Role of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, crystal violet and humic acid in the degradation of diclofenac under simulated sunlight irradiation

The photodegradation of diclofenac in the absence/presence of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide,crystal violet and humic acid under simulated sunlight has been studied.Under the study conditions,it is apparent that cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide and crystal violet concentrations inhibit effects on the photodegradation of diclofenac.Humic acid has no distinct effect on the photodegradation of diclofenac.Crystal violet has an obvious antagonistic action for humic acid and a similar antagonistic action between cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide and crystal violet.Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide and humic acid have synergistic effect.An antagonistic action is present between cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide,crystal violet and humic acid.Moreover,a simple linear model which describes the obtained results is shown.     

Diverse reduct subspaces based co-training for partially labeled data

Rough set theory is an effective supervised learning model for labeled data. However, it is often the case that practical problems involve both labeled and unlabeled data, which is outside the realm of traditional rough set theory. In this paper, the problem of attribute reduction for partially labeled data is first studied. With a new definition of discernibility matrix, a Markov blanket based heuristic algorithm is put forward to compute the optimal reduct of partially labeled data. A novel rough co-training model is then proposed, which could capitalize on the unlabeled data to improve the performance of rough classifier learned only from few labeled data. The model employs two diverse reducts of partially labeled data to train its base classifiers on the labeled data, and then makes the base classifiers learn from each other on the unlabeled data iteratively. The classifiers constructed in different reduct subspaces could benefit from their diversity on the unlabeled data and significantly improve the performance of the rough co-training model. Finally, the rough co-training model is theoretically analyzed, and the upper bound on its performance improvement is given. The experimental results show that the proposed model outperforms other representative models in terms of accuracy and even compares favorably with rough classifier trained on all training data labeled.     

Highly improved crystallization behavior of poly(L‐lactide) induced by a novel nucleating agent: substituted‐aryl phosphate salts

In this work, a novel nucleating agent (NA) based on substituted‐aryl phosphate salts was introduced into poly(L‐Lactide) (PLLA). The nonisothermal and isothermal crystallization behaviors of nucleated PLLA samples were investigated through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide angle X‐ray diffraction, and polarized optical microscope (POM). Furthermore, the effect of annealing treatment on the cold crystallization behaviors of nucleated samples was also investigated. The results show that the crystallization of PLLA, whether for the melt crystallization (including nonisothermal and isothermal crystallization process) or for the cold crystallization (including the cold crystallization occurring during the DSC heating process and during the annealing process), is greatly dependent upon the content of NA. At relatively lower NA content (≤0.1 wt%), the nucleation effect of NA is inconspicuous, however, at higher NA content (≥0.2 wt%), it exhibits great nucleation effect for the crystallization of PLLA. Further results show that the double endothermic peak of PLLA depends on the temperature applied for the crystallization. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cadmium (II) imprinted 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane coated stir bar for selective extraction of trace cadmium from environmental water samples followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry detection

Cd(II) imprinted 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTS)-silica coated stir bar was prepared by sol–gel technique combining with a double-imprinting concept for the first time and was employed for stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) of trace Cd(II) from water samples followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detection. A tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) coating was first in situ created on the glass bar surface. Afterward, a sol solution containing MPTS as the functional precursor, ethanol as the solvent and both Cd(II) and surfactant micelles (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB) as the template was again coated on the TMOS bar. The structures of the stir bar coating were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy. Round-bottom vial was used for the extraction of Cd(II) by SBSE to avoid abrasion of stir bar coatings. The factors affecting the extraction of Cd(II) by SBSE such as pH, stirring rate and time, sample/elution volume and interfering ions have been investigated in detail, and the optimized experimental parameters were obtained. Under the optimized conditions, the adsorption capacities of non-imprinted and imprinted coating stir bars were found to be 0.5 μg and 0.8 μg bar⁻¹. The detection limit (3σ) based on three times standard deviations of the method blanks by 7 replicates was 4.40 ng L⁻¹ and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 3.38% (c = 1 μg L⁻¹, n = 7). The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of trace Cd(II) in rain water, East Lake and Yangtze River water. To validate the proposed method, certified reference material of GSBZ 50009-88 environmental water was analyzed and the determined value is in a good agreement with the certified value. The developed method is rapid, selective, sensitive and applicable for the analysis of trace Cd(II) in environmental water samples.     

