Diagramme polythermique du systeme ternaire H2O—Al(NO3)3—Mg(NO3)2

The solid—liquid equilibria of the ternary system H₂O—Al(NO₃)₃—Mg(NO₃)₂ were studied at –30, –20, –10 and 0°C by using a synthetic method which allows to detemine all the characteristic points of isothermal sections. The stable solid phases which appear are respectively: ice, Al(NO₃)₃·9H₂O, Mg(NO₃)₂·9H₂O and Mg(NO₃)₂·6H₂O. Neither double salts nor mixed crystals are observed in the temperature and composition field studied. Polytherm diagram layout show two invariant transformations correspond with an eutectic point and a peritectic point.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Etude du Systeme Ternaire H2O-Al(NO3)3-Mg(NO3)2 I - Isothermes 15, 25, 30, 40 et 50°C

The solid-liquid equilibria of the ternary system H₂ O-Al(NO₃ )₃ -Mg(NO₃ )₂ were studied at 15, 25, 30, 40 and 50°C by using a synthetic method which allows to determine all the characteristic points of isothermal sections. In all isotherms the liquidus exhibit two curves corresponding to the saturation in Mg(NO₃ )₂ ⋅6H₂ O and Al(NO₃ )₃ ⋅9H₂ O. Neither double salts nor mixed crystals are observed in the temperature and composition field studied. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Directed immobilization of reduced antibody fragments onto a novel SAM on gold for myoglobin impedance immunosensing

The successful construction of an immunosensor depends on having an effective procedure for immobilising the bio-recognition element to the transducer surface. In the present study, an amino-terminated 4-aminothiophenol (ATP) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was modified with heterobifunctional crosslinker sulfosuccinimidyl 4-[N-maleimidomethyl] cyclohexane-1-carboxylate to couple reduced anti-myoglobin half-antibody fragments. The disulphide groups present in the hinge region of IgG molecules were selectively cleaved by 2-mercaptoethylamine to produce reduced half-antibody fragments with free sulphydryl groups. The maleimide terminated 4-ATP SAM modified surface was coupled to these reduced antibody fragments to produce highly oriented immobilization of the half-antibody via its Fc domain and to allow free access to the Fv bindings sites. This represents an improvement by comparison with biotin/avidin mediated IgG attachment which is essentially randomly oriented. Functional immunosensors were able to detect myoglobin in both phosphate buffered saline and whole serum over the range of concentrations from 10(-13)M to 10(-6)M, and order of magnitude better than avidin/biotin linked immunosensors. In addition, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was carried out to elucidate the nanotopology of the immunosensor surface at different stages of fabrication; the images demonstrate that half antibodies bind as described and show structural changes on subsequent antigen binding.     

Periodicity and non‐negativity of solutions for nonlinear neutral differential equations with variable delay via fixed point theorems

We use a modification of Krasnoselskii's fixed point theorem introduced by Burton to show the periodicity and non‐negativity of solutions for the nonlinear neutral differential equation with variable delay We invert this equation to construct the sum of a compact map and a large contraction, which is suitable for applying the modification of Krasnoselskii's theorem. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Separation and determination of cadmium and zinc as their thenoyltrifluoroacetone complexes with dibenzo-18-crown-6 by means of synergistic extraction and atomic absorption spectrometry

 A new method for the separation and determination of trace amounts of cadmium and zinc in water as their thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) complexes with dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6) in o-dichlorobenzene has been established by means of synergistic extraction and back-extraction combined with atomic absorption spectrometry. The effect of various factors (synergism with TTA and DB18C6, shaking time, composition of the extracted species, and mutual separation etc.) on the extraction and back-extraction of cadmium and zinc has been in- vestigated. When the mixtures were extracted for 4 min at pH 4.9, only zinc was extracted quantitatively, whereas cadmium remained in the aqueous phase. After the phases were separated, cadmium was again extracted quantitatively at pH 7.5. Then, the two phases were each shaken with 0.05–0.1 mol/l HCl in order to back-extract cadmium and zinc from the organic phases; the ions were determined individually by atomic absorption spectrometry. In the process cadmium and zinc TTA chelates in o-dichlorobenzene form stable adducts with DB18C6 (Cd(TTA)₂ ⋅ nDB18C6 and Zn(TTA)₂ ⋅ nDB18C6, n=0∼2). The stability constants (βn) of the adducts determined by means of the curve fitting method were log β₁=4.62 and log β₂=6.74 for cadmium, and log β₁=3.48 and log β₂=5.18 for zinc. Received: 8 September 1995/Revised: 22 January 1996/Accepted: 24 January 1996     

