Molar volumes and ion pairing of lithium halides in alcohols

The concentration dependence of the apparent molar volumes of lithium halides (and electrolytes in general) in alcohols (and solvents permitting association in general) is, in the first instance, due to changes in the degree of association and to the inherent difference between the apparent molar volumes of the ions and of the ion pairs. Previous publications on the molar volumes of electrolytes in organic solvents, disregarding altogether ion pairing, appear to be incorrect. Data from the literature for lithium chloride and lithium bromide in normal primary alcohols and several branched alcohols from C₁ to C₈ and data from our laboratory for lithium halides in 1-hexanol and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol served for the determination of φ _V and φ _E . Electrical and structural contributions to the values of these functions for the ions and for the ion pairs are discussed.     

The importance of temperature and viscosity effects for surfactant adsorption measurements made using the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance

The measurement of adsorbed surfactant is important to fields such as corrosion inhibition, metal cleaning, and separation technologies. The electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) is an important tool that can be used to measure adsorbed surfactant. However, such measurements are subject to significant temperature and viscosity effects that must be appropriately considered. This paper discusses the effect of temperature and viscosity on EQCM measurements in solution environments and the ability of the EQCM to measure surfactant adsorption.     

Spectral and temporal holograms with nonlinear optics

In this Letter we show how encoding techniques for computer-generated holograms may be used to arbitrarily shape a nonlinearly generated spectrum and consequently the temporal shape by modulating the quadratic nonlinear coefficient. We give examples of a modulation pattern and a simple setup that can generate high-order Hermite-Gauss and Airy functions through difference-frequency generation from a transform-limited Gaussian pulse, under practical fabrication considerations.     

Dependence of surface coverage on pore geometry in dispenser cathodes

This paper shows that the surface coverage of Ba/BaO on tungsten is more complete when the activator is supplied via slotted pores rather than circular pores. Both theoretical and experimental evidence is given to support this contention. The effect is primarily a geometrical one, since the surface diffusion in the case of circular pores is two-dimensional, whereas the surface diffusion for slotted pores is linear. The contrast becomes less pronounced as the circular pore size decreases. For dimensions of the order of those found on cathode surfaces (e.g., 10 μ m diameter pores), a hexagonal array of circular pores can be optimized to produce an emitting area of 88% of the total, with a pore open area of about 11%. For slotted pores, the slot widths can be made arbitrarily narrow, consequently, the emitting area approaches 100% while pore evaporation losses are minimized. A slotted-pore cathode should, therefore, be capable of higher and more uniform current density with less barium dispensation. When the pore geometry is controlled, either for round holes or slots, the cathode should be less prone to space-charge-limited slump than those based on random sintered pores     

Mannose-pepstatin conjugates as targeted inhibitors of antigen processing

The molecular details of antigen processing, including the identity of the enzymes involved, their intracellular location and their substrate specificity, are still incompletely understood. Selective inhibition of proteolytic antigen processing enzymes such as cathepsins D and E, using small molecular inhibitors such as pepstatin, has proven to be a valuable tool in investigating these pathways. However, pepstatin is poorly soluble in water and has limited access to the antigen processing compartment in antigen presenting cells. We have synthesised mannose-pepstatin conjugates, and neomannosylated BSA-pepstatin conjugates, as tools for the in vivo study of the antigen processing pathway. Conjugation to mannose and to neomannosylated BSA substantially improved the solubility of the conjugates relative to pepstatin. The mannose-pepstatin conjugates showed no reduction in inhibition of cathepsin E, whereas the neomannosylated BSA-pepstatin conjugates showed some loss of inhibition, probably due to steric factors. However, a neomannosylated BSA-pepstatin conjugate incorporating a cleavable disulfide linkage between the pepstatin and the BSA showed the best uptake to dendritic cells and the best inhibition of antigen processing.     

THE SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF GRADIENT ELUTION HPLC

The movement of a particular component along an HPLC column is studied on the ba-sis of equilibrium equations. Numerical simulation of multi--step gradient elution HPLC isperformed by means o? a personal computer program. The location x, as a fraction of thecolumn length, for a given time t o? each compound is calculated, the velocity and corre-sponding acceleration are given as well. Diagrams for x,dx/dt and d~2x/dt~2 versus t display themovement process of the different components along the HPLC column during gradient elu-tion. The prediction of the retention time and peak width, and the optimization for the multi-step gradient elution HPLC are all based on such simulation and the molecular structure ofthe. components is separated as well.     

Increasing the yield from volumetric MRI in patients with epilepsy

Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging has become a routine investigation in the management of patients with chronic partial epilepsy. However, even with the use of reformatted images, an underlying cause for epileps can-not be found in many of these patients. We show that further processing of the data, including three-dimensional reconstruction and quantitative analysis of the volume and complexity of the images in three dimensions, reveals additional positive information in up to 75% of patients. This may be useful for surgical planning, prognostication, and understanding of the structure and development of the human brain.     

Detection limits for single small flaws and groups of flaws when using focussed ultrasonic transducers

The performance of ultrasonic imaging systems, using line-focussed transducers, was evaluated theoretically by employing a simple technique based on convolution. The analysis considered the response of single reflectors, which are mainly voids, and also multiple reflectors located both on a single plane and on multiple planes, which represent a porous layer or bond-line. The limits of detection for each of the above cases, in the presence of different levels of acoustic noise in the object under test were also calculated. The results presented are expressed as a function of a dimensionless flaw size, incorporating the ultrasonic frequency and beam F-number. The results can be used to identify the best match between ultrasonic equipment and a specific imaging problem. They can also serve to guide decisions regarding the most suitable detection method for use with the chosen equipment. If the inspection is properly designed, surprisingly small flaws could be reliably detected — even in objects where significant levels of incoherent acoustic noise are found. The method and results presented in this paper for line-focussed transducers fit qualitatively the case of spherically focussed transducers. The method is highly versatile and it can be extended to cover a range of problems, outside the scope of this paper, including, quantitatively, that of the spherically focussed transducer by employing a formulation which uses more computer time and memory.