2,196 research outputs found
Photoelectro-chemical properties of anilino squaraine derivatives in LB films
No full textPhotocurrent generation from Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) overlays on indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes, where the active components are 2,4-bis[4-(dibutylamino)-2-hydroxyphenyl]squaraine (1) and the unsubstituted analogue, 2,4-bis[4-(dibutylamino)phenyl]squaraine (2), have been investigated. Dye 1 shows improved behaviour compared with the latter and differences in performance are attributed to a modified aggregate structure, this being indicated by variations in the LB film spectra. The photocurrent generation is enhanced by the presence of electron accepters, e.g. N,N'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium diiodide (MV2+), but quenched by electron donors, e.g. hydroquinone (HQ). The concentration dependence is reported
Effects of coconut oil and palm kernel oil treatments on ripening process in banana fruits
No full textNo Abstract.Cameroon Journal of Experimental Biology Vol.2(1) 2006: pp. 16-2
Comments on author citations for nomenclatural novelties published in volume 15 of the Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae (FRPS)
No full textThe Plant Short-Chain Dehydrogenase (SDR) superfamily:genome-wide inventory and diversification patterns
No full textBackground Short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases (SDRs) form one of the largest and oldest NAD(P)(H) dependent oxidoreductase families. Despite a conserved 'Rossmann-fold' structure, members of the SDR superfamily exhibit low sequence similarities, which constituted a bottleneck in terms of identification. Recent classification methods, relying on hidden-Markov models (HMMs), improved identification and enabled the construction of a nomenclature. However, functional annotations of plant SDRs remain scarce. Results Wide-scale analyses were performed on ten plant genomes. The combination of hidden Markov model (HMM) based analyses and similarity searches led to the construction of an exhaustive inventory of plant SDR. With 68 to 315 members found in each analysed genome, the inventory confirmed the over-representation of SDRs in plants compared to animals, fungi and prokaryotes. The plant SDRs were first classified into three major types --- 'classical', 'extended' and 'divergent' --- but a minority (10 % of the predicted SDRs) could not be classified into these general types ('unknown' or 'atypical' types). In a second step, we could categorize the vast majority of land plant SDRs into a set of 49 families. Out of these 49 families, 35 appeared early during evolution since they are commonly found through all the Green Lineage. Yet, some SDR families --- tropinone reductase-like proteins (SDR65C), 'ABA2-like'-NAD dehydrogenase (SDR110C), 'salutaridine/menthone-reductase-like' proteins (SDR114C), 'dihydroflavonol 4-reductase'-like proteins (SDR108E) and 'isoflavone-reductase-like' (SDR460A) proteins --- have undergone significant functional diversification within vascular plants since they diverged from Bryophytes. Interestingly, these diversified families are either involved in the secondary metabolism routes (terpenoids, alkaloids, phenolics) or participate in developmental processes (hormone biosynthesis or catabolism, flower development), in opposition to SDR families involved in primary metabolism which are poorly diversified. Conclusion The application of HMMs to plant genomes enabled us to identify 49 families that encompass all Angiosperms ('higher plants') SDRs, each family being sufficiently conserved to enable simpler analyses based only on overall sequence similarity. The multiplicity of SDRs in plant kingdom is mainly explained by the diversification of large families involved in different secondary metabolism pathways, suggesting that the chemical diversification that accompanied the emergence of vascular plants acted as a driving force for SDR evolution
Learning theories and interprofessional education: a user's guide
No full textThere is increasing interest in the theoretical underpinning of interprofessional education (IPE) and writers in this field are drawing on a wide range of disciplines for theories that have utility in IPE. While this has undoubtedly enriched the research literature, for the educational practitioner, whose aim is to develop and deliver an IPE curriculum that has sound theoretical underpinnings, this plethora of theories has become a confusing, and un-navigable quagmire. This article aims to provide a compass for those educational practitioners by presenting a framework that summarizes key learning theories used in IPE and the relationship between them. The study reviews key contemporary learning theories from the wider field of education used in IPE and the explicit applications of these theories in the IPE literature to either curriculum design or programme evaluation. Through presenting a broad overview and summary framework, the study clarifies the way in which learning theories can aid IPE curriculum development and evaluation. It also highlights areas where future theoretical development in the IPE field is required
Photoelectrochemistry of Langmuir-Blodgett films of a C-60 iminodiacetic acid ester derivative on ITO electrodes
No full textThe photoelectrochemical response of a C-60 iminodiacetic acid ester derivative (C(60)IDA), deposited on ITO electrodes by means of the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, has been investigated. The anodic photocurrent observed on the modified electrode corresponds to an electron transfer from the electrolyte through the LB film to the electrode. The action spectrum of photocurrent indicates C60IDA as the photoactive species in the photoinduced electron transfer process. Positive bias voltage, reducing agent and higher pH of the solution are beneficial factors for generating higher photocurrent. The quantum yield for photocurrent generation is 0.94% and can be raised to 3.40% under favorable conditions. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.Materials Science, MultidisciplinaryPhysics, Condensed MatterPolymer ScienceSCI(E)EI9ARTICLE3223-2279
Factorization of weakly compact operators between Banach spaces and Fréchet or (LB)-spaces
No full text[EN] In this note we show that weakly compact operators from a Banach space X into
