Surface-enhanced Raman scattering from individual au nanoparticles and nanoparticle dimer substrates

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) intensities for individual Au nanospheres, nanoshells, and nanosphere and nanoshell dimers coated with nonresonant molecules are measured, where the precise nanoscale geometry of each monomer and dimer is identified through in situ atomic force microscopy. The observed intensities correlate with the integrated quartic local electromagnetic field calculated for each specific nanostructure geometry. In this study, we find that suitably fabricated nanoshells can provide SERS enhancements comparable to nanosphere dimers.     

Single-monomer formulation of polymerized polyethylene glycol diacrylate as a nonadsorptive material for microfluidics

Nonspecific adsorption in microfluidic systems can deplete target molecules in solution and prevent analytes, especially those at low concentrations, from reaching the detector. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a widely used material for microfluidics, but it is prone to nonspecific adsorption, necessitating complex chemical modification processes to address this issue. An alternative material to PDMS that does not require subsequent chemical modification is presented here. Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) mixed with photoinitiator forms on exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation a polymer with inherent resistance to nonspecific adsorption. Optimization of the polymerized PEGDA (poly-PEGDA) formula imbues this material with some of the same properties, including optical clarity, water stability, and low background fluorescence, that make PDMS so popular. Poly-PEGDA demonstrates less nonspecific adsorption than PDMS over a range of concentrations of flowing fluorescently tagged bovine serum albumin solutions, and poly-PEGDA has greater resistance to permeation by small hydrophobic molecules than PDMS. Poly-PEGDA also exhibits long-term (hour scale) resistance to nonspecific adsorption compared to PDMS when exposed to a low (1 μg/mL) concentration of a model adsorptive protein. Electrophoretic separations of amino acids and proteins resulted in symmetrical peaks and theoretical plate counts as high as 4 × 10(5)/m. Poly-PEGDA, which displays resistance to nonspecific adsorption, could have broad use in small volume analysis and biomedical research.     

Testing Damasio's somatic marker hypothesis with psychopathic individuals: Risk takers or risk averse?

Damasio and colleagues (A. R. Damasio, 1994; A. R. Damasio, D. Tranel, & H. Damasio, 1990) have theorized about a possible relationship between somatic markers and the behavior of psychopathic individuals (Ps), but, to date, there are no published data regarding the proposed relationship. The authors assessed 96 Caucasian and 71 African American male offenders using R. D. Hare's (1991) Psychopathy Checklist—Revised and used a modified version of Bechara and colleagues' (A. Bechara, A. R. Damasio, H. Damasio, & S. W. Anderson, 1994; A. Bechara, H. Damasio, D. Tranel, & A. R. Damasio, 1997) gambling task to test the hypothesis that Ps would, consistent with the somatic marker hypothesis, fail to become risk averse. Results indicated that level of anxiety, but not psychopathy, was predictive of response choices. Several limitations and implications of the study are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dependence of surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) enhancement and spectral quality on the choice of underlying substrate: a closer look at silver (Ag) films prepared by physical vapor deposition (PVD)

Silver (Ag) films of varying thickness were simultaneously deposited using physical vapor deposition (PVD) onto six infrared (IR) substrates (BaF(2), CaF(2), Ge, AMTIR, KRS-5, and ZnSe) in order to correlate the morphology of the deposited film with optimal SEIRA response and spectral band symmetry and quality. Significant differences were observed in the surface morphology of the deposited silver films, the degree of enhancement provided, and the spectral appearance of para-nitrobenzoic acid (PNBA) cast films for each silver-coated substrate. These differences were attributed to each substrate's chemical properties, which dictate the morphology of the Ag film and ultimately determine the spectral appearance of the adsorbed analyte and the magnitude of SEIRA enhancement. Routine SEIRA enhancement factors (EFs) for all substrates were between 5 and 150. For single-step Ag depositions, the following ranking identifies the greatest SEIRA enhancement factor and the maximum absorption of the 1345 cm(-1) spectral marker of PNBA at the optimal silver thickness for each substrate: BaF(2) (EF = 85 ± 19, 0.059 A, 10 nm Ag) > CaF(2) (EF = 75 ± 30, 0.052 A, 10 nm Ag) > Ge (EF = 45 ± 8, 0.019 A, 5 nm Ag) > AMTIR (EF = 38 ± 8, 0.024 A, 15 nm Ag) > KRS-5 (EF = 24 ± 1, 0.015 A, 12 nm Ag) > ZnSe (EF = 9 ± 5, 0.008 A, 8 nm Ag). A two-step deposition provides 59% larger EFs than single-step depositions of Ag on CaF(2). A maximum EF of 147 was calculated for a cast film of PNBA (surface coverage = 341 ng/cm(2)) on a 10 nm two-step Ag film on CaF(2) (0.102 A, 1345 cm(-1) symmetric NO(2) stretching band). The morphology of the two-step Ag film has smaller particles and greater particle density than the single-step Ag film.     

