Terrestrial gamma exposure in the granodiorite area of Bergama (Pergamon)�CKozak, Turkey

As higher radiation levels are associated with granite and Bergama (Pergamon) has increasingly become a large market for granite use over the last years, an extensive investigation was started in 2009. Samples from the granites and soils underlying this area were collected and analyzed by HPGe gamma spectrometry system. The specific activities of the naturally occurring radionuclides ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K were found to be in the range of 29?C111 Bq kg^?1 for ²²⁶Ra, 35?C87 Bq kg^?1 for ²³²Th and 698?C1100 Bq kg^?1 for ⁴⁰K in granite samples. The ranges of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K activity concentrations for soils were 32?C82, 42?C88 and 667?C1127 Bq kg^?1, respectively. From these data radiological parameters were calculated and compared with respective data from the UNSCEAR reports.     

Soil-to-mushroom transfer of <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs, <Superscript>40</Superscript>K,alkali–alkaline earth element and heavy metal in forest sites of Izmir,Turkey

The present work is devoted to an investigation on the soil to mushroom transfer parameters for ¹³⁷Cs and ⁴⁰K radionuclides, as well as for some stable elements and heavy metals. The results of transfer factors for ¹³⁷Cs and ⁴⁰K were within the range of 0.06–3.15 and 0.67–5.68, respectively and the most efficiently transferred radionuclide was ⁴⁰K. The TF values for ¹³⁷Cs typically conformed to a lognormal distribution, while for ⁴⁰K showed normal distribution. Statistically significant correlations between ¹³⁷Cs soil to mushroom transfer factors and agrochemical soil properties have been revealed. Although the concentration ratios varied within the species, the most efficiently transferred elements seems to have been K, followed by Rb, Zn, Cu, Cd, S, Cs and Hg.     

Cyclic codes over $${{\mathbb{F}}_2+u{\mathbb{F}}_2+v{\mathbb{F}}_2+uv{\mathbb{F}}_2}$$

In this work, we focus on cyclic codes over the ring \mathbbF₂+u\mathbbF₂+v\mathbbF₂+uv\mathbbF₂{{{\mathbb{F}}_2+u{\mathbb{F}}_2+v{\mathbb{F}}_2+uv{\mathbb{F}}_2}} , which is not a finite chain ring. We use ideas from group rings and works of AbuAlrub et.al. in (Des Codes Crypt 42:273–287, 2007) to characterize the ring (\mathbbF₂+u\mathbbF₂+v\mathbbF₂+uv\mathbbF₂)/(xⁿ-1){({{\mathbb{F}}_2+u{\mathbb{F}}_2+v{\mathbb{F}}_2+uv{\mathbb{F}}_2})/(x^n-1)} and cyclic codes of odd length. Some good binary codes are obtained as the images of cyclic codes over \mathbbF₂+u\mathbbF₂+v\mathbbF₂+uv\mathbbF₂{{{\mathbb{F}}_2+u{\mathbb{F}}_2+v{\mathbb{F}}_2+uv{\mathbb{F}}_2}} under two Gray maps that are defined. We also characterize the binary images of cyclic codes over \mathbbF₂+u\mathbbF₂+v\mathbbF₂+uv\mathbbF₂{{{\mathbb{F}}_2+u{\mathbb{F}}_2+v{\mathbb{F}}_2+uv{\mathbb{F}}_2}} in general.     

Assessments accompanying published textbooks: the extent to which mathematical processes are evident

Assessments accompanying published textbooks are often used by teachers in the USA as a primary means to evaluate students’ mathematical knowledge. In addition to assessing content knowledge, assessments should provide insight into students’ ability to engage with mathematical processes such as reasoning, communication, connections, and representations. We report here an analysis of the extent to which the assessments accompanying published textbooks in the USA at the elementary, middle grades, and high school levels provide opportunities for students to engage with these mathematical processes. Results indicate that in elementary grades, communication, connections, and graphics are not consistently emphasized across grade levels and publishers. In middle grades, students are rarely asked to record their reasoning or translate among representational forms of a concept. In high school geometry, students are given many opportunities to interpret and create graphics, but the same is not true for algebra. With the exception of connections, the results suggest that inconsistent emphasis is placed on the mathematical processes within assessments accompanying commercial textbooks in the USA.     

