Statistical methodology for pathogen detection

The main goal of the present study was to discuss the application of the McNemar test to the comparison of proportions in dependent samples. Data were analyzed from studies conducted to verify the suitability of replacing a conventional method with a new one for identifying the presence of Salmonella. It is shown that, in most situations, the McNemar test does not provide all the elements required by the microbiologist to make a final decision and that appropriate functions of the proportions need to be considered. Sample sizes suitable to guarantee a test with a high power in the detection of significant differences regarding the problem studied are obtained by simulation. Examples of functions that are of great value to the microbiologist are presented.     

Photovoltaic residential electrification: a case study on solar battery charging stations in Brazil

Solar battery charging stations (SBCSs) were initially conceived to bring the price per household of electrification within the capacity to pay of the rural poor, and to foster the establishment of community businesses supplying the modest electricity demands of end users far from the grid in an entrepreneur‐based electrification model. The great foreseen advantages of SBCS were security of payment for the electricity service and operation under much higher system final yields and capacity factors. However, an analysis of the annual costs of SBCSs indicates that they are in reality more expensive alternative than solar home systems (SHSs) owing to the shorter lifetime of batteries. Moreover, battery transport for recharging and lower energy capacity, among other drawbacks, make users opt for the added convenience of a SHS. A financial analysis of a general case study is presented, with SBCS and SHS designed to offer equal electricity services. The local field experience is that after one and a half years SBCSs were replaced by SHSs. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stereospecific Indium(III)-Catalysed Tandem Cycloisomerization of Functionalized 1,6-enynes: Scope and Mechanistic Insights

Tandem cycloisomerization reactions of functionalized 1,6-enynes under indium(III) catalysis are described. This atom-economic transformation proceeds smoothly with 5-exo-dig regioselectivity using commercial In(III) halides and 1,6-enynes furnished with alcohol, carboxylic acid or amine functional groups to give bicyclic structures in good yields and diastereoselectivities. The reaction with enynals involves a three–step mechanism to give an oxatricycle and a conjugated 1,3-diene. In the absence of the internal nucleophile the enyne cycloisomerization evolves through a skeletal rearrangement or a cyclopropanation reaction after the regioselective 5-exo-dig cyclization. The 1,6-enyne cycloisomerization is stereospecific and the stereoselectivity appears to be independent of the internal nucleophile. Experimental data support a common reaction mechanism involving an initial alkyne electrophilic π-coordination of In(III) followed by Markovnikov electrophilic alkene addition and ring-closure by nucleophilic attack. DFT studies hold up a stepwise mechanism involving the formation of a chiral non-classical carbocation intermediate that determines the diastereoselectivity of this tandem cycloisomerization reaction.     

Understanding E. coli internalization in lettuce leaves for optimization of irradiation treatment

Irradiation penetrates food tissues and effectively reduces the number of food microorganisms in fresh produce, but the efficacy of the process against internalized bacteria is unknown. The objective of this study was to understand the mechanisms of pathogen colonization of plants relative to lettuce leaf structures so that radiation treatment of fresh leafy vegetables can be optimized. Leaves of iceberg, Boston, green leaf, and red leaf lettuces were cut into pieces, submerged in a cocktail mixture of two isolates of Escherichia coli (Rifampicin resistant), and subjected to a vacuum perfusion process to force the bacterial cells into the intercellular spaces in the leaves. Sixty bags containing 20 g of lettuce each were tested. The inoculated leaves were gamma irradiated (Lanthanum-140, 0.16 kGy/h) at 0.25–1.0-kGy (surface dose values), with increments of 0.25 kGy at 15 °C. Microbial analysis was performed right after irradiation, including non-irradiated leaf pieces (controls). A dose uniformity ratio (max/min dose) of 2.8 was set to confirm the effect of non-uniform dose distribution. Calculated D₁₀-values varied between 48 and 62% based on the dose distribution from the entrance dose. However, despite the subtle differences in composition and structure among the four lettuce varieties, the D₁₀-values were not significantly different. Irradiation up to 1.0-kGy resulted in 3–4-log reduction of internalized E. coli on the lettuce leaves. The SEM images suggest that the contamination sites of pathogens in leafy vegetables are mainly localized on crevices and into the stomata. This study shows that irradiation effectively reduces viable E. coli cells internalized in lettuce, and decontamination is not influenced by lettuce variety. Ionizing irradiation effectively reduced the population of internalized pathogen in a dose-dependent manner and could be used as an effective killing step to mitigate the risk of foodborne disease outbreaks.     

