Fluorescent oligonucleotide incorporating 5-(1-ethynylpyrenyl)-2-deoxyuridine: sequence-specific fluorescence changes upon duplex formation

We describe the design and properties of a pyrene-labeled deoxyuridine that can be inserted efficiently into oligodeoxynucleotides using phosphoramidite chemistry. An oligonucleotide incorporating the pyrene-labeled deoxyuridine is a sensitive fluorescence probe that can discriminate between perfect and single-base-mismatched pairing by changes in its fluorescence intensity.     

Effects of poly[styrene‐b‐(ethylene‐co‐butylene)‐b‐styrene] on the charge distributions of low‐density polyethylene/polystyrene blends

The effect of the triblock copolymer poly[styrene‐b‐(ethylene‐co‐butylene)‐b‐styrene] (SEBS) on the formation of the space charge of immiscible low‐density polyethylene (LDPE)/polystyrene (PS) blends was investigated. Blends of 70/30 (wt %) LDPE/PS were prepared through melt blending in an internal mixer at a blend temperature of 220 °C. The amount of charge that accumulated in the 70% LDPE/30% PS blends decreased when the SEBS content increased up to 10 wt %. For compatibilized and uncompatibilized blends, no significant change in the degree of crystallinity of LDPE in the blends was observed, and so the effect of crystallization on the space charge distribution could be excluded. Morphological observations showed that the addition of SEBS resulted in a domain size reduction of the dispersed PS phase and better interfacial adhesion between the LDPE and PS phases. The location of SEBS at a domain interface enabled charges to migrate from one phase to the other via the domain interface and, therefore, resulted in a significant decrease in the amount of space charge for the LDPE/PS blends with SEBS. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2813–2820, 2004     

Heavy Majorana neutrinos in e + e − → W + W−

In this paper we investigate the effects of heavy Majorana neutrinos in the reaction e ⁺ e ^? → W ⁺ W ^?. We consider neutrino masses in the 1–10 TeV region. We show that at LEP II and NLC energies it is possible to use this processes to verify indirect evidence of heavy neutral particles with mixing angles of the order sin² α = 0.01. We discuss the unitarity restrictions that can be obtained for vector singlet and fermion-mirror-fermion models.     

The Assessment of Reservation Prices of an Intermediate R&D Result and Patent Reward Under Oligopolistic Competitive Behaviour

One of the shortcomings of R&D evaluation is a lack of emphasis on analytical assessment of the value of an on-going R&D project. This paper addresses the problem concerning the distributive aspect of access to superior knowledge. Decision tree analysis and probability models appear to be appropriate tools for assessing the values of an intermediate result and patent reward of a firm's R&D decision in an environment of perfect information and oligopolistic competition. The assessed values are used as minimum prices acceptable to the firm when the knowledge is disseminated to the public. This paper will attempt to resolve this problem through the determination of the appropriate values of the reservation price of the first-stage invention in terms of the final reward and of a patent reward for which the inventor is willing to apply.     

Photoswitching of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystals doped with chiral dopant

Chiral dopants were added to the formulation of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystals and the effects studied in terms of grating formation dynamics, morphology, diffraction efficiency, contrast ratio and electro-optical properties of the films. A gradual increase of real-time diffraction efficiency, decrease of droplet size and increase of diffraction efficiency of the composite film were obtained with the addition and increasing content of chiral dopant, due to the increased viscosity of the liquid crystal (LC) doped with the chiral dopant leading to decreased droplet coalescence. The contrast ratio decreased with increasing content of chiral dopant due to the difficult orientation of LC molecules caused by the formation of a helical structure. Addition of a small amount of the chiral dopant increased the driving voltage slightly, whereas the decay time is decreased significantly as a result of the high twisting of the helical structure.     

Preparation of antimicrobial poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers containing silver nanoparticles

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers containing Ag nanoparticles were prepared by electrospinning PVA/silver nitrate (AgNO₃) aqueous solutions, followed by short heat treatment, and their antimicrobial activity was investigated for wound dressing applications. Since PVA is a water soluble and biocompatible polymer, it is one of the best materials for the preparation of wound dressing nanofibers. After heat treatment at 155 °C for 3 min, the PVA/AgNO₃ nanofibers became insoluble, while the Ag⁺ ions therein were reduced so as to produce a large number of Ag nanoparticles situated preferentially on their surface. The residual Ag⁺ ions were reduced by subsequent UV irradiation for 3 h. The average diameter of the Ag nanoparticles after the heat treatment was 5.9 nm and this value increased slightly to 6.3 nm after UV irradiation. It was found that most of the Ag⁺ ions were reduced by the simple heat treatment. The PVA nanofibers containing Ag nanoparticles showed very strong antimicrobial activity. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2468–2474, 2006     

The price of anarchy for non-atomic congestion games with symmetric cost maps and elastic demands

By showing that there is an upper bound for the price of anarchyρ(Γ) for a non-atomic congestion game Γ with only separable cost maps and fixed demands, Roughgarden and Tardos show that the cost of forgoing centralized control is mild. This letter shows that there is an upper bound for ρ(Γ) in Γ for fixed demands with symmetric cost maps. It also shows that there is a weaker bound for ρ(Γ) in Γ with elastic demands.     

A phloroglucinol derivative with a new carbon skeleton from Hypericum perforatum (Guttiferae)

Examination of the aerial parts of a Chinese herbal medicine yielded a novel metabolite, perforatumone 1, which is characterized by its unique carbon skeleton. Its structure was determined by detailed spectroscopic analysis.