Simultaneous determination of five penicillins in muscle,liver and kidney from slaughtered animals using liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A simple and rapid method for the simultaneous determination of five penicillins (ampicillin, penicillin G, penicillin V, oxacillin and cloxacillin) in muscle, liver and kidney tissues using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) was developed. Mass spectral acquisition was done in the negative ion mode by applying selected reaction monitoring (SRM). The five penicillins were extracted with water, and the extracted solution was cleaned up on a C18 cartridge. Phenethicillin was added as an internal standard, and the extract was diluted with water for injection into the LC-ESI-MS/MS. The recoveries of the five penicillins were in the range of 77.3-99.8% from muscle, liver and kidney fortified at 10-250 ng/g. The detection limits for ampicillin were 6 ng/g in muscle and kidney and 15 ng/g in liver. For penicillin G and penicillin V, the detection limits were 2 ng/g in muscle and kidney and 5 ng/g in liver. For oxacillin and cloxacillin, the detection limits were 4 ng/g in muscle and kidney and 10 ng/g in liver. Twenty-three muscle, fourteen liver and twenty-two kidney samples from the markets were analyzed by this method. No penicillins were detected in any sample.     

Budding of fowlpox and pigeonpox viruses at the surface of infected cells

Chick embryo fibroblasts and chorioallantoic membranes infected with fowlpox virus (FWPV) or pigeonpox virus (PPV) were examined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Immature virus particles were observed in finely granular areas, i.e. virus factories, of the cytoplasm. These particles had various forms depending on their stages of development. Many tubular structures were also seen in these regions. Mature virus particles with ellipsoidal or brick-shaped forms enclosing electron-dense cores were detected throughout the cytoplasm. Notably, there was a high frequency of virus budding at the cell surface, but only occasional virus wrapping in the cytoplasm. Another remarkable feature of the infected cells was accumulation of many virions just beneath the plasma membrane, indicating that this phenomenon is closely related to virus budding. Based on the observed frequency of budding, this mechanism seems to be the predominant way for FWPV and PPV to exit the cell.     

Higher-density single-mode optical fibre cables than 1 fibre/mm2, containing hundreds of fibres

A slotted-rod structure was investigated to obtain the maximum fibre density of high-fibre-count cables. A 500-fibre cable with a fibre density of 1.5 fibres/mm2 was designed and manufactured. The manufactured cable was composed of 10-fibre ribbons inserted into the designed slots. The optical losses of the cabled single-mode fibres were confirmed to be stable at 1.3 and 1.55 ?m. This cable has the highest fibre density of existing optical cables.     

Floating substrate effects on speed performance in scaled CMOS/SOS circuits

Floating substrate effects on speed degradation in 2 ?m SOS circuits have been investigated. It has been found that the drain-substrate capacitive coupling is dominant in highly doped substrate devices, based on experimental results obtained from CMOS ring oscillators. Cycle-time-dependent sense amplifier output transition times have also been explained by this capacitive coupling.     

Techniques in computer art

The major techniques in computer art in use so far are classified into six categories and evaluated. Among these categories, we discuss the function method in detail by showing pictures generated by our system ART-3, a small system based on the function method. By this means we show the usefulness of mathematics in this area and demonstrate the enormous possibilities of computer art. Furthermore, on the basis of our experience of using ART-3 the role of artists in technology-aided art is briefly discussed.     

Fermi surface of NbO

Studies of the dHvA effect have been made on NbO single crystals grown by a zone melting techniques and 13 separate frequency branches ranging from 5.2×10⁶ G to 1.2×10⁸G have been observed. To understand the origin of the dHvA frequencies, we have made a self-consistent band structure calculation. Most experimental frequencies are found to be assigned to the extremal orbits on the calculated Fermi surfaces. There is good qualitative agreement between experiment and calculation, but some quantitative discrepancies still exist. We also report some physical properties, i.e., electrical resistivity, superconducting transition temperature, and electronic specific heat, of this high-quality NbO crystal.     

Rapid detection of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli O6 in water by using monoclonal antibody and a photon-counting television camera

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against Escherichia coli O6:H16 were screened against 15 strains of E. coli and 19 non-E. coli bacteria. A MAb-luminescence assay using MAb-5.8, which shows no cross-reactions with non-E. coli bacteria, and a photon-counting television camera were developed for rapid enumeration of E. coli O6:H16 in water. The membrane filter that retained bacteria was boiled for 5 min in a buffer and incubated with biotinylated MAb-5.8. After incubation with streptavidin-peroxidase conjugate, it was reacted with luminol-based reaction mixture. Luminous image and light intensity of the filter was recorded with a Biocell Counter. Levels of E. coli O6 higher than 7 x 10(3) CFU were detected by the MAb-luminescence assay when E. coli O6 was spotted onto the membrane filter. The sample that contained E. coli O6:H16 was filtered through a membrane filter, and the filter that retained bacteria was incubated on a filter paper soaked with nutrient broth supplemented with 0.5% NaCl at 37 degrees C for 6 h. The number of light emission points on the filter correlated well with initial E. coli O6:H16 counts within the range of 1 to 3 x 10(2) CFU. The correlation coefficient was 0.89.     

MgB2 Superconducting Tips for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Study

We report a simple method for the fabrication of reproducible, clean, and stable MgB₂ superconducting tips. The quality of these tips has been verified by imaging the surface of a thin Au(111) film sample, using a low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Using the MgB₂ superconducting tip, high-quality semiatomically resolved STM surface images of the thin Au(111) film sample have been observed, which unambiguously indicates that the fabrication of relatively superconducting MgB₂, suitable for use as STM tips, is feasible.     

Engineering quantum confinement and orbital couplings in laterally coupled vertical quantum dots for spintronic applications

We use three-dimensional self-consistent Kohn-Sham's equations coupled with Poisson's equation to investigate the electrical behavior of laterally coupled vertical quantum dots (LCVQD) for spin-qubit operation. The shape and the depth of the central gate are changed in different ways to correlate gate geometry with the coupling between the two quantum dots. Upon comparing LCVQD single-gate and the split-gate structures, we found that the two inherently different designs result in different energy barrier profiles leading to dissimilar wavefunction coupling between the two dots. Finally, we show that the doping concentrations in the layered structure could be optimized for practical two-qubit operation.