Energy Harvesting by Mesoporous Reduced Graphene Oxide Enhanced the Mediator-Free Glucose-Powered Enzymatic Biofuel Cell for Biomedical Applications.

Harnessing electrochemical energy in an engineered electrical circuit from biochemical substrates in the human body using biofuel cells is gaining increasing research attention in the current decade due to the wide range of biomedical possibilities it creates for electronic devices. In this report, we describe and characterize the construction of just such an enzymatic biofuel cell (EBFC). It is simple, mediator-free, and glucose-powered, employing only biocompatible materials.

Fast GPU-Based Generation of Large Graph Networks From Degree Distributions.

Synthetically generated, large graph networks serve as useful proxies to real-world networks for many graph-based applications. The ability to generate such networks helps overcome several limitations of real-world networks regarding their number, availability, and access. Here, we present the design, implementation, and performance study of a novel network generator that can produce very large graph networks conforming to any desired degree distribution.

Mesoscopic Modeling and Rapid Simulation of Incremental Changes in Epidemic Scenarios on GPUs: Fast What-If Analyses of Localized and Dynamic Effects.

In simulation-based studies and analyses of epidemics, a major challenge lies in resolving the conflict between fidelity of models and the speed of their simulation. Another related challenge arises in dealing with the large number of what-if scenarios that need to be explored. Here, we describe new computational methods that together provide an approach to dealing with both challenges.

Phosphine Oxide Containing Poly(pyridinium salt)s as Fire Retardant Materials.

Six new rugged, high-temperature tolerant phosphine oxide-containing poly(4,4'-(-phenylene)-(2,6-diphenylpyridinium)) polymers , , , , , and are synthesized, characterized, and evaluated. Synthesis results in high yield and purity, as confirmed by elemental, proton (H), and carbon 13 (C) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra analyses. High glass transition temperatures ( > 230 °C) and high char yields (>50% at 700 °C) are determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively.

Sensitivity Analysis of an ENteric Immunity SImulator (ENISI)-Based Model of Immune Responses to Helicobacter pylori Infection.

Agent-based models (ABM) are widely used to study immune systems, providing a procedural and interactive view of the underlying system. The interaction of components and the behavior of individual objects is described procedurally as a function of the internal states and the local interactions, which are often stochastic in nature. Such models typically have complex structures and consist of a large number of modeling parameters.

Measurement of Heme Synthesis Levels in Mammalian Cells.

Heme serves as the prosthetic group for a wide variety of proteins known as hemoproteins, such as hemoglobin, myoglobin and cytochromes. It is involved in various molecular and cellular processes such as gene transcription, translation, cell differentiation and cell proliferation. The biosynthesis levels of heme vary across different tissues and cell types and is altered in diseased conditions such as anemia, neuropathy and cancer.

Optical sensors for the detection of trace chloroform.

Optical thin film sensors have been developed to detect chloroform in aqueous and nonaqueous solutions. These sensors utilize a modified Fujiwara reaction, one of the only known methods for detecting halogenated hydrocarbons in the visible spectrum. The modified Fujiwara reagents, 2,2'-dipyridyl and tetra-n-butyl ammonium hydroxide (n-Bu4NOH or TBAH), are encapsulated in an ethyl cellulose (EC) or sol-gel film.

Predictive computational modeling of the mucosal immune responses during Helicobacter pylori infection.

T helper (Th) cells play a major role in the immune response and pathology at the gastric mucosa during Helicobacter pylori infection. There is a limited mechanistic understanding regarding the contributions of CD4+ T cell subsets to gastritis development during H. pylori colonization.

ENteric Immunity SImulator: a tool for in silico study of gastroenteric infections.

Clinical symptoms of microbial infection of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are often exacerbated by inflammation induced pathology. Identifying novel avenues for treating and preventing such pathologies is necessary and complicated by the complexity of interacting immune pathways in the gut, where effector and inflammatory immune cells are regulated by anti-inflammatory or regulatory cells. Here we present new advances in the development of the ENteric Immunity SImulator (ENISI), a simulator of GI immune mechanisms in response to resident commensal bacteria as well as invading pathogens and the effect on the development of intestinal lesions.

Individually addressable crystalline conducting polymer nanowires in a microelectrode sensor array.

An efficient, site-specific and scalable approach has been developed to produce high-quality and individually addressable conducting polymer nanowire electrode junctions (CPNEJs) in a parallel-oriented array. Polypyrrole and PEDOT conducting polymer nanowires (CPNWs) with uniform diameters (ca. 60-150 nm) were introduced into the desired electrode junctions in a precise manner by performing a three-step constant-current electrochemical process at a low current density and a low concentration of monomers.

Generation of long-lived radical ions through enhanced photoinduced electron transfer processes between [60]fullerene and phenothiazine derivatives.

Photoinduced electron transfer processes between fullerenes (C60) and four phenothiazine derivatives (PTZs) in the absence and presence of hexylviologen dication (HV2+) have been studied by the transient absorption method in the visible and near-IR regions. Electron-transfer takes place from PTZs to the triplet states of fullerenes (3C60*) giving the radical anion of fullerenes (C60.-) and the radical cations of PTZs (PTZ.

Electrolyte-gated transistors based on conducting polymer nanowire junction arrays.

In this study, we describe the electrolyte gating and doping effects of transistors based on conducting polymer nanowire electrode junction arrays in buffered aqueous media. Conducting polymer nanowires including polyaniline, polypyrrole, and poly(ethylenedioxythiophene) were investigated. In the presence of a positive gate bias, the device exhibits a large on/off current ratio of 978 for polyaniline nanowire-based transistors; these values vary according to the acidity of the gate medium.

New n-type organic semiconductors: synthesis, single crystal structures, cyclic voltammetry, photophysics, electron transport, and electroluminescence of a series of diphenylanthrazolines.

The synthesis, properties, and electroluminescent device applications of a series of five new diphenylanthrazoline molecules 1a-1e are reported. Compounds 1b, 1c, and 1d crystallized in the monoclinic system with the space groups P2(1)/c, C2/c, and P2(1)/c, respectively, revealing highly planar molecules. Diphenylanthrazolines 1a-1e have a formal reduction potential in the range -1.