A comparison of numerical and analytical radiative-transfer solutions for plane albedo of natural waters

Several numerical and analytical solutions of the radiative transfer equation (RTE) were compared for plane albedo in a problem of solar light reflection by sea water. The study incorporated the simplest case—a semi-infinite one-dimensional plane—parallel absorbing and scattering homogeneous layer illuminated by a monodirectional light beam. Inelastic processes (such as Raman scattering and fluorescence), polarization and air-water surface refraction-reflection effects, were not considered. Algorithms were based on the invariant imbedding method and two different variants of the discrete ordinate method (DOM). Calculations were performed using parameters across all possible ranges (single-scattering albedo ω₀ and refracted solar zenith angle θ₁), but with a special emphasis on natural waters. All computations were made for two scattering phase functions, which included an almost isotropic Rayleigh phase function and strongly anisotropic double-peaked Fournier-Forand-Mobley phase function. Models were validated using quasi-single-scattering (QSSA) and exponential approximations, which represent the extreme cases of ω₀→0 and ω₀→1, respectively. All methods yielded relative differences within 1.8% for modeled natural waters. An analysis of plane albedo behavior resulted in the development of a new extended QSSA approximation, which when applied in conjunction with the extended Hapke approximation developed earlier, resulted in a maximum relative error of 2.7%. The study results demonstrated that for practical applications, the estimation of inherent optical properties from observed reflectance can best be achieved using an extended Hapke approximation.     

Crystal structures of pyridinemonocarboxylic acid peroxosolvates

The crystal structures of new peroxosolvates of the following pyridinemonocarboxylic acids were studied: picolinic 2-C₅H₄NCOOH·H₂O₂ (1), nicotinic 3-C₅H₄NCOOH·H₂O₂ (2), and isonicotinic 4-C₅H₄NCOOH·2H₂O₂ (3). In these compounds, the acids exist exclusively as zwitterions, as opposed to non-solvated crystals. In compounds 1–3, the hydrogen peroxide molecules form two donor hydrogen bonds and, in some cases, one additional acceptor hydrogen bond. Peroxosolvate 2 can be considered as a novel drug formulation of vitamin B₃.     

A physical model of the surface layers of Newtonian liquids

We consider boiling, bubbling, and the elasticity of the bubble walls of pure water and other Newtonian liquids. For the first time, the elastic bubble walls were shown to be a realistic physical model of the surface layers of water and other true liquids.     

Synthesis and structure of the oxalatotetranitratouranylate complex (NH4)2[{UO2(NO3)2}2(μ4-C2O4)] · 2H2O

The reaction of diaquadinitratouranyl with ammonium nitrate in ethanol gave the single crystals of ((NH₄)₂[}UO₂(NO₃)₂}₂(μ₄-C₂O₄)] · 2H₂O (I).The structure of the complex was studied by X-ray diffraction. The crystals are monoclinic, a = 8.6497(10) Å, b = 11.7001(10) Å, c = 20.2135(10) Å, β = 93.924(10)°, space group P2₁/c, Z = 4, V = 2040.9(3) ų. The structural units of the crystal are island binuclear groups [{UO₂(NO₃)₂}₂(μ₄-C₂O₄)]^2?, ammonium cations, and crystal water molecules. The structure has a complex three-dimensional packing provided by electrostatic attraction forces of the counterions and the hydrogen bond system involving water molecules, oxalate, nitrate, and uranyl ions. The IR spectra of I confirm the X-ray diffraction data.     

On template synthesis in the ternary system Ni(II)-thiosemicarbazide-diacetyl

A new complexation process in the ternary system Ni(II)-hydrazinomethanethioamide (thiosemicarbazide)-2,3-butanedione (diacetyl) has been studied. Complexation occurs in an aqueous ethanol solution and in nickel(II) hexacyanoferrate(II) gelatin-immobilized matrix systems. It has been shown that, under these conditions, the process involves the “self-assembly” (template synthesis) of Ni(II) macrotricyclic complexes with a new chelating ligand—4,5-dimethyl-1,8-dimercapto-2,3,6,7-tetraaza-1,3,5,7-octatet-raene-1,8-diamine with the (NSSN) coordination of donor atoms to the metal atom.     

High dynamic range proteome imaging with the structured illumination gel imager

A current challenge for proteomics is detecting proteins over the large concentration ranges found in complex biological samples such as whole‐cell extracts. Currently, no unbiased, whole‐proteome analysis scheme is capable of detecting the full range of cellular proteins. This is due in part to the limited dynamic range of the detectors used to sense proteins or peptides. We present a new technology, structured illumination (SI) gel imager, which detects fluorescently labeled proteins in electrophoretic gels over a 1 000 000‐fold concentration range. SI uses computer‐generated masks to attenuate the illumination of highly abundant proteins, allowing for long exposures of low‐abundance proteins, thus avoiding detector saturation. A series of progressively masked gel images are assembled into a single, very high dynamic range image. We demonstrate that the SI imager can detect proteins over a concentration range of approximately 1 000 000‐fold, making it a useful tool for comprehensive, unbiased proteome‐wide surveys.