The effects of manganese content and mould size on abrasion and slurry erosion behaviour of chromium-manganese iron systems investigated by positron lifetime spectroscopy

Abrasion and slurry erosion behaviour of chromium-manganese iron samples with chromium (Cr) in the range similar to 16-19% and manganese (Mn) at 5 and 10% levels have been characterized for hardness followed by microstructural examination using optical and scanning electron microscopy. Positron lifetime studies have been conducted to understand the defects/microporosity influence on the microstructure. The samples were heat treated and characterized to understand the structural transformations in the matrix. The data reveals that hardness decreased with increase in Mn content from 5 to 10% in the first instance and then increase in the section size in the other case, irrespective of the sample conditions. The abrasion and slurry erosion losses show increase with increase in the section size as well as with increase in Mn content. The positron results show that as hardness increases from as-cast to heat treated sample, the positron trapping rate and hence defect concentration showed opposite trend as expected. So a good correlation between defects concentration and the hardness has been observed. These findings also corroborate well with the microstructural features obtained from optical and scanning electron microscopy. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Morphological differentiation observed in manganese oxidizing bacterial colonies

Bacteria play a vital role in bringing about Mn(II) oxidation in the natural environment. A study was conducted to identify the potential threat offered by these bacteria in bringing about biomineralisation of manganese dioxide on titanium surfaces exposed to seawater. During the study it was observed that the bacteria such as Pseudomonas and Bacillus formed brown colonies on agar plates amended with Mn2+ indicating their ability to oxidize Mn(II). These colonies showed distinct morphologies when grown on plates containing Mn(II) while they formed normal colonies in the absence of Mn.(II).Hence it is possible that these morphologically distinct structures produced by the bacterial colonies assist these bacteria to perform this function of Mn-oxidation.

Spectroscopic ellipsometry investigations of the optical properties of manganese doped bismuth vanadate thin films

The optical properties of Bi(2)V(1-x)MnxO(5.5-x) (x=0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2 at.%) thin films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on platinized Silicon Substrates were Studied in UV-visible spectral region (1.51-4.17 CV) using spectroscopic ellipsometry. The optical constants and thicknesses of these films have been obtained by fitting the ellipsometric data (Psi and Delta) using a multilayer four-phase model system and a relaxed Lorentz oscillator dispersion relation. The surface roughness and film thickness obtained by spectroscopic ellipsometry were found to be consistent with the results obtained by atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. The refractive index measured at 650 nm does not show any marginal increase with Mn content. Further, the extinction coefficient does not show much decrease with increasing Mn content. An increase in optical band gap energy from 2.52 to 2.77 eV with increasing Mn Content from x = 0.05 to 0.15 was attributed to the increase in oxygen ion vacancy disorder. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New benzidine procedure for determination of manganese in biological samples

A simple and accurate method for the determination of 0.25 to 1.0 μg. of manganese (in samples containing 1 to 4 μg. of manganese) has been developed by modifying the conditions for the reaction between permanganate and benzidine. Manganese is oxidized with potassium periodate in orthophosphoric acid and selectively estimated in the presence of excess oxidant with benzidine in formic acid. The procedure is applicable for estimation of manganese in biological samples, with recoveries in the range 97.5 to 106.1%.

Low-temperature polymer precursor-based synthesis of nanocrystalline particles of lanthanum calcium manganese oxide (La0.67Ca0.33MnO3) with enhanced ferromagnetic transition temperature

We report a simple modified polymeric precursor route for the synthesis of highly crystalline and homogenous nanoparticles of lanthanum calcium manganese oxide (LCMO). The LCMO phase formation was studied by thermal analysis, x-ray powder diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy at different stages of heating. These nanocrystallites (average particle size of 30 nm) possess ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition temperature (T-c) of 300 K, nearly 50 K higher than that of a single crystal. The Rietveld analysis of the powder x-ray diffraction data of the nanopowders reveals significant lattice contraction and reduction in unit cell anisotropy-these structural changes are correlated to the enhancement in T-c.

