Relationship of Latitude-of-Origin to Winter Survival and to Forage and Seed Yields of Wheatgrass (Agropyron species) in Subarctic Alaska

Five field experiments evaluating and comparing numerous grasses were conducted over seven years at the Matanuska Research Farm (61.6°N) near Palmer in southcentral Alaska. Grasses were 34 strains within 14 species of wheatgrass (Agropyron) derived from various geographic areas spanning 32 degrees of latitude; also included were the intergeneric hybrid Agroelymus palmerensis Lepage, Siberian wildrye (Elymus sibiricus L.), two bromegrass (Bromus) cultivars, and one timothy (Phleum pratense L.) cultivar. They were grown in broadcast-seeded plots for forage (two cuts per year), in drilled rows for seed production, and as individual plants in rows for winter-survival determinations

Studies on Emission Processes in Optically Pumped Mercury Vapor

Electron transitions in optically pumped mercury vapor emissio

Pseudoelastic Behavior of Shape Memory Alloys: Constitutive Theory and Identification of the Material Parameters Using Neural Networks

In shape memory alloys, some exceptional effects, like the one- and two-way shape memory effect, are observable. In a certain temperature range, the so-called pseudoelastic effect due to stress induced martensitic phase transitions is additionally observed in NiTi and other shape memory alloys. To identify the pseudoelastic material behavior of NiTi shape memory alloys, tension tests with different strain-rates are discussed. The observed phenomena are modeled within the framework of continuum thermomechanics regarding a geometric linear theory. The proposed model consists of a free energy function in order to represent the occurring energy storage and release effects. Additionally, evolution equations for internal variables, like the inelastic strain tensor and the fraction of martensite, are introduced. The developed system of constitutive equations represents the observed historydependent material behavior. For the identification of the material parameters, the theory of neural networks is applied. Finally, the numerical simulations show a good agreement between the experimental observations and the predictions of the phenomenological model

Field Dependence of the Josephson Plasma Resonance in Layered Superconductors with Alternating Junctions

The Josephson plasma resonance in layered superconductors with alternating critical current densities is investigated in a low perpendicular magnetic field. In the vortex solid phase the current densities and the squared bare plasma frequencies decrease linearly with the magnetic field. Taking into account the coupling due to charge fluctuations on the layers, we extract from recent optical data for SmLa_{1-x} Sr_x CuO_{4-delta} the Josephson penetration length lambda_{ab} approximately 1100 A parallel to the layers at T=10 K.Comment: 5 pages, 6 eps-figures, final version with minor misprints correcte

Optical Properties of Crystals with Spatial Dispersion: Josephson Plasma Resonance in Layered Superconductors

We derive the transmission coefficient, $T(\omega)$, for grazing incidence of crystals with spatial dispersion accounting for the excitation of multiple modes with different wave vectors ${\bf k}$ for a given frequency $\omega$. The generalization of the Fresnel formulas contains the refraction indices of these modes as determined by the dielectric function $\epsilon(\omega,{\bf k})$. Near frequencies $\omega_e$, where the group velocity vanishes, $T(\omega)$ depends also on an additional parameter determined by the crystal microstructure. The transmission $T$ is significantly suppressed, if one of the excited modes is decaying into the crystal. We derive these features microscopically for the Josephson plasma resonance in layered superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, epl.cls style file, minor change

Rapid enzymatic test for phenotypic HIV protease drug resistance

A phenotypic resistance test based on recombinant expression of the active HIV protease in E. coli from patient blood samples was developed. The protease is purified in a rapid onestep procedure as active enzyme and tested for inhibition by five selected synthetic inhibitors (amprenavir, indinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, and saquinavir) used presently for chemotherapy of HIVinfected patients. The HPLC system used in a previous approach was replaced by a continuous fluorogenic assay suitable for highthroughput screening on microtiter plates. This reduces significantly the total assay time and allows the determination of inhibition constants (K-i). The Michaelis constant (K-m) and the inhibition constant (K-i) of recombinant wildtype protease agree well with published data for cloned HIV protease. The enzymatic test was evaluated with recombinant HIV protease derived from eight HIVpositive patients scored from sensitive to highly resistant according to mutations detected by genotypic analysis. The measured K-i values correlate well with the genotypic resistance scores, but allow a higher degree of differentiation. The noninfectious assay enables a more rapid yet sensitive detection of HIV protease resistance than other phenotypic assays

Biosensing with T-ray spectroscopy

Copyright © 2007 SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering Copyright 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. This paper was published in Biophotonics 2007: Optics in Life Science, edited by Jürgen Popp, Gert von Bally, Proc. of SPIE-OSA Biomedical Optics, SPIE Vol. 6633, 66331D and is made available as an electronic reprint with permission of SPIE. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic or multiple reproduction, distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.In the recent years, it has been shown that terahertz (or T-ray) spectroscopy is a versatile tool for biosensing and safety applications. This is due to the fact that the THz-spectra of many biomolecules show very characteristic, distinct spectroscopic features. Furthermore, most non-metallic packaging materials are nearly transparent in this frequency range (0.1-6 THz, 3 cm-1-200 cm-1), so that it is possible to non-invasively identify even sealed substances like pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs or explosives by their spectroscopic signatures. This opens a significant potential for a wide range of applications from quality control of pharmaceutical substances via safety applications through to biomedical applications. The individual spectroscopic features below approximately 5 THz that spurred the increased world wide interest in T-ray spectroscopy are mainly due to intermolecular rather than intramolecular vibrations in the polycrystalline samples. The spectra of more complex biomolecules, like proteins and nucleotides, typically show less or even no sharp features, due to the lack of long-range intermolecular order. Furthermore, due to the typically significantly smaller sample amount, the signal to noise ratio is strongly increased. Water shows a strong absorption in this frequency range, which all together makes real biomedical applications of T-ray spectroscopy rather difficult. Yet, by combining a careful sample preparation, novel experimental techniques and an advanced signal processing of the experimental data we can still clearly distinguish between even complex biomolecules and therefore demonstrate the potential the technique holds for biomedical applications. © 2007 SPIE-OSA.Bernd M. Fischer, Hanspeter Helm and Derek Abbot