Alkali insoluble glucan extracted from Acremonium diospyri is a more potent immunostimulant in the Indian White Shrimp, Fenneropenaeus indicus than alkali soluble glucan

E¡ect of an extraction method on the structure of glucan and its immunostimulatory response in Fenneropenaeus indicus was investigated. Here we extracted alkali insoluble glucan (AIG) and alkali soluble glucan (ASG) from a ¢lamentous fungi Acremonium diospyri following alkali^acid hydrolysis and the sodium hypochlorite oxidation and dimethyl sulphoxide extraction method respectively. Structural analysis showed that 85% of glucan in AIG was a (1 !3)-b-D-glucan and it increased the prophenoloxidase and reactive oxygen intermediate activity when administered to F. indicus. On the other hand, ASG, which contained 93% (1 !3)-a-glucan, did not induce signi¢cant immune response in shrimp. Here we report that the di¡erence in immunostimulatory potential between AIG and ASG is due to the di¡erence in the percentage of (1 !3)-b-D-glucans present in each preparation, which varies with the method of extraction employed. Also our observations suggest that glucan can be used as a potential immunostimulant to shrimp, provided it contains (1 !3)-b-D-glucan as the major fraction.

Form-invariant bivariate weighted models

In this paper the class of continuous bivariate distributions that has form-invariant weighted distribution with weight function w(x1, x2) ¼ xa1 1 xa2 2 is identified. It is shown that the class includes some well known bivariate models. Bayesian inference on the parameters of the class is considered and it is shown that there exist natural conjugate priors for the parameters

Design and study of self-assembled functional organic and hybrid systems for biological applications

