Design of Matched Filters And Related Frequency Selective Filters for the Detection of Teleseismic Events

Matched filters and related frequency selective filters are designed for the automatic detection of weak teleseismic earthquake signals. After a presentation of alternative design procedures, practical aspects of the filter realization are discussed. Simulation results indicate significant SNR gain.     

Parameter Estimation for Biomechanical Models Based on a Special Form of Natural Coordinates

We present parameter estimation results for a full three-dimensional model of the human body with nearly 100 degrees of freedom. This task could only be achieved by the use of sophisticated numerical techniques not only for optimization but also for the model setup. We have developed an object-oriented biomechanical modeling library based on a special form of natural coordinates that does not only serve to establish the full set of equations of motion of highly complex biome-chanical systems, but also to efficiently compute all the derivative information that is required in the parameter estimation context. Our parameter estimation algorithm is based on a multiple shooting state discretization and uses a generalized Gauss–Newton method. Eight experiments are combined in a multiple experiment setting. Inconsistent initial values are treated by a special form of non-stiff Baumgarte relaxation.     

Ethoxylation—a new method of separating brown-coal tar

Separating the complex mixture that makes up brown-coal tar is very difficult if it consists largely of phenols, resins and carboxylic acids. By ethoxylating the ingredients that possess active hydrogen, they become water-soluble and can easily be removed from the mixture by aqueous extraction. Hydrocarbons can then be recovered and used. The extracted ingredients are valuable raw materials for industry.     

Comparative Analysis of Volatile Constituents from Mice and their Urine

We report the volatile composition of the body scent of male C57BL/6J mice in comparison to the volatile composition of their urine. From a total of 67 components, nitromethane, propanoic acid, dimethyldisulfide, 1-octene, 1-hexanol, hexanoic acid, indole, α- and β-farnesene, and one unidentified component were observed only in the volatiles from the body of mice. On the other hand, 3-penten-2-one, 3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol, 3-methyl-cyclopentanone, p-xylene, 3-hepten-2-one, 2,3-dehydro-exo-brevicomin, benzylmethylketone, and 13 unidentified components were only found in urine volatiles. All other substances were present in the volatiles of both mice and their urine. Aliphatic aldehydes from pentanal to decanal were prominent mouse odor components. Because receptors for these aldehydes have been extensively characterized in the main olfactory organ, these components may be important for mice in recognizing their conspecifics.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Photocaged Hoechst Enables Subnuclear Visualization and Cell Selective Staining of DNA in vivo

Selective targeting of DNA by means of fluorescent labeling has become a mainstay in the life sciences. While genetic engineering serves as a powerful technique and allows the visualization of nucleic acid by using DNA-targeting fluorescent fusion proteins in a cell-type- and subcellular-specific manner, it relies on the introduction of foreign genes. On the other hand, DNA-binding small fluorescent molecules can be used without genetic engineering, but they are not spatially restricted. Herein, we report a photocaged version of the DNA dye Hoechst33342 (pcHoechst), which can be uncaged by using UV to blue light for the selective staining of chromosomal DNA in subnuclear regions of live cells. Expanding its application to a vertebrate model organism, we demonstrate uncaging in epithelial cells and short-term cell tracking in vivo in zebrafish. We envision pcHoechst as a valuable tool for targeting and interrogating DNA with precise spatiotemporal resolution in living cells and wild-type organisms.     

Time-Resolved Structural Kinetics of an Organic Mixed Ionic–Electronic Conductor

The structure and packing of organic mixed ionic–electronic conductors have an especially significant effect on transport properties. In operating devices, this structure is not fixed but is responsive to changes in electrochemical potential, ion intercalation, and solvent swelling. Toward this end, the steady-state and transient structure of the model organic mixed conductor, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), is characterized using multimodal time-resolved operando techniques. Steady-state operando X-ray scattering reveals a doping-induced lamellar expansion of 1.6 Å followed by 0.4 Å relaxation at high doping levels. Time-resolved operando X-ray scattering reveals asymmetric rates of lamellar structural change during doping and dedoping that do not directly depend on potential or charging transients. Time-resolved spectroscopy establishes a link between structural transients and the complex kinetics of electronic charge carrier subpopulations, in particular the polaron–bipolaron equilibrium. These findings provide insight into the factors limiting the response time of organic mixed-conductor-based devices, and present the first real-time observation of the structural changes during doping and dedoping of a conjugated polymer system via X-ray scattering.     

Gas-phase photoinduced graft polymerization of acrylic acid onto polyacrylonitrile ultrafiltration membranes

Heterogeneous surface modification of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes is realized with UV irradiation-initiated graft polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) from the gas phase onto photoinitiator (benzophenone, BP)-coated samples. In the absence of monomer, PAN functionalization by ketyl radicals dominates after UV excitation of sorbed BP. With AA, graft and total polymer yield increase with BP loading and UV irradiation time. Average molecular weight and distribution of PAA homopolymer—formed in parallel during graft polymerization—are analyzed with gel permeation chromatography. Morphology of PAN-gr-AA UF membranes is checked with scanning electron micrographs (SEMs) and atomic force microscopy. Chemical changes are characterized with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy and SEM/EDX analyses, indicating a pronounced surface selctivity of the graft polymer modification (localized in the upper 5-μm membrane thickness). The amount of grafted PAA systematically reduces membrane permeability and increases dextrane retention, as verified in UF experiments. Photo graft polymer modificationof UF membranes will be applied to adjust membrane performance by controlling surface hydrophilicity and permeability using other monomers and/or further graft polymer functionalization. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.