Determination of δ(18)O and δ(15)N in Nitrate

The analyses of both O and N isotopic compositions of nitrate have many potential applications in studies of nitrate sources and reactions in hydrology, oceanography, and atmospheric chemistry, but simple and precise methods for these analyses have yet to be developed. Testing of a new method involving reaction of potassium nitrate with catalyzed graphite (C + Pd + Au) at 520 °C resulted in quantitative recovery of N and O from nitrate as free CO(2), K(2)CO(3), and N(2). The δ(18)O values of nitrate reference materials were obtained by analyzing both the CO(2) and K(2)CO(3) from catalyzed graphite combustion. Provisional values of δ(18)O(VSMOW) for the internationally distributed KNO(3) reference materials IAEA-N3 and USGS-32 were both equal to +22.7 ± 0.5‰. Because the fraction of free CO(2) and the isotopic fractionation factor between CO(2) and K(2)CO(3) were constant in the combustion products, the δ(18)O value of KNO(3) could be calculated from measurements of the δ(18)O of free CO(2). Thus, δ(18)O(KNO)((3)) = aδ(18)O(free)(?)(CO)((2)) - b, where a and b were equal to 0.9967 and 3.3, respectively, for the specific conditions of the experiments. The catalyzed graphite combustion method can be used to determine δ(18)O of KNO(3) from measurements of δ(18)O of free CO(2) with reproducibility on the order of ±0.2‰ or better if local reference materials are prepared and analyzed with the samples. Reproducibility of δ(15)N was ±0.1‰ after trace amounts of CO were removed.     

Experimental Determination of the Curie Temperature for?Ga(Mn)As

The modified Arrott graph has been used for the determination of the Curie temperature T _c . The results have been compared with other resistivity methods. Results support the idea of determination of T _c from the temperature dependence of the derivative of longitudinal resistivity. It was shown that the modified Arrott plot is not suitable for precision determination of T _c .     

Direct On-Line Coupling of Capillary HPLC with (1)H NMR Spectroscopy for the Structural Determination of Retinyl Acetate Dimers: 2D NMR Spectroscopy in the Nanoliter Scale

This paper presents the application of directly coupled capillary high-performance liquid chromatography (capillary HPLC) and proton high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) for structural elucidation of a so-far unknown kitol isomer. One- and two-dimensional continuous- and stopped-flow NMR spectra were recorded in a 180 μm i.d. capillary, corresponding to a detection volume of only 200 nL. Unequivocal structural assignment on the basis of 1D and 2D stopped-flow capillary HPLC-NMR experiments was performed. The kitol isomer mixture was present in a sample of thermally isomerized retinyl acetate and separated on a capillary column.     

Low Concentration of Peroxymonosulfate Triggers Dissolved Oxygen Conversion over Single Atomic Fe–N3O1 Sites for Water Decontamination

Achieving satisfactory organic pollutant oxidation with a low concentration of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) is vital for persulfate-involved advanced oxidation processes to reduce resource consumption and avoid excessive sulfate anion (SO₄²⁻) production. Herein, efficient conversion of dissolved oxygen (DO) over single-atomic Fe–N₃O₁ sites anchored on carbon nitride for efficient contaminant degradation is fulfilled, triggered by a low concentration of PMS (0.2 mm ). Experimental and theoretical results reveal that the preferentially adsorbed PMS onto atomic Fe–N₃O₁ center can deliver electrons toward the single Fe atom to increase its electron density to trigger DO reduction into superoxide radical (O₂^{• −}) and successive transformation into singlet oxygen (¹O₂), which is quite different from the conventional PMS activation process mostly depending on PMS itself function for reactive oxygen species generation. On the other hand, PMS with high concentration could occupy active Fe–N₃O₁ sites to hamper DO conversion and further produce massive SO₄²⁻. A couple of -Fe-CN_0.05 -and slight PMS is effective for actual kitchen wastewater remediation and long-term bisphenol A degradation. This work elucidates the triggering role of low-concentration PMS in DO conversion over a single-atom Fe catalyst, which can inspire the development of resource-saving, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly catalytic oxidation systems for environmental restoration.     

Evidence for the existence of faulting in a splat-cooled δ-Pu (Ti) alloy

Examination of X-ray diffraction profiles of a splat-cooled 15 Ti-85 Pu alloy has revealed that the material contains a large amount of twinning coupled with a reasonably small crystallite size and high strain. The localized strain is estimated to be 0.6%, the crystallite size 250 Å, and the twinning fault probability is large at 0.043.     

