Stationary inverted Lyman populations and free-free and bound-free emission of lower-energy state hydride ion formed by an exothermic catalytic reaction of atomic hydrogen and certain group I catalysts

Rb⁺ to Rb²⁺ and 2K⁺ to K + K²⁺ each provide a reaction with a net enthalpy equal to the potential energy of atomic hydrogen. The presence of these gaseous ions with thermally dissociated hydrogen formed a plasma having strong VUV emission with a stationary inverted Lyman population. Significant Balmer α line broadening of 18 and 9 eV was observed from a rt-plasma of hydrogen with KNO₃, and RbNO₃, respectively, compared to 3 eV from a hydrogen microwave plasma. The reaction was exothermic since excess power of about 20 mW/cc was measured by Calvet calorimetry. We propose an energetic catalytic reaction involving a resonance energy transfer between hydrogen atoms and Rb⁺ or 2K⁺ to form a very stable novel hydride ion. Its predicted binding energy of 3.0471 eV with the fine structure was observed at 4071 Å, and its predicted bound-free hyperfine structure lines matched those observed for about 40 lines to within.01 percent. Characteristic emission from each catalyst was observed. This catalytic reaction may pump a CW HI laser.     

Method of rapid assessment of photocatalytic activities of self-cleaning films

An ink, comprising the redox dye resazurin (Rz) and the sacrificial electron donor glycerol, is shown to be capable of the rapid assessment of the photocatalytic activities of self-cleaning films. In the key initial stage of photocatalysis the ink changes from blue to pink. Prolonged irradiation bleaches the ink and eventually mineralizes it. The kinetics of the initial photoinduced color change is studied as a function of UV irradiance, [glycerol], [Rz], and temperature. The results reveal an apparent approximate quantum yield of 3.5 x 10(-3) and an initial rate, r(i), which increases with [glycerol] and decreases with [Rz]. It is proposed that the reduction of Rz, dispersed throughout the thick (ca. 590 nm) indicator film, may take place either via the diffusion of the dye molecules in the ink film to the surface of the underlying semiconductor layer and their subsequent reaction with photogenerated electrons and/or via the diffusion of alpha-hydroxyalkyl radicals, produced by the oxidation of the glycerol by photogenerated holes, or hydroxy radicals, away from the surface of the semiconductor into the ink film and their subsequent reaction with the dye molecules therein. The decrease in r(i) with [Rz] appears to be due to dimer formation, with the latter impeding the reduction process. The activation energy for the initial color-change process is low, ca. 9.1 +/- 0.1 kJ mol(-1) and not unlike many other photocatalytic processes. The initial rate of dye reduction appears to be directly related to the rate of destruction of stearic acid. The ink can be applied by spin-coating, stamping, or writing, using a felt-tip pen. The efficacy of such an ink for assessing the photocatalytic activity of any photocatalytic film, including those employed on commercial self-cleaning glasses, tiles, and paving stones, is discussed briefly.     

Effect of residual monomer on the spectroscopic properties of polythiophenes

The addition of some small molecules can red shift UV-Visible absorption and quench the fluorescence of poly(3-octadecylthiophene).     

Event excess in the MiniBooNE search for ¯νμ→¯νe oscillations

The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab reports results from a search for ˉν_{μ}→ˉν_{e} oscillations, using a data sample corresponding to 5.66×102? protons on target. An excess of 20.9±14.0 events is observed in the energy range 475相似文献   

The photoelastic properties of polydimethylsiloxane rubbers

The temperature dependence of the optical anisotropy and of the mean square end-to-end distance of polydimethylsiloxane chains have been derived from photoelastic measurements. The rotational isomeric chain model, including the interaction of neighboring bond rotations, is insufficient to interpret the data completely.

The non-Gaussian behavior of short-chain networks of polydimethylsiloxane is compared with the theoretical models of Treloar and Gotlib. Neither is found to be completely satisfactory. Crude estimates of the number of monomers per equivalent randomly jointed link are obtained, and the usefulness of the freely jointed chain model is discussed.     