The role of the 11-cis-retinal ring methyl substituents in visual pigment formation

Artificial visual pigment formation from ring-demethylated retinals was studied in an effort to understand the effect that methyl groups on the chromophore cyclohexenyl ring have on the visual cycle. The stereoselective synthesis of the 11-cis-ring-demethylated analogues involves thallium-accelerated Suzuki cross-coupling reactions and highly stereocontrolled Wittig reactions to form key bonds. Only 11-cis-1,1,5-trisdemethylretinal (2) failed to form an artificial pigment, whilst variable pigment-formation yields were determined for the remaining analogues, increasing with the number (and location) of the chromophore hydrophobic ring methyl groups. Our results with the monodemethylated analogues 11-cis-5-demethylretinal (4) and 11-cis-1-demethylretinal (5) show that the C1-2-CH(3) groups are more important for pigment formation than the C5-CH(3) substituent. This is reflected in the absorption maxima of the artificial pigments, with values closer to that of native rhodopsin for 4. Docking studies based on a rhodopsin crystal structure, however, predict a lower pigment stability for 4 than for 5. Gas-phase DFT (B3LYP/6-31G*) computations of the free-ligand geometries, conformational searches about the C6--C7 bond, and docking studies revealed that, although the conformation of bound 5 is close to that of the native chromophore, the ligand needs to overcome the energy cost of shifting the unbound favored 6-s-trans conformation to the bound 6-s-cis form. In addition, the presence of an extra methyl group at C18 (11-cis-18-methylretinal, 7) is tolerated well and adds further stability to the complex, most probably due to increased hydrophobic interactions.     

Tailoring the growth of p-6P nanofibres using ultrathin Au layers: an organic-metal-dielectric model system

The influence of ultrathin Au cluster films on the growth of para-hexaphenyl (p-6P) fibres is investigated. Whereas p-6P at elevated temperatures forms long, mutually parallel fibres on plain mica, these fibres become shorter but taller on Au covered mica, up to a Au film thickness of approximately 8?nm. The degree to which fibres are mutually parallel decreases with increasing Au thickness. For thicker Au films the length of the fibres increases again, and their morphology changes from flat to faceted; for Au film thicknesses above 20?nm, fibre networks are formed. The spectroscopic properties of the fibres are not modified by the Au layer, enabling independent control of the fibre morphology by means of the intermediate metallic layer.     

Nanoassisted Laser Desorption-Ionization-MS Imaging of Tumors

The ability of nanoassisted laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometry (NALDI-MS) imaging to provide selective chemical monitoring with proper spatial distribution of lipid profiles from tumor tissues after plate imprinting has been tested. NALDI-MS imaging identified and mapped several potential lipid biomarkers in a murine model of melanoma tumor (inoculation of B16/F10 cells). It also confirmed that the in vivo treatment of tumor bearing mice with synthetic supplement containing phosphoethanolamine (PHO-S) promoted an accentuated decrease in relative abundance of the tumor biomarkers. NALDI-MS imaging is a matrix-free LDI protocol based on the selective imprinting of lipids in the NALDI plate followed by the removal of the tissue. It therefore provides good quality and selective chemical images with preservation of spatial distribution and less interference from tissue material. The test case described herein illustrates the potential of chemically selective NALDI-MS imaging for biomarker discovery.     

Spatial Resolution and Channel Coupling in a Phase-conjugate Ring-resonator

Abstract

We describe our study of the spatial resolution of a phase-conjugating ring-resonator (PCR) consisting of a Sagnac interferometer and a phase-conjugating mirror based on four-wave mixing in photorefractive BaTiO₃. The use of optical image processing systems depends on the amount of information channels and the nonlinear coupling between the channels. The spatial resolution or the number of independent pixels is important to describe any image processing system. If the gain of the phase-conjugating mirror is higher than the losses in the passive part of the system, then the system exceeds the threshold, and without any externally incident signal the resonator shows the effect of self-oscillation. From the analysis of this self-oscillation pattern we have calculated the spatial resolution of the PCR. Additionally, we try to investigate the pixel coupling of the system by defining channels in the resonator. By changing the geometrical set-up of the system it is possible to observe a controlled coupling between neighbouring channels.