Modified Maxwell-Bloch equations for systems under strong optical excitation

The response to a strong monochromatic electromagnetic field is investigated for a system with two energy bands. Modified Maxwell-Bloch equations are derived using a Master-equation approach in the rotating frame. Our results imply the vanishing of the stationary polarization in the rotating frame and are equivalent to the replacement of the equilibrium population in the ordinary linear response with the actual population determined by the strong excitation.     

Luciferase‐Induced Photouncaging: Bioluminolysis

Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) has been widely used for studying dynamic processes in biological systems such as protein–protein interactions and other signaling events. Aside from acting as a reporter, BRET can also turn on functions in living systems. Herein, we report the application of BRET to performing a biorthogonal reaction in living cells; namely, releasing functional molecules through energy transfer to a coumarin molecule, a process termed bioluminolysis. An efficient BRET from Nanoluc‐Halotag chimera protein (H‐Luc) to a coumarin substrate yields the excited state of coumarin, which in turn triggers hydrolysis to uncage a target molecule. Compared to the conventional methods, this novel uncaging system requires no external light source and shows fast kinetics (t_1/2<2 min). We applied this BRET uncaging system to release a potent kinase inhibitor, ibrutinib, in living cells, highlighting its broad utility in controlling the supply of bioactive small molecules in vivo.     

Efficient sampling of ice structures by electrostatic switching

An electrostatic switching procedure is introduced that enables the systematic generation of high-quality ice configurations at various temperatures. Proton disordered ice Ih configurations were generated for the TIP4P water model at temperatures from 50 to 240 K, for the SPC/Fw water model from 100 to 240 K, and for the DC97 water model at 240 K. The resulting configurations were found to properly sample the canonical ensemble. The dielectric constant of ice Ih was determined from the net dipole fluctuation of the ice configurations. The calculated dielectric constant compares favorably with the study by Rick and Haymet [J. Chem. Phys. 2003, 118, 9291]. However, our method gives smaller error bars, especially at lower temperatures. At temperatures above 200 K, a type of hydrogen-bond defect is identified that cannot be categorized as a D or L type defect.     

Strategies for monitoring the emerging polar organic contaminants in water with emphasis on integrative passive sampling

Although polar organic contaminants (POCs) such as pharmaceuticals are considered as some of today's most emerging contaminants few of them are regulated or included in on-going monitoring programs. However, the growing concern among the public and researchers together with the new legislature within the European Union, the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals (REACH) system will increase the future need of simple, low cost strategies for monitoring and risk assessment of POCs in aquatic environments. In this article, we overview the advantages and shortcomings of traditional and novel sampling techniques available for monitoring the emerging POCs in water. The benefits and drawbacks of using active and biological sampling were discussed and the principles of organic passive samplers (PS) presented. A detailed overview of type of polar organic PS available, and their classes of target compounds and field of applications were given, and the considerations involved in using them such as environmental effects and quality control were discussed. The usefulness of biological sampling of POCs in water was found to be limited. Polar organic PS was considered to be the only available, but nevertheless, an efficient alternative to active water sampling due to its simplicity, low cost, no need of power supply or maintenance, and the ability of collecting time-integrative samples with one sample collection. However, the polar organic PS need to be further developed before they can be used as standard in water quality monitoring programs.     

Thermodynamic evaluation and optimization of the (Na2SO4 + K2SO4 + Na2S2O7 + K2S2O7) system

A complete, critical evaluation of all phase diagram and thermodynamic data was performed for all phases of the (Na₂SO₄ + K₂SO₄ + Na₂S₂O₇ + K₂S₂O₇) system and optimized model parameters were obtained. The Modified Quasichemical Model in the Quadruplet Approximation was used for modelling the liquid phase. The model evaluates first- and second-nearest-neighbour short-range ordering, where the cations (Na⁺ and K⁺) are assumed to mix on a cationic sublattice, while anions were assumed to mix on an anionic sublattice. The Compound Energy Formalism was used for modelling the solid solutions of (Na,K)₂SO₄ and (Na,K)₂S₂O₇. The models can be used to predict the thermodynamic properties and phase equilibria in multicomponent heterogeneous systems. The experimental data from the literature were reproduced within experimental error limits.     

Experimental validation of a dynamic resonant wall shear stress sensor

Experimental measurements are used to validate a numerical model of a dynamic resonant wall shear stress sensor. The numerical model consists of an unsteady two-dimensional boundary-layer model for the flow and a simple mechanical model for the sensor itself. The sensor’s sensitivity to wall shear stress is experimentally determined in a flat-plate boundary layer, and the results agree closely with those from the numerical simulations. Using the validated model, it is determined that the energy lost in each sensor oscillation due to the interaction between the sensor and fluid increases with increasing mean wall shear stress.