A sensitive bithiophene-based biosensor for interferon-gamma characterization and analysis

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Photonic band structure of highly deformable, self-assembling systems

We calculate the photonic band structure at normal incidence of highly deformable, self-assembling systems - cholesteric elastomers subjected to external stress. Cholesterics display brilliant reflection and lasing owing to gaps in their photonic band structure. The band structure of cholesteric elastomers varies sensitively with strain, showing new gaps opening up and shifting in frequency. A novel prediction of a total band gap is made, and is expected to occur in the vicinity of the previously observed de Vries bandgap, which is only for one polarisation

Coherent States and Modified de Broglie-Bohm Complex Quantum Trajectories

This paper examines the nature of classical correspondence in the case of coherent states at the level of quantum trajectories. We first show that for a harmonic oscillator, the coherent state complex quantum trajectories and the complex classical trajectories are identical to each other. This congruence in the complex plane, not restricted to high quantum numbers alone, illustrates that the harmonic oscillator in a coherent state executes classical motion. The quantum trajectories are those conceived in a modified de Broglie-Bohm scheme and we note that identical classical and quantum trajectories for coherent states are obtained only in the present approach. The study is extended to Gazeau-Klauder and SUSY quantum mechanics-based coherent states of a particle in an infinite potential well and that in a symmetric Poschl-Teller (PT) potential by solving for the trajectories numerically. For the coherent state of the infinite potential well, almost identical classical and quantum trajectories are obtained whereas for the PT potential, though classical trajectories are not regained, a periodic motion results as t --> \infty.Comment: More example

Epidemiological investigation of a case of nosocomial Legionnaires' disease in Taiwan: implications for routine environmental surveillance

AbstractAn epidemiological investigation with Legionella and molecular subtyping was conducted to determine the source of a case of nosocomial Legionnaires' disease (LD) who was hospitalized in three hospitals within a month. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 3, an uncommon serogroup for infection, was isolated from the patient's sputum. Environmental surveillance revealed Legionella colonization in all three hospitals; the patient isolate matched the isolate from the first hospital by molecular typing. Culturing the hospital water supply for Legionella is a pro-active strategy for detection of nosocomial LD even in hospitals experiencing no previous cases

Highly conserved interaction profiles between clinically relevant mutants of the cytomegalovirus CDK-like kinase pUL97 and human cyclins: functional significance of cyclin H

The complex host interaction network of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) involves the regulatory protein kinase pUL97, which represents a viral cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) ortholog. pUL97 interacts with the three human cyclin types T1, H, and B1, whereby the binding region of cyclin T1 and the pUL97 oligomerization region were both assigned to amino acids 231-280. We further addressed the question of whether HCMVs harboring mutations in ORF-UL97, i.e., short deletions or resistance-conferring point mutations, are affected in the interaction with human cyclins and viral replication. To this end, clinically relevant UL97 drug-resistance-conferring mutants were analyzed by whole-genome sequencing and used for genetic marker transfer experiments. The recombinant HCMVs indicated conservation of pUL97-cyclin interaction, since all viral UL97 point mutants continued to interact with the analyzed cyclin types and exerted wild-type-like replication fitness. In comparison, recombinant HCMVs UL97 Δ231-280 and also the smaller deletion Δ236-275, but not Δ241-270, lost interaction with cyclins T1 and H, showed impaired replication efficiency, and also exhibited reduced kinase activity. Moreover, a cellular knock-out of cyclins B1 or T1 did not alter HCMV replication phenotypes or pUL97 kinase activity, possibly indicating alternative, compensatory pUL97-cyclin interactions. In contrast, however, cyclin H knock-out, similar to virus deletion mutants in the pUL97-cyclin H binding region, exhibited strong defective phenotypes of HCMV replication, as supported by reduced pUL97 kinase activity in a cyclin H-dependent coexpression setting. Thus, cyclin H proved to be a very relevant determinant of pUL97 kinase activity and viral replication efficiency. As a conclusion, the results provide evidence for the functional importance of pUL97-cyclin interaction. High selective pressure on the formation of pUL97-cyclin complexes was identified by the use of clinically relevant mutants

Search for Third Generation Vector Leptoquarks in p anti-p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV

We describe a search for a third generation vector leptoquark (VLQ3) that decays to a b quark and tau lepton using the CDF II detector and 322 pb^(-1) of integrated luminosity from the Fermilab Tevatron. Vector leptoquarks have been proposed in many extensions of the standard model (SM). Observing a number of events in agreement with SM expectations, assuming Yang-Mills (minimal) couplings, we obtain the most stringent upper limit on the VLQ3 pair production cross section of 344 fb (493 fb) and lower limit on the VLQ3 mass of 317 GeV/c^2 (251 GeV/c^2) at 95% C.L.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR

Search for exclusive Z boson production and observation of high mass ppbar->gammagamma->p+ll+pbar events in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV

submitted to Phys. Rev. LettWe present a search for exclusive Z boson production in proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV, using the CDF II detector at Fermilab. We observe no exclusive Z->ll candidates and place the first upper limit on the exclusive Z cross section in hadron collisions, sigma(exclu) gammagamma->p+ll+pbar, and measure the cross section for M(ll) > 40 GeV/c2 and |eta(l)|This Letter presents a search for exclusive Z boson production in proton-antiproton collisions at √s=1.96  TeV, using the CDF II detector. No exclusive Z→l+l- candidates are observed and the first upper limit on the exclusive Z cross section in hadron collisions is found to be σexcl(Z)40  GeV/c2 and |ηl|<4 is found to be σ=0.24-0.10+0.13  pb, which is consistent with the standard model prediction.Peer reviewe

Search for neutral MSSM Higgs bosons decaying to a pair of tau leptons in pp collisions

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Search for high-mass diphoton states and limits on Randall-Sundrum gravitons at CDF

We have performed a search for new particles which decay to two photons using 1.2 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity from p (p) over bar collisions at root s = 1.96 TeV collected using the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We find the diphoton mass spectrum to be in agreement with the standard model expectation, and set limits on the cross section times branching ratio for the Randall-Sundrum graviton, as a function of diphoton mass. We subsequently derive lower limits for the graviton mass of 230 GeV/c(2) and 850 GeV/c(2), at the 95% confidence level, for coupling parameters (k=(M) over barP(1)) of 0.01 and 0.1, respectively

Measurement of top quark–antiquark pair production in association with a W or Z boson in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV

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