21,965 research outputs found
Sustainability and oxidase biocatalysis – An overview
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Panchromatic properties of galaxies in wide-field optical spectroscopic and photometric surveys
The past 15 years have seen an explosion in the number of redshifts recovered
via wide area spectroscopic surveys. At the current time there are
approximately 2million spectroscopic galaxy redshifts known (and rising) which
represents an extraordinary growth since the pioneering work of Marc Davis and
John Huchra. Similarly there has been a parallel explosion in wavelength
coverage with imaging surveys progressing from single band, to multi-band, to
truly multiwavelength or pan-chromatic involving the coordination of multiple
facilities. With these empirically motivated studies has come a wealth of new
discoveries impacting almost all areas of astrophysics. Today individual
surveys, as best demonstrated by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, now rank
shoulder-to-shoulder alongside major facilities. In the coming years this trend
is set to continue as we being the process of designing and conducting the next
generation of spectroscopic surveys supported by multi-facility wavelength
coverage.Comment: Invited review article to be published in Proceedings of IAU
Symposium 284 on "The Spectral Energy Distribution of Galaxies", (Eds:
R.J.Tuffs & C.C.Popescu
Biotechnological Potential of Oxidative Enzymes from Actinobacteria
Oxidative enzymes are often considered for use in industrial processes because of the variety of reactions they are able to catalyse. In the past, most of these oxidative enzymes were obtained from fungi. However, in recent years, it has become evident that these enzymes are also produced by bacteria, including actinobacterial strains, which can therefore be considered as an underexploited resource of oxidative enzymes with potential for application in various industries. This chapter will focus on selected oxidative enzymes found in actinobacteria, their potential for application in industrial processes and how we can access and improve these enzymes to suit the required bioprocess conditions
Long Duration Life Test of Propylene Glycol Water Based Thermal Fluid Within Thermal Control Loop
Evaluations of thermal properties and resistance to microbial growth concluded that 50% Propylene Glycol (PG)-based fluid and 50% de-ionized water mixture was desirable for use as a fluid within a vehicle s thermal control loop. However, previous testing with a commercial mixture of PG and water containing phosphate corrosion inhibitors resulted in corrosion of aluminum within the test system and instability of the test fluid. This paper describes a follow-on long duration testing and analysis of 50% Propylene Glycol (PG)-based fluid and 50% de-ionized water mixture with inorganic corrosion inhibitors used in place of phosphates. The test evaluates the long-term fluid stability and resistance to microbial and chemical change
Comparison of charge modulations in LaBaCuO and YBaCuO
A charge modulation has recently been reported in (Y,Nd)BaCuO
[Ghiringhelli {\em et al.} Science 337, 821 (2013)]. Here we report Cu
edge soft x-ray scattering studies comparing the lattice modulation associated
with the charge modulation in YBaCuO with that associated with
the well known charge and spin stripe order in LaBaCuO.
We find that the correlation length in the CuO plane is isotropic in both
cases, and is \AA for LaBaCuO and \AA for YBaCuO. Assuming weak inter-planar correlations of
the charge ordering in both compounds, we conclude that the order parameters of
the lattice modulations in LaBaCuO and
YBaCuO are of the same order of magnitude.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure
Parametrisations of the D -> K l nu form factor and the determination of \hat{g}
The vector form factor f_+(t) of the semileptonic decay D -> K l nu, measured
recently with a high accuracy, can be used to determine the strong coupling
constant g_{D_s^* D K}. The latter is related to the normalised coupling
\hat{g} releveant in heavy-meson chiral perturbation theory. This determination
relies on the estimation of the residue of the form factor at the D_s^* pole
and thus on an extrapolation of the form factor in the unphysical region
(m_D-m_K)^2<t<(m_D+m_K)^2. We test this extrapolation for several
parametrisations of the form factors by determining the value of \hat{g}, whose
value can be compared to other (experimental and theoretical) estimates.
