White light lateral shear interferometer with holographic shear lenses and spatial Fourier transform.

Lateral shear interferometer is a simple yet powerful method for testing wavefronts or measuring refractive index changes. Previously, we have reported a method of using two holographic lenses to obtain shear and to generate a spatial frequency carrier, which was used for quantitative analysis. This technique has some advantages such as stability and instantaneous measurements. In this Letter, we report a method of using white light with holographic gratings to obtain shear and also to perform wavefront analysis using the spatial carrier fringes generated at a specific selected wavelength from the white light spectrum. We show that the sensitivity of the setup can be changed by selecting different wavelengths from the spectrum.

II-VI Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Nanostructures with Greatly Enhanced Optoelectronic Properties, Perfectly Ordered Structures, and Shelf Stability of Over 15 Years.

Organic-inorganic hybrids may offer material properties not available from their inorganic components. However, they are typically less stable and disordered. Long-term stability study of the hybrid materials, over the anticipated lifespan of a real-world electronic device, is practically nonexistent. Disordering, prevalent in most nanostructure assemblies, is a prominent adversary to quantum coherence. A family of perfectly ordered II-VI-based hybrid nanostructures has been shown to possess many unusual properties and potential applications. Here, using a prototype structure ß-ZnTe(en)0.5-a hybrid superlattice-and applying an array of optical, structural, surface, thermal, and electrical characterization techniques, in conjunction with density-functional theory calculations, we have performed a comprehensive and correlative study of the crystalline quality, structural degradation, electronic, optical, and transport properties on samples from over 15 years old to the recently synthesized. The findings show that not only do they exhibit an exceptionally high level of crystallinity in both macroscopic and microscopic scale, comparable to high-quality binary semiconductors; and greatly enhanced material properties, compared to those of the inorganic constituents; but also, some of them over 15 years old remain as good in structure and property as freshly made ones. This study reveals (1) what level of structural perfectness is achievable in a complex organic-inorganic hybrid structure or a man-made superlattice, suggesting a nontraditional strategy to make periodically stacked heterostructures with abrupt interfaces; and (2) how the stability of a hybrid material is affected differently by its intrinsic attributes, primarily formation energy, and extrinsic factors, such as surface and defects. By correlating the rarely found long-term stability with the calculated relatively large formation energy of ß-ZnTe(en)0.5 and contrasting with the case of hybrid perovskite, this work illustrates that formation energy can serve as an effective screening parameter for the long-term stability potential of hybrid materials. The results of the prototype II-VI hybrid structures will, on one hand, inspire directions for future exploration of the hybrid materials, and, on the other hand, provide metrics for assessing the structural perfectness and long-term stability of the hybrid materials.

Phosphate and carbon source regulation of alkaline phosphatase and phospholipase in Vibrio vulnificus.

In this study, the effects of phosphate concentration and carbon source on the patterns of alkaline phosphatase (APase) and phospholipase (PLase) expression in Vibrio vulnificus ATCC 29307 were assessed under various conditions. The activities of these enzymes were repressed by excess phosphate (4 mM) in the culture medium, but this repression was reversed upon the onset of phosphate starvation in low phosphate defined medium (LPDM) containing 0.2 mM of phosphate at approximately the end of the exponential growth phase. The expressions of the two enzymes were also influenced by different carbon sources, including glucose, fructose, maltose, glycerol, and sodium acetate at different levels. The APase activity was derepressed most profoundly in LPDM containing fructose as a sole carbon source. However, the repression/derepression of the enzyme by phosphate was not observed in media containing glycerol or sodium acetate. In LPDM-glycerol or sodium acetate, the growth rate was quite low. The highest levels of PLase activity were detected in LPDMsodium acetate, followed by LPDM-fructose. PLase was not fully repressed by high phosphate concentrations when sodium acetate was utilized as the sole carbon source. These results showed that multiple regulatory systems, including the phosphate regulon, may perform a function in the expression of both or either APase and PLC, in the broader context of the survival of V. vulnificus.

Expression of the promoter for the maltogenic amylase gene in Bacillus subtilis 168.

An additional amylase, besides the typical alpha-amylase, was detected for the first time in the cytoplasm of B. subtilis SUH4-2, an isolate from Korean soil. The corresponding gene (bbmA) encoded a maltogenic amylase (MAase) and its sequence was almost identical to the yvdF gene of B. subtilis 168, whose function was unknown. Southern blot analysis using bbmA as the probe indicated that this gene was ubiquitous among various B. subtilis strains. In an effort to understand the physiological function of the bbmA gene in B. subtilis, the expression pattern of the gene was monitored by measuring the beta-galactosidase activity produced from the bbmA promoter fused to the amino terminus of the lacZ structural gene, which was then integrated into the amyE locus on the B. subtilis 168 chromosome. The promoter was induced during the mid-log phase and fully expressed at the early stationary phase in defined media containing beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD), maltose, or starch. On the other hand, it was kept repressed in the presence of glucose, fructose, sucrose, or glycerol, suggesting that catabolite repression might be involved in the expression of the gene. Production of the beta-CD hydrolyzing activity was impaired by the spo0A mutation in B. subtilis 168, indicating the involvement of an additional regulatory system exerting control on the promoter. Inactivation of yvdF resulted in a significant decrease of the beta-CD hydrolyzing activity, if not all. This result implied the presence of an additional enzyme(s) that is capable of hydrolyzing beta-CD in B. subtilis 168. Based on the results, MAase encoded by bbmA is likely to be involved in maltose and beta-CD utilization when other sugars, which are readily usable as an energy source, are not available during the stationary phase.