 2012 Tongariro eruption
The 6th of August 2012 eruption of Te Maari (Mt Tongariro, New Zealand) generated wet pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) which caused widespread dieback of vegetation (singed, brown foliage) in their path. An absence of significant charcoal formation suggests that PDC temperatures were mostly below 250 °C. Textural evidence for liquid water being present in the matrices during emplacement (vesicles) suggests that temperatures were b100 °C. We determined a probable minimum PDC temperature using an experiment replicating the critical temperatures required to induce foliar browning in seven species affected by the eruption. In locations where all species exhibited browned foliage (or were defoliated), temperatures were probably âĽ64 °C assuming a PDC duration of 60 s. In the more distal areas, where only the most susceptible species were browned while others remained healthy and unaffected, temperatures were probably around 51â58 °C. These results have relevance to volcanic hazard mitigation and risk assessment, especially on the popular Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Remote participation during glycosylation reactions of galactose building blocks: Direct evidence from cryogenic vibrational spectroscopy
The stereoselective formation of 1,2âcisâglycosidic bonds is challenging. However, 1,2âcisâselectivity can be induced by remote participation of C4 or C6 ester groups. Reactions involving remote participation are believed to proceed via a key ionic intermediate, the glycosyl cation. Although mechanistic pathways were postulated many years ago, the structure of the reaction intermediates remained elusive owing to their shortâlived nature. Herein, we unravel the structure of glycosyl cations involved in remote participation reactions via cryogenic vibrational spectroscopy and first principles theory. Acetyl groups at C4 ensure Îąâselective galactosylations by forming a covalent bond to the anomeric carbon in dioxoleniumâtype ions. Unexpectedly, also benzyl ether protecting groups can engage in remote participation and promote the stereoselective formation of 1,2âcisâglycosidic bonds
Planar Superconductor-Normal-Superconductor Josephson Junctions in MgB2
Since the discovery of superconductivity in MgB2 considerable progress has
been made in determining the physical properties of the material, which are
promising for bulk conductors. Tunneling studies show that the material is
reasonably isotropic and has a well-developed s-wave energy gap (∆),
implying that electronic devices based on MgB2 could operate close to 30K.
Although a number of groups have reported the formation of thin films by
post-reaction of precursors, heterostructure growth is likely to require
considerable technological development, making single-layer device structures
of most immediate interest. MgB2 is unlike the cuprate superconductors in that
grain boundaries do not form good Josephson junctions, and although a SQUID
based on MgB2 nanobridges has been fabricated, the nanobridges themselves do
not show junction-like properties. Here we report the successful creation of
planar MgB2 junctions by localised ion damage in thin films. The critical
current (IC) of these devices is strongly modulated by applied microwave
radiation and magnetic field. The product of the critical current and normal
state resistance (ICRN) is remarkably high, implying a potential for very high
frequency applications.Comment: 7 pages including 4 figure
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