An Activity-Based Sensing Approach for the Detection of Cyclooxygenase-2 in Live Cells

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) overexpression is prominent in inflammatory diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer. Directly monitoring COX-2 activity within its native environment poses an exciting approach to account for and illuminate the effect of the local environments on protein activity. Herein, we report the development of CoxFluor, the first activity-based sensing approach for monitoring COX-2 within live cells with confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. CoxFluor strategically links a natural substrate with a dye precursor to engage both the cyclooxygenase and peroxidase activities of COX-2. This catalyzes the release of resorufin and the natural product, as supported by molecular dynamics and ensemble docking. CoxFluor enabled the detection of oxygen-dependent changes in COX-2 activity that are independent of protein expression within live macrophage cells.     

Scherk-Type Capillary Graphs

This paper concerns the regularity of a capillary graph (the meniscus profile of liquid in a cylindrical tube) over a corner domain of angle α. By giving an explicit construction of minimal surface solutions previously shown to exist (Indiana Univ. Math. J. 50 (2001), no. 1, 411–441) we clarify two outstanding questions. Solutions are constructed in the case α = π/2 for contact angle data (γ₁, γ₂) = (γ, π − γ) with 0 < γ < π. The solutions given with |γ − π/2| < π/4 are the first known solutions that are not C² up to the corner. This shows that the best known regularity (C^{1, ∈}) is the best possible in some cases. Specific dependence of the H?lder exponent on the contact angle for our examples is given. Solutions with γ = π/4 have continuous, but horizontal, normal vector at the corners in accordance with results of Tam (Pacific J. Math. 124 (1986), 469–482). It is shown that our examples are C^{0, β} up to and including the corner for any β < 1. Solutions with |γ − π/2| > π/4 have a jump discontinuity at the corner. This kind of behavior was suggested by numerical work of Concus and Finn (Microgravity sci. technol. VII/2 (1994), 152–155) and Mittelmann and Zhu (Microgravity sci. technol. IX/1 (1996), 22–27). Our explicit construction, however, allows us to investigate the solutions quantitatively. For example, the trace of these solutions, excluding the jump discontinuity, is C^2/3.     

Continuous conversion of methanol to higher hydrocarbons at ambient pressure

An iodozincate ionic liquid solvent and catalyst is used to convert methanol continuously to a wide variety of hydrocarbons at atmospheric pressure.     

Signature of twin planes in Mössbauer spectroscopy of cuprate superconductors

One of the four quadrupole doublets (A, B, C, and D) observed in Mössbauer spectra of orthorhombic (Y or RE)₁Ba₂(Cu_1-xFe_x)30_7-δ(δ≈0) samples is identified with Fe dopant replacing a Cu site in twin planes. The site in question, labelled as D, is characterized by a quadrupole splitting Δ_D in the range 1.6±0.1 mm/s. The D-site intensity is found to approach zero when the 1-2-3, material is driven tetragonal, either upon oxygen desorption, upon oxygen loading, or upon increasing the Fe-dopant concentration.     

Comparison of graphite,aluminum, and TransHab shielding material characteristics in a high-energy neutron field

Space radiation transport models clearly show that low atomic weight materials provide a better shielding protection for interplanetary human missions than high atomic weight materials. These model studies have concentrated on shielding properties against charged particles. A light-weight, inflatable habitat module called TransHab was built and shown to provide adequate protection against micrometeoroid impacts and good shielding properties against charged particle radiation in the International Space Station orbits. An experiment using a tissue equivalent proportional counter, to study the changes in dose and lineal energy spectra with graphite, aluminum, and a TransHab build-up as shielding, was carried out at the Los Alamos Nuclear Science Center neutron facility. It is a continuation of a previous study using regolith and doped polyethylene materials. This paper describes the results and their comparison with the previous study.     

Laser saturation of optical transitions in a starch component: the amylose-iodine-iodide complex

Abstract— Saturation of optical absorption by an aqueous solution of the amylose-iodine-iodide complex was observed. Transmission of ruby laser radiation as a function of incident laser power density was measured and fitted to the steady-state solution of a double-absorption rate-equation model. This study gave an indirect determination of the lifetime of the first excited energy level. The material behaved as a passive Q-switch for a ruby laser.