Recent results from the TCV tokamak

During the first two years of operation, the TCV tokamak has produced a large variety of plasma shapes and magnetic configurations, with 1.0B _tor1.46T,I _p800kA,k2.05, –0.71. A new shape control algorithm, based on a finite element reconstruction of the plasma current in real time, has been implemented. Vertical growth rates up to 1000s^–1 have been stabilized using the external coil system. Ohmic H-modes with Troyon factors ( _tor aB/I _p) up to two and densities up to 2.25×10²⁰m^–3, corresponding to the Greenwald limit, have been obtained in diverted discharges. Limiter H-modes with line averaged electron densities up to 1.7×10²⁰m^–3 have been obtained in elongated D-shaped plasmas with 360 kAI _P600 kA.Presented at 17^th Symposium Plasma Physics and Technology, Prague, June 13–16, 1995.This work was partly supported by the Fonds National Suisse de la Recherche Scientifique.     

Separation and implantation of relativistic86Kr-fragments at the FrS; half-life measurement by ion-β time-correlations

Neutron-rich Co and Fe isotopes produced by⁸⁶Kr projectile fragmentation at 500 MeV/u were separated and identified using the fragment separator (FrS) in a bunched energy mode.⁶⁶Co and⁶⁵Fe ions were selectively implanted in a double PIN-diode array where the-decay signals were measured. The half-lives were deduced from time correlations between implantation and-decay signals. The remeasurement of the⁶⁶Co half-life confirms the isotope identification. The value of the⁶⁵Fe half-life was found to be 0.45±0.15 s.     

Determination of urinary organic acids by HPLC

Summary A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of urinary organic acids and creatinine for following the metabolism of aromatic solvents is reported. After extraction of acidified, filtered urine with diethylether followed by evaporation, the dried residue is dissolved in mobile phase. Hydroxybenzoic acid is used as internal standard. A column of Nucleosil C₁₈ is used with a precolumn of the same material. The mobile phase is acetonitrilephosphate buffer, pH 3.3 (1783). For determination of creatinine the sample is simply diluted 10-fold and the eluate monitored at 215 nm (UV). This technique gives highly reproducible results and is simple, reliable and useful for biological monitoring.     

Ionization potential measurements of hydrogenated lithium clusters

Ionization Potentials of Li_nH_m clusters have been measured by photoionization. As in Li_n, odd-even alternations and shell closing effects are observed. In a first approximation, we find that Li_nH clusters behave like Li_n–1 and Li_nH₂ like Li_n–2. The results may be interpreted by assuming that the bonding of one hydrogen localizes one electron and that the other electrons remain delocalized.     

Cellular automata approach to site percolation on ℤ2. A numerical study

We present a cellular automata model as a new approach to Bernoulli site percolation on the square lattice. A new macroscopic quantity is defined and numerically computed at each level step of the automata dynamics. Its limit manifests a critical behavior at a value of the site occupancy probability quite close to those obtained for site percolation on ² with the best-known numerical methods.     

Polyimide and SU-8 microfluidic devices manufactured by heat-depolymerizable sacrificial material technique

The following paper describes a sacrificial layer method for the manufacturing of microfluidic devices in polyimide and SU-8. The technique uses heat-depolymerizable polycarbonates embedded in polyimide or SU-8 for the generation of microchannels and sealed cavities. The volatile decomposition products originating from thermolysis of the sacrificial material escape out of the embedding material by diffusion through the cover layer. The fabrication process was studied experimentally and theoretically with a focus on the decomposition of the sacrificial materials and their diffusion through the polyimide or SU-8 cover layer. It is demonstrated that the sacrificial material removal process is independent of the actual channel geometry and advances linearly with time unlike conventional sacrificial layer techniques. The fabrication method provides a versatile and fast technique for the manufacturing of microfluidic devices for applications in the field of microTAS and Lab-on-a-Chip.     

Direct analysis of selected N-acyl-L-homoserine lactones by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

A rapid, simple and selective method involving direct separation by gas chromatography (GC) with electron ionization mass spectrometry (EI-MS) was employed to determine some N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs). Using GC/EI-MS, simultaneous separation and characterization of AHLs were possible without prior derivatization. Informative fragmentation patterns were obtained to identify the structures of N-acyl chains of AHLs. Electron ionization resulted in a common fragmentation pattern with the most abundant ion at m/z 143 and other minor peaks at m/z 71, 57, and 43. The presence of AHLs in extracts of Burkholderia cepacia strains was achieved in selected ion monitoring mode by using the prominent fragment at m/z 143.     

Macromlecular engineering of polylactones and polylactides. XVI. On the way to the synthesis of ω-aliphatic primary amine poly (ϵ-caprolactone) and polylactides

Since bromides are well-known precursors of primary amines, diethylaluminum 12 bromo-1-dodecyl oxide has been prepared and used as an initiator for the ring-opening polymerization of ?-caprolactone and L-lactide. Uner strictly controlled conditions, the end-functionalization of the polyesters in quantitative and the bromo end-group is easily converted into an azide group whatever the polymeric backbone. The subsequent reduction of the azide into the expected primary amine has been investigated by catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) in DMF and by hydrolysis in the presence of triphenylphosphine in THF, respectively.The hydrolysis reaction (PΦ₃/H₂O) is perturbed by a coupling reaction, which involves a protonate secondary amine and leads to a twofold increase in the polyester molecular weight. The CTH method gives rise to the expected ω-NH₂ poly (?-caprolactone), in contrast to polylactide which seems to be unstable toward the nascent amine end group. Whatever the polarity of the medium (DMF or THF), aminolysis of polylactides is observed to occur and leads to the formation of an internal amide. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

On the postulation of a general projection of a curve inP 3

Summary We say that a curve C in P ³ has maximal rank if for every integer k the restriction map r_c(k):H ⁰(P ³, O_P3(k)) H⁰ (C, O_C(k))has maximal rank. Here we prove the following results. Theorem 1Fix integers g, d with 0g3,dg+3.Fix a curve X of genus g and L Pic^d (X).If g=3and X is hyperelliptic, assume d8. Let _L(X)be the image of X by the complete linear system H ⁰(X, L). Then a general projection of _L(X)into P ³ has maximal rank. Theorem 2For every integer g0,there exists an integer d(g, 3)such that for every dd(g, 3),for every smooth curve X of genus g and every LPic^d (X) the general projection of _L(X)into P ³ has maximal rank.