A pyrophosphate-responsive gadolinium(III) MRI contrast agent

This study shows that the relaxivity and optical properties of functionalised lanthanide-DTPA-bis-amide complexes (lanthanide=Gd3+ and Eu3+, DTPA=diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid) can be successfully modulated by addition of specific anions, without direct Ln3+/anion coordination. Zinc(II)-dipicolylamine moieties, which are known to bind strongly to phosphates, were introduced in the amide “arms” of these ligands, and the interaction of the resulting Gd–Zn2 complexes with a range of anions was screened by using indicator displacement assays (IDAs). Considerable selectivity for polyphosphorylated species (such as pyrophosphate and adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP)) over a range of other anions (including monophosphorylated anions) was apparent. In addition, we show that pyrophosphate modulates the relaxivity of the gadolinium(III) complex, this modulation being sufficiently large to be observed in imaging experiments. To establish the binding mode of the pyrophosphate and gain insight into the origin of the relaxometric modulation, a series of studies including UV/Vis and emission spectroscopy, luminescence lifetime measurements in H2O and D2O, 17O and 31P NMR spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance dispersion (NMRD) studies were carried out.

A Meta-Heuristic Load Balancer for Cloud Computing Systems

This paper introduces a strategy to allocate services on a cloud system without overloading the nodes and maintaining the system stability with minimum cost. We specify an abstract model of cloud resources utilization, including multiple types of resources as well as considerations for the service migration costs. A prototype meta-heuristic load balancer is demonstrated and experimental results are presented and discussed. We also propose a novel genetic algorithm, where population is seeded with the outputs of other meta-heuristic algorithms.

From the high ground to the swamp: A model for immersive journalism research

This article examines a reflexive, praxis-based methodology for conducting journalism research from a practitioner-academic perspective. Journalism research methods that are interactive, iterative and which rest on a dynamic communicative partnership between academics and practitioners, offer the best way for understanding change in our dynamic field. This permits the researcher to coalesce and strengthen their identity as a practitioner-academic and develop research projects that are mutually beneficial for advancing scholarship and practice. Drawing on reflexive methodologies in the human sciences, such as hermeneutics, cybernetics and constructivism, this article envisions an immersive approach embracing phenomenology and Gestalt as a fully reflexive method of data collection.