Orientational contribution to the piezoelectric constants of BaTiO3 ceramic in ferroelectric phases with various symmetries

A self-consistent method based on the interaction of a piezoelectric sphere with a piezoelectric medium that has anisotropic elastic and dielectric properties is used to calculate the components of the tensor piezoelectric modulus of BaTiO₃ ceramic in all three ferroelectric modifications. A comparison of the calculated and measured piezoelectric moduli shows that at least 60–70% of the piezoelectric effect in BaTiO₃ ceramic is caused by domain boundary movement throughout the entire ferroelectric region. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1080–1083 (June 1999)     

Post-Harvest Operations to Generate High-Quality Medicinal Cannabis Products: A Systemic Review

The traditional Cannabis plant as a medicinal crop has been explored for many thousands of years. The Cannabis industry is rapidly growing; therefore, optimising drying methods and producing high-quality medical products have been a hot topic in recent years. We systemically analysed the current literature and drew a critical summary of the drying methods implemented thus far to preserve the quality of bioactive compounds from medicinal Cannabis. Different drying techniques have been one of the focal points during the post-harvesting operations, as drying preserves these Cannabis products with increased shelf life. We followed or even highlighted the most popular methods used. Drying methods have advanced from traditional hot air and oven drying methods to microwave-assisted hot air drying or freeze-drying. In this review, traditional and modern drying technologies are reviewed. Each technology will have different pros and cons of its own. Moreover, this review outlines the quality of the Cannabis plant component harvested plays a major role in drying efficiency and preserving the chemical constituents. The emergence of medical Cannabis, and cannabinoid research requires optimal post-harvesting processes for different Cannabis strains. We proposed the most suitable method for drying medicinal Cannabis to produce consistent, reliable and potent medicinal Cannabis. In addition, drying temperature, rate of drying, mode and storage conditions after drying influenced the Cannabis component retention and quality.     

Growth of Er2(SO4)3 ⋅ 8H2O crystals and study of their structure and properties

New crystals of the composition Er₂(SO₄)₃ ? 8H₂O have been synthesized by the method similar to that used for synthesis of (CH₃)₂NH₂Al(SO₄)₂ ? 6H₂O. The synthesized crystals were studied by the X-ray diffraction method. The crystals are monoclinic C2/c) and contain no (CH₃)₂NH₂ ions. It is established that, contrary to DMAAS crystals, Er₂(SO₄)₃ ? 8H₂O crystals undergo no phase transitions and possess neither ferroelectric nor ferroelastic properties.     

Simulation of rarefied gas flows on the basis of the Boltzmann kinetic equation solved by applying a conservative projection method

Flows of a simple rarefied gas and gas mixtures are computed on the basis of the Boltzmann kinetic equation, which is solved by applying various versions of the conservative projection method, namely, a two-point method for a simple gas and gas mixtures with a small difference between the molecular masses and a multipoint method in the case of a large mass difference. Examples of steady and unsteady flows are computed in a wide range of Mach and Knudsen numbers.     

“Magnetodipole” self-organization of charge carriers in high-T c superconductors and the kinetics of phase transition

A phenomenological model describing “magnetodipole” self-organization of charge carriers (the formation of so-called stripe-structures and the energy gap in the spectrum of states) was suggested to interpret the data of nonstationary nonlinear spectroscopy of high-T _c superconductors. It was shown that, after rapidly heating a superconducting sample, the kinetics of the succeeding phase transition depended on initial temperature T. At small “overheatings” T*<T<T _m x≈(1.4?1.5)T* (T _c and T*≈T _c are the temperatures of the transition to the superconducting state and the formation of stripe-structures) and the optimal level of doping, the decay of stripe-structures (and of the gap in the spectrum of states) occurred at a low rate (in times above to 10^?9 s) in spite of the virtually instantaneous disappearance of superconductivity.     

