Species- and organ-specificity of secretory proteins derived from human prostate and seminal vesicles

Polyclonal antibodies against semenogelin (SG) isolated from human seminal vesicle secretion and acid phosphatase (PAP), β‐microseminoprotein (β‐MSP), and Prostate‐Specific Antigen (PSA) derived from human prostatic fluid, as well as a monoclonal antibody against β‐MSP were used for immunocytochemical detection of the respective antigens in different organs from different species. SG immunoreactivity was detected in the epithelium of the pubertal and adult human and in monkey seminal vesicle, ampulla of the vas deferens, and ejaculatory duct. PAP, β‐MSP, and PSA immunoreactivities were detected in the pubertal and adult human prostate and the cranial and caudal monkey prostate. With the exception of a weak PSA immunoreactivity in the proximal portions of the ejaculatory duct, none of the latter antisera reacted with seminal vesicle, ampullary, and ejaculatory duct epithelium. Among the non‐primate species studied (dog, bull, rat, guinea pig) only the canine prostatic epithelium displayed a definite immunoreactivity with the PAP antibody and a moderate reaction with the PSA antibody. No immunoreaction was seen in bull and rat seminal vesicle and canine ampulla of the vas deferens with the SG antibody. The same was true for the (ventral) prostate of rat, bull, and dog for β‐MSP. The epithelium of the rat dorsal prostate showed a slight cross‐reactivity with the monoclonal antibody against β‐MSP and one polyclonal antibody against PSA. The findings indicate a rather strict species‐dependent expression of human seminal proteins which show some similarities in primates, but only marginal relationship to species with different physiology of seminal fluid

Time and wavelength resolved spectroscopy of turbid media using light continuum generated in a crystal fiber

We report a novel system for time-resolved diffuse remission spectral measurements, based on short light continuum pulses generated in an index-guided crystal fiber, and a spectrometer-equipped streak camera. The system enables spectral recordings of absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of turbid media in the wavelength range 500 - 1200 nm with a spectral resolution of 5 nm and a temporal resolution of 30 ps. The optical properties are calculated by fitting the solution of the diffusion equation to the time-dispersion curve at each wavelength. Example measurements are presented from an apple, a finger and a pharmaceutical tablet. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America

Photophysical characterization of the 9,10-disubstituted anthracene chromophore and its applications in triplet-triplet annihilation photon upconversion

Molecules based on anthracene are commonly used in applications such as OLEDs and triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion. In future design of blue emitting materials it is useful to know which part of the molecule can be altered in order to obtain new physical properties without losing the inherent optical properties. We have studied the effect of substitution of 9,10-substituted anthracenes. Eight anthracenes with aromatic phenyl and thiophene substituents were synthesised, containing both electron donating and accepting groups. The substitutions were found to affect the UV/Vis absorption only to a small extent, however the fluorescence properties were more affected with the thiophene substituents that decreased the fluorescence quantum yield from unity to <10%. DFT calculations confirm the minor change in absorption and indicate that the first and second triplet state energies are also unaffected. Finally the three most fluorescent derivatives 4-(10-phenylanthracene-9-yl) pyridine, 9-phenyl-10-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl) anthracene and 4-(10-phenylanthracene-9-yl) benzonitrile were successfully utilized as annihilators in a triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) system employing platinum octaethylporphyrin as the sensitizer. The observed upconversion quantum yields, phi(UC), slightly exceeded that of the benchmark annihilator 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA)

Time-resolved NIR/Vis spectroscopy for analysis of solids: Pharmaceutical tablets

Time-resolved spectroscopy in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) regions was used in a feasibility study for analysis of solid pharmaceuticals. The objective of the experiments was to study the interaction of light with pharmaceutical solids and to investigate the usefulness of the method as an analytical toot for spectroscopic analysis. In these experiments, a pulsed Ti:sapphire laser and white light generation in water was utilized to form a pulsed light source in the visible/NIR region. The light was focused onto the surface of tablets, and the transmitted light was detected by a time-resolving streak camera. Two types of measurements were performed. First, a spectrometer was put in front of the streak camera for spectral resolution. Secondly, the signal originating from different locations of the sample was collected. Time-resolved and wavelength/spatially resolved data were generated and compared for a number of different samples. The most striking result from the experiments is that the typical optical path length through a 3.5-mm-thick tablet is about 20-25 cm. This indicates very strong multiple scattering in these samples. Monte Carlo simulations and comparison with experimental data support very high scattering coefficients on the order of 500 cm(-1). Furthermore, the data evaluation shows that photons with a particular propagation time through the sample contain a higher chemical contrast than other propagation times or than steady-state information. In conclusion, time-resolved NIR spectroscopy yields more information about solid pharmaceutical samples than conventional steady-state spectroscopy

Further Studies on the Transient Stability of Synchronous-Synchronous Rotary Frequency Converter Fed Railways with Low-Frequency ac High-Voltage Transmission

This paper continues the pursuit of getting a deeper understanding regarding the transient stability of low-frequency AC railway power systems operated at 16 2/3 Hz that are synchronously connected to the public grid. Here, the focus is set on such grids with a low-frequency AC high-voltage transmission line subject to a fault. The study here is limited to railways being fed by different distributions of Rotary Frequency Converter (RFC) types. Both auto transformer (AT) and booster transformer (BT) catenaries are considered. No mixed model configurations in the converter stations (CSs) are considered in this study. Therefore, only interactions between RFCs in different CSs and between RFCs, the fault, and the load can take place in this study. The RFC dynamic models are essentially two Anderson-Fouad models of synchronous machines coupled mechanically by their rotors being connected to the same mechanical shaft. Besides the new cases studied, also a new voltage-dependent active power load model is presented and used in this study