In situ characterization of an iron catalyst by potassium ion desorption and electron emission measurements

The surface conditions of an industrial iron catalyst were monitoredin situ by work function measurements and measurements of thermal desorption of potassium ions. Changes in activation energy for potassium ion desorption and in work function values during catalyst activation and deactivation are discussed in terms of the potassium coverage and chemical composition of the catalyst surface.     

A smooth pseudoconvex domain without pseudoconvex exhaustion

A pseudoconvex demain with real —analytic smooth boundary on a complex manifold is constructed which cannot be exhausted by pseudoconvex domains.     

Pac investigations of In/Sb interfaces

The PAC method was applied to study interface compound formation in thin In/Sb film couples. Above annealing temperatures of 220 K, kept for 10 min, the compound InSb is growing out of the interface. The average thickness of InSb increases with the square root of time at the beginning, indicating a diffusion controlled start of interface compound growth.     

Immobilized chemoattractant peptides mediate adhesion and distinct calcium-dependent cell signaling in human neutrophils

Chemotaxis is the stimulated directional migration of cells in response to chemotactic factors, manifested for instance during leukocyte interaction with chemoattractants in inflammation. The N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLF) bacterial peptide family is particularly potent in attracting and activating neutrophilic granulocytes. To accomplish defined circumstances for recruitment and activation of cells, we fabricated semitransparent gold-coated glass coverslips functionalized with chemoattractant fMLF receptor peptide agonist analogues. Peptides based on a common leading four-amino-acid sequence Gly-Gly-Gly-Cys were thus coupled to two potent fMLF receptor agonists, N-formyl-Tyr-Nle-Phe-Leu-Nle-Gly-Gly-Gly-Cys and N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe-Gly-Gly-Gly-Cys, and a formylated control peptide, N-formyl-Gly-Gly-Gly-Cys. They were anchored via the SH group of Cys either directly to the gold surface or a mixed self-assembled monolayer composed of maleimide- and hydroxyl-terminated oligo(ethylene glycol) alkyldisulfides. The overall peptide immobilization procedure was characterized with ellipsometry, contact angle measurement, and infrared spectroscopy. When exposed to granulocytes, the agonist surface rapidly recruited neutrophils and the cells responded with extensive spreading and intracellular calcium transients within minutes. The reference peptide generated no such activation, and the cells maintained a more spherical morphology, suggesting that we have been able to immobilize chemoattractant receptor agonist peptides with retained bioactivity. This is a crucial step in designing surfaces with specific effects on cellular behavior.     

The Levi problem for Riemann domains over Stein spaces with isolated singularities

We consider the following question: Let \({p:Y \rightarrow X}\) be an unbranched Riemann domain and assume that X is a Stein space and p is a Stein morphism. Does it follow that Y is Stein ? We show that the answer is affirmative if X has isolated singularities. This generalizes a result of Andreotti and Narasimhan.     

Multiplexed quantification of proteins adsorbed to surface-modified and non-modified microdialysis membranes

A simple and straightforward method for discovery and quantification of proteins adsorbed onto delicate and sensitive membrane surfaces is presented. The adsorbed proteins were enzymatically cleaved while still adsorbed onto the membranes using an on-surface enzymatic digestion (oSED). This was followed by isobaric tagging, nanoliquid chromatography, and tandem mass spectrometry. Protein adsorption on tri-block copolymer Poloxamer 407 surface-modified microdialysis (MD) membranes were compared with protein adsorption on unmodified MD membranes. Ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (vCSF) kept at 37 °C was used as sample matrix. In total, 19 proteins were quantified in two biological replicates. The surface-modified membranes adsorbed 33% less proteins than control membranes and the most abundant proteins were subunits of hemoglobin and clusterin. The adsorption of clusterin on the modified membranes was on average 36% compared to control membranes. The most common protein in vCSF, Albumin, was not identified adsorbed to the surface at all. It was also experimentally verified that oSED, in conjunction with tandem mass spectrometry can be used to quantify femtomole amounts of proteins adsorbed on limited and delicate surfaces, such as MD membranes. The method has great potential and can be used to study much more complex protein adsorption systems than previously reported.     

