Identification and quantification of base and nucleoside markers in extracts of Ganoderma lucidum, Ganoderma japonicum and Ganoderma capsules by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

The present paper describes the development of a micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method for the determination of nucleoside (adenosine, uridine) and base (uracil) markers in aqueous extracts of Ganoderma medicinal preparations. The markers were successfully separated within 10 min using an 80 mM borate buffer, with 25 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate adjusted to pH 9.0, an operating voltage of 22 kV, temperature of 20 degrees C and a hydrodynamic injection time of 5 s. Separations were carried out in a fused-silica capillary with peak detection by direct UV at 254 nm. Following semi-validation of the method, with each analyte showing a good linear relationship over a 0.2 to 20 ppm concentration range (correlation coefficients from 0.9986 to 0.9998), the amounts of the three markers in the various forms of Ganoderma were easily determined using a relatively simple extraction procedure.     

Magnetic excitations in the Ising-Heisenberg chain at low temperatures

The spectral weight of transverse spin fluctuations in the Ising-Heisenberg chain is calculated in the limit of low temperatures. The spin Hamiltonian contains three forms of anisotropy; an external magnetic field and exchange and single-site anisotropy. Single spin-wave and bound-state contributions to the spectral weight are studied as functions of the various types of anisotropy, with particular attention to features of the spectrum that can be measured by inelastic neutron scattering.     

The transmission loss and vibration of glass panels in non-reverberative conditions

In the usual method of measurement, the structure is placed between two semi-reverberant rooms and diffuse sound fields are used. This paper describes measurements made in conditions of high absorption, with a single directional source. Thus the results should be of value where information on the insulation of glass panels is required for use in high absorption environments, such as recording studios or anechoic laboratories. Microphone measurements are compared with the predicted transmission loss from a capacitive transducer and the effect of sealing the panels is described. Both the microphone measurements and the corrected transducer results are in good agreement with the mass law. The improvement obtained by sealing is an average of about 6dB but large increases in insulation are found at low frequencies. The velocity amplitude is lower than the theoretical value.     

Effect of misalignment of air-coupled probes on Ao Lamb mode propagating in a metal plate

Proper alignment of air-coupled ultrasonic transducers for generation and reception of Lamb waves is vital in order to acquire a high amplitude wave group. Any misalignment with either the transmitter or the receiver or both adversely influences the amplitude of a Lamb mode. This paper reports a systematic attempt to quantify the reduction in the amplitude of the fundamental anti-symmetric Lamb mode (A_o) in a metal plate caused by misalignments in air-coupled probes. Three different types of misalignments – linear, orientation and synchronised orientation were deliberately introduced in the transducers, and experiments were performed on a 6 mm thick aluminium plate. Amplitudes of A_o mode measured at various configurations were normalised with that of A_o mode, captured in a reference configuration. Suitable curves fitted over the experimental data points revealed that Gaussian curves represent appropriately the variations in normalised amplitudes of A_o mode. Moreover, analytical expressions were derived to predict the difference in arrival times of Lamb mode(s) due to orientation and synchronised orientation misalignments.     

Annoyance and noise from road traffic

The cause of insufficient privacy in open plan offices is identified as the reduction of background noise level resulting from the installation of highly absorbent ceilings intended to enhance the performance of portable acoustic screens. The V-form ceiling is suggested as a ceiling design which may increase both screen performance and background level. The extent to which these variables are affected by the use of such a design is investigated by using an acoustic scale model technique. The experimental approach used enables the measurement of attenuation curves for different ceiling configurations and allows the full appraisal of screen performance. It is concluded from the investigation that a V-form ceiling can contribute only marginally to increased privacy in open plan offices by decreasing the Articulation Index for speaker/listener situations by about 0·1.