In situ chemichromic studies of interactions between a lutetium bis-octaalkyl-substituted phthalocyanine and selected biological cofactors

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website at the link below. Copyright @ 2011 The Royal Society.Spin-coated films, approximately 100 nm thick, of a newly synthesized bis[octakis(octyl)phthalocyaninato] lutetium(III) complex on ultrasonically cleaned glass substrates exhibit pronounced chemichromic behaviour with potential application in healthcare. In situ kinetic optical absorption spectroscopic measurements show that the phthalocyanine Q-band is red shifted by 60 nm upon oxidation arising from exposure to bromine vapour. Recovery to the original state is achieved by the treatment of the oxidized films with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and l-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in an aqueous solution containing 1.5 M lithium perchlorate. The neutralization process is found to be governed by first-order kinetics. The linear increase of the reduction rate with increasing concentration of cofactors provides a basis for calibration of analyte concentrations ranging from 3.5 mM down to 0.03 mM.Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Material Command, USAF and the Leverhulme Trust

Data preparation and bibliography for the Gymea Library NDXC

A summary of data preparation methods and codes is given together with a compilation of references which were the sources for data contained in the Gymea Library NDXC

Multiparticle collisions. Part 1 - angular momentum eigenstates.

The current situation with regard to relativistic representation of multiparticle angular momentum eigenstates is reviewed and it is concluded that no generally satisfactory formalism exists. Difficulties with the formalism are outlined and a general method of construction of partial wave amplitudes is put forward

Multiparticle collisions. Part 2 - application of unitarity.

The application of unitarity to multiparticle production processes is studied and relationships between production and scattering amplitudes are derived

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) as a resource for farmland insect pollinators: quantifying floral traits in conventional varieties and breeding systems

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Oilseed rape (OSR; Brassica napus L.) is a major crop in temperate regions and provides an important source ofnutrition to many of the yield-enhancing insect flower visitors that consume floral nectar. The manipulation ofmechanisms that control various crop plant traits for the benefit of pollinators has been suggested in the bid toincrease food security, but little is known about inherent floral trait expression in contemporary OSR varieties orthe breeding systems used in OSR breeding programmes. We studied a range of floral traits in glasshouse-grown, certified conventional varieties of winter OSR to test for variation among and within breeding systems.We measured 24-h nectar secretion rate, amount, concentration and ratio of nectar sugars per flower, and sizesand number of flowers produced per plant from 24 varieties of OSR representing open-pollinated (OP), genicmale sterility (GMS) hybrid and cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) hybrid breeding systems. Sugar concentrationwas consistent among and within the breeding systems; however, GMS hybrids produced more nectar and moresugar per flower than CMS hybrid or OP varieties. With the exception of ratio of fructose/glucose in OP vari-eties, we found that nectar traits were consistent within all the breeding systems. When scaled, GMS hybridsproduced 1.73 times more nectar resource per plant than OP varieties. Nectar production and amount of nectarsugar in OSR plants were independent of number and size of flowers. Our data show that floral traits of glass-house-grown OSR differed among breeding systems, suggesting that manipulation and enhancement of nectarrewards for insect flower visitors, including pollinators, could be included in future OSR breeding programmes.This work was fundedby the BBSRC, including support from an Insect Pollinators Ini-tiative grant awarded to GAW (BB/I000968/1) that was jointlyfunded by the BBSRC, NERC, the Wellcome Trust, Defra, andthe Scottish Government. Support was also received from HighWycombe Beekeepers’ Association. Rothamsted Researchreceives strategic funding from the Biotechnology and BiologicalSciences Research Council (BBSRC) of the UK

Comparison of resonance absorption theory used in the codes GYMEA and PEAS and evaluation of residual background reaction rates.

Details of the resonance theory used in the code GYMEA are described and compared with exact solutions for resonance's in Th232, U235, and Pu240. The relative merits of two methods for including background cross sections are evaluated, by an exhaustive study of the reaction rates across the resonance's. It was found that the analytical procedure for calculating resonance reaction rates leads to tolerable errors in reactor physics calculations. The resonance adjusted calculations emerged as the most accurate method for computing the fine structure of the reaction rates across a resonance

An evaluation of the charge exchange rate coefficients for the hydrogen isotopes in plasmas

The charge exchange rate coefficients for hydrogen isotopes are evaluated and the average over a Maxwellian spectrum is carried out analytically. Applications to tokamak calculations are also considered

Biomechanical comparison of nitinol compression staples versus fully threaded lag screws for talonavicular fusion

"Arthrodesis of the talonavicular joint is indicated for injury- and arthritis-related pain and is associated with consistently favorable outcomes. Current techniques for talonavicular arthrodesis vary, however, lag screw fixation is considered the reference standard. While nitinol compression staples have purported advantages for talonavicular arthrodesis, there is a relative paucity of data regarding their biomechanical performance compared to screw fixation. This study was designed to compare nitinol compression staples to fully threaded lag screws for use in talonavicular arthrodesis with respect to their biomechanical properties during functional testing."--Introduction

On Vague Computers

Vagueness is something everyone is familiar with. In fact, most people think that vagueness is closely related to language and exists only there. However, vagueness is a property of the physical world. Quantum computers harness superposition and entanglement to perform their computational tasks. Both superposition and entanglement are vague processes. Thus quantum computers, which process exact data without "exploiting" vagueness, are actually vague computers