Development of Piagetian object permanence in grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus).

The authors evaluated the ontogenetic performance of a grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) on object permanence tasks designed for human infants. Testing began when the bird was 8 weeks old, prior to fledging and weaning. Because adult grey parrots understand complex invisible displacements (I. M. Pepperberg & F. A. Kozak, 1986), the authors continued weekly testing until the current subject completed all of I. C. Uzgiris and J. Hunt's (1975) Scale 1 tasks. Stage 6 object permanence with respect to these tasks emerged at 22 weeks, after the bird had fledged but before it was completely weaned. Although the parrot progressed more rapidly overall than other species that have been tested ontogenetically, the subject similarly exhibited a behavioral plateau part way through the study. Additional tests, administered at 8 and 12 months as well as to an adult grey parrot, demonstrated, respectively, that these birds have some representation of a hidden object and understand advanced invisible displacements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Homozygosity for pericentric inversions of chromosome 9. Prenatal diagnosis of two cases

The finding of homozygosity for a pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 [inv(9)] is rare, and previously has not been reported at prenatal diagnosis. We describe two unrelated cases of homozygosity for inv(9) identified in amniocytes. In each case, both parents were heterozygotes for the inv(9); 46,XX,inv(9)(p11q13) and 46,XY,inv(9) (p11q13). Case 1 resulted in a normal term infant who at age 5 years was phenotypically and developmentally normal. Case 2 was referred for severe intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and oligohydramnios, and subsequently expired in utero. Even though inv(9) is a normal chromosome variant with a frequency of 1 to 3% in the general population, the finding of homozygosity for inv(9) and IUGR in this fetus suggested the possibility of uniparental disomy (UPD). Molecular studies confirmed the presence of both parental inv(9) chromosomes, excluding the possibility of chromosome 9 UPD as the cause of IUGR in this fetus. Presumably, inv(9) homozygosity results from the high frequency of inv(9) heterozygosity, and is a normal variant. However, until the effects of UPD for chromosome 9 are established, parental karyo types and, where appropriate, molecular studies should be performed to exclude UPD. In addition, more reports of inv(9) homozygosity detected prenatally are needed to assess its frequency and outcome.     

Berechnung transienter Ströme in netzgeführten 6-pulsigen Stromrichtern

Übersicht Die Ableitung algebraischer Beziehungen für die Berechnung der transienten Ströme erfolgt mit Hilfe der Laplace-Transformation unter Berücksichtigung allgemeiner Anfangsbedingungen. Die Rücktransfromation wird sowohl für verschiedene als auch für gleiche Pole durchgeführt. Die Bedingungen für das stationäre Verhalten des Schaltkreises werden aufgezeichnet.

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Contents The algebraic equations for the calculation of the nonstationary currents—due to general initial conditions—are derived by applying the standard Laplace transform techniques, evaluating also the solutions for the special case of a double pole. The conditions for directly calculating the stationary currents from the derived equations are outlined.

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Diese Arbeit wurde durch ein Amerika-Stipendium (Wi 253/1) der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft unterstützt.     

Parallel analysis of two analytes in solutions or on surfaces by using a bifunctional aptamer: applications for biosensing and logic gate operations

A bifunctional aptamer that includes two aptamer units for cocaine and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) is blocked by a nucleic acid to form a hybrid structure with two duplex regions. The blocked bifunctional aptamer assembly is used as a functional structure for the simultaneous sensing of cocaine or AMP. The blocked bifunctional aptamer is dissociated by either of the two analytes, and the readout of the separation of the sensing structure is accomplished by a colorimetric detection, by a released DNAzyme, or by electronic means that use Faradaic impedance spectroscopy or field-effect transistors. In one configuration, the blocked bifunctional aptamer structure is separated by the substrates cocaine or AMP, and the displaced blocker units act as a horseradish peroxidase-mimicking DNAzyme that permits the colorimetric detection of the analytes. In the second system, the blocked bifunctional aptamer hybrid is associated with a Au electrode. The displacement of the aptamer by any of the substrates alters the interfacial electron transfer resistance at the electrode surface, thus providing an electronic signal for the sensing process. In the third configuration, the blocked aptamer hybrid is linked to the gate of a field-effect transistor device. The separation of the complex by means of any of the analytes, cocaine, or AMP alters the gate potential, and this allows the electronic transduction of the sensing process by following the changes in the gate-to-source potentials. The different systems enable not only the simultaneous detection of the two analytes, but they provide a functional assembly that performs a logic gate "OR" operation.     

