Electrochemical growth and characterization of polyoxometalate-containing monolayers and multilayers on alkanethiol monolayers self-assembled on gold electrodes

A general strategy has been developed for fabrication of ultrathin monolayer and multilayer composite films composed of nearly all kinds of polyoxometalates (POMs), including isopolyanions (IPAs), and heteropolyanions (HPAs). It involves stepwise adsorption between the anionic POMs and a cationic polymer on alkanethiol (cysteamine and 3-mercaptopropionic acid) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) based on electrostatic interaction. Here a Keggin-type HPA SiMo11VO405- was chosen as a main representative to elucidate, in detail, the fabrication and characterization of the as-prepared composite films. A novel electrochemical growth method we developed for film formation involves cyclic potential sweeps over a suitable potential range in modifier solutions. It was comparatively studied with a commonly used method of immersion growth, i.e., alternately dipping a substrate into modifier solutions. Growth processes and structural characteristics of the composite films are characterized in detail by cyclic voltammetry, UV-vis spectroscopy (UV-vis), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), micro-Fourier transform infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (FTIR-RA), and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM). The electrochemical growth is proven to be more advantageous than the immersion growth. The composite films exhibit well-defined surface waves characteristic of the HPAs' redox reactions. In addition, the composite films by the electrochemical growth show a uniform structure and an excellent stability. Ion motions accompanying the redox processes of SiMo11VO405- in multilayer films are examined by in situ time-resolved EQCM and some results are first reported. The strategy used here has been successfully popularized to IPAs as well as other HPAs no matter what structure and composition they have.

Electrochemistry of heteropolyanions in coulombically linked self-assembled monolayers

A composite film containing heteropolyanion was fabricated on gold by attaching the Keggin-type heteropolyanion, PMo12O403- on a 4-aminothiophenol SAM via Au-S bonding. Reflection FTIR, cyclic voltammetry and XPS were used for the characterization of the composite film. Reflection FTIR studies indicate that there is some Coulombic interaction between PMo12O403- and the surface amino group in the composite film, which greatly improves the film stability and prevents effectively the destructive intermolecular aggregation. The composite him shows three reversible redox couples within the pH range pH less than or equal to 7.0, attributed to three two-electron and two-proton electrochemical reduction-oxidation processes of PMo12O403-. Compared with PMo12O403- in the solution, the PMo12O403- of the composite film electrode can exist in a larger pH range, and shows smaller peak-to-peak separation, and more reversible reaction kinetics. Moreover, the composite him obtained shows a good catalytic activity for the reduction of BrO3-. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Evolutionary analysis of phycobiliproteins: Implications for their structural and functional relationships

Phycobiliproteins, together with linker polypeptides and various chromophores, are basic building blocks of phycobilisomes, a supramolecular complex with a light-harvesting function in cyanobacteria and red algae. Previous studies suggest that the different types of phycobiliproteins and the linker polypeptides originated from the same ancestor. Here we retrieve the phycobilisome-related genes from the well-annotated and even unfinished cyanobacteria genomes and find that many sites with elevated d(N)/d(S) ratios in different phycobiliprotein lineages are located in the chromophore-binding domain and the helical hairpin domains (X and Y). Covariation analyses also reveal that these sites are significantly correlated, showing strong evidence of the functional-structural importance of interactions among these residues. The potential selective pressure driving the diversification of phycobiliproteins may be related to the phycobiliprotein-chromophore microenvironment formation and the subunits interaction. Sites and genes identified here would provide targets for further research on the structural-functional role of these residues and energy transfer through the chromophores.

