Spiking and Bursting in Josephson Junction

This brief reports spiking and bursting in numerical simulations of the resistive-capacitive-inductive shunted Josephson junction model. Regular spiking, intrinsic bursting, and fast spiking, which are usually seen in the mammalian neocortex, are observed in the junction dynamics under external dc bias. The junction voltage is amplitude and frequency modulated when forced by weaker sinusoidal forcing of frequency much lower than the junction resonant frequency. For stronger forcing, bursting is observed. The autonomous junction also shows bursting in the high inductive regime. Bifurcation scenarios of bursting are discussed for both autonomous and nonautonomous cases     

Incidence of trichothecenes and zearalenone in poultry feed mixtures from Slovakia

A total of 50 samples of poultry feed mixtures of Slovakian origin were analyzed for eight toxicologically significant Fusarium mycotoxins, namely zearalenone (ZON), A-trichothecenes: diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), T-2 toxin (T-2) and HT-2 toxin (HT-2) and B-trichothecenes: deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3-ADON), 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (15-ADON) and nivalenol (NIV). The A-trichothecenes and the B-trichothecenes were detected by means of high pressure liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection (HPLC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography electron capture detection (GC-ECD), respectively. Reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector (RP-HPLC-FLD) was used for ZON detection. The most frequent mycotoxin detected was T-2, which was found in 45 samples (90%) in relatively low concentrations ranging from 1 to 130 microg kg(-1) (average 13 microg kg(-1)), followed by ZON that was found in 44 samples (88%) in concentrations ranging from 3 to 86 microg kg(-1) (average 21 microg kg(-1)). HT-2 and DON were detected in 38 (76%) and 28 (56%) samples, respectively, in concentrations of 2 to 173 (average 18 microg kg(-1)) for HT-2 and 64 to 1230 microg kg(-1) sample (average 303 microg kg(-1)) for DON. The acetyl-derivatives of DON were in just four samples, while NIV was not detected in any of the samples investigated. In as many as 22 samples (44%), a combination of four simultaneously co-occurring mycotoxins, i.e. T-2, HT-2, ZON and DON, was revealed. Despite the limited number of samples investigated during this study poultry feed mixtures may represent a risk from a toxicological point of view and should be regarded as a potential source of the Fusarium mycotoxins in Central Europe. This is the first reported study dealing with zearalenone and trichothecene contamination of poultry mixed feeds from Slovakia.     

Influence of structure of iron nanoparticles in aggregates on their magnetic properties

Zero-valent iron nanoparticles rapidly aggregate. One of the reasons is magnetic forces among the nanoparticles. Magnetic field around particles is caused by composition of the particles. Their core is formed from zero-valent iron, and shell is a layer of magnetite. The magnetic forces contribute to attractive forces among the nanoparticles and that leads to increasing of aggregation of the nanoparticles. This effect is undesirable for decreasing of remediation properties of iron particles and limited transport possibilities. The aggregation of iron nanoparticles was established for consequent processes: Brownian motion, sedimentation, velocity gradient of fluid around particles and electrostatic forces. In our previous work, an introduction of influence of magnetic forces among particles on the aggregation was presented. These forces have significant impact on the rate of aggregation. In this article, a numerical computation of magnetic forces between an aggregate and a nanoparticle and between two aggregates is shown. It is done for random position of nanoparticles in an aggregate and random or arranged directions of magnetic polarizations and for structured aggregates with arranged vectors of polarizations. Statistical computation by Monte Carlo is done, and range of dominant area of magnetic forces around particles is assessed.     

Synthesis and characterization of new poly(ethylene glycol)bisphosphonate vinylic monomer and non-fluorescent and NIR-fluorescent bisphosphonate micrometer-sized particles

Bisphosphonates (BPs) are non-hydrolysable pyrophosphate analogs with high affinity to hydroxyapatite (HAP, the main inorganic ingredient in bones) and are mainly used for bone diseases treatments.A new stable PEG-BP monomer and particles have been prepared for enhanced long term bone-targeted imaging and therapy applications. The new formed BP particles possess dual functionalities: chelation to the bone mineral, HAP, through the BP groups and covalent attachment of a dye or drug through primary amine groups.The BP particles showed no cytotoxic effect on human osteosarcoma cell lines and minor toxicity on mouse macrophage cells, indicating that these BP particles are good candidates for in vivo testing. The BP monomer and particles exhibited inhibition of HAP formation and dissolution, similar to a commercial Alendronate. Near IR (NIR) fluorescent BP particles were obtained by conjugation of Cy7-NHS ester to the primary amine groups of the BP particles.     

