On the synthesis of RuSe oxygen reduction nano-catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Oxygen reduction reaction has a crucial role in energy conversion systems such as fuel cells. State-of-the-art Pt-based cathode catalysts suffer from low...     

Die Eignung von Petroleum sulfonaten zur Erzeugung niedriger Grenzfl?chenspannungen zwischen Kohlenwasserstoffen und Wasser

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Unique continuation for Schrodinger operators with unbounded potentials

We consider unique continuation theorems for solution of inequalities $\text{¦Δu(x)¦ ? W(x) ¦u(x)¦}$ with W allowed to be unbounded. We obtain two kinds of results. One allows W ? L^p_loc($\text{R}$ⁿ) with $\text{p ? n ? 2}\text{for}\text{n > 5, p >}\text{1}\text{3}\text{(2n ? 1)}\text{for}\text{n ? 5}$. The other requires fW² to be ?Δ-form bounded for all f ? C₀^∞.     

Superconformal anomalies and the effective lagrangian for pure supersymmetric QCD

We discuss the extent to which the superconformal anomalies constrain the effective lagrangian for pure N = 1 Yang-Mills theory. Assuming that the order parameter describing the model is a single chiral superfield (and allowing its derivatives) we find a larger class of possible models than had been previously noted. We give a detailed analysis of a particularly interesting example and find that it leads to the possibility of spontaneous breakdown of supersymmetry. Thus we conclude that the anomaly constraints by themselves are not sufficient to protect supersymmetry. Some unusual features which seem characteristic of such higher derivative theories are noted. A number of related topics, including the question of gluon condensation, are discussed.     

Effects of salinity on the viscosity and birefringence of a microemulsion system

Oil/water/surfactant systems form complex equilibrium phases which are sensitive to a number of parameters, including amount and concentration of cosurfactant (often an alcohol), salinity, and temperature. If one of these variables is changed systematically as, for example, the salinity, an interesting transition may be observed in which at low salinities a microemulsion is in equilibrium with an excess oil phase, at moderate salinities a middle phase microemulsion is in equilibrium with both excess oil and excess water phases, and at higher salinities brine is in equilibrium with a microemulsion phase. To help elucidate the structure of the microemulsion, studies of viscoelasticity and streaming birefringence in oscillatory shear flow have been conducted of a middle phase-forming system as a function of salinity. It is found that the viscoelastic properties of the microemulsions are unchanged for shear rates varying from 0.1 to 100 sec⁻¹. Both the birefringence and the viscosity maximize near the salinity marking the transition from lower phase to middle phase microemulsion. Further inflections in these properties occur at a salinity marking the midrange of the middle phase microemulsion. For all cases the dominent relaxation time is near 3 to 5 msec while the birefringence changes by two orders of magnitude. The birefringence is a sensitive indicator of the elastic structure of the microemulsion.     

Competitive adsorption of surfactants at air/water interfaces

The zeta potential of an air bubble suspended in an aqueous solution of mixed fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon anionic surfactants is studied over a wide range of concentrations and mixture compositions. The zeta potential is related to surfactant ion adsorption. The two surfactants, which exhibit an antipathy manifested by micellar demixing, compete for surface sites. The total surfactant adsorption is reduced when both surfactants are present. Adsorption phenomena are closely correlated to the micellar phase diagram.     

Mapping of the active site of proteases in the 1960s and rational design of inhibitors/drugs in the 1990s

For several decades the specificity of proteases has been presented as an active site divided into subsites, using the nomenclature of Schechter & Berger from 1967 (S1, S2... for subsites of the active site; P1, P2... for residues of the substrate occupying the corresponding subsites). At early stages of the research (1960s) it was realized that the size of the active site was larger than expected and important interactions occur in regions remote from the catalytic site. Since the active site was found to be large it was divided into subsites, and a procedure to map it up was developed. The map provides information on the size of the active site (number of subsites), the properties of each subsite (free energy of ligand binding, nature of binding forces, etc.), and it enables rational design of new substrates and inhibitors. Already in 1968 inhibitors with binding constants ten thousand fold higher than available inhibitors, were prepared. The model of a large active site was initially met with strong opposition. Before long, however, predictions of the model (size of the active site, interactions in subsites remote from the catalytic site) were confirmed by X-ray crystallography (1970). During the 1990s proteolytic enzymes received renewed attention in biology and medicine, they became therapeutic targets, and protease inhibitors were successfully applied in the treatment of AIDS and hypertension. The model of large active site divided into subsites, proposed 38 years ago, stood the test of time. This model is still in use in basic research to evaluate enzyme activity, and in pharmaceutical research for the development of inhibitors/drugs.