The focus of self-assembly as a strategy for the synthesis has been confined largely to molecules, because of the importance of manipulating the structure of matter at the molecular scale. We have investigated the influence of temperature and pH, in addition to the concentration of the capping agent used for the formation of the nano-bio conjugates. For example, the formation of the narrower size distribution of the nanoparticles was observed with the increase in the concentration of the protein, which supports the fact that γ-globulin acts both as a controller of nucleation as well as stabiliser. As analyzed through various photophysical, biophysical and microscopic techniques such as TEM, AFM, C-AFM, SEM, DLS, OPM, CD and FTIR, we observed that the initial photoactivation of γ-globulin at pH 12 for 3 h resulted in small protein fibres of ca. Further irradiation for 24 h, led to the formation of selfassembled long fibres of the protein of ca. 5-6 nm and observation of surface plasmon resonance band at around 520 nm with the concomitant quenching of luminescence intensity at 680 nm. The observation of light triggered self-assembly of the protein and its effect on controlling the fate of the anchored nanoparticles can be compared with the naturally occurring process such as photomorphogenesis.Furthermore,our approach offers a way to understand the role played by the self-assembly of the protein in ordering and knock out of the metal nanoparticles and also in the design of nano-biohybrid materials for medicinal and optoelectronic applications. Investigation of the potential applications of NIR absorbing and water soluble squaraine dyes 1-3 for protein labeling and anti-amyloid agents forms the subject matter of the third chapter of the thesis. The study of their interactions with various proteins revealed that 1-3 showed unique interactions towards serum albumins as well as lysozyme. 69%, 71% and 49% in the absorption spectra as well as significant quenching in the fluorescence intensity of the dyes 1-3, respectively. Half-reciprocal analysis of the absorption data and isothermal titration calorimetric (ITC) analysis of the titration experiments gave a 1:1 stoichiometry for the complexes formed between the lysozyme and squaraine dyes with association constants (Kass) in the range 104-105 M-1. We have determined the changes in the free energy (ΔG) for the complex formation and the values are found to be -30.78, -32.31 and -28.58 kJmol-1, respectively for the dyes 1, 2 and 3. Furthermore, we have observed a strong induced CD (ICD) signal corresponding to the squaraine chromophore in the case of the halogenated squaraine dyes 2 and 3 at 636 and 637 nm confirming the complex formation in these cases. To understand the nature of interaction of the squaraine dyes 1-3 with lysozyme, we have investigated the interaction of dyes 1-3 with different amino acids. These results indicated that the dyes 1-3 showed significant interactions with cysteine and glutamic acid which are present in the side chains of lysozyme. In addition the temperature dependent studies have revealed that the interaction of the dye and the lysozyme are irreversible. Furthermore, we have investigated the interactions of these NIR dyes 1-3 with β- amyloid fibres derived from lysozyme to evaluate their potential as inhibitors of this biologically important protein aggregation. These β-amyloid fibrils were insoluble protein aggregates that have been associated with a range of neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases. We have synthesized amyloid fibres from lysozyme through its incubation in acidic solution below pH 4 and by allowing to form amyloid fibres at elevated temperature. To quantify the binding affinities of the squaraine dyes 1-3 with β-amyloids, we have carried out the isothermal titration calorimetric (ITC) measurements. The association constants were determined and are found to be 1.2 × 105, 3.6× 105 and 3.2 × 105 M-1 for the dyes, 1-3, respectively. To gain more insights into the amyloid inhibiting nature of the squaraine dyes under investigations, we have carried out thioflavin assay, CD, isothermal titration calorimetry and microscopic analysis. The addition of the dyes 1-3 (5μM) led to the complete quenching in the apparent thioflavin fluorescence, thereby indicating the destabilization of β-amyloid fibres in the presence of the squaraine dyes. Further, the inhibition of the amyloid fibres by the squaraine dyes 1-3, has been evidenced though the DLS, TEM AFM and SAED, wherein we observed the complete destabilization of the amyloid fibre and transformation of the fibre into spherical particles of ca. These results demonstrate the fact that the squaraine dyes 1-3 can act as protein labeling agents as well as the inhibitors of the protein amyloidogenesis. The last chapter of the thesis describes the synthesis and investigation of selfassembly as well as bio-imaging aspects of a few novel tetraphenylethene conjugates 4-6.Expectedly, these conjugates showed significant solvatochromism and exhibited a hypsochromic shift (negative solvatochromism) as the solvent polarity increased, and these observations were justified though theoretical studies employing the B3LYP/6-31g method. We have investigated the self-assembly properties of these D-A conjugates though variation in the percentage of water in acetonitrile solution due to the formation of nanoaggregates. Further the contour map of the observed fluorescence intensity as a function of the fluorescence excitation and emission wavelength confirmed the formation of J-type aggregates in these cases. To have a better understanding of the type of self-assemblies formed from the TPE conjugates 4-6, we have carried out the morphological analysis through various microscopic techniques such as DLS, SEM and TEM. 70%, we observed rod shape architectures having ~ 780 nm in diameter and ~ 12 μM in length as evidenced through TEM and SEM analysis. We have made similar observations with the dodecyl conjugate 5 at ca. 70% and 50% water/acetonitrile mixtures, the aggregates formed from 4 and 5 were found to be highly crystalline and such structures were transformed to amorphous nature as the water fraction was increased to 99%. To evaluate the potential of the conjugate as bio-imaging agents, we have carried out their in vitro cytotoxicity and cellular uptake studies though MTT assay, flow cytometric and confocal laser scanning microscopic techniques. Thus nanoparticle of these conjugates which exhibited efficient emission, large stoke shift, good stability, biocompatibility and excellent cellular imaging properties can have potential applications for tracking cells as well as in cell-based therapies. In summary we have synthesized novel functional organic chromophores and have studied systematic investigation of self-assembly of these synthetic and biological building blocks under a variety of conditions. The investigation of interaction of water soluble NIR squaraine dyes with lysozyme indicates that these dyes can act as the protein labeling agents and the efficiency of inhibition of β-amyloid indicate, thereby their potential as anti-amyloid agents.

Zur Erfassung von form- und materialbedingten Oberflächenstrukturen mit Mikro-Deflexions-Ellipsometrie

