The Use of Contactless Conductivity for the On-Column Characterisation and Visualisation of Packing Homogeneity and Band Broadening in Capillary LC

Capacitively coupled contactless conductivity is presented as a simple non-invasive tool for the visualisation and evaluation of the axial homogeneity of packing density in capillary LC columns. Irregularities in frit structure and gross column voids were readily identified, the latter of which was confirmed with digital photography. Relative homogeneity of packing density was compared for two packed columns by measuring the variation in conductive response per unit length and varied from 1.1 to 4.2%. The on-column scanning methodology was applied to real-time visualisation of in-situ buffering effects arising from a packed poly-iminodiacetic acid bonded resin. Finally, the scanning detection technique was applied to the pre-elution visualisation of on-column band broadening.     

100 GHz MMIC Power Source Development Study

This paper comprises a tutorial in the development of MMIC based high frequency multiplier chains, suitable for use in high frequency power sources. The development of suitable single function building blocks is discussed. The arrangement of suitable combinations of these building blocks in more complex cascaded chains is also presented. A strategy to aid in the identification of an optimum solution for the nominal requirement is provided. Using this approach, it is shown that a 25 to 100GHz multiplier capable of delivering more than 100mW at 100GHz is feasible using existing GaAs technology. In fact it is shown that there is potential to deliver this power level for an incident level of about 10mW at 25GHz.     

Delayed lanthanide luminescent Tb(III) complexes formed from lower rim amide functionalised calix[4]arenes

The synthesis and the photophysical studies of a new generation of time resolved luminescent systems based on calix[4]arenes alkylated at the lower rim, capable of hosting lanthanide (III) ions such as terbium and sensitising its emission, are described. Two series of ligands were designed to provide an ideal cavity to host terbium (Tb(III)) and were synthesised in high yields following two novel approaches. The tetra-alkylation, which was achieved in one step using with piperidino- and morpholino-acetamide pendant arms, provides eight donor atoms forming a binding ‘pocket’ at an ideal distance from the metal core to favour the sensitisation via the antenna effect. Of the two ligand series developed, compounds 3 and 4 possess a short spacer between the calix and the amide receptor site. The second series of ligands 6–7, designed with longer pendant amide arms, was synthesised from 2 in two steps through the ester analogue 5. The crystal structure of 3 (and 6 as shown in Supporting Information, available online) is presented. The synthesis and the photophysical studies of the four resulting complexes 3.Tb, 4.Tb, 6.Tb and 7.Tb are described in detail and in each case, successful sensitisation of the terbium emission occurred upon excitation of the phenolic scaffold of the calixarene.     

Non-abelian T-duality,Ramond fields and coset geometries

We extend the recently constructed double field theory formulation of the low-energy theory of the closed bosonic string to the heterotic string. The action can be written in terms of a generalized metric that is a covariant tensor under O(D, D + n), where n denotes the number of gauge vectors, and n additional coordinates are introduced together with a covariant constraint that locally removes these new coordinates. For the abelian subsector, the action takes the same structural form as for the bosonic string, but based on the enlarged generalized metric, thereby featuring a global O(D, D + n) symmetry. After turning on non-abelian gauge couplings, this global symmetry is broken, but the action can still be written in a fully O(D, D + n) covariant fashion, in analogy to similar constructions in gauged supergravities.

     

Enhanced Stability and Emission Properties of Perylene Dyes by Surface Tethering: Preparation of Fluorescent Ru Nanoparticle Suspensions by Alkyne Linker Chemistry

Spherical ruthenium nanoparticles (NPs) with a narrow size distribution were synthesised in ethanol by a facile low-temperature solvothermal process without the assistance of templates, structure-directing agents or post annealing/reduction treatments. Surface passivation with a fluorescent perylene dye (EP), and with silane ligands (ETMS), both initially bearing alkyne groups and subsequently forming vinylidene linkages, provided stable suspensions of the marginally soluble free EP. Quantitative analysis of the suspension gave an estimated EP surface coverage of 15 %, corresponding to an EP/ETMS mole ratio of ≈1:6. Photophysical evaluation of the bound and free dye revealed similar absorption bands and extinction coefficients and improved properties for the bound state, including enhanced fluorescence in the visible range for the bound dye, an extended absorption range into the near-UV providing strong emission in the visible, and significantly improved photostability. The physical basis of the enhanced photophysical properties, potential routes to further improvements and the implications for applications are discussed.     

Field reversal in an electronegative plasma containing moving striations

Evidence is presented to show that under some conditions the radial ambipolar field, in a diffuse positive column containing moving striations, reverses near the discharge tube axis.     

The Role of Carbonaceous Particles in Low Current Arc Duration Enhancment. II. Arcs Occurring on Approach of Electrodes

Part per million concentrations of some organic vapors in telephone relay environments are known to produce carbonaceous particles on arcing contact surfaces. Enhanced arcing then occurs and the reliability and contact lifetime of the relays is impaired. The enhancement of break arcs due to the presence of carbonaceous particles has been described in paper I. Break Arcs.6 In this present paper the enhancement of arcs occurring on approach of electrodes (make arcs) is discussed and is thought to be due to the injection of plasmas formed by the electronic and ionic bombardment of carbon particles on the anode and cathode respectively. The plasmas formed from these particles can then be related to arc-duration enhancement. The observation that under `activated' conditions no anode-type arcs exist but those that form are all of the cathode variety, can also be explained by the model. A calculation of the amount of carbon required to fully activate a 10-2 cm2 contact area yields 6.3 × 10-8 gm in agreement with values of other workers.     

Cardiovascular Signal Entropy Predicts All-Cause Mortality: Evidence from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)

In this study, the relationship between cardiovascular signal entropy and the risk of seven-year all-cause mortality was explored in a large sample of community-dwelling older adults from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). The hypothesis under investigation was that physiological dysregulation might be quantifiable by the level of sample entropy (SampEn) in continuously noninvasively measured resting-state systolic (sBP) and diastolic (dBP) blood pressure (BP) data, and that this SampEn measure might be independently predictive of mortality. Participants’ date of death up to 2017 was identified from official death registration data and linked to their TILDA baseline survey and health assessment data (2010). BP was continuously monitored during supine rest at baseline, and SampEn values were calculated for one-minute and five-minute sections of this data. In total, 4543 participants were included (mean (SD) age: 61.9 (8.4) years; 54.1% female), of whom 214 died. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between BP SampEn and all-cause mortality. Results revealed that higher SampEn in BP signals was significantly predictive of mortality risk, with an increase of one standard deviation in sBP SampEn and dBP SampEn corresponding to HRs of 1.19 and 1.17, respectively, in models comprehensively controlled for potential confounders. The quantification of SampEn in short length BP signals could provide a novel and clinically useful predictor of mortality risk in older adults.