Analysis of nitrogen-influenced surface near zones of ferrous materials by glow discharge spectroscopy (GDOS)

Glow discharge spectroscopy (GDOS) will be shown to be a quick, informative and simple method for quantitative depth profile analysis of elements of nitrided layers well suited for their quality control. By systematic variation of all glow discharge determining parameters it is possible to get an excellent depth resolution in the order of sub-m corresponding to a comparatively large analytical activated area (50 mm²). In this paper the behaviour of a number of important parameters related to sputtering of the activated area will be discussed. Some quantitative GDOS depth profiles of carbon and nitrogen of pure iron samples nitrided by different procedures will be shown as examples for application.     

Profiling of generic anti-phosphopeptide antibodies and kinases with peptide microarrays using radioactive and fluorescence-based assays

Kinases represent one of the largest enzyme families and key regulatory proteins in the cell. Only a small subset of these enzymes has been characterised so far. We have prepared different types of phosphopeptide and peptide microarrays displaying peptides deduced from annotated human phosphorylation sites and cytoplasmic domains of all annotated human membrane proteins. This approach was enabled by fully-automated high throughput micro-scale synthesis of peptides by the SPOT technology combined with chemo-selective immobilisation on modified glass slides. The phosphopeptide microarrays displaying 2923 peptides in total have been used for the characterisation of commercially available generic anti-phosphopeptide antibodies. This enabled us to detect Abl kinase activity on a microarray with anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies yielding results comparable to those obtained from a radioactive assay. More than 13 000 peptides deposited on six glass slides were used to profile casein kinase 2 (CK2) using a radioactive assay, since no generic antibody for the reliable detection of serine or threonine phosphorylation could be identified. All previously identified substrates were detected in the microarray experiment. In order to confirm whether substrates on the microarray are substrates in solution phase assays, more than 700 peptides were synthesised and tested with CK2 in a solution phase assay. All substrates identified in the solution phase assay were also detected on the microarray.     

光学非球面凹面零件仿形加工方法的修正

从圆锥体靠模仿形法加工非球面光学零件的基本原理出发,指出加工凸非球面时无原理误差,但加工凹非球面时,只能用圆弧包络法加工。用实心圆锥体靠模时,必然存在误差。解决方法是减小工具的曲率半径,或增加一维数控进行补偿,或使用空心圆锥体仿形。实际应用中前两种方法只能减小误差,不能消除。而采用凹模仿形时,则不存在原理误差。     

Non-coherent noise reduction in digital holography based on root mean square technique

In this paper, the root mean square (rms) technique is applied in order to reduce the non-coherent noise in phase-contrast image. The proposed technique is applied to a sample of 200 μm step height nominally. The recorded off-axis interferograms generated from two different wavelengths are processed to obtain an object wave (amplitude and phase) for each wavelength separately. The independent phase maps are subtracted and a phase map for the beat-wavelength is obtained and converted to height map. The rms values of 10 pixels profiles from the obtained height map are calculated automatically to show the three-dimensional (3D) profile. The experimental results show that the non-coherent noise is reduced by the order of 90% when the rms technique is applied and the uncertainty in measurement has been found to be of the order of 1.5 μm. The proposed technique can provide a simple and real solution for measuring 3D objects having high abrupt height difference.     

Labeling algorithm for the shortest path problem with turn prohibitions with application to large-scale road networks

In real road networks, the presence of no-left, no-right or no U-turn signs, restricts the movement of vehicles at intersections. These turn prohibitions must be considered when calculating the shortest path between a starting and an ending point in a road network. We propose an extension of Dijkstra’s algorithm to solve the shortest path problem with turn prohibitions. The method uses arc labeling and a network structure with low memory requirements. We compare the proposed method with the dual graph approach in a set of randomly generated networks and Bogotá’s large-scale road network. Our computational experiments show that the performance of the proposed method is better than that of the dual graph approach, both in terms of computing time and memory requirements. We co-developed a Web-based decision support system for computing shortest paths with turn prohibitions that uses the proposed method as the core engine.     

