Wishart exponential families on cones related to tridiagonal matrices

Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics - Let G be the graph corresponding to the graphical model of nearest neighbor interaction in a Gaussian character. We study Natural Exponential...     

Infrared reflection spectra of the one-dimensional ionic conductor K— and RbAl priderites

The reflection spectra of the one-dimensional ionic conductors K_1.6Al_1.6Ti_6.4O₁₆ and Rb_1.49Al_1.65Ti_6.35O_15.92 have been measured for the polarizations E ∥ c (channel direction) and E 6 c in the frequency region 60–2000 cm^-1. The spectra of these two compounds are very similar with their features and have the same number of bands. The vibrational mode frequencies are obtained from a Kramers-Kronig analysis for each polarized reflectivity spectrum. A comparison of the corresponding mode frequencies for both priderites shows that only the lowest frequency mode observed in the E 6 c spectra is strongly associated with the alkali ion, while the others are not. The effect due to the non-stoichiometry is not found in the infrared reflection spectra.     

Collagen of porcine auricle has unique biochemical and biophysical characteristics

Collagen is a major component of the extracellular matrix and is used as a material in tissue engineering. We demonstrated the extraction of atelocollagen from porcine auricular and characterized its unique physical and biochemical properties. Extracted type I collagens of auricular collagen using acetic acid and pepsin (PAC) showed superior fibrillogenesis and viscoelasticity compared to type I collagen from porcine skin. The observation of PAC fibrils by transmission electron microscopy and Atomic Force Microscope under physiological conditions revealed long fibrils with pronounced 3D structures, while type I collagen from porcine skin revealed a flat structure. Furthermore, a PAC-coated plate promoted higher cell proliferation than when grown on a skin type I collagen-coated plate. Porcine auricular type I collagen has superior biophysical and biological properties in terms of viscoelasticity, fibrillogenesis, and cell proliferation, and can be used in further studies toward novel potential applications in the field of medical materials.     

Flow-injection determination of inorganic pyrophosphate with use of an enzyme thermistor containing immobilized inorganic pyrophosphate

Inorganic pyrophosphate immobilized on controlled-pore glass is used in a simple flow enzyme thermistor system. The heat produced in hydrolysis of pyrophosphate is enhanced. by using Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.2, containing 1 mM magnesium chloride, as carrier stream. The calibration graph is linear for 0.1–20 mM pyrophosphate; 500 assays are possible without loss of enzyme activity. For 0.5-ml injections of 10 mM pyrophosphate, the relative standard deviation was 2.0% (n=30). A single determination takes 6 min. Calcuim and strontium interfere.     

Simultaneous multi-element analysis of total As, Se and Sb on titanium dioxide by slurry sampling-graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple and rapid method for simultaneous determination of As, Se and Sb was studied by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). Titanium dioxide adsorbing As, Se and Sb was separated from sample solution (100 ml) with a membrane filtration (0.45 μm), and then prepared to be slurry (5.0 ml) by adding ultrapure water. The behavior and influence of titanium dioxide on determination of As, Se and Sb were investigated in this experiment. The optimal conditions of a furnace for these elements were chosen as follows: pyrolysis temperature was 150 °C, and atomization temperature was 2300 °C. The optimal conditions of adsorption for As, Se and Sb on titanium dioxide were listed: pH 2.0 in sample solution; 10 min of stirring time; and 20.0 mg titanium dioxide. The difference of the chemical valence of each element had no effect on the recovery of each element at the same optimal conditions. Limits of detection (3σ) for As, Se and Sb were found to be 0.21 μg l⁻¹, 0.15 μg l⁻¹ and 0.15 μg l⁻¹, respectively, with enrichment rate of 20, when 20 μl of slurry was injected into a Zr-coating tube. The proposed method was applied to tap water and river water.     

Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of amorphous polymers based on dithienylbenzothiadiazole‐triphenylamine with hexyl side chains on different positions of thienyl groups

We synthesized and characterized three new amorphous dithienylbenzothiadiazole (TBT)‐triphenylamine (TPA) polymers for application in bulk‐heterojunction (BHJ) organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. Poly(3HTBT‐TPA) has hexyl side chains on the thienyl groups (pointing toward the benzothiadiazole (BTD) unit), and poly(4HTBT‐TPA) has hexyl side chains on the thienyl groups (pointing outward from the BTD unit). The incident photon to current conversion efficiencies (IPCEs) in the region from 550 to 650 nm for the OPV cells prepared using poly(4HTBT‐TPA) were higher than those for the OPV cells prepared using poly(3HTBT‐TPA) because the absorption spectrum for the poly(4HTBT‐TPA) has a slightly red‐shifted absorption edge. We also demonstrated that the poly(4HTBT‐TPA)‐based OPV performance is independent of the fabrication process, so using an amorphous film to fabricate BHJ OPV cells offers great advantages over using a polycrystalline film in terms of the high reproducibility of the OPV performance. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 2536–2544