Die vorliegende Arbeit berichtet über ein neuartiges, kombiniertes Messverfahren zur gleichzeitigen Erfassung von Form und Material einer glänzenden Probenoberfläche. Die Materialerkennung erfolgt über die polarisationsoptische Brechzahlbestimmung im Messpunkt mit Mikroellipsometrie. Die Mikroellipsometrie ist ein fokussierendes Ellipsometer, das aus der Polarisationsänderung, bedingt durch die Wechselwirkung Licht – Materie, die materialcharakteristische komplexe Brechzahl eines reflektierenden Materials ermitteln kann. Bei der fokussierenden Ellipsometrie ist die Anordnung der fokussierenden Optiken von Bedeutung. Die hier vorgestellte ellipsometerexterne Fokussierung vermeidet Messfehler durch optische Anisotropien und ermöglicht die multispektrale ellipsometrische Messung. Für die ellipsometrische Brechzahlbestimmung ist zwingend die Kenntnis des Einfallswinkels des Messstrahls und die räumliche Orientierung der Oberflächenneigung zum Koordinatensystem des Ellipsometers notwendig. Die Oberflächenneigung wird mit einem Deflektometer ermittelt, das speziell für den Einsatz in Kombination mit der Ellipsometrie entwickelt wurde. Aus der lokalen Oberflächenneigung kann die Topographie einer Probe rekonstruiert werden. Der Einfallswinkel ist ebenfalls aus den Oberflächenneigungen ableitbar. Die Arbeit stellt die Systemtheorie der beiden kombinierten Messverfahren vor, außerdem werden Beiträge zu Messunsicherheiten diskutiert. Der experimentelle Teil der Arbeit beinhaltet die separate Untersuchung zur Leistungsfähigkeit der beiden zu kombinierenden Messverfahren. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse erlauben die Schlussfolgerung, dass ein Mikro-Deflexions-Ellipsometer erfolgreich realisierbar ist.

Tomographic imaging of molecular orbitals in length and velocity form

Recently Itatani et al. [Nature 432, 876 (2004)] introduced the new concept of molecular orbital tomography, where high harmonic generation (HHG) is used to image electronic wave functions. We describe an alternative reconstruction form, using momentum instead of dipole matrix elements for the electron recombination step in HHG. We show that using this velocity-form reconstruction, one obtains better results than using the original length-form reconstruction. We provide numerical evidence for our claim that one has to resort to extremely short pulses to perform the reconstruction for an orbital with arbitrary symmetry. The numerical evidence is based on the exact solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for 2D model systems to simulate the experiment. Furthermore we show that in the case of cylindrically symmetric orbitals, such as the N2 orbital that was reconstructed in the original work, one can obtain the full 3D wave function and not only a 2D projection of it. Vor kurzem führten Itatani et al. [Nature 432, 876 (2004)] das Konzept der Molelkülorbital-Tomographie ein. Hierbei wird die Erzeugung hoher Harmonischer verwendet, um Bilder von elektronischen Wellenfunktionen zu gewinnen. Wir beschreiben eine alternative Form der Rekonstruktion, die auf Impuls- statt Dipol-Matrixelementen für den Rekombinationsschritt bei der Erzeugung der Harmonischen basiert. Wir zeigen, dass diese "Geschwindigkeitsform" der Rekonstruktion bessere Ergebnisse als die ursprüngliche "Längenform" liefert. Wir zeigen numerische Beweise für unsere Behauptung, dass man zu extrem kurzen Laserpulsen gehen muss, um Orbitale mit beliebiger Symmetrie zu rekonstruieren. Diese Ergebnisse basieren auf der exakten Lösung der zeitabhängigen Schrödingergleichung für 2D-Modellsysteme. Wir zeigen ferner, dass für zylindersymmetrische Orbitale wie das N2-Orbital, welches in der oben zitierten Arbeit rekonstruiert wurde, das volle 3D-Orbital rekonstruiert werden kann, nicht nur seine 2D-Projektion.

Effects of Different Feeding Regimes on the Digestibility and Faecal Excretion of Nitrogen, Soluble Carbohydrates and Fibre Fractions in Water Buffaloes kept under Subtropical Conditions

