Gutzwiller theory of band magnetism in LaOFeAs

We use the Gutzwiller variational theory to calculate the ground-state phase diagram and quasiparticle bands of LaOFeAs. The Fe3d-As4p Wannier-orbital basis obtained from density-functional theory defines the band part of our eight-band Hubbard model. The full atomic interaction between the electrons in the iron orbitals is parametrized by the Hubbard interaction U and an average Hund's-rule interaction J. We reproduce the experimentally observed small ordered magnetic moment over a large region of (U,J) parameter space. The magnetically ordered phase is a stripe spin-density wave of quasiparticles.     

Intrinsic Fluorescence of Protoporphyrin IX from Blood Samples Can Yield Information on the Growth of Prostate Tumours

Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in men, and unfortunately many prostate tumours remain asymptomatic until they reach advanced stages. Diagnosis is typically performed through Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) quantification, Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) and Transrectal Ultrasonography (TU). The antigen (PSA) is secreted by all prostatic epithelial cells and not exclusively by cancerous ones, so its concentration also increases in the presence of other prostatic diseases. DRE and TU are not reliable for early detection, when histological analysis of prostate tissue obtained from a biopsy is necessary. In this context, fluorescence techniques are very important for the diagnosis of cancer. In this paper we explore the potential of using endogenous phorphyrin blood fluorescence as tumour marker for prostate cancer. Substances such as porphyrin derivatives accumulate substantially more in tumours than in normal tissues; thus, measuring blood porphyrin concentration by autofluorescence intensity may provide a good parameter for determining tumour stage. In this study, the autofluorescence of blood porphyrin was analyzed using fluorescence and excitation spectroscopy on healthy male NUDE mice and in those with prostate cancer induced by inoculation of DU145 cells. A significant contrast between the blood of normal and cancer subjects could be established. Blood porphyrin fluorophore showed an enhancement on the fluorescence band around 632 nm following tumour growth. Fluorescence detection has advantages over other light-based investigation methods: high sensitivity, high speed and safety. However it does carry the drawback of low specificity of detection. The extraction of blood porphyrin using acetone can solve this problem, since optical excitation of further molecular species can be excluded, and light scattering from blood samples is negligible.     

An efficient local time-stepping scheme for solution of nonlinear conservation laws

We develop an efficient local time-stepping algorithm for the method of lines approach to numerical solution of transient partial differential equations. The need for local time-stepping arises when adaptive mesh refinement results in a mesh containing cells of greatly different sizes. The global CFL number and, hence, the global time step, are defined by the smallest cell size. This can be inefficient as a few small cells may impose a restrictive time step on the whole mesh. A local time-stepping scheme allows us to use the local CFL number which reduces the total number of function evaluations. The algorithm is based on a second order Runge–Kutta time integration. Its important features are a small stencil and the second order accuracy in the L² and L^∞ norms.     

Antimicrobial Activity of Silver and Gold Nanoparticles Prepared by Photoreduction Process with Leaves and Fruit Extracts of Plinia cauliflora and Punica granatum

The increased number of resistant microbes generates a search for new antibiotic methods. Metallic nanoparticles have emerged as a new platform against several microorganisms. The nanoparticles can damage the bacteria membrane and DNA by oxidative stress. The photoreduction process is a clean and low-cost method for obtaining silver and gold nanoparticles. This work describes two original insights: (1) the use of extracts of leaves and fruits from a Brazilian plant Plinia cauliflora, compared with a well know plant Punica granatum, and (2) the use of phytochemicals as stabilizing agents in the photoreduction process. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by UV-vis, FTIR, transmission electron microscopy, and Zeta potential. The antimicrobial activity of nanoparticles was obtained with Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, particularly the pathogens Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923; Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633; clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Enterococcus faecalis; Escherichia coli ATCC 25922; Escherichia coli O44:H18 EAEC042 (clinical isolate); Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 700603, Salmonella Thiphymurium ATCC 10231; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853; and Candida albicans ATCC 10231. Excellent synthesis results were obtained. The AgNPs exhibited antimicrobial activities against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and yeast (80–100%), better than AuNPs (0–87.92%), and may have the potential to be used as antimicrobial agents.     

Determination of germanium after extraction by Methyl Isobutyl Ketone. I

Summary The extractability of germanium from 7.5 N hydrochloric acid solutions by methyl isobutyl ketone has been studied and applied to the separation of small amounts of this element. The extracted germanium tetrachloride reacts with ammonium molybdate. The germanomolybdic acid formed dissolves in the organic phase where it is directly reduced with ascorbic acid. Very stable blue solutions are obtained. A number of interfering ions are separated by preliminary extraction of the cupferrates with the same solvent. Phosphate ions are removed by previous precipitation with zirconyl nitrate. Arsenate is reduced to arsenite and indirect interference of fluoride is avoided by addition of aluminum chloride. The extraction technique employed is very simple and the method is applicable to the determination of germanium in flue dusts and other complex silicon materials without previous separation of silicon.

