Optimization of synthetic parameters for Tl-2201 superconducting phase by flash sintering process

Samples with nominal composition Tl₂Ba₂Cu_1.2 (copper-rich Tl-2201) were calcined at various temperature, i.e. from 865 °C to 910°C and for various durations (10–20 h). The samples were sintered for 31/2 min at various temperatures. The X-ray powder diffraction pattern indicates that most of the Tl-Ba-Cu samples (Tl-2201) are single-phase materials. All the lines in the X-ray pattern are indexable on a tetragonal unit cell showing tetragonal symmetry having space group 14/mmm with a=3.86 Å C=23.11 ± 0.06 Å as unit cell parameters. R−T and AC susceptibility measurements show T^on_c, from 90 to 104 K. There is an elongation of the c-axis (c=23.24 Å) for the sample showing the highest T_c. Wet chemical analysis confirms the deficiency of thallium. This suggests some substitution of Cu in place of thallium which leads to an increase in the average oxidation state of copper, responsible for the creation of holes (charge carriers).     

An adaptive domain decomposition procedure for Boltzmann and Euler equations

In this paper we present a domain decomposition approach for the coupling of Boltzmann and Euler equations. Particle methods are used for both equations. This leads to a simple implementation of the coupling procedure and to natural interface conditions between the two domains. Adaptive time and space discretizations and a direct coupling procedure lead to considerable gains in CPU time compared to a solution of the full Boltzmann equation. Several test cases involving a large range of Knudsen numbers are numerically investigated.     

Bootstrapping a Bayes estimator of a survival function with censored data

The large-sample frequentist property of a frequentist bootstrap for a posterior mean with respect to a Dirichlet prior of the survival function for a randomly censored data is given. The weak convergence of a bootstrap version of the Susarla-Van Ryzin estimator is established on the whole real line. An illustration of the technique and some Monte Carlo studies are also given.     

Preparation of high performance composites based on aluminum nitride/poly(ether-ether-ketone) and their properties

Novel high performance aluminum nitride (AlN)/poly(ether-ether-ketone) (PEEK) composites containing 0-50 wt.% fractions of AlN were prepared by solution blending method followed by hot pressing to evaluate their density, melting temperature, crystallization, thermal stability, morphological behavior and Vickers hardness by using different characterization techniques. Differential scanning calorimetry results indicated that the AlN particles are very effective nucleating agent, which results in increase in melting point, hot crystallization temperature and crystallinity of composites as the AlN content increases. Thermogravimetric analysis showed enhanced thermal stability of the composites with respect to PEEK. Density and X-ray diffraction techniques showed that crystallinity of the composites increases as the wt.% of AlN content increases in polymer matrix. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that AlN particles were well dispersed with no porosity in composites. Vickers hardness of the samples increased from 24 kg/mm² for the pure PEEK to 35 kg/mm² for AlN/PEEK composites.     

Aqueous polymerization of methyl methacrylate. III

The aqueous polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) initiated by potassium persulfate (I)-thiomalic acid (TMA) redox couple has been studied at 30 ± 0.2°C under nitrogen atmosphere. The rate of polymerization is given by up to 20.0 mmol/L TMA concentration, where x = 0.52 for the I concentration 0.6–10 mmol/L and x = 0.27 for higher I concentrations. The temperature had a marked effect on initial rate and maximum conversion. The overall energy of activation was found to be 11.79 kcal/mol (49.31 kJ/mol). Injection of more initiator (I) at intermediate stages enhanced both the initial rate and maximum conversion. Ag (I) and Fe (III) depressed initial rate as well as maximum conversion, while Cu (II) activated the polymerization. The effect of solvent was also studied.     

Cylindrically symmetric Brans-Dicke fields. I

A class of rigorous solutions for the Brans-Dicke scalar-tensor theory for Einstein-Rosen nonstatic cylindrically symmetric metric is obtained when only scalar field is present (vacuum solutions of Brans-Dicke theory). As the solutions of Brans-Dicke vacuum fields are conformal to either zero-mass scalar field or vacuum solutions of Einstein's gravitational theory, a set of solutions conformal to the above which correspond to zero-mass scalar field has also been obtained.     

