Lensless CCD-based fluorometer using a micromachined optical Söller collimator

In this paper, we describe a simple charge-coupled device (CCD) based lensless fluorometer with sensitivity in the range of current ELISA plate readers. In our lensfree fluorometer, a multi-wavelength LED light source was used for fluorophore excitation. To collimate the light, we developed a simple optical S?ller collimator based on a "stack of pinholes" (a stack of black PMMA with array of pinholes machined with laser) enabling the light to be collimated from the LED through the filters and the assay's microfluidics directly onto the CCD without a lens. The elimination of the lens that is used in almost all other current CCD based detection systems has four major advantages: (1) It simplifies the device design and fabrication while reducing cost. (2) It reduces the distance between the sample and the measuring device (without a lens the distance needed to focus the image on the CCD is reduced and the fluorometer can be more compact). (3) It couples the CCD and the detected surface by using an optical S?ller Collimator which allows the use of filters for fluorescence detection. (4) It also uncouples the CCD and the microfluidics to enable the use of interchangeable fluidics while protecting the delicate CCD. The lensless CCD-based fluorometer is capable of detecting 16 samples simultaneously, and was used for in vitro detection of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT-A) activity with a FRET assay that measures cleavage of a fluorophore-tagged peptide substrate specific for BoNT-A (SNAP-25) by the toxin light chain (LcA). The limit of detection (LOD) of our lensless fluorometer is 1.25 nM, which is similar to the LOD of a modern ELISA plate reader. Combined with microfluidics, this simple low cost point-of-care (POC) medical diagnostic system may be useful for the performance of many other complex medical diagnostic assays without a laboratory and thus potentially enhancing the accessibility and the quality of health care delivery in underserved populations.     

Dynamic and thermodynamic properties of porous vortex matter in Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8) in an oblique magnetic field

Vortex matter in Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8) with a low concentration of tilted columnar defects (CDs) was studied using magneto-optical measurements and molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that while the dynamic properties are significantly affected by tilting the magnetic field away from the CDs, the thermodynamic transitions are angle independent. The simulations indicate that vortex pancakes remain localized on the CDs even at large tilting angles. This preserves the vortex thermodynamics, while vortex pinning is considerably weakened due to kink sliding.     

Derivatives for smooth representations of <Emphasis Type="Italic">GL</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>, ℝ) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">GL</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>, ℂ)

The notion of derivatives for smooth representations of GL(n, ? _p ) was defined in [BZ77]. In the archimedean case, an analog of the highest derivative was defined for irreducible unitary representations in [Sah89] and called the “adduced” representation. In this paper we define derivatives of all orders for smooth admissible Fréchet representations of moderate growth. The real case is more problematic than the p-adic case; for example, arbitrary derivatives need not be admissible. However, the highest derivative continues being admissible, and for irreducible unitarizable representations coincides with the space of smooth vectors of the adduced representation.In the companion paper [AGS] we prove exactness of the highest derivative functor, and compute highest derivatives of all monomial representations.We apply those results to finish the computation of adduced representations for all irreducible unitary representations and to prove uniqueness of degenerate Whittaker models for unitary representations, thus completing the results of [Sah89, Sah90, SaSt90, GS13a].     

Serum Levels of 25‐Hydroxy‐Vitamin D3 Among Sun‐protected Outdoor Workers in Israel

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of reduced sun exposure of outdoor workers on vitamin D status using different modalities of sun protection, for primary prevention of skin cancer. 25‐OH‐D3 measurements were performed in two successive winters, 8 (interim) and 20 months after initiation of the study, in three groups of male outdoor workers, enrolled in either a complete, partial or minimal sun protection program. Ambient solar UVB radiation was monitored simultaneously. No intragroup or intergroup differences were observed between the interim‐ and postintervention measurements of mean 25‐OH‐D3, which were close to 30 ng mL^?1. Significant risk factors for postintervention 25‐OH‐D3 levels >33.8 ng mL^?1 (a surrogate for reduced sun protection) were: previous sunburn episodes (OR 2.5; 95% CI 1.01–6.3; P = 0.05) and younger age (OR 0.92; 95 CI 0.86–0.98; P = 0.009). Outdoor workers of Western, compared with those of Eastern paternal origin had a borderline significant risk (OR 2.4; 95% CI 0.9–6.3; P = 0.07). A borderline significant effect (OR 2.9; 95% CI 0.97–10.1; P = 0.085) was also noted for those in the minimal intervention group. In conclusion, sun protection among outdoor workers following a successful intervention did not suppress mean winter 25‐OH‐D3.     

