New dendrimer-peptide host-guest complexes: towards dendrimers as peptide carriers

Adamantyl urea and adamantyl thiourea modified poly(propylene imine) dendrimers act as hosts for N-terminal tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc)-protected peptides and form chloroform-soluble complexes. Investigations with NMR spectroscopy show that the peptide is bound to the dendrimer by ionic interactions between the dendrimer outer shell tertiary amines and the C-terminal carboxylic acid of the peptide, and also through host-urea to peptide-amide hydrogen bonding. The hydrogen-bonding nature of the peptide-dendrimer interactions was further confirmed by using Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, for which the NH- and CO-stretch signals of the peptide amide moieties shift towards lower wavenumbers upon complexation with the dendrimer. Spatial analysis of the complexes with NOESY spectroscopy generally shows close proximity of the N-terminal Boc group of the peptide to the peripheral adamantyl groups on the dendrimer host. The influence of side-chain motif on interactions with the host is analyzed by using seven different N-Boc-protected tripeptides as guests for the dendrimer. Downfield shifts of up to 1.3 ppm were observed for the guest amide NH-proton signals. These shifts decreased with increasing 'bulkiness' of the amino acid side chains. Despite this, the dendrimer was capable of making multiple peptide-dendrimer complexes when presented with a library of seven peptides. The different peptides were all present in the host, which did not show specific preferences, and could be released under mild acidic conditions. These results show the general nature of the peptide-dendrimer interactions in the formation of either single- or multiple-peptide-dendrimer complexes.     

An Auto-Adaptive Multidomain Spectral Technique for Linear Stability Analysis: Application to Viscous Compressible Flows

An auto-adaptive multidomain pseudo-spectral technique is considered in order to solve the linear stability problem of viscous compressible flows. Both the locations of the interfaces and the parameters of the mappings in each subdomain are adapted by minimizing the H ² -norm of the calculated solution. Such method provides automatically—this is the key point—the best polynomial interpolation of the basic state the stability of which is studied. It turns out that the whole procedure is needed to obtain reliable results. The method is first validated against results available in the literature (both viscous incompressible and inviscid compressible Rayleigh–Taylor configurations). The efficiency of the numerical method is illustrated with results on the linear stability of the compressible viscous diffusive Rayleigh–Taylor flow where no analytical or numerical results are available. New results showing the influence of stratification, viscosity, diffusity between species and thermal diffusivity are presented.     

Development of an electromagnetic tool for the accurate synthesis of manifold multiplexers: The dynamic inverter

This article presents an electromagnetic tool for the synthesis of manifold multiplexers — the dynamic inverter. By associating this model with the classical circuit model of the filter, the broadband behaviour of each filter can be analysed rapidly and then optimised accurately for an efficient synthesis of the manifold multiplexer. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2005.     

Electron Model of Solid Oxygen-Ionic Electrolytes Used in Gas Sensors

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)-based ceramic gas sensors operating at high temperatures have been well established in many applications over the last 30 years. This article aims to provide an electron model of the solid electrolytes with oxygen-ionic conductivity used in gas sensors to simulate contact phenomena on the boundary of a YSZ/metal electrode interface within the solid-state zone theory. The primary focus of this article is modelling and assessment of the ability of a YSZ-based electrolyte to control oxygen potentials at low temperatures in different environments. The proposed model allows the necessary information with regard to the electrolyte/metal electrode interface and about the character of the electronic conductivity to be obtained. The model also describes that the character of the electronic conductivity in solid electrolytes usually depends on two mechanisms of charge transfer: electrons transfer in the conductivity zone, separated from the valent zone in the solid electrolyte by the wide enough forbidden zone, and the spasmodic transitions of electrons from one local level to another within the forbidden zone.     

Spontaneous Desorption time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry (SDMS): Time correlated emission of electrons and negative ions in a constant electric field

A very simple time of flight mass spectrometer has been used to measure mass spectra for the negative ions of organic compounds in the mass range up to 3000 u. Desorbed ions were obtained by applying a constant negative voltage to a flat metallic surface, coated with a few micrograms of organic material. We show that electrons and negative ions are emitted simultaneously from the same point on the surface. Mass spectra obtained by this technique are compared to mass spectra for the same compounds, obtained with ²⁵²Cf fission fragment ionization.     

Normalized cuts in 3-D for spinal MRI segmentation

Segmentation of medical images has become an indispensable process to perform quantitative analysis of images of human organs and their functions. Normalized Cuts (NCut) is a spectral graph theoretic method that readily admits combinations of different features for image segmentation. The computational demand imposed by NCut has been successfully alleviated with the Nystr?m approximation method for applications different than medical imaging. In this paper we discuss the application of NCut with the Nystr?m approximation method to segment vertebral bodies from sagittal T1-weighted magnetic resonance images of the spine. The magnetic resonance images were preprocessed by the anisotropic diffusion algorithm, and three-dimensional local histograms of brightness was chosen as the segmentation feature. Results of the segmentation as well as limitations and challenges in this area are presented.     

Time evolution of reflective thermal lenses and measurement of thermal diffusivity in bulk solids

A simple method for optically measuring the thermal diffusivity of solids is demonstrated. The thermal displacement created on a substrate by a focused laser beam is determined from the divergence that it induces in a weak probe beam. The dynamics of the surface lens and the amplitude of the probe beam's divergence are then used to determine the thermal diffusivity of the substrate. Several materials that span a wide range of thermal properties are studied.     

Addition of trace metals increases denitrification rate in closed marine systems

We investigated the effect of trace metals (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn and Mo) on the denitrification unit at the Montreal Biodome. Two dosages of the five trace metals were tested on a denitrifying bacterial population which was extracted from the denitrification unit and cultured in 250 mL chemostats with artificial seawater. The low dosage showed a 20% increase in the denitrification rate whereas the high dosage had a more pronounced effect with a 250% increase. No increase in bacterial growth was observed, suggesting that the trace metals had an effect on the denitrification activity. When the trace metals were tested separately, only iron had a significant effect similar to the increase in the denitrification rate observed when the five trace metals were added. The combination of Fe and Mn caused a small but significant increase compared to the five trace metals. We then tested the effect of adding Fe, Mn and Cu to the denitrification unit at the Montreal Biodome. A high dosage of these trace metals showed a 250% increase in the denitrification rate, which went from 200 to 700 g NO(x)-N/d. Our results showed that the addition of trace metals is crucial for denitrification activities.     

Les biais culturels des tests de QI: la nature du problème.

The goal of this article is to evaluate the relevance of claims concerning the existence of cultural biases in IQ tests. The article has four parts. We first introduce the meaning of the concept of bias in psychometrics by differentiating three inaccurate conceptualizations--equalitarist, standardization and culturalist--that often underlie conclusions about the existence of cultural biases in IQ tests. We then examine potential biases associated with pragmatic validity, conceptual validity, and test administration. Following this examination of the available evidence related to biases affecting the validity of IQ tests, the clear conclusion is that claims often made about the existence of cultural biases in IQ tests are unjustified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)