Purification and characterization of extracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerases

Five extracellular PHB depolymerases of bacteria isolated from various sources were purified to electrophoretic homogeneity and compared with known extracellular PHB depolymerase fromAlcaligenes faecalis T1. The molecular mass of these enzymes were all around 40–50 kDa. Nonionic detergent, diisopropylfluorophosphate and dithiothreitol inhibited the PHB depolymerase activity of all these enzymes. Trypsin abolished PHB depolymerase activity, but not theD-3-hydroxybutyric acid dimer hydrolase activity of all the enzymes. These results showed that the basic properties of these PHB depolymerases resemble those of theA. faecalis T1 enzyme. Analysis ofN-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzymes revealed that these enzymes includingA. faecalis T1 enzyme fall into three groups.     

Dynamics of Bacterial Abundance,Biomass, Activity,and Community Composition in the Oligotrophic Traunsee and the Traun River (Austria)

The holomictic Traunsee is the deepest and second largest lakein Austria. The special characteristic of this ecosystem isthe fact that local salt and soda industries presumably alterthe lake by the discharge of waste materials. Since thebeginning of the 20th century salt and soda works areannually releasing up to 50,000 tons of solid wastes and up to150,000 tons of chloride into Traunsee. To assess potentialeffects of these anthropogenic impacts on the bacterioplanktonthree sampling sites, influenced as well as not influenced bythe industrial discharge, were chosen for comparison andsampled monthly from November 1997 to October 1998. Bacterialabundance ranged between 0.4 to 3.0 × 10⁶ cells ml^-1 with decreasing numbers along the depth profile. Theproportion of actively respiring bacteria, i.e. INT [2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyltetrazolium chloride]reducing cells, never exceeded 10% of DAPI (4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole) stained cells. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to examine the seasonal and spatial distribution of dominant phylogenetic groups of thebacterioplankton. Up to 84% of bacteria detected with DAPIcould be detected via FISH applying the universal bacterialprobe EUB338. Percentages of alpha- and beta-Proteobacteriaand members of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium cluster did notexceed 60% of DAPI-stained cells.Beta-Proteobacteriaappeared to be the most abundant group, not only in Traunsee butalso in two reference lakes, Attersee and Hallstättersee. No significant differences in any of the bacterial parameters couldbe detected between the three sampling sites and all measurementswere found in the range reported for oligotrophic lakes. The highdischarge of the Traun River, resulting in a lake water renewaltime of only one year, may diminish possible effects of industrial waste discharge in the pelagic zone.     

Protozooplankton in the Deep Oligotrophic Traunsee (Austria) Influenced by Discharges of Soda and Salt Industries

Traunsee is a deep oligotrophic lake in Austria characterised by an artificial enrichment of chloride in the hypolimnion (up to 170 mg L^-1) caused by waste disposal of soda and salt industries. Protists were collected monthly over one year, observed alive and after Quantitative Protargol Staining (ciliates) or via epifluorescence microscopy (heterotrophic flagellates). Three sites within the lake (0–40 m depths) were compared to deeper water layers from 60–160 m depths where chloride concentrations and conductivity were increased. In addition, we observed the protozooplankton of two neighbouring lakes, i.e. reference systems, during one sampling occasion. In Traunsee the abundance of ciliates was low (200–36 600 cells L^-1) in contrast to high species diversity (at least 60 different species; H_S = 2.6) throughout the year. The main pelagic species in terms of abundance were small oligotrichs and prostomatids like Rimostrombidium brachykinetum/hyalinum, Balanion planctonicum and Urotricha spp. throughout the investigation period. Among free-living heterotrophic flagellates, which occurred at densities of 40–2800 cells mL^-1, small morphotypes dominated in the pelagial. No differences at the community level between the three lakes could be observed and pelagic ciliates and flagellates seemed not to be affected by increased chloride concentrations or by enhanced conductivity.     

Effects of Starch Moisture on Properties of Wheat Starch/Poly(Lactic Acid) Blend Containing Methylenediphenyl Diisocyanate

Methylenediphenyl diisocyanate was found to improve the interfacial interaction between poly(lactic acid)(PLA) and granular starch. The objective of this research was to study the effect of starch moisture content on the interfacial interaction of an equal-weight blend of wheat starch and PLA containing 0.5% methylenediphenyl diisocyanate by weight. Starch moisture (10% to 20%) had a negative effect on the interfacial binding between starch and PLA. The tensile strength and elongation of the blend both decreased as starch moisture content increased. At 20% moisture level, the starch granules embedded in the PLA matrix were observed to be swollen, resulting in poor strength properties and high water absorption by the blend.     

用蒽醌生产中的废硫酸制备硫酸钾

研究了以蒽醌生产中的废硫酸为原料,通过缔合,置换,解缔等步骤,制备硫酸钾的最佳工艺条件。在最佳条件下,可使废硫酸中Ｈ２ＳＯ４的质量分数从２３％降至０．６０％,废硫酸成盐率为８９．０１％,硫酸钾纯度为９５．８５％。     

Miscibility and Biodegradability of Poly(Butylene Succinate)/Poly(Butylene Terephthalate) Blends

As one of the biodegradable polymers, the blend of poly(butylene succinate) and poly(butylene terephthalate) is dealt with in this study. In our previous work, it was demonstrated that PBS and PBT are immiscible not only from the changes of T _g but also from logG–log G plots. It is expected that the biodegradability of the blends could be improved by enhancing the miscibility. We tried to induce the transesterification reaction between two polyesters with various time intervals to enhance the miscibility of the blends. The extent of transesterification reaction was examined by ¹H-NMR. We utilized a dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer and a rotational rheometer to investigate the changes in miscibility. We also verified the biodegradability of PBS/PBT blends after the transesterification reaction by the composting method.     

Effects of Poly(Ethylene Glycol) on the Production of Poly(β-Hydroxybutyrate) by Azotobacter vinelandii UWD

Azotobacter vinelandii UWD, ATCC 53799, an engineered strain derived from Azotobacter vinelandii UW was used in the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-modulated synthesis of poly(-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on modulating the production of PHB by amending the fermentation broth with PEG using A. vinelandii UWD. It was determined that A. vinelandii UWD is prone to back-mutation to the parent strain; hence fermentation experiments require the use of the antibiotic rifampicin. Diethylene glycol (DEG) and PEGs with molecular weights of 400, 2000, and 3400 Da and pentaerythritol ethoxylate (PEE) were used in the modulated fermentation experiments in a concentration of 2% (w/v). The molecular weight of the resulting polymers was reduced by up to 78%. No impact on the productivity of the strain was observed. Spectroscopic evidence showed that PEG-modulated synthesis resulted in the covalent attachment of the ethylene glycol moiety only when a small molecule, DEG, was used. PEGs had the same effects on the polymer formation in terms of molecular weight reduction as DEG, but no spectroscopic evidence was found for the formation of a covalent linkage between PHB and higher molecular weight PEGs.     

Epilithic Diatoms in an Alpine Lake (Traunsee,Austria) Affected by Soda and Salt Mining Industries

Traunsee, a 191 m deep Alpine lake in Austria, is affected by industrial tailings from the soda and salt mining industries since 1883. In 1998 littoral water chloride concentrations ranged between 40 and 85 mg L^-1 and the highest conductivity was 560 S cm^-1, which is almost double as high as the values reported from the two nearby reference lakes. Chloride concentrations increased towards the location of the industrial salt and soda emission into the lake. Analogously to the chloride gradient, the epilithic littoral diatom flora changes towards the waste inlet. Shifts in the species percentages towards the emission source, a high percentage of taxa with large conductivity tolerances, the presence of a small Achnanthes minutissima Kützing morphotype, and occurrences of taxa focused at habitats of higher electrolyte content, indicate subtle impacts on the epilithic diatom flora. An analysis of the seasonal succession of the epilithic diatoms at the waste inlet compared to a lake intern reference site, reveals that only during the late summer period in 1998 the diatom assemblage at the waste inlet became significantly different, indicating seasonally restricted effects of the industrial emissions.     

壳聚糖-丙烯酰胺-二甲基二烯丙基氯化铵三元接枝共聚物的合成及应用

在N2保护下，以硝硬驱铈铵为引发剂，将壳聚糖（CTS）、丙烯酰胺（AM）及二甲基二烯丙基氯化铵（DMDAAC）接枝共聚得到CTS-AM-DMDAAC三元接枝共聚物，考察了反应条件对接枝共聚反应的影响。实验结果表明，在反应温度50℃、反应时间5-6h，m（CTS）：m（AM）：m（DMAAAC）=1：6：0.67、c（Ce^4＋）=0.8mmol/L的最佳反应条件下，接枝共聚反应的接枝率和接枝效率分别为64%和10.5%。用傅里叶变换红外光谱仪对CTS-AM-DMDAAC进行了表征。絮凝实验结果表明：CTS-AM-DMDAAC对高岭土水样具有较强的絮凝能力，可在很宽的pH范围内使用。用CTS-AM-DMDAAC处理COD为165.5mg/L的啤酒生产废水，COD去除率达90.1%.     

一氯二乙基铝装置危险源辨识及预防措施

一氯二乙基铝装置为甲类火灾危险装置。通过对一氯二乙基铝装置工艺流程及各单元工艺特点的详细分析,危险源的辨识从物料危险性、工艺过程危险性、工艺操作危险性等角度展开,从而确定出该装置的重大风险因素。在对一氯二乙基铝装置危险源辨识和分析的基础上,对各工艺单元提出相应的控制措施,预防事故发生。