Noninvasive Glucose Monitor

This invention is related to glucose moitors. Diabetes mellitus is a medical disorder characterized by persistent variable hyperglyceria (high blood sugar levels), resulting either from inadequate secretion of the hormone insulin, an inadequate response by the bodys cells to insulin, or a combination of both of these factors

Continuously Variable, Wavelength-Independent Polarization Rotator

A useful optical device to provide continuously variable rotation of polarization of linearly polarized light in a wavelength-independent manner. This device features a cell of twisted nematic liquid crystal sandwiched between an input window and a rotatable output window, both with surfaces prepared so as to orient the nematic liquid crystal molecules. This optical device has different applications such as: variable-angle polarization rotator; using broad band polarizers as an energy attenuator; working in both cases as a wavelength independent and temporal pulse width independent device. The low cost, the very wide field of view, the wavelength and pulse width independence, the high efficiency, and its mechanical simplicity make of this new optical device a very useful and novel invention

Theoretical study of two-photon circular dichroism on molecular structures simulating aromatic amino acid residues in proteins with secondary structures

Herein, we report on the calculation and the comparative analysis of the theoretical two-photon circular dichroism (TPCD) spectra of L-histidine (His), L-phenylalanine (Phe), and L-tyrosine (Tyr) simulating residues in proteins with secondary structures (alpha-helix, beta-strand and random coil), down to the far-UV region (FUV). This work exposes unique signatures in the FUV for each conformer in each configuration. The outcomes of this research show how FUV-TPCD can be used to study peptide and protein structures in a region never evaluated before but packed with important structural information

A New Member Of The Thioredoxin Reductase Family From Early Oxygenic Photosynthetic Organisms.

Thioredoxins (Trxs) are key components of the redox system that regulates the activity of a spectrum of target proteins through dithiol-disulfide exchange reactions. Trxs are reduced by members of the Trx reductase (TR) family (Jacquot et al., 2009). NADP-dependent thioredoxin reductases (NTRs), the most common type, belong to the family of dimeric pyridine nucleotide disulfide oxidoreductase flavoproteins that use NADPH as the source of reducing equivalents. In oxyphotosynthetic organisms, in particular, NTRs coexist with the ferredoxin/thioredoxin system (FTS), composed of ferredoxin (Fdx), ferredoxin:thioredoxin reductase (FTR), and a Trx. FTRs convert the electron signal obtained from photoreduced Fdx to a thiol signal via a 4Fe-4S center and a redox-active disulfide catalytic center. FTR, in turn, reduces Trx.B.B.B. acknowledges support from an Alexander von Humboldt Research Award that catalyzed the launching of this project at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. R.M.B. is supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. L.L.-M. is supported by a postdoctoral contract from Universidad de Sevilla.Peer Reviewe

Trade-SCAN v2: A user-friendly tool for global value chain analysis

This document is an illustrated User Guide for the Trade-SCAN v2 (Trade Supply Chain Analysis) tool developed by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) to help users understand how international trade flows affect employment, income and environmental variables such as CO2 emissions.JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadershi

One- and Two-Photon Stimulated Emission Depletion of a Sulfonyl-Containing Fluorene Derivative

One- and two-photon stimulated emission transitions were investigated by the fluorescence quenching of a sulfonyl-containing fluorene compound, 2,7-bis(4-(phenylsulfonyl)styryl)-9,9-didecyl-9H-fluorene (1), in solution at room temperature using a picosecond pump-probe technique. The nature of stimulated transitions under various fluorescence excitation and quenching conditions was analyzed theoretically, and good agreement with experimental data was demonstrated. Two-photon stimulated transitions S1f S0 were shown for 1 at λq) 1064 nm, representing the first report of two-photon stimulated emission depletion (STED) in a molecular system. The two-photon stimulated emission cross section, δ2PE(λq), of fluorene 1 was estimated to be ∼240-280 GM, suggesting that this compound may be a good candidate for use in two-photon STED microscopy. 1

Identification of the direct regulon of NtcA during early acclimation to nitrogen starvation in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

