Uric Acid Determination by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry on Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes Based Screen‐Printed Electrodes

A sensitive electroanalytical methodology for the determination of uric acid in real samples using adsorptive voltammetry at a multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) modified screen printed electrode (SPCE) is presented. Adsorption of uric acid takes place at open circuit potential at an optimized pH 5.0. Studies about the effect of accumulation time and scan rate on the analytical signal were developed and confirm the adsorption nature of the electrodic process. Quantitative analysis of uric acid by using its oxidation process at +0.18 V (vs. an Ag pseudoreference electrode) was carried out with an accumulation time of 5 min. Thus, a linear voltammetric based reproducible determination of uric acid (RSD 5 %) in the range 1–100 µM was obtained. The method was then successfully used for the determination of uric acid in real clinical samples of urine without detection of interferences. The proposed methodology only requires a dilution of the real sample and present advantages as low cost and easy handling for non specialized technicians.     

Solute Concentration Statistics in Heterogeneous Aquifers for Finite Péclet Values

A Lagrangian framework is used for analysing the concentration fields associated with transport of nonreactive solutes in heterogeneous aquifers. This is related to two components: advection by the random velocity field v(x) and pore-scale dispersion, characterized by the dispersion tensor D _d; the relative effect of the two components is quantified by the Péclet number. The principal aim of this paper is to define the probability density function (pdf) of a nonreactive solute concentration and its relevant moments >C< and ² _c as sampled on finite detection volumes. This problem could be relevant in technical applications such as risk analysis, field monitoring and pollution control. A method to compute the concentration statistical moments and pdf is developed in the paper on the basis of the reverse formulation widely adopted to study solute dispersion in turbulent flows. The main advantages of this approach are: (i) a closed form solution for concentration mean and variance is attained, in case of small size of the sampling volume; (ii) a numerically efficient estimate of the concentration pdf can be derived. The relative effects of injection and sampling volume size and Péclet number on concentration statistics are assessed. The analysis points out that the concentration pdf can be reasonably fitted by the beta function. These results are suitable to be employed in practical applications, when the estimate of probability related to concentration thresholds is required.     

Vibrational spectroscopy for milk fat quantification: line shape analysis of the Raman and infrared spectra

This paper presents a systematic analysis of the infrared absorption spectra and Raman scattering of the triacylglycerol molecule predominant in raw bovine milk. Gas chromatography measurements were also performed and revealed the palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids as the most predominant fatty acids in the composition of milk. Based on the gas chromatography results, infrared, and Raman spectra of the triacylglycerol with this combination of fatty acids were simulated. The theoretical spectra were compared with the experimental ones of milk fat and fluid raw milk. Assignment of bands of milk fat was proposed, which can be used for a quality monitoring of the product. We also performed a multivariate model of partial least squares from samples of fluid milk with different concentrations of fat. As a result, the most important variables in the projection were selected as vibrational markers for quality monitoring and quantifying of this important constituent of milk. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Funzioni di Bessel del campo poliarmonico

Sunto Seguendo la via tracciata daHeine per passare dalle ordinarie funzioni sferiche alle ordinarie funzioni diBessel si deducono, dalle funzioni sferiche poliarmoniche, nuove funzioni alle quali si dà la denominazione di funzioni poliarmoniche diBessel e di esse si rilevano parecchie proprietà differenziali, integrali e ricorrenti.     

The Interplay between Strain,Sn Content,and Temperature on Spatially Dependent Bandgap in Ge1−x Sn x Microdisks

Germanium–tin (GeSn) microdisks are promising structures for complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor-compatible lasing. Their emission properties depend on Sn concentration, strain, and operating temperature. Critically, the band structure of the alloy varies along the disk due to different lattice deformations associated with mechanical constraints. An experimental and numerical study of Ge_1−x Sn _x microdisk with Sn concentration between 8.5 and 14 at% is reported. Combining finite element method calculations, micro-Raman and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy enables a comprehensive understanding of mechanical deformation, where computational predictions are experimentally validated, leading to a robust model and insight into the strain landscape. Through micro-photoluminescence experiments, the temperature dependence of the bandgap of Ge_1−x Sn _x is parametrized using the Varshni formula with respect to strain and Sn content. These results are the input for spatially dependent band structure calculations based on deformation potential theory. It is observed that Sn content and temperature have comparable effects on the bandgap, yielding a decrease of more than 20 meV for an increase of 1 at% or 100 K, respectively. The impact of the strain gradient is also analyzed. These findings correlate structural properties to emission wavelength and spectral width of microdisk lasers, thus demonstrating the importance of material-related consideration on the design of optoelectronic microstructures.     

