Thermal,morphostructural and spectrometric characterization of an antibacterial kaolinite-based filter modified with silver for water treatment

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The aim of this work is to synthesize and characterize a new structured silver–clay dried, calcined or sintered at different temperatures...     

Exact soliton solutions of spinor Bose-Einstein condensates

We study matter-wave solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates of ultracold gaseous atoms with spin degrees of freedom and present a class of exact solutions based on the inverse scattering method. The one-soliton solutions are classified with respect to the spin states. We analyze collisional effects between solitons in the same or different spin state(s), which reveals a very interesting possibility: we can manipulate the spin dynamics by controlling the parameters of colliding solitons.     

Differentiation of species of the Baccharis genus by HPLC and chemometric methods.

Phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of three Baccharis species (Asteraceae family) was performed using HPLC and chemometric methods, with the objective of distinguishing between three morphologically very similar species: Baccharis genistelloides Persoon var. trimera (Less.) DC, B. milleflora (Less.) DC and B. articulata (Lam.) Persoon. With the help of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and variance weights, it was possible to characterize the chromatographic profiles of the alcoholic extracts of the three species. Application of Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) methods on a training set of 74 extracts resulted in models that correctly classified all eight samples in an independent test set.     

Synthesis, morphology and random laser action of ZnO nanostructures

Three-dimensional (3-D) ZnO random-wall nanostructures and one-dimensional (1-D) ZnO nanorods were prepared on silicon substrates by a simple solid-vapour phase thermal sublimation technique. Optical pumped random lasing has been observed in the ZnO random-wall arrays with a threshold intensity of 0.38 MW/cm² in the emission wavelength from 380 to 395 nm. The optical gain was attributed to the closed-loop scattering and light amplification of the ZnO random-wall. The experimental result suggests that the morphology of nanostructure is the key factor to effect random lasing.     

Chemical preparation of conductive elastomeric blends: Polypyrrole/EPDM. I. Oxidant particle-size effect

This work describes the preparation of polypyrrole and EPDM rubber blends, PPy/EPDM, by the sorption of pyrrole (vapor phase) in an EPDM matrix containing CuCl₂. We investigated the effect of the oxidant particle-size on the sorption and polymerization equilibrium, electrical conductivity, and mechanical properties of the blends. Independently of the CuCl₂ concentration and polymerization time, the polypyrrole weight fraction in the blend, X_ppy, increases when the oxidant particle-size in changed from 150–250 μm to smaller than 106 μm. For blends containing 50 phr of CuCl₂, obtained following 72 h of exposure to pyrrole, an increase in the Young's Modulus (from 2.2 ± 0.2 to 3.9 ± 0.6 MPa) and an increase in the electrical conductivity (from 10^?9 to 10^?7 S cm^?1) was observed when the oxidant particle-size was decreased. Infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning differential calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy were used in sample characterization. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Phosphorus determination in milk and bone samples by neutron activation analysis

The determination of phosphorus in milk and bone samples by both radiochemical and instrumental neutron activation analysis is described. The radiochemical method consists of thermal neutron irradiation of samples and standards, sample dissolution, phosphorus precipitation as ammonium phosphomolyb-date, use of zinc holdback carrier and counting of the phosphorus-32 ß-activity. The instrumental method involves thermal neutron irradiation of samples and standards, waiting for a decay time and ß-counting. The methods were applied to commercial samples and reference materials.     

Structure and magnetic properties of the two-dimensional ferrimagnet (NEt4)[[Mn(salen)]2Fe(CN)6]: investigation of magnetic anisotropy on a single crystal

The title compound, (NEt(4))[[Mn(salen)](2)Fe(CN)(6)] (1), was synthesized via a 1:1 reaction of [Mn(salen)(H(2)O)]ClO(4) with (NEt(4))(3)[Fe(CN)(6)] in a methanol/ethanol medium (NEt(4)(+) = tetraethylammonium cation, salen(2)(-) = N,N'-ethylenebis(salicylidene)iminate). The two-dimensional layered structure of 1 was revealed by X-ray crystallographic analysis: 1 crystallizes in monoclinic space group P2(1)/c with cell dimensions of a = 12.3660(8) A, b = 15.311(1) A, c = 12.918(1) A, beta = 110.971(4) degrees, Z = 2 and is isostructural to the previously synthesized compound, (NEt(4))[[Mn(5-Clsalen)](2)Fe(CN)(6)] (5-Clsalen(2-) = N,N'-ethylenebis(5-chlorosalicylidene)iminate; Miyasaka, H.; Matsumoto, N.; Re, N.; Gallo, E.; Floriani, C. Inorg. Chem. 1997, 36, 670). The Mn ion is surrounded by an equatorial salen quadridentate ligand and two axial nitrogen atoms from the [Fe(CN)(6)](3-) unit, the four Fe[bond]CN groups of which coordinate to the Mn ions of [Mn(salen)](+) units, forming a two-dimensional network having [[bond]Mn[bond]NC[bond]Fe[bond]CN[bond]](4) cyclic repeating units. The network is spread over the bc-plane of the unit cell, and the layers are stacked along the a-axis. The countercation NEt(4)(+) is located between the layers. Compound 1 is a ferrimagnet with T(c) = 7.7 K and exhibits hysteresis with a remnant magnetization of 13.44 cm(3).mol(-1) (M/N mu(B) = 2.4) at zero field and a coercivity of 1000 Oe when the powder sample was measured at 1.9 K. Magnetic measurements of a direction-arranged single crystal were also carried out. The orientation of the crystallographic axes of a selected single crystal was determined by X-ray analysis, and magnetization was measured when an external field was applied in the a*, b, and c directions. The magnetization in the a* direction increased more easily than those in the b and c directions below the critical temperature. No hysteresis was observed only for the measurement in the a* direction, indicating the presence of strong structural anisotropy with potential anisotropy on Mn(III) ions.     

Transformation of wealth produced into quality of life: analysis of the social efficiency of nation-states with the DEA’s triple index approach

Although an essential condition for the occurrence of human development, economic growth is not always efficiently converted into quality of life by nation-states. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to measure the social efficiency—the ability of a nation-state to convert its produced wealth into quality of life—of a set of 101 countries. To achieve this goal, the Data Envelopment Analysis method was used in its standard, cross-multiplicative and inverted form, by means of a new approach called ‘triple index’. The main results indicated that the former Soviet republics and Eastern European countries stood out in terms of social efficiency. The developed countries, notwithstanding their high social indicators, did not excel in efficiency; however, the countries of south of Africa, despite having the worst social conditions, were also the most inefficient.     

Evaluation of a Brazilian ion chromatography interlaboratory study

This paper describes a Brazilian interlaboratory program study on anion measurement in synthetic water. The program described is promoted regularly since 2007 and recommended the use of ion chromatography as analytical technique for all participant laboratories. Two samples (X and Y) with different anion (fluoride, chloride, nitrite-N, nitrate-N, sulfate and phosphate-P) concentration levels were twice distributed in 2011. Each sample on each round had the homogeneity, and the stability tested for a period of 15 days. Upon ensuring the homogeneity and stability, the samples were distributed to 39 laboratories located around the country. The aim of this study was to verify the laboratories’ precision and to establish the measurement comparability among Brazilian laboratories that routinely use ion chromatography for water sample analysis. It was also possible to identify the most frequent sources of systematic and random errors for each measured anion, related to the ion chromatography technique. Some specific metrological issues related to the geographical region are discussed.