Enthalpies of mixing of charge unsymmetrical binary fused salt systems: ZnX2?AX (A = Li,Cs, Ag; X = Cl,Br)

The enthalpies of mixing (ΔH^M) of the following binary fused-salt mixtures have been determined calorimetrically: ZnCl₂? CsCl, ZnCl₂? LiCl, ZnCl₂? AgCl, ZnBr₂? CsBr, ZnBr₂? LiBr at 665°C; ZnCl₂? CsCl, ZnCl₂? AgCl, and ZnCl₂? ZnBr₂ at 495°C. The results are discussed with respect to the following points: (1) Comparison with the transition metal chloride-alkali chloride systems, (2) “complexing” in the mixture. (3) effect of the network-like structure of pure ZnX₂, and (4) effect of temperature.     

Structural investigations of the xTeO2-(1−x)GeO2 (x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1) tellurite glasses: A composition dependent Raman spectroscopic study

Raman spectra of xTeO₂-(1−x)GeO₂ (x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1) germanium tellurite glasses were measured and analyzed in an effort to follow the structural changes caused by mixing two typical glass formers. Systematic Raman intensity measurements have been performed in an effort to elucidate the composition induced structural changes and a possible mechanism accounting for these changes was proposed. The network structure of the glass is characterized by TeO₄ trigonal bipyramid mixed with TeO₃ trigonal pyramid units, while GeO₄ tetrahedral units are also present. Changing the GeO₂ content results in the conversion of the TeO₄ units to TeO₃ units with a neutral doubly bridged oxygen atom, while the existence of charged terminal oxygen atoms is questionable. The measured relative Raman intensities are semi-quantitatively correlated to the transformation of the TeO₄ trigonal bipyramid to TeO₃ trigonal pyramids.     

A weight-function approach for determining watershed initial conditions for combustion waves

In many generic combustion models, one finds that a combustionwave will develop with a specific wave speed. However, thereare possible initial temperature profiles which do not evolveinto such waves, but rather die out to the ambient temperature.There can exist, in some models, a clear distinction betweenthose initial conditions that do evolve into combustion wavesand those that do not; this is sometimes referred to as thewatershed initial condition. When fuel consumption is consideredto be negligible, analytical methods can be used to obtain theexact watershed. In this paper, we consider the problem of determiningpseudo-watersheds and ascertaining the relationship betweenthese pseudo-watersheds and the exact watersheds. In the processa novel weight-function approach for infinite spatial domainsis developed.     

Evolution Theory,Periodic Particles,and Solitons in Cellular Automata

A theory for soliton automata is developed and applied to the analysis and prediction of patterns in their behavior. A complete characterization and method of construction of 1-periodic particles is given. A general evolution theorem (GET) is obtained which provides significant information for a state in terms of preceding states. Application of this theorem yields several interesting results predicting periodicity and solitonic collisions. The GET explains and is based on a fundamental property of soliton automata, observed and analyzed in this paper, namely that pieces of information are lost on the left and reappear on the right.     

Influence of cw CO2-laser radiation on the amorphous-to-microcrystalline phase transition in a-Si:H films: a Raman spectroscopic study

A detailed Raman spectroscopic study of the amorphous-to-microcrystalline phase transition in hydrogenated silicon thin films on glass substrates is presented. Crystallization is induced by exposing the film surface to a continuous wave CO₂-laser working at 10.6 μm, at constant irradiation time/variable power density and at constant power density/variable irradiation time. The induced crystallization is followed quantitatively by analyzing the Raman spectra of the exposed area. The crystallite size distribution and the film stress are then estimated using a parametric fitting procedure. The pertinent microcrystal geometry of the samples after CO₂-laser treatment has been directly correlated to Raman spectroscopic data. Variations of several spectral features, such as bandwidths and band frequencies have been interpreted in terms of three different mechanisms including the local heating due to the CO₂-laser heating, the reduction of crystallite size and the tensile stress of μc-Si:H films. The results are discussed in the context of recent experimental and theoretical works concerning the bond polarizability.     

Recording long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission by three-dimensional multi-electrode arrays

Background  

Multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) have become popular tools for recording spontaneous and evoked electrical activity of excitable tissues. The majority of previous studies of synaptic transmission in brain slices employed MEAs with planar electrodes that had limited ability to detect signals coming from deeper, healthier layers of the slice. To overcome this limitation, we used three-dimensional (3D) MEAs with tip-shaped electrodes to probe plasticity of field excitatory synaptic potentials (fEPSPs) in the CA1 area of hippocampal slices of 129S5/SvEvBrd and C57BL/6J-Tyr^C-Brd mice.     

Callocation methods for volterra integrodifferential equations with singular kernels

A collocation method which uses Hermite cubic elements is proposed for the solution of Volterra integrodifferential equations with singular kernels. Optimum error estimates in the uniform norm are obtained by means of interpolation operators. We also report on results of numerical comparisons with one well established method and another new “modified collocation” scheme.     

Dynamics of proteins: light scattering study of dilute and dense colloidal suspensions of eye lens homogenates

We report a dynamic light scattering study on protein suspensions of bovine lens homogenates at conditions (pH and ionic strength) similar to the physiological ones. Light scattering data were collected at two temperatures, 20 and 37 degrees C, over a wide range of concentrations from the very dilute limit up to the dense regime approaching the physiological lens concentration. A comparison with experimental data from intact bovine lenses was advanced, revealing differences between dispersions and lenses at similar concentrations. In the dilute regime, two scattering entities were detected and identified with the long-time self-diffusion modes of alpha-crystallins and their aggregates, which naturally exist in lens nucleus. Upon increasing protein concentration, significant changes in time correlation function were observed starting at approximately 75 mg ml(-1), where a new mode originating from collective diffusive motions becomes visible. Self-diffusion coefficients are temperature insensitive, whereas the collective diffusion coefficient depends strongly on temperature revealing a reduction of the net repulsive interparticle forces with decreasing temperature. While there are no rigorous theoretical approaches on particle diffusion properties for multicomponent, nonideal hard sphere polydispersed systems, as the suspensions studied here, a discussion of the volume fraction dependence of the long-time self-diffusion coefficient in the context of existing theoretical approaches was undertaken. This study is purported to provide some insight into the complex light scattering pattern of intact lenses and the interactions between the constituent proteins that are responsible for lens transparency. This would lead to understand basic mechanisms of specific protein interactions that lead to lens opacification (cataract) under pathological conditions.     

Radionuclide activities and elemental concentrations in sediments from a polluted marine environment (Saronikos Gulf-Greece)

The levels and depth distributions of the natural radionuclides ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra, ⁴⁰K and the man-made ¹³⁷Cs were analyzed by γ-ray spectrometry, while the concentrations of 26 chemical elements were measured by INAA in sediment samples collected from the organic mud layer that covers the Keratsini–Psitalia strait, Saronikos gulf (Greece). The average activity concentration values of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were lower when compared, whereas that of ²³⁸U was comparable to the average Greek and world values. The elemental contamination of the sediments was estimated on the basis of the calculated EF values. The results revealed high EF values of As, Br, Cr, Ni, Sb, Se, Zn ranging from 160 for Br to 10 for Cr, whose main sources are probable related to contaminated sewage outfall from the area of Athens and the Piraeus Harbour.