Point‐of‐Care Amperometric Testing of Diabetic Marker (HbA1c) Using Specific Electroactive Antibodies

Specific immune detection of glycated hemoglobin is still a great challenge owing to the small epitopic difference between Hemoglobin (Hb) and HbA1c. We report a new electrochemical immunoassay format for point of care testing of HbA1c. A conducting self‐assembled monolayer of mercaptophenyl boronic acid (MPBA) was used as a capture layer for binding of glycated proteins and ferrocene tagged anti‐HbA1c antibody (FcAb) as a tracer molecule on a gold screen printed electrode. Validation of the new HbA1c assay was carried out using 6 clinical samples with known HPLC values and a correlation coefficient of 98 % was observed.     

Theoretical investigation of the molecular structure,vibrational spectra,and molecular docking of tramadol using density functional theory

The optimized molecular structures, harmonic vibrational wavenumbers, and the corresponding vibrational assignments of (1S,2S)-tramadol and (1R,2R)-tramadol are computationally examined using the B3LYP density functional theory method together with the standard 6–311++G(d,p) and def2-TVZP basis sets. The optimized structures show that phenolic rings of both 1R,2R and 1S,2S tramadol adopt planar geometry, which are slightly distorted due to the substitution at the meta-position; and the six-membered cyclohexane adopts a slightly distorted chair conformation. The 1S,2S enantiomer is energetically more favorable than 1R,2R with the energy differences of 1.32 and 1.03 kcal/mol obtained at B3LYP/6–311++G(d,p) and B3LYP/Def2-TVZP levels, respectively. The analysis of the binding pocket in the silico molecular docking with the m-opioid receptor shows that it originated two clusters with the 1S,2S enantiomer and one cluster with the 1R,2R enantiomer of tramadol. The results point to a more stable complex of the m-opioid receptor with the 1R,2R enantiomer of tramadol.     

Systematic trends in optogalvanic signals of some transitions in a uranium hollow cathode discharge

A study of optogalvanic (OG) signals in a uranium hollow cathode discharge using a tunable pulsed dye laser with intensities above saturation revealed certain systematic trends. The peaks of OG signals, for a given hollow cathode current, due to all transitions involving the ground state are within a certain range of values. The same is true of the OG signals due to transitions involving the 620 cm^-1 and 3800 cm^-1 lower metastable levels. For all transitions involving the same lower state, the peaks of OG signal vary linearly with the discharge current. The slopes of such straight lines are different for transitions involving different lower levels of uranium. Effects of radiation trapping are seen in the OG signals due to transitions involving the ground state of uranium at currents above 60 mA. Details of our observations are presented and discussed.     

Measurement of στ product of solid state laser materials by an alternative method: Application to Nd3+ doped YVO4 crystal for 4 F 3/2→4 I 11/2 transition

In this paper an alternative approach for measurement of στ product for ⁴ F _3/2→⁴ I _11/2 transition of Nd³⁺ doped YVO₄ crystal is reported. In this method a microchip laser is formed by keeping a small piece of the sample in plane-plane resonator and a diode laser (808 nm) is used for pumping. The pump power induced thermal lensing effect is used to make the cavity stable. The cavity mode area is estimated by measuring the thermal lens focal length at the threshold and the average pump area is measured by Gaussian fit to the intensity profiles of the pump beam. The value of στ product of Nd:YVO₄ crystal obtained by this method is within 10% of the reported values. The advantage of this method is that it is a simple method for direct measurement of στ product of laser crystals.     

Morphing Simple Polygons

In this paper we investigate the problem of morphing (i.e., continuously deforming) one simple polygon into another. We assume that our two initial polygons have the same number of sides n , and that corresponding sides are parallel. We show that a morph is always possible through an interpolating simple polygon whose n sides vary but stay parallel to those of the two original ones. If we consider a uniform scaling or translation of part of the polygon as an atomic morphing step, then we show that O(n log n) such steps are sufficient for the morph. Furthermore, the sequence of steps can be computed in O(n log n) time. Received May 25, 1999, and in revised form November 15, 1999.     

A Constant Bound for Geometric Permutations of Disjoint Unit Balls

   Abstract. We prove that a set of n disjoint unit balls in R ^d admits at most four distinct geometric permutations, or line transversals, thus settling a long-standing conjecture in combinatorial geometry. The constant bound significantly improves upon the Θ (n ^d-1 ) bound for disjoint balls of unrestricted radii.     

Chaotic mixing generated by acoustic streaming

The acoustic mixer presented in this paper is a closed cylinder containing chemical solutions. The ultrasound was generated in a water bath outside of the cylinder. The mixing efficiency was measured by using a laser-photodiode system and by mixing iodine and sodium thiosulfate. Iodine solution has a light brown color which becomes transparent if the solution is mixed with sodium thiosulfate. The unmixed regions of the solution in the container remain dark. Starch was used to make the solution darker. Considering the relative position between the cylinder and the transducer, it was shown that displacements parallel to the axes of the streaming have little effect on the mixing speed. Indeed, the distance of the cylinder from the center of the streaming is more important to obtain ideal mixing performances. The frequency and size of the transducers has been investigated too and little effect was found. In contrast, the wave amplitude seems to be the biggest factor in obtaining rapid mixing.     

Cubyl-caged systems: regiochemical steering of cationic rearrangements by distal groups

Novel carbonium ion rearrangements of substituted 1,3-bishomocubanones $\text{3}$ & $\text{4}$ to tricyclo(4.2.0.0^3,8)octane and bicyclo(3.2.1)octane ring systems are reported.     

Synthesis and spectral studies of 2-mercapto-benzimidazole derivatives. II

This communication describes synthesis and spectral data of new 2-mercaptobenzimidazole derivatives.