Diagramme Polythermique du Systeme Ternaire NaCl-FeCl2-H2O entre 0 et 70°C

The phase diagram of ternary system Na⁺ , Fe²⁺ /Cl⁻ -H₂ O was established over the temperature range 0–70°C by conductimetric and analytical methods. A solubility polytherm of the system was constructed. For each temperature, we have determined the nature of the solid phase in equilibrium with the solution and the limit of its area of existence. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The status of trace and minor elements in some Bangladeshi foodstuffs

An investigation is conducted on the status of trace and minor elements in some foodstuffs (cereals, vegetables, milk, egg and fish), commonly consumed in Bangladesh, using proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and radioisotope-induced X-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques. In PIXE measurements, the samples were irradiated in air with 2.0 MeV (energy on the target) protons having the beam intensity of 30 nA for characteristic X-ray excitation, while in XRF analysis, the samples were excited for 5000 seconds with a 10 mCi Cd-109 annular X-ray source. The elemental concentration of K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, As, Br, Rb, Sr, Mo, and Pb were determined in the samples by comparison with X-ray yield curves constructed from IAEA and NBS standard reference materials. The validity of the analytical procedures (PIXE and XRF) followed in this study has been confirmed by comparative measurements of Cu, Zn and Mn in some varieties of rice with atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results indicate that none of the food regimes investigated here is burdened with heavy metals beyond permissible limits except five species of vegetables with chromium having the range of 0.99–3.59 mg/kg compared to the literature value of 0.0–0.36 mg/kg (dry weight basis). An average value of 0.2 mg/kg of arsenic was observed both in IRRI (n=16) and local Aman (n=12) varieties of rice and only one hen egg contained 1.7 mg/kg of lead in yolk. The zinc content in some marine fish from Bay of Bengal was reported to be 5.4–19.5 mg/kg, whereas in the present study of sweet-water fish, the level is found to be 15.2–62.1 mg/kg (fresh weight basis) for five species. In human milk, both Cu (0.12–0.25 mg/l, n=8) and Zn (0.28–1.80 mg/l, n=8) levels appear to be almost half the literature values (n=25). On the other hand formula milk has higher values of Cu (0.32–1.63 mg/kg, n=16) and Zn (5.16–19.8 mg/kg, n=16).     

Development of a myoglobin impedimetric immunosensor based on mixed self-assembled monolayer onto gold

Immunosensors rely on antibody-antigen binding with a range of possible detection methodologies. In this study, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to monitor the sensor surface assembly and recognition of the analyte (myoglobin). Myoglobin is rapidly released into the circulatory system after an acute myocardial infarction and rapidly rising levels make it the first biochemical marker of myocardial damage. The immunosensor fabrication steps comprised the steps of (a) formation of mixed self-assembled monolayers (mSAM) on gold electrodes using a mixture of biotinyl-phospholipid and mer captohexadecanoic acid; (b) neutravidin functionalisation and (c) attachment of biotinyl anti-myoglobin antibodies. A range of analyte concentration (10⁻¹²–10⁻⁶ M) was successfully detected in phosphate buffered saline and in serum concentration ranging from 10% (v/v) to 100% (v/v) serum. Quartz crystal microbalance and atomic force microscopy studies were carried out to study each step of fabrication to elucidate binding characteristics and surface topography. Correspondence: Morsaline Billah, Institute of Membrane and Systems Biology, Garstang Building, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom     

Plasma activated water: the next generation eco-friendly stimulant for enhancing plant seed germination,vigor and increased enzyme activity,a study on black gram (Vigna mungo L.)

Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing - Chemical fertilization in agriculture is threatening to the ecosystem. Therefore, the use of eco-friendly stimulant for crop revolution is highly desirable....     

Scattering of e± from N2 in the energy range 1 eV–10 keV

The differential, integrated elastic, inelastic, total, momentum transfer, viscosity, and ionisation cross sections for electron and positron scattering from the homonuclear diatomic nitrogen molecule over an incident energy range of 1?eV–10?keV are calculated using the additivity rule. Dirac partial wave analysis is employed to calculate the cross sections of the constituent atoms of molecules, using a complex optical model potential (OPM). Comparison of our results of the additivity rule with the available experimental data and other theoretical predictions is presented. Our findings produce reasonable results in intermediate and high energies.