Hydrogen sorption by Pd77Ag23 metallic membranes. Role of hydrogen content, temperature and sample microstructure

Permeation across metallic membranes is a process used in the industry for purifying hydrogen. In conventional technology, a few tens of micrometers thick metallic membranes made of palladium alloys are used in the 400-600 °C temperature range, using a driving force of several bars for enhanced kinetics. In stationary conditions of flow, the diffusion-controlled transport of atomic hydrogen across the membrane is usually rate-determining. When thin (sub-micron thick) membranes are used, surface rate contributions become more significant. To optimize permeation performances, there is therefore a need for separately measuring surface and bulk rate contributions. In this communication, we report on the kinetics of hydrogen permeation across Pd₇₇Ag₂₃ metallic membranes using pneumato-chemical impedance spectroscopy. The role of different operating parameters (temperature, surface state, membrane microstructure) on the kinetics of permeation is analyzed and discussed.     

Constructing Pontryagin extremals for the optimal control problem of asteroid fly-by

We consider the problem of constructing Pontryagin extremals for the optimal control task of asteroid fly-by. This problem is a part of a large optimization problem posed on the Third Global Trajectory Optimization Competition. Information about the competition and problem details can be found at .     

Adsorption layer and foam film properties of mixed solutions containing β-casein and C12DMPO

The interrelations between adsorption layer properties and surface forces in thin foam films of protein/surfactant mixtures were investigated. The adsorption from β-casein/dodecyl dimethyl phosphine oxide (C₁₂DMPO) mixed solutions was studied by Profile Analysis Tensiometry (PAT). The adsorption of protein/surfactant mixtures at the air/water interface is of competitive nature. The obtained adsorption isotherms suggest a gradual displacement of the protein molecules from the interface with increasing surfactant concentration. Foam films were studied by microinterferometry, originally introduced by Scheludko and Exerowa. The obtained experimental results show that the composition of the mixed adsorption layers changes with increasing amount of added surfactant. At a certain mixing ratio the corresponding foam film thickness decreases dramatically. This change happens above the surfactant concentration where the surface tension of the protein–surfactant mixtures approaches the values obtained for the respective pure surfactant solutions. The thickness, refractive index and adsorbed amount of the respective adsorption layers were determined by ellipsometry. These results correlate with the above-mentioned PAT and foam film data. The refractive index and adsorbed amount decrease monotonically and reach values close to those for pure surfactant solutions. On the contrary, a continuous increase can be observed in the layer thickness up to the above-mentioned concentration, indicating the formation of a more diffuse layer at the air–water interface formed by β-casein and C₁₂DMPO molecules upon increase of surfactant concentration. For foam films the electrolyte concentration can change the equilibrium thickness of the films and the Π(h)-isotherms significantly.     

A histochemical investigation of catecholamines in spinal cord injury

The catecholamine hypothesis of progressive spinal cord necrosis following mechanical trauma was investigated with the histofluorometric method. Forty-four adult mongrel dog were examined as control, L1 crush-injured, and crush-injured with prior T1 total transection groups. In crush injured dogs, catecholamines were present in a 1 cm length of white matter at the crush site, with the greatest accumulation in the deep lateral and ventral funiculi. Gray matter fluorescence was not enhanced. Prior transection did not abolish the intense accumulation of catecholamines at the site of the cord injury. We propose that the catecholamines accumulating at the cord injured site are not central in origin, but represent an uptake mechanism into white matter as a reflection of cord microperfusion.     

Effect of length of gestation on maternal cellular immunity to human trophoblast antigens

Maternal lymphocyte reactivity to human trophoblast antigens was studied in placentas of gestational ages 8 to 14 weeks and 32 to 34 weeks, respectively. Significant trophoblast lysis became apparent after 24 hours' incubation in the latter case compared with a time lag of 72 hours in the terminated gestations. Maternal cellular immunity, therefore, was not detected during the first 3 1/2 months of pregnancy, but was detectable by the time of parturition. The possible significance is discussed with respect to the antigenic stimulus and survival of the fetal allograft.     

The affinity of an oligodeoxynucleotide-peptide conjugate for an RNA hairpin loop depends on stereochemistry at the DNA-peptide junction

Molecular models of an oligodeoxynucleotide-peptide conjugate complexed to an RNA hairpin loop were constructed to assess the effect of stereoisomerism at the point of attachment of the peptide to the oligodeoxynucleotide on the affinity of the conjugate for an RNA target. The peptide portion of the oligodeoxynucleotide-peptide conjugate, (L-lysine)8, was covalently attached to the N-allyl group of (D)- or (L)-aspartic alcohol that was incorporated into the interior of an antisense oligodeoxynucleotide. The stereocenter in the oligodeoxynucleotide interior originates from either (D)- or (L)-aspartic alcohol. The oligodeoxynucleotide portion of the oligodeoxynucleotide-peptide conjugate forms Watson-Crick base pairs with the single-stranded RNA that flanks the RNA hairpin loop. The positively charged peptide makes specific electrostatic contacts with the negatively charged phosphate backbone of the RNA hairpin loop when attached to the N-allyl of (D)-aspartic alcohol but does not have the proper orientation to make these electrostatic contacts when attached to the N-allyl of (L)-aspartic alcohol. This modelling study emphasizes the importance of stereocontrol at the point of branching in synthesizing oligodeoxynucleotide-peptide conjugates for binding of RNA hairpin loops.     

Algorithms for Graphs Embeddable with Few Crossings per Edge

We consider graphs that can be embedded on a surface of bounded genus such that each edge has a bounded number of crossings. We prove that many optimization problems, including maximum independent set, minimum vertex cover, minimum dominating set and many others, admit polynomial time approximation schemes when restricted to such graphs. This extends previous results by Baker and Eppstein to a much broader class of graphs. We also prove that for the considered class of graphs, there are balanced separators of size where n is a number of vertices in the graph. On the negative side, we prove that it is intractable to recognize the graphs embeddable in the plane with at most one crossing per edge.