The solubility of disperse dyes in an aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate solution

Summary The solubilities of the following compounds in an aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate solution were determined at 25°, 30°, 35° and 40°C: biphenyl, azobenzene, p-chloroazobenzene, p-aminoazobenzene, p-N,N-dimethylaminoazobenzene and p-nitroazobenzene. From the results the thermodynamic parameters for the transfer of the model compounds from water to SDS micellar environment were calculated. The resulting thermodynamic parameters were not so certain, but suggested that with biphenyl, azobenzene and p-chloroazobenzene which seem to be solubilized in the SDS micellar interior the solubilizing process is a result of a favourable increase in entropy, and that with p-aminoazobenzene, p-N, N-dimethylaminoazobenzene and p-nitroazobenzene which seem to be solubilized in the SDS micellar surface the solubilizing process is a result of a favourable decrease in enthalpy. The favourable increase in entropy was explained in terms of iceberg and the favourable decrease in enthalpy in terms of interfacial energy.     

PHYTOCHROME-MEDIATED PHOTOTROPISM IN Adiantum PROTONEMATA-I. PHOTOTROPISM AS A FUNCTION OF THE LATERAL Pfr GRADIENT*

Abstract— Phytochrome-mediated phototropism of the protonema of the fern Adiantum capillus-veneris was studied in view of the hypothesis that phototropism is controlled by the gradient of Pfr (phytochrome in the far-red-absorbing form) across the short axis of the protonema. Fluence-response relationships were investigated using a microbeam irradiation technique that allowed simultaneous stimulation of the two sides of the subapical portion of the protonema with different fluences of red light. Mathematical models describing the tropic response as a function of fluence were derived from the hypothesis in consideration of the minimal phototransformation kinetics of phytochrome. and the fitness of the functions to the experimental data was examined. The analytical results were then evaluated in view of the photochemical properties of phytochrome known from the literature. It is concluded that the extent of the tropic response is determined by the difference in the Pfr concentrations between the two sides of the protonemal cell. It is further suggested that, even if phytochrome exists as a dimer in vivo, the physiological unit of phytochrome is the monomer.     

Nitrogenous synergists induced potentiometric response to metal ions with polymeric liquid membranes containing thenoyltrifluoroacetone as an ionophore.

The effects of nitrogenous synergists on the potentiometric responses to divalent transition metal ions were investigated concerning polymeric liquid membranes containing thenoyltrifluoroacetone (Htta) as an ionophore. The tested synergists were pyridine (py) and 4,4'-dioctyl-2,2'-bipyridyl (C8bpy). The potentiometric responses to metal ions, such as Cd2+, Co2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+, were induced by adding the synergists into the liquid membrane systems. The coexistence of Htta and a synergist was necessary for generating the membrane potential. The tta- anion adsorbed at the liquid membrane/solution interface and the complex formation between the synergist and a given metal ion appeared to participate in preferential uptake of metal ions.     

Thermodynamics of binding methyl orange and its homologs by polyvinylpyrrolidone: The effect of hexamethylenetetramine

Hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) has been examined for its effect on the binding of methyl orange homologs, methyl orange, ethyl orange, propyl orange, and butyl orange by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). In the presence of HMT the entropy changes associated with the binding tend to become more positive and the absolute magnitude in the enthalpy changes becomes smaller compared with those in the absence of HMT. These tendencies are accounted for in terms of the water-structure-promoting effect of HMT, hence the enhancement of hydrophobic interactions in the binding. PVP undergoes changes in conformation on the addition of HMT and its conformation becomes more compact. This also increases the contribution of the hydrophobic interactions to the macromolecule-small molecule interaction. Some other effects exerted by the added HMT on the binding system are also described.     

Mean-risk analysis of risk aversion and wealth effects on optimal portfolios with multiple investment opportunities

In this paper, we first define risk in an axiomatic way and a class of utility functions suitable for the so-called mean-risk analysis. Then, we show that, in a portfolio selection problem with multiple risky investments, an investor who is more risk averse in the Arrow-Pratt sense prefers less risk, in the sense of this paper, with less mean return, and an investor who displays increasing (decreasing) relative risk aversion becomes more conservative (aggressive) as the initial capital increases. The risk aversion effect for diversification on optimal portfolios is also discussed.     

Simultaneous Measurement of Refractive Index and Thickness of Transparent Plates by Low Coherence Interferometry

We demonstrate a novel low coherence Michelson interferometer which can provide simultaneous measurement of the refractive index and thickness of transparent plates used as a measured object. Unlike the existing low coherence interferometers reported so far, either an object or a focusing lens aligned on the signal arm is scanned repeatedly by a precise translation stage in synchronization with movement of a reflection mirror on the reference arm. The so-called object or lens scanning method gives us two measured quantities a movement distance of the stage between two light focusing states on the front and rear planes of an object and the corresponding optical path difference. These two measured quantities, result in desirable values of the index and thickness of the object with a short calculation. The measurement accuracy of ≤0.1% is expected for a thickness of more than 1 mm. In the experiment using the object scanning method, the accuracy of 0.3% or less was successfully attained for nearly 1-mm thick plates of fused quartz, sapphire, LiTaO₃ and slide glass.     

Modification of Tencel with Treatment of Ferric Sodium Tartrate Complex Solution I. Effect of Treatment Condition

Partial dissolution of cellulose by ferric sodium tartrate complex (FeTNa) solution was examined as refining treatment of the organic-solvent spun cellulose fiber (Tencel). The treatment conditions were discussed in terms of solvent strength, temperature, duration of the treatment, and free NaOH concentration by measuring the weight loss, crystallinity, and tenacity of the resultant yarns. For improving fibrillation resistance, the optimized solution of the FeTNa complex was composed of 1–1.5M FeCl₃ with 20% excess sodium tartrate and 1 N free NaOH, and the duration of the treatment was 60 min at 20°C. The loss in weight and tenacity could be maintained as low as 5% and 30–40%, respectively, by the optimized conditions. The resulting yarn showed significantly improved fibrillation resistance.     

Cation-sensitive fluorescence of anionic polymers bearing naphtho-18-crown-6 units

Changes in the fluorescence intensity of anionic polymers bearing naphtho-18-crown-6 moieties on addition of cations were studied in water at 30 °C. On addition of alkali metal cations, the fluorescence intensity of the polymers decreased sharply for Tl⁺ less for Cs⁺ and little for Li⁺, K⁺ and Rb⁺. On addition of alkaline earth metal cations, Ba²⁺ caused the strongest decrease of the fluorescence intensity of the polymers. The decrease of the fluorescence intensity of the polymers was suggested to be caused by the external heavy-atom effect of the cations bound to the cavity of the crowned naphthalene moiety. The content of the crowned naphthalene units in the polymers affected the cation-dependent fluorescence change. The fluorescence change of the polymers based on the cation complexation competition was also studied.