Biofunctionalization of PET/SiO2 surfaces for single molecule experiments and medical applications

PET/SiO2 layers were chemically modified to maintain immobilization of functional single molecules. GFP molecules provide an ideal system due to their stability and intrinsic fluorescence. GFP in vivo biotinylated within its NH2-terminal region and attached on the substrate via the biotinstreptavidin bond was further investigated with confocal microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). AFM revealed monolayered donut-like structures representing assemblies of biotinstreptavidinbiotinGFP immobilized onto PET/SiO2 surfaces via mPEG. In particular, regions with an approximate height of 12 nm, which approaches the molecular dimensions of the above complex given by molecular modeling, could be detected. The dimensions of the donut-like structures suggest a close-to-each-other positioning of the GFP molecules - which, however, retain their functionality, as evidenced by confocal microscopy. © 2011 World Scientific Publishing Company.

Molecular-beam epitaxial growth of position controlled InAs islands on cleaved edge of InGaAs/GaAs superlattice

A promising approach for positioning of InAs islands on (110)GaAs is demonstrated. By combining self-assembly of quantum dots with solid source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on cleaved edge of InGaAs/GaAs superlattice (SL), linear alignment of InAs islands on the InGaAs strain layers have been fabricated The cleaved edge of InGaAs/GaAs SL acts as strain nanopattern for InAs selective growth. Indium atoms incident on the surface will preferentially migrate to InGaAs regions where favorable bonding sites are available. The strain nanopattern's effect is studied by the different indium fraction and thickness of InxGa1-xAs/GaAs SL. The ordering of the InAs islands is found to depend on the properties of the underlying InGaAs strain layers.

Structural selectivity of aromatic diamidines

Competition dialysis was used to study the interactions of 13 substituted aromatic diamidine compounds with 13 nucleic acid structures and sequences. The results show a striking selectivity of these compounds for the triplex structure poly dA:(poly dT)(2), a novel aspect of their interaction with nucleic acids not previously described. The triplex selectivity of selected compounds was confirmed by thermal denaturation studies. Triplex selectivity was found to be modulated by the location of amidine substiuents on the core phenyl-furan-phenyl ring scaffold. Molecular models were constructed to rationalize the triplex selectivity of DB359, the most selective compound in the series. Its triplex selectivity was found to arise from optimal ring stacking on base triplets, along with proper positioning of its amidine substituents to occupy the minor and the major-minor grooves of the triplex. New insights into the molecular recognition of nucleic acid structures emerged from these studies, adding to the list of available design principles for selectively targeting DNA and RNA.

Combination of amperometric detector & UV detector for capillary electrophoresis

A new electrochemical cell assembly with the combination of UV and amperometric detector (AD) based on their complementarity was described. A Nafion tubing junction was used to decouple the high voltage from the separation capillary in the rear of on-column UV detector. In this mode, the electroactive and inert compounds could be detected by UV and AD at the same time. Aromatic amines were determined with the UV and the end-column AD detection to evaluate the performances of the cell assembly. Such an improved electrochemical detector could match the capillary with different diameters. By simple adjustment of the screws, the positioning of the working electrode and the detection capillary was easily gained without microscope. It is also very easy to assemble and disassemble the working electrode when needed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

REEVALUATION OF 2,2-BIPYRIDINE AND PYRAZINE AS PROMOTERS FOR DIRECT ELECTRON-TRANSFER BETWEEN CYTOCHROME-C AND METAL-ELECTRODES

Results from previous electrochemical studies have indicated that 2,2'-bipyridine and pyrazine do not function as promoters for heterogeneous electron transfer between cytochrome c and metal electrodes. Their lack of activity was attributed to the improper positioning of the two functional groups in 2,2'-bipyridine and the inefficient length of pyrazine. In the present study it was determined that both 2,2'-bipyridine and pyrazine act as promoters when self-absorbed over a sufficiently long dipping time or at roughened electrodes. The promoter characteristics of these two molecules were studied and compared with those of 4,4'-bipyridine. The difference in their promoter behavior appears to result primarily from their different strengths of adsorption and not because electrodes modified with 2,2'-bipyridine or pyrazine are unsuitable for accelerating direct electron transfer reactions in cytochrome c. These results have implications regarding the mechanism(s) of promoter effects in electrochemical reactions of cytochrome c.

