Lazer-solimini equation with state-dependent delay: an alternative demonstration

In this paper, an alternative proof of results in [6] is given; there, the existence of T-periodic solutions of a family of Lazer-Solimini equations with state-dependent delay is studied. The tools used in the proof are a combination of a priori bounds and coincidence degree.En este trabajo se hace una demostración alternativa de los resultados [6], donde se estudió la existencia de soluciones T-periódicas para una familia de ecuaciones del tipo Lazer-Solimini con retraso dependiente del estado. Las herramientas utilizadas en la demostración son una combinación de cotas a priori y grado de coincidencia

EQUADIFF 15

Equadiff 15 – Conference on Differential Equations and Their Applications – is an international conference in the world famous series Equadiff running since 70 years ago. This booklet contains conference materials related with the 15th Equadiff conference in the Czech and Slovak series, which was held in Brno in July 2022. It includes also a brief history of the East and West branches of Equadiff, abstracts of the plenary and invited talks, a detailed program of the conference, the list of participants, and portraits of four Czech and Slovak outstanding mathematicians

The Lazer-Solimini equation with state-dependent delay

Abstract Sucient criteria are established for the existence of T -periodic solutions of a family of Lazer-Solimini equations with state-dependent delay. The method of proof relies on a combination of Leray-Schauder degree and a priori bounds

Nano-probes for point of care diagnostics

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed deep health inequalities between more economically developed and less economically developed countries: both in terms of diagnostics and vaccinations. Robust and low-cost point of care devices are needed to ease these diagnostic inequalities. Current point of care lateral flow immunoassays, utilise proteins, such as antibodies, to sense for analytes. This is epitomised by the malaria rapid diagnostic test and archetypal home pregnancy test. Glycans are emerging as alternative detection units due to their fundamental role in biological signalling and recognition events. Furthermore, the increased robustness, low-cost and synthetic possibilities offered by glycan-based systems, especially glycosylated polymers, make them a promising alternative to antibody-based biosensing and diagnostic systems. Chapter 1 discusses the current use of protein-based lateral flow and flow-through devices; their advantages and disadvantages versus non-point of care techniques, and the potential of glycan-based lateral flow devices. The concepts introduced in Chapter 1 are then applied in Chapters 2 through 5. Chapter 2 demonstrates the use of glycosylated polymer-coated nanoparticles, produced by controlled radical polymerisation techniques for the sensitive, label-free detection of lectins in lateral flow and flow-through. The systems produced use only glycans, not antibodies, to provide recognition – a “lateral flow glyco-assay.” The lessons learned in Chapter 2 are applied in Chapter 3 to probe the glycan-binding of the SARS-COV-2 spike protein in a “flow-through glyco-assay” and target a pseudovirus mimic of the target coronavirus in a lateral flow glyco-assay. Chapter 4 builds on Chapters 2 and 3, applying the fledgling glyco-assay technology to the “real-world” by sensing for the SARS-COV-2 virus in patient samples, alongside exploring the robustness of the devices themselves. Having explored the concept of glycosylated polymer-coated nanoparticles in lateral flow and flow-through setups; Chapter 5 changes focus and explores the use of polymeric anchors for the design of all-polymer (“vegan”) lateral flow and flow-through devices. This work completely removes proteins as either detecting units or anchors from lateral flow for the first time. Chapters 6 and 7 explore more fundamental Chemistry than the previous chapters. Chapter 6 considers the use of the Mannich reaction to produce monosaccharides with amine functionality at C2, ideal for polymer conjugation, while maintaining hydroxyl functionality at C2. Although unsuccessful with the reagents used, the chapter highlights a potential avenue of future chemical exploration in novel glycan synthesis. Chapter 7 pulls together the x-ray photoelectron analysis data and spectra collected across a range of studies, including data collected in previous chapters, and considers if x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy can be used to determine relative grafting density in glycosylated polymer-coated nanoparticle systems. In summary, the key components of the emerging technology of lateral flow glycoassays are introduced, interrogated and investigated. The prototype devices tested against model proteins, viral proteins and patient samples, are found to show specificities and sensitivities that rival lateral flow immunoassay systems. The understanding developed in this thesis could pave the way to the first generation of lateral flow glyco-assays that are low-cost, stable in a wide range of conditions, and able to target a wide range of analytes and diseases

Synthesis of new pyrazolium based tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids and their use in removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution

In this study, two new pyrazolium based tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids, 2-ethyl-1-(4-methylphenyl)-3,5- dimethylpyrazolium tetrafluoroborate (3a) and 1-(4-methylphenyl)-2-pentyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazolium tetrafluoroborate (3b), were synthesized via three-step reaction and characterized. The removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution has been investigated using the synthesized salts as an extractant and methylene chloride as a solvent. The obtained results show that MB was extracted from aqueous solution with high extraction efficiency up to 87 % at room temperature at the natural pH of MB solution. The influence of the alkyl chain length on the properties of the salts and their extraction efficiency of MB was investigated

Urban Informatics

This open access book is the first to systematically introduce the principles of urban informatics and its application to every aspect of the city that involves its functioning, control, management, and future planning. It introduces new models and tools being developed to understand and implement these technologies that enable cities to function more efficiently – to become ‘smart’ and ‘sustainable’. The smart city has quickly emerged as computers have become ever smaller to the point where they can be embedded into the very fabric of the city, as well as being central to new ways in which the population can communicate and act. When cities are wired in this way, they have the potential to become sentient and responsive, generating massive streams of ‘big’ data in real time as well as providing immense opportunities for extracting new forms of urban data through crowdsourcing. This book offers a comprehensive review of the methods that form the core of urban informatics from various kinds of urban remote sensing to new approaches to machine learning and statistical modelling. It provides a detailed technical introduction to the wide array of tools information scientists need to develop the key urban analytics that are fundamental to learning about the smart city, and it outlines ways in which these tools can be used to inform design and policy so that cities can become more efficient with a greater concern for environment and equity

Urban Informatics

This open access book is the first to systematically introduce the principles of urban informatics and its application to every aspect of the city that involves its functioning, control, management, and future planning. It introduces new models and tools being developed to understand and implement these technologies that enable cities to function more efficiently – to become ‘smart’ and ‘sustainable’. The smart city has quickly emerged as computers have become ever smaller to the point where they can be embedded into the very fabric of the city, as well as being central to new ways in which the population can communicate and act. When cities are wired in this way, they have the potential to become sentient and responsive, generating massive streams of ‘big’ data in real time as well as providing immense opportunities for extracting new forms of urban data through crowdsourcing. This book offers a comprehensive review of the methods that form the core of urban informatics from various kinds of urban remote sensing to new approaches to machine learning and statistical modelling. It provides a detailed technical introduction to the wide array of tools information scientists need to develop the key urban analytics that are fundamental to learning about the smart city, and it outlines ways in which these tools can be used to inform design and policy so that cities can become more efficient with a greater concern for environment and equity