Cardinality of retracts of monounary algebras

For an uncountable monounary algebra (A, f) with cardinality κ it is proved that (A, f) has exactly 2_κ retracts. The case when (A, f) is countable is also dealt with. This work was suported by the the Slovak VEGA Grant No. 1/3003/06. This work was supported by Science and Technology Assistance Agency under the contract No. APVT-20-004104.     

Efficient and sample-specific interpretation of ToF-SIMS data by additional postprocessing of principal component analysis results

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is a powerful tool for surface analysis, but fragmentation of molecular species during the SIMS process may lead to complex mass spectra. While the fragmentation pattern is typically characteristic for each compound, industrial samples are engineered materials, and, thus, may contain a mixture of many compounds, which may result in a variety of overlapping peak patterns in ToF-SIMS spectra. Consequently, the process of data evaluation is challenging and time-consuming. Principal component analysis (PCA) can be used to simplify data analysis for complex sample systems. Especially, correlation loadings were observed as an ideal tool to identify relevant signals in PCA results, which induce the separation of different sample groups. This is because correlation loadings show the relevance of signals independent from their intensity in the raw data. In correlation loadings, however, fragmentation patterns are no longer observed and the identification of peaks' sum formulas is challenging. In this study, a new approach is presented, which simplifies peak identification and assignment in ToF-SIMS spectra after PCA is performed. The approach uses a mathematical transformation that projects PCA results, in particular loadings and correlation loadings, in the direction of specific sample groups. The approach does not change PCA results but rather presents them in a new way. This method allows to visualize characteristic spectra for specific sample groups that contain only relevant signals and, additionally, visualize fragmentation patterns. Data analysis is simplified and helps the user to focus on data interpretation rather than processing.     

Quantitative Analysis of Cyproterone Acetate and Ethinylestradiol in Tablets by use of Planar Chromatography

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - This paper describes a simple, rapid, and reliable HPTLC procedure for the determination of cyproterone acetate and...     

Indigo Carmine in a Food Dye: Spectroscopic Characterization and Determining Its Micro-Concentration through the Clock Reaction

Indigo carmine is a commonly used industrial blue dye. To determine its concentration in a commercially available food dye composed of a mixture of indigo carmine and D-glucose, this paper characterizes it through (ATR, KBr) FTIR micro-Raman as well as UV/Vis and clock: Briggs–Rauscher (BR) oscillatory reaction methods. The indigo carmine was detected in the bulk food dye only by applying micro-Raman spectroscopy, indicating a low percentage of the indigo carmine present. This research provides an improvement in the deviations from the experimental Raman spectrum as calculated by the B97D/cc-pVTZ level of theory one, resulting in a better geometrical optimization of the indigo carmine molecule compared to data within the literature. The analytical curves used to determine indigo carmine concentrations (and quantities) in an aqueous solution of food dye were applied by means of UV/Vis and BR methods. BR yielded significantly better analytical parameters: 100 times lower LOD and LOQ compared to commonly used UV/Vis. The remarkable sensitivity of the BR reaction towards indigo carmine suggests that not only does indigo carmine react in an oscillatory reaction but also its decomposition products, meaning that the multiple oxidation reactions have an important role in the BR’s indigo carmine mechanism. The novelty of this research is the investigation of indigo carmine using a clock BR reaction, opening new possibilities to determine indigo carmine in other complex samples (pharmaceutical, food, etc.).     

Electron transport in multilayer structures in a strong magnetic field

A linear response of the electron system of multilayer conducting structures placed in a strong magnetic field to an external action in the form of an electric field and a temperature gradient is studied theoretically. It is shown that joint investigations of the magnetoresistance and the thermo-emf allows new important information on the structure of the electron energy spectrum to be obtained and the presence of Q1D sheets of the Fermi surface to be revealed. Presented at 5-th International Conference Solid State Surfaces and Interfaces, November 19–24, 2006, Smolenice Castle, Slovakia