Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of the Ductile Al–Ti–Mo–Nb–V Refractory High Entropy Alloys

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - A number of non-equimolar refractory high entropy alloys (RF HEAs) from the Al–Ti–Mo–Nb–V system are synthesized, with the...     

Changes of fluorescent spectral features after successive rare earth doping of gadolinium oxide powders

We present a complex fluorescence study of a series of gadolinium oxide polycrystalline powders singly, doubly and triply doped with trivalent rare earth ions (Er³⁺, Tb³⁺, and Dy³⁺), to explore a possibility of their use as materials for white light emitting diodes. The excitation and luminescence spectra along with the decay kinetics were measured in the temperature range from 6 to 300 K. The luminescence efficiency was studied within the visible spectral range, i.e. −400 nm to 750 nm under excitation by 355 nm third harmonic Nd:YAG laser pulses. Singly doped Er³⁺ sample gave stronger luminescence signals, but others showed significantly larger decay lifetimes. The successive rare earths doping leads to substantial changes of the spectral positions due to the up-conversion processes. In the singly (Er³⁺) doped sample, following the time resolved spectrum and decay curves, there are two different types of emissions: at 660 nm and at shorter wavelengths (below 640 nm) the red emission's lifetime is ten times longer than at shorter wavelengths. The singly doped sample shows unclear temperature-dependence of luminescence with lifetime at 550 nm (the longest at 100 K, similarly at 6 K and 300 K) and achieved luminous efficacy 73.5 lm/W.     

On-line coloring and cliques covering for KK s,t -free graphs

The problem of on-line coloring of an arbitrary graphs is known to be hard. Here we consider the problem of on-line coloring in the simplified situation where the input graph is KK_s,t-free. We show that the on-line coloring algorithm with the First Fit strategy of proposed by Capponi and Pilotto in [1] is the best one for KK_1,t-free graphs (t≥3). A.Capponi and C.Pilotto have shown that this algorithm achieves a competitive ratio of t−1 while we show that it is the best possible. However for the family of KK_s,t-free graphs (s≥2, t≥2) there exists no on-line coloring algorithm with a competitive function. The problem of an on-line cliques covering for these families is hard. There exists no on-line cliques covering algorithm with a competitive function for the family of KK_s,t-free graphs (s≥ 1, t≥3). The additional assumption that the input graph is given in a connected way does not help a lot and does not change our results described above.     

Effects of some technological processes on glucosinolate contents in cruciferous vegetables

Effects of blanching, boiling and freezing of selected cruciferous vegetables (Brussels sprouts, white and green cauliflower, broccoli, and curly cale) on their glucosinolate (GLS) contents were determined. It was found that blanching and cooking of the vegetables led to considerable (P < 0.05) losses of total GLS, from 2.7 to 30.0% and from 35.3 to 72.4%, respectively. No systematic changes in total GLS were found in the vegetables that were blanched and frozen for 48 h. In addition, the highest concentration of cancer-protective compounds, such as aliphatic and indole GLS, were found in Brussels sprouts (sinigrin and glucobrassicin) and in broccoli (glucoraphanin).     

Psychopathological characteristics of the consequences of obstructive sleep apnea prior to and 3 months after therapy

The aim of the research was to discover the level of change observed in cognitive functions and personality variables in patients ill with obstructive sleep apnea prior to and after CPAP treatment. Data was collected from 20 male patients ill with a severe form of obstructive sleep apnea whose physiological symptoms were correlated with the results of cognitive functions and personality variables. It was concluded that obstructive sleep apnea patients have lowered; attention, concentration, speed of learning verbal and visual stimuli and speed of learning visual-motor tasks. An increased level of depression was noted together with increased anxiety and psychological tension. In half of the group irregular EEG recordings and a pathological result on the Benton Test suggests organic damage to the CNS. These changes were negatively correlated with amounts of REM and 3 + 4 NREM sleep, but were positively correlated with the level of sleep hypoxemia. The results suggest that after 3 months of CPAP treatment affect improved significantly. The observed tendency for cognitive functions to improved was not statistically significant.     

Evaluation of QuEChERS method for the determination of organochlorine pesticide residues in selected groups of fruits

This paper reports a method for organochlorine pesticide determination in selected fruit species where pesticide residues were extracted and cleaned using a buffered QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) method, followed by GC–MS analysis. The method results showed the matrix-matched calibration curve linearity was >0.99 for all target analytes. With pesticide recovery rates (spiked at 0.008 mg kg⁻¹) ranging from 70% to 120%, and RSD values <17% for most compounds, the limit of quantification ranged from 0.001–0.013 mg kg⁻¹. Finally, the method ruggedness was further demonstrated by analysis of actual commercial fruits and baby food samples.