Effective dielectric response of graded spherical composites

The effective dielectric response of composites containing graded material is investigated when an external uniform electric field E-0 is applied to it. For a spherical particle with gradient dielectric constant, epsilon(i) (r) = b + cr, randomly embedded in a host with dielectric constant epsilon(m), we have obtained the exact solution of local electric potential in the composite media regions, which obey a linear constitutive relation D = epsilonE, using hypergeometric function. In dilute limit, the effective dielectric response of the linear graded composite media is derived. Furthermore, for larger volume fraction, we have given an effective medium approximation to estimate the effective dielectric response of the graded composite media. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

Composite anode for CO tolerance proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Fuel of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) mostly comes from reformate containing CO. which will poison the fuel cell electrocatalyst. The effect of CO on the performance of PEMFC is studied in this paper. Several electrode structures are investigated for CO containing fuel. The experimental results show that thin-film catalyst electrode has higher specific catalyst activity and traditional electrode structure can stand for CO poisoning to some extent. A composite electrode structure is proposed for improving CO tolerance of PEMFCs. With the same catalyst loading. the new composite electrode has improved cell performance than traditional electrode with PtRu/C electrocatalyst for both pure hydrogen and CO/H-2. The EDX test of composite anode is also performed in this paper, the effective catalyst distribution is found in the composite anode. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Planning and Teaching Compliant Motion Strategies

This thesis presents a new high level robot programming system. The programming system can be used to construct strategies consisting of compliant motions, in which a moving robot slides along obstacles in its environment. The programming system is referred to as high level because the user is spared of many robot-level details, such as the specification of conditional tests, motion termination conditions, and compliance parameters. Instead, the user specifies task-level information, including a geometric model of the robot and its environment. The user may also have to specify some suggested motions. There are two main system components. The first component is an interactive teaching system which accepts motion commands from a user and attempts to build a compliant motion strategy using the specified motions as building blocks. The second component is an autonomous compliant motion planner, which is intended to spare the user from dealing with "simple" problems. The planner simplifies the representation of the environment by decomposing the configuration space of the robot into a finite state space, whose states are vertices, edges, faces, and combinations thereof. States are inked to each other by arcs, which represent reliable compliant motions. Using best first search, states are expanded until a strategy is found from the start state to a global state. This component represents one of the first implemented compliant motion planners. The programming system has been implemented on a Symbolics 3600 computer, and tested on several examples. One of the resulting compliant motion strategies was successfully executed on an IBM 7565 robot manipulator.

Investigation of LSM1.1-ScSZ composite cathodes for anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells

La0.8Sr0.2Mn1.1O3 (LSM1.1)-10 mol% Sc2O3-Stabilized ZrO2 co-doped with CeO2 (ScSZ) composite cathodes were investigated for anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with thin 8 mol% Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ) electrolyte. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated that the ScSZ electrolytes displayed good chemical compatibility with the nonstoichiometric LSM1.1 against co-firing at 1300 degrees C. Increasing the CeO2 content in the ScSZ electrolytes dramatically suppressed the electrode polarization resistance, which may be related to the improved surface oxygen exchange or the enlarged active area of cathode. The 5Ce10ScZr was the best electrolyte for the composite cathodes, which caused a small ohmic resistance decrease and the reduced polarization resistance and brought about the highest cell performance. The cell performances at lower temperatures seemed to rely on the electrode polarization resistance more seriously, than the ohmic resistance. Compared with the cell impedance at higher temperatures, the higher the 5Ce10ScZr proportion in the composite cathodes, the smaller the increment of the charge transfer resistance at lower temperatures. The anode-supported SOFC with the LSM1.1-5Ce10ScZr (60:40) composite cathode achieved the maximum power densities of 0.82 W/cm(2) at 650 degrees C and 2.24 W/cm(2) at 800 degrees C, respectively. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the use of qualitative reasoning to simulate and identify metabolic pathways

King, R.D., Garrett, S.M., Coghill, G.M. (2005). On the use of qualitative reasoning to simulate and identify metabolic pathways. Bioinformatics 21(9):2017-2026 RAE2008

The United Methodist Church at 40: What Can We Hope For?

