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Water scarcity is a consequence of complex interactions between water access and water use. In fact, the time period over which precipitation deficit accumulates is a determing factor for the occurrence of drought. Drought induces crop production losses and far-reaching societal effects. In the South American Altiplano, drought is a major hazard. Here, drought leads to food shortages, malnutrition
We discuss some aspects of the current status of event generators for small-x DIS. In particular we report on recent results using the CCFM evolution implemented in the SMALLX and CASCADE program concerning the importance of the so-called consistency constraint, and compare with the linked dipole chain model implemented in the LDC program. We point out some potential problems with the resolved vir
We demonstrate the manipulation of single-walled carbon nanotube/liquid crystal composites using in-plane electric fields. The conductivity of the materials is shown to be dependant on the application of a DC bias across the electrodes. When the materials are subjected to this in-plane field, it is suggested that the liquid crystals orientate, thereby forcing the SWCNTs to follow in alignment. Thi
The artificial bilayer structures of lipids and phospholipids can be fabricated using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. High sensitivity and ultrasensitive detection can only be achieved using plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy, such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). This chapter describes the single molecule detection of tagged-phospholipids using the LB technique and plasmon-enhanced s
Investigation into nanostructured organic films has served many purposes, including the design of functionalized surfaces that may be applied in biomedical devices and tissue engineering and for studying physiological processes depending on the interaction with cell membranes. Of particular relevance are Langmuir monolayers, Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) and layer-by-layer (LbL) films used to simulate bi
A low-pressure, position-sensitive, multi-wire proportional chamber (LPMWPC) system with an active area 12×12 cm 2 for the detection of heavy nuclear fragments, has been developed for use in tagged photon beam experiments. The LPMWPC system can be operated in single as well as double step operational modes. In the case of double step operational mode with a high gas amplification factor, signals f
We develop a density functional theory for infinitely long flexible and semiflexible polymers, as an appropriate simplification of the corresponding treatment of finite chains. We demonstrate that very long chains sometimes are required to reproduce even qualitatively correct limiting behaviors.
A set of new algorithms and software tools for automatic protein identification using peptide mass fingerprinting is presented. The software is automatic, fast and modular to suit different laboratory needs, and it can be operated either via a Java user interface or called from within scripts. The software modules do peak extraction, peak filtering and protein database matching, and communicate vi
Antibody-based microarrays is a rapidly evolving technology that has gone from the first proof-of-concept studies to more demanding proteome profiling applications, during the last years. Miniaturized microarrays can be printed with large number of antibodies harbouring predetermined specificities, capable of targeting high- as well as low-abundant analytes in complex, nonfractionated proteomes. C
The aim of the present Study was to investigate whether plasma concentration of proANP(1-30), the N-terminal fragment of the atrial natriuretic peptide prohormone, or 24-hour urinary excretion of urodilatin reflects the degree of Salt sensitivity in hypertension-prone individuals. Plasma concentration of proANP(1-30) and urinary urodilatin excretion were determined at baseline, after I week on a l
Applications of immobilized biocatalysts in both research and industry require highly active catalysts, preferably at a low cost. In this study, cryogels with high catalyst density were produced through cryostructuration of whole Escherichia coli (E.coli) cells. Prepared cryogels are macroporous materials composed of metabolically active cells crosslinked to each other via polymeric structures. Di
This paper presents a new method, based on constraint programming, for modeling and solving scheduling and instruction selection for processors extended with a functionally reconfigurable cell fabric. Our method models parallel reconfigurable architectures, the selection of application specific computational patterns and application scheduling. It takes also into account architectural constraints.
Regional vegetation-climate modelling studies have typically focused on boreal or temperate ecosystems in North America and Europe, almost completely overlooking tropical ecosystems. We present the first results of simulated regional vegetation-climate dynamics in Middle America as simulated by the model, LPJ-GUESS. The Kappa statistic indicated poor agreement, with a Kappa value of 0.301. When we
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is common among southern Chinese including the ethnic Cantonese population living in Hong Kong. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is detected in all undifferentiated type of NPC in this endemic region. Establishment of stable and latent EBV infection in premalignant nasopharyngeal epithelial cells is an early event in NPC development and may contribute to its pathog
We report the improvements made to our previously developed electrochemical cantilever (EC) sensor, where nanoporous gold material is employed as working electrodes in microcantilever arrays, while combined counter-reference electrodes are integrated on the chip. For a surface stress change of 1mN/m induced on the microcantilever, the cantilever deflects is 7.3 nm at the free end, indicating high