Manganese-mediated ferromagnetism in La2Fe1-xMn2xCr1-xO6 perovskite oxides

We have investigated the structure and magnetic properties of the perovskite oxides of the formula La2Fe1-xMn2xCr1-xO6 (0 < x < 1.0). For 0 < x <= 0.5, the members adopt the orthorhombic (Pbnm) structure, where the transition metal atoms are disordered at the 4b sites and the MO6 (M = Fe, Mn, Cr) octahedra become increasingly distorted with increasing x. For 0.65 <= x < 1.0, the members adopt the rhombohedral (R-3c) structure that is similar to LaMnO3+delta (delta >= 0.1) where the MO6 octahedra are undistorted. While the magnetic properties of the latter series are largely similar to the parent LaMnO3+delta arising from the double-exchange (DE) between mixed valent Mn-III/Mn-IV, the magnetic properties of the orthorhombic members show a distinct (albeit weak) ferromagnetism (T-C similar to 200 K) that seems to arise from a Mn-III-mediated superexchange (SE) between Fe-III/Cr-III in the disordered perovskite structure containing Fe-III, Mn-III and Cr-III.

Crystal Structure of Staphylococcus aureus Metallopeptidase (Sapep) Reveals Large Domain Motions between the Manganese-bound and Apo-states

Proteases belonging to the M20 family are characterized by diverse substrate specificity and participate in several metabolic pathways. The Staphylococcus aureus metallopeptidase, Sapep, is a member of the aminoacylase-I/M20 protein family. This protein is a Mn2+-dependent dipeptidase. The crystal structure of this protein in the Mn2+-bound form and in the open, metal-free state suggests that large interdomain movements could potentially regulate the activity of this enzyme. We note that the extended inactive conformation is stabilized by a disulfide bond in the vicinity of the active site. Although these cysteines, Cys(155) and Cys(178), are not active site residues, the reduced form of this enzyme is substantially more active as a dipeptidase. These findings acquire further relevance given a recent observation that this enzyme is only active in methicillin-resistant S. aureus. The structural and biochemical features of this enzyme provide a template for the design of novel methicillin-resistant S. aureus-specific therapeutics.

Generation of a Manganese Specific Restriction Endonuclease with Nicking Activity

A typical feature of type II restriction endonucleases (REases) is their obligate sequence specificity and requirement for Mg2+ during catalysis. R.KpnI is an exception. Unlike most other type II REases, the active site of this enzyme can accommodate Mg2+, Mn2+, Ca2+, or Zn2+ and cleave DNA. The enzyme belongs to the HNH superfamily of nucleases and is characterized by the presence of a beta beta alpha-Me finger motif. Residues D148, H149, and Q175 together form the HNH active site and are essential for Mg2+ binding and catalysis. The unique ability of the enzyme to cleave DNA in the presence of different metal ions is exploited to generate mutants that are specific to one particular metal ion. We describe the generation of a Mn2+-dependent sequence specific endonuclease, defective in DNA cleavage with Mg2+ and other divalent metal ions. In the engineered mutant, only Mn2+ is selectively bound at the active site, imparting Mn2+-mediated cleavage. The mutant is impaired in concerted double-stranded DNA cleavage, leading to accumulation of nicked intermediates. The nicking activity of the mutant enzyme is further enhanced by altered reaction conditions. The active site fluidity of R Eases allowing flexible accommodation of catalytic cofactors thus forms a basis for engineering selective metal ion-dependent REase additionally possessing nicking activity.

Impedance parameters and the state-of-charge. III. Zinc-manganese dioxide and magnesium-manganese dioxide dry batteries

The problem of non-destructive determination of the state-of-charge of zinc- and magnesium-manganese dioxide dry batteries is examined experimentally from the viewpoint of internal impedance and open-circuit voltage at equilibrium. It is shown that the impedance is mainly charge-transfer controlled at relatively high states-of-charge and progressively changes over to diffusion control as the state-of-charge decreases in the case of zinc-manganese dioxide dry batteries. On the other hand, the impedance is mainly diffusion controlled for undischarged batteries but becomes charge-transfer controlled as soon as there is some discharge in the case of magnesium-manganese dioxide batteries. It is concluded that the determination of state-of-charge is not possible for both types of batteries by the measurement of impedance parameters due to film-induced fluctuations of these parameters. The measurement of open-circuit voltage at equilibrium can be used as a state-of-charge indicator for Zn-MnO2 batteries but not for Mg-MnO2 batteries.