A multipoint field ionization source Final report, 11 Nov. 1966 - 12 Apr. 1968

Experimental study on use of field ionization and electron emission as ion sources for mass spectrometer

A Comparison of a Brain-Computer Interface and an Eye Tracker: Is There a More Appropriate Technology for Controlling a Virtual Keyboard in an ALS Patient?

The ability of people affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), muscular dystrophy or spinal cord injuries to physically interact with the environment, is usually reduced. In some cases, these patients suffer from a syndrome known as locked-in syndrome (LIS), defined by the patient’s inability to make any move-ment but blinks and eye movements. Tech communication systems available for people in LIS are very limited, being those based on eye-tracking and brain-computer interface (BCI) the most useful for these patients. A comparative study between both technologies in an ALS patient is carried out: an eye tracker and a visual P300-based BCI. The purpose of the study presented in this paper is to show that the choice of the technology could depend on user´s preference. The evaluation of performance, workload and other subjective measures will allow us to determine the usability of the systems. The obtained results suggest that, even if for this patient the BCI technology is more appropriate, the technology should be always tested and adapted for each user.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

A 9Cr-1Mo steel as a mercury containment material for the SNAP-8 boiler

9Cr-1Mo steel as mercury containment material for SNAP-8 boile

Autofluorescence lifetime augmented reality as a means for real-time robotic surgery guidance in human patients.

Due to loss of tactile feedback the assessment of tumor margins during robotic surgery is based only on visual inspection, which is neither significantly sensitive nor specific. Here we demonstrate time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy (TRFS) as a novel technique to complement the visual inspection of oral cancers during transoral robotic surgery (TORS) in real-time and without the need for exogenous contrast agents. TRFS enables identification of cancerous tissue by its distinct autofluorescence signature that is associated with the alteration of tissue structure and biochemical profile. A prototype TRFS instrument was integrated synergistically with the da Vinci Surgical robot and the combined system was validated in swine and human patients. Label-free and real-time assessment and visualization of tissue biochemical features during robotic surgery procedure, as demonstrated here, not only has the potential to improve the intraoperative decision making during TORS but also other robotic procedures without modification of conventional clinical protocols

The Complex Toda Chains and the Simple Lie Algebras - Solutions and Large Time Asymptotics

The asymptotic regimes of the N-site complex Toda chain (CTC) with fixed ends related to the classical series of simple Lie algebras are classified. It is shown that the CTC models have much richer variety of asymptotic regimes than the real Toda chain (RTC). Besides asymptotically free propagation (the only possible regime for the RTC), CTC allow bound state regimes, various intermediate regimes when one (or several) group(s) of particles form bound state(s), singular and degenerate solutions. These results can be used e.g., in describing the soliton interactions of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation. Explicit expressions for the solutions in terms of minimal sets of scattering data are proposed for all classical series B_r - D_r.Comment: LaTeX, article style, 16 pages; corrections of formulas and text improvement

Improved Cyclopropanation Activity of Histidine-Ligated Cytochrome P450 Enables the Enantioselective Formal Synthesis of Levomilnacipran

Engineering enzymes capable of modes of activation unprecedented in nature will increase the range of industrially important molecules that can be synthesized through biocatalysis. However, low activity for a new function is often a limitation in adopting enzymes for preparative-scale synthesis, reaction with demanding substrates, or when a natural substrate is also present. By mutating the proximal ligand and other key active-site residues of the cytochrome P450 enzyme from Bacillus megaterium (P450-BM3), a highly active His-ligated variant of P450-BM3 that can be employed for the enantioselective synthesis of the levomilnacipran core was engineered. This enzyme, BM3-Hstar, catalyzes the cyclopropanation of N,N-diethyl-2-phenylacrylamide with an estimated initial rate of over 1000 turnovers per minute and can be used under aerobic conditions. Cyclopropanation activity is highly dependent on the electronic properties of the P450 proximal ligand, which can be used to tune this non-natural enzyme activity

Contextual factors among indiscriminate or larger attacks on food or water supplies, 1946-2015

This research updates previous inventories of malicious attacks on food and water to include data from 1946 through mid-2015. A systematic search of news reports, databases and previous inventories of poisoning events was undertaken. Incidents that threatened or were intended to achieve direct harm to humans, and that were either relatively large (number of victims > 4 or indiscriminate in intent or realisation were included. Agents could be chemical, biological or radio-nuclear. Reports of candidate incidents were subjected to systematic inclusion and exclusion criteria as well as validity analysis (not always clearly undertaken in previous inventories of such attacks). We summarise contextual aspects of the attacks that may be important for scenario prioritisation, modelling and defensive preparedness. Opportunity is key to most realised attacks, particularly access to dangerous agents. The most common motives and relative success rate in causing harm were very different between food and water attacks. The likelihood that people were made ill or died also varied by food/water mode, and according to motive and opportunity for delivery of the hazardous agent. Deaths and illness associated with attacks during food manufacture and prior to sale have been fewer than those in some other contexts. Valuable opportunities for food defence improvements are identified in other contexts, especially food prepared in private or community settings

Enantioselective Intramolecular C-H Amination Catalyzed by Engineered Cytochrome P450 Enzymes In Vitro and In Vivo

Nitrogen activation: Though P450 enzymes are masters of oxygen activation and insertion into C-H bonds, their ability to use nitrogen for the same purpose has so far not been explored. Engineered variants of cytochrome P450_(BM3) have now been found to catalyze intramolecular C-H aminations in azide substrates. Mutations to two highly conserved residues significantly increased this activity

InP-based Optical Comb-locked Tunable Transmitter

We demonstrate a comb-based tunable transmitter with potential to be integrated on a single InP photonic chip. A Nyquist-shaped polarization-multiplexed 16QAM signal with 7.1 bit/s/Hz spectral efficiency is generated and transmitted over 300-km of SMF-28