A Holographic Prism Based on Photo-Thermo-Refractive Glass: Requirements and Possibilities

A technology for multivalued holographic measurement of a plane angle—a holographic prism, which serves as the basis for a device for calibrating the testing tools for navigational equipment under rolling— has been developed. The holographic prism is a miniature sample of photosensitive material, which contains a system of superimposed holographic gratings, and a laser the radiation of which passes through gratings to form a fan of diffracted beams. The fan in a prism based on a calcium fluoride (fluorite) crystal with color centers contained six out-of-plane beams radiating from a region with a hard-to-localize center. This fact hindered calibration of the measure and its application in the testing device. The use of photothermo-refractive glass as a material for preparing a sample and recording a system of holograms in it makes it possible to eliminate the drawbacks of fluorite-based prism. The number of holograms rises up to 21, the fan becomes in-plane, and its center is localized in a small region, with a size of several tenths of the sample thickness (1–2 mm). The fan beams are energetically homogeneous, and each can be identified when using the fan in a testing device.     

The thermal-neutron-induced alpha-accompanied fission of235U investigation of the low energy part of the alpha spectrum

The energy spectrum of the α-particles emitted in the thermal-neutron induced fission of²³⁵U was measured from 11.5 MeV down to 2 MeV using the parabola mass spectrometer Lohengrin at the I.L.L. high flux reactor. This low energy part of the energy spectrum presents a smooth connection with the energy spectra which have been recently reported above 7 MeV. The overall energy spectrum, which is known to be quasi-gaussian above 12 MeV, is slightly asymmetric at low energy, where the observed particles are 6% more than expected from a gaussian shape. As a consequence, all the values reported for²³⁵U for the rate of α-accompanied fission compared to binary fission have to be multiplied by 1.06. This asymmetry is about 2 times less important than the one reported for²⁵²Cf. No evidence was seen for any intense low energy component as reported before. The possible reasons for the existence of this asymmetry are discussed.     

The application of a double voltage modulation technique to a glow discharge source with a supplementary electrode

The Ar spectral lines are suppressed in glow discharge source atomic emission spectroscopy by a double voltage modulation technique with a supplementary electrode. The voltage is modulated between two levels, typically 350 and 700 V. At the lower voltage level mainly the Ar emission occurs where at the higher voltage level both the Ar and the metal atoms sputtered from the sample contribute to the emission. The power supply of the supplementary electrode is switched on when the glow discharge passes from operation at 700 V to 350 V. The intensity of argon gase lines is regulated by the current applied to the supplementary electrode at that period. Therefore, there is no need for electronical amplification and lower voltage adjustment of two operation modes. This modified DVM technique has been applied to the determination of Si and Cu in Al- samples. The suppression of Ar lines is possible, and the elements can be determined without Ar interferences.     

Fission-fragment angular distributions for 230Th(n,f) in the vicinity of the 715 keV resonance

Fission-fragment angular distributions have been measured for the neutron-induced fission of ²³⁰Th in the vicinity of the 715 keV resonance with a 2.5 keV (FWHM) neutron energy resolution. An analysis was performed to find a set of fission barrier characteristics that reproduce simultaneously the present angular distribution data and the fission cross-section data of Blons et al. The analysis results show that the data for the 715 keV resonance could be fitted only if allowance is made for the existence of two rotational bands with opposite parities but with the same K quantum number. The moment of inertia parameter $\text{kh}{}^2\text{2}\text{I}$ extracted from the analysis has a value of 1.9 keV, which is compatible with the existence of a third minimum in the fission barrier at a quadrupole deformation of ε₂ = 0.85.     

THE PHOTOPHYSICAL AND PHOTOCHEMICAL PROCESSES OF TRYPTOPHAN IN INTERACTION WITH POLYNUCLEOTIDES: LASER FLASH PHOTOLYSIS STUDY

Abstract— The influence of nucleotides or polynucleotides on the photophysics and the photochemistry of tryptophan (Trp) derivatives has been investigated in aqueous solutions using the 265 nm laser flash photolysis technique. In solutions containing mixtures of N -acetyltryptophanamide and uridine monophosphate (UMP) or mercurated dUMP, the Trp triplet and the hydrated electron (e_aq) are quenched at almost diffusion controlled rates by the nucleotides leading to uracil reduction. Lysyl-tryptophyl-α-lysine (Lys-Trp-Lys) forms stable complexes in solution with normal or mercurated poly(uridylic acid) [poly(U)]. In the Poly(rU)-Lys-Trp-Lys complex the Trp triplet state is completely quenched, whereas the Trp triplet formation quantum yield is enhanced in complexes with mercurated poly(U). In this last case, the 'heavy atom effect' is characterized by a shortening of the Trp triplet lifetime in agreement with low temperature experiments. Our results also show that photoionization of Trp does occur in the complexed state with both polymers. The e_aq lifetime is however longer with the complexed than with the free peptide.     

Effective catalysis and antibacterial activity of silver and gold nanoparticles biosynthesized by Phlogacanthus turgidus

In this work, an environmentally friendly and cost-effective synthetic method of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was successfully performed using aqueous extract of Phlogacanthus turgidus (PT) leaves. The biosynthesis of nanoparticles was optimized for reaction conditions including concentration of metallic ions, temperature, and time using the measurement of UV–Vis spectroscopy. The nanoparticles were well characterized by analytic techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The morphological data showed that PT-AgNPs possessed the spherical shape with the size distribution ranging from 5 to 15 nm with a mean size of 10 nm while PT-AuNPs existed in the multiple shape with the size distribution ranging from 5 to 20 nm with a mean size of 12 nm. The antibacterial behavior showed that PT-AgNPs possessed high bioactivity against four bacterial strains including Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, and Escherichia coli. Moreover, the catalytic activity of the biogenic nanoparticles was investigated for catalytic reduction of 2-nitrophenol, 3-nitrophenol, and rhodamine B. The kinetic data showed that the nanoparticles were excellent catalysts with potential applications for environmental treatment.

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Fast preparation of dihydrocyclocitral from citronellal under solventless microwave irradiation

Dihydrocyclocitral, a useful reagent in organic synthesis, has been synthesized in high yield and with high stereoselectivity from citronellal under microwave irradiation in two steps, involving acetic anhydride under base catalysis, then p-toluenesulfonic acid adsorbed on silica gel under solventless conditions (80% yield, reaction time 22 min).