Functions not satisfying implicit, polynomial ODE

We study a certain class of functions regular near 0, such that any implicit, polynomial ODE such functions satisfy must be singular at 0.     

Vibrational infrared intensities and polar tensors of 1,2-difluoroethylenes

The polar tensors of cis and trans-1,2-difluoroethylenes have been determined with new normal modes based in a reassignment of nu(7) and nu(12) bands of the trans isomers and frequency values corrected for Fermi resonances and phase shifts. The signs of the dipole moment derivatives (and its directions, for B(u) symmetry species) were considered to be those of MP2/6-31G** estimates. Root mean square errors calculated for the new tensor element values from each pair of isotopomers (trans-1,2-C(2)H(2)F(2)/trans-1,2-C(2)D(2)F(2) and cis-1,2-C(2)H(2)F(2)/cis-1,2-C(2)D(2)F(2)) show that the new polar tensor sets fit the isotopic invariance criterion better than previously reported sets. The accuracy of polar tensor transference procedures was tested by calculating the infrared intensities of trans-1,2-C(2)H(2)F(2) through the new polar tensors of the cis isomer. The resulting estimates are very accurate and also support the new band assignment, though the A(6) intensity remains still somewhat underestimated.     

In situ tissue pathology from spatially encoded mass spectrometry classifiers visualized in real time through augmented reality

Integration between a hand-held mass spectrometry desorption probe based on picosecond infrared laser technology (PIRL-MS) and an optical surgical tracking system demonstrates in situ tissue pathology from point-sampled mass spectrometry data. Spatially encoded pathology classifications are displayed at the site of laser sampling as color-coded pixels in an augmented reality video feed of the surgical field of view. This is enabled by two-way communication between surgical navigation and mass spectrometry data analysis platforms through a custom-built interface. Performance of the system was evaluated using murine models of human cancers sampled in situ in the presence of body fluids with a technical pixel error of 1.0 ± 0.2 mm, suggesting a 84% or 92% (excluding one outlier) cancer type classification rate across different molecular models that distinguish cell-lines of each class of breast, brain, head and neck murine models. Further, through end-point immunohistochemical staining for DNA damage, cell death and neuronal viability, spatially encoded PIRL-MS sampling is shown to produce classifiable mass spectral data from living murine brain tissue, with levels of neuronal damage that are comparable to those induced by a surgical scalpel. This highlights the potential of spatially encoded PIRL-MS analysis for in vivo use during neurosurgical applications of cancer type determination or point-sampling in vivo tissue during tumor bed examination to assess cancer removal. The interface developed herein for the analysis and the display of spatially encoded PIRL-MS data can be adapted to other hand-held mass spectrometry analysis probes currently available.

Integration between a hand-held mass spectrometry desorption probe based on picosecond infrared laser technology (PIRL-MS) and an optical surgical tracking system demonstrates in situ tissue pathology from point-sampled mass spectrometry data.     

Advances in Modeling Sorption and Diffusion of Moisture in Porous Reactive Materials

Water‐vapor‐uptake experiments were performed on a silica‐filled poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) network and modeled by using two different approaches. The data was modeled by using established methods and the model parameters were used to predict moisture uptake in a sample. The predictions are reasonably good, but not outstanding; many of the shortcomings of the modeling are discussed. A high‐fidelity modeling approach is derived and used to improve the modeling of moisture uptake and diffusion. Our modeling approach captures the physics and kinetics of diffusion and adsorption/desorption, simultaneously. It predicts uptake better than the established method; more importantly, it is also able to predict outgassing. The material used for these studies is a filled‐PDMS network; physical interpretations concerning the sorption and diffusion of moisture in this network are discussed.     

Structural Peculiarities and Thermoelectric Study of Iron Indium Thiospinel

The homogeneity range of ternary iron indium thiospinel at 873 K was investigated. A detailed study was focused on two distinct series (y=z): 1) a previously reported charge-balanced (In_0.67+0.33y□_0.33−0.33y)_tetr[In_2−zFe_z]_octS₄ (A1-series; □ stands for vacancy; the abbreviations “tetr” and “oct” indicate atoms occupying tetrahedral 8a and octahedral 16d sites, respectively) and 2) a new charge-unbalanced (In_0.67+y□_0.33−y)_tetr[In_2−zFe_z]_octS₄ (A2-series). Fe atoms were confirmed to exclusively occupy an octahedral position in both series. An unusual reduction of the unit cell parameter with increasing Fe content is explained by differences in the ionic radii between Fe and In, as well as by an additional electrostatic attraction originating from charge imbalance (latter only in A2-series). The studied compound is an n-type semiconductor, and its charge carrier concentration increases or decreases for larger Fe content within the A1- and A2-series, respectively. The thermal conductivity κ_tot is significantly reduced upon increasing vacancy concentration, whereas the change of power factor is insufficient to drastically improve the thermoelectric figure of merit.     

Synthesis and evaluation of a new non-fluorescent quencher in fluorogenic oligonucleotide probes for real-time PCR

A non-fluorescent quencher, based on the diaminoanthraquinone Disperse Blue 3, has been incorporated into oligonucleotides at the 5'-end, the 3'-end and internally as a thymidine derivative. Fluorimetry and fluorogenic real-time PCR experiments demonstrate that the quencher is effective with a wide range of fluorescent dyes. The anthraquinone moiety increases the melting temperature of DNA duplexes, thus allowing shorter, more discriminatory probes to be used. The quencher has been used in Scorpion primers and TaqMan probes for human DNA sequence recognition and mutation detection.     

Distinctive contributions from organic filler and relaxorlike polymer matrix to dielectric response of CuPc-P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) composite

The dielectric response of copper-phthalocyanine (CuPc) oligomers embedded in a poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene) terpolymer matrix was studied. Although admixture of CuPc strongly increases the dielectric constant of the terpolymer at all temperatures, each of the two constituents determines the dielectric dynamics in a different temperature region-the relaxorlike matrix above and CuPc below the terpolymer's freezing temperature. Two relaxations, reflecting the charge carriers' response in CuPc, were detected. Results on ac conductivity reveal that the tunneling of polarons is the dominating charge transport mechanism.