Isotope edited internal standard method for quantitative surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

A new isotope edited internal standard (IEIS) method for quantitative surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is demonstrated using rhodamine 6G (R6G-d0) and rhodamine 6G (R6G-d4) edited with deuterium. The reproducibility and accuracy of the IEIS method is investigated both under optical resonance (SERRS) and nonresonance (SERS) conditions. A batch-to-batch concentration measurement reproducibility of better than 3% is demonstrated over a concentration range of 200 pM-2 microM with up to a factor of 3 difference between the concentration of the analyte and its IEIS. The superior performance of the IEIS method is further illustrated by comparing results obtained using absolute SERS/SERRS intensity calibration (with no internal standard) or using adenine (rather than R6G-d4) as an internal standard for R6G concentration quantization. Potential biomedical gene expression and comparative proteomic applications of the IEIS method are discussed.     

A population-based algorithm-generator for real-parameter optimization

In this paper, we propose a population-based, four-step, real-parameter optimization algorithm-generator. The approach divides the task of reaching near the optimum solution into four independent plans of (i) selecting good solutions from a solution base, (ii) generating new solutions using the selected solutions, (iii) choosing inferior or spurious solutions for replacement, and (iv) updating the solution base with good new or old solutions. Interestingly, many classical and evolutionary optimization algorithms are found to be representable by this algorithm-generator. The paper also recommends an efficient optimization algorithm with the possibility of using a number of different recombination plans and parameter values. With a systematic parametric study, the paper finally recommends a real-parameter optimization algorithm which outperforms a number of existing classical and evolutionary algorithms. To extend this study, the proposed algorithm-generator can be utilized to develop new and more efficient population-based optimization algorithms. The treatment of population-based classical and evolutionary optimization algorithms identically through the proposed algorithm-generator is the main hall-mark of this paper and should enable researchers from both classical and evolutionary fields to understand each others methods better and interact in a more coherent manner.     

Building materials — The Indian scenario

Professor Deb's analysis is timely and emphasizes the need for the Indian construction industry to react in a global manner to the importation of materials, the use of scarce natural building resources in the continent and the need to be aware of the environmental damage, production of traditional materials, such as clay, can have on fertile river plains.     

Congenital bronchoesophageal fistula in an adult

The seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) in the Swiss population was investigated. By enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, sera reactive to the recombinant HHV-8 antigen orf 65.2 were found in 24% of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients without and in 92% of HIV-positive patients with Kaposi's sarcoma. Surprisingly, 20% of homosexual HIV-negative men, versus only 7% of heterosexual HIV-negative individuals and 5% of blood donors, had antibodies to HHV-8.     

Optimization of back propagation algorithm and GAS-assisted ANN models for hot metal desulphurization

Adaptive neural net (ANN) model of hot metal desulphurization is first optimized by various search methods including the golden section search and Davies-Swann-Campey methods. Logarithmic preprocessing of input data leads to a further improvement in generalization ability of the net. Genetic adaptive search (GAS) method is used to optimize the mathematical model for desulphurization and when the input data are preprocessed with this optimized model and fed into an artificial neural net, the generalization ability of the net becomes even better. Best results are obtained when using GAS to optimize the interconnection weights during the training phase, while training data are preprocessed through a mathematical model already optimized by GAS. For every process several options presented by a combination of ANN and GAS must be systematically investigated before choosing the ultimate model for predictions on shop floor.     

Fibrolytic potential of anaerobic fungi (Piromyces sp.) isolated from wild cattle and blue bulls in pure culture and effect of their addition on in vitro fermentation of wheat straw and methane emission by rumen fluid of buffaloes

BACKGROUND: Ten isolates of anaerobic fungi of Piromyces genus from wild cattle and blue bulls (five isolates from each host species) were evaluated for their fibrolytic ability in pure culture, their suitability for use as a microbial additive in buffaloes and their effect on methane emission. RESULTS: In pure culture, only two out of five isolates from wild cattle degraded wheat straw efficiently, whereas all five isolates from wild blue bulls did. Isolate CF1 (from cattle) showed the highest apparent digestibility (53.4%), true digestibility (70.8%) and neutral detergent fibre digestibility (75.0%) of wheat straw after 5 days of incubation. When added to buffalo rumen fluid, all five isolates from cattle increased (P < 0.05) in vitro apparent digestibility of wheat straw compared with the control (received autoclaved culture), but all five isolates from blue bulls failed to influence in vitro digestibility of wheat straw. Isolate CF1 showed the highest stimulating effect on straw digestion by buffalo rumen fluid microbes and increased apparent digestibility (51.9 vs 29.4%, P < 0.05), true digestibility (57.9 vs 36.5%, P < 0.05) and neutral detergent fibre digestibility (51.5 vs 26.9%, P < 0.05) of wheat straw compared with the control after 24 h of fermentation. There were also significant increases in fungal count and enzyme activities of carboxymethylcellulase and xylanase in the CF1‐added group compared with the control group. Gas and methane production g^?1 truly digested dry matter of straw were comparable among all groups including the control. CONCLUSION: Wild cattle and blue bulls harbour some anaerobic fungal strains with strong capability to hydrolyse fibre. The fungal isolate CF1 has high potential for use as a microbial feed additive in buffaloes to improve digestibility of fibrous feeds without increasing methane emission per unit of digested feed. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Vanadium Oxide Based Nanostructured Materials: Novel Oxidative Dehydrogenation Catalysts

Novel vanadium oxide based catalyst derived from the open-framework solid, [Co₃V₁₈O₄₂(H₂O)₁₂(XO₄)]·24 H₂O (X = V, S) (1) catalyses oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propylene. Catalyst activity was evaluated in the temperature range 250–400 °C with varying gas hourly space velocity (GHSV). At 350 °C and GHSV of 9786 h^?1 and at 1.3% propane conversion the selectivity to propylene was 36.8%. The major products obtained were propylene and CO _x (CO₂ and CO). The ratio of the propylene to CO _x depended directly on the catalytic sites present. Thus, as the amount of the catalyst was decreased, the conversion decreased with an increase in the propylene selectivity and a decrease in the selectivity to carbon oxides—CO _x . The catalyst has been characterized by temperature programmed reduction and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS).