Tip‐heating‐assisted Raman spectroscopy at elevated temperatures

We demonstrate tip‐heating‐assisted enhanced Raman spectroscopy to investigate the temperature dependence of the carbon nanotube G‐band with nanoscale resolution. The controllable and nanoscale heat generated at the tip apex was used to thermally perturb and characterize a small volume in a carbon nanotube sample that is precisely positioned underneath the tip. The dependence of tip enhancement with temperature was also experimentally examined, which is in good agreement with the enhancement calculated from the electromagnetic model of isolated spheroids. The technique presented may open up opportunities in the study of controlled heat‐assisted biochemical reactions and physical transformations of nanostructures. It can also be used for thermal characterization of various materials requiring site‐selective and controllable nanoscale heat source and could enable the realization of new photothermal devices. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On periodic solutions of even-order ordinary differential equations

Optimal in a certain sense sufficient conditions are given for the existence and uniqueness of ω-periodic solutions of the nonautonomous ordinary differential equation u ^(2m) =f(t,u,...,u ^(m-1) ), where the function f:ℝ×ℝ ^m →ℝ is periodic with respect to the first argument with period ω. Received: December 21, 1999; in final form: August 12, 2000?Published online: October 2, 2001     

Effect of ionic environments on the adsorption and diffusion characteristics of serine alkaline protease enzyme in polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes

Static adsorption of serine alkaline protease (SAP) enzyme on hydrophobic polyether sulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membranes in different ionic environments was investigated. The amount of SAP adsorbed on membranes was the lowest at its isoelectric point (IEP) where the maximum adsorption was obtained below the IEP of the enzyme. The extent of SAP adsorption in the phosphate buffer solutions including different salts followed the order: (NH4)2HPO4 > KH2PO4 > Na2HPO4-NaH2PO4 (buffer) > CaCl2 > ((NH4)2HPO4 + H2PO4 + CaCl2), which was consistent with the Hofmeister series. The zeta potentials of membranes contacted with the ionic species were calculated by streaming potential measurements and found that the increase in ionic strength decreased the electrical double layer thickness leading to a decrease in adsorption. A model based on mass balance was developed to calculate the diffusion coefficient of SAP in PES membranes. Employing experimental data evaluated in a diffusion cell along with the data of adsorption isotherms, diffusion coefficients of SAP in PES membranes in the presence of different ionic species were calculated. To detect the structural changes occurred, membrane surfaces were analysed by Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) measurements.     

On the character of operational solutions of the time-fractional diffusion equation

The nonhomogeneous time-fractional diffusion equation is analyzed in the frames of the Mikusiński calculus. The exact and the approximate solution of the considered problem are constructed and their character is analyzed.     

Oscillation theory of first order functional differential equations with deviating arguments

Summary New oscillation criteria are established for the first order functional differential equation (*) y'(t)+p(t)y(g(t))=0and its nonlinear analogue. The results are presented so that a remarkable duality existing between the case where (*) is retarded (g(t)t) is apparent. Possible extension of the results for (*) to equations with several deviating arguments is attempted. Finally, it is shown that there exists a class of autonomous equations for which the oscillation situation can be completely characterized.     

Existence theorems for nonlinear functional differential equations of neutral type

Conditions are found upon satisfaction of which the differential equation

Changes in the fluorescence characteristics of N-(1-pyrene) maleimide bound to the intestinal brush-border membranes by neuraminidase treatment

The effects of neuraminidase treatment on the dynamic properties of the porcine intestinal brush-border membranes have been examined by using a fluorogenic thiol reagent, N-(1-pyrene)maleimide (NPM). Desialylation of the membranes by treatment with neuraminidase resulted in changes in the fluorescence parameters of NPM-labeled membranes, i.e. a decrease of the fluorescence lifetime and a suppression of the temperature-dependent decrease of the fluorescence intensity. These results suggest that the environmental properties around NPM-labeled SH groups in the membrane proteins were modified by neuraminidase treatment. Perturbation of the microenvironment around NPM-labeled SH groups associated with desialylation by the enzyme treatment was also determined by measuring the increase of fluorescence anisotropy and decrease of quenching efficiency with acrylamide or CH3COOTl of the complex. Based on the results, it is suggested that the dynamic properties of the conformation around NPM-labeled SH groups in the membrane proteins are sensitively influenced by neuraminidase treatment.     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of a New 2D Honeycomb—like Cadmium （Ⅱ） Complex with Tripodal Ligand

A new cadmium (II) coordination polymer, [Cd(TTTMB)₂]‐(SO₄) · 21H₂O, where TTTMB =1,3, 5‐tris (imidazol‐1‐yl‐methyl)‐2,4,6‐trimethylbenzene, was obtained by self‐assembly of tripodal ligand TTTMB with CdSO₄·2.7H₂O in acetonitrile, and characterized by X‐ray crystallography. The crystal data belongs to monoclinic space group C_c with cell parameters a = 1.16891(4) nm, b=2.06671(6) nm, c = 2.48185(7) nm, β = 97.8560(10)°, R = 0.0487, wR = 0.1211. The results of structure analysis indicate that each TTTMB ligand coordinates three metal atoms and in turn each Cd(II) atom with octahedral coordination geometry connects six nitrogen atoms of imidazole group from six different TTTMB ligands to produce a 2D honeycomb network structure. There are a lot of water molecules linked by hydrogen bonds and occupied the channels formed intra‐ and inter‐sheets.