Growth of ω inclusions in Ti alloys: An X-ray diffraction study

We investigated the size and crystal structure of nanometer-sized ω inclusions in single crystals of β-Ti alloys by X-ray diffraction pole-figure measurements and reciprocal space mapping. We studied the topotactical relation of the β and ω crystal lattices, and from the positions and shapes of the diffraction maxima of the ω lattice determined the mean size of the ω inclusions and the misfit of the inclusion lattice with respect to the host lattice, as well as their changes during ageing. The lattice of the ω inclusions exhibits a large positive misfit already before ageing and the misfit is subsequently reduced during the ageing process. Using the theories of elasticity and X-ray scattering we simulated diffuse X-ray scattering around the β diffraction maxima and demonstrated that the diffuse scattering is caused mainly by local elastic strains in the β host phase around the ω inclusions.     

Surface Tension of Binary Mixtures Including Polar Components Modeled by the Density Gradient Theory Combined with the PC-SAFT Equation of State

In this study, the Cahn–Hilliard density gradient theory (GT) is used for predicting the surface tension of various binary mixtures at relatively wide temperature ranges and for testing the application of the GT for predictions of homogeneous nucleation. The GT was combined with two physically based equations of state (EoS), namely the perturbed-chain (PC) statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT) and its modification for polar substances the perturbed-chain polar (PCP) SAFT. The GT applied to the planar phase interface was employed to predict the interfacial tension for various quadrupolar (CO₂ and benzene) and dipolar (difluoromethane, i.e., R32; pentafluoroethane, i.e., R125; and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, i.e., R134a) substances and for five binary mixtures including polar components (n-decane + CO₂, benzene + CO₂, R32 + R125, R32 + R134a, R134a + R125). The PCP-SAFT EoS combined with the GT provides more accurate results for both the quadrupolar and dipolar substances than the original PC-SAFT EoS. Besides the planar phase interface, the GT was also applied to the spherical phase interface simulating a critical cluster occurring in homogeneous nucleation of droplets. Carbon dioxide was considered, because it has a relatively high quadrupole moment and because of its relevance to natural gas processing. Application of the PCP-SAFT EoS provides a significant improvement compared to the PC-SAFT EoS, and it is clearly superior to the classical cubic Peng–Robinson EoS, which is still used for modeling droplet nucleation.     

FTIR Characterization of Fe3+–OH Groups in Fe–H–BEA Zeolite: Interaction with CO and NO

Fe³⁺–OH groups of a Fe–H–BEA sample prepared by conventional ion-exchange method are characterized by an IR band at 3686–3684 cm^?1. They exhibit a weak acidity: upon low-temperature CO adsorption the O–H stretching modes are blue shifted by 100 cm^?1 and the respective carbonyl adducts are observed at 2158 cm^?1. The Fe³⁺–OH groups are reduced at room temperature by NO to form Fe²⁺–NO species and NO⁺ groups in cationic positions. Desorption of pre-adsorbed NO at temperatures above 373 K regenerates the Fe³⁺–OH groups. The relation of the Fe³⁺–OH species to the so-called α-oxygen is discussed.     

Epoxy‐clay nanocomposites: Influence of the clay surface modification on structure

In this article, the effect of four different clay surface modifiers on the structure of epoxy‐clay nanocomposites was studied. Various organoclays were prepared via cation exchange reaction between inorganic cations naturally occuring in the clay gallery and different alkylammonium ions. Epoxy‐clay nanocomposites were prepared by in situ intercalative polymerization using a hardener of polyoxypropylenediamine type. It was found that various clay surface modifiers exhibit different catalytic effect on curing of epoxy inside the clay gallery as observed by measuring of the gel time with dynamic mechanical analysis. This was confirmed by monitoring the change in the d‐spacing by wide angle X‐ray scattering performed in situ during curing. Morphology of the cured systems was probed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and wide angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS). The degree of dispersion observed by TEM and WAXS corresponds with achieved mechanical properties of cured composites. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Melectin: a novel antimicrobial peptide from the venom of the cleptoparasitic bee Melecta albifrons

A novel antimicrobial peptide designated melectin was isolated from the venom of the cleptoparasitic bee Melecta albifrons. Its primary sequence was established as H-Gly-Phe-Leu-Ser-Ile-Leu-Lys-Lys-Val-Leu-Pro-Lys-Val-Met-Ala-His-Met-Lys-NH(2) by Edman degradation and ESI-QTOF mass spectrometry. Synthetic melectin exhibited antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive and -negative bacteria and it degranulated rat peritoneal mast cells, but its hemolytic activity was low. The CD spectra of melectin measured in the presence of trifluoroethanol and sodium dodecyl sulfate showed a high content alpha-helices, which indicates that melectin can adopt an amphipathic alpha-helical secondary structure in an anisotropic environment such as the bacterial cell membrane. To envisage the role of the proline residue located in the middle of the peptide chain on biological activity and secondary structure, we prepared several melectin analogues in which the Pro11 residue was either replaced by other amino acid residues or was omitted. The results of biological testing suggest that a Pro kink in the alpha-helical structure of melectin plays an important role in selectivity for bacterial cells. In addition, a series of N- and C-terminal-shortened analogues was synthesized to examine which region of the peptide is related to antimicrobial activity.     

