A taxonomic study was carried out to clarify the status of a Gram-negative, heterotrophic mesophile that was isolated from the marine sponge Halichondria okadai. The strain, designated HOact23T, was a non-motile, rod-shaped (0.44–0.53×0.65–0.79 μm) bacterium. The strain produced squalene and a red–pink carotenoid pigment. The cell-wall peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid, glutamic acid and alanine. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 52.4 mol%. The major fatty acids were iso-C14 : 0 (43.1 %), iso-C16 : 0 (20.6 %) and anteiso-C15 : 0 (18.1 %), and the major isoprenoid quinone was MK-9 (90.8 %). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence data, the strain formed a distinct group within subdivision 1 in the phylum ‘Verrucomicrobia’. It showed a range of phenotypic properties that distinguished it from its closest relative, Rubritalea marina Pol012T (94.3 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). On the basis of polyphasic taxonomic evidence, it was concluded that strain HOact23T should be classified within a novel species in the genus Rubritalea. The name proposed for the taxon is Rubritalea squalenifaciens sp. nov., with the type strain HOact23T (=MBIC08254T=DSM 18772T).

Arene nuclei efficiently underwent the hydrogen (H)−deuterium (D) exchange reaction catalyzed by platinum group metals on carbon in a mixed solvent of 2-propanol and D 2 O at room temperature to produce deuterium-labeled arenes. Platinum on carbon (Pt/C) and iridium on carbon (Ir/C) were applicable catalysts, and the various arenes bearing a carbonyl group, fluorine, phenolic hydroxy group, amino group, or phosphonic acid on the aromatic nucleus were effectively deuterated. Nonheating conditions are valuable for the scalable industrial preparation.

No abstract

The platinum on carbon (Pt/C)-catalyzed deuteration of acrylic and methacrylic acid derivatives in deuterium oxide (D 2 O) efficiently proceeded to give the corresponding acrylic acid-d 3 and methacrylic acid-d 5 derivatives. The olefinic functionality, as well as the methyl group on the unsaturated functionality of the substrate, were satisfactorily deuterated via the hydrogen (H)deuterium (D) exchange reaction. The obtained deuterated compounds are useful building blocks and efficiently converted to the corresponding desired products including a polymer without the degradation of the original deuterium contents.

No abstract

No abstract

Lead-free ferroelectric K0.5Na0.5NbO3–CaZrO3 thin films were prepared by chemical solution deposition. Chemically optimized K0.5Na0.5NbO3–CaZrO3 precursor thin films crystallized in the perovskite single phase on Pt/TiO x /SiO2/Si substrates at 650 °C. The K0.5Na0.5NbO3–CaZrO3 thin films showed poor ferroelectric polarizations due to the insufficient insulating resistance. The leakage current of the K0.5Na0.5NbO3–CaZrO3 films, especially in the high-applied-field region, was markedly reduced by 1 mol % Mn doping for the Nb site. Also, the ferroelectric properties of the K0.5Na0.5NbO3–CaZrO3 thin films depended on CaZrO3 concentration. 1 mol % Mn-doped K0.5Na0.5NbO3–CaZrO3 thin films exhibited slim and small ferroelectric polarization–electric field (P–E) hysteresis loops at room temperature with an increase in CaZrO3 amount. Furthermore, these films showed a typical field-induced displacement curve with a small hysteresis, and the estimated effective d 33 values were 32 pm/V for the 1 mol % Mn-doped 0.95K0.5Na0.5NbO3–0.05CaZrO3 thin films and 21 pm/V for the 1 mol % Mn-doped 0.9K0.5Na0.5NbO3–0.1CaZrO3 thin films.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) has been increasingly associated with invasive disease in nonpregnant adults. Such infections are responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly in individuals with underlying chronic conditions.