Effect of crown-ether surfactants on flame atomic absorption and flame emission signals of some monovalent cations

Two surface-active and one surface-inactive 18-crown-6 derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their abilities to enhance flame atomic absorption and flame emission signals of monovalent cations. Enhancement of potassium signals were noted for the surface-active compounds but not for the surface-inactive compound. The critical micelle concentration was determined and compared to the degree of enhancement. Surfactant-induced signal enhancements are not due to the slight or moderate decrease in the size of the aerosol first produced in the nebulizing chamber. Additional mechanistic considerations are discussed.     

Solution of semiconductor equations using a fully adaptive mesh strategy

The letter presents a novel means of mesh adaption when the finite-element method is applied to the semiconductor equations. Using triangular elements it has the ability to avoid obtuse angles while still allowing flexibility in mesh design. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated by a simulation of an MOS device operating at a high drain voltage where generation due to impact ionisation becomes significant.     

Talk Radio as Interpersonal Communication

Those who called in to talk radio programs tended to find face-to-face communication less rewarding, were less mobile, felt talk radio was more important to them, and listened for more hours a day than those who did not call but who did listen.     

Destillationen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Examination of Selectivities of Thermally Stable Geminal Dicationic Ionic Liquids by Structural Modification

Dicationic ionic liquids (ILs) are widely used as gas chromatography (GC) stationary phases as they show higher thermal stabilities, variety of polarities, and unique selectivities towards certain compounds. An important aspect contributing to them is that they show multiple solvation interactions compared to the traditional GC stationary phases. Dicationic ILs are considered as combination of three structural moieties: (1) cationic head groups; (2) a linkage chain; and (3) the counter anions. Modifications in these structural moieties can alter the chromatographic properties of IL stationary phases. In this study, a series of nine thermally stable IL stationary phases were synthesized by the combination of five different cations, two different linkage chains, and two different anions. Different test mixtures composed of a variety of compounds having different functional groups and polarities were analyzed on these columns. A comparison of the separation patterns of these different compounds on nine different IL columns provided some insights about the effects of structural modifications on the selectivities and polarities of dicationic ILs.     

Experimental studies of suspended ferromagnetic fibers in a magnetic field

The analysis of the rotation of a ferromagnetic ellipsoid suspended in a Newtonian fluid and subjected to a uniform magnetic field is extended to include a long, slender cylindrical fiber which is magnetically saturated. Experimental observations of rotating nickel cylinders with aspect ratiosL/D ranging from 5 to 40 agree with the theoretical predictions that: (1) the proper magnetoviscous time constant for the motion is _MV = _s/µ ₀ M _s ² , (2) larger fiber aspect ratios result in considerably longer orientation times; and (3) the strength of the applied external field has only a slight effect on the overall fiber rotation, and has no effect on the maximum angular velocity achieved. Quantitative agreement of theory and experiments is obtained for fibers withL/D 20; for the shorter fibers, the theory tends to overpredict the fiber rotation rate by as much as 30%. D diameter of the cylinder - D ^P (r) position-dependent demagnetization tensor, implicitly defined in eq. (2.5) - D _xx,D _yy,D _zz volume-averaged demagnetizing factors for an ellipsoid equivalent to a uniformly magnetized cylinder, defined in eq. (2.6) - H _i ;H _i magnetic field inside a ferromagnetic body; magnitude ofH _i - H ₀;H ₀ magnetic field applied by external sources; magnitude ofH ₀ - k geometric parameter in the hydrodynamic resistance of a body rotating in a Newtonian fluid, eq. (2.2) - L length of the cylinder - L ^(h);L _z ^(h) hydrodynamic torque exerted on a rotating body; thez-component ofL ^(h) on the cylinder - L ^(m);L _z ^(m) magnetic torque exerted on a magnetic body in a magnetic field, eq. (2.4); thez-component ofL ^(m) on the cylinder - M the magnetization of a magnetic material - M _s the saturation magnitude ofM, approached by all ferromagnetic materials asH _i becomes large - r position vector of a point within a ferromagnetic body - V volume of a magnetic particle - x, y, z rectangular coordinate axes fixed in the cylinder according to figure 1 - angle of inclination of the axis of the cylinder with respect toH ₀ - shear rate - small parameter of slender body theory,=1/ln (2L/D) - _s constant viscosity of the suspending fluid - µ ₀ the magnetic permeability of free space,µ ₀=4 · 10^–7 H/m - _MV the magnetoviscous time constant, a characteristic time for a process involving a competition of viscous and magnetic stresses - ₁ the first normal-stress coefficient - ; _z angular velocity of a rotating body; angular velocity of a cylinder about thez-axis, _z =– d/dt     

Individual and simultaneous determination of lead, cadmium, and zinc by anodic stripping voltammetry at a bismuth bulk electrode

A bismuth bulk electrode (BiBE) has been investigated as an alternative electrode for the anodic stripping voltammetric (ASV) analysis of Pb(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II). The BiBE, which is fabricated in-house, shows results comparable to those of similar analyses at other Bi-based electrodes. Metal accumulation is achieved by holding the electrode potential at −1.4 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) for 180 s followed by a square wave voltammetric stripping scan from −1.4 to −0.35 V. Calibration plots are obtained for all three metals, individually and simultaneously, in the10-100 μg L⁻¹ range, with a detection limit of 93, 54, and 396 ng L⁻¹ for Pb(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), respectively. A slight reduction in slope is observed for Cd(II) and Pb(II) when the three metals are calibrated simultaneously vs. individually. Comparing the sensitivities of the metals when calibrated individually vs. in a mixture reveals that Zn(II) is not affected by stripping in a mixture. However, Pb(II) and Cd(II) have decreasing sensitivities in a mixture. The optimized method has been successfully used to test contaminated river water by standard addition. The results demonstrate the ability of the BiBE as an alternative electrode material in heavy metal analysis.     

Technologies and the development of the Automated Metadata Indexing and Analysis (AMIA) system

The Automated Metadata Indexing and Analysis (AMIA) project aims to provide an effective digital asset management (DAM) tool for large digital asset databases. We began with text-based indexing since it is still the most reliable approach as compared with other content-based media features. AMIA not only searches for the text of the file name, but also utilizes embedded information such as the metadata in Maya files. The AMIA system builds a linked map between all dependency files. We present an approach of preserving previously established metadata created by the old DAM tools, such as AlienBrain, and integrating them into the new system. Findings indicate that AMIA has significantly improved search performance comparing to previous DAM tools. Finally, the ongoing and future work in the AMIA project is described.