A highly selective and sensitive thorium(IV) PVC membrane electrode based on a dithio-tetraaza macrocyclic compound.

A poly(vinyl chloride)-based membrane composed of dithio-tetraaza macrocyclic compound as a neutral carrier with sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB) as an anion excluder and nitrobenzene (NB) as plasticizer was prepared and investigated as a Th(IV)-selective electrode. The electrode exhibits a Nernstian slope of 14.2 +/- 0.3 mV per decade over a wide concentration range (1.0 x 10(-6) to 1.0 x 10(-1) M) with a detection limit of 8.0 x 10(-7) M between pH 3.5 and 9.5. The response time of the sensor is about 10 s and it can be used over a period of 5 months without any divergence in potential. The proposed membrane sensor revealed a good selectivity for Th(IV) over a wide variety of other metal ions and proved to be a better electrode in many respects than those reported in the literature. It was successfully applied as an electrode indicator as well as in the direct determination of thorium ions in standard and real samples.     

Traffic classification and scheduling in ATM networks

Virtual paths (VPs) are an integral part of the resource management and control hierarchy of ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) networks. To improve the utilization of network resources and facilitate management and control, source types are organized into traffic classes. Each traffic class is transported by its own virtual path subnetwork. In this paper, we consider issues related to the design of traffic classes. We consider an ATM switch node to which cells arrive from a diverse set of source types. Traffic classes are assumed to be served according to a weighted round robin policy, while cells belonging to a given traffic class are served in first-come-first-served order. We consider the problem of determining the optimal set of traffic classes. Under suitable simplifying assumptions, it is shown that the above problem can be modeled as a set-partitioning problem. The structure of the problem at hand is then exploited to develop an efficient heuristic. Several examples are given to illustrate the developed methodology.Supported partially through NSF Grant NCR-891447 and AT&T Grant 5-23690.     

A simple and sensitive analytical method for the determination of antimony in environmental and biological samples.

The results of a study and application of leucocrystal violet for the determination of antimony in parts per million levels is described here. The proposed method is based on the reaction of antimony(III) with acidified potassium iodate to liberate iodine. The liberated iodine selectively oxidizes leucocrystal violet to crystal violet dye. The formed dye shows maximum absorbance at 590 nm. The color system obeys Beer's law in the concentration range from 0.4 - 3.6 microg antimony per 25 ml of final solution. The molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity were found to be 7.32 x 10(5) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 0.0016 microg cm(-2), respectively. All variables were studied in order to optimize the reaction. The proposed method is satisfactorily applicable for the analysis of antimony in various environmental and biological samples. The method is simple, highly sensitive, accurate and reliable.     

Observation of inter-grain Josephson effects in Y-Ba-Cu-O samples

Josephson effects have been observed in bulk samples of Y-Ba-Cu-O. The magnitude of the zero-voltage current is found to change systematically with externally applied small magnetic fields of a few mG. It is also found to vary when samples are irradiated with microwaves. These observations suggest the presence of inter-grain Josephson junctions.     

Collapse of square and rectangular tubes in transverse loading

Summary Analysis of the in plane lateral collapse of square and rectangular cross-section tubes is presented by considering the out-of-straightness of horizontal and vertical arms, corner radius, friction between the platens and the deforming specimen and instability of vertical arms. Results of collapse load for tubes of aluminium and mild steel, thus computed, are presented for some typical tube geometrics, and influence thereon of various parameters considered is discussed. Experiments were conducted wherein tubes of square and rectangular cross-sections of both the materials were laterally compressed between two parallel platens in an Instron machine. The observed collapse loads compare very well with the corresponding computed values.

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Kollaps von vertikal belasteten Rohren mit quadratischem und rechteckigem Querschmitt

Übersicht Der Kollaps von Rohren mit quadratischem und rechteckigem Querschnitt, welche senkrecht zur Achse belastet werden, wird untersucht, wobei schiefe Vertikal- und Horizontalstege, gerundete Profilecken, Reibung zwischen Belastungsplatten und Rohr sowie die Stabilität der Vertikalstege brücksichtigt werden. Die Kollapslast wird für Aluminium und Weichstahl und einige typische Rohrgeometrien ermittelt und der Einfluß verschiedener Parameter wird untersucht. Die Experimente wurden auf einer Instron-Maschine durchgeführt, wobei Rohre mit quadratischem und rechteckigem Querschnitt aus beiden Werkstoffen zwischen zwei parallelen Platten quer zur Achse komprimiert wurden. Es konnte eine gute Übereinstimmung zwischen den Resultaten aus Experiment und Rechnung festgestellt werden.