Thermostable amperometric lactate biosensor with Clostridium thermocelluml-LDH for the measurement of blood lactate

The gene for Clostridium thermocelluml-lactate dehydrogenase enzyme was cloned into pGEX-4T-2 purification vector to supply a source for a thermostable enzyme in order to produce a stable lactate biosensor working at relatively high temperatures. The purified thermostable enzyme (t-LDH) was then immobilized on a gold electrode via polymerization of polygluteraldehyde and pyrrol resulting in a conductive co-polymer. t-LDH working electrode (t-LDHE) was used for determination of lactate in CHES buffer. Amperometric response of the produced electrodes was measured as a function of lactate concentration, at a fixed bias voltage of 200 mV in a three-electrode system. The linear range and sensitivity of the biosensor was investigated at various temperatures in the range of 25-60 °C. The sensitivity t-LDHE increased with increasing the temperature and reached its highest value at 60 °C. The calculated value was nearly 70 times higher as compared to the sensitivity value of the same electrode tested at 25 °C. The sensing parameters of t-LDHE were compared with the electrodes produced by commercially available rabbit muscle LDH (m-LDH). The sensitivity of t-LDHE was nearly 8 times higher than that of m-LDHE. t-LDHE was found to retain its activity for a week incubation at refrigerator (+5 °C), while m-LDHE lost its activity in this period. t-LDHE was also tested in the presence of human blood serum. The results showed that the current increased with increasing concentrations of lactate in the human blood serum and the biosensor is more sensitive to serum lactate as well as the commercial lactate dissolved in serum as compared to the commercial lactate dissolved in CHES buffer.     

DNA‐Organized Light‐Harvesting Antennae: Energy Transfer in Polyaromatic Stacks Proceeds through Interposed Nucleobase Pairs

DNA‐based light‐harvesting antennae with varying arrangements of light‐absorbing phenanthrene donor units and a pyrene acceptor dye were synthesized and tested for their light‐harvesting properties. Excitation of phenanthrene is followed by rapid transfer of the excitation energy to the pyrene chromophore. A block of six light‐absorbing phenanthrenes was separated from the site of the acceptor in a stepwise manner by an increasing number of intervening AT base pairs. Energy transfer occurs through interposed AT base pairs and is still detected when the phenanthrene antenna is separated by 5 AT base pairs.     

Synthesis,Spectroscopic Characterization and Polymerization Abilities of Blue and Green Light Emitting Oxazol-5-one Fluorophores

New fluorescent thiophenyl group containing oxazol-5-one fluorophores of 3a (4-(3-thiophenylmethylene)-2-phenyloxazol-5-one), 3b (4-(3-thiophenylmethylene)-2-(4-tolyl)oxazol-5-one) and 3c (4-(3-thiophenylmethylene)-2-(4-nitrophenyl)oxazol-5-one) were synthesized and characterized. The newly synthesized oxazol-5-ones absorption and fluorescence characteristics were studied in some solvents of varying polarities. The heterocyclic chromophores were fluorescent, with two of them, 3a and 3b, emitting blue light, whilst the other one, 3c, emitting green light. The emission maxima of the derivatives varied between 415 and 572 nm according as the extent of conjugation and solvent polarity. As solvent polarity increased, 3c derivatives emission spectra displayed a large bathochromic shift, which revealed the considerable change of the dipole moment of the fluorescent structure because of an intramolecular charge transfer interaction. Furthermore, oxazolones polymerization ability via the thiophenyl group linked to the oxazol-5-one heterocycle showed that copolymerization of 3a was achieved, but homopolymerization was not observed.     

Transport of Lead (Pb<Superscript>2+</Superscript>) Ions Through Silty-Clayey Soils Under Acidic Conditions

This study aimed to identify effects of pH on the transport of Pb²⁺ ions through a saturated silty-clayey soil layer by using advection–dispersion equation (ADE). The predictive accuracy of the solution of ADE depends on the proper determination of the retardation by adsorption and, therefore, the adsorption mechanism of lead onto silty-clayey soil was investigated first by performing batch equilibrium experiments. These results showed that the sorption mechanism of lead onto silty-clayey soil depended on pH and could be best described by the Langmuir isotherm. Based on the results of the sequential experiments, it was also concluded that the pH dependent charges in silty-clayey soil were mainly associated with the surfaces of carbonates and the specific adsorption of lead ions. The numerical solutions of the combined form of ADE with the Langmuir isotherm indicated that the migration profiles of lead in silty-clayey soil were a strong function of the parameters of the Langmuir isotherm rather than the infiltration velocity.     

Implementation and Evaluation of Age-Aware Downlink Scheduling Policies in Push-Based and Pull-Based Communication

As communication systems evolve to better cater to the needs of machine-type applications such as remote monitoring and networked control, advanced perspectives are required for the design of link layer protocols. The age of information (AoI) metric has firmly taken its place in the literature as a metric and tool to measure and control the data freshness demands of various applications. AoI measures the timeliness of transferred information from the point of view of the destination. In this study, we experimentally investigate AoI of multiple packet flows on a wireless multi-user link consisting of a transmitter (base station) and several receivers, implemented using software-defined radios (SDRs). We examine the performance of various scheduling policies under push-based and pull-based communication scenarios. For the push-based communication scenario, we implement age-aware scheduling policies from the literature and compare their performance with those of conventional scheduling methods. Then, we investigate the query age of information (QAoI) metric, an adaptation of the AoI concept for pull-based scenarios. We modify the former age-aware policies to propose variants that have a QAoI minimization objective. We share experimental results obtained in a simulation environment as well as on the SDR testbed.     

