An Amperometric Glucose Biosensor With Enhanced Measurement Stability and Sensitivity Using an Artificially Porous Conducting Polymer

A conducting polymer [polypyrrole (PPy)]-based amperometric biosensor fabricated on a platinum-coated nanoporous alumina electrode has been described. This fabricating process introduced artificial porosity into the PPy film, and the template pore sizes were carefully chosen to match the size of the glucose oxidase (GOx) molecule. The $hbox{PF}_{6}^{-}$-doped PPy film was synthesized with 0.05 M pyrrole and 0.1 M $hbox{NaPF}_{6}$ at a current density of 0.3 $hbox{mA/cm}^{2}$ for 90 s. Immobilization was done by physically adsorbing 5 $muhbox{L}$ of GOx on the nanoporous PPy film. Glutaraldehyde (0.1 wt.%, 5 $muhbox{L}$) was used for cross-linking. The synthesized films were characterized by using an electrochemical technique and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Amperometric responses were measured as a function of different concentrations of glucose at 0.4 V. Nanoporous electrodes lead to high enzyme loading, whereas the use of a cross-linking agent increased stability, sensitivity, reproducibility, repeatability, and shelf life.      

Finite-state trellis representation of CPM

In most of the literature it is claimed that the number of phase states in CPM is equal to q if p is even, and 2q if p is odd, where the modulation index h=p/q. It is shown that a simple assumption due to Fornery (1973) leads to a simplified finite-state representation and also that CPM has q phase states.<>     

Comparison of the phenolic-dependent antioxidant properties of coconut oil extracted under cold and hot conditions

The antioxidant activities of coconut oil extracted under hot and cold conditions were compared. The coconut oil extracted under hot conditions (HECO) contained more phenolic substances than the coconut oil extracted under cold conditions (CECO). The antioxidant potential of HECO was higher than that of CECO as demonstrated by DPPH assay, deoxyribose assay and in vivo assay of serum antioxidant capacity. It is the common belief that virgin coconut oil extracted under cold conditions preserves several thermally unstable antioxidants and, as a result, better beneficial qualities can be expected for virgin coconut oil. However, high temperatures used in the hot extraction of coconut oil favour the incorporation of more thermally stable phenolic antioxidants into coconut oil. Therefore, the consumption of HECO may result in the better improvement of antioxidant related health benefits compared with the consumption of CECO.     

Power system frequency response from fixed speed and doubly fed induction generator‐based wind turbines

Throughout Europe there is an increasing trend of connecting high penetrations of wind turbines to the transmission networks. This has resulted in transmission system operators revising their grid code documents for the connection of large wind farms. These specifications require large MW capacity wind farms to have the ability to assist in some of the power system control services currently carried out by conventional synchronous generation. These services include voltage and frequency control. It is now recognized that much of this new wind generation plant will use either fixed speed induction generator (FSIG)‐ or doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)‐based wind turbines. The addition of a control loop to synthesize inertia in the DFIG wind turbine using the power electronic control system has been described. The possibility of deloading wind turbines for frequency response using blade pitch angle control is discussed. A pitch control scheme to provide frequency response from FSIG and DFIG wind turbines is also described. A case study of an FSIG wind turbine with frequency response capabilities is investigated. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficient Generation of Hydrazides in Proteins by RadA Split Intein

Protein C-terminal hydrazides are useful for bioconjugation and construction of proteins from multiple fragments through native chemical ligation. To generate C-terminal hydrazides in proteins, an efficient intein-based preparation method has been developed by using thiols and hydrazine to accelerate the formation of the transient thioester intermediate and subsequent hydrazinolysis. This approach not only increases the yield, but also improves biocompatibility. The scope of the method has been expanded by employing Pyrococcus horikoshii RadA split intein, which can accommodate a broad range of extein residues before the site of cleavage. The use of split RadA minimizes premature intein N cleavage in vivo and offers control over the initiation of the intein N cleavage reaction. It is expected that this versatile preparation method will expand the utilization of protein C-terminal hydrazides in protein preparation and modification.     

Comparison of the response of doubly fed and fixed-speed induction generator wind turbines to changes in network frequency

Synchronous and fixed-speed induction generators release the kinetic energy of their rotating mass when the power system frequency is reduced. In the case of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-based wind turbines, their control system operates to apply a restraining torque to the rotor according to a predetermined curve with respect to the rotor speed. This control system is not based on the power system frequency and there is negligible contribution to the inertia of the power system. A DFIG control system was modified to introduce inertia response to the DFIG wind turbine. Simulations were used to show that with the proposed control system, the DFIG wind turbine can supply considerably greater kinetic energy than a fixed-speed wind turbine.     

Local order and strain-induced orientation in poly(butadiene) networks studied by 2H NMR

Summary Deuterium nmr has been employed to determine the average orientation of chain segment in poly(butadiene) networks. The nmr spectrum lineshape reveals the orientation distribution of network vectors due to the crosslinks, whereas the observed splitting gives information about the orientation due to segmental interactions. Both the lineshape and the splitting have been fitted simultaneously for a range of deformed poly(butadiene) networks varied in crosslink density and precursor chain length. From the fitting parameters the separate contribution to the average orientation arising from network constraints and interaction are calculated. These are used to estimate the effective molecular weight between topological constraints and the size of the segmental interaction. It could be shown that the latter remains constant as the crosslink density is varied. This is a strong evidence of the recently published theoretical framework. Received: 28 August 1999/Revised version: 6 October 1999/Accepted: 6 October 1999