Adsorption‐Induced Restructuring and Early Stages of Carbon‐Nanotube Growth on Ni Nanoparticles

Carbon adsorption on various Ni surfaces is investigated as a function of coverage via a combination of first‐principles simulations and field emission microscope experiments. It is found that carbon can be efficiently stored as subsurface carbides, but with different energetics on differently oriented surfaces depending on their compactness and density of adsorption sites. In the resulting morphological reshaping, {113} facets are predicted to grow at the expense of {111} and {100} facets, in excellent agreement with experimental observations. Moreover, at high coverage on the {113} surface the carbon adsorption energy passes through a maximum after which a structural crossover is realized such that carbon atoms tend to ascend to the surface to form one‐dimensional chains (which are the precursors of graphitic nanostructures). This rationalizes the experimental observation of an incubation time between carbon storage and the beginning of catalytic growth, and provides insight into the early stages (nucleation mechanism) of carbon nanotubes on Ni nanoparticles.     

On the Bifurcation and Stability of Rigidly Rotating Inviscid Liquid Bridges

Summary. We consider a mathematical model that describes the motion of an ideal fluid of finite volume that forms a bridge between two fixed parallel plates. Most importantly, this model includes capillarity effects at the plates and surface tension at the free surface of the liquid bridge. We point out that the liquid can stick to the plates due to the inner pressure even in the absence of adhesion forces. We use both the Hamiltonian structure and the symmetry group of this model to perform a bifurcation and stability analysis for relative equilibrium solutions. Starting from rigidly rotating, circularly cylindrical fluid bridges, which exist for arbitrary values of the angular velocity and vanishing adhesion forces, we find various symmetry-breaking bifurcations and prove corresponding stability results. Either the angular velocity or the angular momentum can be used as a bifurcation parameter. This analysis reduces to find critical points and corresponding definiteness properties of a potential function involving the respective bifurcation parameter. Received June 21, 1996; revision received October 2, 1997, and accepted for publication October 9, 1997     

Sociodemographic variables of a german sample of patients with contact granuloma

We report 28 German patients with contact granuloma (27 male, 1 female). Their mean age was 52 years (ranging from 35 to 70). Thirty-two percent were retired. The occupations of the others represented a wide range of different jobs. The majority of the sample had a middle educational level. Most patients lived with their family or with a partner. According to self-assessments, 68% had average daily strain on their speaking voice. All patients were nonsmokers. The patients felt themselves more disturbed by somatic troubles as the general population. Heartburn was felt by nearly half of the patients. A little more than half of the patients suffered from globus sensation. Thus, it is not possible at present to explain the laryngeal contact granuloma by sociodemographic data, vocal stress, or special somatic complaints in this sample. Therefore a multifactorial etiology should be supposed.     

Cytokine production after helium-neon laser irradiation in cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

The effects of laser light on the immune system have not been extensively characterized. Low-power laser sources, such as the helium-neon (He-Ne) laser with a wavelength of 632.8 nm, have been found to produce photobiological effects with evidence of interference with immunological functions. We have investigated the effects of He-Ne laser irradiation on Ficoll-Hypaque-isolated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Cultured cells were irradiated for various times at two selected intensities and then stimulated with different mitogens. The rate of incorporation of 3H-thymidine into the DNA of stimulated cells decreased with increasing energy density. The levels of interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), interleukin-2 (IL-2), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in supernatants of the cultures were determined (irradiated either before or after stimulation). When stimulating cells after irradiation, significantly increased levels of all cytokines were detected after 30 min of irradiation (18.9 J cm-2), whereas after 60 min of irradiation (37.8 J cm-2) cytokine levels were found to be significantly decreased.     

Moco Carrier and Binding Proteins

The molybdenum cofactor (Moco) is the active site prosthetic group found in numerous vitally important enzymes (Mo-enzymes), which predominantly catalyze 2 electron transfer reactions. Moco is synthesized by an evolutionary old and highly conserved multi-step pathway, whereby the metal insertion reaction is the ultimate reaction step here. Moco and its intermediates are highly sensitive towards oxidative damage and considering this, they are believed to be permanently protein bound during synthesis and also after Moco maturation. In plants, a cellular Moco transfer and storage system was identified, which comprises proteins that are capable of Moco binding and release but do not possess a Moco-dependent enzymatic activity. The first protein described that exhibited these properties was the Moco carrier protein (MCP) from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. However, MCPs and similar proteins have meanwhile been described in various plant species. This review will summarize the current knowledge of the cellular Moco distribution system.     

Absorption and Oxidation of Nitrogen Oxide in Ionic Liquids

A new strategy for capturing nitrogen oxide, NO, from the gas phase is presented. Dilute NO gas is removed from the gas phase by ionic liquids under ambient conditions. The nitrate anion of the ionic liquid catalyzes the oxidation of NO to nitric acid by atmospheric oxygen in the presence of water. The nitric acid is absorbed in the ionic liquid up to approximately one mole HNO₃ per mole of the ionic liquid due to the formation of hydrogen bonds. The nitric acid can be desorbed by heating, thereby regenerating the ionic liquid with excellent reproducibility. Here, time‐resolved in‐situ spectroscopic investigations of the reaction and products are presented. The procedure reveals a new vision for removing the pollutant NO by absorption into a non‐volatile liquid and converting it into a useful bulk chemical, that is, HNO₃.     

Field-induced CO adsorption and formation of carbonyl waves on gold nanotips

We report a study of the adsorption and reaction of CO on a gold nanotip in high electrostatic fields. Field ion microscopy is used to investigate the emergence of a Au-carbonyl wave that is made visible with oxygen as the imaging gas. We set up a simple kinetic model that reproduces the adsorption wave and confirms that the presence of oxygen merely serves as an imaging gas and does not lead to field-induced oxidation of CO.