Quasielastic scattering of neutrons from freely jointed polymer chains in dilute solutions

Starting with Kirkwood's Fokker–Planck equation for the polymer configuration-space distribution function and using the Zwanzig–Mori projection operator technique we have calculated the scattering law S_(q,w) for a freely jointed model polymer chain in a dilute solution. When memory effects are neglected, the theory predicts a Lorentzian for S_(q,w) with a halfwidth Ω_(q), which we have determined as a function of the momentum transfer q for all values of q. The results are compared with recent neutron scattering experiments on deuterated polytetrahydrofuran and polystyrene in dilute solution in CS₂. It is found that the observed q dependence of Ω(q) is represented satisfactorily by the present theory with a bond length b of about 6.3 Å for polystyrene and 3.8 Å for polytetrahydrofuran, and a friction coefficient ζ = 4πη0b where η₀ is the viscosity of the solvent.     

dHvA measurements of long range strain effects due to lattice dislocations in copper

Lattice dislocations have been shown to produce a factor of 10³ greater dHvA scattering temperature than an estimate from resistivity. The magnitude of this discrepancy is explained by a first principles phase smearing calculation, and is due to the sensitivity of the quantum oscillations to small angle scattering by the long range strain field. Breaking the cubic symmetry by introducing a forest of edge dislocations allows a test of the sensitivity of previously equivalent neck orbits to the relative orientation with respect to the dislocation lines. Both magnitudes and anisotropy agree with the theory. It is shown how to separate these effects from mosaic structure effects also present in these deformed crystals. In a separate experiment, neutron irradiation was used to produce dislocation loops. Here, the dHvA scattering is observed to be of the same order as resistivity scattering, due to the cancellation of the long range dislocation strain field in the loop geometry.     

Summation bandwidths at threshold in normal and hearing-impaired listeners

The bandwidths for summation at threshold were measured for subjects with normal hearing and subjects with sensorineural hearing loss. Thresholds in quiet and in the presence of a masking noise were measured for complex stimuli consisting of 1 to 40 pure-tone components spaced 20 Hz apart. The single component condition consisted of a single pure tone at 1100 Hz; additional components were added below this frequency, in a replication of the G?ssler [Acustica 4, 408-414 (1954)] procedure. For the normal subjects, thresholds increased approximately 3 dB per doubling of bandwidth for signal bandwidths exceeding the critical bandwidth. This slope was less for the hearing-impaired subjects. Summation bandwidths, as estimated from two-line fits, were wider for the hearing-impaired than for the normal subjects. These findings provide evidence that hearing-impaired subjects integrate sound energy over a wider-than-normal frequency range for the detection of complex signals. A second experiment used stimuli similar to those of Spiegel [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 66, 1356-1363 (1979)], and added components both above and below the frequency of the initial component. Using these stimuli, the slope of the threshold increase beyond the critical bandwidth was approximately 1.5 dB per doubling of bandwidth, thus replicating the Spiegel (1979) experiment. It is concluded that the differences between the G?ssler (1954) and Spiegel (1979) studies were due to the different frequency content of the stimuli used in each study. Based upon the present results, it would appear that the slope of threshold increase is dependent upon the direction of signal expansion, and the size of the critical bands into which the signal is expanded.     

Gender differences in vocal fold contact computed from electroglottographic signals: the influence of measurement criteria

EGGW is a phonatory parameter that can be derived from electroglottographic (EGG) signals and used to infer the relative degree of vocal fold contact. Vocal fold models predict that men will exhibit medial bulging of their vocal folds during phonation but women will not. These models lead us to expect gender differences in the magnitude of EGGW. Nevertheless, significant gender differences in EGGW for adults with normal voices have not been documented in previous studies when EGGW was computed from criterion lines placed at 25%-40% of the amplitude of the uninverted EGG wave form. We hypothesized that EGGW would better reflect gender differences in vocal fold adductory patterns if EGGW was computed from portions of the wave form that were associated with more vocal fold contact. EGGW was measured for seven men and seven women with normal voices. When EGGW was computed from segments of the wave form that were associated with relatively greater vocal fold contact (i.e., using criterion levels of > or = 55%), findings were consistent with the gender-specific adductory patterns that have been proposed from vocal fold models. Guidelines for appropriate placement of criterion lines when computing EGGW are discussed.     

