Separation of uranium from solid (U,Pu, Ag) oxide analytical waste: effect of batch size and nitric acid molarity

This work presents the investigation of some commercially available and commonly used Si₃N₄ foils prepared with LPCVD technique. The density and the stoichiometry of these films were determined by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy and profilometry, while the study of impurities was achieved with particle induced X-ray emission method. It was found that the density of the studied Si₃N₄ films is significantly less (~2.71 g cm^?3), while the stoichiometry is close to the values of the bulk material. The results were verified by measuring the ion energy loss through the films by scanning transmission ion microscopy.     

A multi-stage financial hedging approach for the procurement of manufacturing materials

This paper addresses the problem of mitigating procurement risk that arises from volatile commodity prices by proposing a hedging strategy within a multi-stage time frame. The proposed multi-stage hedging strategy requires a commodity futures position to be correctly initialised and rebalanced with adequate volumes of short/long positions, so as to reduce the volatility in the total procurement cost that would otherwise be generated by varying commodity spot prices. The novelty in the approach is the introduction of the rebalancing of commodity futures position at defined intermediate stages. To obtain an efficient or near optimal multi-stage hedging strategy, a discrete-time stochastic control model (DSCM) is developed. Numerical experiments and Monte Carlo simulation are used to show that the proposed multi-stage hedging strategy compares favourably with the minimal-variance hedge and the one-stage hedge. A close-form optimal solution is also presented for the case when procurement volume and price are independent.     

Exact Meromorphic Stationary Solutions of the Real Cubic Swift‐Hohenberg Equation

We show that all meromorphic solutions of the stationary reduction of the real cubic Swift‐Hohenberg equation are elliptic or degenerate elliptic. We then obtain them all explicitly by the subequation method, and one of them appears to be a new elliptic solution.     

An Efficient Method for Preparing the α-Deuterated-α,β-Unsaturated Carbonyl Compounds by Reaction of Stable Phosphonium Ylides with Carbonyl Compounds in Deuterium Oxide

Carbonyl compounds reacted with stable phosphonium ylides in D₂O to give α-deuterated-α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in the same flask. The chemical yield and deuterium incorporation are excellent under our procedure. The fragile group like ozonide was compatible with our reaction condition.     

pH‐ and Thiol‐Responsive BODIPY‐Based Photosensitizers for Targeted Photodynamic Therapy

A diiodo distyryl boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) core was conjugated to two ferrocenyl quenchers through acid‐labile ketal and/or thiol‐cleavable disulfide linkers, of which the fluorescence and photosensitizing properties were significantly quenched through a photoinduced electron‐transfer process. The two symmetrical analogues that contained either the ketal or disulfide linkers could only be activated by a single stimulus, whereas the unsymmetrical analogue was responsive to dual stimuli. Upon interaction with acid and/or dithiothreitol (DTT), these linkers were cleaved selectively. The separation of the BODIPY core and the ferrocenyl moieties restored the photoactivities of the former in phosphate buffered saline and inside the MCF‐7 breast cancer cells, rendering these compounds as potential activable photosensitizers for targeted photodynamic therapy. The dual activable analogue exhibited the greatest enhancement in intracellular fluorescence intensity in both an acidic environment (pH 5) and the presence of DTT (4 mm ). Its photocytotoxicity against MCF‐7 cells also increased by about twofold upon preincubation with 4 mm of DTT. The activation of this compound was also demonstrated in nude mice bearing a HT29 human colorectal carcinoma. A significant increase in fluorescence intensity in the tumor was observed over 9 h after intratumoral injection.     

Sonochemical reactions with mesoporous alumina

Herein, we report the sonochemical reactions with MSU-X mesoporous alumina (m-Al₂O₃) in aqueous solutions. Sonication (f = 20 kHz, I = 30 W cm^?2, W_aq = 0.67 W mL^?1, T = 36–38 °C, Ar) causes significant acceleration of m-Al₂O₃ dissolution in the pH range of 4–11. Moreover, power ultrasound has a dramatic effect on the textural properties and phase composition of m-Al₂O₃. Short-time sonication at pH = 4 leads to the formation of nanorods and nanofibers of boehmite, AlO(OH). Prolonged ultrasonic treatment causes high aspect morphology transformation to aggregated nanosheets in weakly acid solutions or plated nanocrystals in alkaline solutions. Sonochemical products in alkaline medium are composed principally from boehmite and small amounts of bayerite, Al(OH)₃. Silent hydrolysis of m-Al₂O₃ yields boehmite at pH = 4 and bayerite at pH = 11. The effect of ultrasound on the textural properties of mesoporous alumina as well as on the transformation of nanosized bayerite to boehmite can be consistently attributed to the transient strong heating of the liquid shell surrounding the cavitation bubble which caused the chemical processes similar to those occurred during hydrothermal treatment.