XPS analysis of bio‐organic systems

A survey of the literature is made for the XPS analysis of food products (mainly spray‐dried powders, which reveal a considerable surface enrichment in lipids) and of microorganisms and related systems (extracellular polymer substances and biofilms). This survey is used as a background for discussions and recommendations regarding methodology. Sample preparation methods reviewed are freeze drying, analysis of frozen hydrated specimens and adsorption of surface‐active biocompounds on model substrates. Peak decomposition is a way to increase the wealth of information provided by the XPS spectra. It should be performed after a check that sample charge stabilization is satisfactory. Moreover, ensuring the precision needed to make comparisons within sets of samples may involve a trade‐off between imposing constraints and generating information. The examination of correlations between spectral data in the light of chemical guidelines is useful to validate or improve peak decomposition and component assignment, and may also upgrade the chemical information regarding speciation. Further upgrading may be achieved by expressing marker XPS data in terms of concentrations of compounds of interest. Different methods of computation are discussed, providing a composition in terms of ingredients, classes of biochemical compounds, or various organic and inorganic compounds. As an alternative or complement to this deterministic approach, multivariate analysis of suitable spectral windows provides spectral components, which may be used for comparing samples, and which may have a direct chemical relevance or be used to identify features of interest. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A version of Stöber synthesis enabling the facile prediction of silica nanospheres size for the fabrication of opal photonic crystals

A sol-gel synthesis procedure based on the method proposed by Stöber et al. (J Colloid Interface Sci 26:302–315, 1968) has been adopted for the one-step preparation of mono-dispersed silica nanospheres. An excellent control of the particle diameter over a wide range is obtained by varying the amount of silicon alkoxide only, while the concentration of all other components is kept fixed: this allows the fabrication of artificial opals with a finely tuned and precisely predictable lattice parameter.     

Weak chaos and anomalous transport: a deterministic approach

We review how transport properties for chaotic dynamical systems may be studied through cycle expansions, and show how anomalies can be quantitatively described by hierarchical sequences of periodic orbits.     

时间积分声光相关器相关峰的提取

对时间积分声光相关器的原理进行了理论分析，通过实验得到了叠加在包络上的相关峰波形，为了对其进行修正，引入了后处理电路，最后得到了比较理想的相关峰波形。     

离子色谱法测定碱性溶液中HCOO-时负峰的消除

分析了以Na2CO3-NaHCO3混合溶液为淋洗液，离子色谱法测定碱性样品时，色谱负峰产生的原因。通过计算和试验，采用在样品中加入适量NaHCO3进行中和的方法，解决了负峰影响HCOO^-测定的问题。     

Reliability of calculating the cepstral peak without linear regression analysis

Measures of cepstral peak prominence, using the smoothing algorithm and linear regression analysis software developed by Hillenbrand, have been shown to be reliable predictors of dysphonia in voice samples.(1-4) Recently, the Computerized Speech Laboratory [(CSL) Kay Elemetrics, Pinebrook, New Jersey] has introduced cepstral analysis as a component of that software package. The cepstral peak, in this instance, is calculated by the voice clinician analyzing the phonatory sample by subtracting the value of the peak from the apparent baseline signal. This study compares the ability of cepstral peak values calculated from the CSL software to predict dysphonia reliably with that of the values produced by the smoothing algorithm and linear regression analysis of Hillenbrand. The results of this study show that linear regression analysis is an important step in calculating the cepstral peak prominence, thus limiting the usefulness of software programs that do not employ this step.     

基于POT方法的商业银行操作风险极端值估计

对于商业银行而言,操作风险已经成为与市场风险和信用风险同样重要的风险。本文利用极值理论超越样本的估计能力,采用极值理论中对数据要求量较少,可以进行单步预测的超阈值(POT)方法对我国商业银行操作损失极端值分布进行估计,以均值超额函数图和拟合直线的交点确定阈值,估计出给定置信水平之下操作风险损失的分位数,从而使得国内商业银行操作风险监管资本的计算成为可能。     

Optically Anomalous Crystals

The optical symmetry of many crystals is lower than would be expected from their external form and X-ray diffraction data. Recently such optical anomalies have been attributed to nonequilibrium structures resulting from kinetically controlled crystal growth. Impurities are incorporated to different extents at various surface sites that would otherwise have become symmetry-related within the bulk crystal. After their discovery by Brewster in 1815, optically anomalous crystals were the subject of lively debate throughout the 19th century among some of the most distinguished contributors to the development of crystallography including Biot, Berzelius, Herschel, Mitscherlich, Frankenheim, Pasteur, Mallard, Klein, Groth, Wyrouboff, Barlow, Brauns, Rinne, Pockels, and Friedel. From a sea of wild speculation two conflicting postulates emerged: that the symmetric form resulted from accidental twinning of segments with lower symmetry, or that the optical peculiarities resulted from stress due to impurities or external perturbations. Neither postulate expresses the present view. Interest in this research waned at the turn of the century, and after 1917 no one pursued Tammann's alternative correct insight. The problem of anomalous double refraction attracted no attention for more than half a century until its recent solution. This review discusses both mineral and organic systems with particular emphasis on the phyllosilicate apophyllite and on 1,5-dichloro-2,3-dinitrobenzene. These nonequilibrium structures relate to questions of crystal order, crystal growth, molecular recognition, and the design of new materials. The review provides a reminder of the enduring value of the polarizing microscope as a research tool in chemistry.     

Heat capacity calorimetry

Experimental heat capacity measurements of α-ZrW₂O₈, and zeolitic polymorphs of SiO₂, BEA and MFI, have been made from 0.6 to 400 K. Measurements on β-ZrMo₂O₈ have been made from 8 to 400 K. Analysis of the results yields evidence for very low frequency modes in all four materials. These modes are responsible for negative thermal expansion behavior in α-ZrW₂O₈ and β-ZrMo₂O₈. Negative thermal expansion has been observed in some pure SiO₂ zeolites, but no studies have been made to look for it in BEA and MFI. The appearance of low frequency modes in these two zeolites suggests that temperature dependent structural investigations would be worthwhile. These modes are lower in energy than the Boson peak in vitreous silica. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Role of a high ground-state centrifugal barrier in the breakup of the 31Ne nucleus

An analysis of the breakup of the \begin{document}$ ^{31}{\rm Ne} $\end{document} weakly-bound neutron-halo system on a lead target is presented, considering the \begin{document}$ 2p_{3/2} $\end{document} and \begin{document}$ 1f_{7/2} $\end{document} ground-state configurations. It is shown that a high centrifugal barrier almost wipes out the breakup channel, thus assimilating the breakup of a weakly-bound system to that of a tightly-bound system, and also reduces the range of the monopole nuclear potential. Consequently, a high centrifugal barrier prevents the suppression of the Coulomb-nuclear interference (CNI) peak by weakening couplings to the breakup channel and reducing the range of the monopole nuclear potential, two main factors that would otherwise suppress such a peak. The present study also identifies couplings to the breakup channel and a long-ranged monopole nuclear potential as the main factors that lead to the suppression of the CNI peak. A low centrifugal barrier together with a Coulomb barrier would also effectively prevent the suppression of the CNI peak in proton-halos as reported in the case of the \begin{document}$ ^8{\rm B} $\end{document} proton-halo.