Product Integration Rules at Clenshaw-Curtis and Related Points: A Robust Implementation

Product integration rules generalizing the Fej?r, Clenshaw-Curtis,and Filippi quadrature rules respectively are derived for integralswith trigonometric and hyperbolic weight factors. The Chebyshevmoments of the weight functions are found to be given by well-conditionedexpressions, in terms of hypergeometric functions ₀F₁. An a priori error estimator is discussed which is shown bothto avoid wasteful invocation of the integration rule and toincrease significantly the robustness of the automatic quadratureprocedure. Then, specializing to extended Clenshaw-Curtis (ECC) rules,three types of a posteriori error estimates are considered andthe existence of a great risk of their failure is demonstratedby large scale validation tests. An empirical error estimator,superseding them for slowly varying integrands, is found toresult in a spectacular increase in the output reliability. Finally, enhancements in the control of the interval subdivisionstrategy aiming at increasing code robustness is discussed.Comparison with the code DQAWO of QUADPACK, with about a hundredthousand solved integrals, is illustrative of the increasedrobustness and error estimate reliability of our computer codeimplementation of the ECC rules.     

Gold nanoshells on polystyrene cores for control of surface plasmon resonance

A method is presented for synthesizing core-shell structures consisting of monodisperse polystyrene latex nanospheres as cores and gold nanoparticles as shells. Use of polystyrene spheres as the core in these structures is advantageous because they are readily available commercially in a wide range of sizes, and with dyes or other molecules doped into them. Gold nanoparticles, ranging in size from 1 to 20 nm, are prepared by reduction of a gold precursor with sodium citrate or tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride (THPC). Carboxylate-terminated polystyrene spheres are functionalized with 2-aminoethanethiol hydrochloride (AET), which forms a peptide bond with carboxylic acid groups on their surface, resulting in a thiol-terminated surface. Gold nanoparticles then bind to the thiol groups to provide up to about 50% coverage of the surface. These nanoparticles serve as seeds for growth of a continuous gold shell by reduction of additional gold precursor. The shell thickness and roughness can be controlled by the size of the nanoparticle seeds as well as by the process of their growth into a continuous shell. By variation of the relative sizes of the latex core and the thickness of the gold overlayer, the plasmon resonance of the nanoshell can be tuned to specific wavelengths across the visible and infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, for applications ranging from the construction of photonic crystals to biophotonics. The position and width of the plasmon resonance extinction peak are well-predicted by extended Mie scattering theory.     

Palm Raceme as a Promising Biomass Precursor for Activated Carbon to Promote Lipase Activity with the Aid of Eutectic Solvents

This study concerns the role of activated carbon (AC) from palm raceme as a support material for the enhancement of lipase-catalyzed reactions in an aqueous solution, with deep eutectic solvent (DES) as a co-solvent. The effects of carbonization temperature, impregnation ratio, and carbonization time on lipase activity were studied. The activities of Amano lipase from Burkholderia cepacia (AML) and lipase from the porcine pancreas (PPL) were used to investigate the optimum conditions for AC preparation. The results showed that AC has more interaction with PPL and effectively provides greater enzymatic activity compared with AML. The optimum treatment conditions of AC samples that yield the highest enzymatic activity were 0.5 (NaOH (g)/palm raceme (g)), 150 min, and a carbonization temperature of 400 °C. DES was prepared from alanine/sodium hydroxide and used with AC for the further enhancement of enzymatic activity. Kinetic studies demonstrated that the activity of PPL was enhanced with the immobilization of AC in a DES medium.     

