Design of metallic nanoparticles gratings for filtering properties in the visible spectrum

Plasmonic resonances in metallic nanoparticles are exploited to create efficient optical filtering functions. A Finite Element Method is used to model metallic nanoparticles gratings. The accuracy of this method is shown by comparing numerical results with measurements on a two-dimensional grating of gold nanocylinders with elliptic cross section. Then a parametric analysis is performed in order to design efficient filters with polarization dependent properties together with high transparency over the visible range. The behavior of nanoparticle gratings is also modelled using the Maxwell-Garnett homogenization theory and analyzed by comparison with the diffraction by a single nanoparticle. The proposed structures are intended to be included in optical systems which could find innovative applications.Comment: submitted to Applied Optic

Somatoform disorders in the family doctor's practice.

Somatoform disorders – psycho­genic diseases are characterized by pathological physical symptoms that resemble somatic illness. Thus, any organic manifestations, which can be attributed to known diseases are not detected, but there are non-specific functional impairments. Somatoform disorders include somatization disorder, undifferentiated somatoform disorder, hypocho­n­driacal disorder, somatoform dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system and stable somatoform pain disorder. The first part of the article reviewes features of the clinical manifestations of somatization disorder and undifferentiated somatoform disorder. Role of non-benzodiazepine tranquilizers (ADAPTOL) and metabolic drugs (VASONAT) in the treatment of patients with somatoform disorders is discussed. In review article data of neurologists and cardiologists on the effectiveness of anxiolytic drug ADAPTOL and metabolic drug VASONAT in different clinical groups of patients (coronary artery disease, chronic ischemia of the brain), which can significantly improve quality of life, increase exercise tolerance, improve cognitive function and correct mental and emotional disorders are presented

Amperometric flow-through biosensor for the determination of cholinesterase inhibitors

An amperometric flow-through biosensor based on epoxy-carbon electrode and butyrylcholinesterase immobilised on nylon, cellulose nitrate or white tracing paper has been developed and examined for the determination of reversible and irreversible inhibitors. The analytical characteristics of inhibitor determination depend on the hydrophobicity of the membrane material. Flow-through biosensor with various enzymatic membranes makes it possible to determine fluoride in the concentration range 1x10-4-25x10-4moll-1 and 3.5x10-5-1x10-2moll-1 when cholinesterase solution is used. The analytical characteristics of fluoride determination do not differ significantly from those obtained in batch conditions. For diazinon the immobilisation of cholinesterase results in the decrease of detection limits from 5x10-9moll-1 (native enzyme) to 4x10-9moll-1 (nylon membrane) and 1.5x10-9moll-1 (cellulose nitrate membrane). The influence of membrane material on analytical characteristics of FIA determination of inhibitors is due to the non-stationary distribution of reagents (fluoride) or sorptional preconcentration of the inhibitor (diazinon) in membrane. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V

Electrochemical Sensors for Vanadium Determination

© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. This paper is dedicated to the problem of vanadium (V) determination by the means of voltammetry. The comparison of results obtained for two types of sensor: volume glassy-carbon electrode and screen printed carbon electrode are presented. The experimental data is recorded using the hardware and software of Novocontrol (Germany): electrochemical interface POT/GAL 15V 10A, frequency response analyzer Alpha-A, and software for data collection and data processing WinDETA. Two three-electrode cells has been studied: for the first one the bulk glassy carbon electrode, and for the second one the screen printed electrodes has been used as the working electrode. In the first case the reference electrode has been made from silver chloride and the counter electrode from steel wire. In case of the screen printed electrodes, the electrodes were placed on the same plate. The peak of vanadium (V) was obtained under the potential of 1.3 V. It was found that the growth of the vanadium concentration increases magnitude of the cathode current measured then the mentioned potential is applied. The screen printed carbon electrodes provides better sensitivity in comparison with the volume glassy-carbon electrodes due to the more explicit vanadium potential peak

Amperometric biosensors based on nafion coated screen-printed electrodes for the determination of cholinesterase inhibitors

Screen-printed electrodes coated with the nation layer have been investigated for cholinesterase biosensor design. The butyrylcholinesterase (ChE) from horse serum was immobilised onto the nation layer by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde vapours. The biosensors obtained showed better long-term stability and lower working potential in comparison to those obtained with no nation coating. The sensitivity of a biosensor toward organophosphate pesticides is not affected by the nation coating. The detection limits were found to be 3.5 x 10-7 M for trichlorfon and 1.5 x 10-7 M for coumaphos. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. | Screen-printed electrodes coated with the nafion layer have been investigated for cholinesterase biosensor design. The butyrylcholinesterase (ChE) from horse serum was immobilized onto the nafion layer by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde vapours. The biosensors obtained showed better long-term stability and lower working potential in comparison to those obtained with no nafion coating. The sensitivity of a biosensor toward organophosphate pesticides is not affected by the nafion coating. The detection limits were found to be 3.5×10-7 M for trichlorfon and 1.5×10-7 M for coumaphos

