Ultrafast laser inscribed integrated photonics: material science to device development

Detailed studies of intense light – material interactions has led to new insights into fs laser induced refractive index change in a range of glass types. This body of knowledge enables the development of advanced processing methodologies, resulting in novel planar and 3D guided wave devices. We will review the chemistry and morphology associated with fs laser induced refractive index change in multi-component glasses such as ZBLAN, phosphates and silicates, and discuss how these material changes inform our research programs developing a range of active and passive lightwave systems.S. Gross, T. D. Meany, A. Arriola, C. Miese, R. J. Williams, Y. Duan, Q. Liu, I. Spaleniak, M. Ams, P. Dekker, N. Jovanovic, A. Fuerbach, M. Ireland, M. J. Steel, D. G. Lancaster, H. Ebendorff Heidepriem, T. M. Monro, and M. J. Withfor

Tax implications of marital breakdown Finance Act 1996

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:97/20366 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply Centre1. ed.GBUnited Kingdo

Detection of human blood by immunoassay for applications in forensic analysis

The detection and confirmation of bloodstains as being human in origin is important in crime scene investigations. There are a number of blood detection methods currently available. The aim of this work was to develop an assay capable of detecting the presence of human blood from both liquid blood samples and dried bloodstains. A simple, direct competitive ELISA was developed utilising a polyclonal antibody against human IgG. Once optimised, the ELISA was found to be specific for human IgG, with no cross-reaction observed with pig, sheep, cow, goat, horse and rabbit IgG. The assay was also found to be sensitive, with a detection limit of 0.1 μg/mL. This compares favourably with leading blood detection methods. The assay was able to confirm the presence of human blood in blood mixtures, in stains on a variety of surfaces and also gave positive results with bloodstains that were up to 1 year old. The assay was simple to use, rapid and highly reproducible. The ELISA performance makes it suitable for development as a kit to rival currently used methods for the routine detection of human blood at crime scenes. Further applications of the anti-human IgG antibody are reported, including immunodot assays and a sandwich ELISA format.The methods described here are simple, reliable assays for the identification of human blood and are presented as viable alternatives to existing techniques for blood detection

Characterisation and properties of Acacia senegal (L.) Willd. var, senegal with enhanced properties (Acacia (sen) SUPER GUM™): Part 3 Immunological characterisation of Acacia (sen) SUPER GUM™

Four Acacia senegal samples, one control (Mw 6.2×105 g/mol) and three enhanced samples with different molecular weights ranging from 1.2×106–2.5×106 g/mol were fractionated using hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) into two fractions, hydrophilic (fraction 1, yield ∼80%) and hydrophobic (fraction 2, yield ∼2%). The elution profile and weight average molecular weight of fraction 1 were similar to the starting materials but contained slightly more arabinogalactan protein (AGP) component. On the other hand, the AGP peak was almost completely removed from Fraction 2. The Mw for fraction 2 was ∼1.1×105 g/mol and contained <0.5% (of the total injected mass) of aggregated materials with Mw>4.9×107 g/mol. These fractions plus the whole gum were also analysed by ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay). The results showed that the interaction with an A. senegal specific antibody (SY CC7) is the same for the whole gum sample and its fractions, indicating a common, widely distributed epitope. One sample with the highest molecular weight (2.5×106 g/mol) showed a slightly different interaction, displaying a lower sensitivity, attributed to the formation of a more compact hydrophobic form of AGP. This is in accord also with the observations on the same sample using spectroscopic methods which was attributed to dehydration of the COOH uronic acid group.Examination of the commercially available Acacia(sen) SUPER GUM™ (EM2—Mw ∼1.8×106 g/mol) with three different antibodies (SY CC7, UC-SEN-PS-01 and UC-SEY-PS-01) showed the response to be identical to that of control A. senegal gum. These results demonstrate how immunological techniques, in this instance ELISAs, can be utilised to indicate differences between gum samples and to determine the limit of maturation of Acacia(sen) SUPER GUM™