Covariance-Guided Mixture Probabilistic Principal Component Analysis (C-MPPCA)

To extract information from high-dimensional data efficiently, visualization tools based on data projection methods have been developed and shown useful. However, a single two-dimensional visualization is often insufficient for capturing all or most interesting structures in complex high-dimensional datasets. For this reason, Tipping and Bishop developed mixture probabilistic principal component analysis (MPPCA) that separates data into multiple groups and enables a unique projection per group; that is, one probabilistic principal component analysis (PPCA) data visualization per group. Because the group labels are assigned to observations based on their high-dimensional coordinates, MPPCA works well to reveal homoscedastic structures in data that differ spatially. In the presence of heteroscedasticity, however, MPPCA may still mask noteworthy data structures. We propose a new method called covariance-guided MPPCA (C-MPPCA) that groups subsets of observations based on covariance, not locality, and, similar to MPPCA, displays them using PPCA. PPCA projects data in the dimensions with the highest variances, thus grouping by covariance makes sense and enables some data structures to be visible that were masked originally by MPPCA. We demonstrate the performance of C-MPPCA in an extensive simulation study. We also apply C-MPPCA to a real world dataset. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

Direct DNA Hybridization on the Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes Modified Sensors Detected by Voltammetry and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

Carboxylic acid functionalized single‐walled carbon nanotubes modified graphite sensors (SWCNT‐PGEs) were developed for electrochemical monitoring of direct DNA hybridization related to specific sequence of Hepatitis B virus, which substantially enhance the electrochemical transduction resulting from guanine oxidation signal comparison to bare PGEs. The performance characteristics of DNA hybridization on disposable CNT‐PGE were explored measuring the guanine signal in terms of optimum analytical conditions; probe and target concentration, hybridization time, and selectivity. The voltammetric results were also complemented with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), that was used to characterize the successful construction of carbon nanotubes modification onto the surface of PGEs.     

Indicator-based and indicator-free magnetic assays connected with disposable electrochemical nucleic acid sensor system

An indicator-based and indicator-free magnetic assays connected with a disposable pencil graphite electrode (PGE) were successfully developed, and also compared for the electrochemical detection of DNA hybridization. The oxidation signals of echinomycin (ECHI) and electroactive DNA bases, guanine and adenine, respectively were monitored in the presence of DNA hybridization by using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) technique. The biotinylated probe was immobilized onto the magnetic beads (magnetic particles, microspheres) and hybridization with its complementary target at the surface of particles within the medium was exhibited successfully using electrochemical sensor system. For the selectivity studies, the results represent that both indicator-based and indicator-free magnetic assays provide a better discrimination for DNA hybridization compared to duplex with one-base or more mismatches. The detection limits (S/N = 3) of the magnetic assays based on indicator or indicator-free were found in nM concentration level of target using disposable sensor technology with good reproducibility. The characterization and advantages of both proposed magnetic assays connected with a disposable electrochemical sensor are also discussed and compared with those methods previously reported in the literature.     

Intramolecular PhI=O mediated copper-catalyzed aziridination of unsaturated sulfamates: a new direct access to polysubstituted amines from simple homoallylic alcohols

[reaction: see text] Olefinic sulfamates derived from primary and secondary alcohols undergo intramolecular copper-catalyzed aziridination in the presence of iodosylbenzene to afford novel bicyclic fused aziridines. The latter were opened by various nucleophiles to give the corresponding substituted cyclic sulfamates, which in turn reacted, after nitrogen activation, with a second nucleophile at the carbon atom bearing the oxygen atom. Concomitant removal of the sulfonyloxy moiety thus gave access to polysubstituted amines.     

Role of pyruvate and ascorbate production in regulation of antioxidant enzymes and membrane LPO levels in Fusarium Acuminatum

The role of pyruvate and ascorbate in the regulation of superoxide dismutase (SOD); catalase (CAT); glutathione peroxidase enzymes; and, therefore, membrane lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels in Fusarium acuminatum was investigated in media containing either glycerin or glucose as a carbon source, depending on the incubation period, in the range of 5–25 g/L. Increasing SOD activity between d 9 and 16 of the incubation period showed a positive correlation with a significant increase in pyruvate production up to 15 g/L of glycerin and glucose. In addition, maximum ascorbate production was observed at 15 g/L of glycerin as 82.5 ± 2.1 and 20 g/L of glucose as 54±1.51, whereas CAT activity decreased with an increased concentration of both carbon sources. When compared with the LPO levels determined in media supplemented with glycerin and glucose, the minimum LPO level was 1.88±0.028 nmol of malondialdehyde/g wet wt at 15 g/L of glycerin on d 16, at which it was also observed to have a maximum pyruvate and ascorbate production and SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px activities of 75±1.42 μg/mL, 82.5±2.1 μg/mL, 32.5±0.634 μg/mL, 86.8±2.58 IU/mg, and 1.867 IU/mg, respectively. These results indicate that the biosynthesis of pyruvate and ascorbate may be involved in the regulation of antioxidant enzymes, depending on the glycerin and glucose concentrations, and also this defense network was effective in preventing membrane damage from oxidative stress.     

Generation of three-mode W-type entangled coherent states in free-travelling optical fields

We propose a scheme for generation of three-mode W-type entangled coherent states (ECSs) in freetravelling optical fields by using a single-photon source, coherent state sources, beam splitters, photodetectors, and three-mode cross-Kerr media. The scheme consists of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI)in which each arm contains a cross-Kerr medium. We calculate the success probability of the generated W-type ECSs, and the total success probability is unity under the ideal conditions.