Observational evidence of the Yellow Sea warm current

The Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) is one of the principal currents in the Yellow Sea in winter. Former examinations on current activity in the Yellow Sea have not observed a stable YSWC because of the positioning of current meters. To further understand the YSWC, a research cruise in the southern Yellow Sea was carried out in the winter of 2006/2007. Five moorings with bottom-mounted acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) were deployed on the western side of the central trough of the Yellow Sea. The existence and distributional features of the YSWC were studied by analyzing three ADCP moorings in the path of the YSWC in conjunction with conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data over the observed area in the southern Yellow Sea. The results show the following. (1) The upper layer of the YSWC is strongly influenced by winter cold surge; its direction and speed often vary along a south-north axis when strong cold surges arrive from the north. (2) The YSWC near the bottom layer is a stable northwest flowing current with a speed of 4 to 10 cm/s. By combining the analyses of the CTD data, we speculate that the core of the YSWC may lie near the bottom. (3) On a monthly average timescale, the YSWC is stably oriented with northward flow from the sea surface to the sea floor.

AMAR: A Computational Model of Autosegmental Phonology

This report describes a computational system with which phonologists may describe a natural language in terms of autosegmental phonology, currently the most advanced theory pertaining to the sound systems of human languages. This system allows linguists to easily test autosegmental hypotheses against a large corpus of data. The system was designed primarily with tonal systems in mind, but also provides support for tree or feature matrix representation of phonemes (as in The Sound Pattern of English), as well as syllable structures and other aspects of phonological theory. Underspecification is allowed, and trees may be specified before, during, and after rule application. The association convention is automatically applied, and other principles such as the conjunctivity condition are supported. The method of representation was designed such that rules are designated in as close a fashion as possible to the existing conventions of autosegmental theory while adhering to a textual constraint for maximum portability.

One Order, Two Laws: Recovering the 'Normative' in English School Theory

Bain, William, 'One Order, Two Laws: Recovering the 'Normative' in English School Theory', Review of International Studies, (2007) 33(4) pp.557-575 RAE2008

Where the People Are: Language and Community in the Poetry of W.S. Graham

Francis, Matthew, Language and Community in the Poetry of W.S. Graham (Cambridge: Salt Publishing, 2004) RAE2008

Giving and Receiving: Nuruddin Farah's Gifts, or, the Postcolonial Logic of Third World Aid

Woods, T. (2003). Giving and Receiving: Nuruddin Farah's Gifts, or, the Postcolonial Logic of Third World Aid. Journal of Commonwealth Literature, 38 (1), 91-112.

New Collected Poems of W. S. Graham

Francis, Matthew, New Collected Poems of W. S. Graham, (London: Faber and Faber, 2004 RAE2008

Reinventing the Matter of Britain: Undermining the State in Jacobean Masques

Archer, Jayne, Berry, Philippa, 'Reinventing the Matter of Britain: Undermining the State in Jacobean Masques', In: British Identities and English Renaissance Literature, David J. Baker and Willy Maley (eds),(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), pp.119-134, 2002 RAE2008

Faith in the Landscape : Overseas Pilgrimages in 'The Book of Margery Kempe'

Watt, D. (2006). Faith in the Landscape: Overseas Pilgrimages in 'The Book of Margery Kempe'. In C. Lees and G. Overing (Eds.), A Place to Believe In: Locating Medieval Landscapes (pp.170-187). University Park (PA): Pennsylvania State University Press. RAE2008

Reading the rhetoric of nationhood in two Reformation pamphlets by Richard Morison and Nicholas Bodrugan

Mottram, S. (2005). Reading the rhetoric of nationhood in two Reformation pamphlets by Richard Morison and Nicholas Bodrugan. Renaissance Studies. 19(4), pp.523-540. RAE2008

Keats, Cornwall and the 'Scent of Strong-Smelling Phrases'

Marggraf Turley, Richard, 'Keats, Cornwall and the 'Scent of Strong-Smelling Phrases,' Romanticism (2006) 12 (2), pp. 102-114 RAE2008