The connection between low-gradient form of the positive column in oxygen and moving striations

The method of sliding photomultipliers was used to study the connection between two forms of the positive column in oxygen — the so-called low-gradientT-form and the highgradientH-form — and the presence of moving striations in the positive column. It was shown that in theT-form of a positive column striations are always present which move from the cathode to anode with a velocity of several thousand metres/sec. The highgradient form of theH-positive column, on the other hand, is not striated. The non-single-valuedness of the value of the longitudinal electric field in a discharge in oxygen is thus explained by the presence or absence of phenomena of a time variable character.

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— - H - — . , - , /. , , . , , , .

     

ВЛИЯНИЕ СОДЕРЖАНИЯ К ИСЛОРОДА НА ЭЛЕКТРИЧЕСКИЕ И ТЕ РМОЭЛЕКТРИЧЕСКИЕ СВОЙСТВА ТРОЙНОЙ СИС ТЕМЫ Вi2Те3−x Sе x

, Bi₂Te_3–x Se _x . , , . , , . .

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Influence of oxygen content on electric and thermoelectric properties of ternary system Bi₂Te_3–x Se _x

A study is made of the influence of oxygen, contained in the semi-conducting system Bi₂Te_3–x Sé _x , on the electric and thermoelectric properties. It is shown that the addition of oxygen to the prepared samples Bi₂Te_2.4Se_0.6 causes a decrease in electric conductivity while the thermoelectric force remains unchanged. This influence is connected with a decrease in the mobility of the electrons but their concentration is not influenced by the presence of oxygen. Conclusions are reached as to the influence of oxygen on the efficiency of the conversion of thermal energy into electric energy and vice versa.

     

Titrations in non-aqueous solvents. VIII. Microtitrations in dichloromethane and chlorobenzene withp-toluenesulphonic acid

Summary The titration of weak organic bases (up to 10^–11) with 0.005N p-toluenesulphonic acid solution in chloroform can be carried out when dichloromethane or chlorbenzene are used as titration media. Dimethyl yellow serves as suitable indicator with a sharp colour change. The error of the method is ±1–2%.

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Zusammenfassung Die Verwendung von Dichloromethan oder Chlorbenzol als Titrationsniedium ermöglicht die direkte Titration schwacher organischer Basen (bis zu 10^–11) mit 0,005-n p-Toluolsulfonsäurelösung in Chloroform. Der Titrationsverlauf wird visuell mit Dimethylgelb kontrolliert, dessen Farbumschlag beim Äquivalenzpunkt sehr scharf ist. Der Bestimmungsfehler liegt im Bereiche von ±1 bis 2%.

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Résumé On a réalisé le titrage de bases organiques faibles (jusqu'à 10^–11 par une solution d'acidep-toluènesulfonique 0,005N dans le chloroforme, en utilisant le dichlorométhane ou le chlorobenzène comme milieu à titrage. On utilise comme indicateur le jaune de diméthyle, bien approprié et qui donne un changement brusque de couleur. L'erreur de la méthode est de ±1à2%.

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VII. Comm.: eskoslov. farm.11, 387 (1962).     

Sorption of 125I−, 137Cs+, 85Sr2+ and 152,154Eu3+ during their transport in undisturbed vertical and horizontal soil cores under dynamic flow conditions

Transport and sorption of ¹²⁵I^?, ¹³⁷Cs⁺, ⁸⁵Sr²⁺ and ^152,154Eu³⁺ in undisturbed soil cores have been studied under dynamic conditions. Radionuclides were dissolved in synthetic groundwater (SGW) of 0.015 mol/dm³ ionic strength, pH 8.4 and redox potential E_h = 145 mV. The soil samples were taken vertically and horizontally from the river bed at 5–100 cm depths, about 120 m southward of the Dukovany Low and Medium Level Radioactive Waste Repository. The respective water-soluble carriers in the 10^?6 mol/dm³ concentration were added into the SGW prior to the experiments. The soil cores of 9 cm height and 3.8 cm in diameter were placed into columns made of 150 cm³ PE injection syringes of suitable dimensions. The SGW was introduced into columns from the Mariotte’s bottle through a glass manifolds to supply the soil columns by gravity flow at a constant flow-rate about 1.2 cm³/h. Into the water stream, radioactive nuclides were added individually in a form of a short pulse in 0.1 cm³ of demineralized water. In the case of ¹²⁵I^? transport, retardation and hydrodynamic dispersion coefficients were determined, using an integral form of a simple advection-dispersion equation. For each radionuclides, sorption and desorption data have been obtained, evaluated and the results were compared mutually. Residual distributions of the sorbed cationic radionuclides along the soil columns were also presented.     

Determination of antioxidant activity using oxidative damage to plasmid DNA — pursuit of solvent optimization

Oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathophysiology of many diseases. Hydroxyl radical is the oxidative species most commonly causing damage to cells. The aim of this work was to optimize the method for antioxidant activity determination on a model lipophilic geranylated flavanone, diplacone. This method uses protection of plasmid DNA from oxidation by a hydroxyl radical generated by the Fenton reaction involving oxidation of metal ions using H₂O₂ and ascorbate. The method was optimized for lipophilic compounds using several solvents and co-solvents. It was found that (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin (0.1 mass % aq. sol.) is the best co-solvent for our model lipophilic compound to measure the antioxidant activity by the method presented. Other solvents, namely dimethyl sulfoxide, Cremophor EL® (0.1 mass % aq. sol.), ethanol, and methanol, were not suitable for the determination of the antioxidant activity by the method described. Tween 80 (0.1 mass % aq. sol.) and a mixture of 10 vol. % ethanol and 9 mass % bovine serum albumin (aq. sol.) significantly decreased the antioxidant activity of the model lipophilic compound and thus were not suitable for this method.     