A generalized separation reaction scheme for assessment of the radioanalytical method of concentration dependent distribution

For the assessment of the analytical error of concentration dependent distribution (CDD), complex-forming separation reaction was proposed in a generalized form of equilibrium , where n is the effective stoichiometric coefficient, i.e. the difference of mean ligand numbers and <n> of a mixture of complexes of analyte M with reagent L in the respective groups (distinguished by bars above the symbols) of the separation system. Calibration curve is derived from measurement of gross activity of complexes, A=A(ML_<n>) and . Theoretical relative error is expressed as a product of three terms, x/x=f₁f₂f₃. The first term f₁ depends on the degree of isotopic dilution, and the recommended ratio of amounts of nonradioactive (x) and radioactive (y) substance M is x/y(1;4). The second term f₂ depends first of all on the slope of distribution ratio (yield of separation ) vs. the analyte; reagent ratio, n(Z+1)/T. The form of slope is analyzed on the basis of the generalized separation reaction. Optimal conditions were discussed from this point of view and the ideal case is at f₂=1. The third term f₃ depends on the activities A and , i.e. on the distribution ratio, sample volumes, and the manner of counting. The ideal ratio of sample activities is A= and the optimal interval (0.2;0.8) is suggested     

Fast Ion Conducting Nanocrystalline Alkaline Earth Fluorides Simply Prepared by Mixing or Manual Shaking

Simple mixing or shaking of alkaline earth hydroxides with ammonium fluoride results in nanocrystalline phase pure metal fluorides MF₂ (M: Ca, Sr, Ba). The formation of the alkaline earth fluorides was investigated by varying the reaction conditions. Evidence was found that just the contact between the starting materials is sufficient for the reaction to take place. X‐ray diffraction, elemental analysis, ¹⁹F MAS NMR spectroscopy, and measurements of DC conductivities were used to characterize the fluorides regarding properties like crystal structure, crystallite sizes, local fluorine coordination, and fluorine ion conductivity. The ¹⁹F MAS NMR spectra of the phase pure fluorides prepared showed several signals, which were assigned to defects, impurities, or geometric distortions. The fluorides prepared by mixing or shaking revealed fluorine ion conductivities several orders of magnitude higher than observed for the respective microcrystalline alkaline earth fluorides. Therefore, the synthesis routine presented in this study may open a path to a very quick and simple synthesis of nanocrystalline fast fluorine ion conductors.     

Design of optimal configuration for generating A0 Lamb mode in a composite plate using piezoceramic transducers

This work concerned a technique for a health monitoring system based on the generation and sensing of Lamb waves in composite structures by thin surface-bonded piezoceramic transducers. The objective was to develop transducers that are adapted for the damage detection in orthotropic composites. The key problem with the investigated Lamb waves was to select a mode to be sensitive to the damage. A hybrid modeling technique was therefore used to conceive transducers that were adapted to achieve such a feature. This modeling technique enabled studying the influence of the transducer characteristics on the Lamb waves propagating in orthotropic plates. It was demonstrated that a Lamb mode could be generated dominantly to other modes by using a multi-element transducer. The effectiveness of this technique was successfully verified experimentally on composite plates. It was shown that the dominant Lamb mode, obtained by use of dual-element transducers, was an appropriate mode for successfully detecting a damage in composites.     

Determination of nitrites and nitrates in plasma-activated deionized water by microchip capillary electrophoresis

In this work, we present the application of a fast and sensitive microanalytical method, microchip capillary electrophoresis (MCE), for the determination of NO₂⁻ and NO₃⁻ ions in deionized water treated by atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ). The MCE technique consisted of an online combination of isotachophoresis with zone electrophoresis, both performed on the microchip. The argon plasma has been characterized by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). OES confirmed the presence of argon excited species (Ar I) emission (4p → 4s) lines, N₂ emission bands (second positive system C³Π_u → B³Π_g), and OH band (A²∑⁺ → X²Π Δv = 0), as well as the presence of NO and excited NO₂. The presence of NO₂ molecules was also confirmed by FTIR absorption spectroscopy. The performance of the developed MCE method was evaluated for linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, precision, and accuracy, and the concentration of NO₂⁻ and NO₃⁻ in the water as a function of the water treatment time was monitored.