Sorption studies of radionuclides on argillaceous clays of Cuddapah System

Worldwide argillaceous clays are being studied as promising host rock for nuclear high level waste disposal. Cuddapah argillite is under evaluation for Indian clay rock based repository. Herein characterization of this clay and evaluation for its sorption characteristics towards Cs(I) and Eu(III) has been studied. Surface complexation modeling of Cs(I) sorption on argillaceous clay revealed that Cs(I) is sorbed on high as well as low affinity ion exchange sites. In modeling of Eu(III) sorption data, surface complexes of Eu(III) and europium carbonate species, along with ion exchange reaction, reproduced the sorption profile with ankerite dissolution influencing distribution of various surface complexes.     

Chained permutations and alternating sign matrices—Inspired by three-person chess

We define and enumerate two new two-parameter permutation families, namely, placements of a maximum number of non-attacking rooks on $k$ chained-together $n\times n$ chessboards, in either a circular or linear configuration. The linear case with $k=1$ corresponds to standard permutations of $n$, and the circular case with $n=4$ and $k=6$ corresponds to a three-person chessboard. We give bijections of these rook placements to matrix form, one-line notation, and matchings on certain graphs. Finally, we define chained linear and circular alternating sign matrices, enumerate them for certain values of $n$ and $k$, and give bijections to analogues of monotone triangles, square ice configurations, and fully-packed loop configurations.     

Excitation-resolved hyperspectral fluorescence lifetime imaging using a UV-extended supercontinuum source

We present a time-gated, optically sectioned, hyperspectral fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) microscope incorporating a tunable supercontinuum excitation source extending into the UV. The system is capable of resolving the excitation spectrum, emission spectrum, and fluorescence decays in an optically sectioned image.     

Visible cascade Higgs decays to four photons at hadron colliders

The presence of a new singlet scalar particle a can open up new decay channels for the Higgs boson, through cascades of the form h --> 2a --> X, possibly making discovery through standard model channels impossible. If a is CP odd, its decays are particularly sensitive to new physics. Quantum effects from heavy fields can naturally make h --> 4 g the dominant decay which is difficult to observe at hadron colliders, and is allowed by CERN LEP for m(h) > 82 GeV. However, there are usually associated decays, either h --> 2g2gamma or h --> 4gamma, which are more promising. The decay h-->4gamma is a clean channel that can discover both a and h. At the CERN LHC with 300 fb(-1) of luminosity, a branching ratio of order 10(-4) is sufficient for discovery for a large range of Higgs boson masses. With total luminosity of approximately 8 fb(-1), discovery at the Fermilab Tevatron requires more than 5 x 10(-3) in branching ratio.     

Topological ferrimagnetism and superparamagnetic-like behaviour in a disordered homometallic coordination network

Crystals of a cobalt(II) 3-amino-1,2,4-triazolate; Co(2)Cl(C(2)N(4)H(3))(3), 1 can be formed from a hydrothermal synthesis. X-Ray crystallography shows an extended 3-dimensional network structure within a hexagonal space group with a=9.9655(7) and c=7.7523(7) A. The data reveal an orientational disorder to the ligand. Structural considerations suggest that the ligand orientation is strongly correlated in 1-dimension, but the nature and length scale of the 2-dimensional order is not obvious. The structure is discussed in terms of three key structural models, two of which are crystallographically ordered, while the third is disordered in 2-dimensions. The effect of ligand orientation on the network topology has profound effects on the expected magnetic behaviour, with the two fully ordered models having either antiferromagnetic or ferrimagnetically ordered ground states. The magnetism of 1 is complex. It shows an antiferromagnetically coupled paramagnetic phase above approximately 5.3 K. Below approximately 4.5 K we see a ferrimagnetically ordered state (H(coer)=50 Oe, M(rem)=1830 Oe cm(3) mol(-1), M(sat) = 3450 Oe cm(3) mol(-1) at 2 K). In the intermediate temperature range 4.5 to 5.3 K we see unusual behaviour with evidence of rapid, low-energy relaxation of the magnetisation. The unusual relationship between the structure and the magnetism of 1 is discussed in detail.     