An Analytical Determination of the Flexure of the 3·5 m Primary and 1 m Test Mirror of the ESO's New Technology Telescope for Passive Support and Active Control

Abstract

The active optics control concept of the ESOs 3·5 m New Technology Telescope (NTT) is based on the correction of aberrations by pre-calibrated changes of the axial forces that provide passive astatic support of the primary. The corrected aberrations are the basic orders of spherical aberration, ordinary astigmatism, triangular and quadratic astigmatism, and furthermore, coma up to the fifth order. This paper is concerned with the analytical determination of the force changes necessary, in either certain groups or the entirety of the supports, to produce any one of these aberration modes. The calibration is derived for two meniscus-shaped mirrors, the NTT primary of aspect ratio 1 : 15 and a thin test mirror of 1 m diameter and aspect ratio 1 : 56, designed to prove the control principle. The theoretical approaches used are adapted to the different stress distributions resulting from the different mirror shapes. Realized as flexural Fourier modes, the generated aberrations are orthogonal to each other and therefore exclude operative interference. The deviations from the desired radial laws amount to very few percent at most. Preparatory to this analysis, the paper treats both the passive axial supports and the radial edge support of the primary. A novel solution for the latter restricts the unavoidable flexural coma to low orders that are readily correctable by active control. Wherever possible, the analytical results are compared with related finite-element results obtained by other authors.     

Heteroepitaxial growth of the δ-Ta2O5 films on α-Al2O3 (0001)

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - The heteroepitaxial δ-Ta2O5 films were deposited on α-Al2O3 (0001) by MOCVD. As the growth temperature increases from...     

Comparison of the BGO and CsI(Tl) energy resolutions for p and α

Energy resolution and linearity of a BGO-photodiode have been measured for 20–40 MeV p and 14–25 MeV α. Comparisons are made to BGO and CsI(Tl) read by photomultipliers.     

An analog of the Rayleigh–Sommerfeld integral for anisotropic and gyrotropic media

In this work, the integral representations of Maxwell’s equations solutions for anisotropic and gyrotropic media with separable longitudinal and transverse components are derived in a complete analytic form. In particular cases, the integral expressions are reduced to an analog of the Rayleigh–Sommerfeld integral.     

Correcting for methane interferences on δ2H and δ18O measurements in pore water using H2Oliquid-H2Ovapor equilibration laser spectroscopy

Cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) is a new and evolving technology that shows great promise for isotopic δ(18)O and δ(2)H analyses of pore water from equilibrated headspace H(2)O vapor from environmental and geologic cores. We show that naturally occurring levels of CH(4) can seriously interfere with CRDS spectra, leading to erroneous δ(18)O and δ(2)H results for water. We created a new CRDS correction algorithm to account for CH(4) concentrations typically observed in subsurface and anaerobic environments, such as ground waters or lake bottom sediments. We subsequently applied the correction method to a series of geologic cores that contain CH(4). The correction overcomes the spectral interference and provides accurate pore water δ(18)O and δ(2)H values with acceptable precision levels as well as accurate concentrations of CH(4).     

Preparation and characterization of marine sponge collagen nanoparticles and employment for the transdermal delivery of 17β-estradiol-hemihydrate

Background: Transdermal administration of estradiol offers advantages over oral estrogens for hormone replacement therapy regarding side effects by bypassing the hepatic presystemic metabolism. Aim: The objective of this study was to develop nanoparticles of Chondrosia reniformis sponge collagen as penetration enhancers for the transdermal drug delivery of 17β-estradiol-hemihydrate in hormone replacement therapy. Method: Collagen nanoparticles were prepared by controlled alkaline hydrolysis and characterized using atomic force microscopy and photon correlation spectroscopy. Estradiol-hemihydrate was loaded to the nanoparticles by adsorption to their surface, whereupon a drug loading up to 13.1% of sponge collagen particle mass was found. After incorporation of drug-loaded nanoparticles in a hydrogel, the estradiol transdermal delivery from the gel was compared with that from a commercial gel that did not contain nanoparticles. Results: Saliva samples in postmenopausal patients showed significantly higher estradiol levels after application of the gel with nanoparticles. The area under the curve (AUC) for estradiol time–concentration curves over 24 hours was 2.3- to 3.4-fold higher and estradiol levels 24 hours after administration of estradiol were at least twofold higher with the nanoparticle gel. Conclusions: The hydrogel with estradiol-loaded collagen nanoparticles enabled a prolonged estradiol release compared to a commercial gel and yielded a considerably enhanced estradiol absorption. Consequently, sponge collagen nanoparticles represent promising carriers for transdermal drug delivery.     