Electrocatalytical Application of Platinum Nanoparticles Supported on Reduced Graphene Oxide in PEM Fuel Cell: Effect of Reducing Agents of Dimethlyformamide or Hydrazine Hydrate on the Properties

Two kinds of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were synthesized with the reducing agents of either dimethylformamide (DMF) or hydrazine hydrate (HYD). The decoration of platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) over these materials was provided by microwave irradiation (MWI) method. Detailed physical and electrochemical measurements were carried out. Based on the electrochemical results of both catalysts, it is not surprising the achievement of higher electrochemical active surface area (ECSA), higher oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity, higher electron transfer number, lower charge transfer resistance and higher fuel cell performance with the Pt/rGO (DMF) catalyst which surpasses Pt/rGO (HYD) in many ways.     

N,N'-disalicylidene-1,3-diaminopropane as a selective chelating titrant for copper(II)

This study was carried out to develop a new complexometric titration method for determination of copper. For this purpose, the standard solutions of copper(II) (10(-3)-10(-5) M) were potentiometrically titrated using N,N'-disalicylidene-1,3-diaminopropane (Schiff base) as titrant and copper(II)-selective electrode for end-point indication in both ammonium acetate and ammonia/ammonium chloride buffer media. The stoichiometry of titration reaction and interference effects of some metal ions on titration of copper were discussed. There was a good agreement between the results obtained by the proposed titration method and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) titration method. The accuracy and precision of Schiff base method were tested by five replicate determinations both on the standard solution of copper(II) and standard reference materials. The results have indicated that the percentage of copper in alloys can be safely determined by using the Schiff base method without interference from many other metals in alloys.     

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms in breast cancer

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women around the world and its incidence is annually increasing. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, which is expressed in breast tissue and known to modulate the rate of cell proliferation. Association between the VDR gene polymorphisms and cancer development has been suggested by several studies. However, the relationship between VDR polymorphisms and breast cancer is controversial and has not been confirmed by all studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the genotype frequencies and association of the VDR Bsm I and Taq I polymorphisms with breast cancer in Turkish patients. In this study, 78 patients with breast cancer and 27 healthy individuals were enrolled. The prevalence of the VDR Taq I and Bsm I alleles and the genotype frequencies in patients with breast cancer was similar to that in the normal population. Our data indicate that no significant differences exist between the patients and control subjects.     

Photochemical reactions of Re(CO)5Br with Ph2P(CH2) n PPh2 (n = 1, dppm; 2, dppe; 3, dppp)

The new complexes fac-[Re(CO)₃Br{Ph₂P(CH₂) _n PPh₂}] (1a–3a) [(1a), n = 1; (2a), n = 2; (3a), n = 3] and [Re₂(CO)₈Br₂{-Ph₂P(CH₂) _n PPh₂}] (1b–3b) [(1b), n = 1; (2b), n = 2; (3b), n = 3] have been prepared by the photochemical reaction of Re(CO)₅Br with Ph₂P(CH₂) _n PPh₂ (n = 1, dppm; 2, dppe; 3, dppp). The complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, mass spectroscopy, f.t.-i.r. and ³¹P-[¹H]-n.m.r. spectrometry. The spectroscopic studies suggest cis-chelate bidentate coordination of the ligand in fac-[Re(CO)₃Br{Ph₂P(CH₂) _n PPh₂}] (1a–3a) and cis-bridging bidentate coordination of the ligand between two metals in [Re₂(CO)₈Br₂{cis--Ph₂P(CH₂) _n PPh₂}] (1a–3a).     

Photochemical reactions of M(CO)5THF (M = Cr, Mo, W) with thio Schiff bases

The hitherto unknown complexes, [M₂(CO)₆(μ-CO)(μ-L)], [M = Cr; 1, Mo; 2, W; 3] and [M₂(CO)₆(μ-CO)(μ-L′)], [M = Cr; 4, Mo; 5, W; 6] have been synthesized by the photochemical reactions of photogenerated intermediate, M(CO)₅THF (M = Cr, Mo, W) with thio Schiff base ligands, N,N′-bis(2-aminothiophenol)-1,4-bis(2-carboxaldehydephenoxy)butane (H ₂ L) and N,N′-bis(2-aminothiophenol)-1,7-bis(2-formylphenyl)-1,4,7-trioxaheptane (H ₂ L′). The complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, LC-mass spectrometry, magnetic studies, FT-IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The spectroscopic studies show that H ₂ L and H ₂ L′ ligands are converted to benzothiazole derivatives, L and L′ after UV irradiation and coordinated to the central metal as bridging ligands via the central azomethine nitrogen and sulphur atoms in 1–6.