A partial analog of the integrability theorem for distributions on p-adic spaces and applications

Let X be a smooth real algebraic variety. Let ξ be a distribution on it. One can define the singular support of ξ to be the singular support of the D _X -module generated by ξ (sometimes it is also called the characteristic variety). A powerful property of the singular support is that it is a coisotropic subvariety of T*X. This is the integrability theorem (see [KKS, Mal, Gab]). This theorem turned out to be useful in representation theory of real reductive groups (see, e.g., [AG4, AS, Say]). The aim of this paper is to give an analog of this theorem to the non-Archimedean case. The theory of D-modules is not available to us so we need a different definition of the singular support. We use the notion wave front set from [Hef] and define the singular support to be its Zariski closure. Then we prove that the singular support satisfies some property that we call weakly coisotropic, which is weaker than being coisotropic but is enough for some applications. We also prove some other properties of the singular support that were trivial in the Archimedean case (using the algebraic definition) but not obvious in the non-Archimedean case. We provide two applications of those results:

• a non-Archimedean analog of the results of [Say] concerning Gel’fand property of nice symmetric pairs
• a proof of multiplicity one theorems for GL _n which is uniform for all local fields. This theorem was proven for the non-Archimedean case in [AGRS] and for the Archimedean case in [AG4] and [SZ].

     

Miniaturized 96-well ELISA chips for staphylococcal enterotoxin B detection using portable colorimetric detector

A previously developed fluorescence sensing platform, combining spatial illumination using electroluminescence (EL) semiconductor strips with charge coupled device (CCD)-based detection (EL-CCD), was adapted to a new 96-well chip for colorimetric immunological assays, enhancing the capabilities of the EL-CCD platform. The modified system was demonstrated using a colorimetric-based enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). Limits of detection (LODs) of 3.9 ng/mL (±2.4 ng/mL) SEB were determined with the ELISA chip measured using the EL-CCD platform, following a standard 4-h ELISA protocol. The LODs were comparable to those obtained using standard 96-well ELISA plates measured using a standard laboratory 96-well plate reader. The miniature 96-well ELISA chip however required as little as 5-μL samples, representing a tenfold reduction in sample volume compared to a standard 96-well ELISA plates. The ELISA chip also demonstrated detection of SEB spiked into various food matrices (milk, mushrooms, and mayonnaise) using limited-to-no sample preparation, with LODs ranging from 3.9 to 18.5 ng/mL depending on the matrix. The EL-CCD platform is versatile, capable of multi-mode detection (e.g., fluorescent and colorimetric along with solution and solid phase assays), and could readily be applied to other field portable or point-of-care applications. Figure Detection of SEB using miniature ELISA chips coupled with a portable electroluminiscent-charge couple device (EL-CCD) detection system. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Stereoselective syntheses of heptaprenylphosphoryl β-d-arabino-and β-d-ribo-furanoses

The stereoselective syntheses of heptaprenylphosphoryl β-d-arabinofuranose and heptaprenylphosphoryl β-d-ribofuranose are described. In the synthesis of the d-arabino product, the stereoselectivity was achieved by the coupling of a suitably protected β-d-arabinofuranosyl phosphate intermediate with an activated form of heptaprenol and subsequent deprotection. In the case of the ribo-analog, the desired β-anomer could be obtained by the more convenient phosphoramidite method. The products were successfully employed in the mycobacterial epimerase assay.     

On single input controllability for infinite dimensional linear systems

Given a controllable linear system {A, B} where A is a Volterra operator, there exists a vector b in the range of B such that {A, b} is controllable. The case where A is a convolution operator on L²(0, ∞) is discussed and an example is given where a controllable system is not replaceable by a single input controllable system.