Bacterial biosorption and retention of thorium and uranyl cations by Mycobacterium smegmatis

Biosorption of Th⁴⁺ and UO ₂ ²⁺ ions, both separately and in mixed equimolar ratio, was carried out using nitrate-buffered solutions of the cations at pH 1 in the presence of 5%w/w non-proliferative cell suspensions of Mycobacterium smegmatis. At equilibrium following a 3 h treatment, specific adsorption for 2 mM Th and U was, respectively, 102 and 115 mol g^–1 dry biomass for individual solutions and 102 and 42 mol g^–1 for the mixed 2/2 mM solution. Desorption studies of the cation-loaded biomass preparations in aqueous media and in soilbacterial suspensions within the pH range <1 to 11 showed that leaching of throium was generally less than 1% at pH 1–11 after 7 d, whereas uranium was leached to the extent of 2% at pH 1 and up to 10% under the same conditions in Th–U mixtures.     

Alloy model for high-temperature superconductors

An alloy model is proposed for the electronic structure of high-temperature superconductors. It is based on the assumption that holes and extra electrons are localized in small copper-oxygen clusters, that would be the components of such an alloy. This model, when used together with quantum chemical calculations on small clusters, can explain the structure observed in the experimental densities of states of both hole and electron superconductors close to the Fermi energy. The main point is the strong dependence of the energy level distribution and composition on the number of electrons in a cluster. The alloy model also suggests a way to correlate T_c with the number of holes, or extra electrons, and the number of adequate clusters to locate them.     

Quantum and semiclassical oscillations in the organic metal (BEDO-TTF)2Clx(H2O)y

We study quantum (Shubnikov-de Haas and de Haas-van Alphen) oscillations and angular oscillations of the reluctance in the organic quasi-two-dimensional metal (BO)₂Cl_x(H₂O)_y. We show that the Fermi surface in this compound consists of a slightly corrugated cylinder with its axis perpendicular to the conducting plane. The cross section of the cylinder in this plane is a perfect circle of radius k _F≃3×10⁷ cm⁻¹. The effective carrier mass associated with this cylinder is m*=(1.65–2.0) m ₀ in the conducting plane, while the Dingle temperature is T _D=3–4 K. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 1137–1146 (September 1998)     

Examination of time-reversal acoustics in shallow water and applications to noncoherent underwater communications

The shallow water acoustic communication channel is characterized by strong signal degradation caused by multipath propagation and high spatial and temporal variability of the channel conditions. At the receiver, multipath propagation causes intersymbol interference and is considered the most important of the channel distortions. This paper examines the application of time-reversal acoustic (TRA) arrays, i.e., phase-conjugated arrays (PCAs), that generate a spatio-temporal focus of acoustic energy at the receiver location, eliminating distortions introduced by channel propagation. This technique is self-adaptive and automatically compensates for environmental effects and array imperfections without the need to explicitly characterize the environment. An attempt is made to characterize the influences of a PCA design on its focusing properties with particular attention given to applications in noncoherent underwater acoustic communication systems. Due to the PCA spatial diversity focusing properties, PC arrays may have an important role in an acoustic local area network. Each array is able to simultaneously transmit different messages that will focus only at the destination receiver node.     

Silicon nitride/silicon oxide interlayers for solar cell passivating contacts based on PECVD amorphous silicon

This Letter demonstrates improved passivating contacts for silicon solar cells consisting of doped silicon films together with tunnelling dielectric layers. An improvement is demonstrated by replacing the commonly used silicon oxide interfacial layer with a silicon nitride/silicon oxide double interfacial layer. The paper describes the optimization of such contacts, including doping of a PECVD intrinsic a‐Si:H film by means of a thermal POCl₃ diffusion process and an exploration of the effect of the refractive index of the SiN_x. The n⁺ silicon passivating contact with SiN_x /SiO_x double layer achieves a better result than a single SiN_x or SiO_x layer, giving a recombination current parameter of ～7 fA/cm² and a contact resistivity of ～0.005 Ω cm², respectively. These self‐passivating electron‐selective contacts open the way to high efficiency silicon solar cells. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Nonlinear transmission coefficient of ytterbium-holmium fiber at the wavelength 978 nm

An experimental and theoretical investigation of the nonlinear transmission coefficient of ytterbium-holmium codoped silica fiber (YHF) at continuous-wave 978-nm pumping is reported. An analysis of the fiber absorption and luminescence spectra under 978-nm pumping reveals a variety of processes participating in the mixed (Yb³⁺, Ho³⁺) system: the energy transfer Yb³⁺ → Ho³⁺, the up-conversion and excited-state absorption in Ho³⁺, and the luminescence quenching due to the presence of Yb³⁺-Yb³⁺ ion pairs. These processes are shown to notably affect the transmission coefficient of YHF, which is reflected in a pronounced modification of its dependences on pump power, fiber length, and dopant concentrations, in comparison with the case of purely ytterbium-doped fiber (YF). A modeling of the experimentally measured dependences of the YHF transmission coefficient on pump power and fiber length allows us to obtain the coefficients addressing the energy transfer process Yb³⁺ → Ho³⁺ in YHF. A comparison of YHF and YF at the same pumping conditions reveals that, in YHF, a considerable part of the pump power absorbed in the Yb³⁺ subsystem is transferred into the Ho³⁺ subsystem; this results in an effective population of its ⁵ I ₇ state and makes YHF promising for 2-μm lasing and amplifying.     

Influence of some lime-containing additives on the thermal behavior of urea

Urea is one of the main nitrogen fertilizers used in agriculture. But being well soluble in water, hardly 50% of its nitrogen is assimilated by plants. One possibility to eliminate this disadvantage is to use coating agents for modification of urea to obtain a controlled-realized fertilizer. The aim of this research was to study the influence of different lime-containing additives on the thermal behavior and decomposition kinetics of urea in oxidizing atmosphere. Commercial fertilizer-grade urea (46.4% N) and analytical-grade CaO, MgO, CaCO₃, MgCO₃ were used in the experiments. In addition, one Estonian limestone and one dolomite sample were used as additive or coating material. The experiments with a Setaram Setsys 1750 thermoanalyzer coupled to a Nicolet 380 FTIR Spectrometer by a heated transfer line were carried out under non-isothermal conditions up to 900 °C at the heating rate of 5 °C min^?1 and to calculate kinetic parameters, additionally, at 1, 2, and 10 °C min^?1 in the atmosphere containing 80% of Ar and 20% of O₂. The differential isoconversional method of Friedman was used to calculate the kinetic parameters. The results obtained indicate that thermooxidative decomposition of urea as well as the blends of urea with lime-containing materials and urea prills coated with limestone or dolomite powder follows a complex reaction mechanism.     

New palladium (II) complexes containing phosphine‐nitrogen ligands and their use as catalysts in aminocarbonylation reaction

Aminocarbonylation of aryl halides, homogeneously catalysed by palladium, is an efficient method that can be employed for obtaining amides for pharmaceutical and synthetic applications. In this work, palladium (II) complexes containing P^N ligands were studied as catalysts in the aminocarbonylation of iodobenzene in the presence of diethylamine. Two types of systems were used: a palladium (II) complex formed in situ; and one prepared prior to the catalytic reaction. In general, the palladium complexes studied achieved high conversions in an average reaction time of less than 2 hr, which is less than that for the standard system (Pd (II)/PPh₃) used. The pre‐synthesized complexes were faster than their in situ counterparts, as the latter require an induction time to form the Pd/P^N species. The structure and electronic properties of the ligand P^N can influence both the activity and the selectivity of the reaction, stabilizing the acyl‐palladium intermediates formed in a better manner.