Biodegradability of slaughterhouse wastewater with high blood content under anaerobic and aerobic conditions

In this work, the biodegradability of wastewater from a slaughterhouse located in Ke?an, Turkey, was studied under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. A very high total COD content of 7230 mg dm^?3 was found, due to an inefficient blood recovery system. Low BOD₅/COD ratio, high organic nitrogen and soluble COD contents, were in accordance with a high blood content. A respirometry test for COD fractionation showed a very low readily biodegradable fraction (S_S) of 2%, a rapidly hydrolysable fraction (S_H) of 51%, a slowly hydrolysable fraction (X_S) of 33% and an inert fraction of 6%. Kinetic analysis revealed that hydrolysis rates were much slower than these of domestic sewage. The results underlined the need for an anaerobic stage prior to aerobic treatment. Tests with an anaerobic batch reactor indicated efficient COD degradation, up to around 80% removal. Further anaerobic degradation of the remaining COD was much slower and resulted in the build up of inert COD compounds generated as part of the metabolic activities in the anaerobic reactor. Accordingly, it is suggested that an appropriate combination of anaerobic and aerobic reactors would have to limit anaerobic degradation to around 80% of the tCOD and an effluent concentration above 1000 mg dm^?3, for the optimum operation of the following aerobic stage. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Immediate Antecedents of Cigarette Smoking: An Analysis of Unrestricted Smoking Patterns.

Theory suggests that cigarette smoking is under stimulus control and that affect is a key trigger for smoking. A previous study (S. Shiftman et al., 2002) showed little relationship between affect and smoking, but this relationship could have been suppressed by the impact of smoking restrictions. The study evaluated these associations in a 1988 sample that was subject to few smoking restrictions. Smokers (N = 28) not seeking treatment used palmtop computers to record context and affect prior to smoking (n = 2,217 observations) and also at random times when not smoking (n = 2,380). Comparisons showed little relationship between smoking and affect. Smoking was associated with particular activities and locations. Urge to smoke was the strongest predictor of smoking. The results replicated the findings of S. Shiffman et al. (2002). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increasing the Utility of the Copper Cylinder Expansion Test

We report the development of a new methodology for analyzing CYLEX tests streak images. In these tests, the displacement of the wall of an explosive filled cylinder is obtained by backlighting the cylinder. The profile is imaged through a slit and streaked across a film record as the cylinder is detonated. A critical step in processing this data is the spatial calibration of the film and extraction of the profile of the cylinder from the image. Historically this has been a tedious task as it was performed by eye with the assistance of an optical comparator. Recently we developed an algorithm which automates the data calibration and extraction process of digitized streak records utilizing the Shen‐Castan edge detection algorithm and the image processing capabilities found in the IGOR PRO software. The new processing methodology greatly increases the resolution of the data, removes human subjectivity, and reduces analysis time from hours to seconds. The higher resolution of the new method has enabled much greater accuracy in measuring early‐time (<15 µs) expansion. With the aid of CTH hydrocode calculations, new fitting functions were developed to model both the early and late‐time expansion data. These functions contain physically meaningful fitting parameters and include terms which mimic the intensity and time scales of the shock and gas induced expansion of the cylinder independently. We demonstrate the methodology and hydrocode calculations on a recent CYLEX test series aimed at examining the effects of a plastic liner on high‐purity oxygen‐free copper cylinders filled with a high explosive.