In the course of the ‘Livestock Revolution’, extension and intensification of, among others, ruminant livestock production systems are current phenomena, with all their positive and negative side effects. Manure, one of the inevitable secondary products of livestock rearing, is a valuable source of plant nutrients and its skillful recycling to the soil-plant interface is essential for soil fertility, nutrient - and especially phosphorus - uses efficiency and the preservation or re-establishment of environmentally sustainable farming systems, for which organic farming systems are exemplarily. Against this background, the PhD research project presented here, which was embedded in the DFG-funded Research Training Group 1397 ‘Regulation of soil organic matter and nutrient turnover in organic agriculture ’ investigated possibilities to manipulate the diets of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis L.) so as to produce manure of desired quality for organic vegetable production, without affecting the productivity of the animals used. Consisting of two major parts, the first study (chapter 2) tested the effects of diets differing in their ratios of carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) and of structural to non-structural carbohydrates on the quality of buffalo manure under subtropical conditions in Sohar, Sultanate of Oman. To this end, two trials were conducted with twelve water buffalo heifers each, using a full Latin Square design. One control and four tests diets were examined during three subsequent 7 day experimental periods preceded each by 21 days adaptation. Diets consisted of varying proportions of Rhodes grass hay, soybean meal, wheat bran, maize, dates, and a commercial concentrate to achieve a (1) high C/N and high NDF (neutral detergent fibre)/SC (soluble carbohydrate) ratio (HH), (2) low C/N and low NDF/SC ratio (LL); (3) high C/N and low NDF/SC ratio (HL) and (4) low C/N and high NDF/SC (LH) ratio. Effects of these diets, which were offered at 1.45 times maintenance requirements of metabolizable energy, and of individual diet characteristics, respectively, on the amount and quality of faeces excreted were determined and statistically analysed. The faeces produced from diets HH and LL were further tested in a companion PhD study (Mr. K. Siegfried) concerning their nutrient release in field experiments with radish and cabbage. The second study (chapter 3) focused on the effects of the above-described experimental diets on the rate of passage of feed particles through the gastrointestinal tract of four randomly chosen animals per treatment. To this end, an oral pulse dose of 683 mg fibre particles per kg live weight marked with Ytterbium (Yb; 14.5 mg Yb g-1 organic matter) was dosed at the start of the 7 day experimental period which followed 21 days of adaptation. During the first two days a sample for Yb determination was kept from each faecal excretion, during days 3 – 7 faecal samples were kept from the first morning and the first evening defecation only. Particle passage was modelled using a one-compartment age-dependent Gamma-2 model. In both studies individual feed intake and faecal excretion were quantified throughout the experimental periods and representative samples of feeds and faeces were subjected to proximate analysis following standard protocols. In the first study the organic matter (OM) intake and excretion of LL and LH buffaloes were significantly lower than of HH and HL animals, respectively. Digestibility of N was highest in LH (88%) and lowest in HH (74%). While NDF digestibility was also highest in LH (85%) it was lowest in LL (78%). Faecal N concentration was positively correlated (P≤0.001) with N intake, and was significantly higher in faeces excreted by LL than by HH animals. Concentrations of fibre and starch in faecal OM were positively affected by the respective dietary concentrations, with NDF being highest in HH (77%) and lowest in LL (63%). The faecal C/N ratio was positively related (P≤0.001) to NDF intake; C/N ratios were 12 and 7 for HH and LL (P≤0.001), while values for HL and LH were 11.5 and 10.6 (P>0.05). The results from the second study showed that dietary N concentration was positively affecting faecal N concentration (P≤0.001), while there was a negative correlation with the faecal concentration of NDF (P≤0.05) and the faecal ratios of NDF/N and C/N (P≤0.001). Particle passage through the mixing compartment was lower (P≤0.05) for HL (0.033 h-1) than for LL (0.043 h-1) animals, while values of 0.034 h-1 and 0.038 h-1 were obtained for groups LH and HH. At 55.4 h, total tract mean retention time was significantly (P≤0.05) lower in group LL that in all other groups where these values varied between 71 h (HH) and 79 h (HL); this was probably due to the high dietary N concentration of diet LL which was negatively correlated with time of first marker appearance in faeces (r= 0.84, P≤0.001), while the dietary C concentration was negatively correlated with particle passage through the mixing compartment (r= 0.57, P≤0.05). The results suggest that manure quality of river buffalo heifers can be considerably influenced by diet composition. Despite the reportedly high fibre digestion capacity of buffalo, digestive processes did not suppress the expression of diet characteristics in the faeces. This is important when aiming at producing a specific manure quality for fertilization purposes in (organic) crop cultivation. Although there was a strong correlation between the ingestion and the faecal excretion of nitrogen, the correlation between diet and faecal C/N ratio was weak. To impact on manure mineralization, the dietary NDF and N concentrations seem to be the key control points, but modulating effects are achieved by the inclusion of starch into the diet. Within the boundaries defined by the animals’ metabolic and (re)productive requirements for energy and nutrients, diet formulation may thus take into account the abiotically and biotically determined manure turnover processes in the soil and the nutrient requirements of the crops to which the manure is applied, so as to increase nutrient use efficiency along the continuum of the feed, the animal, the soil and the crop in (organic) farming systems.