Biocatalytic growth of Au nanoparticles: from mechanistic aspects to biosensors design

The H(2)O(2)-mediated enlargement of Au nanoparticles (NPs) and the growth mechanism are described. In addition to the deposition of gold on the NP faces, the formation of nanocrystalline clusters at the intersection of the faces is observed. The detachment of the latter nanoclusters provides additional seeds for the deposition of gold. The biocatalyzed generation of H(2)O(2) in the presence of O(2)/glucose and glucose oxidase enabled the development of an optical biosensor for glucose.     

Dopamine-, L-DOPA-, adrenaline-, and noradrenaline-induced growth of Au nanoparticles: assays for the detection of neurotransmitters and of tyrosinase activity

The neurotransmitters dopamine (1), L-DOPA (2), adrenaline (3), and noradrenaline (4) mediate the generation and growth of Au nanoparticles (Au-NPs). The plasmon absorbance of the Au-NPs allows the quantitative colorimetric detection of the neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters 1, 2, and 4 are sensed with a detection limit of 2.5 x 10(-6) M, whereas the detection limit for analyzing 3 corresponds to 2 x 10(-5) M. The neurotransmitter-mediated growth of the Au-NPs is also used to probe the activity of tyrosinase. The later biocatalyst oxidizes tyrosine to L-DOPA that mediates the growth of the Au-NPs. The analysis of tyrosinase activity is important for detecting melanoma cells and Parkinson disease.     

miRNA‐Specific Unlocking of Drug‐Loaded Metal–Organic Framework Nanoparticles: Targeted Cytotoxicity toward Cancer Cells

UiO‐68 metal–organic framework nanoparticles (NMOFs) are loaded with a doxorubicin drug (fluorescent dye analogs) and locked by means of structurally engineered duplex nucleic acid structures, where one strand is covalently linked to the NMOFs and the second strand is hybridized with the anchor strand. Besides the complementarity of the second strand to the anchor sequence, it includes the complementary sequence to the microRNAs (miRNA)‐21 or miRNA‐221 that is specific miRNA biomarker for MCF‐7 breast cancer cells or OVCAR‐3 ovarian cancer cells. In the presence of the respective miRNA biomarkers, the miRNA‐induced displacement of the strand associated with the anchor strand proceeds, resulting in the release of DNA/miRNA duplexes. The released duplexes are, however, engineered to be digested in the presence of exonuclease III, Exo III, a process that recycles the miRNAs and provides the autonomous amplified unlocking of the NMOFs and the release of the doxorubicin load (or the fluorescent dye analogs) even at low concentrations of miRNA. Preliminary cell experiments reveal that the respective NMOFs are unlocked by the miRNA‐21 or miRNA‐221, resulting in selective cytotoxicity toward MCF‐7 breast cancer cells or OVCAR‐3 ovarian cancer cells.     

Zeitverhalten der isothermen Reaktivdestillation beim thermischen Cracken und Desoxygenieren von Rapsöl

Thermal cracking of rapeseed oil under isothermal reactive distillation conditions allows the production of alternative liquid fuels. Temporal changes of the sump phase and the oil condensate show an increased higher heating value due to deoxygenation. The sump phase also shows an increasing thermal stability, accompanied by polymerization and aromatization. This is derived from a changing iodine value, H/C ratio as well as viscosity. The deoxygenation of the oil condensate is confirmed by a decreasing acid value and the reduction of detected carboxylic acids.