The necessity we face for the future of Methodism is the re-invention of traditions. To re-invent traditions is to re-visit the past with all of its richness; to discern what in our tradition is most central to Christian faith; to analyze those parts of our past that continue to give life; to discern and build upon what is of value in the newly emerging tradition; and to reflect on those aspects of the neglected and rejected past that challenge our present perspectives and practices. To re-invent traditions is to develop new perspectives and practices from the building blocks of the past and from the fresh movements of the Spirit in the present. To do so is to recognize that Christianity in general, and Methodism in particular, is marked by traditions that have continually been passed on, critiqued, eliminated, created, and re-invented for the sake of a living Christian witness. What we can hope for is that God is there in the future already, pulling us toward God’s own New Creation.

Neural Pattern Recognition on Multichannel Input Representation

This article presents a new neural pattern recognition architecture on multichannel data representation. The architecture emploies generalized ART modules as building blocks to construct a supervised learning system generating recognition codes on channels dynamically selected in context using serial and parallel match trackings led by inter-ART vigilance signals.

Fracture Mechanics Analysis of the Dentine-Luting Cement Interface.

The objectives of this study were to determine the fracture toughness of adhesive interfaces between dentine and clinically relevant, thin layers of dental luting cements. Cements tested included a conventional glass-ionomer, F (Fuji I), a resin-modified glass-ionomer, FP (Fuji Plus) and a compomer cement, D (DyractCem). Ten miniature short-bar chevron notch specimens were manufactured for each cement, each comprising a 40 µm thick chevron of lute, between two 1.5 mm thick blocks of bovine dentine, encased in resin composite. The interfacial KIC results (MN/m3/2) were median (range): F; 0.152 (0.14-0.16), FP; 0.306 (0.27-0.37), D; 0.351 (0.31-0.37). Non-parametric statistical analysis showed that the fracture toughness of F was significantly lower (p

Wavelets for the Analysis and Compression of Power System Disturbances

Wavelets introduce new classes of basis functions for time-frequency signal analysis and have properties particularly suited to the transient components and discontinuities evident in power system disturbances. Wavelet analysis involves representing signals in terms of simpler, fixed building blocks at different scales and positions. This paper examines the analysis and subsequent compression properties of the discrete wavelet and wavelet packet transforms and evaluates both transforms using an actual power system disturbance from a digital fault recorder. The paper presents comparative compression results using the wavelet and discrete cosine transforms and examines the application of wavelet compression in power monitoring to mitigate against data communications overheads.

Cutaneous Grooves: Composing for the Sense of Touch

What if the traditional relationship between touch and music was essentially turned upside down, making the tactile sensation the aesthetic end? This paper presents a novel coupling of haptics technology and music, introducing the notion of tactile composition or aesthetic composition for the sense of touch. A system that facilitates the composition and perception of intricate, musically structured spatio-temporal patterns of vibration on the surface of the body is described. Relevant work from disciplines including sensory substitution, electronic musical instrument design, simulation design, entertainment technology, and visual music is considered. The psychophysical parameter space for our sense of touch is summarized and the building blocks of a compositional language for touch are explored. A series of concerts held for the skin and ears is described, as well as some of the lessons learned along the way. In conclusion, some potential evolutionary branches of tactile composition are posited.

Cellular physiology of retinal and choroidal arteriolar smooth muscle cells.

Control of ocular blood flow occurs predominantly at the level of the retinal and choroidal arterioles. The present article provides an overview of the Ca2 + handling mechanisms and plasmalemmal ion channels involved in the regulation of retinal and choroidal arteriolar smooth muscle tone. Increases in global intracellular free Ca2 + ([Ca2 +]i) involve multiple mechanisms, including agonist-dependent release of Ca2 + from intracellular stores through activation of the inositol trisphosphate (IP3) pathway. Ca2 + enters by voltage-dependent L-type Ca2 + channels and novel dihydropyridine-sensitive store-operated nonselective cation channels. Ca2 + extrusion is mediated by plasmalemmal Ca2 +-ATPases and through Na+/Ca2+ exchange. Local Ca2 + transients (Ca2 + sparks) play an important excitatory role, acting as the building blocks for more global Ca2 + signals that can initiate vasoconstriction. K+ and Cl- channels may also affect cell function by modulating membrane potential. The precise contribution of each of these mechanisms to the regulation of retinal and choroidal perfusion in vivo warrants future investigation.