Comprehensive Evaluation and Prediction of the Effectiveness of H_(2)O_(2)- assisted Na_(2)CO_(3)Pretreatment of Corn Stover Using Multivariate Analysis

In this study,multivariate analysis methods,including a principal component analysis(PCA)and partial least square(PLS)analysis,were applied to reveal the inner relationship of the key variables in the process of H_(2)O_(2)-assisted Na_(2)CO_(3)(HSC)pretreatment of corn stover.A total of 120 pretreatment experiments were implemented at the lab scale under different conditions by varying the particle size of the corn stover and process variables.The results showed that the Na_(2)CO_(3) dosage and pretreatment temperature had a strong influence on lignin removal,whereas pulp refining instrument(PFI)refining and Na_(2)CO_(3) dosage played positive roles in the final total sugar yield.Furthermore,it was found that pretreatment conditions had a more significant impact on the amelioration of pretreatment effectiveness compared with the properties of raw corn stover.In addition,a prediction of the effectiveness of the corn stover HSC pretreatment based on a PLS analysis was conducted for the first time,and the test results of the predictability based on additional pretreatment experiments proved that the developed PLS model achieved a good predictive performance(particularly for the final total sugar yield),indicating that the developed PLS model can be used to predict the effectiveness of HSC pretreatment.Therefore,multivariate analysis can be potentially used to monitor and control the pretreatment process in future large-scale biorefinery applications.

The Time Series Spectral Analysis of Satellite Altimetry and Coastal Tide Gauges and Tide Modeling in the Coast of Caspian Sea

This study endeavors to deal with the least square spectral analysis on the time series, to find present significant frequencies, to analyze 40 tide components using harmonic methods and to show relationship between discovered frequencies and 40 components of tide. For the purpose of collecting data of altimetry satellites of Topex/Poseidon (T/P), Jason 1, Jason 2 and coastal tide gauges of Bandar Anzali, Noshahr, and Nekah were utilized. In this time series formed by cross over points of altimetry satellite and then using least square spectral analysis on time series derived from altimetry satellite and coastal tide gauges the significant components were found and annual, biannual, and monthly components were discovered. Then, analysis of 40 tide components was conducted using harmonic method to find the amplitude and phase. It represented that solar annual (Sa) plays the most significant role on Caspian Sea corresponded to the least square spectral analysis of the time series. The results shows that the annual (Sa) and semi-annual Solar (Ssa) constituents on all of the ports listed have the highest amplitude in comparison with the other constituents which are respectively 16 cm, 18 cm and 15 cm for annual constituent and 2.8 cm, 5.4 cm and 3.7 cm for semi-annual constituent.

Import Determinants of Organelle-Specific and Dual Targeting Peptides of Mitochondria and Chloroplasts in Arabidopsis thaliana

Most of the mitochondrial and chloroplastic proteins are synthesized in the cytosol as precursor proteins carrying an N-terminal targeting peptide （TP） directing them specifically to a correct organelle. However, there is a group of proteins that are dually targeted to mitochondria and chloroplasts using an ambiguous N-terminal dual targeting peptide （dTP）. Here, we have investigated pattern properties of import determinants of organelle-specific TPs and dTPs combining mathematical multivariate data analysis （MVDA） with in vitro organellar import studies. We have used large datasets of mitochondrial and chloroplastic proteins found in organellar proteomes as well as manually selected data sets of experimentally confirmed organelle-specific TPs and dTPs from Arabidopsis thaliana. Two classes of organelle-specific TPs could be distinguished by MVDA and potential patterns or periodicity in the amino acid sequence contributing to the separation were revealed, dTPs were found to have intermediate sequence features between the organelle-specific TPs. Interestingly, introducing positively charged residues to the dTPs showed clustering towards the mitochondrial TPs in silico and resulted in inhibition of chloroplast, but not mitochondrial import in in vitro organellar import studies. These findings suggest that positive charges in the N-terminal region of TPs may function as an ＇avoidance signal＇ for the chloroplast import.