eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL)

The eXtensible Business Reporting Language, or XBRL, is a royalty-free language based on XML that provides for a standardization of method and content in the exchange of business information. XBRL aims to reduce inefficiencies in data exchange and analysis, coupled with an improved comparability of information. The first taxonomies based on XBRL have:

1. identified opportunities for significant improvement in the efficiency of data exchange and automated analysis.
2. shown that comparisons between and the compatibility of information within business reports have not improved due to XBRL.

     

Colony-blot assay with anti-p60 antibodies as a method for quick identification of Listeria in food

The present study evaluated the ability to isolate Listeria from foods, using shortened procedure of sample enrichment followed by immunomagnetic separation or filtration methods, and serological identification of isolated bacteria by colony-blot and Western blot methods with anti-p60 antibodies. By these rapid methods, identification of Listeria was achieved in much shorter time (40-48 h) than with standard cultivation and biochemical identification procedures. The rapid methods used are easy to perform and, what is most important, their specificity is very high and fulfills the expectations. The possibility to select Listeria colonies growing on non-selective media by blotting with anti-p60 antiserum seems to be particularly valuable in examination of food samples containing/not too many Listeria (1-10 CFU/25 g). However, the blot method using anti-PepD mAb specific to unique region of L. monocytogenes p60 is necessary to distinguish L. monocytogenes from other Listeria species.     

Dynamical Screening and Electron-Mediated Superconductivity in Intercalated Layered Metallochloronitrides

Metallochloronitrides are layered conductors that have recently been found to superconduct at critical temperatures up to T _c 26 K. It is known that the electron–phonon interaction is small in these systems, so that the conventional pairing mechanism through exchange of phonons is unable to provide for such high T _cs. We show that the dominant contribution to the pairing interaction in these materials comes from the exchange of low-energy collective modes, specific to layered conductors. The existence of such acoustic plasmons results from the incomplete screening of the Coulomb interaction perpendicular to the conducting planes which expresses itself in the dynamical nature of the screened Coulomb interaction.     

Fabrication of gap-optimized CMUT

A recently introduced set up of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (cMUT) combines a conductive membrane above a structured sacrificial layer. All previous approaches either require an additional metallic electrode or do not possess a structured sacrificial layer and, consequently, may make exact adjustment of the membrane dimensions difficult. The present set ups are especially suited for the fabrication of cMUT with gap heights ranging between 50 nm and 2 /spl mu/m between the electrodes. Large gaps are a prerequisite to enabling sufficient deflections of the membrane and, therewith, to generating high pressure gradients. On the other hand, small gap sizes are desirable for detecting weak ultrasonic sources. This paper focuses on the fabrication process of cMUT to realize electrode separation above 500 nm and, in addition, on the manufacturing of cMUT with gaps below 500 nm. The successful realization has been proven by some basic experimental investigations. Finally, the fundamental equations of a frequently chosen simulation model are documented, as a number of ambiguities exist in the common literature.     

Antarctic springtime depletion of atmospheric mercury

Unlike other heavy metals that are inherently associated with atmospheric aerosols, mercury in ambient air exists predominantly in the gaseous elemental form. Because of its prolonged atmospheric residence time, elemental mercury vapor is distributed on a global scale. Recently, Canadian researchers have discovered that total gaseous mercury levels in the lower tropospheric boundary layer in the Canadian Arctic are often significantly depleted during the months after polar sunrise. A possible explanation may involve oxidation of elemental mercury, followed by adsorption and deposition of the oxidized form, leading to an increased input of atmospheric mercury into the Arctic ecosystem. Here we present the first continuous high-time-resolution measurements of total gaseous mercury in the Antarctic covering a 12-month period between January 2000 and January 2001 at the German Antarctic research station Neumayer (70 degrees 39' S, 8 degrees 15' W). We report that mercury depletion events also occur in the Antarctic after polar sunrise and compare our measurements with a data setfrom Alert, Nunavut, Canada. We also present indications that BrO radicals and ozone play a key role in the boundary-layer chemistry during springtime mercury depletion events in the Antarctic troposphere.     

Biosynthesis of novel thermoplastic polythioesters by engineered Escherichia coli

The development of non-petrochemical sources for the plastics industry continues to progress as large multinationals focus on renewable resources to replace fossil carbon. Many bacteria are known to accumulate polyoxoesters as water-insoluble granules in the cytoplasm. The thermoplastic and/or elastomeric behaviour of these biodegradable polymers holds promise for the development of various technological applications. Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of microbial polythioesters (PTEs), a novel class of biopolymers of general technological relevance. Biosynthesis of PTE homopolymers was achieved using a recombinant strain of Escherichia coli that expressed a non-natural pathway consisting of a butyrate kinase, a phosphotransbutyrylase, and a PHA synthase. Different homopolymers were produced, consisting of either 3-mercaptopropionate, 3-mercaptobutyrate, or 3-mercaptovalerate repeating units, if the respective mercaptoalkanoic acids were provided as precursor substrates to the fermentative process. The PTEs contributed up to 30% (w/w) of the cellular dry weight and were identified as hydrophobic inclusions in the cytoplasm. The chemical and stereochemical homogeneity of the purified PTEs were identified by different methods, and the estimated physical properties were compared to the oxypolyester equivalents, revealing low crystalline order and, for the poly(3-mercaptopropionate) improved thermal stability. The ability to produce PTEs through a biosynthetic route opens up new avenues in the field of biomaterials.     

Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil: minimizing sample pretreatment using automated Soxhlet with ethyl acetate as extraction solvent

A simplified sample pretreatment method for industrially PAH-contaminated soils applying automated Soxhlet (Soxtherm) with ethyl acetate as extraction solvent is presented. Laborious pretreatment steps such as drying of samples, cleanup of crude extracts, and solvent exchange were allowed to be bypassed without notable performance impact. Moisture of the soil samples did not significantly influence recoveries of PAHs at a wide range of water content for the newly developed method. However, the opposite was true for the standard procedure using the more apolar 1:1 (v/v) n-hexane/acetone solvent mixture including postextraction treatments recommended by the U.S. EPA. Moreover, ethyl acetate crude extracts did not appreciably effect the chromatographic performance (HPLC-(3D)FLD), which was confirmed by a comparison of the purity of PAH spectra from both pretreatment methods. Up to 20% (v/v) in acetonitrile, ethyl acetate proved to be fully compatible with the mobile phase of the HPLC whereas the same concentration of n-hexane/acetone in acetonitrile resulted in significant retention time shifts. The newly developed pretreatment method was applied to three historically contaminated soils from different sources with extraction efficiencies not being significantly different compared to the standard procedure. Finally, the certified reference soil CRM 524 was subjected to the simplified procedure resulting in quantitative recoveries (>92%) for all PAHs analyzed.     

Derivation of a Monte Carlo method for modeling heterodyne detection in optical coherence tomography systems

A Monte Carlo (MC) method for modeling optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements of a diffusely reflecting discontinuity embedded in a scattering medium is presented. For the first time to the authors' knowledge it is shown analytically that the applicability of an MC approach to this optical geometry is firmly justified, because, as we show, in the conjugate image plane the field reflected from the sample is delta-correlated from which it follows that the heterodyne signal is calculated from the intensity distribution only. This is not a trivial result because, in general, the light from the sample will have a finite spatial coherence that cannot be accounted for by MC simulation. To estimate this intensity distribution adequately we have developed a novel method for modeling a focused Gaussian beam in MC simulation. This approach is valid for a softly as well as for a strongly focused beam, and it is shown that in free space the full three-dimensional intensity distribution of a Gaussian beam is obtained. The OCT signal and the intensity distribution in a scattering medium have been obtained for several geometries with the suggested MC method; when this model and a recently published analytical model based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle are compared, excellent agreement is found.     

Older Adults as Adaptive Decision Makers: Evidence From the Iowa Gambling Task.

Older adults process emotional information differently than younger adults and may demonstrate less of a negativity bias on cognitive tasks. The Iowa Gambling Task designed by A. Bechara, H. Damasio, D. Tranel, and A. R. Damasio (1997) has been used to examine the integration of emotion and cognition in a risky-choice decision task and may give insight into differences in the decision-making strategies in younger and older adults. Eighty-eight younger adults (18-34 years) and 67 older adults (65-88 years) completed the Iowa Gambling Task. Using a theoretical decomposition of the task designed by J. R. Busemeyer and J. C. Stout (2002), the authors found that both groups were successful at solving the task but used very different strategies that reflected each group's strength. For younger adults, that strength was learning and memory. For older adults, that strength was an accurate representation of wins and losses (valence). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Study on the Buckling Behaviour of Strips and Plates with Residual Stresses

During and after rolling or flattening of metal strips and plates the permissible deviations from flatness are described by the permissible absolute wave height and the flatness index. Both values can be determined on a measuring table while the material is not subjected to global tension. Because this procedure is expensive, time‐consuming and allows measurement only at discrete positions along the strip length, on‐line flatness measuring systems are used which can detect the distribution of longitudinal tensile stresses distributed across the strip width allowing for the calculation of the flatness index. This value does not always agree with the value obtained directly by measuring on the table even when the measurement of the longitudinal tensile stress distribution operates perfectly. It can be shown that the measurement of the tensile stress distribution does not give a direct indication on the wave height in the tension‐free state determined on the measuring table. To explain the relationship between tensile stress distribution in the strip and the flatness measurement on the measuring table, the buckling behavior is analysed both with and without dead load for simple symmetrical residual stress distributions resulting, e.g., from the rolling process. Based on the knowledge of the distribution of the longitudinal residual stresses across the strip width, the flatness index and the wave height can be determined by using a specialized finite element model. If the direct measurement is performed under action of dead load, large differences between the directly and indirectly obtained flatness index are observed. Below a certain limit of the intensity of the residual stress distribution the strips and plates lie flat on the measuring table. Above this limit the strip lying on the table exhibits post‐bucking deformations. In the latter case, the wave height increases with strip thickness and intensity of residual stresses.