Growth of InP/InGaAs multiple quantum well structures by chemical beam epitaxy

InP/InGaAs multiple quantum well structures with up to 200 periods have been grown by CBE. These structures exhibit exceptional lateral uniformity, measured as ±1 Å in period, ±13 ppm in lattice mismatch and ±0.5 nm in wavelength across a 2 inch wafer. Good surface morphology, sharp interfaces and excellent growth control have all been demonstrated.     

Analysis of transient wave scattering from an inclusion with an unilateral smoothly contact interface by BEM

Summary A 2D time-domain Boundary Element Method (BEM) is applied to solve the problem of transient scattering of plane waves by an inclusion with a unilateral smooth contact interface. The incident wave is assumed strong enough so that localized separations take place along the interface. The present problem is indeed a nonlinear boundary value problem since the mixed boundary conditions involve unknown intervals (separation and contact regions). In order to determine the unknown intervals, an iterative technique is developed. As an example, we consider the scattering of plane waves by the cross section of a circular cylinder embedded in an infinite solid. Numerical results for the near field solutions are presented. The distortion of the response waves and the variation of the interface states are discussed. The financial support by the China National Natural Science Foundation under Grant No. 19872001 and No. 59878004 is gratefully acknowledged. The second author is also grateful to the support of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars under Grant No. 10025211.     

Metallothionein as a biomarker for mercury in tissues of rat fed orally with cinnabar

Cinnabar, as one of the most widely used mineral drugs in traditional Chinese medicines, has been proven to have prominent curative effects in clinical use for more than 2000 years. But the safety and toxicity of the drug has been under constant debate in clinic usage. Metallothionein (MT) contains about 30% of cysteine in the molecule, and plays an important detoxification role against heavy metals. In this study, it was used as a biomarker to assess mercurial accumulation in rats fed orally with cinnabar. After feeding rats with cinnabar by gastric gavage at different dosages and at different times, the distribution of heavy metals (including mercury, copper and zinc) and MT was investigated among rat tissues, including liver, kidney, heart, brain, testis and blood. Metals and MT determinations were carried out using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) and a modified mercury saturation assay technique respectively. The results indicated that mercury was easily accumulated in the tissues of rats exposed to cinnabar, especially in kidney. For example: at a feeding dosage of 5 g kg^?1 (bw) for 4 weeks, the mercury concentrations in kidney were 13, 8.7, 21.6 and 26 times those in liver, testis, brain and heart respectively; and at 2.5 g kg^?1 (bw) for 2 weeks, the mercury concentrations in kidney were 21, 2.1, 3 and 21 times those in liver, testis, brain and heart respectively. In addition, mercury in kidney and liver of all cinnabar groups was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.01). A high positive correlation observed between MT concentrations and mercury levels in both liver and kidney (R² = 0.9299, P < 0.02 for liver; R² = 0.9923, P < 0.0008 for kidney) indicated that MT could be used as a biomarker for mercury in tissues. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crystallographic report: Crystal structure of tetra(4‐methyl‐5‐imidazole‐carboxyaldehyde)zinc(II) diperchlorate

The central zinc(II) atom in the title complex is tetrahedrally coordinated by four nitrogen atoms derived from 4‐methyl‐5‐imidazolecarboxyaldehyde ligands with Zn? N in the range 2.007(3) to 2.026(4) Å. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Study of Drop Size Distribution in Multistage Bubble Extractor

Results obtained in determining experimentally the mean volume-surface drop diameter of the dispersed phase in a multistage bubble extractor are presented.