In cyanobacteria, nitrogen homeostasis is maintained by an intricate regulatory network around transcription factor NtcA. Although mechanisms controlling NtcA activity appear to be well understood, its regulon remains poorly defined. To determine the NtcA regulon during the early stages of nitrogen starvation for the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation, followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq), in parallel with transcriptome analysis (RNA-seq). Through combining these methods, we determined 51 genes activated and 28 repressed directly by NtcA. In addition to genes associated with nitrogen and carbon metabolism, a considerable number of genes without current functional annotation were among direct targets providing a rich reservoir for further studies. The NtcA regulon also included eight non-coding RNAs, of which Ncr1071, Syr6 and NsiR7 were experimentally validated, and their putative targets were computationally predicted. Surprisingly, we found substantial NtcA binding associated with delayed expression changes indicating that NtcA can reside in a poised state controlled by other factors. Indeed, a role of PipX as modulating factor in nitrogen regulation was confirmed for selected NtcA-targets. We suggest that the indicated poised state of NtcA enables a more differentiated response to nitrogen limitation and can be advantageous in native habitats of Synechocystis.Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) [BFU2013-41712, BIO2016-75634]; Junta de Andalucia-European Regional Funds (FEDER) [BIO-284, P12-BIO-1119]; FCT (Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia) [PTDC/BIA-MIC/4418/2012, IF/00881/2013, UID/BIM/04773/2013-CBMR, UID/Multi/04326/2013-CCMAR]; School of Biomedical & Healthcare Sciences, Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Thermally controlled preferential molecular aggregation state in a thiacarbocyanine dye

Herein we report the experimental and theoretical study of the temperature dependence of a thiacarbocyanine dye in its monomer, H- and J-aggregates states. We demonstrate the ability to control the ratio of monomer, H- and/or J-aggregates with heat. We link such a control to the conformation dependence of the molecule. An alternative way to gain access to the dominating species without changing the concentration as a complete switching mechanism between all the present species is proposed. The results presented in this work lead to a better understanding of thiacarbocyanine dye\u27s behavior

Linear and nonlinear optical characterizations of a monomeric symmetric squaraine-based dye in solution

The photophysical properties of a symmetric squaryllium dye, namely, 2,4-bis[4-(N,N-dibutylamino)-2-hydroxyphenyl] squaraine (SQ), in its monomer form in acetone solution, have been thoroughly studied by means of one-photon absorption (1PA) and two-photon absorption (2PA), excitation anisotropy, fluorescence emission, fluorescence quantum yield, and excited state absorption. The results show that there is a strong one-photon allowed absorption band in the near IR region associated with intramolecular charge transfer. Higher one-photon allowed and forbidden singlet excited states were also revealed by absorption and excitation anisotropy. A relatively high fluorescence quantum yield (0.44) was measured for this dye. The nonlinear optical characterization of SQ in solution confirms the ability of squaraine dyes to be used as good two-photon absorbers. Additionally, it was found that this dye presents both saturable and reverse saturable absorption effects. Density functional theory calculations of the 1PA and 2PA electronic spectra of SQ were carried out to support the experimental data. A detailed analysis of the symmetry and energy of the orbitals involved in the lowest five electronic transitions is presented and discussed in relation to the behavior observed experimentally

Mega three-photon absorption cross-section enhancement in pseudoisocyanine J-aggregates

Herein we report an extraordinary three-photon absorption cross-section (sigma(3)(\u27)) enhancement in J-aggregates supramolecular systems. The much higher value of sigma(3)(\u27) in PIC J-aggregate (2.5x10(-71) cm(6) s(2) ph(-2)) compared to typical values obtained in organic molecules (10(-80) cm(6) s(2) ph(-2)) is attributed to the strong molecular transition dipole moment coupling in the supramolecular assembly. Three-photon absorption of PIC J-aggregates and monomer aqueous solutions were measured using the well known open aperture Z-scan technique pumping with a 25 ps pulse laser-OPG system at 1720 nm. This novel result opens new expectations for applications of supramolecular systems in bioimaging and medicine