K-theoretic invariants for Floer homology

This paper defines two K-theoretic invariants, Wh ₁ and Wh ₂, for individual and one-parameter families of Floer chain complexes. The chain complexes are generated by intersection points of two Lagrangian submanifolds of a symplectic manifold, and the boundary maps are determined by holomorphic curves connecting pairs of intersection points. The paper proves that Wh ₁ and Wh ₂ do not depend on the choice of almost complex structures and are invariant under Hamiltonian deformations. The proof of this invariance uses properties of holomorphic curves, parametric gluing theorems, and a stabilization process. Submitted: April 2001, Revised: December 2001, Final version: February 2002.     

Determination of amines, amine metabolites and some amine metabolizing enzymes by high performance liquid chromatography

Some useful high performance liquid chromatographic methods for the determination of amines, amine metabolites and amine metabolizing enzymes are described. These include the separation of tyramine in wines and beers, determination of tryptamine in urine, assay of monoamine oxidase and catechol-O-methyltransferase and analysis of amine-aldehyde condensation products.     

High-contrast, fast-switching liquid-crystal-on-silicon microdisplay with a frame buffer pixel array

A 64 x 32 liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) microdisplay with a frame buffer pixel architecture is described. The advantage of frame buffer pixel circuits is an increase in brightness and image contrast ratio. The increase in brightness is attributed to maximizing the overall image viewing time, allowing an image to be displayed at full contrast while the next image is loaded onto the pixels. The LCOS microdisplay employs a fast-switching optically compensated birefringence mode that operates at a 720-Hz frame frequency with a potentially high contrast ratio.     

Analysis of hydroxide, inorganic sulphur species and organic anions in kraft pulping liquors by capillary electrophoresis

A new method has been developed for the determination of hydroxide, sulphide, thiosulphate, sulphate, sulphite, chloride, oxalate and formate in kraft green, white and black liquors by capillary electrophoresis. The method provides baseline resolution of all analytes of interest using an electrolyte composed of 10 mM sodium chromate and 2 mM tetradecyltrimethylammonium hydroxide. Separations are conducted under constant current conditions at 25 degrees C and analytes are quantified by indirect UV-detection at 275 nm. A brief, post run wash of the capillary with 0.5 M NaOH and water gave improved inter- and intra-run repeatability of both migration times and peak areas. Sulphide and other oxysulphur species were relatively stable in white and green liquors diluted in helium-sparged water. However, sulphide present in black liquor samples diluted in the same solvent underwent rapid oxidation to form sulphite and thiosulphate. thereby precluding the measurement of all three anions. We discovered that quinone-type compounds present in black liquor catalyze the oxidation of sulphide and that the addition of reduced glutathione at a concentration of I mg/mL during black liquor dilution completely stabilized sulphide, sulphite and thiosulphate for at least one hour, thus allowing for quantitative analysis of the analytes. A mechanism is proposed to explain the action of both quinones and that of glutathione. Results obtained by the new method compared well with those obtained by ion chromatography, titrimetry, and from spike-recovery experiments.     

5-Formyl salicylaldehyde as a linker for the synthesis of benzofuran containing insulin sensitivity enhancer compounds

5-Formyl salicylaldehyde was prepared by treatment of 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde with HMTA in TFA. Reaction of this dialdehyde with -haloacetyl aryl compounds gave 2,5-disubstituted benzofurans, from which an Insulin Sensitivity Enhancer compound was prepared.     

Laterally deformable nanomechanical zeroth-order gratings: anomalous diffraction studied by rigorous coupled-wave analysis

We describe a novel optomechanical device that produces strong reflectance and polarization modulation of incident light. The structure is based on a suspended nanomechanical grating with lateral deformability, and rigorous coupled-wave analysis has been used to fully model the optical properties of the device. The grating consists of two interdigitated gratings that may be moved with respect to each other with an applied force. The structures proposed here are designed to be readily manufacturable with device processing developed for surface-micromachined microelectromechanical systems and with known microelectromechanical systems materials, such as silicon, silicon nitride, and amorphous diamond. As the spacing of the grating is changed, an anomalous diffraction effect is observed, a Wood's type anomaly in which there exists a resonance in propagating leaky modes within the grating, resulting in a dramatic change in the reflectance characteristics for slight changes in the grating. One of the unique features of this structure is that a reflected optical signal can be used to detect subangstrom in-plane motion of structures greater than 10 nm.     

Long-term stability of the elemental composition in biological materials

Summary Lyophilized and radiation sterilized biological certified reference materials (CRMs) are believed to be stable in their chemical composition. Generally, the certifying agencies consider the certificates of these biological CRMs valid for a 5-year shelf life, i.e., apart from measurable moisture content, the chemical composition should not change during that time. The long-term behavior of fresh frozen material is not known. In this study the elemental compositions of the Bovine Liver Standard Reference Material (SRM 1577) and human liver tissue samples are evaluated over a time period of more than 7 years. The concentrations of selected elements were determined by neutron activation analysis at various times. The initial evaluation of zinc, selenium and arsenic results gives no indication of changes during 7 years storage of fresh frozen tissues, however, a trend towards lower arsenic concentrations has been observed in SRM 1577 during a 10-year period.

---

Langzeitstabilität der Elementzusammensetzung in biologischen Materialien