Innovations and Experiments in Uses of Health Manpower—The Effect of Licensure Laws

Time-resolved optical spin orientation is employed to study spin dynamics of I * and I-1* excitons bound to isoelectronic centers in bulk ZnO. It is found that spin orientation at the exciton ground state can be generated using resonant excitation via a higher lying exciton state located at about 4 meV from the ground state. Based on the performed rate equation analysis of the measured spin dynamics, characteristic times of subsequent hole, electron, and direct exciton spin flips in the exciton ground state are determined as being tau(s)(h) = 0.4 ns, tau(s)(e) greater than= 15 ns, and tau(s)(eh) greater than= 15 ns, respectively. This relatively slow spin relaxation of the isoelectronic bound excitons is attributed to combined effects of (i) weak e-h exchange interaction, (ii) restriction of the exciton movement due to its binding at the isoelectronic center, and (iii) suppressed spin-orbit coupling for the tightly bound hole

Carcass composition and meat characteristic of male and female rabbits

A study was carried out on the yield, carcass composition and characteristics of meat of 11 male and 11 female rabbits. For 77 days the rabbits were kept under identical conditions and were fed with compound feed containing 18% crude protein. An average pre-slaughter live weight of the males of 2,462 +/- (0,15)g and 2,472+/-(0,17)g of the females was achieved during the fattening period. The average participation of the clean carcass with and without the head compared to the live mass before slaughtering was 55.76+/-(0,22)% and 50.77+/-(0,20)% for the males, and 55.92+/-(0.24)% and 51.52+/-(0.19)% for the females. Compared to the mass of the clean carcass with head on of the female rabbits the pelvic-thing part participated with 30.67%, the flank part with 29.04%, the forelegs with 21.94% and the neck-breast part with 18.35%. The participation of the parts from male rabbit was as follows: the pelvic-thigh part 30.52%, the flank part 28.52%, the forelegs 21.88% and the neck-breast part 19.08%. The participation of the muscle tissue in the mass of the clean carcass without the head was 76.45+/-(2.18)% for the males and 75.70+/-(2.17)% for the females

The controlled release of drugs from emulsified, sol gel processed silica microspheres

Controlled release silica sol gels are room temperature processed, porous, resorbable materials with generally good compatibility. Many molecules including drugs, proteins and growth factors can be released from sol gels and the quantity and duration of the release can vary widely. Processing parameters render these release properties exquisitely versatile. The synthesis of controlled release sol gels typically includes acid catalyzed hydrolysis to form a sol with the molecules included. This is then followed by casting, aging and drying. Additional steps such as grinding and sieving are required to produce sol gel granules of a desirable size. In this study, we focus on the synthesis of sol gel microspheres by using a novel process with only two steps. The novelty is related to acid–base catalysis of the sol prior to emulsification. Sol gel microspheres containing either vancomycin (antibiotic) or bupivacaine (analgesic) were successfully synthesized using this method. Both drugs showed controlled, load dependent and time dependent release from the microspheres. The in vitro release properties of sol gel microspheres were remarkably different from those of sol gel granules produced by grinding and sieving. In contrast to a fast, short-term release from granules, the release from microspheres was slower and of longer duration. In addition, the degradation rate of microspheres was significantly slower than that of the granules. Using various mathematical models, the data reveal that the release from sol gel powder is governed by two distinct phases of release. In addition, the release from emulsified microspheres is delayed, a finding that can be attributed to differences in surface properties of the particles produced by emulsification and those produced by casting and grinding. The presented results represent an excellent data set for designing and implementing preclinical studies

Differential alkaline phosphatase responses of rat and human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells to 45S5 bioactive glass

Bioactive glass is used as both a bone filler and as a coating on implants, and has been advocated as a potential osteogenic scaffold for tissue engineering. Rat-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) show elevated levels of alkaline phosphatase activity when grown on 45S5 bioactive glass as compared to standard tissue culture plastic. Similarly, exposure to the dissolution products of 45S5 elevates alkaline phosphatase activity and other osteogenic markers in these cells. We investigated whether human MSCs grown under the same laboratory conditions as rat MSCs would exhibit similar responses. In general, human MSCs produce markedly less alkaline phosphatase activity than rat MSCs, regardless of cell culture conditions, and do not respond to the growth factor BMP-2 in the same way as rat MSCs. In our experiments there was no difference in alkaline phosphatase activity between human MSCs grown on 45S5 bioactive glass or tissue culture plastic, in samples from five different orthopaedic patients, regardless of culture media composition. Neither was there any consistent effect of 45S5 dissolution products on human MSCs from three different donors. These results suggest that the positive effects of bioactive glass on bone growth in human patients are not mediated by accelerated differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

Идентификация веществ раздражающего действия CS и CN в следах выстрела из газового оружия

