Magnetic properties of Ni0.8Cu0.2−xGex solid solutions

The results of magnetic measurements performed on Ni_0.8Cu_0.2-xGe_x solid solutions, with x ? 0.10 are reported. The saturation magnetization, Curie temperature and effective nickel moments decrease nearly linear when substituting Cu by Ge. The ferromagnetic resonance measurements show that the g values are not dependent on composition. Finally, the magnetic behaviour of nickel in these solid solutions is analysed.     

Characterization and classification of medicinal plants according to their antioxidant profile estimated by thin layer chromatography assisted by chemometric expertise

This study focuses on the characterization and classification of 42 medicinal plants extracts according to their antioxidant activity. Principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis (CA) and the combination of PCA with linear discriminant analysis (PCA-LDA) were used as multivariate exploratory techniques for chromatographic data analysis. For the separation of the compounds a mobile phase containing ethyl acetate: toluene: formic acid: water (30:1.5:4:3 v/v/v/v) and different HPTLC plates (Silica gel 60 and HPTLC Silica gel 60?F₂₅₄) were used. The chromatographic plates were evaluated using the images obtained after spraying the plates with 2-aminoethyldiphenylborate solution (NTS, 0.2% in ethanol) and also after their reaction with 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl solution (DPPH^?) (0.2% in ethanol). The score projection on the plane defined by first two components (PC1 and PC2) revealed two large groups of the investigated samples depicted according to their antioxidant capacity. A better classification of samples according to their antioxidant capacity was obtained using the CA and PCA-LDA methodology in all cases. The excellent results obtained in this study concerning the classification of medicinal plants according to their antioxidant capacity using the PCA-LDA methodology applied to TLC chromatograms might lead to a new paradigm in the field of medicinal plant holistic evaluation.     

Winning “Big” in the St. Petersburg Game

Mathematical Notes - We present a self-contained and easy to follow proof for the value of the probability of large gains of a player in the celebrated St. Petersburg game.     

Effect of some parasite surface reactions on the variation of electrical conductance in the H2?Pt/Al2O3 system

The charge transfer at the interface H₂-0.5% Pt/Al₂O₃ was studied by using the transient response of the AC electrical conductance. The transient response for water and oxygen contaminated surface was of the overshoot-type.     

Spectrofluorimetric determination of phenyl-<Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-naphthylamine used as rubber antioxidant

Phenyl--naphthylamine (PBN) used as rubber antioxidant was found to have native fluorescence. A spectrofluorimetric method for determination of PBN in multicomponent mixtures of polymer additives is described. The apparent excitation and fluorescence wavelengths used are 348 and 413.5 nm, respectively. Maximum fluorescence intensity is obtained by irradiating PBN dissolved in ethanol, at room temperature. The fluorescence varies linearly with the concentration of PBN in the range of 0.04–4 g mL^–1. The accuracy and precision of the method are reported.     

On the Kolmogorov–Feller law for exchangeable random variables

We prove a Kolmogorov–Feller weak law of large numbers for exchangeable sequences, under a second order hypothesis on the truncated mixands.     

Development of an Electrochemical Immunoassay Based on the Use of an Eight‐Electrodes Screen‐Printed Array Coupled with Magnetic Beads for the Detection of Antimicrobial Sulfonamides in Honey

In this work an electrochemical immunoassay, based on a direct competitive assay, was developed using magnetic beads as solid phase and carbon screen‐printed arrays as transducers for the detection of sulfonamides in food matrices such as honey. Magnetic beads coated with protein A were modified by immobilisation of specific antibodies and then the competition between the target analyte and the corresponding analyte‐labelled with an enzyme was carried out; after the immunosensing step, beads were captured by a magnet onto the working surfaces of a screen‐printed eight‐electrodes array for a multiple electrochemical detection. Screen‐printed eight‐electrodes arrays were chosen as transducers due to the possibility to repeat multiple analysis and to test different samples simultaneously. Alkaline Phosphatase (AP) was used as enzyme label and Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV) as fast electrochemical technique. Calibration curves demonstrate that the developed electrochemical immunoassay was able to detect this class of drugs in standard solutions at low concentrations (ng/mL levels). The short incubation times (25 min) and the fast electrochemical measurement (10 sec) make of these systems a possible alternative to classic ELISA tests.