Standing waves of gaseous chemical reactions in inert porous media

Standing waves of gaseous, exothermic, chemical reactions in inert porous media are investigated in the two-temperature and one-temperature approximations. A semiinfinite reaction zone method is developed to solve the problem analytically. It is shown that the wave solutions obtained by this method form a large set. Traditional solutions with strong heat transfer at the end of the wave make up but a small fraction of this set.LENIIKhIMMASh, St. Petersburg 193167. Translated from Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 11–20, July–August, 1994.     

New Sorption Materials Based on Organosilicon Derivatives of Thiosemicarbazides

The synthesis of organosilicon derivative monomers and polymers characterized with sorption properties has been performed. The synthesized organosilicon polymers have been investigated as sorbents for heavy (Hg(II)) and noble (Ag(I), Au(III), Rh(II), Pd(II), and Pt(IV)) metals. The coefficients of the interphase metal distribution have been estimated.     

Sol–gel synthesis of 2D and 3D nanostructured YSZ:Yb<Superscript>3+</Superscript> ceramics

This paper presents results of a detailed study of fundamental aspects of the formation of 2D and 3D nanostructured YSZ:Yb³⁺ ceramics with a cubic structure through a key synthesis step in aqueous solutions of zirconium-containing hydroxy nanoparticles (1–2 nm) modified by Y³⁺ and Yb³⁺ ions, with the use of a sol–gel method and subsequent calcination of the resultant xerogels at temperatures above 350°C. As starting chemicals for the synthesis of ceramic powders, we used zirconyl, yttrium, and ytterbium nitrates and chlorides and aqueous ammonia. Using mixed solutions of these salts and a procedure developed by us, we synthesized sols, gels, and xerogels. To examine the effect of temperature on solid-state transformations, the xerogels were calcined according to a predetermined program in a muffle furnace at temperatures in the range from 350 to 1350°C (rarely, up to 1650°C). We focused primarily on ceramic powders close in composition to 0.86ZrO₂ · 0.10Y₂O₃ · 0.04Yb₂O₃. The ceramics were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron microdiffraction, electronic diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, and X-ray fluorescence analysis.     

Pain syndrome in gastroenterological practice: potentialities of evaluation

Qualitative and quantitative characteristics of chronic pain syndrome and their possible use in assessing analgetic effects of treatment were studied in 16, 49, 26 and 17 patients with gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, chronic pancreatitis, chronic colitis, respectively. Pain was measured with the use of McHill's questionnaire modification and visual-verbal-analog scale. In addition to routine analysis of the data from the respondents, graphic mean profiles of pain for each group have been devised. There were differences in quantitative parameters of pain syndrome depending on nosological unity and profiles of patients. The questionnaire proved rather informative in evaluation and gradation of analgetic effects of therapeutic factors in ulcer patients.     

Thermally Stimulated Currents in Si〈P,Au〉: Analysis of Rate Equations

Thermally stimulated currents (TSCs) in semiconductors were analyzed theoretically in terms of a single-level model. The rate equations describing TSCs in the single-level model were solved numerically for various process parameters, which made it possible to assess the effect of each parameter on the TSC curve. The effects of physical and instrumental parameters were analyzed: the former characterize the material and cannot be changed during measurements, and the latter can be varied readily during experiment (applied voltage, excitation intensity, etc.). By adjusting the instrumental parameters, one can control the shape of the TSC curve and, eventually, assess the parameters of trap levels. The slow and fast retrapping approximations were examined for an arbitrary heating profile and constant-rate heating followed by isothermal holding until complete detrapping. The effect of excitation wavelength on the TSC in SiP,Au was studied. It was shown that, using resonance photoexcitation, one can identify the type (electron or hole) of the traps and evaluate their ionization energy. A new approach to TSC data processing was proposed: cleaning of a higher temperature peak from the lower temperature peak by storing the preilluminated material in the dark at the relaxation temperature of the lower temperature peak. The depths and capture cross sections of three trapping centers in SiP,Au were evaluated.     

Analysis of Differential Equations of Thermally Stimulated Currents in Semiconductors: Arbitrary Heating Profile

The thermally stimulated current (TSC) rate equations are solved for an arbitrary heating profile. The equations are analyzed for fast and slow retrapping regimes in the case when the sample is rapidly heated at a constant rate to the set temperature and held there until the current fully decays.     

Relation between the space flight-induced frequency of dominant lethal mutations and the level of allozyme heterozygosity in Drosophila melanogaster populations

Currently, the treatment of falciparum malaria is seriously compromised by spreading drug resistance. We studied the effects of camptothecin, a potent and specific topoisomerase I inhibitor, on erythrocytic malaria parasites in vitro. In Plasmodium falciparum, camptothecin trapped protein-DNA complexes, inhibited nucleic acid biosynthesis, and was cytotoxic. These results provide proof for the concept that topoisomerase I is a vulnerable target for new antimalarial drug development.     

Gadolinium‐Conjugated Gold Nanoshells for Multimodal Diagnostic Imaging and Photothermal Cancer Therapy

Multimodal imaging offers the potential to improve diagnosis and enhance the specificity of photothermal cancer therapy. Toward this goal, gadolinium‐conjugated gold nanoshells are engineered and it is demonstrated that they enhance contrast for magnetic resonance imaging, X‐ray, optical coherence tomography, reflectance confocal microscopy, and two‐photon luminescence. Additionally, these particles effectively convert near‐infrared light to heat, which can be used to ablate cancer cells. Ultimately, these studies demonstrate the potential of gadolinium‐nanoshells for image‐guided photothermal ablation.     

Efficiency of computed tomography in diagnosis of silicotuberculosis

Seventy-five newborns from multiple pregnancies with very low and extremely low birth weight are studied. 94% of the infants under 1000 g and 66% of those above 1000 g are born by vaginal way. Intrapartal asphyxia develop most often the second twins with birth weight under 1000 g--64.7%. These are the infants with higher morbidity: RDS--56.5%, IVH--100%. The survival rate of the twins of this group is notably lower than that of the infants from singleton pregnancies with equal weight and gestational age: 12.1% under 1000 g and 69% above 1000 g, against 38.3% and 77.9% respectively.