Exact solutions of an asymmetric double well potential

Journal of Mathematical Chemistry - The analytical solutions of an asymmetric double well potential $$V(x)=a\, x^2-b\, x^3+c\, x^4$$ are found to be a triconfluent Heun function $$H_{T}(\alpha ,...     

Localising gravity in composite monopole brane worlds without bulk cosmological constant

We study a 7-dimensional brane world scenario with a Ricci-flat 3-brane residing in the core of a composite monopole defect, i.e., a defect composed of a 't Hooft–Polyakov and a global monopole. Admitting a direct interaction between the two bosonic sectors of the theory, we analyse the structure of the space–time in the limits of small, respectively large direct interaction coupling constant. For large direct interaction, the global monopole disappears from the system and leaves behind a negative cosmological constant in the bulk such that gravity-localising solutions are possible without a priori introduction of a bulk cosmological constant.     

Internal standardization for the determination of cadmium,cobalt, chromium and manganese in saline produced water from petroleum industry by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry after cloud point extraction

In the present paper a procedure is proposed for the determination of traces of Cd, Co, Mn and Cr in petroleum industry produced water by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The procedure is based on cloud point extraction of these metals, as their dithizonate complexes, into the surfactant-rich phase of octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol surfactant (Triton X-114). Extractions were carried out in solutions with salinities between 10‰ and 70‰. Since residual salinity in the surfactant-rich phase caused differences in its transport to the plasma, yttrium was used as an internal standard to correct for this effect. The simultaneous metal extraction procedure was optimized by response surface methodology using a Doehlert design and desirability function. Enhancement factors of 21, 21, 9 and 19, along with limits of quantification of 0.093, 0.20, 0.73 and 1.2 μg L^− 1, and precision expressed as relative standard deviation (n = 8, 20.0 μg L^− 1) of 5.8, 1.2, 1.7 and 5.7% were obtained for Cd, Co, Mn and Cr, respectively. The accuracy was evaluated by spike recovery tests on the high salinity water samples with salinity of 40 and 63‰.     

Stability of a fluid-fluid interface in a biconical pore segment

Pore networks that include biconical pore segments are frequently used to model two-phase flow. In this work, we describe in detail the displacement of a fluid-fluid interface in such a pore segment. We assume sharp edges in the throat, inlet, and outlet of the pore segment to be the limiting cases of round edges, the radii of which vanish. We account for interfacial and lineal tensions that cause nonconstant contact angles. For zero lineal tension, we provide analytical solutions for flow induced by changing infinitesimally slowly either capillary pressure or the volume of one fluid. In diverging and converging cones, the common line among the two fluids and the solid phase slides while it is pinned in the throat, inlet, and outlet. We observe hysteresis within the pore segment, and drainage entry pressures deviate from prior work.     

Protein adsorption on nanoporous TiO2 films: a novel approach to studying photoinduced protein/electrode transfer reactions

We have investigated the use of nanoporous TiO2 films as substrates for protein immobilisation. Such films are of interest due to their high surface area, optical transparency, electrochemical activity and ease of fabrication. These films moreover allow detailed spectroscopic study of protein/electrode electron transfer processes. We find that protein immobilisation on such films may be readily achieved from aqueous solutions at 4 degrees C with a high binding stability and no detectable protein denaturation. The nanoporous structure of the film greatly enhances the active surface area available for protein binding (by a factor of up to 850 for an 8 microns thick film). We demonstrate that the redox state of proteins such as immobilised cytochrome-c (Cyt-c) and haemoglobin (Hb) may be modulated by the application of an electrical bias potential to the TiO2 film, without the addition of electron transfer mediators. The binding of Cyt-c on the TiO2 films is investigated as a function of film thickness, protein concentration, protein surface charge and ionic strength. We demonstrate the potential use of immobilised Hb on such TiO2 films for the detection of dissolved CO in aqueous solutions. We further show that protein/electrode electron transfer may be initiated by UV bandgap excitation of the TiO2 electrode. Both photooxidation and photoreduction of the immobilised proteins can be achieved. By employing pulsed UV laser excitation, the interfacial electron transfer kinetics can be monitored by transient optical spectroscopy, providing a novel probe of protein/electrode electron transfer kinetics. We conclude that nanoporous TiO2 films may be useful both for basic studies of protein/electrode interactions and for the development of novel bioanalytical devices such as biosensors.     