Selbstassemblierte Monolagen und magnetisch strukturierte Submonolagen mit dia- und paramagnetischen Molekülen sowie Einzelmolekülmagneten auf Phthalocyanin- und Subphthalocyanin-Basis

Mit dieser Arbeit wurde die Selbstassemblierung von dia- und paramagnetischen Molekülen sowie Einzelmolekülmagneten auf Goldsubstraten und magnetisch strukturierten Substraten untersucht. Dazu wurden drei verschiedene Klassen an Phthalocyaninderivaten verwendet: Diamagnetische Subphthalocyanine, paramagnetische Phthalocyaninatometalle und Diphthalocyaninatolanthanidkomplexe. Alle synthetisierten Verbindungen sind peripher thioethersubstituiert. Die Alkylketten (a: n-C8H17, b: n-C12H25) vermitteln die Löslichkeit in vielen organischen Solventien und sorgen für eine geordnete Assemblierung auf einer Oberfläche, wobei die Bindung auf Gold hauptsächlich über die Schwefelatome stattfindet. Die aus Lösung abgeschiedenen selbstassemblierten Monolagen wurden mit XPS, NEXAFS-Spektroskopie und ToF-SIMS untersucht. Bei der Selbstassemblierung auf magnetisch strukturierten Substraten stehen die Moleküle unter dem Einfluss magnetischer Streufelder und binden bevorzugt nur in bestimmten Bereichen. Die gebildeten Submonolagen wurden zusätzlich mit X-PEEM untersucht. Die erstmals dargestellten Manganphthalocyanine [MnClPc(SR)8] 1 wurden ausgehend von MnCl2 erhalten. Hier fand bei der Aufarbeitung an Luft eine Oxidation zu Mangan(III) statt; +III ist die stabilste Oxidationsstufe von Mangan in Phthalocyaninen. Der Nachweis des axialen Chloridoliganden erfolgte mit Massenspektrometrie und FIR- sowie Raman-Spektroskopie. SQUID-Messungen haben gezeigt, dass die Komplexe 1 vier ungepaarte Elektronen haben. Bei den Subphthalocyaninen [BClSubpc(SR)6] 2 wurde der axiale Chloridoligand mit dem stäbchenförmigen Phenolderivat 29-H substituiert und die erfolgreiche Ligandensubstitution durch NMR- und IR-Spektroskopie sowie Massenspektrometrie an den Produkten [BSubpc(SR)6(29)] 30 belegt. Der Radikalcharakter der synthetisierten Terbiumkomplexe [Tb{Pc(SR)8}2] 3 wurde spektroskopisch nachgewiesen; SQUID-Messungen ergaben, dass es sich um Einzelmolekülmagnete mit einer Energiebarriere U des Doppelpotentialtopfs von 880 K oder 610 cm-1 bei 3a handelt. Zunächst wurden die SAMs der Komplexverbindungen 1, 2, 30 und 3 auf nicht magnetisch strukturierten Goldsubstraten untersucht. Die Manganphthalocyanine 1 bilden geordnete SAMs mit größtenteils flach liegenden Molekülen, wie die XPS-, NEXAFS- und ToF-SIMS-Analyse zeigte. Die Mehrzahl der Thioether-Einheiten ist auf Gold koordiniert und die Alkylketten zeigen ungeordnet von der Oberfläche weg. Bei der Adsorption findet eine Reduktion zu Mangan(II) statt und der axiale Chloridoligand wird abgespalten. Das beruht auf dem sog. Oberflächen-trans-Effekt. Im vorliegenden Fall übt die Metalloberfläche einen stärkeren trans-Effekt als der axiale Ligand aus, was bisher experimentell noch