Monitoring the kinetics of the pH driven transition of the anthrax toxin prepore to the pore by biolayer interferometry and surface plasmon resonance

Domain 2 of the anthrax protective antigen (PA) prepore heptamer unfolds and refolds during endosome acidification to generate an extended 100 Å beta barrel pore that inserts into the endosomal membrane. The PA pore facilitates the pH dependent unfolding and translocation of bound toxin enzymic components, lethal factor (LF) and/or edema factor (EF), from the endosome into the cytoplasm. We constructed immobilized complexes of the prepore with the PA-binding domain of LF (LFN) to monitor the real-time prepore to pore kinetic transition using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and bio-layer interferometry (BLI). The kinetics of this transition increased as the solution pH was decreased from pH 7.5 to pH 5.0, mirroring acidification of the endosome. Once transitioned, the LFN-PA pore complex was removed from the BLI biosensor tip and deposited onto EM grids, where the PA pore formation was confirmed by negative stain electron microscopy. When the soluble receptor domain (ANTRX2/CMG2) binds the immobilized PA prepore, the transition to the pore state was observed only after the pH was lowered to early or late endosomal pH conditions (5.5 to 5.0 respectively). Once the pore formed, the soluble receptor readily dissociated from the PA pore. Separate binding experiments with immobilized PA pores and soluble receptor indicate that the receptor has a weakened propensity to bind to the transitioned pore. This immobilized anthrax toxin platform can be used to identify or validate potential antimicrobial lead compounds capable of regulating and/or inhibiting anthrax toxin complex formation or pore transitions

A Whole-Chromosome Analysis of Meiotic Recombination in Drosophila melanogaster

Although traditional genetic assays have characterized the pattern of crossing over across the genome in Drosophila melanogaster, these assays could not precisely define the location of crossovers. Even less is known about the frequency and distribution of noncrossover gene conversion events. To assess the specific number and positions of both meiotic gene conversion and crossover events, we sequenced the genomes of male progeny from females heterozygous for 93,538 X chromosomal single-nucleotide and InDel polymorphisms. From the analysis of the 30 F1 hemizygous X chromosomes, we detected 15 crossover and 5 noncrossover gene conversion events. Taking into account the nonuniform distribution of polymorphism along the chromosome arm, we estimate that most oocytes experience 1 crossover event and 1.6 gene conversion events per X chromosome pair per meiosis. An extrapolation to the entire genome would predict approximately 5 crossover events and 8.6 conversion events per meiosis. Mean gene conversion tract lengths were estimated to be 476 base pairs, yielding a per nucleotide conversion rate of 0.86 × 10−5 per meiosis. Both of these values are consistent with estimates of conversion frequency and tract length obtained from studies of rosy, the only gene for which gene conversion has been studied extensively in Drosophila. Motif-enrichment analysis revealed a GTGGAAA motif that was enriched near crossovers but not near gene conversions. The low-complexity and frequent occurrence of this motif may in part explain why, in contrast to mammalian systems, no meiotic crossover hotspots have been found in Drosophila

Genomic Content of Bordetella pertussis Clinical Isolates Circulating in Areas of Intensive Children Vaccination

BACKGROUND: The objective of the study was to analyse the evolution of Bordetella pertussis population and the influence of herd immunity in different areas of the world where newborns and infants are highly vaccinated. METHODOLOGY: The analysis was performed using DNA microarray on 15 isolates, PCR on 111 isolates as well as GS-FLX sequencing technology on 3 isolates and the B. pertussis reference strain, Tohama I. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Our analyses demonstrate that the current circulating isolates are continuing to lose genetic material as compared to isolates circulating during the pre-vaccine era whatever the area of the world considered. The lost genetic material does not seem to be important for virulence. Our study confirms that the use of whole cell vaccines has led to the control of isolates that were similar to vaccine strains. GS-FLX sequencing technology shows that current isolates did not acquire any additional material when compared with vaccine strains or with isolates of the pre-vaccine era and that the sequenced strain Tohama I is not representative of the isolates. Furthermore, this technology allowed us to observe that the number of Insertion Sequence elements contained in the genome of the isolates is temporally increasing or varying between isolates. CONCLUSIONS: B. pertussis adaptation to humans is still in progress by losing genetic material via Insertion Sequence elements. Furthermore, recent isolates did not acquire any additional material when compared with vaccine strains or with isolates of the pre-vaccine era. Herd immunity, following intensive vaccination of infants and children with whole cell vaccines, has controlled isolates similar to the vaccine strains without modifying significantly the virulence of the isolates. With the replacement of whole cell vaccines by subunit vaccines, containing only few bacterial antigens targeting the virulence of the bacterium, one could hypothesize the circulation of isolates expressing less or modified vaccine antigens