63 research outputs found
The effect of growth phase and medium on the use of the firefly adenosine triphosphate (ATP) assay for the quantitation of bacteria
Luciferase assay for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was used as a rapid method to determine the number of bacteria in a urine sample after nonbacterial components were removed. Accurate cellular ATP values, determined when bacteria were grown in an environment similar to that in which they were found, were necessary for the calculation of bacterial titer in urine. Cellular ATP values vary depending on the extraction method, the cell growth phase, and cell growth conditions. ATP per cell values of stationary E. coli grown in urine were two times greater than ATP per cell values of cells grown in trypticase soy broth. Glucose and urea were examined as possible components responsible for the cellular ATP variation
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Hydrogen Separation Membranes Annual Report for FY 2006.
The objective of this work is to develop dense ceramic membranes for separating hydrogen from other gaseous components in a nongalvanic mode, i.e., without using an external power supply or electrical circuitry. This goal of this project is to develop two types of dense ceramic membrane for producing hydrogen nongalvanically, i.e., without electrodes or external power supply, at commercially significant fluxes under industrially relevant operating conditions. The first type of membrane, hydrogen transport membranes (HTMs), will be used to separate hydrogen from gas mixtures such as the product streams from coal gasification, methane partial oxidation, and water-gas shift reactions. Potential ancillary uses of HTMs include dehydrogenation and olefin production, as well as hydrogen recovery in petroleum refineries and ammonia synthesis plants, the largest current users of deliberately produced hydrogen. The second type of membrane, oxygen transport membranes (OTMs), will produce hydrogen by nongalvanically removing oxygen that is generated when water dissociates at elevated temperatures. This report describes progress that was made during FY 2006 on the development of OTM and HTM materials
Optoelectronic and Excitonic Properties of Oligoacenes: Substantial Improvements from Range-Separated Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory
The optoelectronic and excitonic properties in a series of linear acenes
(naphthalene up to heptacene) are investigated using range-separated methods
within time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). In these rather simple
systems, it is well-known that TDDFT methods using conventional hybrid
functionals surprisingly fail in describing the low-lying La and Lb valence
states, resulting in large, growing errors for the La state and an incorrect
energetic ordering as a function of molecular size. In this work, we
demonstrate that the range-separated formalism largely eliminates both of these
errors and also provides a consistent description of excitonic properties in
these systems. We further demonstrate that re-optimizing the percentage of
Hartree-Fock exchange in conventional hybrids to match wavefunction-based
benchmark calculations still yields serious errors, and a full 100%
Hartree-Fock range separation is essential for simultaneously describing both
of the La and Lb transitions. Based on an analysis of electron-hole transition
density matrices, we finally show that conventional hybrid functionals
overdelocalize excitons and underestimate quasiparticle energy gaps in the
acene systems. The results of our present study emphasize the importance of
both a range-separated and asymptotically-correct contribution of exchange in
TDDFT for investigating optoelectronic and excitonic properties, even for these
simple valence excitations.Comment: Accepted by the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computatio
Electronic Properties of Vinylene-Linked Heterocyclic Conducting Polymers: Predictive Design and Rational Guidance from DFT Calculations
The band structure and electronic properties in a series of vinylene-linked
heterocyclic conducting polymers are investigated using density functional
theory (DFT). In order to accurately calculate electronic band gaps, we utilize
hybrid functionals with fully periodic boundary conditions to understand the
effect of chemical functionalization on the electronic structure of these
materials. The use of predictive first-principles calculations coupled with
simple chemical arguments highlights the critical role that aromaticity plays
in obtaining a low band gap polymer. Contrary to some approaches which
erroneously attempt to lower the band gap by increasing the aromaticity of the
polymer backbone, we show that being aromatic (or quinoidal) in itself does not
insure a low band gap. Rather, an iterative approach which destabilizes the
ground state of the parent polymer towards the aromatic \leftrightarrow
quinoidal level-crossing on the potential energy surface is a more effective
way of lowering the band gap in these conjugated systems. Our results highlight
the use of predictive calculations guided by rational chemical intuition for
designing low band gap polymers in photovoltaic materials.Comment: Accepted by the Journal of Physical Chemistry
Multiplexity and multireciprocity in directed multiplexes
Real-world multilayer networks feature nontrivial dependencies among links of different layers. Here we argue that if links are directed, then dependencies are twofold. Besides the ordinary tendency of links of different layers to align as the result of "multiplexity," there is also a tendency to antialign as a result of what we call "multireciprocity," i.e., the fact that links in one layer can be reciprocated by opposite links in a different layer. Multireciprocity generalizes the scalar definition of single-layer reciprocity to that of a square matrix involving all pairs of layers. We introduce multiplexity and multireciprocity matrices for both binary and weighted multiplexes and validate their statistical significance against maximum-entropy null models that filter out the effects of node heterogeneity. We then perform a detailed empirical analysis of the world trade multiplex (WTM), representing the import-export relationships between world countries in different commodities. We show that the WTM exhibits strong multiplexity and multireciprocity, an effect which is, however, largely encoded into the degree or strength sequences of individual layers. The residual effects are still significant and allow us to classify pairs of commodities according to their tendency to be traded together in the same direction and/or in opposite ones. We also find that the multireciprocity of the WTM is significantly lower than the usual reciprocity measured on the aggregate network. Moreover, layers with low (high) internal reciprocity are embedded within sets of layers with comparably low (high) mutual multireciprocity. This suggests that, in the WTM, reciprocity is inherent to groups of related commodities rather than to individual commodities. We discuss the implications for international trade research focusing on product taxonomies, the product space, and fitness and complexity metrics
Blue Light and Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure from Infant Phototherapy Equipment
Phototherapy is the use of light for reducing the concentration of bilirubin in the body of infants. Although it has become a mainstay since its introduction in 1958, a better understanding of the efficacy and safety of phototherapy applications seems to be necessary for improved clinical practices and outcomes. This study was initiated to evaluate workers' exposure to Optical Radiation from different types of phototherapy devices in clinical use in Italy. During infant phototherapy the staff monitors babies periodically for around 10 min every hour, and fixation of the phototherapy beam light frequently occurs: almost all operators work within 30 cm of the phototherapy source during monitoring procedures, with most of them commonly working at ≤25 cm from the direct or reflected radiation beam. The results of this study suggest that there is a great variability in the spectral emission of equipments investigated, depending on the types of lamps used and some phototherapy equipment exposes operators to blue light photochemical retinal hazard. Some of the equipment investigated presents relevant spectral emission also in the UVA region. Taking into account that the exposure to UV in childhood has been established as an important contributing factor for melanoma risk in adults and considering the high susceptibility to UV-induced skin damage of the newborn, related to his pigmentary traits, the UV exposure of the infant during phototherapy should be "as low as reasonably achievable," considering that it is unnecessary to the therapy. It is recommended that special safety training be provided for the affected employees: in particular, protective eyewear can be necessary during newborn assistance activities carried out in proximity of some sources. The engineering design of phototherapy equipment can be optimized. Specific requirements for photobiological safety of lamps used in the phototherapy equipment should be defined in the safety product standard for such equipment
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