Working Methods Paper: Critical considerations with respect to the identification of tin species in the environment

Biogeochemical pathways of tin species in the environment are still controversial, e.g. with regard to methylation and transmethylation phenomena, owing to the fact that the identification of methylated tin-compounds is often difficult. The previous tentative identification of a mixed methylbutyltin compound in sediment and biological samples by GC/AAS after hydride generation gave an illustration of this problem. This compound was previously identified in sediments by other authors and also suspected to occur in a contaminated sediment sample from the Boyardville Marina, France. The retention time obtained by GC/AAS corresponded to the actual retention time of a mixed methylbutyltin calibrant. However, additional checks demonstrated that the compound detected was actually monophenyltin. This evidence was produced by a thorough analysis of a selected sediment sample by alternative techniques such as GC/AAS and GC/AES after pentylation, GC/FPD and GC/MS. The results presented highlight the need for a full identification of compounds to avoid mis-interpretation.     

Principles and recent developments in ultrasound contrast agents

The behaviour of gas bubbles and gas encapsulated spheres as echographic contrast agents is reviewed. Compared with rigid spheres, gas bubbles are superior scattering agents and they offer a number of useful properties which can be exploited in a variety of ways. The analysis of their velocity of sound, back-scatter intensity, second harmonic emission and resonant frequency opens up new perspectives in the development of contrast agents for echocardiographic research with potential clinical applications.     

Averaged topological equations for dispersed two-phase flows

A general relationship between the volume fraction and the specific interfacial area for averaged dispersed two-phase flows is proposed. This relationship, expressed as a basic set of two scalar evolution equations and two vectorial non-uniformity state equations, is an analytical result obtained by a systematic approach using the derivatives of some generalized functions and a local volume-averaging technique. The proposed set of equations was expressed for measurable macroscopic parameters of the system and has the same generality as the averaged transport equations of two-phase flows. By combination of the basic set of equations, called the averaged topological equations (ATEs), second-order ATEs for the volume fraction were found. The second-order ATEs were expressed both by a Lagrangian formulation and by a Eulerian formulation. The importance and physical meaning of the ATEs developed in this study were clarified within the framework of the theory of kinematic waves.     

Earnshaw (1805–1888) and Passive Magnetic Levitation

S. Earnshaw, a mathematical physicist born in England two centuries ago, was the author of studies on the transmission of sound and light. His theory on the transmission of light by “detached particles” has also influenced some studies on the stability of bodies in potential fields, particularly studies on the levitation of permanent magnets, i.e. on passive magnetic levitation. This theorem was so well known that even Maxwell mentioned it, and is today cited almost as an axiom in the ambit of passive magnetization. However, what is less well known is that the theory actually only relates to magnetostatics. In this paper, the mathematic model of the theory that refers to stability is outlined, along with some works that refer to it, in particular those on passive magnetic levitation. It is then pointed out that spaces of low instability exist in magnetostatics, and that stability may exist in the magneto-stationary and in magneto-dynamic ambit.     

Semiconductor waveguide directional couplers for coherent receivers

Optical waveguide 3-dB couplers integrated on semicondutors have been studied, designed and fabricated, using both bulk and diluted multi-quantum-well InGaAsP/InP-based materials, grown by MOCVD. The device structure is based on the two-mode interference (TMI) principle and is fully compatible for integration with the optoelectronic and electronic components of a coherent receiver. Bulk material couplers provide an output balanced within 0.05 dB per nanometer and an excess loss of 1.4 dB, compared to a straight guide, while coupling loss to a tapered-lensed single mode fibre is 4 dB.Improved coupling efficiency to single-mode fibres is achieved by use of moderately diluted multi-quantum-well waveguides, which include InGaAsP wells and InP barriers: coupling loss to a tapered-lensed single-mode fibre as low as 0.5 dB and excess loss of 1.8 dB are featured. Couplers fabricated with this waveguide structure have a balance sensitivity of 0.03 to 0.04 dB per nanometer.A moderately diluted multi-quantum-well 3-dB coupler has been permanently pigtailed and butt-coupled to a dual balanced PIN photoreceiver. This hybrid assembly was tested in a coherent transmission system at 155 and 622 Mbits^-1 showing sensitivities, for 10^-9 BER, of about-38.0 dBm and-28.8 dBm, respectively.     

Directed triangles in directed graphs

We show that each directed graph (with no parallel arcs) on n vertices, each with indegree and outdegree at least n/twhere t=2.888997… contains a directed circuit of length at most 3.     

Crystalline structure of polyamide 12 as revealed by solid‐state 13C NMR and synchrotron WAXS and SAXS

The crystalline structure of polyamide‐12 (PA12) was studied by solid‐state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) as well as by synchrotron wide‐ and small‐angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS and SAXS). Isotropic and oriented PA12 showed different NMR spectra ascribed to γ‐ and γ′‐crystalline modifications, respectively. On the basis of the position of the first diffraction peak, the isotropic γ‐form and the oriented γ′‐form were shown to be with hexagonal crystalline lattice at room temperature. When heated, the two PA12 polymorphs demonstrated different behaviors. Above 140 °C, the isotropic γ‐PA12 partially transformed into α‐modification. No such transition was observed with the oriented γ′‐PA12 phase even after annealing at temperatures close to melting. A γ′–γ transition was observed here only after isotropization by melting point. Various structural parameters were extracted from the WAXS and SAXS patterns and analyzed as a function of temperature and orientation: the degree of crystallinity, the d‐spacings, the Bragg's long spacings, the average thicknesses of the crystalline (l_c) and amorphous (l_a) phases, and the linear crystallinity x_cl within the lamellar stacks. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 3720–3733, 2005     

Basins of Attraction of Periodic Oscillations in Suspension Bridges

We consider the dynamics of the lowest order transversal vibration mode of a suspension bridge, for which the hangers are treated as one-sided springs, according to the model of Lazer and McKeena [SIAM Review 58, 1990, 537]. We analyze in particular the multi-stability of periodic attractors and the basin of attraction structure in phase space and its dependence with the model parameters. The parameter values used in numerical simulations have been estimated from a number of bridges built in the United States and in the United Kingdom, thus taking into account realistic, yet sometimes simplified, structural, aerodynamical, and physical considerations.