ХРОМАТОГРАФИЯ ГАЗОВА

Classifying RNA-Binding Proteins Based on Electrostatic Properties

Protein structure can provide new insight into the biological function of a protein and can enable the design of better experiments to learn its biological roles. Moreover, deciphering the interactions of a protein with other molecules can contribute to the understanding of the protein's function within cellular processes. In this study, we apply a machine learning approach for classifying RNA-binding proteins based on their three-dimensional structures. The method is based on characterizing unique properties of electrostatic patches on the protein surface. Using an ensemble of general protein features and specific properties extracted from the electrostatic patches, we have trained a support vector machine (SVM) to distinguish RNA-binding proteins from other positively charged proteins that do not bind nucleic acids. Specifically, the method was applied on proteins possessing the RNA recognition motif (RRM) and successfully classified RNA-binding proteins from RRM domains involved in protein–protein interactions. Overall the method achieves 88% accuracy in classifying RNA-binding proteins, yet it cannot distinguish RNA from DNA binding proteins. Nevertheless, by applying a multiclass SVM approach we were able to classify the RNA-binding proteins based on their RNA targets, specifically, whether they bind a ribosomal RNA (rRNA), a transfer RNA (tRNA), or messenger RNA (mRNA). Finally, we present here an innovative approach that does not rely on sequence or structural homology and could be applied to identify novel RNA-binding proteins with unique folds and/or binding motifs

A chemical model for the atmosphere of hot Jupiters

Our purpose is to release a chemical network, and the associated rate coefficients, developed for the temperature and pressure range relevant to hot Jupiters atmospheres. Using this network, we study the vertical atmospheric composition of the two hot Jupiters (HD209458b, HD189733b) with a model that includes photolyses and vertical mixing and we produce synthetic spectra. The chemical scheme is derived from applied combustion models that have been methodically validated over a range of temperatures and pressures typical of the atmospheric layers influencing the observations of hot Jupiters. We compare the predictions obtained from this scheme with equilibrium calculations, with different schemes available in the literature that contain N-bearing species and with previously published photochemical models. Compared to other chemical schemes that were not subjected to the same systematic validation, we find significant differences whenever non-equilibrium processes take place. The deviations from the equilibrium, and thus the sensitivity to the network, are more important for HD189733b, as we assume a cooler atmosphere than for HD209458b. We found that the abundances of NH3 and HCN can vary by two orders of magnitude depending on the network, demonstrating the importance of comprehensive experimental validation. A spectral feature of NH3 at 10.5$\mu$m is sensitive to these abundance variations and thus to the chemical scheme. Due to the influence of the kinetics, we recommend the use of a validated scheme to model the chemistry of exoplanet atmospheres. Our network is robust for temperatures within 300-2500K and pressures from 10mbar up to a few hundreds of bars, for species made of C,H,O,N. It is validated for species up to 2 carbon atoms and for the main nitrogen species.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Spin dynamics of isoelectronic bound excitons in ZnO

Time-resolved optical spin orientation is employed to study spin dynamics of I * and I-1* excitons bound to isoelectronic centers in bulk ZnO. It is found that spin orientation at the exciton ground state can be generated using resonant excitation via a higher lying exciton state located at about 4 meV from the ground state. Based on the performed rate equation analysis of the measured spin dynamics, characteristic times of subsequent hole, electron, and direct exciton spin flips in the exciton ground state are determined as being tau(s)(h) = 0.4 ns, tau(s)(e) greater than= 15 ns, and tau(s)(eh) greater than= 15 ns, respectively. This relatively slow spin relaxation of the isoelectronic bound excitons is attributed to combined effects of (i) weak e-h exchange interaction, (ii) restriction of the exciton movement due to its binding at the isoelectronic center, and (iii) suppressed spin-orbit coupling for the tightly bound hole

Slowdown of light due to exciton-polariton propagation in ZnO

By employing time-of-flight spectroscopy, the group velocity of light propagating through bulk ZnO is demonstrated to dramatically decrease down to 2044 km/s when photon energy approaches the absorption edge of the material. The magnitude of this decrease is found to depend on light polarization. It is concluded that even though the slowdown is observed in the vicinity of donor bound exciton (BX) resonances, the effect is chiefly governed by dispersion of free exciton (FX) polaritons that propagate coherently via ballistic transport. Based on the experimentally determined spectral dependence of the polariton group velocity, the polariton dispersion is accurately determined.Original Publication: Shula Chen, Weimin Chen and Irina Boyanova, Slowdown of light due to exciton-polariton propagation in ZnO, 2011, Physical Review B. Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, (83), 24, 245212. http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.83.245212 Copyright: American Physical Society http://www.aps.org/</p

Donor bound excitons involving a hole from the B valence band in ZnO: Time resolved and magneto-photoluminescence studies

Time-resolved and magneto-photoluminescence (PL) studies are performed for the so-called I(6)(B) and I(7)(B) excitonic transitions, previously attributed to neutral donor bound excitons involving a hole from the B valence band (VB), D(0)X(B). It is shown that PL decays of these emissions at 2 K are faster than that of their I(6) and I(7) counterparts involving an A VB hole, which is interpreted as being due to energy relaxation of the hole assisted by acoustic phonons. From the magneto-PL measurements, values of effective Lande g factors for conduction electrons and B VB holes are determined as g(e) = 1.91, g(h)(parallel to) = 1.79, and g(h)(perpendicular to) = 0, respectively.|</p