Control of radiation spatial coherence under synchronous amplification in crystalline LiF:F 2 − amplifier

A technique of spatial coherence control, based on the synchronous amplification of a radiation in LiF crystals with F ₂ ^? color centers, is demonstrated. Spatial radiation distributions of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in oxide crystals were investigated under picosecond laser excitation. Low spatial radiation coherence was revealed for both the transient and quasi-stationary SRS. Spatially incoherent SRS was transformed to spatially coherent radiation as a result of phase—locked picosecond synchronous laser pumping of nonlinear Raman and LiF: F ₂ ^? crystals and the Stokes radiation amplification in the color center crystal.     

A bound for orders in differential Nullstellensatz

We give the first known bound for orders of differentiations in differential Nullstellensatz for both partial and ordinary algebraic differential equations. This problem was previously addressed in [A. Seidenberg, An elimination theory for differential algebra, Univ. of California Publ. in Math. III (2) (1956) 31–66] but no complete solution was given. Our result is a complement to the corresponding result in algebraic geometry, which gives a bound on degrees of polynomial coefficients in effective Nullstellensatz [G. Hermann, Die Frage der endlich vielen Schritte in der Theorie der Polynomideale, Math. Ann. 95 (1) (1926) 736–788; E.W. Mayr, A.W. Meyer, The complexity of the word problems for commutative semigroups and polynomial ideals, Adv. Math. 46 (3) (1982) 305–329; W.D. Brownawell, Bounds for the degrees in the Nullstellensatz, Ann. of Math. 126 (3) (1987) 577–591; J. Kollár, Sharp effective Nullstellensatz, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 1 (4) (1988) 963–975; L. Caniglia, A. Galligo, J. Heintz, Some new effectivity bounds in computational geometry, in: Applied Algebra, Algebraic Algorithms and Error-Correcting Codes, Rome, 1988, in: Lecture Notes in Comput. Sci., vol. 357, Springer, Berlin, 1989, pp. 131–151; N. Fitchas, A. Galligo, Nullstellensatz effectif et conjecture de Serre (théorème de Quillen–Suslin) pour le calcul formel, Math. Nachr. 149 (1990) 231–253; T. Krick, L.M. Pardo, M. Sombra, Sharp estimates for the arithmetic Nullstellensatz, Duke Math. J. 109 (3) (2001) 521–598; Z. Jelonek, On the effective Nullstellensatz, Invent. Math. 162 (1) (2005) 1–17; T. Dubé, A combinatorial proof of the effective Nullstellensatz, J. Symbolic Comput. 15 (3) (1993) 277–296].This paper is dedicated to the memory of Eugeny Pankratiev, who was the advisor of the first three authors at Moscow State University.     

Validation of a tentative microsatellite marker for the dopamine D4 receptor gene by capillary gel electrophoresis

Two to four-basepair-short tandem repeats (i.e. microsatellites) are broadly utilized as genetic markers for mapping disease loci in whole genome search analyses. Based on their close vicinity on chromosome 11, the D11S1984 microsatellite was anticipated as a tentative marker for the dopamine D4 receptor gene. A capillary gel electrophoresis based genotype analysis method and an in-house made computational tool was developed for the analysis of the D11S1984 microsatellite marker to examine a healthy Hungarian population of n=106. The data obtained did not suggest significant linkage between the D11S1984 marker and the DRD4 gene.     

Development of a capillary electrophoretic method for the analysis of low-molecular-weight amines from metal working fluid aerosols and ambient air

A method for the determination of low-molecular-weight amines from indoor and ambient air was developed using a concentration device followed by CE coupled with indirect spectrophotometric and mass spectrometric detection that enables a reliable, rapid-response and easy-to-operate method. In indirect detection method, the selected amines were separated from interfering metal ions and amino alcohols present in the samples with an imidazole-based buffer with ethanol and EDTA as modifier. By replacing imidazole with ammonium, the final buffer was applicable for MS detection for the analytes with m/z higher than 50. A novel monolithic polymer material based on poly(methacrylate-acrylate) copolymer was developed for sampling short-chain amines from the gaseous phase. The selected analysis conditions were applied to quantify the selected short-chain amines with detection limits for the whole procedure determined between 1 and 2 microg/filter when 40 L air was sampled with 1 L/min velocity. Improved linearity and precision were obtained when the raw, time-scaled electropherogram data were transformed into mobility-scale applied for the determination of the performance characteristics of the methods. The applicability of the process of data transformation into the mobility scale was demonstrated by studying the matrix effect of water-miscible metal working fluid (stable water-oil emulsion) and of ambient air as real samples. CE-indirect UV and CE-MS, combined with the possibility of rapid air sampling, can be useful for the estimation of short-term exposure of the selected biogenic amines.     