Impact of localized inhomogeneity on the surface-wave velocity and bulk-wave reflection in solids

The effect of a weak surface, near-surface and interfacial inhomogeneity on the frequency dependence of the surface wave velocity and of the SH (shear horizontal) wave reflectivity in isotropic elastic media is studied analytically and numerically. The inhomogeneity is modeled as an infinite planar layer with continuously varying properties. Weak inhomogeneity may markedly affect the dispersion of the Rayleigh velocity and especially of the reflectivity. It is demonstrated how this effect, particularly pronounced at high frequency, depends on the extent of inhomogeneity. The material data for damaged and ideal concrete and several simple examples of inhomogeneity profiles are utilized for the numerical calculations based on the Peano expansion. The use of explicit low- and high-frequency approximations is also exemplified. Among these, simple WKB asymptotics are shown to be particularly helpful for the Rayleigh velocity in the case of a prominent inhomogeneity attached to the surface and for the reflection on weak interfaces.     

Concerted and stepwise proton-coupled electron transfers in aquo/hydroxo complex couples in water: oxidative electrochemistry of [Os(II)(bpy)(2)(py)(OH(2))](2+)

Successive oxidation of transition metal(II) aqua complexes (M(II)OH(2) to M(III)OH) is a domain in which proton-coupled electron transfer reactions are extremely common. The mechanism of these PCET reactions-concerted or stepwise-is an important issue in the understanding and design of natural or artificial systems catalyzing the formation of dioxygen by four-electron oxidation of water. Concerted proton-coupled electron transfer from an aqua metal(II) to a hydroxo metal(III) complex requires the close proximity of a proton-accepting group with a pK value between those of the aqua complexes. Otherwise, stepwise electron-proton or proton-electron pathways involving high-energy intermediates are followed. Concerted proton-electron pathways involving water as proton-acceptor or proton-donor group are inefficient. Cyclic voltammetry of the title complex in buffered aqueous solution and re-examination of previous results for the same complex attached to an electrode surface are used to establish these conclusions, which provide a starting point on the route to higher degrees of oxidation, such as those involved in the catalysis of water oxidation.     

Plutonium in soils, bottom sediments and lichen near peaceful nuclear explosion sites in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

During the 1974–1987 period 12 paceful nuclear explosions were conducted in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). For the first time^239,240Pu and²³⁸Pu concentrations were determined in samples of soils, bottom sediments and lichen taken at the Craton-3 and Crystal nuclear explosion sites. At the Craton-3^239,240Pu concentrations in the range 6.2 mBq/g to 5.9 Bq/g samples of soil and^239,240Pu concentrations up to 7.4 Bq/g in samples of lichen were observed.^239,240Pu concentration measurements in bottom sediments of a stream washing out the banking around the borehole of Craton-3 show that plutonium migrates in the direction of the Markha river. At the Crystal site local plutonium concentrations up to 35 Bq/g in soil and 1.8 Bq/g in lichen were observed.     

Synergetic effect of the action of atomic oxygen and vacuum ultraviolet radiation on polymers in the Earth’S ionosphere

A procedure for the bench-test simulation of the physicochemical interactions of polymers with flows of atomic oxygen and vacuum ultraviolet radiation in the ionosphere of the Earth has been developed. The threshold values of the ratios of the vacuum ultraviolet flux density to the flux of atomic oxygen, which characterize the synergistic effect on the ablation of polymers (the polyimides Kapton-H and PM-1E, polyethylene, and Teflon 100A) have been obtained.     

Recent trends in ultra‐fast HPLC: New generation superficially porous silica columns

New generation columns, i.e. packed with superficially porous silica particles are available as trade names with following manufacturers: Halo, Ascentis Express, Proshell 120, Kinetex, Accucore, Sunshell, and Nucleoshell. These provide ultra‐fast HPLC separations for a variety of compounds with moderate sample loading capacity and low back pressure. Chemistries of these columns are C₈, C₁₈, RP‐Amide, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography, penta fluorophenyl (PFP), F5, and RP‐aqua. Normally, the silica gel particles are of 2.7 and 1.7 μm as total and inner solid core diameters, respectively, with 0.5‐μm‐thick of outer porous layer having 90 Å pore sizes and 150 m²/g surface area. This article describes these new generation columns with special emphasis on their textures and chemistries, separations, optimization, and comparison (inter and intra stationary phases). Besides, future perspectives have also been discussed.