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Zusammenfassung Die Extrahierbarkeit von Germanium aus 7,5-n Salzsäure mit Methylisobutylketon wurde untersucht und auf die Abtrennung kleiner Mengen dieses Elementes angewendet. Das extrahierte Germaniumtetrachlorid reagiert mit Ammoniummolybdat. Die entstehende Germaniummolybdänsäure löst sich in der organischen Phase und wird dort unmittelbar mit Ascorbinsäure reduziert. Man erhält hierbei sehr stabile blaue Lösungen. Eine Reihe störender Ionen wird durch vorhergehende Extraktion der Cupferronate mit dem gleichen Lösungsmittel entfernt. Phosphationen werden vorher mit Zirkonylnitrat ausgefällt. Arsenat wird zu Arsenit reduziert. Indirekte Störung durch Fluorid vermeidet man durch Zugabe von Aluminiumchlorid. Das angegebene Extraktionsverfahren ist sehr einfach und die Methode zur Bestimmung von Germanium in Flugstaub und anderen komplexen Siliciummaterialien ohne vorherige Abtrennung des Siliciums verwendbar.

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Résumé Etude de la possibilité d'extraction du germanium de solutions chlorhydriques acides 7,5 N par la méthylisobutylcétone et application à la séparation de petites quantités de cet élément. Le tétrachlorure de germanium ainsi extrait réagit sur le molybdate d'ammonium. L'acide germanomolybdique formé se dissout dans la phase organique dans laquelle il est directement réduit par l'acide ascorbique. On obtient des solutions bleues très stables. Un certain nombre d'ions gênants sont séparés par une extraction préalable de cupferronates dans le même solvant. Les ions phosphoriques sont éliminés par précipitation préalable par le nitrate de zirconyle. Les arséniates sont réduits en arsénites. La perturbation indirecte des fluorures est évitée par addition de chlorure d'aluminium. La technique d'extraction utilisée est très simple et la méthode est applicable à la détermination du germanium dans les poussières de foyers ou autres substances siliciées complexes sans séparation préalable du silicium.

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Presented in part at the national meeting of the Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência held in Curitiba, Brazil, November 1953.     

Determination of pyrimethanil and kresoxim-methyl in green groceries by headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A method for determination of trace amounts of the fungicides pyrimethanil and kresoxim-methyl in green groceries, previous headspace solid-phase microextraction (HSSPME), was developed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and selected ion monitoring (GC-MS, SIM). Both fungicides were extracted with a fused-silica fiber coated with 85 microm polyacrylate. The effects of pH, ionic strength, extraction and desorption times as well as the extraction temperature were studied. The linear concentration range of application was 12.5-250 ng g(-1) for both compounds, with detection limits of 1.8-2.0 ng g(-1) for pyrimethanil and 2.8-3.1 ng g(-1) for kresoxim-methyl. SPME/GC-MS analysis yielded good reproducibility (RSD between 7.4 and 15.0%). It was applied to check the eventual existence of pyrimethanil and kresoxim-methyl above the detection limits on grapes, strawberries, tomatoes and ketchup samples. The method validation was completed with spiked matrix samples. It can be applied as a monitoring tool in grapes, strawberries, tomatoes and ketchup samples.     

Temperature phase transition model for the DNA-CNTs-based nanotweezers

DNA and Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have unique physical, mechanical and electronic properties that make them revolutionary materials for advances in technology. In state-of-the-art applications, these physical properties can be exploited to design a type of bio-nanorobot. In this paper, we present the behavior of DNA-based nanotweezers and show the capabilities of controlling this robotic device. The theoretical calculations are based on the Peyrard-Bishop model for DNA dynamics. Furthermore, the influence of the van der Waals force between two CNTs on the opening and closing of nanotweezers is studied in comparison with the stretching forces of DNA.     

Error Estimation for Discontinuous Galerkin Solutions of Two-Dimensional Hyperbolic Problems

We analyze the discretization errors of discontinuous Galerkin solutions of steady two-dimensional hyperbolic conservation laws on unstructured meshes. We show that the leading term of the error on each element is a linear combination of orthogonal polynomials of degrees p and p+1. We further show that there is a strong superconvergence property at the outflow edge(s) of each element where the average discretization error converges as O(h ^2p+1) compared to a global rate of O(h ^p+1). Our analyses apply to both linear and nonlinear conservation laws with smooth solutions. We show how to use our theory to construct efficient and asymptotically exact a posteriori discretization error estimates and we apply these to some examples.     

Thermogravimetric and kinetic study of new bis(iminophosphorane)ethane solvates

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Thermal and crystallographic characterization of one solvent-free bis(iminophosphorane)ethane (BIPE) form and three solvates with acetonitrile (ACN),...     

Monitoring of residual stresses in injection-molded plastics with holographic interferometry

Residual stresses are often trapped in injection-molded plastic parts due to the rapid cooling of the material in this manufacturing process. These stresses are a common source of failure in plastic components in automobiles, appliances and computers and are difficult to measure with conventional residual-stress experimental methods. Real-time holographic interferometry appears to be a viable technique to identify and monitor these stresses in plastic parts. In this investigation, holographic interferometry was used to monitor the relaxation of residual stresses in the plastic-molded actuator arm of a computer hard drive. In the first phase of this study, the relaxation of these residual stresses as a function of temperature was observed. In the second phase, the time to completely relax the residual stresses in the plastic part at an elevated temperature, the annealing temperature, was determined. In the third phase of this investigation, the rate of relaxation of these residual stresses as a function of time at various operating temperatures, was studied. Based on the results of this study, holographic interferometry appears to be a powerful research tool in the study of residual stresses in plastic parts. It also has the potential to be a practical tool for the inspection of manufactured plastic parts for the presence of residual stress.