Preparation of a portable point-of-care in vitro diagnostic system, for quantification of canine C-reactive protein, based on a magnetic two-site immunoassay

In this study, characterization of the binding kinetics and optimization of a magnetic permeability based point-of-care (POC) immunoassay system for quantification of canine C-reactive protein (cCRP) is described. The reagent is based on a two-site heterogeneous immunoassay system utilizing conjugated superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPION) and silica particles, both particles carrying covalently linked antibodies directed to the cCRP analyte. Detection is carried out using a magnetic permeability-based small instrument, adjusted in order to apply it in a POC setting near the patients. The kinetic parameters are characterized and applied in the final design of the assay system. In the cCRP system studied, 90 % of the binding between immobilized solid-phase silica antibody and cCRP is complete after only 15 s, and 30 s for the binding between the antibody on the SPION and the bound cCRP on the silica particle. Additionally, the binding rate constants are determined to be 149 and 30 M^?1s^?1, respectively. The analytical sensitivity, clinical sensitivity, and imprecision verifies the clinical usefulness of the system. Also, quantification of cCRP, using the system described, in dog clinical samples from mixed breeds shows a high correlation to a commercially available comparative cCRP ELISA system (y?=?0.98?×?+3.2, R ²?=?0.98, n?=?47). The immunoassay system described can thus provide the veterinarian a valuable tool for rapid diagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory diseases in dogs in a setting near the patients.     

From localised to delocalised electronic states in free Ar, Kr and Xe clusters

We present new results for the inner valence levels of clusters of the three inert gases Ar, Kr and Xe based on photoelectron spectroscopy studies. The inner valence levels are compared to the localised core levels and to the delocalised outer valence levels. This comparison shows a gradual change from a relatively localised behaviour for Ar inner valence 3s, over the intermediate case of Kr inner valence 4s, to a more delocalised behaviour for Xe inner valence 5s. This change correlates well with the ratio between the orbital sizes and the interatomic distances. The Kr4s intermediate case is found to exhibit characteristics of both localised and delocalised behaviour.Received: 4 May 2004, Published online: 24 August 2004PACS: 36.40.-c Atomic and molecular clusters - 36.40.Wa Charged clusters - 61.46. + w Nanoscale materials: clusters, nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanocrystalsA. Naves de Brito: On leave from Dept. of Physics, University of Brasília, 70910-900 Brasília, Brazil.     

Total curvature and rearrangements

We study to what extent rearrangements preserve the integrability properties of higher order derivatives. It is well known that the second order derivatives of the rearrangement of a smooth function are not necessarily inL ¹. We obtain a substitute for this fact. This is done by showing that the total curvature for the graph of the rearrangement of a function is bounded by the total curvature for the graph of the function itself. This posthumous paper was prepared for publication by Vilhelm Adolfsson and Peter Kumlin. The author was supported by a grant from the Swedish Natural Science Research Council.     

Identification and expression analysis of genes encoding putative cellulose synthases (CesA) in the hybrid aspen, Populus tremula (L.) × P. tremuloides (Michx.)

Cellulose is synthesized in plant cell walls by large membrane-bound protein complexes proposed to contain several copies of the catalytic subunit of the cellulose synthase, CesA. Here we report identification of 10 distinct CesA genes within a database of 100,000 ESTs of the hybrid aspen, Populus tremula (L.) × P. tremuloides (Michx.). Expression analyses in normal wood undergoing xylogenesis and in tension wood indicate xylem specific expression of four putative CesA isoenzymes, PttCesA1, PttCesA3-1, PttCesA3-2 and PttCesA9. Both the protein sequences and the expression profiles of PttCesA3-1 and PttCesA3-2 are very similar, and they may thus represent redundant copies of an enzyme with essentially the same function. Further, one of the generally more constitutively expressed CesA genes, PttCesA2, seems to be activated on the opposite side of a tension wood induced stem, while PttCesA6 appears to be more specific for leaf tissues. The rest of the hybrid aspen CesA genes were found to be relatively evenly expressed over the poplar tissues hereby studied.     

Smooth Stable and Unstable Manifolds for Stochastic Evolutionary Equations

Invariant manifolds are fundamental tools for describing and understanding nonlinear dynamics. In this paper, we present a theory of stable and unstable manifolds for infinite dimensional random dynamical systems generated by a class of stochastic partial differential equations. We first show the existence of Lipschitz continuous stable and unstable manifolds by the Lyapunov–Perrons method. Then, we prove the smoothness of these invariant manifolds.Dedicated to Professor Shui-Nee Chow on the occasion of his 60th birthday.     

Development and validation of an SPE methodology combined with LC-MS/MS for the determination of four ionophores in aqueous environmental matrices

A multi-residue analytical methodology has been established for the determination of the four ionophores: lasalocid, monensin, salinomycin and narasin in aqueous environmental matrices, using nigericin as internal standard. The samples were filtrated prior to solid phase extraction. All compounds were measured using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry applying electro spray ionisation. The absolute recoveries ranged from 92 to 110% (relative standard deviation: 2–14%) for spiked river water. The final method allowed for detection of ionophores down to a few ng/L in natural water bodies with LOQs for the entire methodology being 40, 49, 67, and 14 ng/L for lasalocid, monensin, salinomycin, and narasin, respectively.