Multicommuted fluorometric multiparameter sensor for simultaneous determination of naproxen and salicylic acid in biological fluids.

A combined approach based on solid-phase optosensing and multicommutation principles has been applied to develop a method for the simultaneous analysis of two pharmaceuticals (naproxen and salicylic acid) in biological fluids. The multicommuted flow-through optosensor was based on direct native fluorescence measurements of both analgesics using a non-polar sorbent (C18 silica gel) as a solid sensing zone. The flow system was controlled by Java-written home-made software and designed using three-way solenoid valves for an independent automated manipulation of sample and carrier solutions. Using an optimized sampling time, the method was calibrated in the range of 1 - 25 and 5 - 200 ng mL(-1). The obtained detection limits were 0.3 and 1.3 ng mL(-1) for naproxen and salicylic acid, respectively, with RSD (%) values of better than 2% for both analytes. The proposed methodology was successfully applied to urine, serum and pharmaceutical preparations. Recovery percentages ranging from 96.1 to 104% were obtained for both analytes.     

Lie point symmetries of the Lane-Emden systems

It is shown that a Lie point symmetry of the Lane-Emden system is a Noether symmetry if and only if its parameters belong to the critical hyperbola.     

Influence of the loading path on the strength of fiber-reinforced composites subjected to transverse compression and shear

The influence of the loading path on the failure locus of a composite lamina subjected to transverse compression and out-of-plane shear is analyzed through computational micromechanics. This is carried out using the finite element simulation of a representative volume element of the microstructure, which takes into account explicitly fiber and matrix spatial distribution within the lamina. In addition, the actual failure mechanisms (plastic deformation of the matrix and interface decohesion) are included in the simulations through the corresponding constitutive models. Two different interface strength values were chosen to explore the limiting cases of composites with strong or weak interfaces. It was found that failure locus was independent of the loading path for the three cases analyzed (pseudo-radial, compression followed by shear and shear followed by compression) in the composites with strong and weak interfaces. This result was attributed to the fact that the dominant failure mechanism in each material was the same in transverse compression and in shear. Failure is also controlled by the same mechanisms under a combination of both stresses and the failure locus depended mainly on the magnitude of the stresses that trigger fracture rather than in the loading path to reach the critical condition.     

Chiral phase transition and Anderson localization in the instanton liquid model for QCD

We study the spectrum and eigenmodes of the QCD Dirac operator in a gauge background given by an instanton liquid model (ILM) at temperatures around the chiral phase transition. Generically we find the Dirac eigenvectors become more localized as the temperature is increased. At the chiral phase transition, both the low lying eigenmodes and the spectrum of the QCD Dirac operator undergo a transition to localization similar to the one observed in a disordered conductor. This suggests that Anderson localization is the fundamental mechanism driving the chiral phase transition. We also find an additional temperature dependent mobility edge (separating delocalized from localized eigenstates) in the bulk of the spectrum which moves toward lower eigenvalues as the temperature is increased. In both regions, the origin and the bulk, the transition to localization exhibits features of a 3D Anderson transition including multifractal eigenstates and spectral properties that are well described by critical statistics. Similar results are obtained in both the quenched and the unquenched case though the critical temperature in the unquenched case is lower. Finally we argue that our findings are not in principle restricted to the ILM approximation and may also be found in lattice simulations.     

Volume of Domains in Symmetric Spaces

The authors derive a formula for the volume of a compact domain in a symmetric space from normal sections through a special submanifold in the symmetric space.This formula generalizes the volume of classical domains as tubes or domains given as motions along the submanifold.Finally,some stereological considerations regarding this formula are provided.     

Effects of oxygen in gamma irradiated aromatic polyesters in film

The effect of gamma irradiation in air is investigated on four thermoplastic polyesters (PET, PBT, PEN, PCT-co-ET) in films containing aromatic rings, in order to evaluate the influence of aromatic density and the role of oxygen on radiation resistance. Physical-chemical-nuclear analyses were used to this purpose. EPR measurements were carried out to detect radical stability against oxygen permeation. Viscometric investigations reported a very similar trend for all the investigated polyesters: a chain break effect that decreases at the highest doses. FT-IR analyses focused on the formation of oxidized species. Positron annihilation spectra pointed out a decrease of the intensity of ortho-positronium formation, while its lifetime remains unchanged with radiation dose.     

The phase diagram of the lyotropic nematic mesophase in the TTAB/NaBr/water system

The phase diagram of the nematic mesophase present in the tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide/sodium bromide/water ternary system was determined. A calamitic nematic mesophase (N_C) was observed which extends to very high concentrations of electrolyte. The order parameters of the surfactant head group in the mesophases were studied by the NMR quadrupolar splitting of the deuterated surfactant. On increasing the temperature of nematic mesophases with low electrolyte concentrations, a phase separation occurs with the formation of a more highly ordered hexagonal phase and an isotropic phase. Diffusion measurements of the isotropic micellar solution by the NMR PFG method were used to estimate hydrodynamic radii at low surfactant concentrations and to study micelle diffusion as the concentration of the surfactant was increased to the liquid crystalline region. At higher surfactant concentrations, the diffusion coefficient reached a limiting value. The calamitic nematic mesophase in this surfactant/electrolyte/water system appears to be formed by long wormlike micelles.