Steady state and time-resolved fluorescence investigation of the specific binding of two chlorin derivatives with human serum albumin

The specific binding of two model drugs for photodynamic therapy, namely chlorin p6 and purpurin 18 in the vicinity of Sudlow's Site I of HSA has been investigated by monitoring the intrinsic fluorescence of single tryptophanyl residue and by competitive binding with warfarin. The distance from the tryptophanyl residue has been ascertained by FRET from Trp to the chlorins and has been found to indicate a binding to Sudlow's Site I. The principal driving force for the interaction is found to be the hydrophobic effect. The main mechanism of protein fluorescence quenching was static. Time-resolved fluorescence results of competitive binding with warfarin are found to confirm that they bind to the warfarin binding site.     

Reversal in solvatochromism in some novel styrylpyridinium dyes having a hydrophobic cleft

The influence of solvent polarity on the electronic transition of four different N-hexadecyl styrylpyridinium dyes has been investigated in 15 solvents. The E(T)(30) scale has been used to propose a quantitative approach towards the relative stability of the electronic ground and excited state species. The extents of contribution of dipolar aprotic solvents towards the solvation of the excited species have been determined to be 42-48% for some of the dyes. Instead of a steady solvatochromism, all the dyes suffer a reversal in solvatochromism. The transitions of the solvatochromism, referred to as solvatochromic switches, are found to be at E(T)(30) values of approximately 50 for methyl and N,N-dimethylamino substituted dyes while at 37.6 for hydroxyl substituted dye and approximately 45 for 4-(1-methyl-2-phenylethenyl) pyridinium dye. A reversal in the trend of solvent effect in the later dye corresponding to 4-(4-methyl styryl)pyridinium dye has been attributed to an analogy of series and parallel electron flow.     

Generation of static and dynamic patterned co-cultures using microfabricated parylene-C stencils

Many biological processes, such as stem cell differentiation, wound healing and development, involve dynamic interactions between cells and their microenvironment. The ability to control these dynamic processes in vitro would be potentially useful to fabricate tissue engineering constructs, study biological processes, and direct stem cell differentiation. In this paper, we used a parylene-C microstencil to develop two methods of creating patterned co-cultures using either static or dynamic conditions. In the static case, embryonic stem (ES) cells were co-cultured with fibroblasts or hepatocytes by using the reversible sealing of the stencil on the substrate. In the dynamic case, ES cells were co-cultured with NIH-3T3 fibroblasts and AML12 hepatocytes sequentially by engineering the surface properties of the stencil. In this approach, the top surface of the parylene-C stencil was initially treated with hyaluronic acid (HA) to reduce non-specific cell adhesion. The stencil was then sealed on a substrate and seeded with ES cells which adhered to the underlying substrate through the holes in the membrane. To switch the surface properties of the parylene-C stencils to cell adhesive, collagen was deposited on the parylene-C surfaces. Subsequently, a second cell type was seeded on the parylene-C stencils to form a patterned co-culture. This group of cells was removed by peeling off the parylene-C stencils, which enabled the patterning of a third cell type. Although the static patterned co-culture approach has been demonstrated previously with a variety of methods, layer-by-layer modification of microfabricated parylene-C stencils enables dynamic patterning of multiple cell types in sequence. Thus, this method is a promising approach to engineering the complexity of cell-cell interactions in tissue culture in a spatially and temporally regulated manner.     

Identification of a metagenome-derived esterase with high enantioselectivity in the kinetic resolution of arylaliphatic tertiary alcohols

35 metagenome-derived esterases bearing a GGG(A)X motif were screened for activity and enantioselectivity in the hydrolysis of a range of tertiary alcohol acetates. Most of the active esterases showed little or no enantioselectivity in the hydrolysis of the terpinyl acetate, linalyl acetate and 3-methylpent-1-yn-3-yl acetate. However, one esterase showed excellent enantioselectivity (E > 100) in the kinetic resolution of 1,1,1-trifluoro-2-phenylbut-3-yn-2-yl acetate as confirmed by a preparative scale reaction.