One-dimensional fluid model of ECR discharge with inhomogeneityeffects of external magnetic field

A one-dimensional fluid model of the microwave electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) discharge, which includes the inhomogeneity effects of the external magnetic field, is developed. We use fluid equations which are obtained from the one-dimensional Bolzmann equation expressed in terms of magnetic moment and parallel velocity. We model the plasma and sheath separately, and appropriate plasma-sheath boundary conditions are utilized. Microwave is represented by an energy flow, and treated by a ray tracing technique. For the argon discharge, we obtain various quantities such as the axial profiles of plasma density, electron temperature, electrostatic potential, fluid velocity, and microwave power deposition. The results of simulation compare well with the experimental observation of the mirror field effects on the plasma parameters     

Cubic harmonic analysis of magnetic anisotropy measurements on single crystal HoxTb1−xFe2 laves phase compounds

Room temperature magnetic anisotropy measurements have been made on a series of low anisotropy Ho_xTb_1?xFe₂ compounds, with 0.826 < x < 0.908, using torque magnetometry techniques. An analysis of the data using the conventional expansion of anisotropy energy in terms of the direction cosines proved inadequate because of the presence of higher order contributions to the anisotropy. When these contributions were included in the expansion, non unique anisotropy constants were obtained which were not consistent with the predictions of the single ion model. An analysis of the data using an expansion of the anisotropy in terms of an orthonormal set of functions, namely the cubic harmonics developed by Mueller and Priestly, proved more successful. The results showed that the two lowest order anisotropy constants, κ₄ and κ₆, both varied linearly with holmium concentrations as predicted by the single ion model; however, κ₈, the next higher order term, was not consistent with the predicted behavior. The origin of this contribution is believed to be related to the magnetostriction.     

Ultra-pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry targeted profiling of arachidonic acid and eicosanoids in human colorectal cancer

Cumulative evidence shows that eicosanoids such as prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxanes and hydroxy eicosatetraenoic acids play an important role in associating inflammation with human colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study an ultra‐pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the targeted profiling of eight relevant eicosanoids and the major metabolic precursor, arachidonic acid (AA), in human colon. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) experiments were performed in negative electrospray ionization mode. The metabolites were separated using a C₁₈ column consisting of 1.7 µm ethylene‐bridged hybrid particles (100 × 2.1 mm i.d.) and gradient elution (50 to 95% of solvent B) with a mobile phase comprising water (0.1% formic acid) [solvent A] and acetonitrile (0.1% formic acid) [solvent B] at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The analysis time for each sample was 5.5 min. Our UPLC/MS/MS method demonstrated satisfactory validation results in terms of selectivity, sensitivity, matrix effect, linearity, extraction efficiency, intra‐ and inter‐day precision, accuracy and autosampler stability. The method was applied for the clinical profiling of matched pairs of cancerous and normal colon mucosae obtained from eight colorectal cancer patients. Endogenous levels of AA and selected eicosanoids such as prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), prostacyclin (PGI₂) [assayed as its stable hydrolytic product 6‐keto‐prostaglandin_1α (6‐k PGF_1α)] and 12‐hydroxy‐5Z,8Z,10E,14Z‐eicosatetraenoic acid (12‐HETE) were found to be significantly different (p <0.05; paired t‐test) between cancerous and normal mucosae. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Zeolite micropattern for biological applications

A facile method was established using composition-gradient pattern on zeolite surface to guide the deposition and formation of chemical and biomolecular patterns with features as small as five microns.     

Mathematical modeling of the effects of attenuation and system electronic coupling on the determination of speed of sound in ultrasonic interferometry

Ultrasonic interferometry is an indispensable tool in molecular chemistry and imaging, inclusive of liquid state studies where the standard theory is used to determine many physico-chemical parameters, such as the isentropic compressibility and adiabatic bulk modulus. The first principle analysis conducted here augments the standard model with potentially significant consequences in the interpretation of these parameters and the output spectrum. The effect of attenuation of a wave on the observed separation between peaks in acoustic interferometry is a focus of the investigation. Important aspects of the theory of Hubbard and others were collated to derive two mathematical models that were used to fit experimental spectra. The first model does not assume fictitious quantities found in Hubbard’s theory and fits the experimental data well. The second model includes the effects of the electronics of the measuring system and is in excellent agreement with the experimental data. Theoretical and numerical analyses were performed to validate the two models. Numerically, the attenuation of a wave is shown to cause the peaks to deviate either positively or negatively from the otherwise ideal half-wavelength of \(\lambda /2\) and exact equations governing such deviations are derived that could have significant implications in theory and applications.     

Protoplast Fusion of β-Glucosidase-Producing Aspergillus niger Strains

Protoplast fusion, induced by polyethylene glycol and Ca²⁺, was carried out between two auxotrophic strains ofAspergillus niger. The fusion frequency ranged from 6.2 × 10^-2-9.1 × 10^-2. After induced haploidization of a diploid, various segregants showing combinations of the parental genetic markers were isolated. Unlike diploids, haploid segregants exhibited greater variations in their morphology and β-glucosidase activities. One segregant showed a 2.5-fold increase in β-glucosidase activity over those of the parents. Thus, this method appears promising for creating new recombinant strains ofA. niger with improved β-glucosidase activities.     

Ability of fullerenes to act as η6 ligands in transition metal complexes. A comparative PM3(tm)–density functional theory study

High‐quality DFT calculations are employed to estimate the arene exchange energies for reactions of general formula: For C₆₀ and C₇₀ complexes of Cr(CO)₃, full geometry optimizations at the DFT level using moderately large basis sets were performed, while for the other systems a hybrid approach was developed in which the geometries were obtained at the PM3(tm) level and the energetics were evaluated at the DFT level. C₇₀ is shown to be a slightly better arene ligand than C₆₀; however, no enhancements of arene‐like bonding capabilities are seen for C₇₈ and C₈₄ relative to C₇₀. Explicit calculation of a series of exchange energies at the DFT level using both DFT and PM3(tm) geometries demonstrates that PM3(tm) geometries are sufficiently accurate for the calculation of energetics at a higher theoretical level, but PM3(tm) calculations are inadequate for a quantitative assessment of exchange energies. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 1881–1886, 2001     

Plasma protein adsorption and thrombus formation on surface functionalized polypyrrole with and without electrical stimulation

A surface modification technique was developed in which heparin was covalently immobilized onto electrically conductive polypyrrole (PPY) film through poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) graft copolymerization and subsequent cyanuric chloride activation. In vitro plasma protein adsorption and thrombus formation experiments were carried out on the various films. The PEGMA-graft-copolymerized PPY surfaces with immobilized heparin have good bioactivity indicated by low level of protein adsorption, high ratio of albumin to fibrinogen adsorption, and low thrombus formation, making them potentially good candidates for biomedical applications. Since the PPY film retained significant electrical conductivity after surface modification, the effect of electrical stimulation on protein adsorption and thrombus formation was also evaluated. The covalently immobilized heparin on the PPY film was able to retain its bioactivity after 4 days of immersion in PBS. The film after long-term immersion in PBS also retained sufficient electrical conductivity for electrical stimulation still to be effective for reducing protein adsorption.