Nanofiber organic semiconductors: The effects of nanosize on the electrical charge transport and optical properties of bulk polyanilines

The electrical transport, optical, and microstructural properties of bulk polyaniline (PANI) and nano‐PANIs were investigated. A field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of bulk PANI showed macroscopic and aggregated granular particles. A SEM image of the nanostructured PANI showed the formation of one‐dimensional nano/microstructures. The formation of nanofibers was observed from the transmission electron microscopy image. The electrical conductivities of the bulk and nanostructured PANIs increased with increasing temperature, which indicated semiconductor behavior. The electrical conductivities of the bulk and nanostructured PANIs at room temperature were found to be 2.12 × 10^?5 and 1.80 × 10^?2 S/cm, respectively. The electrical conductivity of the nanostructured PANI was about 850 times higher than that of the bulk PANI. The obtained band gaps of the bulk and nanostructured PANIs were determined from diffuse reflectance measurements and were found to be 3.27 and 2.41 eV, respectively. The refractive index of the PANI samples changed from 1.3 to 1.61. The obtained results indicate that the electrical and optical properties of the PANI were inherently dependent on the nanostructure. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Consideration of Trends in Evaluating Inter-basin Water Transfer Alternatives within a Fuzzy Decision Making Framework

Evaluation of water supply schemes is an essential task for meeting the goals of inter-basin water transfer project system management. In general, water supply operation involves multi-objective and multifactor optimization and decision. In recent years, multicriterion decision making (MCDM) has emerged as an effective methodology due to its ability to combine quantitative and qualitative criteria for selection of the best alternative. This paper presents a new optimization method using fuzzy pattern recognition to appraise the water supply decision schemes in inter-basin diversion systems. The proposed method is capable to incorporate not only the will of the decision-makers but also the future development trend of water resources and water supply demand and makes the optimization results more reasonable and applicable. One case study for the Xi-River-to -Tanghe Reservoir Water Transfer Project System in China is presented to demonstrate the application of this method.     

Chemical and nutritional quality of silage made from raw or cooked lizard fish (Saurida undosquamis) and blue crab (Portunus pelagicus)

Twelve silages were prepared from uncooked or cooked lizard fish (Saurida undosquamis) and blue crab (Portunus pelagicus) and stored at ambient temperature (30 ± 2 °C) for 60 days. The antioxidative effect of adding ethoxyquin was also investigated. Generally, the nutritional quality of all the silages was stable for up to 60 days of storage and the composition of raw materials was reflected in the composition of the silages. Crab had a lower level of crude protein than fish (85 versus 162 mg kg^?1), but a higher level of ash (96 versus 36 g kg^?1); moreover, there were significant differences in nutritional composition between uncooked and cooked materials. High level of ash in crab required addition of high levels of formic acid in crab‐related silages. At the end of the experiment cooked silages showed a tendency for spoilage; in particular, maggots were observed in cooked crab silages on the last few days of the experiment. Comparison of treatments with or without ethoxyquin showed that only rancidity of fish silage groups was higher without addition of ethoxyquin. Uncooked materials are more suitable for prolonged storage than cooked materials, and it is probably not necessary to add antioxidants to silages made from material with low lipid content. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Measurement of asphaltene agglomeration from cold lake bitumen diluted with n-alkanes

A laser particle analyzer was used to study the formation of asphaltene agglomerates from Cold Lake bitumen due to the introduction of paraffinic diluents. The growth of the particles over time was investigated, and it was found that asphaltene particle growth is essentially an instantaneous process; that is, the final agglomerate size is reached within 5 seconds. The type of diluent used to precipitate the asphaltenes was determined to have a major effect on the size distribution of asphaltene agglomerates. The average particle size of asphaltene agglomerates ranged from 169 ptn for n-hexadecane to 299m for n-pentane. A relationship is shown to exist between the average particle size of asphaltene agglomerates and the carbon number of the diluent used.     

Echocardiographic diagnosis of supravalvular aortic stenosis

The echocardiographic features of supravalvular aortic stenosis seen in a patient with valvular aortic and multiple pulmonary branch stenosis are described. Since patterns of valvular, discrete subvalvular, and supravalvular aortic stenosis can be recognized by echocardiography, it is now possible to screen close relatives of patients having supravalvular aortic stenosis and pulmonary branch stenosis by this non-invasive technic.     

The interaction of 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonate with lipids: a nuclear magnetic resonance study

The proton magnetic resonance (PMR) and phosphorus magnetic resonance (PhMR) spectra of egg phosphatidylcholine in the presence of 1-anilino-8-nahthalenesulfonate (ANS) have been studied. At low ratios of ANS to phospholipid, the spectra indicate that ANS molecules are in the lipid interface region where they interact with the head-group protons. ANS also penetrates into the hydrocarbon region to some extent. As the ANS/phospholipid ratio approaches one, a significant splitting of the head-group signal occurs. This splitting is associated with head-group signals from inner and outer molecules of the phospholipid vesicles. As the ANS/phospholipid ratio is further increased, a gel phase often occurs. The spectra for this gel phase suggest a highly mobile head-group. Further ANS addition results in a PMR spectrum suggestive of ANS-phospholipid micelle formation. The results for a phospholipid-cholesterol complex and for the total lipid extract from a cell membrane show that the ANS effect is more complicated in these cases.     

Use of the false discovery rate for evaluating clinical safety data

Clinical adverse experience (AE) data are routinely evaluated using between group P values for every AE encountered within each of several body systems. If the P values are reported and interpreted without multiplicity considerations, there is a potential for an excess of false positive findings. Procedures based on confidence interval estimates of treatment effects have the same potential for false positive findings as P value methods. Excess false positive findings can needlessly complicate the safety profile of a safe drug or vaccine. Accordingly, we propose a novel method for addressing multiplicity in the evaluation of adverse experience data arising in clinical trial settings. The method involves a two-step application of adjusted P values based on the Benjamini and Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR). Data from three moderate to large vaccine trials are used to illustrate our proposed 'Double FDR' approach, and to reinforce the potential impact of failing to account for multiplicity. This work was in collaboration with the late Professor John W. Tukey who coined the term 'Double FDR'.     

Kinetics of pyrolysis of pure and doped cobalt oxalate

The object of the present work was to illustrate the effect of impurities on the kinetics and energetics of the thermal decomposition of pure cobalt oxalate. Cationic impurities like Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Fe²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, Zr⁴⁺ have been introduced into pure cobalt oxalate dihydrate and differential thermal analysis has been used to determine the enthalpy and energy of activation for the decomposition reaction of pure and doped samples.