Theoretical fluorescence yields and widths of the K shell and the L subshells,for the Ne,Ar, and Kr isoelectronic sequences

In this work, we present fluorescence yield and width values of Ne-, Ar-, and Kr-like ion levels for selected values of Z, using a state-of-the-art multiconfiguration Dirac–Fock approach. The results may be useful for the interpretation of spectra from plasmas, in both laboratory and astrophysics, as well as from ion collision experiments.     

Biospeckle numerical values over spectral image maps of activity

The image analysis presents itself as a powerful instrument applied to all sort of biological phenomena monitoring. The development of many optical approaches to carry out a feasible image assembling and analysis to different demands has been the main effort in this application area. A consequence of that effort is the adoption of the biospeckle laser technique as a potential alternative to pursue the optical metrology. Particularly, the monitoring of the biological activity under the laser illumination presents as a reliable tool to many applications in many areas, such as to identify the changes in the micro-blood flow in animal tissues, or even to monitor the vegetal and the animal tissues and their metabolism. However, one limitation of biospeckle is the access of graphical maps of activity with any numerical information linked to them. This work had the objective to present a protocol to separate different tissues in the same material by means of the frequency signature, and by means of the association of graphical and numerical results from the biospeckle laser images. In order to confirm the efficiency of the proposed protocol we applied it to separate embryo and endosperm in maize seed and as well to separate tumour cells and normal tissues in animals. The results showed the feasibility of the approach proposed offering results with graphical maps associated to numerical information.     

Renormalization Conditions and the Sliding Scale in the Implicit Regularization Scheme: A Simple Connection

We describe in detail how a sliding scale is introduced in the renormalization of a QFT according to integer-dimensional implicit regularization scheme. We show that since no regulator needs to be specified at intermediate steps of the calculation, the introduction of a mass scale is a direct consequence of a set of renormalization conditions. As an illustration the one-loop -function for QED and ⁴ theories are derived. They are given in terms of derivatives of appropriately systematized functions (related to definite parts of the amplitudes) with respect to a mass scale . Our formal scheme can be easily generalized for higher loop calculations.     

Extending the kinetic solution of the classic Michaelis–Menten model of enzyme action

The principal aim of studies of enzyme-mediated reactions has been to provide comparative and quantitative information on enzyme-catalyzed reactions under distinct conditions. The classic Michaelis–Menten model (Biochem Zeit 49:333, 1913) for enzyme kinetic has been widely used to determine important parameters involved in enzyme catalysis, particularly the Michaelis–Menten constant (K _M ) and the maximum velocity of reaction (V _max ). Subsequently, a detailed treatment of the mechanisms of enzyme catalysis was undertaken by Briggs–Haldane (Biochem J 19:338, 1925). These authors proposed the steady-state treatment, since its applicability was constrained to this condition. The present work describes an extending solution of the Michaelis–Menten model without the need for such a steady-state restriction. We provide the first analysis of all of the individual reaction constants calculated analytically. Using this approach, it is possible to accurately predict the results under new experimental conditions and to characterize and optimize industrial processes in the fields of chemical and food engineering, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.     

Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of a lectin-like substance from Clitoria fairchildiana R. Howard seeds

Lectins are proteins that have the ability to bind specifically and reversibly to carbohydrates and glycoconjugates, without altering the structure of the glycosyl ligand. They are found in organisms such as viruses, plants and humans, and they have been shown to possess important biological activities. The objective of this study was to purify and characterize lectins in the seeds of Clitoria fairchildiana, as well as to verify their biological activities. The results indicated the presence of a lectin (CFAL) in the glutelin acid protein fraction, which agglutinated native rabbit erythrocytes. CFAL was purified by column chromatography ion-exchange, DEAE-Sephacel, which was obtained from a peak of protein retained in the matrix by applying 0.5 M NaCl using the step-wise method. Electrophoretic analysis of this lectin in SDS-PAGE indicated a two band pattern protein molecular mass of approximately 100 and 116 kDa. CFAL proved to be unspecific to all carbohydrates/glycoconjugates in common use for the sugar inhibition test. This lectin showed no significant cytotoxicity to human red blood cells. It was observed that CFAL has anti-inflammatory activity in the paw edema induced by carrageenan model, in which a 64% diminution in edema was observed. Antinociceptive effects were observed for CFAL in the abdominal writhing test (induced by acetic acid), in which increasing doses of the lectin caused reduction in the number of contortions by up to 72%. It was concluded that the purified and characterized lectin from the seeds of Clitoria fairchildiana has anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activity, and is not cytotoxic to human erythrocytes.     

Slippage mutation rates in 15 autosomal short tandem repeat loci for forensic purposes in a Southeastern Brazilian population

Well‐defined estimates of mutation rates in highly polymorphic tetranucleotide STR loci are a prerequisite for human identification in genetics laboratory routines useful for civil and criminal investigations. Studying 15 autosomal STR loci of forensic interest (CSF1PO, D2S1338, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D19S433, D21S11, FGA, TH01, TPOX, and vWA), we detected 193 slippage mutations (189 one‐step and four two‐step mutations) in 148 875 parent‐child allelic transfers from 5171 paternity cases with true biological relationship (15 096 individuals; 4754 trios and 417 duos; 9925 meiosis) from the state of São Paulo, a very representative population of Brazil. The overall mutation rate was 1.3 × 10^?3 and the highest rates were observed at loci vWA (2.8 × 10^?3), FGA and D18S51 (2.7 × 10^?3 for both), while loci TH01 and TPOX did not present any mutations. The mean slippage mutation rate of paternal origin (1.8 × 10^?3) was six times higher than that observed for maternal origin (0.3 × 10^?3).     

Anisotropy of the optical and magneto-optical response of Au/Co/Au/Cu multilayers grown on vicinal Si (111) surfaces

The optical and magneto-optical second harmonic reflectivity response of Au/Co/Au/Cu multilayers grown on vicinal Si (111) substrates has been studied. These azimuthal optical non-linear experiments check the uniaxial character of the crystallinity of the Au buffer layer and the magnetic behavior of the ultrathin Co films in the metallic multilayer. They clearly show the strong dependence of the growth parameters and the misorientation of the vicinal surface on the SHG reflectivity signals. This uniaxial behavior is also correlated to linear MOKE experiments on the magnetic anisotropy with an easy magnetization axis parallel to the step edges. Received: 16 October 2001 / Published online: 29 May 2002