Fast and selective magnetic solid phase extraction of trace Cd, Mn and Pb in environmental and biological samples and their determination by ICP-MS

We have immobilized iminodiacetic acid on mesoporous Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ microspheres and used this material for efficient and cost effective method of magnetic solid phase extraction (SPE) of trace levels of Cd, Mn and Pb. The microspheres were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The loaded microspheres can be easily separated from the aqueous sample solution by applying an external magnetic field. The effects of pH, sample volume, concentration and volume of eluent, and of interfering ions were investigated in detail. The method has detection limit of 0.16, 0.26 and 0.26?ng?L^?1 for the ions of Cd, Mn and Pb, respectively, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs, c?=?1???g?L^?1, n?=?7) are 4.8%, 4.6% and 7.4%. The method was successfully applied to the determination of these metals in biological and environmental samples using ICP-MS. Two certified reference materials were analyzed, and the results coincided well with the certified values.

Structure buckling hybrid reliability analysis of a supercavitating projectile using a model with truncated probability and multi-ellipsoid convex set uncertainties

Structure buckling problems for supercavitating projectiles are often observed in high underwater velocity operating conditions. As a result, it is necessary to perform a structure buckling reliability analysis. It is common that \hboxprobabilistic and nonprobabilistic uncertainty information exist simultaneously. Also, it is reasonable that probability distributions of most random variables in engineering are treated as truncated probability distributions. In this paper, a new hybrid model is proposed, which deals with structure performance function with both truncated probability distribution variables and multi-ellipsoid convex set variables. The model discussed here is adapted for two separate cases in the standard super-sphere space, i.e., limit state surface interferences with a unit super-sphere region or not. The hybrid reliability index is calculated using a modified limit step length iteration algorithm to ensure convergence. Good convergence and validity of the iteration algorithm are verified using numerical examples with highly nonlinear structure performance function. The hybrid model is applied to the structure buckling hybrid reliability analysis of a supercavitating projectile. Results show that structure buckling hybrid reliability index increases with the increase in the ratio of base diameter to cavitator diameter, and decreases with the increase of initial launch velocity. Also, uncertainty degree of cavitator drag coefficient and initial launch velocity should be controlled in demonstration for high structure buckling reliability of supercavitating projectiles.     

Dispersion of nanospheres on large glass substrate by amorphous or polycrystalline silicon deposition for localized surface plasmon resonance

Nanosphere lithography is a cost-effective way to fabricate noble metal nanostructures for plasmonics. However, dispersing nanospheres on a large area of glass substrate is a difficulty encountered when transparent substrate is required in applications such as localized surface plasmon resonance or surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Because poly(diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride) (PDDA) on silicon surface introduces a force that can disperse nanospheres on silicon, in this article, we modify the glass surface through amorphous or polycrystalline silicon deposition and thus well disperse polystyrene or silica nanospheres over a glass area of more than 2 cm × 2 cm. Transmission loss of the glass substrate caused by amorphous or polycrystalline silicon deposition is analyzed with good agreement to experimental spectra, and localized surface plasmon resonance signals generated from the gold nanostructures fabricated on these substrates are measured and yield a sensitivity of 317 nm/RIU, which prove the feasibility and effectiveness of our method.     

Synthesis and properties of morpholino chimeric oligonucleotides

Chimeric oligonucleotides with the novel morpholino modification and the phosphoramidate linkers have been synthesized and characterized. These oligonucleotides showed moderate thermal stability with complementary RNA and DNA, and enhanced resistance toward the nuclease (t_1/2 > 10 h). The phosphoramidate linker made the synthesis of such oligonucleotides applicable on a DNA synthesizer. Under the acidic condition (pH 3.0), the phosphoramidate linkers were readily cleaved, and such property might be useful for the DNA-sequence determination.     

Vehicle–bridge interaction analysis under high-speed trains

The dynamic interaction between high-speed train and simply supported girders is studied by theoretical analysis and field experiment in this paper. The dynamic interaction model of the train–bridge system is established, in which the rigid-body dynamics theory, finite element method and wheel–rail displacement corresponding assumption are adopted for the vehicle model, bridge model and wheel–rail interaction model, respectively. The measured track irregularities are taken as the system excitation. The responses of a 24 m-span PC box girder bridge are calculated. The proposed analysis model and the solution method are verified through the comparison between the calculated results and the measured results.     

The influence of temperature on the phase behavior of ionic liquid aqueous two-phase systems

In this article, the equilibrium behavior of solutions of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dimethyl phosphate ([Emim]DMP) and ethyl acetate or acetone in aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) was discussed to understand the liquid–liquid equilibrium (LLE) behavior of these organic solvents. Thus, we determined phase diagrams and LLE data at 303.15, 308.15, 313.15, and 323.15 K for the investigated biphasic systems. Four empirical equations were used to study the tie lines. The results showed that for the [Emim]DMP?+?acetone?+?water biphasic systems within the investigated temperature range, temperature influences the phase behavior, but for the [Emim]DMP?+?ethyl acetate?+?water biphasic systems within the investigated temperature range, there are no notable changes on the phase behavior with rising temperature. The results may have important applications for the separation of antibiotics and for the recovery of ionic liquids (ILs).