Application of alpha particle transport to the modelization of efficiency curves in proportional counters

The dependence of efficiency of a gas-flow proportional counter with respect to the source thickness and α-particle energy was evaluated using the code SRIM. Results for the mass-efficiency curves were evaluated for ²⁰⁹Po and ²⁴¹Am in a substrate of NaNO₃. The results revealed good agreement with a linear and a hyperbolic dependence for low and high thickness sources, respectively. However, some deviations were found for very thin thicknesses, which can be explained by taking into account scattering effects. A function is proposed for predicting the dependence of efficiency with α-particle energy in the range from 4 to 8 MeV.     

Photoacoustic investigation of the effective diffusivity of two-layer semiconductors

The problem of the effective thermal diffusivity of two-layer systems is investigated using the photoacoustic spectroscopy. The experimental results are examined in terms of the effective thermal parameters of the composite system determined from a homogeneous material that produces the same physical response under an external perturbation in the detector device. It is shown that the effective thermal conductivity is not symmetric under exchange of the two layers of the composite, i.e. the effective thermal parameters depend upon which layer is illuminated in the photoacoustic experiments. Particular emphasis is given to the characterization of the interface thermal conductivity between the layer system.     

ALFITeX: a new code for the deconvolution of complex alpha-particle spectra

A new code for the deconvolution of complex alpha-particle spectra has been developed. The ALFITeX code is written in Visual Basic for Microsoft Office Excel 2010 spreadsheets, incorporating several features aimed at making it a fast, robust and useful tool with a user-friendly interface. The deconvolution procedure is based on the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm, with the curve fitting the experimental data being the mathematical function formed by the convolution of a Gaussian with two left-handed exponentials in the low-energy-tail region. The code also includes the capability of fitting a possible constant background contribution. The application of the singular value decomposition method for matrix inversion permits the fit of any kind of alpha-particle spectra, even those presenting singularities or an ill-conditioned curvature matrix. ALFITeX has been checked with its application to the deconvolution and the calculation of the alpha-particle emission probabilities of ²³⁹Pu, ²⁴¹Am and ²³⁵U.     

Fluorometric determination of mixtures of quinolones by means of partial least squares and neural networks.

Multivariate calibration methods (partial least squares calibration, back propagation multilayer perceptrons networks, radial basis functions and generalized regression neural networks) were applied to the simultaneous fluorometric quantification of levofloxacin, garenoxacin and grepafloxacin, without previous separation steps. A data matrix was obtained by registering the emission spectra of mixtures of the three quinolones in urine (with concentrations ranging over 0.00-0.40 microg mL-1 for each quinolone) with a 283 nm excitation at pH 4.0. The generalized regression neural network model proved to be the most adequate model for simultaneous quantification of the three quinolones in urine samples.     

气相VO（∑＋）与CH3OH（1^A′）分子自旋禁阻反应C—H，O—H键活化机理的理论研究

采用密度泛函理论（DFT）B3LYP与cCsD方法研究了二重态和四重态势能面自旋禁阻反应VO（∑’）活化cH30H（1^A′）分子c—H,0—H键的微观机理．通过自旋一轨道耦合的计算讨论了势能面交叉点和可能的自旋翻转过程．在MEcP处,四重态和二重态问的旋轨耦合常数为131．14cm^-1．自旋多重度发生改变,从四重态系间穿越到二重态势能面形成中间体2^IM1,导致反应势能面的势垒明显降低．     

The effect of cationic gemini surfactants upon lipid membranes. An experimental and molecular dynamics simulation study

Gemini surfactants possess interesting interfacial and aggregation properties that have prompted comprehensive studies and successful applications in a wide variety of fields. However, a systematic study on the effect of gemini tail and spacer length upon the organization of lipid membranes has not been presented so far. In this study, we analyze the action of dicationic alkylammonium bromide gemini surfactants on DPPC liposomes, the latter employed as a model of lipid membranes. Differential scanning calorimetry results indicate that the surfactants presenting shorter tails (12 carbons) induce a decrease in the overall order of the bilayer, while those with longer tails (16 and 18 carbons) lead to the formation of more ordered structures. The respective influence on the degree of lipid order transverse to the bilayer was additionally studied resorting to a detailed fluorescence anisotropy study. In this case, it is observed that among the shorter tail surfactants, those with longer spacers (6 and 10 carbons) are responsible for a more pronounced disrupting effect upon the membrane, especially close to the lipid polar heads. Molecular dynamics simulation supports the most important findings and provides insight into the mechanism that governs this interaction. Accordingly, the interplay between tail and spacer length accounts for the differential vertical positioning of the gemini molecules and atom-density in the core of the bilayer, that provide a rationale for the experimental observations.     

