A widely used immunoglobulin M (IgM) detection assay for the diagnosis of neonatal congenital syphilis is the fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption test used with fractionated serum (FTA-ABS 19S IgM test). Reading the results of the FTA-ABS test is more cumbersome than reading those of the FTA-ABS double staining (FTA-ABS-DS) test, a confirmatory test for specific IgG. To verify that the F...

Transient, broadband infra-red absorption spectroscopy with picosecond time resolution has been used to study the dynamics of reactions of CN radicals with tetrahydrofuran (THF) and d8-THF in liquid solutions ranging from neat THF to 0.5 M THF in chlorinated solvents (CDCl3 and CD2Cl2). HCN and DCN products were monitored via their v1 (CRN stretching) and v3 (C H(D) stretching) vibrational abso...

BACKGROUND Ginsenosides are the main pharmacological components of Panax ginseng root, which are thought to be primarily responsible for the suppressing effect on oxidative stress. METHODS 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and oxygen radical absorption capacity were applied to evaluate the antioxidant activities of the ginsenosides. Human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK-293)...

The sera of three patients with malignant melanoma showing reactivity with surface antigens of cultured autologous melanoma cells were analyzed by mixed hemadsorption and immune adherence assays in conjunction with absorption tests. In contrast to the melanoma-specific antigens demonstrated previously, the surface antigens detected by these sera occurred on a broad range of nucleated cells, bot...

A reactive high-valent dinuclear nickel(IV) oxido bridged complex is reported that can be formed at room temperature by reaction of [(L)2Ni(II)2(μ-X)3]X (X = Cl or Br) with NaOCl in methanol or acetonitrile (where L = 1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane). The unusual Ni(IV) oxido species is stabilized within a dinuclear tris-μ-oxido-bridged structure as [(L)2Ni(IV)2(μ-O)3]2+. Its structure ...

An objective, solid-phase fluoroimmunoassay for treponemal antibody was developed with a lysate of virulent Treponema pallidum (Nichols strain) adsorbed on cellulose acetate disks. A probe containing both the antigen and control disks is inserted successively into a serum specimen dilution, a buffer rinse, fluoroscein isothiocyanate-conjugated goat anti-human immunoglobulin G, and a second buff...

Absorption spectroscopy is known to be a powerful tool to gain spatially and temporally resolved information on excited and reactive species in a plasma discharge. Furthermore, the interaction of the discharge with short intense laser pulses can trigger the ignition and the transition into other transient states of the plasma. In this context laser-assisted ‘pump-probe’ experiments involving si...

Tapered silicon photonic crystals (PhCs) with smooth sidewalls are realized using a novel single-step deep reactive ion etching. The PhCs can significantly reduce the surface reflection over the wavelength range between the ultra-violet and near-infrared regions. From the measurements using a spectrophotometer and an angle-variable spectroscopic ellipsometer, the sub-wavelength periodic structu...

A silver-acrylate nanocomposite was prepared using a novel one-pot strategy involving eosin dye as visible sensitizer and an amine derivative as radicals source. The mechanism highlighted by steady state photolysis and time resolved absorption spectroscopy lies on the initial formation of a strong ion pair complex between eosin and Ag + . Upon visible irradiation, the excited triplet state of t...