Cardiac-synchronized gadolinium-enhanced MR angiography: preliminary experience for the evaluation of the thoracic aorta

Gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced three-dimensional breath-hold magnetic resonance cardiac-synchronized angiography was performed in 13 patients suspected or known to have thoracic aortic disease. High-quality angiograms of the ascending/descending thoracic aorta and coronary arteries were obtained with this method. MR angiograms were compared with Gd-enhanced angiograms obtained without cardiac synchronization. Synchronized imaging showed significantly better aortic valve leaflet and proximal coronary artery depiction. Synchronization reduced motion artifacts, allowing better visualization of the aortic root and proximal coronary arteries.     

Electron Beam‐Based Functionalization of Poly(ethersulfone) Membranes

Poly(ethersulfone) membranes were surface modified in a one‐step procedure. For this purpose, the membranes were soaked with aqueous solutions of different low‐molecular weight molecules bearing diverse hydrophilic functionalities and subject to electron beam treatment. No catalysts, photoinitiators, organic solvents or other toxic reagents were used, and no additional synthetic or purification steps were required.

     

Plasticizer contamination from vacuum system O-rings in a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer

The outgassing of plasticizers from Buna-N and Viton o-rings under vacuum lead to undesired ion-molecule chemistry in an Electrospray Quadrupole Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer. In experiments with the helium bath gas pressure >1.2 mTorr, or whenever analyte ions were stored for >100 ms, extensive loss of analyte ions by proton transfer or adduction with o-ring plasticizers bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate occurred. A temporary solution to this contamination problem was found to be overnight refluxing in hexane of all the o-rings in the vacuum system. This procedure alleviated this plasticizer contamination for approximately 100 hours of operation. These results, and those that lead to identification of the contamination as plasticizers outgassing from o-rings are described.     

Parameters for Modeling Stranded Cables as Structural Beams

This paper presents a method for determining the effective homogenous beam parameters for stranded cables made up of non-homogenous wires, as well as characterization of the attachment method commonly used for cable harnesses on space structures. There is not yet a predictive model for quantifying the structural impact of cable harnesses on space flight structures, and towards this goal, the authors aim to predict cable resonance behavior from basic cable measurements. Cables can be modeled as shear beams, but the shear beam model assumes a homogenous, isotropic material, which a stranded cable is not. Thus, the cable-beam model requires both knowledge of the cable constraints and calculation of effectively homogenous properties, including density, area, bending stiffness, and modulus of rigidity to predict the natural frequencies of the cable. Through a combination of measurement and correction factors, upper and lower bounds for effective cable properties and attachment stiffness are calculated and shown to be effective in a cable-beam model for natural frequency prediction. Although the cables investigated are spaceflight cables, the method can be applied to any stranded cable for which the constituent material properties can be determined.     

Lasagna-type arrays with halide-nitromethane cluster filling. The first recognition of the Hal(-)···HCH2NO2 (Hal = Cl, Br, I) hydrogen bonding

The previously predicted ability of the methyl group of nitromethane to form hydrogen bonding with halides is now confirmed experimentally based on X-ray data of novel nitromethane solvates followed by theoretical ab initio calculations at the MP2 level of theory. The cationic (1,3,5-triazapentadiene)Pt(II) complexes [Pt{HN=C(NC(5)H(10))N(Ph)C(NH(2))=NPh}(2)](Cl)(2), [1](Hal)(2) (Hal = Cl, Br, I), and [Pt{HN=C(NC(4)H(8)O)N(Ph)C(NH(2))=NPh}(2)](Cl)(2), [2](Cl)(2), were crystallized from MeNO(2)-containing systems providing nitromethane solvates studied by X-ray diffraction. In the crystal structure of [1][(Hal)(2)(MeNO(2))(2)] (Hal = Cl, Br, I) and [2][(Cl)(2)(MeNO(2))(2)], the solvated MeNO(2) molecules occupy vacant spaces between lasagna-type layers and connect to the Hal(-) ion through a weak hydrogen bridge via the H atom of the methyl thus forming, by means of the Hal(-)···HCH(2)NO(2) contact, the halide-nitromethane cluster "filling". The quantum-chemical calculations demonstrated that the short distance between the Hal(-) anion and the hydrogen atom of nitromethane in clusters [1][(Hal)(2)(MeNO(2))(2)] and [2][(Cl)(2)(MeNO(2))(2)] is not just a consequence of the packing effect but a result of the moderately strong hydrogen bonding.