Defective transport of thymidine by cultured cells resistant to 5-bromodeoxyuridine.

A line of HeLa cells resistant to 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BUdR) was established by continuous culture in growth medium containing BUdR; during the selection period, BUdR concentrations, initially 15 micrometer, were gradually increased to 100 micrometer. Cells of a clone (HeLa/B5) established from this line were also resistant to 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FUdR), but not to the free base, 5-fluorouracil. Although extracts of HeLa/B5 cells exhibited levels of thymidine kinase activity comparable to those of parental cells, rates of uptake of BUdR, FUdR, and thymidine into intact cells were much reduced. The kinetics of uptake of uridine and adenosine, nucleosides which appear to be transported independently of thymidine in HeLa cells, were similar for HeLa/B5 and the parental line (HeLa/O). Relative to thymidine uptake by HeLa/O cells, that by HeLa/B5 cells was distinctly less sensitive to nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR), a specific inhibitor of nucleoside transport in various types of animal cells. Despite this difference in NBMPR sensitivity, both cell lines possessed the same number of high affinity NBMPR binding sites per mg cell protein. The altered kinetics of thymidine uptake and the NBMPR insensitivity of that function in HeLA/B5 cells suggest that resistance to BUdR is due to an altered thymidine transport mechanism.     

Splitless on-line coupling of capillary high-performance liquid chromatography,capillary electrochromatography and pressurized capillary electrochromatography with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

A mixture of unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters was separated with a new splitless capillary set-up. With the employed apparatus configuration different capillary separation techniques such as capillary high-performance liquid chromatography (cHPLC), capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and pressurized capillary electrochromatography (pCEC) could be applied. The detection and identification of the sample compounds were accomplished by hyphenating these capillary separation techniques with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy using a novel configuration of the detection capillary set-up. Using modified electrokinetically driven separation techniques, the electric field was applied solely across the separation column. With this improved interface for capillary liquid chromatography-NMR on-line coupling, the stereochemical assignment of the cis and trans configuration of unsaturated fatty acids could be easily accomplished. Finally, the results of cHPLC-NMR, CEC-NMR and pCEC-NMR coupling experiments were compared.Dedicated to Professor Günter Häfelinger on the occasion of his 65th birthday     

Online preconcentration system for determining ultratrace amounts of Cd in vegetal samples using thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A system has been developed for online preconcentration and determination of Cd using thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (TS-FF-AAS). It is based on the solid-phase extraction of Cd in an Amberlite XAD-2 minicolumn loaded with 2-(2-thiazolylazo)-5-dimethylaminophenol (TAM), and the metal ion is eluted with 1 mol L⁻¹ hydrochloridric acid, followed by its determination. The online system allows determining Cd with a detection limit of 8.0 ng L⁻¹ and a quantification limit of 25.0 ng L⁻¹. The precision (repeatability), calculated as the relative standard deviation (% RSD) in sample solutions containing 0.5 and 3.0 μg L⁻¹ of Cd, was 6.1 and 4.5%, respectively. The preconcentration factor obtained was 24. The system’s accuracy was confirmed by analyzing the following certified reference materials (CRMs): Rice flour NIES 10b, Apple leaves NIST 1515 and Orchard leaves NBS 1571. This procedure was applied to the determination of Cd in cabbage and powdered guarana samples.     

Adsorption of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) on hexagonal templated zirconia obtained thorough a sol-gel process: the effects of nanostructure on adsorption features

Using zirconium tetrabutoxide, diaminedecane, and diamineoctane as precursors, a templated hexagonal zirconia matrix is synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. The adsorption capacity of such a matrix toward Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) from aqueous solutions is studied. The adsorption affinity of the synthesized hexagonal templated zirconia toward the cations is Cu(II)>Zn(II) >Ni(II)>Co(II). It is also verified that the adsorption of the cations follows a Langmuir and not a Freundlich isotherm. All obtained isotherms are of type I, according to the IUPAC classification. The observed adsorption affinity sequence can be explained by taking into account the velocity constant for the substitution of water molecules into the cation coordination spheres, as well as the Irving-Williams series.