a complete (LB)-space E need not factorize through a reflexive Banach space. If E is a Fréchet space, then weakly compact operators from a Banach space X into E factorize through a reflexive Banach space. The factorization of operators from a Fréchet or a complete (LB)-space into a Banach space mapping bounded sets into relatively weakly compact sets is also investigated.The research of the first author was partially supported by MEC and FEDER Project MTM2010-15200 and by GV Project Prometeo/2008/101. The support of the University of Aberdeen and the Universidad Polit´ecnica of Valencia is gratefully acknowledged.Bonet Solves, JA.; Wright, JM. (2012). Factorization of weakly compact operators between Banach spaces and Fréchet or (LB)-spaces. Matematicki Vesnik. 64(4):330-335. https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/58753S33033564
Simulating liquid droplets: A quantitative assessment of lattice Boltzmann and Volume of Fluid methods
No full textWhile various multiphase flow simulation techniques have found acceptance as predictive tools for processes involving immiscible fluids, none of them can be considered universally applicable. Focusing on accurate simulation of liquid-liquid emulsions at the scale of droplets, we present a comparative assessment of the single-component multiphase pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann method (PP-LB, classical and modified) and the Volume of Fluid method (VOF, classical and modified), highlighting particular strengths and weaknesses of these techniques. We show that a modified LB model produces spurious velocities 1–3 orders of magnitude lower than all VOF models tested, and find that LB is roughly 10 times faster in computation time, while VOF is more versatile. Simulating falling liquid droplets, a realistic problem, we find that despite identical setups, results can vary with the technique in certain flow regimes. At lower Reynolds numbers, all methods agree reasonably well with experimental values. At higher Reynolds numbers, all methods underpredict the droplet Reynolds number, while being in good agreement with each other. Particular issues regarding LB simulations at low density ratio are emphasized. Finally, we conclude with the applicability of VOF vis-à-vis PP-LB for a general range of multiphase flow problems relevant to myriad applications.Accepted Author ManuscriptChemE/Transport PhenomenaIntensified Reaction and Separation System
Functional characterization of SlscADH1, a fruit-ripening associated short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase of tomato
No full textA tomato short-chain dehydrogenase-reductase (SlscADH1) is preferentially expressed in fruit with a maximum expression at the breaker stage while expression in roots, stems, leaves and flowers is very weak. It represents a potential candidate for the formation of aroma volatiles by interconverting alcohols and aldehydes. The SlscADH1 recombinant protein produced in Escherichia coli exhibited dehydrogenase-reductase activity towards several volatile compounds present in tomato flavour with a strong preference for the NAD/NADH co-factors. The strongest activity was observed for the reduction of hexanal (Km = 0.175 mM) and phenylacetaldehyde (Km = 0.375 mM) in the presence of NADH. The oxidation process of hexanol and 1-phenylethanol was much less efficient (Kms of 2.9 and 23.0 mM, respectively), indicating that the enzyme preferentially acts as a reductase. However activity was observed only for hexanal, phenylacetaldehyde, (E)-2-hexenal and acetaldehyde and the corresponding alcohols. No activity could be detected for other aroma volatiles important for tomato flavour, such as methyl-butanol/methyl-butanal, 5-methyl-6-hepten-2-one/5-methyl-6-hepten-2-ol, citronellal/citronellol, neral/nerol, geraniol. In order to assess the function of the SlscADH1 gene, transgenic plants have been generated using the technique of RNA interference (RNAi). Constitutive down-regulation using the 35S promoter resulted in the generation of dwarf plants, indicating that the SlscADH1 gene, although weakly expressed in vegetative tissues, had a function in regulating plant development. Fruitspecific down-regulation using the 2A11 promoter had no morphogenetic effect and did not alter the aldehyde/alcohol balance of the volatiles compounds produced by the fruit. Nevertheless, SlscADH1-inhibited fruit unexpectedly accumulated higher concentrations of C5 and C6 volatile compounds of the lipoxygenase pathway, possibly as an indirect effect of the suppression of SlscADH1 on the catabolism of phospholipids and/or integrity of membranes
Nonadaptive Amino Acid Convergence Rates Decrease over Time.
No full textConvergence is a central concept in evolutionary studies because it provides strong evidence for adaptation. It also provides information about the nature of the fitness landscape and the repeatability of evolution, and can mislead phylogenetic inference. To understand the role of adaptive convergence, we need to understand the patterns of nonadaptive convergence. Here, we consider the relationship between nonadaptive convergence and divergence in mitochondrial and model proteins. Surprisingly, nonadaptive convergence is much more common than expected in closely related organisms, falling off as organisms diverge. The extent of the convergent drop-off in mitochondrial proteins is well predicted by epistatic or coevolutionary effects in our "evolutionary Stokes shift" models and poorly predicted by conventional evolutionary models. Convergence probabilities decrease dramatically if the ancestral amino acids of branches being compared have diverged, but also drop slowly over evolutionary time even if the ancestral amino acids have not substituted. Convergence probabilities drop-off rapidly for quickly evolving sites, but much more slowly for slowly evolving sites. Furthermore, once sites have diverged their convergence probabilities are extremely low and indistinguishable from convergence levels at randomized sites. These results indicate that we cannot assume that excessive convergence early on is necessarily adaptive. This new understanding should help us to better discriminate adaptive from nonadaptive convergence and develop more relevant evolutionary models with improved validity for phylogenetic inference
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