The investigation of 0<Superscript>+</Superscript> ↔ 0<Superscript>−</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis> decay in some spherical nuclei

The 0⁺ ↔ 0⁻ first-forbidden β decay transitions have been investigated for some spherical nuclei. The theoretical framework is based on a proton-neutron quasiparticle random phase approximation (pnQRPA). The Woods-Saxon potential basis has been used in our calculations. The transition probabilities have been calculated within the ξ approximation. The relativistic β moment matrix element has been calculated both directly without any assumption and assuming that it is proportional to the non-relativistic one.     

The investigation of the 2<Emphasis Type="Italic">νββ</Emphasis> decay by Pyatov method within quasiparticle random phase approximation formalism

The violated commutation condition between the total shell model Hamiltonian and Gamow-Teller operator (GT) has been restored by Pyatov method (PM). The considered nuclear model Hamiltonian in PM includes the separable GT residual interaction in ph and pp channels and is differentiated from the traditional schematic model by h ₀(restoration term). The influence of the h ₀ effective interaction on the 2νββ decay of ⁴⁸Ca, ⁷⁶Ge, ⁸²Se, ⁹⁶Zr, ¹⁰⁰Mo, ¹¹⁶Cd, ^128,130Te and ¹³⁶Xe is investigated. All the calculations have been done within the framework of standard QRPA. The results obtained by PM are compared with those of other approaches and experimental data. The influence of the restoration term on the stability of the 2νββ decay nuclear matrix elements is analysed.      

Effective and Functional Surface Design for Biosensing Applications Based on a Novel Conducting Polymer and PMMA/Clay Nanocomposite

Surface functionalization plays a crucial role in the design of biosensors. For this purpose, a novel functional monomer, 6‐(4,7‐bis(2,3‐dihydrothieno[3,4‐b][1,4]dioxin‐5‐yl)‐2H‐benzo[d][1,2,3]triazol‐2‐yl)hexan‐1‐amine (BEDOA‐6), was designed and synthesized. Poly(BEDOA‐6) was utilized as an immobilization matrix for glucose oxidase biosensor construction. Moreover, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) layered silicate nanocomposites were prepared by in situ suspension polymerization. Conducting polymer surface was modified with PMMA/clay nanocomposite material and a glucose biosensor was developed. In addition, XPS and SEM were utilized to characterize the surface properties. The biosensor shows a wide linear range between 2.8 µM and 1.2 mM to glucose with a low detection limit of 1.99 µM. Finally, the biosensor was tested on serum samples containing actual human blood. The results were in well‐agreement with a reference method.     

Quasi Random Phase Approximation Predictions on Two-Neutrino Double Beta Decay Half-Lives to the First 2＋ State

Two-neutrino double beta decay （2vββ） half-lives to the first excited state are calculated in the framework of quasi random phase approximation. The quadrupole transition probabilities and the 2vββ decay amplitudes to the final ground states are reproduced by using adjustable parameters. The obtained half-lives are compared with the corresponding experimental data.     

Allergen microarrays on high-sensitivity silicon slides

We have recently introduced a silicon substrate for high-sensitivity microarrays, coated with a functional polymer named copoly(DMA-NAS-MAPS). The silicon dioxide thickness has been optimized to produce a fluorescence intensification due to the optical constructive interference between the incident and reflected lights of the fluorescent radiation. The polymeric coating efficiently suppresses aspecific interaction, making the low background a distinctive feature of these slides. Here, we used the new silicon microarray substrate for allergy diagnosis, in the detection of specific IgE in serum samples of subjects with sensitizations to inhalant allergens. We compared the performance of silicon versus glass substrates. Reproducibility data were measured. Moreover, receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to discriminate between the allergy and no allergy status in 30 well-characterized serum samples. We found that reproducibility of the microarray on glass supports was not different from available data on allergen arrays, whereas the reproducibility on the silicon substrate was consistently better than on glass. Moreover, silicon significantly enhanced the performance of the allergen microarray as compared to glass in accurately identifying allergic patients spanning a wide range of specific IgE titers to the considered allergens.     

Fused structures in the polymer backbone to investigate the photovoltaic and electrochromic properties of donor–acceptor‐type conjugated polymers

In this study, two new benzotriazole (BTz) and dithienothiophene (DTT) containing conjugated polymers were synthesized. After successful characterizations of the monomers by proton‐nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) and carbon‐NMR (¹³C NMR) techniques, poly(4‐(dithieno[3, 2‐b:2′,3′‐d]thiophen‐2‐yl)‐2‐(2‐octyldodecyl)‐2H‐benzo[d][1,2,3] triazole) P1 and poly(4‐(5‐(dithieno[3,2‐b:2′,3′‐d]thiophen‐2‐yl)thiophen‐2‐yl)‐2‐(2‐octyldodecyl)‐7‐(thiophen‐2‐yl)‐2H‐benzo[d][1,2,3]triazole) P2 were synthesized via a typical Stille coupling. Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical studies showed that both polymers can be multipurpose materials and used in electrochromic and photovoltaic applications. Reported study indicated that incorporation of DTT into the structure leads to fast switching times compared with BTz‐based polymers and competent percentage transmittance in the near‐infrared region. Multichromism is important in the context of low‐cost flexible display device technology and both polymers are ambipolar and processable as well as multichromic. Throughout the preliminary photovoltaic studies, the best performances of photovoltaic devices were found as V_oc = 0.49 V, J_sc = 0.83 mA/cm², fill factor (FF) = 34.4%, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) = 0.14% for P1 , and as V_oc = 0.35 V, J_sc = 1.57 mA/cm², FF = 38.2%, and PCE = 0.21% for P2 . © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013