A novel application of bioluminescence for nucleic acid quantification, the bioluminescence regenerative cycle (BRC), is described in theoretical terms and supported by preliminary experimental data. In the BRC system, pyrophosphate (PPi) molecules are released during biopolymerization and are counted and correlated to DNA copy number. The enzymes ATP-sulfurylase and firefly luciferase are empl...

Scatterometer Contamination Mitigation

To the best of our knowledge, imaging of accidental exposure to radioactive fluorine-18 (F-18) due to liquid spill has not been described earlier in the scientific literature. The short half-life of F-18 (t½=110 min), current radiation safety requirements, and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) regulations on radiopharmaceuticals have restrained the occurrence of these incidents. The possibility...

We use Kuiper’s test to detect periodicities in X-ray and gamma-ray observations. Like Rayleigh’s test, it uses the individual photon arrival times, and is therefore well suited to the analysis of faint sources. Our method makes it possible to take into account the discontinuities in the observation, and to completely get rid of the contamination that results from them. This makes it particular...

Quantitative dermatopathology is being widely employed in clinical practices for precise detection of various skin conditions. Dermatoscopes are placed in contact with the skin for visual observation and this (a) risks cross-contamination between investigated subjects and (b) limits instrument use when investigating infectious lesions and wounds. This paper presents a framework for quantitative...

Surface and structural damage to plasma-facing components (PFCs) due to the frequent loss of plasma con®nement is a serious problem for the tokamak reactor concept. The plasma energy deposited on these components during loss of con®nement causes signi®cant surface erosion, possible structural failure, and frequent plasma contamination. Surface damage consists of vaporization, spallation, and li...

A practical method for operating existing undulator synchrotron beamlines at photon energies considerably higher than their standard operating range is described and applied at beamline 19-ID of the Structural Biology Center at the Advanced Photon Source enabling operation at 30 keV. Adjustments to the undulator spectrum were critical to enhance the 30 keV flux while reducing the lower- and hig...

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory, launched by the space shuttle Columbia in July 1999, has taken its place with the Hubble Space Telescope, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and the Spitzer Infrared Space Telescope in NASA’s fleet of state of the art space-based Great Observatories. As the world’s premier X-ray observatory, Chandra gives astronomers a powerful tool to investigate black holes, expl...

........................................................................................................................2 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................3 THE NATIONAL MAIZE ECONOMY.............................................................................4 GUATEMALA’S AGRICULTURE AND MAIN MAIZE PRODUC...