The influence of the oxygen exposure on the thermal faceting of W[1 1 1] tip

The oxygen induced faceting of the macroscopic W[1 1 1] tip has been studied for oxygen exposures in the range 0.5-31 L and annealing temperatures 800-1800 K using the field ion microscopy (FIM) technique. After annealing at temperatures lower than 800 K, higher than 1850 K or for exposures lower than 0.5 L faceting was not observed. For exposures 0.5-1.9 L and annealing temperatures 800-1600 K well developed {1 1 2} facets with sharp edges formed. For exposures higher than 2.0 L edges of the {1 1 2} facets were broadening and disappearing, what has been attributed to the formation of three-dimensional tungsten oxides. The oxides could be easily removed by annealing the tip at 1700 K, what leads to formation of sharp facet edges. On the basis of these results a modified procedure of the ultrasharp tip fabrication has been proposed.     

How much sweetness is there in the universe?

We continue investigations of forcing notions with strong ccc properties introducing new methods of building sweet forcing notions. We also show that quotients of topologically sweet forcing notions over Cohen reals are topologically sweet while the quotients over random reals do not have to be such. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Coloring mixed hypertrees

A mixed hypergraph is a triple (V,C,D) where V is its vertex set and C and D are families of subsets of V, called C-edges and D-edges, respectively. For a proper coloring, we require that each C-edge contains two vertices with the same color and each D-edge contains two vertices with different colors. The feasible set of a mixed hypergraph is the set of all k's for which there exists a proper coloring using exactly k colors. A hypergraph is a hypertree if there exists a tree such that the edges of the hypergraph induce connected subgraphs of the tree.We prove that feasible sets of mixed hypertrees are gap-free, i.e., intervals of integers, and we show that this is not true for precolored mixed hypertrees. The problem to decide whether a mixed hypertree can be colored by k colors is NP-complete in general; we investigate complexity of various restrictions of this problem and we characterize their complexity in most of the cases.     

On Super-KMS functionals and entire cyclic cohomology

We formulate the super-KMS condition suggested by Connes and Kastler, in the context of entire cyclic cohomology of quantum algebras. We show that the Chern character of Jaffe, Lesniewski, and Osterwalder — associated by Kastler to a super-KMS functional — satisfies the entire growth condition. Hence, a super-KMS functional defines a cocycle for the entire cyclic cohomology of quantum algebras.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation.     

Forward-backward multiplicity correlations in σ+ p,K + p andpp collisions at 250 GeV/c

Forward-backward multiplicity correlations in σ⁺,K ⁺ p andpp collisions at 250 GeV/c ( \(\sqrt s \) =22 GeV) are given for all charges and for the different charge combinations. The correlations are found to be caused predominantly by centrally produced particles. It is demonstrated that this result is an agreement with observations at the ISR and the CERNp \(\bar p\) -Collider. The results are compared to expectations from LUND, DPM and FRITIOF Monte Carlo models and a geometrical picture relating correlations in hadron-hadron collisions toe ⁺ e ^? data in terms of impact parameters is tested.     

Application of stir bar sorptive extraction for wine analysis

Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to analyse wine samples for three applications: flavour and compositional analysis; 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA), a common off-aroma in wine; and agrochemicals. SBSE was found to be orders of magnitude more sensitive than modern conventional methodology, allowing for lower detection and quantitation levels, and improved confirmation of identity; SBSE often gave better signal to noise in scan mode than other methods in selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode. With the help of their characteristic mass spectra all agrochemicals could be identified unambiguously at concentrations of 10 microg L(-1) in wine and a further 100 constituents were detected in a Cabernet Sauvignon sample. Thus it is now possible to analyse complex samples such as wine by scan mode, with better confirmation of identity, and without sacrificing sensitivity, where previously SIM methodology had to be used.     

Underpotential deposition of tin(II) on a gold disc electrode and determination of tin in a tin plate sample

This work describes a study of the underpotential deposition (UPD) of Sn²⁺ on a polycrystalline gold disc electrode using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronocoulometry (CC). Sn²⁺ ions showed well-defined peaks from UPD and UPD stripping (UPD-S) in 1 mol/L HCl solutions, while bulk deposition (BD) and BD stripping (BD-S) of the ions were also observed. The measured UPD shifts, E_UPD, between the UPD-S and the BD-S peaks were more than 200 mV. The UPD charge and the surface coverage of tin were measured by CC. A new method for determining Sn²⁺ was therefore developed, based on the excellent electrochemical properties of the Au/Sn UPD system. A plot of the UPD-DPASV (differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry) signal versus the Sn(II) concentration was obtained for [Sn(II)] of 1.98×10^–7 to 3.64×10^–5 M. The method developed here has been applied to determine the tin in a tin plate sample.     

Determination of zearalenone and ochratoxin A in soil

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites, formed by the action of fungi on agricultural crops in the field or during storage. These metabolites are highly toxic to animals and humans and high levels have been measured in agricultural crops. In order to evaluate human risks due to ingestion of mycotoxin-contaminated food different methods have been developed for analysis of mycotoxins in cereals and maize. In this project the focus was on mycotoxins in agricultural soil and the fate of these toxins in the soil-water-plant system. Two different mycotoxins were selected in the study: zearalenone (ZON) produced by species of Fusariumor Aspergillusand ochratoxin A (OTA) produced by species of Penicillium. We developed a method for analysis of these toxins in soil. Soil samples were extracted with methanol-water (9:1) and purified by solid-phase extraction (SPE, C8-columns). The final extract was analysed using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. A Phenyl Hexyl column was used to separate the toxins. The detection limits obtained were 0.1 and 1.0 microg kg(-1) dry weight (dw) for OTA and ZON, respectively. The developed method has been used for analysis of different soils in connection with growth chamber experiments. The soil types used in the growth chamber experiments were a sandy soil, a sandy clay soil, and a soil with high content of organic matter. The recovery was determined as 85.8 and 93.4% and the repeatability to 5.1 and 12.8% for OTA and ZON, respectively. The reproducibility obtained was 8.5 and 15.0% for soil samples, representing concentration levels from 0.2-30 microg kg(-1) dw (OTA) and from 1.0-100 microg kg(-1) dw (ZON).     

Synthesis, spectroscopic and thermal studies of the copper(II) aspartame chloride complex

Aspartame adduct of copper(II) chloride Cu(Asp)₂Cl₂·2H₂O (Asp=aspartame) is synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, FT IR, UV/vis, ESR spectroscopies, TG, DTG, DTA measurements and molecular mechanics calculations. Aqueous solution of the green solid absorbs strongly at 774 and 367 nm. According to the FT IR spectra, the aspartame moiety coordinates to the copper(II) ion via its carboxylate ends, whereas the ammonium terminal groups give rise to hydrogen bonding network with the water, the chloride ions or neighboring carboxylate groups. The results suggest tetragonally distorted octahedral environment of the copper ions.