Preparation and Optical Properties of Sb2S3 Microcrystallite Doped Silica Glasses by the Sol-Gel Process

The sol-gel process has been applied to the preparation of nano-size Sb2S3 crystallite doped silica glasses and thin films. Silica glasses containing 1–1.5 wt% Sb2S3 are prepared by hydrolysis of complex solution of Si(OC2H5)4, SbCl3 and SC(NH2)2, and subsequent heat treatment. The nano-size crystallite in the matrix is observed by means of TEM. The transmission spectra of the films show that the transmission valley shifts toward longer wavelengths with increasing heat treatment time and temperature. Second harmonic generation (SHG) has been observed in the glasses illuminated with intense 1.06 m and frequency-doubled laser beams from mode-locked Nd:YAG laser.     

Cd1−xZnxTe: Growth and characterization of crystals for X-ray and gamma-ray detectors

The choice a suitable crystal growth method and a reasonable x value is of profound importance in the preparation of high quality Cd_1−xZn_xTe crystals for x-ray and gamma-ray detectors. The present paper reviews the evolution and development of Cd_1−xZn_xTe crystal growth for x-ray and gamma-ray detectors. At the same time, emphasis is put upon finding the relationship between the x value and the quality of the Cd_1−xZn_xTe. Three sets of Cd_1−xZn_xTe ingots with different x values, specifically 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20 were grown by the vertical Bridgman method (VBM) and characterized. Their x specification was then correlated with their dislocation densities, Te precipitates, inclusions, IR transmission, resistivities, and impurity concentrations, respectively. It was found that VBM Cd_0.85Zn_0.15Te as grown in this paper possessed the best choice of qualities with respect to defects and impurities.     

Chemical state of Na and K ions in Na10K5 silicate glass under electron irradiation investigated by XPS with the aid of the line shape analysis

The Na? K (Na10K5) silicate glass, unirradiated and electron irradiated (electron dose from 25 to 8239 Cm^?2) is investigated using XPS. The measurements are performed in the angular‐resolved ADES‐400 spectrometer using AlKα X‐ray radiation and an electron beam of energy 2 keV. Owing to surface charging and ambiguity of identification of the atomic oxidized chemical states, the line shapes of selected XPS transitions are analyzed with the aid of the pattern recognition (PR) method. This method is based on a distance measure and deals with spectra representation as vectors in the n‐dimensional space. The algorithm presented, called the fuzzy k‐nearest neighbor (fkNN) rule, allows for identification of ambiguous vectors with the membership vectors described by classes membership probabilities. Under electron irradiation, the Na and K content in a surface region undergoesincrease and then slow systematic decrease. The line shape analysis indicates difficult classification of XPS spectra recorded for unirradiated and irradiated glass, especially for Na 1s transition. The chemical state of Na is a mixture of elemental and oxidized form and remains unchanged for all electron doses. Larger changes in the chemical form are observed for the K atom. In an unirradiated silicate glass, a mixture of elemental and oxide form is observed with increasing content of oxide under irradiation. The alkali atoms, Na and K, exhibit a migration effect. Comparison of PR and fitting results indicates better reliability and accuracy of the PR method. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On-line concentration of proteins by SDS-CGE with LIF detection

We present a simple approach for on-line concentration of SDS-protein complexes by using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solution in CGE. In comparison to the coated capillary, the presence of EOF in CGE omitted the need to fill the capillaries with polymer solutions prior to the analysis. More importantly, we found that highly reproducible separation of eight proteins by 3.5% PVA was achieved between runs and without the regeneration of high bulk EOF; the RSD of migration times was less than 0.7%. To further improve the concentration sensitivity, neutral PVA was introduced into the capillary with the help of EOF to act as sieving matrix. The occurrence of stacking at the boundary between the PVA and the sample zone is mainly due to the retardation of proteins by PVA. As a result, the LODs at an S/N of 3 for SDS-protein complexes are of the order of sub-nM to several nM. For example, the LOD for BSA is 0.78 nM, which is a 91-fold sensitivity enhancement over the normal injection. In addition, our stacking method has been applied to the analyses of proteins in Escherichia coli cells. The peak for beta-galactosidase (E. coli) was observed after 0.1 microM beta-galactosidase was spiked into the E. coli samples.     

