On electron and ion temperatures in the perturbed upper atmosphere

Based on Milston Hill incoherent scatter radar data, the behavior of the electron and ion plasma temperatures in the ionosphere F layer and the correlation of these parameters with the plasma drift are briefly discussed. Using this analysis, an attempt is made to evaluate a role of the longituainal currents in the thermal processes taking place in the perturbated upper atmosphere, is made.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 390–396, March, 1996.     

The accurate determination of cobalt: Gravimetric methods and in particular the phosphate method

Some gravimetric methods for determining cobalt have been examined in order to assess their value for the accurate determination of the metal. The electrolytic method was found to give high results (about 1.4%), and the anthranilate method slightly high results (0.2 – 0.3%). A modification of the phosphate method has been developed in which a former drawback, the solubility of CoNH₄PO₄·H₂O, has been overcome using a rapid spectrophotometric determination of residual cobalt. The final procedure developed has been found to give accurate results ( ±0.1 – 0.2%) and its use is recommended where this degree of accuracy is required.     

Single and double passage AFP NMR/ON studies of54MnNi

High resolution conventional AFP NMR/ON studies provide evidence for very small efg's of predominantly negative sign at the nucleus of the nominal S-state ion⁵⁴Mn in single crystal nickel when the applied field is paralled to the 111 direction. The form of the mid passage signals for opposing sweep directions indicates a unique efg super-imposed upon a random component of comparable magnitude. The advantages of a second analyzing sweep performed during spin lattice relaxation of a conventional post-passage AFP NMR/ON sweep are demonstrated.     

Probing organic layers on the TiO2(110) surface

In this work, we use first principles simulations to provide features of the dynamic scanning force microscopy imaging of adsorbed organic layers on insulating surfaces. We consider monolayers of formic (HCOOH) and acetic (CH(3)COOH) acid and a mixed layer of acetic and trifluoroacetic acids (CF(3)COOH) on the TiO(2)(110) surface and study their interaction with a silicon dangling bond tip. The results demonstrate that the silicon tip interacts more strongly with the substrate and the COO(-) group than the adsorbed acid headgroups, and, therefore, molecules would appear dark in images. The pattern of contrast and apparent height of molecules is determined by the repulsion between the tip and the molecular headgroups and by significant deformation of the monolayer and individual molecules. The height of the molecule on the surface and the size of the headgroup play a large role in determining access of the tip to the substrate and, hence, the contrast in images. Direct imaging of the molecules themselves could be obtained by providing a functionalized tip with attraction to the molecular headgroups, for example, a positive potential tip.     

A microwave-assisted sequential extraction of water and dilute acid soluble arsenic species from marine plant and animal tissues

This paper describes the use of dilute nitric acid for the extraction and quantification of arsenic species. A number of extractants (e.g. water, 1.5 M orthophosphoric acid, methanol-water and dilute nitric acid) were tested for the extraction of arsenic from marine biological samples, such as plants that have proved difficult to quantitatively extract. Dilute 2% (v/v) nitric acid was found to give the highest recoveries of arsenic overall and was chosen for further optimisation. The optimal extraction conditions for arsenic were 2% (v/v) HNO₃, 6 min⁻¹, 90 °C. Arsenic species were found to be stable under the optimised conditions with the exception of the arsenoriboses which degraded to a product eluting at the same retention time as glycerol arsenoribose. Good agreement was found between the 2% (v/v) HNO₃ extraction and the methanol-water extraction for the certified reference material DORM-2 (AB 17.1 and 16.2 μg g⁻¹, respectively, and TETRA 0.27 and 0.25 μg g⁻¹, respectively), which were in close agreement with the certified concentrations of AB 16.4 ± 1.1 μg g⁻¹ and TETRA 0.248 ± 0.054 μg g⁻¹.To preserve the integrity of arsenic species, a sequential extraction technique was developed where the previously methanol-water extracted pellet was further extracted with 2% (v/v) HNO₃ under the optimised conditions. Increases in arsenic recoveries between 13% and 36% were found and speciation of this faction revealed that only inorganic and simple methylated species were extracted.