The microwave spectrum of thietan-2,2,4,4-d4

The microwave spectrum for thietan-2,2,4,4-d₄ is analysed in six of its lowest puckering states and up to J = 25. The close lying pairs of states of v _p = 0/1, 2/3 and 4/5 are treated with a vibration-rotation hamiltonian which includes an off-diagonal coupling term in v _p. Additional corrections to this coupling term in higher powers of the angular momentum operator are derived and their importance for improving the fit of calculated to observed data is tested. The variation of the centrifugal distortion constants with v _p follows the model of Creswell and Mills (1974, J. molec. Spectrosc., 52, 392). A value is determined for the derivative with respect to the puckering coordinate of the ac-component of the inverse moment of inertia tensor.     

Light Lanthanide Metallocenium Cations Exhibiting Weak Equatorial Anion Interactions

As the dysprosocenium complex [Dy(Cp^ttt)₂][B(C₆F₅)₄] (Cp^ttt=C₅H₂tBu₃-1,2,4, 1-Dy ) exhibits magnetic hysteresis at 60 K, similar lanthanide (Ln) complexes have been targeted to provide insights into this remarkable property. We recently reported homologous [Ln(Cp^ttt)₂][B(C₆F₅)₄] ( 1-Ln ) for all the heavier Ln from Gd–Lu; herein, we extend this motif to the early Ln. We find, for the largest Ln^III cations, that contact ion pairs [Ln(Cp^ttt)₂{(C₆F₅-κ¹-F)B(C₆F₅)₃}] ( 1-Ln ; La–Nd) are isolated from reactions of parent [Ln(Cp^ttt)₂(Cl)] ( 2-Ln ) with [H(SiEt₃)₂][B(C₆F₅)₄], where the anion binds weakly to the equatorial sites of [Ln(Cp^ttt)₂]⁺ through a single fluorine atom in the solid state. For smaller Sm^III, [Sm(Cp^ttt)₂][B(C₆F₅)₄] ( 1-Sm ) is isolated, which like heavier 1-Ln does not exhibit equatorial anion interactions, but the Eu^III analogue 1-Eu could not be synthesised due to the facile reduction of Eu^III precursors to Eu^II products. Thus with the exception of Eu and radioactive Pm this work constitutes a structurally similar family of Ln metallocenium complexes, over 50 years after the [M(Cp)₂]⁺ series was isolated for the 3d metals.     

Sensitive and automated detection of iron-oxide-labeled cells using phase image cross-correlation analysis

Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles are increasingly being used to noninvasively track cells, target specific molecules and monitor gene expression in vivo. Contrast changes that are subtle relative to intrinsic sources of contrast present a significant detection challenge. Here, we describe a postprocessing algorithm, called Phase map cross-correlation Detection and Quantification (PDQ), with the purpose of automating identification and quantification of localized accumulations of SPIO agents. The method is designed to sacrifice little flexibility - it works on previously acquired data and allows the use of conventional high-SNR pulse sequences with no extra scan time. We first investigated the theoretical detection limits of PDQ using a simulated dipole field. This method was then applied to three-dimensional (3D) MRI data sets of agarose gel containing isolated dipoles and ex vivo transplanted allogenic rat hearts infiltrated by numerous iron-oxide-labeled macrophages as a result of organ rejection. A simulated dipole field showed this method to be robust in very low signal-to-noise ratio images. Analysis of agarose gel and allogenic rat heart shows that this method can automatically identify and count dipoles while visualizing their biodistribution in 3D renderings. In the heart, this information was used to calculate a quantitative index that may indicate its degree of cellular infiltration.     

Focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy characterization of cell behavior on polymer micro-/nanopatterned substrates: a study of cell-substrate interactions

Topographic micro and nanostructures can play an interesting role in cell behaviour when cells are cultured on these kinds of patterned substrates. It is especially relevant to investigate the influence of the nanometric dimensions topographic features on cell morphology, proliferation, migration and differentiation. To this end, some of the most recent fabrication technologies, developed for the microelectronics industry, can be used to produce well-defined micro and nanopatterns on biocompatible polymer substrates. In this work, osteoblast-like cells are grown on poly(methyl methacrylate) substrates patterned by nanoimprint lithography techniques. Examination of the cell-substrate interface can reveal important details about the cell morphology and the distribution of the focal contacts on the substrate surface. For this purpose, a combination of focused ion beam milling and scanning electron microscopy techniques has been used to image the cell-substrate interface. This technique, if applied to samples prepared by freeze-drying methods, allows high-resolution imaging of cross-sections through the cell and the substrate, where the interactions between the nanopatterned substrate, the cell and the extracellular matrix, which are normally hidden by the bulk of the cell, can be studied.