Existence of positive solution for a sixth–order differential system with variable parameters

This paper investigates the existence of positive solutions for a sixth-order differential system with three variable parameters. Using a fixed point theorem and an operator spectral theorem we give some new existence results.     

Estimation of radon and thoron caused dose at exraction and processing sites of mineral sand mining area in Vietnam (HA TINH province)

Mineral sands are mined in several countries to supply to the titanium and zircon producing industries. Coastal black mineral sands usually contain, besides ilmenite (FeTiO₃) and rutile (TiO₂), radioactive minerals such as zircon (ZrSiO₄) and monazite (RePO₄). Radon and thoron activity concentration originated from natural radioactive contents of the black mineral sand was monitored at the extraction and processing for black minerals in the coastal areas of Ha Tinh Province, one of the around 40 coastal mineral sand deposits in Vietnam. The survey was carried out with the Raduet chambers made by Radosys Ltd—Hungary. The obtained results for 25 investigated points show that the measured values are not high in the residential houses and in case of the sand extraction site as well. At the titanium processing plant the measured values were higher than outside the facility (Radon: 18–55 Bq/m³ with average of 34 Bq/³ and Thoron 33–118 Bq/m³ with average of 58 Bq/m³) but still comparable to the average concentration of the world published by UNSCEAR. The typical outdoor levels of radon and thoron gas are each of the order of 10 Bq/m³. Although the radon concentrations were low in the zircon and titanium processing plants, the thoron concentrations in the houses for separating rutile and zircon were very high. At zircon processing factory, the thoron concentration could reach 2,931 Bq/m³ and the estimated annual effective dose would be 21.4 mSv/a. Intervention has to be taken in order to reduce the thoron level in this factory since the level of thoron and its progenies corresponding to an annual occupational effective dose is beyond the action level of 6 mSv/a.     

Ca and Mg determination from inhabitants of Brazil using neutron activation analysis

In this study the neutron activation analysis (NAA) technique was applied to determine Ca and Mg in whole blood from inhabitants of Brazil for the purpose of establishing concentration ranges indicative of sex and age. The initiative to perform these measurements is related to the increase in heart disease. According to recent statistics from WHO, the average is one death due to heart attack in Brazil, every five minutes. The measures were performed considering lifestyle factors (non-smokers, non-drinkers and no history of toxicological exposure) of Brazilian inhabitants. A healthy group constituted of male (n = 94) and female (n = 84) blood donors, ages between 18 and 70 years and above 50 kg, was selected from the blood banks and hematological laboratories of Brazil. The influence of sex was also investigated considering several age ranges (18–29, 30–40, 41–50, >50 years). The results show significant differences when a comparison is made by sex and age and may be useful to identify or prevent clinical diseases. These results emphasize the need to perform periodic evaluation of Ca and Mg in blood.     

Capillary electrophoresis for the analysis of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins in shellfish: Comparison of detection methods

Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) are produced by marine and freshwater microalgae and accumulate in shellfish including mussels, oysters, and scallops, causing possible fatalities when inadvertently consumed. Monitoring of PST content of shellfish is therefore important for food safety, with currently approved methods based on HPLC, using pre‐ or postcolumn oxidation for fluorescence detection (HPLC‐FLD). CE is an attractive alternative for screening and detection of PSTs as it is compatible with miniaturization and could be implemented in portable instrumentation for on‐site monitoring. In this study, CE methods were developed for C⁴D, FLD, UV absorption detection, and MS—making this first report of C⁴D and FLD for PSTs detection. Because most oxidized toxins are neutral, MEKC was used in combination with FLD. The developed CZE‐UV and CZE‐C⁴D methods provide better resolution, selectivity, and separation efficiency compared to CZE‐MS and MEKC‐FLD. The sensitivity of the CZE‐C⁴D and MEKC‐FLD methods was superior to UV and MS, with LOD values ranging from 140 to 715 ng/mL for CZE‐C⁴D and 60.9 to 104 ng/mL for MEKC‐FLD. With the regulatory limit for shellfish samples of 800 ng/mL, the CZE‐C⁴D and MEKC‐FLD methods were evaluated for the screening and detection of PSTs in shellfish samples. While the CZE‐C⁴D method suffered from significant interferences from the shellfish matrix, MEKC‐FLD was successfully used for PST screening of a periodate‐oxidized mussel sample, with results confirmed by HPLC‐FLD. This confirms the potential of MEKC‐FLD for screening of PSTs in shellfish samples.     

Network formation of tissue cells via preferential attraction to elongated structures

Vascular and nonvascular cells often form an interconnected network in vitro, similar to the early vascular bed of warm-blooded embryos. Our time-lapse recordings show that the network forms by extending sprouts, i.e., multicellular linear segments. To explain the emergence of such structures, we propose a simple model of preferential attraction to stretched cells. Numerical simulations reveal that the model evolves into a quasistationary pattern containing linear segments, which interconnect above the critical volume fraction of 0.2. In the quasistationary state, the generation of new branches offset the coarsening driven by surface tension. In agreement with empirical data, the characteristic size of the resulting polygonal pattern is density-independent within a wide range of volume fractions.     

Photoionization and Pyrolysis of a 1,4‐Azaborinine: Retro‐Hydroboration in the Cation and Identification of Novel Organoboron Ring Systems

The photoionization and dissociative photoionization of 1,4‐di‐tert‐butyl‐1,4‐azaborinine by means of synchrotron radiation and threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy is reported. The ionization energy of the compound was determined to be 7.89 eV. Several low‐lying electronically excited states in the cation were identified. The various pathways for dissociative photoionization were modeled by statistical theory, and appearance energies AE_0K were obtained. The loss of isobutene in a retro‐hydroboration reaction is the dominant pathway, which proceeds with a reverse barrier. Pyrolysis of the parent compound in a chemical reactor leads to the generation of several yet unobserved boron compounds. The ionization energies of the C₄H₆BN isomers 1,2‐ and 1,4‐dihydro‐1,4‐azaborinine and the C₃H₆BN isomer 1,2‐dihydro‐1,3‐azaborole were determined from threshold photoelectron spectra.     

A Frequency-Selective pH-Responsive paraCEST Agent

Paramagnetic chemical exchange saturation transfer (paraCEST) agents are well-suited for imaging tissue pH because the basis of CEST, chemical exchange, is inherently sensitive to pH. Several previous pH-sensitive paraCEST agents were based on an exchanging Ln³⁺-bound water molecule as the CEST antenna but this design often added additional line-broadening to the bulk water signal due to T₂ exchange. We report herein a pH-sensitive paraCEST agent that lacks an inner-sphere water molecule but contains one Ln-bound −OH group for CEST activation. The Yb³⁺ complex, Yb( 1 ), displayed a single, highly shifted CEST peak originating from the exchangeable Yb-OH proton, the frequency of which changed over the biologically relevant pH range. CEST images of phantoms ranging in pH from 6 to 8 demonstrate the potential of this agent for imaging pH. Initial rodent imaging studies showed that Gd( 1 ) remains in the vascular system much longer than anticipated but is cleared slowly via renal filtration.