Laser action from two dipyrrinone dyes under flash-lamp pumping

Two quasi-aromatic compounds, namely, two dipyrrinone dyes (Xanthoglow and Kryptoglow), exhibited strong fluorescence. Therefore they were tested for laser action under flash-lamp pumping. These two dyes outperformed Coumarin 540A and exhibited a high degree of photostability when dissolved in 1,4-dioxane. However, in all other solvents used, considerable photodecomposition was observed.     

Thermal dissociation of multimeric protein complexes by using nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry

The behavior of macromolecular systems at different temperatures is often crucial to their biological activity and function. While heat-induced changes of individual proteins are readily monitored by a number of spectroscopic methods, changes in noncovalent complexes of biomolecules are more challenging to interpret. Nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry is becoming increasingly powerful in the study of large noncovalent complexes, and here we describe the design, characterization, and application of a novel probe that allows the thermocontrol of the solution in the electrospray capillary. The transition temperature for the unfolding of the protein lysozyme is readily obtained and correlates closely with that measured by fluorescence spectroscopy, thereby demonstrating the validity of this approach. We apply this technique to the study of the 200-kDa complex of the small heat shock protein TaHSP16.9, revealing both its dissociation into suboligomeric species and an increase in its size and polydispersity at elevated temperatures. In contrast, gas-phase activation of this complex is also carried out and yields a dissociation pathway fundamentally different from that observed for thermal activation in solution. As such, this probe allows the study of the reversible heat-induced changes of noncovalent complexes in a biologically relevant manner.     

Premorbid anomalies and risk of schizophrenia and depressive disorders in a birth cohort exposed to prenatal rubella.

In a birth cohort prenatally exposed to rubella, we assessed whether prospectively documented premorbid neuromotor dysfunction, mannerisms, deviant behaviors, and temperament during childhood and adolescence were impaired in cases who developed depressive disorder (DD) relative to rubella-exposed controls and cases who developed schizophrenia spectrum psychosis (SSP). Premorbid neuromotor dysfunction and mannerisms were not increased among DD cases compared to controls or SSP cases. With regard to temperament, approachability was greater in DD cases than in controls and SSP cases. There were numerical increases in the proportions of DD cases with premorbid deviant behaviors compared to controls, but the findings fell short of statistical significance; the proportion of subjects with deviant behaviors in DD cases was similar to that found for SSP. These results indicate that premorbid neuromotor dysfunction and mannerisms may be specific to SSP among major psychiatric disorders in this cohort, and suggest that premorbid deviant behaviors are increased in both DD and SSP. Greater premorbid approachability may be associated with an increased risk of adult DD. Implications of these findings for school psychology are furnished. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The formation of an apatite coating on carboxylated polyphosphazenes via a biomimetic process

The biomimetic deposition of an apatite coating on polyphosphazene was investigated. A polyphosphazene having carboxylatophenoxy side groups was synthesized as a candidate polymer with heterogeneous nucleation sites for apatite deposition. Poly[bis(carboxylatophenoxy)phosphazene] (PCPP) was synthesized by a two-step synthetic route involving the synthesis of poly(dichlorophosphazene) (PDP) followed by nucleophilic replacement of the chlorine atoms of PDP with carboxylatophenoxy groups. The surface of the carboxylated polyphosphazene induced the formation of a dense layer of apatite on the surface after incubation in simulated body fluid at 37 °C with an ionic concentration approximately the same as that of human blood plasma. The results suggested an early precipitation of octacalcium phosphate and calcium phosphate intermediates on the surface, both of which are known to promote osteoblast differentiation and proliferation.     

More IMPATIENT: A gridding-accelerated Toeplitz-based strategy for non-Cartesian high-resolution 3D MRI on GPUs

Several recent methods have been proposed to obtain significant speed-ups in MRI image reconstruction by leveraging the computational power of GPUs. Previously, we implemented a GPU-based image reconstruction technique called the Illinois Massively Parallel Acquisition Toolkit for Image reconstruction with ENhanced Throughput in MRI (IMPATIENT MRI) for reconstructing data collected along arbitrary 3D trajectories. In this paper, we improve IMPATIENT by removing computational bottlenecks by using a gridding approach to accelerate the computation of various data structures needed by the previous routine. Further, we enhance the routine with capabilities for off-resonance correction and multi-sensor parallel imaging reconstruction. Through implementation of optimized gridding into our iterative reconstruction scheme, speed-ups of more than a factor of 200 are provided in the improved GPU implementation compared to the previous accelerated GPU code.     

平台2015:Intel处理器及平台在下一个十年的演化

毫无疑问,近年来计算技术取得了长足的进步。但是,在未来的十年,主流计算技术中新的工作量、使用模式的出现及变化对未来的计算平台提出的要求,与过去十年所取得的进展也差不多,这些巨大的要求包括:更高的性能、更低的功率密度、更好的功能可扩展性。倘若出现这些使用计算机的震撼性的变化,我们怎样定义和构架未来的计算平台,就将不得不做出引人注目的改变。要整体地理解和满足的,不仅仅有计算的需要,而且还有接口以及系统基础设施的需要。Intel对这三个基础平台要素的演化的长期设想,以及驱动演化的架构的创新和核心能力,即是我们称之为平台2015(Platform2015)的内容。除了考察相关的趋势、使用、平台处理含意之外,本文将集中在平台2015的计算单元,描述Intel微处理器架构在未来十年的演化。     

新西兰斜坡屋顶花园

<正>新西兰馆的主题是"自然之城:生活在天与地之间"。故事从一个凉棚说起。凉棚始于一条欢迎走廊。建筑设计师布莱尔(Blair)想让"参观者体验新西兰城市和大自然,进入展馆之后,可以沿着一条弯弯曲曲的斜坡,渐渐往上走。新西兰的风景、森林、海洋、山脉、城市和人……"最后,人们将会走上屋顶。正是在这里,布莱尔为景观设计师提供了一个大舞台。     

Inverted Cylindrical Magnetron Sputtering

The shape of inverted cylindrical magnetrons makes them ideal for coating a variety of optical components having non‐planar geometries such as prisms, gratings and spherical lenses. In addition, combining dual cathode mid frequency unbalanced magnetron sputtering with the cylindrical geometry produces a unique source for ion enhanced deposition on planar substrates located at the ends of the cathode. Using a 330 mm diameter source, thickness uniformity on stationary substrates of ± 0.25 % over a diameter of 160 mm and ± 1.3 % over 200 mm can be achieved. SiO₂ and Ta₂O₅ deposited on Si have indices of refraction at a wavelength 632 nm of 1.47 and 2.13 respectively and dispersion similar to those reported for ion assisted processes. The off‐axis nature of this arrangement makes such sources particularly useful where the acceleration of negative ions produced at the target surface can damage sensitive materials such as OLEDs.