Electron diffraction measurements on epitaxially grown crystals of orthorhombic n-hexatriacontane, n-C(36)H(74), give evidence for the chain-defect mechanism for linear chain melting. The derived structural model is also in accord with recent spectroscopic studies of odd-chain n-alkanes, and the diffraction data specifically exclude models based on helices or rigid chain rotors. Stability of a ...

(212 words) 1 2 Vibrio furnissii M1 was recently reported to biosynthesize n-alkanes when grown on 3 biopolymers, sugars or organic acids (Park, M. the present study, V. furnissii M1 was subjected to genomic analysis and studied 5 biochemically. The sequence of the 16S rRNA gene and repetitive (REP)-PCR showed 6 that V. furnissii M1 was not identical to other V. furnissii strains tested, but th...

This work puts forward a toolkit that enables the conversion of alkanes by Escherichia coli and presents a proof of principle of its applicability. The toolkit consists of multiple standard interchangeable parts (BioBricks)(9) addressing the conversion of alkanes, regulation of gene expression and survival in toxic hydrocarbon-rich environments. A three-step pathway for alkane degradation was i...

Soluble butane monooxygenase (sBMO), a three-component di-iron monooxygenase complex expressed by the C(2)-C(9) alkane-utilizing bacterium Thauera butanivorans, was kinetically characterized by measuring substrate specificities for C(1)-C(5) alkanes and product inhibition profiles. sBMO has high sequence homology with soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) and shares a similar substrate range, in...

The aim of this study was to compare the n-alkanes and the ytterbium (Yb)/faecal index techniques as two methods for estimating the herbage intake of dairy cows fed indoors on different herbage : supplement ratios and feeding levels. The supplement was a mixture of maize silage and soyabean meal (ratio of 87 : 13 on a dry matter (DM) basis). In all, four treatments were studied. The herbage : s...

Measurements of biological O(2) demand showed that normal alkanes containing up to 44 carbon atoms were metabolized by microorganisms.

The paper presents the results of viscosity measurements performed on 1,2-alkanediols, H(CH2)n−2CH(OH)CH2(OH), n = 2 : 12, and 1,n-alkanediols, HO(CH2)nOH, n = 2 : 10, as functions of the temperature. It is shown that the viscosity (at constant temperature) and activation energy of the viscosity show a quite different dependence on the length of the alkane chain in 1,2and 1,nalkanediols molecules.

Mother of all folding: cold isolated linear alkanes C(n)H(2n+2) prefer an extended all-trans conformation before cohesive forces between the chain ends induce a folded hairpin structure for longer chains. It is shown by Raman spectroscopy at 100-150 K that the folded structure becomes more stable beyond n(C) = 17 or 18 carbon atoms. High-level quantum-chemical calculations yield n(C) = 17 ± 1 a...

In a feeding trial with sheep, four animals each were fed one of the three roughages (perennial ryegrass (PR), meadow fescue (MF) and red clover (RC)) or one of the four different mixtures (g/day 250 : 250 : 250, 375 : 75 : 300, 525 : 187.5 : 37.5 and 75 : 525 : 150, respectively) of those three roughages, both with and without the inclusion of 100 g of beeswax-labelled barley. Further, four sh...