Experimental Electrically Reconfigurable Time-Domain Spectral Amplitude Encoding/Decoding in an Optical Code Division Multiple Access System

Abstract

An electrically reconfigurable time-domain spectral amplitude encoding/decoding scheme is proposed herein. The setup is based on the concept of temporally pulse shaping dual to spatial arrangements. The transmitter is based on a short pulse source and uses two conjugate dispersive fiber gratings and an electro-optic intensity modulator placed in between. Proof of concept results are shown for an optical pulse train operating at 1.25 Gbps using codes from the Hadamard family with a length of eight chips. The system is electrically reconfigurable, compatible with fiber systems, and permits scalability in the size of the codes by modifying only the modulator velocity.     

Copolymerization of Maleic Anhydride and Thiophene

Mixtures of maleic anhydride and thiophene were polymerized to alternating copolymers under the influence of azobisisobutyronitrile. The yield and molecular weight were highest when equimolar amounts of both monomers were used. Through comparison of the NMR spectrum of the copolymer with the NMR spectra of 2,3-dihydrothiophene and 2,5-dihydrothi-ophene, the copolymer proposed consists mainly of the following structure:

It is believed that polymerization occurs via a charge-transfer complex.     

Polymer-stabilized gold nanoparticles with high grafting densities

A series of polymer-coated Au nanoparticles have been prepared using the "grafting-to" approach. Thiol-terminated polystyrene and poly(ethylene oxide) ligands are found to form dense brushes on the faceted gold nanoparticle surfaces. Depending on the polymer, the ligand grafting densities on the gold nanoparticles are 1.2- to 23.5-fold greater than those available via self-assembled monolayer formation of the corresponding two-dimensional gold surfaces.     

Effects of polymerization conditions on the in vitro hydrolytic degradation of plaques of poly(dl-lactic acid-block-ethylene glycol) diblock copolymers

In the case of poly(lactic acid) stereocopolymers, it has been shown that the hydrolytic degradation of derived devices depends very much on whether zinc lactate or tin octoate was used to polymerize lactides. In contrast, no effect was found in the case of nanoparticles derived from poly(dl-lactic acid)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers obtained by anionic polymerization of dl-lactide initiated by the sodium salt of monomethoxypoly(ethylene glycol) or by coordination-insertion polymerization of dl-lactide initiated by monomethoxypoly(ethylene glycol) in the presence of tin octoate as catalyst. To understand the difference of behaviour, in vitro hydrolytic degradation of thick plates made of the same copolymers but under different conditions was investigated. Changes were monitored by ¹H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Size Exclusion Chromatography, Electrospray Mass Spectrometry and Capillary Zone Electrophoresis. It is shown that chain cleavage occurred from the very beginning of degradation and that plates disintegrated after 13 weeks. In all cases, degradation proceeded faster inside than at the surface, in contrast to what was observed for nanoparticles. Tin-type copolymer plates degraded more slowly than sodium macroalcoholate-type ones and were sensitive to purification conditions, in contrast to the latter.     

Mass spectra of 2,2′-bridged biphenyls with 12-membered heterocyclic bridging rings: 1—Some tetrahydrotetrabenzo[b,d,h,j] [1,6]diazacyclododecines and their precursors, 2,2′-diaminobiphenyls

Mass spectra of four tetrahydrotetrabenzo[b,d,h,j] [1,6]diazacyclododecines are reported. Loss of phenan-threne gives 2,2′-diaminobiphenyl or the appropriate substituted diamine as the base peak in three cases. Substituents ortho to the biphenyl link substantially modify the fragmentation pattern. Mass spectra of the four 2,2′-diaminobiphenyls have been determined for comparison.     

Epidermal reconstructs: a new tool to study topical and systemic photoprotective molecules

In this study, we compared the effects of sunscreens and antioxidants on reconstructed epidermis made with or without melanocytes 24 h after UVB, UVA or UVA+B irradiation. For this purpose, we studied sunburn cells and cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer formation, protein and lipid oxidation, catalase and superoxide dismutase activities and vitamin E levels. Topical sunscreens protected against direct cell death and thymine dimer formation whereas their protective effect against protein and lipid oxidation and antioxidant depletion was less marked partly due to the difficulty of spreading the cream. Antioxidant molecules protected against direct cell death and protein oxidation but not against thymine dimer formation. Since topical sunscreens and systemic antioxidant protected the skin differently, we speculate that their association might protect more efficiently against UV-induced damage. This model is relevant to study systemic molecules but is less practical, due to the technical limitations of studying topical molecules.     

Preparation of 6-Fluoro-8-quinolinol and Related 6-Fluoroquinolines

Summary.  6-Fluoro-8-quinolinol was prepared from 2-amino-5-fluorophenol by a Skraup synthesis. No synergism was observed between 5-fluoro- and 6-fluoro-8-quinolinols or between 6-fluoro- and 7-fluoro-8-quinolinols against any of the six fungi in our test system (Aspergillus niger, A. oryzae, Myrothecium verrucaria, Trichoderma viride, Mucor cirinelloides, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes) in Sabouraud dextrose broth. Unlike the fluoro-8-quinolinols, the 8-quinolinols comparably substituted with chlorine or bromine did form synergistic mixtures. This is attributed to steric factors. Corresponding author. E-mail: clarke@fordham.edu Received May 23, 2002; accepted May 29, 2002     

Opening mechanism of G.T/U pairs in DNA and RNA duplexes: a combined study of imino proton exchange and molecular dynamics simulation

The opening pathway of wobble pairs dG.T and rG.U has been investigated in four DNA and two RNA duplexes. Using NMR spectroscopy, we measured the imino proton exchange of both G(H1) and T/U(H3), catalyzed by ammonia, tris, and OH(-), and we calculated the free energy surface related to G.T/U opening by molecular dynamics simulations. Taken together the experimental and theoretical results, we suggest that wobble pairs open through a coupled rotation of the bases toward the major groove where exchange of both imino protons takes place with the surrounding water.     

Synthesis of mono- and polyhydroxylated cyclobutane nucleoside analogs

Enantiomerically enriched cyclobutene compounds 13 and 24 are good precursors of several cyclobutane nucleoside analogs. The synthetic ways involve, in the key step, either hydroboration or dihydroxylation.     

New approach to oligonucleotide microarrays using zirconium phosphonate-modified surfaces

A new approach to oligonucleotide arrays is demonstrated that utilizes zirconium phosphonate-derivatized glass slides. The active slides are prepared by binding Zr(4+) to surfaces terminated with organophosphonate groups previously deposited using either Langmuir-Blodgett or self-assembled monolayer methods. Oligonucleotide probes modified with a terminal phosphate bind strongly to the active zirconium phosphonate monolayer, and arrays for detecting fluorescent targets have been prepared using commercial spotting and scanning instruments. Preferred binding to the surface of the terminal phosphate of the modified probes instead of the internal phosphate diester groups is demonstrated and shown to yield increased fluorescence intensity after hybridization with labeled targets. A significant decrease in background signal is achieved by treating the slides with bovine serum albumin after spotting and before hybridization. A further increase in fluorescence after hybridization is observed when using a poly-guanine spacer between the probe oligomer and the terminal phosphate. Combining these modifications, an intensity ratio of nearly 1000 is achieved when comparing 5'-phosphate-modified 33-mer probes with unmodified probes upon hybridization with fluorescent targets.