Novel molecularly imprinted monolithic column for selective on-line extraction of ciprofloxacin from human urine

Water-compatible ciprofloxacin-imprinted monolithic columns were synthesized in water-containing systems for selective extraction of ciprofloxacin from human urine samples. Methanol-water (10:3, v/v) was used as a porogenic solvent and the obtained monolithic imprinted polymers reveal high selectivity to ciprofloxacin in an aqueous environment; the affinity can be easily controlled by adjusting the pH of the mobile phase. Owing to the unique porous structure and flow-through channels existing in the network skeleton of the monolithic MIP, urine samples could be directly injected into the column, proteins and other biological matrix were quickly washed out and ciprofloxacin was selectively retained and enriched. Good linearity was obtained from 0.08 to 400 mg/L (r=0.998) with the relative standard deviations less than 3.6%. The limit of detection of the method was 0.04 mg/L and the recoveries were more than 94.5% at three different concentrations. Moreover, by increasing the injection volume to 2.0 mL, the sensitivity of the method could be improved 100-fold according to the peak height of ciprofloxacin. This expedient greatly simplified the overall procedure, resulting in a rapid and efficient sample analysis while maintaining precision and accuracy.     

Voltammetric Determination of Favipiravir Used as an Antiviral Drug for the Treatment of Covid-19 at Pencil Graphite Electrode

This work describes the sensitive voltammetric determination of favipiravir (FAV) based on its reduction for the first time with a low-cost and disposable pencil graphite electrode (PGE). In addition, the determination of FAV was also performed based on its oxidation. Differential pulse (DP) voltammograms recorded in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ for the reduction of FAV show that peak currents increase linearly in the range of 1.0 to 600.0 μM with a limit of detection of 0.35 μM. The acceptable recovery values (98.9–106.0 %) obtained from a pharmaceutical tablet, real human urine, and artificial blood serum samples spiked with FAV confirm the high accuracy of the proposed method.     

Compact Manifolds Covered by a Torus

Let X be a compact complex manifold which is the image of a complex torus by a holomorphic surjective map A→X. We prove that X is Kähler and that up to a finite étale cover, X is a product of projective spaces by a torus.     

Quantum control spectroscopy of vibrational modes: Comparison of control scenarios for ground and excited states in β-carotene

Quantum control spectroscopy (QCS) is used as a tool to study, address selectively and enhance vibrational wavepacket motion in large solvated molecules. By contrasting the application of Fourier-limited and phase-modulated excitation on different electronic states, the interplay between the controllability of vibrational coherence and electronic resonance is revealed. We contrast control on electronic ground and excited state by introducing an additional pump beam prior to a DFWM-sequence (Pump-DFWM). Via phase modulation of this initial pump pulse, coherent control is extended to structural evolution on the vibrationally hot ground state (hot-S₀) and lowest lying excited state (S₁) of β-carotene. In an open loop setup, the control scenarios for these different electronic states are compared in their effectiveness and mechanism.     

Convectional,sedimentation, and drying dissipative patterns of colloidal crystals of poly (methyl methacrylate) spheres on a cover glass

Direct observation of the convectional dissipative patterns was successful during the course of dryness of colloidal crystals of poly (methyl methacrylate) spheres on a cover glass. Formation processes of the convectional patterns of spoke-like lines were observed as a function of sphere size and also sphere concentration. During dryness of the suspensions, the brilliant iridescent colors changed beautifully. Macro- and microscopic drying patterns and thickness profiles of the dried film were observed. Sharp broad rings were observed especially at low sphere concentrations. The water evaporation accompanied with the convectional flow of water and the colloidal spheres played an important role for these dissipative structure formation.