Organosoluble asymmetric aromatic polyamides bearing pendent phenoxy groups

This study focuses on the synthesis and characterization of new polyamides based on an aromatic asymmetric diamine‐containing phenoxy‐substituted benzophenone segment. Low‐temperature solution polycondensation reactions of this diamine with various aromatic diacid chlorides containing ether, hexafluoroisopropylidene or diphenylsilane groups resulted in polyamides with molecular weights in the range 102 900–113 200 g mol^?1. The structures of these monomers and the corresponding polymers were fully confirmed using elemental analysis and infrared and NMR spectroscopy. All polyamides were easily soluble at room temperature in polar aprotic solvents and even in less polar solvents such as tetrahydrofuran. The polymers showed excellent thermal stability, up to 385 °C, and displayed glass transition temperatures in the range 225–256 °C. All the polymers presented blue florescence upon irradiation with UV light and thus show promise for applications in electroluminescent devices. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Evaluation of alkane sulfonic acid catalysts and derivatives for curing activity in a melamine/acrylic polyol coating formulation using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

FTIR measurements may be able to replace more laborious physical property determinations and thus serve as an efficient screening methodology in catalysis driven processes. This possibility was considered in evaluating alkane sulfonic acids catalyst performance to promote the cure of a melamine resin with acrylic polyols. The example chosen here is an evaluation of alkane sulfonic acid derivatives to measure catalytic efficiency of the cure reaction between hexamethoxymethylmelamine (HMMM) and an acrylicpolyol. The IR measurements provided information on the extent of reaction, via monitoring the disappearance of the OH stretching mode at 3472 cm⁻¹ associated with the acrylic polyol. This method may also be used to provide detailed information on reaction kinetics and insight into the cure mechanism. As the reaction proceeds, the coating’s properties change and IR measurements can serve as a probe for these changes. 900 First Ave., King of Prussia, PA 19406.     

Synthesis,characterization and (electro)chemical polymerization of triphenylamine‐end‐functionalized poly(ε‐caprolactone)

Triphenylamine‐based oligomers and polymers with linear, hyperbranched, star‐shaped or dendrimer architectures have been synthesized and studied due to their interesting electro‐optical properties. In many cases insoluble materials are obtained. In this study, we report the synthesis of grafted polytriphenylamine by chemical and electrochemical polymerization of triphenylamine‐end‐functionalized poly(ε‐caprolactone). Functionalized ε‐caprolactone oligomers were obtained by ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone initiated by 4‐hydroxymethyltriphenylamine/stannous octanoate (tin 2‐ethylhexanoate). The ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone using 4‐hydroxymethyltriphenylamine/stannous octanoate as initiating system provided ε‐caprolactone oligomers, with well‐defined molecular weights, containing a triphenylamine terminal group. Chemical and electrochemical coupling oxidation of the triphenylamine ends allowed the formulation of polyarylamines with ε‐caprolactone oligomers as grafts. Graft copolymers with an aryleneamine backbone and short poly(ε‐caprolactone) grafts were obtained by (electro)chemical oxidation of oligomers containing triphenylamine terminal groups. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

DEFECT CORRECTION WITH A FULLY COUPLED INEXACT NEWTON METHOD

Abstract

We examine the characteristics of a fully coupled inexact Newton method using defect correction to obtain high-order solutions for two problems: natural convection in a square cavity and mixed-convection flow over a backward step. Newton's method produces a linearized system with a Jacobian matrix and a residual vector, each of which can be formed using different discrete operators. Solution accuracy depends on the discretization used for the residuals. Defect correction employs low-order operators for the Jacobian but high-order operators for the residuals. We employ an O(h³) convection operator in the residual vector and upwinding in the Jacobian. We find that defect correction is an efficient and effective way to achieve high-order solutions.     

Alkaline hydrothermal kinetics in titanate nanostructure formation

In this study, the mechanism of precursor dissolution and the influence of kinetics of dissolution on titanate nanotube formation were investigated. This comparative study explored the dissolution kinetics for the case of commercial titania powders, one composed of predominantly anatase (>95%) and the other rutile phase (>93%). These nanoparticle precursors were hydrothermally reacted in 9 mol L⁻¹ NaOH at 160 °C over a range of reaction times of between 2 and 32 h. The high surface area nanotube-form product was confirmed using X-ray diffraction, FT-Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The concentration of nanotubes produced from the different precursors was established using Rietveld analysis with internal and external corundum standardization to calibrate the absolute concentrations of the samples. Interpretation of the dissolution process of the precursor materials indicated that the dissolution of anatase proceeds via a zero-order kinetic process, whereas rutile dissolution is through a second-order process. The TiO₂ nanostructure formation process and mechanism of TiO₂ precursor dissolution was confirmed by non-invasive dynamic light scattering measurements. Significant observations are that nanotube formation occurred over a broad range of hydrothermal treatment conditions and was strongly influenced by the order of precursor dissolution.     

Ways of listening to depressed women in qualitative research: Interview techniques and analyses.

Qualitative research on depression requires methods of interviewing and analysis that allow the researcher to hear how social factors are structured in thought and how such factors affect depressive conflict. This article discusses 6 ways of listening used in the author's qualitative research with depressed women: open listening, focused awareness, and attending to moral language, to inner dialogues, to meta-statements, and to the logic of the narrative. Examples illustrate how listening to processes of thought leads to content analysis that preserves the individuality of subjects, and to theory formation. Silencing the Self theory is summarized as it relates to these ways of listening. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)