Transport and Cu K-XANES Studies of (Hg,Cr)Sr2(Ca,Y)Cu2O6 + δ

The nominal (Hg_0.7Cr_0.3)Sr₂(Ca_0.7Y_0.3)Cu₂O_{6 +} , referred to as (Hg,Cr)-1212, were successfully synthesized at high temperature in partial vacuum. The samples were subsequently annealed in Ar or O₂ annealed at 300°C under ambient pressure. No T _c was observed in any of these samples down to 12 K which is in contrast to high pressure synthesized Y-free (Hg,Cr)-1212 phase where the latter exhibits a superconductivity at 80 K. The divalent state of Cu, as shown by XANES in the as-prepared (Hg,Cr)-1212, is not affected either by Ar or O₂ annealing. Depletion of holes due to trivalent Y substitution at the Ca-site, and a relatively higher 'a' lattice parameter (3.851 Å) are the apparent reasons for the non-superconducting nature of the samples.     

Metallurgical Reaction Characteristic for the Combined Blowing Process of Top-Bottom Blown Oxygen and Bottom Blown Natural Gas

The experiment was carried out in a combinedblowing converter.The natural gas was supplied asthe cooling medium for the bottom lance.The blow-ing practice of medium P hot metal(0.30-0.85% [P]) indicated that with better stirringat the bottom of the converter and lower P_(CO),thissteelmgking process was favorable to reduce theamount of [C] and [O] and increase the (P_2O_5)/[P].The maximum rate of dephospborization might behigh up to 0.0a5%/min and the P content in steelcould be reduced to lower than 0.03% by singleslag-forming operation.     

Oxygen deficiency and formation of a new ordered perovskite-based structure Sr(Sr0.5Sb0.5)O3−y

A new oxygen-deficient and ordered perovskite-type structure with the formula Sr(Sr_0.5Sb_0.5)O_3−y has been synthesized readily by a solid state reaction in air at 1200°C. The structure of the Sr(Sr_0.5Sb_0.5)O_3−y phase as determined by Rietveld analysis using X-ray diffraction data, corresponds to an ordered perovskite with face-centered cubic symmetry, space group Fm3m (no. 225) and lattice parameters, a=8.3136(3) Å, V=574.602(3) ų and Z=8. An important structural feature of Sr(Sr_0.5Sb_0.5)O_3−y is the oxygen deficiency and the displacements of oxygen atoms from their ideal positions toward the Sb⁵⁺ cations. This fact leads to an alternating arrangement of larger [SrO₆] and smaller [SbO₆] octahedra (B-sites), the remaining Sr²⁺ being in the larger 12-fold coordinated A-sites. The thermal stability of the Sr(Sr_0.5Sb_0.5)O_3−y phase is pointed out, its melting point being 1480°C, and the subsequent quenching giving rise to a glass material.     

An investigation of Interface-GMRES(R) for fluid–structure interaction problems with flutter and divergence

The basic subiteration method for solving fluid–structure interaction problems consists of an iterative process in which the fluid and structure subsystems are alternatingly solved, subject to complementary partitions of the interface conditions. The main advantages of the subiteration method are its conceptual simplicity and its modularity. The method has several deficiencies, however, including a lack of robustness and efficiency. To bypass these deficiencies while retaining the main advantages of the method, we recently proposed the Interface-GMRES(R) solution method, which is based on the combination of subiteration with a Newton–Krylov approach, in which the Krylov space is restricted to the interface degrees-of-freedom. In the present work, we investigate the properties of the Interface-GMRES(R) method for two distinct fluid–structure interaction problems with parameter-dependent stability behaviour, viz., the beam problem and the string problem. The results demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of the Interface-GMRES(R) method.     

STM studies of island formation and surface ordering of Si on GaAs (001), (2×4) and c(4×4): Implications for δ-doping

Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) have been used to study the deposition of Si below 400C onto GaAs (001) surfaces grown in situ by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The emphasis is on the island formation and growth, as well as surface ordering, for submonolayer quantities of Si (up to 0.2 ML) deposited on two different As-rich reconstructions of GaAs (0 0 1) (2 × 4) and c(4 × 4). For deposition on the c(4 × 4) surface, an asymmetric (3 × 1) RHEED pattern is formed, a consequence of anisotropic needle-like islands, which grow adjacent to each other along the [1 1 0] direction and produce a three-fold periodic superstructure. Individual islands grow by a site exchange process in which the additional As layer of the c(4 × 4) structure acts as a surfactant and enables the Si atoms to occupy Ga sites in the GaAs lattice. In contrast, Si deposition on the (2 × 4) surface does not lead to any new surface periodicities as monitored by RHEED. The Si atoms form poorly ordered clusters distributed randomly across the surface. The site exchange process cannot occur in this case as the (2 × 4) surface is terminated with only one layer of arsenic. Instead, the Si atoms occupy sites on top of the outer arsenic layer.