Directly written monolithic waveguide laser incorporating a distributed feedback waveguide-Bragg grating

We report the fabrication and performance of the first C-band directly written monolithic waveguide laser (WGL). The WGL device was created in an erbium- and ytterbium-doped phosphate glass host and consisted of an optical waveguide that included a distributed feedback Bragg grating structure. The femtosecond laser direct-write technique was used to create both the waveguide and the waveguide-Bragg grating simultaneously and in a single processing step. The waveguide laser was optically pumped at approximately 980 nm and lased at 1,537 nm with a bandwidth of less than 4 pm.     

Poisson Groups and Differential Galois Theory of Schroedinger Equation on the Circle

We combine the projective geometry approach to Schroedinger equations on the circle and differential Galois theory with the theory of Poisson Lie groups to construct a natural Poisson structure on the space of wave functions (at the zero energy level). Applications to KdV-like nonlinear equations are discussed. The same approach is applied to 2^nd order difference operators on a one-dimensional lattice, yielding an extension of the lattice Poisson Virasoro algebra.     

Evaluation of antiplasmodial properties of a cyanobacterium,Spirulina platensis and its mechanism of action

The rapid emergence of antimalarial drug resistance necessitates a continual effort on novel drug discovery. A cyanobacterium, Spirulina platensis, is a potential antimalarial agent that has been widely consumed as food supplement in the form of crude extract. It is known to possess antiviral, antibacterial and antifungi activities. This study examined the antimalarial activities of several Spirulina formulas against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7, in vitro. The tested Spirulina formulas included commercially available capsule, crude extract and alkaloid fraction. Results showed that all tested formula possessed antimalarial activities with the Spirulina capsule exhibited the highest activities (IC₅₀ = 2.16 μg/mL). Light and electron microscopies revealed interference of the Spirulina with the parasite hemozoin formation. In conclusion, all tested Spirulina formulas and fraction exhibited moderate to high antimalarial activities.     

Approximation of singularity sets with analytic graphs over the ball in C

Let be a smooth function on the ball in C whose gradient has length less than or equal to 1. We show that if is uniformly near an analytic function on every complex affine one-dimensional slice then it must be near some function analytic on the whole ball. We use this to show the following: a singularity set over the ball which is near the graph of a function with must be near the graph of some analytic function over the ball.

     

A formal synthesis of the callipeltoside aglycone

A synthesis of the macrocyclic core structure of callipeltoside A and a C9 epimer has been achieved by applications of chiral vinylzinc or Kishi-Nozaki-Hiyama (K-N-H) additions, Roskamp homologations, and acylketene or intramolecular K-N-H macrolactonizations as key bond-forming steps.     

Compartmentalized nanocomposite for dynamic nitric oxide release

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important cell-signaling molecule whose role in a variety of cellular processes such as differentiation and apoptosis depends strongly on its concentration and flux levels. This work describes and characterizes a novel nitric oxide releasing nanocomposite, capable of photostimulated NO flux that can by dynamically modulated in within a range of biological levels. This material mimics the common compartmentalization strategies used by living cells to achieve its novel features. The material is constructed by encapsulating a photosensitive nitric oxide donor within lipid vesicles with an average diameter of 150 nm. The vesicles are then doped into the interstitial liquid phase of a solid porous silica matrix, which has previously demonstrated biological compatibility and capabilities as a growth surface for mammalian cells. Stimulation by a light source produces a step increase in NO concentration within seconds. The NO flux at the surface of the material is measured to be 14 pmol-cm(-2) sec(-1) using a NO selective self-referencing amperometric microsensor. The NO concentration profile decreases with distance perpendicular to the surface as expected for diffusion from a surface through an aqueous environment. A pattern of one minute light pulses produced uniform pulses of increased NO concentration of one minute duration. A linear relationship exists between NO surface concentration and photon flux, and this relationship can be used to tune the material response.     

Structure, energetics, and electronic coupling in the (TCNE2)-* encounter complex in solution: a polarizable continuum study

For the prototypical dyad (TCNE2)-*, previous in vacuo calculations indicate that sizable distortion of the equilibrium gas-phase structure may be required to reduce the donor/acceptor electronic coupling element (HDA) to the solution-phase experimental estimates. We employ the polarizable continuum model (PCM) to simulate the solvation environment for several polar solvents, finding noticeable structure change associated with the promotion of charge localization due to solvation. We have extended the counterpoise (CP) correction procedure so as to include fragment relaxation energies within the PCM model, and it would be of interest to incorporate this approach into schemes for optimizing coordinates on CP-corrected energy surfaces. The calculations include face-to-face encounter geometries as well as several lateral and twist distortions of the face-to-face structures. In proceeding from vacuum to solution, the calculated stabilization energy is reduced from -18 to -3 kcal/mol, and the calculated energy surface becomes flatter, with a somewhat larger minimum-energy separation of the monomer units (rDA). The corresponding minimum-energy structures are, respectively, delocalized and charge-localized. Using TD-DFT, spin-projected MP2 (PUMP2), and state-averaged two-configuration SCF (SA-TCSCF) calculations to evaluate HDA for symmetric encounter complex geometries (models for transition-state structures) indicates that HDA has comparable magnitude in the gas phase and in solution for a given dimer structure. SA-TCSCF calculations comparing HDA based on symmetric charge-delocalized structures and their asymmetric (minimum-energy) charge-localized counterparts (at a given rDA) yield very similar values. Even with account taken of the energetically accessible configurations probed by the PCM calculations, the HDA values remain significantly higher than the experimental estimates inferred from solution spectra and assumption of rDA based on crystal data. Clearly, additional calculations based on molecular-level solvent models would be of value in helping to characterize the intermolecular structures accessible to the encounter complex in polar solution.