Simple power supply for power load controlled isoelectric focusing

The power supply for IEF based on features of the Cockcroft‐Walton voltage multiplier (CW VM) is described in this work. The article describes a design of the IEF power supply, its electric characteristics, and testing by IEF analysis. A circuit diagram of the power supply included two opposite charged branches (each consisting of four voltage doublers). The designed CW VM was powered by 230 V/50 Hz alternate current and it generated up to 5 kV and 90 mW at the output. Voltage and current characteristics of the power supply were measured by known load resistances in the range from 10 kΩ to 1 GΩ, which is a common resistance range for IEF strip geometry. Further, the power supply was tested by a separation of a model mixture of colored pI markers using a 175 × 3 × 0.5 mm focusing bed. Automatically limited power load enabled analysis of samples without previous optimization of the focusing voltage or electric current time courses according to sample composition. Moreover, the developed power supply did not produce any intrinsic heat and was easy to set up with cheap and commonly available parts.     

Aerosol source (biomass,traffic and coal emission) apportionment in Lithuania using stable carbon and radiocarbon analysis*

In the present study, a combination of the stable carbon isotope ratio (¹³C/¹²C) with radiocarbon data (¹⁴C) allowed us to perform the aerosol source apportionment. Filter samples of PM₁ were collected during the warm and cold periods in rural and urban sites in Lithuania. The ¹⁴C/¹²C ratio of total carbon (TC) was measured using the single stage accelerator mass spectrometer quantifying of fossil and non-fossil derived aerosol emissions. The δ¹³C value was measured using an elemental analyser interfaced with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. We have found that the highest fraction of contemporary carbon (f_c?=?0.82) was measured during a warm period in a rural location. A higher fraction of fossil fuel-derived carbon was observed for air masses transported from highly industrialized Western European regions during both seasons. Isotope mass balance calculations revealed that the traffic emissions composed 15 and 25?% in rural and urban sites, respectively, and did not change during either season. Input from coal-derived aerosol particles was estimated to be 15?% at an urban site during the cold period. The combination of the stable carbon isotope ratio with the radiocarbon data allowed us to distinguish coal, liquid fossil fuel combustion, and non-fossil derived aerosol particle emissions.     

Excitation functions for 44Sc, 46Sc, and 47Sc radionuclides produced in the interaction of 45Sc with deuterons and 6He

Experimental excitation functions are presented for ⁴⁵Sc(d, p)⁴⁶Sc, ⁴⁵Sc(d, t)⁴⁴Sc, ⁴⁵Sc(⁶He, ⁵He*)⁴⁶Sc and ⁴⁵Sc(6He, α)⁴⁷Sc reactions at projectile energies near the Coulomb barrier. The obtained excitation functions for reactions ⁴⁵Sc(d, p)⁴⁶Sc and ⁴⁵Sc(⁶He, ⁵He*)⁴⁶Sc have similar behavior and have a maxima near the Coulomb barriers of these reactions. The compilation of the available experimental data, obtained at deuteron- and ⁶He-energies near the Coulomb barrier, showed that the values of the cross sections at the maxima of the excitation functions obtained in (d, p) reactions and the reactions for one-neutron pickup from the ⁶He projectiles have a different Z-dependence.     

A simple model of thin-film point contact in two and three dimensions

We treat a free spinless quantum particle moving on a configuration manifold which consists of two identical parts connected in one point. Most attention is paid to the three-dimensional case when these parts are halfspaces with Neumann condition on the boundary; we also discuss briefly a more general boundary conditions. The class of admissible Hamiltonians is constructed by means of the theory of self-adjoint extensions. Among them, particularly important is a two-parameter family whose elements are invariant with respect to exchange of the halfspaces; we compute the transmission coefficient for each of these extensions. We discuss also the motion on two planes considered in our recent paper, obtaining another characterization of the admissible Hamiltonians. In conclusion, the two situations are compared as models for point-contact spectroscopical experiments in thin metal films.On leave of absence fromNuclear Physics Institute, Czechosl. Acad. Sci., 250 68 e near Prague, Czechoslovakia.On leave of absence fromNuclear Centre, Charles University, V Holeovikách 2, 180 00 Prague 8, Czechoslovakia.     

Fluorescence anisotropy and light-scattering studies of the interaction of insulin with liposomes

The interaction between zinc-stabilized insulin and lecithin liposomal membranes was studied using DPH fluorescence anisotropy and light-scattering techniques. To ascertain a possible influence of a charge on the insulin molecule, experiments were performed at pH 4.5 (insulin possesses a positive charge) and at pH 7.4 (the charge of insulin is negative). Measurements at pH 4.5 revealed significant changes in scattered light intensity induced by the addition of insulin to lecithin liposomes. With increasing time of storage of liposomes the insulin effect became faster and more pronounced. At pH 7.4, significant changes in scattered light were registered only in the case of liposomes stored for 5 days. In these liposomes a peroxidation process of lecithin was revealed. No significant changes induced by insulin were observed in DPH fluorescence anisotropy either at pH 4.5 or at pH 7.4, which suggested the absence of an interaction of insulin with the hycrophobic core of liposomes. Thus, the observed changes in scattered light could be interpreted in terms of the insulin association to the liposomal surface in the case of phospholipid peroxidation and/or acidic pH.