Autofluorescence characterization of advanced glycation end products of hemoglobin

This article describes the analysis of autofluorescence of advanced glycation end products of hemoglobin (Hb-AGE). Formed as a result of slow, spontaneous and non-enzymatic glycation reactions, Hb-AGE possesses a characteristic autofluorescence at 308/345 nm (lambda(ex)/lambda(em)). Even in the presence of heme as a quenching molecule, the surface presence of the glycated adduct gave rise to autofluorescence with the quantum yield of 0.19. The specificity of monoclonal antibody developed against common AGE structure with Hb-AGE was demonstrated using reduction in fluorescence polarization value due to increased molecular volume while binding. The formation of fluorescent adduct in hemoglobin in the advanced stage of glycation and the non-fluorescent HbA(1c) will be of major use in distinguishing and to know the past status of diabetes mellitus. While autofluorescence correlated highly with HbA(1c) value under in vivo condition (r = 0.85), it was moderate in the clinical samples (r = 0.55). The results suggest a non-linear relation between glycemia and glycation, indicating the application of Hb-AGE as a measure of susceptibility to glycation rather than glycation itself.     

Millimeter wave attenuation in relation to rain rate distribution over a tropical station

Rain, perhaps, is the worst offender for utilising Millimeterwaves in practice. This paper describes the rain rate distribution from which millimeterwave attenuation distribution have been attempted. Results reveal that in our location (Calcutta: lat 23°N long 88.5°E) the rain rate distribution fits well with normal distribution. The cumulative distribution of rain rate also prompted the present authors to find out rain attenuation cumulative distribution for both terrestrial and earth-space paths in millimeterwave band.     

An analytic study of the friedel criterion in disordered magnetic states in transition metals in the presence ofS-D hybridisation,using the cluster bethe lattice approach

In this paper we present a new theory for including both short range order and long range order simultaneously in the well known cluster Bethe lattice method for binary alloys. We have used this theory for obtaining the Friedel criterion for the appearance of magnetic moments in disordered states using the single band Hubbard model. This is followed by a study of this criterion in a two-bands-d hybridised Hubbard model, which is considered as a simulation of real transition metals. A new technique for solving this problem in the Bethe lattice network is presented, which yields an analytic solution for the critical correlation strength in the presence of hybridisation and short range order. It is found that in all cases hybridisation tends to diminish the tendency for magnetisation, which is in accord with physical expectations.     

Doping-induced spin-manipulation in complex trimer system Ca3Cu3(PO4)4: A density functional investigation

Doping induced spin-manipulation with magnetic (Ni) and non-magnetic (Mg) dopants constitutes the experimental attempts to obtain a singlet ground state system from the linear chain Heisenberg antiferromagnetic Cu-based d⁹ spin-1/2 trimer compound Ca³Cu³(PO⁴)⁴ with doublet ground state. The present study is a density-functional investigation of the effects of such doping on the spin-exchange mechanism and electronic structure of the parent compound. Site-selective doping with zero-spin dopants like Mg is proved to be more efficient than an integral spin dopant Ni in obtaining a spin-gap system with singlet ground state, as also observed in the experimental studies. Doping induced dimerized state is found to be the lowest in ground-state energy. Calculated spin exchange couplings along various possible pathways are observed to attain good agreement with earlier experimental results with suitable optimization of Coulomb repulsion (U) and exchange (J) parameters.     

Trapped ion chain as a neural network: error resistant quantum computation

We demonstrate the possibility of realizing a neural network in a chain of trapped ions with induced long range interactions. Such models permit one to store information distributed over the whole system. The storage capacity of such a network, which depends on the phonon spectrum of the system, can be controlled by changing the external trapping potential. We analyze the implementation of error resistant universal quantum information processing in such systems.     

Synthesis of nanocrystalline and mesoporous zinc sulphide from a single precursor Zn(SOCCH3)2Lut2 complex

We report the formation of mesoporous zinc sulphide, composed by the fine network of nanoparticles, which was formed via a single precursor Zn(SOCCH₃)₂Lut₂ complex. The complex was chemically synthesized using zinc carbonate basic, 3,5-lutidine and thioacetic acid, in air. The metal precursor complex was characterized using different conventional techniques. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) result indicates that the decomposition of the complex starts at 100 °C and continues up to 450 °C, finally yielding ZnS. ZnS nanocrystals were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), N₂-sorption isotherm, UV-vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The grain diameter of nanocrystals was found to be 4-5 nm. The material followed Type-IV N₂-sorption isotherm, which is the characteristic of mesoporous materials. The band gap energy, as obtained from optical measurements was around 3.8 eV.     

An estimation of S/N degradation at millimeter waves during rain events

The use of Ka Band (20/30 GHz) for future satellite communications has been addressed. The exploitation of Ka band with a bandwidth of 2500 MHz seems to represent the largest significant achievement in satellite communications potential, so far. The problems associated with the use of this frequency band such as attenuation and receiver noise temperature (floor) variation with rain has been addressed. The receiver noise floor variation with rain has so far been ignored. Therefore, in view of propagation and noise study over this Ka Band, both signal attenuation and receiver noise floor variations with rain rate are estimated using dual frequency radiometers operating at 22.235 and 31.4 GHz over a tropical station, Calcutta, India.