Reduction of chromano–piperidine-fused isoxazolidines: Tandem intramolecular rearrangements leading to 2-(methylamino)-4-oxo-N-phenyl-N-propyl-4H-chromene-3-carboxamide

Reductive ring opening of isoxazolidine moiety of chromano–piperidine-fused isoxazolidines (3a–c) with HCOONH₄ and 10% Pd/C in a mixture of solvents (THF/MeOH) at ambient temperature, affords novel 2-(methylamino)-4-oxo-N-phenyl-N-propyl-4H-chromene-3-carboxamide (4), which is apparently derived from reductive NO bond cleavage followed by tandem intramolecular rearrangements. Plausible mechanistic rationale for the formation of compound 4 is proffered.     

Anti-inflammatory chromone alkaloids and glycoside from Dysoxylum binectariferum

Herein we report isolation of a new chromone alkaloid chrotacumine K (12) from fruits and a chromone glycoside schumaniofioside A (13) from leaves of Dysoxylum binectariferum Hook f. Schumaniofioside A is reported for the first time from Meliaceae family. Other known alkaloids isolated include rohitukine (1) and chrotacumine E (6). The structure of new alkaloid 12 was elucidated on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR analysis, synthesis and chemical hydrolysis. Chemically, chrotacumine K (12) is a 3′-O-acetyl rohitukine which on chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis produces rohitukine. The new alkaloid 12 is also present in seeds and stem-barks of this plant. The glycoside schumaniofioside A (13) is present only in leaves, and in abundance (～1% w/w of dried leaves). The isolated compounds and extracts were evaluated for in vitro effect on the proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) in human monocytic THP-1 cells. The alkaloid 12 displayed potent inhibition (57%) of TNF-α at 0.3 µM, and was non-toxic to THP-1 cells up to 40 µM, indicating its excellent therapeutic window. Furthermore, a nitrobenzoyl ester analog 15e showed better inhibition of IL-6 than parent natural product chrotacumine K.     

Effect of SIMS ionization probability on depth resolution for organic/inorganic interfaces

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) relies on the fact that surface particles ejected from a solid surface are ionized under ion bombardment. By comparing the signal of molecular secondary ions desorbed from an organic film with that of the corresponding sputtered neutral precursor molecules, we investigate the variation of the molecular ionization probability when depth profiling through the film to the substrate interface. As a result, we find notable variations of the ionization probability both at the original surface and in the interface region, leading to a strong distortion of the measured SIMS depth profile. The experiments show that the effect can act in two ways, leading either to an apparent broadening or to an artificial sharpening of the observed film‐substrate transition. As a consequence, we conclude that care must be taken when assessing interface location, width, or depth resolution from a molecular SIMS depth profile.     

Extended specificity studies of mRNA assays used to infer human organ tissues and body fluids

Messenger RNA (mRNA) profiling is a technique increasingly applied for the forensic identification of body fluids and skin. More recently, an mRNA‐based organ typing assay was developed which allows for the inference of brain, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, heart, kidney, and skin tissue. When applying this organ typing system in forensic casework for the presence of animal, rather than human, tissue is an alternative scenario to be proposed, for instance that bullets carry cell material from a hunting event. Even though mRNA profiling systems are commonly in silico designed to be primate specific, physical testing against other animal species is generally limited. In this study, human specificity of the organ tissue inferring system was assessed against organ tissue RNAs of various animals. Results confirm human specificity of the system, especially when utilizing interpretation rules considering multiple markers per cell type. Besides, we cross‐tested our organ and body fluid mRNA assays against the target types covered by the other assay. Marker expression in the nontarget organ tissues and body fluids was observed to a limited extent, which emphasizes the importance of involving the case‐specific context of the forensic samples in deciding which mRNA profiling assay to use and when for interpreting results.