nicht beobachtet wurde. Die thioethersubstituierten Subphthalocyanine 2 und 30 sowie die Diphthalocyaninatoterbium-Komplexe 3 sind ebenfalls für SAMs geeignet. Ihre Monolagen wurden mit XPS und NEXAFS-Spektroskopie untersucht, und trotz einer gewissen Unordnung in den Filmen liegen die Moleküle jeweils im Wesentlichen flach auf der Goldoberfläche. Vermutlich sind bei diesen Systemen auch die Alkylketten größtenteils parallel zur Oberfläche orientiert. Im Gegensatz zu den Manganphthalocyaninen 1 tritt bei 2b, 30a, 30b und 3b neben der koordinativen Bindung der Schwefelatome auf Gold auch eine für Thioether nicht erwartete kovalente Au–S-Bindung auf, die durch C–S-Bindungsbruch unter Abspaltung der Alkylketten ermöglicht wird. Der Anteil, zu dem dieser Prozess stattfindet, scheint nicht mit der Molekülstruktur zu korrelieren. Selbstassemblierte Submonolagen auf magnetisch strukturierten Substraten wurden mit dem diamagnetischen Subphthalocyanin 2b hergestellt. Der Nachweis der Submonolagen war schwierig und gelang schließlich durch eine Kombination von ToF-SIMS, NEXAFS Imaging und X-PEEM. Die Analyse der ToF-SIMS-Daten zeigte, dass tatsächlich eine Modulation der Verteilung der Moleküle auf einem unterwärts magnetisch strukturierten Substrat eintritt. Mit X-PEEM konnte die magnetische Struktur der ferromagnetischen Schicht des Substrats direkt der Verteilung der adsorbierten Moleküle zugeordnet werden. Die Subphthalocyanine 2b adsorbieren nicht an den Domänengrenzen, sondern vermehrt dazwischen. Auf Substraten mit abwechselnd 6.5 und 3.5 µm breiten magnetischen Domänen binden die Moleküle bevorzugt in den Bereichen geringster magnetischer Streufeldgradienten, also den größeren Domänen. Solche Substrate wurden für die ToF-SIMS- und X-PEEM-Messungen verwendet. Bei größeren magnetischen Strukturen mit ca. 400 µm breiten Domänen, wie sie aufgrund der geringeren Ortsauflösung dieser Methode für NEXAFS Imaging eingesetzt wurden, binden die Moleküle dann in allen Domänen. Die diamagnetischen Moleküle werden nach dieser Interpretation aus dem inhomogenen Magnetfeld über der Probenoberfläche heraus gedrängt und verhalten sich analog makroskopischer Diamagnete. Die eindeutige Detektion der Moleküle auf den magnetisch strukturierten Substraten konnte bisher nur für die diamagnetischen Subphthalocyanine 2b erfolgen. Um die Interpretation ihres Verhaltens bei der Selbstassemblierung in einem inhomogenen Magnetfeld weiter voranzutreiben, wurde das Subphthalocyanin 37b dargestellt, welches ein stabiles organisches TEMPO-Radikal in seinem axialen Liganden enthält. Das paramagnetische Subphthalocyanin 37b sollte auf den magnetisch strukturierten Substraten in Regionen starker magnetischer Streufelder binden und damit das entgegengesetzte Verhalten zu den diamagnetischen Subphthalocyaninen 2b zeigen. Aus Zeitgründen konnte dieser Nachweis im Rahmen dieser Arbeit noch nicht erbracht werden.

