A novel PCR-based technology for rapid and non-sequencing authentication of Bombyx batryticatus using species-specific primers

A novel PCR technology was developed to detect short DNA fragments using species-specific primers for rapid and non-sequencing authentication of Bombyx batryticatus based on differences in the mitochondrial genome. Three specifically designed primer reactions were established to target species for the reliable identification of their commercial products. They were confirmed to have a high inter-species specificity and intra-species stability. The limit of detection was estimated as 1 ng of genomes for Beauveria bassiana and 100 pg for Bombyx mori and Metarhizium anisopliae. Furthermore, validation results demonstrated that raw materials and their processed products can be conveniently authenticated with good sensitivity and precision using this newly proposed approach. In particular, when counterfeits were assayed, these primer sets performed well, whereas COI barcoding technology did not. These could also assist in the discrimination and identification of adulterates of other animal-derived medicines in their pulverized and processed forms and even in complexes.     

Functional MRI of working memory and selective attention in vibrotactile frequency discrimination

Background  

Focal lesions of the frontal, parietal and temporal lobe may interfere with tactile working memory and attention. To characterise the neural correlates of intact vibrotactile working memory and attention, functional MRI was conducted in 12 healthy young adults. Participants performed a forced-choice vibrotactile frequency discrimination task, comparing a cue stimulus of fixed frequency to their right thumb with a probe stimulus of identical or higher frequency. To investigate working memory, the time interval between the 2 stimuli was pseudo-randomized (either 2 or 8 s). To investigate selective attention, a distractor stimulus was occasionally presented contralaterally, simultaneous to the probe.     

Improved model for the analysis of back corona in pulse energised electrostatic precipitators

Formation of back corona and its effect on the voltage–current characteristics, etc., have been analysed by several authors. It has also been examined how the harmful effect of back corona can be reduced, for example by the application of pulse energisation. However, to find an optimal solution, modelling of the back corona effect is necessary. Different back corona models were created to estimate the time of its development, the change in current–voltage characteristics, the decrease in particle charge and finally, the collection efficiency of the ESP with back corona. In this paper the authors present an improved numerical ESP model that is capable of determining the parameters of back corona in such cases, when pulse energisation is applied for the power supply of the electrostatic precipitator. Based on the modular structure of the model, different modules calculate the distribution of gas velocity, electric field intensity, particle charging and particle movement. All these parameters are important to determine the properties of back corona while it feeds back on these parameters; therefore iteration is necessary to obtain reliable result. The harmful effects of back corona can be characterised with the help of the evaluation of calculated results.     

An extension of a convexity theorem of the generalized numerical range associated with

For any , let be the following subset of :

We show that if , then is always convex. When , it is an ellipsoid, probably degenerate. The convexity result is best possible in the sense that if we have defined similarly, then there are examples which fail to be convex when and .

The set is also symmetric about the origin for all , and contains the origin when . Equivalent statements of this result are given. The convexity result for is similar to Au-Yeung and Tsing's extension of Westwick's convexity result for .

     

On Perturbations of Eventually Compact Semigroups Preserving Eventual Compactness

We show, within the context of Miyadera–Voigt perturbations on L^p spaces, that for partial differential equations with delay arising from an immediately compact undelayed equation the delay semigroup is eventually compact. We also indicate how this result can be applied to the spectral analysis and numerical treatment of these equations.     

Dioscorealides and dioscoreanone,novel cytotoxic naphthofuranoxepins,and 1,4-phenanthraquinone from Dioscorea membranacea Pierre

[structure: see text] Commonly used among ingredients in Thai traditional anticancer preparations, the rhizome of Dioscorea membranacea Pierre was found potently cytotoxic and possibly contributed to such a therapeutic effect. Bioassay-guided isolation resulted in two novel cytotoxic naphthofuranoxepins, dioscorealides A (1) and B (2), and a new 1,4-phenanthraquinone, dioscoreanone (3). The structure determination, achieved mainly by means of NMR and CD spectral and X-ray crystallographic analyses, and cytotoxicity are discussed here.     

The “Full Müntz Theorem” inL p[0, 1] for 0<p<∞

Denote by span {f ₁,f ₂, …} the collection of all finite linear combinations of the functionsf ₁,f ₂, … over ?. The principal result of the paper is the following. Theorem (Full Müntz Theorem in L_p(A) for p ∈ (0, ∞) and for compact sets A ? [0, 1] with positive lower density at 0). Let A ? [0, 1] be a compact set with positive lower density at 0. Let p ∈ (0, ∞). Suppose (λ _j ) _j=1 ^∞ is a sequence of distinct real numbers greater than ?(1/p). Then span {x ^λ1,x ^λ2,…} is dense in L_p(A) if and only if $\sum\limits_{j = 1}^\infty {\frac{{\lambda _j + \left( {1/p} \right)}}{{\left( {\lambda _j + \left( {1/p} \right)} \right)^2 + 1}} = \infty } $ . Moreover, if $\sum\limits_{j = 1}^\infty {\frac{{\lambda _j + \left( {1/p} \right)}}{{\left( {\lambda _j + \left( {1/p} \right)} \right)^2 + 1}} = \infty } $ , then every function from the L_p(A) closure of {x ^λ1,x ^λ2,…} can be represented as an analytic function on {z ∈ ? \ (?∞,0] : |z| < r_A} restricted to A ∩ (0, r_A) where $r_A : = \sup \left\{ {y \in \mathbb{R}:\backslash ( - \infty ,0]:\left| z \right|< r_A } \right\}$ (m(·) denotes the one-dimensional Lebesgue measure). This improves and extends earlier results of Müntz, Szász, Clarkson, Erdös, P. Borwein, Erdélyi, and Operstein. Related issues about the denseness of {x ^λ1,x ^λ2,…} are also considered.     

Robust photonic band gap from tunable scatterers

We show theoretically and experimentally that photonic band gaps can be realized using metal or metal-coated spheres as building blocks. Robust photonic gaps exist in any periodic structure built from such spheres when the filling ratio of the spheres exceeds a threshold. The frequency and the size of the gaps depend on the local order rather than on the symmetry or the global long range order. Good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained in the microwave regime. Calculations show that the approach can be scaled up to optical frequencies even in the presence of absorption.     

Dynamics of a penta-hepta defect in a hexagonal pattern

The structure and dynamics of a penta-hepta defect in a hexagonal pattern are studied experimentally. The hexagonal pattern is formed by placing a layer of soap bubbles (diameter approximately 1 mm) on a flat glass plate. We find that an isolated penta-hepta defect in a bubble raft with free boundary always moves along the direction perpendicular to the wave vector of the nonsingular mode and towards the nearest boundary. The structure of the penta-hepta defect is found to be similar to that found in nonequilibrium pattern forming systems.