Comparison of metal analysis in sediments using EDXRF and ICP-OES with the HCl and Tessie extraction methods

The work presents an investigation on metal availability in sediments during 13 months using the dispersive-energy X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and atomic emission spectrometry with induced argon plasma (ICP-OES) techniques and single extraction (0.1 mol l⁻¹ HCl) and Tessie’s sequential speciation methods. The EDXRF technique could yield essentially the same profile as ICP-OES for the seasonal variation of metals in sediments, but in a more practical way. The sequential extraction procedure (SEP) was more efficient in metal dissolution than single extraction. The Pb, Ni, Al, Cr, and Fe elements were less efficiently extracted with single extraction in relation to sequential extraction. For Co both methodologies were equivalent, but for Cu and Mn the extraction was higher with single extraction. Single extraction does not mobilize Pb, Ni, Al, Cr, and Fe adsorbed on oxides and bound to organic matter. However for Cu and Mn, not only extracted these metals from the four fractions, but it also dissolved part of the fifth fraction (residual). Principal Component Analysis discriminated seasonal variations in the content of several metals, mainly Fe, Co, Ni, and Zn. The mobility of metallic ions in the sediments is conditioned to the seasonal flow of organic and inorganic material coming from the river or by the erosion of adjacent soils.     

Study of transport properties in superconducting junctions of double insulating barrier

In this work we analyze the Tomasch effect in double barrier insulating superconducting N₁ISIN₂ (N: normal metal, I: insulator and S: superconductor) junctions. From the solution of the Bogoliubov–de Gennes equations we find that the differential conductance presents resonances when the applied voltage changes. These resonances are originated by the formation of quasibound states in the superconducting region and depend on the symmetry of the pair potential. We develop an analytical model in order to find the quasibound states energies and its lifetimes. This model allows us to calculate the voltage at which each resonance appears and the resonance widths. We calculate and analyze the dependence of the transmission coefficients with the thickness of the superconducting layer.     

Periodic Liénard-type delay equations with state-dependent impulses

Conditions are obtained for Liénard-type equations with delay and state-dependent impulses to admit an absolutely continuous periodic solution with first derivative of bounded variation (and consequently with Lebesgue integrable second derivative). The results are applied to Josephson's equation and the nonconservative forced pendulum equation.     

Sensorimotor adaptation to feedback perturbations of vowel acoustics and its relation to perception

The role of auditory feedback in speech motor control was explored in three related experiments. Experiment 1 investigated auditory sensorimotor adaptation: the process by which speakers alter their speech production to compensate for perturbations of auditory feedback. When the first formant frequency (F1) was shifted in the feedback heard by subjects as they produced vowels in consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words, the subjects' vowels demonstrated compensatory formant shifts that were maintained when auditory feedback was subsequently masked by noise-evidence of adaptation. Experiment 2 investigated auditory discrimination of synthetic vowel stimuli differing in F1 frequency, using the same subjects. Those with more acute F1 discrimination had compensated more to F1 perturbation. Experiment 3 consisted of simulations with the directions into velocities of articulators model of speech motor planning, which showed that the model can account for key aspects of compensation. In the model, movement goals for vowels are regions in auditory space; perturbation of auditory feedback invokes auditory feedback control mechanisms that correct for the perturbation, which in turn causes updating of feedforward commands to incorporate these corrections. The relation between speaker acuity and amount of compensation to auditory perturbation is mediated by the size of speakers' auditory goal regions, with more acute speakers having smaller goal regions.