Toxic Effect of Metal Doping on Diatoms as Probed by Broadband Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

The global marine environment is increasingly affected by human activities causing climate change, eutrophication, and pollution. These factors influence the metabolic mechanisms of phytoplankton species, such as diatoms. Among other pollutant agents, heavy metals can have dramatic effects on diatom viability. Detailed knowledge of the interaction of diatoms with metals is essential from both a fundamental and applicative point of view. To this aim, we assess terahertz time-domain spectroscopy as a tool for sensing the diatoms in aqueous systems which mimic their natural environment. Despite the strong absorption of terahertz radiation in water, we show that diatoms can be sensed by probing the water absorption enhancement in the terahertz range caused by the water–diatom interaction. We reveal that the addition of metal dopants affects this absorption enhancement, thus enabling the monitoring of the toxic effects of metals on diatoms using terahertz spectroscopy. We demonstrate that this technique can detect the detrimental effects of heavy metals earlier than conventional methods such as microscopy, enzymatic assays, and molecular analyses aimed at assessing the overexpression of genes involved in the heavy metal-stress response.     

Electron beam irradiation-induced transformations in the electrical properties of 4’-octyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (8CB)

Changes in the dielectric and thermodynamical properties of electron beam-irradiated 4′-octyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (8CB) were studied. Irradiation-induced changes in the phase transition temperature, dielectric anisotropy, relaxation frequency and activation energy of an observed non-collective relaxation mode corresponding to molecular rotation about the short axis were determined in both nematic and smectic A_d phases. In the nematic phase, dielectric anisotropy increased for a small dose but decreased for a relatively high dose, whereas the relaxation frequency increased due to the irradiation. The pure and irradiated samples were characterised by UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy and pulse radiolysis. The observed changes in the dielectric parameters are related to the detachment of the CN group from some of the 8CB molecules due to the electron beam irradiation.     

Evaluation of compatibility of itraconazole with excipients used to develop vesicular colloidal carriers

Liposomes and niosomes are known to be efficient vehicles for localized and systemic delivery of particularly lipophilic drugs resulting in their improved bioavailability, targeted delivery, and fewer side effects. These systems consist of bilayered membrane structures comprising amphiphilic molecules like phosphatidylcholine (liposomes) and nonionic surfactants (niosomes). Itraconazole (ITZ) is a widely used insoluble antifungal agent, which is known to be poorly absorbed from available marketed dosage forms. For countering the bioavailability related problem of oral ITZ products, vesicular systems like liposomes and niosomes could provide a rational approach. Drug–excipient interaction is being considered as an essential first step in development of any drug delivery system nowadays. Therefore, the present work describes the evaluation of drug–excipient interactions of ITZ with selected excipients used for development of liposomes and niosomes. Analytical techniques like differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, optical microcopy, and X-ray powder diffraction analysis were utilized for assessing the drug–excipient interactions. Isothermal stress testing was also performed to quantitatively measure the percent change in initial drug content from ITZ–excipient blends kept under stress conditions. The excipients included phospholipids (Phospholipon 90G^®, Phospholipon 90H^®), surfactants (Span 40 and Span 60), vesicular membrane stabilizer (cholesterol), and a solubilizer (3-hydroxypropyl-betacyclodextrin).     

Walrasian foundations for equilibria in segmented markets

We study a CAPM economy with segmented financial markets and competitive arbitrageurs who link these markets. We show that the equilibrium of the arbitraged economy is Walrasian in the sense that it coincides with the equilibrium of an appropriately defined competitive economy with no arbitrageurs. This characterization serves to clarify the role that arbitrageurs play in integrating markets.     

Pertraction of U(VI) through liquid membranes using monoamides as carrier ligands: experimental and theoretical studies

Pertraction of U(VI) from HNO₃ feed into water through flat-sheet supported liquid membrane containing a series of monoamides, viz. N,N-dihexylhexanamide (DHHA), N,N-dihexyloctanamide (DHOA) and N,N-dihexyldecanamide (DHDA), as the carrier ligands were studied. The results obtained with monoamides were compared with those obtained with TBP, a contemporary ligand to monoamides. The permeation of U(VI) was primarily governed by the distribution ratio of U(VI) by the ligands. A mathematical equation was derived by solving the mass balance equation on the feed side and the receiver side of the membrane which fitted well to a series of experimental results in the present work.

     

Density of sets of natural numbers and the Lévy group

Let N denote the set of positive integers. The asymptotic density of the set A⊆N is d(A)=limn→∞|A∩[1,n]|/n, if this limit exists. Let AD denote the set of all sets of positive integers that have asymptotic density, and let SN denote the set of all permutations of the positive integers N. The group L^? consists of all permutations f∈SN such that A∈AD if and only if f(A)∈AD, and the group L^* consists of all permutations f∈L^? such that d(f(A))=d(A) for all A∈AD. Let be a one-to-one function such that d(f(N))=1 and, if A∈AD, then f(A)∈AD. It is proved that f must also preserve density, that is, d(f(A))=d(A) for all A∈AD. Thus, the groups L^? and L^* coincide.     

Dry etching of bulk single-crystal ZnO in CH4/H2-based plasma chemistries

The effect of inert gas additive (He, Ar, Xe) to CH₄/H₂ discharges for dry etching of single crystal ZnO was examined. The etch rates were higher with Ar or Xe addition, compared to He but in all cases the CH₄/H₂-based mixtures showed little or no enhancement over pure physical sputtering under the same conditions. The etched surface morphologies were smooth, independent of the inert gas additive species and the Zn/O ratio in the near-surface region decreases as the mass number of the additive species increases, suggesting preferential sputtering of O. The plasma etching improved the band-edge photoluminescence intensity from the ZnO for the range of ion energies used here (290-355 eV), due possibly to removal of surface contamination layer.