Off-line coupling of capillary electrophoresis to substrate-assisted laser desorption inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A novel off-line coupling of capillary electrophoresis (CE) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) is reported here. The coupling interface is based on the connection of a separation capillary to a deposition capillary via a liquid junction maintaining high separation efficiency and sample utilization due to the self-focusing effect and lack of pressure-induced flow in comparison with nebulizer-like interfaces. The separation is recorded in the form of droplets of CE effluent on a suitable substrate--a poly(ethylene terephthalate) glycol (PETG) sample plate placed inside a partially evacuated chamber. Substrate-assisted laser desorption (SALD) is used to vaporize the sample fractions and to enable further transfer to the ICPMS. The mechanism of SALD is examined using model samples deposited on a variety of substrates. The highest response is obtained for a PETG substrate; sample desorption due to ablation of PETG is found to outweigh direct ablation of sample. Detection limits are given for several metal elements. Finally, a rapid (2.5-min), high-resolution separation of Cr(III)/Cr(VI) species injected in subpicomolar quantity is shown.     

Operational amplifiers operating in temperature range from 300 to 4.2 K

We present preamplifiers for frequencies from dc to few 10 MHz operating over temperature range from 300 to 4.2 K. Typical application of these circuits which use CMOS operational amplifiers is to match high impedance cryogenic sensors with low impedance cables to lead out a signal to room temperature electronics without bandwidth limiting while preserve signal to noise ratio and linearity. Temperature dependence of electrical characteristics is shown including dissipated power and input voltage noise density spectra.     

Higher‐order finite elements based on generalized eigenfunctions of the Laplacian

We present a new class of higher‐order finite elements based on generalized eigenfunctions of the Laplace operator, which are suitable for both product and simplicial geometries in ?^d. Due to simultaneous orthogonality of the generalized eigenfunctions under both the H and L² products and their almost negligible dependence on reference maps, such finite elements are an excellent choice for the discretization of second‐order elliptic problems by the hp‐FEM. Analysis is illustrated by numerical results and comparisons with other popular higher‐order finite elements are presented. The new elements are used to compute efficiently the model of an electrostatic micromotor. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early stages of growth of gold layers sputter deposited on glass and silicon substrates

Extremely thin gold layers were sputter deposited on glass and silicon substrates, and their thickness and morphology were studied by Rutherford backscattering (RBS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods. The deposited layers change from discontinuous to continuous ones for longer deposition times. While the deposition rate on the silicon substrate is constant, nearly independent on the layer thickness, the rate on the glass substrate increases with increasing layer thickness. The observed dependence can be explained by a simple kinetic model, taking into account different sticking probabilities of gold atoms on a bare glass substrate and regions with gold coverage. Detailed analysis of the shape of the RBS gold signal shows that in the initial stages of the deposition, the gold layers on the glass substrate consist of gold islands with significantly different thicknesses. These findings were confirmed by AFM measurements, too. Gold coverage of the silicon substrate is rather homogeneous, consisting of tiny gold grains, but a pronounced worm-like structure is formed for the layer thickness at electrical continuity threshold. On the glass substrate, the gold clusters of different sizes are clearly observed. For later deposition stages, a clear tendency of the gold atoms to aggregate into larger clusters of approximately the same size is observed. At later deposition stages, gold clusters of up to 100 nm in diameter are formed.     

Possibilities of enhancing the colour of egg yolk

BACKGROUND: This study attempts to compare two possibilities of enhancing the colour of egg yolk. One of them is based on the ecological rearing of laying hens on natural green grass whereas the other uses a feeding dose supplemented with natural pigments in laying hens reared in individual cages. Is it possible to distinguish these two technologies using yolk colour determination in the CIELAB system? RESULTS: Yolk colour parameters such as L*, a*, and b* in the group of grazed hens are significantly different (α = 0.001) from those observed in hens reared in cages. The yolk colour shows a darker, redder and more yellow colour. The greatest difference was seen in the red colour parameter, a*, that increased more than twice. Visually, this means a shift towards a more orange colour. Compared to grazing in the meadow (ΔE* = 13.257), the addition of artificial pigments in the feed resulted in a more significant increase in the parameter ΔE* (CIE total colour difference), with the greatest value of ΔE* being observed with the use of both pigments (ΔE* = 24.265). CONCLUSION: Grazing increases the parameter a* whereas the values of the parameter C*_ab remain relatively low. The parameter ΔE* is significantly lower in the case of grazing as compared to the supplementation of the feed with pigments. However, colourity parameters cannot be used as a specific standard to identify a particular grazing technology as their values vary during the laying period. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry