A novel alkaline mannanase Man26A has been found in the culture of an alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. strain JAMB-750 and the optimal pH for the mannanase activity of the enzyme was around pH 10 (J Biol Macromol 4: 67-74, 2004). This optimal pH is the highest among those of the mannanases reported to date. The gene man26A coding the enzyme was cloned from the genomic DNA of strain JAMB-750 and sequenced. It encodes a protein of 997 amino acids including a signal peptide. The N-terminal half (Glu27-Val486) of the enzyme exhibited moderate similarities to other mannanases belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 26, such as the enzymes from Cellvibrio japonicus (37% identity), Cellulomonas fimi (33% identity), and Bacillus sp. strain AM-001 (28% identity). The C-terminal half was found to contain four domains. The first, second, third, and fourth domains exhibited similarities to the carbohydrate-binding module, the mannan-binding module, the Homo sapiens collagen type IX alpha I chain, and the membrane anchor region of Gram-positive surface proteins, respectively. Its recombinant mannanase was produced extracellularly using Bacillus subtilis as the host. The optimal pH for the mannanase activity of the recombinant enzyme was around pH 10. The enzyme was very resistant to surfactants, for example, SDS up to 2.0% (w/v).

Objective-To determine the sensitivity and specificity of our transthoracic echocardiographic technique using high frequency (7.5 MHz) transducers for identification of the presence and type of coronary artery disease in patients with Kawasaki disease. Design-The results of the prospective echocardiographic study in each of seven segments of the four major coronary arteries were compared with the selective coronary angiograms. Setting-Kitasato University Hospital. Subjects-60 patients with Kawasaki disease, ranging in age from 8.0 months to 22 years (median, 6.0 years). Results-Adequate echocardiographic images were obtained in 397 (95%) of 420 coronary segments. Coronary angiography showed the presence of coronary aneurysms in 87 segments and stenosis or occlusion in 28. The overall sensitivity and specificity of cross sectional echocardiography for correctly identifying coronary aneurysms were 95% and 99%, respectively; for correctly identifying coronary stenosis or occlusion the values were 85% and 98% for the right coronary artery, and 80% and 97% for the left anterior descending coronary artery. Agreement on the presence or absence of coronary aneurysms and obstructive lesions on echocardiograms between the two observers was 1.0 and 0.98, respectively. Conclusions-Echocardiography may provide a non-invasive means of identifying the presence and type of coronary artery disease in patients with Kawasaki disease. (Heart 2000;83:400-405)

An alkaline mannanase (EC 3.2.1.78) from the alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. strain JAMB-602 was cloned and sequenced. The deduced aminoacid sequence of the enzyme suggested that the enzyme consists of a catalytic and unknown additional domains. The recombinant enzyme expressed by B. subtilis was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method at 277 K. X-ray diffraction data were collected to 1.65 A Ê . The crystal belongs to space group P2 1 2 1 2 1 , with unit-cell parameters a = 70.7, b = 79.5, c = 80.4 A Ê . The asymmetric unit contains one protein molecule, with a corresponding V M of 2.26 A Ê 3 Da À1 and a solvent content of 45.6%. Molecular replacement for initial phasing was carried out using the three-dimensional structure of a mannanase from Thermomonospora fusca as a search model, which corresponds to the catalytic domain of the alkaline mannanase. It gave suf®cient phases to build the unknown domain.

We report a comprehensive infrared magnetospectroscopy study of a CeRu4Sb12 compound revealing quasiparticles with a heavy effective mass m*, with a detailed analysis of optical constants in fields up to 17 T. We find that the applied magnetic field strongly affects the low-energy excitations in the system. In particular, the magnitude of m* approximately = 70 m(b) (m(b) is the quasiparticle band mass) at 10 K is suppressed by as much as 25% at 17 T. This effect is in quantitative agreement with the mean-field solution of the periodic Anderson model augmented with a Zeeman term.

Use ofcerium(III) chloride in the reactions of carbonyl compounds with organolithiums or Grignard reagents for the suppression of abnormal reactions:1‐butyl‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydro‐1‐naphthol product: 1‐butyl‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydro‐1‐naphthol product: PhCHCHC(OH)(Me)PH product: Ph(Me)CHCH 2 COPh product: PhCHCHC(OH)(Me)Ph product: p‐IC6H4C(OH)(Me)Bu product: PhCH 2 COCH(Ph)CO2Me product: PhCH 2 COPr‐i product: PhCH 2 C(OH)(Pr‐i)2 product: PhCH 2 COCH(Ph)CO2Me product: PhCH 2 COPr‐i product: PhCH 2 C(OH)(Pr‐i)2 product: Et3CC(OH)Me2 product: Et3CC(OH)Me2