Evaluation of stationary phases and gas chromatographic detectors for determination of amines in water

For the first time, a systematic overview deals with the advantages and disadvantages of several stationary phases (polar and non‐polar) and gas chromatographic detectors (flame ionization detector, nitrogen–phosphorus detector and MS) for the determination of 27 amines (aliphatic and aromatic amines and N‐nitrosamines) in water samples. To increase sensitivity (250 mL of sample was eluted with 150 μL of solvent) and matrix elimination, an automatic SPE system was employed prior to GC determination. The best results in terms of resolution and retention times were achieved using a column coated with 5% phenyl‐dimethylpolysiloxane (DB‐5). Capacity factor (k) values for the 27 amines increased with the rise in the polarity of the stationary phase, ranging from 3.0–27.7 and 2.2–14.4 for polar (polyethylene glycol) and non‐polar (DB‐5) columns, respectively. The detection limits of the method were 0.9–9 μg/L for flame ionization detector, 8–95 ng/L for nitrogen–phosphorus detector and 0.2–6.3 ng/L for MS. The precision was similar for the three detectors (RSD, 3.7–6.0%). The GC‐MS method was applied with a high degree of accuracy and precision to determine amines in real samples including tap, river, pond, well, swimming pool and wastewaters.     

干风冷水型转轮空调系统全寿命特性研究

干风冷水型转轮空调系统是一种新型的转轮除湿空调系统,它基于吸附除湿和再生式蒸发冷却技术能够在夏季同时输出干空气和较低温度的冷冻水,克服了现有转轮除湿空调显热处理能力的不足。本文采用全寿命周期研究方法,对此种新型转轮空调系统在上海夏季和冬季运行的模式下进行全寿命的能耗分析、全寿命经济分析及碳信用分析,并与传统蒸汽压缩式空调系统进行对比。     

Proton conductivity in nanopore silica xerogels

The lower cost and higher hydrophilicity of silica xerogels could make them potential substitutes for perfluorosulfonic polymeric membranes in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs). For that purpose, we need to obtain micro or micro plus mesoporous silica xerogels with a high porosity. The preparation of micro (<2 nm) and micro plus mesoporous silica xerogels (2<d_{pore size} ≤10 nm) from particulate as opposed to polymeric suspensions of silica using TEOS as precursor is employed in this work. Mixing of sols with different average particle size (particles formed under acid and base catalyzed reactions) allows silica xerogels with a high porosity and a controlled average pore size to be obtained. Proton conductivity of the xerogels was measured as a function of temperature and relative humidity (RH). The calcined xerogels showed microporosity or micro plus mesoporosity in the whole range of calcination temperatures. By mixing sols with a different average particle size (molar ratio: acid/base =1.2) porosities up to 48.0 %±0.1 are achieved after calcination at 300 °C for 1 hour. According to EMF measurements, electrical transport is due to protons in this kind of material. The proton conductivity of the studied xerogels increased linearly with temperature. An S-shaped dependence of the conductivity with the RH was observed with the greatest increase noted between 58 and 81% RH. Xerogels with a low porosity (40.8%±0.1) and an average pore size less than 2.0 nm showed lower values of proton conductivity than that of xerogels with a higher porosity and a higher average pore size in the whole range of temperature and RH. When silica xerogels with the highest conductivity are treated at pH 1.5, the proton conductivity increased from 2.84 × 10⁻³±5.11 × 10⁻⁵ S/cm to 4.0 × 10⁻³±7.2×10⁻⁵ S/cm, at 81% RH and 80 °C, indicating that the surface site-density of these materials has a strong effect on conductivity. Paper presented at the 9th EuroConference on Ionics, Ixia, Rhodes, Greece, Sept. 15 – 21, 2002.     

Pole-placement controllers for linear systems with point delays

This paper presents a robust control algorithm for plants involvingboth internal (i.e. in the state) and external (i.e. in theoutput or input) known point delays. Several stabilizing controllerstructures are given and analysed for the case of perfectlymodelled plants with known parameters. The parametrized partsof two of the controller structures involve delays, while thoseof the two remaining controllers are delay-free. However, auxiliarycompensating signals which weight the plant input and outputintegrals are incorporated in all the controller structuresfor stabilization and model matching purposes.