Magnetically Encoded Luminescent Composite Nanoparticles through Layer‐by‐Layer Self‐Assembly

Sensitive and rapid detection of multiple analytes and the collection of components from complex samples are important in fields ranging from bioassays/chemical assays, clinical diagnosis, to environmental monitoring. A convenient strategy for creating magnetically encoded luminescent CdTe@SiO₂@n Fe₃O₄ composite nanoparticles, by using a layer‐by‐layer self‐assembly approach based on electrostatic interactions, is described. Silica‐coated CdTe quantum dots (CdTe@SiO₂) serve as core templates for the deposition of alternating layers of Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles and poly(dimethyldiallyl ammonium chloride), to construct CdTe@SiO₂@n Fe₃O₄ (n=1, 2, 3, …?) composite nanoparticles with a defined number (n) of Fe₃O₄ layers. Composite nanoparticles were characterized by zeta‐potential analysis, fluorescence spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and transmission electron microscopy, which showed that the CdTe@SiO₂@n Fe₃O₄ composite nanoparticles exhibited excellent luminescence properties coupled with well‐defined magnetic responses. To demonstrate the utility of these magnetically encoded nanoparticles for near‐simultaneous detection and separation of multiple components from complex samples, three different fluorescently labeled IgG proteins, as model targets, were identified and collected from a mixture by using the CdTe@SiO₂@n Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles.     

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of natural convection in nanofluid-filled 2D long enclosures at presence of magnetic field

In this paper, the effects of a magnetic field on natural convection flow in filled long enclosures with Cu/water nanofluid have been analyzed by lattice Boltzmann method. This study has been carried out for the pertinent parameters in the following ranges: the Rayleigh number of base fluid, Ra = 10³–10⁵, the volumetric fraction of nanoparticles between 0 and 6 %, the aspect ratio of the enclosure between A = 0.5 and 2. The Hartmann number has been varied from Ha = 0 to 90 with interval 30 while the magnetic field is considered at inclination angles of θ = 0°, 30°, 60° and 90°. Results show that the heat transfer decreases by the increment of Hartmann number for various Rayleigh numbers and the aspect ratios. Heat transfer decreases with the growth of the aspect ratio but this growth causes the effect of the nanoparticles to increase. The magnetic field augments the effect of the nanoparticles at high Rayleigh numbers (Ra = 10⁵). The effect of the nanoparticles rises for high Hartmann numbers when the aspect ratio increases. The rise in the magnetic field inclination improves heat transfer at aspect ratio of A = 0.5.     

A close look at silver oxide colloid for surface-enhanced Raman scattering

A silver oxide hydrosol has been prepared by reacting silver nitrate with sodium hydroxide in an aqueous solution. The colloidal particle composition and particle size have been characterized by X-ray diffractometry and transmittance electron microscopy. We have demonstrated that the sol is surface-enhanced Raman scattering active. One major advantage of this sol is the absence of the spectral interference arising from reaction products of the sol formation process. The mechanism of surface-enhanced Raman scattering activity is essentially contributed by the silver particles generated from the photochemical process during the laser excitation.     

A Preliminary experimental study of the boron concentration in vapor and the isotopic A preliminary experimental study of the boron concentrationin vapor and the isotopic fractionation of boron betweenseawater and vapor during evaporation of seawater

A laboratory experiment was undertaken to investigate the behaviour of boron at theseawater-air interface under air flow conditions. Dried air at 25 and 35℃ was passed over or bub-bled through seawater at the same temperature. A combination of ice-chilled condensers and KOHimpregnated cellulose fibre filters was used to collect boron from the reacted air. When air strippedof boron was passed over the seawater, boron was found in the reacted air, and its concentrationwas higher in the higher temperature test. In the tests where air was bubbled through seawater theconcentration of boron in the reacted air was directly proportional to the air flow rate. In this situa-tion the boron in the reacted air was mainly introduced as a spray of microdroplets. Isotopic analy-sis of the collected boron in the non-bubbled tests yields fractionation factors which demonstratethat the lighter isotope, 10B, is enriched in the reacted air. The size of the fractionation changeswith temperature, ruling out a purely kinetic effect.     

Thermodynamic Complexation of Dopamine with Zinc(II) in Media with Different Dielectric Constants

The complexation of zinc(II) with dopamine has been investigated by spectrophotometric measurements in mixed solvent system at an ionic strength of 0.2 mol•dm－3 sodium chloride, employed at at (15±0.1), (25±0.1), (35±0.1) ℃ at inin a pH range of ca. 6 to ca. 7 with a high ratio of ligand to metal. The effect of solvent systems on protonation and complexation are was was discussed. Linear relationships are werewere observed by plotting lg K versus 1/D, where K and D show stability and dielectric constants, respectively.