Novel CeO2–CuO-decorated enzymatic lactate biosensors operating in low oxygen environments

The detection of the lactate level in blood plays a key role in diagnosis of some pathological conditions including cardiogenic or endotoxic shocks, respiratory failure, liver disease, systemic disorders, renal failure, and tissue hypoxia. Here, we described for the first time the use of a novel mixed metal oxide solution system to address the oxygen dependence challenge of first generation amperometric lactate biosensors. The biosensors were constructed using ceria-copper oxide (CeO₂–CuO) mixed metal oxide nanoparticles for lactate oxidase immobilization and as electrode material. The oxygen storage capacity (OSC, 492 μmol-O₂/g) of these metal oxides has the potential to reduce the oxygen dependency, and thus eliminate false results originated from the fluctuations in the oxygen concentration. In an effort to compare the performance of our novel sensor design, ceria nanoparticle decorated lactate sensors were also constructed. The enzymatic activity of the sensors were tested in oxygen-rich and oxygen-lean solutions. Our results showed that the OSC of the electrode material has a big influence on the activity of the biosensors in oxygen-lean environments. While the CeO₂ containing biosensor showed an almost 21% decrease in the sensitivity in a O₂-depleted solution, the CeO₂–CuO containing electrode, with a higher OSC value, experienced no drop in sensitivity when moving from oxygen-rich to oxygen-lean conditions. The CeO₂–CuO decorated sensor showed a high sensitivity (89.3 ± 4 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻²), a wide linear range up to 0.6 mM, and a low limit of detection of 3.3 μM. The analytical response of the CeO₂–CuO decorated sensors was studied by detecting lactate in human serum with good selectivity and reliability. The results revealed that CeO₂–CuO containing sensors are promising candidates for continuous lactate detection.     

Hormone and microorganism treatments in the cultivation of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) plants

The difficult cultivation of the saffron plant (Crocus Sativus L.) make the spice of the same name made from its dried stigmas very valuable. It is estimated that some 75,000 blossoms or 225,000 hand-picked stigmas are required to make a single pound of saffron, which explains why it is the world's most expensive spice. The aim of this study was to identify ways of increasing the fertility and production of saffron. For this purpose, the treatment of saffron bulbs with a synthetic growth hormone--a mixture of Polystimulins A6 and K--and two different microorganism based materials--biohumus or vermicompost and Effective Microorganisms (EM)--in four different ways (hormone alone, biohumus alone, EM alone and EM+biohumus) was investigated to determine whether these treatments have any statistically meaningful effects on corms and stigmas. It has been shown that EM + biohumus was the most effective choice for improved saffron cultivation.     

Reaction of (S)-homoserine lactone with Grignard reagents: synthesis of amino-keto-alcohols and β-amino acid derivatives

The ring-opening reaction of homoserine lactone with phenylmagnesium bromides was systematically examined. A reliable method to achieve β-amino acid precursors was developed by tuning the reaction conditions to favor mono-addition to the carbonyl moiety of the lactone.     

The high possibility of antiferromagnetic exchange interactions in dinuclear Fe(III) dithiocarbamates

In this study, the possible antiferromagnetic interactions in a dinuclear entity have been considered. It has been realized that, if the proposed structure is a real structure, there should be antiferromagnetic interactions between the dinuclear Fe(III) ions. It is also suggested that the predicted theoretical results should be tested with additional experimental measurements     

ON THE NUMERICAL SOLUTION OF QUASILINEAR WAVE EQUATION WITH STRONG DISSIPATIVE TERM

The numerical solution for a type of quasilinear wave equation is studied. The three-level difference scheme for quasi-linear waver equation with strong dissipative term is constructed and the convergence is proved. The error of the difference solution is estimated. The theoretical results are controlled on a numerical example.     

Propagation of soliton waves in nonlinear dielectric slab waveguides of parabolic index of refraction

The pulse propagation in a non-linear slab waveguide of parabolic index of refraction is treated by using differential equation techniques. A graded index dielectric slab waveguide free of material dispersion with a cubic order non-linearity is considered. The electromagnetic wave inside the waveguide is described in terms of a non-linear equation. Slowly varying envelope function representation is employed to develop a non-linear partial differential equation for the unknown envelope function of the electric field. An averaging method over the transverse direction is applied to reduce the unknown envelope function non-linear differential equation into a form resembling the well known non-linear Schrödinger differential equation. This equation is solved by applying the Inverse Scattering Method. The N-soliton solution is developed and presented explicitly for the practical case of the single mode dielectric slab waveguide. Numerical results presenting single and double soliton propagation are also given.     

An Infrared Spectroscopic Study on the Hofmann-diam-type 1,9-Diaminononanemetal(II) Tetracyanonickelate(II)-Aromatic Guest Clathrates: M(H2N(CH2)9NH2)Ni(CN)4 ċG(M = Cd or Ni; G = Benzene, Naphthalene, Anthracene or Phenanthrene

IR spectra of M(1,9-Diaminononane)Ni(CN)₄G (M = Cd or Ni; G = benzene, naphthalene, anthracene or phenanthrene) are reported. The spectral data suggest that the host structures in these clathrates are similar to those of Hofmann-, -diaminoalkane type clathrates.     

Comparative study of millimeter wave propagation at 30 GHz and 60 GHz in indoor environment

The millimeter wave band appears to be a favourable choice for personal wireless communication systems for indoor environment, as it meets the requirements for sufficient bandwidth, small terminal dimensions and sporadic usage for commercial applications.In this paper measurements of millimeter wave propagation in both 30 GHz and 60 GHz bands, are presented in a comparative way. The topology of measurements covers both a line-of-sight situation and also a case where a direct path between transmitter and receiver does not exist. Although the second case does not seem obvious for outdoor applications in these frequencies, in indoor environment the multipath signals produced by objects like walls, doors, furniture etc., can be utilised in order to overcome the man-made shadowing.Both slow and fast fading characteristics of the received signal are studied and the measurements are modelled by the conventional Rician and Rayleigh distributions. Both frequency bands offer advantages for usage in in-house wireless communication systems. Although in 30 GHz band the coverage area is bigger than in 60 GHz (with the same transmitting power), frequency reuse is easier in 60 GHz band. because even if millimeter waves escape through windows, the specific attenuation due to atmospheric oxygen (15 dB/km) at 60 GHz eliminates the interference between communication channels in neighbouring buildings.