Determination of total ammonium-nitrogen and free ammonia in a fermentation medium by sequential injection analysis

Summary Automated methods for the determination of ammonium and ammonia are reviewed, and techniques based on gas diffusion using a semi-permeable membrane were selected for the determination of both total ammonium-nitrogen and free ammonia in fermentation samples. A simple and robust instrument based on sequential injection analysis (SIA) consisting of a piston pump and two selector valves was used. Two different methods of ammonia detection, the Berthelot method and detection using pH-indicators, have been evaluated and compared. The indicator method showed higher reproducibility and the range of determination could easily be adjusted to match the concentrations of the samples. The range of determination could be adjusted from 0.05 mmol/l to 350 mmol/l, depending on choice of acceptor solution. This method has been evaluated with fermentation medium samples and tested on-line in a yeast fermentation process.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Wilhelm Fresenius on the occasion of his 80th birthday     

Complementary spectroscopic techniques to model the association of contaminant uranium with structural surfaces

Contaminant uranium poses unique problems for decontamination of former weapons processing and nuclear power facilities, as well as chemical plants, waste storage sites and former mining facilities. In addition, dealing with the possibility of intentional (i.e., a terrorist act) or accidental release of radioactive material in a populated area requires an accurate understanding of the nature of the association of such material with structural surfaces. These surfaces must also be considered in the context of repeated contamination, and the importance of atmospheric exposure, interaction with other possible contaminants, and corrosion or surface degradation due to such exposure must be taken into account. Complementary spectroscopic techniques, especially surface spectroscopies, are essential in developing models for the interaction of contaminants with surfaces and interfaces. In this review (which also presents new data on uranium association with corroding steel surfaces), we collect models of this association as determined by spectroscopic techniques, assess the important considerations in the development of more accurate models, and address some of the questions which remain.     

Cognitive Demands and Second-Language Learners: A Framework for Analyzing Mathematics Instructional Contexts

The issues involved in teaching English language learners mathematics while they are learning English pose many challenges for mathematics teachers and highlight the need to focus on language-processing issues related to teaching mathematical content. Two realistic-type problems from high-stakes tests are used to illustrate the complex interactions between culture, language, and mathematical learning. The analyses focus on aspects of the problems that potentially increase cognitive demands for second-language learners. An analytical framework is presented that is designed to enable mathematics teachers to identify critical elements in problems and the learning environment that contribute to increased cognitive demands for students of English as a second language. The framework is proposed as a cycle of teacher reflection that would extend a constructivist model of teaching to include broader linguistic, cultural, and cognitive processing issues of mathematics teaching, as well as enable teachers to develop more accurate mental models of student learning.     

The effect of multiple optima on the simple GA run-time complexity

Genetic algorithms are stochastic search algorithms that have been applied to optimization problems. In this paper we analyze the run-time complexity of a genetic algorithm when we are interested in one of a set of distinguished solutions. One such case occurs when multiple optima exist. We define the worst case scenario and derive a probabilistic worst case bound on the number of iterations required to find one of these multiple solutions of interest.     

Hölder continuity of the gradient of solutions of uniformly parabolic equations with conormal boundary conditions

Summary We study solutions of the conormal derivative problem for uniformly parabolic equations in divergence form. Under weak regularity hypotheses on the operator, the global Hölder continuity of the gradient of a weak solution is established. The method of proof is based on [5] and the results extend those in [7, Section V.7].Sponsored by the National Science Foundation under Grant DMS-8315545.     

Bioaccumulation and excretion of arsenic compounds by a marine unicellular alga,polyphysa peniculus

Polyphysa peniculus was grown in artificial seawater in the presence of arsenate, arsenite, monomethylarsonate and dimethylarsinic acid. The separation and identification of some of the arsenic species produced in the cells as well as in the growth medium were achieved by using hydride generation–gas chromatography–atomic absorption spectrometry methodology. Arsenite and dimethylarsinate were detected following incubation with arsenate. When the alga was treated with arsenite, dimethylarsinate was the major metabolite in the cells and in the growth medium; trace amounts of monomethylarsonate were also detected in the cells. With monomethylarsonate as a substrate, the metabolite is dimethylarsinate. Polyphysa peniculus did not metabolize dimethylarsinic acid when it was used as a substrate. Significant amounts of more complex arsenic species, such as arsenosungars, were not observed in the cells or medium on the evidence of flow injection–microwave digestion–hydride generation–atomic absorption spectrometry methodology. Transfer of the exposed cells to fresh medium caused release of most cell–associated arsenicals to the surrounding environment.     

An effective modeling and solution approach for the generalized independent set problem

The generalized independent set (GIS) problem was first introduced by Hochbaum and Pathria (Forest Sci 43(4), 544–554, 1997) and independently explored in greater detail by Hochbaum (Manage Sci 50(6), 709–123, 2004). This problem, with applications in forest management and a variety of related areas, is a generalization of the classical maximum independent set problem. In this paper we highlight a natural, nonlinear formulation for the problem that is an attractive alternative to the linear model found in the literature. The effectiveness of this alternative formulation is demonstrated by computational experience on test problems of varying size and density, disclosing a dramatic reduction in the time to obtain optimal and near optimal solutions and an ability to solve much larger problems.     

Stimuli‐responsive polymers. VIII. Polyesters and poly(ester amides) containing azobenzene and chiral binaphthylene segments: Highly adaptive materials endowed with light‐, heat‐, and solvent‐regulated optical rotatory power

Azobenzene‐modified polyesters and poly(ester amide)s fitted with chiral, atropisomeric binaphthylene segments were prepared by a series of low‐temperature polycondensation reactions carried out in polar solvent media. When compared with their polyaramide counterparts studied earlier, these materials had significantly improved solubility behaviors and were readily dissolved by a wide range of organic solvents. In solution, each of these constructs underwent photoinduced oscillations in optical rotatory power when subjected to multiple UV‐light/visible‐light illumination cycles that drove trans?cis isomerization reactions along their polymer chains. Light‐regulated chiroptical perturbations were dependent on polymer backbone structures and were further modulated by well‐coordinated temperature fluctuations and by the nature of the solvent medium employed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 207–218, 2006