Detection of Pb2+ using a hydrogel swelling microcantilever sensor.

Hydrogels containing benzo-18-crown-6 were used to modify microcantilevers for measurements of the concentration of Pb2+ in aqueous solutions. These microcantilevers undergo bending deflection upon exposure to solutions containing various Pb2+ concentrations as the result of a swelling of the hydrogels. It was found that a concentration of 10(-6) M Pb2+ can be detected using this technology. Other cations, such as Na+, have no effect on the deflection of this cantilever. The cation K+, which also complexes with benzo-18-crown-6, could interfere with Pb2+ detection, but only at high concentrations (> 10(-4) M).     

Electrospinning of ultrafine cellulose acetate fibers: Studies of a new solvent system and deacetylation of ultrafine cellulose acetate fibers

Electrospinning of cellulose acetate (CA) in a new solvent system and the deacetylation of the resulting ultrafine CA fibers were investigated. Ultrafine CA fibers (∼2.3 μm) were successfully prepared via electrospinning of CA in a mixed solvent of acetone/water at water contents of 10–15 wt %, and more ultrafine CA fibers (0.46 μm) were produced under basic pH conditions. Ultrafine cellulose fibers were regenerated from the homogeneous deacetylation of ultrafine CA fibers in KOH/ethanol. It was very rapid and completed within 20 min. The crystal structure, thermal properties, and morphology of ultrafine CA fibers were changed according to the degree of deacetylation, finally to those of pure cellulose, but the nonwoven fibrous mat structure was maintained. The activation energy for the deacetylation of ultrafine CA fibers was 10.3 kcal/mol. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 5–11, 2004     

Application of synthetic reference materials in the medical radiological research centre

The contents of 21 chemical elements (Ag, Br, Ca, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sr, Zn, Zr) in synthetic reference materials (SRMs) were compared with those in natural reference materials (NRMs) using short- and long-lived radionuclides. SRMs called synthetic standards (SSs) and synthetic standards, biological (SSBs) were prepared on the basis of phenol-formaldehyde resol resins in the Institute of Physics, Georgian Academy of Science. The NRMs included such IAEA reference materials as H-4 (animal muscle), A-13 (animal blood), H-5 (animal bone), SL-1 (lake sediment), SOIL-7 (soil), A-9 (mixed human diet), and IAEA-153 (milk powder). It was shown that SSB-SRMs possessed good representativity of the 30–50 mg tablets, high precision, operational convenience, and could be recommended for the INAA of a wide range of medico-biological and bioecological objects.     

Selective saturation and inversion of multiple resonances in high-resolution solid-state 13C experiments using slow spinning CP/MAS and tailored DANTE pulse sequences.

Taking advantage of the long 13C T1 values generally encountered in solids, selective saturation and inversion of more than one resonance in 13C CP/MAS experiments can be achieved by sequentially applying several DANTE pulse sequences centered at different transmitter frequency offsets. A new selective saturation pulse sequence is introduced composed of a series of 90 degrees DANTE sequences separated by interrupted decoupling periods during which the selected resonance is destroyed. Applications of this method, including the simplification of the measurement of the principal values of the 13C chemical shift tensor under slow MAS conditions, are described. The determination of the aromaticity of coal using a relatively slow MAS rate is also described.     

Changes in the spectrum of Gaussian Schell-model beams propagating through turbulent atmosphere

Based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle, the spectrum of Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beams propagating through turbulent atmosphere is derived analytically. It is shown that, if the scaling law is valid, the normalized spectrum S(ω) of GSM beams propagating through turbulent atmosphere is the same as the normalized source spectrum S⁽⁰⁾(ω), whether GSM source is quasi-homogenous or not. On the other hand, if the scaling law fails, S(ω) of GSM is different from S⁽⁰⁾(ω). The structure constant of the refractive index, transverse coordinate of observation point and spatial correlation length of the source affect the spectrum, which is illustrated numerically.     

Mössbauer and X-ray diffraction characterization of Fe60Al40 coatings prepared by thermal spraying

Microstructured (atomized) and nanostructured (milled) Fe₆₀Al₄₀ powders together with their corresponding coatings synthesized by High Velocity Oxy-fuel (HVOF) or Atmospheric Plasma Spray (APS) thermal spraying techniques have been characterized by Mössbauer Spectroscopy (MS) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The evolution of the microstructure and the atomic ordering degree in the powders and coatings are discussed at the light of the various processing conditions. The operational correlation between the parameters of the duplex morphology of coatings and the processing parameters is discussed.     

MORPHOLOGY OF BLACK CARBON AEROSOLS AND UBIQUITY OF 50-NANOMETER BLACK CARBON AEROSOLS IN THE ATMOSPHERE

Different-sized aerosols were collected by an Andersen air sampler to observe the detailed morphology of the black carbon （BC） aerosols which were separated chemically from the other accompanying aerosols, using a Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with an Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer （SEM-EDX）. The results indicate that most BC aerosols are spherical particles of about 50 nm in diameter and with a homogeneous surface. Results also show that these particles aggregate with other aerosols or with themselves to form larger agglomerates in the micrometer range. The shape of these 50-nm BC spherical particles was found to be very similar to that of BC particles released from petroleum-powered vehicular internal combustion engines. These spherical BC particles were shown to be different from the previously reported fullerenes found using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry （MALDI-TOF-MS）.     

Ab-initio molecular dynamics simulation on nano-system under external pressure

A new constant-pressure molecular dynamics (MD) method is developed to simulate the dynamic behavior and structure transition of finite system under external pressure. In this method, no artificial parameter is introduced and the computation overheads are very small. As an application, a hard-soft transition of single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) under external pressure is found, which is in agreement with the experiments.

     

A New Cytotoxic Acetogenin from the Seeds of Annona squamosa

A New Annonaceous acetogenin,squamostolide(1),was isolated from the seeds of Annona squamosa.Its structure was elucidated based on spectroscopic methods and comparison with known compounds.It is the first example of Annonaceous acetogenin with each of the two ends of the aliphatic chain bearing a γ-lactone.Thenew compound exhibited cytotoxic activity in vitro against bel-7402 and CNE2 human tumor cell lines.