More than irrigation - The Balinese Subak system as a unique form of cooperative water resource management in Indonesia

For over 1,000 years, the Balinese have developed a unique system of democratic and sustainable water irrigation. It has shaped the cultural landscapes of Bali and enables local communities to manage the ecology of terraced rice fields at the scale of whole watersheds. The Subak system has made the Balinese the most productive rice growers in Indonesia and ensures a high level of food sovereignty for a dense population on the volcanic island. The Subak system provides a vibrant example of a diverse, ecologically sustainable, economically productive and democratic water management system that is also characterized by its nonreliance on fossil fuel derivatives or heavy machinery. In 2012, UNESCO has recognized five rice terraces and their water temples as World Heritage site and supports its conservation and protection. However, the fragile Subak system is threatened for its complexity and interconnectedness by new agricultural practices and increasing tourism on the island.

Form??ndonos para el empleo : educaci??n de personas adultas

El cuaderno incluye una gu??a did??ctica para el profesor

Reciprocal Interactions Between Motion and Form Perception

The processes underlying the perceptual analysis of visual form are believed to have minimal interaction with those subserving the perception of visual motion (Livingstone and Hubel, 1987; Victor and Conte, 1990). Recent reports of functionally and anatomically segregated parallel streams in the primate visual cortex seem to support this hypothesis (Ungerlieder and Mishkin, 1982; VanEssen and Maunsell, 1983; Shipp and Zeki, 1985; Zeki and Shipp, 1988; De Yoe et al., 1994). Here we present perceptual evidence that is at odds with this view and instead suggests strong symmetric interactions between the form and motion processes. In one direction, we show that the introduction of specific static figural elements, say 'F', in a simple motion sequence biases an observer to perceive a particular motion field, say 'M'. In the reverse direction, the imposition of the same motion field 'M' on the original sequence leads the observer to perceive illusory static figural elements 'F'. A specific implication of these findings concerns the possible existence of (what we call) motion end-stopped units in the primate visual system. Such units might constitute part of a mechanism for signalling subjective occluding contours based on motion-field discontinuities.

Self-Assembly of Stimuli-Responsive Water-Soluble [60]Fullerene End-Capped Ampholytic Block Copolymer

Well-defined, water-soluble, pH and temperature stimuli-responsive [60]fullerene (C₆₀) containing ampholytic block copolymer of poly((methacrylic acid)-block-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate))-block–C₆₀ (P(MAA-b-DMAEMA)-b-C₆₀) was synthesized by the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) technique. The self-assembly behaviour of the C₆₀ containing polyampholyte in aqueous solution was characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy. This amphiphilic mono-C₆₀ end-capped block copolymer shows enhanced solubility in aqueous medium at room and elevated temperatures and at low and high pH but phase-separates at intermediate pH of between 5.4 and 8.8. The self assembly of the copolymer is different from that of P(MAA-b-DMAEMA). Examination of the association behavior using DLS revealed the co-existence of unimers and aggregates at low pH at all temperatures studied, with the association being driven by the balance of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. Unimers and aggregates of different microstructures are also observed at high pH and at temperatures below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PDMAEMA. At high pH and at temperatures above the LCST of PDMAEMA, the formation of micelles and aggregates co-existing in solution is driven by the combination of hydrophobic, electrostatic, and charge-transfer interactions.

Synthesis, Optical properties and Applications of Water Soluble Conjugated PPPs for Biosensors

In recent years, application of fluorescent conjugated polymers to sense chemical and biological analytes has received much attention owing to its technological significance. Water soluble conjugated polymers are interesting towards the developing sensors for biomolecules. In this present contribution, we describe the syntheses and characterization of a series of water soluble conjugated polymers with sulfonic acid groups in the side chain. Such anionic conjugated polymers are designed to interact with biomolecules such as cytochrome-C. All polymers are water soluble and showed strong blue emission. Significant quenching of the fluorescence from our functionalized PPP was observed upon addition of viologen derivatives or cytochrome -C.

CoDaPack. An Excel and Visual Basic based software of compositional data analysis. Current version and discussion form upcoming versions

In the eighties, John Aitchison (1986) developed a new methodological approach for the statistical analysis of compositional data. This new methodology was implemented in Basic routines grouped under the name CODA and later NEWCODA inMatlab (Aitchison, 1997). After that, several other authors have published extensions to this methodology: Marín-Fernández and others (2000), Barceló-Vidal and others (2001), Pawlowsky-Glahn and Egozcue (2001, 2002) and Egozcue and others (2003). (...)

Estructura factorial y consistencia interna de la versi??n espa??ola del Parenting Stress Index-Short Form

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

University of Southampton Module Evaluation Form

This is the full Module Evaluation Form adopted by the University of Southampton. The latest editable file can be downloaded from the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (LATEU) of the University. Included in this resource is the online version of the form for use in Blackboard, WebCT and other virtual learning environments. If you are using Blackboard, you are advised to use Internet Explorer version 6 or higher. Save the Blackboard zip archive to a local drive. Do not rename the file name. Go to the destination course area in Blackboard, open the "Control Panel" and then start the "Survey Manager" (in the "Assessment" group). Use the "Import" command to upload the zip archive. Once this is completed, rename the evaluation form which can then be added to any content area within the course using the dropdown "Add Survey" command.