Training in metabolomics research. I. Designing the experiment,collecting and extracting samples and generating metabolomics data

The study of metabolism has had a long history. Metabolomics, a systems biology discipline representing analysis of known and unknown pathways of metabolism, has grown tremendously over the past 20 years. Because of its comprehensive nature, metabolomics requires careful consideration of the question(s) being asked, the scale needed to answer the question(s), collection and storage of the sample specimens, methods for extraction of the metabolites from biological matrices, the analytical method(s) to be employed and the quality control of the analyses, how collected data are correlated, the statistical methods to determine metabolites undergoing significant change, putative identification of metabolites and the use of stable isotopes to aid in verifying metabolite identity and establishing pathway connections and fluxes. The National Institutes of Health Common Fund Metabolomics Program was established in 2012 to stimulate interest in the approaches and technologies of metabolomics. To deliver one of the program's goals, the University of Alabama at Birmingham has hosted an annual 4‐day short course in metabolomics for faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students from national and international institutions. This paper is the first part of a summary of the training materials presented in the course to be used as a resource for all those embarking on metabolomics research. The complete set of training materials including slide sets and videos can be viewed at http://www.uab.edu/proteomics/metabolomics/workshop/workshop_june_2015.php . Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Kinetic determination of silver at trace level based on its catalytic effect on a ligand substitution reaction

It is observed that Ag(I) catalyzes the rate of substitution of phenylhydrazine (PhNHNH₂) into hexacyanoferrate(II), producing a cherry red colored complex, [Fe(CN)₅PhNHNH₂]³⁻. The reaction was monitored at 488 nm leading to the formation of the complex under the conditions: [Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻ (5.0 × 10⁻³ mol dm⁻³), PhNHNH₂ (2.0 × 10⁻³ mol dm⁻³), temperature (25 ± 0.1 °C), pH (2.8 ± 0.02), and ionic strength, I (0.02 mol dm⁻³), (KNO₃). Under optimum conditions, absorbance at fixed times (A _t ) is linearly related to Ag(I) in the concentration range 10.79–97.08 ng cm⁻³, in the presence of several diverse ions. The highest percentage error and relative standard deviations in the entire range of Ag(I) determination are found to be 2.5% and 0.16, with a detection limit of 8.75 ng cm⁻³ of silver(I). The experimental accuracies expressed in terms of percentage recoveries are in the range of 97.87–102.50. The method was successfully applied for the determination of Ag(I) in a few synthetic samples and found to be in good agreement with those obtained from atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The validity of the proposed method has also been tested for Ag(I) determination in spiked drinking water samples. The present catalytic kinetic method (CKM) is highly sensitive, selective, reproducible, and inexpensive. A review of recently published catalytic spectrophotometric methods for determination of Ag(I) has also been presented for comparison.     

Electrochemical Study of Chitosan‐SiO2‐MWNT Composite Electrodes for the Fabrication of Cholesterol Biosensors

We report a novel composite electrode made of chitosan‐SiO₂‐multiwall carbon nanotube (CHIT‐SiO₂‐MWNT) composite coated on the indium‐tin oxide (ITO) glass substrate. Cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) was covalently immobilized on the CHIT‐SiO₂‐MWNT/ITO electrode that resulted in a ChOx/CHIT‐SiO₂‐MWNT/ITO cholesterolactive bioelectrode. The CHIT‐SiO₂‐MWNT/ITO and ChOx/CHIT‐SiO₂‐MWNT/ITO electrodes were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The influence of various parameters was investigated, including the applied potential, pH of the medium, and the concentration of the enzyme on the performance of the biosensor. The cholesterol bioelectrode exhibited a sensitivity of 3.4 nA/ mgdL^?1 with a response time of five seconds. The biosensor using ChOx/CHIT‐SiO₂‐MWNT/ITO as the working electrode retained its original response after being stored for six months. The biosensor using ChOx/CHIT‐SiO₂‐MWNT/ITO as the working electrode showed a linear current response to the cholesterol concentration in the range of 50–650 mg/dL.