Fine singularity analysis of solutions to the Laplace equation

We present here a fine singularity analysis of solutions to the Laplace equation in special polygonal domains in the plane. We assume piecewise constant Neumann data on one component of the boundary. Our motivation is to study the so‐called Berg effect, which is explained in the introduction. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Production of Verbascoside,Isoverbascoside and Phenolic Acids in Callus,Suspension, and Bioreactor Cultures of Verbena officinalis and Biological Properties of Biomass Extracts

Callus, suspension and bioreactor cultures of Verbena officinalis were established, and optimized for biomass growth and production of phenylpropanoid glycosides, phenolic acids, flavonoids and iridoids. All types of cultures were maintained on/in the Murashige and Skoog (MS) media with 1 mg/L BAP and 1 mg/L NAA. The inoculum sizes were optimized in callus and suspension cultures. Moreover, the growth of the culture in two different types of bioreactors—a balloon bioreactor (BB) and a stirred-tank bioreactor (STB) was tested. In methanolic extracts from biomass of all types of in vitro cultures the presence of the same metabolites—verbascoside, isoverbascoside, and six phenolic acids: protocatechuic, chlorogenic, vanillic, caffeic, ferulic and rosmarinic acids was confirmed and quantified by the HPLC-DAD method. In the extracts from lyophilized culture media, no metabolites were found. The main metabolites in biomass extracts were verbascoside and isoverbascoside. Their maximum amounts in g/100 g DW (dry weight) in the tested types of cultures were as follow: 7.25 and 0.61 (callus), 7.06 and 0.48 (suspension), 7.69 and 0.31 (BB), 9.18 and 0.34 (STB). The amounts of phenolic acids were many times lower, max. total content reached of 26.90, 50.72, 19.88, and 36.78 mg/100 g DW, respectively. The highest content of verbascoside and also a high content of isoverbascoside obtained in STB (stirred-tank bioreactor) were 5.3 and 7.8 times higher than in extracts from overground parts of the parent plant. In the extracts from parent plant two iridoids—verbenalin and hastatoside, were also abundant. All investigated biomass extracts and the extracts from parent plant showed the antiproliferative, antioxidant and antibacterial activities. The strongest activities were documented for the cultures maintained in STB. We propose extracts from in vitro cultured biomass of vervain, especially from STB, as a rich source of bioactive metabolites with antiproliferative, antioxidant and antibacterial properties.     

Radionuclides and heavy metal concentrations as complementary tools for studying the impact of industrialization on the environment

The aim of the study was to determine whether using chemical and radiochemical analysis of lake sediments can highlight changes in the climate. Also it was studied whether human impact on the environment can be observed and to what extent such changes are in agreement with historical data. Samples of 16 cm thick sediment cores from the Smreczynski Staw Lake were collected and divided into 1 cm thick sub-samples. The samples were air dried and homogenized. The quantitative analysis of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Cd, and Pb in the digested sediment samples was made by using atomic absorption spectrometry. Simultaneously, the radioactivity of ¹³⁷Cs using gamma spectrometry and ²¹⁰Pb_uns using alpha spectrometry, were measured for sediment layer dating. Results showed that iron concentration was in the range 0.3–over 1 % (w/w), and zinc 0.01–0.05 % (w/w). Lesser concentrations were found for copper 18.37–43.6 ppm, manganese 37.5–50.7 ppm, lead 146.1–432 ppm, chromium 12.3–37.4 ppm, nickel 3.1–10.8 ppm and cadmium 0.9–34.6 ppm. Changes in ¹³⁷Cs radioactivity was in the range of 89 ± 11 to 865 ± 62 (Bq kg^?1). Sediments composition can accurately reflect (in terms of time and to what extent) air pollution and natural geo-chemical processes in the environment. However, the choice of the analysed object is crucial in this respect. The Smreczynski Staw Lake, due to its location in the mountains and hydrological situation, proved to be very useful for providing undisturbed analytical samples.     

The Ag−In intermetallic compound formation from Ag and In electrodeposited layers observed by PAC

The PAC method was applied to study the intermetallic compound formation at Ag−In interfaces. The electrodeposited Ag−In layers of different Ag: In atomic ratios were prepared and isochronal annealing program was performed. For the comparison the bulk Ag₇₅In₂₅ and Ag₆₆In₃₄ specimens were examined. The Ag₂In and AgIn₂ compounds were detected and the quadrupole hyperfine interaction parameters for¹¹¹In in Ag₂In were measured as υ_Q107.9(3) MHz and η=0.48 (2).     

X-ray microanalysis of 1.5-10 μm particles in metallurgical research

The importance of particle X-ray microanalysis for contemporary metallurgical research has been accentuated. Corrections in the formulae for the geometric modelling method and simplifications in the calculation procedure are introduced. Conditions for successful application of the peak to background ratio method were outlined. Besides these two methods related to isolated particles a new extrapolation method for matrix embedded particles is developed and comments to the particle weight fraction estimation method for the same kind of particles are given.     

On line ion exchange separation of short-lived Zr, Hf, Mo, Ta and W isotopes as homologs of transactinide elements

The short-lived isotopes of W and their descendants have been separated from nuclear reaction products arising in the bombardment of samarium target with²⁴Mg ions at the U-400 cyclotron of JINR-Dubna. Chemical separations were performed using previously elaborated fast and continuous ion exchange. In similar way products of²³⁵U fission, obtained at the microtron MT-25 during irradiation of²³⁵U target with photoneutrons were separated.     

Extraction of actinium with di (2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid from hydrochloric and nitric acid solutions

The extraction of actinium with HDEHP from Cl^– and NO ₃ ^– systems has been investigated. It was found that extraction of actinium from HCl solutions is much better than from HNO₃ solutions. Stability constants of the actinium complexes Ac(X^–)²⁺, X^–=Cl^– or NO ₃ ^– , were determined. Our results show that actinium formed less stable complexes with Cl^– than with NO ₃ ^– ligands.     

Application of a nickel hexacyanoferrate(II) composite ion exchanger to fast separation of Ra from Fr and Ba from Cs

Sorption studies of Ra, Ba, Fr and Cs on nickel hexacyanoferrate(II) composite ion exchanger from hydrochloric acid and EDTA solutions are presented.     

Remarks on regularity criteria for axially symmetric weak solutions to the Navier–Stokes equations

We examine the conditional regularity of the solutions to the Navier–Stokes equations in the entire three‐dimensional space under the assumption that the data are axially symmetric. We show that if a radial or angular component of velocity satisfies a weighted Serrin condition, then the solution is regular. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.