Bone morphogenetic protein-5 (BMP-5) promotes dendritic growth in cultured sympathetic neurons

Background  

BMP-5 is expressed in the nervous system throughout development and into adulthood. However its effects on neural tissues are not well defined. BMP-5 is a member of the 60A subgroup of BMPs, other members of which have been shown to stimulate dendritic growth in central and peripheral neurons. We therefore examined the possibility that BMP-5 similarly enhances dendritic growth in cultured sympathetic neurons.     

Polyethyleneimine-mediated transfection of cultured postmitotic neurons from rat sympathetic ganglia and adult human retina

Background  

Chemical methods of transfection that have proven successful with cell lines often do not work with primary cultures of neurons. Recent data, however, suggest that linear polymers of the cation polyethyleneimine (PEI) can facilitate the uptake of nucleic acids by neurons. Consequently, we examined the ability of a commercial PEI preparation to allow the introduction of foreign genes into postmitotic mammalian neurons. Sympathetic neurons were obtained from perinatal rat pups and maintained for 5 days in vitro in the absence of nonneuronal cells. Cultures were then transfected with varying amounts of a plasmid encoding either E. coli β-galactosidase or enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) using PEI.     

Efficacy of Polyaniline (PANI) nanofibres for capturing Diclofenac (DC) drug from its aqueous solutions

Pharmaceutical drug contamination in water nowadays is deteriorating the ecological components. A remedial approach is therefore a necessity. This study focuses on the synthesis of PANI nanofibres employing the oxidative polymerization method using ammonium persulphate (APS) as oxidant. The synthesized nanofibres were characterized using HR-TEM, FT-IR and XRD. The HRTEM image exhibited the nano-range structure of PANI with a rough surface. The FT-IR spectra inferred about the role of surface capping groups involved in the uptake mechanism. The crystallinity of PANI was well assessed by the X-Ray Diffraction analysis. The interaction between the studied drug diclofenac (DC) and polyaniline (PANI) showed a rapid equilibrium time 120 min favored at pH 5.0 achieving maximum adsorptive capacity (q_e) of 471.08 mg g ^?1. The uptake process followed the pseudo-second order kinetic model (R² = 1) with intra-particle diffusivity model (R² = 0.9810) as the governing step and best fitting values into Langmuir isotherm model (R² = 0.9822) inferred about the favourable adsorption of DC forming monolayer over PANI having q_m to be 943.83 mg g^?1. The drug DC was easily desorbed up to 85.31% by using 0.1 M aq ethanol and was exhausted after five cycles of reusability. The whole adsorptive mechanism involved electrostatic interactions along with hydrogen bonding.     

Permutations of a semigroup that map to inverses

We investigate the question as to when the members of a finite regular semigroup may be permuted in such a way that each member is mapped to one of its inverses. In general this is not possible. However we reformulate the problem in terms of a related graph and, using an application of Hall’s Marriage Lemma, we show in particular that the finite full transformation semigroup does enjoy this property.     

Initiation of detonation by conical projectiles

Initiation of detonation by a hypersonic conical projectile launched into a combustible gas mixture is investigated. From analytic considerations of the flowfield, energetic and kinetic limits are proposed to predict the conditions required to initiate an oblique detonation wave in the mixture. To experimentally investigate these limits, projectiles with cone half angles varying from 15° to 60° were launched into a stoichiometric mixture of hydrogen/oxygen with 70% argon dilution at initial pressure between 10 and 200 kPa. The projectiles were launched from a combustion-driven gas gun at velocities as great as 2.5 km/s (corresponding to 150% of the Chapman Jouguet velocity). Pictures of the flowfields generated by the projectiles were taken via schlieren photography. Five combustion regimes could be observed about the projectile ranging from a prompt and delayed oblique detonation wave formation, combustion instabilities, a wave splitting, and an inert shock wave. The two theoretical limits provide a means to interpret the observed flowfield regimes and are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental results.