Several unsophisticated parametrisations, differing by the amount of physical
information that they embed, are shown to pass this test. An apparently more
elaborated parametrisation of form factors, the so-called z-expansion, is at
variance with the other models, and we point out some significant shortcomings
of this parametrisation for the problem under consideration.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures. A few references added. Accepted for publication
in JoP
Cardiovascular risk profile and frailty in a population-based study of older British men.
BACKGROUND: Frailty in older age is known to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, the extent to which frailty is associated with the CVD risk profile has been little studied. Our aim was to examine the associations of a range of cardiovascular risk factors with frailty and to assess whether these are independent of established CVD.
METHODS: Cross-sectional study of a socially representative sample of 1622 surviving men aged 71-92 examined in 2010-2012 across 24 British towns, from a prospective study initiated in 1978-1980. Frailty was defined using the Fried phenotype, including weight loss, grip strength, exhaustion, slowness and low physical activity.
RESULTS: Among 1622 men, 303 (19%) were frail and 876 (54%) were pre-frail. Compared with non-frail, those with frailty had a higher odds of obesity (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.38 to 2.99), high waist circumference (OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.67 to 3.17), low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.47 to 3.54) and hypertension (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.54). Prevalence of these factors was also higher in those with frailty (prevalence in frail vs non-frail groups was 46% vs 31% for high waist circumference, 20% vs 11% for low HDL and 78% vs 65% for hypertension). Frail individuals had a worse cardiovascular risk profile with an increased risk of high heart rate, poor lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)), raised white cell count (WCC), poor renal function (low estimated glomerular filtration rate), low alanine transaminase and low serum sodium. Some risk factors (HDL-C, hypertension, WCC, FEV1, renal function and albumin) were also associated with being pre-frail. These associations remained when men with prevalent CVD were excluded.
CONCLUSIONS: Frailty was associated with increased risk of a range of cardiovascular factors (including obesity, HDL-C, hypertension, heart rate, lung function, renal function) in older people; these associations were independent of established CVD
Inelastic x-ray scattering investigations of lattice dynamics in SmFeAsOF superconductors
We report measurements of the phonon density of states as measured with
inelastic x-ray scattering in SmFeAsOF powders. An unexpected
strong renormalization of phonon branches around 23 meV is observed as fluorine
is substituted for oxygen. Phonon dispersion measurements on
SmFeAsOF single crystals allow us to identify the 21 meV A
in-phase (Sm,As) and the 26 meV B (Fe,O) modes to be responsible for
this renormalization, and may reveal unusual electron-phonon coupling through
the spin channel in iron-based superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted for SNS2010 conference proceeding
Hydrogel microparticles for biosensing
Due to their hydrophilic, biocompatible, and highly tunable nature, hydrogel materials have attracted strong interest in the recent years for numerous biotechnological applications. In particular, their solution-like environment and non-fouling nature in complex biological samples render hydrogels as ideal substrates for biosensing applications. Hydrogel coatings, and later, gel dot surface microarrays, were successfully used in sensitive nucleic acid assays and immunoassays. More recently, new microfabrication techniques for synthesizing encoded particles from hydrogel materials have enabled the development of hydrogel-based suspension arrays. Lithography processes and droplet-based microfluidic techniques enable generation of libraries of particles with unique spectral or graphical codes, for multiplexed sensing in biological samples. In this review, we discuss the key questions arising when designing hydrogel particles dedicated to biosensing. How can the hydrogel material be engineered in order to tune its properties and immobilize bioprobes inside? What are the strategies to fabricate and encode gel particles, and how can particles be processed and decoded after the assay? Finally, we review the bioassays reported so far in the literature that have used hydrogel particle arrays and give an outlook of further developments of the field. Keywords: Hydrogel; Biosensor; Microparticle; Multiplex assayNovartis Institutes of Biomedical Research (Presidential Fellowship)Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research (Education Office)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Grant 5R21CA177393-02)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CMMI-1120724)Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies (Grant W911NF-09-0001)United States. Army Research Offic
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