Palynological and palynofacies analyses were carried out on some Cretaceous samples from the Qattara Rim-1X borehole, north Western Desert, Egypt. The recorded palynoflora enabled the recognition of two informal miospore biozones arranged from oldest to youngest as Elaterosporites klaszii-Afropollis jardinus Assemblage Zone (mid Albian) and Elaterocolpites castelainii–Afropollis kahramanensis Assemblage Zone (late Albian–mid Cenomanian). A poorly fossiliferous but however, datable interval (late Cenomanian–Turonian to ?Campanian–Maastrichtian) representing the uppermost part of the studied section was also recorded. The palynofacies and visual thermal maturation analyses indicate a mature terrestrially derived organic matter (kerogen III) dominates the sediments of the Kharita and Bahariya formations and thus these two formations comprise potential mature gas source rocks. The sediments of the Abu Roash Formation are mostly dominated by mature amorphous organic matter (kerogen II) and the formation is regarded as a potential mature oi source rock in the well. The palynomorphs and palynofacies analyses suggest deposition of the clastics of the Kharita and Bahariya formations (middle Albian and upper Albian–middle Cenomanian) in a marginal marine setting under dysoxic–anoxic conditions. By contrast, the mixed clasticcarbonate sediments of the Abu Roash Formation (upper Cenomanian–Turonian) and the carbonates of the Khoman Formation (?Campanian–Maastrichtian) were mainly deposited in an inner shallow marine setting under prevailing suboxic–anoxic conditions as a result of the late Cenomanian and the Campanian marine transgressions. This environmental change from marginal to open (inner shelf) basins reflects the vertical change in the type of the organic matter and its corresponding hydrocarbon-prone types. A regional warm and semi-arid climate but with a local humid condition developed near/at the site of the well is thought to have prevailed.

Octopamine (OA) and tyramine (TA) are biogenic amines that act as neurotransmitters, neurohormones, and neuromodulators in the invertebrate nervous system. Tyramine-β-hydroxylase (TβH) catalyzes the biosynthesis of OA from TA. In this study, cDNA encoding Bombyx mori TβH (BmTβH) was cloned from the brain of the silkworm B. mori. The BmTβH mRNA comprised 2204 nucleotide residues and contained an open reading frame encoding 592 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence shared homology to several proteins belonging to the insect TβH family. Functional expression of the cloned cDNA was obtained using a B. mori baculovirus expression vector system. Western blot analysis revealed an immunoreactive band with a molecular mass of ~ 67.4 kDa. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify the products formed during incubation of the enzyme reaction mixture. The optimum pH and temperature for the conversion of TA to OA were 7.5 and 25 °C, respectively. During incubation, the reaction was linear for the first 30 min at 25 °C and pH 7.5. Inhibitory experiments carried out with various concentrations of an inhibitor showed that this method can be used for screening of BmTβH inhibitors.

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ThepresentworkreportedtheinfluenceofGecontentvariationontheopticalpropertiesof GexSe50Te50-x (x¼0, 5,15,20,35at%).Vacuumthermalevaporationtechniquewas employedtoprepareamorphousGexSe50Te50x thinfilms.Thestoichiometryofthe chemicalcompositionwascheckedbyenergydispersiveX-rayspectroscopy(EDX),whereas thethinfilmsstructurewasdeterminedbyanX-raydiffractionandascanningelectron microscope(SEM).Theopticalabsorptionmeasurementswereperformedatroom temperatureinthewavelengthrangeof200–900nm.Manyopticalconstantswere calculatedforthestudiedthinfilmsutilizingtheopticalabsorptiondata.Itwasobserved thattheopticalabsorptionmechanismfollowstheruleofthealloweddirecttransition.The opticalbandgapwasfoundtoincreasefrom2.31to2.60eVastheGecontentincreases from0to35at%.Thisresultwasexplainedintermsofthechemicalbondapproach.

ThepresentworkreportedtheinfluenceofGecontentvariationontheopticalpropertiesof GexSe50Te50-x (x¼0, 5,15,20,35at%).Vacuumthermalevaporationtechniquewas employedtoprepareamorphousGexSe50Te50x thinfilms.Thestoichiometryofthe chemicalcompositionwascheckedbyenergydispersiveX-rayspectroscopy(EDX),whereas thethinfilmsstructurewasdeterminedbyanX-raydiffractionandascanningelectron microscope(SEM).Theopticalabsorptionmeasurementswereperformedatroom temperatureinthewavelengthrangeof200–900nm.Manyopticalconstantswere calculatedforthestudiedthinfilmsutilizingtheopticalabsorptiondata.Itwasobserved thattheopticalabsorptionmechanismfollowstheruleofthealloweddirecttransition.The opticalbandgapwasfoundtoincreasefrom2.31to2.60eVastheGecontentincreases from0to35at%.Thisresultwasexplainedintermsofthechemicalbondapproach.

