Results from the ORPHEUS dark matter detector

The ORPHEUS dark matter detector consists of 450 g superconducting tin granules with diameters of 28 and 36 μm. The detector has been operating in the shallow site of the underground laboratory in Bern (70 m.w.e). First preliminary results on WIMP detection sensitivity will be presented.     

Development of a Phytochemical-Based Lure for the Dried Bean Beetle Acanthoscelides obtectus Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

The dried bean beetle, Acanthoscelides obtectus, is an economically important, worldwide pest of legume crops including dry beans, Phaseolus vulgaris. Assessment of A. obtectus infestation levels in pre-harvest field crops and post-harvest granaries is difficult to achieve because there is no effective monitoring tool for early detection so that interventions can be deployed as needed. Because A. obtectus is a generic pollen and nectar feeder, we adopted an electrophysiological (EAG) screening approach, using the antennae of female A. obtectus to identify physiologically active, volatile phytochemicals, which could then be investigated for their attractiveness to A. obtectus in laboratory behavioral assays and preliminary field tests. Of the 27 compounds tested in EAG screening, 5 compounds, i.e., methyl anthranilate, methyl eugenol, benzyl alcohol, (RS)-lavandulol, and 2-phenylethanol, elicited stronger EAG responses than the standard (1-phenylethanol). In 4-arm olfactometer bioassays, female A. obtectus preferred the olfactometer arm containing the odor of either methyl anthranilate or benzyl alcohol compared to the solvent control. In preliminary field tests using these 2 compounds as a binary mixture, at least 5 times as many beetles were caught on baited traps compared to non-baited traps. The field data also suggested that benzyl alcohol was primarily responsible for the field activity of the blend. We hypothesize that the attraction of A. obtectus to the combined benzyl alcohol/methyl anthranilate and the single benzyl alcohol baits is connected to the species` nectar- and pollen-feeding behaviour and not to its intraspecific communication. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that A. obtectus behavior in the field can be modified by the deployment of plant-derived semiochemicals.

     

Multipurpose modular experimental station for the DiProI beamline of Fermi@Elettra free electron laser

We present a compact modular apparatus with a flexible design that will be operated at the DiProI beamline of the Fermi@Elettra free electron laser (FEL) for performing static and time-resolved coherent diffraction imaging experiments, taking advantage of the full coherence and variable polarization of the short seeded FEL pulses. The apparatus has been assembled and the potential of the experimental setup is demonstrated by commissioning tests with coherent synchrotron radiation. This multipurpose experimental station will be open to general users after installation at the Fermi@Elettra free electron laser in 2011.     

改性γ-聚谷氨酸去除重金属Pb2+性能研究

研究了不同改性水平的γ-聚谷氨酸(以下简写为γ-PGA)吸附去除水体中重金属离子Pb2+的性能影响。研究结果表明,交联改性后的γ-PGA与未改性的γ-PGA相比,具有更好的Pb2+吸附性能,在将改性γ-PGA加入到含有Pb2+的水体中并均匀混合之后,随着交联度的提高,改性γ-PGA吸附Pb2+的性能逐渐增加,但在吸附最终结束时,不同改性的γ-PGA对Pb2+吸附去除率均在99%以上。在吸附去除Pb2+影响因素分析中发现Pb2+初始质量浓度和溶液pH对不同改性的γ-PGA吸附去除Pb2+性能的影响较大。随着Pb2+质量浓度的增加,不同改性水平γ-PGA对Pb2+的去除率均略有一定程度的下降。当溶液的pH控制在中性或者偏碱性时,25%改性γ-PGA对Pb2+的去除率能够保持在99%以上,当pH降至4.5和3时,Pb2+去除率分别降为90.76%和78.46%。     

Non‐Toxic Dry‐Coated Nanosilver for Plasmonic Biosensors

The plasmonic properties of noble metals facilitate their use for in vivo bio‐applications such as targeted drug delivery and cancer cell therapy. Nanosilver is best suited for such applications as it has the lowest plasmonic losses among all such materials in the UV‐visible spectrum. Its toxicity, however, can destroy surrounding healthy tissues and thus, hinders its safe use. Here, that toxicity against a model biological system (Escherichia coli) is “cured” or blocked by coating nanosilver hermetically with a about 2 nm thin SiO₂ layer in one‐step by a scalable flame aerosol method followed by swirl injection of a silica precursor vapor (hexamethyldisiloxane) without reducing the plasmonic performance of the enclosed or encapsulated silver nanoparticles (20–40 nm in diameter as determined by X‐ray diffraction and microscopy). This creates the opportunity to safely use powerful nanosilver for intracellular bio‐applications. The label‐free biosensing and surface bio‐functionalization of these ready‐to‐use, non‐toxic (benign) Ag nanoparticles is presented by measuring the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in a model sensing experiment. Furthermore, the silica coating around nanosilver prevents its agglomeration or flocculation (as determined by thermal annealing, optical absorption spectroscopy and microscopy) and thus, enhances its biosensitivity, including bioimaging as determined by dark field illumination.     

Utilization of geothermal systems in South-East Hungary

Thermal wells have been used in Hungary for over 140 years. As thermal water production has increased during the past decades, the pressure drawdown has increased in the geothermal systems of the Pannonian basin, showing that their sustainable management is lacking. The Hódmez?vásárhely, Szeged, and Szentes case histories are presented, including the very first indications of stabilization and recharge of the Pannonian thermal aquifers, as a result of reduction of thermal water production. Sustainable production and overall resource management of geothermal systems in SE-Hungary can only be achieved by injection.     

Homogenization and crystallization of histidine ammonia-lyase by exchange of a surface cysteine residue

Histidase (histidine ammonia-lyase, EC 4.3.1.3) from Pseudomonasputida was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. In theabsence of thiols the tetrameric enzyme gave rise to undefinedaggregates and suitable crystals could not be obtained. Thesolvent accessibility along the chain was predicted from theamino acid sequence. Among the seven cysteines, only one waslabeled as `solvent-exposed'. The exchange of this cysteineto alanine abolished all undefined aggregations and yieldedreadily crystals diffracting to 1.8 Å resolution.     

Search beam method

An interactive multi‐objective decision‐making (MODM) model based on the Search Beam Method (SBM) and a finite‐difference groundwater flow model (GWM), is developed for analysing groundwater resources development and management problems. The SBM utilizes one‐dimensional search in the objective space to (systematically) identify the non‐dominated solutions. The steady‐state GWM determines the aquifer response due to well withdrawals. Three competing objectives of maximizing total yield, minimizing maximum compression and minimizing total pumping cost are considered. Applicability of the MODM model is demonstrated on a simplified confined aquifer system resembling one of the water‐bearing layers underlying Bangkok.