Quantum diffusion of muonium in GaAs

The diffusion rate of muonium in the III–V compound semiconductor GaAs has been determined from measurements of muon spinT ₁ relaxation induced by motion in the presence of nuclear hyperfine interactions. It is shown for the first time in a semiconductor that (a) there is a crossover of the transport mechanism at about 90 K from stochastic to zero-phonon hopping, as evidenced by a steep rise in the hop rate at lower temperatures, and that (b) the muonium diffuses at the hop rate of 10¹⁰ s⁻¹ (corresponding diffusion constantD≈10⁻⁶ cm²s⁻¹) at lower temperatures as well as at room temperature.     

A comparative study of human skin thermal response to sapphirecontact and cryogen spray cooling

Surface cooling, in conjunction with various thermally mediated therapeutic procedures, can provide a means to protect superficial tissues from injury while achieving destruction of deeper targeted structures. We have investigated the thermal response of in-vivo human skin to: (1) contact cooling with a sapphire window (6-12°C); and (2) spray cooling with a freon substitute cryogen [tetrafluoroethane; boiling point ≈-26°C at 1 atmospheric pressure (atm)]. Measurements utilizing infrared radiometry show surface temperature reductions from 30°C to 14-19°C are obtained within approximately is in response to sapphire contact cooling. Surface temperature reductions to values between 5°C and -9°C are obtained in response to 20-100-ms cryogen spurts. Computational results, based on fitting the measured radiometric surface temperature to estimate heat transfer parameters, show: (1) temperature reductions remain localized to approximately 200 μm of superficial tissue; and (2) values of heat flux and total energy removed per unit skin surface area at least doubled when using cryogen spray cooling     

Some inequalities for partial orders

We establish some inequalities connecting natural parameters of a partial order P. For example, if every interval [a,b] contains at most maximal chains, if some antichain has cardinality v, and if there are ₁ chains whose union is cofinal and coinitial in P, then the chain decomposition number for P is ₁v (Theorem 2.2), and the inequality is sharp in a certain sense (Section 3).This paper was written while the authors were visitors at the Laboratoire d'algèbre ordinale, Département de Mathématiques, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon 1, France.Research supported by NSERC grant # A5198.     

Silver and palladium complexes of some aromatic azo and azoxy compounds

The complexing ability of derivatives of azobenzene (I) is well known (I) and responsible for the production of a wide variety of dyestuffs and analytical chemicals. While the azo group generally participates in the coordination, the determination of the degree of its interaction is complicated by other functional groups which are also coordinated with the transition metal. In a previous publication (2), we reported the preparation of the silver and palladium complexes of benzo[c]cinnoline (II) and proposed that these results might be used to explain the electron donor properties of azobenzene. We are now reporting the preparation of some additional complexes with ligands containing the azo group.     

Determination of trace elements in inorganic and organic materials by x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

A new, almost universally applicable method for the trace analysis of inorganic and organic materials is described. The trace element (or elements) together with a suitable coprecipitating element is isolated from interfering elements by precipitation with a suitable organic or inorganic precipitant. The precipitate is then filtered on a paper disk and the collected trace element (or elements) is determined by X-ray analysis.     

Analysis of insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis and recombinant Escherichia coli by capillary electrokinetic chromatography

Bacillus thuringiensis and recombinant Escherichia coli proteinaceous protoxins were subject to proteolysis and analyzed by capillary electrokinetic chromatography. Three resulting toxins (65 kDa) were baseline-resolved within 22 min using a 10 mM borate, pH 11 separation buffer consisting of 25 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 30 mM phytic acid. The toxins displayed differential interactions with the SDS and phytic acid phases to effect their separation. The ion-pairing interaction between the analyte and phytic acid was also useful in preventing adsorption to the capillary walls and thus enhanced separation resolution and efficiency. The use of electrokinetic chromatography allows achievement of the separation in a significantly shorter time than conventional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) weak-anion exchanger.     

Spectrophotometric determination of tin in steel

A new spectrophotometric method for the determination of traces of tin in steel is presented. The tin is isolated by an acid sulfide separation and a double carbamate-chloroform extraction and then determined by a phenylfluorone method in which the selectivity is increased by the use of peroxide and oxalate as masking agents and the sensitivity is increased by extracting the colored tin compound into a small volume of MIBK for the spectrophotometric analysis.     

The determination of alumina in silicates (Rocks and Refractories)

New procedures have been developed for determining the alumina contents of silicate material (rocks and refractories). The material is first taken into solution by a peroxide sinter technique, followed by dissolving the sinter in warm water and the addition of sufficient hydrochloric acid to render the solution acid to litmus. A different technique is used for silicates containing less than 5% alumina. The majority of the silica is first removed by treating with hydrofluoric-sulphuric acids and the residue is fused with potassium bisulphate. Extractions with cupferron are next employed to remove iron, titanium, zirconium etc., and the aluminium is subsequently separated from other sample constituents by precipitating as its insoluble benzoate. After filtration the aluminium benzoate is dissolved in hydrochloric acid and the aluminium concentration determined volumetrically with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.