The activation energies of crystallization of Se90Te10 glass were studied at different heating rates (4–50 K/min) under non-isothermal conditions using a differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) technique. The activation energy was determined by analyzing the data using the Matusita et al. method. A strong heating rate dependence of the activation energywas observed. The variation of the activation energywas analyzed by the application of the three isoconversional methods, of Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), and Vyazovkin. These methods confirm that the activation energy of crystallization is not constant but varies with the degree of crystallization and hence with temperature. This variation indicates that the transformation from amorphous to crystalline phase is a complex process involving different mechanisms of nucleation and growth. On the other hand, the validity of the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami (JMA) model to describe the crystallization process for the studied composition was discussed. Results obtained by directly fitting the experimental DSC to the calculated DSC curve indicate that the crystallization process of the Se90Te10 glass cannot be satisfactorily described by the JMA model. In general, simulation results indicate that the Sestak–Berggren (SB) model is more suitable to describe the crystallization kinetics.

The activation energies of crystallization of Se90Te10 glass were studied at different heating rates (4–50 K/min) under non-isothermal conditions using a differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) technique. The activation energy was determined by analyzing the data using the Matusita et al. method. A strong heating rate dependence of the activation energywas observed. The variation of the activation energywas analyzed by the application of the three isoconversional methods, of Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), and Vyazovkin. These methods confirm that the activation energy of crystallization is not constant but varies with the degree of crystallization and hence with temperature. This variation indicates that the transformation from amorphous to crystalline phase is a complex process involving different mechanisms of nucleation and growth. On the other hand, the validity of the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami (JMA) model to describe the crystallization process for the studied composition was discussed. Results obtained by directly fitting the experimental DSC to the calculated DSC curve indicate that the crystallization process of the Se90Te10 glass cannot be satisfactorily described by the JMA model. In general, simulation results indicate that the Sestak–Berggren (SB) model is more suitable to describe the crystallization kinetics.

The activation energies of crystallization of Se90Te10 glass were studied at different heating rates (4–50 K/min) under non-isothermal conditions using a differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) technique. The activation energy was determined by analyzing the data using the Matusita et al. method. A strong heating rate dependence of the activation energywas observed. The variation of the activation energywas analyzed by the application of the three isoconversional methods, of Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), and Vyazovkin. These methods confirm that the activation energy of crystallization is not constant but varies with the degree of crystallization and hence with temperature. This variation indicates that the transformation from amorphous to crystalline phase is a complex process involving different mechanisms of nucleation and growth. On the other hand, the validity of the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami (JMA) model to describe the crystallization process for the studied composition was discussed. Results obtained by directly fitting the experimental DSC to the calculated DSC curve indicate that the crystallization process of the Se90Te10 glass cannot be satisfactorily described by the JMA model. In general, simulation results indicate that the Sestak–Berggren (SB) model is more suitable to describe the crystallization kinetics.

The crystallization process of Se95−xInxPb5 (x = 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 at.%) glassy system was studied by differential thermal analysis (DTA) technique under non-isothermal conditions. The crystallization parameters were calculated using different kinetic models. The glass forming ability was found to decrease with increasing In content. The validity of the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami (JMA) model to describe the crystallization process for the studied compositions was discussed. The results showed that the two-parameter Sestak–Berggren model SB (M, N) is the most suitable for quantitative description of the crystallization process for the studied compositions. Increasing In content in the Se-In-Pb system leads to a more complex and accelerated process. The crystalline phases formed in the annealed samples were identified using X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

The crystallization process of Se95−xInxPb5 (x = 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 at.%) glassy system was studied by differential thermal analysis (DTA) technique under non-isothermal conditions. The crystallization parameters were calculated using different kinetic models. The glass forming ability was found to decrease with increasing In content. The validity of the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami (JMA) model to describe the crystallization process for the studied compositions was discussed. The results showed that the two-parameter Sestak–Berggren model SB (M, N) is the most suitable for quantitative description of the crystallization process for the studied compositions. Increasing In content in the Se-In-Pb system leads to a more complex and accelerated process. The crystalline phases formed in the annealed samples were identified using X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).